“You’re going where?”
“Frost Cliff Pavilion,” Wu Lingtian said. He lowered his head. “I have someone I need to speak to there.”
Fan Yi placed his manuscript down. “Lord Feng Ling isn’t there.”
“I was not looking to speak to him,” Wu Lingtian said.
Fan Yi frowned. “Then, what are you planning to do?”
Wu Lingtian hesitated. Silence filled the space between them that was threatening to grow into a chasm. Just as Fan Yi was about to withdraw his question, Wu Lingtian finally spoke. His explanation was clear and concise, but it caused Fan Yi’s expression to turn uglier and uglier. When he had finished, Fan Yi let out a long breath.
“So, you are going back to find the letter Rong Meihua claimed to have left you,” Fan Yi said.
Wu Lingtian nodded.
Fan Yi felt a bubble of frustration and anger that was not directed at Wu Lingtian. He looked up at the other man and forced a smile. “Alright. I just need you to promise me one thing—that you will return safe and sound and I will not have to operate on you a second time.”
Wu Lingtian nodded firmly. “I promise.”
“Then that’s fine,” Fan Yi leaned back in his chair. “Go fast and return speedily.”
Wu Lingtian bowed his head. “Thank you, Sect Leader.”
“Do you want to bring anyone with you?” Fan Yi asked.
“It would be best if I go alone,” Wu Lingtian replied.
“Then, take this with you,” Fan Yi reached into a drawer and tossed a wooden pendant at him. “That will allow you to get onto Zhuixing Mountain.”
Wu Lingtian held the pendant and nodded. “Thank you, Sect Leader.”
“You’re saying thank you an uncomfortable number of times today,” Fan Yi laughed. “You didn’t even thank me this much when you realized I first saved you. Besides, you’re a grown man. You can go and leave wherever you please. I won’t ever stop you.”
Wu Lingtian looked at Fan Yi with unsaid words. Fan Yi’s smile slowly fell as he looked away and chuckled.
Even if Fan Yi never questioned him, he would still be worried. Even if Fan Yi didn’t stop him, he would still be concerned. There were few people in Wu Lingtian’s life that had treated him like this—he didn’t think it was right to keep them waiting without at least a promise of return.
“Then, I’m leaving now, Sect Leader,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Mn. Stay safe.”
Wu Lingtian nodded one last time and left Fan Yi’s office. He gripped the borrowed sword in his hand and walked to the front of the sect. He continued walking down the three thousand set of steps in silence. He listened to the sounds of cicadas and the distant laughter that he had quickly become accustomed to. He listened to the sound of his footsteps carrying him down the stairs, one step at a time. By the time he had reached the bottom of the stairs, the sun had reached its peak.
Wu Lingtian turned around and looked up at the evasive Screeching Sparrow Sect. Just a few weeks ago, this place had been a stranger to him, but now he was feeling almost a little reluctant to leave it behind.
He softly scoffed and shook his head. He mounted the borrowed sword and flew off into the sky, leaving Screeching Sparrow Sect and Fan Yi behind.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The journey to Frost Cliff Pavilion meant that he would be nearing righteous sect territory. He easily evaded the guards that were posted up front and made a sharp turn towards Zhuixing Mountain. The journey lasted a day and a half without rest. By the time Wu Lingtian landed just on the outskirts of Xing City, he could feel an ache in his abdomen that burned every time his spiritual energy pulsed.
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When Wu Lingtian awoke, he could feel the beginnings of a headache. Nevertheless, his body was in a lot less pain than it had been the previous day. As he washed himself, Wu Lingtian couldn’t help but let out a sigh. It seems that conducting spiritual energy through a sword that didn’t fit you was a chore that Wu Lingtian had never had the misfortune of experiencing until now.
He let out a soft groan and splashed his face once more with water. He slowly dressed himself, grabbed the ill-fitting sword, and stepped out of the inn. He walked to the front counter of the inn and checked out.
“You slept for a long time, young man,” the innkeeper chuckled. “Did you meet any misfortunes before coming here?”
“I was entangled in a fight,” Wu Lingtian said, attempting his best imitation of the standard dialect that he hadn’t used in a while. “It expended a lot of my power.”
