Dragon Locking Well

The conversation in the old tower continued, but Li Pingsheng no longer wanted to listen.

The more you heard of this secret, the sooner you died.

Back at the martial arts school's little courtyard.

Li Pingsheng plopped down on the edge of the bed.

That sect hiding in the shadows planned to make its move on the day of the exam.

Li Pingsheng didn't care who won or lost.

What he cared about was that if the Inner City descended into chaos and something went wrong with the Dragon Locking Well's seal, his family in the Outer City would be in danger.

He had to do something.

Early the next morning, Li Pingsheng headed straight to the Servant Courtyard.

Lu Qingshan held a large bamboo broom, using it to sweep away the standing water and rotting leaves in the courtyard.

Li Pingsheng walked over, picked up a broom, and swept the mud on the ground into the gutter.

Lu Qingshan leaned against a pillar, one hand on his lower back.

"What's a True Disciple doing here? If Instructor Wu sees you, he'll say you're throwing your future away again."

Li Pingsheng set down the broom.

"Brother Lu, I wanted to ask you something."

"Heh... go ahead. You can ask anything except where I keep my private stash of money."

Li Pingsheng moved a little closer.

"Sometimes I practice my punches in the Back Mountain, and I always feel like there's something off about the Stele Forest. Is there anything people say about that place?"

Lu Qingshan stopped moving.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Let's go inside to talk."

Lu Qingshan shut the doors and windows, then used old clothes to stuff the gaps around the door tight.

"You can sense it?"

He asked.

Li Pingsheng nodded.

"There's a chaotic presence. It feels like there's something underneath."

Lu Qingshan suddenly pulled open his lapel.

A deep purple bruise marked his chest. It had been there for five years, yet still hadn't faded.

"Five years ago, I still thought I was a genius, that Azure Cloud City couldn't hold me back. One night, I sneaked into the deepest part of the Stele Forest."

He paused.

"There's a well there, covered by a blue-gray stone slab carved with symbols. I was still ten paces away when a chill seeped up through the cracks in the ground."

"I didn't believe in ghosts back then. I wanted to see what was in the well. Then I heard chains clanking inside."

"In that instant, my blood surged, and I felt like my tendons were about to snap. If the old man on night watch hadn't pulled me away, I'd be dead."

"The Dragon Locking Well?"

Li Pingsheng asked.

Lu Qingshan nodded.

"It's a forbidden place at the school. Anyone who goes in dies, except the Hall Master and the old man who guards the well."

"What sort of person is the old man who guards it descended from?"

Li Pingsheng asked.

"I don't know. I only know his name is Qi, and he's spent his whole life sweeping around the school. Even the Hall Master calls him Old Qi."

After leaving the Servant Courtyard, Li Pingsheng's thoughts were in turmoil.

What Lu Qingshan had told him matched what he had heard the night before.

The only weak points in the formation were the Dragon Locking Well and the unknown sect.

Those people were after the "thing" at the bottom of the well.

He didn't return to the little courtyard. Instead, he headed toward the Back Mountain Stele Forest.

It was already noon. The sun was scorching, but the moment you entered the Stele Forest, the temperature dropped.

Li Pingsheng pushed the Breath Concealment Art to its limit.

His heartbeat slowed, and his breathing grew faint.

With Wind Treading as well, he slipped between the broken stone steles.

With Synesthesia bolstering him, spiritual energy lines crisscrossed the desolate Stele Forest.

When he traced those lines together, they formed a vast, dimly glowing golden circle: a formation.

At its center lay the Dragon Locking Well.

Li Pingsheng noticed unstable points along the outer edge of the formation. Every so often, black gas seeped out of cracks in the ground, only to be burned away by the golden light.

The farther in he went, the heavier the pressure became.

Li Pingsheng stopped behind an old locust tree.

The formation's center lay just ahead.

He held his breath and watched the formation's nodes. Suddenly, a chill swept over him from behind. Someone was there.

