Chapter 4 What kind of master and disciple are we?

The woman glanced at the two people behind her out of the corner of her eye, gave Ling Shu a fake smile when she looked back, and then leaned closer as Ling Shu had instructed.

Unexpectedly, Ling Shu opened his mouth and bit her neck, pulling the woman's hair with all his might. The woman screamed and grabbed Ling Shu's neck with both hands, and the two wrestled together.

The bearded man and the man with the big hammer pulled the two apart, and together they held Ling Shu up and pressed her face against the wall.

"Heh," she uttered, accidentally inhaling a mouthful of dirt. Unable to spit it out, she instead vented her anger on the three men, saying disdainfully, "Fools, do you dare kill me?"

The woman screamed "Ah!" in a fit of emotion, her hair disheveled and covered in dust, a deep bite mark on her neck from which blood gushed out, like a lioness who had failed in her hunt.

The woman used healing magic to stop the bleeding and said impatiently, "Let her go!"

"Hahaha!" Ling Shu pointed at the woman, "You can't do anything to me, can you? Hahaha!"

The man with the sledgehammer swung it down at Ling Shu's head, but the bearded man blocked it with his arm: "If you kill her, you'll never get the demon core." The man with the sledgehammer angrily slammed his fist on the floor, and the entire cave shook.

"Hang her up." The woman ran her fingers through her hair, took a bundle of hemp rope from her bag, and threw it on the ground.

Ling Shu took a step back, raised his left hand in a stopping gesture, rolled his eyes, and said, "Stop, stop, it's just a demon core, no need to be violent."

"Are you scared now?" the woman laughed.

Ling Shu laughed it off: "Sister, good sister, I'm scared, I'm really scared." After saying that, she placed her right hand in front of her dantian and took a breath upward. A golden demon core was spat out of Ling Shu's mouth, and then she quickly grasped it.

"Hey, let me start. This is the genuine demon core of a thousand-year-old fox demon. There's only one of its kind in the world. If you refine it into a magic weapon, it will be tough enough to split mountains and strong enough to fight against immortals," Ling Shu raised his arm and boasted shamelessly, "Whoever obtains it will be the supreme ruler of the world."

The bearded man reached out to grab her, but Ling Shu pulled her hand away and dodged, raising an eyebrow as he said, "You're getting impatient already?"

The woman stared sharply at the bearded man, who stared at Ling Shu's hand with a gloomy expression. The man with the big hammer quietly tightened his grip on the hammer.

Ling Shu said smugly, "Look carefully, there's only one here, so be sure to hold on tight. This was cultivated by a fox demon using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for a thousand years. If it's damaged, you won't be able to find another one like it even in your next life."

Ling Shu carefully observed the three people's positions, threw the demon core in the center of them, and with a light step, darted to the wall, crouched down and covered her head to avoid being accidentally injured.

As soon as the demon core was released from her hand, the three of them started fighting each other like madmen, creating a scene of dust flying, blood and flesh flying everywhere, and screams echoing throughout.

Ling Shu covered her ears, rested her head against the cave entrance, and looked at the moon in the sky.

She remembered that when she was a child, she lived with her mother in the woods, a pure land far from the hustle and bustle. They laughed and played loudly and ran around freely. The moon was so round and bright back then, shining a pure white light on the ground. Every wildflower, when it raised its head and unfolded its petals, embraced the moonlight.

Unlike today, there's not so much scheming, and people don't hide as cunningly as they do today.

Unlike today...

Is there a figure in the sky? I flashed past on my sword!

Ling Shu immediately lowered her hands from her ears and stood up from the ground, leaning against the wall.

The voice in her ear gradually grew weaker and weaker, the hoarse voice dragging out the last syllable of "Give it to me." Ling Shu turned around and saw that all three of them had fallen in ugly positions. Their demon cores were not stained with blood, but were held in the woman's bloody hand.

The woman was on her deathbed.

Ling Shu took the imperial green jade bracelet off the woman's hand and put it on his own.

Then each of them kicked the three men hard, took back their demon cores, and swallowed them with a hint of disgust.

The thousand-year-old demon core is untouched by anything and is the purest existence. Because it was refined by a thousand-year-old fox demon through the cultivation of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it is also difficult to break and is the most resilient existence in the world. Therefore, Ling Shu was very confident in using it as a bargaining chip to bewitch people.

The three were weak, and the barrier at the cave entrance faded away. Ling Shu rushed out of the cave.

