Chapter 10: Master (Part 2)

“Are you sure he needs our help?”

Fu Fengyan crouched in the grass alongside He Tingtong. The two turned their heads in unison, watching the sword cultivator on Mirror Lake who was single-handedly chasing twelve people around while wielding his sword. Fu Fengyan spoke with confusion.

It wasn’t that they’d arrived late—both were actually penniless. Fu Fengyan was even wearing He Tingtong’s clothes. Emptying their pockets yielded only three spirit pearls, which they needed to keep for living expenses. Unable to rent a spirit boat, they could only use sword flight, spending over half a month flying through the sky from the northeast corner of Jubei Province to the Dongxu Realm in the southeast corner.

The two youths looked disheveled and ragged like beggars, hiding in the reed marshes outside the secret realm, peering through a gap to observe secretly.

But fortunately, their timing was perfect—they arrived just as Qin Tan was being surrounded.

He Tingtong watched the youth in white clothes stained with blood slice off an evil cultivator’s head with one sword strike among the crowd, nodding in confirmation: “That’s right, it’s him.”

In the blink of an eye, that white-robed youth suddenly stabbed two more to death, making it one against nine.

“I think he might not really need support.” Holding two reeds like a futile attempt at camouflage on either side of his head, Fu Fengyan seriously analyzed the situation. The reed flowers had been blown away by wind, leaving two bare stalks like holding two brushes.

Another stray sword qi swept over. He pressed He Tingtong’s head down to dodge, and the reed stalks in his hands immediately broke in two.

“His cultivation exceeds the tenth realm—he’s deliberately suppressing it for others to see.”

“I know.” He Tingtong rubbed his hands eagerly. “And he has a heart domain in his consciousness sea. Even ten more couldn’t do anything to him.”

Fu Fengyan turned to look at He Tingtong, tone puzzled: “Then what are we doing?”

“Can’t let him exhaust his strength, can’t let him close his eyes.” He Tingtong stared at that figure in a daze, instructing softly: “Need to keep him completely intact, mentally clear, and safely departing from here.”

Only this way might that pitiful wandering soul not fall upon him.

Good for everyone.

“Most importantly,” He Tingtong’s gaze was determined, eyes shining, “he’s loaded! Grab onto this golden thigh and we’ll have travel expenses to Central Province!”

Fu Fengyan instantly perked up: “Alright!”

The two paupers who’d nearly been wind-dried after sword flying for over twenty days began rubbing their hands together, eager to try.

---

The lake surface was a scene of devastation. Bodies tumbled into the water with splashes, quickly sinking to the bottom. Large swaths of blood-colored red mist spread through the lake like fog, even the wind in the air carrying a fishy stench.

Spiritual light blazed brilliantly. The retreating evil cultivators formed hand seals to create an array. After six people died, the formation finally completed. Wind and clouds changed drastically across heaven and earth. On Mirror Lake, reeds shattered and broke, black fog surged, sky darkening to earth’s gloom. The evil cultivators threw out a white banner, pressing it down toward the array’s center. In an instant, ten thousand ghosts wailed in unison.

At the array’s center, Qin Tan held his sword, hands clasped behind his back, robes fluttering, completely composed—an appearance of fearing neither heaven nor earth, without half a trace of dread.

Wuqi Road was neither orthodox nor demonic path, mostly cultivators who took dangerous shortcuts and walked evil roads. Among them, the most common were conscienceless assassins and wanted criminals who betrayed sects and clans—which one hadn’t licked blood from knife edges, been through hundreds of battles?

Yet a mere tenth-realm sword cultivator had forced them to this point. If they let him leave alive, where could they show their faces afterward?!

The leading evil cultivator’s eyes split with rage, using his entire lifetime’s cultivation, swearing to kill this person beneath the array!

Array cultivators actually couldn’t match sword cultivators in fighting—after all, one sword breaks ten thousand laws. But once trapped by them, one was like an insect in a web; the more one struggled, the more it became a dead end.

Seeing the array form, He Tingtong rolled up his sleeves and stood: “Their cultivation levels are uneven. The one at the north corner is weakest—that’s the flaw. Prepare to break the array.”

“Do I need to kill people?” Fu Fengyan suddenly asked.

He Tingtong turned to look at him: “What?”

