Inferior Rat Saint Soul

"Teacher, what happened to Shi Lai?"

"Intermittent central nervous system dysfunction."

"?" Zhou Xiaoxian looked bewildered. "Teacher, you're saying things I don't understand again."

"It means he's fine." Xia Yi smiled. "Come on, let's go to Wangjiang Tower."

Zhou Xiaoxian murmured assent and followed Xia Yi.

Habit was a frightening thing. Ever since becoming Xia Yi's disciple, she had eaten every dinner at Wangjiang Tower, spending more than thirty taels on average each time. In the past, she would never even have dared imagine it. Now, although the expense still pained her, she enjoyed it too.

The medicinal meals were so nourishing that she could clearly feel her strength improving faster.

Besides that, there was the large residence they now lived in, complete with a main house, side rooms, servants' quarters, and even a Rain Corridor. Its furnishings were lavish and its folding screens exquisite. Naturally, its price was even less affordable.

When she first moved in, she had been cautious, terrified of damaging anything. Now she could practice her sword freely in the courtyard. Habit had become second nature. Of course, her penny-pinching nature had not changed. For instance, she refused to let Xia Yi hire anyone to clean the large residence, doing it herself instead and treating it as training.

They made their way to Wangjiang Tower and sat down in their familiar private room. As it happened, the waiter serving them was once again Chen Guang, who walked with a slight limp.

"Same as usual, sir?"

As he asked, he raised a hand and lightly wiped his face, puzzled. "Young lady, is something wrong with me today? Why do you keep staring at me?"

"Haha, lass, don't do that. You're embarrassing him."

"No..." Zhou Xiaoxian murmured, looking at Xia Yi. Teacher, weren't you the one curious about his story in the first place? Now that Shi Lai has investigated it, why aren't you asking anything?

After a pause, unable to contain her curiosity, she ventured, "Uncle Chen, were you once a student at the Holy Academy? And the senior disciple of your year?"

Chen Guang's humble smile briefly froze before returning to normal. "I'm not worthy of being called Uncle Chen. Where did you hear about me?"

"Well, it doesn't matter where you heard it. It's all in the past." Chen Guang shook his head. "Now I'm just a waiter at Wangjiang Tower. In the future, perhaps I'll become the manager of another big restaurant? Heh..."

"So you really were..."

"Lass, don't ask people about their painful memories to their faces," Xia Yi interrupted.

Zhou Xiaoxian froze, then hurriedly rose and bowed slightly, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, Uncle Chen."

"Oh, please don't." Chen Guang hurriedly turned sideways to partly avoid Zhou Xiaoxian's bow, his humble smile never leaving his face. "There's nothing I can't talk about. Actually, I wanted to say something to you several visits ago, young lady, but I was afraid it would be too forward."

Zhou Xiaoxian blinked. "Several visits ago?"

Chen Guang nodded. "Whenever the old gentleman pays, I notice how pained you look, young lady. I imagine you're good at managing a household's expenses."

"Just say she's greedy for money," Xia Yi said with a laugh. "No need to be polite."

"Teacher!"

"There's nothing wrong with being greedy for money," Chen Guang said. "But you must... never let money blind you."

Zhou Xiaoxian only half understood, but realization dawned on Xia Yi. "An inferior rat saint soul?"

"Yes. You're very knowledgeable, sir."

"What... is an inferior rat saint soul? A category of saint soul? Aren't there only three kinds: universal, comprehended, and heaven-bestowed?" Zhou Xiaoxian asked.

Xia Yi leaned back and slowly spoke, his voice tinged with reminiscence. "That's a story from long ago. Around a thousand years ago, when the Human Race and Demon Race were locked in endless war, one human hero after another emerged."

"One of those heroes had the surname Si and protected the Human Race of a region. His given name can no longer be verified. Once, he let his guard down and fell victim to a sneak attack by a rat Great Demon. His wife and children were all captured."

"The Great Demon held his wife and children hostage to make him betray the Human Race. For their lives, the hero surnamed Si planned to play along, pretending to cooperate with the rat Great Demon while seeking a chance to rescue them."

"However..."

"However, what?" Zhou Xiaoxian hurriedly pressed when Xia Yi drew out the word.

"He succeeded, but he also failed." Xia Yi shook his head. "He rescued his wife and children, but before long, he took them back to serve under the rat demon, betraying the Human Race completely!"

"...Why?!"

"While he was playing along with the rat demon, he unknowingly comprehended a three-star saint soul-demon slave-which left him unable to control his own heart!"

