Under Du Qi's intimidating presence, the farce finally quieted down after nearly two hours. Well, to be precise, it was because Yao Wu had been beaten into dejected silence. His face was swollen like a pig's head, his eyes were black and blue, and a trace of dried blood hung from the corner of his mouth. Squatting in the corner, he finally accepted reality—if he kept pushing his luck, he might actually lose his life today. He had finally learned to shut his mouth while taking a beating, and only then did the madness come to an end.
Yet when he stood up, in the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the swelling on his face vanished, the bruises faded, and his skin returned to its fair, clean, boyish state. Hong Jiu's teeth itched with irritation, and she wished she could beat him again. She looked up at the trembling ceiling, glanced at the shattered walls, took a deep breath, and held herself back. It wasn't that repairing it would be too troublesome, but if the building actually collapsed, it would cause too much of a commotion to cover up.
“Hurry up and fix it!” Hong Jiu kicked Yao Wu in the backside, sending him stumbling.
Yao Wu rubbed his backside with a grimace, squatted down, and pressed both hands to the floor. Deep blue mana surged from his dantian, seeping into the ground through his fingertips. He closed his eyes and muttered an incantation under his breath. His voice was quiet, but he enunciated every word clearly: “A myriad of grasses awaken, Sovereign of the Divine Tree, manifesting as if in life, blocking rain and shielding wind.”
Vines sprouted from the cracks in the floor, climbing up the walls. Delicate branches probed into the cracks in the masonry, pushing out the loose fragments one by one. New wood grew in the gaps, filling every crack and layering over itself to hold the walls firmly in place. Fine moss sprouted from between the vines, starting as a tender green, slowly spreading to cover the repaired marks, and then drying and shrinking as the spiritual energy was withdrawn, turning a withered yellow that blended in with the old wall. The vines used for reinforcement were not wasted either; he controlled them to interlace and wrap, binding the entire wall as if sewing the final stitch on a wound.
Lu Yan sat to the side, holding a cup of freshly brewed tea. He took a sip as he listened to Yao Wu's incantation and the rustling of the growing vines. “Yamato is still putting in work, huh? A true Wood Style infrastructure expert.”
Yao Wu ignored him. Every time this guy saw him perform a spell, strange words would pop out of his mouth. Things like “Wood Style” or “Hashirama”—last time, Lu Yan had even asked him if he could use wood to summon a giant Buddha. Yao Wu thought to himself, If I could actually summon a Buddha, would I still be cooped up in this run-down hall running a pharmacy? I would have been living the high life long ago.
Du Qi sat next to Lu Yan, holding an identical teacup. The two sat shoulder to shoulder like two old farmers taking a break, their movements surprisingly synchronized—lowering their heads to blow away the steam, sipping along the rim, and then exhaling in unison. Du Qi raised his eyes and scanned the room, looking at this reception room that had once possessed a certain style, now reduced to this state—Yao Wu's head imprint embedded in the wall, several floorboards warped, the bookshelf tilted to the side with books scattered on the floor, and Hong Jiu's high-heel footprints still left on the wallpaper. He sighed softly. Whatever, it wasn't the first time. He would find someone to fix it when he had time; for now, it was livable.
After Yao Wu finished with the wall, he clapped the dust off his hands, walked over to Lu Yan, pulled a white porcelain bottle from his sleeve, and tossed it over. “This is a wound medicine made from the leaves I shed last year, good for removing decay and regenerating flesh. That Scar-Removal Ointment you bought last time is just to fool mortals. If you want something that actually works, use this.”
Lu Yan caught the medicine bottle, and a smile finally appeared on his face. “Good son, your father didn't raise you in vain.” He reached into his storage bag, rummaged for a while, pulled out a jade token, and placed it on the table. “Take it, a reward from your daddy.”
He had made several of these things back in the day, and over the years, only two or three had been given away or used. Back then, when his cultivation was still intact, casually carving a few protective formations was nothing. Who would have thought he would lose his cultivation later? And who would have thought he wouldn't die even after losing his cultivation? He had run into such a rare case, and he had even picked up another equally rare case in a ruined temple. With this kind of luck, he would have won the lottery in his past life.
Yao Wu took the jade token, turning it over and over in his hand as his fingertips traced the lines of the engravings. “Oho, you had such a good thing and didn't bring it out earlier? Any more? Hand them over to daddy right now!”
In the Abandoned Guest Hall, Yao Wu and Lu Yan had the best relationship. The two of them had known each other before they fell on hard times. After the Azure Medicine Valley was swallowed by the Pill God Sect, Yao Wu had nowhere to go, and Lu Yan didn't see much of him either. Later, when Lu Yan was hunted down, Yao Wu saved him once, and from then on, Lu Yan joined the Abandoned Guest Hall. Speaking of which, the personalities of these two, far from being like Boya and Ziqi, could only be described as a toxic swamp meeting lightning—a pair of demonic twins. Cheating, abducting, robbing, and deceiving, they spared no evil. Lu Yan had relied on the Ten Thousand Formations Compass to rank in the top ten of the wanted list, but after hanging out with Yao Wu for a few years, he had actually been pushed up to third place. In recent years, he had kept a lower profile, so his ranking had slowly dropped, but their glorious deeds of the past were still whispered throughout the cultivation world to this day.
