After the Villain Lost His Cultivation - Chapter 16

The sun sets in the west.

Xi Jianglan had been tossing and turning the entire day, his body devoid of spiritual power, completely exhausted, as he pushed Heng Yudu toward the city. “Oh, right, you’re here to recruit disciples. Give me a jade slip from Tianyan Academy so I don’t have to make another trip.”

Heng Yudu carelessly stroked the glass bird in his palm, raising an eyebrow. “Has someone you know awakened their innate mark?”

Xi Jianglan nodded.

“That’s good.” Heng Yudu didn’t ask much more, raising his hand to give him a jade slip for admission to the Tianyan Academy. “In recent years, I don’t know why, but the number of people awakening their innate marks has been decreasing. The families in Zhongzhou haven’t produced a single spiritual-level individual in six years. Rang Chen said…”

Xi Jianglan casually glanced at the lotus flowers by the Yuchuan River, feeling that something was wrong.

But he was a little tired and didn’t think too much about it, vaguely responding, “What did he say?”

Heng Yudu didn’t open his mouth, instead making a silent hand sign.

“With Tianyan above. From ancient times until now, the Thirteen Provinces are destined to produce only thirteen spiritual level beings.”

Xi Jianglan was stunned.

Heng Yudu didn’t want to say more about it: “…What kind of innate mark did the person you know awaken? Profound level?”

“No, Heavenly level.”

Heng Yudu blinked in surprise. “That’s really rare.”

“Yes.”

Xi Jianglan chatted absentmindedly, and his gaze unintentionally landed on the lotus flowers by the riverbank. His eyes suddenly froze, and his foggy mind abruptly cleared.

He finally realized what was wrong.

When we left Wuyin City in the morning, it was still covered with ice and snow, and the Yuchuan River was frozen over.

How could the ice and snow have melted, the summer heat have arrived, and even the lotus flowers have bloomed in just one day?

Heng Yudu noticed that something was wrong with his expression. “Jianglan?”

Xi Jianglan’s face turned pale, and he suddenly said, “I’ll go ahead. You won’t be able to find me at the Twelve Houses.”

Heng Yudu: “Wait…”

Without looking back, Xi Jianglan strode  briskly to the city gate.

Perhaps due to an order from the Xiezhi Sect, the monks from the Punishment and Pardon Court, who had been guarding the gate to check household registrations and fish tokens, had already retreated. Xi Jianglan was able to enter the city smoothly without much questioning.

The black cat perched on his shoulder, puzzled, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s off.” Xi Jianglan hurried towards the Twelve Houses, quickly removing his disguise as he rushed along. “The snow disaster is over.”

Black Cat: “Isn’t Juan Xunfang here in Wuyin City to investigate the snow disaster? If we find the source and cut off the eye of the formation, the heavy snow will naturally stop. Why are you in such a hurry?”

Xi Jianglan didn’t say anything else and, in just half a minute, returned to the secluded alley.

Qin Banban’s pastry shop usually stayed open until late at night, but today the door was closed even before dark.

Xi Jianglan didn’t even look at the door. He pressed his hand against the crack and shook it hard, causing the bolt to break open with a loud snap.

“Banban!”

The black cat, startled, exclaimed, “Why did you break into a little girl’s home?”

Qin Banban had lost her mother at a young age, and with a father who was a gambler, the pastry shop was all she had to make ends meet.

The little girl was very sensible. Even though her gambling father was out fooling around all day, she never cried or made a fuss. This half-grown child worked hard on a stool all day to make pastries, relying on the meager spiritual stones to supplement the family income. Finally, she had safely grown up to this age.

Xi Jianglan hurried through the simple, clean backyard and soon found Qin Banban’s room. Without saying a word, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.

On the old wooden bed, the little girl lay curled up under a thin blanket, sound asleep. Her jet-black hair sprawled across the bed and down to the floor in several loops.

She didn’t wake up despite all the commotion.

