Chapter 6 A Foolish and Scared Teenager

Li Fuyao was holding the medicines and an umbrella in his arms as he fled. He did not even notice the autumn rain had stopped. He pushed open the wooden door to his yard and breathed a sigh of relief after shutting it. He leaned against the wooden door and was breathing heavily. After a while, just when he was about to lift his gaze, he saw Qing Huai standing right in front of him. He was unsure of how long she had been standing there as she just stared at him. He did not wait for her to initiate a conversation.

Li Fuyao beat her to it and asked first, “Are you demons scared of swordsmen the most?”

Qing Huai was slightly puzzled but she still nodded her head swiftly.

Li Fuyao then followed up with another question. “There was a fish which turned into a sword causing the water to splash out of the river. After that, someone reeled it onto the shore with a rope made of willow leaves and finally, the sword was hung onto the person’s waist. If there is a swordsman with such supernatural abilities, will you be afraid?”

Qing Huai’s face started to turn ghastly.

Li Fuyao then stood upright and asked with a look of certainty on his face, “Then why are you not escaping?”

Li Fuyao was dead serious when he asked her about it.

Qing Huai suddenly smiled. “If a swordsman with such a high expertise is really here, where can I escape to?”

Li Fuyao just kept silent. He was just a normal teenager after all. He had not gone on the cultivation path yet and had never stumbled upon anything unexpected. Thus, when he met the swordsman, he had no clue if he was a good or evil person, so the only option he had was to flee. If the swordsman managed to find this place later, he could not do anything about it if the swordsman decided to kill him as well since he was with Qing Huai. This was a totally different situation compared to the time when he met Yan Yu. Scholars would often be rational but he was unsure if this man would be the same. The only thing he could do now was to make a choice.

It was either leave or stay.

He lifted his head and looked at this young lady whom he had spent a few days with.

Li Fuyao just sighed.

Qing Huai quickly figured out what he was worrying and teased him, “Why, Li Fuyao, are you afraid that I will drag you down?”

Li Fuyao did not give her a reply. He knew this young lady would not be so heartless and she was just so beautiful. Aside from her sharp tongue, she did not really have any other flaws. Nevertheless, she did look slightly pitiful as she was about to risk losing her head.

Li Fuyao’s lips twitched and he replied, “I’m not scared of death. I just can’t protect you and I don’t have any intention of chasing you away.”

Qing Huai lifted the corners of her mouth and there was a smile on her face.

These two teenagers no longer contemplated the issue and once Li Fuyao had composed himself, he quickly noticed that the rain had stopped.

He looked up and wondered if he could finally see the stars tonight.

There was also a possibility that he could not.

Li Fuyao chuckled under his breath and recalled the middle-aged man who was squatting by the river while scolding a sword. He thought about it and sensed that he did not look quite like a bad person.

On the contrary, Li Fuyao was more interested in the item the man had just uncovered. If there had not been a snake demon at his home, he probably wouldn’t have fled.

Li Fuyao did not turn his head to look at Qing Huai. He was afraid that she would notice something in his eyes and would not be pleased regardless if it was true.

The both of them had something on their mind as they just sat in the yard for the whole afternoon. Li Fuyao was waiting for the swordsman and imagined the things that could happen later. He looked troubled but Qing Huai on the other hand, seemed relaxed. If someone still managed to find her even after she had exhausted her energy to suppress her demon Qi, then there was nothing much left to do. Her death would be inevitable.

Qing Huai had come up with a lot of thoughts during this period of waiting but of course, she just kept those thoughts to herself and did not voice them out.

By dusk, Li Fuyao finally saw the sunset which had not appeared for the last couple of days. The sun which had disappeared for so many days shined through the clouds and the sunlight fell upon Li Fuyao’s face. It gave him a mysterious feeling.

That evening, Li Fuyao said softly, “Actually, I’m still scared and even though I have given myself countless reasons not to be afraid, I’m still terrified that this problem will just persist.”

Qing Huai thought for a moment and seemed to have understood what Li Fuyao was trying to say. She smiled and replied, “I know.”

After she said those two words, Qing Huai just stood up and walked out of the yard.

She did not bring anything with her, nor did she leave anything behind.

The sky got darker gradually and Li Fuyao just smiled to himself.

He did not say anything and was feeling quite weary, so he just wanted to sleep. However, the thoughts in his brain seemed to have made him unable to move his legs. Even after some time, he still could not get up.

He gazed into the distance and said softly, “I can’t protect you but I didn’t ask you to go.”

His voice was soft and it did not travel far. Nobody could hear him.

After some time, Li Fuyao got to his feet and grabbed a wooden stick before he walked out of his yard.

　　……

During the sunset, there was suddenly a spike in demon Qi outside of Baiyu Town.

