Page 48

"Childhood is actually when it's easiest to sense this pure joy. It's the clearest time in a person's life, when they can observe things most truthfully. Put that way, people actually possess the Buddha's state from birth. It's just that as they grow older and enter the world, they go from clarity to turbidity. As that turbidity accumulates, it becomes harder to notice the simplest emotions, and harder to find the purest happiness in simple things."

Xie Xiyi: "..."

Could picking up a stick really lead to enlightenment?

He finally gave the stick a serious look and held out his hand to Chi Yu.

Chi Yu smiled slightly and placed the stick in Xie Xiyi's hand.

Xie Xiyi held the stick and contemplated it for a few breaths-naturally, he gained no insights.

He glanced at Chi Yu and tucked the stick into his sleeve.

Chi Yu didn't notice this little action. He leaped into the air a few times, climbed onto a branch, and looked around before telling them happily, "There's a village not far away. Let's spend tonight there."

Although the Wasteland teemed with demons, it had plenty of mortals and cultivators too. This village was an ordinary settlement of mortals and cultivators.

Of course, all its cultivators were at the Qi Refining Stage, with even the strongest only at the fifth level.

When Chi Yu led Xie Xiyi and Xiaoqiu into the village, a big yellow guard dog barked first. Chi Yu took a piece of spirit beast meat from his Sumeru Ring and tossed it over, but the dog didn't eat it, instead switching to low, wary barks.

Villagers soon came out. Upon seeing them, they immediately went to summon the village's cultivators, led by the village chief, to receive them.

The village chief soon arrived, with quite a few young and middle-aged men behind him.

As a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator, the village chief wasn't highly cultivated, but he had some knowledge. He recognized their matching Chan Sect disciple robes from the Zizai Continent at a glance, and a smile appeared on his face. "Seniors, I'm the chief of this village. If you need anything, please tell me-have you come from the Zizai Continent?"

Chi Yu readily took on the role of spokesman and smiled at the village chief. "That's right. We've come from the Zizai Continent and would like to stay in this village for a night. Would that be possible?"

"Of course," the village chief said. "But since you're Chan Sect disciples, I take it you've left the mountain to gain experience?"

At this point, he hesitated.

Chi Yu naturally understood what he meant. "Yes, we've come in search of demons. If you have any leads on that, we'll offer some compensation."

The village chief froze. He had intended to offer them some spirit stones to kill the demon plaguing the village, but from what this cultivator was saying, not only did they not have to pay, they could even receive payment?

The village chief: "..."

Such good things actually happened?

He was rather stunned, and his smile grew more sincere. He hurriedly bowed and extended a hand to invite them into the village. "Certainly, certainly. Come in first, please. Come rest at my humble home."

He invited the three of them to his home. Though he held the position of village chief, his house wasn't much different from the surrounding homes, but it was tidy and had a large courtyard planted with some very low-grade spirit herbs and ordinary fruit and vegetables.

The village chief called for his wife and told her quietly, "Xiniang, prepare a fine meal tonight. Bring out that sack of spirit rice in the side room for our honored guests."

Seeing his solemn attitude, Xiniang naturally understood the priorities and quickly agreed.

After giving his wife instructions, the village chief went to rein in the children before attending to his honored guests.

Although the Wasteland had abundant spiritual energy, cultivators at the bottom never got much out of it, so supplies were truly scarce. After rummaging around for ages, the village chief only managed to put together a plate of peanuts and melon seeds with little spiritual energy. They were all ordinary produce, hardly fit to serve, but he still brought them to his guests, his face burning with embarrassment.

Yet Chi Yu's eyes lit up at the sight of the peanuts and melon seeds. "Melon seeds? I haven't had these in ages."

His delighted expression put the village chief at ease, and he couldn't help asking, "Senior, do you like these melon seeds?"

"I do! But I rarely eat them, because cracking them leaves notches in your front teeth. That doesn't matter now, though. I cultivate, so my teeth are rock-hard."

The village chief found his tone, expressions, and gestures very approachable. Rather than a cultivator, he seemed more like a younger family member.

But he only thought that to himself. The other man could be friendly, but a mere fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator like him must never take that familiarity for granted. He therefore remained utterly respectful. "Since you like them, I'll pack you some more to pass the time on your journey."

Seeing and hearing a middle-aged man who looked fifty or sixty act so deferentially toward him, Chi Yu's smile faded. He scratched his chin and said casually, "Sure. Thank you, village chief."

He stopped making small talk and got straight to the point. "By the way, village chief, do you have any leads on demons? Ones with higher cultivation, preferably above the eighth level of Qi Refining."

The village chief nodded repeatedly. "Indeed I do. There's a mountain behind our village called Lotus Seedpod Mountain, named for its shape. Last year, a demon came to the mountain. It feeds exclusively on mortal flesh and blood, and only the young. Last year, the village had a hundred and twenty people. With three taken every month, only eighty-nine remain now. If this continues, I'm afraid everyone in the village will be eaten."

