CH 68

The Taiheng Sect was located northeast of Yongsheng, which was not too far away. Shi Jingzhi didn’t want to leave too many traces, so he didn’t hire any transportation and instead took a shortcut on foot, disguising themselves from the public.

They walked for a full four days.

During the first two days, Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci traveled together, discussing and studying the Sword of Compassion whenever they had the chance.

Even divine physicians needed to observe and inquire about various symptoms, analyze formations, and examine difficult cases. They required a quiet room filled with incense, precise instruments, and medicinal concoctions for experimentation. However, in the wilderness, their conditions were limited. The two of them had nothing but their bare hands and couldn’t discern any special features.

One hand was about to be cooked while the other was about to freeze off, but they couldn’t find any clues left by Yan Budu.

Currently, everyone was heading to the Mishan Sect, so there was no urgency in searching for Kongshi’s grave. Shi Jingzhi simply handed the Sword of Compassion to Yan Qing and let him practice with it casually.

After all, only Yan Qing could handle that thing.

However, compared to before, the journey for the Kushan Sect was far from easy this time.

After four days of walking, except for Yin Ci, the other three had developed numerous blisters on their feet—Yan Qing’s being the most severe, with his shoes soaked in pus and blood.

But Yan Qing remained silent. As long as he had time and could move, his hand would rest on the hilt of the Sword of Compassion, with as many blisters in his palm as on the soles of his feet.

Perhaps the bloodline of Yan Budu had instilled some determination in Yan Qing, but he directed that determination entirely towards himself. He was originally serious in nature, and now he had become even more intense, carrying an air of wanting to break his bones with every move.

Seeing Yan Qing’s seriousness, Shi Jingzhi, as the sect master, couldn’t sit still and started to engage in self-torture as well.

So when Yin Ci prepared breakfast every day, the three of them were already exhausted, panting from their practice. If one disregarded their unrelated cultivation techniques, the Kushan Sect almost appeared like a proper martial arts sect.

On the fourth day, fine, cold rain started falling from the sky.

The surrounding area was filled with irritating darkness, and the road became extremely muddy and difficult to traverse. As they reached the boundaries of Taiheng, Shi Jingzhi didn’t force his disciple and found an uninhabited, dilapidated house where they luxuriously took a rest during broad daylight.

The house was in the middle of nowhere, with no village or shop nearby. It was also small, like a temporary shelter for hunters.

The ground inside was still muddy, without any gravel covering it. The amount of dust in the salt shaker exceeded the amount of salt, and the small iron pot was covered in reddish-brown rust with a few holes in the bottom. Fortunately, the house had drafty walls, allowing fresh air in, and there was no unbearable, strange smell.

Yan Qing brushed off the dust on the bed and spread a dry cloth on it, creating a dry spot.

Yin Ci started a fire on a makeshift stove and cooked some salted meat and wild vegetables into a soup. As the pot simmered, he turned his head to see Shi Jingzhi and Yan Qing using their inner force to dry their clothes. Their heads were emitting steam, giving off a pitiful appearance.

“Once we borrow the Arrow Horses, we won’t have to suffer like this anymore.”

The drizzling rain was annoying, and seeing the miserable state of the Kushan Sect, Shi Jingzhi quickly tried to stabilize their morale.

“The Arrow Horses are fast and stable. We can all sit inside the carriage. Each person can hold a small heater and be comfortable.”

Su Si hummed indifferently, treating Shi Jingzhi’s reassurance as a futile attempt to quench their thirst. Yan Qing caught his breath and began wiping the Sword of Compassion as if he wanted to polish it with a piece of cloth.

The goose demon, Lord Bai, lay motionless in the corner of the bed.

Speaking of the past few days, Lord Bai suffered the most.

Shi Jingzhi deliberately reduced his contact with the outside world, so it couldn’t have its tender and fresh vegetable leaves and had to search for some scraggly wild greens to eat. It couldn’t eat whenever it wanted; most of the time, Su Si carried it in his arms to feel the wind. The formerly plump Lord Bai had become noticeably thinner, losing much of its previous air of dominance.

Since comforting them didn’t work, Shi Jingzhi resorted to plucking two exceptionally tender wild vegetables to console the goose, whose brain wasn’t functioning well. But just as he handed the vegetable leaves over, Lord Bai slowly lifted its head and looked in another direction.

It didn’t have the strength to stare at the four people with its gaze, but it weakly “honked” twice and tugged at Su Si’s sleeve with its beak, pulling him towards the door—despite the fact that even during their previous trip to Huilian Mountain, it had never displayed such proactive behavior.

