by A P Gore
"No-no, Sister Yu. I have to do it myself or else the master will get angry. I missed out last time because of my foolishness, and I can't do that again. It has to be me." Xi's voice was tinged with a hint of fear.
"Worry not, Sister Xi. I'll go and diligently watch over the patriarch’s guest." Cursing in her heart, Yu headed to the guest house and stood guard outside. Being a Ki clan member, it was her duty to provide security services to Chu clan.
While standing outside, she cast a glance within at the esteemed guest, and disdain curdled in her stomach. An esteemed guest wearing a cheap green robe, the sort sold by street vendors? How was that possible?
He doesn't even look older than eighteen years, and that stupid girl called him master. He doesn't even have the demeanor of the esteemed people of the country. Was she joking with me?
Frowning, she turned to step inside and demand an explanation from the youth. He must have fooled little Xi somehow. But just before she stepped in, a burly man called her.
"Security Chief Ki Yu, greetings." Ki Mi clasped his hands and bowed slightly. He was an informant for Ki clan. Him being there meant he had important information to relay.
Yu frowned. "Yes?"
"Chief Yu, I have information about your brother, Ki Ning."
"What about Ning'er? Did you find him?" Her heart shook with joy. Ning was her real little brother. When their mother died, Yu had promised her to take care of Ning going forward. No one in the Ki clan got care from her like he did, not even Ki Pang—the golden boy. Shameless.
"I'm sorry Chief Yu, but we haven’t found him yet. But I got ahold of some clues."
Yu trembled a little. Ning'er, where are you? Please come back. Your sister misses you.
"He was injured by some brat named Li Jei before he went missing. His leg was broken in half," Ki Ti replied with a shudder. "I heard the story from the healer."
"Li Jei? Where does this brat live and what's his cultivation level?" Yu asked. Fury burned through her. This brat dared to injure her brother. He deserved to die.
"He is a cripple and doesn't have a cultivation level."
"A cripple?" Yu's eyebrows knitted together. "Then how could he injure Ning'er?"
Suddenly the youth in the green robe got up and left the guest house without a word.
Yu was startled for a moment, but she didn't stop him—he was an esteemed guest, after all. But before he disappeared from her sight, she quickly probed his cultivation level.
There was no aura coming out of him. This could only happen when the target didn't have any cultivation, or the target was in a realm much higher than her.
He must be in some upper realm. She envied him. She was at Qi Condensation level 5, and for her to fail to probe anyone other than Patriarch Tian was a big thing.
Five minutes passed, and Chu Xi returned, hopping. She had a bag full of cores with her.
Yu frowned as she looked at the big bag. Why did this stupid girl wanted to gift so many cores to the youth?
"Sister Yu, where is Master Li?" Chu Xi asked, her face gone pale like she had just seen a ghost.
Yu furrowed her brow. "He left. What name did you say sister Xi?"
"Master Li Jei."
"Li Jei." Ki Yu roared in anger. "That brat is seeking his death." She dashed toward the outer gate, barking orders. "Guards! Lock all the exits."
Chapter 48
Chu Xi
Xi glared at Sister Yu shouting at the guards to capture Master Jei.
"Sister Yu, what are you doing?"
Yu turned back, her black eyes shooting fire at Xi.
"Xi, tell me where that brat is." Her tone edged on the border of threatening.
"Sister Yu, language!" It’s not that Xi cared how Yu addressed her, but she had learned one thing the hard way: don’t give too much leeway to servants or serving clans. It would only cause problems in future. Once, she gave some money to the servant working for her before Wei Sua. She even helped her out with some work she was supposed to do. In return, the servant spread rumors that she was an illegitimate daughter of Chu Tian, and that he treated her so badly that she liked her servants more than her father. Of course, that woman ended up in the dungeon for spreading false rumors. But from that day onward, Xi stopped being too good to her servants.
Anger flashed in Yu's eyes. Her lips twitched, like she wanted to say something. But she held it back and bowed her head instead.
