Qinglian Sword Sect, small courtyard.
“Junior Sister, you’re amazing. You learn much faster than I do.” Pei looked at Gongsun Xiaotao with envy. “It took me a long time to get used to this strange way of exerting force. I can’t believe you picked it up right away.”
“Many ritual dance postures are far stranger than this.” Gongsun Xiaotao smiled. “But my strength really is too small. I can barely hold the sword steady, and my arm keeps trembling. That’s where I fall far short of you.”
“Let’s rest for a bit.” Pei also stood up and rubbed his sore eyes.
Helping the Ant Queen through labor was truly a technical job, especially for the Ant Queen in the Qinglian Sword Sect courtyard.
The ants here were vicious beyond reason. Last time, Pei even saw a soldier ant dash out of the Nest at full speed, hoist a huge caterpillar, perform a violent eight-segment throw, and calmly drag it back into the Nest.
And when he was helping the Ant Queen deliver, even if he sensed through the Nest with his Divine Sense and used True Qi to assist the birth, those ants could instantly find him, swarm out, and gnaw at his arms. His entire arm was now covered in big red welts, itching and aching unbearably.
“Go wipe on some soap water quickly…” Gongsun Xiaotao looked at Pei Zheng’s arm with concern. “Why push yourself so hard? Is daily training really worse than this?”
“Even worse than this?” Gongsun Xiaotao shuddered. “Normal Sword Cultivator training isn’t this grueling, is it?”
“It’s fine.” Pei looked at his Qilin Arm and smiled. “But if I want to become a Sword Cultivator like Jiang Ke’er, ordinary methods won’t cut it.” Pei clenched his fist. “And I need to find my own Sword Dao. I have to prove that my Sword Dao is the right one!”
Gongsun Xiaotao looked at Pei, somewhat stunned.
A bit dim-witted, sure, but somehow this resolute Pei looked kind of cool.
“Little Senior Brother, there’s something I need to discuss with you.” Gongsun Xiaotao hesitated.
“Is it about the Huangtian Sect? Shifu already predicted this long ago!”
Pei smirked proudly. “She said you’d definitely start with me and try to convince us to leave this village.”
“It’s about the lives of you and your Shifu.” Gongsun Xiaotao’s face twisted with worry.
“Since Shifu is so smart, why won’t she listen to my advice? Those Huangtian Sect Killers have quite a few Seven Luminaries Realm and Venerable Realm experts. With Shifu’s strength, there’s no way she can hold them off!”
“Huh? Seven Luminaries and Venerables?” Pei’s face filled with panic. He wavered.
He didn’t believe Shifu could defeat big shots at the Seven Luminaries or Venerable Realm. If she could, she wouldn’t be running a Blacksmith Shop in a Novice Village.
“That’s right. I think we should try persuading Shifu again. This is about everyone’s life and death. She won’t listen to me, but maybe she’ll listen to you…” Gongsun Xiaotao said.
“Forget it. Shifu doesn’t listen to anyone, especially me.” Pei shook his head.
“Shifu is too proud to admit fault. Once she decides something, she absolutely won’t change it. And she always acts strangely, completely illogically. Convincing her is harder than climbing to heaven…”
“Then what do we do…” Gongsun Xiaotao grew anxious, then suddenly clapped her hands. “I’ve got it! Let’s pretend to be ghosts!”
“Pretend to be ghosts?”
“Right! Most people in the village are ordinary folks, not Cultivators, and they’re still afraid of ghosts and monsters. So if we just pretend to be ghosts and create the illusion that the village is haunted, we can scare them away!” Gongsun Xiaotao said excitedly.
“And Shifu just happens to be away, so there are no Cultivators in the village. This is the perfect opportunity!”
“But… is that really okay…”
“What’s wrong with it? We’re doing this to save everyone!”
Pei thought it over. This was probably the only option. He said firmly, “The Huangtian Sect Killers could show up any time. We need to move fast!”
“Though, this arm of mine is pretty good for scaring people. All lumpy and bumpy.”
As they talked, Gongsun Xiaotao suddenly froze. “Do you know what a ghost looks like?”
“How would I know that?” Pei glanced at his own arm.
“Forget it. We don’t know what ghosts look like, but neither does anyone else. We just need to make ourselves look scary enough… Senior Brother, you go prepare some white sheets, and I’ll find a dye shop to buy some red ink.”
“Got it!”
Qiu Dao was an outstanding Killer in the Shasheng Hall of the Huangtian Sect.
How outstanding?
He had been named the Shasheng Hall Disciple of the Month for an entire year straight. The souls he’d sent to the grave numbered no less than a thousand, maybe even eight hundred. His professional skills were top-notch!
His assassination methods were always known for being careful, cautious, and clean. So even though his Cultivation Base was only at the early Seven Luminaries Realm, he had once achieved the feat of assassinating a Venerable.
That assassination was something he could brag about for a lifetime.
And precisely because of that glorious experience, both Luo Han, the Hall Master of Shasheng Hall, and Qiu Dao himself believed this mission would be as easy as a vacation.
Still, to be cautious, Qiu Dao didn’t just charge into the small Fishing Village and go all-out.
These days, playing the pig to eat the tiger was way too popular. No matter how unremarkable a small village looked, it always hid several so-called experts just waiting to leap out and play the Hero.
Qiu Dao’s last mission had been in a famous “farm stay” themed village.
The courtyard walls were all crumbling and shabby, looking utterly rustic.
Then the moment he raised his knife, a huge crowd suddenly burst out—a weapons shop owner, a junior constable, a private school student, a Skeleton Monster, a Vampire, a cook, a small clinic Doctor, a jelly slime… all kinds of chaotic big shots scrambling to pull off a hero saves beauty routine.
They turned everything into a mess. Not only did the mission fail, he nearly lost his life too.
So now, whenever he arrived at a seemingly simple village like this, he would first scan it with a professional cultivation detector to confirm there were no big shots before carrying out the mission.
Qiu Dao pulled out the cultivation detector he’d bought at great expense.
He needed a position with a good view.
Mm, that Cliff over there was perfect. It overlooked the entire village.
Only a fat, big yellow dog was lying there taking a lazy nap. Just kick it aside…
Qiu Dao, dead.
Qiu Gou was an outstanding Killer in the Shasheng Hall of the Huangtian Sect.
He had been named the Shasheng Hall Disciple of the Year for three consecutive years. The souls he’d sent to the grave numbered no less than two thousand, maybe even three thousand. His professional skills were top-notch!
This mission shouldn’t have fallen to him at all, but the previous Killer, Qiu Dao’s, Aura had suddenly vanished—completely without explanation.
So Hall Master Luo Han sent him to investigate and, along the way, complete the Mission that Qiu Dao had failed to finish.
He’d heard Qiu Dao talk about how playing the pig to eat the tiger was trendy these days, so he was very cautious and didn’t enter the village directly.
Scanning the surroundings, Qiu Gou set his sights on that Cliff—it was the perfect vantage point, ideal for opening up the map and locking onto targets.
So he quickly arrived at the Cliff.
Huh? Bloodstains? Maybe a villager slaughtered a chicken here…
Never mind, set up the equipment! First, figure out the combat strength inside the village!
Hm? What’s going on? Why is the stand crooked?
Qiu Gou looked down in confusion—oh, it turned out a Snail had gotten stuck under the stand.
Just kick it aside.
Boom!
Qiu Jian was an outstanding Killer in the Shasheng Hall of the Huangtian Sect.