Reunion

"Junior Brother Pei." Kang Dabao could scarcely reconcile the disheveled man before him, who looked like a Rogue Cultivator from the lowest rungs, with the handsome, spirited junior brother he had known in his youth.

"Sorry to make a spectacle of myself, senior brother." The man gulped down the Cold Cicada Wine, then smiled. "Senior Brother Kang, you're as stingy as ever. You gave me a lot less Cold Cicada Wine, too."

Kang Dabao said no more. He strode to the man's bedside, pushed Wu Meng and Pei Que aside with one hand, and leaned close to examine his injuries, his expression grave.

"Who did this?"

"You wouldn't know him."

"How long has it been?"

"About half a month."

"Three-Ingredient Pill and green-leaf pepper, washed down with Cold Cicada Wine?"

"Add another five taels of kudzu root grass."

"Shall I get a resident physician?"

"No need. You can prepare it well enough, senior brother."

"All right." Kang Dabao pulled out a dozen or so Spirit Stones and tossed them to his disciples. "Quick, buy five taels of kudzu root grass and bring it back!"

The five youths inside and outside the room had yet to recover from their astonishment. Kang Dabao cursed at them again, and only then did his three disciples lower their heads and slink off toward the pharmacy, leaving Pei Que and Wu Meng at his side.

Kang Dabao said nothing more. He took out a medicine cauldron and set about preparing the medicinal ingredients with care.

The man surnamed Pei was evidently far more accomplished than Kang Dabao in this regard. He forced himself halfway upright and occasionally pointed out shortcomings in Kang Dabao's technique. Kang Dabao listened to each one and adjusted accordingly. Before long, he successfully refined the necessary medicine.

The Three-Ingredient Pill and green-leaf pepper were taken with Cold Cicada Wine. Then the kudzu root grass was lit and its smoke used to fumigate the wound, while spiritual power was continuously circulated through the Zhiwu, Fengmen, Buding, and several other acupoints.

Several hours later, the man surnamed Pei was no longer pale. Color had returned to his face, and his wounds had begun to scab over at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As long as you had enough Spirit Stones, few injuries in the cultivation world were beyond healing.

But the ingredients alone had cost dozens of Spirit Stones. What ordinary Rogue Cultivator would dare be so extravagant when treating an injury?

In just half an hour, the man surnamed Pei, who had been listless moments before, was already able to get out of bed. Everyone was delighted.

He straightened the hem of his robe and bowed deeply and respectfully to Kang Dabao. "Pei Yi thanks Senior Brother Kang."

"You should have come to find us." Kang Dabao made a gesture to support him without accepting the bow, his brow faintly furrowed.

"Surely you remember what my master said back then, senior brother." A bitter smile appeared on Pei Yi's face.

"Martial Uncle Li was our elder. We juniors only had to listen to what he said. How could we take it seriously? You and I are still disciples of Double Brightness, after all." Kang Dabao's voice caught there. He turned and waved a hand, sending a gentle breeze to push the youngsters out of the room. "Stay put," he told them.

He then casually set up a sound-blocking restriction.

"You're as kindhearted as ever, senior brother. No wonder Martial Uncle Sect Master chose you to succeed him back then." Pei Yi sighed, his tone sincere.

"Don't insult me. I'm a man who cares most about Spirit Stones, not a good person." Kang Dabao shook his head, then asked, "Weren't you and Martial Uncle Li cultivating in Feng Prefecture? Why have you come back to Pingrong, junior brother? And where is Martial Uncle Li?"

"My master failed to reach Foundation Establishment in Feng Prefecture eight years ago. He passed away." Pei Yi's eyes dimmed.

"Passed... passed away?" Kang Dabao's heart suddenly ached.

That stern little old man, the most dazzling disciple of Double Brightness's previous generation, had quietly passed away just like that?

"A clay jar is bound to break beside the well; a general can hardly avoid dying before the battle lines." Kang Dabao sighed. "Martial Uncle Li was exceptionally gifted. The old man often said he couldn't measure up to him, and that he would have to rely on Martial Uncle Li to restore the sect's standing once he reached Foundation Establishment. Who would have thought..." Kang Dabao broke off, then turned to ask, "Junior brother, I remember you were already at the sixth layer of Qi refining when I saw you ten years ago. How come now...?"