"Little Sister Xi, I'm sorry. This guy, Li Jei, is the prime suspect of the robbery of a painting shop in the market, so I'm just doing my duty."
Xi frowned. This woman, did she even know what Li Jei was capable of? Had she ever heard of a Soul Stabilization Realm master painter?
"Don't. He's an esteemed guest of my father, and if Father finds out about your insolent behavior, you'll be in more trouble than you can imagine."
Yu seemed startled. "I'm sorry little sister. I'll correct my mistake right away. Please rest assured, the moment I see him again I'll tell him to find you in the patriarch’s manor."
Xi nodded and stepped away from her. She knew it wouldn't end here. Yu was a sly woman, and she had heard her father telling Brother Son to not trust Ki Yu at any cost. So, better not too. Now, the look on the sly woman's face made her worried about Master Jei. If this woman wanted him, she would go to great lengths to get him.
I must find Master Jei first and introduce him to Father, but where did he go?
Quickening her pace, she hurried out of the hunting ground where her guards were supposed to be waiting for her. Those guards didn't belong to Ki clan, so she could trust them in this situation. Fortunately, they strolled not far away from the hunting ground.
"Guards, have you seen Master Jei?" she asked.
One of the tall guards rubbed his nose. "Young miss, are you talking about the youth in the green robe you spoke with?"
Relief flooded Xi. "Yes, that’s him. Did you see him?"
"Yes, two of the guards chased him into the hunting ground. And just a few seconds ago, Chief Security Officer Madam Yu also ran inside."
"What?" This looked bad. Without a second thought, she dashed toward the hunting ground. Then things just got worse.
Chapter 49
The afternoon sun beat down on his head, and dryness made his skin itch as Jei made his way through the hunting ground. Hundreds of youths were chasing creatures that looked like overgrown bees with four wings and two distinct colors highlighting their body. One wooden gray, and one sunrise green. Jei avoided them all. Another time, he would love to paint the exquisite spirit beast, but not today. Today, he moved stealthily under the thin canopy, hoping no one would spot him.
The hunting ground occupied a small part of a larger forest that extended toward the unknown lands between the Kim Yu empire and White Dragon country. These lands were covered in dense trees, and deadly animals roamed freely. As the unknown land only contained low level spirit beasts, it didn't have sealing boundary trees like the dark forest. It was mainly used by martial practitioners or nobles to practice hunting.
Jei didn't care about that nor did he want to hunt. In fact, his only priority was getting out safely.
It wasn't going well.
One of the two-colored bees dove at him with its sharp tongue pointed at him.
"Kid, avoid that sting at all cost. It's a kind of poison you won't be able to handle," the senior said.
Jei frowned. "A poison that I can't handle?" What was the use of Poison Body if he couldn't withstand a level 3 beast's poison?
"Yes, it injects a peculiar liquid that will make you laugh for hours, and right now we can't expose our identity."
Yes, that would cause issues. Suddenly, he realized a few of the youths were laughing and rolling on ground like clowns.
Jei jumped to his right, avoiding the bee tongue. While the bee zipped past him, he tried to punch it with his divine art, but the bee detected his attack and changed direction. It had quite good reflexes.
"That won't work,”
the senior said. “That's why I wanted you to master your movement skill first. The bees are vulnerable after they bite someone.”
Jei ducked down and slipped under a small tree. Ki clan guards were chasing him, and the last thing he wanted was to be exposed.
It all started when he met those two stupid guards. When he ran away from Ki Yu, Chu Xi's guards stopped him outside of the hunting ground. Apparently, that stupid Chu girl asked them to keep an eye on him and not let him leave without her permission. While he bickered with them about needing to leave, the Ki clan guards came looking for him.
He couldn't run home, as the guards would've followed him, and everyone would be in trouble. Master Hei wouldn't have liked it. And Jei didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.
