"You're saying that if I help you decipher the texts and teach you some meridian knowledge related to martial arts, you'll help me rescue Miss Zhong Ling?"
Duan Yu looked at Xu Xiao in disbelief.
Xu Xiao's face resembled a skull, and even with his body concealed beneath a black cloak, Duan Yu could tell he wasn't sturdily built.
Someone like this was offering to help him rescue her?
Duan Yu felt he could knock Xu Xiao down in two blows, without the Shennong Gang needing to lift a finger.
"What? You don't believe me?" Under Duan Yu's skeptical gaze, Xu Xiao casually raised a hand.
Several sharp iron slivers shot out at a speed the naked eye could barely follow, striking a large tree nearby in an instant.
Thud, thud.
The sound of sharp metal sinking into wood rang out, and the tree, as thick as the mouth of a bowl, fell straight over.
Driven by Telekinesis, the five iron slivers had struck the trunk one after another, piercing straight through it.
Even a tree as thick as the mouth of a bowl couldn't withstand an attack from iron slivers driven by Telekinesis.
"You... This! You're a master, senior!"
Duan Yu had enough discernment to recognize what he'd seen. When Xu Xiao broke a tree as thick as the mouth of a bowl with hidden weapons without batting an eye, Duan Yu immediately realized he was a martial arts expert.
Never mind the Shennong Gang; even Duan Yu's princely father, who prided himself on being a man of the martial world, couldn't pull off a feat like that.
"Now you believe me, right?" Xu Xiao waved his hand proudly, and the iron slivers flew back.
The slivers then darted around him like floating cannons, a sight that was frightening enough on its own.
"I believe you, I believe you. Senior, your martial arts have truly reached divine perfection. This junior admires you immensely."
If Duan Yu had only revered him before, the sight of the iron slivers flying around Xu Xiao had left him flat on the ground in astonishment.
If someone claimed that was an immortal art from a storybook, people would believe it, let alone martial arts.
"Good. Then come with me. The sooner you teach me, the sooner I can rescue your sweetheart, Miss Zhong."
Xu Xiao took two steps forward before realizing he didn't know where he was either.
"Um, Young Master Duan, do you know which direction the Wuliang Sword Sect is in?"
Duan Yu: ╯□╰
About half an hour later, Xu Xiao and Duan Yu flew through the air and arrived at Sword Lake, which belonged to the Wuliang Sword Sect.
They followed Sword Lake until they reached a cliff, not far from the Wuliang Sword Sect's Infinite Jade Wall.
They had originally been walking, but Xu Xiao thought Duan Yu was too slow, so he simply used Telekinesis to carry him through the air at a low altitude.
Duan Yu didn't weigh much anyway, only about seventy kilograms, so carrying both of them placed no strain on Xu Xiao's Telekinesis.
But such a method also left Duan Yu both revering and fearing Xu Xiao.
Even though he had never practiced martial arts, he knew they couldn't reach such a level.
The ability to ride the empty air had already surpassed the realm of martial arts.
Is he an immortal who cultivates in the mountains and forests?
Duan Yu thought of the stories in storybooks about people cultivating diligently deep in the mountains in pursuit of the immortal path.
Scholars had always delighted in discussing the legends of Peng Zu and the exploits of those who favored consuming elixirs and refining medicines during the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties.
The two stood suspended in the air above Sword Lake when Xu Xiao suddenly seemed to remember something and asked:
"Duan Yu, can you swim?"
"Yes, I can. May I ask, senior... Waah-glug, glug!"
Once Duan Yu had answered, Xu Xiao didn't wait another moment and promptly threw him into the lake.
In the television adaptation, Duan Yu's fortuitous encounter began when he accidentally slipped off a cliff on his way to Zhong Ling's home and fell into Sword Lake. Only at the bottom of the cliff did he discover Langhuan Blessed Land.
Xu Xiao didn't know where Duan Yu had fallen off the cliff, so he could only toss him down from this cliff beside Sword Lake.
Hopefully Duan Yu's protagonist halo will be of some use.
Hovering in the air, Xu Xiao kept his eyes on Duan Yu, watching him bob up and down in the water. At the same time, he descended and began searching the area.
Whether Duan Yu's protagonist halo had worked or the people of the Wuliang Sword Sect were all idiots, Xu Xiao couldn't say.
But the method really did lead him to a strange spot.
At a concealed bend downstream from Sword Lake was what looked like a landslide or a cave.
Meanwhile, the unfortunate Duan Yu was struggling to swim out of the water.
Seeing Xu Xiao land beside him, Duan Yu couldn't help opening his mouth to complain. "Senior, why did you suddenly..."
"Shh!" Xu Xiao gestured for silence and casually waved a hand. Duan Yu's clothes immediately began shaking wildly.
A great many droplets were flung off, and the drenched Duan Yu instantly felt much better.
"All better? I was just borrowing your luck to find something. Now I've found it."
Xu Xiao smiled at Duan Yu without the slightest hint of apology for throwing him into the lake. Instead, he took the lead and headed toward the strange spot he had seen.
"Follow me."
Duan Yu was helpless. The situation was stronger than the man; he couldn't very well demand an apology from such a mysterious, unfathomable being, could he?
Besides, Xu Xiao had seemed quite polite along the way. Apart from throwing him into Sword Lake just now, he hadn't really done anything excessive.
To save Miss Zhong, I'll put up with it for now. I should hurry and help him translate those texts. Then I can rescue Miss Zhong sooner.
After comforting himself with these thoughts, Duan Yu followed Xu Xiao at a leisurely pace.
Xu Xiao, who was leading the way, had already floated over to the strange spot. Peering inside, he saw that it was indeed the entrance to a cave.
Rocks and plants screened the surrounding area, making it very well hidden. If he hadn't been keeping an eye out, and if Duan Yu hadn't been thrashing in this direction in the water, he wouldn't have found it either.
Sure enough, a protagonist who's a child of destiny really is different.
Xu Xiao thought of the three protagonists from the previous world who had called the police and gotten him locked up. If he hadn't seized the initiative ahead of them, their fates wouldn't have changed in the slightest.
"Young Master Duan, I'll go down and scout ahead. Follow me in a little later."
Confident in his ability to fly, Xu Xiao flew into the cave first.
The cave looked naturally formed from the outside, but the farther in he went, the more traces of human carving he found.
After following the cave passage for several dozen meters, Xu Xiao arrived in front of a stone door.
Just as I thought! Langhuan Blessed Land, Wuyazi and Li Qiushui's love nest-I found it!
"Young Master Duan, you can come down now. Watch your step; it's slippery."
After calling out toward the cave entrance, Xu Xiao didn't wait for Duan Yu to come down.
Taking the lead, he pushed open the tightly shut stone door and stepped inside.
As soon as he entered, he saw signs everywhere that people had once lived there: stone tables and chairs, stone beds and cabinets, as well as some women's grooming implements.
Xu Xiao understood that this was the furniture Li Qiushui and Wuyazi had acquired together when she lived here.
But these weren't what he was after. Xu Xiao wandered around the cave and felt about for a while, finally finding a mechanism.
He gave it a gentle twist, and a stone wall silently opened, revealing another secret chamber.
At the same time, Duan Yu, who had just entered the cave, looked into the secret chamber as the stone wall opened and couldn't help crying out:
"Wow! An immortal! Immortal sister!"