“Ah! Who are you?!”
“Ah! I'm a proud disciple of the Zhaixing Sect! You... Ah! Don't, don't hit my face!”
“Ngh! Young heroes, spare my life! I don't have any money!”
A dark night with high winds—the perfect time for murder and robbery.
Li Yangtian, who had just headed down the mountain on official business with his identity token in hand, suddenly saw everything turn black. Did it get dark? No, wait.
It was already night!
“Help—mph!”
Before he could even shout the second word, someone covered his mouth, shoved him into a sack, and carried him off. He had no idea how long they walked, but eventually, he was dumped onto the ground like a dead dog.
What followed was several minutes of humiliating beating.
Wen Li, being ten thousand years old, felt too embarrassed to beat up a junior. Instead, she used a divine sense voice transmission to speak to Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan, who were flailing away so hard they barely knew up from down.
“Alright, that's enough. Don't beat him to death, or we'll have to find another one.”
“Phew...”
Hearing this, Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan stopped, hands resting on their knees as they panted for breath.
They had no choice; they couldn't use spiritual energy without accidentally killing him, so they had to rely purely on physical labor.
Wen Li walked over and pulled off the burlap sack from the motionless figure on the ground.
“Uh...”
The guy was actually still conscious, locking eyes directly with Wen Li.
“...” This was a bit awkward.
“Ngh...” His face was black and blue, and before he could speak—
“Take that!” Wen Li smacked him on the head with a palm.
Thud.
This time, he collapsed straight back, completely out cold.
“Job's done. Let's go back and sleep.”
Wen Li dusted off her hands contentedly—wiping away non-existent dust—and snapped her fingers.
“Alright!” Yao Dai skipped along after her.
Xie Tinglan, who had transformed into a youth, sighed and dutifully hoisted the lump off the ground to follow them.
...
The next morning, the sun was high in the sky.
“Ah! Don't hit me!”
As soon as Li Yangtian woke up, he reflexively protected his head with both hands. The bruises covering his face throbbed with pain, instantly jolting him fully awake.
“Hss!” Ow! Which bastard beat me up?
“Brother, how are you feeling?”
Inside the inn, Yao Dai walked in holding a bowl of porridge, looking at him with a face full of concern and sympathy.
“Here, have a piece of candy. It won't taste as bitter after this.”
Li Yangtian looked up and saw a pretty little girl. Looking closer, a four-year-old toddler was handing him a piece of candy.
“Alright, let him recover first. Stop bothering him, you two.”
Li Yangtian looked again, his eyes clearing up quite a bit. What a gorgeous woman! But... why does she look a little familiar?
He asked subconsciously,
“Fellow cultivator, have we met somewhere before?”
If it had been anyone else, she might have taken him for a shameless, flirtatious cultivator trying a sleazy pickup line. But the three involved parties knew exactly why he was asking.
“Oh, we found you nearby last night,” Wen Li lied without batting an eye. “You might have had a brief moment of consciousness while I was carrying you back on my back, so you remembered me.”
“Ah, thank you so much for saving my life, Fellow Cultivator.” Li Yangtian showed a face full of gratitude, but also felt embarrassed. How could I let a female cultivator carry me back on her back? How embarrassing...
Wen Li politely replied, “Think nothing of it.”
She couldn't exactly tell him that the four-year-old toddler in front of him had transformed into a youth and carried him back.
Wen Li urged him to eat the bowl of porridge first to fill his stomach, then pretended to ask with concern about what happened last night. Speaking of this, Li Yangtian gritted his teeth in fury.
“Last night I went out on business. Who knew that shortly after descending the mountain, I was ambushed by ruffians! I fought them for three hundred rounds, but in the end, my single-handed effort was no match for the gang of villains. Fortunately, relying on my sheer will to survive, I managed to crawl nearby until you saved me!”
Xie Tinglan, transformed into a four-year-old, said expressionlessly, “But when we found you, you were inside a burlap sack.”
