Nickname

He Yuqing saw Shi Xuan looking at her and hurriedly lowered her head. Hesitantly, she said, "I only wanted to assist you, Senior..."

Shi Xuan sighed helplessly. There was nothing he could do about such an accident. Fortunately, he had a backup plan. He took a Soul Sealing Ghost Summoning Talisman from his hidden pouch, circled Liang Shenglou once according to the positions of the Heavenly Gang, and muttered an incantation under his breath. The talisman in his sleeve gave off a gentle glow, then sank slightly. Shi Xuan understood that he had successfully collected the soul.

He Dahai and He Yuqing watched Shi Xuan circle Liang Shenglou with strange steps before muttering a few words to himself. They found it odd, but did not take it too seriously. The talisman's glow was faint and hidden by his sleeve. Besides, it was perfectly normal for a senior whose martial arts were unfathomably profound to display a few strange habits. Having none would have been abnormal.

Returning to the fire, Shi Xuan looked at the "Longevity Treasury" he had tossed onto the ground. Thinking of Liang Shenglou's crazed eyes just now, as well as all those people in the past who had betrayed, murdered, and schemed against one another for this treasury, he somehow recalled a joke he had once read. He immediately made up his mind.

Picking up the "Longevity Treasury," Shi Xuan opened it and silently mobilized the power of the Five Elements within his body, casting a Transcription Technique. It was an extremely basic spell, so it required neither soul power nor incantations. It was mainly used by cultivators to copy books and scriptures.

Shi Xuan focused his mind and transcribed eight characters onto the blank space at the very front of the first page. Read in order, they said: "To master divine arts, swing the blade and castrate yourself." Well, this treasury had been difficult to begin with. If someone truly castrated himself and became pure of heart and free of desire, perhaps it might actually work. Whoever encountered this book by chance in the future could only pray for good fortune.

Once he was done, Shi Xuan closed the treasury and tossed it over the fire, more than two zhang away. Seeing the baffled looks on He Dahai and He Yuqing's faces, he slowly said, "This secret manual is of no use to me. I merely wished to examine the different path that my predecessor had taken in martial arts, so as to verify my own learning. Now that I have finished reading it, naturally I discard it."

Upon hearing this, not only He Dahai and He Yuqing, but even the other escort agency members who had been watching this way were utterly stunned. Then feverish looks appeared on their faces as they stared fixedly at the "Longevity Treasury" on the ground. If not for their concern that Shi Xuan might have other arrangements, they would likely have begun fighting over it.

Seeing their expressions, Shi Xuan shook his head and smiled. "You had better think this through. If you truly obtain this secret manual, you may no longer be able to enjoy the life you have now. You will be hunted everywhere. You will not be able to eat in peace, sleep in peace, or even drink water in peace. No matter where you hide, people will find you. Your Dad, mother, wife, sons, and daughters will all be seized to threaten you. Are you sure you can escape that? And even if you can, you may not be able to master it. So, do you really want this secret manual?"

Shi Xuan's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, extinguishing part of the desire in their hearts. Yet as they looked at the treasury on the ground, they were deeply unwilling to let it go. In their sluggish hesitation, a figure suddenly pounced forward, snatched up the "Longevity Treasury," and rushed toward the door. It was Du Yuhan, who had retreated into a corner earlier.

Everyone watched helplessly as Du Yuhan stole the secret manual, and fury immediately surged in their hearts. But Du Yuhan's Lightness Skill was indeed exceptional, and his martial arts surpassed theirs. In just a few breaths, he had dashed out the door and vanished into the torrential rain.

Seeing that they could not catch him, He Yuqing turned to Shi Xuan, who sat as steady as a mountain, and said with a hint of coquettish complaint, "Senior, look! He stole the secret manual!"

Shi Xuan laughed. "Since he obtained it, it is his fate. Ha! Hahaha!" The more he thought about it, the funnier it became, and the gloom in his heart from earlier was swept away.

Not knowing what Shi Xuan was laughing about, the escort agency members felt both disappointed and remorseful. Tonight's experience had been like an inconceivable dream: first terror, then shock and relief, then wild joy, and finally disappointment and regret tangled together. In such circumstances, they had not even noticed Cheng Ying, the young page, secretly escaping through the window lattice. Shi Xuan had noticed, but he had no intention of interfering.

By the time the escort agency members came to their senses, not even a shadow could be seen. They could only return to the fire with their heads hanging low. Over the following hours, He Yuqing repeatedly wanted to approach Shi Xuan, but whenever she saw him sitting with his eyes closed, calmly tending his spirit and ignoring everyone, she could not summon the courage.

Before they knew it, the sky had begun to brighten faintly.

Seeing that the rain outside had stopped, Shi Xuan waved a hand and extinguished the fire. He rose to his feet, nodded slightly to the escort agency members looking at him, clasped his hands, and said, "We met by chance at the roadside. Let us part here."

He Dahai suddenly had an inspiration. He dropped to his knees before Shi Xuan and repeatedly kowtowed. "Please accept my daughter as your disciple, Senior! Please accept my daughter as your disciple, Senior!" One hand kept tugging at He Yuqing's hem. Once He Yuqing understood, she gritted her teeth and knelt as well. "Please accept this junior as your disciple..."