Yan Yu did not have much time to think about the reason and just gave Gu Yuan an order before leaving to look for the vibe of demon Qi in the air. Mr. Yan who was the greatest in the Fundamental Stage in the Confucian Temple left in a haste. That very evening, he quickly arrived at a forest that wasn’t too dense.

The decent amount of trees had blocked out most of the sunlight and made the forest seem a little gloomy.

Yan Yu stood still and frowned as he looked into the distance. There was a sturdier tree and it was big enough to take cover from.

Of course, it could also hide a snake demon.

Yan Yu sniffed at the odor peculiar to a snake demon and said calmly, “If you give yourself up and follow me back to the Confucian Temple, you may still have some hope of staying alive.”

Nobody appeared from the back of the sturdy tree but there was a voice.

“Haha, the words that come from cultivators like you cannot be trusted at all.”

The voice was gentle and soft. If Li Fuyao was the one listening, he would have known that the mystery person was actually the sweet young lady.

However, regardless of how pleasant the voice was, she could not conceal her actual identity from a cultivator who had been on the cultivation path for 30 years like Yan Yu.

She was an evil demon and that was absolute. It was difficult for Yan Yu to think of her differently.

The snake demon did not reveal itself but that did not mean Yan Yu would not lay a hand on her. Suddenly, one of his hands started radiating green rays and with a slight wave of his hand, the rays started spreading out like strings. There were just too many of them to the point of being uncountable. This Fundamental Stage was the fourth stage in the nine stages of cultivators, and human cultivators who had cultivated to this stage could summon the spirit and Qi in their bodies like those strings of green strands. The Qi was overwhelming and dense and it would suppress the cultivators who were at the bottom three stages. People also said that one would not be considered as being on the cultivation path if he did not enter the Fundamental Stage.

Once a person had entered the Fundamental Stage, he would be able to discard his mortal form and could live up to 300 years old.

As a Fundamental Stage mister in Yanling Confucian Temple, Yan Yu had already progressed to this stage 10 years ago. After 10 years of grinding, he knew the essence of the Fundamental Stage like the back of his hand. If not, how could he be known as the greatest person in the Fundamental Stage?

Yan Yu did not let his guard down at all when he faced this snake demon who was also in the Fundamental Stage. He did not hold back at all as he made his move.

If it had been two cultivators who were confronting each other, perhaps they could still wait and see how things went. However, he was now facing an evil demon from the Demonic Land at the north and he did not dare to hold anything back.

Yan Yu did not talk much as he faced this snake demon who was also in the Fundamental Stage. He was already taking it seriously since the beginning.

Even though he had entered the Fundamental Stage earlier than her, the both of them were at the Fundamental Stage and his victory was not secured yet. Moreover, the snake demon had recuperated for so many days so it had probably returned to the peak of its form.

So how would he dare to say that victory was already in the bag?

He would only dare to say so if his skills were really exceptional or if he had a good Confucian magic tool with him.

Or if he used a sword.

6000 years ago, those swordsmen only had a sword on their waists and did not use any other magic tools. Nevertheless, they had made these human cultivators suffer tremendously.

During the battle between the two races 6000 years ago, tens of thousands of swordsmen would just appear effortlessly on the battlefield. The scene of thousands of swords was just spectacular. Although Yan Yu did not witness it with his own eyes, just by flipping through the books and records that documented that battle, with only a few words, they had allowed him to imagine how glorious it must have been.

If there had not been such a capability for battle, how could that last surviving sword immortal be able to hold his ground firmly despite being alone?

If he did not exist, the word ‘alone’ would signify a desperate hope to swordsmen.

Yan Yu did not have time to get emotional. As soon as those green strands spread out, he had been fixing his eyes on that sturdy tree waiting attentively to see how the snake demon would counter him.

He had already prepared himself.

However, the green strands just penetrated through the sturdy tree and returned without any reaction.

Yan Yu suddenly turned around abruptly.

Just as expected, there was a teenage girl in green clothes with a gloomy face standing behind him.

The teenage girl dressed in green was very good-looking. She had a pair of arched eyebrows and her lips were bright red in color. She looked as if she was showing off her beauty to the whole world. If her face had not been so pale, she would definitely look even more attractive.

Yan Yu was distracted for a brief moment. He had seen her tracks at night before and she was still a girl at that time but she did not look so young like now. However, Yan Yu quickly figured out the reason behind it.

Judging from the lifespan of this snake, it would be like that if it had changed to its human form.

Yan Yu paused and suddenly sighed. “It’s a pity.”

The girl suddenly smiled. “Do you have any idea the seriousness of the consequences if I die in this world?”

Yan Yu replied calmly, “How serious can the consequences of killing a snake demon in the Fundamental Stage, which has previously brought disaster to this world be? So what if you have some status in the Demonic Land, or even if you are the daughter of some big demon? Our world will not tolerate having demons like you roaming freely here.”

