"Leave them alone, you pathetic bandits!" a girl with long black hair and blue eyes shouted.
She stood between Bai Yunsheng, Xiao Ran, and the bandits.
"Who is this woman? I've never seen her before..." Bai Yunsheng thought to himself, looking at the woman who had stood up for them.
"Look at her. Someone thinks they're a hero! Hey, beauty, trying to make a good impression on this guy?!" they laughed loudly.
The girl ignored their laughter and drew her sword, engraved with a moon and cloud patterns.
The bandits looked at her weapon and were horrified.
"Boss, it's a woman from the Yanshi Sect!"
"Damn it, has she really come for our heads?!"
"If there are people from the Yanshi Sect around here, we're finished!" The men whispered among themselves, and their leader began to sweat.
"If you leave these people alone, I won't report you to the sect! Leave this place this instant!" the girl said menacingly, and the armed men, startled, hurried away.
As soon as they left the inn, the girl turned to Bai Yunsheng and Xiao Ran and bowed politely.
"Hello! I see you're not from around here. My name is Yue Yang. Nice to meet you!" she introduced herself and smiled sweetly.
Bai Yunsheng bowed back, and Xiao Ran leaned toward her, studying her carefully.
"Thank you for your assistance. My name is Bai Yunsheng, and this is Xiao Ran..." Bai Yunsheng replied, simultaneously wondering if this girl had appeared in a novel.
"What brings you to this village, Mr. Bai?" Yue Yang asked, stroking Xiao Ran's head, to which she purred sweetly.
"We're just traveling the world. We were planning to go home. Now we've decided to stop in this village and continue on our way after a while..." Bai Yunsheng replied calmly.
Yue Yang listened attentively to his explanation and nodded.
"I see! Then how about you stop near the Yanshi Sect? You see, I'm just heading there, and it would be nice if you accompanied me!" Yue Yang suggested, blushing slightly.
Bai Yunsheng considered.
"Well... Why not? I don't know where the demon foxes' territory is anyway, which would make our journey a walk in the dark..."
"Besides, there's no real rush. All the major events in the book will take place far from me, and Zhou Yulong will handle it all behind the scenes. I just need to keep a low profile until then!"
Nodding, Bai Yunsheng looked at Yue Yang.
"Okay... Then... Please take care of us..." he said, bowing politely.
Yue Yang seemed to glow with his agreement, and, adjusting her clothes, she headed for the tavern's exit. Bai Yunsheng and Xiao Ran followed her...
***
Xiao Ran was currently telling Master Bo about her walk and meeting with Yue Yang, to which the old man smiled.
While they were talking, several disciples from the Yanshi Sect passed by, chatting among themselves.
"Did you hear? Master Li contracted that disease today!"
"Damn, him too? Lately, many people have been having problems with their health and qi!"Bai Yunsheng raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze to the Yanshi Sect disciples.
"What are they talking about?" he asked quietly into the void.
Yue Yang, hearing his question, looked at the departing Yanshi disciples and sighed.
"Ah... You see, Mister Bai, recently an unknown illness has been spreading throughout the Yanshi Sect and the surrounding area!"
"Its symptoms resemble a common fever, but for some unknown reason, cultivators have begun experiencing qi abnormalities. Some have rapidly depleted their vital energy, and those with little energy even die."
"Unfortunately, we still haven't figured out what this illness is or how to cure it. Judging from those guys' conversation, another master has contracted this illness..."
Bai Yunsheng, listening to her explanation, frowned slightly.
"I see. So, this is a side event that wasn't in the original book. And since Sister didn't write about it, it doesn't affect the main plot. So, this problem will be resolved quickly!"
The young man's gaze fell on Master Bo, who seemed lost in thought.
"Although, this could also serve as the backstory for Master Bo's rise to villainy. Apparently, the novel said he lost a loved one in the past, which left him embittered against the world..."
"I can imagine that this illness took Yue Yang with it, and that no one could save her. That would explain why Master Bo is so embittered against the world!"
Without realizing it, Bai Yunsheng stared at Master Bo for a long moment, making the old man feel a little uneasy.
