Chapter 102: 102 You

Just as Wang Wu was gripping the throat of the young cultivator who was attacking him, in the dense mountain forest, at the spot where the Traveling Inn had previously stood.

A coffin‑shaped building's phantom was flickering continuously over that clearing, its condition unlike the first two times, entirely different.

The first time—when Wang Wu first saw this thing—the red lantern outside the inn emitted light that was extremely clear.

The inn's outer wall was the same; every brick and the tiniest crack was rendered in fine detail.

By the second time—after Wang Wu first caused a ruckus inside the inn—the lantern's red glow was no longer so clear or bright, becoming somewhat conspicuous.

The inn's exterior was similarly vague, like low‑resolution wall textures in a video game.

As for the third time, the thing became a pure phantom, barely able to retain a complete shape, flickering over the clearing like a mirage.

Even more illusory than that.

The lanterns on the Traveling Inn's outer pillars swayed, their flames flickering on and off, matching the rhythm of the flickering phantom building.

Suddenly vanished, suddenly reappeared. Again it vanished, then reappeared.

After Wang Wu left the inn following his ruckus, about half an hour later the Traveling Inn reappeared on the clearing.

At that moment, the reappeared structure took on its current form: the lantern's red light began to flicker, and the building continuously flashed and convulsed.

After persisting for an hour, as if a problem arose, the Traveling Inn's phantom began to flash wildly, its speed increasing to dozens or hundreds of times the previous rate.

The lantern did the same, lighting up and extinguishing frantically; the light grew dimmer and dimmer as the on‑offs continued.

Finally, as if a switch had been pressed, the lantern went out completely, emitting no light, and immediately vanished together with the building behind it.

A gust of wind blew by, faintly laced with howls of despair, though no one heard them.

As the wind faded, everything returned to silence.

Creak—, Creak—

But right after the Traveling Inn vanished, accompanied by a chewing‑like sound, a slender humanoid suddenly emerged from where the inn had stood.

Its shape was indistinct, a blur. After lingering there briefly, it drifted forward.

Green Moss Island.

"Junior brother, stop…!!!"

Yao Qing, who was about to block her junior brother, never expected the sluggish Wang Wu to move so fast; she herself couldn't even react.

When her hand was only halfway out, the junior brother's neck was already firmly gripped by the other party.

"You intend to kill me?"

Wang Wu held the boy's throat with a deathly grip, his voice utterly cold, the Geng‑metal qi from his hand continuously flowing, penetrating the torn flesh into the boy's body.

"Dao, fellow cultivator…"

At that moment, seeing her junior brother, whom she had raised since childhood, in such a dire state, Yao Qing was instantly panicked.

She then looked at Wang Wu, her face pleading: "Fellow cultivator, could you… could you spare my junior brother?"

Wang Wu turned his head toward Yao Qing and said, "But he tried to kill me, and he used a killing technique."

"I… I know…" Yao Qing lowered her head, her face flushed red, "But… but…"

The words reached her lips, yet she could not utter them.

Seeing her like that, Wang Wu couldn't help but feel curious.

Clearly the young cultivator was someone very important to this woman, yet at this moment, faced with her junior brother nearly strangled to death, after hearing Wang Wu's words she was stuck, unable to speak a full sentence for ages.

He stared at Yao Qing for a while, noticing her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh.

Wang Wu could clearly feel her immense sorrow, yet even so she did not beg for mercy.

"Enough."

The Geng‑metal qi in his hand ceased infusion, and the qi that had entered the boy's body was withdrawn by Wang Wu. After injecting a bit of Yin‑Extreme True Qi for treatment, Wang Wu released his grip.

The boy instantly fell to the ground, blood gushing from his neck, but after a second or two the wound stopped bleeding and healed rapidly.

"Considering you saved me before, I won't hold this against you. I might not have needed your rescue, but you did save me. Moreover, you saved me first, then asked my purpose," Wang Wu said, pulling a porcelain bottle from his Qiankun Ring.

