Chapter 33

As I watched Qin Hainian, I found him somewhat comical. His eyes were so serious, but his large glasses were perched on the tip of his nose, about to fall off.

I didn't believe a word she said; it was definitely exaggerated.

I had been in the sect for many years, and my master once said that among the most difficult beings to deal with, one of them was a powerful zombie. What skills did Qin Hainian have to find such a bug in a place with a powerful zombie? From her description, that place not only had zombies but also had a mist of yin energy. Didn't that mean there were many ghosts? Although I knew zombies were extremely yin, their souls were their weakness. If the yin energy had turned into mist where the zombie was, the zombie would have to have extremely heavy resentment, but that was impossible, right? And how could zombies coexist with ghosts?

In short, Qin Hainian's story was full of holes. Seeing her serious expression, I didn't want to expose her, but I habitually reached out to take off her glasses, only to find that someone was faster than me and grabbed Qin Hainian's glasses.

"You look quite handsome, why do you wear such big glasses all the time? If you're going to wear them, wear them properly. Hanging on the tip of your nose, what's that all about? You look like the dumbest girl in the world." The one who took off Qin Hainian's glasses was Old Zhou. He said it bluntly and then threw her glasses aside.

Qin Hainian automatically ignored the comments about her glasses always hanging on her nose and being the dumbest girl in the world. Her expression turned shy, and she looked at Old Zhou with delight, saying, "Were you just complimenting me? You said I look handsome? Do you really think so? Zhou Zheng, this is the first time you've complimented me, how can I be so embarrassed?"

Old Zhou was confused by Qin Hainian's words and looked at me, asking, "Old Three, was I just complimenting her?"

I coughed, not wanting to say that the key point of Old Zhou's words was that she looked like the dumbest girl in the world, not that she was handsome.

Qin Hainian was already blushing and covering her face, saying, "Oh, I need to get contact lenses, I'll get them tomorrow, hahaha, I need to get contact lenses."

I was speechless. Old Zhou's words had already taken the conversation in a completely different direction. I was already convinced that Qin Hainian was exaggerating, so I didn't have much hope for her bug. Besides, the bug had been on my arm for almost a minute, and nothing had happened.

I reached into my pocket, took out a cigarette, and put it in my mouth, thinking that even if it didn't work, I wouldn't argue with Qin Hainian. After all, a cultivator's confidence is very important. I remembered when I first learned Daoist techniques, my spiritual senses were poor, and I learned many powerful techniques slowly because I couldn't connect with them. But my master always encouraged me.

In fact, although I learned slowly, once I mastered a technique, its power was more than twice that of others—of course, the others were my senior brothers.

My senior brother's evaluation of me was that I was a talented eccentric, which had a deeper meaning: a radical genius. I didn't understand much about bug techniques, but I wondered if Qin Hainian was like me back then, always thinking she was very powerful because she had no comparison. In such a situation, not exposing the truth was the best way to protect her.

If my master had said I was learning slowly and was stupid, I wouldn't have become the talented eccentric my senior brother described.

I was lost in thought, realizing that my thoughts of my master and senior brother were everywhere, yet I wanted to avoid such emotions. So I started fiddling with my lighter, preparing to light the cigarette.

At that moment, the bug on my body started to move. It crawled to my wound and bit the edge of it. Unprepared, I felt a sting like a bee's. I was about to scold Qin Hainian, asking how her bug could bite, and how she trained it.

But then, I felt my wound start to cool, and a cold, yin energy began to flow into it, as if being absorbed by the bug. I was shocked because the speed at which the yin energy was being drawn out was faster than any method I could use.

I couldn't help but look down at the bug on my arm, noticing that the white stripes on its body were becoming even whiter.

My expression turned serious, and I pulled Qin Hainian, who was still in a daze, asking, "Haidafu, are you really not exaggerating?"

Qin Hainian looked innocent, her eyes confused (because she wasn't wearing glasses), and said, "I'm not exaggerating, I really need to get contact lenses."

I couldn't describe this woman. She had the ability to make you choke with anger. I took a deep breath, calmed myself, and pointed to the bug on my arm, saying, "I mean the bug. You're not exaggerating, right?"