He hated people posturing in front of him the most. Wen Li was an exception, but this guy?
“...” Dead silence filled the room.
Just as sweat broke out on Li Yangtian's forehead and he struggled to come up with a face-saving excuse, Wen Li spoke up.
“Alright, go eat your food,” she said, nudging Xie Tinglan.
Then she looked at Li Yangtian. “Take a good rest then. I still need to take my disciples to join a sect, so I won't disturb you any longer.”
Li Yangtian was puzzled. “Join a sect? Are you rogue cultivators?”
“That's right,” Yao Dai spoke with a smile. “Master and I are both rogue cultivators. We heard that the Zhaixing Sect is the best sect in Cangling Kingdom, so Master and I want to try our luck. We just don't know if it's still possible since the official disciple recruitment period has passed.”
“Don't worry, Master and I love standing up against injustice. If we manage to join the Zhaixing Sect, we'll definitely report those villains' wicked deeds to the sect and vent your anger for you!”
“...”
Xie Tinglan couldn't stand listening to this and hastily turned around to roll his eyes. Only a fool would fall for—
“Waaaaah—!”
A wolf-like wail interrupted his internal monologue. Turning his head, Xie Tinglan saw Li Yangtian—his face covered in black and blue bruises—streaming with snot and tears, moved beyond words.
“Sob sob sob... Thank you, little sister! I... this is the first time anyone has ever cared about me like this. I couldn't control myself, I'm so sorry.”
With that, Li Yangtian wiped away his snot and tears with his sleeve.
“?!”
He actually bought that! Does cultivation only test talent and completely ignore intelligence?!
Xie Tinglan twitched an eyebrow. He felt that he simply hadn't interacted with enough cultivators other than Wen Li, making him easily surprised by these rare oddities.
Neither Wen Li nor Yao Dai had anticipated this reaction either.
“It's okay, it's okay, Big Brother. A reaction like this shows that you're a very kind person, and good things happen to kind people!”
Yao Dai quickly stepped forward to comfort him. Having spent so much time with Wen Li, lying came naturally to her now. Combined with her innocent and naive thirteen-year-old appearance, her words carried immense credibility.
Hearing this, Li Yangtian was even more deeply moved by the three of them and immediately spoke up earnestly.
“Don't rush blindly to the Zhaixing Sect. The sect finished recruiting disciples three months ago! I happen to be a disciple of the Zhaixing Sect, and to repay you for saving my life, I'm willing to bring you into the sect myself. As long as you have cultivation bases, an exception should be made for you.”
“Ah, haha, then thank you so much, Big Brother!”
Just like that, before Wen Li even had to try, Yao Dai handled Li Yangtian all on her own.
After resting for the morning, Li Yangtian took his healing pills. Once the bruised and purple marks on his face faded thanks to the topical ointment given by Wen Li, he slapped the table and immediately decided to set off.
Relying on his waist token, he led the three of them openly into the Zhaixing Sect.
Yao Dai looked around, silently memorizing the routes, and sent a voice transmission to Wen Li and Xie Tinglan.
“Even though the Zhaixing Sect is within a Third-Grade Cultivation Kingdom, it feels inferior to the Taixuan Sect in Heavenly Yuan Kingdom in many ways.”
Xie Tinglan transmitted, “The Taixuan Sect is the sole power in Heavenly Yuan Kingdom, so naturally it's luxurious. Cangling Kingdom has three competing factions, so resources are divided among them.”
Wen Li transmitted back, “Not bad, Xie Xiao'er. You even know how to use the phrase 'three competing factions.' Looks like you've learned human culture quite well. You deserve a reward.”
Xie Tinglan gave a small roll of his eyes. What's there to praise about that?
Yet, his back straightened significantly.
【Ding! +3, Save the Villain Xie Tinglan progress bar at 15%】
Rate on N.U.
