Wu Xingxue squinted his eyes.
He had gotten used to lazy living; this was the first time in his life that someone had threatened the vulnerable part of his throat in such a manner.
“Are you going to kill me?” he looked at Xiao Fuxuan, saying softly.
Xiao Fuxuan’s lips moved, but he didn’t answer.
“You can’t kill me,” Wu Xingxue then said.
Xiao Fuxuan was still holding the long sword. His gaze fell from along the bridge of his tall, straight nose. After a second, he finally replied: “… why?”
His voice was very low, carrying a hint of the hoarseness that came from not having spoken in a long time.
“Because you have the wrong person.” Wu Xingxue said slowly.
He thought that Xiao Fuxuan would be shocked for a second, or at least frown. Instead, he found that the other party was still pressing him down, impassive.
Wu Xingxue was stunned for a bit, and then finally reacted: Perhaps it’s because the original owner’s crimes were too heinous and had tripped too many people, so now no one will easily believe what he says.
I’m so unfortunate[1], he thought.
“They say that you’re the Tianxiu Immortal, with such an impressive title you should be able to tell, I…” He softly said half the sentence then stopped, glancing at where his subordinates were.
Xiao Fuxuan finally spoke: “Speak, they can’t hear you.”
They can’t hear?
Wu Xingxue then realized that it had been a while since he had heard any movement from the subordinates. It was as if the blizzard had become a cover, blocking out all bystanders.
He licked his lips and said morosely: “You’ve got it wrong, I’m not him.”
“I’m not the demon of which you guys speak.”
Xiao Fuxuan was still looking at him. After a long moment, his brows slowly furrowed.
“I don’t know if that demon was always scheming, if he had lied outrageously, so you don’t want to believe me.” As he said this, he felt a bit helpless, “That’s also normal.”
He pulled at his lips and said: “But I’m really not him. I’m not even from here, if you’re like the deities from the storybooks, then you should be able to find out. At most, I’m just a tragic wandering soul, do you want to try to look?”
As he said this, he lifted his left hand, exposing the vulnerable part of his wrist.
Xiao Fuxuan watched his movement, still with no response.
Wu Xingxue thought for certain that he wouldn’t answer; he was silent for a moment, feeling like he had spoken to no avail.
Just as he was about to say ‘never mind,’ he suddenly heard Xiao Fuxuan’s deep voice ask: “Then what is your name, from where do you come?”
Wu Xingxue suddenly looked up at him and thought for a bit, saying: “That place is called Que Capital. It’s very different from here and hard to explain in a few sentences. Since you’re an immortal, you must be able to do many things, do you have a way to help me?”
Xiao Fuxuan: “I manage punishment, I can only capture and discipline people.”
Wu Xingxue: “…”
His wrist was still lifted, and after a moment of silence, he lowered it again with a clang.
It’s unclear what this behavior reminded Xiao Fuxuan of. He watched for a bit, and then suddenly withdrew his gaze and stood up, pulling out his sword.
Wu Xingxue: “?”
How sudden.
So he believes me? That’s also not right…
The acute sharpness next to his neck and the frigid air dissipated completely. Wu Xingxue propped himself into a sitting position. Just as he stood, he saw Xiao Fuxuan return his sword into its sheath.
With a clash, the surrounding blizzard abruptly ceased.
Ning Huaishan and the others looked like they had been frozen into rock statues, maintaining a stiff, peculiar posture. The second that the blizzard dispersed, they finally regained some sense of life.
“Chengzhu!”
“Chengzhu, why did that shell—” Ning Huaishan seemed to have missed that moment of effort the middle. He still remained at the instant when Xiao Fuxuan had pressed Wu Xingxue to the ground. He was about to anxiously inquire after him, but then he saw his chengzhu standing alive and well, with Xiao Fuxuan at his side.
“???” Ning Huaishan’s words screeched to a halt, his head filled with fog.
He looked at chengzhu, and then at the Tianxiu Immortal, pondering as he spoke: “That really scared me before! So, did it attack because there was still a little bit of leftover spiritual consciousness?”
