Chapter 14#
Chapter 14#
The snow was biting. After night fell, it even crushed the tree branches in the courtyard.
The loud thud woke the System instantly. It instinctively looked toward the bed, but found it empty.
The host was gone!
The System’s heart tightened, and it immediately prepared to go out and look for him. However, after leaving the bedroom, it saw Xue Jingci roasting fruit in the inner room, with a pot of hot osmanthus tea on the table beside him.
The System circled Xue Jingci, meowing anxiously.
Xue Jingci handed it a roasted fruit but did not speak, focusing only on his food.
The hearth was warm. Knowing he felt uncomfortable, the System stopped speaking as well. It curled up by his leg, keeping him company in silence.
Xue Jingci picked up the little cat and asked, “Why have you stopped talking?”
The System rubbed against his palm: “You are unhappy.”
Xue Jingci pursed his lips: “Indeed.”
He pressed the cat’s paw against his heart and said, “It feels stuffy here, very uncomfortable.”
The System knew Xue Jingci was different from normal people; he didn’t understand this was sadness, and it didn’t want him to understand. It comforted him: “It’s Xie Zheng who doesn’t know what’s good for him. Don’t think about him anymore. We have food and drink, aren’t we very happy?”
Xue Jingci gave a faint smile and said that was true.
Despite this, it was as if Xue Jingci had suddenly been drained of all strength. A man who was previously tireless had not been seen for several days, spending all his time sleeping in the house.
He had very little interaction with others, so no one noticed anything unusual.
It wasn’t until the fourth day that a disciple was sent to bang on the door, shouting with an unfriendly tone: “Xue Jingci, the elder told me to tell you to go to class. If you don’t go, prepare to be punished.”
The house remained quiet. The disciple shouted twice more, and hearing no response, left impatiently.
Two more days passed, and even the person in charge of arranging duties came, shouting loudly: “Xue Jingci, you haven’t even shown up for duty. Do you want to be expelled from the sect?”
There was still no response from within.
The man walked around and noticed that the branches crushed by snow in the courtyard had not been cleared, and he couldn’t help but feel a moment of worry.
Could something have happened?
Xue Jingci’s house was at the foot of the mountain, and he passed it every day. Although it was once a dilapidated courtyard, it had been kept clean and comfortable, never looking neglected or messy.
Could it be…
A thought crossed the man’s mind. Only after seeing a shadow flicker past the window a long while later did he turn and leave.
When he went to the eatery at noon, that senior brother casually mentioned the matter, wondering if Xue Jingci was ill since he hadn’t left his house for so long.
Hearing this, someone mocked: “In such cold weather, squatting at the mountain gate for two days and nights—isn’t that just asking for it?”
“I heard he was scolded and sent away. Maybe he failed to climb high and is now too ashamed to see anyone.”
Hearing this, Qian Zhen put down his chopsticks, unable to sit still any longer.
He packed a serving of pastries from the eatery and headed straight for Xue Jingci’s place. Seeing that it was a familiar face, Xue Jingci finally opened the door.
Qian Zhen handed over the pastries and asked hesitantly: “I heard you haven’t been to class or duty. Did something happen?”
Xue Jingci shook his head, remaining silent.
Qian Zhen added: “There are many new missions lately. If you want to take some, I can save a few for you.”
Xue Jingci finally spoke, saying faintly: “No need anymore.”
After saying that, he raised his hand to close the door, signaling the end of the visit.
Qian Zhen quickly reached out to block the door and said urgently: “Actually… I heard about you looking for Senior Brother Xie.”
Xue Jingci’s hand paused slightly. Though his expression remained quiet, a trace of confusion appeared in his gaze.
Qian Zhen stared at Xue Jingci, feeling that the person before him looked desolate and lonely.
So he couldn’t help but advise: “Although I don’t know the entanglement between you and Senior Brother Xie, I know for certain you aren’t the kind of person others claim is trying to climb high. The sect assessment is coming up soon. If you skip duty and class now, committing an offense at this time will result in a major demerit.”
Hearing this, the System, which hadn’t known how to comfort him for days, had a flash of inspiration and moved closer to Xue Jingci.
“Host, the sect assessment is the biggest event in the outer sect. Why not take this chance to find a new target?”
Xue Jingci looked down at the kitten and reached out to rub its head.
He had originally thought his mission had reached a dead end and could no longer be completed. Hearing the System, could he actually change to another person and continue the mission?
That was a good idea.
He then looked at Qian Zhen, nodded, and said, “Thank you for the reminder. I will go.”
Qian Zhen felt his whole body relax upon hearing this. Seeing Xue Jingci take the advice, he felt a bit better, realizing his trip hadn’t been in vain.
So he took the time to explain the details of the sect assessment before turning to leave.
With good news, Xue Jingci’s expression lightened considerably, and he rose early the next day.
Following Qian Zhen’s advice, he took his disciple tablet to the back mountain to register.
The back mountain was a sea of people, extremely noisy.