At that moment, hearing Wang Wu's words, Yao Qing suddenly looked up, gazing at the junior brother on the ground and then at Wang Wu; her eyes reddened to the point of bursting, tears streaming instantly.

"Th‑thank you… thank you…"

A hand was extended to Yao Qing, making the Yao Qing who was about to pounce on her junior brother freeze in place.

"Give it to her to eat; it can heal wounds."

"This matter stems from the prior existence of Heavenly Mystery; you, fellow cultivator, not only are willing to use your life force to restore the life of Heavenly Mystery, but also intend to give this wretched disciple the supreme Shang Xuan Restorative Pill. Your benevolent heart and magnanimity truly earn my admiration,"

At that moment, another voice sounded. Simultaneously, a gentle aura began to spread across the clearing.

Looking up, a middle‑aged cultivator with speckled white hair was slowly descending from the sky.

He wore a long sword at his waist like Yao Qing, dressed in a teal‑blue robe, his demeanor clear and vigorous. Though gaunt as a stick, his body harbored a vitality that would likely surpass the combined life force of everyone present.

And immense power.

Like a sleeping volcano.

"I am Li Shangxuan, thank you, fellow cultivator, for sparing the life of this wretched disciple," Li Shangxuan said as he landed and performed a solemn bow to Wang Wu.

"As for this Shang Xuan Restorative Pill," Li Shangxuan smiled, "please keep it. The life force I previously bestowed upon this wretched disciple is already sufficient; this pill is completely unnecessary for me."

"If you feel obliged, could you give me some money?" Wang Wu said, "Then this pill won't be free; consider it that you paid me for it."

"This… this…" Li Shangxuan stared at Wang Wu for a moment after hearing that. Then a wry smile appeared on his face as he lowered his head and shook it:

"Your virtue, fellow cultivator, makes me feel inadequate. But… this Shang Xuan Restorative Pill, I'm truly short of funds; I can't spare much money…"

"How much do you have?" Wang Wu asked.

"Only… um, just over a thousand taels."

"Then give me five hundred," Wang Wu blurted out boldly, "hand over five hundred taels, and the pill is yours."

"I… I have three hundred taels here!" Yao Qing hurriedly said from behind, rushing forward to draw money from her Qiankun Sleeve.

"Qing'er!"

But Li Shangxuan suddenly spoke up, scolding Yao Qing, about to say something more, when Wang Wu had already spoken his words in advance:

"That's even better, plus your three hundred taels," Wang Wu turned his head toward Yao Qing, "Give me three hundred taels, he'll give me another five hundred, and I'll sell you the eight hundred taels."

"Give them to me?" Seeing Yao Qing freeze, Wang Wu reached out his hand, saying anxiously.

Facing Wang Wu like that, Yao Qing, who had been scolded by the master, was at a loss.

So she looked at her own teacher; after watching Wang Wu for a while, Li Shangxuan nodded toward his disciple.

"Not bad, you two are not bad, really on the Dao," receiving the money, Wang Wu broke into a delighted grin, happily storing the gold into his spatial ring, then handing the pill to Li Shangxuan.

"Alright, since the goods have been delivered," Wang Wu bowed to the two, glanced at the tear‑weeping young disciple on the ground whom no one cared about, and continued, "Then I'm leaving."

Having said that, he turned and left.

After Wang Wu departed, she kept staring at his silhouette until he completely vanished from view, then Yao Qing finally lowered her gaze.

Immediately, she rushed to the junior disciple's side, helped him up. After checking his condition and finding he was completely unharmed, her sense of shame intensified.

"This creature is fine."

At that moment, the master's cold voice sounded beside Yao Qing's ear; she looked up at the master, whose gaze was calm, yet she could feel the great fury in his heart.

"Your senior sister and your childhood playmate—she would never, nor could she ever get involved with that person," Li Shangxuan said, looking at his most valued disciple, his voice icy:

"But what did you do? Jealousy? Or inferiority?"

"How could I have been so blind at the time, accepting such a thing from you?"

"Even if your senior sister later truly fell for that person, what of it? With the way you acted today, ready to take a life, you are fundamentally unworthy of your senior sister."

