Chapter 38
The quiet night was filled with the comfortable chirping of cicadas, a sound that dispelled the heavy atmosphere in the air. It was as if the recent, bloody battle hadn't happened at all; the only evidence was the almost-dried blood that had seeped into the soil. Everything had returned to its peaceful and tranquil state.
On a small path leading to Qin Lou's pond, a solitary figure stood with a blade of grass between his lips. This was Shin Jiao. After taking care of some loose ends, he decided to return and rest. He had been present during Qin Lou's fight against the twin assassins known as the Twin Tigers. As he watched, he had been ready to rush in if any trouble arose. Although he was confident in Qin Lou's skills, he was wary of unknown variables. But seeing the girl handle the two assassins with ease, he felt like an old teacher smiling at his student's prowess.
"With all the things I've taught her, I should be considered her master, right?" Shin Jiao said to himself.
"But things are going to get complicated now. According to the information I just acquired from that young man, the Blood Forest Academy will make their move sooner or later. And their target is Qin Lou. I don't think I'll have a peaceful day in this chaotic land. Hehe… a peaceful day in a chaotic land, that would be a first." Shin Jiao mused.
At the time, when one of the main culprits escaped, Shin Jiao spotted him and monitored his movements with his goggles. He let the culprit be until he was sure Qin Lou was safe. Once everyone had left, he quickly snuck into the house where the young man was watching the events unfold. Shin Jiao simply watched him with interest.
When the youth was about to leave, Shin Jiao made his presence known. The youth was startled and immediately attacked, but Shin Jiao vanished and reappeared behind him. Shin Jiao had moved quickly into the youth's blind spot, making it seem as if he had disappeared into thin air. He then used a technique to immobilize the youth in a single move. Shin Jiao wanted to know who he was, but the special hood the youth wore prevented him from using his spirit sense to see his face. So he decided to remove the hood himself.
When the hood and the mask were removed, Shin Jiao was a little shocked. The youth was a familiar face. He thought deeply, and after a closer look, he realized the youth was from the Blood Forest Academy. He then remembered a contestant who had been fighting with the young monk earlier. The youth seemed to be in the top ten of the fighting contest.
Since the young man was glaring at him fiercely, Shin Jiao thought it would be difficult to get the information he wanted. But who would have known that when he unconcernedly stabbed the youth's left leg with a stone pike he casually crafted, the youth would spill out everything—and more?
What made Shin Jiao frown was that when the youth saw him form the stone into a spike, his eyes lit up, and he began to curry favor with Shin Jiao. It was as if he was begging Shin Jiao for something other than just his life. The young man's face showed a look of hope and delight.
"You… you're an artifact crafter? The whole empire is looking for people like you… those who can craft artifacts. If you spare me, I can help you get whatever you want… our academy can even help you. What do you say? Huh… spare me, just this once… okay? The Blood Forest Academy would even cancel our hunt for Senior Qin Lou if you agree to come with me."
But Shin Jiao didn't listen to his pleading. He decided to eliminate this potential threat. After he had learned everything he needed, he quietly set up the scene to make it look as if the youth had been assassinated. A clean stab from the back had punctured his heart. Shin Jiao didn't want to spare people who posed a potential threat to him and those around him.
Afterward, as was an old habit of his, he bit on a stalk of grass whenever he killed someone to at least alleviate the guilt and angst he felt after taking a life. One reason he had left the secret government agency on Earth was his conscience; although he was sometimes called a killing machine, his heart always yearned for peace.
However, unknown to Shin Jiao, after he left the scene, where a bloodied corpse was supposed to be lying lifeless, its finger suddenly twitched.
Shin Jiao had been walking for some time when he suddenly heard the sound of a girl sobbing insistently. Her broken words almost tugged at his heartstrings.
"Sob… sob… I don't believe… he's… dead. Even… if King Yama took him, I'll… I'll… barge into the underworld and get him back. Huhuhu… hic.." Qin Lou cried, stuttering through her sobs.
