Chapter 39: He Was Stained

“Master, Senior Brother seems about to advance again.” Yang Wennan jogged all the way, finally finding Wen Jinge’s figure at the foot of the mountain.

“Isn’t that perfectly normal?” Wen Jinge held a skewer in her hand, and seeing Yang Wennan’s mouth open, she stuffed it straight in.

The skewer didn’t taste quite right; she always felt the meat had gone bad.

She had long since stopped needing food, so even spoiled meat would have no effect on her. Originally, she’d intended to feed it to Wang Xi, but the little girl insisted she needed to lose weight.

“But when I left, I sensed—”

“Sensed what?”

“Master.” Yang Wennan mumbled through the meat, “Forgive me for being disrespectful.”

“Just get to the point! You’re all so fussy. Everyone on the Seven Peaks knows I don’t beat disciples!”

Yang Wennan thought of those vivid slaps to Qiao Yu’s face in the illusion realm, but held his tongue. “Why did you seal the demon inside Senior Brother Qiao’s body, Master?”

“He claims to be an ancient war god! Isn’t that interesting? Caught one, so I thought I’d have some fun.” Wen Jinge smiled at Qiao Yu, but a strange feeling suddenly welled up inside. She paused, then summoned the “Nonexistent” in her mind. “After forming a bond, can a master sense their beast’s abnormal state?”

[Of course!]

“Then help me check on the Greensand Beast.”

[How?]

“Don’t you have a god’s-eye view?”

[No—well, yes, but my permissions aren’t high enough.]

“Then go unlock them!”

[Can’t unlock, really can’t.]

“…” Wen Jinge couldn’t be bothered to listen to any more excuses. Sooner or later, it would be begging her to learn the truth.

“Master? Will he use Senior Brother Qiao’s body to cause chaos?” Yang Wennan asked, quickly explaining what he’d noticed before leaving: “When I left, I’d already asked Brother Yuan to fetch Uncle-Master Ai. At that time, the mountain was thick with demonic energy.”

Wen Jinge fell silent, closed her eyes to sense the Greensand Beast’s location, then looked toward Wanzhang Peak. Only then did she signal them to summon their swords and follow.

“Master, where are we going?” Wang Xi stuffed all the bags hanging from her into her storage pouch.

The storage pouch was convenient, but it robbed her of the simple joy of shopping. If not for meeting Wen Jinge, her good master, she wouldn’t have had a chance to haul so many bags back today.

“To give a certain beast—a beast that tried to run off with my spirit stones—a good spanking.”

“Master, Senior Brother Qiao…” Yang Wennan was truly jealous of Qiao Yu, but had never wished him dead.

“You really—” Wen Jinge scratched her head, searching for the right word but failing. “You don’t want your senior brother to die on the spot, do you?”

“Of course not.” Yang Wennan was about to kneel.

“Watch your step, Senior Brother!” Wang Xi’s voice cracked with anxiety. “Ahem, Senior Brother, you’re flying a thousand miles up, not performing acrobatics.”

Wen Jinge glanced at the two siblings, amused. “That old crank once said my disciples would be my tribulation. After Liang Si, I took in five at once. You two don’t seem like trouble, so I wonder who will end up being my calamity.”

“Master…” Wang Xi bit her lip, feeling inexplicably pained.

“I take back what I said last time.” Wen Jinge stopped before a small hill—the very one she’d blown up previously, still a distance from Wanzhang Peak. “In the future, don’t bother Uncle-Master Ai. Go straight to Qinghong Peak.”

“But Senior Uncle Fan is just a healer. Uncle-Master Ai was at least once a sword cultivator—he can bend the rules a bit, right?” Yang Wennan was just being practical.

Wen Jinge replied, “Your Uncle-Master Fan is the idlest man on the peaks—he’s got plenty of time to help you. By the way, Yang Wennan, what kind of person do you think I am?”

“Master…” Yang Wennan hesitated. It was hard to judge Wen Jinge. “Complex?”

“Complex?” Wen Jinge laughed. “You should learn from me—too rigid a thing snaps easily. You remember Jian Ting, don’t you?”

Yang Wennan instinctively stepped back, memories of his ordeals in the Shadowless Hall rising up, along with the old humiliation.

Back then, he and his brother Jian Ting were recruited together—it all went smoothly. As a mystic, he was always competent. But in the end, he was falsely accused of stealing a jade seal he’d never even seen, and afterward, every theft was blamed on him.

The sect leader had trusted him, but as more people pointed fingers, he was stripped of his cultivation and driven from the Shadowless Hall.

When he was expelled, it felt like the world was collapsing. He thought he’d live the rest of his days under others’ scorn, his life ruined.

Perhaps Heaven took pity on him. On the road, he met a master who rebuilt his meridians and told him that, in a few years, the Xuan Yun Sect would select seven disciples for the seven peak masters. Since his talent was decent, he should give it a try.

He found a place in the mountains near Xuan Yun Sect and lived there for three years.

He’d thought he could start over here, but ended up running into the very people who’d hurt him before.

“Master, I am at fault.”

“What fault could there be?” That strange feeling in Wen Jinge’s heart grew stronger. She pulled Wang Xi behind Yang Wennan.

Boom.

Before Yang Wennan could finish, he wiped soot from his face, stunned.

His master stood behind him with his junior sister, a barrier neatly excluding him, both perfectly clean. He, on the other hand, was covered in dirt.

“Senior Brother, you were kneeling—I forgot, Master…” Wang Xi stuck out her tongue playfully. “Probably forgot, too.”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

“Senior Brother, are you all right?” Yang Wennan was startled to see the one kneeling before him—Qiao Yu, the very person he and his master had come to save. Behind him, in the cave, a tail was visible.

“Get up.” Wen Jinge waved a hand. “No need for such grand salutes; it’s not a holiday.”

“I—I’m Lu Wei!” Lu Wei coughed as he spoke. “Quick, help me up—I almost… cough, cough… died.”

“What are you waiting for? Help your senior brother!”

“He—he’s that demon…” Yang Wennan said, “Master…”

“Yes, the demon…” Lu Wei was still breathless from running over several mountains. He could hardly speak. “A demon—how could there be a demon on the Seven Peaks? Luckily your spiritual spring hasn’t activated yet. You—cough, cough—are you as good at divination as that fortune-teller?”

“I know a little.” Wen Jinge helped him up and tugged at the Greensand Beast’s tail. “Shrink down a bit; don’t scare the flowers and plants.”

“Master… I’m… tired… let me rest a while.” The Greensand Beast burrowed deeper into the earth. “Master, that pool is too dangerous. I don’t want to stay there anymore.”

“How many of my spirit stones are ruined?”

“Most of them, I’m afraid. Luckily, the array is from ten thousand years ago. After we left… judging by the noises behind, that troublemaking old man should be trapped at the array’s core. But your spirit stones probably won’t last much longer.”

“Sleeping really was better. Every time I wake up, I lose money,” Wen Jinge muttered.