Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Departure
The opening of the Qi Shan Secret Realm was a once-in-a-century event. Every sect dispatched a team.
Not just sects, either. Rogue cultivators who caught wind of it also poured in from every direction, unwilling to miss a chance like this.
Kun Lun Sect sent people from every peak and hall. The group was enormous, large enough that the sect brought out a flying ship to carry its disciples.
And the leaders were all familiar faces to Jiang Li Sheng: He Zhen Tang from Heaven Sword Peak, Jin Wang Chou from Spirit Beast Peak, and Ying Zong Yu from the Medical Hall.
An Ru Xu and Jiang Li Sheng stepped forward to greet them.
He Zhen Tang flicked his gaze over the two of them and asked Jiang Li Sheng, flat as stone, “Will you make it out alive?”
Jiang Li Sheng’s mouth twitched. It wasn’t the kind of question you could answer cleanly. She settled for honesty. “I’ll do my best.”
Ying Zong Yu laughed. “Don’t let the demon beasts eat you. The moment you see danger, run. Don’t try to force it.” His tone sharpened just slightly. “You’ve seen plenty of good things in your life. Even if the Qi Shan Secret Realm has treasures, with your Master’s ability, he can get you better. This trip is for experience—and for staying alive. Understand?”
“I understand,” Jiang Li Sheng said obediently.
Truthfully, she wasn’t excited. Unlike everyone else, she could have happily skipped the whole thing. But now that she was at Kun Lun Sect, she had to follow Kun Lun Sect’s rules.
Jin Wang Chou said nothing. In the last few days, she had spent almost half her savings healing Zhao Ke Xin, forcing her injury to stabilize enough to join this trip. With that kind of cost hanging in her chest, she couldn’t bring herself to smile at Jiang Li Sheng and An Ru Xu.
Even if the root of the mess lay mostly with Zhao Ke Xin, Jin Wang Chou was still Zhao Ke Xin’s Master. She couldn’t pretend it didn’t burn. The fact that she wasn’t openly having her disciple settle the score already showed restraint.
Zhao Ke Xin hadn’t left her residence while she was recovering. Now, stepping out past the mountain gate, she couldn’t stop herself from looking toward An Ru Xu.
Seeing him beside Jiang Li Sheng darkened her expression, but this time she didn’t approach him. She didn’t lean in. She didn’t throw sharp words at Jiang Li Sheng either.
Zhu Wen Yin, on the other hand, greeted them with a gentle smile. “Senior Brother An, is your injury fully healed?”
An Ru Xu nodded. “Healed.”
Jiang Li Sheng glanced over. Zhao Ke Xin had lost a lot of weight. The soft roundness of her face had sharpened into a pointed oval, the kind of change that only came from real suffering. Zhu Wen Yin looked the same as ever.
Zhu Wen Yin noticed Jiang Li Sheng’s glance and smiled at her. “Junior Sister Jiang, many people from Qing Xu Sect will be going too. You’ve been away from Qing Xu Sect for so long—you must miss them.”
You couldn’t slap away a smiling face. Jiang Li Sheng didn’t particularly miss her fellow disciples, but she still nodded politely. “Senior Sister Zhu is right.”
Everyone boarded the flying ship.
An Ru Xu and Jiang Li Sheng found seats, and Jiang Li Sheng spotted someone she recognized. “Senior Brother Lu.”
Lu Shao Ling turned, startled. He’d been looking at a fair, delicate girl in new Kun Lun Sect disciple robes and trying to place her. The moment he heard her voice, he remembered. “Ah—Junior Sister Jiang!”
He grinned. “You’re wearing the new disciple robes. I didn’t recognize you at first. You’ve been at Kun Lun Sect for a while now. Looks like everything’s going well?”
“It’s been good,” Jiang Li Sheng said, smiling.
