The master and disciple sat on the rooftop of the abandoned house.
Zheng Fengdao’s body was kicked off the roof by Yin Ci who claimed it was “obstructing the view”, leaving only patches of blood remaining on the roof. The dark red blood trickled over the blue tiles, reflecting a pitch-black color in the moonlight.
Yin Ci urgently attended to the wounds on Shi Jingzhi’s limbs. After stopping the bleeding, he bit his sleeve and ripped off a large piece of cloth. “Take off your shirt. Let me see the injuries.”
Shi Jingzhi blinked.
His shirt was torn to shreds by the sword wind and soaked in blood, making it difficult to remove. In the darkness, his disciple furrowed his eyebrows slightly, patiently waiting.
The image of Yin Ci saying, “I prefer someone like you,” lingered in Shi Jingzhi’s mind.
When he said those words, Yin Ci didn’t resemble those people from before—those who were deceived by his disguise, even if they looked serious, were gazing at someone who didn’t exist. However, his disciple looked straight into his eyes, pinning his three souls and seven spirits* in place.
*In Chinese mythology, it’s believed that humans have three souls and seven spirits. The three souls are believed to be responsible for different aspects of the person’s being, while the seven spirits are manifestations of the seven emotions or state of being. See more in my Kinky Thoughts.
A strange and wonderful sense of satisfaction arose.
The only regret was that he couldn’t see through Yin Ci. Shi Jingzhi observed him meticulously, but only found a few tiny flaws.
Yin Ci’s decision to hide his identity as a descendant of the Su Family by infiltrating a small sect wasn’t strange in itself. However, he had exceptional martial arts skills, yet he took on a young master. He should act perfunctory, but there were unnecessary forms of intimacy.
In Qizhou, it was common for them to stay in a dilapidated house and share a bed. But now that they were living in a decent inn, Yin Ci still naturally shared a bed with him—Yan Qing and Su Si both knew this and took turns sleeping on the floor.
However, Yin Ci behaved remarkably well when he fell asleep, never moving around. At most, he would extend his hand when waking up to ensure there was a living person breathing beside him, with no hint of familiarity.
It was only in those moments that his disciple revealed a trace of genuine emotion.
What is hidden in this person’s heart?
“Afterward, we’ll burn the body, so your swordsmanship won’t leave any traces,” Shi Jingzhi said with deliberation. “But with the eyes of the city watching, news of me killing Zheng Fengdao will eventually spread. Will you be fine with the attention on the Kushan Sect?”
“No problem,” Yin Ci replied softly, keeping his head down and continuing to clean Shi Jingzhi’s wounds, never lifting his gaze.
Shi Jingzhi held his breath and concentrated, but the continuation of the conversation never came. Yin Ci remained as lifeless as ever, unable to produce any meaningful response.
…It was absolutely vexing.
While Shi Jingzhi was thinking, his disciple had placed a hand on his bare chest. The warmth of the fingertips made him instinctively shrink back.
“Shizun, what is this?”
Yin Ci pointed to a peculiar mole on his chest.
The mole on Shi Jingzhi’s chest was about the size of a copper coin and had a dark bluish color. Blood vessel-like patterns extended from its edges, spreading out densely. Against his fair skin, it appeared particularly eerie.
“Hmm? Oh… I had a high fever when I was a child, and this thing appeared after the fever. Perhaps it’s related to my peculiar illness, but I haven’t found any relevant clues,” Shi Jingzhi replied, sounding nonchalant as he had long grown accustomed to this mole that neither hurt nor itched.
Yin Ci wiped away the bloodstains on Shi Jingzhi’s chest and examined it closely. His eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter.
After a moment, he sighed. “…I haven’t seen it before either, but it feels somewhat familiar.”
“Well, people with liver diseases can also develop spider moles, but those are red. Perhaps A’Ci misremembered.”
“Mm.” Yin Ci withdrew his gaze and wrapped up another wound.
After attending to his master’s injuries, Yin Ci dragged the corpses into the derelict courtyard, hacked them into pieces with his sword, and then skillfully set them ablaze.
