Yan Jin felt a pang of heartache when he saw Ji Lanying’s expression change just now.
For hundreds of years, everyone had praised his appearance to the skies. There had been only that one occasion when Ji Lanying had been publicly humiliated to the point of utter shame. One could imagine how devastating the blow had been.
Even now, the incident was frequently dragged out as a joke, with people saying that Ji Lanying had nothing but a pretty face and no grace or bearing whatsoever.
Yan Jin hoped that when Ji Lanying saw Ye Huaiyao today, he would finally be able to untangle this knot in his heart.
The Illustrious Sage who had loomed over him like a dark cloud was already dead. Even if there were still people in this world who resembled the Illustrious Sage, they could only be at their mercy, and would never again pose any threat.
Yan Jin’s eyes flashed, and a rare smile appeared on his face, looking rather ill-intentioned.
“You two haven’t met before, have you? Allow me to introduce you.”
He said, “This is Young Master Ji Lanying. Lanying, this is Young Hero Ye of the Chensu Sect. He injured his spiritual veins during the sect competition some time ago. He’s come today to take part in the encirclement despite his injuries. Truly admirable.”
When introducing Ji Lanying, Yan Jin passed over him in little more than a sentence. When it came to Ye Huaiyao, however, he seemed determined to make sure everyone knew that his cultivation had been crippled, and went into painstaking detail.
As a result, not only did Ji Lanying know, but everyone else now knew as well that this was the Chensu Sect disciple from the rumours, the one whose cultivation had been crippled after offending Ji Lanying.
Originally, people would have listened to the story and left it at that, perhaps discussing Yan Jin’s arrogance and Ji Lanying’s pampered nature for another couple of sentences. None of them had expected that the most obscure and humiliated person in the whole affair would possess such an extraordinary appearance.
He had merely stood there without saying a word, yet quite a few people were already staring at him in a daze. Now, with that faint smile, he was simply… soul-stirring, utterly captivating, carrying an effortless elegance.
Ye Huaiyao paid no attention to Yan Jin’s words, nor to the gazes of those around him. Sympathy, pity and mockery were no more than a fine drizzle to someone possessed of absolute confidence.
He cupped his hands towards the Ji protagonist whom he had secretly cursed as a “complete bloody idiot” countless times, the corners of his lips lifting into an impeccable, friendly smile. “I am an obscure nobody who has accomplished nothing of note. I dare not accept the title of ‘young hero’. I have, however, long admired Young Master Ji’s reputation.”
Even the simple gesture of cupping his hands and bowing carried a hint of effortless elegance. There was almost a strange kind of magic about this person, and in an instant, many of those around him found themselves developing a favourable impression of him.
Ji Lanying frowned slightly. He did not dislike Ye Huaiyao himself, but he intensely disliked that face.
The Illustrious Sage had always detested convention, coming and going like the wind. Very few people in the world had ever seen his true face. Ji Lanying and Yan Jin had been fortunate enough to catch an occasional glimpse.
He had never expected to see that face again in his lifetime.
But Yan Jin was right. The person standing before him was not Lord Yunqi. Quite apart from anything else, their ages simply did not match.
—Besides, that person was already dead.
Ji Lanying silently breathed a sigh of relief and gave Ye Huaiyao a warm, friendly smile. “Young Hero Ye, hello.”
He might not have been some heaven-blessed prodigy, but he had been naturally gifted from birth and was inherently likeable. No matter what occasion he found himself in, he had never once failed to stand out.
Today was no exception. So what if he possessed a face like that? He was merely an ordinary disciple with neither a foundation nor spiritual power, as lowly as a weed growing from the ground.
One light step and he would be flattened.
After Ji Lanying exchanged greetings with Ye Huaiyao, Yan Jin read their expressions and knew that his move had worked. He was secretly delighted.
He was just about to say something else when a commotion arose in the distance. Immediately afterwards, the final two groups of people came hurrying over.
The man at the front began apologising the moment he arrived:
“Apologies, apologies. Thank you all, fellow cultivators, for waiting. We happened to encounter some villagers being harassed by demons up ahead, so we took the opportunity to help clear them out. It delayed us for a little while.”
Slaying demons and rescuing ordinary people was precisely what they ought to be doing. After hearing this explanation, the others expressed their understanding and assured him that it was no trouble.
Ye Huaiyao glanced at the newcomers and recognised them as disciples of the Vajra Fist Sect. Most members of this sect were body cultivators, with a particular proficiency in fist techniques.