Li Pingsheng didn't turn around. His right hand felt for his waist as he clenched his fist, tightening the Tiger Bone force inside his body until lightning sparked at his fingertips.

He had no idea when this person had arrived.

Three paces.

The person was only three paces away.

At this distance, he wouldn't stand a chance if they attacked him by surprise.

"Little brat, is this where you play hide-and-seek?"

He heard a voice speaking to him.

Li Pingsheng turned around.

An old man in a gray cloth shirt held a battered broom.

He was thin, with deep wrinkles and cloudy, lifeless eyes.

He lowered his head and swept the leaves off the ground.

Li Pingsheng didn't dare relax. He held his breath even harder.

"This junior is Li Pingsheng. Greetings, Old Qi."

The old man stopped and looked him up and down.

"Your Breath Concealment Art is well practiced. Too bad your heartbeat's still too loud."

He pointed at Li Pingsheng's chest. "It's giving me a headache."

Li Pingsheng's heart clenched.

Even after holding his breath this hard, the old man had still seen through him.

This old man was terrifyingly powerful, with no apparent limit.

"A few days ago, I saw someone peeking at Heavenly Thunder Guidance beside that broken stele. Was that you?"

Old Qi took two steps forward, then drew a circle on the ground with the end of his broom. "Little fellow, you've got quite the nerve."

Li Pingsheng said nothing.

There was no point lying to someone like this.

He lowered his guard and cupped his hands to Old Qi.

"This junior stumbled upon a fragment by accident. It seemed quite suitable, so I tried to put it into practice. If I offended you, I hope you'll forgive me, senior."

Old Qi snorted, a glint flashing in his cloudy eyes.

A force pressed down on Li Pingsheng, pinning him in place.

His bones creaked under the pressure, and his legs sank deeper and deeper until cracks spread across the blue-gray stone beneath his feet.

But he didn't kneel. Gritting his teeth, he drove the Tiger Bone force inside him into a frenzied circulation, sending his blood and qi crashing through his meridians. It was a dangerous state.

He took one step forward.

"Hm?!"

Old Qi withdrew the pressure.

Li Pingsheng gasped for breath, cold sweat soaking through the back of his clothes.

"Your blood and qi are vigorous, and your bones are hard."

Old Qi lowered his head and resumed sweeping. "Instructor Wu certainly got himself a bargain. But if you knew it was dangerous and still dared to try, that means you want to stay alive."

Li Pingsheng caught his breath and looked the old man in the eyes.

"Senior, I didn't come here today to secretly learn a martial art. I came to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"Someone will force their way into the Dragon Locking Well during the exam."

Li Pingsheng spoke quickly.

"The formation is prone to becoming unstable during the exam, and your presence is why they can leave the rear grounds unattended."

Old Qi stopped sweeping.

He lifted his head, his eyes as sharp as knives.

"Where did you hear that?"

He asked.

A layer of white frost formed over the plants and trees around them.

"The old tower in the Inner City."

Li Pingsheng replied, "I heard two people planning it."

Old Qi watched him for a long time.

Li Pingsheng felt that, even now, he couldn't tell the old man everything he knew about the secret.

After a while, Old Qi finally smiled.

"Little brat, you think I'll believe you? Trying to use a lie like that to get out of this—you're underestimating me."

As he spoke, he casually swung his broom.

An invisible gust skimmed past Li Pingsheng's cheek and flew behind him.

A huge boulder stood behind him. The gust blasted it to dust.

Stone fragments struck Li Pingsheng's face, opening a bloody gash.

But he didn't move.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you," Li Pingsheng said. "I still have family. I just want to get them out safely after the exam. If something gets out of that well, I don't think anyone will escape."

"I'm curious. What exactly is sealed inside that well?"

Old Qi put away his broom and smiled amiably.

"Want to know? Fine."

He raised a finger and pointed it at Li Pingsheng.

"Take one of my attacks. If you can still stand and breathe afterward, I'll tell you the secret of the well and, as a bonus, give you something good."

"If you can't take it, there'll be one more grave in the Stele Forest."