That Fleeting Chance

Li Yan turned and walked back into the valley, thinking as he went. It seemed he had missed a perfect chance to escape. How could he have been so careless? He already knew the predicament he was in, yet he had still been this heedless. His life could be in danger at any moment now. Who knew when Strategist Ji would lose control of the fire poison and slaughter him, the "pig" he had been fattening?

No, since I have this chance, I can't hesitate. I have to leave shortly. I can't wait any longer, or I'll regret it beyond measure. With that thought, he hurried back into his room. There was little to pack. A few changes of clothes and nearly two months' pay were in the brown wicker chest beside the table; bundling them up would be simple. But carrying a bundle would attract too much attention. He might as well just tuck those few dozen taels of silver into his robe and leave, rather than draw unnecessary eyes.

Although he had not left the valley for two months, Chen An and the others had delivered the few dozen taels due to him as Deputy Commandant for Defense each month. That had reassured him considerably. Now the money would serve as traveling expenses once he escaped; without it, getting anywhere would be difficult.

His mind made up, he sat cross-legged in his room, regulating his breathing and gathering his strength. After a little while, he would rise, leave the valley, and flee. He did not yet know that even with Strategist Ji absent, getting out would take some effort. Without orders, Chen An and Li Yin would not readily let him leave.

His recent cultivation of the Gui Water True Scripture had truly progressed as though aided by Heaven. It lived up to its reputation as an ancient immortal art from the Immortal Spirit Realm, and it was a cultivation method specifically designed for his constitution. In barely more than ten days, he had already felt his water spiritual energy grow rapidly. He could not yet inspect the inside of his body, but he vaguely sensed that the great vat holding his water spiritual energy had filled by roughly one-fifth in that short span. His body had become more agile, and his strength had increased considerably.

This cultivation speed was nothing short of terrifying. Li Yan thought that, if he continued at this rate, he could reach the peak of the first level of Qi Condensation in less than a year. He was partly right, but not entirely. How could there be shortcuts on the path of cultivation? His current speed had three causes. First, this method had been created for his particular constitution, so he was naturally like a fish in water. Especially at the beginning, when he was going from nothing to something, his growth was bound to be swift. Second, the spiritual-energy vat within him was actually pitifully small, making it feel as though his spiritual energy was increasing quickly. Third, he did not yet know that on the path of cultivation, progress grew slower in the later stages, whether in cultivation methods or magical arts.

While he was regulating his breathing, he suddenly heard footsteps outside. Lunch is here. Once I've eaten this meal, who knows when I'll get the next? I'd better stuff myself full first. At least I'll have the strength to run. He rose at once and walked toward the door.

"Li Yan, I heard you were looking for me?" Just as Li Yan reached the door and touched its handle, a familiar voice rang out. Hearing it struck him like a thunderbolt. He froze, his mind buzzing. Who else could that voice belong to but Strategist Ji? For a moment, his spirits plunged into an abyss.

Fortunately, he possessed some self-control. After steadying himself, he pulled the door open with a bewildered expression. He knew that this teacher of his could extend his divine sense outside his body, but he had not felt its pressure just now. Perhaps Strategist Ji had not released it.

"Oh, Teacher? You're back!" Once the door opened and he saw Strategist Ji's face clearly, Li Yan looked momentarily startled, then spoke with delighted surprise.

"Oh,

</di>

I had urgent business and went away for a while. When I returned just now, Chen An told me you were looking for me, so I came to see you."

"I was looking for you because I have a few questions I need your guidance on!"

Strategist Ji looked far from well. His clothes were torn in several places and faintly stained with blood. Wisps of blackness now showed on his already ashen face.

After Li Yan had left that day, Strategist Ji had made his decision: he would travel to the location marked on the map and take a look before deciding anything further. He could feel the fire poison becoming increasingly difficult to suppress. As long as he took extra care on this journey and avoided fighting anyone, he could still withstand the spiritual energy spent along the way. Having decided, he had promptly left the valley and headed west.

