Chapter 345
Xinyi walked back to the cave entrance, taking the narrow ledge that hugged the canyon wall. The rocky path was barely wide enough for one person, with a sheer drop to the canyon floor on her left. Not that it would matter. These thoughts was just a way to distract herself from what she was about to do.
Reaching the large boulder that covered the cave entrance, she squeezed through the gap between rock and wall. The darkness of the tunnels swallowed her as her spirit sense took over in her eyes stead.
The tunnels wound deeper into the canyon branching off into dead ends and false paths designed to confuse intruders. She knew every turn, every hidden mechanism that the disciples had installed. The thought of intruders that may or may not be the beggar sect or any other sect for that matter came to mind.
Stopping at a specific rock that looked like a pole lying down on the floor, perpendicular to the tunnel's direction, Xinyi reached out and turned it clockwise fully once. After the full turn, she turned it counter clockwise twice. Then, she rotated it clockwise until it sat parallel to the tunnel instead of perpendicular.
Qi around her tremored. The first layer of the defensive array disarmed itself for at least 5 minutes, enough for a squad or two to pass through.
Xinyi continued through the tunnel, veering right, straight, left turn, then straight again until finally met with a fork through which she turned left.
Months of passing through this route, she didn't even need to open her eyes to know which way she was going. Even without her spirit sense, she'd walk this whole tunnel system with her eyes closed. Just the texture of the floor alone guided her.
At the end of the final tunnel, she met another boulder. An illusion this time, not a physical barrier. Her spirit sense pierced through it easily, showing what waited on the other side.
The disciples behind had drawn their weapons. All of them remained motionless, waiting for something to happen as their blood Qi seeped through the cracks of the illusion array.
She had taught them how to hide their blood Qi better than that, but apparently not. Their killing intents even leaked through. How amateur. The Ann Heiress's team would've killed these disciples one by one in less than 2 days if they had chosen to do so. "Lower your weapons!" Xinyi shouted. "It's Elder Zhou coming in!"
No response from the disciples.
At least they were obedient. Unless a password was said, anyone could just emulate someone else's voice while cloak their signature.
"Cicadas carry morning dew," Xinyi said. "Autumn wind carry not the burden."
A voice came from behind the boulder. "This one is #1. Is it really Elder Zhou?"
Xinyi's eyes narrowed. Clearly it wasn't #1's voice. It was too young, imitating a boy that was age 17. She would've fallen for it she didn't know both of them.
"It's me," Xinyi said. "But you are not #1. Open this illusion at once, #6."
Silence for a moment. Then the boulder shimmered and faded, revealing the main chamber beyond.
#1 stood at the front of the formation, the real #1, with #6 slightly behind him. A test within a test. She hadn't implemented that, but that was smart of them to confirm her real identity.
"Elder Zhou," #1 said, dropping to one knee with his fist pressed against his palm. "Welcome back. Please take a rest after escaping from the divine beast." But then his head snapped upwards to look at her eyes directly. "Elder Zhou... your signature..."
"Yes?"
"Congratulations on advancing to Early-Mystic!" #1 bowed again as he shouted.
The worlds were repeated by everyone in unison. "Congratulations on your advancement, Elder Zhou!"
Xinyi let them have their moment. It felt strange, accepting congratulations for something she hadn't actually earned through her own strength. But the old geezers did say that fortunate encounters could be a form of one own's strength called luck.
For quite a while, she never did believe in that something called luck. She had taken her own destiny with her own hands the moment she was stolen from her family. However, she encountered Ann Heiress and her team during what was supposed to be her final battle… maybe luck was real after all.
"What is the status?" Xinyi asked. "Did anyone else die from the beggars?"
#1 rose from his kneel. "We set up the barrier formation after the outer disciples returned with the news of your pursuit. No one has ventured outside since. We feared getting picked off one by one."
"Good job. Not letting the beggars get what they want." Xinyi walked past him, heading toward the raised platform at the back of the chamber where her seat was. "The fortunate thing is that their trap allowed me to break through. Get me coffee."
"Right away, Elder Zhou." #1 bowed and off to the eastern tunnel.
Settling into her seat, Xinyi sighed in relief. "#6, come here."
The young woman dropped into a bow in front of her. "Yes, Elder Zhou?"
"What is the current status of the western tunnels?"
#6's hesitated to speak immediately. "There's been a change, Elder Zhou."
"What changed?"
