Ch70 - Sudden Anomaly

Translator: transcendentwings

Xu Xingzhi woke up to the sound of rain.

He opened his eyes and saw a dense rain curtain in front of him, striking out countless fine bubbles on the wet bluestone ground. On the stone steps two or three steps away from his toes, small puddles of water that rippled with waves of cyan under the moonlight, formed in the grooves created by the countless years of trampling upon them.

Xu Xingzhi, who had just woken up, was slightly confused. He was obviously not sitting under the eaves for cover and it had been raining for so long, but neither was his body wet to the touch nor did he feel a chill.

After he rubbed his sore eyes, he realized that there was a large oiled-paper umbrella above his head. Rainwater flowed across the surface of the umbrella and dripped down drop by drop along its edge.

“Awakela?”

The questioning voice behind him was as warm as ever.

Xu Xingzhi looked back and saw Qingjing-junsitting cross-legged on a step two levels higher than his, holding up an oiled-paper umbrella which isolated them from the rain curtain casted by the infinite sky.

Qingjing-jun’s outer robe was draped over him from the front, emitting a warm temperature, probably imbued by spiritual energy. It was as if he was being embraced by a pair of arms, so cozy that it just made one just want to turn over and continue to sleep.

Xu Xingzhi called out softly: “Shifu?”

Qingjing-juntucked in the robe that had slipped a little with his movements again: “Why were you sleeping hereah.”

Recalling what had occurred the previous night, Xu Xingzhi tentatively probed: “Shifu, last night. . .”

“Last night?” Qingjing-junconfirmed softly, “In the evening, I was drunk from wine and felt thoroughly wrung out, thus I went to bed early. I woke up atthe time ofchou, I heard the sound of rain fall outside, so I wanted to go out for a walk, but noticed that you had fallen asleep on the steps. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, I raised an umbrella for you.”

“Why didn’tShifujust wake me?”

With that said, Xu Xingzhi was about to remove the robe covering him and return it to Qingjing-jun.

Qingjing-junheld down his hand that was pulling the garment off and ruffled his hair, gently ordering: “Keep it on, don’t catch a cold. . . . I was afraid of disturbing your slumber. These days due to the affairs involving the Heavenly Ranking competition, Xingzhi must’ve been worn outba.”

“IfShifuwants me to fret less, then just listen to Xingzhi’s one word of advice, drink lessba.” Xu Xingzhi turned around, “Wereyouaware that about twenty to thirty percent of the expenses recorded in the sect’s accounts were used to buy wine foryou.”

“Wu?” Qingjing-junscrunched up his nose, “Was it really that muchma.”

“Otherwise? The wine just fell from the sky?”

Qingjing-junsupported the umbrella with one hand and reluctantly picked at the hem of his robes in slow movements with the other hand. After a moment of hesitation, he seemed to have made a painful decision as he vowed: “Then, I’ll drink less?”

Xu Xingzhi rubbed the bridge of his nose which was slightly itchy due to the moisture in the air and extended his palm: “Shifu, give me the jar of wine.”

Qingjing-jun: “. . .”

Xu Xingzhi: “We’ll first haveyouquit drinking for four hours, just to try.”

Qingjing-junmulled it over carefully, for the sake of the sect’s accounts, he handed over thesmall jade jughe had on him at all times with great pain.

Xu Xingzhi stuffed the jade jar into his lapel, took the umbrella from the other’s hand: “Shifu, let the two ofusgo for a walk?”

Qingjing-junstared at his chest: “En.”

. . . His gaze was like that of a greedy and salivating puppy, he was obviously regretting that he hadn’t taken an extra sip when he handed over the jar just now.

Xu Xingzhi held back his laughter, stood up, and stamped his feet in a leisurely mood.

Qingjing-junwas about to rise as well, yet as soon as his right foot was placed against the ground, his expression changed: “Xingzhi, my leg is numb. . .”

Xu Xingzhi dexterously clamped the umbrella handle between his neck and shoulder, lifted the other’s right calf, then used his right hand to pinch and massage the tendons at the back of his foot. Shortly after, Qingjing-jun’s stiff ankle finally relaxed.