Xi Jianglan called softly, “Banban?”

Qin Banban didn’t respond.

Xi Jianglan slowly walked forward, raising his hand to brush aside her messy hair, revealing her slender neck.

A faintly red scar appeared.

Xi Jianglan’s hand trembled violently, as if a sharp pain had shot through the back of his neck.

Qin Banban let out a muffled ”Hmm?” and, sensing someone nearby, struggled in a confused state as if wading through mud. After a moment, she finally regained a hint of clarity and opened her eyes in a daze.

”Brother Lan?”

Xi Jianglan pulled his hand back from his neck, leaned forward, and spoke softly, as if afraid of frightening her.

”Banban, who came by today?”

Qin Banban’s face turned pale. She struggled to sit up and rubbed her eyes. ”Huh?”

“Who was here?”

Qin Banban was silent for a long time before she said, ”My dad is back, and he brought a handsome brother with him, whose arm is made of wood.”

Xi Jianglan frowned. ”Didn’t I tell you to..”

His voice stopped abruptly.

He had only told Qin Banban not to go out, but he hadn’t expected that her gambling father, who hadn’t been home for ten days or half a month, would return today…

Qin Banban said a few more words and finally became fully alert. Although her face was pale and frail, she still smiled and happily picked up the palm-sized wooden doll beside her pillow.

”Look, I always wanted to buy a doll to play with, but my dad always said that it was something for children and wouldn’t let me spend money recklessly.”

The little girl seemed to really like the doll. She kept stroking the wooden face with her fingers and said with her eyes curved, ”…but this time my dad actually bought it for me. It’s so nice! Brother Lan, do you think he has really turned over a new leaf and will never gamble again?”

When she said the last sentence, her young face was filled with anticipation.

Xi Jianglan raised his hand to take the wooden doll, lightly brushing his fingertips over it, and saw a flourish of characters on the doll’s arm.

—Evil.

”Banban,” Xi Jianglan suddenly asked, ”Do you know what an innate mark is?”

Qin Banban looked confused. ”I know! It’s the spiritual roots cultivated by those immortals from noble families. What’s wrong?”

Xi Jianglan stared at her for a long time before suddenly raising his hand and gently holding her in his arms.

Qin Banban, not understanding what was happening, just giggled while lying on his shoulder.

”Brother Lan, you’re acting really strange today.”

Xi Jianglan smiled slightly, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

He stuffed the Tianyan Academy admission jade slip given by Heng Yudu into Qin Banban’s hand and said in a gentle voice, “Hold on to this.”

Qin Banban didn’t understand what it was, but she thought it was beautiful and crystal clear, so she took it with joy on her face.

“Thank you, Brother Lan.”

She was playing with the jade slip, which was of no use to her, and she didn’t notice that in the dim candlelight, Xi Jianglan had an expressionless face. His eyes, which always showed a loving smile, were dark like ominous clouds about to bring a storm, cold enough to carry a hint of malice.

It was already dark. Heng Yudu had quietly entered the city at some point, holding a small glass lamp in his folded hands as he sat quietly beside the Twelve Houses Medical Clinic.

“That child… has awakened her innate mark?”

Xi Jianglan walked towards the flickering light in the quiet alley and said lazily, “Yes, I was thinking of sending her to Tianyan Academy when I got back this time, but it’s a pity that this foolish girl has such a hard life with a gambling father.”

“Her father sold the innate mark?!” Heng Yudu frowned. “The Thirteen Provinces have a clear prohibition on the buying and selling of innate marks.”

Before he could finish speaking, he remembered the grand bidding for innate mark painting at Guchang Temple today.

Heng Yudu was born into a prominent family in Zhongzhou. All the experiences he encountered and the people he met since childhood were from righteous immortal sects, which shaped his bright and kind personality. He never imagined there could be parents so selfish and horrible that they would extract their child’s innate mark just for money.

“What is her innate mark?”

“Heavenly level, ‘Third Watch Snow’.”

