Bu Wei

Shangong Department, Wushi Sect.

“Lock them up in jail first,” Shen Ze waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to take Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng away.

Feng Zizhang had been punched on the left side of his face, and one of his eyes was so swollen he couldn’t open it. Jiang Yizheng was originally supporting him, but was roughly pulled away by a disciple.

“You won’t die, hurry up!”

Jiang Yizheng stumbled forward a step, gritted her teeth, but didn’t talk back.

Shen Ze smiled as he watched Lu Shen being dragged up from behind. He tilted his head and asked someone beside him, “What was the name of that new cook at the Ruogu Peak’s spirit food hall?”

“I think his surname was Xie, but Xie what?” The person frowned.

Lu Shen’s face looked very unpleasant. “Why are you asking about him?”

“I want to see how exceptionally beautiful that cook must be to make my martial junior Lu so concerned,” Shen Ze snorted with a laugh.

Lu Shen suppressed his anger and said, “My friendship with Fellow Cultivator Xie is purely noble. Don’t slander us with your baseless accusations!”

Shen Ze raised an eyebrow, sat down in a chair crossing his legs, and said with raised eyebrows, “You have no interest in him?”

Lu Shen said coldly, “It’s none of your business. Those two fellow cultivators just now were also innocent. You’re just being greedy for money.”

“I’m not just greedy for money, I’m also greedy for beauty,” Shen Ze curled his lips. “Bring me that cook surnamed Xie!”

“Shen Ze!” Lu Shen angrily summoned his natal sword. “Don’t push your luck too far!”

Shen Ze clapped and laughed loudly, “Come on, everyone step back. I want to see how capable he is!”

Lu Shen had quite good looks, but his martial skills were truly mediocre. He didn’t last ten moves against Shen Ze before being struck on the back with a sword. Then someone tripped him, and he fell to the ground.

“Steward Shen, we’ve brought the cook surnamed Xie,” a disciple came forward and said.

“Oh? Perfect, bring him up,” Shen Ze kicked Lu Shen in the stomach, making him cough up a mouthful of dirty blood.

“Fellow Cultivator Lu!” Jiang Yizheng suddenly grabbed the bars.

Although she and Feng Zizhang were locked up, they could see what was happening outside through the iron bars. Seeing Lu Shen in such a miserable state, both of them felt furious.

At that moment, a person walked in from outside.

This person was tall and slender, with clear eyes and handsome features, and a gentle temperament. His peach blossom eyes sparkled, and even though he was wearing gray robes, it couldn’t hide his aura at all. It was hard to believe he was just an ordinary cook.

He came in and was obviously stunned for a moment when he saw this scene. Then he cupped his hands towards Shen Ze, who was sitting in the main seat, and said, “This one is Xie Jiu from the spirit food hall. I heard Steward Shen was looking for me?”

“Xie Jiu?” Shen Ze raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “You do look quite good indeed.”

Xie Jiu looked at him calmly, “Steward Shen flatters me.”

Jiang Yizheng looked at this person outside and felt he looked somewhat familiar. She asked Feng Zizhang softly, “Haven’t we seen this person somewhere before?”

Although Feng Zizhang could only open one eye, his eyesight was still quite good. He said in surprise, “Isn’t he the person we abducted after leaving the Punishment Hall of Yunzhong Sect?”

With Feng Zizhang’s reminder, Jiang Yizheng remembered and asked in confusion, “How did he come to Wushi Sect?”

“He was probably invited by Wushi Sect. Many disciples from Linggu Sect are invited by other sects to work as cooks. It earns a lot of spirit stones,” Feng Zizhang said with a sad expression. “Such a big incident happened at the Thirteenth Peak, and all the outer disciples have gone to other peaks. They don’t need cooks anymore.”

Recalling the past events, Feng Zizhang still felt sorrow.

Jiang Yizheng patted his shoulder, “It’s all in the past now.”

“This matter can’t be let go,” Shen Ze sneered, stepping on Lu Shen’s face and bending down to say, “Do you remember how you humiliated me back then? Don’t bully the young and poor, my martial junior Lu.”

Xie Jiu lowered his eyes to look at the disciple being stepped on, “This is—”

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Then an outburst of laughter erupted.

