Volume One: The Dragon Rises from the Wild Chapter 104: Paying a Heavy Price for Vanity

In the darkness, the sounds of footsteps and heavy breathing echoed.

A faint light appeared ahead. Upon closer inspection, it was the mouth of a cave. Outside, the moonlight was dim, and the vegetation grew lush.

The footsteps ceased. Two figures collapsed onto the ground, still gasping for air. Another person walked to the cave entrance and stood in silence; under the moonlight, his silhouette, topped with a bamboo hat, looked like a cold, unyielding stone. Meanwhile, the two on the ground were whispering to each other in mutual concern.

"Junior Sister?"

"I am fine. And you, Senior Brother?"

"I am out of immediate danger, but it is hateful that our three senior brothers have perished, and I was powerless to help. With that Foundation Establishment expert likely in pursuit, our lives hang by a thread. Alas..."

"Do not worry, Senior Brother! We escaped underground and traveled this far; surely we have shaken off that expert."

"And what if we have? The Tiandan Peak is destroyed; we have nowhere left to call home..."

"Yu Ye..."

Hearing his name, Yu Ye turned around.

"Fellow Daoist Qingqing, what is your instruction?"

"Between us, why speak of instructions? If you do not mind, please sit and talk."

Yu Ye shook his head and sat down where he stood.

The two before him were disciples of the Tiandan Peak: Yu Xin and Meng Qingqing. They had first met in Qingye Town, only to part ways, and later crossed paths again at Beiqi Mountain, where Yu Ye had kept his distance. Unexpectedly, they met once more in Kunshui Town, and he had been forced to intervene to save them. In doing so, he had exhausted four Dragon-Slaying Talismans, one Earth-Escape Talisman, his last Armor-Piercing Talisman, and his only Golden Armor Talisman.

Whenever he was with these Daoist sect disciples, he was always the one to suffer in the end. It had been the same with Chen Qi, Bai Zhi, Tao Feng, Yu Xin, and Meng Qingqing. Being at a disadvantage was one thing, but he refused to be treated like a fool.

"We were quite impolite before. My senior brother and I feel a great deal of guilt and wished to apologize in person, but opportunities have been rare!"

Meng Qingqing, in her twenties, had fair skin and delicate features. Though she was not one for many words, she was forthright, and when she did speak, she was direct. She took out a spirit stone and handed it to Yu Ye, signaling, "In the battle at Qingye Town, your contribution was paramount; at Beiqi Mountain, you risked your life to save us; and tonight, at the brink of death, you stood up for us again. My senior brother and I have no way to repay you, so please accept this spirit stone as a token of our gratitude."

"This..."

Caught off guard, Yu Ye waved his hands in a hurry. "There is no need for this..."

"Brother Yu!"

Yu Xin offered a wry smile. "I still have one spirit stone, though it has been more than half-drained. If you do not mind..." He pulled a white spirit stone from his robes and urged, "Please, take this one as well. It is only a small attempt to make amends!"

The siblings were truly pitiful; each possessed only one spirit stone, yet they offered them up with complete sincerity.

"No!" Yu Ye’s expression grew awkward.

"Is it too little..."

"No!"

"Yu Ye, if there is something amiss, please do speak freely..."

Yu Xin and Meng Qingqing began to feel uneasy, yet they continued to hold out the stones.

Unable to refuse, Yu Ye, in a moment of urgency, flipped his hand and placed ten spirit stones on the ground. "These were obtained from those I killed last night. You two were instrumental in the fight, and having lost your three fellow brothers, you deserve compensation. Besides, I am not lacking in spirit stones..." Having said this, he simply brought out two flying swords as well.

"Brother Yu, this..."

"Yu Ye, I had not imagined you were so generous!"

The siblings, no longer bothering with modesty, hurriedly gathered the stones and swords, exchanging joyful smiles.

Yu Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he heard a sigh in his sea of consciousness: "Sigh, why bother? Suffering just to save face..."

Yu Ye felt inwardly embarrassed and had no retort.

***

He did not like to suffer losses, but he also did not like to be indebted to others. Or perhaps, he simply did not want to carry too many burdens of gratitude and grudges. The road ahead was still very long.

Daylight began to break. The three emerged from the cave.

They stood in a valley. Although the morning light had arrived, the surrounding forest remained dim and hazy.

"You two..." Yu Ye raised his hand to bid farewell.

The faces of Yu Xin and Meng Qingqing were pale, clearly still suffering from internal injuries. They looked up at the sky and asked—

"Brother Yu, where are you headed?"

"Yu Ye, why not travel together?"

"My mount is still at the inn. Are you two intending to return to Kunshui Town with me?"

"This..."

"My senior brother means that since Tiandan Peak is destroyed and our fellow disciples are dead or scattered, there is no place left for us in the Great Marsh. If you have a path forward, we are willing to join you!"

Yu Ye hesitated for a moment. "I intend to head overseas..."

Yu Xin and Meng Qingqing exchanged a glance, looking quite encouraged, and nodded in unison.

"That is exactly what we had in mind!"

Yu Ye bowed his head, pacing in silent contemplation.

He had wanted to venture overseas alone, but unexpectedly, he had gained two companions before even starting. Yet, as they said, with Tiandan Peak suffering another total annihilation, they had nowhere else to go, and the overseas lands were a viable path. If they were determined, he could not stop them, and traveling together might offer mutual support.

After weighing his options, Yu Ye nodded in agreement.

