An Old Acquaintance

Yu Ci could not say he felt any antipathy toward Cheng Rong or even the Wanling Sect. After wandering the world for more than ten years, he had long understood that as long as one lived in this world, such exchanges of benefit were unavoidable. In truth, this was the most ordinary form of interaction between people. Things like hitting it off at first sight, laying one's heart bare, or friendships forged through life and death were exceedingly rare—and precisely because they were rare, they became all the more precious.

Though Cheng Rong could not be called a qualified lobbyist, he possessed considerable self-awareness. He knew it was utterly unrealistic to achieve his goal upon his first meeting with Yu Ci, so he seized upon the Ghost Appearance Flower Yu Ci had given him as an opening and repeatedly invited Yu Ci to visit the Wanling Sect's base. When those invitations bore no fruit, he naturally handed over a means of contact, at least preserving a thread of connection between them.

During these past few days at Zhixin Temple, Yu Ci had learned that the so-called "Exclusive Handling Authority" was not nearly as simple as the Wanling Sect imagined. All sorts of factors were tangled within it. Unless one specifically sought out the Daoist Yu Zhou for information, it would be difficult to grasp all the details. But since the Wanling Sect intended this, Yu Ci was happy to take it easy:

Matters like building relationships, which took a long time to show results, could be left to the other side to rack their brains over. He only needed to grasp the most crucial chain of benefits. Did the rest still require him to worry about it?

At last, Cheng Rong bade Yu Ci farewell with urgency and regret, naturally taking away that little girl who was still rather unconvinced.

Yu Ci continued his search for medicine. What had happened that day might become the focus of others' attention for some time to come, but to him, it was merely a minor interlude, a small ornament amid his busy work. Nothing more.

Time flowed on without pause. Yu Ci's search area expanded, but his gains grew fewer and fewer. When he had accumulated two hundred and four Good Deeds, his progress came to a complete standstill.

Then the first snow of winter fell.

The sun had already sunk beyond the mountains. Yu Ci stood in a small valley some sixty li from Sky Rift Valley, watching the snow-fed stream of the cold mountains run through the valley. This was, in fact, the same old place where he had intercepted herb gatherers and questioned them when he first returned to Sky Rift Valley. Downstream, another group of herb gatherers was following the creek on their way back.

When this group suddenly saw such a handsome, refined Daoist standing upstream, all thirty or forty of them froze. There was none of the greeting one might offer upon meeting by chance on the road. Instead, the atmosphere became somewhat tense.

Yu Ci understood.

It was the season for wrapping up more than half a year's work and returning home for the New Year. The herb gatherers who usually lingered in Sky Rift Valley had all stopped working, packed their belongings, called friends and companions, and begun heading home in succession. At the same time, this was also the most chaotic period.

Gathering Shrimp Whisker Grass had always been a business without capital. If it could no longer be obtained from the wild, getting it from others amounted to the same thing. At this time of year, every vile method—stealing, robbing, abducting, deceiving—found room to be used. The already terrible order of ordinary days would rot to a degree unimaginable to common people. In the herb gatherers' eyes, this handsome Daoist had deliberately blocked their path, and his intentions seemed far from good.

In truth, Yu Ci really had come for them.

Seeing the herb gatherers standing as if they faced a great enemy, Yu Ci said nothing. His gaze swept from left to right as though he were merely taking a casual look. Yet every herb gatherer whose eyes met his felt as though their chest had been struck by a heavy fist. For a moment, they could not catch their breath, and the crowd broke into commotion. He heard someone inside cry out in a low voice, "Immortal," or something similar. At that point, his purpose had been achieved.

The scene appeared strange and eerie, but it was merely an application of divine intent. This was not Yu Ci's own invention. Back at Zhixin Temple, Jin Huan had intended to suppress others with sheer force. A single glance could carry the bearing of "Though the sun setting in the west was not enough, he dragged the Azure Heaven down with it." He was truly far beyond Yu Ci.

But this degree was enough—at least enough to stir up some unpleasant memories in part of the group.

Among these herb gatherers, half showed drastic changes in expression. Some of the more timid instinctively tried to flee backward, only to be yanked back by quick-witted companions. At least they did not scatter on the spot.

The atmosphere became exceptionally strange.

Yu Ci had originally intended to stop them and gather some information about the herbs in Sky Rift Valley. Seeing this situation, he too found it unexpected. He had not deliberately distinguished their identities within the Zhaoshen Map before. Now, as he swept his gaze over their faces, realization suddenly dawned on him.

"You are..."

Embarrassment and fear appeared on many faces. Yet one person at the front of the group reacted with astonishing speed, bending both knees and kneeling onto the cold, hard gravel beside the creek.

"Immortal, see clearly—none of us engage in our former trade anymore!"

That movement reminded many people. Nearly half of the group of thirty or forty dropped to their knees at once, swearing to heaven and earth that they had thoroughly mended their ways, honestly gathered herbs, and absolutely never again done anything that harmed heaven and violated reason. The herb gatherers who had not knelt were first bewildered, then suspicious and afraid. In the end, they did not know where to put their hands and feet, so they simply followed the crowd and knelt as well. The dark mass of them was rather spectacular.

Yu Ci saw clearly that about half of this group were the swindlers from that ruined temple in the wilderness. Wasn't the leader who had knelt first that very active dark-faced man?

His gaze passed over the tops of their heads. With almost no effort at all, he spotted Daoist Xuanqing, who was desperately trying to shrink deeper into the crowd. Xuanqing did not even dare raise his head, and his body was trembling.