The innkeeper sighed, as if he truly understood his pain. “Well, it is good that you made it out alive. Have a nice day.”
Wu Lingtian accepted his change. “Thank you. Have a nice day.”
Wu Lingtian bowed his head, his hand pulling down his straw hat as he passed by a group of cultivators wearing a familiar set of robes. His eyes glazed over them as he continued walking, his ears only catching fleeting bits of their conversation.
When Wu Lingtian was young, there was an old granny that he often snuck apples from. At that time, he had thought that she was dumb and didn’t notice, but as he grew older, he realized that the granny had been a rare, kind person that lived in Heixue Town. Because he felt bad for her stupidity, other than stealing apples from her, he also kept her company. Whenever he felt bored, he would squat by the dilapidated stall and ramble on about his dreams while listening to her stories of her glory days. During one of these times, there was once when they had been beside each other when a procession of demonic cultivators traveled through the town. Wu Lingtian had caught several well-known names being whispered through the crowd.
Once the demonic cultivators left, Wu Lingtian had turned to the granny. “I want to be well-known when I grow up.”
At that time the granny had laughed, exposing her few missing teeth. “Is that so? Do you want to be the best pickpocket in Heixue Town?”
Wu Lingtian had shaken his head like a rattle. “I want to be a well-known cultivator. I want to be famous!”
“Well,” the granny had sighed as she rubbed a particularly juicy looking apple against her shirt. She placed it into Wu Lingtian’s small hands and patted his head. “Make sure that you’re well-known for something good at least. Being famous is a burden in itself; it’d be a shame if you were famous for something bad.”
The memory resurfaced into Wu Lingtian’s mind as he walked through the wide streets of Xing City.
What did I do with that apple? Wu Lingtian wondered as he dodged nearby pedestrians. Most likely ate it.
Before Wu Lingtian had left that town, he remembered hearing that the granny’s daughter had returned to pick her up so that they could move to a nicer village. He had always felt that it was a pity since the granny’s apples had been the sweetest out of everyone else’s.
The thought of his younger self kept Wu Lingtian entertained until he reached the top of the steps of Zhuixing Mountain. When his steps stopped, a young man dressed in white and gray stepped forward, asking for identification.
Wu Lingtian pulled the pendent Fan Yi had given him from his robes and handed it to the man. The man’s eyes widened. He glanced at Wu Lingtian before bowing and handing the pendent back to Wu Lingtian respectfully.
“This way, sir,” the young man held out his arm to point Wu Lingtian in the right direction.
“Actually, I have business in Frost Cliff Pavilion,” Wu Lingtian said.
The young man nodded. “Of course, follow me this way then.”
Wu Lingtian kept his head lowered as he followed the young man in front of him. Although the young man snuck curious glances, he still kept silent and still kept a distance as they walked.
Zhuixing Mountain housed two of the core organizations in the entire Dongting Continent—the Hall of Impartiality and Frost Cliff Pavilion. They were both neutral parties that had upheld the order of Dongting Continent since the treaty between the spiritual and demonic cultivators many millennia ago. The entities on Zhuixing Mountain had been around since the oldest cultivators could remember. It was an immovable force that contained the enmity between the two—now three—sides.
The Hall of Impartiality contained detailed and impartial records of any major events from the sect. The cultivators of the Hall of Impartiality all cultivated a path that allowed them to observe the events from the perspective of Heaven. Details that they were unsure of, they would ask the involved parties to clear them up. The existence of this sect was merely to act as record keepers so that history would not find itself siding with the wrong people or find itself skewed to one side of events.
Frost Cliff Pavilion housed a type of justice system that was only enacted when there appeared to be a conflict too large for cultivators to handle. Matters that stayed in the sect would not be impeded on unless someone reported it. If cultivators wanted to search another sect, they would have to first request permission from Frost Cliff Pavilion. If access were permitted, the sect being searched would have to stand down and allow the search to happen.
