A master was still a master, after all

In the darkness, Xie Lingchuan's voice rang out again, sounding as much like a reminder as an order.

"This demon can only see light. Just use your swords, and avoid spells if possible. Otherwise, the light from your spells will draw more of them, and that will be trouble."

"Understood!"

Several bright voices rang out beyond the window, sounding like youngsters rubbing their fists and palms, ready for a fight. Zhu Lianqing guessed they belonged to the fellow disciples traveling with Xie Lingchuan.

Before she could think further, Xie Lingchuan drew the oil lamp out of Zhu Lianqing's hand.

"Sorry. I need to borrow this."

Then Zhu Lianqing watched Xie Lingchuan put away his sword and leap out the window with the oil lamp, luring the moth inside the room out after him.

The scattered moths outside gathered as well. At a rough count, there were seven or eight altogether, but none were as large as the one Xie Lingchuan had lured outside.

The oil lamp was blown out, and sword light flashed.

Zhu Lianqing stood inside, watching the interweaving figures of the Luoyu Sword Sect disciples by moonlight.

Their sword moves blended softness with strength. They looked like the third sect master's disciples. In that case, perhaps she had met them before, but her memory was rather poor, and she could not remember.

As for Xie Lingchuan, every move of his sword held undisguised sharpness and ferocity. He was her disciple, all right.

Not bad. He's improved quite a bit these past two years.

The young disciples seemed several ranks below Xie Lingchuan and lacked practical combat experience. They struggled somewhat to deal with the great flapping moths using sword moves alone, so while contending with the moth demon leader, Xie Lingchuan also had to spare time to help his junior brothers and sisters.

Fortunately, though they struggled, the Luoyu Sword Sect's disciples were no pushovers. Before long, a heap of severed moth wings littered the ground.

Zhu Lianqing watched the fight and offered her assessment-not bad, quite perceptive. They know to cut off the wings before dealing with the bodies.

Otherwise, all those wings flapping back and forth will give me a cold soon.

Song Wensheng seized an opening and drove his sword through the bellies of two moth demons. The juices that splattered out nearly sprayed onto Jiang Tingxue's clothes beside him.

"Song Wensheng! Can't you watch where people are? If you get that disgusting stuff on me, I'll slaughter you after I slaughter this moth demon!"

"Who has time to notice you standing there in the middle of a fight? Besides, I'm your senior brother. Show some respect! What gives you the right to call me by my full name?"

Jiang Tingxue finished off the moth demon before her with a look of disgust and landed on the ground, glaring at Song Wensheng. "My only senior brothers are Eldest Senior Brother and Senior Brother Xie. What kind of senior brother are you supposed to be?"

After slicing off a moth demon's head, Shen Ji landed unobtrusively between them. "Is anyone hurt?"

Both shook their heads.

Holding his sword, Yan Qing timidly pointed toward Xie Lingchuan. "Things don't seem to be going very well for Senior Brother Xie."

The moth demon leader was far harder to deal with than the smaller moth demons, and its poison was the strongest. Despite its size, it was also very agile.

When Xie Lingchuan finally closed in and prepared to strike, the moth demon suddenly spread its wings and wrapped him inside them.

"Senior Brother Xie!" they cried out in alarm.

Then a rich, heady fragrance filled the air.

Zhu Lianqing's brow twitched.

Quite an appetite you have, you troublesome little moth, daring to swallow my disciple.

Zhu Lianqing rested her hand on the windowsill and flicked a finger, sending out a wisp of spiritual energy that seemed so faint it was almost imperceptible.

Just then, the other disciples leaped into the air, aiming their sword tips at the moth demon.

The instant they struck, Zhu Lianqing made the ball of spiritual energy explode, concealing a heavy blow to the moth demon beneath their sword moves.

The moth demon spread its great wings, sending them flying in every direction.

Xie Lingchuan broke free of the wings and landed. Looking up, he saw the moth demon preparing to flee. He was about to give chase when dizziness swept through his head, and he staggered back two steps before barely steadying himself.

The others who had been flung away finally scrambled up. "Senior Brother Xie, are you all right?"

Xie Lingchuan shook his head. "I'm fine. It got away."

"As long as you're all right, Senior Brother. We can take our time working out how to catch that moth demon. You really frightened us just now!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Xie, are you really all right? You must have breathed in a lot of poisonous fumes."

"I'm fine."

Xie Lingchuan touched his fingertips to his blade, using spiritual energy to wipe away the layer of poisonous powder coating it, then looked at the junior brothers and sisters gathering around him.

"Have you learned barrier techniques?"

Though they did not know why their senior brother had suddenly begun testing their studies, Song Wensheng and Jiang Tingxue obediently stood straight without a word. Yan Qing, however, frankly shook his head.

Shen Ji stepped forward. "I'll set up the formation with you, Senior Brother. They haven't reached that part yet."

Xie Lingchuan gave a hum of assent and flew onto the eaves with his sword. Shen Ji flew onto a low wall opposite him.

Their swords flew into the air, circling like a taiji bagua formation. Blue light spread outward from the sword formation, gradually covering the sky above the entire village.

This was a relatively simple formation for setting up a barrier to prevent demons from troubling a village, a standard compulsory lesson for the Luoyu Sword Sect's lower-year disciples.

