Chapter 27

◎Stranger◎

"Senior sister, my dear senior sister, I feel sorry for you. Why don't you plead with Master first, and then I'll go back?" She grabbed her senior sister's arm, then put her hands together in a pleading gesture, her eyes sparkling: "Senior sister, Master never scolds you. If you plead with her, she will definitely be lenient towards me."

Zhou Wenjian reached out to hit her, but looking at the dark circles under her eyes and her pitiful appearance, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

She lost more than ten years of cultivation in one day. If it were her, she probably would have been unable to think straight and wanted to die. How could she really blame her?

"My master is a wanderer, and I don't even know where she is. How can I plead for you?"

"Senior sister~~~"

Pei Xueyan dragged out her words and acted coquettishly, shaking her arm and refusing to let go, just like she had done countless times before when she asked her senior sister for help.

Seeing that she was pestering him to no avail, Zhou Wen could only sigh and say, "Alright, alright, if I can see my master, I will definitely explain the whole story and try my best to plead for you."

Pei Xueyan's face immediately lit up with joy: "I knew Senior Sister was the best! I'll find a place to hide for a few days, and when Senior Sister finds me, I'll go back to the manor with you!"

Just as she was about to turn and run away, Zhou Wenjian called her back, took out a money pouch from his pocket and stuffed it into her hand: "Do you still have any money on you? Take this. Now that you've lost your cultivation, you can't run around recklessly. Remember to buy some men's clothing to change into, so you don't attract the attention of some lecherous thieves."

Pei Xueyan pulled out a short knife from her waist and proudly waved it: "Senior sister, don't worry! Look at this dagger, it can cut through iron like mud, a touch will draw blood, and a stab will kill. Even disciples of immortals cannot withstand such a sharp weapon."

Zhou Wenjian picked up the dagger and examined it. The scabbard was carved with intricate cloud patterns, and the handle was made of warm white jade. It was clearly a family heirloom, extremely precious.

"Where did this come from?"

Pei Xueyan shrugged, looking bewildered: "I don't know either. I just saw it in my clothes when I woke up."

Zhou Wenjian stared at her for a moment and saw that she looked frank and didn't seem to be lying.

Xueyan is now just a mortal and indeed has no ability to fight for or steal such a treasure. It must have been left behind by some kind-hearted person.

She returned the dagger to Pei Xueyan and instructed her, "Since you have this, you should be even more careful to keep it safe. Don't take it out unless absolutely necessary, lest you attract envy."

Pei Xueyan nodded obediently, put the dagger back in her bosom, and took the money pouch: "I know, Senior Sister! I'll be careful!"

Having said that, he grabbed his money bag and, like a rabbit released from its reins, dashed into the nearby woods and left.

Zhou Wenjian stood there watching her figure disappear, and sighed softly.

Little did she know that the dagger belonged to Jiang Qiye.

That was a magical artifact personally crafted by the founder of the Qingzong Sect using his own spiritual power. It was later passed down to Jiang Qiye's master, who then gave it to him as a gift on his eighteenth birthday.

After Pei Xueyan fell into a coma, Jiang Qiye looked at her unguarded sleeping face and felt both pain and fear in his heart.

Knowing that she had lost her cultivation and would be in danger alone outside, he secretly put this most precious dagger into her clothes.

When she woke up, she no longer remembered her three lifetimes, had no love, and nothing at all.

If the two were strangers, and he couldn't always stay by her side, he could only use this dagger imbued with spiritual power to protect her.

Pei Xueyan had no idea where the dagger came from, nor did she care.

The money bag my senior sister gave me was heavy. As soon as we arrived in town, we went straight to the liveliest tavern and ordered a whole table of dishes.

Braised pork hock, roast chicken, stewed fish, and fine osmanthus wine.

He didn't take the instruction to change into men's clothes to heart at all.

Her bright and colorful dress, coupled with her generous spending, attracted the attention of many men in the tavern as soon as she sat down.

There were very few women in the tavern, and even if there were, they were either female knights-errant or a couple.

It's inevitable that it will attract attention.

She was carefree and didn't care at all, burying herself in eating meat and drinking wine, completely forgetting her frustration at losing her cultivation.

