After picking up Jiang Ling at Luwu Peak, the four of them set off in a puppet-drawn carriage.
Jiang Ling’s mother watched the carriage clatter into the distance with a furrowed brow.
“Why won’t Father let us go with them?”
Although Mu Congyun commanded respect among the younger generation of Xuanling Sect and possessed decent cultivation, handling three junior brothers alone would be challenging.
Moreover, the Eastern Border Poison Sect had always been shrouded in mystery, and its leader Baili Zhen, a supreme Heavenly Realm expert, was notoriously unpredictable.
If they deliberately made things difficult…
Zhuge Song also wore a worried expression.
“Do you think I haven’t considered that? I’ve spoken with that scoundrel Xie Cifeng several times, originally hoping he’d personally escort Ling’er to the Poison Sect.
Even if Baili Zhen refused to lend the ‘Sin Cleansing’ artifact as a favor, with Xie Cifeng’s cultivation, the two of us could first reason with him before resorting to force-we wouldn’t fear his refusal.
But after observing the celestial phenomena all night, he started spouting mystical nonsense about how we shouldn’t interfere, insisting on only sending disciples.”
Though quick-tempered, Zhuge Song wasn’t foolish.
Xie Cifeng’s refusal to go personally meant he must have foreseen something.
“We’ll have to trust him for now.”
Zhuge Song sighed.
“This is Ling’er’s own trial to overcome. Whether he makes it through safely depends entirely on his own fortune.”
*
The Eastern Border Poison Sect was located southeast of Shu Province.
Departing from Xuanling, they needed to pass through Dong Province before crossing the Formless Sea to reach Shu.
The puppet-drawn carriage moved faster than ordinary ones.
Traveling day and night without stopping, they arrived at the Formless Ferry by the third evening.
With no night ferries available, they’d have to wait until dawn to cross.
Mu Congyun found a spacious area to park the carriage, planning to rest there until morning.
Jin Ni, having been cooped up for three days, was the first to leap from the carriage.
He stretched his limbs without a care for appearances, grumbling, “Finally some fresh air! Those three days nearly suffocated me.”
The eldest brother was naturally taciturn, and while it was understandable for Shen Qi to follow his example, even Jiang Ling had become tight-lipped.
With Jiang Ling still recovering from severe injuries, Jin Ni had been tiptoeing around his feelings these past three days, barely daring to breathe in the carriage.
The deserted ferry at night showed no signs of life, the stars hidden behind clouds.
Jin Ni gathered dry branches to start a fire, then pulled out a copper pot, seasonings, and prepared ingredients from his storage pouch.
After boiling water in the pot and adding spices, he began cooking the meat and vegetables.
Soon, delicious aromas bubbled forth.
Sniffing appreciatively, Jin Ni produced a bottle of wine from his pouch and called out, “Eldest Brother, Shen Qi, Jiang Ling—come quick! Second Senior Sister specially prepared this for our journey.”
Mu Congyun led Shen Qi over to sit around the fire.
Jiang Ling descended from the carriage, eyeing the storage pouch.
“This is what you keep in there?”
Though his tone lacked its former provocation, Jin Ni immediately sensed the implied criticism about “frivolous priorities.”
Suppressing an eye roll, he proudly produced another pouch.
“Besides food, there’s a bag of silver! When traveling, money and provisions matter most! As for other needs-isn’t that what Eldest Brother’s for?”
As he spoke, he eagerly handed Mu Congyun a pair of makeshift chopsticks whittled from branches.
The storage pouch was quite small, naturally making it inconvenient to carry too many bowls and chopsticks.
When traveling, one couldn’t be too particular.
Mu Congyun took the chopsticks and fished a piece of meat from the small pot.
Shen Qi glanced at him, then at the chopsticks shoved into his hand, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.
This was far too unrefined.
Just as he hesitated, a wine gourd was suddenly thrust before him.
Jin Li smacked his lips with relish.
“Spring Breeze Drunk-I barely managed to wheedle a gourd out of our master. Want some?”
Shen Qi stared at the rim of the gourd where Jin Li had drunk from, his brows knitting together completely.
Sharing a gourd-wasn’t that filthy?
It was Mu Congyun who intervened, reaching out to stop him.
“He’s too young for alcohol.”
Jin Li awkwardly withdrew his hand, then nudged the sullen Jiang Lin beside him with his elbow.
“Hey, what about you?”
Jiang Lin stared at him for a moment before snatching the gourd and taking a large, fierce gulp.
Seeing this, Jin Li immediately grew distressed.
“Save some for the rest of us!” he protested, reaching out to grab it back.
The two of them took turns, quickly draining the gourd of Spring Breeze Drunk.
Jin Li had a decent alcohol tolerance, but his drinking manners were notoriously poor.
Once drunk, he lost all restraint, chattering away at Jiang Lin.
