Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A slovenly Daoist priest dressed in a black robe stood in front of the shop where a large crowd had gathered. He was being held tightly by the shopkeeper who would not let him go.
“My shop is a small business, we do not offer tabs. Sir, you should just pay your bill and leave.”
That Daoist priest had a full head of white hair and a wrinkly face. He looked at the shopkeeper and smiled, “My dear sir, there’s no need to be like this. It’s only a small meal and there’s no need to be so calculative.
“I have no money on me today. Why don’t you take this talisman as payment for my meal?”
As he said that, the old man took a crumpled piece of talisman paper out from his waist with his shriveled claw-like hand. The talisman paper had twisty askew markings that looked like the scribbles of a ghost, it was covered with signs no person could understand.
“That’s not possible,” the shopkeeper said after hearing the words of the old man. He lowered his head to look at that crinkled piece of talisman cut out of yellow paper and shook his head immediately. “You should keep this piece of talisman paper, sir. This small shop can’t afford to keep this item.
“I’m not being calculative. If it was merely a few vegetable dishes that you had, I would not be so insistent, but you ate several large fishes and drank two jars of aged wine. If every customer was like you, I’d be out of business!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” The old Daoist priest glanced at the crowd and discovered that there were a few young cultivators that joined the commotion out of interest. They were currently enjoying the scene. It was evident that they were only fledging junior cultivators, hence finding everything new and exciting.
He sighed deeply and said, “I truly do not have a silver piece on me. How about this? If you bring me a basin of water, I will magically return all the fish that I’ve eaten back to you.”
“Don’t speak such nonsense, you’ve swallowed the fish and they are now sitting in your belly. How on earth are you going to conjure them back out?”
The shopkeeper wore an expression of pure disbelief as he said, “I’m telling you, we have cultivators in Kun City too, we have also seen spells being cast before. You better not pull any tricks here or I will report you to the court. When that happens, watch out for your black magic to be ruined once you’re locked up!”
“Haha, ignorant fool. You have no idea how wonderful my spell casting ability is.” The old Daoist priest smiled faintly and did not persist in arguing, instead he urged the shopkeeper to hurry up and fetch him a basin of water.
The shopkeeper rushed into the shop skeptically to give his assistant a look. Very swiftly, the assistant had brought out a large wooden basin more than halfway filled with clear water.
The Daoist priest shrugged out of the grip hold of the shopkeeper and reached for the sword at his waist, startling both the shopkeeper and his assistant!
“W-w-what are you doing?” yelped the plump shopkeeper, trembling slightly. He wondered if this priest was about to turn violent. As he gazed at the sword in the priest’s hand, measuring at least 2 feet long. The gleaming blade was as reflective and clear as an autumn’s rain, it radiated a coldness that could pierce through a person’s heart. As soon as the sword was unsheathed, the surrounding air seemed to drop by a few degrees, seemingly entering the dead of winter, the coldest day of the year.
“Don’t be afraid. You’ll soon see a spell cast by me!” the priest said. With a wave of the sword in his hand, the fish bones that had been licked clean flew up from one of the tables in the store and dived into the basin of water.
The Daoist priest then stabbed the gleaming sword in his hand into the water and started to stir the water in one direction. As the audience were bewildered by the scene, they suddenly heard the sound of a splash, and water in the basin started to froth violently.
The crowd rushed to lean in, stretching their necks to see the bare spines and fish bones originally in the wooden basin had miraculously turned into living fish. Each of the fish was jumping around wildly and appeared to be very joyful and lively.
“This…” wondered the shopkeeper as he lifted up his sleeve to wipe away the water droplets that had splashed onto his face. He extended his hand disbelievingly into the water to touch the fishes’ body. It felt real. They were actually a couple of large grass carps and not some trick the priest had cast.
Somewhere among the crowd, Qin Feng smiled faintly. He wondered which teleportation technique this old Daoist priest had used and where he had moved these fishes from. As for his declaration that he could bring back those fishes to life, those fish bones had been cooked, bitten and sucked clean. Even if this type of technique did exist, it would never appear within a tiny place like Kun City.
Even if it was a resurrection technique, those bones would only come back to life for only a couple of minutes. For these salty and crisp stewed fish bones to sprout living flesh was truly impossible.
“Sir, you have some pretty admirable skills, I’m impressed,” a couple of young men walked over and greeted the Daoist priest with cupped hands1.
“Haha…” the priest in black robes chuckled lightly and sheathed his sword, returning the gesture. He responded, “That was an embarrassing display. However, I’m struggling financially and had no choice but to resort to these parlor tricks.
