Around dawn, Xu Qing piloted his disguised dharmaskiff out of the Eight Sect Coalition. Moving at a high rate of speed, he left the megacity behind. Though he started out heading in the direction of the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River, he eventually changed directions and headed toward the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains. Specifically, he was moving in the direction of the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society.
Ding Xue stood on the deck, blushing a bit. Her long eyelashes quivered as she blinked and charmingly said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, this is my first time going out of the sect since we arrived in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. If I do anything wrong, just tell me right away.”
Taking out a stack of what appeared to be twenty or thirty spirit notes, she slid them over to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing instinctively took them and looked at her.
Ding Xue stuck her chest out slightly. She wore a violet muslin dress with a band of streamcloud silk that perfectly accentuated her slim waist. Her long hair streamed down her back, and the ancient sword strapped there. Although she wasn’t as shockingly enticing as Arch-Immortal Plumdark, her youthful energy and the flush on her face made her seem extremely pretty. She had a charming attitude, and emphasized her love of knowledge by offering spirit stones, just like she always had. Because of that, Xu Qing had no issue with her tagging along.
Master Seventh wasn’t with them on the dharmaskiff. Considering this was a fishing expedition, he was following in secret. That was the best way to hook a fish.
In order to make the scenario seem more realistic, and also because Ding Xue’s aunt had praised her so highly… the trip had turned into a ‘mission’ for Ding Xue and Xu Qing. They were tasked with inspecting a small nation that adhered to Seven Blood Eyes, yet had experienced some gruish phenomena lately.
It wasn’t lost on Xu Qing that Master Seventh had another reason for sending Ding Xue along. It was a chaotic world, and though she had broken through to Foundation Establishment, she still didn’t have a life flame. Some hard training would do her a lot of good. And of course, the best kind of ‘hard training’ would involve seeing some of the true bitterness that existed in the world.
What was really a surprise to Xu Qing was that Zhao Zhongheng was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t ask about that, though. Taking the spirit notes and looking Ding Xue up and down, he calmly said, “Emperor-Receiving Prefecture surpasses South Phoenix in every way. Once outside the sect, there’s extreme danger everywhere. You need to be careful. Don’t touch anything you see off the ship, it could be poisonous.”
Xu Qing felt very comfortable around Ding Xue. After he was done speaking, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. Xu Qing had disguised both his face and his aura. Master Seventh wanted a fishing expedition, so going out without a disguise would have been too obvious.
Ding Xue nodded. Inside, she was bursting with excitement. She had begged her aunt over and over again to be allowed to go on this trip, and it took a lot of convincing to make it happen. Seeing that Xu Qing was meditating, she was careful not to disturb him. Sitting cross-legged next to him, she looked at the scenery and occasionally gazed at Xu Qing. Though he was in disguise, she knew exactly what he really looked like. Every time she thought about his delicately beautiful, almost bewitching face, she blushed. She had seen a lot of people after arriving in the Eight Sect Coalition megacity, but none of them were remotely as attractive as Xu Qing. And that just made her more determined to win his affections.
Three days passed.
For the most part, it was quiet on the dharmaskiff. Xu Qing meditated and Ding Xue watched him. Whenever he opened his eyes, she would take out some medicinal pills she had concocted to ask questions, and would accompany them with spirit notes.
Xu Qing was very happy with how they got along. With a very small sample of each medicinal pill, he could use his command of medicinal knowledge to provide her with useful pointers.
She always listened very carefully and would pay attention with adoring eyes. When she spoke, her voice was soft and pleasing to the ear, in such a way that those who heard her speak would instinctively want her to keep talking. That was something new, and when Xu Qing noticed it, it caused him to look at her a bit more closely.
Ding Xue was secretly delighted; her aunt had taught her how to talk like that. Meanwhile, she kept looking at the sky, as if seeking some sort of opportunity. Another seven days went by.
Eventually, the weather Ding Xue had been waiting for arrived. Thunder rumbled in the night, and lightning crackled. Rain started falling in buckets, turning everything outside of the dharmaskiff into a haze. Ding Xue’s face went pale as she sat there. She wasn’t very far from Xu Qing, yet also wasn’t very close. Every time the thunder boomed, she would shiver.
Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Big Bro Xu Qing, my daddy and momma were never around, so when storms came during the night, I would just huddle in the corner. I know I’m a cultivator now, but hearing thunder always makes me scared. And rainy nights are so cold. But, I guess it’s fine. I’ll handle it. Keep working on your cultivation, Big Bro Xu Qing. Don’t pay any attention to me.” Ding Xue started out talking softly, and by the time she finished, her voice was little more than a tremulous whisper. “I guess I’m used to it.”
She huddled into the corner looking incredibly pitiable.
After some thought, Xu Qing took out a gourd of alcohol and handed it to her.
“Huh?” Ding Xue said, stunned.
“Take a drink. It’ll warm you up.”
Ding Xue hesitantly accepted the alcohol. She looked at it for a moment, then looked back at Xu Qing. Finally, she gritted her teeth and took a big swig. She immediately started coughing.
Xu Qing quickly whipped out a medicinal pill. “This’ll suppress the coughing.”