Some of the disciples even had both hands wrapped in thick white cloth. Perhaps they had been injured during their training.
Once everyone had arrived, a young disciple dressed in Xuantian Tower’s Azure Snow Moonlight Robes came over from the sealed entrance to Ghost Wind Forest. He cupped his hands towards Chu Liang, the leader of the Yan family’s contingent on the other side, and said from a distance, “Uncle Chu, you are the oldest among us. I shall trouble you to arrange and assign our forces.”
The “Uncle Chu” he referred to was the shixiong who had advised Yan Jin earlier to restrain his sharpness. His name was Chu Liang.
Of all the sects present, Xuantian Tower and the Yan family possessed the greatest influence. Since this matter had also been initiated by Xuantian Tower, it was only reasonable for them to take the lead.
Chu Liang had not expected that disciple to voluntarily defer to him, let alone do so with such courtesy, and could not help taking another few looks at him.
Although the young man was still quite young, he had a calm temperament and handsome, refined features. Chu Liang could not help secretly applauding the education and cultivation provided by Xuantian Tower.
The two sides had exchanged greetings when they first arrived. Chu Liang remembered that the young man’s name was Yan Lin, and that he came from Xuantian Tower’s direct line. He was currently training in the Zhen branch, and it was probably only a matter of time before he was transferred to Xuantian Tower’s main headquarters and entrusted with important responsibilities.
After all, the Illustrious Sage was dead, and so many years had passed. Some positions ought to be shifted around.
Chu Liang was keen to establish a friendship with Yan Lin. After exchanging a few polite words, the two finally discussed and settled upon the order in which everyone would enter Ghost Wind Forest, as well as the direction each sect would take once inside. Only then did they open the entrance barrier.
This barrier had originally been established jointly by several sects in the vicinity of Ghost Wind Forest. They had feared that the evil energy would leak out and allow demons to emerge and wreak havoc among the ordinary people.
However, as time passed, the demonic energy inexplicably expanded, which was what had prompted the cultivation world to send people there for a second time.
Seeing that it was time to get down to business, Yan Jin stopped wasting words with Ye Huaiyao. He took Ji Lanying by the hand and led him aside, whispering, “Don’t be afraid later. I’ll protect you.”
Ji Lanying smiled and withdrew his hand from Yan Jin’s. “Thank you, Brother Yan. With you here, I feel at ease.”
Yan Jin had initially been somewhat displeased by the other’s distant gesture, but when he heard those words from Ji Lanying, he immediately felt wonderfully comforted, as though he had truly become the great support that someone was relying upon. He smiled and said, “I’ll do everything I can.”
As they spoke, the barrier opened. Some of the disciples from Xuantian Tower and the Kunlun Blade Sect remained outside to stand guard, while everyone else entered according to the order that had already been arranged.
This was Ye Huaiyao’s first time entering Ghost Wind Forest.
Things were no longer as they had once been. It was still the same body, only considerably smaller and more youthful, and his spiritual power had not yet returned. When he had been standing outside the barrier, he had not sensed anything unusual.
Only now did Ye Huaiyao truly understand what Cheng Yuan had meant by “terrifying”.
As its name suggested, Ghost Wind Forest was filled everywhere with towering, thick-trunked ancient trees. Their trunks were not straight, but twisted into strange shapes, almost like human bodies tangled together.
Aside from the trees, knee-high grey-green weeds grew across the ground. Grey mist permeated the air, the atmosphere cold and heavy with yin energy, while indistinct black shadows seemed to flit about within it.
Even when their companions were standing close enough to touch, they could only make out one another’s vague outlines. A place like this was practically the perfect breeding ground for all manner of demons and vengeful ghosts.
The cultivators tightened their grips on their weapons and cautiously moved forwards. Yan Lin said quietly, “The weeds underfoot are very thick. Something may be hiding inside them, so everyone please be careful.”
His voice came from ahead, muffled and faintly heavy through the mist.
Yan Jin sneered. “We all have spiritual talismans and magical artefacts on us. If any demon dares approach, we’ll be warned first. Mere little demons are nothing to worry about. Young Master Yan, put your mind at ease.”
There was some sharpness in his words, but Yan Lin’s manners were excellent and he was not offended. He had only just said, “Let us hope so,” when a sudden whoosh of wind swept through the grey mist, drowning out every conversation.
The surroundings fell silent in an instant. Several swords were drawn at once, but after waiting for a moment, they detected no further abnormalities. Even the warning from the magical artefacts that Yan Jin had mentioned never came.
After a while, someone asked, “Is everything alright? It seems like there’s no movement.”
