Chapter 122: Wang Laoshi’s “Honesty”!

“In another three days, we will reach Xichui Town. Some things need to be discussed.” Xu Ziyan’s expression turned serious at this point. Her gaze swept authoritatively over the group, and she said with gravity:

“You’ve been living comfortably lately. But I must tell you, don’t assume we are safe now. Even if we enter the Endless Forest, the forces tracking us might still find us. On this journey of escape, there will be no moment of true safety. Therefore, do not relax for an instant. Maintain constant vigilance.”

After she finished speaking, Xu Ziyan looked at everyone in turn. Seeing the lingering ease and casual disregard on their faces, she knew her words had been wasted.

“What needs discussing? Little Sister Ziyan, what’s your plan? What do you need us to do? Just say it straight!” Xu Qi said with a smile, completely brushing off Xu Ziyan’s earlier warning.

Xu Ziyan sighed inwardly, a trace of worry appearing between her brows. Xu Lin glanced at her sympathetically but could only shake his head helplessly.

“After reaching Xichui Town, we cannot dock at the ferry port. We must find a secluded place to go ashore, then erase all traces of us!”

“All traces?” The group was visibly stunned. Though young, perhaps even a bit naive, they were all intelligent people. How could they not grasp Xu Ziyan’s implication?

“You mean the people on the boat…” Xu Qi stared at Xu Ziyan, horrified.

“I am the Team Leader you chose. Our responsibility is only for everyone’s safety. The others have nothing to do with me,” Xu Ziyan said flatly.

The room fell silent. The atmosphere grew heavy, increasingly oppressive. Xu Ziyan didn’t speak either. She merely sat there, silently observing everyone’s expressions. Those escaping must possess a determined, even ruthless heart. For these newbies, these growing pains were necessary. Those who could endure, adapt, had the best chance of survival. Those who couldn’t would only find death.

Fierce mental struggles raged within everyone. If it came to dueling Cultivators, they wouldn’t hesitate to obliterate the opponent. But to kill dozens of unarmed, innocent civilians with their own hands? Their hearts shrank from it. Especially Wang Laoshi, who had been genuinely kind to them all this time. They all understood Xu Ziyan’s meaning: sink the boat, erase evidence. Kill everyone on board and sink them, along with the vessel, into the river.

“Little Sister Ziyan, those people are just ordinary folk. Moreover, they’ve been nothing but kind to us these past days. Couldn’t we perhaps…?

Xu Ziyan and Xu Lin exchanged a look, shared helplessness clear in their eyes.

“Especially that Wang Laoshi!” Xu Qi continued. “He’s lived up to his name – honest and simple-hearted! These days he’s been tirelessly running around, doing his utmost for us. Look, Little Sister Ziyan, Xichui Town is less than a hundred li from the Endless Forest. If we fly on our swords, we’ll reach the forest quickly. Even if someone on the boat betrays us then, we’ll already be deep inside the Endless Forest. If we just kill all the ordinary people who’ve worked so hard to care for us… isn’t that… a bit too much?”

Xu Ziyan was left speechless. She knew inwardly how difficult it would be to persuade them to kill everyone on board and sink the boat. Who were these people in front of her? They were the Xu Clan’s proud young generation, figures who walked unchecked through Zhongdu City. Even their clashes with other clans back home hadn’t been to the death; no clan dared kill an Xu Clan Elite Disciple. Strictly speaking, a ruthless mentality of “kill or be killed” had never truly taken root in their minds. That’s why Xu Lin voiced his opposition.

“Is this all your opinion?” Xu Ziyan’s gaze swept slowly across the others. After a moment of silence, everyone except Xu Lin nodded, embarrassment evident.

Disappointment flickered in Xu Ziyan’s eyes, but she quickly hid it, saying evenly,

“Alright! Since everyone objects to the plan, we’ll do it your way. However… I don’t think Wang Laoshi is as honest as his name suggests. Be extra cautious.”

The group glanced at her uncertainly. Seeing Xu Ziyan had already lowered her eyelids, they rose one by one to take their leave. As they stepped out of her room, an uneasy feeling washed over them. The reason was Xu Ziyan’s easy capitulation to their wishes. When she agreed to be their Team Leader, she had emphasized forcefully that only she could issue orders within the team; others were simply to obey! But just now, they had made a decision directly opposing hers. And instead of getting angry, Xu Ziyan had instantly consented to their plan? It felt disturbingly unreal.