Everyone had blisters on their bodies, emanating a strong smell of blood, but Shi Jingzhi couldn’t detect anything unusual in the vicinity. Instead, it was Yin Ci who stopped stirring the soup, raising his eyebrows.

“Someone is coming this way,” he succinctly stated.

“Let’s hide. Lord Bai is warning us,” Su Si decisively responded. “This place is desolate and remote. The person approaching might not have good intentions.”

Yin Ci shook his head. “It’s too late to hide now. The smoke from the cooking can be seen outside. Besides, it’s an open field out there. We’ve been cautious enough on this journey, and the person might not be specifically targeting the Kushan Sect.”

After contemplating for a moment upon hearing this, Shi Jingzhi hastily rummaged through his luggage and threw a few old clothes to Su Si. “A’Ci and I will hide. Su Si, you handle the situation with the person.”

Su Si enjoyed seizing any opportunity to pick fights, but he never wasted words during crucial moments. He wrapped the clothes around his head like a turban and tied a cloth around the back of his hand, presenting himself as an elderly person. Yan Qing quickly blindfolded himself and covered the Sword of Compassion with a blanket.

At a glance, they looked like a poor father and son struggling to survive in the wilderness.

The room was narrow, and Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci had nowhere to go except to roll under the bed. With a tattered cloth covering the bed from above, it served as a good hiding spot.

Yin Ci adjusted his position for a moment, tightly gripping the Hanging Shadow Sword, ensuring that if anything happened, he could rush out and attack first. Shi Jingzhi, on the other hand, hugged Lord Bai. Rather than appearing nervous, he seemed more intrigued.

He even had the leisure to steal a few glances at Yin Ci and help him brush off the cobwebs from his hair.

The cold and damp rain permeated the air, and the smell of mud filled their nostrils. Yin Ci had originally held his breath and concentrated, but now he couldn’t maintain much tension due to Shi Jingzhi’s restless movements.

[Aren’t you afraid?] Yin Ci couldn’t help but silently inquire.

[If I were alone, perhaps I would be afraid,] Shi Jingzhi replied with a smile. [But hiding like this, I just feel a sense of familiarity and amusement. It reminds me of the past…]

As he said this, he suddenly stopped abruptly, pressed his forehead, and his face turned slightly pale.

Yin Ci hesitated for a moment, but eventually freed one hand and gently pressed it against the side of Shi Jingzhi’s forehead. The latter let out a soft sigh, and his tense body relaxed slightly.

Having confirmed that Shi Jingzhi’s condition didn’t worsen, Yin Ci withdrew his hand and focused his attention back outside the bed. Shi Jingzhi didn’t speak anymore either; he and Lord Bai, along with the bubbling sound of the wild vegetable soup, maintained a calm atmosphere.

Half an incense stick’s worth of time passed.

Just as the pot of wild vegetable soup came to a boil, urgent knocking was heard at the door. Su Si cleared his throat and tremulously spoke with an old man’s voice. “Who is it?”

“Help! Please, kind sir, let me hide. I will be deeply grateful on behalf of the Taiheng Sect!” The person’s voice was hoarse and fragmented, accompanied by heavy panting.

Yin Ci’s movements under the bed paused.

…Taiheng?

Although this place was remote and desolate, it still fell within the boundaries of Taiheng’s territory. Could someone be so blind as to attack a Taiheng disciple here?

Su Si exchanged a glance with Yan Qing. Su Si climbed onto the bed, facing the wall, and unsheathed his butcher knife. Yan Qing took two steps forward and cautiously opened the door—

“It’s you?!”

The person at the door exclaimed.

Although the person’s voice wasn’t loud, it was clear enough for everyone to hear—a familiar voice. This time, everyone recognized it without a doubt. It was Jin Lan, one of Shi Zhongyu’s followers at the Ghost Tomb.

Naturally, Yan Qing also recognized him. He quickly spoke, his tone filled with inquiry. “It’s Jin Lan.”

“Let him in,” Shi Jingzhi muttered from under the bed.

With permission granted, Yan Qing pulled Jin Lan inside and immediately bolted the door shut. “What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you the same question. Who’s that old man on the bed? …Never mind that. Let me find a place to hide quickly, and make sure you lock the door tightly.”

After speaking, Jin Lan took a deep breath and hurriedly crawled under the bed with his bundle.

