A sharp pain ripped across Wuji's chest from shoulder to waist. The wound wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but it burned like hellfire.
The book tumbled out of his robe and hit the ground with a dusty thud. Its pages spilled open like a gutted animal.
Wuji staggered a step back and fell while clutching his bleeding side, barely able to hold himself upright. "Goddamn lunatic... If she hadn't slowed down for the book, I'd be hugging my intestines right now."
Blood soaked through his robe. His vision blurred, but his mind remained clear. Too clear. "Fuck. I didn't plan for this. I didn't think they'd go straight for the kill." He gritted his teeth.
"This was supposed to be a con, not a funeral."
Liang bent down and picked up the book as if he were a vulture finding meat.
"Heaven's Vein Cleaving Path?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of arrogant bastard names a technique like that?"
"Sounds fake as hell," Yulian muttered as she sheathed her sword. "Or genius. Can't tell which."
"I can't see anything. Does anyone have a candle?" he asked.
"I do." Ren lit one with flint, and the spark caught quickly. The soft orange glow spread across the cover, and the title now glowed with gravity and mystery.
Yulian crouched beside the fallen Wuji and tilted her head.
"So, got anything else tucked in that ragged robe of yours, Yin Li? Or is this the last scrap of your pathetic future?"
Wuji grinned, revealing blood on his teeth.
"You think you've won, don't you?" he rasped. "You've only robbed yourselves. That book was my last chance to change everything. But you're too blind to see what it really costs," he said as angrily as possible.
"Spare us your drama," Liang snapped. "You're lucky we let you live. Now, crawl back to your shit-stained hut and forget this ever happened."
Before Wuji could respond, a voice echoed from behind them.
"Well, well, if it isn't Wang Da, the Fifth Elder's little lapdog. Out here sniffing for scraps again?"
The voice came from the trees, cold and mocking.
All heads turned.
Two figures stepped into the clearing, their faces hidden in shadows.
Yulian's grip tightened on her sword. "Who the hell—"
"Shh," Ren whispered. "I've heard that voice before."
Wuji's eyes narrowed. "I also didn't plan for this, but if it works, I might kill several birds with one stone," he thought standing up slowly.
"Who?! Come out if you're not a coward," Wang Da said as he closed the book. Then, Chen Yi's lapdogs emerged from the surrounding bushes.
"Wu Chen and Mu Yun, what do you want? We were the first to borrow the book from Yin Li," Liang said.
"You don't have to act. We saw what you did. No one will believe you when you say 'borrow' when the person you borrowed from is bleeding," said Wu Chen, slowly walking toward them.
The four of them became nervous. "What should we do? They have Chen Yi backing them. We can't do anything to them," whispered Liang.
"We outnumber them, and nobody knows they're here. We can silence them and blame the waste," whispered Ren.
"Do you hear yourself? How could a waste kill two third-rate martial artists who are about to become second-rate?" Wang Da asked.
"Then what should we do?" Yulian asked.
After a moment of silence, Wang Da stepped forward. "How about this? Since it's only one book, we'll share its contents. Easy, right?" He said, making the other three look at him.
"That's an interesting idea, but since there are six of us, I don't think it would be possible," said Mu Yun.
"No, we're not six; we're eight. You can't just forget we exist," said a voice from the bushes.
They immediately looked back and saw two more people emerge from the bushes.
"I didn't realize so many would fall into the trap. You're a lucky guy, Liang, to be able to become a eunuch with your fellow students," Wuji thought, still holding his shoulders.
"Well, it's easier this way. We'll all share it," Ren said with forced calm.
None of them liked it, but they didn't want to waste precious days healing from a pointless brawl—not with the immortal cultivator's arrival so close.
Silence settled like dust.
After a moment, Mu Yun spoke. "We should ask where the waste got this technique in the first place. If there's one, there might be more."
They all turned to Wuji, their eyes filled with disdain.
"Where did you get it?" Wang Da asked.
"Lucky bastard... First a spirit stone, now a martial technique," Ren muttered under his breath.
"I... I..." Wuji stammered, playing the part of a cornered dog.
"If you want me to cut off your head and read your corpse like a scroll, keep stuttering," Yulian said, her eyes gleaming.
Wuji lowered his head and said, "It was in town. A man wrapped in black cloth said he was selling martial arts techniques."
"The town?" Mu Yun frowned. "Yeah, sounds like one of those eccentric wanderers. They show up, cause a stir, and then vanish without a trace."
"How much did you pay?" Wang Da asked.
"That bastard scammed me out of everything," Wuji said, still gripping his shoulder and wincing. "A hundred gold coins."
"A hundred?" Wang Da scoffed. "Honestly, that's not that much for a rare martial art technique."
"Not that much! A hundred gold coins is 'not that much'?" Wuji thought, cursing his stupidity. "And here I was about to sell the other four for a hundred gold coins each. Thanks for letting me know I can be more greedy," he thought.
"Where exactly in the town?" Yulian asked, her tone sharpening. Everyone leaned in slightly.
"He was near the paper shop. He didn't stay long."
A few of them exchanged quick glances.
"Okay, we'll see tomorrow. But for now, let's evaluate the quality of this book," said Wang Da, flipping open the first page.
The moment he read the first line, "To sever worldly desires, one must first cut off the root of lust," his expression twisted. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. He went dead quiet.
