Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Trespassing into the Forbidden Grounds
On the way back, An Ru Xu flew his sword so fast it looked like wolves were snapping at his heels.
He didn’t stop until he reached his quarters—and only then did he realize he’d left Jiang Li Sheng behind.
Sword in hand, he stood there, hesitating, thinking: Junior Sister Jiang had a good sense of direction, right?
She could find her way back, right?
She wouldn’t get lost, right?
He was mortified. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into his room and never show his face again—especially after Junior Sister Jiang had flashed him that bright smile and said, “Being liked by girls isn’t a crime.”
He’d nearly choked.
In his own mind, he truly hadn’t been messing around. If someone came to him, he responded. He never took advantage.
But… who knew? Maybe he’d handled things wrong in the past. He’d assumed they were all fellow disciples—senior brothers and junior sisters—helping each other out. Maybe he really had led someone on without realizing it.
He wanted to cry.
He waited a moment, then finally rode his sword back the way he’d come.
Junior Sister Jiang had only arrived at Kun Lun Sect yesterday—she didn’t know anything here. What if she really did lose her way?
Jiang Li Sheng really did lose her way.
She’d listened to An Ru Xu’s advice. She forced herself past her fear of heights, lowered her head, and chanted the incantation while driving her sword forward. She did get faster.
But because she kept her head down, she missed the turn she was supposed to take. When she snapped back to her surroundings, the path was gone.
Fog pressed in on all sides. No buildings. No rooftops. Nothing but pale mist.
Where was she?
She hopped off her sword and stood there, blankly staring.
“Who dares trespass into the Forbidden Grounds?” An aged voice thundered. “Come out!”
Jiang Li Sheng jolted so hard her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
Forbidden Grounds…?
Had she wandered into Kun Lun Sect’s Forbidden Grounds?
She spun to leave.
The other party must have taken her retreat as guilt. A streak of golden light blasted toward her. Jiang Li Sheng whipped around, raising her sword to meet it—and the cheap, newly bought blade cracked with a sharp snap and shattered into pieces.
The force threw her back several zhang. She slammed into a tree trunk hard enough to make her vision blur.
Blood surged up her throat. She swallowed it down.
Before she could even breathe, another sword strike came down from above, carrying the weight of a collapsing mountain.
If it hit, she was done.
She threw herself into a roll, tumbling several zhang and barely scraping past the edge of the blow.
“Hm?” The aged voice sounded colder now, angrier. “You’ve got a little skill. No wonder you dared trespass into the Forbidden Grounds.”
A second strike followed.
This one fell like a net cast from the heavens—sword qi everywhere, layered so densely it became a cage. No matter how Jiang Li Sheng rolled, she couldn’t slip out.
At last she hit the ground, breathless and spent.
Fine.
She stopped dodging.
If she died, she died. Her master would collect her soul.
The sword qi was about to punch her full of holes when a blade cut in from the side—clean as a breeze, cold as snow carried on sudden wind. In an instant, it dissolved the entire storm.
Jiang Li Sheng’s eyes flew open.
Who was this—so… kind?
She had to thank him.
She scrambled up, and a figure drifted down in front of her.
Crimson robes, brocade-bright. Tall, straight, refined—his presence cool and clear.
Wei Qing Lan.
Jiang Li Sheng nearly cried on the spot. How was she supposed to repay a life-saving favor like this?
Should she thank him herself… or ask her master to thank him?
Her mouth opened and closed. She didn’t know what to do.
Had she just caused another disaster?
Wei Qing Lan glanced back at her. His gaze was calm, pale, unreadable. “Why are you here?”
Jiang Li Sheng lifted her head quickly, stole one look at him, then lowered her eyes again. “I got lost.”
“How does one get lost?”
“I… I went with Senior Brother An to the Sword Hall to buy a sword,” she rushed to explain. “My sword flight was bad, so I followed Senior Brother An’s advice and practiced with my head down. When I looked up again, I was already lost. I don’t even know how I entered the Forbidden Grounds.”
“Nonsense!” The aged voice roared. “You came with ill intent. There’s a warning stele outside as tall as a man—didn’t you see it?”
Jiang Li Sheng clenched her teeth. “I truly didn’t.”
“Soul-Search Technique!” A white-haired elder stepped out from within, face dark and hostile as he stared her down. “So young, yet lying without blinking. Do you know the crime of trespassing into the Forbidden Grounds?”
“Martial Grand-Uncle Qi,” Wei Qing Lan said evenly, turning to salute him, “she is a new disciple of Kun Lun Sect. It’s possible she truly wandered in by mistake.”
Qi Bai Cheng’s eyes narrowed. “Impossible. A new disciple couldn’t take one of my moves. She took two—and she’s still standing here unharmed.”
Jiang Li Sheng looked at him helplessly. “Because I’m—”
“Martial Grand-Uncle Qi,” Wei Qing Lan cut in, “allow me to use Soul-Search Technique.”
He continued, voice steady and unhurried. “If she truly was lost, please spare her this once. A new disciple is bound to be reckless. My master entered seclusion yesterday. If we pursue this as a crime, it will certainly disturb my master—and he should not be disturbed right now.”
Qi Bai Cheng stared at Wei Qing Lan, suspicion sharpening his expression. “You brat. What’s your relationship with her?”
“None,” Wei Qing Lan replied. “She entered the sect yesterday. She hasn’t learned the rules. If she did not do this on purpose, she should be forgiven.”
Qi Bai Cheng snorted. His gaze dropped to Jiang Li Sheng’s new disciple robes and the low-tier storage pouch at her waist. “Fine. Use Soul-Search Technique. Don’t cover for her.”
“I won’t.”
Wei Qing Lan turned back to Jiang Li Sheng. “Will you accept my Soul-Search Technique? I will only search this matter.”
Jiang Li Sheng nodded quickly and stood straight. “Senior Brother Wei, please.”
Wei Qing Lan placed a hand on the crown of her head. A soft ring of light formed as his spiritual power slipped into her sea of consciousness.
Jiang Li Sheng had never been soul-searched before. It felt strange—almost novel. She didn’t resist.
His aura was cold as snow, yet the spiritual power that moved through her mind was gentle, flowing like wind over fresh powder.
Moments later, Wei Qing Lan withdrew his hand. His expression flickered—subtle, almost odd—as he glanced at Jiang Li Sheng, then turned to Qi Bai Cheng and lifted his palm.
“Martial Grand-Uncle Qi, please see. She truly was lost.”
Within the cotton-soft halo of light, a scene unfolded: Jiang Li Sheng leaving the Sword Hall, head down as she forced her sword faster and faster, nearly falling off several times. Then, because she stared only at the blade beneath her feet, she drifted without noticing, turned wrong, crossed boundaries—and finally stumbled into the Forbidden Grounds. Her confusion when she realized she couldn’t find the way back was plain as day.
Qi Bai Cheng’s face tightened. He had nothing to say.
“It’s just sword flight,” he snapped at last. “Dumb as an ox. Get out.”
Relief hit Jiang Li Sheng so fast her knees went weak. She turned at once, desperate to leave before he changed his mind and threw her out of Kun Lun Sect entirely.
Wei Qing Lan lifted a hand and stopped her. “I’ll escort you out.”
Jiang Li Sheng halted. To be honest, she didn’t want him to.
Wei Qing Lan’s expression didn’t change, as if he’d read the thought in her silence. “The exit is far. I’d rather you not get lost again and wander into somewhere you shouldn’t.”
“…Oh.” Jiang Li Sheng fell into step behind him, voice small. “Thank you, Senior Brother Wei.”