Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 90: An Arrow

The news of the Jianchen Temple quickly spread, and the Kushan Sect became the focus of attention in the martial world.

Once again, Chen Qianfan’s magical artifact saved everyone’s lives. There were still many monster corpses left on the wooden boat, serving as “fuel”. Although the speed couldn’t compare to the Arrow Horses, it only took them seven days to rush back to Zongwu Mountain.

Who could have imagined that the Kushan Sect could escape so quickly? The defense in the southern part of the Central Plains wasn’t yet complete, and the possibility of being exposed was smaller.

Times were tough for Sect Master Shi, as he had to hide his precious treasured flag. Besides this, he acted abnormally well-behaved along the way. Whenever the boat stopped, he practiced martial arts diligently. When the boat moved again, Shi Jingzhi would study Chen Qianfan’s record book—the Living Puppet Curse wasn’t a true empowerment technique; once the spell was closed, Chen Qianfan’s experiences and knowledge would flow away like water. Fortunately, Shi Jingzhi had a photographic memory, so although he couldn’t retain the other’s full strength, retaining thirty to forty percent was still possible.

However, the words “retain strength” still required Shi Jingzhi to strike while the iron was hot, working tirelessly day and night.

Seeing Shi Jingzhi in this state, Yin Ci felt somewhat relieved. Shi Jingzhi hadn’t been disturbed by the slight emotional turmoil from that day. So, no matter how he planned to deal with those feelings, Yin Ci only needed to remain by his side and act accordingly.

Even if Shi Jingzhi emphasized “cooperation”, Yin Ci was ultimately once his guide, and emotionally he had the upper hand. If he were to act for his own desires and recklessly guide the other’s emotions at a critical moment, it would be no different from “using” him.

And in this world, Shi Jingzhi was the one person he didn’t want to use again.

With his decision made, Yin Ci’s actions remained unchanged. The two remained close, with occasional flirtatious teasing. That subtle heartbeat was spread out, and as time went by, not only Shi Jingzhi but even Yin Ci himself almost believed the illusion he had created.

It was as if that day, under the festive lanterns, Shi Jingzhi was just joking, not flirting. And he was just startled, not moved.

It was better this way. After wandering the world for a hundred years, he feared he was the most detached and unambitious person in the world. Even if he returned to the world, his heart would be covered with a thick layer of mud, unable to produce vivid emotions of love or hatred. However, that trace of affectionate longing could still cast a bright glow in his heart, which was already a pleasant surprise.

However, when they arrived near Zongwu Mountain, Shi Jingzhi quietly approached Yin Ci again.

The group chose to walk in desolate and remote areas. Now that they were returning to the “human world”, Shen Zhu took the lead to investigate the situation. Yan Qing continued to spar with Su Si, putting up a brave front, and they could fight equally well. Since the battle against the Arcane Arts, this descendant of the Yan Clan had become even quieter. Yin Ci could sense that the person had some unresolved issues, but Yan Qing was straightforward, unable to hide anything, and he was left to his own devices.

After all, he was more concerned about another person.

Yin Ci flipped the rabbit on the grill and glanced at the “other person” who had approached. Shi Jingzhi was covered in sweat from martial arts practice, and before he even arrived, the rumbling sound from his stomach preceded him.

However, Sect Master Shi’s top priority wasn’t to ask for food. When no one else was around, he asked a question with a heavy tone—

“A’Ci, how many years have you actually lived?”

Yin Ci handed him a grilled rabbit leg. “About three hundred years. I can’t remember exactly. Why do you ask?”

Shi Jingzhi didn’t mind the heat and took a bite of the rabbit meat, which was crispy and juicy. He vaguely sighed in relief. “So, you’re still quite young.”

The question was vague, and the answer was inexplicable. Yin Ci looked at Shi Jingzhi with confusion, feeling that this person had a big problem with defining “young”. “Are you teasing me, brat?”

