Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Leaving the Secret Realm

Rong Shu changed into yet another anonymous face and hurried to the Scripture Tower.

She first tucked Little Hamster into the Beast Taming Pouch; only after entering the Scripture Tower did she let him out again.

Once he crawled out of the pitch-dark Beast Taming Pouch, Little Hamster clung tightly to Rong Shu’s finger with his tiny paws.

Rong Shu stroked the slightly fluffed-up Little Hamster with her other hand, then, remembering the Little White Tiger who could already perform Spirit Sense Projection, asked: “Little White Tiger, in the future can we let Yan Yan enter the Han Chuan Cosmos Pearl too?”

Strictly speaking, the Han Chuan Cosmos Pearl belonged to the Little White Tiger.

Letting a living creature as large as Yan Yan go in required the Little White Tiger’s consent.

“…It’s fine, partner, I will not bully him.”

As a Divine Beast cub, it had its dignity and pride.

Hearing the Little White Tiger answer so solemnly, Rong Shu could not help smiling: “All right, I understand.”

After this brief interlude, Rong Shu focused on clearing the Scripture Tower’s trials.

From first to third grade she passed with ease.

Upon reaching the fourth-grade trials, she grew even more meticulous and cautious, determined not to make a single misstep.

When she succeeded in clearing all the fourth-grade trials for the first time, she let out a long breath, then walked out of the Scripture Tower beaming as she hugged every pill formula and ancient text she had rubbed and copied.

Yet as she emerged, her face showed conspicuous disappointment and remorse, her sighs one after another.

The cultivators nearby were used to such scenes and paid her no special attention.

The next day.

Rong Shu entered the Scripture Tower again.

She cleared the fourth-grade trials a second time, obtained a new batch of fourth-grade pill formulas, then left the tower.

The third day… the fourth… the fifth…

Until a month later.

Rong Shu had successfully collected all pill formulas from first through fourth grade within the Scripture Tower.

As for the even higher floors, she could only gaze up at the tower and sigh.

This trip to temper herself in the secret realm had already yielded a handsome harvest.

Rong Shu set off for the secret realm’s exit, ready to leave.

[A month of calm had almost made her believe nothing else would happen.]

But the closer she drew to the exit, the more she noticed several cultivators idling at chokepoints along the way.

They did nothing, sought no fortunes within the secret realm; it was as if… they were monitoring every cultivator who wished to leave.

Rong Shu’s heart immediately tightened with vigilance.

Once she slipped free of one patch of surveillance, she promptly altered her appearance, turning back into the original “Lin Bu Fan,” and suppressed her cultivation to the third layer of Qi Refining.

All the way to the exit, probing gazes came from every direction, impossible to ignore.

However, because Rong Shu appeared to be only at the third layer of Qi Refining, those gazes did not linger.

Some distance still remained before the exit. On the road, Rong Shu heard a few cultivators grumbling: “Who knows which young master it is, just to catch one person he’s stirred up the secret realm for so long…”

“Truly…”

“…”

Rong Shu stepped onto the exit’s Teleportation Array and tossed out the piece of Scorchfire Ore that had brought her in at the start.

The Teleportation Array recognized it at once. A beam of white light wrapped around Rong Shu and, the next second, sent her away.

…

Outside the Scorchfire Secret Realm.

Rong Shu stepped out of the exit and slowly exhaled.

At last… she was out.

That young man was far too persistent.

More than a year had passed, yet he still could not let her go.

Even so, now that she had left the secret realm, Rong Shu felt there would be few chances to encounter him again.

“All right, in that case…”

A voice called out and interrupted her thoughts.

“Fellow Daoist Lin.”

Zong Wen Shi came hurrying over to her, excitement plain on his face.

Rong Shu turned and saw that an unfamiliar scar had appeared on Zong Wen Shi’s cheek.

“Fellow Daoist Zong.”

“Fellow Daoist Lin, it is good you are safe.”

Relieved to see her unharmed, Zong Wen Shi suddenly remembered something; hatred darkened his expression: “That brat Han Cheng Yun, and Su Meng and Su Hua! They had long harbored ill intent. They pretended to team up with us, but in truth they planned to kill for treasure!”

At this, Rong Shu looked “astonished”: “This… that cannot be, right? Fellow Daoist Han did not seem like such a petty villain…”

“I saw it with my own eyes! Han Cheng Yun struck Zhu Chun while he was unguarded, killed him, and took out the Exotic Flame that had not yet completely fused.”

“Also, Wu Man did not escape either…”

Rong Shu appeared so shocked by this string of revelations that she could not find her voice.

“I… I got lost in the herb garden. Afterward I kept trying to find you all, but could not…”

Zong Wen Shi sighed: “Then your luck was good. Getting lost came at just the right time.”

