Levels of Cultivation
(Lowest to Highest)
Transcending
Immortal
Celestial Immortal
King Immortal
Deity
Heavenly Deity
Continents
Chapter 1
¡°Take that! Let¡¯s see how you run now!¡± Lin Yi pulled out his sword and charged towards the Evil Lord with a ferocious roar.
The sound of blade on blade rang throughout the battlefield as the two collided and swords met. In that instant, the thrill of battle coursed through their veins and they knew it was going to be a fight to death. Only one can emerge victorious from this battle.
Jumping back to avoid a blow from the enemy, Lin Yi was about to strike back when he sensed danger from behind him. He swiftly turned around only to see a blade raised high up above him. A sneak attack!!
¡°Despicable!! You dare to get someone else to sneak attack me!¡± Lin Yi radiated fury from the despicable and cowardly act. He deftly rolled to the side and raised his sword to fend off the attack.
¡°You fool. I do not abide by your little Code of Honour. I am the Evil Lord. I am the law! Now, prepare to die!¡±
Attacked from both sides, Lin Yi was having difficulty defending himself. As he blocked a low slash, he saw an attack coming from his side. It was a moment of crisis as he knew he would not be able to fend off that attack in time.
¡°DIE LIN YI!¡±
Lin Yi desperately pushed back the sword and tried to turn to fend off the incoming attack. The blade slashed towards him and it ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª
¡°Hey!! What are you doing! I was reaching the peak of this story!¡± Tian looked up in frustration as the book was ripped from her hands.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Tian-er, Father is looking for you. It¡¯s that time already. I have been calling you for the past 5 minutes but you were too absorbed in your book. I had to take it away from you to get you to notice me! Little sister, I bet you would not even notice if the house started falling down around you while you¡¯re reading.¡±
Yun gave his sister a mock scolding but one could see how much affection he has for his little sister from the way his eyes laughed while ¡°scolding¡± her.
Tian grabbed her book back from Yun¡¯s hands and sighed in exasperation.
¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll stop reading for now. I can¡¯t believe of all the times you had to stop me, it has to be at the most exciting point of the book.¡± She grumbled while searching for a bookmark, giving her brother a glare.
¡°By the way¡ What did you say Father was finding me for?¡±
Yun shook his head and face-palmed at her question. Why did he volunteer to find his sister for his parents again?
¡°It¡¯s that time already, Tian-er. I said that just now. Were you even listening to me?!¡±
Tian jumped up in shock, her quest in finding the bookmark forgotten and the all-important book thrown aside.
¡°WHAT!! It is that time already?! Why did you not say so earlier. You should have shouted louder! Oh heavens, we have to hurry!¡± She yelped and ran towards the door, grabbing her brother with a sudden burst of strength and dragged him along with her towards their parents¡¯ room.
Yun sighed in defeat and just allowed himself to be pulled along. To people they passed, they were a sight to see. A petite beautiful girl running as if chased by a hundred dogs, dragging a tall, handsome young man who looked ten times stronger than her. They shook their head in amusement at their Princess and the poor Prince who often indulged his little sister¡¯s antics. It was a common sight for them to see in the Celestial Palace.
Chapter 2
"Fatherrrrr, Motherrrrr, I''m here!" Tian skidded into the room noisily, announcing her (and her brother''s) presence in case her parents did not notice her.
She was beyond excited.
At a young age, Tian had learned to read and from there, a passion for books sprouted. She found it fascinating that so much information could be gleaned from those few printed pages. She loved learning new things and devoured every book she could find in the Celestial Realm. Her parents indulged her in her passion because they too believed that knowledge is power and it was not a bad thing to like reading compared to other vices she could have picked up instead.
Having readnumerous stories about the Human Realm, Tian believed that when it is her turn to reincarnate, it would be the adventure of her lifetime. Her brother refused to tell her anything about his reincarnation, claiming that she would find out when it is her turn. That air of mystery enveloping Immortal Gods'' reincarnation to the unknown Human Realm fuelled her curiosity and that desire to learn more about the Human Realm burned strongly in her.
"Is it my turn already? Is it? Is it?¡± Hopping up and down, she could barely contain her excitement.
"Calm down my dear. Let your father have a chance to speak. Look at him, his mouth is opening and closing like a goldfish." Tian''s mother, the Empress of the Celestial Realm, shook her head in amusement at her daughter and laughed at her husband who could not find a chance to speak. The all great Celestial Emperor who could command the most powerful Celestial Beings stood no chance against his daughter.
"Sorry. Hehe. I will stand at attention and listen to my dearest Father." Tian grinned and reined in her excitement to allow her father a chance to speak.
¡°Thank you my dearest daughter for allowing your father to speak." The Celestial Emperor sighed in exhaustion, practically re-enacting the scene between Yun and Tian in Tian¡¯s room just now.
He received a cheeky grin in return.
Shaking his head ever so slightly, he returned to the original topic - the reason he called for Tian.
¡°Ah yes.. Your time for your First Reincarnation has arrived. BUT before I send you off to the Human Realm, there are some things you need to know. Every one of the Immortal Gods has gone through this cycle, Yun-er, your mother and even myself. Firstly, my little sky*, you have to know that the Human Realm is not what you imagine. It contains all kinds of good and evil, which makes it a very dangerous place. When humans'' souls are tainted by their greed and desires, they will go to no ends to achieve their desires. Even if it means getting their hands tainted by death.¡±
¡°But..¡± That was not the Human Realm Tian knew of. The Human Realm in the books she read described humans stepping up as heroes to vanquish evil beings and being the upholder of justice and all things good. She found it difficult to believe what her father was saying but she knew that her father will never be wrong. Even though she acts cheeky and bold in front of her parents, deep down inside, her father the Celestial Emperor is a figure she respects immensely.
However before she could continue her sentence, her father was already going on. It was then that she heard something that surprised her so much she stood there for a solid minute in shocked silence.
¡°Wait, wait..! Father can I ask you to repeat that last line again, please?¡±
¡°I said, your memories will be erased anyway so these information is just for you to know now.¡±
¡°WHAT?!¡±
The shout rang through the entire palace. If this was a cartoon or an anime, you would see birds flying off startled from the loud and sudden shout.
Tian could not believe her ears. She always thought that she would be going down to the Human Realm with all her memories intact, armed with the information on the Human Realm that she gathered through the many years in the Celestial Realm. Her high confidence in going down to the Human Realm was because she thought she would be all prepared for any sort of experience. No wonder her brother refused to tell her anything. He knew she would react like this and was waiting to see her reaction to this piece of news.
She shot a glance over to where her brother was standing and could see him snickering to himself, trying to hold in his laughter at her reaction. She knew it!! As much as Yun loves his sister, he loves teasing her as well. They had a very comfortable sibling relationship where they had laughs at the expense of one another and also cared for each other greatly.
¡°Tian-er, how many times have I told you not to shout like that? You¡¯re disturbing the other people living in the castle. And it¡¯s bad for my ageing ears.¡± the Empress admonished her, wincing at the impact of the shout on her ears.
¡°Sorry Mother. Tian-er will keep that in mind. But Mother, you¡¯re immortal anyway¡ Are you sure you are ageing?¡± Even after sincerely apologising, Tian could not help adding the last line in reply to the Empress¡¯ comment.
Before her mother could reprimand her again, Tian turned towards her father seriously.
¡°Father, I do not understand. If my memories will be erased, how am I going to be able to experience life in the Human Realm without any knowledge on what I am going to face?¡±
¡°See, my little sky. This is where you do not understand the purpose of the First Reincarnation. It is meant for Immortal Gods to experience life as a human to be able to better understand the beings that we, as Gods, sovereign over. If you do not understand the people who turn to you for help, who prays to you, who looks to you to lead them, how are you going to be able to be a proper God to them? Even if we are all-powerful and supposedly all-knowing, without experiencing and feeling it for ourself, we will not be able to truly understand people who are not like us. The erasing of memories and the rebirth is to allow you to start from scratch as one of them. To learn and to feel what it means to be a human. Subsequent reincarnations are voluntary dependent on yourself and your purpose. By then, you would have already learnt what you need to about the Human Realm from the First Reincarnation. That¡¯s why for subsequent reincarnations, you are allowed to keep your memories."