"Young man. I appreciate your attention, but I prefer women!" the old man laughed it off.
Bai Yunsheng, realizing he'd stared too long, quickly apologized.
"My apologies, I was just lost in thought..."
Master Bo accepted his apology and laughed, while Xiao Ran was animatedly discussing something with Yue Yang.
With a deep sigh, Bai Yunsheng bowed politely and, taking the groceries in his hand, lifted Xiao Ran onto his other arm.
"Well... Allow me to deviate!"
Master Bo and Yue Yang smiled tenderly as they watched the young man with eyes filled with depression, walked toward the house where he and Xiao Ran were staying, waving.
***
After a while, Bai Yunsheng and Xiao Ran reached the apartment building where they were staying.
"Hmm... Reminds me of that time when I was returning from the tournament and accidentally caught Yan Pantu's men planning..."
"I wouldn't be surprised if Xiao Ran and I were followed as soon as we went home..."
As Bai Yunsheng turned to confirm his suspicions, a young man in the distance flinched and quickly disappeared into an alley.
With a disappointed sigh, he set Xiao Ran down and walked into the house with her.
"Who the hell pulled my tongue! Although... I was just thinking, so the wording is wrong..."
Entering the house, Bai Yunsheng placed his groceries on the table, while Xiao Ran disappeared into her room to train.
"Basically, I could try learning to disperse my qi to check if that person is still watching me and how many there are, but no. I'm too lazy!" Bai Yunsheng thought to himself and took a box of needles from his travel bag.
"Come to think of it, after I started dual cultivation with Li Yuhua, I didn't need to use needles. The Yang Fire techniques are too powerful, making it unnecessary to throw needles..."
With a sharp turn back, Bai Yunsheng threw three needles and pierced a jar in the other room.
Approaching the jar, Bai Yunsheng sighed and pulled out the needles.
"Yeah, my training's really been wasted. Out of three needles, only one hit the jug's center, while the others pierced the neck..."
"Only an idiot would use his powerful techniques on his first encounter with enemies and end up with nothing... Since I've been practicing throwing needles, I'll use them in battle this time, and I'll only use the fire fist when I need it!" he thought to himself, and after a while added:
"I really need to come up with a proper name for this technique, otherwise it sounds like I'm suffering from eighth-grader syndrome..."
Bai Yunsheng hid a large number of needles in his sleeves and a small pouch on his belt. Gathering his thoughts, he took a deep breath and went outside, telling Xiao Ran not to open the door for anyone and to continue training.
***
Walking through the city, Bai Yunsheng's first stop was the market. Thanks to the Yanshi Sect's selection of disciples for their sect, many people had gathered there, making the market bustling.
"Usually, if someone is ill, it can be determined by their appearance, and if the symptoms are similar to a fever, then even more so..." Bai Yunsheng thought to himself, noticing that only those from the Yanshi Sect had bags under their eyes, pale skin, difficulty moving, and heavy breathing. If one tried to sense their qi energy, one would notice that only the Yanshi Sect's disciples had a disrupted qi flow.
He also noticed that the man who had been following him earlier was still nearby, so to avoid raising suspicion, he approached several stalls and bought snacks.
After eating his last snack, Bai Yunsheng was just about to buy water when he noticed several people from the Yanshi Sect surrounding a single man.
Curiosity got the better of him, and as he approached them, he eavesdropped on their conversation.
"I-I just wanted to buy a few herbs..." a young man with green hair and half-closed eyes said in a trembling voice. He was dressed in simple, tattered clothes, and herbs were scattered around him.
The Yanshi Sect disciples looked at him with disgust.
"You're always causing trouble, Chu Xiu! No wonder you're the child of traitors!"
"I wish you'd died that day!"
"I don't understand why Senior Sister Teacher Yue Yang is always so concerned about you?"
Hearing the familiar name, Bai Yunsheng raised an eyebrow.
"Wait... Is there something going on between you? If so, then no wonder you're always hanging around her~"
The Yanshi Sect disciples chuckled, and just as Bai Yunsheng was about to intervene, the green-haired man snapped back.