Wu Xingxue thought ‘a little bit leftover wouldn’t be able to move like this.’
“What about now?” Ning Huaishan carefully peaked at Xiao Fuxuan, still a little bit fearful, but unable to stop the light radiating from his eyes, “So did it work? Is this shell chengzhu’s puppet? If it worked, then you’ve really profited. Puppets are loyal protectors of their master; they’ll do whatever you say.”
Xiao Fuxuan looked coldly at Ning Huaishan.
Wu Xingxue was just about to say that that wasn’t a puppet, but before he had a chance to speak, he heard a piercing noise sound across the entire Canglang Northern Territory, shaking the earth.
The white jade coffin that Xiao Fuxuan had slept in completely shattered. The enormous tree swayed incessantly, and a huge fault appeared in the wilderness. Dust and rocks crashed to the ground from above; towards the end, the sound was almost deafening.
“It seems like this Canglang Northern Territory is at its end, it’s really going to collapse!” the subordinates yelled.
Boulders fell like rain, and they were still in the thirty-third layer; wanting to leave was truly incredibly difficult.
“Chengzhu—”
The subordinates called out, and then were pushed off to some unknown place, their sound muffling, their condition a mystery.
An enormous cliff tumbled down from somewhere unknown. The bottom of the cliff was tens of meters wide, sharp as the blade of a sword. If it fell on a normal person[2], it would directly piece through their skull, killing them where they stood. And the person below that enormous cliff was Wu Xingxue.
The place where he stood was also crumbling into ruins. Only a single rock remained, completely solitary. He stood on that rock like blue fog, and at the moment when his life was on the line, he lifted his head to look at the edge of the cliff.
In the next second, countless long, golden swords abruptly appeared, carrying the imprint of the word “Mian,” and encompassed him inside.
He couldn’t see anything, but he felt that someone had shielded him.
***
The collapse of the Canglang Northern Territory incited a great tremor in the Boundless Sea.
As the cultivation disciples scrambled to deal with this, an inconspicuous wupeng[3] boat was simultaneously passing through the Rustling Channel at the edge of the Boundless Sea.
Wu Xingxue held a handwarmer, leaning silently against a corner of the wupeng boat. A leather lantern hung from the awning of the boat and swayed gently with the wind, yet no matter what, the long tongues of flame were unable to reach the lantern walls.
They had lost track of those subordinates when the Canglang Northern Territory collapsed; only Ning Huaishan and the one that had lost an arm were close enough to be swept up onto the boat.
One-Arm had suffered considerably, and he slept the moment he got on the boat. Ning Huaishan had a sturdy foundation though, and still talked nonstop.
He wrung out the bottom of his waterlogged robe on the deck, and then returned beneath the awning, scrubbing his hands. He reported to Wu Xingxue: “We’re about to enter the White Deer Ford, chengzhu. Did you hear that just now? The thunder from the Boundless Sea’s snowy pool, now that’s earsplitting.”
Actually, Wu Xingxue didn’t understand why he was so joyful.
Good thing he had a loose mouth and would say it himself: “Look at just how far the waves from the Canglang Northern Territory have splashed, those cultivators outside that surrounded us are definitely in a pitiful state. As long as they’re not happy, I’m happy.”
“Think of them, and then look at us—” He glanced over at the person in front of Wu Xingxue, “Logically, you can enter the Canglang Northern Territory, but never exit. But who would’ve thought, eh, we have a magic weapon.”
“Chengzhu really is awesome, thinking to turn the Tianxiu Immortal’s shell into a puppet. Who’s more familiar with the way out of Canglang Northern Territory than him? The rumors really aren’t lying, this puppet actually does do whatever you say, a loyal protector of its master.”
“Thank goodness the Tianxiu Immortal’s actual person has already died, if he knew from beyond the grave that the shell he had left in the Canglang Northern Territory would one day save a demon from Zhaoye City, that’d really be… tsk tsk tsk.”
Actually, beyond the grave isn’t really necessary, he’s watching you chatter right now.
Wu Xingxue thought.