Only Xu Lin remained behind. Once everyone was gone, he stood up, closed the door, and said urgently,

“Ziyan, how could you agree? This is utter recklessness!”

Xu Ziyan spread her hands, shrugged, and said helplessly, “Senior Brother Lin, if I disagreed, what good would it do? If they just secretly disobeyed, the result could be far worse.”

“Then… what do we do? Just let them act foolishly?”

Xu Ziyan shook her head, sitting down helplessly in silence. Xu Lin stared blankly at her for a moment. His expression suddenly grew weary, and he stood up, crestfallen, turning towards the door.

“Senior Brother Lin… take extra care yourself.” Xu Ziyan’s weary voice came from behind him.

Xu Lin’s back stiffened, but he didn’t turn around. He gently pulled open the door and said softly,

“You take care too.” With that, he stepped out and quietly closed the door.

Xu Ziyan sat motionless in the silent room, her heart filled with resignation. Feeling bored, she summoned the Little Kunpeng from within Kunpeng’s Heart. Its appearance made her simultaneously laugh and cry. Apparently, the Little Kunpeng had, at some point, ventured into other spaces within Kunpeng’s Heart and treated everything Xu Ziyan stored there as its personal snacks. It had a vial of Elixir clutched in its beak and a vial of Spirit Spring Water clutched in each claw.

Amused, Xu Ziyan carefully retrieved the elixir and spirit water bottles. The Little Kunpeng flapped energetically against her, voicing its strong discontent.

Only when Xu Ziyan took out an Elixir pill and popped it into its mouth did it calm down, settling quietly into her arms. She cradled it, letting her consciousness sink into Kunpeng’s Heart, her inner smile turning wry. The little creature had thoroughly ransacked her supplies; her stored items were scattered chaotically everywhere.

Left with no choice, Xu Ziyan retrieved everything she stored within Kunpeng’s Heart and transferred it all back to her Storage Bracelet. She bowed her head thoughtfully for a moment, then returned two-thirds of her stored Elixirs back into Kunpeng’s Heart. Her reasoning was this: if the Little Kunpeng wanted to eat the Elixirs, it must be needed for its Cultivation. Since it needed them, let it have them. Letting it grow stronger quickly would gain her an assistant. Besides, it was so small – how much could it really eat? Even if it ate everything, the one-third she kept would suffice for her own Cultivation for over a decade. And she knew alchemy; if it consumed some, she could always refine more.

However, she kept everything else – items like Kunpeng’s Tears and Spirit Spring Water – stored in her bracelet. These resources were finite; once used up, they were gone. She couldn’t afford for them to become snacks. So only the Elixirs went back; the rest remained with her.

After a brief consideration, thinking of potential emergencies and future convenience, she transferred One hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones, one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones, and one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones from Kunpeng’s Heart into her Storage Bracelet. She also took ten Top-grade, ten Mid-grade, and ten Low-grade Spirit Stones and placed them directly into her Storage Pouch.

Thinking some more, she removed one hundred Top-grade Water Element Monster Cores, one hundred Mid-grade Water Element Monster Cores, and one hundred Low-grade Water Element Monster Cores from Kunpeng’s Heart and stored them in her bracelet. She then placed ten of each grade into her pouch. Thus, Kunpeng’s Heart now contained only the Pheonix corpse, the Giant Kunpeng corpse, one “space” full of Spirit Stones, one “space” full of Water Element Monster Cores, and still plenty of Elixirs. Nothing else remained. These were Xu Ziyan’s true treasures, her real assets.

Xu Ziyan withdrew her consciousness from Kunpeng’s Heart. She amused herself with the Little Kunpeng for a while before finally returning it to Kunpeng’s Heart. Standing up, she paced the room a few steps. Her fingers moved, extracting a Jade Vial of Kunpeng’s Tears from her Storage Bracelet. The tears inside had melted from their frozen state into liquid. Xu Ziyan tilted her head back and carefully dripped two drops into each eye. She then closed her eyes, tightly screwed on the vial’s lid, and returned it to her bracelet.

