CHAPTER 29: I WANT TO EAT FISH

Qi Yuan returned to Seven-Color Peak with the Yellow Blossom Fruit.

Soon, he arrived at his courtyard, where Jiang Lingsu was cultivating. He glanced at her straw hut. White mist filled the interior, proof that she had reached a critical juncture in her training.

Skipping past her hut, Qi Yuan continued up the mountain. Before long, a barrier appeared in his path. It was a restriction laid down by his master, Ruan Yixi, which prevented him from advancing further.

Qi Yuan called out experimentally, "Open sesame!"

Unfortunately, the barrier didn't budge in the slightest.

Qi Yuan frowned. "Don't tell me, I misunderstood Master's intentions...?"

Master has secured a level 1 spirit item for me. Aren't her intentions obvious? Or am I being too reserved?

He held up the Yellow Blossom Fruit with both hands. "Master! Your disciple, Qi Yuan, has brought your betrothal gift!"

The barrier still didn't move. However, when Qi Yuan looked up, he saw the clouds gathering ominously, as though some peerless demon was hidden within them.

A cold wind swept down, stinging his face. After a long while, the vision dispersed.

Puzzled, Qi Yuan muttered, "So, I really misunderstood Master's intentions? No, no, it must be the fruit's symbolism! Yellow Blossom—tomorrow's withered flowers! It's an unlucky omen! Or, could it be that she's already my wife? This betrothal gift is useless then!"

The thought reignited his excitement.

[Her name is Ruan Yixi. On the surface she's your beautiful master, but in truth, she may be your wife].

He had clearly seen it with his own eyes. How could that be false? Everyone knew the eyes never lied. Unlike photos, vision couldn't be edited.

Of course, if someone back home heard him, they'd probably mutter, "Crazy..."

Setting the Yellow Blossom Fruit aside, Qi Yuan turned to return to his straw hut.

Just then, Jiang Lingsu emerged from hers, suspicion in her eyes. "Senior Brother, did you just sense something strange?"

During her cultivation, she suddenly felt the season shift, as if a great expert's emotions had stirred qi itself.

Qi Yuan admitted without hiding anything, "That's probably Master."

"Master?"

Jiang Lingsu thought it sounded reasonable. This weird senior brother had somehow provoked Master again.

Her gaze fell on the box in Qi Yuan's hands. She sniffed lightly with her small nose. "Level 1 spirit item, the Yellow Blossom Fruit?! Senior Brother, not bad!"

Jiang Lingsu eyed him curiously. She thought Qi Yuan was talented, but lacking in the combat department. How could he hone his fighting skills when all he ever did was play games?

Qi Yuan, equally baffled, stared at her. "You wouldn't happen to be surnamed Zhou, would you?"

Jiang Lingsu was dumbfounded. Her senior brother's thought process was always bizarre.

Qi Yuan struggled to recall. "You know, that guy who lived under Xia Luo's shadow."[1]

Jiang Lingsu was speechless. Clearly, Qi Yuan had played too many games, he couldn't even distinguish reality from fiction anymore.

Refusing to engage in his nonsense, she changed the subject. "Senior Brother, are you going out to walk your knife again later?"

"Not today."

"What? Don't you go every day?"

"Today I'm sharpening my blade."

"For what?"

"I want to eat fish."

"Senior Brother, I don't know why, but I get chills every time you talk..."

***

Meanwhile, at Divine Radiance Sect, Zheng Jianghe's face was pale. Clearly, his wounds from the last battle had yet to fully heal.

A physician from Divine Medicine Peak said softly, "You're not fully recovered. Are you sure you're still going?"

Zheng Jianghe's expression darkened. "As the disciple on duty at Golden Light Hall, I must go. If something like Rong City were to happen again, where would I put my face? How could I go on living?"

The physician sighed, applying the freshly prepared medicinal ointment to his wounds. "Alas, your temperament is far too unyielding."

Zheng Jianghe had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm. He hadn't learned any proper healing arts, nor was he skilled in wood or water techniques, making his recovery painfully slow.

The physician's voice was heavy with worry. "The Black Mountain Sect has provoked us again today! Their arrogance knows no bounds! Rumor has it Black Rooster Demon has already stepped into the late Nascent Soul Realm. Chu Tianxiong will only become more brazen. The fact that they chose to stay overnight in Rong City reeks of ulterior motives!"

"If I'm there, they'll restrain themselves. What, do you think they'd dare kill me?" Zheng Jianghe's eyes burned with killing intent. "The people of Black Mountain Sect all deserve to die!"

He knew very well what kind of vile existence Black Mountain Sect was. Not a single disciple was innocent. Every single one of them had blood on their hands.

Years ago, one of their Core Formation elders had refined a Soul-Summoning Banner by ripping out the souls of an entire town. Afterward, he shamelessly declared that the townsfolk were too idle anyway. He was simply giving them something to do.

Those demons had long since lost all traces of humanity.

The physician understood Zheng Jianghe's hatred, yet still urged. "They won't kill you, but they could hurt you. Be careful this time."

***

Rong City.

Not a trace of human presence remained inside the vast manor. The broken windows still bore scraps of red wedding cuttings. In the courtyard pond, a few fish flicked their tails, waiting to be fed. Faint traces of blood remained on the moss-covered marble stones.

Chu Tianxiong stepped inside, laughing heartily. "Elder, let's stay here tonight."

Black Chicken Ancestor glanced around the courtyard, a satisfied smile on his face. "Tianxiong, you always know how to pick a place! We'll definitely disgust those hypocrites from the righteous sects by staying here."

A Black Mountain Sect's disciple asked curiously, "Steward Tianxiong, what's so unusual about this place? Why would staying here unnerve the Divine Radiance Sect?"

Chu Tianxiong burst out laughing. "Half a month ago, this family held a wedding. The bride was stunning—even more beautiful than my own master's wife!"

The Black Mountain Sect's disciples' eyes gleamed.

"Even more beautiful than the Mistress? Steward Tianxiong, how lucky you are!"

"I was about to take her before her husband's eyes, but the wench was vicious—smashed her own skull against that pillar right there. I killed the family right after half a stick of incense, then spent the night with her corpse."

"How was it, Steward Tianxiong? How did the corpse taste?"

"Hmph!" Chu Tianxiong snorted coldly. "Do you think I'm some depraved, licentious killer? What an insult! I seized the bride and slaughtered her family not for carnal pleasure, but to complete a Daoist technique. A man ruled by base desires alone has no right to walk the immortal path!"

All the disciples nodded in awe. "Steward Tianxiong speaks true! Dao techniques above all!"

1. This is some reference to the drama between Jay Chou and Xia Luo. ☜