Chi Yu asked, "Do you know what sort of creature this demon is?"

The village chief answered without hesitation, "A tiger. Its cultivation should be close to Foundation Establishment."

Chi Yu turned to Xiaoqiu. "Today, I'm changing my name to Wu Song."

Xiaoqiu: "Huh?"

Chi Yu cracked an incredibly lame joke only he could understand. "Chapter twenty-three of Water Margin: Wu Song slays the tiger on Jingyang Ridge! Dun-dun-dun, clang-clang-clang, dun!"

Xiaoqiu: "..."

Sometimes he felt Chi Yu's state of mind was very advanced, and sometimes he felt it was rather low, like a little brother younger than himself.

Xie Xiyi simply watched his antics with those golden eyes, saying nothing.

Seeing that no one reacted, Chi Yu reined himself in and solemnly told the dumbfounded village chief, "Don't worry. We'll rest today and kill that demon tomorrow."

He rummaged in his Sumeru Ring and took out five hundred low-grade spirit stones, handing them to the village chief. "This is payment for the information and lodging."

The village chief gaped and hurriedly refused. "This is far too much!"

Though Chi Yu was young and had a youthful face, there seemed to be a forcefulness about him that brooked no argument. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "If I tell you to take it, take it. Hurry up. No refusing."

That one sentence silenced the village chief, who quietly accepted the spirit stones.

Chi Yu grabbed a handful of melon seeds and taught Xiaoqiu how to eat them. "Hold it, bite it between your teeth, and the shell cracks open. Eat the seed, then throw away the shell. But don't throw it on the floor, or we'll have to sweep. Too much trouble."

Xiaoqiu proved quick to learn this particular skill. Soon, the two of them were cracking melon seeds in an alternating chorus of crunches.

Xie Xiyi stood and walked outside.

He carried himself well. Chi Yu had bought him a hair tie with bells and tied his hair into a high ponytail, yet as he walked, the little golden bells behind him never made a sound.

Chi Yu stopped cracking seeds and watched Xie Xiyi leave with dignified elegance. He couldn't help telling Xiaoqiu, "His Highness really is like a cat."

Dignified.jpg elegant.jpg supermodel catwalk.jpg

Xiaoqiu: "Huh? His Highness doesn't let you call him a cat."

"I know. That's why I'm telling you in secret, isn't it?"

Xie Xiyi's voice drifted over. "I can hear you."

Chi Yu: "..."

Oh, I forgot again that cultivators have keen hearing and eyesight.

Chi Yu promptly said, "Sorry, Senior Brother Xuanji."

Xie Xiyi's pleasant voice drifted over again. "I'll forgive you this time. There won't be a next time."

Chi Yu couldn't help laughing.

After dinner that evening, the three of them went to rest in one room.

It wasn't that the village chief was inconsiderate. Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage generally no longer slept and only needed somewhere to meditate, so he had taken it upon himself to put them in one room-there really weren't any more good rooms to give them, either.

Since Xiaoqiu was young, he got the bed. Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi each took out a meditation cushion to sit on and cultivate.

Although they were supposed to be meditating, Chi Yu kept finding himself unable to resist making conversation. He tugged Xie Xiyi's sleeve, wanting to chat. "Senior Brother Xuanji, I've always been curious about something. Were your eyes like this from birth?"

Xie Xiyi didn't want to chat, but with Chi Yu tugging his sleeve every so often, he answered patiently, "I was born this way."

Chi Yu praised him. "Your eyes are really beautiful, golden like the sun. They're really rare too."

Xie Xiyi said flatly, "Xiaoqiu will have them too when he comes of age."

Chi Yu froze, then understood. "Oh, so you're not the only one who has them?"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

So talkative.

He glanced at Chi Yu and suddenly said, "You're afraid."

Chi Yu froze again. "Huh?"

Xie Xiyi said with certainty, "You're afraid."

Chi Yu found that absurd. "What am I afraid of?"

Xie Xiyi said thoughtfully, "You're afraid of many things."

Chi Yu: "?"

Chi Yu was about to deny it, but Xie Xiyi interrupted him. "You are."

Xie Xiyi's golden eyes looked straight at him. His features were so sharply defined, his eyes and brows so keen and cold, yet the corners of his lips were shallow, forming a faint curve with the slightest lift. His concern was teasing, half genuine and half feigned. "That's true. You're only seventeen, barely still a child. It's normal to be afraid."

Chi Yu: "..."

In the cultivation world, those words from the Crown Prince were outright mockery!

The smile at the corners of Xie Xiyi's lips deepened slightly. He opened his arms to Chi Yu. "I'm your senior brother. If you're truly frightened, I don't mind lending you my embrace."

Chi Yu hesitated. Xie Xiyi crooked his fingers, his voice tinged with a malicious sort of pleasure. "Need it?"