After flexing his ankles and wrists twice, Qingjing-junsupported himself on the bamboo railing in order to straighten, only to have his eyebrows wrinkled slightly instead. He placed his fingers against the back of his waist, then shifted his narrow waist and hips forward furtively.

Xu Xingzhi joked with a smile: “Shifu, what’s up withyourecently? Your meridians aren’t smooth and you are dazed and groggy all day long. It seems that it’s really time to quit drinking.”

Qingjing-junblurted out his refusal in an instant this time: “I don’t want to.”

Xu Xingzhi snorted in laughter.

He carried Qingjing-jun’s wine jar, held Qingjing-jun’s umbrella, and strolled with Qingjing-junaround Fengling Mountain aimlessly atthe time ofyan. The hexagonal bell on his wrist made gentle and crisp sounds, spreading bright ringing noises the entire time.

After taking more than a hundred steps, Qingjing-junasked amidst the clanging of the bell: “Xingzhi, you still wear this bell?”

Xu Xingzhi shook the silver bell around his wrist that was well-taken care of like it was brand new: “Youput this on for me during the apprenticeship ceremony. Would I throw it away?”

Qingjing-junremarked: “It’s just a worthless little trinket only. If you don’t like it, just get rid of itba.”

Xu Xingzhi chuckled and explained: “At the beginning, this thing jingled on me with adingdingdangdang, and it felt quite weird, but after wearing it for so many years, I got used to it, so I’ll just keep it onba.”

Qingjing-junseemed to have just remembered this incident by chance and brought it up casually, following that, he didn’t mention the matter with the bell again and Xu Xingzhi also swiftly tossed it to the back of his mind.

The two of them ambled about for a while and the rain, which had subsided slightly, became heavier again, so the two of them had no choice but to seek shelter from it under a recently built small-sized pavilion.

Xu Xingzhi and Qingjing-junsat down beside the stone table in the pavilion surrounded by the rain.

After sitting down, the former retrieved the jade vessel from his lapel, making Qingjing-jun’s eyes light up.

Xu Xingzhi took out “Xianbi” once again and transformed it into a set of wine crockery. He picked up two of the wine glasses and filled them with wine from the jade pot.

He raised one of the glasses and mused: “On which night is there no moon, in which place are bamboo and cypresses scarce, there is just a lack of idle people like the two of us.”

Qingjing-junsmiled lightly and reached out for the other wine glass, yet was stopped by Xu Xingzhi when the other pinned down the back of his hand with the re-formed folded fan: “Shifu, four hours.”

“cDm, mCJtJ NtJ mEO hDRI. . .”

“I’ll drink one and admire the other, is that not allowedah.”

Qingjing-junpressed his hands on the edge of the stone table and repeated his old trick: “. . . Xingzhi.”

“That’s not going to workah.” Xu Xingzhi lifted his cup of wine, downing it all in one shot as he snickered, “Shifu, I’m notShishu.”

Qingjing-junhad always had a mellow and soft personality, so he wasn’t angry and just fixed the glib and mischievous young man in front of him with a doting gaze. He tried his best to take his mind off and stop thinking about the aroma of the wine, switching to carefully listening to the sound of rain outside.

An aquatic bird raised by Guangfu-junflew over the pond where the fragrance of lotus flowers floated in the air, a hint of peach blossom red on its beak. It craned its neck, chirped happily, then flew away again, causing the reeds to sway.

Gd GfOxcnf ngt YwwO YdTj pMC JgOj tgjT gOt fP bgT CgCw PM ngZw g WwCfMt Mp pCww PfJw, TM Mp kMdCTw nw Jgtw TdCw PM wODMj fP pdrrj.

dOEJFJt, EfmCfy mEO CODtI, CJ tJmDtyJz mO CfI RNLNhJ Nyz hOymfyDJz mO qJm mO EOtX EfmCODm hOoRLNfym.