Shen Ze, stepping on Lu Shen, laughed uncontrollably, “So he doesn’t even know you! Lu Shen, what a self-important fool!”

****

“Erbao, you can’t eat this,” a female cultivator holding a child took a small wooden toy from the child’s hand. “If you eat it, worms will grow in your tummy.”

The child looked about two circles bigger than Ning Xiu. Grabbing his mother’s finger, he repeated in a childish voice. “Mama~ Eat~ Tummy have worms~”

“That’s right, so we can’t eat it, okay?” The female cultivator smiled as she coaxed him. “Your father went to buy you some snacks. Shall we go find him?”

“Okay~” The child’s eyes brightened, and he pointed in a direction, smiling, “Papa~ Papa~”

“Little troublemaker.” A purple-robed cultivator strode over from the front and scooped him up from the female cultivator’s arms. “Have you been obedient and listened to your mother?”

“Yes~” The child wiggled around in his father’s arms. “Snacks!”

Then he accidentally kicked a passerby.

“Sorry, sorry!” The male cultivator holding the child quickly turned to apologize. He turned his head to see a very handsome cultivator looking at his son without any displeasure, which made him feel even more embarrassed. “The child doesn’t know his own strength—”

“It’s fine,” Ning Buwei withdrew his gaze. “How old is he?”

“A year and a half,” the cultivator smiled.

Ning Buwei looked at the child, “At what age did he start speaking?”

“Around one year old,” the child’s mother walked over and stroked the child’s head. “Does fellow cultivator also have a child at home?”

“Yes,” Ning Buwei nodded. “Three months old.”

“Three months is a bit easier,” the female cultivator smiled helplessly. “Once they start talking and walking, they become very mischievous.”

Though she complained, her actions were extremely gentle as she put a small cape on him and tugged at his wrinkled little pants.

Ning Buwei recalled how he always roughly bundled his son into swaddling clothes, and suddenly felt that children were indeed cared for more meticulously by their mothers.

He wondered if his son’s beautiful father would be capable.

As Ning Buwei was thinking this, the locating talisman in his hand stirred. He looked down and narrowed his eyes.

Wushi Sect, Shangong Department.

How did those two little fools end up at Wushi Sect again?

At least he had brought them out, so he couldn’t let those two little fools get into trouble on his watch.

Although he didn’t have Chu Xin to guide him this time, Ning Buwei still skillfully snuck into the sect. He casually made a hand seal, and his black clothes changed into the Wushi Sect’s uniform white robes and black gauze. His black hair, originally tied casually at the back of his head, was now bound by a jade-colored hair band.

The originally unruly and arrogant person transformed into a proper sect disciple, with even his hair tied neatly without a single strand out of place.

He tugged uncomfortably at the jade pendant hanging from his belt, looked at the snow-cyan hair band that had been replaced for a while, and then casually stuffed it into his robe.

Although he couldn’t use too much spiritual power, Ning Buwei used talismans with formations and quickly infiltrated the outskirts of the Shangong Department.

The Shangong Department Hall of Wushi Sect was where Wushi disciples came to receive resources or spirit stones after completing sect missions. Generally speaking, such places were particularly lucrative. The stewards and disciples who could enter the Shangong Hall were all more or less related to the major peaks and valleys in the inner sect.

The Shangong Department was located on Jinlin Peak, one of the seventy-two peaks of Wushi Sect. Its spiritual veins and qi were above average. With flying pavilions, ornate doors, and carved beams, it exuded an air of wealth at first glance.

As if they were afraid others wouldn’t know they were rich.

The main hall of Shangong was bustling with people coming and going. Most were disciples who had completed sect missions and came to exchange resources or spirit stones. Some were also there to leisurely browse or exchange resources, which usually took more time.

Ning Buwei walked among them in white robes and black gauze. Apart from lacking a flying sword, he didn’t particularly stand out – at least not as much as the person wearing bright red.

A drop of crimson mixed in among the pure white and black caught not only Ning Buwei’s attention but also that of the steward on duty at Shangong Department. The steward approached and asked, “May I ask if this fellow cultivator is a disciple of Wushi Sect?”

Chu Jun, controlling his avatar, nodded slightly. Annoyed by the noisy crowd, he spoke coldly, “Have you seen anyone bring back two rogue cultivators?”