Patiently, the Celestial Emperor taught his daughter the meaning behind the First Reincarnation. He knew that not everyone understood why the First Reincarnation was necessary and why it requires a memory wipe while the subsequent reincarnations do not.
Listening to her father, Tian although reluctant to accept it, understood the intention behind the erasing of memories and the importance of that step in the First Reincarnation. However, suddenly the idea of reincarnation didn¡¯t look as exciting as she once thought it would be anymore. The thought of losing all her memories of her family, of her friends andof her time now in the Celestial Realm terrified her.
Is she really ready for this?
Can she really do this on her own?
¡°Tian-er, come here.¡± Seeing her daughter¡¯s worried face, the Empress beckoned Tian over and enveloped her in a warm hug.
¡°Don¡¯t worry my dear, I know it sounds scary. We have all been there once before. I know what you¡¯re feeling now. I was frightened and even cried on my First Reincarnation. Always remember that we will be watching over you from here, silently cheering our baby girl on.¡± Gently patting her daughter, the Empress reassured and encouraged Tian. She was tearing up a little as well, knowing that their little ray of sunshine would be leaving their side for a long while.
Enveloped in her mother¡¯s warmth, Tian could not help but tear up a little as well. It has been a while since she hugged her mother and felt like a child all over again in her mother¡¯s embrace. Listening to the reassuring words from her mother, Tian felt as if she gained the strength and courage to brave the scary First Reincarnation.
Pulling back, Tian looked around at her family and could feel the love and warmth surrounding her. She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and in that moment, knew she can do it. She was going to be alright.
* Tian in Chinese is Ìì which means sky. That¡¯s why he calls her his little sky.
Chapter 3
¡°Your First Reincarnation will be in 10 days time.¡±
It was the start of a new life.
Chapter 4
"You did remember to tell King ZhuanLun to suppress Tian-er''s karma right. You know how pure her soul is. In the Human Realm, she would definitely have one of the highest karma they¡¯ve ever seen."
"Oh. I forgot. I only remembered to suppress her looks to a more normal, mortal-acceptable one. I don''t want her to cause too much of a stir in the Human Realm because of her looks. And no one can ogle at my daughter."
"You forgot?! We''re going to get a huge commotion in the Human Realm cause of her powers."
The Empress gave her husband an incredulous look and placed her head in her hands. It looks like a big headache''s coming their way.
"Good job there about the looks part though."
¡ª¡ª
¡°Look my Lord, it''s a beautiful baby girl."
"Since she was born on a full moon, we shall name her... Zi Yue. Zi to follow Zi Feng and Yue to represent the moon."
"Zhao Zi Yue... Is that my sister''s name? Her name is like mine!"
A small face peeked at the baby swaddled in the blankets with tender eyes, obvious love for his newborn sister shining on his face.
¡ª¡ª
"ZHAO ZI YUE! You come back here!"
Running after his sister, Zi Feng shouted in livid anger. This morning, he had woken up to a pair of eyes staring back at him. He jumped up in shock and saw his bed filled with frogs who collectively stared back at him when he jumped. From a third party''s point of view, it was a hilarious scene. However, for the person himself, it was a complete nightmare. There was only one person who could have done this to him. Zi En, his second younger sister was only 5 years old and too young to do this. That left him with Zi Yue, who was 10 this year and very capable of playing such a prank on him.
He was about to shout for his sister when he heard a soft giggle coming from outside his window. Opening it, he looked out and saw that below his window, Zi Yue was crouching there giggling to herself. Of course the culprit would want to be present to see her prank unfold.
He had jumped out of the window to her horror and started chasing after her.
In the end he had caught her. Although he was furious, he caved in when she gave him her trademark puppy eyes that she knew would successfully make him forgive her. Her brother was a softie towards his sisters. It worked. He melted and she got away scot-free. At her age, she was already quite intelligent and good at manipulating her brother. Even so, she was innocent at heart and played only harmless pranks on her brother. The frogs she caught to put into Zi Feng''s bed were later released back, unharmed, into the pond behind their house.
¡ª¡ª
Sighing to herself, Zi Yue stared out of her window at the clear blue skies and flopped back onto her bed. She was bored at home and wanted some more excitement in her life. She often sneaked out of her house to visit the townsquare and it was such a thrilling miniature adventure for her. Because of her status and her powers, it was very difficult for her to go out easily. So she had to resort to doing so in secret.
Zi Yue is a daughter of the Zhao family, one of the more influential families in the Bei Lian continent. That alone, however, would not have restricted her access to the outside world but there was one aspect of Zi Yue that they would prefer to stay low-key about. Zi Yue was ridiculously strong. She was only 18(1) but her culitvation level has reached almost Immortal 4th Stage (2) for some reason unknown to her family and close friends.
They attributed it to the Gods favouring her because they were unable to believe that anyone could possess a level of karma so high that they can achieve that level of cultivation at such an early age. It was almost on par with the Mastersand the Grand Mastersof the four major sects.
The amount of power one possess depends on the karma they possess innately. It is believed that the purer the soul in the previous life, the higher the karma would be in this life.Of course that was the case with Zi Yue since she had possessed a very pure soul in the Celestial Realm and based on her judgement plus the lack of suppression on her karma level, it would naturally lead to this situation.
Her cultivation speed was terrifying, as cultivation continues over one''s lifetime. This means that she will still continue growing and cultivating at the insane speed she was going. Although it gets harder and harder to progress, Zi Yue''s high karma means that she will find it easier to progress than her peers. Not easy, but easier.
Lying on her bed lamenting her cooped-in life, she heard a knock on her door. Before she could reply, a head poked in and grinned at her.
"Ying you know that after knocking on the door you''re supposed to wait for the person to invite you in before opening the door and entering. Not by inviting yourself in. You do know that right?"
Looking at her best friend''s grinning face, Zi Yue could only sigh in defeat. She supposed she should be used to it by now. Lan Ying may look elegant and soft-spoken on surface, but she was actually the opposite. She can be very loud and wild sometimes.
"I know you''re inside, I know you won''t stop me from entering so why not." Grinning even wider now, Lan Ying hopped onto the bed and lied down beside Zi Yue. Their mums were best friends so they grew up together and were childhood playmates. As a result, they became as close as sisters and were not shy around one another. In fact, Lan Ying was often her partner-in-crime who helped her sneak out of house to visit town.
It was odd because one would think that Zi Yue and Lan Ying will stand out since they come from prestigous families and since Lan Ying was eye-catchingly pretty, she would naturally attract a lot of male attention. Zi Yue was sure she had caught some females looking at Lan Ying before but they usually pretended to be looking somewhere else when they became aware that Zi Yue noticed them. Zi Yue on the other hand was not as pretty as Lan Ying. She did not know it was because of The Celestial Emperor''s direction. However, she was not exactly ugly. It was more like she had the kind of face where you would find her normal-looking at first glance but her looks just grows on you (3). It was probably because of her normal looks that Zi Yue was able to blend in with the crowd easily and avoid detection. As for Lan Ying¡ it remains a mystery to everyone why no one notices her when she goes incognito.
¡°I¡¯m so bored Ying. Why can¡¯t I go outside.¡± Rolling onto her side, Zi Yue looked at Lan Ying with a crying face and lamented to her best friend.
¡°Excuse me my friend. I¡¯ll have you remember that you brought this upon yourself. Remember when you were 12 and went to town with Zi Feng and Zi En? That time you were already reaching Immortal, at Transcendence Peak 5th Stage. You were already an abnormal alien at 12¡ Well, not like you were ever normal. Anyway you remember someone made En-er cry that day? You were so angry that you totally suppressed the person with your overwhelming Qi. Thank goodness Zi Feng was there and managed to pull you away before anyone realised that the person who released the Qi was you. And you know how low-profile your parents would prefer you all to be. Of course they would not let you go out easily until you have learnt proper control over your own powers.¡±
Sighing, Zi Yue thought back to that moment. That day, it was Zi En¡¯s first time in town and she was excitedly running around when she accidentally bumped into a man, spilling some of the food that she was holding onto his pants and shoes. He was furious and started shouting at her. Zi En was so scared she starting bawling and that resulted in the man shouting even more furiously. Zi Yue had ran onto the scene to try to apologise to the man on her sister¡¯s behalf but he refused to listen to her apology. It was then that Zi En started crying and being the over-protective sister she was, Zi Yue was enraged at the string of expletives the man was throwing at her little sister.
