Chapter Index

    “Easy, easy—Oww!!!” Lu Jing did a carp-flip, leaping up from the recliner, sporting two black and purple panda eyes as he hopped around. “Monk, are you trying to kill me? How dare you put such a hot cloth on my face? What if you ruin this young master’s handsome face?”

    Monk Budu earnestly advised, “Benefactor Lu, if this blood stasis isn’t cleared up, your handsome face will be running a dye shop for another seven or eight days.”

    Lu Jing stared at the steaming towel in his hand as if it were a mortal enemy and retreated a few steps.

    “This humble Daoist has a question…”

    Half-Diviner, squatting by the stone table in the overgrown courtyard, raised his hand weakly.

    “Benefactor Lu, what exactly was that thing you threw out?”

    “Uh…” Lu Jing’s gaze drifted. “A small, um, experimental product.”

    Half-Diviner hit his head on the stone table with a thud. “Benefactor Lu, your experimental product is quite special!”

    Lu Jing scratched his head awkwardly, not daring to speak.

    Right now, they were hiding in a dilapidated little courtyard in Xuan City in the dead of night, and Young Master Lu Shiyi had “contributed greatly” to their situation. During the day, the three of them had been chased all over the city by Lu Jing’s third brother, Lu Chenchuan. They had almost shaken him off when… Lu Shiyi had a “stroke of genius” and used the same old trick—the one he had used on Monk Budu on the Heavenly Snow Boat.

    But damn it, this guy was a good-for-nothing screw-up!

    For god’s sake, who knew what kind of stuff Lu Jing had been concocting lately, experimenting with things from some Poison Classic he had found. He took out a powder and scattered it in the air…

    And there you have it!

    The chaser and the escapees, all four of them were hit. For a short while, none of them could use their spiritual energy.

    A classic example of “killing eight hundred of the enemy while losing three thousand of your own.”

    The expression on Third Master Lu’s face at that moment was truly “a sight to behold.” Anyone who saw it would think he was about to “uphold righteousness by executing his own relatives” in the next second. Relying on the rich escape experience that had kept Monk Budu and Half-Diviner from being beaten to death in their travels so far, the two of them scrambled and dragged Lu Shiyi into an alley.

    The three of them relived the experience of running through half of Zhunan City at night, running until their lungs nearly burst.

    “This humble monk has also encountered poison cultivators, but ordinary poison cultivators aren’t as capable as you, Benefactor Lu, are they?”

    Monk Budu was completely baffled. In just a few days, he had concocted something that could simultaneously take down Third Master Lu, a Buddhist Saint, and a Half-Diviner of fluctuating strength. Although the fact that they were all caught off guard was a factor, this was still a bit much… Was “Lu Shiyi, who could both cure and kill,” actually a natural-born poison prodigy?

    “Capable or not?” Half-Diviner raised his head and mumbled, “Baldy, you should see what he uses for his experiments every day… The medicinal herbs he’s wasted could probably buy a whole street in Zhunan.”

    Monk Budu’s cheek twitched.

    He suddenly realized that what this mumbling Daoist said made a lot of sense. The poison cultivators he had met before had all gone to great lengths, running all over the place to gather materials. The vessels used for refining poison were all exquisite and expensive; a single piece of flawless Heavenly Crystal Stone cost three hundred gold pieces. An ordinary cultivator could spend decades and still not be able to afford a complete set… Therefore, ordinary poison cultivators spent their years either haggling with the treasure pavilions of the Mountain Sea Pavilion or saving money…

    Who was like Lu Jing, who, upon arriving in a city, would walk down from his flying boat, go into a branch of the Mountain Sea Pavilion, slap the Medicine Valley young master’s waist token on the counter, and pack all the medicinal herbs in the pavilion into his Mustard Seed Pouch? Then he would go to an artifact-refining workshop affiliated with the Heavenly Works Mansion, slap his waist token down again, and pack all the suitable vessels away…

    It was said that Lu Jing’s mother had favored this youngest son, and when she passed away from illness, she had left all her money houses to him.

    After Monk Budu figured this out, he had an epiphany.

    So the reason there were so few poison cultivators in the Twelve Continents was actually:

    —No money?

    If you don’t have money, what business do you have playing with poison.

    “…Buddha, you say that all beings are equal, but how come this humble monk feels that the gap between beings is quite large?” Monk Budu twirled his Buddhist beads, his face full of sorrow. “Indeed, what Young Master Chou said is the truth. Artifact refining by the Heavenly Works is a game for the rich. The poor are only fit for bitter cultivation…”

    His tone suddenly changed.

    “Benefactor Lu, the reward for saving you from this difficulty is three hundred taels of silver. Would you like to pay now, or should I put it on your tab? This humble monk won’t even charge you compound interest, just simple interest will do.”

    Lu Jing’s eyes widened. “Hey, hey, baldy, that’s going too far. What’s our relationship? You’re going to charge me for such a small thing? Are we friends or not?”

