After the Villain Lost His Cultivation - Chapter 18
It was Feng Yu and Sheng Jiao’s first time on Evil Qi Road. They wandered around with lanterns in hand like headless flies, but still couldn’t figure out where Hezhou City was.
“I say, Sect Leader Sheng…”
Feng Yu smoothed out his long hair, which had just been blasted apart, and cautiously kept a distance of five steps from Sheng Jiao, still complaining: “Aren’t you supposed to have everything under control? How come you can’t even find the entrance to Hezhou City?”
Sheng Jiao remained silent, his expression blank as he walked into an antique shop.
At first glance, it was obvious that this wasn’t Hezhou City, and Feng Yu immediately followed him cheerfully, hoping to witness his embarrassing failure.
The antique shop wasn’t nearly as busy as the gambling den in alley twenty-one. Looking around, the huge shop was sparsely populated.
The shop had a desolate feel to it, with rows and rows of shelves displaying countless quaint treasures that faintly emitted spiritual energy.
Sheng Jiao walked up to the tall counter, counted out a few spirit stones, bought a jade token, and then turned to head towards the back courtyard.
Feng Yu followed leisurely.
Soon, Sheng Jiao walked to the backyard of the antique shop and stopped beside a small pond.
It was still a hot summer outside, but when they reached the backyard, it was cold and windy, with a faint scent of snow in the air.
Feng Yu was puzzled. He looked up casually and suddenly froze in surprise, right in the middle of the small pond was a peach pit no more than two centimetres long.
Though it was clearly too small to even be held between one’s fingers, some master craftsman had intricately carved the peach pit into an exquisitely lifelike cityscape, with layers upon layers, resembling a miniature city countless times over.
Sheng Jiao had no intention of waiting for Feng Yu. He slid the jade token into a groove beside the pond, and in an instant, he disappeared, transforming into a stream of light that sank into the small peach pit.
Hezhou City was actually just a small Hezhou?!
The lotus leaves in the pond swayed, and the koi swam leisurely. But as they approached the center where the peach pit lay, they quickly flicked their tails and swam away, as if frightened by something.
A thin layer of ice had formed on the water’s surface at the edge of the peach pit.
At the top of Hezhou City stood a luxurious mansion.
A puppet, indistinguishable from a human, silently carried the “Abandoned Immortal Bone” and passed through the beaded curtain corridors into an elegant courtyard.
It was already late at night in Hezhou City. Heavy snowflakes were falling from the sky. The tiers of city streets and the rooftops below were scattered in an orderly fashion, brightly lit and bustling with cultivators who had come for the innate mark paintings.
Standing in the loft at the highest level, one could take in the entire view of Hezhou City with just a slight lowering of the eyes.
The intricately carved wooden doors parted to the left and right, and the mechanism-driven wooden wind chimes moved on their own without wind, producing clear and crisp sounds.
A man in a disheveled red robe sat at the very edge of the loft, one leg bent lazily as he leaned against the wooden door, his gaze lowered to observe the people coming and going below.
A wooden puppet knelt respectfully behind an ivory screen.
“Lord Ying, the people from the Xiezhi Sect have arrived.”
Ying Zhuo asked calmly, “Who?”
“Sheng Jiao,” the wooden puppet replied. “It’s unclear whether he has come for the innate mark painting in Guchang Temple or because of the private of the innate mark trade in Hezhou City.”
Upon hearing the name “Sheng Jiao,” Ying Zhuo let out a low, amused laugh.
“Sect Leader Sheng may command the winds and rains across the Thirteen Provinces, but in this sinister Evil Qi Road…” His eyes shone with interwoven streaks of red and black, eerie and bone-chilling, though his tone remained calm. “With that spiritual level innate mark ‘Way of Heaven’, let’s hope he doesn’t end up capsizing in a ditch.”
The wooden puppet spoke woodenly, “Does Master Ying intend to extract his innate mark?”
“A spiritual level innate mark,” Ying Zhuo said with a smile, “Senior Brother would certainly be delighted.”
But that wouldn’t work.
Sheng Jiao’s innate mark was different from everyone else’s. The ‘Way of Heaven’ not only granted him a spiritual root that was tied to his innate mark but also gave rise to the string of 108 Tianyan Beads.