Zi Yue herself was young too and had not much idea of how strong she was, nor had any clue as to how to control her powers. That was how she ended up unleashing too much of her Qi in her rage mode and crushed the vulgar man. Zi Feng was at a store buying some candy for them when he heard the commotion and had rushed over just in time to see the scene unfold. He knew how strong Zi Yue was and thus, knew that the overwhelming Qi was coming from her.
While everyone was bewildered and finding the unknown source of power, he had ran over to his sisters, apologised to the man for dirtying his pants and had dragged the two of them away before anyone linked them to the strong Qi.
When their parents heard the story from them, they banned Zi Yue from going to the town until she had learnt proper control over her powers. Their parents preferred staying low-profile and not flaunt their power even though they were in fact powerful people. They did not want their children to grow up thinking that they are superior to others and thus wanted them to lead a normal life.
So when they knew that their daughter was growing abnormally strong, they had to do something about it to ensure that she does not grow up to abuse her powers. They had to make sure that she learnt how to control it and not whenever she wanted to. The use of her powers in the situation that their children faced in town was pretty justified, but they wanted to avoid potential situations where she might end up accidentally misusing her powers. With that worry in mind, they discussed and thought long and hard about it before coming to the decision to ban her from going to town without adult supervision.
¡°I have my powers under control already so why are they not letting me out yet?¡±
Receiving only a shrug in reply, Zi Yue could only sigh again and stared at her room''s ceiling in hopelessness.
Looking outside the window, she wondered how the world was like. She had always loved reading and in the books she read, the outside world had seemed so fascinating. As a young girl, she often dreamt about exploring and adventuring like the adventurers in her fantasy stories. She didn''t know why but she had always yearned to explore and learn all about the world. She started having such a strong desire to travel and explore the world since as young as she could remember.It was as if she was born with a wanderlust.As she thought about it, she came to a decision.
"Alright, I''ve decided! I will talk to my parents about this. I want to go and explore this world. I want to learn everything about the different continents. I want to learn about other realms, about the possible existence of other worlds. You in?" Eyes burning with determination, she declared her decision to Lan Ying and started making her way to the door.
"Do you even need ask?" Lan Ying knew that one day Zi Yue''s desire and odd need to travel would compel her to make such a decision. She had been ready all along. Looks like she knew Zi Yue better than the person herself.
¡ª¡ª
"But Yue-er, Mother will miss you." Sobbing, the lady wiped her tears away daintily while looking at her daughter with pleading eyes. Zi Yue had forgot that her mum''s personality was like this. Meng Ling was like a small kid when it comes to her family. She acted like the child instead of the mother sometimes. She adored her children and husband and likewise for them but if they had to describe her with one word, it would be "clingy". Not in a bad way though, but still clingy. Zi Yue could tell that it was going to be difficult for her mother to accept her daughter leaving for months and years. She threw her father a desperate look seeking his assistance, trying to get his help in convincing her mother.
Zhao Yan looked at his daughter then look at his wife and sighed. He was not entirely against Zi Yue''s idea because he was aware that she had her powers under control already but he too was an over-protective father when it comes to his daughters. He was still a little reluctant to let his daughter out of his protection. He knew though, that with her monstrous cultivation speed, Zi Yue would be perfectly fine on her own. Normal bandits or bad guys would probably not stand a chance against her. Plus she will have Lan Ying and Ye Yu with her. It was definitely going to be safe with the three of them.
"Honey, Zi Yue''s old enough already. Plus she has learnt proper control over her powers. I think it is time to let her find her own path. We should let go of her reins already."
"But.. Honey..." Meng Ling wanted to protest. She did not want her baby girl to leave her side. Upon seeing her husband''s face though, she gave in. She knew that her husband could not bear to let Zi Yue go off on her own as well, but he knew that it would be fruitless to stop her from leaving. Zi Yue was firm in holding her own ground and she was capable of protecting herself as well. It was thus that both husband and wife finally agreed to Zi Yue''s request.
Zi Yue was ecstatic. She had not imagined that they would really agree to it. She just wanted to give it a try and gauge their reaction. Who knew they would give her the green light!
Finally! She would be able to satiate the wanderlust in her and learn all she wanted about the world she was living on.
But before that... she should find Ye Yu first.
(1) In case you get confused or didn¡¯t catch it, there was a time-skip here from when she was 10 to 18 years old.
(2) Do refer to the Author¡¯s Note + Additional Information page for the Cultivation Stages.
(3) It is something like you won¡¯t get tired of seeing her face. You know how for some people, you think they are really good looking at first glance. But as you look at them longer and longer, you just find that somehow, they are losing that initial appeal. If you read Chinese, I would describe Zi Yue as ¡°ºÜÄÍ¿´¡°.
Chapter 5
Closing the door behind her, she looked around in puzzlement. Where was Ye Yu? Usually he would be in his room napping at this time. She had checked the training grounds before heading to Ye Yu''s room. He would either be in his room or the training grounds. There was one more place that he really liked being in though, but it couldn''t be... She had banned him from that room without her permission.
Could it be...?
She quickly walked back to her room and flung the doors wide open. He really was there!
"Ye Yu!! How many times have I told you not to enter my room on your own without my permission?!"
She couldn''t believe it. He was sitting on her chair, drinking her tea, eating her snacks all without a trace of remorse for getting caught doing so. But he looked like he was... sulking?
"Young mistress are you really leaving?"
"Wha- I haven''t told anyone yet. How did you... I was on my way to let you know but I couldn''t find you anywhere! And here you are in my room which I specifically told you not to enter."
"I don''t see why I can''t enter! We slept together in the same room last time anyway!"
"That''s different! You were a tiger cub! You were all cute and cuddly then. But you transformed and took on this human form. Ye Yu, you are a male. I am a female. We are not supposed to sleep in the same room. Even if you are my celestial beast." Blushing furiously, Zi Yue tried to make her celestial beast understand. He never quite understood the reason behind their separation. In his mind, he was her celestial beast so he should be in her room guarding her.
"Young Mistress, if you would like, I can change back into a tiger. Wouldn''t that solve everything already?"
"But I cannot unsee your human form anymore. It''s different! Don''t enter a female''s room easily in future I''m telling you again!"
Sulking, Ye Yu could only nod unwillingly. His was supposed to be Young Mistress'' bodyguard so he could not understand why he had to stay somewhere else where he could not protect her from. He understood that she was strong enough to protect herself but he was still uneasy. It''s his adorable Young Mistress afterall!
Ye Yu was the name given to him by Zi Yue. He was a celestial white tiger that Zhao Yan saved as a cub from other celestial beasts that were trying to eat him as he was weaker and an easy prey. He had been separated from his parents, lost and alone in the forest when these celestial beasts found him. Thank goodness Zhao Yan had been training his people nearby and had heard the cub''s cries for help. Zhao Yan had then delivered Ye Yu back to his parents but Ye Yu had wanted to stay with his saviour as his contracted celestial beast. His parents had given their approval as they believed that their son¡¯s saviour would be a worthy partner for their son. That was what Ye Yu thought too. But Zhao Yan had refused to contract with Ye Yu, claiming that the cub was young enough to be his children¡¯s playmate. He had saved Ye Yu not because he wanted a celestial beast but out of goodwill.
In the end, Ye Yu had obstinately followed Zhao Yan home. It was there that he met the Zhao children. He had followed Zhao Yan around a lot at the start like a shadow. However, the Zhao children often caught him to play with them instead. They were still rather young then, with Zi Feng being only 9 years old, Zi Yue 6 years old and the youngest Zi En was only a year old. So when their father explained to them that Ye Yu was not a pet but a celestial white tiger cub, only Zi Feng understood what he was saying.