“I’m Ling Yunzi. How should I address all of you, my young friends?”
“I am a son of the Zhao family from Tieling County, Zhao Jinglei. These are my brothers from the same clan…”
After hearing the head of the young men introduce himself, the eyes of Qin Feng who was still in the crowd brightened. He would not have guessed that this youth was actually a young master from the Zhao family of Tieling.
The Zhao family was one of the top aristocratic families of Tieling County Town. The power of the family clan was immense and it is said that there is an old patriarch ruling over the family who was a master cultivator who had achieved Gold Core1. A family like that was not one where the small clan of the Qin family of Kun City could be mentioned alongside in the same sentence.
These young people felt bored in Jun City and decided to explore the world to gain experience. It just so happened that they heard a massacre had occurred in Kun City and many cultivators flocked to the city to investigate the matter.
They were all young and unseasoned fledglings, confident in the handful of ability that they possessed. Hence, they decided to meet up and travel to Kun City together and have some fun. They thought they might even solve the case of Kun City and prove to the Zhao family elders that they were not complete good-for-nothing slackers, that they had capabilities to be proud of.
“So you’re the young master of the Zhao family. No wonder why I can see that your dispositions are out of the ordinary. It’s because you are all sons of a powerful family,” said Ling Yunzi. His complimentary words immediately made those young men with barely any life experiences puff up with so much pride that they could have floated into the sky.
“I’ve long heard that the Zhao family head has spent many years cultivating to achieve higher attainment. According to reports, he is close to a breakthrough and will be able to attain the Purple Realm cultivation level. That is truly something worthy of admiration and esteem,” Ling Yunzi continued.
“Dao Brother Ling Yunzi, this news of yours is outdated.” Zhao Jinglei put on a look of forced humility and said, “Our family patriarch has already started his Closed Door Meditation1 a couple of months ago. If everything goes along without a hitch, he will come out of his retreat in a few years and our family will have a cultivator of the Purple Realm as our head. Oh, when that happens I can’t wait to see how that brat from the Fan family is going to fight me!”
“Oh? The Zhao family patriarch has actually started his retreat to prepare for his breakthrough?” Ling Yunzi exclaimed as he rushed to cup his hands together while he said, “It looks like congratulations are in order, Young Master Zhao. In the future, the Zhao Family will definitely be the top among all the leading families in Tieling County City. In the future, I will need to rely on Young Master Zhao’s care and protection whenever I’m in Tieling County City.”
“Good words, good words,” Zhao Jinglei said with a pleased smile.
“Dao Brother Ling Yunzi must also be in Kun CIty to investigate the case. Have you been able to discover any clues? My clan brothers and I have been here for two days but our labors have been unfruitful. If we leave this way, our hearts will be unwilling and heavy with unfulfilled ambition,” he added.
Ling Yunzi glanced left and right around him. Qin Feng saw him deep in thought and when Ling Yunzi looked in his direction. He hid behind one of the men there. He was not too advanced in age and his body had not fully developed. Due to this fact, with a slight crouch and a small step back, his entire person was completely hidden behind that man. Not a trace of him could be seen.
The old priest saw that apart from these few young men, there were no other cultivators among the crowd. Only then did he start to relax and conspiratorially leaned in beside those youth to say in a low voice, “If you want to find some clues, I still have a trick up my sleeve.”
“Oh?” As soon as the young men heard this, they were instantly exuberant. “Senior Dao, hurry up and tell us! If we really caught the evil cultivator, we clan brothers are not concerned with the reward. All of the rewards can go to you, all we want is the glory of apprehending that evil cultivator.”
“In that case, I offer you my gratitude.” When Ling Yunzi heard their words, his smile deepened.
“When I first arrived, I discovered that there was something unusual about 10 miles west of the city. However, I was worried that my own ability might not be sufficient and did not investigate because if I feared that if I encountered the evil cultivator, my life would be in danger. Hence, I was hoping to find a couple of like-minded cultivators to act together.
“If Young Master Zhao is willing to join forces and work together, that evil cruel cultivator will surely fall into our hands. Once the Young Master has captured that evil cultivator, your name will be known across and beyond Jun City,” said Ling Yunzi.
“Good word, good words,” responded Zhao Jinglei with an expression of great elation as though he had already captured that evil cultivator. His mind was already thinking about his return to Jun City, and how he would boast about his achievements to the ladies at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
“As long as we can capture the evil cultivator, I will invite my friend Ling Yunzi to Jun City for some fun. As for the rewards, they will all belong to you,” continued Zhao Jinglei.