Even if the innate mark could be forcibly extracted, the Tianyan Beads would likely call down purple-silver heavenly lightning, striking the extractor into charcoal.
Ying Zhuo sighed. “What a pity.”
The wooden puppet thought for a moment and then added, “Little Immortal Master has also just arrived in Hezhou City.”
Ying Zhuo, who had been indifferent up until now, suddenly had his pupils contract.
With a loud bang, powerful spiritual energy erupted from his body, shaking the invaluable ivory screen until it scattered like falling snowflakes.
The wooden puppet was also swept away, with half of its wooden body was almost shattered.
Ying Zhuo suddenly stood up and quickly walked over, the messy red robe on his shoulders falling to the ground with his movements, revealing his right hand carved out of wood.
”Senior Brother is here…” Ying Zhuo couldn’t help but laugh, his eyes almost obsessive and crazed, as he whispered softly, ”Senior Brother has finally arrived.”
He was about to head out but then seemed to recall something.
”Who else?”
The puppet, likely damaged and with its mechanisms partially broken, stammered, ”Heng Yudu, Feng Yu.”
Ying Zhuo frowned. ”Those people from Zhuxinghai again.”
Even back when he was at Tianyan Academy, everyone from Zhuxinghai, intentionally or not, would always try to prevent him from meeting his Senior Brother.
Six years later, and those bastards were still clinging to him like haunting spirits.
”Go.” Ying Zhuo raised his hand with a sweeping motion. Countless puppet strings emerged from his meridians, drilling into the wooden puppet’s body. In an instant, the nearly shattered puppet was restored to its original state. ”Take people to block Sheng Jiao.”
The wooden puppet evaluated Sheng Jiao’s spiritual power and solemnly said, ”Even if everyone in Hezhou City joined forces, they likely wouldn’t be able to stop him.”
”Just hold him off for a moment,” Ying Zhuo’s tone softened once more. He turned around, picked up the red robe, and meticulously put it back on. ”As long as I bring Senior Brother here, no one will be able to take him away from me.”
In that moment, Ying Zhuo’s eyes were filled with a madness and a sinister possessiveness, that almost burst out.
The wooden puppet, incapable of comprehending the complexities of human emotions, obediently agreed and turned to leave.
”Senior brother.”
Ying Zhuo’s whole body trembled, as if he was finally recovering a lost treasure. He returned to the window and looked down at the crowd below, wishing he could grow eight pairs of eyes to find Xi Jianglan.
A gust of snowy wind blew in, causing several paintings on the wall to sway slightly. The ”tree roots” that wriggled above were actually all innate marks.
What was even creepier was the signature at the bottom of those paintings.
— Each one bore the surname Xi.
”I knew that senior brother would definitely come for the Xi family’s innate marks.” Ying Zhuo caressed the painting, his eyes flashing with a scarlet demonic light as he murmured to himself in the void.
”Come, stay by my side.”
”Never leave again.”
A snowflake landed on the back of Xi Jianglan’s neck, making him shiver, as if a chill were creeping up his spine.
Xi Jianglan turned his head and sneezed, his frail body shaking slightly.
It was snowing in Hezhou City.
Heavy snow fell in abundance. The pedestrians on the street could use their spiritual power to shield themselves and didn’t take much notice of the snow. However, Xi Jianglan shivered as he hugged his arms.
Heng Yudu handed him the cloak, frowning as he surveyed the surroundings.
Xi Jianglan wrapped the cloak around himself with trembling hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Heng Yudu frowning deeply and asked curiously, “You don’t like it here?”
When they first arrived at Evil Qi Road and the gambling house, this young master, who seemed untouched by the world, had found everything fascinating, his dignified and calm eyes reflecting the curiosity of someone encountering something new for the first time.
Xi Jianglan found Hezhou City exquisite and magical, but Heng Yudu looked utterly disdainful, as if he wanted to carry him away from there.
Heng Yudu replied nonchalantly, “No, isn’t it good?”
