Hearing the shout, Lin Shisan instinctively looked up.
A woman in white stood at the edge of the Black Maple Bamboo Forest, her head held high and her bearing aloof.
A black veil covered her face, concealing her true features.
She was tall and slender, with an icy elegance, skin like ice and bones like jade.
Several servant disciples followed behind her.
Their heads were all lowered in utmost respect and obedience.
One glance was enough to tell that the woman in white was no ordinary person.
At the very least, she was an outer sect disciple.
Certainly not someone a small fry like him could afford to offend.
Lin Shisan hurriedly put the little black cauldron into his Locator Ring.
He patted himself down with both hands, then rushed over with quick, short steps.
In the Tai Chi Hall, servant disciples were nothing but small fry.
They occupied the very bottom rung and dared not offend anyone.
"This lowly disciple greets you, Immortal Lady. What are your instructions?"
Lin Shisan approached the woman in white, his words filled with deference.
Immortal Lady was the title servant disciples used for all the other female disciples of the sect.
Male disciples were called Immortal Lords.
Female disciples were called Immortal Ladies.
"Dark-skinned boy, have you seen my spirit cat?"
The woman in white looked down her nose at him, her manner overbearing.
A spirit cat was a cat demon.
Once subdued and bound by a contract, it transformed into a spirit pet.
"In answer to the Immortal Lady, this lowly disciple has been busy chopping trees. I truly haven't noticed your spirit cat."
The black maple bamboo had left Lin Shisan in a sorry state.
How could he have had the attention to spare for some spirit cat that had nothing to do with him?
"Were you the one chopping that black maple bamboo?"
"In answer to the Immortal Lady, yes, this lowly disciple was chopping that Black Maple Bamboo."
Lin Shisan answered respectfully.
The woman in white looked at Lin Shisan.
Then she looked at the black maple bamboo he had yet to cut through and the wooden bed beside it.
"Chopping iron trees at the First Body Tempering level really is asking too much of you."
"Stop chopping for now. Go with them and find my spirit cat."
Lin Shisan instinctively furrowed his brow.
He already had a heavy workload and little time. Any further delay would make finishing it impossible.
"What... you don't want to?"
The woman's voice suddenly turned icy.
A chilling aura of bloodlust poured from her.
Lin Shisan shuddered involuntarily.
It felt as though a keen blade had been pressed against his throat.
"I do... I'm willing..."
Though reluctant, Lin Shisan hastily changed his answer.
He had no doubt that the woman in white could end his little life with a mere lift of her hand.
Compared with returning to face Chen Yang's punishment for failing his task, Lin Shisan feared losing his life right here far more.
"Hmph... a small fry like you wouldn't dare defy me."
The woman in white snorted coldly.
Her murderous intent faded with it.
Had Lin Shisan hesitated even a little just now, he might truly have died on the spot.
And so, Lin Shisan set aside his work and joined the ranks searching for the spirit cat.
Together with the other servant disciples, he hurried through the mountains and beyond.
They searched for nearly half a day.
They had practically run their legs half a length shorter, yet had not found so much as a cat hair.
"Aah..."
Just as everyone was growing anxious and uneasy, a heart-rending scream suddenly came from nearby.
Lin Shisan and the others hurried toward the sound.
When they reached the scene, Lin Shisan froze just like everyone else.
His heart clenched violently, and three deep furrows creased his brow.
The inhuman horror before them shocked them to their very souls.
A servant disciple lay in a pool of blood, his belly ripped open and his body drenched in red, wailing helplessly.
Before him stood a catlike demon three or four meters long, still chewing something bloody.
Through the blur, they could make out the shape of the servant disciple's internal organs.
Lin Shisan's gaze went unfocused.
That ill-fated small fry was none other than Niu Shan, the servant disciple assigned to chop thunderwood.
As he struggled, Niu Shan also caught sight of Lin Shisan.
Before he could speak to Lin Shisan, blood gushed from his mouth in torrents, mixed with bits of white, black, and yellow matter.
"...Help... me..."
With all his remaining strength, Niu Shan managed only those two words.
Lin Shisan's heart twisted into a knot of iron, trembling fiercely.
He desperately wanted to go and save him, but how could he possibly have the strength?
Niu Shan was at the second level of Body Tempering, yet he had already become food for the catlike demon.
At the first level of the Body Tempering Realm, charging in would be meaningless. He would only add another meat dish to its meal.
It would be utterly futile.
His heart was willing, but his strength fell short.
Lin Shisan glanced at Niu Shan, then silently lowered his head.
Everyone who walked the great path of cultivation had their own allotted fate.
Perhaps this was Niu Shan's fate.
Before long, Niu Shan died miserably in the pool of blood, his heart full of unwillingness.
When the aloof woman in white finally arrived and saw the catlike demon, her delight instantly transformed her into a girl next door.
"You little Little Tabby Cat, you really are naughty."
"Don't be so naughty next time. Come into big sister's arms!"
The catlike demon's vicious gaze made Lin Shisan shrink his neck.
Then it stretched and shook its body.
Its tail curled, and in an instant, it transformed into a cute, docile Little Tabby Cat.
It trotted over with a swaying gait, meowing.
The woman in white scooped up the catlike creature.
Full of tender concern, she took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from the corners of its mouth.
As she wiped, she spoke.
"You greedy little kitty. How many times has big sister told you not to eat random garbage outside? It'll affect your growth."
With that, the woman in white happily stepped through the air and departed.
She left behind a group of thoroughly terrified servant disciples, their eyes fixed on their noses and their thoughts turned inward.
As for Niu Shan, who had died horribly in the catlike demon's jaws, the woman in white had not spared him a single glance.
The strong devoured the weak. Niu Shan really had been nothing more than food for the catlike demon-and the kind of garbage food that inspired disgust, at that.
"We... we should all go too..."
Only then did the other servant disciples recover from their numbness.
Sharing the same plight, they left one after another, their faces bleak.
Only Lin Shisan remained, standing there in a daze, unable to calm his emotions for a long time.
Human lives were cheaper than
grass.
In the end, Lin Shisan dug a hole on the spot and placed Niu Shan's body inside.
He gathered some dry grass and branches, then filled it in, easing a little of his guilt for watching him die without helping.
"Farewell, Senior Brother Niu. We were fellow disciples. This is the only thing I can do for you."
"Don't blame me. I was powerless too. May you be born into a good family in your next life."
He bowed three times.
On the way back, countless thoughts swirled through Lin Shisan's mind.
It was as though a huge rock had been hurled into a tranquil lake, leaving his chest painfully clogged.
Waves surged.
Wild billows raged unchecked.
For the first time, he realized how fragile a human life could be.
In this world where the strong devoured the weak, the weak could only be fish and meat on the strong's chopping block, slaughtered at will.
They were worth even less than a Little Tabby Cat at a powerful person's side.
That bloody scene was the clearest proof.
So no matter how difficult the path of cultivation became, he had to press forward without ever turning back.
Otherwise, Niu Shan's fate today would be his own tomorrow.
I must become strong.
Only by becoming the strongest can I finally take control of my own fate.
Lin Shisan silently made up his mind.
By the time he returned to the Black Maple Bamboo Forest, the sun was already setting.
Niu Shan's fate could no longer be changed, but he still had to struggle on and survive.
He steadied himself, cast aside the tangled thoughts in his mind, and turned his heartache into strength.
Swinging his Crescent Chopping Axe, he hacked desperately at the black maple bamboo.
He would make up for all the work he had lost today.
Chopping trees was Lin Shisan's first step toward becoming strong.
Before you continue