“I was just thinking, what would you do if you had lived for thousands of years—even Senior Chen hadn’t investigated anything that long ago. More than three hundred years ago, Great Yun was established, so there should be many records.”

It turned out this person hadn’t learned how to prioritize matters. Yin Ci couldn’t laugh or cry. “Regarding the immortal body, we can discuss it together after you live past the Winter Solstice this year. It’s not too late.”

Shi Jingzhi sounded a little dissatisfied. “I want to know about you. It has nothing to do with the immortal body.”

“Don’t waste time. For now, let’s focus on the meat.” Yin Ci paused in his action of grilling meat, then picked up another piece of meat with the tip of his knife.

“Before the ban was lifted, I spent nine hours a day struggling to survive, two hours resting, and one hour being afraid. Now, I still spend nine hours struggling to survive, two hours resting… and the remaining one hour thinking about you. How can that be considered a waste?”

While taking a bite of meat, Shi Jingzhi leaned against Yin Ci.

The sect leader’s movements were too big, and Yin Ci quickly put away the knife, fearing the brat might accidentally hurt himself. The person’s words softened Yin Ci’s heart, but immediately he thought to himself that he seemed to have gone a little overboard recently with teasing and joking. This kid’s thick skin was growing, and he had thoroughly mastered the art of give-and-take.

As the flame licked the raw meat, the dark red flesh gradually turned a powdery white, and the bloody smell transformed into an enticing aroma.

Seeming to sense Yin Ci’s wavering, Shi Jingzhi became serious again. “When everyone was on the wooden boat a few days ago, we couldn’t talk freely. So, I deliberately spent ten hours a day to extend my life. Now, I have saved up quite a bit of time to spend with you. People need rest after all. A’Ci, let’s have some more meat.”

Sect Master Shi’s words were quite skillful, mixing sweet talk with an unchanged demand for more meat. Yin Ci couldn’t think of a proper comeback, so he sliced off a piece of meat for Shi Jingzhi and fed it to him with the tip of the knife.

However, when the sect leader happily swallowed the rabbit meat, he almost choked on it—

With a light sound, a miserable scream followed.

An arrow, seemingly coming from nowhere, swayed and landed on the top of Shi Jingzhi’s head. It didn’t stabilize and slowly fell to the ground. Shi Jingzhi was caught off guard, with the half-chewed rabbit meat still in his mouth. A thin stream of blood flowed down from the top of his head.

There was a piece of paper attached to that unlucky arrow.

Sect Master Shi wiped away the tears of choking and unfolded the paper, revealing a single word written with a skilled hand—”Scram”. It made him taste the feeling of “scolding from the heavens while sitting at home^*.”

 ^*Idiom referring to when someone is minding their own business (at home) or not doing anything wrong and suddenly receives unwanted criticism or scolding from someone else (as if it came from the heavens), for no apparent reason. It describes an unexpected or underserved attack or reproach.

The hard-earned affection was shattered. Yin Ci’s face turned ugly. “A master.”

This arrow was undoubtedly accurate, but it carried no killing intent or true qi. It came with great momentum but couldn’t even kill one of Shen Zhu’s sparrows, so neither of them detected it, which allowed it to land on the sect leader’s head.

Compared to the arrow’s momentum, the concept of “an arrow from the sky*” itself was frightening.

*Idiom referring to misfortune or calamity that befalls someone, seemingly coming out of nowhere and striking like an arrow from the sky (AKA a bolt from the blue).

Under Zongwu Mountain, the wilderness stretched out. There was not a single human shadow around except for their own group. Yin Ci couldn’t sense the slightest sign of human presence, and he had no idea from how far away this arrow had been shot. With his experience, he could only find a relatively accurate direction.

The arrow came from Zongwu Mountain.

Yin Ci and Shi Jingzhi exchanged glances, and the relaxed atmosphere from earlier instantly dissipated.