Yu Xin and Meng Qingqing were immensely relieved, though each had their own hidden concerns. As they were still injured, it was inconvenient for them to return to Kunshui Town. Yu Ye going back alone raised concerns for his safety, but he remained unbothered. In his view, the Qizhou cultivators were spreading out to retaliate against various sects; while they were aggressive, they were stretched thin. He had killed four of them last night, and the lone remaining Foundation Establishment expert would be unable to turn the tide alone. As long as he was careful, it should be fine. Besides, he was not just returning for his mount; he wanted to scout the situation. Upon hearing this, the siblings agreed, and it was decided that he would handle matters in Kunshui Town and they would meet at a prearranged spot...

An hour later, Yu Ye was walking the streets of Kunshui Town.

The valley where they had hidden was only ten miles away from the town—a half-hour journey—so he had returned without difficulty.

He did not return to the inn, but went straight to the west side of town.

In a moment, he saw the courtyard from the night before; it was now nothing but collapsed walls and rubble. A crowd of onlookers had gathered, stretching their necks to watch the commotion. The corpses from outside and inside the yard were gone, leaving only patches of ash.

Yu Ye hid among the crowd and looked around. No cultivators were visible in the town.

As he had expected, there were five cultivators who had come to retaliate against Tiandan Peak. They had first chased the disciples to scatter them, then lured them to gather in one place, only for four Qi Refining cultivators to surround them, followed by the Foundation Establishment expert, all to ensure a thorough slaughter. Who would have thought that Yu Ye's appearance would cause such a perfect and vicious plan to fail?

Now that the expert had suffered a heavy loss, he had likely fled.

Interestingly, it seemed Bu Yi and Gan Xing had not participated in this madness. If that were true, the Qizhou side would struggle to control the Great Marsh with only two Foundation Establishment cultivators...

Yu Ye watched for a while, then turned toward a small courtyard.

He knocked on the red-lacquered door, and an old man answered. Inside the shaded courtyard, a few horses were tethered.

According to Yu Xin, this was a foothold for the Tiandan Peak sect. The old man, though aged, was also a sect disciple; if he gave the secret code, the man would follow his instructions.

"The thousand peaks of Tiandan are beautiful."

"A day in Kunshui turns red."

With the code confirmed, Yu Ye took two horses.

The old man saw him to the door and asked in a low voice, "When will the young master and young miss return?"

"Ah... they will return when the time is right!"

Yu Ye offered a perfunctory reply. Seeing the old man’s red eyes and sorrowful expression, his heart softened, and he pulled out two bottles of medicinal pills and handed them over.

"Fellow Daoist, take care!"

The old man gripped the bottles tightly, his lips trembling as he muttered, "When the time is right, they will return..."

Yu Ye headed straight to the inn.

He retrieved his mount and bought fodder, food, oilcloth, and mattresses along the way, along with a few sets of clothes and boots, before heading out of town with the two horses.

Having two companions now meant more labor and concern. He felt a twinge of regret; perhaps what Jiao Ying said was right...

At dusk, Yu Ye arrived at a small valley a hundred miles away.

In the valley, a stream wound through the landscape, and the scenery was beautiful.

Yu Xin and Meng Qingqing had arrived earlier using their light-body techniques. Though exhausted, they were all smiles and waved to him repeatedly.

The three reunited.

Yu Ye handed the oilcloth, food, and bedding to Yu Xin, then pulled out a storage ring and gave it to Meng Qingqing. After a few words of conversation, he got up and walked away alone.

Night fell. The moonlight remained.

Yu Ye wandered aimlessly, glancing back once. The siblings were still recovering from their injuries and, exhausted from the journey, were busy cultivating, leaving each other undisturbed.

Yu Ye sat by the stream and removed his bamboo hat.

Looking at the moonlight in the sky, his mind felt clear for a moment. But thinking of the journey ahead, a sense of inexplicable restlessness washed over him. Venturing overseas sounded exciting, but how would he cross the sea to reach Qizhou, and what dangers would he face? The future was unpredictable, and fortune was uncertain...

Yu Ye shook his head, and four storage rings appeared before him.

These were the spoils from the previous night's kills. Inside were twenty or so spirit stones, over forty Li-Fire Talismans, eight Dragon-Slaying Talismans, two Earth-Escape Talismans, a dozen bottles of pills, several flying swords, as well as cultivation jade slips and other miscellaneous items. Although he had given ten spirit stones to the siblings, many remained.

The Dragon-Slaying and Earth-Escape talismans were unexpected surprises. The Earth-Escape Talisman, in particular, was his only means of escape after exhausting his Armor-Piercing talisman.

As Yu Ye looked at the storage rings, the gloom in his heart lightened.

Then, a voice in his sea of consciousness mocked him: "Eyes lighting up at wealth, stealing joy at the sight of goods, your head filled with thoughts of killing and scheming—you are hardly a practitioner of the Dao; you are clearly just a petty thief who kills for loot!"

"I..." Yu Ye was slightly taken aback.

"Am I wrong?"

He heard Jiao Ying sigh—

"Sigh, to not be moved by external things, to not be swayed by one's own joys or sorrows, to not dwell on the past or fear the future—that is where the heart of the Dao lies. How could you forget such things!"

"Oh..."

Yu Ye felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow. His thoughts calmed, and his heart settled, yet he asked—

"Jiao Ying, how is your progress with the 'Nine Escapes of Heaven and Earth'? Have you gained any insights into the formations and the 'Heavenly Prohibition Technique'?"

Before he could finish, he heard a complaint: "Oh my, can you let me rest for a moment? Are you trying to work me to death..."