Finally, he carried Shi Jingzhi on his back and left the vigilant night watchmen trailing behind.
The master and disciple plunged into a dark alley. The narrow starry sky above them was dimly lit, devoid of the stench of blood and flesh. Even the pain from their wounds diminished somewhat.
“Speaking of which, now that the Ling Sect has discovered us, do you think Yan Qing and Su Si might…” Shi Jingzhi rested on his disciple’s back, toying with the white jade hairpin, casually asking.
“Nine out of ten.”
Shi Jingzhi stiffened. “Then what should we do?”
“Nothing.” Yin Ci’s tone was flat. “I only take care of you. Yan Qing has Su Si and Lord Bai. If nothing goes wrong, they’ll come back on their own. If something does happen, they’re probably long gone.”
Shi Jingzhi: “…”
Shi Jingzhi: “A’Ci, the Kushan Sect still needs to uphold some sense of righteousness.”
Without turning his head, Yin Ci replied, “Since Shizun said so, I’ll go look for them later.”
Once they arrived at the inn, Yin Ci casually tossed the fox dumpling, covered in strips of cloth, onto the bed and leisurely brewed a pot of hot sugar water. “Shizun, tend to your wounds. I’ll be right back.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
As Yin Ci left, Shi Jingzhi slowly sipped the sugar water, feeling some strength return to his cold hands and feet. Instead of immediately applying medicine, he ignited some medicinal powder and summoned sparrows.
Perhaps because he had been out of touch for too long, this time, three sparrows arrived in quick succession.
Shi Jingzhi glanced at his bloody right arm and sighed. “Writing things down is such a hassle… You birds, go deliver the message and say that I’m fine.”
Three plump birds lined up at the window, tilting their heads in unison.
“I’m… fine… Ah, forget it,” Shi Jingzhi murmured as he trembled and slowly peeled off a thin piece of silk. After reading the letter, instead of using vermilion ink, he dipped the pen in blood and began to write a reply.
A few streets away.
Yin Ci, too, was watching birds, but not sparrows. He was observing a top-grade homing pigeon used for delivering messages.
Having lived for so many years, Yin Ci had accumulated a considerable amount of silver coins in various cities, so he had no trouble affording carrier pigeons. Relying on his accumulated status, even if his ghostskin robe was damaged, it was effortless for him to inquire about news in the martial world.
Shi Jingzhi was far from being a simple herbalist’s son.
Sun Huaijin had never feared the authorities, and now his influence was waning. If Sun Huaijin dared to lie to his face, there could only be one reason—Shi Jingzhi had intricate ties to him.
When Sun Huaijin was young, his only vice was his promiscuity. He had numerous sons and daughters, totaling around forty or fifty. Now that he had reached the age of great-grandfather, he likely had several hundred descendants.
After experiencing numerous deaths, Yin Ci rarely invested too much emotion in those around him, let alone concerning himself with such a vast family tree. However, given the current circumstances, he had no choice but to care.
After delivering the message, Yin Ci dusted off the ashes from his body and went to find Yan Qing and Su Si.
At the same time.
“A’Si, should we take action?” Yan Qing said in a deep voice.
If it weren’t for the large vegetable basket they were carrying and the cramped space they squeezed into at the bottom of a ditch, the atmosphere would have been more solemn.
As an expert in escaping for his life, Su Si had noticed the Ling Sect followers from the start. Utilizing their advantage of being childhood friends, Su Si and Yan Qing didn’t need words to communicate. They coordinated silently, never losing sight of each other. They circled around with Lord Bai in tow, evading around seventy to eighty percent of their pursuers. Only two of them proved to be persistent, sticking to them like sticky toffee.
“The Corpse Retrieval Team. I really…” Su Si plucked the vegetable leaf off his head and forcefully swallowed his profanity. “I really find it strange. First, the Chigou Sect’s Scorpion Legs, and now the Ling Sect’s Corpse Retrieval Team. Am I cursed by demonic sects in this lifetime?”