So, he chose to run inside the hunting ground. Now, he just needed to get rid of those guards and get back out.
But that goal wasn’t so easily achieved. Soon, dozens of qi level 3 guards entered the hunting ground carrying pointy spears. This was getting annoyingly complicated.
He rubbed his forehead in frustration. Why the heck did he have to bump into that Chu girl today?
Jei slipped deeper inside the forest, where the trees grew closer and sunlight didn't make to the dark soil underfoot. Tree branches caught on his robe and tore it. Ignoring it, he pushed forward. Now wasn't the time to be elegant. Efficiency preceded everything else. He needed to find a way out and get around the hunting ground, but a large wall of wooden logs stopped his advance after ten minutes of running. The logs were covered by sharp pointy purple poison vines.
Damn, that must be the hunting ground boundary. But why did His Majesty use a purple poison vine here?
The purple vines were known for their high-quality poison. It was a level 3 deadly poison. Even in his dreams he wouldn't dare to touch it. Unless he reached a higher level in his Poison Body, he would have to be wary of poisonous things. The cultivation path was a long one. Very long one.
"Kid, can you avoid those vines and get over the boundary wall?" the senior asked.
Jei shot a quick glance at the ten-foot-tall wall. The lively vines moved along the wooden logs in unpredictable patters. It felt like watching a hundred-meter-long snake winding around a wooden tree, telling him not to come closer.
Sweat beaded his brow. "I..." There was no way he could do this. He had just advanced to Houtian realm, and he didn't know any divine art that would let him jump over the wall. Ancestors, why wasn't there a divine art for it? His chin lowered involuntarily. "I don't have the confidence."
"So, you can only use the gate to get out. Great, just great."
"Yes, so let's make our way back and find a way to sneak out." Jei hated being a coward, even more so after receiving powers. But he knew one thing clearly: if he wanted to protect his sister, he had to remain alive and gain more powers.
But destiny didn't seem to be on his side today. As soon as he turned back, four guards appeared out of the forest.
"You there! Stop. Or don't complain that we’re killing you."
Chapter 50
Jei wiped his sweaty forehead with his sleeve as he stared at the guards pointing their spears at him. They were all Qi Condensation level 3, something he would be able to take care of if they came at him one at a time. But why would they want to do that?
One of the burly guards stepped forward. A few rays of sunlight that made their way through the thick canopy fell on the sharp metal surface of his spearhead and reflected in Jei's eyes.
Jei involuntarily stepped back. Circulating natural essence through the path of the Drunken Master Tiger fist art, he readied himself. If the guard dared to take a wrong step, he would meet his end today.
Jei's heart rate increased with every step the guard took. The spearhead moved, reflecting shiny light that set his battle sense on full alert.
One more step, and the guard would be on him. Closing that step with a jump, the guard stood inches away from him.
The guard raised his hand to strike him.
Jei pulled his elbow back. One clean hit full force should have been sufficient to break open guard's ribcage.
It should.
"Are you crazy, kid?” the guard said, frowning. “Do you know what those purple things are? If you touch one, you'll instantly die. Didn't we tell you not to leave the initial area of the hunting ground? Stupid boy. You even ruined your good robe by coming here."
Jei sighed. So, this was it. The guards thought he was a hunting competition participant. That made sense. Not everyone would know who he was. His heart rate reduced to a normal pace; his battle sense settled down.
Jei faked an innocent smile. "Brother, I'm sorry. I lost my way. I'll take my leave."
"Damn you," the guard said. "Anyway, go back and play with others." The guard slapped Jei's shoulder and pushed him toward the original direction he’d come from.
Sighing inside, Jei quickened his pace. That was so close. In his current situation, avoiding each and every conflict was a good idea.
"Kid, there's someone coming your direction," the senior said.
Jei's heart rate once again sped. This was getting tough. With a swift thought, he circulated his natural essence through the path of his divine art and readied himself to strike again.
