A deal

Xu Qingxiao felt a little frustrated.

Why did this fellow keep haunting him like a restless ghost?

Were the officers from Southern Yu Prefecture useless? They couldn't even catch a fugitive?

Wait, he was injured.

Amid his frustration, Xu Qingxiao suddenly noticed the other man's injuries.

They were severe. His blood and qi were in turmoil, and his arm was covered in blood that had already soaked through his clothes.

It seemed the officers up above were good for something after all.

Since the man was injured, Xu Qingxiao relaxed a little. He had entered the ranks, after all. Surely he could handle a wounded man?

The other man seemed to see through Xu Qingxiao's thoughts at a glance.

He stepped out of the shadows, his hair disheveled and his appearance somewhat bedraggled. His gaze fixed on Xu Qingxiao, but there was neither killing intent nor malice in his eyes. Instead, they were perfectly calm.

"I suggest you put those foolish thoughts away."

"You've only just entered the ranks."

"I reached the eighth rank long ago. Though I'm seriously injured, killing you would still be all too easy."

"It's like an elephant and an ant. Even an injured elephant can easily crush an ant underfoot."

His tone was cold, and a flicker of contempt crossed his eyes.

But despite those imposing words, Xu Qingxiao was no three-year-old child.

You say you're strong, so that makes you strong?

Trying to bluff me?

Xu Qingxiao refused to fall for it and remained on guard.

Bang.

The next instant, a rock in front of the middle-aged man shattered. It had been at least half a meter across, yet now it was a heap of powder blowing in the wind.

"Believe me now?"

The other man's voice rang out.

Xu Qingxiao inwardly marveled.

Crushing a rock that large into dust with one stomp might not be anything extraordinary, but Xu Qingxiao couldn't do it.

Clearly, the man hadn't lied. This was giving him a headache.

"What do you want with me?"

Xu Qingxiao stopped keeping his guard up. It was useless anyway, so he might as well be direct.

He could tell that the man hadn't come to make trouble for him. Otherwise, he would already be a corpse.

"Come with me."

The man said nothing more, intending to lead Xu Qingxiao away.

Before Xu Qingxiao could consider anything, however, he spoke again.

"If you dare try anything clever, I guarantee I'll kill you before you can make a move."

Those words put an end to all Xu Qingxiao's ideas.

There was nothing he could do. This was what happened when he was the fish on someone else's chopping block.

Strength.

It all came down to strength.

If I were strong enough, why would I have to let someone lead me around by the nose?

Still, Xu Qingxiao wasn't entirely without a trump card. The other man clearly hadn't noticed the Righteous Haoran Qi within him, so if he tried anything, Xu Qingxiao wouldn't mind revealing it.

At worst, they would die together.

Of course, if there was a chance to settle things peacefully, Xu Qingxiao was willing. There wasn't any deep-seated hatred between them, after all.

Even if there were, Xu Qingxiao wouldn't strike first.

The two figures disappeared from the spot.

Half an hour later.

On a deserted mountain, bright moonlight spilled over the quiet woods. The man went no farther.

He stopped and turned his gaze toward Xu Qingxiao.

"Do you want to escape the trouble caused by your Unorthodox Art?"

His words surprised Xu Qingxiao, who was following behind him.

"What do you mean?"

Xu Qingxiao was curious.

"Exactly what I said."

"You should know how dangerous Unorthodox Arts are. Barring anything unexpected, the Golden Crow Killing Intent inside you will erupt completely in three months at the earliest, or six months at the latest."

"When that happens, you'll die whether you want to or not."

"But I can help you solve that problem."

He spoke calmly, and his assessment was remarkably accurate. He had laid out Xu Qingxiao's current predicament while claiming he had a solution.

But Xu Qingxiao was no fool. He spoke bluntly.

"Do you take me for an idiot? If you could solve the problems caused by Unorthodox Arts, the court would have made you its state preceptor immediately. Why would you be a fugitive?"

Xu Qingxiao wasn't stupid.

The side effect of Unorthodox Arts was turning into a demon or falling into devilry. If they merely damaged the body, the court would surely train an elite force with them. At worst, it could play the odds. Even a hundred survivors out of a million would be a profit.

After all, every martial rank was a whole new heaven, and the farther one advanced, the more powerful one became.

So when the man claimed he could solve Xu Qingxiao's problem, Xu Qingxiao refused to believe him.

With that kind of ability, how could he end up a fugitive?

The Great Wei Dynasty would practically put him on a pedestal. Whether righteous or demonic, every faction in the world would pamper him like their own father.

Who was he trying to fool?

Yet after hearing Xu Qingxiao's words, the other man shook his head without the slightest embarrassment.

"You misunderstood."

"I certainly can't solve the root problem. What I mean is that I can let you quickly break through to the ninth rank, or even the eighth or seventh, without relying on Unorthodox Arts anymore."

"Wouldn't that count as solving your problem?"

He explained himself clearly.

With that explanation, Xu Qingxiao believed him.

He would never believe a claim that the problem could be cured at its root.

But a method that treated the symptoms rather than the cause? That, Xu Qingxiao could believe.