While the Hall of Impartiality was considered a neutral sect, Frost Cliff Pavilion was really just an entity that was run on a volunteered basis. The members get paid enough, but not too much. Most of their paycheck was through donations from the common people. Sometimes they would even get nothing for a few months. Due to this Frost Cliff Pavilion, although upheld a good name, was not an organization many people were eager to join. Only those who had far too much time on their hands or were volunteered by someone they knew or had been guilted int joining would join.
“We’re here,” the young man said.
That was all Wu Lingtian knew of the place, at any rate. If you were to ask someone who did not hear much insider gossip, Frost Cliff Pavilion would be described as a much more noble place.
“Thank you,” Wu Lingtian clasped his hands together and bowed.
“Feng Ling Immortal isn’t here, but Miss Zhou should be here,” the young man said.
Wu Lingtian hummed in acknowledgement. He watched the young man depart and slowly walked up the remainder of the stairs to the main office of Frost Cliff Pavilion. He took a deep breath and carefully approached the entrance. He lifted his hand and knocked three times before stepping back to wait for a response. Moments later, a muffled “Come in”.
Wu Lingtian pulled open the door and stepped in.
He was met with the familiar woman, sitting behind a desk with scroll after scroll piled up around here. The record keeping of Frost Cliff Pavilion wasn’t the best, but since there were rarely any new cases coming in, the few members didn’t find it necessary to clean up.
Zhōu Yīng’ān (周英安) had been in the middle of eating when Wu Lingtian entered. She set aside her eating utensils and frowned at Wu Lingtian. “Who are you? Have you come to report a case?”
Wu Lingtian closed the door behind him and then slipped his straw hat off. The sound of a chair scrapping against the wooden floor pushed any words he had to say back into his throat. Zhou Ying’an stared at the man in front of him with a mixture of hatred, annoyance, and grief. Her jaw was clenched and she looked like she was debating between stabbing Wu Lingtian or asking him how he’s been.
Wu Lingtian had expected such a reaction from his shijie already, so he wasn’t alarmed in the slightest. “Shijie—”
“Don’t you call me shijie!” Zhou Ying’an said, pointing an accusing finger at him. “And don’t you dare look at me like that. What do you think you’re playing at, Wu Lingtian?”
Wu Lingtian took a step forward. “Shijie, listen to me—”
He dodged to the side as a half-filled bowl flew towards his face. The bowl smashed into the door and shattered on the ground. Wu Lingtian held his hands out to the angered woman. “Shijie, stop throwing things. Let me speak first.”
“You white-eyed wolf—you still have the guts to call me shijie? Have you asked yourself what you’ve done?” Zhou Ying’an pulled her whip from the table. The air around it began to crackle, sending off green sparks as Zhou Ying’an wrapped it around her wrist. “Have you gone mad?! You actually killed our shizun!”
“Shijie, I had my reasons for killed Shizun!” Wu Lingtian said as he somersaulted over a table.
The whip lashed out, just narrowly missing Wu Lingtian. Zhou Ying’an barked out a laugh. “You bastard. You’re still calling her Shizun? If I don’t beat you to death today, my last name isn’t Zhou!”
Wu Lingtian pushed the doors open and sprinted out just as the crackling whip missed his heel. He stumbled forward several steps and jumped onto the branch of the tree. “Shijie, listen to me! Shizun was not Shizun!”
“What the hell are you saying?!” the whip lashed out and almost wrapped itself around Wu Lingtian’s ankle. “If you still have an ounce of respect for Shizun, you best get down here right now and let me beat you to death!”
Wu Lingtian hopped onto the roof. The tiles shifted beneath him and created a loud clattering sound. He turned around swiftly and flew back to avoid the lashing whip. “Shizun was already dead!”
Zhou Ying’an’s movements paused. Her hand held onto the whip as she watched Wu Lingtian land in front of her. Her delicate brows furrowed as her eyes narrowed with suspicion. She pursed her lips and eyed him skeptically.
“…Explain yourself.”