He was happy to witness this chaos; he listened quite attentively on one hand, unabashedly peeking at the person across from him on the other.
He saw Xiao Fuxuan with his broad shoulders and narrow waist leaning against the boat with his sword in his arms. He expressionlessly watched Ning Huaishan prattle on, and his eyes seemed to reflect five big words—how are you still alive?
If looks were swords, Ning Huaishan would already be dead.
Wu Xingxue watched the Tianxiu Immortal’s indescribable expression for a little bit, and unable to hold it in, he held the handwarmer and started to laugh.
Ning Huaishan was subconsciously scared into silence.
Hearing the laughter, Xiao Fuxuan also turned around.
When he looked towards Wu Xingxue, his gaze fell from his thin eyelids, reflecting the soft light of the lantern.
After a second, he turned to look outside the boat, and because of some longwinded reason… continued to pretend to be a puppet.
At the Canglang Northern Territory, when Ning Huaishan was talking nonsense, he could still try to deceive them.
But now he couldn’t, he had truly carried a demon out, so in front of others, he could only pretend to be a puppet.
“Chengzhu, our Zhaoye City has expanded again, even annexing the previous Lang Islet and the Valley of Great Sorrow. After we pass the White Deer Ford and land towards the west, we can enter the city.”
The weight of midnight finally appeared, Ning Huaishan yawned, and it wasn’t long before he went to accompany One-Arm. Not even a bit later, snores sounded like thunder.
What he didn’t know was, just after he had closed his eyes, the puppet of his words had opened his golden mouth.
“When the enormous cliff crashed down, why didn’t you duck away?” Xiao Fuxuan withdrew his gaze from beyond the boat, saying gravely.
“There was no path on either side, and I’m not a yao[4], I don’t have three heads and six arms. I already said, I’m just a normal person, but you don’t believe me.” He then slowly closed his eyes again, speaking in a mumble.
He looked as if he had already fallen asleep. However, after a bit, he suddenly murmured: “Xiao Fuxuan.”
The person holding the sword abruptly looked up. He saw that person tuck his handwarmer into his sleeve, exposing the long, smooth lines of his wrist, and ask: “Since you don’t believe me, then why did you save a demon just then…”
Xiao Fuxuan didn’t answer.
The person who had asked also didn’t seem to wait for an answer, he didn’t open his eyes, and he fell asleep not even a bit later.
***
Wu Xingxue was awoken by Ning Huaishan’s clamoring voice.
“That’s not right, I set the pole due west. We should be reaching the shores of White Deer Ford now, how can it fucking change direction?! This isn’t good, we’re going to be delayed going to Zhaoye City…”
Who knew what about Zhaoye City had him so troubled, persuading and pressing Wu Xingxue to return as quickly as possible.
That, Wu Xingxue definitely couldn’t agree to.
That was a demon lair, he’d be crazy to go.
Wu Xingxue listened for a bit with his eyes half closed. He finally understood that someone probably moved the navigational pole in the middle of the night.
Ning Huaishan and One-Arm had slept like pigs, so the person who did it went without saying.
But that immortal was still pretending to be a puppet right now, turning a deaf ear to the commotion.
“Don’t yell. Where are we going now?” Wu Xingxue was still sleepy, asking with his eyes half open.
Ning Huaishan said feebly: “According to the direction, we’re going to pass around Chunfan City.”
Chunfan City…
Chunfan City??
Wu Xingxue suddenly bolted upright.
He still remembered that sentence he had heard from before, saying that there was an exceptional person Yi Wusheng, and if he wanted to return, he could go to him for help.
The person who changed the direction of the boat was Xiao Fuxuan.
Could it be that this great immortal finally thought it through and believed him, thus deciding to find Yi Wusheng to help send him back?!
Fair enough, the sooner he gets sent back, the sooner this shell can be returned to that demon. At that point, whether it be slaughter or imprisonment, it will have nothing to do with him.
Hopefully that Yi Wusheng is an openminded, kind individual who could believe him, and would be willing to help.
