Li Yun nearly turns Puddle the bird into a bird plucked and ready for roasting, but he canât find out why she canât turn back to her human form.
Some men are indeed all talk, who look capable normally but are utterly useless when the situation calls for it.
Puddle sheds feathers all over Li Yunâs head and says angrily, âWhy should I even bother to ask you!â
She commits rebellion against her senior for a while. Then, as she pants and lands, she seems to remember something and spits out a sticky piece of paper.
His expression immediately changes, as Yan Zhengming hides his face behind his fan and steps backward.
âThere was no other way,â Puddle angrily says, âI have no hand. Are you suggesting me to hold it under my wings?â
Yan Zhengming annoyedly says, âDo you need me to get a homing pigeon here to show you how other birds do it?â
Feeling she is being wronged, Puddle says, âHave you ever seen a homing pigeon tie a message on its own leg by itself? I didnât meet the person sent by Zhe Shi-dage. This thing was left in the bird feed, which took forever for me to get out. If my eyesight werenât so good, I might have missed it.â
The words âbird feedâ successfully force her most senior brother to step back further.
Cheng Qian doesnât mind it, so he picks up that piece of paper. On it is a message written in tiny hand. âEntered Celestial Divination Bureau. This place has tight security. Many mysteries. Be careful if we meet later.â
Cheng Qian turns to Yan Zhengming in surprise. âMost senior brotherâŠâ
Yan Zhengmingâs face is still half-hidden behind his fan, in the pose of a beautiful lady resisting unwanted advances, but his gaze sharpens. He says in a low voice, âIn the eyes of the world, the Celestial Divination Bureau is only the place sect-less rogue cultivators sell themselves in exchange for a position. But it takes Zhe Shi thirty years to get inside there. They certainly have too many secrets.â
Closing his fan and clasping his hands behind his back, he continues. âThe mortal world is full of distractions. Theoretically, a cultivator shouldnât get involved in it too much in order to progress in their cultivation. But I keep wondering, wouldnât those mortal officials and aristocrats want to keep their youth and prolong their lifespan after a lifetime of luxury? Wouldnât the Emperor want to be immortal? No way Iâd believe that those in the court only live for their duties without dreaming about such things. Otherwise, why would so many spells and charms and cultivational artifacts appear in a mortal Princeâs rebellion?â
Puddle asks in a surprised tone, âWhat does that have to do with us?â
âSilly bird,â Yan Zhengming pokes her with the handle of his fan, causing her to fall down. âFor whatever reason that I donât know, there is already a file about us in the Celestial Divination Bureau. One hundred years ago, Zhou Hanzheng knew all about our origin. I donât want to encounter a second Zhou Hanzheng, so I do everything so that we can strike first at any time if needs be.â
Throughout the years, Yan Zhengmingâs attitude has somehow been tainted with some killing intent. Sometimes, it is indeed hard to predict how people may change in life.
Sorrow surges in Cheng Qianâs heart. The longer he is away from the ice lake, the human emotions in his heart are like a frozen river that is thawing and slowly becoming normal. Little by little, he feels sadness again.
He destroys Zhe Shiâs message and pats Yan Zhengmingâs back. âI could kill the first Zhou Hanzheng, so Iâll be able to kill the second one. Relax.â
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He is the one whom Yan Zhengming canât relax about the most. Yan Zhengming turns to him and says gravely, âKeep your head down for me. I havenât made you answer for pretending not to know the difference between minor and major heavenly tribulations yet. Donât think that... Argh! Cheng Qian! You little shit, where are you touching?!â
When the sect leader and senior brother realises which hand Cheng Qian is rubbing on him, his very serious reprimand becomes a terrible screech.
Donning an innocent face like he knows nothing but righteousness, Cheng Qian raises his hand and adds oil to the fire. âJust a bit of saliva. It is already dry.â
Yan Zhengmingâs face twists.