The “Snow Disaster” that had been rampant in Wuyin City recently, with no discernible source, was caused by Qin Banban’s confusion and her inability to control her innate mark.

Heng Yudu was left speechless.

A Heavenly level innate mark was sufficient to gain admission to any of the various halls in Tianyan Academy.

Yet it was being ruined by a profit-seeking and short-sighted gambler.

Heng Yudu seemed to recall something: “But I remember that there are no Tianyan spiritual veins in Wuyin City. She is just an ordinary person, how could she possess a innate mark?”

Xi Jianglan didn’t answer, just turned around to look at the now dark pastry shop.

The naive little girl had unwittingly used the most important gift from Tianyan, exchanging it only for a beautiful wooden doll and a future fraught with endless hardships.

She had no idea what she had lost and was joyfully celebrating her father’s rare gift.

Xi Jianglan walked behind Heng Yudu, pushing the wheelchair, but instead of returning to the clinic, he walked out of the alley.

“Where are we going?” Heng Yudu asked.

“To Evil Qi Road.”

Heng Yudu was surprised.

Xi Jianglan’s voice was so soft that it seemed to disappear in the evening breeze. Along with the sound of the wooden wheel rolling on the ground, he said lightly: “There is a mark of the Evil Qi Road on Xi Qingfeng’s innate mark painting.”

Heng Yudu was stunned.

He and Feng Yu studied the painting for a long time, examining it from inside to outside, but did not find any marks.

“Do you know where the Evil Qi Road is?”

The Evil Qi Road, as the name suggests, is composed of people who have gone astray and entered the evil path. It is chaotic, evil, and a mix of good and bad. Heng Yudu had also heard of the “reputation” of the Evil Qi Road on the rhino lamp, but had never known where it was.

All we know is that the Evil Qi Road is located somewhere in Wuyin City, but countless people have racked their brains but have yet to enter its gate.

“Of course.” Xi Jianglan yawned, pushed his wheelchair out of the entrance of No Choice alley, turned a few corners and headed straight towards Yuchuan, boasting, “I know all the thirty-six alleys of Evil Qi Road and the eighty-two brothel streets.”

Heng Yudu listened to him patiently, and finally gave him some advice: “The Xiezhi Sect has its own people to find the clues to Xi Qingfeng’s innate mark painting. If it’s not necessary, you don’t have to go on this trip.”

Xi Jianglan asked in confusion: “Why?”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand me.” Heng Yudu gently explained, “I’m not questioning your spiritual power. I just think that if you meet someone from the Xiezhi Sect again, you will probably be beaten again.”

Xi Jianglan laughed softly.

Heng Yudu thought about it and made a clarification: “What I mean is that you have no spiritual power now. Even six years ago, before you lost your cultivation, you had just entered the Transformation Realm. Even if you recover your cultivation now, Feng Yu can beat you to tears with one hand.”

If it were someone else, Heng Yudu would have been interrupted impatiently when explaining the first sentence, but Xi Jianglan was extremely patient and listened carefully to Heng Yudu’s five or six clarifications.

Finally, Heng Yudu felt that his words were perfect and would not cause any misunderstanding, so he said, “You don’t want to meet that… lord from the Xiezhi Sect again, do you?”

Xi Jianglan had already pushed Heng Yudu to the edge of the Yuchuan and was frowning as he thought seriously.

The Yuchuan River that runs through Wuyin City was already filled with blooming lotus flowers at night, and there were no railings on the shore. Heng Yudu thought Xi Jianglan would stop, but he didn’t expect him to keep walking while making a “hmm” sound, pushing him straight into the Yuchuan River.

Heng Yudu: ”…”

“Jianglan.” Even at this moment, Heng Yudu remained graceful and gentle, “Do you think my legs look like they can swim?”

Only then did Xi Jianglan come back to his senses.

He let out an “ah!” as half of his wheelchair was stuck on the shore, his toes hanging in the air, and the sounds around him were like birds chirping and darting into the back of his neck.