Xi Jianglan nudged him toward the place in Hezhou City where paintings were sold, teasing, “Your brows are almost wrinkled into two points. If you liked it, that would be a ghost story.”
Heng Yudu held a paper bag of crispy fish and casually took a bite, saying, “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
Just as Xi Jianglan was about to retort, Heng Yudu stretched out his hand toward him and said, “Give it to me.”
“What?”
“The Abandoned Immortal Bone.”
Xi Jianglan choked for a moment and replied confidently, “The Abandoned Immortal Bone is mine.”
Heng Yudu said coolly, “I provided the spirit stones for it.”
“Then I’ll pay you back later,” Xi Jianglan pouted. “Why are you being as stingy as Sheng Jiao?”
Heng Yudu responded, “I don’t trust you.”
Xi Jianglan was about to write him an IOU (N/T= I Owe You) and put his bloody handprint on it to show his determination never to owe a debt, but Heng Yudu added, ”…You act erratically. I don’t know how dangerous Hezhou City is. I’m worried that if you’re pushed into a corner, you might use the Abandoned Immortal Bone without considering the consequences.”
Xi Jianglan was stunned.
The Abandoned Immortal Bone could allow a person to temporarily possess a innate mark and tremendous spiritual power, but the more it was used, the greater the aftereffects.
If Xi Jianglan had used all of that Abandoned Immortal Bone on himself just now, he would probably have lost his already precarious life.
It took Xi Jianglan a while to come back to his senses, and he continued with a playful smile, ”Do you think I would harm myself for the innate mark of a girl I’ve only known for a short time? Don’t be silly, she’s just a poor little fool. Why would I…”
Heng Yudu calmly interrupted him, ”You would.”
Xi Jianglan’s voice suddenly stopped, and the smile on his face disappeared.
The snowflakes fell as large as plates. Xi Jianglan stood under the flickering candlelight, appearing even more fragile than the colored glaze surrounding Heng Yudu.
He remained silent for a long time, long enough for a thin layer of snow to settle on his shoulders, before suddenly saying something that seemed out of context.
”Didn’t you suspect that my innate mark were wasted by myself or taken away by the Qu family back then?”
Heng Yudu didn’t understand why he abruptly changed the topic but continued, ”Yes, the elders of Tianyan Academy asked me to take you back this time. They plan to use ‘Envoy Return’ to search your soul and see what your innate mark really is and how it disappeared.”
Xi Jianglan chuckled lightly. ”That group of old immortals…”
Heng Yudu coughed.
Xi Jianglan then remembered that Heng Yudu was already the head of Tianyan Academy, so he had no choice but to adapt and changed his words: “Those elders whose bodies are half-buried in the ground are still thinking about this.”
“Someone intruded upon the Qu family’s Tianyan spiritual vein, and several elders with extremely high cultivation died. I heard they were looking for your innate mark…” Heng Yudu hesitated for a moment and softly said, “You…”
Xi Jianglan smiled, bending down to let his disheveled long hair fall straight down. He gently brushed it aside with his hand, revealing his slender nape.
Heng Yudu glanced at it, his pupils constricting sharply as he suddenly grasped the handrail tightly.
On the back of Xi Jianglan’s slender neck was a deep red wound that seemed like it would never heal.
After allowing Heng Yudu to see it, he casually and gracefully swept his long hair behind his back to hide the hideous scar, lazily speaking as if discussing someone else’s affairs.
”I awakened my spiritual level innate mark together with Sheng Jiao, you, and Rang Chen, and we were classmates for four years.”
“Six years have passed. Sheng Jiao is now the esteemed Sect Leader of the Xiezhi sect, you are the head of Tianyan Academy, Rang Chen’s meditation was broken, and his cultivation was destroyed, but in these six years, he may have returned to the Transformation Realm.”
”There are twelve spiritual level innate marks across thirteen provinces, each one outstanding, having become a powerful person at a young age.”
“And what about me?”
Heng Yudu was momentarily at a loss for words: “Jianglan…”
“My family was destroyed, and my vengeance unfulfilled. Even if I were tortured to death, I would never take the initiative to abolish my innate mark.” Xi Jianglan’s eyes showed no trace of sadness, and he even smiled with interest. “The Qu family is now trapping themselves in their own web, throwing dirty water on me while trying to keep themselves clean. How can they do that?”