“I will have my revenge on that Han brat if it is the last thing I do.” He touched the scar on his face, his tone venomous.

“Fellow Daoist Lin, come with me.”

“Where?”

“Just come. I will take you to see someone.”

Rong Shu quietly probed Zong Wen Shi’s aura.

He was still at early Foundation Establishment, and apparently had not fully recovered from his injuries…

[No threat. She could kill him in a single stroke.]

With that thought, Rong Shu followed at ease.

Even so, she shot Little Hamster a furtive look.

[If something felt off, if she could not handle it and her life-preserving treasures failed, she would rely on Little Hamster’s instant teleportation.]

…

Zong Wen Shi led Rong Shu into a residential quarter.

After several twists and turns, they stopped before a small house.

The door stood slightly ajar; through the crack she could see a young and beautiful woman in the courtyard, watering flowers.

Rong Shu turned to Zong Wen Shi: “She is…?”

“She is Han Cheng Yun’s younger sister, named Han Yulu.” Zong Wen Shi chuckled lewdly as he glanced at Rong Shu: “She injured her eyes in childhood and has been blind ever since. Han Cheng Yun has always been searching for spiritual medicines or pills to cure his younger sister’s eye disease.”

“I used to feel for them and often sighed at their misfortune, but now…”

A flash of cruelty crossed Zong Wen Shi’s face. He took several quick steps forward and was about to push the door open.

“Hey.” Sensing something wrong, Rong Shu spoke to stop him: “Fellow Daoist Zong, what are you doing?”

“If Han Cheng Yun comes back right at this moment, we will be in danger.”

Zong Wen Shi sneered: “I know that man a little.”

“After leaving the secret realm, he would first take whatever medicines and pill formulas he obtained and exchange them for Spirit Stones, or trade for pills that might alleviate his younger sister’s eye disease.”

“We will be delayed only a moment. No rush.”

“Fellow Daoist Lin, come in with me.”

Zong Wen Shi strode inside without the least restraint, naturally alarming the woman in the courtyard.

He called out in an intimate tone: “Sister Lu.”

“Elder Brother Zong?”

Han Yulu could not see, but upon hearing the voice of someone she knew, she relaxed and showed a faint smile: “You are here.”

“Where is my elder brother? Has my elder brother also left the secret realm?”

Rong Shu followed him in. Seeing Han Yulu’s vacant eyes, she watched the young woman’s worried expression instantly brighten with expectation and delight.

For a moment, Rong Shu could not move her feet.

The woman before them could never know that of the two people standing here, one had just torn all pretense with her elder brother and become enemies, and the other had personally killed her elder brother, ensuring he would never return to see her.

“Of course, Brother Han will be along soon.”

Taking advantage of Han Yulu’s blindness, Zong Wen Shi’s gaze upon her turned shamelessly explicit.

Although Han Yulu could not see, Rong Shu saw everything and immediately frowned.

Was Zong Wen Shi planning to harm this mortal woman to take revenge on Han Cheng Yun?

There was an unwritten rule in the cultivation world: disputes between cultivators should not involve mortals.

Not everyone was born a cultivator; in the mundane world there were always family and friends.

No one wanted the feuds of cultivators to implicate their mortal loved ones.

Once that unwritten rule was broken, everyone would live in fear that one day their own family and friends might fall victim.

“Elder Brother Zong, please sit. I will brew tea for you and your friend.”

Although Rong Shu had said little, Han Yulu, blind since childhood and thus more keenly perceptive than ordinary people, noticed the presence of a second guest at once, especially since Rong Shu had not tried to hide it.

“Thank you, young lady,” Rong Shu said.

But Zong Wen Shi could no longer restrain himself.

“Sister Lu, there is no hurry.”

He yanked her abruptly into his arms, his other hand sliding to her face.

“Zo… Elder Brother Zong, you…”

Han Yulu’s face changed; she slapped his hand away: “Please conduct yourself with dignity. My elder brother will be back very soon!”

She struggled to wrench free of his grip.

Fearing that Han Cheng Yun might return at any time, Zong Wen Shi had no patience to toy with her. He went to tear Han Yulu’s clothes, cursing as he did.

“Damn it!”

“I almost died in the secret realm because of your brother!”

“Perfect timing. Since Han Cheng Yun is unrighteous, I will be unrighteous right back and take compensation from his sister!”

Terrified, Han Yulu struggled: “Ah! Do not touch me… elder brother… elder brother…”

“Hahaha! Your elder brother cannot save you…”

Just as Zong Wen Shi was about to take the next step, a slender hand reached in and clamped down on his paw.

