Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

"Tong Peipei."

Wei Tu raised an eyebrow as he read the sender’s name aloud.

Tong Peipei was a fellow Talisman Master he had met back when he lived in the Danqiu Mountain Shantytown. She had later moved into a small courtyard on Lark Street and married Helian Xiong.

At their wedding,

Wei Tu had even given a gift.

Considering how long they had known each other, Tong Peipei could be considered an old acquaintance of Wei Tu’s.

However, Wei Tu and Tong Peipei were merely old acquaintances, not friends.

Decades ago, Helian Xiong had joined the Shuyun Alliance and conspired with Alchemist Shu and others to plot against Wei Tu. Any old bond they might have had was severed because of it.

’She probably wants something from me.’ Wei Tu didn’t need to read the Talisman’s contents to guess why Tong Peipei had sent it.

He opened the Talisman and took a look.

As expected, the Talisman was a letter from Tong Peipei, swallowing her pride to ask him for help.

At the beginning of the letter,

Tong Peipei first offered a few pleasantries, then went on to describe her hardships over the past few years.

Over twenty years ago, after Danqiu Mountain was conquered by the Demon Dao, Tong Peipei, like other Independent Cultivators, had drifted along with the tide, making her way from Danqiu Mountain to Red River Mountain.

Relying on her skills as a Talisman Master, Tong Peipei managed to live a decent life on Red River Mountain.

But a few years later, disaster struck.

Tong Peipei accidentally offended a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Because killing was strictly forbidden within the Red River Mountain Marketplace, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator only severed one of her hands instead of taking her life.

Ordinarily, this would be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

However, Tong Peipei’s entire livelihood depended on her two hands, which she used for Talisman Making.

After losing a hand,

Tong Peipei’s life became increasingly destitute.

Today, after hearing of Wei Tu’s exploits at the Ten Thousand Books Pavilion, Tong Peipei had finally written him a letter, hoping he would help her for the sake of their past as old friends.

’What about Helian Xiong?’ A question surfaced in Wei Tu’s mind after he finished the letter.

Nowhere in the letter did she mention her Dao Companion, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator Helian Xiong.

If Helian Xiong had been around, Tong Peipei would never have suffered such a disaster.

’Tong Peipei has a fiery temper. In her first few years at the Red River Mountain Marketplace, she probably acted high and mighty, relying on her status as the Dao Companion of a Foundation Establishment Master, and offended that cultivator...’

’Who would have thought that years later, Helian Xiong would vanish without a trace? That Foundation Establishment Cultivator must have decided to settle old scores...’

’After all, under normal circumstances, how would a mere Qi Cultivator get the chance to offend someone at Foundation Establishment?’

Based on Tong Peipei’s personality and the contents of her letter, Wei Tu pieced together a likely version of her experiences over the past several years.

Years ago, provoked by Talisman Master Maoo, she had indiscriminately stormed over to question him about the sales of his Calm Heart Talismans.

As the saying goes, a leopard can’t change its spots.

Before losing her hand, Tong Peipei’s life had been smooth sailing; she had never experienced any real setbacks.

It was unlikely her personality had changed all that much.

’Judging by the timing, Tong Peipei probably doesn’t know that Helian Xiong and the Shuyun Alliance plotted against me. Otherwise, she would never have dared to send me a letter asking for help today.’

Wei Tu shook his head.

He suspected that Helian Xiong’s disappearance was related to his own killing of Alchemist Shu.

After Alchemist Shu’s death,

Shopkeeper Fann of the Jiuyun Commerce Association, who had been his contact, had immediately requested a transfer to the front lines of the war, defecting to the Demon Sect cultivators.

It was likely the same for Helian Xiong.

He no longer dared to remain in the Zheng Country Cultivation Realm, so he had fled to distant lands, abandoning his Dao Companion, Tong Peipei.

’I’ll go take a look first.’ Thinking of his past acquaintance with Tong Peipei, and also considering his own reputation, Wei Tu flicked his sleeve and flew out of Yunyan Residence.

Whether or not Tong Peipei knew about Helian Xiong’s plot against him, on the surface, he was completely unconnected to "the death of Alchemist Shu."

It would reflect poorly on him if he didn’t look after an old friend.

Besides, Wei Tu also intended to see if he could get any clues from Tong Peipei about the whereabouts of Helian Xiong and the rest of the Shuyun Alliance cultivators.

Wei Tu hadn’t forgotten that Left Envoy Liu of the Celestial Maiden Sect, who had ties to the Shuyun Alliance, once suspected him of being involved in Si Qing’s death.

Therefore, finding the Shuyun Alliance would be a worthwhile precaution.

...

The outer region of the Red River Mountain Marketplace.

Within the shantytown.

Wei Tu descended from the sky, landing before a small shack, and reached out to knock on the door.

It had been many years. To see that Tong Peipei had fallen from being the Dao Companion of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to once again living in a shantytown filled Wei Tu with a sense of melancholy.

After a moment’s wait,

The wooden door of the shack opened to reveal an elderly Female Cultivator with a weathered face.

This Female Cultivator had graying hair and wore a faded red robe. Her face was touched with a hint of light makeup.

Wei Tu’s gaze instinctively dropped to the woman’s arms at her sides. Seeing that her right arm was maimed, he quickly looked away.

’We haven’t seen each other in decades. Fellow Daoist Tong, you’ve aged,’ Wei Tu thought with a sigh.

Wei Tu could tell that Tong Peipei had dressed this way specifically for him.

An old friend in old clothes—she wanted him to reminisce about their shared past and not forget their former acquaintance.

"Elder Wei is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator; your appearance is ageless. This old woman... I’m already one hundred and sixty-five years old. It’s only natural for my Qi and Blood to fail..." Tong Peipei replied with a bitter smile.

After speaking, Tong Peipei bowed and invited Wei Tu inside.

Wei Tu nodded and stepped into the shack.

He found a stool and sat down, waving a hand to indicate that she shouldn’t stand on ceremony.

"I don’t see Fellow Daoist Helian in here. If he were around, surely you wouldn’t be..."

Wei Tu voiced his question.

His earlier thoughts were just speculation. He had to ask Tong Peipei herself to find out the truth.

At the mention of Helian Xiong, a trace of hatred flashed in Tong Peipei’s eyes. "When that beast married me," she said, "he swore eternal oaths of love. But once I grew old and my beauty faded, he cast me aside like a worn-out shoe!"

Tong Peipei blamed all her misfortunes and hardships of the last decade or so on Helian Xiong.

After all, she had helped him a great deal with his Foundation Establishment.

If she hadn’t offered Wei Tu her Tier One Talisman Master Inheritance, it was uncertain whether he would have agreed to craft the Demon Refining Talisman back then.

After cursing Helian Xiong,

Tong Peipei, like a scorned wife, recounted her experiences from her journey from Danqiu Mountain to Red River Mountain.

Her story was much as Wei Tu had guessed.

Initially, Tong Peipei had believed she could always rely on her Dao Companion, Helian Xiong, and in doing so, had inevitably overstepped her bounds, forgetting her place as a simple Qi Cultivator.

Once Helian Xiong vanished without a trace, the "retaliation" from other cultivators soon followed.

The loss of her hand, bullying, and so on.

In a way, one could say that Tong Peipei’s current predicament was indeed a direct result of Helian Xiong abandoning her.

Wei Tu, listening off to the side, offered no comment.

While he felt that Helian Xiong’s actions were deplorable—no matter how rushed he was, he shouldn’t have left without so much as a word—the thought that his own actions had contributed to Helian Xiong’s flight kept him from making any judgment.