Shi Xuan was startled too. He had not expected there would come a day when someone begged him to take a disciple. But he still found the time for seeking immortality and pursuing the Dao insufficient, and had no desire to burden himself with a disciple. Added to that, he disliked He Yuqing's temperament, so he had no intention of passing the Returning to Truth Scripture on to her. After some thought, he slightly raised his hand to stop He Dahai and He Yuqing from kowtowing. "This humble Taoist enjoys the mountains and wilderness and dislikes restraints. I also have important matters to attend to, so it would be inconvenient to take a disciple. Yesterday, I acquired several secret manuals. Miss He, why not choose one to cultivate?"

Seeing that Shi Xuan's attitude was firm, He Dahai and He Yuqing did not dare press the matter. After all, the other party's martial arts were supremely high. If they truly angered him, their lives would be in danger.

After rising, He Yuqing walked properly to Shi Xuan's side, then crouched halfway down and searched through the secret manuals. After hesitating for a moment, she selected one and said to Shi Xuan, "Senior, this junior chooses this one."

Shi Xuan glanced at it. It was the "Sun-Gazing Sword Art" taken from Gao Wenqi. He casually accepted it and flipped through it. It was indeed a fine secret manual that cultivated inner strength and swordsmanship together. He handed it back to He Yuqing and pointed out several bottlenecks in the art. After listening to his guidance, He Yuqing withdrew with gratitude mingled with reluctance.

Shi Xuan looked at the four remaining secret manuals at his feet and said to the escort agency members, "Chief Escort He, escort leader He, and escort leader Xu may each come choose one. The remaining one can be cultivated jointly by the rest of you escorts."

Everyone was overjoyed. He Dahai chose Peng Tianxiao's saber manual, while He Xiangshan and Xu Ying each took one secret manual searched from the men in black. To them, these were precisely what they lacked to raise their martial arts another level, and they were endlessly grateful to Shi Xuan. As for the remaining escorts and runners, they nearly worshipped Shi Xuan on their knees. They had never known whether they would have a chance in this lifetime to obtain even a single inner cultivation manual, yet now they had received a profound secret manual that could be cultivated until the Minor Heavenly Cycle realm, where all Eight Extraordinary Meridians were open. The turning point of their lives lay right before them.

"Since you have taken the secret manuals, I will take the silver. That can count as compensation for my intervention." Shi Xuan bent down and placed the silver into his bundle. There were roughly a hundred taels. Perhaps because they had come out to hunt someone down, they had not brought much silver with them, leaving Shi Xuan with little gain.

Everyone said that the senior only wanted them to accept the secret manuals with peace of mind. They did not know that Shi Xuan truly lacked money.

After putting away the silver and slinging his bundle over his back again, Shi Xuan did not bid them farewell once more. He simply turned and headed out of the temple. Only when the senior Daoist was nearly at the temple gate did everyone realize they had not yet asked his name. He Yuqing hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Senior, may we know your honored name? Please tell us, so that we may remember your kindness every day."

Shi Xuan had no intention of telling them his name. Then he recalled how, back in university, after his dorm mates had read Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, they would always teasingly call him "Evil King," "Evil King." Evil King my ass—his name was still one character short.

The escort agency members watched the senior stride gracefully out the door and drift away, leaving behind only a lingering sentence.

"Just call me the 'Evil King.'"

Coming back to his senses, He Dahai said uncertainly, "Could the senior be a member of the Demon Sect? No wonder we had never heard of such a person in the Jianghu. The Demon Sect has always been secretive."

He Yuqing said thoughtfully, "No matter what, the senior saved our lives. Only today did I learn that martial arts could reach such heights. I truly was far too arrogant before."

"Yes, Niece Yuqing is right. Chief, why should we trouble ourselves over that?" Xu Ying said happily, clutching his secret manual.

"I am simply somewhat frightened in retrospect. Good thing we knew when to stop and did not pester the senior. People of the Demon Sect are known for being moody and unpredictable." He Dahai had recalled what had happened when they begged Shi Xuan to take a disciple.

He Xiangshan, who had been silent at one side, suddenly said in a low voice, "Chief, should we..." His eyes pointed toward the escorts and runners beside them, who were jubilant and had even begun memorizing the secret manual.

He Dahai fell silent for a while before saying quietly, "No. Our secret manuals are more valuable, so there is no need to covet that one. Once they cultivate that manual, they will be even less likely to reveal that we obtained secret manuals today. Besides, what if the senior takes a whim to come visit us someday?"

Only then did He Yuqing realize what they were talking about. She found it utterly unbelievable. She had never imagined human hearts could be so complicated. Her heart was a chaotic tangle, and she did not know what to say, yet she felt as if she had grown up tremendously overnight.

He Xiangshan nodded. "You are right, Chief." Privately, however, he exchanged a glance with Xu Ying behind He Dahai's back, and only then did the two reveal relieved, relaxed smiles.

After leaving the ruined temple, Shi Xuan raced toward the forest. Only after finding a dark place untouched by sunlight did he stop. He took the talisman from his hidden pouch, chanted an incantation, performed the spell, and threw the talisman before him. With a whoosh, a cloud of black smoke rose up, and Liang Shenglou's figure flickered indistinctly within it.

Because he had been restrained by the Soul Sealing Ghost Summoning Curse, Shi Xuan could see Liang Shenglou's ghost without opening his Heavenly Eye. Seeing that Liang Shenglou's ghost still wore a dazed expression, Shi Xuan said loudly, "Mr. Liang, should you now tell this humble taoist about Guangyang Hermit?" PS: The power only just came back.