Chapter 46

Volume One: Mountain Ghost Rumor, Chapter 46: Fickle

Xun Lan said slowly: "Senior Sister Lin's sword qi is often described as the cold wind of the eleventh month, which is why she earned the title 'Guye'. That true Sword Immortal, however, called Senior Sister Lin 'containing three parts of wine aura,' which was refreshing. But the title of Guye Sword Immortal is still the one most mentioned by many junior sisters."

There are twelve months in a year; the eleventh month is also known as: Guye, Dongyue, Longqianyue, Changyue, and Jiayue. Among these, only Guye and Dongyue are widely known.

Xun Lan had heard that the Beifeng Dynasty also had a prodigy who was clearly in the Middle Five Realms but was called a Sword Immortal, known as the Qinghe Sword Immortal.

Qinghe also refers to the fourth month of the year.

As disciples of mountain sects, they were knowledgeable and far beyond the Hundred-Households and Thousand-Households like Kong Yanxing and Yuan Hou who were holed up within a single country.

Only Bai Yuqing, as a Pacification Envoy, or Demon Slayers above her, had the qualifications to take their eyes off a single country and look toward a larger world.

For someone like Zhao Chan, even if you told him there are people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens, he wouldn't be able to imagine what kind of "people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens" they were. Only by walking down-to-earth step by step, or climbing arduously from the foot of the mountain, could he reach a certain level and look down upon all the mountains, competing with those heaven-sent prodigies.

Huangfu Changqiu looked at Zhao Chan, who now had the upper hand: "He could clearly kill the demon with one strike using the peach branch, yet he is willing to risk danger in close-quarters combat. He must be worried that the outsider cultivators will notice the peach branch's miraculous nature."

"His current skills aren't enough to handle complex fist techniques. If his fist and foot techniques weren't simple and direct, he might not be a match for a Middle-Grade Qi Gathering Realm demon. What do you think, Fairy Bai?" Xun Lan said slowly.

Bai Yuqing's attention was not on Zhao Chan's fist and foot techniques or his agile movement dodging the demon's bites and claw strikes, but rather, she was almost talking to herself: "Who taught him the method of tempering his physique?"

"Hm?" Xun Lan and Huangfu Changqiu finally reacted.

They looked at Zhao Chan again.

Huangfu Changqiu murmured: "I almost misjudged. Zhao Chan's physique is far superior to the demon's; it is definitely not something an Upper Grade Body Refining Realm cultivator could possess."

Xun Lan also said: "He has fought continuously against humans and demons without ever stopping to rest. Without a physique that makes one gasp in astonishment, he simply couldn't have persisted."

"Hmph! The young master is a heaven-sent prodigy to begin with! Did you only just realize?" Bai Youjun waved her small fists and said softly.

It seemed that praising Zhao Chan was the same as praising her.

Huangfu Changqiu looked at her sideways: "You girl, aren't you afraid of 'losing your armor' in the love barrier?"

Bai Youjun said: "The young master will never abandon me."

"Ha, interesting. You are deeply in love with him, but I see that your young master is a complete stranger to you."

"It doesn't matter. After spending time together, the young master will naturally become familiar with me."

Xun Lan interjected: "After the matter in Youju Town ends, Fairy Bai will definitely take you away. How can she be at ease leaving you here?"

Her words made Bai Youjun very anxious. She grabbed Bai Yuqing's arm and shook it gently: "Sister, you..."

"Shut up," Bai Yuqing scolded.

She couldn't afford to lose face in front of Xun Lan and Huangfu Changqiu.

Bai Youjun said stubbornly: "I'm not leaving! I'm staying in Youju Town."

"Qing, let's talk about this slowly."

"No, Sister, give me an answer now."

Bai Yuqing was as cold as frost.

Xun Lan and Huangfu Changqiu were happy to watch the sisters' drama and occasionally helped Bai Youjun: "That's right, what if she stays in Youju Town and, after a long time, they fall in love?"

The difficulty of the love barrier lies in "mutual affection."

Bai Yuqing's face turned black instantly.