But storms could arise from a clear sky, and human plans could never outmatch Heaven's calculations. Li Yan, too, had suffered utterly rotten luck. Strategist Ji's journey should have covered nearly thirty thousand li there and back. With the time spent searching for treasure, it should have taken at least a month or two. Yet after traveling several thousand li into Great Green Mountain, he happened to encounter a mid-stage rank-one demon beast. By rights, the route he was following was one he had explored before. Demon beasts of that level should only have appeared once he ventured more than ten thousand li into the mountains. By then, he would have been advancing stealthily, doing his utmost to avoid beings he could not currently defeat.

The Immortal-Seeking Lineage's long heritage included quite a few methods of concealment. Some used the scents of medicinal herbs, while others took advantage of mountains, rivers, and terrain. With those methods, as long as he did not venture tens of thousands of li into Great Green Mountain, he could evade the vast majority of demon beasts. Otherwise, without a few tricks up their sleeves, how could the Immortal-Seeking Lineage seek immortals in places scarcely touched by human footsteps? They would long since have vanished into the river of history.

This time, however, for some unknown reason, the demon beast was limping on one leg. It seemed to have been injured in a fight with a human or some other living creature. Now it had come all the way out here and happened to run straight into Strategist Ji. Completely unprepared, he had no chance to conceal his whereabouts.

A mid-stage rank-one demon beast was a being comparable to a cultivator at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Condensation. When the injured beast saw a human cultivator and judged from Strategist Ji's aura that he was nowhere near its match, its ferocity blazed to the heavens, and it charged at him.

Strategist Ji was only at the third level of the Qi Condensation Stage. How could he possibly be its match? Fortunately, the beast's injured leg had not healed, severely hampering its movements. Seeing that things had taken a bad turn, Strategist Ji immediately turned and fled. But the injured beast's rage had never subsided. Having finally found someone to vent it on, how could it let him go? It pursued him relentlessly. One fleeing and the other chasing, they raced toward the edge of Great Green Mountain. Several times along the way, the beast used its superior cultivation level to forcefully close the distance. Strategist Ji had to exhaust every means at his disposal, unleashing both immortal arts and worldly martial skills, before he barely managed to escape to the mountain's edge.

The demon beasts and ghosts within Great Green Mountain generally did not venture beyond it. According to the records, several million years ago, great numbers of demon beasts and ghosts had emerged from Great Green Mountain on several occasions, wreaking havoc in the human world and leaving ordinary mortals crying out in

ceaseless misery. Later, powerful human cultivators intervened. A bitter struggle followed, with countless casualties on both sides, including many lofty Gold Core Realm cultivators, rank-three demon beasts, and ghost kings. Only when several Nascent Soul patriarchs of the human realm emerged did the situation take a turn. They agreed on certain conditions with the opposing peak rank-four demon beasts and ghost emperors. The exact terms were beyond the knowledge of ordinary mortals and low-level cultivators. From then on, however, those demon beasts and ghosts retreated into the depths of Great Green Mountain and rarely appeared in the mortal world again.

Thus, when Strategist Ji escaped to the edge of Great Green Mountain, the demon beast dared not cross the forbidden boundary by even half a step. It was as though some binding force existed beyond the mountains. It could only roar at him repeatedly before turning and darting back into Great Green Mountain.

Only then did Strategist Ji let out a long breath, but he was furious beyond measure. Not only had he failed to find the secret immortal art, he had nearly lost his life. Although he had escaped alive in the end, he had expended a great deal of spiritual energy in battle. That had left him barely able to suppress the fire poison within him, his spiritual energy on the verge of running wild. After this ordeal, returning to his previous condition was almost impossible. Even restoring his spiritual energy to a stable state would take several months.

He could only return to the strategist's residence in frustration. He needed several months of quiet recuperation to suppress the fire poison before deciding what to do next. If he recovered well and Li Yan had not yet reached the peak of the first level of Qi Condensation, he would enter Great Green Mountain to investigate again. He certainly did not believe he could be so unlucky twice. Besides, next time he entered, he would exercise caution from the outset rather than being as careless as he had been this time.

When he returned to the strategist's residence and reached the valley entrance, Chen An and Li Yin immediately stepped forward to salute him. They saw Lord Ji's terrible complexion, his torn clothes, and the bloodstains on them, but dared not ask. His lordship must have gone into the heart of the Meng Kingdom again. But why has he come back like this? Could the Meng Kingdom have gained an expert as skilled as his lordship? They only entertained those thoughts privately; how could they dare voice them? They then reported that Li Yan had been looking for him. Strategist Ji nodded in acknowledgment and asked how Li Yan had been doing lately.

