Taking a Master

That night, the sky was black and the wind was fierce.

Chu Fu carried a small food box in his hand. With a light push from his arm, he grabbed a vine and slid down the cliff.

He had excellent talent, a mutated wind spiritual root that was extremely rare in the sect.

Right now, he was only a preparatory outer-sect disciple; with a few years of training, he would be able to enter the inner sect.

But at this very moment, his handsome face was full of gloom.

Chu Fu entered the cave and frowned slightly at the faint smell of blood hanging thick in the air.

The cave was pitch-black. At first it was very narrow; only after about seven steps did it gradually widen.

There was the faint sound of water all around.

Chu Fu walked a little farther.

At the end of the cave was actually a fairly large waterfall.

Water poured down from the top of the cave wall with a steady roar.

Vaguely, a blurred human figure could be seen behind the curtain of water.

Chu Fu opened the food box, and to his surprise, two snow-white rabbits jumped out.

The rabbits hit the ground and bolted in a panic.

In an instant, a huge suction force suddenly surged from behind the waterfall!

The two rabbits let out terrified cries. Before Chu Fu could even make them out clearly, they were sucked in by that tremendous force.

Clack... clack... clack...

The smell of blood in the cave grew even stronger.

Then a hoarse voice, like metal scraping against metal, sounded from beyond the waterfall; it rose and fell in a way that made it seem weak: “Many thanks to Young Master Chu for your help this past month. Without it, with this crippled and sickly body of mine, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have survived three days before I ran out of breath and died.”

Chu Fu forced a smile. “I stumbled into this cave by accident; it was already discourteous of me. Since the Demon Lord is healing here, now that I know, I can’t just ignore it.”

“It’s nothing more than a small effort.”

The person behind the waterfall was silent for a moment before that metallic voice sounded again: “You’re quite the kind child. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way. A thousand years ago, before I became a demon, I was also a young man with the same heroic spirit as you.”

Chu Fu: “Haha.”

He forced another smile, and only then did the person behind the curtain notice that something was off about him.

“What’s wrong? You went down the mountain for a trip, and now even your speech is forced. Did you run into something unpleasant?”

Chu Fu licked his lips and said softly, “I won’t hide it from Your Excellency; this time I went down the mountain, I ran into some trouble.”

“Mm?”

Late at night, all was quiet; the only sound around them was the rushing water.

Chu Fu sat down on a rock and told the story of his trip down the mountain.

After listening, the person behind the waterfall actually burst out laughing. “You said so much, and it turns out you were looked down on by the woman you love? Was the magic treasure I gave you not powerful enough?”

Chu Fu: “It was originally... originally powerful, only...”

“Only what? Because that woman kept mocking you from the side, laughing that the Demon Lord’s divine artifact was trash not fit to be seen in public, so even Senior Sister looked down on you a little?”

Clang—

A piercing crash rang out from behind the waterfall, and then two perfectly intact rabbit bones were violently hurled out. “Nonsense. Who dares mock this Lord’s yellow-grade top-rank artifact?”

Chu Fu: “It was that woman with the Pure Yin Physique!”

“Hm? So it was her...”

Chu Fu : “Following the Demon Lord’s advice, I kept luring that Pure Yin Physique into bedding with me. She clearly loves me to the bone; taking her yin essence should have been as easy as reaching into my pocket.”

“But for some reason, starting two months ago, her attitude toward me changed drastically. I suspect she may have discovered something...”

The Demon Lord mused, “You went down the mountain this time and made a fool of yourself in front of the woman in your heart; you took a hard fall.”

When Chu Fu thought of Yan Jue’s face, he felt an indescribable disgust.

He knew perfectly well that the Duanhun Mountain Demon Lord behind the waterfall was no good person either.

The reason he had endured his nausea and still come to deliver food and drink to this seriously injured Demon Lord was only because the Demon Lord had actually treated him as a savior and even taught him artifacts and cultivation arts; he didn’t want to miss such a rare opportunity.

