Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the building, a kittenish smile tugged at Hua Ci’s lips while Lu Ye stared at her in annoyance.
The staredown continued for a while before Hua Ci finally let out a chuckle. “You’ve only saved my life once, but I’ve saved yours twice, so technically you still owe me one. If there is someone here who should be offering their benefactor their body, it would be you, don’t you agree?”
“You’re completely right!” replied Lu Ye while nodding his head repeatedly. What kind of man would decline such a fabulous offer? So, he took two steps toward the woman and started undressing himself.
Hua Ci watched him with an unchanging smile.
When he loosened his shirt and was about to drop his pants though, her eyebrows finally twitched involuntarily.
Alas, it was not meant to be. Ling Yu suddenly burst into the room while calling, “Sister Hua Ci!” Not a moment too soon, she realized she was staring at Lu Ye with his shirt loosened and his hands on his pants.
Silence descended on the trio for a moment. Then…
“I’m so sorry!” Ling Yu backed out as quickly as she could before shutting the door with a light touch. Her face had turned completely red, and her heart was thudding like it was about to jump out of her chest. Since when did Sister Hua Ci and Senior Brother Ye get together?
No wonder he was willing to travel all that distance just to see her!
Back in the room, Lu Ye took his time putting his clothes back into order before giving Hua Ci the nod. “You win this time!”
Hua Ci took a sip of water from her cup before asking lazily, “So, what brought you here this time?”
Lu Ye collected his thoughts before explaining the reason for his arrival.
When he was done, Hua Ci nodded and said, “I see… Give me a moment.”
Lu Ye allowed it knowing there was no forcing a decision like this. “Sure. Take your time.”
He then stepped out of the building to give Hua Ci the space she needed. Coincidentally, he met eyes with the stoic Kong Niu and was rewarded with a smile that was uglier than a cry. Not far away, a blushing Ruan Ling Yu was trying to avoid Lu Ye’s eyes but kept sabotaging herself by sneaking looks at him from time to time.
Lu Ye thought it necessary to explain things to her, if only because she seemed disturbed by the scene she had accidentally stumbled upon earlier. But before he could even start, Ruan Ling Yu preempted him with a question, “Are you finished already, senior brother Ye? That’s faster than expected.”
Realizing she had misspoken the second she finished her sentence, she added, “Er, what I mean to say is, shouldn’t you keep Sister Hua Ci company a little longer?”
Lu Ye sucked in a deep breath. Suddenly, he thought it would be better if he said nothing at all.
It was at this moment someone opened the door behind him. Hua Ci stepped out into the open and declared, “I’ve made my decision.”
“Already?” Lu Ye exclaimed in astonishment.
“Sure! You were pretty fast yourself, weren’t you?” Hua Ci teased him.
Lu Ye glared at her slender, pale neck as he fought back the urge to strangle her on the spot. At the same time, he realized that his decision to seek out Hua Ci had been a total mistake.
What was I thinking? I should’ve just left her to fend for herself!
Hua Ci ignored his expression and explained things to Ruan Ling Yu and Kong Niu. “You already know this, but Yi Ye is a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. The reason he came today is to escort us to his sect. I’ve decided to go with his plan, but what about you two? Would you like to follow him, or do you want to set out on your own? Either decision is fine.”
It was only then Ruan Ling Yu finally realized what Lu Ye was here for. Without hesitation, she nodded and declared in excitement, “Count me in!”
Kong Niu was silent, but he too nodded his head to show he was going with them.
“It seems that the decision is unanimous. Shall we go then?” Hua Ci looked at Lu Ye.
“Sure. Let’s go!”
Lu Ye had not expected this mission to go this smoothly. At first, he thought Hua Ci might reject his offer and wondered if he should make an attempt to change her mind. He never thought she would agree with barely a second thought.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t that surprising. The Rogue Wanderers’ Club was eleven strong at the beginning, but now there were only three of them left. Moreover, they were lucky that Lu Ye had appeared just in time to aid Hua Ci in killing that Seventh-Order cultivator. There was no guarantee that a similar incident wouldn’t happen to her in the future, and she could not always count on an ally to appear in the nick of time to save her.
