Chapter 44: Chapter 34: Sudden Change l
Translator: 549690339
In the height of summer, the rains were particularly heavy, having persistently poured for three days in White Stone City, showing no sign of letting up.
Muddy puddles were everywhere along the murky and severely potholed roads, making it virtually impossible for ordinary people to tread on.
Xu Mu, donned in a blue Taoist robe, shook off the mud on his feet before stepping onto the solid green slate. Holding an oil-papered umbrella, he made his way across the entrance of the marketplace.
As he looked around, a puzzled expression crossed his face.
“Why does it seem like there are fewer people than usual?”
Even on days of continuous heavy rain in the past, such a situation had never occurred.
Could it be that all the major families had already started to leave?
Had he not received any news?
Puzzled, Xu Mu quickened his steps towards the planned teahouse.
“Friend Xu! Over here!”
Before Xu Mu arrived, Su Qing, donned in green, stood at the teahouse entrance, beckoning him.
“Friend Su, you shouldn’t have! Waiting outside for me!” Xu Mu laughed.
They have interacted on several occasions, their conversations were less formal now than in the past.
“Never mind that! The person has arrived and is at a private room on the second floor. Feel free to go in! I have to get going!”
Su Qing, wanting to leave, seemed to have something troubling her. No traces of her usual jovial demeanor could be seen, leaving Xu Mu curious.
“Friend Su, don’t rush off! You should at least tell me who the person is!”
“You’ll know once you go up there! Whether you meet or not is up to you, I’m only delivering the message!”
Su Qing activated a body protection skill and seemed a bit angry. She turned around and stepped into the rain without a backwards glance, leaving Xu Mu with her retreating figure.
“What’s going on?”
Xu Mu was a little bit baffled.
He didn’t seem to have offended Su Qing.
With a hint of confusion, Xu Mu walked into the teahouse.
Usually bustling, the teahouse had but a sparse amount of people today, making it look especially deserted.
He walked up to the second floor, where someone was waiting at the entrance.
A middle-aged man, robed in dark cyan, had a stern look on his face.
“Did you not see Xu Mu the Pill Master today?” the stoic man queried.
“Indeed! And you are?”
“This way, please. My young lady awaits you inside!”
Without answering Xu Mu’s question, the man simply gestured him to enter.
Xu Mu frowned slightly, showing a hint of hesitation.
Although he felt the person inside wasn’t powerful, the unknown individual did make him a little bit wary.
Besides, this seeming servant before him was at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage.
Anyone who could have a Qi Cultivation Late Stage practitioner as a servant couldn’t simply be an ordinary person.
However, Su Qing did mention before coming here that the person had something very important to say. It was a matter of life and death, else he wouldn’t have come at all.
“Pill Master Xu, rest assured, my young lady means no harm!”
Seeing Xu Mu’s hesitation, the middle-aged man calmly reassured him.
Xu Mu forced a smile. Since he had come all this way, he decided to follow the middle-aged man into the private room.
Inside the room was a lone woman.
In her twenties, she was draped in a goose-yellow gauze dress. Her dark hair, piled high and secured with a gold hairpin shaped like a sword. She had almond-shaped eyes that sparkled like stars, and a face as delicate as a noble lady depicted by an artist’s brush.
“I am Chi Feiyan, 1 have benefitted from the pills provided by Pill Master Xu in the past. Thank you!”
The young woman rose to her feet, a soft smile spread on her face with impeccable manners.
“You’re too kind, friend. 1 was merely doing business, even if it wasn’t you, I would have sold them anyway,” Xu Mu replied indifferently.
He didn’t know who she was and didn’t feel like building any friendship with her.
But hearing that she identified herself as Chi, Xu Mu understood her identity.
However, Chi Feiyan didn’t take offense. Instead, she lightly smiled and said, “Today, 1 asked you to come because I wanted to know whether you would be willing to leave with us, the Chi Family.”
“Why should 1 leave with you?”
Xu Mu was puzzled.
He was comfortable here, so why should he restart everything in a new environment?
“The Clear River Sword Sect has been annihilated, and the Soul Forging Sect will soon come to kill. Will Pill Master Xu really not leave?” Chi Feiyan calmly responded.
“What did you say?!!!
Xu Mu’s eyes widened; he thought he was hearing things.
The Clear River Sword Sect’s been wiped out?
The Soul Forging Sect is about to launch an attack?
What on earth is going on?
Wasn’t it said that the Clear River Sword Sect was about to win the battle, and the war would soon be over?
Could it be April Fool’s Day today?
Xu Mu felt his mind going numb.