Celestial beasts were creatures of intelligence and were not lesser beings than humans. They were actually quite respected because of the power they possess and the fact that celestial beasts are able to cultivate as well. In fact, when they reach the Immortal stage of cultivation, they can choose to transform into a human shape if they wish. Ye Yu¡¯s parents were able to, but they chose to remain in their white tiger form while their son was still unable to transform.
To his sisters, however, Ye Yu was a cat that they could play with. They were unable to understand that he was a celestial beast. They pestered him day and night. Initially he hated Zi Yue so much because she was often the one who caught him to play with her. Zi En was still a baby so she was often with their mum. So that left Zi Yue alone with Ye Yu at many times. Zi Feng tried to stop her, but Zi Yue was already quite strong-willed at 6. So he could only watch to protect her in case the white tiger cub turned aggressive, only joining occasionally when his sister pulled him to play with them.
¡°I shall name you Ye Yu! Because¡ because¡ Ye means leaf and Yu means rain. You lived in the forest where there are a lot of leaves and it is raining today.¡± With a firm nod of her head, Zi Yue gave the white tiger cub that had became her playmate the name she had came up with on the spot.
What kind of name was that! She had obviously not given it much thought! Ye Yu hated the name, but his protests were ignored. He lost to the little girl. Her willpower and stubbornness were too much for him to handle.
His parents had not named him yet because according to tradition, celestial white tigers¡¯ names were decided by themselves when they were old enough. Because Zi Yue kept calling him ¡°Ye Yu", people in the household started picking up on that name and started calling him that as well. So over time, he slowly grew used to the name and accepted it in the end.
He found himself spending a lot of time with the Zhao children, Zi Yue especially, and had stopped following Zhao Yan so much anymore. An attachment for the children had grown in him and he felt happy spending time with them. Having spent the most time with Zi Yue, the initial feelings of dislike he had for her were almost all but gone as he got to knew her better. They were of a different race and species altogether, but Zi Yue and Ye Yu became as close as siblings. Who said that those of a different race or a different species could not get along?
Ye Yu found himself feeling a connection with Zi Yue and realised that perhaps, Heaven guided him to the Zhao family not to contract with Zhao Yan but to lead him to Zi Yue instead. He had wanted to contract with her, but decided that she was still too young. A contract between a celestial beast and a human takes a lot of strength and mental capacity. Zi Yue was still too young to be able to handle the pressure and provide the power needed for the contract.
Even though Ye Yu was still a cub, celestial white tigers matured very quickly and so he had the mentality of a young adult. Still not quite fully matured, but old enough to rationally think things through. He decided that he will contract with Zi Yue when she¡¯s older and had approached Zhao Yan to talk about it. Zhao Yan was delighted. It was not everyday that someone could contract with a celestial beast. He would have accepted Ye Yu¡¯s offer to contract if Ye Yu had been older, but he was only a mere cub then and it would have felt wrong to do so.
Thus, Ye Yu took on the position of Zi Yue¡¯s bodyguard while waiting for her to grow up. He grew to adore her and was super-protective of his Young Mistress. It was funny how he went from hating her to adoring her.
10 years passed by in a flash and at the age of 16, Zi Yue was ready to contract with Ye Yu. It was a simple process but to form the bond between the two parties, a lot of mental strength was needed and the stronger the Qi of both parties, the stronger the bond will be. At the end of the process, they were both sapped of energy. However because of the enormous amount of Qi that Zi Yue has plus the fact that Ye Yu was a celestial white tiger after all, their bond was solid strong. That was the trigger for Ye Yu to break through the Transcendence stage to the Immortal stage of cultivation and thus, he gained the ability to transform. That was also the time when Zi Yue met the human version of Ye Yu and proceeded to kick him out of her room. Her self-consciousness refused to let her see Ye Yu as a cute, cuddly white tiger anymore.
¡ª¡ª
Which leads us back to the present moment.
¡ª¡ª
¡°Young Mistress, are you going to be leaving without me? You didn¡¯t tell me anything... I heard it while passing by your parent¡¯s room as part of my patrol¡¡± With watery eyes, Ye Yu grabbed Zi Yue¡¯s hands and clasped it within his hands as if to beg her not to leave him. He was like an overly-attached puppy.
He thought she was going to leave him behind! Zi Yue was amused. She decided to play along to see Ye Yu¡¯s reaction.
¡°Ahhh.. About that, I have no choice but to leave you behind. I¡¯ll be travelling to a Women¡¯s Village where only females are accepted. It would be difficult to bring you along, Yu. I¡¯m sorry..¡± Pretending to wipe away tears from her eyes, Zi Yue hid her smile behind her sleeves. It was getting difficult to control her laughter.
¡°Nooooo, Young Mistress, you cannot leave me behind. I¡¯ll turn into a female human for you. I¡¯ll turn back into a white tiger and travel with you. I¡¯ll do anything!¡± Ye Yu was mortified at the idea of having to part with his Young Mistress. He was usually a very rationale person. Until it involves Zi Yue. Technically Ye Yu and Zi Yue are of equal standing as partners, but Ye Yu insists on calling her that and it has stayed that way since. He really was a fool for his Mistress.
¡°You fool, can¡¯t you use your usually rationale brain to see that she is just teasing you.¡± Hitting him on his head, Lan Ying walked into the room and sat down on the bed. She had gone home to inform her parents of her decision to journey with Zi Yue and had came back in time to watch this entertaining scene unfold in her best friend¡¯s room.
¡°Wha- Young Mistress, you were not going to abandon me?¡± eyes watering again, he looked at Zi Yue with happiness shining on his face.
Unable to keep it in anymore, Zi Yue burst out laughing. She had always loved teasing Ye Yu because his reactions were priceless. Although she felt bad now, because Ye Yu looked so relieved that she was going to be bringing him along.
¡°Yes, I was kidding when I mentioned the Women''s Village. I¡¯m not going there, you¡¯re safe. You don¡¯t have to transform into a woman, nor stay as a white tiger for the entire journey. We¡¯re all going to be travelling together. The three of us. How could I ever forget my celestial beast partner.¡±
¡°Wait, three of us? You mean Lan Ying is going to be travelling with us too?!¡±
¡°Yes you moon fool (1). I¡¯m going to crash your dreams of travelling alone with Yue Yue.¡± She gave Ye Yu an evil smile and smirked when she saw his crestfallenlook. Lan Ying had always enjoyed teasing Ye Yu. He was usually so serious and logical, but he does such a huge 180 degree change when it comes to Yue Yue. It was amusing to ruffle his usually unruffled feathers. Not that he had any feathers, being a celestial white tiger, not a phoenix. But it does not matter. Ruffle his usually unruffled fur then.
Watching him sulk again, Lan Ying exchanged a glance with Zi Yue and they ended up bursting out in laughter again.
¡°Alright, alright. As amusing as it has been, Ye Yu, Lan Ying you guys should start packing soon. We will head out in a week time. It¡¯s time for the adventure of our lifetime!¡± Grinning widely, Zi Yue¡¯s excitement bubbled out as she gushed at her two best friends.
She couldn¡¯t wait.
(1) This is a play on her name. Yue stands for Moon. So she calls him a moon fool to show that he is a fool for Zi Yue. I would like to emphasise that these are not romantic feelings. It¡¯s more like an overwhelming adoration and loyalty to Zi Yue.
Chapter 6
Humming to herself, Zi Yue packed the last of the necessities she would be bringing with her on her journey. Three more days and she would be out adventuring at this time. She was looking forward to being able to learn all she can about the continents herself instead of having to rely on reading books about them. As her father always say, you have to experience it to truly understand it. She figured that was one of the reasons why he had been willing to let her leave.
¡°Yue-er, is this a good time?¡± A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw Zi Feng leaning against the doorframe, requesting for permission to enter.
¡°Of course, come in. Is something the matter?¡±
¡°No, not really. I just wanted to talk to my sister before she leaves. Are you almost done packing?¡± Glancing around the room, Zi Feng could not help but feel sad.