XMCPdOgPwrj, PnwTw pfZw tgjT WgTTwt ZwCj Ndfkvrj gOt Pnw ywgZwOrj zgOvfOx kMJWwPfPfMO gCCfZwt TMMO.

YmNtmfyq JNtLe fy mCJ oOtyfyq, xD xfyqpCf EJym mO oJJm mCJ LOtzI OA mCJ AODt IJhmI NI mCJ CJNz zfIhfRLJ OA nJyqLfyq VODymNfy. bfIhfRLJI AtOo mCJ AODt IJhmI Nyz OmCJt fooOtmNL IJhmI hNoJ OyJ NAmJt NyOmCJt, qNmCJtfyq fy qtODRI fy mCJ hfthDLNt IUDNtJ fy AtOym OA ZfyqpCD dNLL.

The rain falling from the sky was a fine drizzle, Xu Xingzhi was wearing an outfit generally only worn for important ceremonies in Fengling Mountain. The outer robe was slightly damp, fortunately, the material was thick, so he wouldn’t catch a chill.

After the elders of each sect took their seats on the elevated platform built in front of the square, Guangfu-junannounced that the Heavenly Ranking competition would begin today then end after twenty days.

All the procedures were exactly the same as what Xu Xingzhi had checked and verified countless times beforehand without any deviation. However, Guangfu-junsuddenly added at the end: “Before the start of the Heavenly Ranking competition between the disciples of the various sects, Xu Xingzhi, the champion of the previous Heavenly Ranking competition, will spar with Qingjing-jun, the leader of Fengling Mountain. The results of this fight will not be counted towards the final score.”

Under the high platform, the four head disciples stood side by side at the front of the disciples’ ranks.

Hearing this, Xu Xingzhi raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Beinan laughed: “Yo,Shifubeating up the apprentice, this will be fun.”

Xu Xingzhi took all of this in stride as he lifted his left foot and accurately stomped on Zhou Beinan’s instep.

Zhou Beinan’s body swayed from the pain and it took a lot of effort in order to stabilize himself to prevent himself from falling over.

Since the opening ceremony was currently in progress, Zhou Beinan resisted the urge to roll up his sleeves and have at it with Xu Xingzhi.

Wen Xuechen, who was on Xu Xingzhi’s right remarked: “Beinan, don’t be so happy so soon. According to Qingjing-jun’s character, he will definitely deliberately hold back against Xingzhi and not embarrass him in front of everyone.”

Qu Chi, who was standing beside Wen Xuechen, stretched out his hand to express his agreement with Wen Xuechen’s judgment.

Wen Xuechen bumped fists with him as was natural.

Xu Xingzhi mumbled to himself: “. . . But why don’t I remember this being a part of the events programah.”

Qingjing-jun, who was on the platform, was also slightly puzzled and when Guangfu-junretreated to his side, he asked softly: “Xiyun, if there was such an arrangement, it’s only right that you informed me in advance regarding it.”

Guangfu-junfurrowed his brow lightly, replying in confusion: “Shixiong, you clearly notified me of this matter personally last night when you called me to Qingzhu Pavilion.”

Qingjing-jun: “. . .En?”

Guangfu-juncontinued: “Youexplained that if a Nascent Soul level disciple like Xingzhi was allowed to participate in the Heavenly Ranking competition, he must be placed under restrictions and shouldn’t be allowed to use Nascent Soul level spiritual pressure to suppress the other disciples. However, in this way, the competition would lose its fun, thus why not arrange a mock battle betweenyouand him, which would not only allow you tostretch your muscles, but also let the other disciples have a look at Xingzhi’s true strength, so that he would be able to have a firm standing among the others through this show of strength, achieving the best of both worlds.”

With this explanation, Guangfu-junalso found it somewhat amusing.

Shixionghad not been involved in any of the secular affairs these years, and when he occasionally interferes in such a serious manner, contrastingly, he would be unused to it.

Unexpectedly, after he recounted the other’s considerations, Qingjing-junstill seemed thoroughly befuddled: “. . . Is that so?”

