Chương 115: Chapter 112 – Life and Death

Ren stared transfixed at the title of the book he held in his hands.

"Lady Frozen Tear melts in the Fires of the Forge." There was only one person who could have sent this book to him! A faint strand of qi lingered around the book that confirmed it. He wanted nothing more than to connect with it and see what message Elder Yun Peng had left for him, but just as Ren looked up exuberantly, he was met with Mei Ling's furiously blushing face. Ren's mouth dropped open at the implication.

'She definitely read it!' At that moment, Ren wished he could have reacted in a calm and composed manner, clarifying misunderstandings, but his initial reactions all but substantiated his despoiled reputation.

"It's… It's… It's not mine! I wouldn't… I mean…" He sputtered incoherently while waving a hand in staunch refusal. Mei Ling only continued to blush silently, making the situation even more awkward. Xi Yuan glanced curiously at the two of them and asked, "What is it? What book is that? Can I see?" Mei Ling started at that and tried to distract the younger girl, muttering something about being 'too young' while Ren instinctively hid the book behind his back.

Xi Yuan squinted at their suspicious behavior, her curiosity stoked to greater heights. However, by then, Ren had finally remembered he was a cultivator and stowed the book inside his spatial ring to inspect later. Forcibly changing the conversation, Ren invited them to sit for tea. They sat on the simple stone chairs Ren had carved as he prepared some fresh tea using the herbs he had procured from the monastery. Ren felt proud that he had been prepared to host strangers at a moment's notice.

There were some things he had learned over the years that had no purpose other than maintaining the forms of society, but he had long since learned to appreciate them. Personally, he enjoyed playing the hospitable role, easing into familiar duties. Eager to finally receive word of the events that transpired while he was away, Ren pressed his friends for details while he prepared some snacks.

The air was somber as Xi Yuan and Mei Ling took turns speaking, painting a scene of hastily gathered talents being whisked away with little warning. There had been no contact with those left behind, as according to Mei Ling's master, that was safer for all. Mei Ling mentioned some of the names of their shared acquaintances who were now making a new home in the Azure Mountains Sect. Ren's gut twisted with mixed feelings of relief and guilt.

Though many were safe, such as Hu Yan, those who had been left behind weighed on him. The one-armed senior, Chun Wei, who had guided his steps since his days in the outer sect. His young cousins, Zhao Wen and Zhao Jiong, who had looked up to him. And so many others. All abandoned to the vicissitudes of fate. Yet though Ren had only just received the details, he had long since expected such news. He had hardened his resolve in preparation and already come to terms with the events that occurred.

Furthermore, he had one more source of information that the girls lacked. The unbroken karmic strand constructs in his dantian were proof that many still lived. Some strands Ren had already learned to associate with certain people. That is how he knew senior Chun Wei still drew breath, and if he lived, then he would make sure the others would be looked after. That was just the sort of honorable man he was. So instead of moping for much longer, Ren raised his cup of tea to their good fortune.

Mei Ling and Xi Yuan joined him. Cultivators led dangerous lives, and their paths could be severed at any moment. Those who climbed to lofty heights often did so by crawling over a mountain of corpses. All he could hope for those left behind is that they lived well and with honor. They began to talk some more about their journey and the fascinating things they'd seen on the way. Ren told them about his own journey too, and the three of them marveled at the place they now called home.

And the Azure Mountains Sect was just one of the many powerhouses that competed for dominance in this new land! They didn't know much about the other sects or factions either since they hadn't stayed at the sect for much longer than Ren had. When prompted, Ren also shared his experience at the Golden Light Monastery. Though most of the things he had seen there paled in comparison to recent sights, the trial itself held a special place in his thoughts.

He described to them the golden lake and the floating mountains that might have been the remnants of a cultivator's core. He lacked the words to describe it all, but the girls still listened with wide eyes at his retelling. Ren held back when it came to the demonic finger. It was too terrifying a secret, and he didn't want to get them in trouble if he were ever discovered. But there was another secret that they needed to know that was more relevant to them.

At the end of his tale, Ren shared how he had stumbled on to the secret meeting between the vice sect leader and the traitorous Jiao Yue. He warned them that he had let Jian Feng claim the credit for that discovery. Though he didn't interact with figures of that level much, the girls did because of their masters. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Coupled with the fight he and Bao Hua had picked with the young master of the Cheng clan, Cheng Lei, they might attract some undue attention. They needed to decide for themselves how to handle matters. Mei Ling looked thoughtful, but Xi Yuan didn't much care for petty scheming and only promised to avoid getting involved after some convincing. By the time all serious matters were over and done with, the sun had started to set. Ren set about grilling up a rabbit as the conversation turned to more trivial matters.

Lured by the delectable scent of expertly roasted meat, Yu Ran woke and sleepily demanded food out of habit, having momentarily forgotten about being a mighty hunter. The girls squealed and rushed to cuddle the small snake. Startled by the presence of others at first, Yu Ran almost began to flee, but the scent of food kept it rooted. However, it warmed up to the girls in no time and began preening at the attention once it realized they weren't strangers.

