Chapter 18: Lingxiao

Stepping out of the illusion, as Lin Anlan left the small world, she discovered the cracks before her eyes had disappeared.

Adjusting her glasses, she couldn’t help but marvel at Chu Fan’s power — to actually swap real objects within an illusion.

Suddenly, she looked up and met Chu Fan’s gaze.

Just before she could kneel, Chu Fan stopped her.

“The apprenticeship ceremony once was enough. Also, call me Teacher. I’m tired of hearing ‘Master’; I want something fresh.”

“Teacher…”

Then, Chu Fan produced another parchment book from behind his back and handed it to Lin Anlan.

“This is?”

Lin Anlan looked at it with eyes full of anticipation — the true expression of someone who loved books more than life itself.

“My gift to my disciple. I think, if you could understand that previous book, then this one is perfect as your apprenticeship gift.”

Lin Anlan took the parchment book and opened it.

The contents caused her pupils to constrict.

“This is… The Great Void Fragments…”

“It’s the legendary ultimate essence of the Talisman Dao, the one that allows drawing formations and talismans out of thin air…”

“Correct. Well? Do you like it?” Chu Fan asked indifferently.

Her eyes, which had run dry, grew moist once more.

Lin Anlan closed the book and threw herself into Chu Fan’s arms.

“Thank you… thank you, Teacher…”

Chu Fan lightly stroked her back and said softly, “From now on, let your talent shine as much as you want. You don’t have to fear being bullied anymore. Your teacher is here for everything.”

“Mhm… mhm…”

‘So this is what it feels like to have someone to rely on,’ Lin Anlan couldn’t help but wonder to herself.

She finally lowered all the walls in her heart, but at the same time, she exposed her most vulnerable spot.

A refreshing summer breeze slipped through the cracks of the window, quietly entering the somewhat stifling study and gently brushing against a handsome, smiling face.

It was the young man in front of Lin Anlan.

His short black hair fluttered in the wind; she saw the shape of the wind and waves.

Golden sunlight pierced through the dusty glass, splashing across his face.

She couldn’t tell if his eyes were naturally that bright or if the sunlight made them shine so intensely she could feel their warmth.

It was pure and scorching.

Although it might be inappropriate to say, Lin Anlan felt that, besides being teacher and student, their relationship at this moment had become like a golden apple and a worm.

She couldn’t stop that smile from continuing to invade until it reached the deepest part of her heart.

….

“I have a question.”

“What?”

“Who saved Master?”

On the other side, in a corner of the study, Chu Lingshuang asked the question she had been holding in her heart.

Though she was happy Chu Fan was alive, she was more puzzled: how did he survive after being stabbed through the heart with a sword?

Unless there was truly a technique to bring back the dead in this world, it should have been absolutely impossible for Chu Fan to survive.

Because at that time, Chu Fan had been in a state of seeking death and shouldn’t have been defending himself at all.

“I don’t know,” Shen Yuying said, shaking her head.

“Is that so…”

“However, I roughly have an answer in my mind.”

A figure flashed through Shen Yuying’s mind.

Thinking of this person, she couldn’t help but frown.

It was a silhouette so powerful it was no longer bound by the laws of the world, a carefree figure so strong it could only be described as an exaggeration.

She was an existence Shen Yuying couldn’t match even if she were given another 100 years.

Shen Yuying could only sigh inwardly.

It was a good thing that woman hadn’t found Chu Fan yet.

Otherwise, even if she teamed up with Chen Qianchi and Su Xiaotang, they probably wouldn’t be able to last a single exchange.

If there was anyone in this world who could stand against her, in Shen Yuying’s memory, perhaps only Chu Fan had a chance of wounding her.

But only wounding her, nothing more; it wouldn’t necessarily even be a heavy injury.

She was simply too powerful, to the point where Shen Yuying felt she wasn’t human, but rather a manifestation of the world’s will.

Yet she possessed the seven emotions and six desires of a human, which gave Shen Yuying a massive headache.

Since absolute strength overcomes all schemes, even though Shen Yuying was confident she was much smarter, she simply had no way to deal with her.

That woman could swallow a lethal poison Shen Yuying mixed into her tea — one strong enough to dissolve organs — as if it were a sugar cube in coffee.

She would just comment that the tea seemed a bit off and then be perfectly fine.

She could inhale toxic gas meant to rot lungs as if she were smoking a pipe.

Actually, tobacco at least causes some harm to the body; she, on the other hand…

The time Shen Yuying remembered most clearly was when she sparred with that woman.

The woman said she would give Shen Yuying three free moves.

Shen Yuying knew this was the only chance she would ever have.

She had to take the opportunity to eliminate her openly and just use “an accidental slip” as an excuse afterward.

So, she unleashed the most powerful strike of her life, but the result was…

Clang

Shen Yuying didn’t know if she was hallucinating.

That immortal sword forged by Chu Fan let out a metallic sound when it struck the woman.

She was certain she hadn’t hit anything else; it was definitely flesh.

She had absolutely struck the woman’s neck, but it produced a piercing metallic ring.

That was a bare neck, clearly without any armor.

How could it make such a sound?

What level of body refinement was required to possess such physical quality?

