Chapter 17#
Chapter 17#
An Wuxue’s mouth twitched.
Xie Zhefeng realized that his hair was a bit messy. With a casual spell, he tidied his clothes and hair and asked, “Jiang Qing?”
Yun Zhou was startled. Still covering his eyes, he nodded like a pounding pestle. “Ah, yes, yes, Jiang Qing, that Tailing tribe cultivator from Beiming City. I thought of practicing my sword this morning, and just as I went down, I saw Daoist Jiang getting off the carriage. He told me he was the person we were looking for.”
With his other hand, he pointed randomly downwards. “He is currently waiting for us in the inn’s lobby.”
Following the direction he pointed, Xie Zhefeng bypassed him and walked straight out.
An Wuxue casually performed a cleaning spell, got up, put on his outer robe, and walked to the door.
Yun Zhou covered his eyes, peering through a gap between his fingers with one eye. “I saw something I shouldn’t have. You and Daoist Xie won’t kill me to keep me quiet, will you? I still want to live to avenge the Sect Leader and my masters.”
An Wuxue: “…”
He said, “Don’t worry, we won’t kill you to keep you quiet.”
“Really?”
“There are many ways to make someone shut up; some are even more reliable than silencing them forever. There are also many reasons to kill someone, not necessarily to keep them quiet.”
“What you said seems to make some sense,” Yun Zhou pondered, “but it also seems like something is wrong…”
An Wuxue looked beside Yun Zhou and asked, “Where is your senior brother?”
Yun Zhou froze and slapped his forehead. “He should still be sleeping. I was in a hurry to find Daoist Xie. I’ll go call him.”
After saying that, he turned and slipped away to Yun Yao’s room.
An Wuxue peeked down the corridor and followed downstairs.
At the entrance of the inn.
The morning light was just beginning to rise. Zhaoshui City was adjacent to the East Cang Sea. The sea breeze brought moisture, covering everything in a light mist.
The figures on the street were sparse, with only vendors selling hot food lined up on both sides, their steam mixing with the mist.
A carriage pulled by spirit horses stopped by a lamp post.
A young man wearing a long robe with ink bamboo patterns held a sword in one hand. He turned his head, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, “Is this Daoist Xie Chunhua?”
Xie Zhefeng nodded. “Daoist Jiang.”
“A brief encounter at the City Lord’s mansion yesterday; I didn’t expect we would meet again so soon.” Jiang Qing’s gaze fell on An Wuxue, who had followed. “This is…?”
Looking at An Wuxue, his previously solemn expression vanished, and he actually smiled.
Before An Wuxue could speak, Yun Zhou dragged Yun Yao down and replied, “His name is Su Xue, I am Yun Zhou, and this is my senior brother Yun Yao. We are all from the Yunjian Sect and later went to Luoyue Peak!”
Jiang Qing’s gaze did not shift. He only nodded slightly in response to Yun Zhou and then looked at An Wuxue again. “For some reason, seeing Daoist Su gives me a feeling of meeting an old friend. Have we met before?”
An Wuxue’s eyelid jumped.
The Tailing tribe originated from the karmic fire and had inextricable links with many karmic hindrances in the world. They were naturally sensitive to karma.
There was indeed a karmic connection between him and Jiang Qing.
He said without changing his expression, “I came from the mortal world. How could I have met a cultivator like Daoist Jiang? Perhaps it’s just affinity; I feel the same way upon seeing Daoist Jiang.”
Jiang Qing’s eyebrows moved slightly. The karmic fire mark at the corner of his eye was like a blooming red lotus, adding a touch of spring to his smiling face.
He said joyfully, “In that case, Su Xue can just call me by my name. If there is anything in the future, don’t be polite with me.”
Xie Zhefeng frowned.
He seemed somewhat displeased with Jiang Qing’s lack of propriety and said, “Daoist Jiang, you haven’t mentioned the matter of the Yunjian Sect yet.”
Yun Zhou hurriedly said, “Yes, Daoist Jiang, what exactly happened to our sect? You just said that the person we asked the City Lord to find is you. What’s going on? What did you see?”
Jiang Qing’s expression turned solemn.
He sighed, “I know nothing.”
All four people, including An Wuxue, showed looks of surprise.
Jiang Qing continued, “I did indeed visit the Yunjian Sect two months ago.”
“Recently, it has been the decennial Tianshui Festival in Zhaoshui City. According to the rules, Beiming City always sends spiritual treasures as gifts. City Lord Shangguan has been restless and unable to sleep lately, making it inconvenient for her to travel, so I made this trip on her behalf.”
