Meng Laojiu plunged headfirst to the ground, his pipe snapping in two.
The giant Han Wu grumbled as he reluctantly stuffed his enormous pitch-black sword back into his belt... He hadn't had his fill of fun!
Master Ming glanced toward the commotion at the village entrance and curled his lip.
Han Wu dragged Meng Laojiu back to Master Ming's courtyard by one foot like a dead dog, leaving a long trail of blood behind them.
"Boss Ming! Where's Second Brother?"
The giant Han Wu watched Master Ming closely, waiting for an answer.
Master Ming smiled. "Your second brother got his wish. He went to take revenge on that son-of-a-bitch immortal."
The giant Han Wu didn't seem particularly quick-witted. Reading Master Ming's lips, he learned that his shameless second brother had gone to avenge himself, and was quite happy about it...
"Second Brother's amazing! I couldn't beat that son-of-a-bitch immortal back then... He even stuck his sword into my skull! When's Second Brother coming back?"
Master Ming walked over and squeezed Han Wu's thick arm. "Second Brother isn't coming back. After fighting an immortal, he'd have to go on the run, wouldn't he? He might have fled into the Wild Spirit Land... I'm afraid... we won't be able to find him."
"Oh... Second Brother... did he save us all again?"
Han Wu lowered his head and slowly squatted on the ground. Drops of water... suddenly fell, splashing against the earth...
"Second Brother... Second Brother... we can't find him anymore..."
Inside the great vat, the curly-bearded Du Yuan sighed, feeling bereft.
The gray-robed sword cultivator landed on the ground, his short sword crimson with blood... "Du Yuan, have you spent all these years squatting in that vat?"
The curly-bearded Du Yuan rolled his eyes. "I don't even have legs. How the hell could I squat?"
Master Ming sighed and walked over to ask, "You two were the first ones Shameless sent away. Where did you actually go?"
The legless Du Yuan said, "We never left Two Realms Village at all. Shameless shut us in Granny Yu's cellar and soaked us in medicinal liquid every day... He said that since we were Martial Warriors without houtian true essence to protect our hearts, this was the only way to keep us clinging to life..."
The gray-robed sword cultivator scratched his nose. "Well, damn! Turns out I had it worst... He sealed me in ice and stuck me inside Snow Peak on the Rear Mountain."
Master Ming nodded. "Those things from the Immortal Sect and those people in the Wild Spirit Land must have spent all these years looking for us... Shameless held Two Realms Village alone to help conceal our whereabouts, too!"
Du Yuan turned his head inside the vat. "Apart from Granny Yu, there's just an Eighth Realm Golden Body Arhat from the Buddhist Sect and another fellow who keeps himself hidden... Huh? Where's that arhat?"
Master Ming froze, then suddenly turned around, trembling, and hurried to the doorway of the bedroom where Lü Bufan slept.
Behind the door curtain, Lü Bufan, whose spiritual awareness had been sealed, was still fast asleep with his limbs sprawled out. At some point, the short-haired Mute had sat down cross-legged beneath Lü Bufan's window and begun dozing...
The gray-robed sword cultivator's expression turned cold. "Impressive. I didn't even notice when he entered the room..."
Master Ming nodded. "He means no harm. He's very close to this little brat Lü Bufan. He's only protecting him quietly..."
The gray-robed sword cultivator frowned. "Is this really the disciple you took in? What sort of aptitude is this? His meridians are narrow, his spiritual platform is dim, and he hasn't the slightest aptitude for an immortal root."
Master Ming looked at the young disciple who had spent several months with him and smiled. "What? Ordinary mortals aren't good enough for you, Huang Jiu?"
The sword cultivator Huang Jiu curled his lip. "What the hell do I care? I'm just warning you not to ruin this little country bumpkin on a whim..."
"I took this fellow as a disciple on behalf of all of you..."
"Oh..."
"Wait, what did you say? On behalf of all of us? Who wants this useless thing? I sure as hell don't!"
"Shameless met the boy once, too!"
"Then send him over to Shameless. I don't want him!"
In the main room, the giant Martial Warrior Han Wu held the great vat, while Du Yuan shook his head inside it...
"No, no. Wouldn't that make us a laughingstock? We're all distinguished Seventh and Eighth Realm Great Cultivators, Eighth Realm Golden Body Martial Artists! Who would take in something like him?"
Master Ming sneered. "Oh? Fine, then. This boy is my disciple alone... Whatever happens in the future, none of you may go back on your word! Otherwise, don't blame me for turning against you..."
Master Ming flicked his sleeve and walked out, leaving two men and a vat staring at one another...
The gray-robed sword cultivator Huang Jiu continued studying Lü Bufan dubiously as snot dribbled from the sleeping boy's nose... He shook his head. "That can't be right! No matter how I look at him, he's useless!"
Inside the great vat, Du Yuan stretched his neck like an old softshell turtle... "Exactly. Could Shameless have cast some sort of illusion? Is he actually a genius, a piece of unpolished jade?"
The giant Han Wu also stared with his enormous eyes. "He's as weak as a spring chicken... I doubt he'll ever become a mighty Martial Warrior!"
Mute yawned beside the bed, revealing the severed stump of his tongue, then got up and looked at everyone...
"Abba, abba... ah, ah..."
Mute nodded in greeting to everyone, then swaggered out and went home to sleep.
The gray-robed sword cultivator Huang Jiu looked in bewilderment at Du Yuan in the vat. "What did he say?"