Looking at the junior disciple in her arms, Yao Qing silently lowered her head to the ground beside her, offering no rebuttal to the master, nor any intention to.

Even though the two had been childhood playmates, and Yao Qing was extremely fond of this junior disciple, still... as the master said, the junior disciple's actions today were truly excessive.

"You needn't think your senior sister will look after you; I will assign someone to care for you. Starting tomorrow, you will go to the Regret‑Thinking Cave to atone for one hundred and eight days."

Having finished, Li Shangxuan's true qi circulated in his hand, and Li Tianxuan stepped away from Yao Qing's grasp to stand before Li Shangxuan.

Pressing the pill that Wang Wu had sold him into the other's mouth, Li Shangxuan then left with Li Tianxuan.

After the master and the junior disciple left, Yao Qing only then rose from the ground.

She wiped the remaining tears from the corner of her eye, suddenly as if recalling something, her gaze flicked hurriedly, and she immediately leapt toward the direction Wang Wu had gone.

Emerging from the Qingping Sect gate and overlooking the entire island, the place was also bustling, not inferior to any county town Wang Wu had visited.

Unlike the county towns and villages he had encountered before, on this island, apart from the Qingping Sect on the island, Wang Wu saw no city walls.

Residential fences don't count.

"Wang, Daoist friend."

Just as Wang Wu was pondering where to go, a voice from behind him suddenly sounded—Yao Qing's.

"What?" He turned his head toward Yao Qing; the woman's eye circles were still red, but now she had regained her previously cool demeanor.

Her gaze when meeting Wang Wu's was somewhat evasive, faintly showing a hint of shame.

"If a Daoist friend wishes to leave, someone must provide a boat. The other docks are closed in winter; to go to the lake you can only be ferried by a Qingping Sect cultivator," Yao Qing said as she came to Wang Wu's side.

"I plan to stroll around before leaving," Wang Wu said, then pointed to a residential area in the distance, "I'll go there, buy some local specialties, and return after buying."

"Then, I'll wait for the Daoist friend at the previous dock."

"As you wish." After saying that, Wang Wu leapt toward that side.

Soon, he arrived at this residential area; the streets were still bustling, filled with people everywhere.

There were many cultivators on Qingping Island; at this moment, out of every ten people wandering the street, four or five were cultivators. Because of the large number of cultivators, the goods here were of extremely high quality and price.

The prices were so high that after only a few minutes of browsing, Wang Wu immediately gave up.

"Damn it, one tael per basket of buns? Why not rush to snatch them??"

Walking the road toward the dock, Wang Wu muttered curses all the way, clearly extremely dissatisfied with the island's prices.

Beside him, Yao Qing remained silent the whole time, because she didn't know what to say.

Earlier, when Wang Wu suggested spending money to sell the Xuanbu Ming Dan to the junior disciple, Yao Qing thought it was just a pretext Wang Wu used because he feared the master wouldn't accept it.

But now, it seems...

Although she feels she may have wronged this Daoist friend, at this moment Yao Qing truly thinks...

This guy really seems to love money.

She said she'd go to the dock to wait for Wang Wu, but after he left, Yao Qing hesitated briefly, then followed him.

Arriving at the dock, they boarded a boat. Soon, the small vessel slipped back into the lake's mist, and Wang Wu, seated on the boat, once again took out a bunch of pastries and began eating.

Now, Yao Qing's face had fully returned to its previous state, becoming cold and sharp.

Like a sword.

"Earlier I wanted to kill your junior disciple; why didn't you step in to stop me?" After the boat had been sailing for a while, Wang Wu asked.

"I did act, but the Daoist friend was too fast; I didn't have time to stop the junior disciple before he was..."

"I meant you should have stepped in to stop me," Wang Wu interrupted her, "I was already prepared to kill him; if I hadn't considered the favor you did for me, he would already be dead now."

"Your master as well; he seemed to be nearby the whole time, yet he didn't stop me either."

Wang Wu was somewhat puzzled.

