Into The Sea

Thanks to Tong Chu’s guidance, the three of them smoothly arrived in Jinzhou after half a month. After thanking him, Lan Wu took Ah Li to Jinghai Town, the entrance to the Taixu Secret Realm, where they settled down.

Having never set foot on land before, Ah Li found everything new and exciting, especially human food. Even if it burned her mouth, she eagerly wanted to taste it. So Lan Wu brought her to Tianxiang Pavilion, where she could observe the varied expressions of passersby from above while sipping a cup of tea.

During their stay over the past few days, Lan Wu noticed a growing number of cultivators in town, yet none from the three Great Immortal Sects. It made sense, though. The three great sects were notoriously wealthy and arrogant, their disciples, especially the direct disciples, almost always equipped with flying ships and pocket dimensions. These were usually shrunk to the size of walnuts and stored in their storage rings, ready to be deployed as luxurious, spacious dwellings whenever needed. Naturally, they wouldn’t lower themselves to staying at ordinary inns.

For her, that was actually a good thing.

Lan Wu withdrew her gaze and quietly watched the little girl across from her. Ah Li was eating with great relish, her round little face puffed up like a fluffy bun. When she tasted something she liked, she couldn’t help but sway her head, the little pigtails at the back bouncing along. Watching her, Lan Wu felt an urge to reach out and give them a pat.

Just as she was about to give in to the impulse, a commotion erupted on the street below. Lan Wu leaned over, lazily propping her chin as she looked down. A scruffy yellow dog was charging through the street, knocking over several vendor stalls and drawing angry shouts.

“Whose damned dog is this?!”

“Damn it! It’s ruined my stall! I’ll beat it to death!”

Lan Wu chuckled to herself, thinking that it was a dog demon capable of transformation; they wouldn’t be able to kill it that easily. She wasn’t inclined to intervene, planning instead to watch the show, when a young man in white suddenly descended from the sky, forming a seal with his hand as he called out to the fleeing dog demon, “Freeze!”

A golden light shot toward the dog demon, causing it to howl miserably and crash to the ground. After several attempts to get up, it couldn’t even stand. As the young man landed, the crowd instinctively parted to avoid him, whispering among themselves, “He’s a disciple of Haochen Mountain.”

“Haochen Mountain, huh? Makes sense. Isn’t that secret realm about to open? There have been a lot of cultivators in town lately.”

Lan Wu narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the young man. He appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen, tall and handsome, his clean-cut features highlighted by the pure white robes of Haochen Mountain. The long sword strapped to his back radiated an intense spiritual pressure, hinting that he was likely a sword cultivator from Jinling Peak.

Jinling Peak, whether it was the master or the disciples, they all hated demons the most.

As if to confirm her suspicions, the young man, despite the dog demon’s inability to fight back, took a step forward and drew his sword, and mercilessly pierced its left leg.

The dog’s pained howls could be heard from afar. Lan Wu’s eyelids twitched, her gaze turning cold. Ah Li, at some point, had crawled to the window. She frowned as she watched and whispered, “He’s looks so pitiful.”

Lan Wu remained silent.

Ah Li turned to her, pleading with her eyes, “Master…”

“What is it?” Lan Wu set down her teacup and looked at her. “Do you want me to save him?”

Ah Li nodded eagerly.

“But why should we save him? We don’t know him. Besides, being hunted by a disciple of Haochen Mountain means he might’ve done something bad. Saving him could bring us trouble.” Lan Wu asked, “Have you thought about that?”

Ah Li stared at her blankly and mumbled, “N-No, I haven’t.”

Lan Wu sighed and said, “Ah Li, this is the human realm. Humans really hate us demons. And among demons, it’s often a matter of survival of the fittest. Just because a demon looks pitiful, does that mean it should be saved?”

Ah Li’s head drooped, and she said dejectedly, “I understand, Master.”

Lan Wu paused for a moment, then reached out to gently rub her head. In the end, she couldn’t bear it and decided to help the dog demon.

At that moment, a cold voice interrupted: “Changli.”

Lan Wu froze, her eyes widening as she looked at the woman descending gracefully like a celestial from above.

Ji Lingyue.

The young man who was about to pierce the dog demon’s other leg turned his head and saw her. He immediately smiled and said, “Third Senior Sister!”

Dressed in the pristine white robes of Haochen Mountain, Ji Lingyue drew gasps of admiration the moment she appeared. Even those seated at nearby tables in the Tianxiang Pavilion craned their necks to catch a glimpse, whispering amongst themselves, “Even she’s here? That means the Young City Lord Qing might show up, too!”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know anything? Don’t you know how many years Young City Lord Qing has been infatuated with her?”

“I’m not interested in gossip. But if she’s here, then there must be something really valuable in the Taixu Secret Realm.”

“Even if it does, do you think we’d get a share? They’ll end up with Haochen Mountain, Jintang Palace, and Yunxiao Pavilion.”

“Sigh… you’re probably right…”

Young City Lord Qing?

Lan Wu frowned, realizing they were likely talking about Qing Zibai, which soured her mood. She sighed, slumping onto her hand, and watched the pair on the street.

After a brief exchange, the young man named Changli nodded, tossed the dog demon into a demon-binding pouch, and was about to leave with Ji Lingyue. However, after taking a few steps, Ji Lingyue suddenly frowned. With a subtle gesture, a snow-white gyrfalcon shot out from her sleeve, its wings beating powerfully as it soared towards a nearby tavern.

Ji Lingyue’s expression shifted as she followed it, landing softly by the second-floor window. She looked inside, where the gyrfalcon had perched lazily on an empty table, its wings fanning nonchalantly. One side of the table held a half-empty cup of tea; the other was cluttered with chopsticks, as if the diners had left abruptly.

Ji Lingyue’s gaze settled on the teacup. She stared at it intently for a moment, then reached out and picked it up.

It was still warm.

She looked up to see two people across from her staring in astonishment. She set down the teacup and asked politely, “Excuse me, but did you happen to see where the people sitting at this table went?”

The two of them stammered, “They left suddenly, just before you arrived, Immortal Master. It couldn’t have been more than a few moments ago.”

Ji Lingyue pursed her lips and continued to ask, “Did you see what they looked like??”

“Yes, Immortal Master. There were two women — one appeared to be in her twenties, rather plain in appearance. The other was a young girl, perhaps thirteen or fourteen. She was quite cute.”

“…Is that so.”

After leaving the tavern, Ji Lingyue stood on the bustling main street, turning back to gaze at the crowd. Her eyes were deep and unreadable, as if trying to see through the throngs of people. Gu Changli looked around curiously and asked, “Senior Sister, do you know those two?”

Ji Lingyue said in a low voice, “I know one of them.”

“Oh? Is she a friend of yours, Senior Sister?”

“No.”

“Then who is she?”

Ji Lingyue was silent for a moment, her eyes flickering as she suppressed countless thoughts. She only said coldly, “An enemy.”

“Ah…” Gu Changli was stunned. He had never heard that his always emotionless senior sister had any enemies. He couldn’t help but mutter, “No wonder they ran away as soon as they saw you, Senior Sister. They turned out to be your enemy.”

Ji Lingyue said no more and turned to leave. Gu Changli hurriedly followed, and soon they disappeared into the crowd.