"Before, we were re-applying a sealing sutra every 24 hours as you ordered. The thing beyond the seal would degrade the talismans, requiring constant maintenance." #6 said. "But the sutra we applied yesterday didn't need reapplication. When we checked this morning, it was still intact."
"The sutra stopped degrading? Strange…"
"It seems so, Elder Zhou. Something must have changed within the western tunnels."
It was strange indeed. For months, the thing behind the western tunnels had continuously whispered to her sweet temptations that she almost fell for. Yet the moment the Ann Heiress' team came to the area, it suddenly left?
#1 returned with a steaming cup of coffee, presenting it with both hands. Xinyi took it, letting the warmth seep into her fingers. The smell alone made her long for America, or rather a new longing, Canada. She'd be living with the Path twins as their maid.
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Most would think that the twins were brutes, and living with them would be a nightmare, but Xinyi knew. Kyle and Clyde were probably the sharpest of the bunch in Ann Heiress team. They may be blunt and brash, and not to mention crude amongst other adjectives she can throw, but they were far from brutes.
Being their maid might actually allow her to experience the Canadian dream along with its own flavour of comedy cop drama that she loved to watch.
She took a long sip before speaking. "Gather everyone around the platform. #1, there are still some that aren't here."
"They are taking their rest, Elder Zhou. The night shift has just ended."
"I don't care. This is an emergency announcement."
#1 bowed. "As you command."
He disappeared into the tunnel system to the east. #1's could be heard shouting as his voice echoed through the tunnel system. The sounds of people getting up from their bunk beds could be heard as they got on the floor and ran through the tunnel corridors.
Xinyi sat on her platform and drank her coffee, watching the main chamber slowly fill with half-awake cultivators.
Once everyone was gathered, all 60 remaining disciples, minus the ones who had died to the "beggars". Xinyi finished her coffee and set the cup down on the armrest of her seat.
"I have something to say," she announced.
#1 stepped forward, ready to facilitate whatever announcement she was about to make. "Elder Zhou wishes to—"
Xinyi let out a wave of Qi. The force hit all the disciples, crushing their bodies down and conscious simultaneously. An Early-Mystic against attuneds and resonants, they had no chance. Although her Qi was dangerously low, she had enough to crush everyone in the room by just flaring out her signature.
#1 managed to stay standing. His legs trembled, his face pale as he tried to stay awake from the concussion of Qi. "Elder Zhou... why... why are you doing this?"
Another wave of Qi.
#1's eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the stone floor, joining the rest of the unconscious disciples.
Xinyi stood from her seat and walked to the center of the chamber, stepping over bodies as she went. She looked at their faces. Children. All of them. Stolen from their families just like her to live a life in this goddamn sect as meat shields.
The Ann Heiress promised. This would be their second chance. Hopefully they follow through.
Putting two fingers to her lips, Xinyi whistled. The sound echoed through the tunnels, bouncing off stone walls, carrying deep into the cave system and out through the entrance.
In less than a few of seconds, the 6 signatures entered the tunnels. She felt something destroy the defense array at the beginning, but it didn't matter. It wasn't needed anymore.
Soon enough, the 6 entered the chamber one by one. The feral, the Ann Heiress, the twins, the blue witch, and the… they called her floating bluey, but she did tell Xinyi to designate her as Grand Researcher Grand General Erin. That was too long. Floating bluey was better.
"Nice work, hat lady," the Gale said, looking around the cave. "You didn't kill any of them, right?"
"They're just unconscious," Xinyi confirmed.
"Cool." Gale poked one of them with the a black stick.
That was probably his transforming weapon. Xinyi couldn't really understand Gale. A boy capable of such ferocious thinking acting like a child and using his transforming weapon as a poking stick while also eating potato chips from the Clyde.
It was unknown whether the choice to follow this group was a bright choice, but they were the top of the current generation… somehow.
"So, where's this western tunnel?" Gale asked.
"First," Xinyi said, looking to the Ann Heiress. "The disciples. Please, Ann Heiress."
"Just call me, Rachel."
"Then Lady Rachel…"
"That's fine too."
Rachel cracked her knuckles, green flames already licking at her fingertips. "Everyone brace yourselves. I'll be covering this whole cave with green fire."
Gale saluted, a crisp military gesture that looked completely out of place coming from a boy eating potato chips.
"Is it going to burn my snacks?" Clyde asked, patting his suit jacket where presumably more snacks were hidden.
"Snacks cost money," Kyle added.
"I could if I wanted to," Rachel said, the flames around her hands growing brighter.
"I'll invoice you 200 dollars if you do."