“The Corpse Retrieval Team?”
“They’re similar to the Scorpion Legs, both being highly formidable assassins. However, the Corpse Retrieval Team only takes orders from the Ling Sect Patriarch and doesn’t engage in hired killings.”
Yan Qing: “…Alright, then let’s not take action. They must be after our sect leader; they won’t confront us directly.”
Lord Bai nodded in agreement.
Su Si sneered. “San Zi, are you still thinking you’re in the Taiheng Sect? The demonic sect doesn’t have the concept of ‘letting someone off lightly’. It’s like a mangy dog; neither scaring nor running away will work. You have to make it see its own blood before it considers retreating.”
The implication was clear—they were in for a fierce battle.
Yan Qing pondered for a moment. “Then I’ll go out and distract them while you escape. You can run faster than me and hide better. It’s better for one person to die than both of us.”
Even in the dark vegetable basket, the shadows couldn’t conceal Su Si’s frustrated gaze. “You’ve really become useless after being raised in the Taiheng Sect. It was so difficult for me to find you again. How could I just leave you behind?”
“Do you have any other ideas?”
“Attack them. Even if we can’t kill them, we’ll at least take a chunk out of them. With our lives on the line, there might be a glimmer of hope.”
Yan Qing frowned, clearly not considering this idea to be particularly brilliant.
But Su Si would rather die than run away, and he wouldn’t be foolish enough to walk into death alone. After some deliberation between the two of them, they decided on a surprise attack from the vegetable basket.
Finally, the two members of the Corpse Retrieval Team discovered the ditch.
A large white goose soared into the air and landed on the face of one of the men. The other man was about to draw his sword when Su Si swiftly kicked him aside. Yan Qing, less proficient in wielding a longsword, dealt with the assassin with the goose perched on his head, temporarily scattering their enemies.
Yan Qing only needed to buy time until Su Si finished off the other man, and then they could team up on this one.
Unfortunately, his stolen martial arts skills were unstable at best, making it impossible for him to compete against the skilled members of the Corpse Retrieval Team. The opponent easily threw Lord Bai against the earthen wall, causing it to honk in agony and immediately pretend to be dead by lying face down. Yan Qing clenched his teeth, repeatedly using several Taiheng sword techniques, but his opponent saw through them completely.
The assassin easily dismantled his moves, clearly seeing through Yan Qing’s lackluster skill. Seeing his comrade locked in a fierce battle, the assassin was about to dispose of Yan Qing first and then focus on the more threatening Su Si.
Unable to hold off his opponent any longer, Yan Qing angrily shouted and opened his eyes.
The sky was dim, but not dark enough to conceal his Ghost Eyes. A pair of crimson eyes faintly reflected in the night making it particularly striking.
The assassin froze in place, and just as Yan Qing felt some relief, a surge of killing intent sent him stumbling.
“Who’s this little bastard daring to impersonate the bloodline of our Hierarch?!”
Yan Qing: “…” Indeed, it was the demonic sect, and their reaction was just as unreasonable.
He thought of his father’s crippled leg and wasn’t surprised—within the Ling Sect where lunatics gathered, weakness was the gravest sin.
The assassin’s attention had indeed shifted away from Su Si, but under the immense killing intent, Yan Qing couldn’t even stand upright, let alone defend himself with a sword. He instinctively took a half-step backward, his feet stepping on the blood-soaked wet mud, and fell into the bottom of the ditch in a sorry state.
He didn’t even have the chance to escape.
‘That’s fine,’ Yan Qing thought. If he died, at least Su Si could escape.
After all, the difference between them was like an insurmountable chasm. No matter how angry or fearful he was, he couldn’t conjure strength out of thin air, let alone create reinforcements from beans*.
*Sowing beans into soldiers (撒豆成兵) Idiom referring to mobilizing a large number of people or recruited quickly, often with little training or preparation. It comes from a historical story in ancient China where the emperor ordered his soldiers to throw beans on the ground as a means of recruiting soldiers and miraculously, the beans sprouted into an army.