"Senior Lou, please calm down. I also agree that your mortal servant isn't gone yet. But we need to find him first. I think I have an…" Susu Ling said, patting Qin Lou's back in an attempt to soothe her feelings.
But before she could say anything else, a gust of wind interrupted her, and she found that Qin Lou was already gone. Susu Ling watched as Qin Lou dashed toward a certain handsome youth. Without hesitation, Qin Lou jumped into his embrace.
Shin Jiao was surprised at first by the figure rushing toward him, but then he saw Qin Lou clearly as she dove into his arms. He was stunned by her actions, but from what he had heard, he understood how she felt. Although he wouldn't judge her based on her looks, Shin Jiao didn't have time to develop feelings for other people, as his heart wouldn't accept anyone yet. Still, he wasn't so arrogant that he would deny friendship.
Then, Shin Jiao could clearly see Qin Lou's lower face, as the tear in her mask was just covered by a simple veil, and his spiritual sense could see through it.
His eyes lit up when he saw the greenish veins pulsating like tiny worms. Upon seeing them, something came to his mind: 'natural energy poison' or, as Gubu had once written, 'mana poison'. The reason her face could not be cured, no matter what her master and school tried to do, was that she had 'mana poison'.
Only cultivators in the World Nascent Realm could heal her, as at that level, a cultivator could wield all the energy in this world. Shin Jiao was an exception; although he could identify this poison, the problem was that he didn't know any magic spells. World Nascent cultivators were not common in this world, as they would always hide away for many years and seldom emerge. So Shin Jiao thought of what Gubu once wrote: there was a spell called 'higher purification', used by paladins, an advanced rank of warrior or cleric, who could cleanse any known poison in the body.
At first, Shin Jiao didn't want to get involved in Qin Lou's business, but after clearly seeing the true appearance of her face, he became curious. Before, due to the heavy formation array, he had only been able to get a vague view of her face. So he wondered, how could a young cultivator have a chance encounter with magic using mana? What is her true background? And who are her parents? These questions made Shin Jiao think for a while, but then he snapped back to the present and looked at Qin Lou.
"Hey, are you okay?" Shin Jiao asked.
"Umn…" Qin Lou became shy upon waking up from her sorrow and excitement and discovering herself in Shin Jiao's arms, but still, she didn't move.
"Sheesh, you really are something, making your master worry like that." Susu Ling felt a little conflicted upon seeing her idol in the arms of a man.
What made her even more irritated was that the man was just a mere mortal. After a while, she couldn't hold it in anymore and tried to get their attention, not wanting to see such mushy things. But before she could say anything, someone interjected.
"You young ones really are something… bold enough to show affection in front of these old men, haha…" An elderly voice interrupted Shin Jiao, Qin Lou, and Susu Ling's thoughts.
Upon hearing this, Qin Lou jumped out of Shin Jiao's embrace and smoothed her unkempt robe. Although she was wearing a mask, Shin Jiao knew she was blushing and feeling awkward.
"Ah… Elder Ao! This… this is my mortal servant, Shin Jiao." Qin Lou quickly introduced Shin Jiao to cover her shyness.
"Hmmm… a mortal, eh… May I ask how you were able to escape the clutches of those cultivators?" Elder Ao asked, his eyes beaming with interest.
Shin Jiao scratched his head. He had actually prepared an alibi for this question. Then he slowly took out an old, incomplete map and a high-grade spiritual stone from a small pouch hidden under his robe. He showed them to the people in front of him.
"I won't hide anything from you elders. I'm always curious about this world and travel a lot. In my travels, I learned that those cultivators outside are always greedy and selfish. So I found a way to trick most cultivators using these two things: an old, incomplete map and this spirit stone." Shin Jiao showed them the objects and didn't explain further, letting their imaginations run wild.
"Haha! Ingenious… truly ingenious! Although you are weak, you were able to borrow the blade of others to save yourself." This time, Master Ju exclaimed loudly as if he could clearly see how Shin Jiao had tricked those cultivators.