Back then, when the Hall Master found out these two were from the Abandoned Guest Hall, he was so angry he almost expelled them. Seriously, what did they mean by “you two stole manure from mortal towns every day, and then hauled hundreds of tons of it to pelt the protective formation of the Central Continent Alliance's branch”? Yao Wu, a herb spirit, had actually used the spirits of plants and trees for miles around to gather all that stuff together. Lu Yan, proficient in formations, knew that the protective formation could only block magical attacks but couldn't stop physical ones, so he even masked the payload with an illusion formation. When the other side saw them approaching, they sensed a hostile threat and immediately activated their grand defensive barrier. As a result, that massive pile of manure sailed right through the formation—the opposing Great Elder was scared out of his wits and immediately unleashed his strongest ultimate technique, blowing up those hundreds of tons of... with a single palm strike.
That day was the most painful day in the history of that Central Continent Alliance branch. The cultivators there bathed in gold, enjoying the bountiful gifts of nature. The Great Elder bore the brunt of it and was almost buried alive. From then on, his Daoist title changed from “Ethereal Sword Immortal” to “Primordial Feces Venerable.” Later, it was said that this venerable master was so consumed by rage that he nearly fell into demonic deviation; his cultivation regressed, and he actually dropped a whole major realm.
Thinking of those ridiculous escapades from back then, an embarrassed look crossed Lu Yan's face. He waved his hand dismissively. “Just this one. Take it or leave it.”
Yao Wu immediately clutched the jade token to his chest. “A real man's word is his bond. Want to go back on it? It's mine now.” Having said that, he quickly stuffed the jade token into his storage bag, fearing Lu Yan would really ask for it back.
Hong Jiu let out a long yawn nearby. “I'm exhausted. I'm going back to sleep. Do whatever you want.” She paused, remembered something, and added, “The room next to mine is clean, and no one is living there. The previous occupant was redeemed and taken away. The other rooms haven't been tidied up yet, so why don't you sleep there tonight, Eleven?”
Lu Yan nodded and walked upstairs. He was also feeling a bit tired.
Just as Hong Jiu was about to go upstairs, Yao Wu grabbed her by the wrist. Her eyebrows shot up, and she was about to explode when she saw Yao Wu winking at her. “Sister Hong, you haven't taken the Face-Preserving Pill I brought for you yet. Come over and get it.”
Hong Jiu found it strange. What serious business could this guy possibly have? Intrigued nonetheless, she followed him to the corner.
Yao Wu glanced upstairs shiftily and lowered his voice. “Sister Hong, don't you want to find out why Eleven suddenly came to the city?”
Hong Jiu was startled, subconsciously glancing at the second floor as well. She replied in a hushed whisper, “That's not a good idea, is it? This is Eleven's private business. Wouldn't it be too intrusive for us to investigate?” The Abandoned Guest Hall never interfered with its members' private affairs, and she didn't want to stick her neck out first.
“Sigh—Sister Hong, you are mistaken.” Yao Wu put on a solemn face. “We are just caring for our companion, preventing him from being deceived, right? Besides, if he really is in some sort of trouble, Eleven is far too prideful to ever ask us for help. What's wrong with us giving him a hand?”
Hearing him say this, Hong Jiu felt it indeed made some sense. She thought about it and asked, “What do you want to do?”
“We'll see if he goes out tomorrow morning. We just follow him quietly. Our stealth techniques are top-notch.”
Hong Jiu tapped her chin with her knuckle, pondered for a moment, and nodded. “Alright. As soon as he leaves tomorrow morning, I'll contact you with a talisman.”
“Got it, sister. I'll head out first.”
What Yao Wu didn't tell Hong Jiu was that he had smelled a woman's scent on Lu Yan, as well as a scent from the Central Continent. There was no doubt that Lu Yan would never betray the Abandoned Guest Hall, but Yao Wu still felt a bit uneasy. It was highly likely that Lu Yan was keeping a hidden beauty somewhere, but what if he wasn't? What if he had gotten into trouble again?
He turned and walked out of the Abandoned Guest Hall. The heavy night poured in from all directions, wrapping around his slender back. He did not dare to lose his family again. Those ridiculous days of running wild with Lu Yan were the times in his life when he was least afraid of the dawn. Now, he was afraid. He was afraid that after dawn, Lu Yan would be gone. He was afraid that the door would be open, but the person wouldn't return. He was afraid of being alone again. So he had to investigate, he had to follow, he had to confirm. He could not let what happened to his senior sister happen again. Never again.
The night grew darker, as if to swallow him whole. He did not look back.
Rate on N.U.