The situation was impossible. He, like a weed, had been struggling alone for survival. For so many years, he has lacked ambition, so his death would certainly be insignificant. Now, dying at the hands of a formidable enemy, he could at least relieve his friend of a burden, which could be considered a fitting end.
As the assassin’s sword stabbed forward, Yan Qing couldn’t help but close his eyes.
In an instant, warm blood splattered on Yan Qing’s eyelids.
“You idiot. What are you doing?!” Su Si angrily roared.
He had flashed over without Yan Qing realizing, and the assassin’s short sword pierced through his palm. Instead of letting go, Su Si instinctively grasped the hilt, restraining the assassin’s movements.
“Stand up!” Su Si’s voice was slightly hoarse.
Yan Qing was momentarily stunned. “I…”
“Stand up for me and die standing up!”
Su Si forcefully took the assassin’s dagger, pulling it out of his palm, causing a splatter of blood. He shielded Yan Qing behind him, keeping a sharp eye on the two assassins in front with a gaze filled with hostility.
The blood-stained dagger was thrown to Yan Qing’s side, grazing his palm, and slanting into the soil.
The two assassins regrouped, forming their formation once again. Their naive ambush had ultimately been in vain. Yan Qing slowly gripped the dagger with his heart filled with mixed emotions.
“A’Si, I’m sorry.”
“…It’s good that you’re awake.” Su Si briefly smiled.
“What do we do next?”
“We must separate them. You… San Zi?!”
Yan Qing charged forward once more.
He wasn’t recklessly charging without a plan. His crimson eyes seemed to be burning. The two assassins had just gained the upper hand, causing them to relax for a moment. Yan Qing targeted the one who had already been injured by Su Si, gathering all his strength into one strike and directly knocking the person back several zhang away.
He hadn’t guessed wrong; the other assassin, seeing the ghost eyes, also froze for a moment.
This was the moment he wanted—regardless of whether it would be followed by rage or killing intent, it didn’t matter.
Yan Qing opened his arms and embraced the assassin. His hands were covered in blood and wounds, slippery and weak, so he forcefully wedged the dagger into his left arm, between the two bones of his forearm. His right hand tightly gripped the rough hilt, firmly locking it.
By the time the assassin reacted, his entire body was trapped between Yan Qing’s two arms, unable to exert any force. Yan Qing saw the assassin struggling, lunged at his neck, and bit down, causing blood to spray all over his face.
He didn’t possess powerful martial arts skills—only a remaining ounce of strength, along with a heart full of bitterness and astonishment.
It turned out he couldn’t die so easily anymore.
Ignoring the pain in his jaws, Yan Qing clamped down his teeth. No matter how the assassin struggled, he refused to let go. The taste of human flesh and blood filled his mouth, accompanied by a repugnant stench.
In this way, although the restraint was effective, Yan Qing’s back was completely exposed, leaving him vulnerable to a sword through the heart at any moment.
But the other person couldn’t do it.
Watching Yan Qing and the enemy being thrown apart, Su Si let out a long sigh. His gaze was filled with self-mockery.
“At this point, I’m still keeping it from him.” He gritted his teeth. “There’s no other way. I have to make sure that none of you can escape…”
The remaining assassin was furious, paying no attention to the muttering kid in front of him. He drew another dagger and attacked directly.
Su Si remained in place, but his presence suddenly disappeared.
The sinister aura in his eyes vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty and expressionless look. Faced with a deadly strike, Su Si even put away his butcher’s cleaver. He stood there with empty hands, swiftly evading every attack. The assassin’s strikes were deadly, but they seemed to hit cotton, unable to harm Su Si in the slightest.
In the moment of confusion and sluggishness from the assassin, Su Si closed in and clawed at the enemy’s throat.
This move was twisted and cunning, making it extremely difficult to defend against. The assassin forcefully twisted his joints and used the dagger to defend himself. In an instant, there was a light metallic sound as the dagger touched flesh and snapped in Su Si’s five fingers.
Flesh and blood scattered, followed by a body hitting the ground.
