Rumors about Wang Ziling

(A plea for votes on Monday)

Sure enough.

Below a cliff at the far end of the peak, four figures came racing along a winding path at astonishing speed. Judging by their clothes, they were the four cultivators from the Ma Family. Clearly, Wang Yan's plan had worked.

"You little brat, nicely done!" Card Fairy had clearly spotted them too and praised Wang Yan. Then she paused and hurriedly asked, "What's this feud you have with the Ma Family? And why is the Wang Household on good terms with them?"

"Shh! We'll talk about that later. Don't let them discover us!" A flicker of killing intent flashed through Wang Yan's eyes. He quickly spoke, then slipped out of the bushes and headed down the other side of the cliff.

With the ease of long familiarity, Wang Yan descended the cliff, then climbed a concealed trail and entered the mountain woods at another well-hidden spot.

He ran the entire way without being spotted by a single cultivator and slipped onto the Wang Household's Azure Spirit Mountain. Clearly, Wang Yan had traveled this route often.

Back when Wang Yan lived with the Wang Household, he had used this path to sneak out and treat himself to something tasty. Naturally, it was well hidden...

Wang Yan crawled out of a tunnel whose opening was concealed by a thick patch of bushes. No one was around. He was behind a low wall.

Beyond that low wall were the quarters for disciples from outside the clan. Although the Wang Household treated these disciples poorly, each was generally given a room of their own so they could cultivate without disturbance. The rooms were tiny, however, measuring only seven or eight feet on each side...

"It should be time for afternoon lessons. There shouldn't be many people around!" Wang Yan listened for a while but heard nothing. He had no desire to return to his room, either, since nothing remained there but a few clothes. After some thought, he muttered, "Tsk! There's no way I can sneak into the inner clan's grounds. Looks like I'll have to ask that old geezer what's going on first, then decide what to do. Heh, best if the Ma Family buys Wang Ziling! We can make our move on the road!"

"Buys him?" Card Fairy hurriedly asked. "They can do that?"

"Yes!" Wang Yan answered coldly. "The Wang Household, the Ma Family, and the Lü Household are allies. They occupy this mountain range together, though they're at odds behind the scenes! Sometimes, when they take a fancy to another household's cultivators or disciples, they offer spirit stones or treasures in exchange!" He sighed, then added, "But before, it was mostly female disciples and cultivators!" His expression twisted savagely, and he bit his lip without another word...

"Tsk! So that's it. They're taken to serve as cultivation cauldrons!" Card Fairy replied as though this were perfectly ordinary. Then, seemingly struck by a thought, she hurriedly said, "That feud you mentioned-could it be...!"

"Hmph! I'll make the Wang Household and the Ma Family pay!" Wang Yan cut Card Fairy off with a cold snort. Unwilling to say more, he simply ran along the low wall...

"Don't worry! With me, Card Fairy, helping you, you're sure to succeed!" Card Fairy reassured Wang Yan.

"Mm!"

"Where are you going?"

"To find that old geezer!" Wang Yan replied. As he spoke, he rounded the low wall and passed through a small grove. Across from the wall stood a wooden cottage with a courtyard. Cooking smoke drifted from it, suggesting someone was inside.

"Old geezer! Old geezer!" Wang Yan glanced around. Only after confirming no one was nearby did he mutter under his breath, then call out that rude form of address...

"Cough, cough! Who is it?" Only after a long while did an ancient-sounding cough come from the cottage, followed by the hoarse voice of an old man who sounded like a candle guttering in the wind.

"Old geezer! It's me! The little brat!" Wang Yan quickly answered. Without waiting for an invitation, he furtively pushed open the courtyard gate and dashed toward the cottage...

"Hahaha! Little brat! So you really call yourself Little Brat?" Card Fairy laughed in Wang Yan's mind.

"You talk too much!" Wang Yan snapped, then pushed open the door and entered. The cottage was much cleaner and more comfortable inside than its exterior suggested, and even rather tasteful. Inside stood a stooped old man whose hair had nearly all fallen out. Yet he was fair-skinned, plump, and shifty-looking-quite unlike the image his hoarse voice had conjured...

The old man was cooking a pot of some unknown meat. Its aroma filled the cottage, making anyone who smelled it itch for a taste...

"That smells wonderful! Old geezer, let me try some!" Wang Yan sat down without ceremony and reached straight into the pot for a large chunk of meat...

"Hands off!" The bald old man angrily swung his ladle down at Wang Yan's hand. With a sharp smack, it struck squarely, and he shouted, "So you finally remembered to come back, you little brat? I thought you'd died out in the mountains!"