If Xi Jianglan had been lying, spouting nonsense, or crying out in despair, Heng Yudu would probably have watched coldly, or worse, he might have taken him directly to Tianyan Academy and let the elders have their way with him.
But the trouble was that Heng Yudu was soft-hearted and could not withstand Xi Jianglan’s casual tone when he recounted his tragic experiences.
Heng Yudu was so heartbroken that he couldn’t even eat his little crispy fish.
Xi Jianglan successfully changed the subject and quietly hid the Abandoned Immortal Bone. Taking advantage of the fact that Heng Yudu could not see his expression, he curled his lips into a triumphant smile.
But just as he was reveling in his small victory, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his ears…
“What are you laughing about?”
Xi Jianglan’s smile immediately vanished, and he looked to the side in a serious manner.
Feng Yu held the ghost blade, looking at him suspiciously, unaware of how long he had been listening.
Xi Jianglan thought to himself, this is bad.
Heng Yudu turned his head and asked in confusion, ”Feng Yu? Who was laughing?”
Xi Jianglan hurried forward and put an arm around his good brother’s shoulders, pinching a little crispy fish from Heng Yudu’s hands to silence Feng Yu’s chattering mouth. ”Quick, try this little crispy fish, it’s better than what we have at Zhuxingzhai.”
Feng Yu chewed a few bites and exclaimed, ”Oh, this is really good.”
Only then did Xi Jianglan breathe a sigh of relief. ”What are you doing here? Where’s that lord from the Xiezhi Sect?”
Feng Yu casually replied, ”What lord? That’s not…”
Heng Yudu suddenly raised a hand, forcibly pulling Feng Yu to sit on the armrest of his wheelchair, shoving a little crispy fish into Feng Yu’s mouth. ”Tasty, right? Eat more.”
Feng Yu responded, ”Oh, oh, oh!”
Feng Yu was munching on the paper-wrapped crispy fish, wearing a carefree expression.
Taking advantage of Xi Jianglan’s lack of spiritual power, Heng Yudu leaned in closer to Feng Yu and communicated through voice transmission right under Xi Jianglan’s nose. ”Aren’t you supposed to be with Sheng Jiao? Where is he?”
Feng Yu didn’t understand why he had to speak secretly behind Xi Jianglan’s back, but Heng Yudu was always clever and had his reasons for everything, so he replied through voice transmission, ”I lost track of him. He looked like he was going to deal with Ying Qiao’er.”
Heng Yudu frowned. ”Sheng Jiao never acts on impulse, Ying Zhuo must definitely have something to do with Xi Qingfeng’s innate mark.”
Just then, a bright flash of lightning illuminated the sky, merging with the snow’s glow.
The light flashed and disappeared.
The jade slip beside Heng Yudu seemed to have sensed something and suddenly transformed into little birds that flew around him.
”Changing Moon” sensed the spiritual power of another spiritual level innate mark.
Heng Yudu’s expression became serious.
Did Sheng Jiao and his companions start fighting?
In this small Hezhou City, could anyone force him to use the Tianyan Bead?!
Heng Yudu gently tapped the glass bird and whispered, “Go.”
The fragile glass bird immediately soared into the sky, heading toward the direction of the other spiritual level innate mark amid the heavy snowfall.
Feng Yu finished eating the crispy fish and looked around at the vast city, saying cheerfully, “Qiao’er’s name is truly deserved. He can carve a city out of such a tiny peach pit and even incorporate mustard seeds into it. No wonder he’s the genius that everyone in Zhuxinghai admires.”
Xi Jianglan, lazily glancing around, was momentarily stunned upon hearing this and asked in confusion, “Qiao’er?”
Heng Yudu silently stared at his toes.
“Huh? You don’t know yet? This Hezhou City is Ying Qiao’er’s territory!” Feng Yu was even more surprised than he was.
“I don’t have a rhino horn lamp, so how would I know that this Hezhou City belongs to him?” Xi Jianglan frowned. “Besides, Qiao’er is so obedient, how could he be in a place like Evil Qi Road?”
