“I found this thing first!”
“Then snatch it back if you can.”
Two men were walking hurriedly. Wen Chiyue recognized one of them, it was that arrogant Fellow Daoist Chen from before.
Chen’s appearance was disheveled, his bound hair had partially fallen around his face, and his fair skin was covered in dust. He looked furious as he followed closely behind another man, shouting, “You, surnamed Zhang! What is the meaning of this? Blatant robbery?”
Hearing this, the other man couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He mocked, “Treasures within a secret realm go to whoever has the skill. ‘First come, first served’? Never heard of it.”
He tossed the lingzhi mushroom in his hand high into the air, intentionally letting it spin in front of Chen’s eyes before tucking it back into his robes. He smirked, “The capable shall possess it. If you’re not satisfied, come and take it. I saw how reasonably you barked at those two little girls earlier. I’m just agreeing with your logic.”
Wen Chiyue lowered her voice: “This guy has zero class. Why does he have to drag us into this?”
Though she didn’t fully grasp the nuance of the insult, she could sense the malice in the man’s tone. He was clearly making a joke at their expense.
With her fiery temper, Wen Chiyue couldn’t let it slide. She prepared to stand up from behind the bushes: “These two are mediocre at best. Watch me go play a few tricks on them.”
Both were sword cultivators who had lost their cultivation. Wen Chiyue had a strong urge to “kick them while they’re down” and settle both old and new scores.
Just as she was about to move, Jiang Xiechen pulled her back.
Thinking Jiang Xiechen was worried, Wen Chiyue patted her chest confidently: “Don’t worry, Master. I won’t be caught.”
As for losing? The thought never even crossed her mind. If a sword spirit couldn’t even beat a sword cultivator stripped of their powers, she’d be a disgrace to her title.
Chen’s face turned an even deeper shade of red from the retort. He said indignantly, “But… but you got it through a sneak attack! If we had a fair duel, I wouldn’t necessarily lose to you.”
“Oh,” the man replied. “How is stealing and snatching not ‘taking’?”
He stepped closer to Chen, playfully slapping his cheek, and said slowly, “At worst, you can just go tattle to your master.”
Chen had a sharp tongue, but he wasn’t the type to run to his master over such things. He gritted his teeth, flicked his sleeve, and said, “Fine. Take it. I’ll find another.”
He turned to leave, but the man followed him. Chen snapped, “I gave you the item, why are you still following me?”
The man said bluntly, “To keep stealing from you, of course.”
Chen was stunned. How could someone be so unashamedly proud of being a thief?
The man, however, had his own logic: “It’s not like I didn’t let you guard it.”
Chen tried to reason with him: “But… but if you don’t rely on yourself during a trial, isn’t it useless? The opening of a secret realm is a rare opportunity. You should hone your own abilities instead of wasting time on such boring antics.”
“True,” the man mused. “It’s probably faster to just camp out at the exit. Fine then, I’ll wait until you’ve gathered more treasures before coming for you. Or, if you don’t want to suffer a physical beating, you can just hand them over obediently.”
Chen said coldly, “I’m not afraid of pain.”
Talking to someone like this was pointless. The man curled his lip and smiled, patting his pockets full of stolen treasures. This was already the fourth one he had swiped.
He was lazy and lacked cultivation talent, but due to his background, he had mastered the art of thievery. He survived by stealing in secret realms and selling the loot. Cultivators weaker than him wouldn’t even notice their items were gone. Cultivators like Chen, stronger but “upright” might notice, but they couldn’t outmaneuver him and ended up suffering the loss.
The man squinted, scanning for his next target. Over years of selling goods, he had developed an eye for spotting true gems. He immediately thought of the two female cultivators Chen had argued with earlier.
Rogue cultivators, beautiful, low cultivation, he wouldn’t even bother stealing from them, he’d just rob them outright. Especially the sword at the waist of one of the women. If he wasn’t mistaken, that sword held a hidden secret.
He began to fantasize about stealing the sword and claiming the beauty, bursting into a loud, lecherous laugh.
Wen Chiyue spat in disgust: “What is he thinking about? Laughing like that… how revolting.”
Jiang Xiechen turned his head slightly and said calmly, “Those without ability can only live through their imagination.”
Even without sight, Jiang Xiechen knew exactly what kind of filth was running through such a person’s mind.
Wen Chiyue hummed in agreement: “I didn’t see anything else.”
She suddenly choked on her words, staring in shock at the scene ahead.
A giant wolf-dog lunged from behind the man, its sharp claws tearing him in half without hesitation. Its massive, crimson tongue licked its blood-stained claws clean before expertly reaching into the dead man’s robes. With a swift tug, it pulled out the green plant stolen from Chen and stuffed it into its mouth.
“Xiao Lang.”
From the rustling bushes behind the dog, a man emerged. He wore red robes and looked so frail a gust of wind might knock him over, his slender waist cinched by a belt. He leaned against the giant wolf-dog as if he had no bones, stroking its fur and saying dotingly, “Eating random things again, are we?”
