Chapter 4: First Encounter with Being Tailed
At Myriad Talismans Pavilion, it was payment on one hand, goods on the other.
Lu You took out the leather pouch he had prepared in advance. He had deliberately used the small cauldron to load 245 spirit stones into it.
Putting on a show, he counted them once more, then—looking pained—took out four spirit stones and handed the pouch to the clerk.
'So he really emptied his entire fortune to buy this stuff.'
The heated gazes of the other female clerks immediately shifted away. Only the dark-skinned girl who had earned a commission remained in a good mood. She leaned closer and whispered to Lu You:
"The lower district hasn't been very peaceful lately. You can take this black bag and leave through the back door."
Inside the black bag was actually household trash.
The dark-skinned girl continued, "Anyone who comes to our Myriad Talismans Pavilion is either rich or noble, either their cultivation is high, or they're accompanied by guards. They never use the back door where we throw out trash. If you leave from there, and with the way you're dressed, everyone will think you're just a staff taking out the garbage. No one will pay you any attention."
"Thank you for the reminder."
The disdain Lu You felt toward the dark-skinned girl lessened. People being overly mercenary was ultimately the fault of this world, but at their core, there was still more kindness in people's hearts than malice.
Carrying the black garbage bag, Lu You hurried out through the back door.
As he dumped the trash, he glanced around to his left and right.
Indeed, no one paid him any attention.
Still, to be safe, Lu You immediately stored the Golden Light Talisman and Thunder Technique Talisman into the small cauldron in his mind.
Right after that, he controlled the small cauldron to manifest more than a dozen Golden Light Talismans into the inner pocket of his clothes.
He was only at the third level of Qi Refining.
More than ten Golden Light Talismans were enough to block the full-power attacks of over ten sixth-level Qi Refining cultivators—or a single sneak attack from a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
If he carried too many talismans, his clothes would bulge, making it obvious he was hiding something and drawing unwanted attention instead.
Not daring to waste any time, Lu You left Myriad Talismans Pavilion and immediately headed toward the meeting point he had agreed on with Senior Sister Zeng Yan.
Halfway there, Lu You checked the time and saw that it was still some distance from noon.
He quickly doubled back and bought several boxes of exquisite pastries from the most popular pastry shop nearby.
Even with talismans for protection, Lu You knew his experience was shallow. What if he ran into a trap? What if he got lost? There were simply too many dangers. If he was going down the mountain, it was naturally safest to stay on good terms with Senior Sister—and safer still to follow her.
By the time Lu You arrived at the meeting spot, Zeng Yan arrived as promised. Unlike earlier, however, there was a trace of anger between her brows, as though something hadn't gone well.
"Senior Sister, you're here so early, perfect. Come try these pastries, they're still warm."
Lu You didn't ask about her personal affairs and instead attentively offered the gift box.
Zeng Yan glanced at the pastries. "Not bad. For your first visit, you actually knew to buy from a good shop."
The pastries in Lu You's box were from an old, well-known brand in the lower district. Their taste ranked among the best, and no matter when you went, there was always a long line.
Zeng Yan, who often came to the lower district, naturally understood that for Lu You—who was going down the mountain for the first time—to buy these pastries, he must have asked around everywhere and queued for a long time. The pastries themselves weren't what mattered; what mattered was the thought he put into it.
On the way back, the two once again traveled in silence.
But not long after leaving the lower district, Zeng Yan suddenly slowed her pace and, for the first time, walked shoulder to shoulder with Lu You.
"Junior brother, someone is following us."
"Cultivator bandits!"
Lu You's expression turned ugly. He felt incredibly unlucky—after being so careful, he had still been targeted.
"Senior Sister, what do we do? Do we run now?"
"There's no way to run this time."
Zeng Yan glanced at the Verdant Cloud Sect menial uniform Lu You was wearing and said, "Your clothes already expose the direction you'll flee. On top of that, you wasted time buying pastries. If they followed you while sending accomplices ahead to set up an ambush, then running would only drain your strength. Once you're intercepted on a necessary route, someone who has already exhausted themselves will only die faster."