And then there was Yan Jue, this huge variable right now. He absolutely had to swallow the disgust in his heart and get guidance from this expert.

The Demon Lord said thoughtfully, “She really is troublesome.”

“The Five-Dragon Summit is approaching. I’ve heard that many young disciples from Five Dragons Mountain will be taking part this time... cough, cough... cough...”

Halfway through, he suddenly coughed violently, then continued, “I’ve heard that the reward Mu Zhongzi, the Five Dragons Sect Master, is offering this time is the immortal sword Drifting Ice.”

Chu Fu listened in silence, his pupils contracting sharply.

Drifting Ice was one of the finest immortal swords in the world.

A heavenly-grade superb item; priceless.

As a heavenly-grade immortal sword, Drifting Ice was one of the few artifacts in this world that had a sword spirit.

More importantly, the immortal sword Drifting Ice and Qi Xianqing’s immortal sword Zhuying were a matched pair, a male and female sword!

That meant whoever won Drifting Ice at next year’s Five-Dragon Summit would gain the qualification to stand side by side with Qi Xianqing and become a paired immortal couple!

He had never expected that this once-every-three-years Five-Dragon Summit would use the immortal sword Drifting Ice as the prize this time.

The Demon Lord : “There are many experts at the Five-Dragon Summit. You need to hurry and get that girl’s yin essence as soon as possible; only then might you have a chance to win the immortal sword Drifting Ice.”

“Since that girl’s attitude toward you has fallen off a cliff, it means she may have discovered something. I’ll teach you a few seductive arts; take her down early.”

Chu Fu froze, then frowned. His words carried a trace of anger. “But aren’t seductive arts something only women learn? Does Your Excellency think I also...?”

The Demon Lord laughed. “Young Master, that’s not quite right. Seductive arts aren’t only for women. Men can learn them too. Male seductive arts, ah, are soft yet still carry masculine vigor, and in some ways they’re even better than women’s seductive arts!”

“The Five-Dragon Summit is imminent; make yourself suffer a little and use enchantment on her. If you take her yin essence, she’ll become a piece of meat without the ability to resist. By then, whether you want to ravish her or turn her body into the most exquisite puppet in the world, it would not be impossible.”

“The Five-Dragon Summit is imminent; you must get her yin essence into your hands!”

-

Yan Jue had come back from the Cold Pool, and by habit she had to pass through a small forest before she could return to the dormitory.

It was already late, and she still had an appointment with Qi Xianqing tomorrow.

Yan Jue hurried along with her head down when she suddenly noticed something and stopped.

In the grass ahead, little points of glowing green light had appeared at some unknown time.

Yan Jue froze.

Those tiny green lights flickered in the air; wherever they passed, the air turned cold, carrying a faint yin aura.

They looked almost like... ghost fire!

Yan Jue wrinkled her nose, then suddenly saw that mass of eerie green light surging toward her like a tide!

A few points of green light clung to her body, and she actually felt a tingling itch, as if she’d been shocked by electricity.

In an instant, an ice-blue barrier appeared around Yan Jue, and a thin chill rose from all around. Countless ghost flames slammed into the top of her protective shield, making a sizzling sound as they froze in place.

Yan Jue’s tail lashed hard, and a few more ghost flames were slapped violently into a large tree.

She broke into a run on all fours, and after she didn’t know how far she had gone, she finally shook off the strange green light behind her.

When Yan Jue returned to the dormitory and transformed back into human form, she couldn’t help gasping for breath.

So strange...

She had walked through that forest leading to Qiwu Peak countless times before.

She had never seen those eerie ghost flames before.

“...”

Yan Jue carried her basin and opened the door to go fetch water.

Right away, she saw her neighbor, Du Ying, walking toward her.

Du Ying : “Junior Sister Yan, long time no see!”

Yan Jue smiled and responded in kind. While drawing water from the well, she suddenly remembered something and asked, “Senior Sister, are you also from Kongqing Prefecture?”

Du Ying blinked. “I am. Why?”