Under ordinary circumstances, with so many of them gathered together, there would have been no need to panic over any unexpected occurrence. But they were currently in an unfamiliar environment, and, most importantly, their visibility was extremely poor. It was difficult not to feel uneasy.
Chu Liang said, “It may simply have been a bird flying past. Keep moving forwards, but don’t lower your guard. Those of you nearby each other should look out for one another.”
Of everyone present, Ye Huaiyao was in the most miserable state. He was a sword cultivator, yet even his sword had been snapped in two by Cheng Yuan during the competition. At present, all he had in his hand was a length of tree branch.
He vaguely felt that things were probably not quite as simple as Chu Liang had suggested, but he had not detected anything either. Just as he was considering the matter and slowly taking a step forwards, he suddenly felt someone ahead of him topple headfirst in his direction.
Ye Huaiyao hurried forwards, caught the person and supported their back. “Brother, what happened to you?”
The moment he finished speaking, he felt something sticky on his hand. Immediately afterwards, the smell of blood rushed straight into his nose.
A faint look of surprise appeared on Ye Huaiyao’s face. He reached out to check, only to discover that the man really was no longer breathing.
Hearing the commotion, everyone else gathered around. “What happened?”
“What is it?”
“Is that Fan-shixiong? Fan-shixiong? Fan-shixiong?”
Yan Lin struck a light and came over. Ye Huaiyao laid the man they had called “Fan-shixiong” flat on the ground and said, “He’s dead.”
“Dead?” someone exclaimed in shock. “How did he die?!”
As soon as the question was asked, the light from Yan Lin’s tinderbox illuminated the man’s wound.
At some point, a fist-sized hole had been torn open in the dead man’s chest, passing straight through to his back. His heart was gone. The flesh around the wound was mangled, with faint scratches suggesting that something sharp had raked across it.
Ji Lanying said, “This looks rather like a ghost claw.”
According to legend, there was a type of vengeful ghost that enjoyed eating human hearts. Long, sharp nails grew from its claws, and wounds inflicted by its grasp were known as “ghost claws”. Yan Lin’s brows drew together. Yan Jin said sternly, “Who was standing beside Fan Tang just now? None of you sensed the presence of a vengeful ghost?”
Ye Huaiyao took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his hands. Naturally, he was one of them. The others also stepped forwards one after another, all insisting that they had noticed nothing unusual.
With so many people gathered here, if a vengeful ghost had approached without a sound and none of them had noticed, it would have been an enormous humiliation.
Moreover, just as Yan Jin himself had said moments ago, everyone was carrying magical artefacts, yet none of them had issued any warning.
That meant what had come was neither a vengeful ghost nor a demon.
—Yet judging from the wound, it was clearly not a human either!
So what exactly was it that could, within this vast expanse of grey mist, evade the eyes of so many people and silently rip out a person’s heart? Yan Lin reacted quickly. Seeing the situation, a thought flashed through his mind. He drew his sword and swept it across a nearby patch of tall grass, cutting it down and exposing the earth beneath. A few pieces of white bone were faintly visible on the ground. Apart from that, there was no other sign of anything unusual.
Chu Liang had just said, “There’s no point wasting time here,” when that familiar sound of wind came again, immediately followed by a scream.
His expression changed at once. He spun around and saw another person staggering before collapsing not far behind him.
The disciples nearby were completely stunned. No one moved. They could only watch helplessly as the person who had screamed pitched forwards and fell to the ground. Chu Liang rushed over and helped him up. One look revealed another gaping hole in his chest, passing straight through to his back.
He looked up furiously and swept his eyes around. Every face around him wore exactly the same expression of astonishment and disbelief. Further away, people were also beginning to gather after hearing the sound, but their expressions were hidden in the vast black mist, making them impossible to see clearly.
Seeing the blood gushing from the chest of the newly dead man, almost everyone present felt a chill run down their spines. They might not fear fierce demons and monsters, but this uncertainty and bewilderment were what truly made people uneasy.
Everything around them, the grass, the trees, the people… seemed to have been covered by a mysterious veil, as though it could be torn away at any moment, revealing a hideous true form beneath.
Author’s Note:
The original protagonist doesn’t have a romantic pairing, because Tale of the Useless Immortal Cultivator is a novel with no romance. Those people around him can only really be described as followers. Don’t worry, they won’t have much page time, and Yaoyao certainly won’t come off worse for it. My dears, don’t worry about it too much. Come here, let me give all of you a little stroke and smooth your fur down one by one.