The girl’s expressions turned cold but she had known that nobody in this world would care about her status at the Demonic Land. Even if she died here, no demon would be willing to go into battle against the human race. Moreover, there were 12 sages altogether from the three religious sects in this world.

Which of the 12 sages who stood at this world's peak would be easy to fight against?

However, the reason she was speaking up was only to buy some time and not for any other reasons.

She was indeed at the Fundamental Stage but it did not mean she did not have a magic tool with her when she was out. She had not taken it out before because this magic tool had no effect against those old bastards. However, she was now facing Yan Yu who was in the Fundamental Stage, and this tool of hers was effective against him.

This was especially after she had made sure that Yan Yu did not bring along any magic tool with him this time.

Hence, she unfastened the strand of green string on her wrist and poured a gust of the purest Qi onto it. After that, something unexpected happened.

That green string had turned into a green python.

　　……

The python was enormous and was far more remarkable than the small green snake she had turned into earlier.

Yan Yu seemed tiny as he stood in front of the python.

Nonetheless, the mister from the Confucian Temple who was in a green gown did not panic at all. He extended his arm and gestured a secret technique while his mouth continued mumbling.

“If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will not be solid: hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles; have no friends not equal to yourself; when you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.”[1]

Besides the chipped bowl which had suppressed countless evil demons, which other sects in this world could suppress the evil demons better than the sages of Confucianism?

This world was a place filled with righteousness. The Confucianism cultivators used it to nurture the good within them while the sages used it to give back to this country.

There was once a sage who could suppress all the evil demons and monsters in the world with just one phrase.

If the imposing sword Qi from the swordsmen during the battle between the two races had brought terror to the whole world, then it was the righteousness of Confucianism that brought the people peace.

They were lucky to have that.

The countless green strands headed toward the python and they grew stronger as they got closer to it. The green strands were trying to penetrate the acupoints of the python but the scales of the python were just too tough. The green strands could only sprawl around the surface and just could not penetrate the body of the python.

The girl folded her hands behind her and just smiled coldly. The python inside this magic tool was actually her granduncle but he had stumbled upon some obstacles during cultivation and succumbed to the Qi Deviation. Her family had used a secret technique to refine his remaining essence into the strand before he died from his cultivation. She only needed to use her Qi to trigger it and her granduncle would appear. Although he did not possess his cultivation base anymore, his body which was refined from his cultivation was not something a Fundamental Stage cultivator could deal with.

Yan Yu’s tens and thousands of green strands just could not penetrate it. The sage mantra’s power was limited by his cultivation preventing him from being able to showcase his full capability, so he furrowed his brows.

He was suddenly frustrated.

Perhaps he might have been too used to the comfort in the Confucian Temple and had forgotten the true face of the world.

The very next moment, a sound came from a distance in the dense forest.

“Take a look at yourself, you can’t even face a small green snake. I’m starting to wonder where all those years of cultivation had gone.”

Yan Yu suddenly turned his head.

A middle-aged man with a stubble of untrimmed beard walked out of the dense forest and appeared in the line of sight of the girl and Yan Yu. The next moment gave Yan Yu and even Qing Huai a shock. The middle-aged man had a sword on his waist.

Swordsman?!

The middle-aged man mumbled to himself, “I was here only to take a sword but I just happened to meet the two of you whom I didn’t really want to. Am I really that unlucky?”

The middle-aged man lifted his head and looked at the python which was flicking its tongue. He then sighed, “I, as a swordsman, will still kill evil demons wherever they exist.”

Yan Yu could not help but to chuckle when he heard it, while the girl in the green clothes suddenly became alert.

The very next second, the middle-aged man rose up into the air as he drew out the long sword from its sheath.

It was glowing with sword ray and was filled with battle intent.

There weren't any loud explosions or any groundbreaking occurrence, but the head of the python was just lobbed off by the sword ray.

The middle-aged man dropped back to the ground and scratched his ears. “It’s just too easy to be defeated.”

Yan Yu looked at the man with a stubble of an untrimmed beard and there were only two words in his mind.

Swordsman?

Actually, a teenager too was here when the python had just appeared. However, the three people at the scene were not just some average people so the teenager who had rushed here had his presence deliberately ignored. He was holding a wooden stick in his hands and he was indeed at the scene.

Li Fuyao who had just seen a swordsman draw their sword twice in a day was shaken up and a little terrified.

Fear was indeed an emotion that he had no control of.

[1]: A verse taken from ‘The Ethics of Confucius’ written by Confucius. It is a collection of Confucius’ ethical writings on topics such as the superior man, self-development, human relations, the family, the state, the cultivation of the fine arts, and religion.