Ren, noticing his reaction, leaned in. "What? Does it say you can reach second-rate in days or something?" he joked.
Wang Da silently handed him the book.
Ren read a few lines and his face soured, too. Without a word, he passed it around. It made its way to Yulian, who took one look and burst out laughing.
"What a powerful technique!" she said, snorting. "So, who's going to be the first eunuch of Mudfall Village?"
Wang Da's face darkened at her words. He turned to Wuji, his eyes burning. "Why didn't you tell me the technique was like this?"
Wuji, still hunched over and bleeding, snapped back, "You didn't give me a chance! This crazy bitch just cut me."
Yulian's eyes narrowed like blades. "Who are you calling that?" She stepped forward and slashed his other shoulder without hesitation.
Wuji gasped and stumbled back. He dropped to one knee, clutching both shoulders. "Fuck! What's wrong with this woman?! Is she possessed? This hurts like hell," he thought, gritting his teeth. "Next time I fake a technique, I'm charging a pain fee," he thought.
Just as he finished cursing her in his mind, Yulian leaned in, her tone suddenly wary. "Wait...what's this?"
She pointed to his right shoulder. The bleeding had already stopped. It hadn't healed completely, but the cut looked older than it was.
"What? How is this possible?" she muttered.
Now, everyone turned to look at his right shoulder. Wuji didn't say a word.
"This… how is this possible? How is a waste able to do this?" mumbled Liang.
"This isn't normal," that was their combined thought.
Seeing their shocked reactions, Wuji grinned inwardly. "Finally! It's here."
Then, like he wasn't the center of a storm, he raised his voice casually.
"Ah, yes. This technique is unique. It says the stances accelerate blood flow and circulate some energy through breathing. Even wounds close faster."
That hit the mark.
"Healing wounds? Only cultivators can do that!" Wang Da blurted out.
Wuji shrugged, his face unreadable in the darkness of the night. "Who knows? Maybe the man I bought it from was an immortal in disguise. You'll find out if you go to him."
He paused, then dropped the real bait.
"Also, what's so strange about cutting off your manhood? If you had to choose between your little toy and immortality, who wouldn't choose to live forever? Besides, the final pages hint that, once you reach a certain level, it might grow back."
That made the air freeze.
Some laughed nervously. Others looked at each other in silence. Wuji could see the flickers of doubt, the spark of temptation and the hidden calculation.
Even Yulian wasn't mocking anymore. She stared at the book as if it might start glowing.
"I'm going to find that man in town," Mu Yun said suddenly.
Two others nodded, and even Yulian seemed to consider it. But a few, like Wang Da, remained impassive. He had another option: his master's personal martial art technique.
The silence stretched on. No one wanted to say it, but they were all thinking the same thing:
"Is it worth it? Is immortality worth that much?"
Wuji stood slowly and backed away.
None of them moved.
"What a coward," Ren finally spat. "He didn't even try to fight for his one chance to escape mortality."
Yulian tilted her head. "Would you have handed the book over if he had?"
Ren scoffed. "Like hell I would! Why add more competition?"
He tapped the book against his leg, his eyes flickering with hunger. "If this technique's real, we start tomorrow."
Then he laughed, but there was unease in his voice. "I wonder if that guy has already done it. Is he walking around dickless?"
The others didn't answer. Their silence spoke volumes. To some of them, immortality was priceless. Yuliana's words tempted them further.
"If I were a man, I would have done it already," Yulian said as she turned her back on the group and walked toward the dojo. "Becoming a servant to an immortal cultivator isn't easy. Weak flesh won't get you anywhere."
"What do you know?" Ren snapped. "Do you think everyone just wants immortality for its own sake? Even if they get it, how would they enjoy it? Immortality without pleasure is torture."
"Then you're all spineless," Yulian tossed over her shoulder. "What's five minutes of pleasure compared to eternity? Would you throw away a future just to keep your little toy?"
The words hit harder than expected.
Liang looked at the book in his hand, then down at himself, thoughtful.
Wang Da exhaled slowly. "Maybe...maybe you're right. I mean, what if we can get it back later?"
"Right? They're immortals," Liang muttered. "What's a little regrowth to them?"
Wang Da still frowned. "It's tempting, but I feel like this is the kind of decision you only get to make once. I'll speak to my master."
Ren shook his head. "Your master isn't even back yet. Time's running out."
The group slowly quieted. Yulian's words echoed in the silence like a curse:
"What is immortality compared to five minutes of pleasure?"
Meanwhile, Wuji crept back into the hut under the pale candlelight glow. He spotted Meiyin's small figure, curled up and sleeping under a thin blanket. He quietly slipped past her and approached the pot of dried meat.
"Can't let her see these cuts," he murmured, feeling his robe stick to his back. He took a bite and activated the cellular regeneration trait.
A cool surge ran through him. In seconds, the pain faded, and the torn flesh mended itself, leaving no scar.
He exhaled, tipping his head back in relief. "Damn, that was intense. That woman was crazy," he thought as he removed his bloodied robe and put on a clean one.
Sinking into the straw bed, Wuji grinned up at the rafters.
"I'll sleep early tonight," he thought. "Then I'll go to town tomorrow. Let the cash cows come to me. Let them dream of eunuch glory."
His grin deepened. "Phase two begins when they arrive."