Preparations for a Magical Duel

A day and a night passed. Hundreds of new graves now dotted the barren mountains.

Su Chunyi used swordlight to cut stones from the mountainside and set them up as grave markers, carving more than a dozen names into them.

Only a dozen or so resentful souls in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner could still remember their names. The rest had long since lost their minds under years of torment.

According to Ku'e's confession, the earliest souls had been trapped in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner for nearly twenty years.

This not only proved that Ku'e was utterly wicked, but also corroborated that he had nothing to do with Cui County's forced conscription of boys and girls. Twenty years ago, Princess Hongyu hadn't even been born, and Cui County was still a shabby little town.

If all this had been Ku'e's scheme, why dig a pit in the wilderness? He could have hidden the bodies in town instead, beneath the prison or near the execution grounds, using deathly energy to mask deathly energy and make them harder to find.

By Ku'e's own account, he didn't often visit Cui County. He usually killed people and practiced his arts elsewhere. A fiend who'd committed countless atrocities naturally kept away from the place he'd been reborn, lest he be caught in one fell swoop. He only came once a year to add corpses and nourish the Cursed Spirit Child.

Who could have guessed that Su Chunyi and Chen Ye would stumble upon this corpse pit—and that Su Chunyi could pinpoint Ku'e's whereabouts from three hundred miles away?

All one could say was that good and evil would be repaid in the end. Heaven truly hadn't spared him.

After the graves were marked, Su Chunyi carved the final name.

Looking at the gravestones, Su Chunyi said with a sigh, "Perhaps someone will find this place, see these stones, and learn what happened here. If they're relatives of the victims, they'll know their enemy has been brought to justice. Perhaps then they can let go of their hatred."

Chen Ye nodded. It had been his suggestion.

Often, karma turned on a single thought. Perhaps one day these gravestones would untangle someone else's karmic bonds. That would be a good deed in itself.

Once they had finished, Su Chunyi said goodbye to Chen Ye.

"I'll take the Cursed Spirit Child back to the Qinghe Sword Sect and ask my master to save him. I'll leave the matter of Cui County in your hands, sir."

The girl was truly brisk and decisive. She'd only just returned, and now she was leaving again.

Still, she could fly on her sword, so the round trip would take no more than half a month. Chen Ye could use that time to investigate the truth. By the time they met again, everything would likely be clear.

As Chen Ye watched Su Chunyi soar into the sky, he was about to turn and leave when a phantom green lotus blossomed nearby.

He went closer and found the Sword Box Su Chunyi had given him earlier, along with a jade token.

Chen Ye had enough experience to recognize it as a message jade token, one that could record information.

He infused it with spiritual energy, and images projected into the air—an image of Su Chunyi.

The projection said, "Sir, you've shown great virtue by seeking a way forward for those innocent victims. But not every righteous cultivator approves of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, so it's best to use it sparingly.

"I'm giving you the Sword Box. The jade token belongs to the Qinghe Sword Sect. If cultivators from other sects give you trouble, show them the token and explain. Most righteous sects will give the Qinghe Sword Sect face, sparing you a lot of trouble.

"Please take care, sir. Until we meet again, I hope we can both advance in our cultivation."

The image faded and flowed back into the jade token.

Chen Ye stared at the Sword Box and the token Su Chunyi had left behind, at a loss for words, until Mo Ci spoke beside him. "Don't get any foolish ideas, you little fiend. The more deeply you get involved, the faster you'll die when your identity is exposed."

Chen Ye gave an awkward smile. "Master, how come you can't see your disciple's good intentions?"

Mo Ci: ...

That tone made it sound like this wretched disciple was about to spout some more crooked logic.

Chen Ye paid no attention to what Mo Ci thought and went on, "Miss Su and I have built a pretty good relationship. Not only can I get her to help treat the Cursed Spirit Child, but the Ten Thousand Soul Banner I carry has even been approved by the Qinghe Sword Sect."

This secret art might save the resentful souls who'd lost their minds. It might not bring them back to life, but perhaps it could at least keep them from fading away. Chen Ye had said that maybe one day someone would truly discover a way to reincarnate them. Then these innocent victims wouldn't have to be reduced to nothing, and they'd have another chance to be human.

Most people wouldn't believe that sort of explanation. They'd just think Chen Ye didn't want to destroy the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and was a proper little fiend. But Su Chunyi had believed him. She, too, thought it was cruel enough that innocent people had been harmed by a fiend; forcing Chen Ye to destroy them with his own hands would be too much. So she'd agreed that he should preserve the resentful souls for now.