Following Lu Ye to the Crimson Blood Sect, though, was a different story. At the very least, the chances that they would encounter another incident like this would be exceedingly rare.
The hawk’s back was more than wide enough to fit four people comfortably. However, Ruan Ling Yu screamed on top of her lungs, and all the blood had drained from Kong Niu’s face when the hawk spread its wings and took to the sky. Even Hua Ci, the only person besides Lu Ye to look calm and collected on the surface, was secretly clenching her fists in anxiety.
The girls’ trepidation did not last long though. After their initial discomfort had passed, Ruan Ling Yu started opening her arms wide and shouting in excitement from time to time. Even Hua Ci could not help but look over the edge every so often like a sheltered child who was shown the world the first time.
Kong Niu was the only one who remained seated with a face as white as a sheet.
Noticing that the young man wasn’t doing well, Lu Ye asked with concern, “Are you okay, Kong Niu?”
The stoic man moved his lips and squeezed out, “I’m fine. It’s too high.”
Both Hua Ci and Ruan Ling Yu shot Kong Niu a surprised look. They never knew that the strong, stoic man had such a fragile side to him until now.
It had taken Lu Ye around five days to make it to the Rogue Wanderers’ Club’s location. The return trip was no different.
A few days later, the giant hawk landed on the public square of the Crimson Blood Sect Outpost, and the gang jumped off its back one by one. When Kong Niu landed on the ground, he immediately collapsed to his knees while panting like a drowning man who just barely made it back to the shore.
Ruan Ling Yu gently patted him on the back while he was regaining his composure.
Hua Ci crossed her hands across her stomach while examining her surroundings with a critical eye. “This is the Crimson Blood Sect Outpost?”
Lu Ye nodded in agreement while feeding Grey a Blood Sturgeon, “I know. It’s been decades since anyone bothered to tidy up the place.”
After Grey had eaten a couple Blood Sturgeons, it took off to the sky once more before landing on a nearby hill.
First things first, Lu Ye activated the Battlefield Imprint and informed Shui Yuan that all was well. Only then did he lead the Rogue Wanderers’ Club trio on a tour of the Outpost.
Funnily enough, Lu Ye himself wasn’t very familiar with the Outpost. There were plenty of places he had never been to before because he spent most of his time cultivating in the training chamber.
In that sense, the tour was an eye-opener for him as well. 𝙣𝙫.𝙩
After Lu Ye had found the trio a place to stay, he took them to the bazaar next.
This was the first time Lu Ye had ever visited the bazaar. Somehow, Chen Yu caught wind of his arrival and rushed over to receive him in person. Judging from the fact that he was practically holding their hands throughout the tour, the man must have thought that Lu Ye had come to carry out an official inspection or something. He treated the trio especially well because he could see that they shared a great relationship with Lu Ye.
The Crimson Blood Sect’s bazaar was huge; bigger than any the bazaar Lu Ye had ever seen in the past. It was also located on the outskirts of the Outpost. Although the Crimson Blood Sect hadn’t frequented the Outpost in decades, no independent cultivator had ever dared to infiltrate the stronghold. Their cautious nature would not allow them to take such a risk.
As a result, the presence of the bazaar was more beneficial to the Outpost than it was detrimental. Not only did it add some much needed liveliness to the stronghold, it made things quite convenient for Lu Ye as well. He normally consumed Spirit Pills to cultivate his power, but right now he had more Spirit Stones than he had Spirit Pills. Thanks to the bazaar, he only needed to travel a short distance to buy the Spirit Pills he needed.
Chen Yu’s attitude only improved when he learned that Hua Ci was a medicine cultivator. Medicine cultivators were exceedingly rare among independent cultivators, so battles almost always ended badly for the injured. The rich ones could still buy some Healing Pills to heal themselves, but the poor ones could only rely on their innate strength to recover.
It was clear that Hua Ci was going to make a killing if she opened a healing spot here.
A while later, after he was sure that the trio had become familiar enough with the place, Lu Ye finally bade them goodbye and took his leave.
It had been over ten days since he left the headquarters. Although he had sent Shui Yuan a message some time ago, the girl could not help but worry about him anyway.
By the time he returned home via the Divine Opportunity Column, he discovered that his senior sister had already prepared a full table of medicinal cuisine for him.