His sister was leaving them so soon. He knew that with her adventurous spirit, she would never be contented with staying at home forever. He had known about her little trips to town, everyone knew about it, even their parents. No one said anything because they knew it was impossible to keep her locked up at home.
However he didn¡¯t expect her to be leaving so soon. The world out there was so dangerous. Even with her monstrous powers, who knew what kind of stronger monsters were out there. Zi Yue was not the strongest in the continent, not to mention the world. There were some cultivators out there who would view Zi Yue as a toddler even with her cultivation at Immortal 4th Stage. They were that insanely strong.
Zi Feng had always been protective of his sisters. He remembered seeing Zi Yue¡¯s small and fragile self when she was just born. He had gently held her hand and swore to protect his sister there and then. It was the same with Zi En.
Seeing her brother¡¯s melancholy look, Zi Yue walked towards him and wrapped him in a hug.
¡°Feng, I¡¯ll be back soon before you even know it. I¡¯ll be back with all sorts of stories to tell you, Zi En, mom and dad. Don¡¯t worry, your sister here is strong. I will kick all the bad guys to the other end of the world if they dare do anything to me. And I will write letters plus send messages home! I promise.¡± For some odd reason, Zi Yue felt some sort of deja-vu when she said the first few sentences. It was as if she had said the same thing to someone before..
Brushing off the weird feeling, she looked up at her brother and smiled at him. She knew what her brother was worrying about. He was always so protective like a mother hen when it came to both Zi En and herself. She felt warm inside. She was really lucky to have a brother like him who cared so much about her.
¡°BIG SISTERRRRR!¡± At that moment, a pink flurry thing ran in and cannonballed into Zi Yue, tackling her onto the ground. For a 13 year old, she was quite strong to be able to do that.
¡°Big Sister, I just came home from school and I heard that you¡¯re leaving?! You cannot leave!¡± Hugging her tightly, Zi En cried and refused to let go.
¡°En, let go of Yue. You¡¯re grabbing her too tightly. She looks like she can¡¯t breathe.¡±
Zi En, their youngest sibling, had grown up very attached to her sister. She had followed her sister around a lot when she was younger and saw her older sister as a role model. Even sending her off to boarding school was difficult enough because Zi En did not want to part with Zi Yue. In the end, they had left the persuading to Zi Yue. This was going to be a tough hurdle to jump over.
¡°En-er, your big sister is going to be leaving for only a couple of years. I will be back soon alright? As I was telling Feng, I will often write letters and send messages home. I will also buy lots of presents for you okay? Be a good girl alright?¡± Zi Yue was clear on how much her sister relied on her and knew that Zi En was going to be the one who would oppose her decision the most.
¡°And you have Feng. Big brother will be here to play with you in my place.¡±
¡°But.. Big brother and big sister are different¡¡± Zi En lips quivered and her voice hitched with the last word as tears threatened to fall.
¡°Oh sweetie. Come here. Let me give you a hug.¡± Holding her, Zi Yue gently caressed and patted her younger sister. Lulled by the gentle pats Zi Yue was giving her, Zi En slowly fell asleep in her embrace. She may be 13 but she was still the Zhao family¡¯s baby. They doted on her a lot.
¡°Looks like you have your work cut out for you for the next few days before you leave.¡± Looking at his sisters, Zi Feng shook his head in pity for his sister. His second sister can be very obstinate when it comes to matters regarding Zi Yue. Zi Feng did not mind being in second place in his second sister¡¯s eyes. He loved them both so it was really heartwarming for him when he sees how much Zi En loves Zi Yue.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Taking Zi En over from Zi Yue, he carried her to her own bedroom and tucked her in. Shaking his head with a smile, he switched off the lights and headed back to Zi Yue¡¯s room to continue their conversation. It was one of the last few days he could spend talking to his sister after all.
¡ª¡ª
The past two days, Zi Yue bustled to and fro trying to settle any last-minute duties and spend time with her family members, treasuring the time before she left. The weird feeling of deja-vu hit her again but she could not put her finger on when she had experienced this before. Odd.
Today was the final day and she had woken up especially early. Rising out of bed, she slowly washed up and proceeded to take a stroll around the house. Looking at the place she had lived in for the past 18 years, she wanted to take it all in and retain it in her memory, knowing that it would be a while before she would be here again.
Now that it was time to head out, she did not feel as excited as she was initially. It was a weird feeling. She wanted to leave but there was this feeling of longing as well. It finally hit her that she was really going to be leaving this comfortable abode in a few hours times.
¡ª¡ª
¡°Big Sister, you have to write to me, you promised! I will miss you¡¡± Zi En had finally accepted the fact that her sister would be leaving after Zi Yue had promised countless of times that she would write wherever she was.
Hugging Zi En tightly once more, Zi Yue stepped back and took one last look at everyone. It would be a while before she¡¯d see them again. She was very lucky to have grown up in a warm and loving family and to have their support in her decisions. They may have been initially unwilling and against this idea, but right now, she knew that they stand behind her decision and supports her.
Because they are family.
¡°Take care everyone! I will be back a more mature and experienced person. Let¡¯s go Lan Ying, Ye Yu.¡±
Waving their goodbyes, the trio set off.
¡ª¡ª
Their destination was the main city of Bei Lian continent.
The three of them lived on the outskirts of town. It was odd that a family of such influence would be located in the outskirts but Zhao Yan and Meng Ling wanted to have their family grow up in their hometown instead of in the main city. The both of them grew up there, all their friends were there and most importantly, they met each other there. So they had lots of fond memories of that place and wanted their children to grow up there.
The main city of Bei Lian is not the same town that Zi Yue often sneaked out to. So it was their first time visiting the main city and it was exhilarating.
¡°Are you sure we have to get through this forest before being able to make it to the main city? I¡¯m quite sure there was a shorter route there. Zi Yue? Zi Yue!¡±
¡°Huh? Sorry sorry, I wasn¡¯t listening. I was trying to figure out how to use this map. I¡¯m quite sure this map is wrong¡ The trees are the wrong shade of green¡¡±
Fumbling with the map, she stared at it and frowned. This was the map her father had packed for her. She could not understand why it was not showing her the way. Did she take the wrong map by mistake?
Gaping at her, Lan Ying and Ye Yu looked at one another in bewilderment. They never knew that the genius cultivator was directionally challenged! Zi Yue had led the way so confidently and they had assumed she knew her way. It was only after walking for hours that they started suspecting something was wrong. Then she led them into the forest and they knew that they were walking in the wrong direction.
They regretted not checking the map themselves. It was too late for regrets now. It was quite certain that they were now lost.
Their journey had just started and they were already lost!
¡°Young Mistress, why don¡¯t you hand me the map. It looks like it is going to be turning dark soon and we are not nearing the main city so why don¡¯t you set up the camp with Lan Ying while I figure out where we are.¡±
¡°But I was so close to figuring out where we are. Just give me a while more!¡± Zi Yue did not want to give the map to Ye Yu. She did not want to believe that her direction sense was that bad.
¡°Oh, alright¡ Here you go. Have it. I do believe that the map is flawed. You¡¯ll see what I mean.¡± Seeing the look on her friends¡¯ faces, Zi Yue had no choice but to surrender the map over.
As Ye Yu took a look at the map, the girls busied themselves with setting up camp. The sun was setting and they would probably be sleeping out here tonight. They were a little worried about sleeping out in the forest because even though they were all individually strong, they were unsure of what lies in the forest.
They decided to take shifts to look out for danger while the other two sleeps. They may not have much experience travelling before but they were still cultivators after all. They knew how to protect themselves from dangers.
Rationing their food in case they end up stuck in the forest longer than they expect, they quickly ate their dinner and went to bed, with Ye Yu taking the first watch. Sleep was necessary for the long journey ahead.
¡ª¡ª
Jolting awake, Zi Yue leapt to her feet. Lan Ying was already awake and Ye Yu was on high alert. They had sensed danger.
¡ª¡ª
Hidden under the covers of the trees were six pairs of hungry eyes. And they were looking at the three humans.
Chapter 7
¡°This inn is so much better than the other one! Alright, this inn it shall be.¡± Was what she thought and decided on the spot.