He had followed those disciples all the way, but Ning Xiu suddenly cried in the middle, and with his current Golden Core cultivation, controlling three bodies simultaneously was somewhat strenuous. A moment of distraction had caused him to lose track of them.

However, the martial uncle was used to acting as a senior, and his words carried an inherent pressure. The steward, encountering such an impolite person for the first time, was stunned for a moment. But he quickly realized this was just an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, and immediately felt displeased. His tone became unfriendly, “Do you have a Wushi Sect token? Which peak do you belong to? Who is your master?”

Even novice cultivators knew not to offend people from the Shangong Department, yet this person seemed unaware.

Chu Jun frowned slightly, “Token?”

Hadn’t Wushi Sect always used divine consciousness to identify people?

Unfortunately, before the martial uncle could ask, he heard the steward sneer, “Heh, if you don’t have a token, who exactly are you? How did you sneak in here!”

Chu Jun glimpsed the jade token at the waist of a passing disciple. His fingertips moved slightly, and then he expressionlessly handed the jade token to the manager.

The manager reached out to take it and saw written on it: Yijian Peak, Chu Shan.

The manager was stunned, “Yijian Peak? Chu Qiu?”

Ning Buwei, who was passing by, hesitated upon hearing “Yijian Peak”. He turned his head and found himself face to face with the other’s unremarkable face, causing him to lean back slightly.

To be fair, this face was rather crudely made.

Chu Jun naturally also saw Ning Buwei. This fellow, dressed in Wushi Sect’s uniform white robes and black gauze, somehow managed to give off an air of “righteousness”.

Ning Buwei smiled slightly, “May I ask who you are, Chu Shan of Yijian Peak?”

Chu Jun: “……”

He had previously assured the other that he was the only one on Yijian Peak, yet just now he had casually made up a Chu Qiu.

“Chu Shan is my elder brother,” Chu Jun said without changing his expression.

Ning Buwei looked at him with a complicated expression, “Are you blood brothers?”

“I’ve been out training for a long time and just returned to the sect,” Chu Jun nodded, then added to cover for his previous statement. “My elder brother thought I had perished.”

Ning Buwei found it hard to imagine how siblings born of the same mother could look so different. His expression became even more complicated, “…Your brother must be very happy that you’re not dead.”

Chu Jun: “…Thank you.”

The steward handed the token back to him, his tone still unpleasant, “Change back into disciple robes immediately. How can you dress so ostentatiously? Where are your manners!”

Chu Jun took the token and glanced at him indifferently, “Since when has Shangong Department’s authority extended so far?”

The steward felt an inexplicable chill down his spine, but still maintained his strong momentum, shouting sternly, “Change quickly!”

Ning Buwei’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Although this Chu Qiu looked rather plain, he was still the child’s mother’s brother, a genuine maternal uncle…

A faint light flickered in the talisman in his hand as he smiled and patted the steward’s shoulder, “Don’t speak so loudly.”

The steward’s gaze suddenly froze. After a moment, he nodded stiffly, “Alright, alright, alright.”

Chu Jun looked at his hand and found the knot of the bandage somewhat familiar – so familiar that it seemed as if he had tied it for the other person himself.

It didn’t take much thought to know it was the work of his “possessed” soul fragment.

“Have two rogue cultivators been brought to the Shangong Department?” Ning Buwei continued to ask.

“Yes, they’re in the prison under the rear hall. Shen Ze is interrogating them now,” the steward replied with a blank stare and stiff tone.

Ning Buwei started walking immediately.

The steward stood motionless in place.

Chu Jun’s fingers, hidden in his sleeve, flicked lightly. A faint light fell on the steward’s shoulder, sweeping away the trace of demonic energy Ning Buwei had left, and then he followed.

Ning Buwei walked as if no one was around, scattering black demonic energy along the way. Chu Jun followed closely behind, gathering all the scattered demonic energy into his sleeve. Many disciples touched by Ning Buwei only stiffened for a moment before returning to normal, completely unaware of what had happened.

Holding a sleeve full of demonic energy, Chu Jun thought to himself that this fellow might end up attracting all the elders and peak masters of the seventy-two peaks. This overflowing demonic energy alone was enough for them to set up a killing formation.

He finally understood why the child’s father was always fighting.