“Young Master Zhao is truly generous,” replied Ling Yunzi with an ingratiating smile. As he spoke those flattering words, he extended his hand to gesture that Young Master Zhao and his companions should follow him to make their leave.
Qin Feng watched the retreating backs of those few men and started speculating. He had a feeling that the old priest who called himself Ling Yunzi was a trickster and was planning to cheat those nobleman’s sons out of something good.
It was only because these young aristocrats have little life experiences which led them to fall into a trap so easily. Even though Qin Feng was not extremely experienced in the world of cultivation, however, he ultimately still retained the memories of his previous life. Due to this, he could not be considered or treated like any mere youth.
Although he had never personally experienced any phenomenal hoaxes, he had still encountered a handful of intricate tricks. Where in the world would something good just fall into your lap. If it was too good to be true, a person should be careful to figure out if they have walked into a trap. If a person accidentally stumbled into a trap, there was a good chance that it would end in disaster.
Despite this, this old priest Ling Yunzi was no coward, he actually dared to trick the Young Master from the Zhao Family. Was he not afraid that the Zhao Family would hold him accountable after this?
Or perhaps this old priest was a wandering vagrant and his plan after confounding Zhao Jinglei and his companions was to flee and not be found. If that was the case, even the Zhao Family might not be able to catch him.
The power of the Zhao Family was sizable, but their development was mainly focused within Tieling County City. Once they were out of Tieling County, their family was not considered anything special.
Qin Feng no longer concerned himself with these things. Whether it was Ling Yunzi or the young men of the Zhao Family, all their cultivation levels were above his. This was not a matter that he could handle as a brand new cultivator.
If he truly wanted to foil the plan of that Ling Yunzi, there was no telling if that old priest would come at him with a sword. His measly weak body was really not a match for that sword that could chill the hearts of men.
Qin Feng followed the dispersing crowd to leave. After wandering around the city for a good long while, he encountered many other cultivators but saw no other scene worthy of excitement. Since there were a large number of cultivators who were mindful of their status and reputation, they would not be willing to embarrass themselves in front of others.
In the evening, Qin Long returned home with a gloomy expression, shocking Qin Feng when he saw his face. There were no cases over the last few days, hence Qin Long had returned to his normal self. Why was his face downcast again?
“Dad, didn’t you say that the evil cultivator had stopped committing any more murders? Furthermore, Kun City has sent over that expert to help. Even if we failed to apprehend that evil cultivator and he managed to escape, the responsibility does not fall on you. Why are you still worried?”
“You know nothing,” Qin Long frowned as he answered, “Even though there have not been any pregnant ladies harmed over the last few days, a couple of cultivators have fallen prey to murderous schemes.”
“Cultivators?”
“That’s right.”
Qin Feng continued in a solemn tone, “To be honest, there have been murders of cultivators since the beginning. However, those cultivators were killed in places that were more secluded. In addition, the evil cultivator had also pain-stakingly buried the bodies.
“If it weren’t for all the cultivators from Kun City investigating all over and uncovering a couple of places where the murdered cultivators were harmed, I’d have never known about this.
“This news had only been circulating within the circle of a couple of cultivators, because of that, not many commoners knew about this. Hence, the news did not create any commotion.”
Up to this point, Qin Long glanced at his son before he continued, “Until that evil cultivator is caught, you better avoid going out during this period of time. Despite the fact that you don’t have any valuable magical tools or spiritual stones on you, there’s no guarantee that the evil cultivator isn’t only targeting and murdering those with cultivation abilities.”
“It’s that serious?” Qin Feng was shocked dead in his tracks, it seemed as though he had better sit at home where it was safest.
“Yes!” Qin Long revealed a hint of anger, “That evil cultivator must be concealing and hiding among all the cultivators that have arrived from Kun City. He must have some special technique to disguise himself. That must be the reason why I’ve not been able to find him.
“In fact, the cultivators that were murdered have been investigated by us previously in great detail. We discovered that before they were harmed, they had all interacted with people before that. According to some folks, they recall seeing them lured by a cultivator with flowery language and smooth talk to a remote place. It must have been there where those cultivators lost their lives.
“Their greed was really the death of them, their avarice for the reward offered by the government led them to easily believe the words of others. The pinnacle of idiocy.”
“Oh…” as he heard this, Qin Feng froze as a memory arose in his brain from earlier in the day, it was of the scene that he saw in the city.
“Dad,” he swallowed the spit in his mouth and continued, “I think, I might have discovered the evil cultivator!”