A slender, luminous hand reached over, pulling He Tingtong back down. Fu Fengyan leaned close to his ear to whisper: “My clan has a rule. I can’t casually attack people or take lives. I need to receive some compensation.”

He Tingtong was full of question marks: “Compensation? Do you need money…”

“Don’t want money. Give me a kiss.” Fu Fengyan stared at his lips. Under fine eyelashes, hiding the original color of his eyes, strange purple mist arose again. “Kiss me once and I’ll kill them all.”

He Tingtong: “…”

Really didn’t understand what kind of weird rule this was, but a kiss wouldn’t lose him any flesh.

His cultivation was currently low and he’d have to start from scratch. To help out, he’d indeed have to rely on Fu Fengyan.

He Tingtong nimbly bent forward, warm lips pressing against Fu Fengyan’s face in a light touch. The youth leaned back, covering his face, eyes shining. He savored it briefly, then sprang up: “I’ll go now.”

Dry grass broke and snapped.

His body reacted before his consciousness. He suddenly lunged forward, pressing Fu Fengyan who hadn’t gone far beneath him. The two tumbled headfirst into the lake water with a splash. The next second, nearly grazing their hair, a sword qi sliced past the back of their heads. In the blink of an eye, within two hundred li of Mirror Lake, everything became empty, forming a huge fan-shaped gap.

Reed flowers rolled like snow with a crisp crack. Lightly brushing an evil cultivator’s neck, it was as if sword qi had passed through—head immediately separated from body.

The evil cultivators who’d been clamoring moments ago had their bodies instantly disintegrate, turning into pools of blood and sinking to the lake bottom.

Qin Tan’s long sword converged to a single point in his palm, returning to its sheath. Then that silent, murderous aura also returned like a sheathed sword, withdrawing back to rest between his brows.

Heaven and earth fell quiet, only reed flowers drifting.

Sword intent perfectly integrated, reaching the limit.

The tall youth exhaled a white breath, long lashes slightly lowered, looking toward the lake bottom, coldly parting his lips: “Come out.”

The calm, waveless water surface produced a few bubbles. After a moment, two dripping wet heads emerged, paddling water, gasping for breath.

Qin Tan’s gaze swept over them—two youths, low cultivation, young in age, dirty and pitiful as they looked at him, like two fledgling birds fallen from the nest, pathetically weak.

Not evil cultivators, probably just passing through.

He lost interest.

Though Qin Tan cultivated the killing path, he walked the road of slaying demons and monsters, harboring no malice toward ordinary children.

“Which family’s disciples are you?” He hooked his finger, spiritual power forming threads that wrapped around them, lifting them from the water and tossing them to shore. “Quickly return home, don’t wander around everywhere.”

Qin Tan’s heart domain consciousness sea opened suddenly. He Tingtong nearly got pulled in like those unlucky ghosts. The sword qi inside didn’t discriminate—ordinary people who entered mistakenly would only become minced meat. Fortunately, he’d studied it thoroughly in his previous life, knowing the approximate range of Qin Tan’s heart domain consciousness sea. Plus they were far enough away, barely dodging it.

“Greetings to the immortal lord.” He Tingtong coughed twice, then stood, bowing toward the youth washing his hands at the lake’s center. “My good friend and I are cultivators from Jubei Province. Some days ago we received the Central Province token. This journey is to participate in the Azure Cloud Trials. Passing through here, we witnessed evil path cultivators surrounding the immortal lord, truly frightening and worrying.”

“The immortal lord is divine and mighty. Thank you for eliminating harm for the common people! Please accept this junior cultivator’s bow.”

Qin Tan washed his hands, washed his sword, washed his clothes, cleaning all the bloody qi from his body, treating the two children in the distance as air.

He’d seen too much of this kind of flattery to be moved.

He Tingtong’s warm face met a cold backside, but it didn’t matter. After saying farewell, he pulled Fu Fengyan’s hand and left this water area.

“Are we leaving?” Fu Fengyan asked carefully, his voice a bit dejected. After all, before he could act, Qin Tan had solved it himself, making him who’d received compensation seem completely useless.

He Tingtong pulled him along, circling around in a small loop before turning back, hiding in the grass with a pair of bright eyes exposed: “Not leaving—follow him!”

Fu Fengyan didn’t ask why, just nodded beside him, silently casting a spell to dry the water from their clothes.

The sky grew white—the long night would finally pass.

