Chapter 38: The Ambitions of Youth
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Jiang Yu recounted everything that had happened the day before to Chen Tiansheng, giving him a general understanding of the Jiang family’s tragedy.
In short, Zhao An had coveted the lodger’s Root-Seeking Rat and slipped Soul-Dazing Powder into the man’s food. When Zhao An tried to steal the rat and leave the inn, Jiang Yu happened upon him and intervened. Unfortunately, while holding the Root-Seeking Rat, Jiang Yu let down his guard and Zhao An stabbed him in the chest. He was knocked unconscious and dragged into the alley behind the inn. Fortunately, the wound was not fatal. The great fire that later consumed the inn roused him, and when he returned to the vicinity of his home, he happened to see the lodger using fire magic to burn down his residence. His family had been slaughtered. Knowing that no explanation would be believed, he chose to hide here in order to survive.
Holding the joss paper Chen Tiansheng had brought to offer to his family, Jiang Yu gritted his teeth and said with bitter hatred, “That despicable bastard! He slaughtered my entire family without distinguishing right from wrong. One day, I’ll tear him limb from limb and use his flesh and blood to honor the spirits of my dead family!”
As he spoke, the spirit money in his hand was nearly crushed. Then he said in a low voice, “And Zhao An, that ungrateful bastard. The damned son of a bitch!”
“Please accept my condolences.”
Chen Tiansheng patted Jiang Yu on the shoulder in comfort.
Jiang Yu glanced at him and gave a self-mocking laugh. “Who would have thought that at a time like this, you would be the one to gather my family’s remains? Those local gentry and wealthy nobles who were so friendly with my family—none of them can be seen now. They’re probably all thinking that they shouldn’t offend an immortal and are trying to distance themselves from my family as much as possible. Or perhaps they’re laughing secretly beneath their blankets.”
Chen Tiansheng handed Jiang Yu a pot of wine for the memorial offering and said casually, “Aren’t we comrades?”
Comrades...
Jiang Yu drew a deep breath, took the wine, and gulped down a mouthful. It caught in his throat, and he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood. Then he laughed heartily. “Wine truly is a wonderful thing! One swig of strong liquor, and all the pain in the world disappears. Hahahaha!”
When he finished, he gazed intently at Chen Tiansheng without looking away for a long while.
Chen Tiansheng joked, “I know I’m handsome, but there’s no need to stare at me like that. Besides, I’m not interested in men.”
Jiang Yu rolled his eyes. “Who the hell would be interested in you?”
The two of them looked at each other and burst into laughter.
After a moment, Jiang Yu said sincerely, “Speaking from the heart, I really was prejudiced against you before. But it wasn’t petty jealousy. It was competition between two strong men. This time, thank you.”
Even at the end, Jiang Yu still remembered Chen Tiansheng’s earlier remark that he was narrow-minded.
Still, he admitted that he had misjudged Chen Tiansheng. After suffering this calamity and becoming utterly disappointed in human nature, Chen Tiansheng had entered his life like the rising sun, restoring his faith in others.
Seeing the wine Jiang Yu offered him, Chen Tiansheng took it and drank a large mouthful. Without changing expression, he said, “Think nothing of it.”
Though Chen Tiansheng looked young, he had lived two lifetimes. Strictly speaking, he was even older than Jiang Yu.
In his eyes, Jiang Yu was completely transparent. Put simply, he was a young, proud, and combative man who refused to submit to anyone.
Being combative, aloof, and unwilling to bow to anyone was not necessarily a bad thing. In this world, where the strong were revered, it was especially normal.
As he had said before, Chen Tiansheng had acted as he did because Jiang Yu had never harbored malicious intentions toward him. Even when they competed, Jiang Yu had confronted him openly and never resorted to petty tricks behind his back.
Now that he knew half the reason for the Jiang family’s disaster was connected to him, Chen Tiansheng felt somewhat guilty.
Curious, Chen Tiansheng asked, “When you came out just now, weren’t you afraid that I might hand you over to that immortal? I might have received quite a reward from him.”
Jiang Yu said confidently, “If you were that kind of person, you wouldn’t have gathered my family’s remains for me. Nor would you have said those ridiculous things about asking the heavens to bless you.”
Naive.
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Chen Tiansheng secretly shook his head.
Still, Jiang Yu had guessed correctly. He absolutely would not have done such a thing.
It was not because he felt guilty toward the Jiang family. Rather, he had always disdained making a living by licking someone else’s boots.
Chen Tiansheng asked, “Do you remember that lodger’s name and appearance?”
“I’d remember them even in death!”
With that, Jiang Yu picked up a branch from the ground and drew a lifelike face in the dirt.
Jiang Yu had studied many arts since childhood and was highly skilled at painting.
“The name he registered was Lu Bin. I can’t be certain whether it was an alias, but this face is definitely real!” Jiang Yu said with absolute certainty.
Chen Tiansheng asked, “What if he was wearing a human-skin mask?”
Jiang Yu rejected the idea. “That man’s skin was in terrible condition. His face was pitted in several places, and there were quite a few acne marks that had only just scabbed over. He couldn’t possibly have been wearing a human-skin mask.”
At that, Chen Tiansheng nodded firmly and silently committed the face to memory.
Jiang Yu looked at him curiously. “Why are you asking about him? He isn’t your enemy and has nothing to do with you. Don’t tell me you intend to avenge me?”