Ning Buwei naturally noticed the actions of the person behind him. Of course, he wasn’t so brainless as to scatter demonic energy everywhere. He was just curious at first when the other person silently absorbed the energy, and couldn’t help but want to tease him a bit.

Who knew that he would scatter it all the way, and the other would absorb it all the way, not missing a single trace.

Yet he still said nothing.

And he didn’t shout to kill or attack him.

If it were other Wushi Sect disciples, they would have probably already been yelling to eliminate evil.

Ning Buwei found it interesting. There was almost no one in the corridor of the rear hall. He stopped and turned around, looking at the other with a half-smile, “Why are you following me?”

Chu Jun frowned and said, “Don’t be so conspicuous.”

Ning Buwei found it even more interesting. He crossed his arms and walked a few steps closer to Chu Jun, “Do you know me? Did your brother tell you?”

Chu Jun: “…Mm.”

Ning Buwei raised an eyebrow, “What did he tell you?”

Chu Jun looked at him expressionlessly, “He said you’re the child’s other father.”

Ning Buwei’s smile slowly widened, “Didn’t he tell you I’m an evil cultivator? You, a righteous cultivator, dare to follow me and absorb my demonic energy?”

That Chu Shan had been in his sea of consciousness, so he naturally knew what he cultivated. Even a fool wouldn’t mistake the pitch-black demonic energy in his sea of consciousness.

Chu Jun, controlling the red-robed shell, grabbed his wrist and stuffed the large ball of black energy he had collected along the way into his hand. He said in a deep voice, “Don’t fool around.”

By now, he could also see that this fellow was doing it on purpose.

Ning Buwei subconsciously retracted that cluster of evil energy, and then abruptly let go of the other person’s hand.

What was wrong with these people always grabbing others’ wrists?

Listening to this tone, one might think he was that old ancestor of the Ning family.

The great demon heard this and was very displeased. When he wasn’t happy, he naturally wouldn’t let others be happy either. He curled his lips and patted the other’s shoulder, saying meaningfully, “Forget it, for your brother’s sake, hurry back.”

This tone was somewhat subtle, but it was hard to say exactly how. Before Chu Jun could react, the person in front of him said in a seemingly casual manner, “After all, he gave birth to a son for me.”

Chu Jun’s gaze froze. “Gave birth… to a son for you?”

Ning Buwei neither confirmed nor denied, giving him a meaningful look before turning and walking away.

****

In the rear hall prison.

“You brat, didn’t you hear me tell you to open the storage ring?” someone said harshly.

“This is mine!” Feng Zizhang clutched the storage ring tightly in his hand.

“Tch.” Shen Ze kicked him in the chin.

Feng Zizhang fell to the ground like a dead fish. Shen Ze walked over and grabbed his hair, saying in a low voice, “Kid, hand over the items and I’ll spare you and your sister’s lives. If you keep being so uncooperative—”

“Your sister may not be much of a looker, but she’s passable enough.” He chuckled lowly.

Hearing this, the others laughed knowingly.

Behind the iron bars, Jiang Yizheng and Xie Jiu were trapped together, while Lu Shen beside them had been beaten to near death. Jiang Yizheng couldn’t hear clearly what they were saying, but she instinctively sensed danger from those men’s disgusting looks.

“You dare!” Feng Zizhang suddenly sprang up from the ground with strength from an unknown source, punching Shen Ze in the face and shouting angrily, “I’ll kill you all!”

A crystal-clear orb emerged from his palm, instantly growing larger, its divine aura immediately filling the entire prison. Taking advantage of everyone’s momentary stupor, he broke open the prison’s heavy lock with one sword strike and pushed Jiang Yizheng out by her arm, saying, “Run quickly!”

Without a word, Jiang Yizheng turned and ran towards the exit.

“Crack!”

A long sword suddenly shattered the orb into pieces. Shen Ze sneered angrily, “Fancy but useless thing!”

Feng Zizhang raised his sword to meet him, but after just a few moves, he was stabbed in the thigh. Shen Ze gripped the sword hilt and twisted violently, causing the wound to burst open. Feng Zizhang let out an agonized scream.