Lu Shao Ling saw An Ru Xu beside her and patted An Ru Xu’s shoulder. “Junior Brother An, come sit with me. I heard you got injured.” His eyebrows lifted, teasing. “In Kun Lun Sect, you still managed to get hurt? What, did you sneak off to the Demon-Suppressing Tower to fight demon beasts?”
An Ru Xu sat down with him and snorted. “Senior Brother Lu, you’re giving me too much credit. Do you know what kind of demon beasts are in the Demon-Suppressing Tower? Even the weakest are Golden Core Stage. Pull out any one of them and it could eat me alive. Fight them? Impossible.”
He added with a grimace, “Someone like Wei Qing Lan killing two demon snakes in a single outing—that’s not normal.”
“Then how did you get hurt?” Lu Shao Ling asked.
An Ru Xu looked at him. “Senior Brother Lu… you aren’t asking when you already know, are you?”
“I don’t,” Lu Shao Ling said quickly. “I was in seclusion. I only just came out. I heard you were injured, but I don’t know what happened.”
An Ru Xu didn’t hide it. Zhao Ke Xin’s incident had been loud enough that half the mountain knew. He sighed. “I tried to break up a fight. Got stabbed.”
Lu Shao Ling’s eyes widened. “Stabbed? How?”
Jiang Li Sheng cleared her throat and stepped in before An Ru Xu could make it worse. “I argued with someone and it escalated. Senior Brother An tried to help me and got hit with a sword. The person I fought has already been punished.”
An Ru Xu nodded quickly, grateful for the gentler version. “Yes. That’s what happened. I was just unlucky.”
Lu Shao Ling exhaled and shook his head. “Kun Lun Sect’s rules are strict. It’s not like Qing Xu Sect. Junior Sister Jiang, you’ve only just come here. You might not be used to it. If you’re staying long-term, it’s better to keep the peace.”
“Senior Brother Lu is right,” Jiang Li Sheng said.
An Ru Xu scratched the back of his head, a little ashamed. If he hadn’t been so close to her, the romantic trouble that chased him wouldn’t have splashed onto her. “Junior Sister Jiang is already very well-behaved. This isn’t her fault. It’s mine.”
Jiang Li Sheng muttered, sharp and unrepentant, “It’s not really Senior Brother An’s fault either. Other people were unreasonable. They deserved it.”
An Ru Xu coughed, suddenly aware of how many ears were in the cabin.
Zhao Ke Xin and Zhu Wen Yin were seated farther away. Their voices were low, but cultivators had sharp hearing when no barriers were raised. If someone wanted to listen, they could.
Zhao Ke Xin’s face darkened further. She shifted as if to stand, but Zhu Wen Yin caught her hand and pressed her back down, whispering, “Junior Sister. Don’t cause trouble. Did you forget what I told you?”
Zhao Ke Xin swallowed the anger, turned her face away, and fixed her thoughts on Jiang Li Sheng with cold certainty. Secret realms were easy to enter—and hard to leave. Sooner or later, there would be a moment when Jiang Li Sheng was alone.
Lu Shao Ling looked between Jiang Li Sheng and An Ru Xu, thinking their friendship had grown quickly.
He changed the subject. “Are you two traveling together inside the secret realm? If you want, you can join us.”
“Us?” An Ru Xu asked. “Who else is with you?”
“The junior brothers and sisters from Jade Pearl Peak,” Lu Shao Ling said. “They love to play around, so they went into the inner cabin to drink and play games. I’m a one-cup lightweight, so I stayed out here.” He shrugged. “But once we’re inside, we’ll be together anyway. I’m their Senior Brother.”
An Ru Xu’s face brightened. “That would be great. It’s just me and Junior Sister Jiang. If you and your Jade Pearl Peak juniors don’t mind us holding you back…”
“We won’t,” Lu Shao Ling said decisively. “It’s settled. They’re good kids. No one’s going to look down on you.”
An Ru Xu couldn’t hide his relief. He looked at Jiang Li Sheng.
Jiang Li Sheng nodded, smiling as well.