Kang Dabao was deeply puzzled. Like Little Sanzi, Junior Brother Pei possessed the rare aptitude of a triple spirit root. By rights, he should have reached late Qi refinement long ago, yet the Qi he now gave off still seemed to be only at the sixth layer of Qi refining.

"Something went wrong while I was cultivating, and I've been stuck in place for ten years. I sought out some spirit medicines, but none of them worked. I'm afraid I'll have to keep at it for a few more years. Let's not speak of old matters. I only managed to save my life this time thanks to you, senior brother. I'll repay you generously someday."

"You still won't come back with me?!" Kang Dabao frowned again.

"You know I can't go back, senior brother." Pei Yi's tone was flat.

"I'm the sect master now. Even if Martial Uncle Li were still here, he wouldn't have the final say. If I want you back, you can come back." Kang Dabao's voice suddenly rose.

"That's not all. Aren't you afraid of being dragged into it yourself, senior brother?!" Pei Yi stared at Kang Dabao, grief in his voice.

"...His influence has already risen. Fall one step behind, and you'll fall behind at every step. You can't kill him." Kang Dabao paused, his brow knitting even tighter as he tried to dissuade him.

"I have to kill him. I have to. If I don't, how can I face Que'er's parents?" The grief in Pei Yi's voice deepened.

"If you insist on bringing disaster upon yourself, you should at least think about whether you'll harm the boy. Dragging him from place to place like this, never knowing if you'll live to see the next day-how is that not letting his parents down too? Wait a few years, then think about it again." Kang Dabao glanced sideways at Pei Que in the courtyard. Pei Yi was stunned. He said nothing more, lowering his head in silence.

"We can leave the question of whether you'll come back for now. Who was that man? Tell me about him." Kang Dabao couldn't bear to see him like this and changed the subject.

Pei Yi was silent for a while before slowly recounting what had happened recently.

A donkey cart trundled out through the market's gate.

It had not gone far when, just as it entered the woods near the docks, a monk's spade came flying with a fearsome force. Its sharp blade carried a surge of Li Fire Qi as it cleaved straight through the cart's canopy.

The old donkey was so frightened that it shit and pissed itself. It broke free of the harness and fled for its life.

A man shot out of the canopy, his face pale as he activated several inferior talismans to protect himself.

"Brother Pei, I've been waiting for you for a long time." The attacker could hide no longer and revealed a sinister, vicious face. His monk's spade did not stop, flying through the air and clanging against the shield formed by Pei Yi's talismans.

"Lü Wen, all I want is a way to live. After today, I'll never return to Cloud Horn Prefecture. We've known each other for over ten years, as close as brothers. Why must you keep hounding me?" Anxiety showed on Pei Yi's face as he slapped on two more talismans.

The wounds on his body, which had only just scabbed over, split open again. Blood seeped out, gradually soaking his white robe.

"Pei Yi, save that talk for your nephew. If you don't die, how would a treacherous man like me dare close his eyes to sleep for the rest of his life?" Lü Wen sneered and flung out a Law Artifact shaped like a ridged spike. It struck the shield, and the barrier formed by the talismans shattered like a bubble.

Hatred flashed in Pei Yi's eyes. He twisted aside, narrowly dodging the spike, but the monk's spade came at him again. He dropped low and lay flat. The spade whipped up a fierce gust over his head, blowing him over.

"Haha, Brother Pei, this Bright Light Spike of yours really is useful. It truly deserves to be called a superior-grade Law Artifact!" Lü Wen deliberately taunted him again, intending to unsettle him. His hands did not slow in forming spiritual seals. The two Law Artifacts flashed in concert, and in the span of a few breaths, they came within a hair's breadth of taking Pei Yi's head several times.

That was not all. More than a dozen talismans of various kinds flew out, filling nearly half the sky before Pei Yi with golden spears, fiery lances, and ice-tipped pikes.

"Escape!" Pei Yi stepped onto the roots of a giant tree that protruded from the yellow earth. His entire body became a streak of azure light and vanished in a flash.

The giant tree suffered in his place. Its trunk, broad enough to take ten people with joined arms to encircle, could not withstand the talismans. After several enormous explosions, the remains of the tree crashed down, startling a great flock of woodland birds from the treetops.

They flew fearfully into the sky, forced to watch as their home was destroyed by a villain who had come from they knew not where.