Qin Tan had been training down the mountain for half a year, his cultivation finally breaking through the bottleneck. Using this Heart-Cleansing Pill, he could step into the thirteenth realm. Even in Sword Sect, he could be respectfully called an immortal lord and establish his own school.

Behind him the reeds rustled—two little mice were following him. He paid no attention. Sword Sect was famous and renowned; many wanted to build connections. Following out of curiosity for a while was common.

Stepping onto his long sword, he rose on it, planning to shake off the two.

This journey to Dongxu Realm had been quite fruitful. Only after returning to the sect, he’d have to begin selecting disciples. After the Azure Cloud Trials, he’d probably have to go to Yunzhou Academy to be a teaching master for several years.

He disliked crowds, only hoping that pack of little brats could be sensible.

A golden-red lightning fire tinged with blood descended from heaven, dragging a long tail of light, swift as thunder, striking directly at that white figure in mid-air.

“Intercept that lightning!!”

He Tingtong shouted loudly, eyes splitting with rage, tone nearly shrill.

Fu Fengyan instantly raised his hand, breaking off a branch. A reed stalk was thrown like a sword. Golden lightning descended from heaven, about to pour into the forehead of the immortal in mid-air when the reed containing dao principles struck it from the side. Something shattered in mid-air with a crack. The reed turned to dust, leaving nothing, and then that beam of light struck Qin Tan’s heart.

The youth in mid-air trembled all over, falling straight down. Person and sword together splashed into the lake with a thud, stirring up large sprays of water.

He Tingtong’s lips trembled as he broke into a run toward Qin Tan’s direction, cursing loudly: “Damn!”

He remembered the green-shelled crab lantern at the doorway, the youth’s gentle eyes and brows in the thin mist seeming faded. He wielded a knife to break through bamboo strips, laughing lightly: “My disciple is very good. How could he turn bad?”

…

Blood was everywhere on the jade bricks. A pitch-black shadow hugged the youth’s calf, kneeling on the ground weeping bitterly: “Master… Master… don’t abandon me…”

A long sword pierced the youth’s thin chest. A heavy object fell. He saw the youth cover his face, throat emitting a choked sob.

“What should I do… what can I do…”

…

Finally came the overwhelming snow of Hanshan Realm, surging demon tide rushing forth. At the barrier’s breach, a blood-red figure swayed as it propped up a long sword, and sword light falling from above like a rainstorm.

…

“I don’t like it here. I haven’t finished reading.”

“My mom and dad are still waiting for me.”

“I miss home.”

“Miss it so much…”

“But I can’t go back.”

Diving headfirst into the water, currents surrounded him from all directions. He Tingtong’s ears rang, head spinning dizzily. He struggled to grab the person who’d sunk to the bottom, dragging them from the lake. Rolling up his sleeves, he grabbed the unconscious person and began shaking them. Seeing they still wouldn’t wake, he slapped both sides.

Fu Fengyan covered his hands and leaned over: “Are you trying to kill him?”

He Tingtong pulled out an awakening talisman from his pocket, sticking it on Qin Tan’s forehead, pasting a circle around.

His face was deathly pale, pupils constricted, heartbeat so fast it hurt. Gasping for breath, unable to speak, his neck warmed as a scalding hot hand grasped his nape, turning his head so their foreheads pressed together: “Don’t be afraid.”

Fu Fengyan’s tone was very slow, with an inexplicable steadiness: “Your heart is beating so fast. Take it slow.”

He Tingtong weakly leaned on Fu Fengyan’s shoulder with a bitter smile, already vaguely having an answer in his heart. He wiped away tears that secretly emerged, voice hoarse: “I have a friend. I just… wanted to let him go home.”

He smiled dejectedly: “Looks like it failed.”

After an unknown period, the youth on the ground slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes—phoenix eyes long and narrow, pitch-black pupils reflecting the gradually whitening sky and drifting reed flowers.

Blinking, he suddenly sat up, shaking his head. He looked somewhat dazed, eyes full of confusion. That overwhelming sharp aura disappeared, revealing an indescribable blankness.

Stunned for a long while, he turned his head. As if startled by He Tingtong and Fu Fengyan embracing nearby, he immediately clutched his chest and shrank back like a violated innocent, looking around at his surroundings before asking in horror: “Who are you?”

“Where is this?”

“Are you filming something?”

“How am I… wearing period costume?!”