She's so ostentatious without any cultivation; if Zhou Wenjian knew, he'd probably slap her.

But Pei Xueyan couldn't care less. Ever since her cultivation was destroyed, she always felt like her body had been hollowed out. She would get tired after walking just a few steps, and only when she ate meat in large bites did she feel her strength slowly return.

The tavern is located on the busiest street in town, frequented by wealthy merchants or disciples of immortal sects carrying swords. Even the three madmen she encountered outside the city a few days ago only dared to gossip behind her back; no one dared to provoke her in public.

He thought to himself, who would dare to harass someone in the street?

The immortal sects here are of higher quality; they won't actually follow the girl when they see her, and losing her cultivation doesn't affect her carefree life.

It must be quite safe.

So he ate meat and drank wine heartily, enjoying his meal to the fullest before leaving alone.

As she walked along the road, Pei Xueyan began to feel dizzy and her steps became increasingly unsteady.

After finally concentrating and realizing that no one was following him, he walked to a tall banyan tree, climbed up it with all his might, and lay down to sleep.

When she was a child in the village, she climbed all the trees on the front and back of the mountain. Even though she lost her spiritual power, she still had this skill.

This banyan tree is tall and has wide branches; it's a perfect place to sleep.

When I woke up again, it was already the next morning.

Pei Xueyan rolled over in a daze, fell off the tree branch, and landed on the ground.

"Ouch..."

It hurts terribly.

She rubbed her lower back and looked up to see dust billowing on the distant official road. A group of people on horseback were heading east, and the leader was carrying a sword on his back, clearly a disciple of a celestial sect.

Driven by curiosity, she brushed the dirt off her skirt and ran over quickly.

Just then, she saw an old woman carrying a sword and wearing a gray Taoist robe walk past the horse. She quickly grabbed the woman's sleeve, her voice full of excitement: "Big sister, big sister, where are you going? What happened?"

The old woman stopped and looked her up and down. The girl in front of her looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. There was no spiritual energy fluctuation on her body. Although her clothes were decent, they revealed a kind of naivety that came from not having experienced much.

The old woman frowned and pulled her sleeve back: "Young lady, why aren't you at home? What are you asking about these things for? Go back to your family and stop causing trouble here."

He then hurriedly left.

Pei Xueyan was not discouraged. She then spotted a young man at the end of the line. Judging from the jade pendant on his chest, which resembled that of an introductory disciple, and the slightly immature look on his face, she figured he would be easy to talk to.

She jogged a few steps to catch up, deliberately frowning and softening her voice: "Young man, are you heading east? I got separated from my father yesterday, and I heard that a celestial being passed through this area. I was thinking of asking if you've seen him..."

The young man was about to shake his head and walk away, but when he caught a glimpse of the "pleading" look in Pei Xueyan's eyes, he paused and lowered his voice, saying, "There is a water demon in Qishi Mountain. It is extremely powerful and has injured several disciples of the immortal sects. Master Qilin specially came out of seclusion to summon immortals from all over the world to exorcise the demon. Whoever can kill the water demon will receive a set of cultivation techniques personally taught by Master Qilin."

Pei Xueyan's heart stirred; she had long heard of the name of Master Qilin.

This old immortal was seriously injured a hundred years ago while sealing a ferocious beast. He then went into seclusion for eighty years. Although he is now over two hundred years old, his magical power is unfathomable. No immortal sect in the martial arts world fails to respect him.

His personally passed-down cultivation method is an extremely rare item. Even among the direct disciples of various sects, very few can obtain such an opportunity. No wonder so many disciples from immortal sects are rushing to Qishi Mountain.

Her eyes shone even brighter as she pressed, "Then... what kind of mental cultivation method is that? Do you know exactly which school of martial arts it is?"

The young man waved his hand, "I don't know, I don't know."

After saying that, he quickened his pace and followed the group forward.

No wonder that old lady didn't want to say more; she was afraid that if more people knew, there would be more competitors.

That water demon is said to be a thousand-year-old monster, which ordinary disciples of immortal sects certainly cannot deal with, otherwise why would they announce it to the world?

