A star destroyer?
Nine Thousand Years was rather bewildered. He had never heard the term before, but he broadly understood that it must be something formidable. He lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Chen Xia patted Nine Thousand Years on the shoulder again and chuckled.
"You lot just love treating other people like fools. It's not as though I only train my body and never my brain. How could a few words from you send me off to fight that immortal?"
Nine Thousand Years gave a dry laugh. With his intentions exposed, he had no idea how to answer. After a moment of silence, he could only say,
"Actually, ambushing that immortal while he's in seclusion really would be an excellent opportunity. As the saying goes, strike while he's sick and take his life!"
"I like a fair fight," Chen Xia replied, then shook his head.
"Besides, he isn't sick. If he really were sick, I'd take back what I just said."
"Heh, heh." Nine Thousand Years laughed ingratiatingly, lowering his head without another word.
Chen Xia's words made it plain that he would not act to kill the other immortal.
So Nine Thousand Years dared not urge him any further, afraid he might displease Chen Xia and get hammered to death with a single punch.
Seeing Nine Thousand Years lower his head and fall silent, Chen Xia shook his head as well. Finding it dull, he turned and vanished in a flash.
He really wasn't afraid of that supposed other immortal.
Even if he did emerge from seclusion, what could he do? At worst, Chen Xia could find somewhere to enter sealed seclusion first.
He could wait a few hundred years, come out, and snap the fellow's flying sword with one punch.
For a gentleman's revenge, a few hundred years wasn't too late, a thousand years was still early, and ten thousand years would do.
At that thought, Chen Xia could not help uttering the words that would shape the rest of his life.
"As long as I outlive you all, I can become invincible."
That certainly made sense.
He swung his hands and walked out of the imperial city, plunging into the mortal world.
His statues stood everywhere in the capital.
He had to admit, they really didn't resemble him.
Even if Chen Xia stood beside a statue, people might not recognize him.
But that also made his outings easier. If nobody recognized him, nobody would bother him.
Experts from the Constabulary lurked nearby in disguise, scrutinizing their surroundings with extremely tense expressions to ensure the State Preceptor enjoyed his outing.
Chen Xia wasn't particularly satisfied or dissatisfied. He was just looking around. The mortal world was much the same everywhere, really. What made it interesting was the bustle of everyday life.
Not far away, a vendor holding a candied-fruit pole was calling out his wares. He wasn't selling ordinary candied hawthorns, but other kinds of fruit.
Business wasn't particularly good, though. Perhaps the fruit was expensive, which drove up his prices, leaving ordinary people unable to afford it. Only young ladies from certain lineages came to buy.
Chen Xia strolled over leisurely and asked with a smile,
"How much for your candied fruit?"
The vendor promptly replied, "Ten copper coins."
Chen Xia leaned against the wall and began chatting idly with the vendor.
"Your price is a little steep. The fruit's all in season, and sugar syrup isn't expensive either. Eight coins would be reasonable."
"But I'm talking about the old prices. They might not apply now. Do as you like."
Seeing how polite Chen Xia was, and with business slow anyway, the vendor simply started chatting with him.
"You used to sell candied fruit? You seem to know the trade."
"No." Chen Xia shook his head and replied with a chuckle, "I used to be a constable. I confiscated candied fruit."
The smile froze on the vendor's face. He pointed at the candied-fruit pole and asked in confusion, "You confiscated even this?"
"Yes." Chen Xia nodded and explained, "Mostly because I wanted some. I'd wait until he was closing his stall, confiscate the pole, take it back, eat one or two, then return it the next day. When I wanted more, I'd confiscate it again."
"Hey, eating a skewer of candied fruit is hardly a big deal. How many coins could it cost? Why not just buy it?"
"You don't understand." Chen Xia shook his head again, leaning against the corner as he continued with a smile.
"Because getting things for free feels really good."
The vendor paused, then nodded with a hazy understanding. "I... suppose so."
Silence fell between them again for a while. With nothing to say, the atmosphere grew a little awkward.
The vendor gave a dry laugh and found another topic. "Would you like some candied fruit? I'll give you the price you suggested. Eight coins a skewer."
"No." Chen Xia still shook his head gently. "It doesn't taste the same if it isn't free. Besides..."
He patted his pocket. "I don't have any money."
"Haha." The vendor merely assumed Chen Xia was joking. "You really are amusing."
"Thank you for the compliment," Chen Xia replied politely. He remained leaning against the corner, with no intention of leaving, quietly thinking.
Once people had experienced enough, they liked to reminisce.
Reminiscing didn't really amount to anything, though. Afterward came all sorts of sighs and reflections, with thoughts wandering everywhere.
In short, being so idle your balls ached.
And Chen Xia happened to be exactly that idle.
"A candied snow pear, please." A lilting, playful voice sounded nearby.
The vendor hurriedly replied, "Coming right up! Just a moment!"
He reached up, took down a large skewer of candied snow pear, and handed it to the girl before him.
Chen Xia looked up.
She was a pretty girl in a pear-yellow dress, with a jade hairpin in her hair. Wearing a sweet smile, she was saying something to her companion.
She brimmed with youth.
But that was all.
Chen Xia had lived for decades and seen far too many beauties. A pretty girl was all she was, and she held no attraction for him.
That was what he thought.
But when he saw the girl take the entire candied snow pear into her mouth,
Chen Xia felt a little tempted to ask for her contact information.
Mostly because she could fit so much in her mouth.