"Whoa, look how much little RanRan has grown!" Exclaimed Xi Yuan. Ren was taken aback. But when the girls insisted, he looked again, and the little snake had indeed grown significantly in the past month.

'Why is this happening? Yu Ran's growth has always been very slow, and even during his time with Elder Ding's golem, he barely grew at all. Is it because of the high levels of qi in the Azure Mountains?' Ren broke out of his rumination when Mei Ling asked about his other pets. Ren showed them the sparsely decorated dwelling inside the qi repelling array. As they swarmed the girls, Mei Ling hesitantly remarked,"I've been meaning to say this, but why were you assigned a place like this, Ren?

I know we don't get to pick, but the sect is usually good at matching the abilities of a cultivator to their new territories. Even if you entered the inner sect directly and they didn't have the usual records, they shouldn't have assigned you to a place with such an intense mix of life and death qi." Ren was already opening his mouth to whine about the outer sect manager who had likely schemed against him when he realized what Mei Ling had just said.

"Life and death qi?"

"Yes. Didn't you know? I suppose it is an extremely unusual blend that I've never seen or heard of before. I could only tell because of my own preferred alignments. My ghost qi is closely tied to yin and death qi. And given how many people I've healed, it would be strange if I weren't familiar with life qi." Ren was only somewhat familiar with such esoteric qi. In his experience, only the Corpse Silk Moths fell in that category.

'Hmm… perhaps they would thrive here?' Seeing Mei Ling still waiting for an answer, he explained the outer sect managers' dubious behavior. Both he and Hua had been targeted and given these supposedly unsuitable territories. But with the karmic merit he had recently refined and sent to the others he was connected to, it was assuredly a good thing. Ren's own instincts told him his new home had great potential even if he hadn't uncovered a single fragment of it.

Curious whether the others had recently been subjected to bouts of fortune, Ren subtly worked it into the conversation.

"Don't worry too much about us. You know Hua would love nothing more than an endless font of beasts to fight! That sword maniac almost thanked the elder when he found out! And I'm very good at making unfavorable terrain work to my benefit. What about you? Have you encountered any good things lately?" Mei Ling immediately said, "The poison lake I was assigned for my abode is excellent. But at the moment, I'm more intrigued by this forbidden region you border. It feels promising."

Xi Yuan answered next, "I had a lucky encounter recently and found a thick ore vein on my mountain! Looks like the heavens are smiling upon us all! I haven't shown it to Master yet, but I have a good feeling about it. If it's a good metal, I'll mine it, and you must make me a lot of weapons, Zhao Ren! I haven't forgotten how you only made the 'storm tyrant' sword for brother Hua! Even sister Mei Ling made those whips from those vines you grew. You can't only forget me!"

"Those whips were from when we were qi gathering realm disciples in the outer sect. Why do you have such a sharp memory for such useless things? She hasn't used them for years!" Ren defended himself.

"She's right, Ren! You can't only exclude her. Don't worry, YuYu! Come tell me if he doesn't and I'll be sure to correct him." The warm smile as she hugged Xi Yuan was incomparable to the spine-chilling smile she directed at him. Xi Yuan seized the moment and stuck out her tongue at him when Mei Ling wasn't looking.

"I'll do it! I never said I wouldn't! Just give me some time to set up a forge and I'll make you all the weapons you want." Her victory confirmed, Xi Yuan laughed and agreed. When it was time for them to leave, they dislodged the tortoises in their laps. Ren noted for the first time that the tortoises tended to cling to the girls based on their alignments. Mei Ling attracted the yin-earth, yin-water, and the solely yin aligned tortoises.

Xi Yuan attracted the sole draconic qi aligned and both tortoises of the water and metal attributes. Water, likely because metal supported water in the wuxing cycle of elements. Because of how rich their previous environments had been, they had likely never lacked for qi of their alignments. Now they were seeking out even the faintest traces. Ren knew then that he needed to make them a more suitable home soon. Another thing was added to his already packed list of tasks.

Mei Ling and Xi Yuan were allocated free uses of the Sword Phase Formation every month, as they were disciples of core formation elders, so they promised to visit Bao Hua next and share the same details. When they asked if he needed anything the next time they visited, he asked them to bring him any interesting spirit herbs they could find in or around their new territories. Before he saw them off, Ren handed them the gifts he had bought them from the Golden Light Monastery.

A medicinal pill recipe for Mei Ling and an ornate dagger with a demonic face carved on the pommel for Xi Yuan. Finally alone, Ren pulled out the book that had stayed on the back of his mind. He sat down on his meditation platform and extended a thread of qi toward the open book. He heard a phantom 'click' sound followed by Elder Yun's voice sounding inside his head.

"Greetings from beyond the grave, young Ren!"