"Brother Jei, you're here!" A burly youth with a swollen mouth and a black eye jumped out of a tree to land in front of him.
"Brother Feng, what happened? Why are you so beaten up?"
Feng dropped on his knees; tears rushed down his cheeks. He wept hard.
Jei grabbed Feng's shoulders and pulled him up.
"Brother Feng, what happened? Why are you crying?"
Feng tried to speak, but he choked on his tears. With pained eyes, he stared at Jei.
"Brother Sang. The guards took him for questioning."
Jei furrowed his brows. "Questioning? What did he do?"
"They’re asking about you. We were hunting the bees using the grape heart honey you gave us when five guards came looking for us. At first, they asked about you, and we said we don't know your location. Then they started beating us." He wept once again. "We kept telling them that we don't know where you were, but they beat the crap out of us both. They took Sang for further questioning and told me to find you."
Anger rushed through Jei's spine. He knew very well why the guards had targeted these brothers. A few minutes’ chat with Jei had cost them dearly.
"Kid, get rid of this boy. I've got a gut feeling that he brought us more trouble."
Jei shook his head. "Josh, I must help Brother Sang. He's in trouble because of me. I can't leave him behind to die." He couldn't do that. Brother Sang was in trouble because of him, and he should help him as much as he could. Leaving someone behind for his own safety didn't fit in his principles.
"Brother Feng, where's Brother Sang? Do you know the location?"
Grabbing Jei's arm with his large hand, Feng pulled Jei in the direction of the hunting ground entrance.
"Kid, think before you act. If it's too difficult, you should run away. Don't forget Xue is waiting for you at home."
Guilt resurfaced in Jei's mind, and he dug in his heels. The senior was right. Xue was waiting for him at home. What if he died in this situation? Who would look after her?
"Brother Jei, why aren't you coming with me?" Feng asked. Now this guy was dependent on Jei too. To save his friend.
Ancestors, what should I do? He was stuck in a bad situation. On one side, his principles called him, and other side his reason for living, his sister, called him.
Chapter 51
Jei glanced at Feng's swollen face, and then in the direction of the hunting ground entrance. Dense trees lined the path, and any tree might have a guard waiting for him behind it. What should he choose? His principles or his sister? Both were equally important.
"Josh, what should I do? I want to help Feng, but I don’t want to die here."
The senior sighed. "You and your fucking principles. Let's do
this then, but you've gotta listen to me. If I say run, then put your tail between your legs and run. Don't even dare look back."
Jei frowned. "Okay." Those were harsh words, but it also seemed like the best option. The senior had more experience than him, and he had Soul Sense too.
Jei looked into Feng's desperate eyes. "Let's go, Brother Feng. Lead the way." Though Jei himself didn't know if he would be able to save Sang, he gave Feng a reassuring smile. Time held the answers to all questions.
Feng swiftly moved through the forest, avoiding all the thick bushes and pointy vines. At least it saved Jei's robe from further damage.
I’d better buy few robes when I escape this mess. What if Xi sees me like this?
He mentally slapped his forehead.
Idiot. Why are you still thinking about that trouble maker?
"Jei, one man with a spear will cross your path in five seconds," the senior said.
Throwing himself forward, Jei pinned Feng to the ground, burying his face in the dirt. It must have hurt Feng, but there was no time for debate. They couldn't afford to expose themselves to the guard. Who knew how many others were nearby?
When the guard passed by, Jei let Feng move. As the soiled, dirt-spitting Feng rose to his feet, Jei offered him a sheepish smile. "I'm—"
Feng loosed a fearful cry, and something heavy dropped on Jei's shoulder and then wrapped itself around his arm.
With pounding heart, Jei raised his arm. Coiled around it was a fierce black-striped snake with a thick purple line running along its body, a level 1 spirit beast with lethal poison.
The snake raised its head and stared into Jei's eyes. It was three feet long and thick as a rope. Its tongue slipped in and out as it hissed at Jei.