Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Tu Lou
Wei Qing Lan walked ahead. Jiang Li Sheng followed three steps behind.
She was quiet—so quiet her breathing barely made a sound. If Wei Qing Lan’s senses weren’t sharp, he might have thought he was walking alone.
When they reached the boundary, Qi Bai Cheng’s words proved true. A warning stele as tall as a man stood there, towering and unmistakable.
Jiang Li Sheng stared at it in disbelief.
How had she missed something this obvious?
Wei Qing Lan stopped and turned to her.
Jiang Li Sheng bowed again. “Thank you, Senior Brother Wei. You can send me here. That’s enough.”
His gaze was cool and clear. “We are of the same generation.”
Jiang Li Sheng froze.
So… being the same generation meant she couldn’t speak politely?
She met his eyes and corrected herself at once. “Senior Brother Wei, you can send me here. Thank you for escorting me.” After a beat, she added sincerely, “And thank you for saving my life.”
Wei Qing Lan nodded, then turned back into the Forbidden Grounds.
Watching him go, Jiang Li Sheng couldn’t help thinking: the Forbidden Grounds were forbidden only to ordinary disciples. A sect genius like Wei Qing Lan clearly had special permission.
She dragged her gaze back to the road ahead.
If she remembered correctly, this place was far from her quarters.
And she didn’t even have a sword anymore.
Was she supposed to walk back on her own two feet?
She wanted to cry.
After standing there for a moment, she started trudging forward.
Elsewhere, An Ru Xu had already searched for her until sweat soaked his back, and still he’d found nothing. He touched his message token, frustrated. He hadn’t exchanged contact with Junior Sister Jiang yesterday, so he couldn’t send a message.
Where in the world had she flown off to?
Jiang Li Sheng walked until her legs felt like lead. She found a sheltered spot, pulled snacks from her storage pouch, and sat on a rock to eat.
She’d barely taken two bites when something lunged out of nowhere, jaws yawning wide like a bloody pit.
Jiang Li Sheng yelped and threw herself into a roll, barely escaping the snap. The thing missed, then charged again, intent on swallowing her whole.
Only then did she see it clearly: four legs, goat-like shape, vicious eyes, a feral stench.
It was a famous “specialty” of Kun Lun Sect mountain.
A Tu Lou.
A Tu Lou ate people. How did it get out?
Wasn’t it supposed to be kept on Spirit Beast Peak?
She bolted.
It was useless. The Tu Lou was born to these mountains—built for slopes, ridges, and ravines. It bounded over broken ground as easily as breathing. Jiang Li Sheng had no sword to ride, and on foot she didn’t stand a chance.
She grabbed the only weapon she had: snacks.
She hurled a handful at its face.
To her shock, it worked. The Tu Lou opened its mouth and swallowed them mid-stride.
Then it came right back at her, mouth wide again, still trying to eat her.
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t have time to think. She ran in desperate circles, ripping snack after snack from her storage pouch and flinging them behind her like bait.
When the last snack was gone, the Tu Lou was still on her heels. Worse—there wasn’t a single person in sight.
Anger flared through her exhaustion. She kicked up a rock and threw it hard.
The Tu Lou snapped its mouth open, expecting food.
Crunch.
It bit down—and instantly realized something was wrong. It spat the rock out, furious, teeth bared as it charged in a rage.
Jiang Li Sheng grabbed a larger stone and hurled it.
The Tu Lou dodged, nimble as lightning.
The stone slammed into the ground with a heavy boom.
The sound finally drew attention.
A strip of white silk flew in and looped around the Tu Lou’s horn, locking its head in place. The beast thrashed, legs kicking uselessly, but couldn’t move.
Jiang Li Sheng dropped onto the ground, gasping. Sweat poured down her. Her clothes were damp and smeared with dirt.
A figure drifted down and took in the scene—first the Tu Lou, then Jiang Li Sheng sitting there in utter misery. His expression darkened.
“Chased into this state by a beast,” he said coldly. “You’ve disgraced Sect Master Yu. And you’re still at Foundation Establishment Stage.”
Jiang Li Sheng rubbed her nose, got up, and endured the scolding obediently. “Instructor He is right. This disciple is useless.”
He Zhen Tang looked her over once, then turned away with open disgust. Keeping the Tu Lou bound in his white silk, he activated his message token, voice sharpened to a blade.
“Jin Wang Chou. If Spirit Beast Peak can’t even keep a single beast under control—letting it run out and harm people—then Spirit Beast Peak might as well not exist. Disband the peak and get out. Don’t waste sect resources on incompetence.”
He cut off the message, then fixed Jiang Li Sheng with a cold stare. “Embarrassing.”
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t dare speak.
She was at Foundation Establishment Stage, yes—but she didn’t dare kill a beast from Spirit Beast Peak. A yuan hu had escaped before; Senior Brother An roasted and ate it, and he’d been punished in the Discipline Hall. She was already studying in the Discipline Hall. If she killed this one, where would they send her next?
He Zhen Tang seemed to hear her thoughts. “Even if you didn’t kill it, you shouldn’t have been bullied until you had no way to fight back.”
Jiang Li Sheng shook her low-tier storage pouch. Her eyes stung. “My storage pouch only had snacks. I fed them all to it. I don’t have anything else on me that can restrain it.”
He Zhen Tang frowned. “Where’s your sword? It attacks people at will. You can’t kill it, but injuring it is fine.”
Jiang Li Sheng lowered her head. “You shattered it.”
He Zhen Tang paused, as if remembering the lesson—the single strike that had broken her sword. It was rare she’d come out unhurt. Yet here she was, nearly eaten by a beast.
“You’re Qing Xu Sect’s Sect Master Yu’s direct disciple,” he said, tone sharp with disbelief. “Why are you using an ordinary broken sword?”
“I came in a hurry,” Jiang Li Sheng said softly. “I left my sword behind. The ordinary one was issued to new disciples.”
She hesitated, then forced the rest out in an even smaller voice. “Everything I own is still in Qing Xu Sect. I brought nothing. I really don’t have anything on me that can handle something like this.”
He Zhen Tang stared at her as if she’d announced the sky had fallen.
Any cultivator who reached Foundation Establishment Stage carried something—artifacts, spirit stones, talismans. Even new disciples of Kun Lun Sect, unless they came from extreme poverty, usually arrived with family backing from the mortal world.
Some even carried high-grade items.
Only this little miss in front of him had… nothing.
A low-tier storage pouch, and it had been filled with snacks.
He Zhen Tang’s expression turned complicated. “Sect Master Yu really dared to send you here empty-handed. He’s not afraid you’ll die in Kun Lun Sect with one wrong step.”
Jiang Li Sheng hurried to defend her master. “It was my own mistake. In the rush, I dropped my sword and storage ring. My master probably still doesn’t know I came empty-handed…”
He Zhen Tang exhaled like the air tasted bitter. “Careless. Stupid. Muddleheaded.”