The reason she knew Zhang Cui Cui had died in the love barrier was precisely because Zhang Cui Cui and Yang Yun had mutual affection.

Xun Lan said slowly: "Fairy Bai, the Hengwu Pavilion has a method to pass the love barrier. It's just that this method was left by our predecessors and is extremely precious. If Fairy Bai could put in a good word for the Hengwu Pavilion at the Demon Slayer Division, I will fetch it for you after returning to the Hengwu Pavilion."

Huangfu Changqiu was not to be outdone: "The Baoyu Studio's method for passing the love barrier has its own unique tricks compared to the Hengwu Pavilion. If Fairy Bai is willing to put in a good word for the Baoyu Studio, I will immediately send a thousand-mile message to the senior sisters in my sect to have it delivered by fast horse."

Xun Lan rolled her eyes at her.

Huangfu Changqiu smiled awkwardly.

Just now, they hadn't reached a conclusion at the Xizhao Inn.

The two of them had tried to persuade Bai Yuqing using the lives of the common people, but still hadn't made her relent.

Seeing Bai Yuqing just staring at Bai Youjun without answering.

Huangfu Changqiu interrupted the silence at the right time: "Could Zhao Chan be a fallen immortal? In a small place surrounded by mountains and water, even if there's a hint of it being a place where heroes are born, it's vastly different from those treasure lands rich in spiritual qi. How could it give birth to such a heaven-sent prodigy?"

"His peach branch is also quite strange."

Bai Yuqing suddenly said: "Don't you two have designs on the peach branch."

Huangfu Changqiu asked with a smile: "Why? Could it be that Zhao Chan was taught by a great master, and the peach branch given to him is actually an unimaginable treasure of heaven and earth?"

Bai Yuqing had always been suspicious of Lao Liu's identity. When she went to Zhao Chan's house and mentioned Lao Liu, it shocked her so much that she immediately took Bai Youjun and left, fearing that Lao Liu had laid out some hidden plans around Zhao Chan.

However, over the past few days, she hadn't discovered any hidden plans laid by Lao Liu, as if he were truly just an ordinary old bachelor, rather than a mysterious cultivator who had cultivated such a "monstrous" genius as Zhao Chan.

"You can try if you want; in any case, I'm also quite curious."

"Fairy Bai is overthinking it. We are too busy protecting Zhao Chan to ever harm him."

Zhao Chan and the demon's close-quarters combat was coming to an end.

The young lad was riding on the demon's neck, like taming an unruly wild horse, smashing his fists into the demon's skull with every blow.

The demon was bleeding profusely, its consciousness blurred; let alone throwing Zhao Chan off, it couldn't even manage to escape.

The heart Bai Youjun had been holding in her throat slowly returned to her chest.

"Where are you going?" Bai Yuqing grabbed her wrist.

"Hm? Didn't Sister ask me to talk to the young master about something?"

"No rush."

Xun Lan asked: "Tell him about the catastrophe the town is about to face? Fairy Bai, this time it should be me persuading you. Try not to let him know about certain things. He is young now, and his Dao heart is not firm. If his Dao heart is ruined, it will be a big trouble to repair."

Bai Yuqing grinned, not caring. She asked back with a hint of heroism: "Have you two decided yet? Are you going to act or not?"

"Sigh, it's a dilemma. If Fairy Bai doesn't agree to our request, it makes no difference whether we act or not."

"Do you not care about the lives of the people here?"

"We care more about Fairy Bai, who is an Eighth-Rank Pacification Envoy of the Demon Slayer Division," Xun Lan said bluntly.

Bai Yuqing mocked: "You two, you're not even as good as demon cultivators."

"Cultivation is like rowing against the current; we can barely take care of ourselves, how can we manage outsiders?" Xun Lan said lightly.

On the other side, Zhao Chan landed the final punch, and the demon collapsed to the ground, completely devoid of life.

Bai Yuqing sneered: "Do as you please."

"Fairy Bai," Huangfu Changqiu called out to her as she was about to leave, "Besides the Heinei Kingdom, which other country does the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division have a good relationship with?"