Guangfu-juncaptured his confusion, and asked while being at a loss of whether to laugh or to cry: “Shixiong, you didn’t pass this decision on to me last night just because you were drunk, right?”

Qingjing-juntouched his lips and innocently confessed: “Speaking of which, I did indeed have some wine last night. . .”

Guangfu-jun: “. . .”

When the opening ceremony was over and the Fengling outer sect disciples were starting to build the arena, Xu Xingzhi approached Guangfu-jun: “Shishu, I hadn’t heard that there was going to be such a thingah.”

Guangfu-junsighed and explained the whole story to the other.

Xu Xingzhi understood and didn’t take it too seriously: “Shishu, the matter is over and the announcement has already been made,youdon’t have to worry about it, this disciple will just take a quick stroll in the arena. The members of Fengling Mountain competing internally, win or lose, it wouldn’t be shameful.”

Guangfu-juncoldly snorted: “As if you could win.”

Xu Xingzhi chuckled: “Whether I can win or not, what this disciple says doesn’t count, it’ll still depend onShifu.”

To be perfectly honest, Xu Xingzhi didn’t care about winning or losing in this fight.

To spar with Qingjing-junwouldn’t count towards the final score nor would it delay his ultimate plans.

It’s just that the little b*stard really won’t come back after declaring that he wouldn’t. After all these days, it was amazing that he could still hold back and doesn’t even send a single word back, making Xu Xingzhi miss him quite a bit.

Thinking of Meng Chongguang, he retrieved “Xianbi”, and transformed it into theyuchangblade that he usually used then hung it from his waist and entered the ring early.

Wen Xuechen and Qu Chi were both convinced that Qingjing-jun, in accordance to his temperament, proposed to compete with Xu Xingzhi in public in order to deliberately lose to Xu Xingzhi to promote his beloved disciple’s reputation. Even Xu Xingzhi himself assumed that would be so, yet as the battle approached, he faintly felt excitement bubble up inside him, speaking of, he hasn’t crossed blades withShifufor a very long time now.

If he won, then whatever, but even if he lost, he’d have to be defeated in an incisive manner.

Watching Xu Xingzhi enter the ring and then wink and smile, a soft emotion was expressed in Qingjing-jun’s eyes.

He supported himself against the armrest of the seat and just when he was about to rise to his feet, he abruptly heard a strange laugh resound in his ears: “. . . You really care about this Xu Xingzhiah.”

Qingjing-jun’s eyes narrowed, then without speaking out first, he pinched his fingers and traced his meridians, intending to mobilize his spiritual power in order to protect his body. Yet, who would’ve thought that as soon as he activated his spiritual veins, he felt as if they were all suppressed and his limbs felt as soft as mud, despite that, his body was still able to be held upright.

. . . However, it wasn’t of his own will to stand on his feet.

Qingjing-junwanted to open his mouth to voice something, but all the sounds were stuck in his throat, unable to spit it out or swallow it down. The voice sensed his predicament and with infinite banter contained in its words, it whispered in his mind with mischief: “. . . Yue Wuchen, do you know who I am?”

. . . Who are you?

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the clear skies and the bright sun. I’ve been borrowing your body to sleep in the same shell for so long, but still can’t walk around at will, it’s really stifling to me.”

. . . Who are you, really??

“I know what you want to ask, but you’ll find out soon enough.Babe,there’s no rush.”

“Qingjing-jun” blinked, letting a wisp of crow blue bloodthirst shine in his clear black eyes, then he moved his neck twice, making two crispkakacracking sounds.

Next, he lowered one foot to the ground, and stepped forth along the wind, bringing Qingjing-jun’s body all the way to the arena.

He held the hilt of the sword with one hand, approached Xu Xingzhi step by step, then raised the corner of his lips into an fascinated arc: “Comeba.”

With a clang, “Yuanjun” was unsheathed and its sword intent soared out in a roar. The spiritual pressure of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator exploded, causing the consciousness of everyone present to become chaotic and their faces to turn pale. Some of those that possessed a lower cultivation level and weren’t too far from the ring even directly started foaming at the mouth before collapsing.