“On my way here, I passed by the Yunjian Sect. Thinking that since the Yunjian Sect is near Zhaoshui City and the two have a good relationship, I might as well visit on behalf of Beiming City. So, I sent a Beiming visiting card at the gate of Yunjian Mountain.”
Although Beiming City was one of the four coastal cities, its strength was among the best even among all the sects in both realms.
A cultivator from Beiming was indeed worthy of being called a “distinguished guest” by the Yunjian Sect Leader.
Xie Zhefeng asked, “You weren’t able to enter?”
Jiang Qing nodded. “The Yunjian Sect replied to me, ‘Distinguished guest, please wait a moment, we will be there shortly.’ But I had a mission, and visiting the Yunjian Sect was just incidental. I didn’t want to delay, so I left directly. I had planned to go again when I left Zhaoshui City. I didn’t expect that yesterday, the City Lord of Zhaoshui said people from Luoyue came to investigate the extermination of the Yunjian Sect…”
It perfectly matched the information gathered by the disciples sent by Xie Zhefeng.
Yun Zhou gritted his teeth and said, “But someone slaughtered my entire Yunjian Sect on that day! Did you not notice anything wrong that day, or any traces of evil spirits?”
Jiang Qing was shocked. “It happened on that very day? I didn’t notice anything. If the other party truly slaughtered all the disciples of the Yunjian Sect, why didn’t the Yunjian Sect send me a plea for help? If I had discovered any clues that day, I would have certainly lent a hand, and the Yunjian Sect wouldn’t have…”
Xie Zhefeng suddenly asked, “What is Daoist Jiang’s cultivation level?”
“Early stage of Tribulation Transcendence.”
An Wuxue and Xie Zhefeng subconsciously looked at each other.
The moment their eyes met, An Wuxue was startled.
In the past, when they traveled through the two realms together, if they encountered something strange and it was inconvenient to speak, they often looked at each other in silence, gauging each other’s thoughts from their expressions.
While he was dazed, Xie Zhefeng also seemed to be dazed for a moment.
He immediately looked away.
Xie Zhefeng said, “I heard from the City Lord that Daoist Jiang has only been practicing for a few hundred years and has already reached Tribulation Transcendence. Your talent must be extraordinary.”
An Wuxue: “…”
You reached Tribulation Transcendence in just over a hundred years and you’re here praising someone else.
Jiang Qing waved his hand. “No, no. Haven’t you heard about my origin from the City Lord? Although I’ve only been a human for a few hundred years, I was actually born a thousand years ago. It’s just a slow accumulation followed by a sudden breakthrough. It doesn’t count as talent…”
Xie Zhefeng asked a few more questions regarding clues about the Yunjian Sect.
An Wuxue listened with his head down when suddenly a small figure bumped into him.
It was a little girl who didn’t even reach his waist.
The little girl was holding a half-eaten candied hawthorn in her hand, which bumped into An Wuxue along with her.
Under the impact, the candied hawthorn fell to the ground, and a sugar stain was left on the hem of his robe.
She seemed to have run a bit too fast and didn’t see clearly. Seeing An Wuxue’s group standing there and realizing she had caused trouble, she stepped back timidly.
An Wuxue smiled.
He raised his hand, used a spell to remove the sugar stain, leaned over, and said gently, “Look, it’s gone. Where is your family?”
The little girl blinked, seemingly realizing that An Wuxue wasn’t angry.
Looking at the candied hawthorn that had fallen to the ground, her eyes turned red.
An Wuxue’s heart felt empty.
He remembered when he first came to Zhaoshui a thousand years ago.
The Zhaoshui Sword had not yet been pinned down. Bones blocked the roads in the city, and desolation was everywhere.
He and Qin Wei brought the Luoyue disciples here. Lou Shuiming opened the barrier to welcome him into the city and led him through the mortal streets. A child had also run out of an alley, running too fast and accidentally bumping into him.
The hot sweet potato the child was holding fell to the ground.
Qin Wei only thought that the other person had appeared suddenly. Becoming vigilant, he immediately pulled An Wuxue behind him, drew his sword, and asked sharply, “Where did this child come from? Mortal or cultivator?”
The child originally wanted to pick up the sweet potato and run, but seeing the sword light, he burst into tears. “Immortal Master, spare my life, I didn’t do it on purpose… My, my sister is still waiting for a bite to eat, Immortal Master…”
Qin Wei’s hand holding the sword paused.
