Choosing to play the recording

Chi Yu laughed, a deep dimple forming in his left cheek. "Hahahaha, I was joking, boss! Honestly, you're a grown man, and you still can't take a joke."

Xie Xiyi's red ghostly eyes watched him like the fires of hell.

Chi Yu: "..."

He swallowed, then feigned delight again. "Boss, if you like it, shall I make you a few more versions?"

Xie Xiyi laughed, his voice soft and pleased. "Go on."

Chi Yu: "You got it!"

Chi Yu withdrew.

After he left, Xie Xiyi softly hummed that tune. Hmm, it was very difficult. He failed.

His interest piqued, Xie Xiyi activated the Image-Retaining Pearl again.

Phantom Lightning sneaked away, but he paid it no mind.

Before long, Phantom Lightning paid Chi Yu a visit.

He gave Phantom Lightning a stroke-there really wasn't much to stroke. Having slain eight Nascent Soul cultivators that day, Phantom Lightning carried an even thicker aura of blood. Beyond that bloody aura, there was something hair-raising about it, making every hair on Chi Yu's body stand at attention again when he saw it.

After some thought, Chi Yu took out a large pot.

Phantom Lightning hopped inside with practiced ease.

Only then did Ling Tian speak, asking in some bewilderment, "What is that fiend's sword doing?"

Ling Hezhou said in a complicated tone, "Getting rid of its gamey smell."

Ling Tian: "..."

Staring at the demonic sword that had slain several Nascent Soul cultivators, Ling Tian said sternly, "You have to blanch it to remove the gamey smell. Just adding scallions, ginger, and garlic won't work."

Ling Hezhou: "Senior brother, you-"

Chi Yu saw the light. "Oh, right!"

Soon, water was heating in the pot. Not only were scallions, ginger, and garlic chopped up, but other spices were cut up too.

Human scorpion soup, coming right up.jpg

After washing away its bloody aura, Phantom Lightning slipped back to Xie Xiyi's side.

Xie Xiyi soon caught the steaming scents of scallions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, angelica root, tsaoko, fennel, cumin, nutmeg, and other spices on it.

Xie Xiyi: "..."

I should just kill that fish after all, he thought.

Author's note:

Puppy fish: What, you like me now? Then I'm going all out.

A little puppy baby who'll climb any pole he sees.

Chapter 15: Choosing to play the recording

Yan Tongchen fled back to the Xuanxiao Immortal Sect.

Leading eight Nascent Soul disciples and one at the peak of the Golden Core stage, he should have been able to handle things easily whether Xie Xiyi had broken the seal or not.

Yet every disciple had been wiped out except him.

His culpability was no small matter. Even as the sect master's direct disciple, he could not escape punishment.

Yan Tongchen first went to the Law Enforcement Hall to receive his punishment.

Because he was the sect master's direct disciple, the Law Enforcement Hall elder showed considerable mercy with the whip. Even so, he was gravely injured and would need years to recover.

After receiving his punishment, Yan Tongchen forced his battered body onward to find his martial uncle, Immortal Lord Qingxuan.

Immortal Lord Qingxuan's cave abode was one of only two blessed lands in the Xuanxiao Immortal Sect. Immortal palaces towered there, untouched by mortal dust, and the spiritual energy was so dense it almost became tangible. Specks of golden rosy cloud jade marrow drifted through it as well. This substance was immensely effective at improving one's aptitude and innate constitution, yet Immortal Lord Qingxuan did not particularly treasure it, letting it float and roam about his abode.

After entering the immortal palace, Yan Tongchen took a deep breath, drawing the jade marrow in the spiritual energy into his spiritual platform. It immediately nourished his meridians and innate constitution. Even his severed arm tingled faintly, as though new flesh were about to sprout.

But Yan Tongchen knew this was only an illusion. A Nascent Soul cultivator's severed limb would take at least half a year or more to grow back.

An attendant serving Qingxuan invited him into the main hall, served him tea, and withdrew.

Immortal Lord Qingxuan's voice arrived before he did. "I have already heard about your punishment."

Yan Tongchen rose, his face filled with shame. "Martial uncle."

Immortal Lord Qingxuan entered the hall dressed entirely in white, spiritual radiance drifting around him like flowing clouds. His features were cold and profound. Traces of his oppressive aura seeped out, pressing down on Yan Tongchen until sweat covered his body and his knees buckled, nearly forcing him to the floor.

He understood that his martial uncle was angry. Without further delay, he told him about Xie Xiyi's escape from the Nine Nether Dark River.

Immortal Lord Qingxuan's expression did not change. "Even if he escaped, his cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage. You actually couldn't defeat him?"

"No!" Yan Tongchen said urgently. "He wasn't-he killed eight Nascent Soul cultivators single-handedly! There's something strange about him! And... and the sword in his hand seemed to have been forged from jade marrow..." His voice weakened toward the end.

Immortal Lord Qingxuan's cold expression finally changed. "Did you see it clearly?"

"Beyond any doubt!" Yan Tongchen said. "Martial uncle, there really is something strange about him! His cultivation is indeed at the Golden Core stage, but his spiritual power surged as though it were inexhaustible. And the black runes that appeared in the Image-Retaining Pearl when he killed Ling Hezhou appeared again this time. Martial uncle, Xie Xiyi probably found some other opportunity beneath the Dark River. And when he escaped, not a single seal had been disturbed! All the seals and restrictions were intact!"

Yan Tongchen took a deep breath and continued, "There was another cultivator with him, at roughly the Qi Refining Stage. One disciple seemed to have been killed by him, using cruel methods. I suspect he has secrets too."

Immortal Lord Qingxuan said, "I am aware of this matter now. You need not concern yourself with what follows. Focus on recovering. I will plead your case with your master."

