—Memory of Last Night—
After finishing my conversation with the Plum Blossom Elder, I headed straight home.
When I reached the entrance of the alley, a gaunt figure caught my eye.
He was pacing about, peering over the corner of my courtyard wall.
It was not even that late at night—was he trying to steal something?
With a mid-grade spirit stone in one hand and the Thousand Flame Needle Wheel in the other, I quietly approached.
Then, after seeing his face clearly, I stopped in my tracks.
It was an unexpected person.
Yet it would be difficult to say he was a complete stranger. He was the inner disciple who had once picked a quarrel with me over the Fire-Pattern Grass.
Now that I had identified him, attacking first would only leave me bearing unjust blame.
I approached quietly and gave a light cough.
“Ahem. What business do you have at my home?”
“Ah—!”
He was visibly startled upon noticing me.
From the look of it, he had not come knowing that I lived here.
Clutching his chest in fright, he soon frowned and shouted.
“Hmph. So it is you who lives here.”
“Yes. I do. And what brings you to my residence?”
It certainly did not look like he had come bearing housewarming gifts.
Rather, his face was filled with malice.
“My family estate is in Qingliu City. Must I be interrogated just for walking around?”
Is he insane?
He was practically standing on tiptoe to peek into someone else’s house, and he still dared act shameless?
When dealing with such a person, one must be even more shameless.
“Ah, is that so? Then please continue on your way. I shall take my leave.”
As expected, he faltered.
“W-wait! How long have you been living here?”
“Hm. Did you not say you were merely passing by?”
“You brat! Does passing by mean I cannot be curious? In any case, we have met before. When a senior greets you, you should answer properly. Impudent wretch.”
The more he spoke, the more suspicious he became.
Suppressing any visible doubt, I replied evenly.
“Well, I suppose there is no reason I cannot answer.”
I observed his gaze as he awaited my reply.
He was clearly probing.
After a moment’s consideration, I decided to speak truthfully.
If he truly wished to investigate, he could easily find out.
There was no need to arouse his suspicion with needless lies.
“It has not been long. I have rented this place since entering the Spiritual Agriculture Pavilion. About half a month now.”
He scanned me from head to toe before asking abruptly—
“I heard a ghost appears in this house. May I capture it? I have been cultivating a technique related to such things. I will compensate you.”
He grew stranger by the moment.
Capture the ghost living in my house?
And even offer payment?
What use would an ordinary ghost—neither Ghost Soldier nor Ghost General—be to him?
“I apologize, but the spirit that lingered by the well troubled me daily. I have already dealt with it.”
At my answer, a vein bulged on his forehead.
Why was he so enraged?
Just as he seemed ready to explode—
A female cultivator from next door approached with delight.
“Oh my, is that not Fellow Daoist Ha? I heard you seized a great opportunity and left for a better place. What brings you back? Are you visiting your old residence?”
Old residence?
Then this house had once been his?
He had been a clerk in Qingliu City?
No. That could not be.
He had worked at a pill shop within the city and was later accepted into a sect after improving the formula of the Zhuan Pill.
The Plum Blossom Elder had said the previous tenant died hunting Demon Beasts.
Then perhaps that was even earlier.
Something was amiss.
Seeing the female cultivator, he grew even more flustered.
“No, nothing like that. I was just passing by and felt nostalgic…”
He muttered vaguely and quickly left.
After seeing off the neighbor, who pouted at being ignored, I returned home.
An ominous feeling lingered in my heart.
Checking the Protective Formation hung upon the gate, I found slight damage.
He had clearly tried to force his way in.
Peering into another’s house was not enough—he had attempted to break in?
And then asked to capture a ghost?
Anyone would think this the behavior of a criminal.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
No. There was no need to leap to distant conclusions.
For now, I would consider only the evidence at hand.
***
Upon entering, I inspected every corner.
His ability to break formations was pitiful.
The gate’s Protective Formation was the weakest defense of the house, deliberately made so to avoid attracting attention.
Yet even then, only minor damage remained.
With such skill, how could he have entered?
Just in case, I reinforced every formation and sealed them with a Concealment Formation.
I also added newly comprehended improvements.
After making my rounds, fatigue washed over me.
In two days, my holidays would end.
Tomorrow, I would visit the Qing Script Pavilion again to learn more techniques.
And today—
After learning numerous techniques at the pavilion, I returned home.
Later than yesterday.
There had been much to learn, and I had deliberately lingered.
***
My heart pounded.
Though I had laid certain traps, I had not truly expected them to take the bait…
Yet they did not disappoint.
They had entered my house about ten minutes ago.
The fluctuation in the formation told me so.
The moment I sensed it, I hurried home.
By now, they would not yet have fully searched the interior.
Robbers favored the hours between one and three in the morning, they said.
It seemed the cultivation world was no different.
Indeed, they had not penetrated the inner rooms. They lingered by the main hall and the well.
A picture-perfect unlawful intrusion.
Opening the gate, I feigned shock.
The cultivator surnamed Ha, who had been circling the well, rushed toward me.
An unfamiliar old man stood upon the wooden platform.
His lips were thin and puckered like gizzards; his demeanor reeked of treachery.
Ha seized me and clamped a hand over my mouth, glaring fiercely.
Soundproofing talismans were plastered all around.
It seemed they had affixed them the moment they arrived.
Recalling yesterday’s interruption by the neighbor, that was understandable.
Without resisting, I allowed myself to be shoved into the bedchamber.
The old man’s aura was unmistakably at least early-stage Foundation Establishment.