"Because the junior disciple wanted to kill you," Yao Qing said after hearing Wang Wu's words.

"And he indeed did so." At this point, Yao Qing lowered her head, sighed, "Then his death at your hands is his own fault."

"That's what he deserved."

"Oh…" Wang Wu was enlightened.

Both fell silent; Yao Qing rowed the boat in silence, Wang Wu ate in silence, no longer sharing the sweets with her.

Because the woman now had no appetite, seemingly lacking any desire to eat.

But after a while, Yao Qing proactively broke the silence:

Why?

"What 'why'?" Wang Wu stopped his movement, looked at her, "If you have something to say, say it directly; don't ask suddenly, yet not tell me what you're asking."

"Why, Daoist friend... are you willing to pay such a great price to save me... to save my junior brother?" Yao Qing stared straight at Wang Wu, "Even to the point of spending life Qi..."

"You helped me, I'll give you face, it's simple." Wang Wu, already accustomed to the other mistaking his Yin‑extremity true Qi for life Qi, said directly:

"I have always repaid grudges with revenge and kindness with gratitude. Since you don't want your junior brother to die, I'll let him go this time."

"You helped me, even though I might not have needed your help at the time." Wang Wu said, "That's cause."

"He wanted to kill me; given my nature, I would certainly have killed him. But I spared your junior brother because of your earlier goodwill, so this is the effect."

"This cause-and-effect chain is finished, so you owe me nothing. No need to overthink it."

"Besides, I'm not a good person; you and your master need not think I'm some saint, there's no need for that."

At this moment, the boat had already docked.

Wang Wu stepped off the boat and headed toward the forest ahead. On the boat, Yao Qing stared blankly at his silhouette; after a while, she finally turned around.

She silently memorized Wang Wu's words and his name in her heart. Just as she was about to row away, Yao Qing suddenly lifted her head and looked toward Wang Wu's direction.

Looking into the depths of the forest, her complexion instantly turned deathly pale.

Immediately after, she leapt out of the small boat, sending a signal as she rushed toward the direction Wang Wu had gone.

The moment she entered the dense forest, the surrounding space rippled, and she vanished in an instant.

At the same time, within Qingping Sect.

After settling his disciple in the Regret‑Thinking Cave, Li Shangxuan stepped out of the cave and felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

Because he had received a signal from disciple Yao Qing; according to the sect's transmission signal standards, this signal indicated the emergence of an anomaly beyond normal grades.

At this moment, due to Yao Qing's rapid rowing, Zi Yuan and the others were still sprinting across the lake, still some distance from the shore.

Nevertheless, they could still communicate with Wang Wu, because Wang Wu's walkie‑talkie range was far larger than his transmission range.

But Wang Wu clearly did not realize where he had already arrived; he was still running around the forest.

At this moment he was standing on a tree, chatting with the girls inside the spherical fortress, waiting for them to come over so they could leave together, which would take about four or five minutes.

But just then, a voice from behind Wang Wu came:

"Daoist friend!!"

Turning his head, he found Yao Qing, panting heavily, standing on a tree behind him, her expression extremely solemn as she looked at him:

"Daoist friend, quick, quick come out with me, this is already..."

"Woom—"

A beam of light shot from the crystal protruding on Wang Wu's forehead, striking Yao Qing's forehead precisely.

Seeing the beam fired from Wang Wu's forehead, clearly aimed at her, Yao Qing's expression froze, and she remained rooted in place.

The golden light hit precisely, but unlike the previous oddities at the inn, the body was not instantly engulfed and dissolved by the golden light.

Wang Wu saw an extremely strange smile on the fake Yao Qing's face. Then she vanished from that spot.

Heavenly Demon Eye instantly opened, sweeping the forest, and immediately Wang Wu saw the real Yao Qing among the trees.

And a slender humanoid, back turned to Yao Qing, slowly turning its body.

"Damn!"

Wang Wu cursed aloud, instantly transforming into a Heavenly Demon Yin Spirit Body, and rushed that way.

(End of Chapter)