Chen Tiansheng smiled. “Do I look like a warmhearted man? I’m only memorizing his face. If you ever dare cause trouble for me, I’ll find him and have him arrest you.”
Finding an immortal was easier said than done. Jiang Yu naturally did not believe him. He did not believe that Chen Tiansheng would avenge him either, but he regarded these questions as a form of concern—a friend’s concern.
He had been born into wealth and privilege and had never made a true friend. The only person who could once have been considered his friend was Zhao An, yet Zhao An had committed such a bestial act. At the most difficult moment of his life, when he needed help the most, gaining another friend moved him deeply.
Before long, the two of them had drained the small pot of wine, and the joss paper had burned to ashes.
Chen Tiansheng asked, “What do you plan to do?”
Jiang Yu replied, “I don’t know whether Lu Bin has found Zhao An and learned where the Root-Seeking Rat went. If he hasn’t, then once he learns that someone from the Jiang family survived, he will surely come to kill me. Even if he discovers that the Root-Seeking Rat was not stolen by my family, he might still eliminate me to preserve his dignity as an immortal. So I can’t return to Qingzhou Prefecture or the Mortal Dao Association. I have a distant relative who is a cultivator of the Blazing Sun Sect. I want to seek refuge with him and try to join an immortal sect!”
Chen Tiansheng nodded in agreement.
Immortals acted entirely according to their whims. No one knew what sort of person Lu Bin truly was, and returning to the city recklessly might very well cost Jiang Yu his life.
From the current evidence, Lu Bin most likely had not found the Root-Seeking Rat.
Chen Tiansheng had read many strange records concerning immortal sects and knew what the Root-Seeking Rat was capable of. If nothing unexpected happened, the rat had been sent to find him. With its whereabouts unknown, Lu Bin would be unable to locate him for the time being. In effect, the Jiang family had helped him avert a calamity.
After considering the matter for a moment, Chen Tiansheng asked, “When will you leave?”
Jiang Yu said seriously, “When a house falls, everyone rushes in to tear it apart. Now that my family is gone, I’m afraid this enormous ancestral graveyard won’t remain safe either. Within two days, people will come to rob the tombs. I can’t hide here forever. I plan to rest for one day and leave tomorrow before dawn, under cover of night.”
Seeing Chen Tiansheng glance at the dark-red blood on his chest, Jiang Yu said, “This injury is nothing serious. There are Qi-Replenishing Pills that my family collected over several decades hidden in the graveyard. They’ll easily sustain me until I reach the Blazing Sun Sect.”
As he spoke, he took out a small bottle and handed it to Chen Tiansheng. “Take these. Consider the Qi-Replenishing Pills my gift of thanks.”
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Chen Tiansheng took the bottle. “You told me all this without fear that I might rob you?”
Qi-Replenishing Pills were medicines refined by immortal sects. Even in the mortal world, they could not necessarily be purchased with money.
Chen Tiansheng had originally intended to give Jiang Yu some silver, but it seemed he had underestimated the Jiang family’s hidden reserves.
Jiang Yu said, “You brought my family’s remains here and buried them. Even if you wanted to kill me, I would die without regret, let alone over something as insignificant as Qi-Replenishing Pills!”
Seeing that the fellow was as confident as ever, Chen Tiansheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Whether in the martial world or among immortal sects, one had to preserve one’s pride and confidence in order to advance further along the path. If this incident left Jiang Yu dispirited, then even if he entered the Blazing Sun Sect in the future, he would accomplish little, and avenging his family would become nothing more than a fantasy.
Chen Tiansheng took the pills and said in a low voice, “If I stay here too long, people may start to suspect something. I won’t see you off.”
Jiang Yu nodded heavily. “Until we meet again. I’ll await you in the immortal sects!”
Chen Tiansheng grinned. “Then I’ll see you there!”
The two clasped their fists toward each other, and Chen Tiansheng turned to leave.
The autumn wind swept past, setting the leaves rustling like the music of a song of parting. The yellow leaves drifting down in the breeze resembled flowers welcoming him on his way and bidding him farewell.
Watching Chen Tiansheng’s retreating figure, Jiang Yu’s gaze gradually grew resolute.
He would enter an immortal sect, become tremendously powerful, avenge his dead family, and protect his friends and loved ones from oppression!
Chen Tiansheng looked back toward the hillside concealed beneath the dense forest and drew a deep breath. He swore that he would personally kill Lu Bin and avenge Jiang Yu’s dead family.
The affair had begun because of him. He had every reason to do so.
Besides, he had ultimately used the Dragon-Phoenix Saber, and once Lu Bin discovered that fact, their enmity would be impossible to avoid.
With that thought settled, Chen Tiansheng strode away.
Two youths, one mortal and one immortal, destined to walk different paths...
...
In the wilderness outside Qingzhou Prefecture.
Looking at the dead Root-Seeking Rat at his feet, Lu Bin furrowed his brows tightly.
The Root-Seeking Rat, along with the soil bearing Chen Tiansheng’s footprints, had been stolen. The soil was gone, the rat was dead, and recent rain beneath Little Qiong Mountain had washed away the footprints left that night. Even if he found another Root-Seeking Rat, he could no longer track down the person who had killed Fang Chenghu and taken that treasure.
...