Thank goodness, there's no one around. Run! Finding a direction, head towards the city. My magic power hasn't fully recovered yet, and there are wild animals in the forest. To be safe, I'd better go to a place with more people.

But the most urgent thing is to find water to wash my face! Otherwise, how will I get into the city?

On a snowy day, there was no water, but there was snow on the grass and rocks. Ling Shu squatted down, picked up the snow, and as soon as she picked up the snow, it melted into water in her hands. Ling Shu lowered her head to wash the snow off her mouth.

A chill came from ahead, and something was moving vaguely in front of her. Ling Shu held the snow and looked up to see a beautiful and refined face.

"You ate someone?"

Her voice carried a clear, melodious quality that she hadn't memorized well.

"You're the one who ate people." Ling Shu glared at her and lowered her head to wash her face with snow water.

Where do you plan to go next?

"You were following me?"

"without."

"What's it to you?"

Zhuang Jinfu remained silent.

After wiping the blood off her face, Ling Shu stood up. As she straightened her clothes, she paused, her hands still wet with bloodstains on her sleeves and front, which were difficult to remove. After thinking for a moment, Ling Shu decided to take off her outer garment.

Zhuang Jinfu snapped his fingers.

Ling Shu's clothes looked brand new.

Why are you helping me?

Zhuang Jinfu remained silent.

She didn't answer, and Ling Shu ignored her. Originally, Ling Shu had some goodwill towards her. They were complete strangers. When they first met, he returned her demon core, and when they met again, he helped her out of a predicament. He thought he had met a kind-hearted person who had taken pity on her. But from the moment she called the wife of the person she hated "Master's Wife" in front of the Fire Cloud Palace, Ling Shu's goodwill towards her completely vanished.

Who will Zhuang Jinfu side with? On one side is her master, with whom she has spent many years, and on the other is a wild girl she has never met. Will she side with a powerless wild girl?

Ling Shu walked forward, footsteps following behind her. She stopped, and the footsteps stopped too.

“If you’re here as a persuader, I advise you to give up on that idea as soon as possible.” Turning around, seeing a face that was not very expressive, Ling Shu continued, “I will protect the demon core that my mother left me. At worst, I’ll die. I’m not afraid of wandering.”

Zhuang Jinfu simply hummed in response.

What does "嗯" mean?

Ling Shu kept walking forward with her head down, the footsteps following her. She stopped, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Then why are you still following me?"

Zhuang Jinfu was as taciturn as a gourd, unable to utter a single word for a long time, simply standing there in silence.

"Are you crazy?!" Ling Shu couldn't stand her silence and yelled.

After a long pause, Zhuang Jin finally spoke: "Ling Shu, I am your master."

Ling Shu ripped off the jade lotus-patterned pendant hanging from her waist and threw it at Zhuang Jinfu: "I'm returning your pendant to you. You only brought me into the sect as an excuse to help her. What kind of master and disciple are we?"

"..."

"Did she instigate you to come to me? If so, go back and tell her that I, Ling Shu, hate her and don't want to owe her any favors. From now on, my life and death are none of her business. You must listen to her and be loyal to your master, the lofty and aloof Immortal Venerable Qingxi. Don't follow me around like a dog, or people will say you're hypocritical and clinging to the powerful, tarnishing your otherworldly aura."

After saying this, Ling Shu walked straight past Zhuang Jinfu's side.

The footsteps stopped following, and the chill faded away.

They traveled through the night and arrived at Wuyang City at dawn, where Ling Shu infiltrated the city.

Having not eaten for two days, Ling Shu was starving. Passing by a noodle shop, the aroma of soup noodles mixed with scallions was tempting. Ling Shu's mouth watered, and he stopped in front of the shop. The shop owner glanced at Ling Shu and, seeing that he was dressed as a cultivator, his expression softened: "Daoist, would you like a bowl of noodles?"

Ling Shu shook her head and said, "Excuse me, boss, are there any shops around here that are hiring? I just came down from the mountain and I'm looking for a job to support myself."

The shop owner was a kind-looking woman. When she heard that he was a cultivator who had just come down from the mountain, she knew that cultivators were going down the mountain to gain experience, so she smiled and said, "Yes, Jiahe Tavern has just opened and they are hiring waiters, accountants and cooks. It's just at the intersection ahead. Go and ask them."

Ling Shu bowed and thanked the owner. As he was leaving, he heard the owner say, "Would you like to stay for a bowl of noodles, Daoist priest?"

"No, I don't have any money." Ling Shu's stomach rumbled, but she didn't stay. After finding out the way, she went over.

The tavern was small, a two-story building, with a sign advertising for hire hanging at the entrance. Ling Shu couldn't cook, and she was completely clueless about accounting. She approached the owner to apply for a waitress position. The owner was a plump woman, probably in her thirties. After looking at Ling Shu's appearance, the owner chatted for a few minutes about where she was from and which sect she belonged to, then pinched Ling Shu's arm and said, "You're in good health. Come on, change your clothes, and you'll start work today."

Ling Shu, clutching her coarse linen clothes, said apologetically, "Um, could I have a bite of steamed bun before I go to work? I haven't eaten for two days."

Boss Zhang exclaimed, "Hey! I've found a hungry ghost! Alright, I'll take you to the kitchen to eat."

After a hearty meal and cleaning up, Ling Shu got to work. He worked diligently all day, and when it was time to close, he moved the empty wine jar to the backyard. As he walked into the inner hall, he suddenly saw a group of cultivators.

The leading monk was protecting a red object in his hand.

Mr. Zhang said in a kind voice, "Our shop is full of honest, hardworking people. How could there be any harmful monsters here?"

Ling Shu paused upon hearing the word "demon," and was just thinking of running away when one of the cultivators spotted her and pointed at her, saying, "You, come here."

Boss Zhang chuckled and said, "This is a waitress I just hired today. She's a disciple from the Shangqing Sect who came down the mountain for training. She's condescended to come here to earn a living. She's a cultivator, not a demon."

The leading cultivator's expression hardened immediately: "Whether it's a demon or not isn't up to you to decide."

Ling Shu judged the distance to the window, walked over with a cold face, and the cultivator cast a spell. The red ball in her hand instantly lit up and transformed into the shadow of a red fox.

"Grab her! She's a demon!"

"She is the murderer who killed the second young lady!"

Ling Shu cursed inwardly, wondering what kind of weird thing this was that could even verify her true identity.

"Hey! You really are a monster!" Mr. Zhang's surprised voice rang in my ears.

Ling Shu kicked open the window, and as she climbed out, she said, "Sorry, boss, I'll pay for the window next time!" Then she nimbly jumped out and ran away.

But in an instant, the road ahead was blocked, and when they turned around, the road behind them was also cut off; both sides were blocked.

"You little demon, your crimes are unforgivable!" The leading cultivator had very long eyebrows that drooped down from the ends, like the long arms of a gibbon.

"I didn't kill any second young lady! I'm just an ordinary little fox!"

Ling Shu secretly tried to mobilize her internal magical power, only to find her meridians blocked and her magical power unable to flow. Damn it! That woman's medicine was really wicked! What a blunder! She should have forced her to give her the antidote before leaving. Even the best-laid plans can go wrong!

Let's fight it out.

"Enough with the nonsense, stop her!"

She targeted the group of six people who were positioned to the side. The leader was likely a cultivator at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. One of them had a sword with a different luster than the others, indicating that he was a cultivator at the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. The rest were basically at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment realm.

From birth, she followed her mother to hide from cultivators. With her demonic keen senses, judging the cultivators' realms was no problem.

The cultivator at the early stage of the Golden Core realm struck Ling Shu in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground. The cultivator laughed and said, "Even with a thousand-year-old demon core, you're nothing special! Take him back to Mu Zi Mountain and report to the family head."

High-level cultivators have high status, so why would she take action to bind and escort people when there are lower-level cultivators present? Ling Shu was handed over to a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

Ling Shu closed her eyes tightly and pretended to faint. One of her hands was placed on the shoulder of a tall, thin cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Her head was drooping and her hands and feet were hanging down. The cultivator helped Ling Shu steady and led her forward.

During their journey, Ling Shu secretly opened one eye. The cultivator holding her didn't notice. On a whim, he tripped her with his foot and quickly reached for the sword in her hand. Before the tall, thin cultivator could react, Ling Shu had already beheaded him with her sword.

The two voices startled the other cultivators, and Ling Shu was instantly surrounded again, but this time it was a little different.

She had a sharp sword in her hand.

The opponent slashed horizontally, thrust upwards, and parried diagonally, each move precise and skillful. Ling Shu, on the other hand, attacked wherever she saw, without any set moves, not even fancy footwork. Just as she was about to lose, a sharp sword thrust at her, forcing Ling Shu to bend over. She lost her balance and fell backward, but at that moment, a cold sword caught her at the waist.