After the news of the tragic incident at the Jianchen Temple spread, everyone in the martial world knew that the Kushan Sect had found a clue there. Naturally, the other major sects wouldn’t give up easily. Compared to the insignificant Kushan Sect, they could still play the numbers game by gathering a large group of people. Since the Jianchen Temple was related to Kongshi, and Kongshi’s whereabouts were lost in Zongwu Mountain, they had no choice but to search there.

Unfortunately, Zongwu Mountain wasn’t truly an unowned place.

The main branch of the Ling Sect was located on the southern side of Zongwu Mountain—guarding the territory were the remnants of a formation left behind. Although the Ling Sect didn’t manage to grab many Buddhist beads, they were always happy to cause trouble for the people of the martial world. Now, with the advantage of the situation, they took the opportunity to hinder others, as if announcing, “If we can’t find it, no one can.”

According to Shen Zhu, as soon as the news of the Jianchen Temple was received, the Ling Sect promptly activated the “Fog Tomb Formation”. The mist was so dense that it covered all the mountains near the Ling Sect. Back in the day, Yan Budu and Kongshi had fought near the Ling Sect’s main branch. Regardless of where Kongshi died, he would undoubtedly remain within the fog’s coverage.

Other sects would naturally not give up either, especially Taiheng, which possessed the most treasure maps. The Taiheng disciples were constantly clashing with the Ling Sect, and the Chigou Sect was adding fuel to the fire, making the area around Zongwu Mountain quite lively.

The only unknown was who owned this highly insulting arrow.

Shi Jingzhi, who had just filled his stomach, angrily picked up the arrow. He wiped away his blood and said with a sinister smile, “These days, I’ve been studying techniques, and I haven’t used any yet. It’s perfect; I don’t even need to search for materials. A’Ci, come on, let’s take a walk after dinner.”

Using his fresh blood as material, Shi Jingzhi drew a virtual formation above the arrow. The arrow swayed and floated, emitting a thin layer of blood-red light. After a while, it finally stabilized, turned its head, and rushed towards Zongwu Mountain, leaving behind a dazzling trail of red light.

The master and disciple soared through the air, using their qinggong to closely follow the arrow.

This chase unexpectedly covered a distance of six to seven li. Shi Jingzhi’s new tracking technique was quite useful. The arrow seemed like a dizzy hunting hound, rushing mercilessly towards its master—

With a sigh, a large hand grabbed the arrow and easily broke it into two pieces.

“This is not a place for small sects like yours to come. Even if you know some techniques, it won’t work.”

It was quite a coincidence that the culprit also wore a mask. He was tall and sturdy, with a deep voice, and his clothes were simple and ordinary, making him seem like a lone ranger without any sect or faction. However, just from his imposing aura, this person was likely in his forties, not yet fifty, and his martial arts were superior to Shi Zhongyu’s.

Based on the control of that arrow just now, this person’s level might even be higher than the current Shi Jingzhi.

“The situation in Zongwu Mountain is tense. You guys trying to rely on luck like this, I don’t know how many I’ve already driven away. The struggle between major sects is not for you little ones to get involved in. Otherwise, you might end up getting hurt, and your lives will be over.”

Although caught red-handed, the archer’s tone was still impolite, and he didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

Shi Jingzhi wiped the blood off his head and didn’t answer directly, asking, “May I ask your Greatness’ name?”

“Nameless, without a surname, no sect, no faction. Alright, hurry up and leave. If I see you again, I will…”

Before the person finished speaking, Yin Ci thrust his sword forward. His attack wasn’t intended to kill, but it was fast and carried enough momentum to draw blood. The distance between the two wasn’t far, and the archer’s expression changed suddenly. He dodged to the side, barely avoiding the attack, but ended up with a shallow wound on his abdomen.

“You brat…”

“That’s enough, Shizun. I don’t know his name, but his sect is quite obvious.”

Yin Ci deftly sheathed the Hanging Shadow Sword and stared straight at the archer.

“A few moments ago, he used Taiheng’s footwork.”

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