Chen Ye continued, "The resentful souls I have with me have been cleared of suspicion. I could take them straight to the Qinghe Sword Sect's leader and ask him to help. Miss Su doesn't even know you exist, Master. If I tell her you're one of the resentful souls in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner..."

Hearing this, Mo Ci's voice trembled. "I... I could be brought back to life by the Qinghe Sword Sect?!"

Though Mo Ci had seemed indifferent when he'd dissipated his cultivation, hearing that there might still be hope for him left him too excited to contain himself.

Chen Ye reassured him. "Don't get too excited, Master. Miss Su and I aren't close enough for me to ask the Qinghe Sword Sect's leader to restore your soul. Besides, who knows what he'd think? What if he refused? Still, it's a possibility. At least for now, there's hope."

Mo Ci hurriedly agreed. "Exactly, exactly. You've done well. I'll teach you some more tricks for dealing with women. You've got to win that girl over."

Chen Ye stiffened and refused. "Master, let's not."

With his own life at stake, Mo Ci grew agitated. "You wretched disciple, do you think I don't know? You're pure yang and have never even touched a woman. What do you know about making a woman happy? You think being handsome is enough? Maybe women will flock to you if you crook your finger in the mortal world, but among cultivators, looks don't matter so much. What matters is knowing how to play your cards!"

Chen Ye: ...

That old fiend really had no sense of propriety.

As Mo Ci droned on, Chen Ye let the words go in one ear and out the other. How could he use tricks to deceive Su Chunyi? If he wanted to die, slitting his own throat would be quicker.

Besides, leaning on someone was one thing; Chen Ye was still a demonic cultivator. He could rub shoulders with her, but he didn't dare cling to her for real.

In the end, cultivating immortality meant relying on yourself. Depending on others was just another escape route.

Chen Ye pretended to listen as he took down the white banner concealing Mo Ci and hung it beside the black Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

Mo Ci shouted furiously, "You wretched disciple! What are you doing? Are you trying to refine your master?"

Chen Ye explained, "I can't go around carrying two long banners. I worked hard to build a reputation as an otherworldly sage in Cui County, so I have to mind my appearance. Don't worry, Master. My Ten Thousand Soul Banner won't hurt your precious body."

Mo Ci mused, "Are you really going to investigate the forced conscription of those boys and girls?"

Hearing something off in his master's tone, Chen Ye hurriedly asked, "What's worrying you, Master? Weren't we going to cling tightly to the Qinghe Sword Sect's coattails?"

Mo Ci's excitement was gone. He mused, "There's something strange about this matter at every turn."

Chen Ye replied, "I know it's strange, too, but when someone entrusts you with a task, you have to see it through. I've already swallowed the Qi Condensation Pill. It saved me more than ten years of arduous cultivation—I can't exactly throw it back up. Besides, the Qinghe Sword Sect might even give me something in return. I'd lose out if I didn't go."

With an old fiend like Mo Ci, morality and rules wouldn't convince him; Chen Ye had to talk about what was in it for them. He was certainly going to investigate, but he also knew the value of staying out of danger. He'd first return to Cui County and see how things stood. If the danger proved too much, he'd tell Su Chunyi when she came back.

Miss Su was someone Chen Ye could be honest with. Deceiving her would only ruin their relationship.

Hearing Chen Ye put it that way, Mo Ci no longer objected.

The Qinghe Sword Sect's favor was certainly hard to come by, but if they managed to get it, it would be a real windfall.

"Very well. You're cleverer than I am, so you can decide how to handle it. I'm going to rest, but there are three things you need to listen to me about."

Hearing Mo Ci's tone change, Chen Ye hurriedly asked, "What do you want me to do, Master?"

"First, before you wade into this mess, refine that Sword Box. The girl left instructions for refining it on the box, and it shouldn't take long. Second, you need to choose a spell and devote yourself to studying it, so you'll be ready for a magical duel."

Chen Ye nodded. His master was worried about his safety.

A magical duel was the most dangerous trial in cultivation. His victory over Ku'e had been half luck and half effort; he'd been fortunate, to say the least. If he crossed paths with other cultivators and they came to blows, Chen Ye needed some way to protect himself.

"Fine, I'll do it. What's the third thing?" Chen Ye asked.

"Third, remember to wear a mask. Looking like you do now, you'll bring a lot of unnecessary trouble upon yourself if you go back to Cui County."

Chen Ye: ???