When it came to being tailed, Zeng Yan was only mildly surprised. She wasn't afraid at all. Instead, she began explaining travel experience to Lu You.
"Tell me again, what exactly did you do to get targeted by bandits?"
"I just bought a talisman..." Lu You didn't hesitate and told the truth, also mentioning the kind clerk who had deliberately let him leave through the back door.
"You really are easy to fool." Zeng Yan sighed.
"With how you're dressed, anyone can tell you don't have money. If you'd left through the front door, who would believe you'd bought talismans? But you listened to someone else's nonsense and went out the back instead. Doesn't that just confirm you spent a large sum?"
She snorted coldly. "That clerk does this all the time. She's already working with the bandits. Once she noticed you were carrying serious money, she tricked you into leaving through the back door so her accomplices could tail you."
Lu You broke out in a cold sweat.
"How can people's hearts be this vile?"
"A single talisman costs at least twenty spirit stones. A menial disciple in Verdant Cloud Sect would need ten years to save that much. One successful robbery is worth ten years of someone else's hard work."
Zeng Yan's voice turned icy.
"An old cultivator who refuses to die is nothing but a thief. In cultivation, there are no good people. Seeking immortality is stealing life from the heavens themselves, if even heaven can be robbed, what's killing a small cultivator like you?"
Hearing the killing intent in Zeng Yan's voice, Lu You understood her meaning.
Since they couldn't run, there was only one choice left.
Fight.
Thinking this, Lu You hurried closer to Zeng Yan and discreetly slipped two Golden Light Talismans into her hand.
"Senior Sister, these are the two talismans I bought, that's why I was targeted."
"Didn't expect you to be so good at saving money," Zeng Yan teased when she saw them.
With a battle imminent, she didn't refuse. Instead, she calmly accepted them.
The next instant, she spun around sharply.
Dozens of steel needles suddenly appeared in her palm, shooting densely toward the forest behind them.
Clang! Clang!
Two burly men burst out of the trees. One wielded a massive axe, the other a long spear, blocking Zeng Yan's steel needles.
Seeing this, Lu You suddenly understood without being taught.
No wonder Zeng Yan had deliberately walked shoulder to shoulder with him and whispered earlier. It wasn't just to warn him—it was also to let the bandits think they'd been discovered and move closer to scout them. By using concealed weapons, Zeng Yan forced the hidden enemies into the open.
Shing!
Zeng Yan wasn't surprised at all that the bandits were forced out. The moment she released the needles, she had already drawn her sword and charged forward, slashing straight toward the spear-wielding bandit's head.
A longer weapon meant greater reach. Relying on his spear, the bandit didn't dodge. Instead, he thrust forward, aiming to pierce Zeng Yan. If she didn't evade, the spear would stab through her before her sword could land.
Zeng Yan didn't dodge.
The Golden Light Talisman activated instantly.
The spear-wielder's attack was more probing than lethal, and he hadn't used his full strength. The strike was directly deflected by the Golden Light barrier. In the next moment, his defenses were wide open.
Shock had just appeared on his face when his head was already in Zeng Yan's hand.
She had killed someone.
This was combat between Qi Refining cultivators.
Lu You's heart pounded violently as he watched. Zeng Yan's attack was simple, direct, and ruthlessly efficient. She used a talisman immediately to eliminate the enemy with the longest weapon.
"Junior brother, trump cards exist to kill people."
Zeng Yan tossed the severed head at the feet of the axe-wielding bandit like a threat. She closed in instantly, her sword appearing and vanishing unpredictably, striking from vicious angles.
She had already eliminated the troublesome spear. Now only the clumsy axe remained.
After just a few exchanges, Zeng Yan severed all four of the axe-wielding bandit's limbs.
"Come here."
She looked at the dumbstruck Lu You, handed him her sword, and ordered coldly:
"Junior brother, kill him. If you don't have killing intent in your heart, you'll forever be nothing but a fat sheep in the eyes of the bandits."