“You’ve chosen punishment over leniency. Once you’re dead, this storage ring will naturally become ownerless.” Shen Ze pulled the bloodied sword from his thigh and with one grab, caught Jiang Yizheng who hadn’t run far. He held her chin and dragged her in front of Feng Zizhang, saying condescendingly, “Let’s have you watch how your sister gets defiled to death.”

Jiang Yizheng considered herself strong, but no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free. Instead, someone tore her front collar, exposing a large portion of her shoulder.

“Let… her… go!” Feng Zizhang’s eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to get up from the ground, but was pinned down by a sword through his ankle, eliciting another scream of agony.

“Stop! Stop it right now! Let him go!” Jiang Yizheng shouted and cried, “Stop it now!”

“Heh, cut off his feet,” Shen Ze gripped Jiang Yizheng’s neck and tore open her clothes, saying coldly, “Wasn’t your father supposed to be powerful enough to give you Jade Spirit Pills? Why isn’t he coming to save you now? Go on, call for your father.”

The surrounding disciples laughed upon hearing this.

“Probably just a made-up father!”

“Two stupid fools, they deserved to fall into our hands!”

“Hehe, actually, upon closer inspection, this girl looks quite decent—”

Shen Ze reached out and grabbed her shoulder, “Tsk, there’s even a pretty butterfly birthmark here. Cry all you want, even if you cry your father to death, he won’t come to save you—”

“Bang!” The dungeon door was kicked open.

Before the people in the dungeon could react, several broken knife pieces wrapped in thick black qi rotated and flew in at high speed, pinning into the shoulders of several people with pinpoint accuracy. Crimson blood instantly soaked through their white clothes, and the dungeon was immediately filled with wails of agony.

Ning Buwei walked in with a gloomy face. His gaze swept over the half-dead disciples of the Wushi Sect on the ground, then looked at the nearly beaten to death Feng Zizhang on the floor and the disheveled Jiang Yizheng who was about to cry herself silly in the corner.

The red-robed man who followed him in frowned.

Ning Buwei stepped over the disciples who were wailing and rolling on the ground, and walked up to Jiang Yizheng and Feng Zizhang.

Jiang Yizheng’s nose suddenly stung, and she raised her head to call out chokingly, “Father…”

Ning Buwei’s gaze swept over the birthmark on her shoulder, paused slightly, then quickly withdrew his gaze. He draped a large black robe over her head, his voice cold to the extreme, “Did they bully you?”

Jiang Yizheng fumbled to poke her head out from the wide robe, wiping the tears on her face vigorously, “They… they didn’t have time to… but Zizhang, Zizhang was almost beaten to death.”

Ning Buwei glanced at the half-dead Feng Zizhang on the ground, bent down to grab his belt and hoisted him up, then said to Jiang Yizheng, “Let’s go.”

Jiang Yizheng picked up Feng Zizhang’s storage ring from the ground, then gritted her teeth and gave two hard kicks to the wailing Shen Ze before pulling up the black robe that was too large for her and closely following behind Ning Buwei.

As they passed by the red-robed man, Ning Buwei stopped in his tracks and looked at him with unfriendly eyes, “Do you want to save them?”

Chu Jun coldly withdrew his gaze and turned to leave the dungeon.

Ning Buwei snorted with a laugh.

The moment they walked out of the dungeon, several blood-stained Suzaku knife pieces flew back into his hand. Behind them came several heart-wrenching screams. Jiang Yizheng instinctively wanted to turn back to look, but Ning Buwei pressed her head and turned her back around.

“Let’s go.”

“Oh.”

In the dungeon, Xie Jiu looked at the scattered limbs on the ground with a pale face. Warm blood flowed along the ground to his feet.

Lu Shen was awakened by the screams, struggling to open his eyes, only to meet with half a head. His face was splattered with a red and white mixture, and he immediately fainted again.

Outside the dungeon.

Ning Buwei looked at the strange red-robed man in front of him, no longer in the mood to pretend, “What exactly do you want, following us all this way?”

The red-robed man took out two registration forms and handed them to Jiang Yizheng.

Jiang Yizheng received them with both hands, and found that the registration forms previously torn by Shen Ze had been restored to their original state. She looked at him in surprise.

However, the man’s gaze remained fixed on Ning Buwei, his tone indifferent, as if stating something that was both natural and utterly ordinary.

“I’ve come to deliver the registration forms to these two children.”

“They have been selected.”