CHAPTER 55: THE MOST LOYAL DISCIPLE OF CRIMSON SNOW SECT

"It’s really a spirited beast! I can recognize it from its eyes!"

"This young man really is a cultivator!"

"So awesome!"

"Can you teach me how to catch fish like this? I’m a fisherman!"

"Can you use this technique to take off someone else’s clothes?"

"Hey, who said that? Who? Throw him into the river before anyone gets any funny ideas!"

All sorts of shouts sounded throughout the deck. Mu Ran ignored them and tugged the necklace closer with his qi manipulation technique. The fish refused to remove its mouth from the necklace, and so, both ended up in Mu Ran’s hands a minute later.

In a practiced, fluid motion, he threw the jewelry at the dumbstruck woman and her hopeful husband. Then he grabbed the fish by its neck and glared at the old man.

"As a cultivator, how can you use your powers to scam innocents and bully the weak? You need to be locked up!"

Old man Di Qian looked livid. He tried to refute Mu Ran, but before he could speak, he was surrounded by a mob of over-enthusiastic travelers.

When the crowd cleared after a few minutes, his hands and feet were bound with rope meant for cattle. Perhaps due to his seniority, he had been spared a proper beating. But his expression made it seem like he had never suffered such indignity in his life.

"You ungrateful bastards! I, Di Qian, never lie! How can you treat me like this just because a random child said so? Woman, you’ll regret this!

"And YOU! Little cultivator, unhand my little Hei at once! Or I’ll make you wish you were never born!"

Han Xuhan was about to return to his seat when he sensed something odd. As a cultivator who could sense the qi in his surroundings, he could tell when a powerful cultivator used qi nearby.

The old man’s level of cultivation was fluctuating!

His heart beating wildly, Han Xuhan looked back at Mu Ran, whose body had suddenly gone stiff. His hands still held the struggling fish. But he was no longer paying any attention to it.

Instead, he slowly turned to look at the old man sitting on the deck with his hands and feet tied.

The aura coming from the old man’s body was no longer scattered and chaotic. It was becoming sharper and dominating, spreading everywhere like a voluminous tide, suffocating Han Xuhan and Mu Ran so oppressively that they felt as if they were facing a tsunami.

This was the aura of a powerhouse. Such a display was on par with the strongest Elders of their sect!

Han Xuhan silently backpedaled and decided that the scenery by the riverside was very fascinating. In fact, the scenery was so gorgeous that he was going to ignore all the shouts for help from Mu Ran and admire the view for a while.

Watching nature’s beauty, a poem came to mind.

Two little yellow birds sitting on a deck

One is gonna feel its ribcage break;

Swim away Xuhan, save your neck

Goodbye, Mu Ran, don’t call him back.

But the curiosity to see what fate would befall Mu Ran was too strong. So he kept a watch on Mu Ran and the old man from the corner of his sight.

The two were locked in a staring contest where Mu Ran was slowly losing his momentum with each passing second. The rest of the people on the deck were ordinary men and women, with no idea that a storm was brewing right next to them.

Even from his position, which was far away from them, Han Xuhan could feel how domineering the old man’s aura was. He was undoubtedly a powerhouse whose cultivation had crossed the Soul Reformation realm at the very least.

Mu Ran, you stupid bitch! Damn you! Why did you have to mess with a suspicious old man, out of all people?

After the grief came the acceptance. But how could he accept this twist in the plot?

This Di Qian had clearly appeared to be a weak scammer who had recently suffered from qi deviation. Why did he suddenly reach the peak of his power now? Why didn’t he use such power earlier?

Was he doing something akin to those tropes of ’drawing on life force to fuel his power’?

Or was this that infamous ’playing the pig to eat the tiger’ cliche?

Grandpa, you’re too old for these, okay?!

Mu Ran, to his credit, held his ground despite the vastly superior aura pressing upon him like a heavy boulder.

Slowly, the old man stood up. The ropes that bound him suddenly seemed like spider silk wrapped around an elephant, not appearing to be limiting his movements in the slightest. By now, even the ordinary folks realized that something was wrong.

In a tone laced with rage, the old man growled at Mu Ran.

"Punk, not so full of yourself anymore, huh?"

Obstinate as ever, Mu Ran lashed back, even though it was apparent to the onlookers that his voice shook a bit.

"If you aren’t a scammer, care to explain how your beast pet was caught stealing the necklace?"

"Why the hell would I need to give an explanation to you? Who do you think you are, huh? You aren’t qualified to take that tone with that puny cultivation base, boy!"

"As a righteous cultivator from the Crimson Snow Sect, it’s my obligation to protect innocent mortals from evil scums like you. I don’t need a special identity to punish evil!"

Han Xuhan sighed in relief. At least Mu Ran was smart enough to invoke the sect’s name as a threat before things could escalate. They were still within an area loosely considered to be Crimson Snow Sect’s territory. Even a powerful master from another sect would not dare to go overboard here.

Sure enough, hearing the name and noticing Mu Ran’s tokens, the old man’s gaze flickered towards the distant mountains, where an unusually thick cloud of fog could be seen. The reminder immediately seemed to mess up his rising momentum.

A trace of hope was reborn in Han Xuhan’s heart. He had never had any filial feelings towards his sect. But at this very moment, he became the most loyal disciple in the outer court!

Old man, if you want to mess with me, you will have to climb over the corpse of my sect master!