An Wuxue squatted down, picked up the mud-stained sweet potato, and wiped off the dirt with the sleeve of his own robe.
He directly used Qin Wei’s sword to cut off a corner of his robe, wrapped the hot sweet potato in it, stepped forward, and gave it back to the child, saying, “Go on.”
The child stopped crying immediately, hugged the item, and ran.
Qin Wei asked him, “Bigu pills are much more useful than mortal food. Why didn’t you give him a few?”
He shook his head. “He can protect a sweet potato, but he cannot protect a Bigu pill.”
Qin Wei was silent.
Later, a problem occurred with the formation. Turbid qi soared to the sky in the city. In the chaos, An Wuxue saw the remains of the brother and sister.
The child lay by the roadside hugging his sister, still clutching the corner of the robe he had cut off. Both had lost their breath.
He buried the remains of the mortal siblings among the ten thousand swords in the foundation of the Zhaoshui Sword array.
A thousand years passed in a flash.
He reached out and patted the little girl’s head. He looked at the vendors passing by and saw one selling candied hawthorns not far away.
He walked forward quickly, pulled one from the stand, and was about to take out spirit stones to pay.
But Jiang Qing followed him in a few steps, handed the prepared mortal silver to the vendor, and said to him, “I was just thinking of buying one for her too.”
He smiled and didn’t refuse, turning back with the candied hawthorn.
The little girl’s father caught up just then.
An Wuxue handed the newly bought candied hawthorn to the little girl and said, “Don’t pick up the one that fell on the ground.”
The little girl’s father said repeatedly, “Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you, Immortal Master!” and then quickly led the little girl away.
After An Wuxue finished doing this, he suddenly felt someone staring at him.
He turned his head and saw Xie Zhefeng looking at him deeply, wondering if he had also remembered something.
He blinked quickly and said, “Daoist Xie, now that we’ve found the person, what are we going to do next?”
Xie Zhefeng’s eyes moved slightly, and only then did he regain his senses. “Someone used the events that happened on the day of the Yunjian Sect’s extermination to create an illusion to cover it up. If we don’t break it by brute force, only the person who knocked on the door that day can easily open the illusion. Since that person is Daoist Jiang, the sooner the better. Please come with us to the Yunjian Sect immediately, Daoist Jiang.”
Jiang Qing nodded. “Naturally. I was already prepared before I came, which is why I brought the spirit horses. With the five of us, it will be faster to use the carriage.”
After a brief discussion, Xie Zhefeng would drive the carriage, while An Wuxue and the others would sit inside.
Jiang Qing was the first to get on the carriage. An Wuxue was about to follow him when Xie Zhefeng suddenly stepped forward to stand side-by-side with him, blocking his movement to board the carriage.
An Wuxue was startled and immediately stepped aside to let Xie Zhefeng go first.
But the man turned his head and asked him in a low, confused voice, “You can accept a lantern bought for you by Yun Zhou, and you can let Jiang Qing pay for a candied hawthorn, so why won’t you take a single spirit stone from me?”
An Wuxue almost blurted out: Because it’s from you. That’s all.
Why ask this?
Does the dignified Chuhan Sword Venerable actually hold a grudge over such a small matter?
Wait…
Zhaoshui City was different for him than other places. Standing here, he always felt a sense of trance, as if in a grand dream. For a moment, he was negligent.
He hadn’t deliberately hidden himself since they came to Zhaoshui, nor did he hide his words and actions just now. If he were truly just a cauldron presented by a small sect, he would have accepted Xie Zhefeng’s spirit stone and refused Jiang Qing’s… He was indeed acting abnormally just now. Would this person notice something?
The two of them were standing right next to the carriage, very close. The street was noisy, and Yun Zhou and Yun Yao behind them couldn’t hear what they were saying.
He simply replied in a low voice as well, “It’s just a spirit stone; it’s not worth the Immortal Venerable’s concern.”
Jiang Qing, who had already boarded the carriage, suddenly lifted the curtain, leaned out, pointed to a spot inside the carriage, and said to An Wuxue, “Su Xue, I’ve laid out a silk quilt with fleece for you. Sit here—”
Seeing An Wuxue and Xie Zhefeng standing together and talking about something, he paused.
“Daoist Xie, I see that you and Su Xue are both from Luoyue, and your relationship seems extraordinary,” Jiang Qing said. “I just saw that his cultivation is not high and he has a thin frame. I’m afraid the long seat of the carriage is cold and he would be uncomfortable sitting on it.”
“You shouldn’t mind, right?”