Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Fu Qing Four Wayfarers

Only then did everyone see Zhao Chun clearly.

She was young—barely past childhood—but her figure was balanced, her brows arched and fine, her features clean and calm. The cultivators around her could sense her strength as well: sixth level of the Qi Refining Stage.

That alone was enough to make people cautious. Pair it with her youthful face, and most assumed she came from a major sect. No one wanted to invite trouble. Conversations died in their throats.

Even the Fen Yu Sect boy faltered, suddenly hesitant to bark back.

The rogue cultivator, seeing the shift, pressed harder. “You can’t even count how many people are on this deck, yet you insist one of my brothers stole your thing. Is this how Fen Yu Sect disciples handle matters—blind and baseless?”

Zhao Chun’s displeasure sharpened. If they wanted to resolve the conflict, fine. But every sentence was designed to smear the Fen Yu Sect’s background.

Rogue cultivators and sect lineages usually kept to separate waters. Zhao Chun had heard Meng Han mention that the Eastern Domain held cities formed by allied rogue cultivators, with enough powerful experts to rival top sects. These four traveled together, each at the fourth or fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage. It wouldn’t be strange if they had ties to such a city.

The leader was broad-faced and copper-skinned, with a high forehead and watchful tiger eyes. His cultivation was at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage, which was exactly why the Fen Yu Sect group didn’t dare rush into violence. His gaze flicked to Zhao Chun, measuring her, but he didn’t address her directly.

His name was Fang Xun Zuo. Before he stepped onto the immortal path, he’d been nothing but a mountain woodcutter. He’d stumbled his way to the fifth level, then met three other rogue cultivators. The four swore a blood oath and became sworn brothers. Fang Xun Zuo, being the oldest and strongest, naturally became their leader. Now he was bringing his brothers east, hoping to enter a rogue cultivator city in the Eastern Domain and find a better fate.

Decades of hardship had taught Fang Xun Zuo a simple truth: some people looked plain, but carried deep waters inside.

This young miss stood under the crowd’s gaze without moving, eyes sharp, posture steady as a pine, her presence wholly unlike a mortal’s.

So he kept his pressure on the Fen Yu Sect disciples, pointing out Zhao Chun’s existence without dragging her further in.

“She’s five meters away,” Fang Xun Zuo said, voice cutting. “You brushed past us. If anyone had the chance to do something sneaky, you should suspect yourselves first.”

“Suspect?” the young disciple snapped. “We’re only saying—”

Fang Xun Zuo didn’t let him breathe. “Only saying? With nothing but suspicion, you speak as if guilt is already decided. In broad daylight, you grab at us and refuse to let go. Where’s your method? Where’s your proof?”

The man was too practiced. The Fen Yu Sect disciples had no evidence and little skill with words. Their faces flushed red, eyes burning with anger.

Zhao Chun, having been dragged into it, realized neither side intended to involve her further. She slipped out of the center and into the ring of spectators.

“Do you know either group?” she asked, lightly tapping the arm of a man beside her.

He wore a blue top and gray trousers—a shiphand, clearly taking advantage of the commotion to dodge work. He puffed up at the question. “After all these years traveling, you think there’s something I don’t know?”

“The Fen Yu Sect is in Qin Qiu, in the Southern Domain,” he said. “Their former Sect Master was an Essence Condensation expert and held real power in that region. After he passed, they only had Foundation Establishment cultivators left. The sect declined into a small one.”

He cleared his throat and went on. “As for those four brothers, they’ve only been getting famous the past few years. They made their name in Fu Qing La Ke, so they took the fancy title ‘Fu Qing Four Wayfarers.’ That’s Fang Xun Zuo, the eldest. The one with the long beard beside him is the second, Xiao Quan—both fifth level Qi Refining. The two behind them, wearing their robes loose, the tall one’s Ma Chun Li and the short one’s Sun Zhi Cai—both fourth level. Their cultivation isn’t high, but their arts work together. I’ve heard they can even tie down late-stage Qi Refining cultivators for a while.”

Zhao Chun was used to fighting alone. The only time she’d “cooperated” was when Tu Cun Chan supported her from the side while she fought up close. The idea of four cultivators combining techniques to multiply their strength struck her as unexpectedly effective.

While she listened, the argument on deck reached a deadlock. The Fen Yu Sect disciples were furious enough to want to draw blades—but the ship had rules. Private fighting was forbidden. Anyone who broke that rule would be thrown off the ship, and worse, forced to pay compensation for delaying the voyage.

Being kicked off was one thing. The compensation was the real blade. One incident could cost thousands of cui stones.

Fang Xun Zuo and his brothers knew it. They provoked with words, all while wearing the righteous expression of men being wronged, and it worked even better.

Unable to win the argument, a girl in a goose-yellow dress among the Fen Yu Sect disciples turned and pointed at Zhao Chun.

“You! You speak!”

Her fingers were slender and pale—beautiful, if they weren’t stabbing toward Zhao Chun’s face.

“You were on this deck too. Did you see them steal my senior brother’s Water-Jade Thousand Mountains Treasure Vase?”

Zhao Chun hadn’t noticed any theft at all. She shook her head. “No.”

The girl’s brows shot up. “Then you’re with them!”

She lunged, reaching for Zhao Chun’s shoulder.

“Zhan Qian!” The lead youth—the senior brother she’d been calling—snapped. “Enough. Don’t be rude.”

He was handsome and refined, and he gave Zhao Chun a polite nod. “My junior sister has stayed in the sect too long and doesn’t understand manners. Fellow Daoist, please forgive her.”

He could sense Zhao Chun’s presence, but not her cultivation clearly. That uncertainty made him cautious.

Zhao Chun kept her voice even. “I’ve been here since morning. I only learned about this when the shouting started. If I didn’t see it, then I didn’t see it. I’m not defending them, and I’m not opposing you.”

She stopped there, leaving the Fen Yu Sect disciples to swallow their own tempers.

Most of them still looked furious. In their hearts, they’d already lumped Zhao Chun in with the four rogue travelers.

Fang Xun Zuo strolled forward, tiger eyes narrowing with some private calculation. “I, Fang, have a method that can settle today’s matter.”