Hearing the term “obedient,” Heng Yudu and Feng Yu both fell silent.
Xi Jianglan: “What’s wrong?”
Feng Yu couldn’t help but curse, “Ying Qiao’er is not obedient at all! I still remember when he… did that kind of thing, Sheng Jiao destroyed one of his hands.”
Xi Jianglan frowned: “What do you mean by ‘destroyed his hand’?”
Heng Yudu whispered, “That’s enough, let’s not bring up the past.”
Seeing the two of them acting so strangely, Xi Jianglan felt excluded: “Why do you both look like this every time you mention Ying Qiao’er? Is there something I shouldn’t know?”
“Nothing,” Feng Yu said dully. “You’re doing well as you are, even a fool can live a long time.”
Xi Jianglan: ”…”
The three of them chatted back and forth until they finally arrived at the place where paintings were sold, it turned out to be an exquisite painted boat.
I don’t know how Ying Zhuo managed it, but he was able to carve out a more delicate boat within Hezhou City.
Perhaps the news of the innate marks business had spread to Evil Qi Road, as the painted boat was guarded everywhere by wooden puppets, forbidding anyone from entering.
Xi Jianglan observed for a while, and with the pitiful amount of spiritual power in his body, he vaguely felt that “Third Watch Snow” seemed to be in the painted boat fortunately, the inante mark hadn’t been sold.
A blessing in disguise.
Xi Jianglan let out a sigh of relief and said to Heng Yudu secretly, “You should use Changing Moon to let those people pass.”
Heng Yudu shook his head: “Changing Moon is useless against puppets.”
Xi Jianglan looked at him with disdain: “Why do I need you then?”
After saying this, he flicked his sleeves and actually walked straight forward.
Heng Yudu and Feng Yu silently watched, intending to see how he would try to deceive them.
Xi Jianglan leisurely walked up the steps, attempting to blend into the painting boat as if nothing had happened, but the wooden puppet coldly blocked his way.
“You dare stop me?” Xi Jianglan said flatly.
The wooden puppet maintained a blank expression and immediately drew a sharp sword, indicating that they were indeed stopping him.
“Unauthorized personnel must not approach.”
“If you don’t want to be broken into pieces and burned as firewood, go and call your master to speak with me.” Xi Jianglan smiled calmly and said nonsense, “Your master has deep feelings for me and is yearning me but is unable to obtain me. If you hurt me, you suffer.”
Wooden puppet: ”?”
Heng Yudu: ”…”
Feng Yu: ”…………”
The wooden puppet stared at him in shock for a long while, not knowing whether it was stunned by these words.
It took him a while to react, and he turned around and used his hands and feet to go find Ying Zhuo.
Xi Jianglan strolled back and said lazily, “Okay, Qiao’er will come over after receiving the message. If you don’t take the back door, you’re just a bastard, huh? Why do you look so weird?”
Heng Yudu and Feng Yu looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.
After a while, Feng Yu asked strangely, “How do you know… Ying Qiao’er is yearning for you?”
“Of course I lied to them.” Xi Jianglan looked at him with pity, as if to say, “You believe such a lie?”
Feng Yu: ”…………”
Heng Yudu: ”…”
The two looked even weirder.
Xi Jianglan was still blowing the flute when he suddenly felt an itch on his pinky finger. He raised his hand and waved it uncomfortably, then glanced around casually and vaguely discovered that something was off.
Before he knew it, an illusory red string had flown in from a distance, silently wrapping around him several times, as if trying to bind his belongings.
At the end of the red string, it gently touched his pinky finger like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Xi Jianglan was taken aback for a moment: “What is this?”
Feng Yu was irritated by Xi Jianglan’s look as if he were an idiot. Hearing this, he sneered, “You…”
Heng Yudu secretly sensed that something was amiss and immediately tried to use Changing Moon to make Feng Yu shut up.
But Feng Yu, with his quick tongue, kept talking, blurting it out without even waiting for Changing Moon to activate.
”…You are not a cold stone, and over time, you’ve developed feelings for him. Haven’t you recognized the loving aura of Sect Leader Sheng?
Xi Jianglan was stunned.