Bai Yuqing said: "Could it be that you don't know that the Demon Slayer Divisions of all countries are one?"

"Sister..." Bai Youjun just started to speak.

"Shut up!" She was truly angry.

Bai Youjun was instantly too scared to speak.

Holding Qing's hand, Bai Yuqing took her back to the Xizhao Inn.

They sat back in their previous positions.

Huangfu Changqiu and Xun Lan were like tag-alongs, sitting across from them again.

"Are you two annoying or what?"

"If Fairy Bai doesn't reveal some secrets of the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division to us, I'm afraid we'll have to pester you," Xun Lan said.

"Hmph, is that how the Hengwu Pavilion taught you to conduct yourself?"

"Not at all, this is something I realized through sudden enlightenment."

The two had exchanged words on the way. Huangfu Changqiu asked: "Let's ask something Fairy Bai can say. Just how powerful is the current Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division?"

Xun Lan added slowly: "If Fairy Bai tells us, we can use it to restrain our sect disciples after returning, so they don't get uprooted by the Demon Slayer Division like the Qianshui Sect."

Bai Yuqing sneered: "I can reveal a little bit about this to you."

"We are all ears."

"The Baoyu Studio plus the Hengwu Pavilion... and counting the Yushen Mountain that is on good terms with your two sects, even if the three of you join forces, you are no match for the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division."

"..."

The two fell silent instantly.

Not to mention their two sects, the Yushen Mountain had a terrifying background; it was rumored to have inextricable links with an existing Rain Master, and the cultivation techniques they practiced were taught by that Rain Master deity. If the three sects joined forces and still couldn't defeat the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division, they would have to think carefully.

"I won't hide it from you: last year, the Yushen Mountain sent people to visit the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division and brought ten spirit artifacts as a greeting gift."

Huangfu Changqiu was slightly surprised: "Ten spirit artifacts? What a grand gesture."

For an ordinary mountain sect, having one spirit artifact is already amazing; those with deeper foundations might have three or five. Like the Yushen Mountain sending ten spirit artifacts to the Demon Slayer Division at once—even if they were all low-grade spirit artifacts—it was a "throwing away thousands of gold" that was breathtaking.

And Xun Lan was more concerned about where the Yushen Mountain got the inside information; otherwise, why would they lower their status to visit the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division?

Bai Yuqing added: "As far as I know, this time when they went to destroy mountains and break temples, they brought two spirit artifacts to the Heinei Kingdom."

The implication was: the three of you joining forces are no match for the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division, let alone the fact that the Yushen Mountain is already on the side of the Demon Slayer Division. I advise you to hurry up and learn from the Yushen Mountain, so you don't get "visited" by the Demon Slayer Division in the future; at that time, it won't just be a matter of peeling off a layer of skin.

Xun Lan suddenly smiled: "Forget it. Huangfu Changqiu and I aren't Demon Slayers; let's leave this mess for Pacification Envoy Bai to deal with herself."

"Senior Sister Xun?" Huangfu Changqiu was puzzled as to why she was standing by again.

"Fairy Bai, we will take Wu Ting and Chen Xianggu away. Afterward, the Baoyu Studio and the Hengwu Pavilion will naturally have generous gifts to thank the Demon Slayer Division," Xun Lan said quickly.

Huangfu Changqiu suddenly realized.

Since the Yushen Mountain had already "defected," the Baoyu Studio and the Hengwu Pavilion shouldn't persist; they should hurry up and "defect" too.

By taking the genius away to become a disciple right under Bai Yuqing's nose, they could use it as an excuse to openly thank the Xitang Kingdom Demon Slayer Division.

Calling it a thank-you gift was nothing more than learning from the Yushen Mountain and sending gifts.

Bai Yuqing reacted instantly: "Do you think the gifts you send are more important than the lives of the people in a town?"

"It depends on what kind of gifts are sent," Xun Lan said confidently.

Huangfu Changqiu abruptly grasped a dark green jade pendant, transmitted True Qi into it, and reported the two matters of the Yushen Mountain and Wu Ting to the Baoyu Studio.

