[Old Li was that burly man. His name was unremarkable, and he did not talk much either, but he charged into fights faster than anyone. You still did not know the old woman's surname. Everyone called her "old woman," and she had never gotten angry about it in five years. She had probably gotten used to it.]
[Over those five years, you had hunted Ironback Bears, chased Gale Wolves, and even come face-to-face with a Red-Striped Tiger at the Houtian Fifth Layer.]
[During those five years, you had also truly experienced what "life as a rogue cultivator" meant.]
[You did not manage to hunt down a demonic beast every time. Sometimes you spent half a month lying in wait in the mountains without seeing so much as a hair. While perched in a tree fork feeding mosquitoes, you often pondered life: the protagonists in those novels stumbled onto heavenly materials and earthly treasures whenever they wandered into the mountains, so why were there only mosquitoes when it was your turn?]
[Sometimes you found one but could not beat it, so you could only run.]
[Even then, you could not all run in the same direction. You had to split up, and whoever got caught was out of luck.]
[It was a very simple philosophy of survival: you did not necessarily have to outrun the demonic beast, as long as you could outrun your teammates. Of course, none of the three of you had ever done that, but you all knew that if things really reached that point, you might no longer be able to worry about teammates.]
[In the third year, Old Li was injured once. A Gale Wolf's claws slashed his belly open, and his intestines nearly spilled out. The old woman carried him on her back and ran through the night while you covered their retreat. Only after considerable difficulty did you escape back.]
[Old Li spent three months in bed. The first thing he did after getting out of bed was treat you both to a meal.]
[You ate that meal at a roadside stall: a bowl of noodles apiece, each with an added egg. Old Li's hand shook as he paid, not because he was moved, but because his muscles had atrophied somewhat after three months in bed.]
[That same year, the old woman came to see you one night and talked with you until dawn.]
[When you woke the following day, you found a martial skill she had left on the table-"Cloud-Treading Crossing."]
[This martial skill was what kept the old woman so spry at her age. It was a high-grade mortal-tier footwork skill that could be used both to fight and to flee, truly an indispensable skill for home life, travel, murder, and silencing witnesses!]
[You understood her intentions and found opportunities to slip her a good deal of silver.]
[Five years passed without your learning a single piece of news about the Green Bamboo Sect, but you did encounter one cultivation art with effects similar to the "Azure Wood Art."]
[It was called the "Evergreen Art," an art so common it littered the streets.]
[How common was it? Eight out of every ten roadside vendors at Gathered Worthies Manor sold it, and the price was so low that fifty taels of silver could buy you a copy.]
[You crouched before one of those stalls, examining a yellowed booklet over and over. Seeing your interest, the stallholder eagerly leaned closer. "You have a good eye, miss! This 'Evergreen Art' is an ancient inheritance. Cultivate it to full mastery, and you can prolong your life and preserve your youth forever..."]
[You interrupted her. "How much?"]
["Fifty taels!"]
[You put down the book, stood up, and walked away.]
["Hey, hey, hey, thirty taels! How about thirty?"]
[You did not look back.]
["Twenty taels! I'll sell it to you at a loss!"]
[Only then did you stop and turn to look at him.]
[The stallholder pulled a long face. "Miss, you drive far too hard a bargain. Twenty taels. I really can't go any lower."]
[You paid, took the book, and left. Back at your lodgings, you opened the "Evergreen Art" and read it carefully. The more you read, the more alarmed you grew. This art was almost identical to the "Azure Wood Art"-or rather, it was an incomplete fragment of the "Azure Wood Art"!]
[Old Li arrived at just the right time. Seeing you reading the Evergreen Art, he advised you not to practice this external art.]
[You did not understand why and asked a few questions.]
[Old Li waved a hand and plopped down beside you. "You came here late, so you haven't heard the rumors. The Evergreen Art is acknowledged as the most dangerous external art in Gathered Worthies Manor."]
["Dangerous how?"]
[Old Li took a puff of his pipe and narrowed his eyes in recollection. "Years ago, there was a rogue cultivator at Gathered Worthies Manor. He had decent talent, but unfortunately, he was a rogue cultivator, with neither money nor resources. Later, he got hold of a copy of the 'Evergreen Art' from who knows where, and his cultivation suddenly sped up considerably. He treated it like a priceless treasure and cultivated day and night. Guess what happened?"]
[Without waiting for your answer, he continued, "He was originally a dark-skinned fellow, but after he started cultivating it, his skin grew softer and more delicate by the day. His little face became so fresh and dewy that he looked more refined than a scholar."]
["At first, it wasn't much. He just looked a little more refined. But one day, he suddenly disappeared."]
["Disappeared?"]
["Disappeared." Old Li nodded. "No sign of him alive, no corpse in death. Not even a bone fragment remained. Later, someone went to his lodgings and found blood all over the room, on the walls and floor, everywhere, like a slaughterhouse. Stranger still, the smell of meat lingered in the room, as though he'd been cooked and eaten."]
[A chill ran down your back.]
[Old Li glanced at you, his eyes carrying the particular concern of family. "After that, no one in Gathered Worthies Manor dared touch this art. If you need a cultivation art, I know someone who sells fake medicine. He has a copy of the 'Indestructible Vajra Divine Art.' It's fake too, but at least it won't kill you."]
[You ignored Old Li's mockery and asked directly, "Then... does anyone know where this art actually came from?"]
[Old Li shook his head. "No. It was already around when I was young, anyway. No one can say who wrote it or who passed it down. Some say it's some ancient demonic art; others say it's an evil cultivator's inheritance. Whatever it is, it's nothing good."]
[He stood and patted your shoulder. "Girl, take my advice and leave it alone. Even if you've lost the will to live, choose another way to die. If word got out that you'd cultivated yourself to death, you'd be a laughingstock."]
[You did not really understand why, once someone was dead, they should care whether others laughed at them. Still, you decided to return to practicing the Qi Guiding Formula and the Qi-Nourishing Art. Though those two arts were somewhat less effective, at least they would not turn you into a delicacy in an evil cultivator's eyes.]
[In the eighteenth year, you were in your room eating a bowl of noodles the old woman had cooked, mentally counting the silver you had saved over the years, when someone suddenly pushed the door open.]
[The newcomer stood against the light, his entire figure shrouded in shadow, and asked in a cocky tone, "Are you the three from Gathered Worthies Manor who specialize in dangerous jobs?"]
[Old Li put down his chopsticks and frowned. "Who are you?"]
[The man stepped into the room, revealing his face. He was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a moon-white robe, with a jade-inlaid short sword tucked at his waist and his hair combed immaculately. Everything about him practically screamed, "I'm rich."]
[He swept his gaze over the three of you, then over the bowl of watery noodles in front of you. The corner of his mouth curled slightly into the particular smile of a spoiled young wastrel, the kind that made people want to slap him. "That's it? And here I thought you were something special."]
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