Yan Jue : “That piece of news in the paper that day... was it written by you?”

That day, when Yan Jue had been reading The Five Dragons Encyclopedia, she had come across that gossip about Qi Xianqing and Chu Fu.

The entire gossip piece had concealed her name throughout.

After thinking it over, Yan Jue felt that the people of Kongqing Prefecture would not do something like that; the only possible person was Du Ying.

Du Ying smiled a little sheepishly. “Just a small favor, a small favor.”

“How did your mission down the mountain go?”

Yan Jue smiled. “Thanks, it went pretty well.”

After the two of them each fetched water, they went back to their own rooms.

On the way back, Yan Jue couldn’t help asking, “Senior Sister Du, earlier in the forest I saw something that looked a lot like ghost fire. Is that some kind of creature?”

Yan Jue had passed through that forest more than once; she knew very well there were no graves or anything like that there. Those ghost fires had only appeared recently.

Du Ying : “You’re talking about ghost-fire fireflies, right? That’s normal; it’s about to be autumn now.”

“After decaying grass dies, it becomes fireflies. In truth, they’re the souls of plants and trees; you can also think of them as fireflies.”

“They... are they considered ghost creatures too?”

Yan Jue : “But when they touched me, I felt as if I’d been shocked by electricity.”

Du Ying : “Ghost-fire fireflies are ghost creatures with lightning attributes, so of course they’ll feel like an electric shock. It’s just that they’re not very destructive, and their lifespan is short. Once autumn passes, you won’t see them anymore. Naturally, the sect won’t bother with them.”

Back in her dormitory, Yan Jue kept feeling as if the three words “ghost-fire fireflies” had appeared somewhere before.

Then she suddenly remembered something, opened her drawer, and took out The Five Dragons Encyclopedia, now already wrinkled from being flipped through repeatedly.

The Five Dragons Encyclopedia was not only a gossip paper; it also often contained some interesting pop-science.

For example, in the previous issue, it had mentioned ghost-fire fireflies.

Ghost-fire fireflies:

Formed from the spirit essence of decayed grass; attribute: lightning.

They like flower nectar; they can be captured and cultivated.

Yan Jue looked at those tiny printed words, and a bold idea suddenly rose in her heart.

-

The next morning, when Yan Jue woke up, she really did not want to go meet Qi Xianqing by the Cold Pool.

Every time she thought of Qi Xianqing acting as a poop-scooping caretaker under the ice peach tree last night, she felt terribly uncomfortable.

But after only a moment, the urgency of wanting to learn martial arts suppressed her thoughts of backing out.

What did the little fox have to do with her, Yan Jue?

So Yan Jue got up and washed up.

At mao hour.

The sun had just risen; the lake was veiled in mist, and a faint fragrance of water vapor filled the surroundings.

Yan Jue, dressed in a qingqing-blue Daoist robe, the narrow-sleeved, tied-leg style common to Five Dragons Sect disciples, arrived as promised at the Cold Pool by Qiwu Peak.

Qi Xianqing was already waiting by the lake. Dressed in white like a banished immortal, she sat cross-legged beside the Cold Pool with a long sword laid across her knees.

When Yan Jue looked at her, she instinctively remembered that unspeakable incident from yesterday.

Her expression was terrible.

Qi Xianqing lowered her head and wiped the immortal sword Zhuying. The pitch-black long sword gave off a deep sheen beneath the sunlight, too heavy and too sharp by half.

Yan Jue thought about Qi Xianqing’s adorably dazed look last night, then couldn’t help remembering the day Qi Xianqing had simply taken a monkey demon and cut it like a watermelon.

Thinking of that blood-soaked demon-slaying scene, Yan Jue felt bad all over again.

The female lead was being so good to the little fox now; when she killed her later, she probably wouldn’t hold back either.

Yan Jue understood very clearly that the thing Qi Xianqing hated most was demons and monsters.

Hearing footsteps, Qi Xianqing only lifted her eyelids and gave her a faint look. “You’re here?”