***
They got off the boat at five in the morning. A white flag hung at the place where they landed, with “Swallow Port” embroidered on the flag in blue letters, along with a swallow.
It was clearly the start of the day, but this Swallow Port was covered in thick fog; the only people present were two young individuals carrying swords, likely the disciples of some sect.
As soon as Ning Huaishan and One-Arm stepped foot onto the port, they squatted down.
“How come the number of divine statues in this place, compared to a few months ago, has again increased by a stretch? I said to not pass through here, to not pass through here, isn’t this trying to have my life?” He cradled his head, looking truly ill.
Before he got off the boat, Wu Xingxue had heard him mention a few things—
He said that although the Immortal Capital had perished, the common people still loved to carve divine statues. Those divine statues had consumed a great deal of offerings and incense; most of them carried a bit of immortal spirit, and although they couldn’t eliminate demons, they could still make them feel a bit ill.
Until now, most of the cultivation sects had congregated along the course of Dream Capital, Yuyang, and Lang Islet; it was a bit safer there. As for the rest of the places, they could only rely on the smaller sects as well as these divine statues to pass the days.
But even so, they couldn’t stop the increasingly arrogant demons.
After all, the Immortal City had perished, and there was no hope of ascension for cultivators; it only took one look to see the end of the road[5]. And demons and monsters abounded everywhere, unrestrained and reprobate. The more that they killed with abandon, the longer they lived.
It’s no surprise that the demon lair Zhaoye City grew bigger and bigger, the population larger and larger.
These two years, even incidents in Dream Capital, Yuyang, and Lang Islet occurred incessantly, forcing the ports, fords, and city gates to fill themselves to the brim with divine statues.
Swallow Port was just one example.
In comparison to the reaction of Ning Huaishan and One-Arm, Wu Xingxue was truly unbothered to the point of abnormality.
He stood surrounded by divine statues, but wasn’t affected even the slightest bit, and he even had the spare interest to listen to the conversation of those sword-carrying disciples.
“Tell me, after the demise of the Canglang Northern Territory, what are we going to do from now on? Aren’t those demon scum going to be even more arrogant?”
“We don’t even know how long we can last…”
“Sigh, it’s hard to say. Did you hear? Yesterday, the shi-jie[6] who went to the Canglang Northern Territory came back and said that the demon Wu Xingxue could still be alive! Now that Canglang Northern Territory has collapsed, he’s probably already gotten out.”
“Pst! Don’t say negative things, he won’t.”
Wu Xingxue thought ‘silly kid, he will, not only has he gotten out, but he’s listening to you spit at him right now.’
He was just thinking “Ning Huaishan and One-Arm, those two burdens[7] of the original owner, can I or can I not leave them outside the city?” when he suddenly heard a sentence—
One of the sword-carrying disciples couldn’t hold it in: “If that demon really got out, guess which place would be the first to go? Why am I so panicked?”
The other guard said: “Don’t panic, and don’t guess, it’s our Chunfan City.”
“…”
“Think about it, there are so many people in this city who have a vendetta against him. The Gao family, the Shen family, and Mr. Yi Wusheng, his brother, father, wife, and daughter all lost their lives in the hands of that demon, tragic deaths, ah…”
Wu Xingxue: “…”
Wu Xingxue: “What sheng??? Which sheng???”
Xiao Fuxuan lowered his head, saying: “The person you’re looking for, Yi Wusheng.”
Wu Xingxue was silent for a moment, then turned around to leave.
Looking for what, helping for what, he’s better off living in this demon’s body until he’s a hundred years old.
[1] 冤, means unfortunate in the sense that you were wrongly accused of something
[2] 凡人, someone with no spiritual powers
[3] 乌篷船, small bamboo boat with black awning
[4] 妖, a type of creature in Chinese mythology that can shapeshift between an human and an animal.
[5] Road as in道, as in Daoism; cultivation is rooted in the practice of Daoism.
[6] 师姐, meaning an older sister by the same master. Similarly, shi-xiong/shi-di means an older/younger brother by master.
[7] 拖油瓶, slang that actually means children from a previous marriage.
羡云月 