Du Yuan shook his head, but the deaf Han Wu nodded and said, "He said this boy has a kind heart and a good temper. Though he has no ambition... he can endure hardship and has a steadfast spirit! He thinks highly of him..."
Huang Jiu looked dubiously at Du Yuan in the great vat... "What kind of world is this? A mute spoke, and this deaf man was the only one who understood?"
Du Yuan nodded. "I'm starting to wonder if my fucking Heart-Piercing Curse is acting up and I'm hallucinating..."
Clang! Han Wu punched Du Yuan down into the vat, then picked it up and left... "May your backside rot for talking behind people's backs... I'm going to find somewhere to live! The village is almost empty... I like that mute. We'll take the courtyard next to his!"
"Go easier next time you hit my fucking head... You nearly knocked my brains out! You damned deaf bastard..."
Clang... bang...
Master Ming squatted on the ground, looking at the mangled Meng Laojiu... "Well? Figured it out yet?"
Despite Meng Laojiu's Eighth Realm Martial Warrior cultivation, Han Wu had beaten him to his last breath. His cultivation realm had collapsed, and more than half his vitality had been cut off!
"Master Ming... I understand now. Liu Ling'er and the rest of us were all pawns, sacrificed to probe Two Realms Village... Master Ming... Now I finally see it. The Immortal Sect... none of them are human!"
Master Ming smiled. "Ah... that's right. Good that you understand! But it's too late now... I waited nearly a month for you to tell me the truth! You didn't cherish the chance... Even Mute could see you were walking a road to death. You were the one who egged that stupid woman Liu Ling'er into coming out to seek her death today, weren't you?"
"Yes. I... I lost my head for a moment..."
"Forget it, forget it. Vast as heaven and earth may be... fleeing to the Immortal Sect would still be a dead end for you. Understand?"
"I understand... Then I..."
"Don't even think about staying in Two Realms Village. Big Black would definitely eat you! You'd better leave..."
"Master Ming, I don't even have Second Realm cultivation anymore... Where can I go? Master Ming... You wouldn't... You aren't asking me to..."
Master Ming rose and looked coldly at him. "Villagers are forbidden from fighting and killing one another. That was a rule Shameless laid down back then!"
"Consider this the last time I obey it... Those people you forced into Two-World Mountain are waiting for you! Go into the mountains yourself. Whether you make it into the Wild Spirit Land alive depends on your own luck! Get lost..."
The sword cultivator Huang Jiu pinched Meng Laojiu's clothes between three fingers and chuckled. "Meng Laojiu, your grandpa will send you on your way! Life and death are decreed by fate; wealth and honor lie with heaven... Off you go!"
With that, Huang Jiu raised his hand and hurled Meng Laojiu high toward the Bamboo Grove behind the village like a dead dog!
Meng Laojiu flew nearly half a kilometer, screaming and wailing, before crashing into a hollow in the mountains.
Master Ming glanced toward the village entrance. "Old Skeleton and Big Black helped scare off those things from the Eleventh Guardian City again... I'm going to see them. Are you coming?"
Huang Jiu shook his head. "Forget it. We weren't really that far from the village, and they knew it perfectly well. I'm not going... Go yourself."
Master Ming nodded. "Find yourself somewhere to stay. Granny Yu should prepare some pills to heal your wounds and strengthen your foundations... We'll talk tomorrow afternoon. Go back and get some proper rest first. Don't let that brawl damage your foundations..."
"I know. You never stop nagging. I can't be bothered with those stinking houses. I'll stay with that nest of storks for a while..."
With that, the sword cultivator Huang Jiu put away his short sword and vanished with a step. His next step landed on the roof ridge, where he sat beside the nest and began regulating his breathing.
Master Ming walked toward the village entrance. As he passed the courtyard gate, Liu Ling'er, barely alive in a corner, suddenly struggled to speak to him. "Master Ming... Master Ming, spare me... Master Ming... I'm willing to rejoin Two Realms Village. From now on, whatever you..."
Master Ming didn't even turn his eyes toward her. He simply walked past.
In a corner nearby, Granny Yu suddenly appeared without a word... Her head was lowered.
Master Ming sighed. "Forget it... Say no more. Do with her as you will. Just don't let any of us see her again... Otherwise, she dies!"
Granny Yu nodded and bowed toward Master Ming's retreating back.
Only after Granny Yu carried her to the village boundary did Liu Ling'er, nearly scared out of her wits, breathe a sigh of relief...
"Sister... Sister... Thank you for saving my life!"
"Go... Don't show your face again. In the Immortal Sect's eyes... you aren't worth a copper. Two Realms Village isn't as simple as what you've seen all these years! Don't come back..."
"Sister..."
"Enough! Don't get any ideas... I abandoned the surname Liu long ago and took my husband's surname, Yu! I'm not your sister, either... My ties with your Liu family ended long ago!"
Liu Ling'er struggled to sit up, seemingly wanting to say something more...
But Granny Yu snorted coldly, turned, and walked toward Two Realms Village, disappearing into the thin morning mist.
At the entrance to Two Realms Village, the big black dog once again lay lazily on his back beside the stone stele... At some point, Old Skeleton had climbed back onto the large rock.
Master Ming stood respectfully before the stone stele and bent at the waist in a bow...
"I, the unworthy Mingxin, today assume Wei Wuchen's position as Village Head of Two Realms Village..."
The big black dog still ignored him, while Old Skeleton muttered and cursed... Over the lands of Two Realms Village, dawn broke.