Chapter 8
female threw him so easily as if he was paper in front of everyone here, making him lose face. Quickly, he jumped back to his feet and stood tall so he could tower over and intimidate her, face red from both anger and embarrassment.
Notice
HELLO GUYS!!
Okay I am a sloth. I haven''t been updating on time I AM SORRY
Today''s notice is to update all of you that I am not dead on RR!! However the next update may come in a bit later.
I''ve met with a bit of a block lately. I have the story idea planned out alr but I can''t seem to find the right way to express it in this chapter. Will do my best to figure out how to write this chapter.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
There is no full blown out fight scene in this chapter but I expect there will be in (near?) future chapters and I am currently in a headache on how to write those scenes out without it making it "blow-for-blow" - basically boring fight scenes. I have no experience with writing fight scenes before (tbh I think it would be easier for me to write a romance novel- thinking of writing one actually ahaha) so I googled "how to write good fight scenes". But it is still so difficult?!sigh, dis writing thingy iz not easy.
Alright, enough rambling.
Thank you all for being so patient. I only have you these few readers, very touched that you are still reading this very slow (and still barely much progress) story. Love you guys sobs sobs.
I WILL BE BACK ASAP.Just let me kickstart my author-brain into working first. It has met some malfunction argh.
Notice
HELLO GUYS!!
Okay I am a sloth. I haven''t been updating on time I AM SORRY
Today''s notice is to update all of you that I am not dead on RR!! However the next update may come in a bit later.
I''ve met with a bit of a block lately. I have the story idea planned out alr but I can''t seem to find the right way to express it in this chapter. Will do my best to figure out how to write this chapter.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
There is no full blown out fight scene in this chapter but I expect there will be in (near?) future chapters and I am currently in a headache on how to write those scenes out without it making it "blow-for-blow" - basically boring fight scenes. I have no experience with writing fight scenes before (tbh I think it would be easier for me to write a romance novel- thinking of writing one actually ahaha) so I googled "how to write good fight scenes". But it is still so difficult?!sigh, dis writing thingy iz not easy.
Alright, enough rambling.
Thank you all for being so patient. I only have you these few readers, very touched that you are still reading this very slow (and still barely much progress) story. Love you guys sobs sobs.
I WILL BE BACK ASAP.Just let me kickstart my author-brain into working first. It has met some malfunction argh.
Chapter 10
Back in the Celestial Realm, Meng Ling sighed while looking into the Observation Pool. Hearing her sigh, Zhao Yan looked over and saw what she was looking at.
"Looking at Tian-er again? What happened to her this time?" They had an Observation Pool at home that was tuned to their daughter so that they will be able to see her whenever they wanted to. Of course, they could use Profound Observation to do the same but with an Observation Pool, they do not have to constantly expend on their Qi to sustain the image.
"She met a group of thugs and their leader tried to attack her. The nerve! And with those lecherous eyes as well! But that¡¯s our daughter we''re talking about. Naturally she won.¡± She ended her rant with a smug smile. In an instant, Meng Ling tone changed from rage to pride as she recounted what she had just viewed to her husband.
"That''s our daughter alright!" Another proud parent appeared as Zhao Yan chest swelled with pride from hearing his daughter won.
His face turned serious the next moment though. "Meng Ling you know to never interfere right? Tian-er is now a human. She has to get through her First Reincarnation on her own. That one time you entered her dream to help her will be the first and last time you''ll be interfering." He gave his wife a warning look, knowing full well she would interfere at every chance she could get. He had to stop her a few times already.
Pouting, Meng Ling nodded her head petulantly. However unwilling she was to throw her baby daughter to the world, she knew it was in the rules to never interfere. Sighing heavily once more, she turned back to the Observation Pool.
¡ª¡ª
When they reached back the inn, Ye Yu and Lan Ying headed up to their rooms while Zi Yue hung back for a while. She wanted to give a bag of roasted chestnuts she had bought to Lan-Yi. Lan-Yi was the first person they met in Bei Lian plus even though they haven¡¯t had a proper conversation yet, somehow Zi Yue just had good feelings about her.
¡°Lan-Yi, these roasted chestnuts are for you! They taste really good so I bought another packet for you to try them. But.. I¡¯m afraid they might be a bit cold by now¡¡± Zi Yue suddenly realised that from the time they had bought the roasted chestnuts till now, a few hours had passed and the chestnuts were probably cold. Sheepishly, she gave a packet of cold chestnuts to Lan-Yi.
Lan-Yi was surprised by Zi Yue''s gesture. They barely knew one another plus Zi Yue was a guest so she had never expected something like this. Feeling touched, she reached forward to accept the gift.
¡°Not a problem, dear. I can always reheat and re-roast the chestnuts. Thank you, I will enjoy these.¡± Accepting the bag of roasted chestnuts, the smile she gave Zi Yue was filled with genuine pleasure.
Having finished what she stayed behind for, Zi Yue made a little more small talk before bidding goodnight to Lan-Yi and headed up to her room.
¡ª¡ª
For the next few days, the three of them walked around town, trying food, checking out the shops and took in the beautiful scenery all around. Bei Lian was a beautiful country surrounded by flora and fauna. Everywhere they went, they were able to see beautiful blooming flowers along the pavements, planted around shopfronts, in the houses they passed by, it was a town of spring. The people of Bei Lian prided themselves on creating a place where flowers bloomed all year round. Visiting the main city of Bei Lian at different times would allow one to see different flowers in different seasons. Since it was currently spring, the whole town was filled with flowers that bloom in spring. It was stunning.
However much they loved and enjoyed the beauty of the main city, they knew that their stopover here was temporary and that they should head to the next continent soon. There was no time pressure on them, but they were excited to visit other continents, to go farther. Bei Lian after all was still part of their homeland and pretty near their hometown. Thus, they decided to set off for the continent of Nan Jing three days later and told Lan-Yi so.
Lan-Yi was sad hear that. Although she knew that they were travellers and would leave someday, but she had grown fond of the three of them over the past few days of interacting with them. They were around the same age as her son and reminded her of him. Ruo Sheng had joined the Heaven Spirit Sect situated in Bei Lian four years ago and came home to visit sometimes. He was unable to come home all the time because the disciples have to stay in the Sect quarters and train. Only on certain occasions can the disciples return home.
Furthermore, he had started later than his peers, having entered only at the age of 15, three years later than the normal disciples. Thinking about it, she sighed in regret. She always knew that he wanted to join the Sect to learn and to become a cultivator and had encouraged it. However, in the year he was supposed to take the test to enter the Heaven Spirit Sect, his father, her husband, fell gravely ill. At that time, she had to take care of her husband and run the inn alone. Seeing her work so hard, Ruo Sheng had given up on taking the test to help her run the inn and take care of his father.
Unfortunately, her husband passed away in the next summer, leaving without a husband and her son without a father. While grieving, she succumbed to illness as well. Ruo Sheng ended up having to take over the family business and run it on his own while nursing her back to health. Thankfully, it was not a serious bout of illness and within a month she recovered fully. This time, she took back the reins of the business for she wanted Ruo Sheng to go on and take the test to join the Heaven Spirit Sect. It was about time. He had delayed it for almost 2 years now.
However, he was unwilling. He had insisted on staying on and helping her until he felt reassured that she would be able to handle running the inn alone. He was afraid that it might be too much for her. That took another one year.
Finally, after much persuasion and reassurance on her part, his mind was put at ease. After three years of waiting, he joined the group of hopefuls taking the yearly test and passed it with flying colours. He was then accepted into the Sect and moved in. Because of that, he often stayed in the Sect to train and to cultivate, training harder than anyone else in order to make up for the three years that he had missed.
She missed her son dearly, but she understood and thus supported his determination.
As such, when she met these three youngsters who looked around the same age as her son, had good manners and were rather lovable, she had slowly grown fond of them. Hearing their plans to leave soon, it felt as if she was preparing to send her own children offonce again¡.