Lu Ye took to the food like fish to water. It felt a little lonely without Li Baxian though.
Shui Yuan didn’t eat much because she had prepared the food for Lu Ye, not herself. While dropping a slice of vegetable in Lu Ye’s bowl, she said, “If you believe that your acquaintances are trustworthy, feel free to recruit them into the sect, okay?”
Lu Ye asked unclearly, “Revvy? Are yo sur?”
Shui Yuan giggled. “You are a Legate-In-Charge. Of course you have the authority to recruit potential cultivators. You couldn’t do it before because of various circumstances, but that’s not the case anymore, is it? Not only that, I would encourage you to recruit as many people as you can because it directly concerns certain future matters of the sect. Also, you may accept any independent cultivator who wishes to attach themselves to you now. This way, you won’t be undermanned if a faction decides to declare war on the Outpost or something.”
“Understood.”
“Feel free to recruit anyone at your discretion. The old man and I are confident in your judgment, even if the people you brought in are independent cultivators. That said, if you plan to make them an official member of the sect, then you must remember to bring them to the headquarters. I must register their names and investigate their background.”
“Sure!”
Lu Ye was still in the middle of eating when Yi Yi ran into the room. She sat down beside him and watched him with a smile on her face.
“Did something good happen?” Lu Ye watched her suspiciously.
“No?” The girl shook her head. “You’ve been away for a while, so I just came over to see you.”
“Sure. Keep your secrets!” Lu Ye swallowed before remembering something, “Oh right! Do you still remember Ling Yu and the others?”
“Of course. How could I forget?” Yi Yi nodded before growing nervous all of a sudden. “Are they okay? Did something happen to them?”
“Well, the Rogue Wanderers’ Club ran into a little something and lost most of their people. There are only three of them left now. Don’t worry, Hua Ci and Ling Yu are both fine. In fact, I’ve brought them all to the Outpost.”
Yi Yi’s eyes widened like saucers. “You brought Ling Yu to the Outpost?”? She then dashed out of the door like the wind while saying, “I’ll go meet her now!”
Just a second later, Lu Ye heard her shouting, “Amber! Amber!”
“Wait for me!” cried Lu Ye while looking behind his back, but the girl was gone already. He shook his head helplessly while commenting, “Oh, the impetuousness of youth.”
Not wanting to keep Yi Yi waiting, he gobbled up everything in a couple of bites and patted his stomach in satisfaction before rising to his feet. “I’ll be taking Yi Yi to the Outpost, senior sister.”
“Be seeing you,” Shui Yuan replied smilingly while clearing the table.
To Lu Ye’s surprise, he was unable to find Yi Yi or Amber despite circling around the entire headquarters.
Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the duo had already left the headquarters.
It wasn’t until he entered the Outpost that he finally found Yi Yi chatting excitedly with Ling Yu.
Confused, he asked, “How on earth did you get inside?”
Yi Yi is Amber’s Ghost Spirit, and Amber her Tamed Beast. Normally, they should not be able to enter the Outpost without his help.
A smug expression on her face, Yi Yi raised her right hand and channeled her Spiritual Power. A Battlefield Imprint immediately appeared on the back of her hand!
Lu Ye wasn’t expecting to see this. “You have an imprint too?”
“Yep! The Sect Master imprinted it for me himself!” Yi Yi giggled. “In other words, I’m a Crimson Blood Sect disciple now!”
Seriously? Lu Ye was a bit speechless, to be honest.
It was a good thing though. Now that Yi Yi had a Battlefield Imprint, she and Amber could visit the Outpost anytime they wanted now. Their freedom was no longer limited by him.
It was at this moment Lu Ye realized something. “Wait a second… does that mean you’re my junior sister now?”
Yi Yi rose to her feet and saluted him respectfully. “Crimson Blood Sect disciple Yi Yi greets Senior Brother Yi Ye!”
Lu Ye immediately raised his palm threateningly. “What a polite junior sister you are. Now get over here so I can spank you!”
Yi Yi let out a yelp and hid behind Hua Ci immediately. She then poked out her head and stuck out her tongue at Lu Ye.
Silavin: Welcome Truth. New translator.