Recognition

He dragged the two men along, with Zi JI following behind. The four of them left the City Lord's mansion and headed toward the city gate.

The streets were quiet. It was late, and no one was around. When the occasional patrol came by, Zi JI scared them off with a single glance.

They soon reached the city gate, and Xuan Qing tossed the two men onto the ground. He pulled a rope from his robes.

He flung the rope over the gate tower and made a noose. Then he grabbed the City Lord by the neck and slipped it over his head.

The City Lord was so terrified that he wet himself and struggled desperately.

"Spare me! Please, spare me! I'll give you all my money!"

Xuan Qing ignored him and looked at the steward. Zi JI put a noose around his neck too. The two men were left hanging at the city gate like two pieces of air-dried meat.

Xuan Qing tied the ledger to the City Lord, making sure it could be seen.

The sky gradually brightened. When someone came to open the gate, the guards saw the two men hanging there and screamed in terror.

Soon, the whole place was in an uproar. People rushed to the city gate, pointing and whispering among themselves.

"Isn't that the City Lord? How did he end up hanging there?"

"Serves him right! That corrupt official oppressed the people. He deserved to die!"

"Look, the ledger on him! It's proof he was selling slaves!"

The crowd erupted.

Some people picked up stones and threw them, while others spat at the bodies. But the two men couldn't hear or feel anything. They had been dead for some time.

Xuan Qing watched from a distance.

"Let's go. On to the next place."

Zi JI silently followed him. The two disappeared into the morning mist, while the commotion at the city gate continued. It had nothing to do with them anymore.

As Xuan Qing walked, he thought about what had happened. He felt as if he had begun to understand something.

Though the Azure Dragon and the Qilin were both auspicious beasts, they had never protected any one person or any one faction. They protected the countless living beings under heaven.

Every life deserved to be treated with kindness.

That fit perfectly with the idea of harmony between heaven and humanity, and benevolence toward all.

He was neither a Qilin nor an Azure Dragon.

He was simply Xuan Qing, an ordinary person with a bit of luck. All he had to do was what he believed was right.

He knew that he could never kill all the wicked, but he could kill them one at a time.

He would keep walking through this mortal world, seeing what lay wherever he went. He would question his conscience—and ask the way forward, too.

As Xuan Qing walked and pondered, two voices suddenly sounded in his mind, carrying a hint of amusement. Each voice spoke just one word.

[Approved]

[Good]

Xuan Qing froze.

Was that... the Azure Dragon and the Qilin?

Had they approved of him?

He still had questions, but soon let them go. What difference did it make whether the two of them were alive or dead?

As long as he did what was right and could answer to his own conscience, that was enough. Whether they approved or not, he would keep going.

Xuan Qing turned to Zi JI and asked casually,

"Zi JI, how have you been feeling lately?"

Zi JI thought for a moment.

"It's a strange feeling. I can't quite describe it, but it isn't bad."

Back in the Star Dou Forest, her days had been nothing but fighting, fighting for territory, and sleeping. Her life had been terribly monotonous.

Now she traveled all over with Xuan Qing, seeing the many faces of human life: sorrow and joy, kindness and cruelty.

Sometimes, seeing common people being oppressed left her feeling awful, but more often she felt a sense of fulfillment.

Xuan Qing smiled.

"That's the human world for you. Even the most ordinary animals have feelings. They just feel them to varying degrees."

"If there's a difference between humans and Soul Beasts in how they feel, it's that Soul Beasts are relatively simple and direct, while human hearts are more complicated."

Zi JI seemed thoughtful. She had indeed noticed that humans had far too many twists and turns in their thinking.

Sometimes, they could hate someone to death and still smile at them. Soul Beasts couldn't do that. If they liked someone, they drew close; if they hated someone, they fought.

Time flew like a white pony flashing past a crack. A year and ten months passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, the two of them traveled through many towns and cities, from remote villages to bustling metropolises.

They witnessed all kinds of warmth and cruelty in human life. Some husbands and wives stood by each other through thick and thin, while some brothers turned against one another.

Some merchants did honest business, while some unscrupulous ones cheated and swindled. Some officials were upright and incorruptible, while corrupt officials preyed on the people.

Whenever Xuan Qing came across injustice, he intervened. Sometimes he investigated in secret and gathered evidence; other times he acted directly, striking like thunder.

Many people died at his hands, but he saved even more. He never made a point of counting, but he kept the tally in his heart.

The change in Zi JI was obvious. She had become more and more worldly, no longer as cold as before.

She smiled, got angry, and felt sympathy. Though she still didn't say much, her eyes had grown far more lively.

Xuan Qing had changed even more. He was now less than three months away from turning ten, yet his Soul Power had already reached level thirty-seven.

He had grown astonishingly tall, nearly six feet three, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a V-shaped build with clearly defined muscles.

Before, he and Zi JI had looked like siblings when they walked together. Now... they looked more like a couple?

Zi JI barely came up to his shoulder. Sometimes, she thought so too.

Whenever the thought crossed her mind, her face flushed. But she didn't dare say anything, keeping it silently tucked away in her heart.

The two had journeyed from border villages to small towns, then to major cities. After wandering here and there, they eventually returned to Sunset Forest.

When the two of them entered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Dugu Bo stared at Xuan Qing for a long moment, eyes wide as he looked him up and down.

He asked tentatively, his voice uncertain,

"Young Master?"

Xuan Qing replied,

"What, don't you recognize me?"

Dugu Bo shook his head.

"I hardly recognize you. When you left, you only came up to my chest. Now you're half a head taller than me."

He held a hand out to compare their heights, looking incredulous. How could Xuan Qing have grown so tall in less than two years?

Xuan Qing paid no attention to that and asked about the important matter instead.

"Is the garden all right?"

"What could happen to it? Anyone with sense sees the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Venom outside and knows this is my territory. Anyone without sense turns into a puddle of liquid."

"Have there been any major events in Heaven Dou City?"

Dugu Bo thought for a moment.

"Nothing at all. There is one amusing thing, though. Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has been courting Dugu Yan lately, but he can't beat her now."

"After her Martial Soul evolved, her strength skyrocketed. There are few her age who can match her."

Xuan Qing agreed. Dugu Yan's Soul Power was now at least level thirty-eight.

Besides being more potent than the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's poison, the Jade Phosphorous Poison Dragon also possessed a powerful body. In terms of physical strength alone, it was even a little stronger than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

Xuan Qing suddenly remembered something and asked with a frown,

"You're willing to let her go out on her own now? Those people from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are like dogs spotting a pile of shit when they see a dragon-type Martial Soul."

Dugu Bo waved a hand.

"Yan Yan's traveling with them right now. They'll be away for a year, and I got a guarantee from Prince Xue Xing too. If anything happens to Yan Yan, I'll turn Heaven Dou City into a wasteland."

Xuan Qing thought for a moment.

"How about this? I'll pack up the valuable things here, so you won't have to keep watch over this place."

He put the idea into action. Half an hour later, all the Immortal Herbs and medicinal ingredients over ten thousand years old had been put away in his space.

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was suddenly much emptier, but the ordinary medicinal ingredients left behind were still enough for Dugu Bo.

Xuan Qing dusted off his hands.

"Come on. Take me around Heaven Dou City. I've never been there before."

Dugu Bo's eyes lit up.

"No problem. If you want to go, Young Master, I'll show you around. Heaven Dou City, that is—I know it like the back of my hand."

The three of them left the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and headed for Heaven Dou City.