Fortunately, Chen Xia's decades of mental discipline had not been for nothing. He quickly steadied himself and suppressed that immature thought.
The Constabulary experts tensely watching nearby panicked at that moment and began exchanging words nonstop.
"The State Preceptor has looked at that girl quite a few times. Could he..."
"Whose daughter is she? Does anyone know?"
"I think she's the daughter of a seventh-rank civil official."
"..."
The Constabulary experts were racking their brains to fathom Chen Xia's thoughts, yet dared not act rashly for fear of displeasing him.
"Miss, that man seems to keep looking at you."
"Whaaat?" the playful girl asked indistinctly, the candied snow pear still in her mouth.
"That young gentleman over there." The maid turned to look, signaling for her young mistress to look quickly.
So the playful girl turned rather foolishly as well, meeting Chen Xia's gaze head-on.
Her face quickly flushed. She hurriedly turned away, pretending to straighten her pear-yellow dress.
He really does seem to be staring at me. Could he be interested in me? Why does he keep looking? He could at least turn his head.
He seems quite handsome, but I didn't get a clear look. Should I turn around for another glance?
The playful girl hurriedly patted her cheeks.
No, no. I have to be reserved. I can't turn around again.
Those were the playful girl's thoughts.
She can fit so much in her mouth.
That was Chen Xia's thought.
The playful girl quickened her steps, wanting to leave sooner.
Chen Xia also pushed away from the wall, ready to leave.
By rights, their paths should have finished crossing there.
But an uneasy plot always held plenty of surprises.
The instant Chen Xia stepped away,
A whistle tore through the air, trailing a fierce sonic shriek.
An arrow shot straight toward Chen Xia's head!
The Constabulary experts looked horrified and hurriedly moved to intercept the arrow.
But they were all too slow.
Fortunately, the arrow stopped.
Chen Xia had caught it in one hand.
Applause rang out. An elderly man in his sixties slowly emerged from a restaurant and praised him.
"An immortal's mighty power truly is extraordinary."
"And you are?" Chen Xia asked in puzzlement.
The elderly man replied with a smile, "An overseas Qi Refining practitioner."
That explained it.
Chen Xia nodded. "Here for revenge, then? Your method of concealing your presence is quite good. I didn't notice a thing."
Mostly, he hadn't expected anyone to still dare attempt to assassinate him.
Holding a cane, the old man still wore a smile as he replied casually, "Only two of us, that's all. It isn't really revenge. We simply couldn't let it go, so we came to settle accounts with you, immortal."
After all, outside the border pass, Chen Xia had killed fifty-six overseas Qi Refining practitioners, leaving not a single survivor.
"Then I'll just have to take two more lives," Chen Xia replied very calmly, crushing the arrow in his hand to dust as he spoke.
"This is the capital," the old man said, looking around. "This is a busy market district. Ten thousand people live within five thousand meters."
"When you kill us, will you spare a thought for those ten thousand lives?"
Chen Xia scratched his head, genuinely a little troubled, and shook his head.
"To think you even found out I'm a good person. This really isn't good."
A smug smile curled the old man's lips as he continued.
"We overseas Qi Refining practitioners mostly cultivate Divine Abilities and techniques meant for the battlefield. We seek great power and wide range. Even if I can't kill ten thousand people later, killing two or three thousand won't be much of a problem."
"Can you bear to let those two or three thousand people die?"
The old man abruptly turned, pointed at the pretty girl in the pear-yellow dress, and sneered.
"The moment I cast my spell, this girl will die first. Can you bear that?!"
Women stirred men's sympathy, and beautiful women did so even more.
An increasingly savage smile spread across the old man's lips. "I need less than half a breath to cast my spell. Do you think you can kill me completely in less than half a breath?!"
Chen Xia obligingly shook his head. He really couldn't kill him completely, because even with a hole through the head, the human body retained a brief trace of life rather than dying instantly.
There was no avoiding that, unless he directly pulverized the old man.
The old man laughed loudly. Looking at Chen Xia's thoughtful expression, his face brimmed with smugness. He rested both hands on his cane and grinned.
"Then let's have a proper discussion about terms."
"Nothing for it." Chen Xia suddenly shook his head and said helplessly,
"I can only avenge those two or three thousand people to console their spirits in heaven."
The old man's pupils instantly contracted. "You want those two or three thousand people to die?" he demanded.
"My abilities are limited. Sorry," Chen Xia said helplessly. Then he adopted a serious attitude and explained,
"But I'll definitely avenge them!"
"As the National Preceptor of Great Song, how can you think like that? You should protect these people at any cost!" the old man roared.
"Have you been reading too many novels?" Chen Xia frowned. "You want to kill people, and I can't stop you. Then I'll just have to kill you."
"You can stop it, as long as you agree..."
"No, I don't agree." Before the old man could finish, Chen Xia rejected him outright, then smiled.
"I have never compromised my life for anyone else."
The old man clenched his cane with both hands and continued through gritted teeth, "But you're the National Preceptor of Great Song!"
"That's why I'll avenge them," Chen Xia replied.
"Are you going to choose to get two or three thousand civilians killed just to indulge your own willfulness?!" the old man demanded of Chen Xia, almost roaring.
"No." Chen Xia shook his head. "I'm not the one killing them. You are. And I have something to say to you, too."
Chen Xia cleared his throat, gathered himself, and said,
"Are you going to get every Qi Refining practitioner killed just to indulge your own willfulness?!"