“It’s okay.” Xi Jianglan finally made up his mind, “If you encounter that tough guy again, just help me kill him.”

Heng Yudu: ”…”

Who’s killing who?

It would be more fitting for Sheng Jiao to take care of both of them.

Before Heng Yudu could answer, Xi Jianglan suddenly exerted force with his hands and pushed the wheelchair forward without blinking. The wheelchair rolled straight off the edge, and a strong feeling of weightlessness along with a faint lotus fragrance rushed toward his face.

Heng Yudu: ”…”

The next moment, Xi Jianglan, along with Heng Yudu and the exquisite wheelchair, fell into the Yuchuan River with three “thumps.”

The lotus blossoms swaying in the wind seemed to have a consciousness, instantly sprouting countless lotus leaves on the water’s surface, shaking their heads as if trying to cover something.

By the time the lotus leaves were blown away by the wind, there was no trace of them in the water.

A firefly flitted among the lotus leaves.

Accidentally hit hard by the swaying lotus, it stumbled and fell onto the water’s surface.

However, when it was only a centimeter away from the water, it seemed to touch a thin layer of restriction. A faint “pop” sound was heard as the firefly was forcefully sucked in.

The world spun, and even the void seemed disordered.

In an instant, the firefly flickered, and the surrounding lotus flowers had vanished without a trace, replaced by an endless street lit with bright lights.

Evil spirits practicing ghostly arts, demonic cultivators with a history of wrongdoing, and wooden puppets that moved like ordinary people, all the evil beings rejected by the thirteen provinces gathered here.

Evil energy filled the air, and people moved back and forth in a bustling crowd, resembling the legendary road to hell, the Yellow Springs.

—Below the Yuchuan River is the Evil Qi Road.

The firefly that accidentally wandered into this place was dazed by the overwhelming sinister aura. It staggered a couple of times and landed on a small lamp, where it remained languidly, its tail emitting only a faint glow.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and neatly flicked the firefly away.

Feng Yu, holding the ghost blade, chuckled, “Don’t let anything get too close to your lamp, if it gets blown out, you won’t be able to leave the Evil Qi Road, no matter how tremendous your cultivation is.”

Sheng Jiao held a ghostly blue lamp and remained noncommittal.

As he spoke, a few seductive ghosts with fluttering sleeves approached, blowing their chilling and sinister energy toward the ghost fire on Feng Yu’s lamp.

Feng Yu impatiently shouted, “Get lost.”

The ghost giggled, lifted her petal-like skirt, and disappeared into the darkness with a smile.

After driving away the ghost that was blowing at the lamp, Feng Yu noticed Sheng Jiao quickly moving forward, seemingly determined to achieve his goal. He hurriedly followed Sheng Jiao to gather intelligence on the enemy for Xi Jue.

“Are we going to Hezhou City?”

Sheng Jiao coldly replied, “Don’t follow me.”

“That won’t do,” Feng Yu said leisurely. “Hezhou City has Ying Zhuo. If you go there, it will be a meeting of love rivals. How could I miss such a grand spectacle?”

Hearing the words “love rival,” Sheng Jiao turned cold as ice, and the thunder patterns on his wrist crackled, flashing faintly.

Feng Yu continued to chatter fearlessly: “I remember Ying Zhuo’s name was given by Xi Jue when he was being cheeky, but after he came of age, he shamelessly chose ‘Qiao’er’ as his name. And you? When Xi Jue calls you ‘Jiao Jiao,’ you have to chase him with heavenly thunder.”

“Hiss—”

A small bolt of heavenly thunder suddenly burst forth from the Tianyan Bead.

Feng Yu reacted quickly and jumped to the side, a smug expression on his face as if to say, “Hey! Can’t hit me,” laughing heartily while watching the commotion.

“No wonder you want Xi Jue but couldn’t have him, tsk tsk.”

Sheng Jiao: ”…”