"Young man, although you're a mortal, I saw that you can make formations that even this old man couldn't see. If it's not an inconvenience, might you tell this old man? I'm truly baffled by your abilities." Master Ju suddenly said with a smile.
Hearing this, Shin Jiao's heart almost skipped a beat. He didn't expect the old man in front of him to be a formation expert. No wonder he was calm during the contest but had already noticed the formation. So, without a choice, he had to tell a half-lie.
"Master, this lowly mortal discovered this method in an ancient cave. This is a hiding array disk which anyone could use just by putting a beast core in the middle. Then I discovered that we mortals can actually make simple formations that don't require the use of spiritual stones or spiritual Qi. I just need to hold a level 1 beast core and use its energy to create some simple formations, like a level 1 concealment array and a level 1 spirit blocking array. But I cannot make any trap or attacking arrays, or my body would explode from the Qi energy." Shin Jiao explained.
Upon hearing this, Master Ju nodded. It actually made sense, and he had also read in some books in the capital that some cultivators used mortal slaves to form attacking arrays, but this would sacrifice their weak bodies. He didn't think the young man had such heavenly luck to discover this secret. But as a high-level cultivator and formation array master, he didn't covet what Shin Jiao had. He was convinced by Shin Jiao's explanation.
Qin Lou just listened to Shin Jiao with shining eyes. She knew he was not a normal mortal and that what he said to Master Ju was only half the truth. But she didn't care; all she knew was that Shin Jiao was okay and not hurt. She didn't know how she felt about him, but she knew she felt happy and calm when he was around.
The group talked while walking toward the building where the elders of the alchemist school resided. On the way, Shin Jiao actually showed Master Ju the process of how he could make simple formations, and his body truly didn't use any spiritual Qi. Master Ju hadn't fully trusted Shin Jiao, but upon seeing it with his own eyes, he truly believed him. This made the old man so happy that he wanted to exchange more pointers on the formation array with him and almost didn't let him go even after they arrived at the building.
Meanwhile…
In a hidden room in the city of Er, a middle-aged man was writing some formulas while leisurely sipping tea. Suddenly, the space on a platform abruptly contorted, and a young man materialized from a tear in space. The old man was the chief alchemist of the Floating Lotus Alchemy School, the level 4 alchemist Master Kong.
And now, in front of him was his prized disciple, Xing Meng.
Xing Meng still felt a little dizzy after the almost-instant teleportation. He slowly looked around the area and found a middle-aged man staring incredulously at him.
"Master! I'm… I'm safe… Haha! Thank you for that teleportation bead you gave me, master." Xing Meng said as he kowtowed toward the middle-aged man.
"Why are you here? How was the inter-school competition? Don't tell me you lost?" Master Kong suddenly bombarded his disciple with questions.
"This… ah! Master, I found something really amazing this time. I discovered this while strolling along the mountainside." Xing Meng said as he quickly took out the tiny scroll he had gotten from Qin Lou.
"What is this?" Master Kong asked as he inspected the scroll Xing Meng handed him.
After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up, and a joyous expression appeared on his face. He was aware that Lu Hao Duang was making a new kind of pill that could be heaven-defying. He had once had a glimpse of the ingredients when Lu Hao Duang had suddenly left the alchemy room. Since then, he had also been trying to research that pill. Now that he had his hands on this, he wouldn't let the old man get the glory of making this heaven-defying pill.
"Hahaha! This is truly great! You did well, my disciple. I truly didn't waste my time teaching you." A glint of greed and craftiness suddenly appeared in Master Kong's eyes as he laughed.
"Hehe, I just wanted master to remember me when you get all the glory from the empire. Hehe." Xing Meng said slyly.
Both master and disciple laughed evilly inside the secret room, and their laughter reverberated in every corner. Then Master Kong looked at Xing Meng with a curious eye and asked a crucial question.
"Did you see the actual pill?"