Chen An answered cautiously, "The young master's temper seems to have been somewhat unsettled recently."

Strategist Ji nodded again upon hearing this. He naturally knew all about that.

"Also, the young master suddenly asked for a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone recently. He often copies out poems, songs, and things of that sort. His behavior is a little strange. I've kept the sheets he wrote on, but I don't know what to do with them," Chen An added quietly.

"Oh? Then bring those papers here for me to look at." Hearing this, Strategist Ji had already guessed most of what was going on.

Chen An and Li Yin soon carried over two large chests. Once the lids were opened, Strategist Ji casually picked up a few sheets to examine. They contained nothing more than verses and passages of classical prose from the books he had previously placed on the shelves in the various rooms. The writing was scattered and disordered, clearly copied at random. As for the handwriting, it really left much to be desired.

After examining a dozen or so sheets, Strategist Ji put them back in the chest and told Chen An and Li Yin, "These are of no use. Li Yan only wrote them to take his mind off things. From now on, when you clean up things like these, just take them to the kitchen and burn them as kindling." He naturally knew

</di>

that Li Yan's inner fire had simply risen with nowhere to vent, so he had found this way to soothe the agitation in his chest. Strategist Ji himself had used similar methods before, such as playing the zither or the flute.

Having said this, he walked into the valley. He did not return directly to his own room, but headed straight for Li Yan's quarters. Once he had found out what Li Yan wanted, he intended to shut himself away and recuperate quietly for a while. Unless something necessary arose, he would receive no visitors.

When he reached Li Yan's door, he did not use his divine sense to check whether Li Yan was cultivating. His injuries this time were serious, and he had lost too much spiritual energy. Using divine sense also required spiritual energy to sustain it, so he conserved what he could and simply called out.

Looking at Strategist Ji's dark, ashen face and somewhat ragged clothes, Li Yan knew his chance was gone and could not help feeling regret. In his present condition, Strategist Ji would probably not leave the residence again anytime soon. Yet even in such poor health, he still made it impossible for Li Yan to escape easily.

"Teacher, what happened to you?" Li Yan asked with concern. On one hand, his concern was naturally a sham; on the other, he genuinely wanted to know where Strategist Ji had been during the past ten-odd days.

Forcing a smile onto his dark, ashen face, Strategist Ji said, "I traveled far from home on some business and unexpectedly encountered a formidable enemy along the way. Still, I slew that fellow. I suffered some injuries myself, but I'll be fine after a period of recuperation." His account was half true and half false.

Hearing this, Li Yan thought privately, What a pity. Anyone capable of injuring him must have been a cultivator too. If only they could have killed him! What a shame. I really did miss a perfect chance to escape.

"Oh, I only wanted to ask you about a few problems I encountered while cultivating. It's nothing urgent, so I won't keep you from recuperating, Teacher," Li Yan said, bowing respectfully.

"I see. But that is no small matter either. Come, come, tell me what the trouble is." Once Strategist Ji heard that it concerned Li Yan's cultivation, he naturally could not allow any delay.

Hearing this, Li Yan could only step aside to let him through. Strategist Ji entered the room and found a chair to sit in, while Li Yan stood beside him with his hands lowered. Then Li Yan began racking his brains for the first-level formula of the so-called Wood Yin Technique and came up with five or six questions. Naturally, his questions could not be too simple. Otherwise, would all his hard practice over the past ten-odd days not have been wasted?

After listening, Strategist Ji nodded. These were indeed problems that commonly arose during cultivation, and he began answering them one by one. Li Yan wore an attentive expression, occasionally interjecting to get to the root of an issue. This pleased Strategist Ji even more, making him feel as though even his injuries had improved a little.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Li Yan's face lit up with sudden understanding, and he bowed once more. Strategist Ji nodded in satisfaction. "You must cultivate diligently. I hope to see you reach the second level soon. That way, even if I pass away, you'll have some ability to protect yourself in this world." By the end, his words seemed tinged with sorrow.

Li Yan's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Teacher, with your abilities, you'll surely be fine after a little more recuperation. I will certainly work even harder at cultivating to repay the kindness of my teacher."