Cheng Qian sighs and consoles him. âDonât be like that, senior brother, youâre still pure.â
Yan Zhengming: ââŠâ
He finally understands what âitâs better to keep dogs than junior brothersâ is like. In the previous generations, Fuyao Sect declined because of internal conflicts, which seemed to be not without reason.
As Yan Zhengming is torn between whether to shed his skin to cleanse himself or teach Cheng Qian a lesson first, the sound of footsteps comes from the outside.
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Everyone in the room is surprised. The smile on Cheng Qian disappears, as he becomes still like he were just transformed from a cloud of frost. Puddle too stops talking and flies to the brush carrier, pretending to be a normal bird.
A few seconds later, an unfamiliar young servant appears at the door and says respectfully, âYoung Master Cheng, there is a letter for you.â
Yan Zhengming coldly asks, âSince when are you allowed to freely enter the inner quarters like this?â
The estate has its rules. Besides, the gate and the walls of the inner quarters all have spells carved on them. Outsiders shouldnât be able to get in.
Cheng Qian waves his hand, the letter flies to him. As soon as the letter leaves his hand, the servant seems to be woken up by a hit from a staff. Shaking like a leaf, he terrifiedly looks at the lord of the estate in front of him. Under the cold gaze of Yan Zhengming, he kneels down and says shakily, âM- my lord, that letter has demonic charm on it. This- this servant dares notâŠâ
Cheng Qian scans the letter. On it is only written âTo my young friend Cheng Qianâ, and signed with âTang Zhenâ.
The seal on the letter has been opened, which gives off a faint scent. As soon as he smells it, Cheng Qian recognises it to be the resin of âsleepwalkingâ grass. During his travels across the world, Tang Zhen has encountered many unusual objects and techniques, and Cheng Qian has learnt a lot from him.
When the resin of âsleepwalkingâ grass is mixed with the ink, except for the intended recipient, anyone who opens the letter with ill intent will face a backlash. For example, if someone snoops outside the estate and wants to break into the inner quarters, when that person touches the âsleepwalkingâ grass resin, he will be hypnotised to directly charge into the place.
Yan Zhengming raises his hand to seize the servant. It is just a test, so he doesnât use real strength. However, the servant, who has been acting suspiciously, thinks it is serious, and quickly springs up and evades it, then runs outside.
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As soon as he reaches the door, a shadow lands in front of him and blocks his path, as the chilly light of Shuang Ren flares up.
âHave we allowed you to leave yet?â Cheng Qian says softly, âStay.â
The servant tries to fight back at first. However, before he can even move, he is already terrified by the overwhelming aura of Cheng Qian, who survived seven rounds of heavenly tribulations. The servantâs legs buckle, as he prostrates himself on the ground and stammers. âPlease, seniorâŠâ
Before he can even finish his plea, the servantâs body stiffens, and his mouth opens as his head falls backward and splits into two like a rotten watermelon. Then a grey cloud flies out of his mouth and strikes at Cheng Qian.
Li Yun yells. âCareful!â
Cheng Qian focuses his gaze. That grey cloud is chilled before it gets close to him. Like a real person, it retreats to the servantâs body and covers his head. Within seconds, the servantâs head only has white bone left, and the cloud disappears.
Cheng Qian lightly pokes at the bone with the tip of his sword. It turns into chalk powder at the touch. The servant becomes a headless corpse and quietly falls to a side.
âA trick from demonic cultivation,â Cheng Qian says, âBut not necessarily done by a demonic cultivator. Has this happened before?â
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Yan Zhengmingâs face becomes heavy. âNo, I havenât seen this one before. We know everyone who works in this estate and their history. During our stay here in nearly ten years, we havenât met any other cultivator either.â
Li Yun quickly reacts and asks, âCan it be that someone was following Xiao-Yuan, and then found our place?â
Back then, it was the âdrawing on soulâ trick of Zhou Hanzheng that caused Han Yuan to fall into demonic cultivation. The Celestial Divination Bureau seems to be involved again.
Puddle immediately dares not say anything else, thinking that it was lucky that Zhe Shi didnât meet her.