The giant dog wagged its tail and let out a howl, its back leg kicking the corpse aside as it tilted its head, seemingly begging for a reward.
The man in red turned his face away, looking at the corpse with disdain. “Not even good quality goods.”
The giant dog’s tail drooped in disappointment.
The red-robed man’s eyes flickered with a thought. He playfully pulled the dog’s ear and whispered, “However…”
He lowered his voice, and Wen Chiyue could no longer hear him. Instinctively, she tried to lean forward to catch his words.
But as soon as she moved, her clothes were yanked back by Jiang Xiechen.
“Awoo!” The wolf-dog lunged at the spot she had just occupied, its blood-red maw agape, saliva dripping from its teeth as it glared at Wen Chiyue.
The man in red looked surprised. “To be able to dodge Xiao Lang… as expected, there is something special about you.”
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on Jiang Xiechen. Suddenly, he said, “You look a bit familiar.”
Wen Chiyue stepped in front of Jiang Xiechen, glaring at the man. “Back off. Who gave you permission to look at my Master?”
“Master?” the man in red said meaningfully. “You ‘righteous’ types certainly know how to have fun.”
Wen Chiyue didn’t understand the lewd implication, but she could feel the contempt in his voice. She arched an eyebrow and looked him up and down, mocking him back: “You don’t look like a decent person yourself. Wicked and unorthodox, nothing to be feared.”
“Slippery tongue,” the man in red shook his head slowly. He waved a hand toward Wen Chiyue’s rear and called softly, “Xiao Lang, come here.”
It sounded like he was calling the dog back.
However, the hair on the back of Wen Chiyue’s neck stood up. She instantly drew the sword at her waist, her footsteps light as a feather.
Weapon met teeth with a sharp clink, accompanied by dazzling sparks. The sword in Wen Chiyue’s hand snapped in half.
Wen Chiyue’s true form, the Frost Autumn Sword, was still at Jiang Xiechen’s waist. As a sword spirit, she could use a fan, but using one constantly felt like an insult to her nature. Unfortunately, they were in the wilderness and pressed for time, so Jiang Xiechen had simply picked up a random sword for her. It lacked spirit but was of decent quality, in Wen Chiyue’s hands, it should have been formidable, yet it couldn’t even withstand one bite from the giant wolf-dog.
Wen Chiyue reacted quickly, sidestepping the dog’s attack. The beast spun around, kicking up a small whirlwind. Against the giant dog, Wen Chiyue’s fan looked almost comically small.
The dog sneezed, the force of its breath swirling dust into the air, forcing Wen Chiyue to squint. Through the hazy vision, she saw a shadow flash past.
Wen Chiyue gasped: “Master?!”
The giant wolf-dog had changed course, charging straight for Jiang Xiechen.
Anyone could see Jiang Xiechen was blind and lacked cultivation within the realm. The man in red curled his lips into a smirk. “A decent material, actually. Useable.”
He waited for the spray of blood.
Yet, after a long moment, there was no blood, and no scent of it in the air.
Wen Chiyue rushed into the dust without hesitation. Even if she couldn’t see clearly, a sword spirit could always sense the exact location of her master.
Cold light flashed. A sword was thrust unerringly into the giant wolf-dog’s mouth. The beast’s tongue was pierced, it let out a pained howl.
Jiang Xiechen’s swordplay was incredibly fast. Her silhouette moved through the dust like a fading afterimage, this wasn’t the result of cultivation, but of years and seasons of relentless practice, a breakthrough of physical mastery.
Jiang Xiechen pursed her lips, performed a slow, elegant flourish with the blade, and sheathed it.
Wen Chiyue stared at her in a daze.
The flesh on the giant wolf-dog suddenly split open, blood splattering through the mist. Jiang Xiechen didn’t even look back. Instead, she flicked her sleeves, shaking off the dust.
“Master…” Wen Chiyue stepped forward tentatively, clutching Jiang Xiechen’s sleeve. “Master?”
Wen Chiyue’s physical weight was no different from a normal person’s. Being leaned on and tugged, Jiang Xiechen couldn’t push her off and asked helplessly, “What is it?”
Wen Chiyue said, “It’s good that Master didn’t float away.”
For a moment, Wen Chiyue thought that perhaps the “attaining the Dao” that mortals spoke of looked exactly like this. She didn’t want Jiang Xiechen to leave. At the very least, if she ever did leave, she should take Wen Chiyue with her.
Wen Chiyue couldn’t help but ask: “Master, do you have an obsession?”
“Isn’t that just a heart demon?” Jiang Xiechen joked.
No, that wasn’t it.
Wen Chiyue said, “Is there anything Master wants to do? I’ll go with you!”
Jiang Xiechen pondered for a moment before saying playfully, “Slaying demons and protecting the path, I suppose.”
The giant wolf-dog could no longer hold itself up and collapsed with a heavy thud.
Jiang Xiechen added: “Just a joke.”