    “Benefactor Lu, you are mistaken,” Monk Budu said, putting his palms together with a serious expression. “You and I had no fate, it all depends on your spending. Benefactor Lu, if you wish to have more fate with my Buddha, you should spend more money.”

    “Bah!”

    Lu Jing took out a gold ingot and threw it at him.

    “I hope you choke on your greed.”

    Monk Budu caught the gold, his face beaming with a smile, and enthusiastically promoted his services. “This humble monk observes that Benefactor Lu will have to meet his elder brother again. For just another three hundred taels of silver, this humble monk will be your free bodyguard within this Xuan City, on call whenever you need. For an additional six hundred taels, this humble monk can even help you put a sack over Third Master Lu’s head…”

    “Strange,” Half-Diviner interjected from the side, “Benefactor Lu, since you came to Xuan City, you should have expected to meet your brother. Why are you so flustered?”

    “How was I supposed to know it would be my third brother?” Lu Jing touched the bruises on his face and winced. “Logically, it should have been my eldest brother… Hiss, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much. Damn it, it’s not like I just blurted out that he got scared and ran away from a brothel, right? Does he have to hit so hard?”

    “My ‘damn it’ is also your ‘damn it’.”

    A voice suddenly sounded.

    Lu Jing whipped his head around.

    Lu Chenchuan, dressed in gray, appeared on the wall of the dilapidated courtyard. The composure he had shown at the White Deer Tower was gone, one of his sleeves was tattered from some wild dog’s bite, and his hair crown was gone. His expression was as sinister as it could be. “And, I’ve never been to a brothel! If you spout any more nonsense, watch your hide.”

    Killing intent!

    Monk Budu and Half-Diviner both took two steps back.

    “Nine hundred taels of silver!” Lu Jing shouted decisively. “Monk! Daoist! Help!”

    Monk Budu and Half-Diviner slapped him on the shoulder, pushing him forward. “Third Master Lu, we’ve already caught your brother for you!”

    —What a joke!

    Their spiritual energy was still in chaos because of Lu Jing’s “mutual destruction powder,” while the furious Third Master Lu’s hand on his sword hilt was glowing, clearly indicating that his cultivation was higher than theirs and he had recovered earlier!

    Lu Chenchuan floated down from the wall.

    “Baldy! Daoist! You bastards—”

    Lu Jing was grabbed by the back of his collar by his third brother and dragged into the dilapidated room in a state of grief and indignation.

    Bang! Bang!

    Thud!

    Monk Budu and Half-Diviner stood in the desolate courtyard, one engrossed in twirling his Buddhist beads, the other engrossed in looking at his Star-Pushing Plate. The moon was bright and the stars were few, and in the grass, an unknown insect chirped, one call after another.

    After a long while, the cursing and beating from the back room stopped.

    Half-Diviner nudged Monk Budu with his elbow and whispered, “He wasn’t beaten to death, was he?”

    “I don’t think so, right?” Monk Budu said uncertainly.

    The two looked at each other.

    Suddenly, the “God-Listener” hanging from Half-Diviner’s waist flashed twice. Half-Diviner casually touched it and pulled out a transmitted letter. He opened it and his brow furrowed.

    “What’s wrong?”

    “It’s a letter from Zuo Yuesheng… The Mountain Sea Pavilion examined the fragment of the Heaven-Herding Rope that Benefactor Chou left behind and confirmed that there is indeed a problem with the celestial orbits—a problem that appeared before the Scripture Woman and the Moon Mother left the Vicious Plow Earth-Mound.”

    “What problem?” Monk Budu felt a headache coming on.

    “I don’t know. The Mountain Sea Pavilion has sent a team of Calendar Masters to Fu City. We’ll have to investigate further to find out the specific situation.”

    Monk Budu was silent for a moment. “It’s like rain on a leaky roof.”

    “I just remembered something,” Half-Diviner said, folding the letter. “My master’s arithmetic is unparalleled in the world. He once used mountains, rivers, and cities as calculating rods to perform deductions, trying to calculate the future of the Twelve Continents, to know if there would ever be a day when the miasma would completely dissipate. He calculated for a full one hundred years, day and night without rest.”

    “What did he calculate?”

    Half-Diviner turned to look into Monk Budu’s eyes and said, word by word, “The Great Wilderness has awakened.”

    The Buddhist beads fell to the ground.

    The wind was still, the clouds had stopped.

    ***

    The firestarter flickered, and a flame shot up, illuminating the spiderweb-covered room.

    Lu Chenchuan waved his sleeve, sweeping the dust from a chair. After sitting down, he looked up at Lu Jing, who was confronting him with a broken table leg. He flipped his palm, and some grayish-white powder appeared in it, his tone neither happy nor angry. “Making a scene from Zhunan to Xuan City is one thing, but you’ve even refined Sui Kui Powder? You’ve really grown up, Shiyi.”