Yan Jue : “Mm, I’m here to learn martial arts!”

She deliberately stressed martial arts to keep Qi Xianqing from forgetting again.

Qi Xianqing stood up, holding Zhuying behind her back, and walked over at an unhurried pace. “Yesterday I said that if you met one condition of mine, I could teach you qinggong.”

Yan Jue: “...”

Fine.

One sentence had exposed two flaws in her wording.

If she wanted to learn qinggong, there were conditions.

But Yan Jue wasn’t greedy. She knew that if Qi Xianqing was willing to teach her even a little qinggong, she would already gain a great deal from it.

So Yan Jue pretended to be very well-behaved. “Mm-hm.”

Qi Xianqing nodded. “Then let’s begin.”

She drew the immortal sword Zhuying.

The immortal sword slowly slid from its pitch-black scabbard; under the sun, the blade took on a deep blue-gray sheen.

Qi Xianqing pointed the tip downward and drew a circle on the ground.

Yan Jue froze, unable for a moment to figure out what she wanted to do.

Qi Xianqing : “When learning qinggong, talent matters most. If you have no talent, I don’t want to teach you either.”

She pointed at the circle on the ground. “Stand inside this circle. I’ll strike at you ten times. If you can avoid all ten strikes, you pass.”

Yan Jue nearly turned to stone. What kind of joke was this?

This circle was so small; Qi Xianqing could grab her with a single reach.

Yan Jue couldn’t help glancing at Zhuying at Qi Xianqing’s waist, feeling a little nervous.

But Yan Jue knew very well that Qi Xianqing was not only testing the lightness of her body; she was also testing her reaction speed.

In the end, Yan Jue still nodded and stepped into the circle first. “All right.”

Qi Xianqing’s brow lifted slightly, as if a little surprised. Then she nodded and stepped into the circle as well.

A gentle breeze passed over the Cold Pool; the sunlight was bright.

The test began.

Qi Xianqing thrust out a sword strike. The fierce sword wind swept across, and Yan Jue barely dodged it.

The second strike followed immediately after. Zhuying let out a sharp silver whistle through the air, and Yan Jue dropped flat to the ground, feeling the immense sword energy flash over her head.

The third strike came, and Yan Jue rolled; dust churned violently on the ground as she barely avoided it.

Qi Xianqing’s gaze sharpened, and the fourth strike followed in quick succession. Yan Jue suddenly forced herself up with her arms, bracing hard against the ground. The intense sword wind rushed straight at her face; by the time she reacted, her heel was already stepping over that line.

Yan Jue supported herself on the ground with both hands, cold sweat sliding down her cheeks.

Heavens... if it was already this hard, how was she supposed to survive Qi Xianqing’s life-taking sword in half a year at the Five-Dragon Summit...

This only made Yan Jue more determined to learn from Qi Xianqing.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.

She had to become stronger if she wanted to live in this world.

Qi Xianqing looked at her and couldn’t help pausing.

These few strikes of hers had contained sixty or seventy percent of her strength, and Yan Jue had actually dodged them all.

It seemed the meridians she had opened for Yan Jue last time had been opened very successfully.

For some reason, Qi Xianqing suddenly felt very satisfied, the kind of pride that came from unexpectedly having created a little pet whose strength was actually rather good.

Although Qi Xianqing knew very well that Yan Jue was a Watercloud Sect outer-sect disciple and not some pet of hers.

But she discovered that privately, she actually very much wanted to teach Yan Jue.

The reason she had made such a test was also because she had always been an extremely cautious person, and the matter of Five Dragons disciples secretly learning from others had always been strictly regulated.

She had wanted Yan Jue to back away from difficulty.

Yet Yan Jue had actually dodged her sword.

After that, Qi Xianqing’s sword strikes used eighty percent of her strength; every move was fierce. Yan Jue’s scalp tingled, and she barely managed not to retreat further.

After all, the person before her was Zhuying, the immortal sword that cut down every evil thing under heaven; just the blazing blue-green light alone made her afraid.