"Of course not. This bug comes from the place I told you about. My grandmother told me its origin. Why would I lie to you?" Qin Hainian looked smug, but I didn't want to argue. I realized I was a "frog at the bottom of a well," isolated for five years, despairing that there were only three of us cultivators in the world, and no such thing as a martial world with famous heroes.

At that moment, I realized that even this girl knew more than I did.

Now I thought that what my master told me might be true—that the Li family lineage, the Xiao family, the Snake Sect in Sichuan, and others really existed! But why did my master, who often spoke of our sect's high status, never let me into the martial world or the cultivator community?

Thinking back, my master and senior brother's attitudes toward me were always strange. They seemed to have deep feelings for me, often saying they hoped I would be happy and safe.

"Third Brother, Third Brother," Qin Hainian called me, seeing that I was in a daze. Her face still had that smug look. When I came to, she said, "How about it? Third Brother, are you impressed by the bug's origin?"

"I'm just curious. Where could there be a powerful zombie and yin energy that turns into mist? And how did you catch this bug?" I asked, my arm's wound already treated by the bug, the blackness gone. It was moving to the second wound, truly amazing.

This performance made me have to believe Qin Hainian's words.

"This is a secret story. If it weren't for a powerful person from our ancestral witch village, we might not have caught this unique bug." Qin Hainian's eyes had a mystical look. I had once traveled the world with my master.

My master once told me that in this world, we who practice Daoism are like those who study antiques; we must not listen to stories. No matter how thrilling the story, we must only see the facts before us! The more we practice Daoism, the more we must not go astray, speaking in a mystical way. Because in ordinary times, we are no different from ordinary people.

My master told me that the secular world is a great furnace, where emperors and commoners alike are tempered. Practitioners of Daoism are the same; we should not act like recluses. Those who have not experienced the world cannot be considered true recluses. If they can't see the world clearly, they are just "tall idiots."

I kept this teaching in my heart, but now, I couldn't help but want to hear Qin Hainian's story, whether because I had longed for the martial world for too long or felt it was a call of fate. I asked, "A powerful person from your ancestral witch village? Who?"

Qin Hainian was a bit embarrassed, coughed, and said, "He's not really from our village. He's someone who later learned witchcraft from our village's great witch. Anyway..."

I didn't know what Qin Hainian was trying to hide, but I didn't want to argue, just urging her to continue.

So she quickly skipped over the part that made her uncomfortable, saying, "Anyway, his Han name is Sun Qiang. He's now very respected in our village. Although I haven't been back for years, I know his status will be even higher, and he will become the new great witch. Don't ask about the village's secrets."

I narrowed my eyes at Qin Hainian, thinking she probably didn't know the secret either. But I didn't want to expose her, just asked, "Tell me about the bug."

"Oh, the bug has a long story. It's only because the matter in that place was resolved, and our village's bug masters needed the bug, that the story spread. Since the matter involved Sun Qiang, our village knew about it and could get the bug." As she spoke, Qin Hainian took a bottle of alcohol and began to disinfect my treated wound.

She was so engrossed that even Old Zhou, who had been indifferent, was captivated. Before I could speak, Old Zhou urged, "Hurry up and tell us. What happened? There were zombies, right? It sounds exciting."

"Exciting? The zombie was terrifying and powerful. Do you know how it came to be? This involves an old story. It happened in southern Sichuan." Qin Hainian liked to act cool in front of strangers but was talkative with familiar people.

Once she started, she couldn't stop, gesturing wildly as she told the story.

In the past, Old Zhou and I found her talkative and annoying, but this time, we didn't want to miss a single word.

Time passed unnoticed as Qin Hainian told her story. From a beautiful morning, it was already a hot noon. Old Zhou and I didn't turn on the air conditioner or the fan, sweating profusely, but the story was so thrilling that we didn't notice.

"Finally, when they were leaving the village, Chen Chengyi fainted at the village entrance. After that, I don't know much, but I heard that when Chen Chengyi woke up, the village's resentment had completely dissipated." Qin Hainian finally finished, grabbed a cup of water, and drank it.

I was still in a daze, asking, "Why did Chen Chengyi faint? You said Jiang Lichun and Chen Chengyi are from the Li family lineage?"