Xun Lan's "Thousand-Mile Message Jade Talisman" was a dagger just over three inches long, which also reported the Yushen Mountain matter and the recruitment of Chen Xianggu to the Hengwu Pavilion.

Thousand-Mile Message Jade Talismans come in all shapes and sizes, not limited to the jade talisman format; they are just collectively called "jade talismans."

Seeing them react first without getting her consent, Bai Yuqing couldn't be bothered to say much more.

From the perspective of mountain cultivators, the gifts sent by the Baoyu Studio and the Hengwu Pavilion were indeed much more valuable than the lives of the people in a town.

Huangfu Changqiu put away the Thousand-Mile Message Jade Talisman; the rest was waiting for the sect's reply. She said: "To say something Fairy Bai doesn't like to hear, you are more like a human than a human now."

Bai Yuqing sneered: "There are many types of demons; how can I manage them all? Besides, now only Qing and I are left to depend on each other."

"Right, Fairy Bai, don't forget: after sixty years, I represent the Baoyu Studio in inviting you to be an Offering or a Guest Minister Elder."

Previously, there was a difference between an Offering and a Guest Minister, but as time passed, the two became the same meaning, just sounding different in title.

"The Hengwu Pavilion will also invite Fairy Bai," Xun Lan said.

"How can one person serve as an Offering for two sects?"

"Others can't, but Fairy Bai is qualified."

"We'll see."

Huangfu Changqiu and Xun Lan stopped acting, letting the people of Youju Town experience this catastrophe.

Zhao Chan lowered his head to check his top; fortunately, he had deliberately avoided the demon blood this time, and his newly changed clothes were still clean.

"Zhao Chan!"

The people of Xiaoshi Village who were temporarily staying here had all run away. Wu Ting returned and stood by the wall, waving at him.

Zhao Chan jogged over: "The demon is dead."

Wu Ting looked him over: "You aren't hurt?"

"No, it was no match for me. Besides, this demon seemed like a flowery pillow—good to look at but useless, not comparable to the ones we killed before."

The young lad was referring to the demons they encountered when burying Lao Liu.

Wu Ting breathed a sigh of relief and asked slowly: "Should we call the villagers back?"

"I'll go find Wang Dage and find a new place for the villagers to stay temporarily."

"Here..."

He interrupted: "Even if there are no more demon infestations, the villagers have lingering fears and won't want to continue living here."

"Okay, I'll listen to you," Wu Ting nodded heavily.

"Will Sister Wu go with me?"

"Sure."

The two ran from Nongsui Lane to Caiyan Street.

"Wang Dage is resting at the Demon Slayer Division. He hasn't closed his eyes for a long time and is holding on entirely by willpower."

"Warrior Wang is indeed dutiful. Zhao Chan... sigh, when will the demon infestation end?"

"Sister Wu, don't worry. I went to Yang County to seek help and brought back a Hundred-Household!"

"Is his name Hundred-Household?"

"No, no, it's an official position in the Demon Slayer Division. Wang Dage is in the Body Refining Realm and has made many contributions, so he was appointed as a Warrior by the Demon Slayer Division. The official position above Warrior is Captain, and after Captain comes Hundred-Household."

"What's the difference between the officials appointed by the Demon Slayer Division and those appointed by the imperial court?" Wu Ting asked, puzzled.

Zhao Chan shook his head: "I don't know either. When I find out, I'll tell Sister Wu."

"What is that Hundred-Household official like?"

"Kong Dage! He's a good person who does things for the people," Zhao Chan said, comparing him to Wang Huan.

"You are really lucky; the people you meet are all good people."

"I've also met many bad people," Zhao Chan said helplessly.

Those outsider cultivators trying to kill him again and again made the young lad feel quite a headache.

Especially on the way to seek help in Yang County, when four outsiders used techniques to hunt him down; if it hadn't been for the talismans Wang Dage gave him for self-defense, the consequences would have been hard to predict.

"Will you go to Yang County?" Wu Ting asked suddenly.

Zhao Chan said: "I also want to go out and see the world."

Facing Wu Ting, the young lad was willing to lower his guard a little and speak his heart.