Xu Xingzhi felt his breath get taken away, and the power that he had just wrapped around himself was also shaken by the huge spiritual pressure, ripping apart with several gashes. Fortunately, the rhythm of his steps weren’t disrupted. Nailed to the spot, he raised his head in shock: “Shi. . .”

As soon as he lifted his head, a glint of a sword that seemed like dull silver shoveling snow flashed, aiming straight for the crown of his head at a distance of not even a sixth of a meter away!

Xu Xingzhi swiftly blocked it with his sword. With a loud crash, the bones in both hands became numbed from shock. He collapsed onto his knees and was smashed into the floor of the arena, leaving two fissures in the ground!

“Qingjing-jun” turned the blade of his sword sideways and slashed downwards with all of his strength. The frost-blue sword sparks glinted all the way to the hilt of Xu Xingzhi’s sword. Seeing that the blade was only a short distance away from the fingers of his right hand which gripped the sword. Xu Xingzhi made a prompt decision and ordered “Xianbi” to morph into a folded fan so that he’d be able to break away from the clash against the scalding edge of the blade, taking advantage of the situation to pull apart a distance.

Unexpectedly, before he could stand firmly, the sword edge was already in front of him again. Xu Xingzhi relied solely on muscle instinct to spread open his fan and then in the next moment, the sword tip of “Yuanjun” crashed against the surface of his fan that was in a defensive position in front of him where his heart was, creating a jade-colored spark due to the collision.

Xu Xingzhi didn’t have time to be stunned, and immediately snapped his folded fan closed, using the movement to temporarily swallow up the tip of the blade, trapping its momentum before he forced it down towards the left side, pressing it there as he launched himself into the air. His body spun in the air as “Xianbi” melted into a thousand star needles exuding a frigid atmosphere, then using his whirling motion he aimed them straight at the person closing in!

Although Xu Xingzhi’s move was highly destructive and would’ve been unavoidable for others, based on his understanding of Qingjing-jun, it wasn’t difficult for the other to dodge these needles then at the same time, he could rely on this attack to briefly delay Qingjing-jun’s advance while mulling over methods he could counterattack with.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he landed, he felt a pain in his right shoulder. He tapped on the ground with one foot just in time to avoid the main assault from “Yuanjun”, but his shoulder was still slashed by the sword and a splash of bright blood spilling out.

. . . “Qingjing-jun” actually didn’t evade the onslaught of the glacial needle hidden weapons that he had thrown at all. The ones that could be swept away by the edge of the sword were struck down and the ones that could not be avoided, the other had actually just let them pierce into his own flesh directly!

Even if Xu Xingzhi was at death’s door, he would never have imagined that hisShifuwould adopt such a fierce offensive that requited injury for injury, just so that he would also be able to successfully launch an offensive!

. . . This method of combat seemed to harbor deep hatred against himself as if the other must absolutely take his life. . .

Under the ring, Wen Xuechen was abruptly struck by the Nascent Soul spiritual pressure, causing him to groan unconsciously as he was forced to double over while he clutched desperately at the material in front of his chest. Fortunately, Qu Chi reacted in time as light condensed in his palm to form a protective shield made of spiritual energy which he used to guard Wen Xuechen’s heart so that his heart meridians were well defended at the very least.

Zhou Xian was hit by this wave as well and instantly leaned over to check on Wen Xuechen’s condition.

She had her hair bound in an old-fashioned bun, yet due to her slim shoulders and neck, her figure was still elegant like a willow and she still had the ease of movement like that of a young maiden as she peered at him anxiously: “Chen-ge, how do you feel?”

Wen Xuechen waved his hand to indicate that all was well.

After Zhou Beinan confirmed that Zhou Xian and Wen Xuechen were fine, he turned his attention to the arena and spotted the blood stains and damaged cloth on Xu Xingzhi’s shoulder, his face pale at the sight: “What’s the matter with Qingjing-jun?”