    “None of your business.”

    Lu Jing stuck his neck out stubbornly.

    “Don’t just casually use things you can’t even control yourself,” Lu Chenchuan said, turning his palm over, and the powder trickled down. “If you want to use it, fine. First, write a letter home and tell them to prepare a coffin.”

    “I tested it on myself first…”

    Lu Jing mumbled.

    A vein throbbed in Lu Chenchuan’s temple, and Lu Jing shut his mouth before he could clench his fist again.

    “If you dare to casually use any more of this random stuff, you won’t have to tarnish the Medicine Valley’s reputation. I’ll be the first to deal with you.” Lu Chenchuan threw a token to him. “Tomorrow, you’re going back to Medicine Valley with Uncle Chen.”

    Lu Jing didn’t catch the token, and the muscles in his cheeks twitched slightly.

    “You’ve had enough of your absurdity. You have no part in this.”

    Lu Chenchuan reprimanded.

    “Absurdity?” Lu Jing sneered. “The Kongsang Hundred Clans, the Eight Prefectures Immortal Sects, how mighty. A huge crowd of people, just to intercept two people, isn’t that absurd? Bah!” He simply dragged over a barely intact stool and sat down, confronting Lu Chenchuan. “Kongsang, the immortal sects, why do they hate him so much?

    “It has nothing to do with hate.”

    “If it’s not hate, then it’s fear, right?” Lu Jing feigned nonchalance.

    “Eldest Brother used to say that you’re too smart, but your smarts aren’t used for the right things.” Lu Chenchuan didn’t fall for it. “Do you know his status? Do you know who he is?”

    “I just don’t get it. What’s wrong with Chou Bodeng wanting to go back to the Witch Clan? So what if he severed the Heaven-Herding Rope of one of the Golden Crows? Isn’t that Golden Crow flying around in Qing Province just fine now? He didn’t command the Golden Crow to kill people and set fires, scorching the earth for thousands of miles. He just wants to go back to the Witch Clan. He just doesn’t want to be involved anymore.

    “What right do you have to stop him?”

    “What right?” Lu Chenchuan retorted. “Do you know what happened to the sun’s orbit after he broke the Heaven-Herding Rope? Do you know how much the number of displaced people in Qing Province and Yong Continent has increased? You’ve wandered through two or three cities with him, and you think you’re doing the right thing? Don’t be naive.”

    “I know he jumped from ten thousand feet to save the Divine Fu Tree. I know he broke through a thousand illusions to save Ru City, and I know he was thinking of saving people even when he was unconscious.” Lu Jing stood up, threw down the broken piece of wood, and turned to walk toward the door. “Whoever wants to go back to Medicine Valley can go. I’m not going back anyway.”

    “I don’t know what you know.”

    “I only know that even if I hadn’t climbed trees with him in the middle of the night, flown kites from a flying boat at dawn, or thrown dice at noon, I still couldn’t watch a person like that be forced into a dead end by you all.”

    He suddenly pulled open the door.

    “In that case,” Lu Chenchuan’s voice came from behind him, “why are you unwilling to go back to Medicine Valley? Why are you unwilling to see Father?”

    Lu Jing suddenly froze in place.

    “Don’t be so naive, Shiyi.” Lu Chenchuan walked past him and out of the room. “You’ve been spoiled for too long. It’s time for you to truly see the world.”

    The sky was getting bright.

    ***

    The gray fog was stirred by the wind.

    Old Man Luo beat a broken bronze gong, shouting and urging everyone to get up and prepare to continue their journey. Amidst the sound of the gong, the carriage curtains were lifted one by one. The women began to pack their things, while the children rubbed their eyes and jumped down, helping the adults load things onto the carriages.

    At the end of the campsite.

    A slender hand lifted the carriage window curtain. In the sunlight, a face with skin so white it was almost transparent was revealed, but the curtain was quickly lowered again, and the decadent, beautiful face flashed by in an instant.

    “So early.”

    Chou Bodeng was not happy. He hugged his pillow and buried himself in the Mist-Gauze Quilt.

    Shi Wuluo put on his black shirt. Seeing that he didn’t want to get up, he helped him pull the quilt up a little higher. Chou Bodeng lifted his head from the pillow, his black hair sliding down his neck. The red marks from last night on his collarbone had not yet faded and were faintly visible. Shi Wuluo paused, then reached out to tuck a strand of hair that had fallen onto his cheek behind his ear.

    Chou Bodeng hugged his pillow and looked at him.

    “You don’t have to get up.”

    Shi Wuluo placed his hand on the carriage’s crossbeam and leaned over to kiss him.

    “Forget it, I want to see the morning dew.”

    Chou Bodeng suddenly cheered up again. But when he lifted the brocade quilt and saw the snow-white blouse and silk skirt piled messily on the thick blanket, he couldn’t help but frown.

    “These clothes are so troublesome…”

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