Lily looked at Clyde's suit jacket, then at the bulges that shouldn't have been possible given how slim the cut was. "How are you fitting so much in your suit? Where does it all go?"
"Who's asking?"
Lily elbowed him in the ribs.
"Go ahead, Rachel," Gale said, crunching on another chip.
Two green flames swirled around Rachel's body, starting at her chest which then orbited her as it grew and grew in size. The fire engulfed the floor, washing over the unconscious disciples, yet not burning their skin nor their clothes. It climbed the walls, and then engulfed everyone else in the room, including Gale.
As soon as the fire was done growing, Xinyi saw a green lotus place itself in the middle of the room. The Ann family had a long history in Asia. It was said to have had origins within the Ming Cult and their own brand of sacred fire.
She believed all the rumours to be false. Seeing it with her own eyes, Xinyi would dare question those non believers. Then why did the Ann family not take part of becoming one of the major families?
Though, it was obvious. The Jianghu was too chaotic. Everyone would want to run away from such a place.
Turning her eyes at the back of one of the disciples, a young man, #47, had his neck exposed. The death mark, 死 was still visible on his skin, but something had changed.
The Qi in the character disappeared.
Before, the death mark had a faint pulse of Qi that was connected to something they couldn't see. Now, it was just ink. A tattoo that they could easily remove by circulating Qi around the area to let the body digest the ink.
Xinyi looked around the chamber. Every disciple that had their necks exposed had the same mark on their neck that now emanated nothing.
All of them, free just like that, with the power of the sacred fire.
#1 stirred, then his eyes snapped open. He suddenly rolled onto his stomach, thrashing around to try to put out the fire. His hands slapped at his clothes, his face, his hair, trying to extinguish flames that weren't actually burning him.
"Calm down," Xinyi said.
#1 stopped. He looked up at her voice. As his eyes widened, his hand slowly reached for the back of his neck. Touching the spot where the death mark sat, his expression became complicated.
It was the first time Xinyi saw this kind of expression from the stoic #1.
"The death mark is gone?" #1 whispered. "How?"
His head turned. The green fire still calmly burning away at the walls and other disciples. His eyes stopped at where Rachel was.
"The Ann Heiress..." #1 started crying that turned into a full snot nosed sob.
A 19 year old boy who had been stolen from his family as a child, branded with the death mark, forced into the demonic caves to fight against other children and coming out on top, cried for the first time in his life. Something inside Xinyi swelled when he saw the scene.
"Is this why you did that, Elder Zhou? Is this why you knocked us all out?" #1 asked.
"It was," Xinyi said.
#1 dropped to his knees and kowtowed, his forehead slamming against the stone floor hard. He slammed his head just as hard three times. "Thank you, Elder Zhou!"
Before Xinyi could tell him to stop hurting himself, #1 turned around on his knees to face Rachel. He kowtowed again, forehead hitting the floor three times again.
"Thank you, Ann Heiress! Thank you for saving our lives! We are forever in your debt!"
Rachel looked to Gale who was somehow smiling. The green flames began to dissipate as it had already completed its job.
Gale had walked over to where #1 was still kowtowing. In his hand was a single potato chip, extended toward the crying man like an offering.
#1 didn't thank it, didn't even see it yet as his head was still on the floor.
Gale poked at his shoulder, making #1 finally look up. #1's eye brow raised in confusion, looking at the boy in front of him. Moving the chip to #1's lips, Gale kept poking the chip at his mouth and muttered something about 'food is comfort when one is crying'.
#1 opened his mouth, and took the whole potato chip into his mouth. He slowly chewed as Gale nodded encouragingly at him.
Xinyi couldn't really believe what she was seeing. The feral, Gale, had just fed a crying kowtowing #1 a potato chip like he was feeding a stray dog. Technically, they were all stray dogs now, but literally, that was just what happened.
The absurdity of it all made her want to laugh, but the twins beat her to it. Their shoulders shaking from their suppressed laughter while the blue witch, Lily, turned away from the scene, but clearly she was laughing too. The Ann Heiress, Rachel, had just given a long sigh while the floating bluey remained as emotionless as ever.
#1's sob quieted though. That was a fact. The act itself had stopped him from making a fool out of himself in these strange times.
These people were strange, especially the feral and the floating bluey. Part of the rising star generation, they were all capable. Cornering her with the divine beast was a testament to that. They're all deeply and fundamentally strange. Somehow that depiction made Xinyi feel… she was going to fit just right in.