Though unwilling to accept this, Yan Tongchen dared not object. He lowered his head. "Thank you, martial uncle."

Competition in the Xuanxiao Immortal Sect had always been fierce. This mistake would probably cost him a great deal of resources.

After Yan Tongchen left, Immortal Lord Qingxuan pondered for a long time, then took out a jade token and informed his senior brother Taixuzi of Xie Xiyi's escape.

Taixuzi replied extremely quickly. "Is this absolutely true?"

Qingxuan said, "Tongchen led the team, and all eight Nascent Soul disciples and the one Golden Core disciple were lost. It is unlikely to be false. Moreover, Xie Xiyi possesses a sword forged entirely from jade marrow."

Taixuzi gave a derisive chuckle. "An entire piece of jade marrow. In the end, he did the same thing we did. What a pity about those Buddhist bones of his. With the jade marrow stained by blood, all Buddhist nature is lost. He has returned to his true nature instead-

"But he used it wrong! Golden rosy cloud jade marrow is excellent as a supplementary material for forging divine artifacts or improving aptitude and innate constitution, but it must never be used alone to make a sword! What an enormous waste! It probably took him five hundred years to recover fully. Capture him and bring him back alive. Help him cultivate a Nascent Soul, and then we will have an endless supply of jade marrow! Hah, Xie Xiyi, the deposed crown prince of Great Xia, Chan Master Xuanji with his boundless prospects, the future Buddha's Son of the Anuttara Buddhist Sect-all that is in the past! Becoming a supreme artifact-forging material is the final ending I have written for him!"

Qingxuan said, "I will send Wu Yunsu."

Taixuzi laughed. "That will be quite a show. Unfortunately, I am still at the Immortal Alliance and cannot return in time. Capture Xie Xiyi and bring him back. I will send that piece of jade marrow to the Myriad Firmament Continent. His younger brother still falls far short, after all. They are not satisfied over there. In any case, I very much look forward to meeting him."

Chi Yu sneezed and, feeling a little bored, stretched out a foot to nudge Phantom Lightning.

Phantom Lightning was very much like a dog. The moment he paid it any attention or gave it a look, it immediately came over to nuzzle him.

Not only did it nuzzle him, it even slipped its hilt up his trouser leg to rub against him, giving Chi Yu goosebumps again.

Although simply stewing Phantom Lightning in an iron pot had washed away its bloody aura and masked its heavy stench of blood, the sharpness and killing intent it possessed as the sovereign of all weapons had already seeped into its marrow. Before, its casual nuzzling had still offered a little bizarre cuteness and warmth, but now it was as though it had been given an edge. Its mere existence was enough to make one's hair stand on end and send a chill through the whole body.

It was like a large predator. It could act innocent and harmless, but it could not conceal its ferocity. And the very presence of that ferocity made others keep a respectful distance.

Chi Yu smoothed down the hairs standing on his arm and pulled Phantom Lightning out of his trouser leg, scolding it quietly with feigned ferocity. "Stop rubbing. Do it again and I'll spank your bottom swollen."

Phantom Lightning hummed and raised its tip, waiting with its tail up.

Chi Yu: "..."

Afraid that hitting it would only make it feel good, Chi Yu closed his eyes and pretended he had seen nothing.

Xie Xiyi finished listening to another song, seemingly immersed in it with his entire being, paying no attention whatsoever to him or Phantom Lightning.

Chi Yu had come to realize that Xie Xiyi might be something of a music fanatic. He really liked music.

Chi Yu secretly edited in a soothing, tranquil piece, and sure enough, Xie Xiyi became engrossed. His fingers, pale as bone jade, rested on his knee and tapped lightly to the beat. His soft, pleasing voice seemed born for music. He did not sing the lyrics, merely hummed, his lilting voice perfectly conveying the melody's beauty and intricacy.

Because of this, Xie Xiyi's attitude toward him had also improved considerably-he demanded that he hand over two pieces of music every day.

One peculiar thing about Xie Xiyi was that he never asked where the music came from. Even though he had clearly heard him talking about the system making him do tasks, he never asked about that either.

He possessed an innate indifference and an exceedingly scarce sense of curiosity.

So much so that Chi Yu was now beginning to wonder whether he had really kept him around out of curiosity in the first place.

He never investigated his origins and took no interest in him personally, treating him rather like a stray kitten or puppy by the roadside, flippantly and casually.

Still, ever since Chi Yu had become a video editor, Xie Xiyi had been much more even-tempered toward him.

Even after he had stewed Phantom Lightning in a jumble of ingredients yesterday, Xie Xiyi had not rushed over to beat him up.

Tugging at Phantom Lightning while watching Xie Xiyi repeatedly replay and appreciate the music, Chi Yu could not help asking, "Boss, what are your plans from here?"

Xie Xiyi raised his head slightly to glance at him. "Noisy. Get out."

Chi Yu: "?"

Chi Yu: "Oh."

He scooped up Phantom Lightning and headed out. Even when he reached the doorway, Xie Xiyi did not spare him another glance.

Only after Chi Yu returned to his own room did Ling Hezhou dare to speak. "I never expected him to like music so much. I have a plan."

Chi Yu said, "Speak, my beloved minister."

Ling Hezhou said, "Give him a thousand songs and let him listen for a year. A year will be plenty of time for you to take us back to the Tianyan Sect."

Chi Yu: "Dost thou hear thyself? Are those the words of a human being?"

Ling Tian said solemnly, "There is no hurry to return to the sect for now. The sect master is in secluded cultivation and will not emerge lightly. If we go back, no one will handle matters for us. It will only give the other elders an opening."