Li Yun asks quietly, âMost senior brother, do we⊠have to move somewhere else?â
As he says these words, he feels rather miserable. Itâs nearly become their habit to be on the run.
Yan Zhangming is silent for a moment. Then he says, âWe arenât going anywhere.â
Li Yun says, âButâŠâ
Yan Zhengming raises his eyebrow and interrupts him. âCan we hide all our lives? Actually, I want to see what these pests that canât cover their traces can do to me.â
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Then, he waves his hand. There is a loud noise that comes from the main gate.
Startled, Cheng Qian rides Shuang Ren into the air. From the air, he can see that, out of nowhere, a giant stone stele appears by the main gate. Hearing the noise, the mortals all gather there and gawk. It isnât clear who sees Cheng Qian in the air first, but all mortals in the estate quickly gets on their knees and beg for protection from the immortal.
The stone stele ostentatiously proclaims: Fuyao Estate.
Shaking his head, Cheng Qian wonders if this is an impulsive tantrum of his most senior brother, or an intention that has been hatched for a while. He quietly takes Tang Zhenâs letter and goes back to the bamboo grove.
There is nothing important in Tang Zhenâs letter. He only mentions that Mingming Valley took Liu Lang to him. Because of the possession by the demonic cultivator Jiang Peng, his soul was damaged. Fortunately, Cheng Qianâs three ice rods helped him survive. Compared to other people, it will be much more difficult for him to follow the path of cultivation, but Tang Zhen will do his best to help him.
At the end of the letter, there is a line saying that Cheng Qian and the others shouldnât show up at Fuyao Mountain too much, because the area is being closely watched by too many sides.
Cheng Qianâs heart constricts a little, as he feels that the way back to Fuyao Mountain is endless.
A few days later, Yan Zhengming thoroughly reinforces the spells around the estate. Then, three humans and one bird follow their initial plan and depart for Nanjiang. Puddle the bird perches on Li Yunâs head to urge him to stop dragging it out and quickly come up with a way to turn her back to human.
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This time, they donât ride their swords at all.
Firstly, this trip to Nanjiang is nothing too urgent. Secondly, cultivators who have been in seclusion for too long indeed should rejoin society for some time. As the saying goes, âfortune and misfortune go hand in handâ, âto travel on the Way means to undergo tribulationsâ, sometimes travelling in mortal society may help overcome a bottleneck period. Everyone knows this. Most cultivators indeed put this to practice when they start cultivating. Paradoxically, the more powerful a cultivator is, the more they stay at home.
The higher one reaches, the narrower the path becomes. The vast world where a roc crosses thousands of miles will one day turn into a single-plank bridge, where every step requires careful consideration, and thus moving forward is scary.
By the looks of things, the stronger someone is, the more cowardly they are, because they dare not take the risk of falling.
Fuyao Estate is in the Central Plain, which is closer to the north. The sceneries there are very different from the South.
At the moment, summer is over and autumn is about to begin in earnest, but the South is still warm and humid, with lots of heavy rain. Although itâs still a long way to Nanjiangâs territory, Li Yun is already dazzled by the impressive variety of precious herbs in this place.
Everyday, with Puddle the bird on his head and a basket on his back, he wanders into the jungle like a wandering herbalist. From time to time, he shamelessly takes advantage of his junior sisterâs power, and orders her to take precious materials of nature from the little yao that havenât yet gained intelligence.
Li Yunâs excuse is to make âantitoxinâ pills to deal with the inhospitable environment of Nanjiang.
However, as Cheng Qian sees it, with how Li Yun picks the herbs, it would be enough not just for making medicines, but even for cooking daily meals.
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Unable to correct his Second Brotherâs improper manners, Yan Zhengming acts like he doesnât know him. Everyday, he pretends to be mortal and drags Cheng Qian to mix in with the crowd in town. This is an unreasonable demand. From a young age, Cheng Qian prefers quietness to the hustle and bustles. Because of his long seclusion in the ice lake, he hasnât been in contact with a crowd for a long time. The daily mingling with so many people takes a toll on him.