The sound of glass shattering startled her out of her thoughts. A few steps away, a young girl was looking at a man standing opposite her, face as pale as a sheet of paper. At her feet was a mess of shattered glass which had just barely missed hitting her feet. The man took a step towards the girl, hand reaching out towards her. Lan-Yi could not see his face as he was back-facing her, but she could clearly see the fear written on the young girl¡¯s face. The girl flinched, backing away from the man as he stepped closer towards her, looking as if she was ready to bolt anytime.
It was obvious that the man was not good news.
Lan-Yi¡¯s protective instincts flared and she marched forward towards them.This was her inn and she was not going to stand for anything happening here. It looks like it was not just her alone who felt like they had to do something about this. A few customers had stood up as well, standing between the man and the girl, some asking the young girl what happened and some trying to talk the man into calming down.
¡°Excuse me! Mister! What do you think you are doing here in my inn?¡± Fiercely, Lan-Yi planted herself between them, joining those who had reacted first. She finally got to see his face and when she did, she sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes painted murder. In that moment, she felt fear. However, she was not going to let it take over and firmly stood her ground.
¡°Get out of my way lady. That wretch will die in my hands today! This does not involve you, nor does it involve the rest of you here. I won¡¯t spare you just because you¡¯re a woman.¡± Eyes coldly sweeping across those blocking his path, the man¡¯s eyes landed on Lan-Yi as he growled the words out. His eyes flashed and his face darkened as they continued standing there, refusing to move an inch.
Losing the patience he never had in the first place, his roughly shoved her aside, doing the same for anyone else who stood in his path. Actually all these interventions would have been the perfect opportunity for the girl to run away. However, her legs felt like lead and shewas unable to move a step.
Lan-Yi was not one to give up. She stood up and ran in front of the girl, flinging her arms out as if to shield the girl from him.
¡°I warn you, do not take another step. I do not know what happened between the two of you, so why don¡¯t we all calm down first. This is my inn and I am not going to allow anything to happen here! Mister, you look like you¡¯re an understanding person, why don¡¯t you take a seat first?¡± Knowing that she would not be able to fight him, Lan-Yi tried to persuade him into calming down. Even if she had to ignore the fact that the man before her looked like he could snap her neck easily.
¡°Mister, calm down! Not everything requires violence!¡±
¡°Exactly!¡±
¡°Plus she is just a young girl, what are you trying to do to her!¡±
¡°Yes, Yes!¡±
The others chimed in, agreeing with Lan-Yi¡¯s words
¡°I said, it does not concern all of you! I said before that I won¡¯t spare you even if you¡¯re a woman. Since you won¡¯t move, I will make you move!¡± Grabbing a chair, he threw it towards them. Scrambling, they barely avoiding being hit by the chair. Madman! He was a madman! He threw the chair at them without caring if it would kill anyone!
The man looked at the pair and sneered. He was going to first get rid of the annoying innkeeper before killing that wretch. That old lady, a mere woman, dare to block him? And that wretch dared to run away from him? Women should know their place. He was going to teach them that today.
Having cleared most of the people in his path, The madman suddenly pulled out a knife from his sleeves and stomped towards Lan-Yi who was now hunched over the girl, shielding the girl with her body. Lan-Yi initially wanted to block him but seeing him pull a knife out, she turned to the girl and covered her with her body to protect her. She could feel the young girl shivering in terror under her. Lan-Yi herself was afraid too. She might just die in the madman¡¯s hands today.
Seeing the man stomp towards the two women, the bystanders surged forward in an attempt to block him, but he easily swept them away one by one as if he was swatting flies. They were no match for him. They watched in horror as he lifted the knife, bringing it down onto the pair.
What happened next happened so quickly.
Before the knife reached Lan-Yi, a blur figure dashed past them and grabbed hold of the hand wielding the knife. Wrenching it aside, the newcomer quickly delivered a striketo the man¡¯s solar plexus to incapacitate him and prevent him from going any further.
The next thing they saw was the madman doubling over, his hand clutching his stomach in pain and a young lady standing in front of the collapsed figure.
¡°What just happened here? Did you see that?!¡±
¡°Did you see how the man collapsed with just one hit from her? That was amazing!¡±
¡°One hit! He was so strong but she was able to knock him down with one blow.¡±
¡°Ehhh, that young lady looks familiar¡¡±
¡°Yeah, now that you mentioned it¡¡±
¡°Oh! Oh! Isn¡¯t she the one who beat up those thugs in the Market Street a few days ago? I remember her!¡±
Seeing the appearance mysterious third person, the crowd regained their senses and started talking about the newcomer.
Lan-Yi had not seen what happened as she had been hunched over the girl, hoping to be able to offer even a tad bit of protection with her small body. However, listening to the discussions around her, she could roughly figure out what had just transpired behind her. Heaving a sigh of relief, she looked up to thank their saviour and was surprised to see a familiar face.
¡°Zi Yue!¡± She exclaimed in surprise as Zi Yue gave her a small smile in return.
Chapter 11
Zi Yue quickly helped the both of them up, giving them a quick once over to ensure that there they were not hurt anywhere. Reassured, she then turned back to the man, her gaze turning cold when it landed on him.
She had been upstairs about to enter the meditation state to start her daily cultivation training when she heard a loud crash and raised voices coming from downstairs. Worried that something might have happened to Lan-Yi, she had rushed down as quickly as she could. Lan Ying had already entered the cultivation state so Zi Yue did not want to disturb her as any sudden disturbance may disrupt Lan Ying¡¯s Qi¡¯s flow and cause her internal injuries instead. She assumed Ye Yu was cultivating as well for he did not appear to have heard anything when she ran past his room.
It was a good thing she had gone to check on the situation downstairs. When she saw a man about to slash at Lan-Yi with a knife, she quickly ran towards him, sending Qi energy to her feet to speed up and was able to stop him in time before anything bad happened. Although she had no idea what had happened there, she was able to understand that Lan-Yi was in danger and she had to help her. Lan-Yi had treated them very kindly over the past few days and they were very grateful for that. Because of her, the cosy inn had felt like home away from home.
¡°Who are you and what business do you have with this lady over here mister?¡± Her tone was frigid and brought shivers to those who heard it.
The man glared back at her, still crouched on the ground in pain. He had never been humiliated like this before and to top it off, it had been a little girl who managed to hit him over with one hit. By the looks of it, he was pretty sure that she was not even twenty yet.
¡°That wretch behind the old lady stole something from me. I have been chasing her down for days now and finally found her. This does not concern you, do not poke your nose into my affairs.¡± Gritting his teeth as he held back the pain, he slowly stood up, towering over Zi Yue when he finally stood at full height. He was a big man and was used to using his size and height to intimidate opponents. Subconsciously, he had already viewed Zi Yue as an opponent.
¡°I did not! That pendant belonged to my mother and you stole it! I was only taking back what is mine. That is the only thing I have left of her. You do not have the right to take it away from me.¡± Upon hearing his words, the girl who was hiding behind Lan-Yi exploded in anger, voice shaking in rage. His words had clearly hit a nerve, raw anger replacing any fear she previously had.
¡°That was payment for your father''s debt. Since he ran away, the debt is now yours. Be thankful you are too skinny and not attractive enough to be sold to the brothels. That old pendant was barely enough to cover for your father¡¯s debt after deducting the amount I got from your house. Give it back to me now or else.¡±
A look of understanding fell upon everyone as they finally got the whole story. From the sound of it, the girl¡¯s mother had passed away and her father had landed himself in a huge pile of debt, running away and leaving his daughter to clean up his mess. They looked at her in pity. To have such an irresponsible father who, instead of properly caring for her after her mother passed away, gambled away his entire fortune and abandoned his own daughter in order to save his own skin.
¡°Never!¡± Eyes blazing, the girl fiercely stood her ground.
¡°YOU!¡± Roaring, he lunged towards her, forgetting that Zi Yue and Lan-Yi were in there.
Before he could reach her, Zi Yue grabbed him first, his size not a problem for her at all.
¡°Am I invisible?¡± The room¡¯s temperature dropped even more when she spoke, those three words holding so much power that even the man forgot himself for a moment.
Before he could recover though, someone spoke.