The violent sword energy that filled the air made all the disciples and other elders and lords startled as they had believed that this so called round against Qingjing-junwas just a formality.

After a brief confrontation, Yuan Ruzhou was already breaking out in a cold sweat. She completely disregarded etiquette and anxiously called out to Guangfu-jun: “Shifu! Isn’t it just exchanging pointers? What would Qingjing-jun, againstShixiong. . .”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish her inquiry.

However, everyone present couldn’t help but share her thoughts:

. . . Why does Qingjing-junseem to want to kill Xu Xingzhi?

Xu Xingzhi, who was at the center of the storm, felt this inexplicable murderous intent most distinctly, but he didn’t have the luxury to ponder about why things were turning out this way.

Xu Xingzhi had no doubt that if he delayed even one step,Shifuwould have definitely cut off his head with a horizontal sweep of his sword!

He transformed “Xianbi” into a heavy blade, wielded it in his left hand, locked onto the sound of the wind, and turned his body into tens of thousands of illusionary shadows then at the same time he mobilized his Nascent Soul spiritual energy and manipulated multiple moon-white sword lights to slash across the void. Several silhouettes overlapped each other, who knew where his original physical body was.

However, “Qingjing-jun”, who was caught in the middle of this joint assault wasn’t alarmed at all and received every attack in an orderly manner. The so-called changes between imaginary and illusionary were nothing more than a simple trick compared to the extreme speed of his sword.

The force of the sword passed by, sweepingaway**, launching countless rays of snow white lights!

A ferocious smile appeared on his lips.

Suddenly, dozens of sword lights gathered together, condensing into a ribbon of white silk satin as it danced in the air and bounded straight for his face. “Qingjing-jun” flicked the sword edge and shattered the white silk.

He could guess that Xu Xingzhi was concealed behind that ribbon of white silk, readying his sword in a position to attack further.

How could he dare to even pull out such a shameful parlor trick that merely deceived one’s eyes?

. . . He could even practically imagine the scene where that brat surnamed Xu’s head bloomed red and white like a chopped watermelon underneath his blade.

Who would have thought that the moment he split the white silk, what came hurtling towards him was just turbid liquid!

Despite being nimble like the wind, he still wouldn’t be able to move his body to react when he was already ready to kill his opponent, thus he was directly splashed.

The foul liquid dripped down his head and face. He raised a hand to wipe it off, yet the moment he smelled the fluid between his fingers, the expression on his face changed immediately.

. . . Pine oil?

How dare the other use this thing to humiliate himself?

No, was he going to use fire?

As soon as this idea came to his mind, he instinctively circulated his spiritual power and quickly drew a water talisman in his palm just in case.

He looked up and found that Xu Xingzhi was concentrating on chanting in the opposite corner of the arena, but the smile that hung on the other’s blood-stained face seemed inexplicable.

In an instant, the pine oil on his body started to stir due to Xu Xingzhi’s murmurs. It didn’t ignite as he had conjectured, instead, the places on his body that were damp due to the light drizzle and pine oil froze over with inches of ice!

“Qingjing-jun” was splattered by the pine oil on his head and face, and the condensation of frost made his vision blur. Just when he manipulated his spiritual power to shatter the d*mnable ice, he felt his right shoulder sink.

Immediately, a cold chill climbed across his neck.

Xu Xingzhi perched on his shoulder, a dagger gripped in his left hand and pressed it against his jugular vein that was bulging from anger due to actually falling for his trap.

He laughed loudly: “Shifu,you let me win.”

Seeing Xu Xingzhi reverse the situation in an instant, Yuan Ruzhou, who was extremely anxious up until now that it felt like her heart was in her throat, was finally able to reveal a joyous expression while Zhou Beinan and others were also barely able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Wen Xuechen murmured: “It seems a little strange.”

Zhou Beinan wholeheartedly agreed: “Qingjing-jun. . .”

As soon as he uttered those three words, he heard the sharp sound of clothes being ripped from the ring.