"Ow!" Wang Yan endured the blow and grabbed a large chunk of meat anyway, then began wolfing it down. Between mouthfuls, he said, "Mmph! Nothing beats the meat you cook, old geezer...!"

"Ah! Eat, then! Eat! Just watch that you don't survive the wilds only to stuff yourself to death here!" the old man said helplessly. He paused, handed Wang Yan a large bowl, and snapped, "Don't get my table dirty!"

"Boohoo! Old geezer! I nearly died out there, and you don't even care?" Wang Yan put on an aggrieved expression and a mock tearful voice.

"If you died, you died! So many people die in this world every day. Am I supposed to care about every last one?" the old man retorted. He plopped down, filled a bowl with soup, and began eating and drinking, continuing heartlessly, "Besides, a little brat like you is nothing but trouble while you're alive..." Then he slurped away...

"Uh..." Wang Yan could only feel helpless. He knew the old fellow's temperament all too well. Suddenly seeming to lose his appetite, he quickly said, "Old geezer! I need to ask you something!"

"Ask away!" the old man replied casually.

"You know an outside-clan disciple named Wang Ziling, right?" Wang Yan quickly asked. "He should have passed the Wang Household's Back Mountain Trial this time...!"

"Wang Ziling?" The old man froze, and his expression suddenly soured. Losing his appetite as well, he set down his large bowl and asked gravely, "Why are you asking about that little fiend?" He paused, then added, "He's been making quite a name for himself. They say he collected the most spirit herbs of any disciple in this Back Mountain Trial!"

"Hmph! He stole them all..." Wang Yan snorted disdainfully...

"Speaking of which, why didn't you pass? With your abilities, you shouldn't have failed!" the old man asked with a frown. Clearly, he knew Wang Yan very well.

"Don't even mention it. It was all Wang Ziling's doing!" Wang Yan shrugged. Then he recounted everything Wang Ziling had done, leaving out no detail. But before he could say anything about Card Fairy...

"Whatever you do, don't mention me!" Card Fairy warned Wang Yan.

"...And I've been recovering from my injuries outside all this time. That's why I came back so late!" Naturally, Wang Yan had no intention of exposing Card Fairy's existence and hardly needed her reminder. He simply made up an excuse, then continued, "Anyway, how has Wang Ziling been doing lately? Tell me, old geezer!"

"Oh! So that's what happened. Looks like the rumors weren't far off!" the old man said, evidently knowing something. He looked Wang Yan up and down, then muttered, "Still, I think you'd better leave as soon as you can. If Wang Ziling sees you, that life you managed to salvage will be lost again in no time!"

"What do you mean?" Wang Yan's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Sorry for the trouble, but could you tell me about those rumors?"

"Very well!" the old man replied solemnly. "Wang Ziling's outstanding performance in the Back Mountain Trial pleased the clan head greatly. They say he reached Major Completion of the Cultivation Realm a while ago. He's won the clan head's favor and has already been accepted as his disciple. The clan head intends to groom Wang Ziling as a direct disciple!"

"What? Wang Ziling has already reached Major Completion of the Cultivation Realm? How could he advance so quickly?" Wang Yan exclaimed in alarm...

Only two or three months had passed since the day Wang Ziling had set Wang Yan up. How had Wang Ziling reached Major Completion of the Cultivation Realm so quickly? Wang Yan had obtained Card Fairy's cultivation technique, taken so many spirit pills, and cultivated in the Fang Bear Beast's cave for half a month, yet he still hadn't reached Major Completion of the Cultivation Realm... Wasn't Wang Ziling advancing a little too quickly...?

Suddenly, something else seemed to occur to him, and he cried out, "Tsk! I know! That bastard must have taken the Century Green Shade Herb himself! Otherwise, there's no way he could have advanced so fast!"

"There really was Century Green Shade Herb?! No wonder he advanced so quickly!" The old man was surprised too and quickly said, "He probably took it. I haven't heard anything about Wang Ziling handing over any Century Green Shade Herb!" He paused, then added with a little glee at Wang Yan's misfortune, "Heh! Looks like you really are in trouble, brat!"

"Tsk! You old geezer, can't you have a little conscience? Without me, would you even have Demon Beast meat to eat?" Wang Yan complained.

"Then what are you eating right now?" the old man asked smugly.

"Uh! Forget it! I'm not arguing with you!" Wang Yan choked on his reply, then changed the subject. "Right! You mentioned rumors just now. What rumors?"

"They say..." The old man's face darkened. "Before Wang Ziling was brought here, he did something dreadful. Young as he was, he poisoned over a hundred people in a village!"

"What? Over a hundred?" Wang Yan couldn't help exclaiming. "Isn't that far too vicious? What kind of blood feud did he have with them?"