With a delicate closing and releasing of his five fingers, Su Si hollowed out the assassin’s throat.
“It’s all your fault. If you hadn’t come to kill us, I wouldn’t have to keep it from him… It’s even more uncomfortable than I thought.” Su Si flicked the blood off his hand and spoke with a cold tone.
“That… You…” The assassin whimpered silently as the light in his eyes quickly faded away.
Su Si mercilessly lifted his foot and stomped on the assassin’s neck, forcefully crushing it into a mass of minced meat. Then, he picked up the butcher’s cleaver, grabbed the assassin held by Yan Qing, and hacked it into the back of the assassin’s head.
Blood mixed with the muddy ground, and the stench became even more prominent. Yan Qing had lost a large amount of blood. Su Si carefully released his arm, but he had already lost consciousness, his pair of red eyes devoid of focus.
Su Si’s lips turned pale as he threw the dagger far away. “San Zi, you’ve worked hard.”
“Mmm…”
“Let’s go home.”
Dawn was approaching, and the two of them were covered in blood and mud. They even brought along a feigned dead goose. If they hadn’t encountered Yin Ci on the way, they might not have made it back to the inn before daybreak.
Shi Jingzhi had just finished bandaging himself when he had to take care of the two servants. The medicine box that had just been filled was now nearly empty, causing blood to slowly flow from Sect Master Shi’s mouth.
Fortunately, everyone was young and strong, without any serious injuries.
The three injured individuals spent the whole day lying in the room but were able to get out of bed the next day. The Ling Sect suffered losses and didn’t send anyone else. This pursuit and chase could be considered temporarily over.
However, after waking up, Yan Qing was distracted, as if contemplating some major life decision. Su Si, on the other hand, remained the same old self, being just as noisy as Lord Bai.
“Set off tomorrow? Sect Master, are we really going to charge ahead like this? Won’t there be any problems? San Zi’s arm injury won’t heal anytime soon, and I’m in pain all over… How about resting for a couple more days? Three days?”
“Time waits for no one.” Shi Jingzhi hugged the medicine box tightly, expressing his cold determination. “The Buddha Heart Formation was created by the Jianchen Temple and is not a dangerous formation. These minor injuries are nothing to worry about… Stop complaining. The injuries of this Sect Master are much more severe than yours.”
Yin Ci echoed, “Yes, the Buddha Heart Formation has been in existence since the completion of the Jianchen Temple, and it hasn’t gained a bad reputation in nearly a thousand years. Although it’s difficult to break through, it’s not all death traps.”
Upon hearing this, even Yan Qing, who had been in a daze, couldn’t help but glance over—
Is this even human language? What does “it’s not all death traps” even mean?
Su Si, resembling a dead fish, lay flat on the floor and decided to skip the nonsense of this eccentric senior disciple. “Great Sect Master, can’t we at least wait for our martial arts to recover…”
Shi Jingzhi shook his head. “Continuing to rest is meaningless. I’ve investigated the Buddha Heart Formation—no matter how strong one’s inner force is, once they step into this array, it will be sealed off completely. Once we enter the mountains, we will be no different from ordinary people, relying solely on our external martial arts. Staying here will only lead to more dreams in the long night. It’s better to enter the array and rest there.”
Su Si: “Wait a minute, is the Buddha Heart Formation really that simple? I don’t believe it.”
Shi Jingzhi hesitated for a moment. “Well… there is indeed another theory. However, the Buddha Heart Formation only opens once every hundred years, and there are very few clues related to it. I’m also unclear about the details.”
“What is the other theory?”
“The essence of the Buddha Heart Formation lies in examining one’s own heart. Once you enter the array, you will inevitably face your inner demons.”
The author has something to say:
The watchman refers to those people in ancient times who patrolled the city at night, shouting “It’s dry, be cautious with the candles”. They were responsible for patrolling the city at night, and whenever a fire broke out, they would definitely show up.
Kinky Thoughts:
The three souls refer to:
The seven spirits coincide with the seven emotions:
