Chapter 42: Taking a Young Boy as an Apprentice

"Xie Nan?!"

Xie Buyou widened his eyes in shock, looking at the person who came in disbelief. He didn't expect that the person who attacked them was Xie Nan.

At this time, Xie Nan's eyes were no longer clear and bright black, but were red. His gaze was a little dull, and he looked forward without focus. His black hair was spread out, and he looked a little crazy.

Upon hearing the voice, Xie Nan immediately focused his attention on Xie Buyou. However, what surprised Xie Buyou even more was that Xie Nan at this time seemed not to recognize him, and the look in his eyes when he looked at him was completely emotionless.

The strangeness and indifference made him feel as if his heart was grabbed by a huge hand and he couldn't breathe.

Xie Buyu did not act rashly because he already knew what Xie Nan's current situation was.

He has gone astray and his body has been taken over by the inner demon.

Xie Nan just stared at Xie Buyou, and Xie Buyou didn't say anything, just looked at him calmly.

The young boy was already frightened. He covered his mouth and dared not make a sound. He stared with wide eyes at the strange man who was not far away from them and suddenly appeared in front of them. Even he could tell that there was something wrong with the other person's appearance.

Red eyes, isn't this a demon?

One of Xie Nan's sleeves had fallen off, and blood was flowing down his pale arm, dripping onto the grass and exploding into bloodstains.

At this time, Xie Nan made a move, but not in the direction of Xie Buyou. Instead, he left in the opposite direction, so fast that even Xie Buyou couldn't react.

In just a blink of an eye, Xie Nan disappeared.

The moment Xie Buyou saw Xie Nan, he was filled with confusion and even more heartache. Why did Xie Nan come here? Why did he become possessed? Why did his inner demons finally take over his spiritual sea?

And why was there a moment of struggle in her eyes just before she left?

The young boy was suddenly put down. Confused as to why, he looked up at the immortal, only to find that the immortal seemed to have lost all his strength and was staring in that direction without moving.

He tugged at the immortal's sleeve nervously, "Immortal..."

A call from the immortal brought Xie Buyou back to his senses. He looked down at him, but the smile on his face was bitter. He touched his head and said, "Didn't you say your mother was sick? Take me to see her."

The young boy was delighted, and threw all his fears and worries behind him. "Thank you, Immortal! I'll take you there right away!"

"This way."

Xie Buyu took his hand and walked back the way they came. There was a mark on the tree that he had left not long ago. This direction was also the direction Xie Nan left.

As long as we follow the marks he left, according to Xie Nan's speed, he has almost left the Phantom Valley, and we won't be able to catch up with him even if we chase him now.

What did Xie Nan see in Huanling Valley that caused him to become like this?

…

"Mom! You finally woke up!"

The thin boy threw himself on the woman who had just woken up, hugged her neck tightly, and was terrified.

The woman coaxed him softly in a weak voice, "Good boy, I'm fine. I was just too tired and took a nap."

Then he looked at Xie Buyou and the other boy beside him and said gratefully: "Thank you for bringing him back, otherwise I really don't know what to do."

Xie Buyu chuckled and said it was not necessary, then he made an excuse to leave the house, leaving the mother and son alone for a while.

"Xie Senior Brother, that woman doesn't have much time left."

After coming out, Tang Su walked some distance away to make sure that the people inside could not hear her before speaking.

The wooden house looked fine, except that the floor was dusty because no one had cleaned it for a long time, and things in the yard were a bit messy.

Tang Su rushed here as soon as he received Xie Buyou's message. He was a little surprised to see that Xie Buyou was in the human world. What was even more surprising was why Senior Brother Xie asked him to save a woman who had been unconscious for a long time? It was obvious that this woman could not be saved.

"I know." Xie Buyou raised his head and looked into the distance.

Not only did they know it, the woman herself also knew that she didn't have much time left, and Tang Su only woke her up from her coma.

The woman's body had already begun to decay from the inside out, and even the doctors in the human world were powerless to save her.

"…Then why?" Tang Su was puzzled. "Why do we have to wake her up? Isn't it a waste of time?"

The scene of the woman hugging the young boy suddenly flashed through her mind, and Tang Su immediately understood, "Could it be because of that child?"

"You look about the same age as him." Xie Buyou looked at him helplessly and said, "Perhaps it would be better for him now than to lose him suddenly."

"And I'm sure she'll convince him."

"So what is Senior Brother Xie going to do next?" Tang Su asked him curiously, "Adopt that child? Make him a disciple of the Wan Dao Sect?"

"Let's test his talent first. If he has good talent, let him become the master's disciple. If not, he can only be an ordinary disciple."

"Take the sect master as your teacher? Why?" Tang Su could not understand this at all, because in his mind only Senior Brother Xie was worthy of being the sect master's disciple, and the next sect master of Wandao Sect could only be Senior Brother Xie.

"I'm not suitable." Xie Buyu said lightly.

How can a person who can't even control his own life and death take on such a heavy responsibility as the Wandao Sect? Besides, it would be so embarrassing if the sect leader died not long after he became the leader.

"Why is it inappropriate?" Tang Su retorted, "Every elder and disciple of Wandao Sect believes that Senior Brother Xie will be the next Sect Master. Even the Sect Master has already chosen you. How can it be inappropriate if everyone agrees with it?"

"Okay, we'll talk about it later." Xie Buyu rubbed his head, "If nothing unexpected happens, the child will still have to be brought back to the sect. We can't just let him wander around after we've met him."

"Besides, maybe he has great talent? His spiritual energy is quite rich."

The concentration of spiritual energy is also related to talent, which will make practice more effective.

"Anyway, I don't think the Sect Master will agree to this." Tang Su pouted, "Senior Brother Xie, you also know that the Sect Master loves you the most, so how could he possibly accept other disciples?"

"He doesn't agree with me accepting it." Xie Buyu said.

Tang Su was shocked and puzzled, "Why do you have to accept that little brat? What's so special about that little brat?"

"That's not the case."

Xie Buyou shook his head. He couldn't explain anything. He just said, "I have my own plans."

Tang Su still didn't understand what Xie Buyou meant, but if Xie Buyou insisted on taking a disciple, there was nothing he could do to stop him.

There was a creaking sound from the wooden door behind them. They turned around and saw that it was the young boy coming out.

He looked at Xie Buyu and said to him, "My god, my mother wants to talk to you about something."

Xie Buyou nodded, walked towards the house, and closed the door after a while.

As Xie Buyou expected, the woman's request was simply to ask Xie Buyou to take in her child, because she knew that she was only hanging on to her last breath, her child was still young, and the child's father had died in the woods not long ago because of hunting. Both parents left one by one in a short period of time, which was a heavy blow.

The woman had learned everything from the child. She was very grateful to Xie Buyou for saving her child and also to the young master for waking her up. Now she didn't have much time and just hoped that her child would not suffer.

Xie Buyou, who had already made plans, of course nodded in agreement with the woman. The woman smiled the next second after Xie Buyou nodded, and left soon after. She didn't want the child to watch her leave, which was why she sent the young boy away.

When the young boy and Tang Su entered the house, the young boy just held the woman's body in silence, without crying or making any noise. He was as quiet and steady as a little adult.

Together they buried the woman's body in the yard. The boy's father had no body because he died at the hands of a wild beast.

After burying the woman, the young boy suddenly knelt down in front of Xie Buyou and bowed to him solemnly, "Please take me away, immortal! I am willing to work like a cow or a horse for you to repay you!"

The kneeling was quite dull, and Xie Buyou could even hear the crisp sound of bones. He quickly helped the young boy up and said to him, "I have promised your mother that I will take you away, but whether you can stay by my side depends on your talent."

The young boy remained silent, Xie Buyu didn't say anything either, and Tang Su watched the whole thing from beginning to end, neither mocking the young boy's arrogance nor giving him a friendly smile.

Xie Buyou brought the young boy back to the sect and immediately took him to verify his talent. Unexpectedly, the young boy's talent was very good, even beyond Xie Buyou's expectations.

It seems that the child has a bright future, so he feels relieved.

Xie Buyou immediately accepted him as his apprentice. "What's your name? How old are you?"

"My name is An Nian, I am now twelve years old, an immortal."

The young boy was wearing patched clothes, and the thin short-sleeved shirt was no protection against the cold wind.

The disciple uniforms of Wan Dao Sect are tailor-made for each individual. An Nian had just arrived at Wan Dao Sect and his height had not been measured yet, so there were naturally no disciple uniforms. Xie Buyu took off his coat and put it on him, touched his head and said to him, "Why call me immortal? Just call me Master."

"Master!" An Nian shouted immediately.

Xie Buyou said that being called "Master" was very comforting.

An Nian lived on the hilltop of Xie Buyou, and the disciples' clothes were soon delivered to him.

An Nian, wearing new clothes, couldn't help but touch the silky fabric of the clothes. He had never worn such good clothes, and there were gold threads on them. This was something he had never dared to imagine in his life.

Not only that, the food, accommodation and transportation here are extremely good. The most difficult thing every day is probably cultivation.

Fortunately, An Nian was very hardworking and diligent. No matter what Xie Buyu said, he would obediently complete it. He was not afraid of hardship or fatigue. In addition, he was very talented, so he quickly found the threshold and laid the foundation.

It has only been a few days since An Nian entered the Wan Dao Sect and started practicing, but his talent is so good that Xie Buyou couldn't help but admire him. He can be considered to have picked up a treasure!

The number of people on Xie Buyou's mountain has not changed, but the people have changed. As for Xie Nan, Xie Buyou has never stopped looking for her. The sect has the soul lamp of every disciple, and if the soul lamp goes out, the person is gone.

Xie Nan's soul lamp was still on, but the color changed from gold to black.

A disciple of the Wandao Sect went astray and became a demon cultivator. Mo Wanli naturally had to resolve such an embarrassing matter. According to the sect's rules, the way to deal with it was to get rid of the disciple who became a demon cultivator. However, because it was Xie Nan, Mo Wanli decisively handed the matter over to Xie Buyou to resolve it himself, and handed the soul lamp to him as well.

The small candlestick was burning with a black flame, but the flame was still orange, burning silently in the quiet room, not disturbing the person in the room who was thinking with his chin in his hand.

Xie Buyou stared at the flames without worrying about anything. The black flames danced in his eyes, revealing a strange vitality.

Suddenly, an object appeared in Xie Buyou's sight. It was a white ball that jumped up and down and then lay still in the corner.