"That's not true! There's nothing between us! Sister Yue Yang is simply helping me with my studies!" As he spoke, the green-haired, half-lidded guy blushed deeply and trembled faintly. It was as if he wanted to believe their words.
"How dare you snap back, you bastard!" Yanshi's enraged disciples wanted to beat the insolent man for his insolence, but suddenly they all fainted.
Chu Xiu looked fearfully at the fallen bodies of his "sect comrades" and raised a frightened gaze to the approaching man.
The frightened gaze of his half-lidded eyes met the dark, indifferent ones of Bai Yunsheng, who calmly pulled his needles out of Yanshi's disciples and looked at him with an indifferent expression.
"What's your name?" rang out a cold voice, devoid of any hint of warmth.
"C-Chu Xiu... My name is Chu Xiu..." Chu Xiu answered him in a quiet voice.
He looked at Bai Yunsheng with fear and a hint of gratitude.
Bai Yunsheng looked the boy over from head to toe and, sighing, began to leave.
"They'll wake up in half an hour. If you don't want to get beaten up again, follow me..." Chu Xiu shuddered and quickly gathered his things and ran after Bai Yunsheng.
As they walked, Chu Xiu periodically glanced at him, unsure of what to say, but Bai Yunsheng started the conversation himself.
"Are you also from the Yanshi Sect like those guys?" Bai Yunsheng asked distantly, looking at the road. He also noticed that the surveillance had stopped.
"Y-yes, I'm an outer disciple of Yanshi... Because of my blindness and lack of talent for martial arts and cultivation, no one wants to teach me except Sister Yue Yang..." Chu Xiu replied.
"I see... Have you ever been sick?" Bai Yunsheng asked.
"I-I was one of the first to get sick, but I was quickly cured! I'm lucky..." Chu Xiu replied with an awkward smile.
"Lie... If you were truly sick, your qi would be unstable! But such calm energy can only be found in someone at the Nascent Soul (4) stage! That's a step higher than me! And your words about a lack of cultivation talent don't match the volume of your energy at all!" Bai Yunsheng immediately saw through his lie.
"Although in the mortal realm, cultivation mostly affects lifespan, it still provides a slight buff to techniques! So, if I don't use Yin Fire techniques, he'll easily defeat me."
"Since I saw through his lie so easily, there are two possibilities. First, he's secretly researching this disease to find a cure. Second, he's either the source of the disease or someone connected to it!" Bai Yunsheng concluded.
"Considering that this world is full of clichés, the second option is more realistic!"
As they walked, Bai Yunsheng also tried to remember why Chu Xiu wasn't in the novel. If his cultivation was so strong at that age, he should have at least been mentioned in the novel. But there wasn't even a hint of him, especially in Master Bo's story!
"Perhaps he never lived to see the events of the book. Perhaps Master Bo was able to discover the source of the illness, but it was too late..."
As soon as Bai Yunsheng and Chu Xiu reached a small house on the outskirts of the village and on the way to the Yanshi Sect, Chu Xiu opened the door and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you for your help, sir!"
Bai Yunsheng nodded silently and watched as the door closed behind the boy.
Turning to leave, Bai Yunsheng suddenly felt Chu Xiu's qi completely vanish.
With a surprised expression, he turned around and looked at the house, which seemed completely ordinary.
Slowly, he approached the house and noticed that the door was unlocked. He carefully opened it.
The house was unusually empty, as if Chu Xiu hadn't lived there at all, even though he'd literally just seen him walk in.
Looking around the house, Bai Yunsheng noticed Chu Xiu wasn't home at all.
"What the hell is going on here?" he whispered softly, his dark eyes frowning slightly.
Approaching the living room, Bai Yunsheng noticed a subtle fluctuation of Qi near the bookshelves.
Touching one of the books emitting Qi, the wall next to him suddenly opened, revealing a staircase leading deep into the darkness.
Bai Yunsheng sighed in irritation and scratched the back of his head.
"Fuck! Now that's one of those clichés in stories like this..."
To be continued...