Zhu Lianqing looked at the three young disciples standing in the courtyard. The one who had shaken his head probably really had not learned it. As for the other two... one look told her they had been slacking off in class.

Still, it's nice having an eldest senior brother to cover for you.

No wonder the third sect master had felt comfortable letting these three young personal disciples leave the mountain.

Zhu Lianqing chuckled softly and looked at the disciples in the courtyard, making sure none had noticed her secret intervention.

In truth, Zhu Lianqing was certain Xie Lingchuan could have escaped even without her help.

But a master was still a master, after all.

What master could remain unmoved while watching her own disciple trapped?

After completing the sword formation, Xie Lingchuan and Shen Ji returned to the ground.

Xie Lingchuan picked up the oil lamp he had set aside earlier, lit it with spiritual energy, then carried it as he turned toward the little house.

Zhu Lianqing's entire body immediately tensed.

She was not wearing her veiled hat now.

Although this was not her original body, facing him like this still put Zhu Lianqing under some psychological pressure.

"Senior, are you unharmed?"

Zhu Lianqing watched her young disciple approach, pinched her fingertips, then leaned against the doorframe and made a show of coughing twice.

"Me? I'm all right."

Only then did the other youngsters realize someone else was inside. They hurried over eagerly, only to see the horrifying scene inside clearly by the oil lamp Xie Lingchuan had lit with spiritual energy. Their faces immediately paled.

Jiang Tingxue even covered her mouth and cried helplessly, "Senior Brother."

Zhu Lianqing glanced back at the corpse behind her, gnawed beyond human semblance, and silently sighed.

Though the sight pained her, she had grown accustomed to such things over the years and no longer turned pale.

These poor young disciples were probably on their first trip down the mountain. Before the novelty had even worn off, they had encountered such a brutal sight.

But this, too, was the purpose of gaining experience.

The disciples the Luoyu Sword Sect trained to enter the world and quell unrest could not remain forever in the illusory trial grounds built by the sect, because the demons and monsters outside truly fought to kill.

The sooner they learned this cruel truth, the better.

Song Wensheng followed behind Shen Ji, his face also deathly pale.

But Jiang Tingxue's cry of "Senior Brother" stirred his sense of responsibility. He shifted to the right, silently blocking her view.

Even though he knew that Jiang Tingxue had been calling for Shen Ji.

"Don't be afraid. It's all right now," Shen Ji reassured his three junior brothers and sister.

Yan Qing looked just as dejected as Jiang Tingxue. "Senior Brother... did he just die like that?"

Shen Ji nodded. "Yes. As an unarmed mortal, he naturally stood little chance against demons."

Yan Qing's voice trembled slightly. "Eldest Senior Brother, did we arrive too late? We..."

Shen Ji looked at his youngest junior brother and noticed something was wrong with his mood, so he said earnestly:

"A-Qing, do you remember the other reason Master gave that day for why cultivators must not be too fragile?"

"Among the countless people in this world, even the strongest cultivator will sometimes be too late to save someone. Never abandon hope or the sword in your hand."

Zhu Lianqing watched the youngsters' little gestures and listened to their words of comfort to one another, then looked at Xie Lingchuan standing to one side with the lamp.

He stood alone, all by himself.

She could not bear it for a moment, so she took the initiative to speak to him. "Young hero, you must have sensed the demonic aura and rushed here to slay the demons. You arrived just in time. Otherwise, I'm afraid I, too, would have fallen victim to that Ghoul."

Xie Lingchuan paused briefly, then said, "There's no need to thank us. Slaying demons and vanquishing monsters is our duty."

Song Wensheng asked, "Was that man killed by the Ghoul? But we only saw moth demons just now. Where did the Ghoul go?"

Zhu Lianqing spun a tale off the cuff. "It ran away. While I was fighting it, it suddenly seemed frightened and fled. I couldn't stop it. Perhaps it sensed cultivators approaching."

Song Wensheng understood at once. "So that's what happened."

"Let's leave that aside for now. There's a young woman under the eaves outside. Her life isn't in danger, but we should still look after her first. She's had a fright. If you have any medicinal pills, give her one to protect her heart meridians first."

Hearing this, Shen Ji took a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve. "Master prepared plenty of medicine. This is just the time to use it."

"Senior Brother, what should we do about the body?"

Zhu Lianqing explained at the appropriate moment, "That young woman is his relative. Like me, they came here seeking lodging."

Hearing this, Xie Lingchuan considered for a moment, then walked toward the corpse.

"We'll first seal his acupoints with spiritual energy to keep his body from decaying. Once the young woman wakes, we should ask whether she wants him laid to rest at once or returned to his hometown."

Zhu Lianqing was rather surprised.

Though this was her disciple's first trip down the mountain, he handled things quite properly and thoughtfully.

Shen Ji and the others went to give the young woman outside some medicine, while Zhu Lianqing remained in the room.

She watched Xie Lingchuan stand before the bed and form hand seals, first clearing away the bloodstains and bloody smell in the room, then sealing the acupoints of the mangled body.

Xie Lingchuan tore a piece of white cloth from his sleeve and laid it over Wei Mingchi's eyes. He lowered his head to look at this young man, who was about his own age yet had already lost his life. His lowered brows and eyes held a cultivator's compassion.

Zhu Lianqing took all of this in.

Beyond feeling fortunate to have such a good disciple, she also sighed softly.