¡°I will pay for her. After that, do not bother her anymore. Do not even step a foot into this inn, you are not welcome here.¡± It was Lan-Yi.
Heads snapped towards her direction in shock the moment the words left her mouth. From the sound of it, it was not going to be a small amount. Yet, she was willing to cover the debt for a complete stranger. They did not know to respect her or to call her foolish.
¡°You¡ This¡¡± Even the girl was stunned. She had been preparing to bolt when she saw the female warrior called ¡°Zi Yue¡± stop him so effortlessly. However the inn-owner¡¯s words stopped her in her tracks. This lady was too much of a Samaritan to be true. What was she expecting in return? It was a hundred gold! No one gives up a hundred gold for nothing. There has to be a catch in this.
¡°Oh, really? Alright, since you are willing to pay for her... Two hundred gold. Once I receive two hundred gold, I will never appear before you again. And she can keep that worthless pendant for all I care.¡±Eyes glinting, his tone changed upon hearing Lan-Yi¡¯s words.
¡°You liar! It is only a hundred gold, where did the other hundred come from!¡±
¡°The other hundred is interest on the original debt and for the amount of trouble you brought onto me. Not a single gold less.¡±
Speechless. The girl was rendered speechless. This was ridiculous. It was obvious he was making some sort of excuse in order to rip off more money from the inn-owner.
Throughout this whole conversation, Lan-Yi was very calm and composed. She walked towards the counter, opened the cash box and took out a wad of notes. Slowly, she walked back to the man and held out the money.
¡°Two hundred gold, take it and leave.¡±
Seeing the money, the man gleefully took it and starting counting it. Upon confirming that the amount was correct, he grinned.
¡°You should thank the heavens above that someone was willing to help you this time round. You must have saved an entire village in your previous life. Thanks for the money!¡± With that, he turned around and left.
Seeing that the entire matter had been resolved, the crowd slowly dispersed with mixed feelings. Some of them felt that Lan-Yi was too foolish, while some of them really respected her for doing that. Others left feeling awe and slight fear towards Zi Yue.
¡°Just now¡ But... You just¡ Why?¡± The girl did not know what to say. Finally she just settled for why.
¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just thought of how I would feel if I am your mother. Just take it as me having too much money with nowhere to spend it on. You¡¯re free now dear. Do stay for a meal before leaving.¡± With a kind smile, Lan-Yi patted the girl on her back before turning away to clear up the mess the man had created.
Just like that? For such a simple reason? She stood there in a daze, not knowing what to make do of the entire situation.
¡°Wait.. Wait! Please, allow me to work here for you to repay my debt! I am grateful to you for saving me, but I simply cannot have you spend two hundred gold on me for nothing. ¡± Snapping out of the daze, she quickly walked over to Lan-Yi who was placing the furniture back into their original position.
¡°It is alright, you don¡¯t have to feel obligated to stay or return the money to me. Really.¡±
¡°Please. My mother taught me to always return favours and repay debts of gratitude.¡±
Lan-Yi placed down the chair in her hands. She was silent for a long while, frowning as she took a good, hard look at the young girl.
When she finally spoke, all she did was ask for the girl¡¯s name.
¡°Huh??¡± The girl looked at Lan-Yi, confusion written on her face. Her name should not be the main point here right now¡ right?
¡°I need to at least know the name my future employee¡¯s name right? I can¡¯t possibly be calling you ¡°girl¡± or ¡°you there¡±.¡± Taking in her confused expression, Lan-Yi smiled and explained.
A look of understanding crossed the girl¡¯s face as she got the meaning behind Lan-Yi¡¯s words, her face breaking out into a smile.
¡°My name is Qiu Ting, thank you for allowing me to stay! I will definitely work hard here!¡± Upon saying that, she quickly stepped forward to help Lan-Yi clean up the place.
Zi Yue had been standing at the side, waiting to ensure that the man was not going to be coming back. After a while, seeing that the man had really left, she started to leave as well, heading back up to her room. She had been listening to the conversation, amusement flitting across her face at the enthusiasm Qiu Ting displayed. She had been filled with respect for Lan-Yi just now, knowing that two hundred gold was not a small amount. It was not something anyone would usually do for a stranger with no relations. Zi Yue was also glad that Qiu Ting was able to feel gratitude towards Lan-Yi.
When she reached her room, Lan Ying had just left the meditative state. It reminded her of the cultivation she had wanted to start on before she was interrupted by the whole episode downstairs.
She easily entered the meditative state and stabilised the flow of Qi in her body. In this state, she ¡°saw¡± the energy lines of the natural world and started pulling on them, drawing the energy in towards herself. The energy lines had always been clear bright lines of lights to her, which was why she could always ¡°see¡± them so easily.
Today she was going to purely focus on refining her Qi and expelling any impurities. Whenever she fought or expended on her Qi, impurities in her would accumulate. Just now, since she barely expended on her Qi and did not fight, it did not really affect her actually. However, it was already a routine for her to focus purely on Qi cultivation after such situations.
By the time she was satisfied with her cultivation progress, four hours had passed and it was already time for dinner. Seeing the room empty, Zi Yue stood up and walked towards Ye Yu¡¯s room. She guessed that Lan Ying had headed over to Ye Yu¡¯s room while waiting for her to finish her cultivation. Even though they seemed to be at loggerheads with one another, the two of them actually shared a love for weapons (i.e. swords, sticks, darts, sabers, anything that can poke others (hard) really) and often had long discussions about it. As she had expected, she found them there in a heated discussion about dual blades.
¡°Knock knock. You two weapon-heads, time for dinner. I¡¯m starving.¡± Two heads swivelled towards her at the same time, eyes blazing as if to shoot lasers at the person who dared to disturb their conversation. Upon seeing that it was Zi Yue, they sighed, for they knew that if they continued talking and ignored her, they would be mashed like potatoes. No one keeps Zi Yue¡¯s hungry stomach waiting.
Heading down, they took a seat at a table. Instead of Lan-Yi who usually took their orders, a young girl came bounding over.
¡°Female warrior! It¡¯s you! I¡¯m taking over for Lan-Yi since I will be working here from now on. What would you like to order?¡±
¡°Female warrior?¡± Ye Yu and Lan Ying turned to Zi Yue. They looked back and forth between Zi Yue and the waitress, their gazes full of questions unasked.
"Yes! She saved both Lan-Yi and I just now." Putting the notepad in her hands down, Qiu Ting suddenly clasped Zi Yue''s hands between her own.
"Thank you for saving us just now, I thought we were going to die. I do not have any money on me right now to treat you to a meal but next time when you come back I am sure I would be able to. I''m really thankful and grateful. Thank you!!"
Ye Yu and Lan Ying curiosity grew larger after hearing her words. Seeing the look on her friends'' faces, Zi Yue sighed and recounted the entire episode to them. While doing so, Qiu Ting was standing at the side, nodding along to everything Zi Yue said, face shining with admiration for Zi Yue. She''d officially see both Zi Yue and Lan-Yi as her heroes now.
¡°It was nothing much, all I did was reached there in time.¡± Zi Yue ended off her recount awkwardly, clearly sensing the waves of admiration pouring off Qiu Ting.
She quickly ordered a few dishes in an attempt to divert¡¯s Qiu Ting¡¯s attention and heaved a sigh of relief when Qiu Ting went off to place their orders. She was not used to feeling such strong admiration from someone. It felt... weird. Plus like what she said, she barely did anything to warrant such feelings.
"Female warrior eh? Looks like you''ve got yourself a fan Yue Yue." Lan Ying grinned and pointed at Zi Yue, finding the whole situation with Qiu Ting highly amusing. On the other hand, Ye Yu was the polar opposite of Lan Ying.
"Another competitor..." He darkly muttered under his breath, frown lines creasing his forehead.
"Sorry Ye Yu, I didn''t catch that. What did you say?¡± Zi Yue thought she heard Ye Yu say something.
Startled, Ye Yu hastily replied "Nothing much, I was wondering where the food was cause I''m starving."
He guility turned the other way but he caught Lan Ying''s eye. And from the way she grinning at him, it was obvious she caught what he said. He was not going to be able to live this down...
Chapter 12