“Why aren’t you wearing red anymore?”
He slung an arm over Jiang Lin’s shoulder like an old buddy, grinning.
“Honestly, you look way more normal in black. That red outfit you used to wear was so flashy people probably thought you were off to compete for the title of courtesan!”
Shen Qi immediately lifted his gaze to glare at him, his fingers gripping the chopsticks so tightly they nearly snapped.
Jiang Lin, who had always been disciplined for the sake of swordsmanship and had never touched alcohol before, was thoroughly drunk after suddenly consuming so much.
Unable to hold back his emotions any longer, his eyes reddened as he muttered, “I don’t dare.”
Now, whenever he saw red clothing, he was reminded of that night—of the demon from Fengdu looking down at him and saying, “You look hideous in red. I don’t like it, so I’ll just kill you.”
His proud Sunblade Sword had been utterly powerless against that demon.
To them, killing him had been as easy as crushing an ant.
When he woke up, the blow of learning he might never wield a sword again hadn’t even struck as hard as discovering that the demon who attacked him that night was the Ghost King of Fengdu, the “Deceitful Sovereign.”
Meridians corroded by miasma could still be treated.
Lost cultivation could be rebuilt.
But the Deceitful Sovereign-even in the Western Regions, he had heard of their legendary feats, how they had defeated the “Two-Faced King of Hell” while still young.
They were even younger than him, yet had already ascended to the Unreachable Heavenly Realm.
When facing him, they hadn’t even bothered to draw their Dragonbone Sword.
Just as they had said he was too weak, not even worth drawing a blade against.
The chasm between them was so vast that he might never catch up in this lifetime.
Even if he spent his entire life training, he might never avenge this humiliation.
This was the second insurmountable peak he had encountered after Mu Congyun.
The more he thought about it, the more despair consumed him.
Clutching Jin Li’s sleeve with white-knuckled force, Jiang Lin sobbed hoarsely, “I don’t dare…”
This was a shame he could never voice to his family.
Jin Li, startled by how abruptly Jiang Lin had burst into tears, sobered up instantly.
With his sleeve trapped in Jiang Lin’s death grip, he could only raise his hands helplessly, stammering, “H-hey, don’t cry! Men don’t shed tears easily—”
“Only because the wound isn’t deep enough!” Jiang Lin roared, lifting his head.
“What do you know?!”
“…Right, right, I don’t understand, I don’t understand.”
Jin Ni didn’t dare say another word and could only look pleadingly at the senior brother.
Mu Congyun had no experience handling such situations either.
After hesitating for a long while, he said, “Let him cry.”
It was better to let it out than to bottle it up and suffer.
Jin Ni stared at his sleeve, now soaked with snot and tears, and sighed miserably.
Shen Qi, standing nearby, curled his lip in disdain and seized the chance to act sweetly in front of Mu Congyun.
“I wouldn’t be like him.”
Mu Congyun disapprovingly tapped his arm lightly, then nervously glanced at Jiang Lin.
Sure enough, Jiang Lin, who had been wailing loudly, heard him.
He wiped his tears and glared at Shen Qi with reddened eyes. you, you’d probably just cry and beg for senior brother to save you, wouldn’t you?!”
“If it were Senior brother… Shen Qi glanced sideways at Mu Congyun, a shadow flickering in his eyes, but his expression remained composed as he replied, “If it were me, I’d find a way to kill my enemy for revenge, not sit here crying.”
“Are you trying to drown your enemy in tears?”
Jiang Lin, stung by the mockery, wiped his face and fell silent.
But his temper flared, and he retorted sharply, “What if you can’t beat him?”
Shen Qi sneered.
“If you can’t beat him, shouldn’t you train harder? Will crying make you stronger?”
“…”
Jiang Lin choked on his words.
After a long pause, he could only scoff coldly.
“What do you know? You haven’t even touched the threshold of cultivation!”
With that, he stormed off to the carriage. But judging by his posture, some of his former vigor had returned.
Mu Congyun watched the two bicker like children and rubbed his temples in exasperation.
“Your senior brother Jiang Lin is still recovering from serious injuries. It’s only natural for him to feel depressed. Why add to his distress?”
Shen Qi inwardly scoffed.
These pampered brats, sheltered all their lives within the Ten Directions Barrier, had never witnessed the cruelty of the outside world.
No wonder they were so fragile.
That Jiang Lin still had his life was already a stroke of luck—yet here he was, wallowing in self-pity.
Outwardly, however, he replied obediently, “I just thought crying wouldn’t help Senior Brother Jiang Lin and wanted to comfort him.”
???
Great job comforting him. Don’t do it again.
Mu Congyun shook his head helplessly.
“Is that how you comfort someone? Next time, don’t say such things to his face, understand?”
Shen Qi blinked innocently and nodded obediently.
“I’ll listen to whatever senior brother says.”