After a quarter-hour, Xu Ziyan reopened her eyes. Her vision felt notably clearer, yet there seemed to be no other immediate changes. She knew this wasn’t something that would transform fundamentally overnight. Multiple applications would be needed to achieve the desired Realm effects – seeing through others’ cultivation Realms regardless of level, piercing Formations and Talismans. And she couldn’t use it consecutively; it required waiting a day between applications. Otherwise, the tears’ potency would be too much for her eyes to handle, potentially causing harm instead of benefit.

Once everything was settled, Xu Ziyan composed herself, opened the door, and stepped out.

—

Three Days Later.

Night.

Cloudy.

No stars. No moon.

Such weather was theoretically very unsuitable for sailing. Without clear directions, sailing into shallows or colliding with rocks would completely derail Xu Ziyan’s group. Yet Xu Ziyan’s stance was firm: they must press on.

Wang Laoshi diligently carried out her orders, bustling about incessantly. His calls to the sailors were loud and frequent, his voice growing hoarse with effort. Driven hard by the river winds, sweat poured down his brow.

His earnest, committed attitude won over Xu Qi and the others completely, erasing Xu Ziyan’s warning from their minds in an instant. Even Xu Ziyan, watching him hustle tirelessly, felt a flicker of doubt—was she being overly suspicious? But she swiftly dismissed the self-doubt and forced her Mental State back to cool detachment.

At midnight, the night sky finally cleared. A bright moon rose high, illuminating the landscape. Wang Laoshi heaved a massive sigh of relief. Raising his sleeve, he wiped the sweat from his face and offered Xu Ziyan an ingratiating smile. The sailors, too, relaxed significantly. By the moonlight, they could finally steer a steady course on the river.

Those who had tensed for half the night slumped down gratefully on the deck. Wang Laoshi instantly had tables set up there, and dishes of food and jugs of wine quickly appeared.

Xu Qi and the rest realized they would be leaving the boat today, heading for the Endless Forest. Surprisingly, a sense of reluctance touched them. The past ten days had been the most enjoyable chapter of their flight. Still, they maintained a sliver of caution, testing the wine and food for poison before starting to eat and drink.

After half a night of tension, this relaxation set in. So did the fading of their vigilance. Half an hour later, considerable amounts of wine had been consumed, and the atmosphere warmed. Xu Qi and his fellow cultivators, the merchants, and the sailors chatted as comrades. Wang Laoshi proved particularly eloquent, flattering each young cultivator with a silver tongue. Xu Qi and his group basked in his praise, becoming more and more agreeable, even Xu Tianlang grinned broadly and laughed heartily.

Another hour passed. Countless empty wine jugs littered the deck around each person. Wang Laoshi, a fresh jug grasped in both hands, wobbled charmingly to his feet. He began to stagger around, toasting each one of them. Perhaps from the effects of the wine—a sharp contrast to his earlier loud commands—he insisted on toasting every sailor he had barked orders at earlier. Then, lurching unsteadily, he started moving towards Xu Ziyan and her group.

“F-Female Immortal…” he slurred, drawing near to Xu Ziyan. “I-I’m just a little man… but… I’m g-grateful… may I have the honour… of toasting you?”

Xu Ziyan’s eyes seemed dazed. She grinned somewhat vacantly and lifted her cup. Wang Laoshi fumbled clumsily, pouring wine into her cup. He too was quite drunk; his aim was terrible. More wine spilled over the rim onto Xu Ziyan’s clothes than went into her cup. Seemingly oblivious, Xu Ziyan simply watched until her cup brimmed. She then downed it in one swift gulp. Her eyelids grew heavy. Wang Laoshi’s form wobbled unsteadily away from her and toward Xu Lin…

“Hahaha!” Xu Qi, the last to be toasted, laughed loudly as he emptied his cup. He slapped Wang Laoshi’s shoulder forcefully, words slurring heavily,

“Wang Laoshi… meeting you… true fortune… you… really are an amusing fellow…”

Suddenly, Xu Qi’s previously glazed eyes sharpened. He realized his hand, resting on Wang Laoshi’s shoulder, wouldn’t lift. It felt impossibly heavy, as if weighed down with tonnes. As Wang Laoshi merely shrugged his shoulder, Xu Qi’s arm fell uselessly to his side. Panic tried to rise, but an overwhelming drowsiness instantly blurred his senses again.

Struggling to turn his head, Xu Qi looked around. He saw his companions sprawled on the deck, gazing up at him with terrified eyes… all focused on Wang Laoshi’s figure—a man now standing perfectly sober and alert…