Yu Ci frowned. "Get up. Good timing—I have something to ask you."

Hearing this, the genuine herb gatherers and those who had joined the trade halfway rose one after another after some hesitation. No one was foolish, so the way some people looked at the companions beside them changed somewhat. Yet the entire group remained silent as cicadas in winter.

Yu Ci found it amusing and casually asked, "You truly don't rob and swindle anymore?"

Dozens of heads shook furiously, but many faces could not hide their guilty unease.

Yu Ci laughed soundlessly.

The sky had darkened. A bonfire was lit in the camp, and Yu Ci naturally sat in the seat of honor. No matter how the flattery around him surged like a tide, he remained as immovable as a mountain. Gradually, those fawning words weakened. The people formerly belonging to Xuanqing's faction slowly fell silent in embarrassment, and the scene cooled for a time.

At this moment, Yu Ci began asking about the growth conditions of medicinal herbs in the nearby parts of Sky Rift Valley. Xuanqing's band of robbers and swindlers could not contribute to such questions. Only a few seasoned veterans among the proper herb gatherers could answer a sentence or two.

Gradually, however, the herb gatherers saw that Yu Ci's temperament was fairly good and that he was interested only in medicinal herbs, so they grew bolder. Some younger people began speaking as well. Compared with the old herb workers, who spoke cautiously and never uttered a word without substance, the young ones offered more hearsay, pouring out every scrap of information they had, reliable or not.

Anyone else would surely have found this annoying, but Yu Ci was different. He had the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror. Under its broad scanning range, the truth or falsehood of rumors could be seen at a glance. He was not afraid of wasting time; instead, it gave him one more chance. Encouraged by his tacit approval, even Xuanqing's group began to chime in. Their knowledge came from another level altogether. After more than an hour, Yu Ci actually found news of two medicinal herbs. Together, they were worth six or seven Good Deeds—a modest gain.

While the conversation here grew lively, Xuanqing cowered off to one side, maintaining silence throughout, so silent that others nearly forgot he existed. When the discussion of medicinal herbs was at its hottest, he used relieving himself as an excuse, bent low, and withdrew into the dark forest along the outskirts. Once he was farther away, he gritted his teeth and sprinted madly. Only after running more than ten li did he finally let out a breath.

"Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself. Let you fucking enjoy yourself a little longer. Soon enough, you'll be crying..."

Muttering, Xuanqing took out the communication talisman he had crushed in his sleeve and tossed it to the ground. His panting never stopped, not because he was tired, but because he was extremely nervous. Fortunately, he should be safe now. He took two more breaths, straightened himself with a hand on a tree trunk, and prepared to get his bearings before fleeing even farther.

At that very moment, a beam of pale blue light lit up before his eyes.

In an instant, Xuanqing's entire body stiffened. Only his eyes could still barely move. Around a zhang away, the suddenly appearing source of light was like a blue-skinned lantern. Its cold radiance spread outward, illuminating the familiar figure beside it.

"What are you making me cry about?" Yu Ci spoke softly beneath the blue light.

"Y-you... how did you catch up?"

Xuanqing's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He unconsciously backed away, but after only two steps, he struck the tree trunk and found himself unable to advance or retreat.

"You're allowed to harm me, but I'm not allowed to come looking for you?"

Yu Ci stood where he was with his hands behind his back. "I heard Zheng Da say that you acknowledged Lu Ding of Bai Ri Mansion as your godfather. So the communication talisman you activated when we first met was to notify him?"

Xuanqing had no idea when that bastard Heizi had sold him out, much less how his action, hidden to the utmost secrecy, had been discovered by Yu Ci. Now his brain had frozen, and his body had fallen into an ice pit. From within to without, there was not the slightest trace of warmth.

In the end, only one thought remained in his head: You knew all along. Why didn't you run?

"Why should I run?"

Yu Ci bared his teeth in a smile. His snow-white teeth reflected the blue light, cold and ghostly. "I was inexplicably put on a wanted list, and I'm supposed to feel great about it? If I don't seek justice for myself and vent this foul breath, should I really let them pin their crimes on my head?"

Xuanqing nearly choked on his own saliva. At this moment, he finally understood that his way of thinking was completely different from Yu Ci's. This madman who ignored the murderous might of Bai Ri Mansion would absolutely do anything!

At this moment, his first reaction was to beg for mercy. But just then, he recalled that scene of ultimate humiliation in the ruined temple, as well as the maddening looks cast at him from behind over the following year.

The words reached his lips, then froze.

In the end, with a clang, he drew the longsword at his side. Its tip trembled violently, but it still pointed at the figure before him. Yu Ci watched coldly and said nothing more.

Perhaps Yu Ci's attitude had provoked some nerve in him. Xuanqing suddenly shrieked, "You're finished! Bai Ri Mansion's main force will be here to kill you in the blink of an eye. You absolutely won't escape..."

"The main force you speak of—is this it?"

Yu Ci's single sentence choked off all of Xuanqing's words in his throat. At this moment, that "blue-skinned lantern" drifted forward, its eerie blue radiance flowing.

Only when it came closer did Xuanqing realize that it was absolutely no lantern. It was mountains and rivers, wind passing through forests, birds coming and beasts going! As the light and shadows shifted, he saw nine figures within it, like nine laughable lice, leaping across mountain ridges barely a foot high as they advanced toward the valley camp beyond the next hill. The people inside, the people inside...

Xuanqing was completely dumbfounded.