Chapter 13

Chun Chou was surprised to see Qiao Linglong and Liu Ting’er. Qiao Linglong and Liu Ting’er were equally surprised to see the two of them.

Surprise—mixed with delight.

Chun Chou stepped forward to greet them, then, holding the pot of Marrow-Cleansing Grass, said, “Go find a table and sit first. Order some dishes. We’ll put our things away and come down.”

Qiao Linglong smiled. “Alright, Brother Chun Chou, no rush. We need to sit and rest for a while anyway.”

Liu Ting’er’s gaze fell on the flowerpot in Chun Chou’s arms. She said softly, “Brother Xie, it’s more important to settle that pot of Marrow-Cleansing Grass first. We’re not in a hurry.”

Both Chun Chou and Qiao Linglong looked at Liu Ting’er in surprise.

Then Chun Chou smiled, nodded slightly, and left.

Qiao Linglong tugged Liu Ting’er along to a table in the corner.

The waiter came forward. The two ordered a few inexpensive dishes and a pot of spirit tea.

The spirit tea was served. Once the waiter withdrew, Qiao Linglong lowered her voice and said to Liu Ting’er, “Ting’er, in the future just call him Brother Chun Chou, or Chun Chou-ge. No need to call him Brother Xie.”

Liu Ting’er looked puzzled. “But don’t his younger siblings all have the surname Xie?”

Qiao Linglong smiled “True, but his surname isn’t Xie.”

After a pause, she added vaguely, “You know my father is the mayor of Hongye Town. I know a little about their family. The Xie couple treat Chun Chou very well, and his younger siblings treat him well too. But when his name was registered in town, it was only ‘Chun Chou.’ When he attended the cultivation school, he also used only those two characters. Their family came from elsewhere. It seems there’s some hometown custom—so as the eldest son, Chun Chou doesn’t bear the Xie surname.”

“What kind of custom?” Liu Ting’er pressed.

Qiao Linglong took a sip of tea and did not reveal that Chun Chou was adopted. The Xie couple had never hidden it, but neither had they publicized it. Even her father had only mentioned it inadvertently and warned her not to spread the matter. She had agreed.

She lifted her storage pouch and smiled. “I’m not sure about that. Everyone just calls him Brother Chun Chou—the spirit plant cultivator Chun Chou. No one calls him Young Master Xie or anything like that.” Then she brightened. “Enough about that. Thanks to Ting’er’s spirit beast, we gained quite a lot on this trip. With these, we can long-term rent a small courtyard and finally have a place to settle.”

They had no other trades, however. They would still have to venture to the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Demon Forest, gathering herbs and fruits, risking their lives hunting demon beasts to earn spirit stones—so they could endure the coming year and obtain official identity jade tokens.

More immediate was the impending beast tide. It had its own pros and cons. During it, they would be confined indoors—its not ideal. But afterward, opportunities would abound. Collecting demon beast corpses, extracting beast cores and useful materials, harvesting spirit herbs and fruits—all of it could be exchanged for more spirit stones, to aid cultivation and prepare for entering a sect.

Liu Ting’er said nothing further. She trusted no one easily. Partnering with Qiao Linglong was simply because she knew her background—metal and fire dual spirit roots, sword cultivator ruthless enough in battle and strong in combat. Liu Ting’er herself was too young, her cultivation too low; acting alone would draw too much attention, and her spirit beast had not yet matured. After a year, they would part ways. She had many matters to handle alone.

Still, this Chun Chou is strange, she thought. To be the eldest son and not even be given the family name… how odd. As she pondered, she subconsciously used her sleeve to cover her wrist.

Upstairs, Chun Chou and Ling Wuji quickly settled the herbs in their upper-floor room.

The room had a bedroom, a small sitting area, and space for a bath barrel, facing south.

Chun Chou was satisfied. He asked the waiter for a small table, placed it beneath the window, and set the Marrow-Cleansing Grass and Jade Beauty Flower upon it. Only then did he clap his hands.

“Let’s go eat!”

Ling Wuji shook his head. “This is an inn—it’s not entirely safe. I’ll stay and watch the plants.” Seeing Chun Chou frown, he added, “I’d also like to bathe first. As for dinner,just have the waiter bring something up.”

They had not bathed for several days in the forest.

Chun Chou smacked his forehead. Ling Wuji loved bathing—at home, if convenient, he would wash twice a day, sometimes preferring long soaks.

“All right,” Chun Chou said. “I’ll go chat with them downstairs. Since we’re from the same place, we can exchange some information.”

Ling Wuji nodded.

The waiter hurried off to fetch hot water.

Chun Chou closed the door and went downstairs to dine with Qiao Linglong and Liu Ting’er.

They did not ask why Ling Wuji had not come down. Instead, Qiao Linglong said immediately, “Brother Chun Chou, Xu Xiao died that day.”

The five of them had entered the teleportation array together. Now only four remained.

Qiao Linglong’s expression was complicated. “We inquired about the teleportation array. We heard it’s damaged, sometimes functioning, sometimes not. Canglan City informed the connected cities and sects. But Hongye Town received no notice. It was pure luck we were sent here at all. If it had failed midway, who knows where we might have ended up?”