Her expression blank, Ding Xue took the medicinal pill and looked back at Xu Qing. Thunder crashed, and she shivered.
Xu Qing’s expression was the same as ever as he looked out at the lightning and listened to the thunder and rain. For some reason, he found himself thinking about another rainy night about a month ago, on this very same boat, and a figure that sat valiantly on the railing. Eventually, he took out his willow flute, put it to his lips, and exhaled softly. The song drifted out onto the dharmaskiff and into the night. The crashing thunder was like a drum beat accompanying the flute.
The song contained the spirit of the jianghu, and at the same time, perfectly encapsulated Xu Qing’s thoughts and feelings. As the music played, Ding Xue’s eyes went wide with fascination. She stared at Xu Qing in his violet daoist robe, and the emerald flute beneath his sharply angled eyebrows and glittering eyes. Everything around her seemed to freeze in time. Before she knew it, the song had ended, dawn had come, and the rain had stopped.
Taking a deep breath to clear her thoughts, she quietly asked, “Big Bro Xu Qing, what’s the name of that song?”
Xu Qing didn’t answer. Standing, he looked out as the dawn light illuminated the surrounding lands. Specifically, he was looking at a small nation off in the distance. This was the destination they had been heading to.
The name of the nation was Thinking of Eyes. It was a human nation that had long been independent. But things changed when Seven Blood Eyes arrived. 𝚍ｏ𝚟𝚕.ｏｒｇ
A few generations ago, the founder of this nation had been an elder in Seven Blood Eyes. Because of his aptitude, he had been forced to serve in the coalition, and had not been allowed to return. When he grew old, he chose to settle down and found a nation. Eventually, he passed away in meditation, never having seen Seven Blood Eyes again. Because of all that, Seven Blood Eyes was naturally interested in the affairs of the nation he had founded.
Originally, the mission had been intended for a two-flame disciple. But given that Master Seventh wanted Xu Qing to travel alone outside the sect, he had seen to it that the mission was assigned to him.
As the first rays of the morning sun lit the small nation, the commoners were already awake and working. Smoke spiraled into the air from homes here and there. From the peace and quiet, it seemed this was a rare nation that managed to keep itself safe. Of course, much of that had to do with the way that the Seven Blood Eyes elder had set up protective spell formations in the area. Because of that, not even a Gold Core cultivator could enter without permission.
Unfortunately, the spell formations were clearly starting to malfunction, allowing grues to slip inside.
Xu Qing had already read the file and knew the basic details. Twenty days ago, ninety-nine people had been viciously murdered, after which they turned into walking corpses that wreaked havoc in the area.
Because this nation was attached to Seven Blood Eyes, the sect had sent a Sixth Peak disciple to investigate. Though the disciple didn’t have a life flame, he was far beyond the compare of any rogue cultivators. Thanks to his decisive actions, the culprit was quickly identified and executed.
Ten days ago, the exact same event happened again, and the culprit was again identified. He looked exactly the same as the person who had been executed.
That was when the Sixth Peak disciple realized that grues were involved. He had reported the matter to the sect, requesting that backup be sent before another ten days passed. According to his analysis, the event would occur in another ten days.
Xu Qing arrived on that very tenth day.
When he arrived, he didn’t notify the Sixth Peak disciple or the king of the nation. He sent his dharmaskiff well away from the nation’s borders and then disembarked with Ding Xue. Covering their tracks, they returned to the nation’s capital city.
All of the citizens were mortal. However, thanks to the spell formations, they looked a lot more hale and healthy than other mortals Xu Qing had seen. They all had mutagen in them, but none of them had so much that their bodies were starting to rot away. People walking the streets even smiled and laughed.
Ding Xue looked around curiously. She had never been to a human nation like this, but at the same time, she wasn’t stupid. She had read about the outside world, and knew that they were dealing with a grue. Because of that, she simply followed Xu Qing’s lead and didn’t disturb him.
Xu Qing had brought a low-level invisibility talisman with him, so no one under the Foundation Establishment level could see him or detect the fluctuations of the talisman. Two hours passed in which Xu Qing walked around and observed. Eventually, he stopped outside one particular mansion. He looked down at his shadow, which responded with fluctuations indicating that there was a grue inside the mansion.
To other people, this would be a difficult mission. But to Xu Qing, it was simple. Without hesitation, he strode inside the mansion. He was met with a sinister wind. Xu Qing didn’t even need to issue orders. His shadow spread out and devoured the sinister wind. A moment later, chewing sounds could be heard, and the grue was gone.
Xu Qing stood there waiting. A short time later, his shadow sent him information indicating that there was another grue in the area.
“Don’t tell me we’re dealing with another Gruegloom,” Xu Qing murmured. Taking Ding Xue with him, he followed the shadow to the location of the next grue. The shadow devoured it, then sent Xu Qing more information.
“… not… single… treasure… simullll…”
As Xu Qing frowned, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior flew out to help.
“Milord, what Little Shadow means is that it didn’t just eat a single grue. There were two. And the flavor was different from that Gruegloom, so these are most likely not Grueglooms. More likely, we’re dealing with an item. An item that creates grue simulacres.”