Even when she struck Chen Qianchi, it didn’t make such a crisp sound.

Every creature has its nemesis, and Shen Yuying truly didn’t want to see her.

Just thinking about her brought on a headache.

But it had been several years since they last saw her.

Either she had given up searching for Chu Fan, or her hopeless sense of direction had flared up.

They probably wouldn’t see each other again in this lifetime.

That was simply wonderful.

At the thought of this, Shen Yuying couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Class dismissed!” Chu Fan shouted from the other side.

“Yes, Teacher.”

….

Kingdom of Qin.

Hundreds of soldiers were lined up in several rows, practicing with their spears and shouting at the top of their lungs.

“HEH! HAH!”

The soldiers’ movements and voices were perfectly synchronized.

However, looking at this scene, the woman standing at the front with her hands behind her back like an instructor showed clear displeasure in her eyes.

“I’ll say it again. You aren’t doing this for me, but for this city, for your families, and so you can survive and reunite with them.”

“So, if you don’t want to die, shout with all your might! Give it your all!”

“YES!!!!!”

The soldiers’ voices and movements became even more spirited.

Just then, the sound of pitter-patter running echoed nearby.

The woman turned her head and saw her vice-general, Wu Huaqing, running toward her out of breath, holding a portrait in his hand.

“What’s wrong, Huaqing? Why the rush? Are you being chased by a ghost?”

“Re… Reporting, General… It was intercepted by the Shayu Bureau… Information brought back by the Whisperer… the General planted there…” the man said between pants.

“Intercepted by the Shayu Bureau? Why?”

“Because those big shots… are afraid that if the General knows this information… she will leave the Kingdom of Qin… that’s why they intercepted it…”

“Huh? About me?”

The woman looked puzzled.

“……Yes,” Wu Huaqing said hesitantly.

Wu Huaqing didn’t know if he was doing the right thing, but he had followed this General Lingxiao for several years since she appeared from nowhere.

He had learned countless things from her, including techniques to kill enemies and methods to save his life.

But the most important thing was to have a heart like still water.

Unburdened by worldly things, unbothered by trivial matters — the General Lingxiao he knew was such a person.

“What information? Let me see.”

“Yes.”

Wu Huaqing handed the portrait to the woman.

When she took it, her eyes widened more and more, and she even began to tremble slightly.

“Where… where did this come from…”

“This is a portrait sent back a few days ago by spies far outside the Kingdom of Qin. They said that in a medium-sized sect on the border of the Kingdom of Yan, there is a clear-featured youth with a white gourd hanging from his waist.”

“Most importantly, he is accompanied by three female cultivators, and their appearances all match your descriptions exactly.”

“The border of the Kingdom of Yan… Which sect!?”

“Uh…”

Wu Huaqing was clearly startled by her reaction.

Having been by her side for so many years, he had never seen her looking so restless.

“General, please calm down first. We still know very little about this sect, so…”

Before he could finish, the woman suddenly grabbed Wu Huaqing’s collar and pulled him to her face, her killing intent overwhelming.

“I asked you what it’s called!!!”

At this moment, Wu Huaqing had 10,000 questions in his mind.

They included, but were not limited to: Who exactly was this person the General was looking for?

Why did he cause the General to have such a massive reaction?

Judging by her furious expression, was it an enemy?

But the most important question was…

What happened to that ‘heart like still water’?

Right now, Wu Huaqing only saw a stormy sea crashing against his face.

“The… The Profound Heaven Sect.”

“Profound Heaven Sect…”

After a moment of thought, the woman released Wu Huaqing’s collar and began to run.

Whistle—

The woman put her fingers to her lips and blew a whistle.

In the next moment, a white horse glowing with holy moonlight descended from the sky.

The woman leaped onto it with ease, and the horse actually stood suspended in the air.

“Huaqing, thank you for taking care of me all these years. If there’s a chance, I’ll return.”

The woman bid farewell from her high vantage point, then turned her horse and galloped away.

“Yah!”

“General!”

Before she left, Wu Huaqing called out to her.

“What else is it, Huaqing? You know you can’t keep me here.”

“Your subordinate is not trying to keep the General, but the Kingdom of Yan is powerful. I hope the General will not act recklessly and will prioritize her own safety!”

Hearing this, the woman gave a faint smile.

“Haha, we’ll see.”

The woman galloped away, the white horse’s mane dancing in the air, leaving behind a trail of bright moonlight.

“Um, General Wu, why is General Chu flying in that direction?”

One of the soldiers asked in confusion as he watched Chu Qingtian depart.

“The General is going to the Kingdom of Yan. She might never come back,” Wu Huaqing said with a trace of regret.

“I see. But… isn’t that the direction of the Kingdom of Qing?”

“Huh?”

Wu Huaqing turned his head stiffly toward the direction Chu Qingtian had gone, his eyes full of disbelief.

“Oh no! General! Come back!!!!!”

But Chu Qingtian, who had already flown over 1,000 meters away, couldn’t possibly hear him.

She was already immersed in the joy of their upcoming reunion.

“Hmph, you little rascal, hiding in the Kingdom of Yan… You better not let me catch you. If you do, you’re in for it!”