Pei Xueyan has lost her magic power, and it is still unknown how her master will punish her. If she is lucky enough to obtain the cultivation method, her master may calm down and even exempt her from punishment.

Thinking of this, she could no longer contain her excitement and turned to run towards the town's horse farm, ready to ride a horse and join the fun.

As soon as he entered, he pointed to the strongest black horse and shouted to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, I want this horse! Also, prepare the best saddle and provisions for me; I need to get to Qishi Mountain!"

That steed was indeed magnificent, capable of running hundreds of miles a day, but Pei Xueyan had never practiced riding a horse before, and after sitting for a long time, she only felt soreness in her back and waist.

When she was still seventy or eighty miles away from Qishi Mountain, she could no longer hold on and found an inn to rest.

Perhaps it was the ostentatious horse, or perhaps people remembered her extravagant spending.

Someone blew sleeping powder into my room that night.

When he woke up again, he had been stuffed into a sack. His money bag was nowhere to be found. He felt as if he had been thrown onto a bumpy carriage, with sacks full of grain and fodder piled up around him.

She struggled desperately, but could not untie the rope.

Panicked, he immediately reached for the dagger in his pocket.

Thankfully, it's still there.

She gritted her teeth and quietly slit the sack with her dagger. As soon as she crawled out, she was blinded by the glaring light outside and quickly shielded her eyes with her hand, slowly peeking around through her fingers.

The scene before my eyes was like a fairyland.

The distant mountain peaks are steep and beautiful, piercing the sky. Layers of white clouds float halfway up the mountainside, and below the mountains is a lake that stretches for hundreds of miles. At the foot of the mountains, colorful flowers and plants bloom, making it as beautiful as a fairyland.

How could such a beautiful and spiritual place not have any immortal sects established here?

Pei Xueyan was wondering when she saw the carriage heading towards the cliff, where there were guards and invitations were required to enter and exit.

Indeed, such a dangerous task as catching demons must require permission from the immortal sects to enter; otherwise, wouldn't mortals be just throwing their lives away?

She didn't dare to delay, so she quickly crawled back into the sack and pretended to be unconscious without moving.

Before long, the carriage was allowed to proceed.

Having just passed the checkpoint, she took advantage of the crowd and quietly slipped out of the sack, crouching low and hiding in the roadside bushes.

There was still a distance to go before reaching the gentle cliff face halfway up the mountain. Most of the immortal disciples flew directly there, but Pei Xueyan, having lost her cultivation, could only climb step by step, taking more than half an hour to reach the top.

As soon as they stood firm, they saw several disciples of the immortal sect flying back from the lake covered in blood, crashing heavily to the ground.

The wound on his arm was still bleeding, and he looked extremely disheveled.

One of them, clutching his wound, shouted a warning: "This monster has absorbed the essence of the mountain stone spirit, its cultivation is unfathomable, and its strength is astonishing. Ordinary swords and knives cannot pierce its scales at all. Everyone must be careful!"

Pei Xueyan found a flat rock to sit on and rest.

These disciples of the immortal sect were fairly disciplined. Each time, someone would go down and return in defeat, and then the others would team up to fight them.

Each fight lasts at least half an hour and sometimes up to two hours. Those at the forefront are all highly skilled, and lower-ranking disciples dare not rush forward.

The immortal descended and used his magic to touch the surface of the lake, deliberately provoking the water demon to emerge from the water. The water demon quickly took the bait and leaped out of the lake.

Pei Xueyan immediately moved closer to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

The water demon looked like a giant carp, with whiskers three feet long, eyes as big as copper bells, and a body as tall as seven or eight people. It could swallow half an adult with one mouth, and the splash it made when it jumped out of the water was several feet high, making a terrifying noise.

"careful!"

She was so engrossed in watching that she leaned out most of the way; a few more inches and she would have fallen off the cliff.

Someone grabbed her arm, the force not strong but steady, and pulled her back forcefully.

Pei Xueyan finally came to her senses.

She turned around, still shaken, and met a pair of deep eyes. Before her stood a young gentleman.

Jiang Qiye stared at her, his heart pounding wildly, almost bursting out of his chest.

[Author's Note]

Little Azheng is really carefree and has no interest in men.