"Demon slave?! There's a saint soul like that?"

"There is. During the middle stages of the war between the Human Race and Demon Race, demon slaves were the hardest enemies to guard against," Xia Yi said with a sigh. "A comrade who fought beside you one day might take your life the next!"

"The demon slave saint soul became the Demon Race's best means of controlling the Human Race. And because a rat Great Demon had first discovered it, it was also called the inferior rat saint soul!"

As Xia Yi spoke, a sense of ancient sorrow seeped into Zhou Xiaoxian's mind, bringing tears to her eyes. Noticing this, Xia Yi quickly adjusted his emotions and continued:

"Later, the meaning of inferior rat saint soul expanded. Any saint soul that negatively affected a cultivator came to be collectively known as an inferior rat saint soul. Due to certain concerns, the Holy Academy now teaches students nothing about inferior rat saint souls until the advanced classes."

His cheek twitched, and Xia Yi glumly offered an example he had only recently learned about. "You should know the story of Martial Sage Guan Yu passing through five tribes and slaying six Great Demons. What happened back then wasn't that simple. During those events, Guan Yu had already imprinted the five-star inferior rat saint soul, Fox King's Son-in-Law, yet he managed to destroy it through his own willpower. That was why later generations revered him for his loyalty and righteousness."

"So that was it," Chen Guang interjected. "Back then, I thought there was something odd about that account of the Martial Sage. Shattering a five-star inferior rat saint soul through sheer willpower-he truly deserved to be called the Martial Sage."

Xia Yi smiled. "Being able to shatter even a one- or two-star inferior rat saint soul through willpower is already impressive. Those related to money, such as forsaking righteousness for profit and being blinded by money, are all one- or two-star souls."

Blinded by money? Zhou Xiaoxian's little face tightened slightly.

"Besides," Xia Yi continued, "shattering your own saint soul carries risks. After all, you have to use saint soul power to attack your own soul aperture. The slightest mistake can damage your three souls."

"In severe cases, you die on the spot. In milder cases, it can still easily end your cultivation path. You might even have perfectly intact limbs, only to suddenly discover that your speech is slurred, one hand won't move, or one leg... has gone lame?"

Zhou Xiaoxian's face tightened further. Then something struck her, and she looked at Chen Guang in surprise.

A trace of bitterness mingled with Chen Guang's humble smile. "Sir, you really are laying my scars bare to my face. Your guesses... were all correct."

"What a pity. There's almost no hope of treating an injury like that." Xia Yi sighed softly. "If you have thousand-year-old soul ginseng, along with some medicinal ingredients that nurture the three souls, when you shatter your saint soul, you won't end up like this. So you needn't be too nervous either, lass. With me here, you'll be fine."

Zhou Xiaoxian relaxed a little, only to hear Xia Yi add, "It'll just cost ten thousand taels of silver."

Ten thousand taels? Heavens, that expensive?!

Zhou Xiaoxian's eyes widened, but then she felt something was wrong. I can't begrudge the silver, I can't begrudge the silver. If it needs spending, spend it. Wait, that's still not right. Why has Teacher made it sound as if I already...

Her little face changed colors like a miniature dye workshop. Finally, she glared at Xia Yi, her cheeks puffed out. "Teacher, you're awful!"

Xia Yi roared with laughter.

The little exchange between master and disciple eased some of Chen Guang's sorrow too. "It's still best to avoid it if possible. Even if you spend ten thousand taels of silver to prepare a Soul-Guarding Saint Medicine, there's still a tiny chance of damaging the three souls. It isn't absolutely safe."

Xia Yi's smile faded slightly, and he looked at Chen Guang.

Chen Guang paused. "Sir?"

Xia Yi shook his head gently and said with absolute certainty, "There's nothing wrong with the medicine. It's absolutely safe!"

Chen Guang froze. Only after a long while did he give a dry laugh. "Ah, then what I heard was wrong. Back then, even if I'd sold everything I owned, I couldn't have scraped together ten thousand taels of silver. Ah, it's all in the past now.

"All right, sir. I've spent so long listening to stories here that the head chef will be scolding me. Same as usual, correct? I'll go put in your order."

Xia Yi murmured assent and watched him leave, his brows drawing together slightly in thought.

Outside the private room, as soon as he closed the door, Chen Guang seemed to lose all his strength. He closed his eyes dejectedly and leaned against the door, his face filled with pain.

Only after a long while did he slowly walk away.

That humble smile returned to his face.