Qingjing-jununexpectedly circulated his Nascent Soul spiritual pressure again even when he was already clearly defeated!

Xu Xingzhi wasn’t prepared and his body was forced backwards as he landed in the ring, retreating a couple of steps back before he knelt down in order to stop his movements.

However, his robes were still torn apart by the spiritual pressure, uncovering a suitably wide, strong, and beautiful upper body.

Capturing this scene, the disciples below exploded into intense discussion.

Xu Xingzhi only knew that he had the scar of an old silver ring snake mark on his back. In the past, he had never shown it to others and this time, he was abruptly exposed in public. Xu Xingzhi knew that it would cause quite a stir, but he didn’t expect that the disciples would actually start pointing at him and whisper as if they had seen a ghost.

He turned around blankly and aimed his gaze at Zhou Beinan and the others.

. . . What happened?

He never thought that Zhou Beinan, Qu Chi, and Wen Xuechen were also the same, gaping at him with pale faces, as if. . . they saw some incredible monster.

“Qingjing-jun” shook off the messy and dirty broken ice, turned his face around and sneered maliciously from an angle where Xu Xingzhi couldn’t see, a grin that made people weak at the knees.

Guangfu-jun, who had been uneasy about hisShixiong’s abnormal behavior since the beginning, immediately understood why hisShixiongwanted to kill Xu Xingzhi today after seeing the traces on Xu Xingzhi’s body!

He barked out: “Xu Xingzhi, kneel!!”

Xu Xingzhi was puzzled, but he would never disobey the sect’s orders, thus he knelt down on the arena and bowed: “Shishu, this disciple had no choice but to disgraceShifujust now, it wasn’t on purpose. . .”

Guangfu-jungritted his teeth and spat out each word with rage: “Xu Xingzhi, let me ask you, what is that on your back?!”

Xu Xingzhi couldn’t see what was actually on his back at this time.

—On his back near the center of his spine, the original wound where the silver snake mark was branded had disappeared and on the original wound, a greenish streak the size of half a fist had appeared for no reason!

Lu Yujiu, who was among the disciples of Qingliang Valley, saw the familiar mottled pattern and suddenly pinched the robes near his thigh, disbelief evident in his eyes.

Was that. . . the mark of the ghostly sects?

Xu-shixiong. . . was, belonged to the ghostly sects? Was he also a descendant of Minya Kingdom?

He carefully scrutinized it again, only to discover that the lines were a bit strange and the circuits of the mark were reversed, completely different from the forward flow of the phantom mark on his inner thigh.

. . . Fake? The mark was fake!

The author has something to say:

However, those present were not from Mingya Kingdom and do not understand the intricacies of this brand. They were also a distance away and couldn’t view it clearly so they couldn’t capture this small difference at all.

Xu Xingzhi had no idea that his back had been tampered with and only felt that the silver snake mark wasn’t something difficult to identify, so he just hung his head without making any excuses.

Seeing that Xu Xingzhi wasn’t going to answer, Guangfu-junassumed that he had a guilty conscience and sneered, snorting: “Xu Xingzhi, let me ask you, why did you never disrobe in public? Are there. . . any secrets that cannot be told to others?”

Author’s Chapter Summary:

Stroll, abnormality, ghost sect pattern

The translator has something to say: Seriously a kettle calling the pot black, XXZ thinks that JZD was drinking too much and now his shifu too, and why do I find QJJ quite adorable and surprisingly childish?

Aaaaand I’m back! Sorry for the long hiatuses last year, I won’t promise that I won’t break from updating every 1-2 weeks because I’m not sure I can keep it, mainly because work is very stressful and I let it get to me too much some times. Last year was pretty bad to be honest which is why I couldn’t bring myself to translate and post consistently because it started to feel like another job to me. Although I CAN promise that I will post more often, my impossible goal for this year is to finish at least one of the two I’m translating. Thank you all for your patience and I’m really sorry for not updating in so long and hope that you guys won’t abandon the story just because I’m a terrible translator. I really do appreciate all of you who are holding on and generous with me, really, truly, thank you.