"The thing I envy most about you, Brother Pei, is this escape art passed down by your sect." Lü Wen's praise was genuine, but the envy in his eyes grew even stronger, almost spilling out.

Even as he spoke in admiration, he wielded the monk's spade hovering in midair with greater ferocity, chopping along the path of Pei Yi's escape without showing the slightest mercy.

The monk's spade swept in menacingly, chopping through several giant trees Pei Yi used to escape in succession. Li Fire Qi kindled a blaze in the woods, making his situation even more difficult.

To evade the spade's blade, Pei Yi retreated several steps until he had nowhere left to go. His back pressed against a giant tree trunk, and it seemed his head was about to be severed.

But Pei Yi pressed both hands behind him against the trunk and poured two streams of azure spiritual power into it.

Two sturdy branches, each as thick as a person was wide, transformed into a pair of giant green-skinned hands. One knocked the monk's spade flying, while the other seized the Bright Light Spike that came a moment later. Though the former hummed repeatedly, it could not break free for the moment.

Two Law Artifacts that were by no means poor were actually unable to do anything to an ordinary tree.

Pei Yi had previously reckoned that, with his abilities, he could escape Lü Wen's interception even with his injuries unhealed. His confidence had not been without reason.

Lü Wen's abilities were indeed noticeably inferior to his.

"A Spirit-Animating Technique of Desolate Rank, Supreme Grade, at the mastery realm. Truly impressive." Lü Wen was both envious and jealous. The two had been close friends, and he had long been familiar with all of Pei Yi's abilities.

His killing intent grew even stronger. Hmph, he talks a good game. If he really saw me as a brother, why would he be so stingy as to refuse to teach me a mere Desolate-Tier Superior-Grade Abundant Grass Scripture? He even fobbed me off with talk of his sect's inheritance. And to think I treated you as an elder brother for so many years. You can't blame me for taking it for myself! Heh, that bastard's injuries haven't healed. He's just a trapped beast still putting up a fight. My next move will kill you, you Guizhou donkey!

Before he had finished thinking, a jade pendant hanging at his waist suddenly shattered, releasing a white light that formed an arched shield around him.

"Who's there?!"

The next instant, two beams of golden light shot straight into the shield. The barrier, which had saved Lü Wen several times, failed to help him in the slightest this time. It shattered, scattering spiritual light through the air.

The golden beams continued unabated toward Lü Wen's robes. The robes activated at once, releasing several bright yellow defensive restrictions, but they were as thin as paper. The golden beams lost none of their force and pierced through them one by one in an instant.

Lü Wen had no way to dodge. Despair on his face, he could only watch as the golden beams struck him. First, his body went cold. Then several organs in his abdomen felt as though they were being roasted by fire poison. The pain was unbearable, and he let out an uncontrollable scream. His legs went weak, and he could no longer stand. He fell to the ground along with several thoroughly cooked organs and a great mass of blood, his eyes vacant.

Not a trace of malice remained on his face. The two golden beams seemed to have carried away all his viciousness and jealousy in an instant, revealing his naturally honest appearance, with thick brows and large eyes.

Sorrow appeared on Lü Wen's face. He plainly knew he was going to die, yet he still struggled to raise a hand from where he lay and reached tremblingly toward the deathly pale Pei Yi. In a voice no louder than a mosquito's, he murmured, "I... I was wrong, Brother Pei. Brother Pei, save me. I was a fool. I... Pei... Brother Pei, save..."

"Bang!" A Law Artifact from afar fell a moment later. His brains burst out, splattering the surrounding vegetation.

The production line was busy today. Lao Bai had just gotten back to his rented room and didn't expect to receive such a big show of support.

Thanks to brother Jian V for the 20,000-point tip. When I was dreaming at three last night, I only dared dream of getting a few more readers following along and a few more favorites. I really didn't dream of a tip, much less such a big one for my first. Thank you for the encouragement, brother.

Thanks to brothers Wang Chengtie and Jian V for two monthly tickets each. Those were also the first monthly tickets Lao Bai had ever received.

I hope readers with time to spare will keep following along, vote, and comment. Throwing some coins at me would be good too. Brothers who are busy, please stay on the last page of the update for twenty seconds each day. Lao Bai saw that advice from another author, so that should be how it works.

I'm done for. I feel these two chapters weren't very good, and I've let down all you brothers reading who've given me so much support. What am I going to do?

I'll revise them a bit later and post another two or three chapters.