“Fellow Daoist Zong, you have gone too far.”

Rong Shu’s tone turned cold for no reason: “There is an old saying in the mortal world: calamity should not be visited upon a man’s wife and children. She is a mere mortal, and the immortal world and mortal world are distinct. Even if Han Cheng Yun is unrighteous, that should not be counted against this mortal young lady.”

Zong Wen Shi, his excitement interrupted, grew displeased and shot back: “Fellow Daoist Lin, have you forgotten what I told you outside the secret realm?”

“I have long wanted to know what a blind woman feels like. I used to fear Han Cheng Yun, but now… we have already torn all pretense, and he even injured me. It is not excessive for me to come to his sister for treatment fees, is it?”

Tears streamed down Han Yulu’s cheeks. Hearing what her elder brother had done, she could not believe that the brother who had always been gentle and protective of her could be the sort of villain who stabbed friends in the back.

“My… my elder brother… impossible!”

Zong Wen Shi invited Rong Shu: “Fellow Daoist Lin, would you like to enjoy this together?”

“No.”

Rong Shu suddenly let go of Zong Wen Shi’s hand, took two steps back, and spoke in an indifferent tone.

Seeing her “sensible,” satisfaction flashed through Zong Wen Shi’s eyes.

Just now, when Rong Shu had blocked him, a killing intent had flared in his heart for a split second.

But when he remembered she was a third-grade alchemist, he calmed down; befriending a third-grade alchemist was more profitable than killing a person.

“Hahaha… then I will not be polite…”

“Sister Lu, your elder brother is here…”

Swish.

A cold gleam shone at the back of Zong Wen Shi’s head.

The next second, blood sprayed across the floor.

Zong Wen Shi had not even had time to react. Lewdness still lingered in his eyes as his body fell limply to the ground, dragging Han Yulu down with him.

Rong Shu calmly withdrew her bloodied blade, then gave Zong Wen Shi’s heart several finishing thrusts.

Afterward, she looked at the still-shaken Han Yulu, thought for a moment, and said: “He is dead. You do not need to be afraid.”

Hearing this, Han Yulu came back to herself, wiped away her tears, stood, and bowed in thanks to Rong Shu: “Many thanks for your aid, senior.”

She did not know Rong Shu’s identity; the voice was unfamiliar as well, so she used a general honorific.

“There is no need to call me senior.” Rong Shu started to wave a hand, then remembered the woman before her could not see and let the gesture fall.

“I simply could not stomach it.”

“I will take care of Zong Wen Shi’s corpse. You need only act as if nothing happened and live as usual.”

Han Yulu nodded slightly: “All right.”

Rong Shu cast a small fireball that fell upon Zong Wen Shi’s corpse and the bloody floor, burning the body to ash. Then she lifted a wind to slice the remaining dregs into fine powder and sent them swirling out of the courtyard.

“Senior, my elder brother…”

“Fellow Daoist Han obtained some rare pill formulas in the secret realm. He is seeking an alchemist to appraise their value and then sell them.”

This time, Han Yulu did not look happy. She murmured: “I see… he will come back…”

Rong Shu gave Han Yulu one last look and walked out of the courtyard.

As she crossed the threshold, she pressed a simple defensive formation plate onto the door.

With this formation in place, anyone below the Foundation Establishment Stage, as well as all mortals, would not be able to barge in at will.

It was but a chance meeting, separated by a human life; this was all Rong Shu could do.

[To be completely safe, she ought to kill Han Yulu as well.]

[But then how would she be any different from Zong Wen Shi?]

[If, in the future, Han Yulu came seeking vengeance for Han Cheng Yun, she would kill Han Yulu without hesitation.]

…

Leaving Han Yulu’s home, Rong Shu walked along a bustling street.

Crowds pressed in from all directions, a jumble of noises weaving together.

Hugging Little Hamster, Rong Shu kept walking.

What was the meaning of cultivation?

For so-called eternal life and carefree freedom?

As powerful as the master of a secret realm, a thousand years ago his household was destroyed; only a younger brother remained, and he washed in blood the sect where he had grown up.

As mysterious and arrogant as that young man, he seemed born aloof, a head above everyone, and the moment someone displeased him he targeted them madly, determined to reclaim his so-called face.

Han Cheng Yun, who doted on his younger sister, was calculating and manipulative outside; to achieve his ends, he did not hesitate to scheme against his teammates, and even to take their lives without batting an eye.

Zong Wen Shi, who seemed straightforward, merely hid ugliness and filth in his heart. Given the chance, he tore off the mask and let evil run free.

Rong Shu’s steps slowed.

[And what about herself?]

[What kind of person was she? What kind of person would she become?]