There were a total of nine categories for this assessment. The top twenty in each category received extra rewards. Therefore, many people, while waiting in line, would observe if there were any experts in their queue; if there were, they would switch to another.
Xue Jingci didn’t hesitate much and chose the Array queue, which had the fewest people.
Seeing him stand there, someone gasped quietly, thinking Xue Jingci must have lost his mind! The Array queue was full of experts, and while others avoided it, this man was rushing toward it.
Xue Jingci stood quietly in line, but his mind was on the mission.
According to the mission requirements, he needed to help a poor disciple at the lowest point of their life achieve a reversal. Looking around, weren’t all the disciples who could enter the Lingxu Sect favored by heaven?
Xue Jingci was thinking seriously when his body was suddenly bumped. He withdrew his thoughts only to find someone blatantly cutting in line and standing in front of him.
“Get out,” Xue Jingci said coldly.
The person before him was Lin Heng, whose face he had slapped (metaphorically, by refusing him) yesterday. His current posture was clearly a provocation, intended to cause trouble.
Xue Jingci’s words instantly ignited the fire in his heart.
Lin Heng’s eyes widened: “Do you know who this young master is? How dare you shout at me!”
He had brought several new disciples with him today to find satisfaction. As he finished speaking, the sword behind him spun into the air and attacked Xue Jingci.
Xue Jingci’s figure shifted, easily dodging the blade pressing toward him. In an instant, he drew his long sword, attacking with a cold gaze.
He was extremely fast. In a flash, sword light mingled with wind and snow, crisscrossing like electricity, forming a celestial net that enveloped the other person.
Lin Heng swung his sword to defend, but under the pressure of the dense sword shadows, he retreated hastily. Even someone who didn’t understand swords could see he was at a disadvantage.
He hadn’t expected that against Xue Jingci, he wouldn’t even have the power to put up a fight, only able to be miserably suppressed and driven back.
“What are you all standing there for!”
As he spoke, white shadows flashed. He had actually brought helpers, all at the Golden Core stage, who sneak-attacked Xue Jingci from behind.
Two forces closed in from behind. Xue Jingci had nowhere to dodge and raised his hand to catch a flying blade.
The sword qi made his body pause, and his hand holding the sword felt a faint numbness, but his face remained calm.
The three changed their sword style, forming a sword array to attack him.
Lin Heng smiled triumphantly: “War is a path of deception. You’re still too green to fight me!”
Xue Jingci gave a meaningless light laugh. Killing intent spread in his eyes, and his entire aura changed abruptly. Wherever his long sword swept, cold light spilled out.
The System sensed the power not belonging to this world radiating from Xue Jingci and knew something was wrong, meowing to warn him: “Host, don’t act recklessly! Points will be deducted!”
However, Xue Jingci was beyond listening now. He had been angered by Xie Zheng and had been in a foul mood for days. These people had happened to run right into his line of fire and were soon driven back.
Lin Heng looked at him in shock. He hadn’t expected that Xue Jingci, a silent “waste,” could actually take on three Golden Cores with ease. If they kept fighting, it would be he who lost face!
But Xue Jingci had no intention of stopping. As the cold sword flew toward his face, Lin Heng was almost scared out of his wits and shouted, “Stop! I won’t fight you anymore!”
Lin Heng could feel that Xue Jingci truly intended to kill him, and he couldn’t even find the strength to flee. The spiritual energy in his body was stagnant, as if suppressed.
Just when he almost thought he would lose his life, with a ding, Xue Jingci’s sword was knocked off course by an ice needle, flying past his ear.
Lin Heng couldn’t hold back any longer; his legs gave way and he knelt down.
“All of you, stop!”
The newcomer carried a Dharma tool. With a flash of green light, several chains descended from the sky, instantly separating and trapping Xue Jingci and the others.
The sword shadows vanished. Everyone looked at the disciples trapped by the chains, seeing them all with blood-stained clothes and looking miserable.
“Publicly brawling here and attacking fellow disciples—you need not participate in this assessment. All of you, wait for your punishment.”
Xue Jingci remained silent upon hearing this, his face full of indifference. But the others grew anxious.
The sect trial concerned cultivation resources for the coming year; they couldn’t give it up easily.
Lin Heng didn’t even dare look up at Xue Jingci.
That day, Xue Jingci had refused to take his shift and had slighted him in front of others, so he had thought of teaching him a lesson. He hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
Now that the matter had escalated so much, even an elder from the Disciplinary Hall had been drawn in.
“Elder… I…”
Lin Heng knelt on the ground, his heart full of guilt.
The other two immediately spoke up upon seeing the situation.
“This person’s strikes are ruthless. I saw him sneak-attacking Senior Brother Lin, so I came to help.”
“I am also wronged. My intention was to mediate, asking Xue Jingci nicely to put down his sword, but who knew he would develop killing intent toward me, showing no fellow-disciple affection at all.”
The two spoke one after another, their words filled with apparent sincerity, as if Lin Heng were the most wronged person in the world.
Lin Heng was the one dazed, completely failing to react to the situation. Not daring to tell the truth, he could only grit his teeth and accept their version.