Shi Jingzhi, Yin Ci: “…”

Jin Lan: “…”

During their expedition to the Ghost Tomb, Shi Jingzhi almost always wore a nuo mask. Jin Lan hadn’t seen Shi Jingzhi’s face before, so suddenly encountering these two faces made him feel a bit dizzy. It took him a while to regain his ability to speak.

“Yan Qing! There are two fox.. fox demons under the bed… Mmm!”

Jin Lan was about to crawl out, but Yin Ci mercilessly pulled him back under the bed, covering his mouth. Yan Qing also patted the bed to signal him to stay calm.

Jin Lan had seen a lot in his life, so he quickly regained his composure. His eyes were nervously fixed on the outside, tightly clutching the package in his arms.

The next group of visitors wasn’t as polite—they kicked down the wooden door and brazenly barged in.

“Search!”

Yin Ci saw a pair of feet approaching in front of him. Based on the legs, the leader appeared to be a robust middle-aged man dressed like a bandit. They didn’t ask questions as Jin Lan had anticipated, instead treating the “father and son” inside the room as inconsequential and immediately began rummaging through everything.

Listening to the footsteps, it seemed there were three pursuers.

Two of the subordinates kicked and struck the dilapidated cabinet and straw pile near the door.

The freshly cooked salted pork soup was spilled on the ground, causing Shi Jingzhi’s eyebrows to instantly furrow and his face to grow even paler.

“You, blind man, where are you hiding the person?” The leader grabbed Yan Qing by the collar.

“We are just passing travelers seeking shelter from the rain. We haven’t seen anyone,” Su Si replied, still with the elderly voice, while his back was facing everyone. “The New Year is approaching. Why shed blood unnecessarily?”

“I do want to shed blood today,” the leader sneered. “Let’s kill these two first to prevent any trouble. Hurry and search. Don’t keep the boss waiting—hiss!”

Before the leader could finish his sentence, Yan Qing tightly gripped his wrist. Yin Ci emerged from under the bed. His Hanging Shadow Sword flashed, directly severing the man’s ankles.

Yin Ci’s sword strike was swift and without hesitation. Both ankles of the leader were severed to the bone, and blood gushed. The burly man’s eyes widened, and his heavy body slowly fell backward.

At the same moment, blood spattered.

Shi Jingzhi shattered the bed frame. With his palms emitting golden flames, he struck the bandit’s subordinate closest to him. The subordinate took a solid blow, crashing into the dilapidated wall. The long knife he used for self-defense was distorted by the golden flames.

Su Si let out a light laugh, leapt into the air, and subdued the last person. He pressed his butcher knife against the man’s throat, drawing a thin line of blood.

Everything happened extremely quickly. Before the leader’s body even hit the ground, all three of them were already under control.

The leader clenched his teeth. The pool of blood from his ankles gradually spread on the muddy ground, emitting a strong bloody scent. The three men looked at everyone with a gloomy expression, but none of them pleaded for mercy or screamed in pain.

Jin Lan, holding his bundle, opened his mouth wide, locking eyes with Lord Bai. The latter looked at him with a complicated gaze but eventually stuck its head out and gave his nose a strong twist.

Tears welled up in Jin Lan’s eyes, and he quickly crawled out from under the bed, rolling away in a mess.

“You three have quite a backbone. You don’t seem like ordinary bandits but rather martial artists,” Yin Ci said as he sheathed his sword, pressing his foot onto the leader’s wound. The leader’s forehead veins bulged, but he remained silent.

“Jin Lan, how did you provoke them?”

Jin Lan looked at Yin Ci apprehensively and swallowed back the question “Who are you?”.

“I-I didn’t provoke them! I was entrusted by Senior Sister to collect some medicinal herbs from Yidu, but I was followed by these villains all the way here… I always thought they were after the herbs and didn’t consider other possibilities.”

As the pool of blood from the leader reached the soles of his boots, Jin Lan took a deep breath. “The herbs are valuable, but it shouldn’t come to this extreme—”

Before he could finish his sentence, a dagger grazed his cheek and directly aimed at Yin Ci beside him.

Yin Ci quickly turned his head to dodge. With his two fingers, he firmly stopped the dagger in its tracks. Even so, the dagger’s force broke off several strands of his hair, and the powerful inner force transmitted through the thin blade, causing his fingers to go numb.

If the herbs were as precious as the Ice Peak Snake Lotus, it wouldn’t have been Jin Lan’s responsibility to escort them. It was indeed unlikely for things to escalate to this extent for a box of medicinal herbs.

Regardless of the purpose, the person who made a move this time was undoubtedly a true master.