[He walked toward Old Woman, laughing as he went. "Don't worry. I, Old Li, am not the sort to keep everything for myself. We'll split it fifty-fifty, fair and square-"]
[Old Li suddenly stopped three paces in front of Old Woman.]
[His smile froze on his face, and he looked down at his chest. A sword tip protruded from it.]
[The Azure Frost Sword had pierced his back and emerged through his chest. Clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.]
[You said softly, "Besides the Changfeng Fist, I know Old Woman's Cloud-Treading Crossing. I also know how to use a sword, well enough to kill you without a sound."]
[Old Li opened his mouth. Blood spilled from its corners and dripped onto the clothes over his chest, spreading into a startling patch of red.]
[You stood behind him, both hands still gripping the saber hilt, holding your thrusting stance. Your fingers were clenched white, your knuckles jutting out, yet they did not tremble in the slightest.]
[Though you were alarmed, you had long been on your guard.]
[Old Li's accepting this job without hesitation was enough to reveal his greed. What he said after you finished off the third Azure-Patterned Leopard had laid his ambition bare.]
[If you had failed to take precautions against something so obvious, all those years you lived in the last simulation really would have been wasted!]
[As for why Old Li had done this...]
[Even though you did not care about the reason, you knew it.]
[People died for wealth, as birds died for food.]
[Zuo Yunchi had offered too much-so much that having just one fewer person to share it with could completely change the rest of someone's life.]
[Who would willingly crouch on a branch in Severed Dragon Ridge, feeding the mosquitoes? Who would willingly take on potentially fatal jobs at the Gathering Worthies Hall for a little silver? You had not done this because you had a conscience. Unfortunately, a conscience was not something everyone possessed.]
["Old Li," Old Woman said softly, "you're right. This deal is too big. Splitting it between two really is better than splitting it between three. But... why should those two be you and me? I wouldn't dare work with someone like you."]
[Old Li pitched forward and hit the ground, throwing up a small scattering of dead leaves. His hand was still raised. His fingers twitched twice, then finally went still.]
[You released the sword hilt. The Azure Frost Sword remained embedded in his back, swaying gently with his body's final spasm.]
[The mountain forest fell silent. Evening light slanted through the treetops, staining everything dark red. Wind passed through the woods, sweeping up a few fallen leaves. They struck Old Li, then tumbled aside.]
[After a long while, Old Woman spoke. "When I heard him accept this job without hesitation, I knew this day would come. I don't blame him for entertaining the thought. What demon hunter can trust their teammates with their whole heart? His mistake was that his punch failed to kill you."]
[You: "..."]
[Though what she said was not wrong, why did it sound so strange?]
[You and Old Woman were something of a master and disciple. She was not on her guard against you. She took the skinning knife from Old Li's body and went to deal with the Azure-Patterned Leopards.]
[You received the remaining six thousand taels without trouble. Selling the cub brought in another six thousand, and with the two-thousand-tael deposit... after dividing it up, you received seven thousand taels of silver.]
[That night, good things came in pairs.]
[In the eighteenth year, you were thirty-three. After you chopped down a tree, purple light burst forth.]
A purple trait?!
Jiang Mi's breathing stopped for a moment.
[Endless Vitality (purple): Flowing water does not strive to be first; it strives to flow on without end. Whether injured or poisoned, your body will slowly heal itself, ceaselessly and without end.]
Slowly heal itself?
Jiang Mi stared at those lines three times: the first with delight, the second with puzzlement, and the third in contemplation.
This trait looked like trash, but the thing was, it did not specify an upper limit.
Did that mean that as long as she did not die and was given enough time, any injury could heal? Could severed arms and legs grow back? Could even the deepest poisoning be slowly purged?
Regardless, a purple trait alone was enough to make Jiang Mi happy.
[You sat cross-legged on the bed, thinking over today's gains. This money was more than you had earned through five years of hard work. You tallied the silver you had and felt that you would not need to work hard again for the rest of your life.]
[Early the next morning, you went to find Old Woman.]
[Old Woman was basking in the sun outside the inn. Seeing you approach, she narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Leaving?"]
[You nodded.]
["I guessed as much long ago." Old Woman took a small cloth bundle from inside her clothes and handed it over. "Take it. A little something from this old woman."]
[You opened it and found four low-grade spirit stones inside.]
[You froze for a moment and wanted to decline, but Old Woman waved her hand. "Don't turn it down. Take it. You did the most work this past year, yet you got the same share of silver as me and Old... Old Li, and you were always giving me extra silver. This old woman knows all of that. These few things aren't much. They're just to give you a little more backing for your cultivation, so you won't keep thinking about that deadly cultivation method. You really mustn't practice that method..."]
[She rambled on at length, and you listened attentively.]
[After a long while, Old Woman waved her hand. "Go on, go on. Remember, you've learned Cloud-Treading Crossing. If you ever find yourself unable to get by, come find me at Gathered Worthies Manor. If I'm gone..."]
[She fell silent for a long time. Just as you could not help speaking up to ask her to take those words back, she said, "Head east and say an old woman surnamed Zhou sent you."]
[You paused. "East? Where?"]
[Old Woman did not answer. She merely waved her hand, narrowed her eyes, and continued basking in the sun, as though her earlier words had been nothing more than a casual remark.]
[You stood before her for a while. Seeing that she did not want to say anything more, you simply changed the subject. "Old Woman, do you want to come with me?"]
[Old Woman lifted her eyelids to glance at you and smiled. "Off you go. This old woman won't see you off."]
[That was a refusal.]
[After walking a dozen or so paces, you suddenly looked back.]
[Old Woman was still sitting there, her small, thin body curled up in the wicker chair. Sunlight shone on her graying hair, dazzlingly bright. She was not looking at you, only watching the people passing along the street, her face expressionless.]
[You suddenly remembered meeting her for the first time five years ago. She had been just like this then, too, sitting in the doorway in the sun, her eyes narrowed like an old cat's.]
[Five years had passed.]
[You withdrew your gaze and continued forward.]
[You left Gathered Worthies Manor, left that dirt road you had walked countless times, and stepped onto the main road.]
[You had considered many places to cultivate, but in the end, you still chose Liu Family Ferry. The world was in chaos now, and villages or towns were constantly at risk of being razed overnight. In your last simulation, you had lived in Liu Family Ferry until you were sixty-seven and had only heard of a disaster in the neighboring town. That alone offered a glimpse of how safe Liu Family Ferry was.]
Before you continue