However, for whatever reason, Yan Zhengming acts like a baby that hasnât been weaned and thus clings to its mother. Whenever he doesnât see Cheng Qian, he will kick up a fuss, which is really annoying.
To investigate the Nightmare Travellers, they stay in a small border town in the outskirts of Nanjiang. However, after more than half a month, they canât find any trace of demonic cultivators here.
Canât it be that normally, these Nightmare Travellers are like delicate, sheltered young ladies who wouldnât leave their home?
These demonic cultivators turn out to be very similar to their sect leader and senior brother.
Unafraid of being robbed or appearing crass, Yan Zhengming hires the best rooms in the only tavern in town. Everyday, he doesnât bother to ask for the menu, but simply orders the most expensive dishes. From head to toe, everything about him says ârich young masterâ.
Since it isnât easy to have such a customer, the owner of the establishment serves him like his own ancestor. The customs around Nanjiang are pretty relaxed, there is little reservation in interaction between the sexes. The owner orders his own daughter to ensure that they have everything they want, so that nothing is amiss.
No matter how delicious and appetizing-looking the food served to their table is, Cheng Qian doesnât touch it at all. He just holds a glass of cold water and waits on the side the whole time.
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The ownerâs daughter carefully watches his expression, then uses all of her courage and strikes a conversation with him. âYoung master, is there something not to your taste?â
Cheng Qian treats his family and outsiders differently. Towards outsiders, he is always polite and quiet. If he doesnât have to gather information, he wonât start a conversation on his own, looking as aloof as a block of ice.
In the present, with Yan Zhengming around, he is even lazier in dealing with other people, so he replies simply. âNo. Thank you.â
The courage that the ownerâs daughter managed to gather with difficulty immediately disappears. She dares not bother him anymore. Instead she turns to Yan Zhengming and smiles conciliatorily. âYoung masters, you come here at an unfortunate time. If youâre here just a few days later, the weather may be cooler. Itâll be less crowded too.â
Yan Zhengming asks, âOh, is there any scenic spot around here that should be visited this time of the year?â
The ownerâs daughter says, âYes, the relic Vermillion Bird Tower is not far from here. They are all heading there.â
Yan Zhengming surprisedly asks, âVermillion Bird Tower? You mean one of Four Sages Xu Yingzhi⊠I mean, Senior?â
He only knows that Xu Yingzhi lived in the South, but not the precise location of Vermillion Bird Tower. He doesnât expect to encounter it.
The ownerâs daughter nods and says, âIndeed, the lord of Vermillion Bird Tower already passed away more than a hundred years ago, leaving behind a building and a loyal servant. Following the will of his master, every year on the fifteenth of the eighth month1, in the pure moonlit night, the servant will open the tower to wait for the fateful person. Every year, people will come to try their luck. Even if they arenât âthe fateful personâ and canât enter the tower, the servant may give them some tips when he is in the mood. Heh, although the Vermillion Bird Tower no longer has its owner, it isnât that easy to get in there. Young masters, you two are obviously from good families. You shouldnât mix with these vagabond cultivators. They fight with each other and cause such as mess that even the local officials canât do anything about them.â
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They have stayed there for quite a few days without finding any clue about the Nightmare Travellers already, so they donât want to tarry any longer. Unexpectedly, they stumble upon the Vermillion Bird Tower of the Four Sages.
Can it be that there is a fortune in misfortune?
At the same time, however, there is doubt in Yan Zhengmingâs heart. After learning that the âearthâ layer may be related to the Four Sages, he pays a lot of attention to rumours about them, but he places the Vermillion Bird Tower at the bottom place.
The reason is none other than this: the owner of Vermillion Bird Tower Xu Yingzhi was killed by Lord Beiming.
*******
1. The fifteenth day of the eighth month: Mid-Autumn Festival. In general in the lunar calendar, the fifteenth day of each month is the full moon day.