Wu Lingtian sighed in relief. He took a moment to collect himself before speaking, “I had already felt that there was something wrong with her a few months ago. She began caring less about sect matters and indulged more on private delicacies. I started to tail her and investigate. At first, I suspected that she had been possessed by a demon after her most recent excursion, but then I…the night I killed her, I found out that she had been dead for a long time. For a brief moment, during our confrontation, her spirit awoke for one last time and told me that she hid a personally written letter near my residence. If I can find that letter, I can prove my innocence and Shizun would not have died in vain.”
Zhou Ying’an listened to Wu Lingtian’s explanation. The sparks around her whip had died down, leaving it a regular dull black color. The crease between her brows did not unfurrow as she silently observed Wu Lingtian. “You are not lying?”
“I would not,” Wu Lingtian straightened. He raised three fingers to the skies. “If I am lying right now, may my soul enter the Eighteen Levels of Hell, never to rest in peace.”
Zhou Ying’an’s thumb rubbed against the coarse braided leather. She quietly grinded her teeth. She occasionally glanced at Wu Lingtian, as if trying to debate the validity of his words. Finally, she let out a sigh. “Why should I trust you?”
“What reason would I have to kill our Shizun?” Wu Lingtian asked softly.
Rong Meihua’s disciples had always been known for their taciturn and coldness. Li Ran had been the most talkative out of all of them, while Wu Lingtian had been the quietest. He was someone who rarely spoke, rarely smiled, and rarely showed any emotion on his face. It had gotten to the point where he had even earned the nickname “Ice Beauty”. But now, the ice had thawed. There was a pained look in Wu Lingtian’s dark eyes. It sent a pang of guilt into Zhou Ying’an’s chest. Her lips pursed as she averted her gaze.
That’s right. She and Wu Lingtian had been raised by Rong Meihua since they were children. What reason would Wu Lingtian have to kill her?
“…So? What do you want?”
“Please help me get into Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect.”
Zhou Ying’an snapped out of her sentimental mood. She looked at Wu Lingtian incredulously. “What? You want to go back? Now?”
“I have to,” Wu Lingtian said. “Only I know where the letter is hidden.”
“Well, you can tell me and I will look for it,” Zhou Ying’an said.
“It is in a very specific place,” Wu Lingtian said. “I…Shizun had spoken about it very vaguely, so I can only guess.”
“You are lying to me.”
“I am not,” Wu Lingtian stepped forward towards Zhou Ying’an. His brows were furrowed tightly. “Shijie, believe me this once.”
Zhou Ying’an listened to Wu Lingtian’s soft voice. The last of her defenses fell away. She let out a long sigh and rubbed at her cheek to clear out any other extraneous thoughts in her head. Finally, she turned to Wu Lingtian.
“You are going to pretend to be me,” Zhou Ying’an decided. “Use the Shapeshifting Technique to do so. I’ll hand over my weapons and my pass—these are the two things that identify me. You go in quickly to search for your evidence and then return here once you are done. I will give you three days’ time. If you do not return in three days, I will sound the alarm.”
Wu Lingtian straightened. “Thank you, Shijie.”
“Mn,” Zhou Ying’an tossed over the whip and then her sword as well as her pendent. “If I find out that you are lying to me…”
“I will hand over my own head,” Wu Lingtian promised.
Zhou Ying’an nodded. She reached over and patted Wu Lingtian on the shoulder. “It must have been hard on you.”
Wu Lingtian shook his head. He hardly felt anything at all. Not then and not even now. There was a constant churning feeling in his gut and an instinctive voice in the back of his head that told him something was wrong. However, Wu Lingtian could not place why or even explain how.
↳ 黑雪镇 (Hēi xuě zhèn) – Heixue Town
↳ 兴城 (Xìng chéng) – Xing City
↳ 十八层地狱 (Shíbā céng dìyù); Eighteen Levels of Hell – where sinners go after they die. Eighteen levels of punishments for each “sin”. Please look up “Diyu” if you want more info.
No!! Wait! Don’t go alone! Tell Fan Yi he’ll help you
This won’t go smoothly.
Thank you for chapter
Ahhhhhhhhhhh
I have a bad feeling about this… 😖
I guess whatever he killed is what corroded his sword until it broke. That should clue in the Hong Brothers with their investigation.
I think it’s a bad sign that this Shijie easily believed our MV