The senior brother was no fool either. Knowing he couldn’t trust one-sided words, he casually picked a few watching disciples to question: “You were all here just now. Tell me, who exactly started the trouble?”
Everyone knew Lin Heng was the nephew of the Blade Peak Master, while Xue Jingci always had a poor reputation. So someone spoke up against their conscience: “It was… it was Xue Jingci!”
Seeing someone speak, the crowd echoed: “Yes, Xue Jingci started it.”
Lin Heng had originally thought that making trouble wasn’t a first for him; he would just take the punishment and didn’t want to provoke a tough opponent like Xue Jingci further.
But he hadn’t expected so many people to help him lie through their teeth. If he admitted his guilt now, wouldn’t he be betraying these brothers who spoke for him?
After a moment of internal struggle, he chose to follow the lie, stuttering that it was true.
Hearing this, the System meowed in anger. Were these people blind, that they all helped that man?
Just as Xue Jingci was unable to defend himself, a soft and gentle voice rang out: “I saw everything that happened. It was clearly that senior brother who started it, and the other two intended to sneak-attack.”
Xue Jingci hadn’t expected a stranger to speak for him and instinctively looked toward the source.
The speaker didn’t look old and wasn’t wearing a disciple uniform; he should be a newly entered disciple.
The person slowly pushed through the crowd, his bamboo staff making a light clatter-clatter sound.
“Where did this cripple come from? Can’t even walk straight, yet dares to talk big.”
Hearing these blunt words, the person’s expression remained gentle. He used his bamboo staff to walk slowly in front of the Disciplinary Hall elder and said, “If the elder doesn’t believe me, I can swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao.”
All cultivators revered the Heavenly Dao, and swearing an oath was an extremely serious matter. For a moment, the Disciplinary Hall elder also hesitated.
“No need for an oath.”
A voice appeared out of thin air, and all the disciples looked up.
Zhou Zimo’s gaze swept over Xue Jingci and the other three as she spoke faintly: “I was here the whole time.”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s faces turned pale.
With a wave of her hand, she removed the chains binding Xue Jingci and looked at Lin Heng’s group with angry eyes: “Starting trouble without cause, harming fellow disciples, lying through your teeth, and distorting the truth! Simply shameless! Go kneel at the bottom of the cliff for three months.”
If Lin Heng hadn’t reacted in time when he was almost killed by Xue Jingci’s sword, seeing Zhou Zimo now made him tremble like a sieve in pure terror.
Zhou Zimo’s gaze then fell on those who had echoed Lin Heng: “Unable to distinguish right from wrong—your studies have all gone to the dogs! Daring to give false testimony, all of you go kneel at the bottom of the cliff for seven days and be grounded for one year, forbidden from leaving. If your hearts and mouths don’t match, then stop going out and embarrassing yourselves.”
“As for you…”
Zhou Zimo looked at Xue Jingci, momentarily feeling a headache.
As an outer sect elder, she had naturally heard some things. These past days, Xue Jingci hadn’t gone to class or duty, almost as if he had given up on himself.
But Xue Jingci was indeed a good prospect. He had specifically chosen the Array queue for the assessment, clearly obsessed with the path of arrays. Seeing his superb sword skills today, showing both restraint and power, she couldn’t ignore him.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Zimo said, “Although it was self-defense, your strikes were too heavy. For these few days, you don’t need to attend class or duty. Go sweep the snow on the long steps for three days and calm your mind.”
“Think carefully about exactly why you entered the sect.”
Xue Jingci nodded in agreement.
The two elders left, and Lin Heng didn’t dare stay, fleeing on all fours. Soon the watching crowd dispersed.
Xue Jingci had agreed readily, but he didn’t go to take his punishment. Instead, he unhurriedly joined a queue again.
He was originally going to return to the least-crowded Array queue, but halfway there, as he passed the Sword Dao queue, the crowd suddenly scattered.
Those disciples had just witnessed Xue Jingci’s sword skills. Although they disliked his character, they had to admit they were no match for him.
For a moment, they felt like retreating, not wanting to bump into Xue Jingci.
As a result, the Sword Dao queue actually became the least crowded.
Without hesitation, Xue Jingci stepped right in.
Zhou Zimo was dumbfounded, a breath caught in her throat that she could neither spit out nor swallow.
This little brat!
Xue Jingci soon finished queuing and received his tablet for the Sword Dao trial.
He walked through the crowd toward the long steps, when he suddenly heard a system prompt.
“Host, I’ve found a new target to bind. Look back quickly!”
Xue Jingci turned his head. At the other end of the steps, the disciple who had just spoken for him was struggling to catch up, leaning on his bamboo staff.
Their gazes met, and the person smiled at Xue Jingci, handing over a porcelain bottle.
“My name is Xiao Xun, a newly entered disciple. Senior Brother still has a wound on his hand; please treat it first.”
Xue Jingci looked at his hand, which had been cut by a blade, then looked up at him quietly.
His smile was very light, yet it was like spring water after the snow had melted—clear and gentle.