Chun Chou nodded. “I heard about that too. That’s likely why no one was guarding it. Those four were rogue cultivators—probably passing by, sensing something amiss. They must have guessed that towns and sects that received notice wouldn’t send anyone through. Only people from the mortal realm would. So they waited—and caught us, the so-called ‘trash’ from the mortal world.”

His tone carried faint mockery as he lowered his voice. “They claimed that if no major sect accepted us, we’d be sent to a teleportation array outside the Guiyuan Sword Sect. Either the array keeper in Hongye Town lied—or the rules changed long ago. If the seven great sects refuse someone now, they’re sent to the array outside Canglan City, this once-unknown place. The change may be common knowledge in the cultivation world. But in Hongye Town, no one knew.”

Qiao Linglong agreed. “Thankfully we all arrived safely. Thankfully…” That it was her who came, not her younger brother. Had he faced such danger right after teleporting, what then?

Yet she had not taken his place to protect him. It had been ambition—her own pursuit of immortality. Her brother might not thank her one day.

They discussed the events after exiting the array. Of the four attackers, two were still alive. Neither group had encountered them again. If they did, it would be another fight for survival.

Qiao Linglong even invited him, “Brother Chun Chou, would you join us at the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Demon Forest? With four of us together, we could venture deeper, store up more resources before the beast tide, and rent a courtyard with better spiritual energy.”

Chun Chou shook his head. “You know our situation. My spirit roots are too mixed; my combat ability isn’t strong. Fortunately, I can cultivate spirit herbs. Ling Wuji’s aptitude is ordinary, and his mobility limited. But he’s skilled at drawing talismans. If the two of us stay together and save, we should gather enough spirit stones soon.”

Only then did Qiao Linglong recall something—she seemed to have a secret she hadn’t told Chun Chou.

Still, she wasn’t surprised at his refusal, only slightly disappointed.

Near the end of the meal, the waiter returned to refill their tea and accidentally bumped Liu Ting’er who was in deep thought. Her left sleeve was splashed. She lifted it briefly before lowering it and stood. “Brother Chun Chou, Sister Qiao, excuse me. I’ll go change.”

She left at once.

Qiao Linglong almost called out—why not just use a cleansing spell? But Liu Ting’er was already gone. She dismissed the apologetic waiter and turned to Chun Chou.

“There’s one thing left from our previous agreement.”

Chun Chou had been distracted by the fleeting glimpse of a blue lotus tattoo on Liu Ting’er’s wrist, but he recovered and smiled. “Please, go ahead.”

“Ling Wuji,” Qiao Linglong said quietly, “has a top-grade single ice spirit root. His bone structure is also top-grade. He’s a natural cultivation prodigy.”

Chun Chou looked at her sharply.

“When the Guiyuan Sword Sect came selecting disciples,” she continued, “Father was distraught that neither my brother nor I qualified. He drank heavily and wept. He said that because of where we were born, even with good aptitude, we could not cultivate. And that the Ling family boy from the cultivation world—Ling Wuji—also had top-grade ice roots, better than mine, yet was driven to such a spiritually barren place. We were all pitiful children.”

Chun Chou opened his mouth to protest—if Ling Wuji were so gifted, why was his cultivation low? Then he understood. Hongye Town’s spiritual energy was thin. In the proper world, someone of such aptitude would soar.

As for himself…

He cupped his hands. “Thank you for telling me. But please, don’t let Ling Wuji know I’ve learned this.”

Seeing her hesitation, he added softly, “At least for now, he treats me well.”

As for the future—if their cultivation levels diverged too greatly and they could not walk the same path—that would be fate.

Qiao Linglong said earnestly, “Brother Chun Chou, you’re a remarkable spirit plant cultivator. No matter what, you’ll raise your cultivation.”

He smiled. “Thank you for the good wishes.”

After a while, she returned to her room. She had meant to settle the bill, but Chun Chou insisted on paying in gratitude for the information. She hesitated, then left.

Chun Chou lingered at the table for another half hour before settling the account and returning upstairs.

Ling Wuji had finished bathing. His long hair hung loose, still faintly damp, as he sat at the table writing.

When Chun Chou entered, Ling Wuji looked up and smiled gently. “You’re back? I’ve had fresh water prepared—the temperature is just right. Go bathe and relax.”

Chun Chou’s thoughts were in turmoil. He closed the door, walked to Ling Wuji’s side—and saw that Ling Wuji was not drawing talismans.

He was drawing him.

More precisely, it was him from a few days ago—when he had fought that ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator.

Chun Chou: “……”

He said awkwardly, “It’s one thing if you draw me in everyday moments, but why are you even drawing me when I’m fighting?”

Ling Wuji replied, “Because the Chun Chou of that moment was also very good-looking.”

Chun Chou couldn’t help scratching his cheek. “……”

Even if that was the truth, there was no need to keep saying it.

He stopped dwelling on it and instead asked Ling Wuji to change to a new sheet of paper and draw a blue lotus.

It was the design he had glimpsed, in that brief instant, on Liu Ting’er’s wrist—something like a tattoo.

Ling Wuji was slightly surprised, but immediately and carefully put away the portrait of Chun Chou. Then he lifted his brush and began, according to Chun Chou’s description, to paint the blue lotus.

💝 Support the Team

Kairat

✍️ Translator

🍵 Ko-fi