After all, wasn't the danger posed by Unorthodox Arts essentially a race in cultivation speed? If his realm stayed above the Demonic Seed's, he could suppress it and live a few more years.

But if he couldn't outpace the Demonic Seed, he would die.

"What do you need me to do for you?"

"If you want me to help you escape, forget it. I'm being watched myself."

Xu Qingxiao spoke bluntly.

The other man clearly needed something from him. Surely he hadn't come merely because Xu Qingxiao was handsome?

But if he wanted Xu Qingxiao to help him escape, that was out of the question.

Rather than have Xu Qingxiao take him out, he might as well swagger out himself. Perhaps he'd run into someone who couldn't recognize faces and actually escape.

"No need."

"I can't get out. Even if I did, I wouldn't live more than a few days."

He shook his head, telling Xu Qingxiao that escape wasn't what he wanted.

Xu Qingxiao said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"What I need is simple. Just deliver a message and an item to someone for me."

He stated his purpose.

"To whom?"

Xu Qingxiao asked.

"You don't need to concern yourself with that. Knowing won't do you any good."

The other man shook his head, clearly unwilling to tell Xu Qingxiao too much.

"All right."

Knowing less was a good thing. Xu Qingxiao agreed.

It wasn't that Xu Qingxiao wanted the job. Judging by the man's attitude, refusing would clearly mean death. He might as well be direct rather than waste time.

"Good. You're a smart man."

The other man hadn't quite expected Xu Qingxiao to agree so readily, but he wasted no time either. He took out a small booklet and handed it to him.

"Within three months, you must go to Changping County. Then, at the inn where you're staying, draw a piece of clothing using whatever you like. Any kind of clothing will do."

"Someone will contact you then."

"All you need to do is give him this item and pass on a message for me: Bright moonlight shines upon Bright Moon Mountain; fate's mysteries lie within yin and yang."

He spoke each word with utmost solemnity.

Xu Qingxiao frowned slightly, pondering something.

"Is something wrong?"

Seeing Xu Qingxiao deep in thought, the other man couldn't help asking.

"That's two lines."

Xu Qingxiao said seriously.

The fugitive: "..."

He was bewildered. At such a serious moment, why was Xu Qingxiao quibbling over that?

Did he think this was funny?

He was getting angry, but Xu Qingxiao spoke again.

"Fine, one line or two, it doesn't matter. But what's in it for me?"

Now that the task was settled, it was time to discuss the reward.

"As long as you get it done, they'll reward you when the time comes. Don't worry, it won't be meager. Whether you want miraculous elixirs or Daoist arts and divine abilities, they can provide them."

The other man spoke confidently.

But Xu Qingxiao felt rather unhappy.

Oh, after all that talk, it was just an empty promise.

Seeing Xu Qingxiao's expression, the other man felt inexplicably embarrassed as well.

"I escaped from Southern Yu Prefecture. Do you think I'd be carrying any treasures?"

He offered an explanation.

Put that way, it was reasonable enough.

"Do you have any silver?"

There was no motivation in working for nothing. Couldn't he at least give me some silver?

The other man fell silent.

The meaning was clear enough.

"I'll go rob someone now. How much do you want?"

After a moment's silence, he came up with that solution.

"Forget it."

Xu Qingxiao shook his head. The people of Ping'an County all led hard lives. There was no point in stealing money from the poor.

"I'll get it done. Don't worry."

Xu Qingxiao agreed, but it was only a verbal promise. Whether he actually did it was another matter. For now, at least, circumstances left him no choice but to agree.

"Of course I'm not worried. With your aptitude and limited resources, reaching the ninth rank within six months would be as difficult as climbing to heaven. Continuing to cultivate Unorthodox Arts is also a road to death. Cooperating is your only way out."

"By the way, let me warn you."

"The Golden Crow Body Tempering Art you cultivate is extremely overbearing. If you stop cultivating it, demonic thoughts will keep surfacing, just as they did earlier. Had another Unorthodox Art not helped suppress them, you would have briefly lost your reason."

"And the Demonic Seed itself isn't so bad. It only makes you lose your reason for a short time. What's truly terrifying is that if you don't cultivate, it will devour your blood and qi."

"In other words, if your physique isn't strong enough, your daily cultivation will merely help it cultivate. Eventually, even ten days of your bitter training won't replenish as much as it devours in a single day."

"You'll have to weigh things carefully. Cultivating may be a road to death, but not cultivating could kill you even faster."

Having said that, the man headed into the shadows, intending to stay no longer.

Xu Qingxiao was somewhat surprised by what he had heard.

He felt even more frustrated with this Unorthodox Art.

But before the other man disappeared, Xu Qingxiao quickly spoke.

"Since you have no reward to give me, do something for me."

He called out.

"What?"

The other man had his back to Xu Qingxiao.

"Among the people who came from Southern Yu Prefecture, there's a man surnamed Cheng. He's a serious threat to me."

Xu Qingxiao left it at that, saying nothing unnecessary. He trusted the man to understand his meaning.

"Understood."

The other man nodded, then vanished completely into the darkness.

Xu Qingxiao stood alone among the trees.

He pondered for nearly an hour before finally disappearing into the darkness himself.