But for some reason, Zhuying seemed to be extraordinarily gentle with her, the teasing sword wind scattering in all directions without the slightest killing intent.

The sixth strike... the seventh strike... the eighth strike...

On the ninth strike, the sharp attack came straight at her face. Yan Jue’s eyes flashed; she rolled over, then, in her panic, staggered directly between Qi Xianqing’s legs.

Yan Jue stretched both hands forward to steady herself, slid several chi across the ground, then suddenly stood up and tightly clamped her arms around Qi Xianqing’s neck.

Qi Xianqing was stunned.

She hadn’t expected Yan Jue not only to dodge her sword but also to catch the rhythm of her attacks and actually try to seize the initiative.

This talent really left nothing to be said.

Yan Jue seemed very nervous. Her soft body was pressed against Qi Xianqing’s back, and her uneven breaths brushed against the nape of Qi Xianqing’s neck in one wave after another, bringing a faint, tingling sensation.

Qi Xianqing’s eyes sharpened; she drove the hilt backward with a violent strike. Yan Jue had no choice but to retreat, and Qi Xianqing immediately turned and stabbed at her. This time, she actually used her full strength, with spiritual energy faintly rippling around them.

Yan Jue’s pupils contracted sharply; she was practically about to be blasted away by Qi Xianqing.

She used all her strength to lunge forward and threw her arms around Qi Xianqing’s waist.

The air fell into a deathly silence; wild wind swept past, lifting the girl’s skirts.

Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue fell out of the circle together and rolled onto the grass outside it.

“...”

Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue, her brow furrowing as a chilling murderous aura spread outward from her.

Only then did Yan Jue realize that her chin had somehow ended up resting softly and comfortably against Qi Xianqing’s chest. Frightened, she immediately jumped up. “I’m sorry! Senior Sister, you said as long as I could avoid ten of your strikes, that was enough; you never said I couldn’t use any method.”

The air fell into a deathly silence once more.

Qi Xianqing stared at her, and invisible pressure slowly climbed up from her body.

Qi Xianqing seemed angry.

Yan Jue swallowed slowly. The sound was sharp in the still air.

In the end, Qi Xianqing withdrew her gaze. “Fine. Then I’ll teach you.”

At the same time, Yan Jue let out a breath of relief.

For some reason, from Qi Xianqing’s tone, she didn’t seem very angry; instead, there was a hint of annoyance and embarrassment.

She must be imagining things.

The longer Yan Jue spent with Qi Xianqing, the more she discovered new and different sides of her.

Qi Xianqing stood up and, with a casual motion, lifted her up as well. Lowering her eyes slightly, she asked, “Aren’t you going to bow and take a master?”

Take a master? How was she supposed to do that?

Yan Jue’s head was full of question marks. Following what she often saw in TV dramas, she knelt down in front of Qi Xianqing with a solemn expression. “Please... Senior Sister, teach me qinggong.”

Qi Xianqing still didn’t react for a long while. Yan Jue was growing more and more unable to read this woman, and she raised her eyes a little to look over.

Qi Xianqing was staring fixedly at her, as if lost in a daze. Sunlight fell across the girl’s fair profile like snow; her lips were slightly pressed together, her black hair a little disordered, and she had an indescribable sort of allure.

Yan Jue was still trying to look longer when she suddenly saw Qi Xianqing raise the sword in her hand.

Her shoulder sank as Qi Xianqing used the sword to press it down. “Lower your head.”

Yan Jue had no idea what was going on, but obediently lowered her head.

Qi Xianqing touched the top of her head, and Yan Jue’s whole body went weak in an instant. This was because Qi Xianqing only ever stroked the little fox like this when she petted it, and her body had already formed a habit.

Soft fingertips moved from the crown of her head downward. Yan Jue felt like her whole body was about to start trembling uncontrollably, and then stretch itself out.

She swallowed and could only force herself to endure it.

Qi Xianqing paused, then a trace of thoughtful interest flashed through her eyes. “All right, that’s enough.”