“Senior Brother, they… I… I don’t know…”
The six before her turned to ashes.
After realizing what she had done, Xia Xiaochan’s face turned pale, her pupils trembling as she looked at Senior Brother.
She had never imagined taking someone’s life.
She wasn’t sure if it was the overwhelming power of the fire in her palm, or if the enemies she faced were simply too weak.
Why…
Why did it have to be like this…
Xia Xiaochan stood there helplessly and dazed, a buzzing ringing sound filling her ears, and everything before her slowly sank into darkness.
“Chan’er!”
Lin Ci’s clear voice rang out, like a large hand tightly grabbing her in the darkness, pulling her out.
“You did nothing wrong.”
“These were desperate men, hands stained with countless lives; there’s no need to pity them.”
“Besides, they struck first. If you were weaker than them, do you think they would have shown mercy?”
Hearing this, Xiaochan felt a little relief.
She raised her hand and wiped the moisture from the corner of her eyes, then nodded firmly.
“Senior Brother, Chan’er understands.”
At this moment, the only thing left in her gaze was Senior Brother’s reassuring figure.
On the other side.
Lin Ci caught with the corner of his eye the lean shopkeeper blocking their retreat suddenly turning and darting away.
“Trying to escape?”
Lin Ci’s voice was cold.
Eradicating the root of the problem… no, wiping out all evil completely — as a fan of fantasy web novels, how could he not understand this?
However, just as Lin Ci moved to pursue, the lean shopkeeper suddenly sank into the ground like some Earth God, disappearing beneath the surface.
What the hell? Where did he go?
Could it be the Earth Escape Technique…
Lin Ci was stunned. He hadn’t expected this rogue cultivator to know spells. How was he supposed to chase now?
The problem was, Lin Ci didn’t know the Earth Escape Technique himself…
He furrowed his brow in frustration. Xiaochan was still beside him, watching.
If he just let the man get away like this, how could he maintain his image?
Suddenly, a bright idea struck Lin Ci.
He pulled out a Flying Sword from his Storage Pouch, aimed it at the spot where the enemy disappeared, a few hundred meters ahead, and threw the sword forward.
“Whoosh—!”
With the boost of his Golden Core Stage physical strength, the Flying Sword broke the sound barrier as it left his hand!
A powerful airflow swept up the fallen leaves on the ground, and in the blink of an eye, the sword’s light plunged into the earth, sinking deep into the soil…
After a moment of silence.
Xiaochan blinked in a daze, looking at Senior Brother who made no further moves, and softly asked:
“Senior Brother… where is he?”
“He’s already dead.”
Lin Ci replied calmly. “He thought that burrowing into the earth would help him evade detection. Little did he know, my Divine Sense had already locked onto him…”
“Xiaochan, come with me. Let’s collect their bodies.”
Xiaochan’s face paled upon hearing this. The ones burned to ashes were somewhat easier to accept, but a complete corpse?
“Senior Brother, I… I don’t dare to look. Can I not go?”
Fine, that’s perfect.
Just what I wanted to hear.
“I understand. It’s your first time killing someone, so your heart must still be unsettled. No more blood for now. You go ahead and wait. I’ll handle this side and come over after.”
“Mm, thank you, Senior Brother.”
Senior Brother is so kind to me…
Xiaochan’s heart relaxed as she slowly walked forward.
Once she was out of sight, Lin Ci finally exhaled.
Good thing I was clever.
Of course, the Flying Sword was just tossed casually; he didn’t really know how to track with Divine Sense, nor did he know where the enemy was…
It was all for show.
Although the enemy escaped and he didn’t completely wipe them out, it was likely that this ragtag group was only gathered by interests.
Even if some died, there was no tradition of revenge among them.
Besides, that old fellow got so scared he wouldn’t dare come back for vengeance.
Lin Ci went to where the Flying Sword had landed, rolled up his sleeves, and plunged his arm deep into the earth.
After searching for a while, he finally felt the sword’s hilt.
Sigh, if only I knew Sword Control Technique, I wouldn’t have to bother like this… Lin Ci thought as he gripped the sword and pulled it out.
Then,
His eyes fell on the blade stained with fresh blood.
Could it be…
Quickly, Lin Ci began to dig into the soil beneath his feet with the Flying Sword, cutting the earth like slicing tofu.
A pit was dug out.
Beneath the pit lay the lean rogue cultivator, sprawled out with a wound piercing through the center of his forehead, eyes wide open as if—maybe, probably—he was dead…
Dead…
How did he die?
Don’t tell me that one casual sword throw just happened to kill him?
Lin Ci stared at the corpse in disbelief, his eyes vacant for a long moment before he finally reacted and then…
“Ugh~”
This was his first time killing someone too.
Xiaochan waited for Lin Ci ahead for a long time but he hadn’t returned yet, growing increasingly worried.
A gust of wind blew, rustling the fallen leaves.
Xiaochan shuddered, fearing that those rogue cultivators might still have allies. She thought about going back to look for Senior Brother again.
Just then, she finally saw Lin Ci’s figure approaching.
“Senior Brother!”
Xiaochan hurried forward.
Dust clung to Lin Ci’s clothes, and his hands were stained with some blood.
He went to the nearby river to wash, then dried himself with the handkerchief Xiaochan handed over.
“I buried the seven bodies and ashes. Let’s go back.”
“Mm, thank you, Senior Brother.”
Xiaochan nodded softly.
She was grateful that Senior Brother agreed not to let her take part in handling the aftermath.
She hadn’t fully recovered yet…
Six people had died by her hands.
Although they turned to ashes directly and their deaths were not bloody or ugly, their twisted, agonized forms before death lingered relentlessly in her mind.
She knew this was something she had to experience.
Those powerful and high-ranking cultivators, which one didn’t have the blood of Devil Cultivators on their hands?
But she was still a fourteen-year-old girl.
This was her first time killing someone, so some psychological scars were inevitable.
Xiaochan looked at Lin Ci, who maintained his usual calm expression, still the source of comfort.
“Senior Brother…”
Xiaochan gently took Lin Ci’s hand and spoke softly.
“Hm?”
“When was the first time you had to kill someone?”
Lin Ci: Just now.
Of course, he couldn’t say that.
“When I was eight years old.”
“That year, Master took me as a disciple. On our way back to the Sect, we were ambushed by Devil Cultivators…”
Lin Ci told a story from the original owner’s Diary, which was indeed “his” first time killing.
However, the original Diary was very concise, and Lin Ci couldn’t recognize all the ancient characters, so he elaborated and added details to make the story more vivid.
After hearing Senior Brother’s story, Xiaochan’s discomfort eased quite a bit.
“Senior Brother, after you killed that Devil Cultivator, how long did you feel bad?”
“I didn’t feel bad.”
Lin Ci answered casually. “People and bodies are different. At that time, I only knew I had to do it, or I would die. So there was no discomfort.”
“I see. As expected of Senior Brother.”
Xiaochan looked at Lin Ci admiringly, then pursed her lips as if thinking of something, her cheeks flushing slightly.
“Senior Brother, tonight… can Chan’er sleep in your room?”
“I might not be able to fall asleep alone.”