If I acted rashly without ensuring my safety, I might be killed in a single blow.
At times like this, calm was paramount.
Feigning panic, I stumbled before them.
“Boy. I have come today to settle matters with you.”
As he spoke, Ha glanced toward the well outside the window and grabbed my wrist.
The old man behind him watched indifferently, though the scrutiny in his eyes was unmistakable.
I drew a steady breath inward, quelling my anger.
I had expected this, yet fury still rose.
And yet, I also felt relief.
As anticipated, he sought to coax me.
The hint I had dropped earlier regarding the Fire-Pattern Grass must have tempted him.
What was their true objective?
To claim I possessed some extraordinary cultivation secret seemed too contrived.
Then it must be…
Turning my thoughts swiftly, I adopted a terrified expression.
“I—I do not know what wrong I have committed. Whatever it is, I will apologize. Please spare me.”
He smiled viciously.
“So… you refuse to admit the method you gave me was flawed?”
So that was his angle?
He meant to pry out all my secrets.
Feigning sudden realization, I exclaimed—
“Y-you mean the Fire-Pattern Grass? I believed I explained it clearly. It must be harvested when the sunlight is strongest…”
He struck my cheek without hesitation.
Hm. It had been a while since I had been slapped. It stung faintly.
“Yes. That is what you said. So I harvested at noon, yet the quality differed. If that is not deception, what is it?”
When anger reached its peak, the mind often grew colder.
Eyes lowered, I continued the act.
My voice trembled, but my heart did not.
“I did not lie. It must be harvested when the sun’s yang energy is most vigorous.”
“Then why the difference in quality?”
Greed filled his face.
The old man beside him was no different.
Vile, shameless, wicked men.
They must have extorted the weak countless times before.
“I-it is…”
Ha glanced at the old man and said loudly,
“Hall Master Jeon, do you see? This brat still refuses to speak honestly.”
“Hm. I had intended to show restraint, but it seems I cannot.”
Their performance was well-practiced.
“P-please spare me! I will speak. The Fire-Pattern Grass must be harvested when yang energy is at its peak in the day. It is sensitive to the flow of yang.”
Interest flickered in the old man’s eyes.
Stepping forward, he asked softly,
“Oh? Such a method? You know quite a bit. If you prove useful, perhaps I shall keep you by my side and teach you. This child was once a wandering cultivator as well. Is that not so?”
At his nod, Ha quickly chimed in.
“Indeed. Brat, your luck is good. This is the Eighteenth Hall Master of the Spirit Medicine Courtyard of the Heavenly Palace.”
Eighteenth Hall Master… what a fitting number.
Heavenly Palace?
So Qingliu City’s backing was the foremost sect of the Qingxiu True Realm—Heavenly Palace?
No wonder their expenditures and Spirit Severing elders were extraordinary.
The so-called Eighteenth Hall Master smiled benevolently.
“Ha ha, no need for such formality. Just call me Hall Master Jeon. Tell me, child, do you know more such methods?”
Keeping my gaze lowered, I answered cautiously.
“Yes… My late parents were skilled in cultivating spiritual herbs and passed down certain teachings. Yet memory has limits. I am still studying from the book they left behind.”
“Oh? How filial. Carrying on your parents’ will. Then where is this book?”
As the Eighteenth Hall Master pressed on eagerly, Ha’s face turned ashen.
“H-Hall Master Jeon…”
“Ahem. Am I not speaking with this child?”
“But… we have learned the Fire-Pattern Grass method. Should we not address that other matter…”
At this reminder, the Hall Master straightened.
“Very well. You may ask first.”
Impatient, Ha stepped forward at once, eyes gleaming maliciously.
“Yesterday, you said you destroyed the ghost. Did you erase it entirely, or seal it somewhere? Or perhaps sell it to someone?”
The image of Baixuan, bloodied and wandering by the well, surfaced in my mind.
Trembling, I replied—
“With my limited skill, sealing a ghost into a jade token was difficult. In the end, its soul dispersed. I did not intend it…”
Relief flashed across his face.
Yet unsatisfied, he pressed further.
“Are you certain? No mistake?”
“Yes. The purification jade token I bought for sealing shattered, and the soul vanished.”
Ha and the Hall Master exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.
Such mishaps were common among novices.
“But why would you need it…?”
I asked lightly, sowing disturbance.
Their expressions shifted—whether from conscience or exposure.
Ha jabbed my forehead.
“Did I not say I cultivate a technique related to it? Why so many questions? You need only answer what we ask.”
I displayed deeper fear—
Though it was all an act.
The Hall Master then soothed me.
“There are matters best not known too deeply. You shall soon receive my guidance as well. There is no need for discord.”
He sounded like a kindly elder on the road.
In truth, he was a trespasser in my home.
But I showed no sign of that thought.
Bowing deeply, I said,
“If I am worthy, please take me with you. Heavenly Palace… I never dreamed of such fortune.”
Pleased, the Hall Master laughed heartily.
“Ha ha, good. Then fetch the book your parents left.”
As expected, he would not move from his position.
He feared I might attempt something.
They were seasoned veterans of the cultivation world.
All the more reason my preparations would bear fruit.
After bowing, I entered the study connected to the bedchamber.
They would never suspect I had prepared thus.
Within the study lay a pile of mid-grade spirit stones concealed inside a Concealment Formation.
I stepped directly into it, pressing my palm against the formation.
Hmph. You dare humiliate me?
Baixuan’s words echoed in my ears.
With boiling rage, I shouted—
“Activate the Formation!”
Now… it was my turn.
You sons of bitches—die!