At Xu Mu’s reaction, Chi Feiyan seemed unfazed, as everyone else had the exact reaction when hearing the news, including herself.
“The Soul Forging Sect used the guise of peace talks as bait to set up the Nine Sons Sky Demon Formation. Tortuously, the Clear River Sword Sect’s elite practitioners, including the Golden Pill elders, were all dealt a crushing blow. The major Foundation Establishment Families suffered heavy losses, leaving only one in ten family units!”
“The Soul Forging Sect has probably already besieged the entrance to the Clear River Sword Sect’s mountain stronghold by now. It won’t be long before they disperse their armies and sweep across the marketplaces!”
“With the current strength of White Stone City, there’s no way to resist!”
“The Soul Forging Sect cultivates the path of soul taming and refining. The blood qi and life soul of the cultivators are their best cultivation materials. This is definitely a catastrophe for White Stone City!”
Chi Feiyan said to Xu Mu calmly.
“How come I haven’t received any news at all?”
Xu Mu furrowed his brows, still somewhat incredulous.
Even though the other party was quite adamant.
“If even you knew, would White Stone City still be this calm?” Chi Feiyan retorted.
Indeed, that seemed to be the case!
Every day he was either cultivating or involved in alchemy, his outings were few and his channels of information very limited.
If even he knew, then at least half of White Stone City would know.
Xu Mu hesitated, struggling with his decision, unsure whether or not to agree.
The news had come too suddenly, leaving him no time to prepare mentally.
The only reason the other party wanted him to come along was because he was an alchemist. If he decided to leave, he would definitely be restricted once they arrived.
But if he stayed, he wasn’t sure he would survive the sweep of the Soul Forging Sect.
Even if he did survive the sweep, without the support of his sect, White Stone City would quickly become a playground for monster beasts.
“Isn’t the Tianhe Sect going to do anything?” Xu Mu asked, somewhat unwilling.
He had finally adapted to the environment here and really didn’t want to change unless necessary.
The Clear River Sword Sect was a vassal force of the Tianhe Sect. If the Tianhe Sect were to intervene, reclaiming the territories of the Clear River Sword Sect would be easy.
“Whether the Tianhe Sect will intervene or not, 1 don’t know. But even if they do, they won’t be able to quench a close thirst with distant water!” Chi Feiyan shook her head.
“If Friend Xu is willing, you can bring your family to the entrance of Baihe Forest tomorrow and meet up with us! After the appointed time, we will set off!”
“Tomorrow?”
Wasn’t this too soon?
Xu Mu, who was initially somewhat skeptical, now believed a bit more.
Unless it was an emergency, the other party wouldn’t be in such a hurry to leave. And starting from Baihe Forest was clearly not heading towards the territory of the Clear River Sword Sect.
“May 1 ask Friend Chi, where are you planning to go?”
“The Liyang Sect, three thousand miles away!”
“Three thousand miles?!!”
Xu Mu didn’t know about the Liyang Sect, but merely the distance of three thousand miles was enough to make his scalp tingle.
Crossing three thousand miles of wild forests and mountains was no joke.
Monster beasts, poisonous insects, dangerous terrain, miasma, any one of these things could lead them to a point of no return.
“Friend Chi, let me go home and discuss with my wife. Whether we go or not, we will give you an answer before the appointed time tomorrow!”
“Of course, I will be waiting for the good news!” Chi Feiyan said with a smile and a bow.
She could see that he was tempted, and most likely he would agree.
“By the way! 1 have two friends, can we bring them too?”
Xu Mu thought of Lan Shijin and her daughter.
If they could bring the two of them along, it would be also a mutual support.
“Of course!” Chi Feiyan readily agreed.
Just as Xu Mu was about to leave, he thought of Su Qing and asked, “Is Friend Su going to leave with us?”
“Her cultivation is too weak, and she holds no value. Bringing her would only be a burden!”
Chi Feiyan didn’t attempt to hide anything and spoke straightforwardly.
She and Su Qing were also just in a cooperative relationship.
She purchased Xu Mu’s pills from Su Qing at a high price, and met Xu Mu through her. It wasn’t due to any friendship but the spirit stones she held.
Xu Mu finally understood Su Qing’s expression.
Anyone abandoned would not be in a good mood.
As for the Song family, they would probably not take her along either.
The Song family surely had more people after all.
“I’ll be leaving first then!”
Just as Xu Mu was about to leave, Chi Feiyan suddenly said something intriguing.
“Master Xu, don’t leave the house tonight whatever you do!”
“Thanks for the heads up!”
Although her words were a bit strange, Xu Mu didn’t ask further. If she wanted him to know, she would tell him, but since she wasn’t, it meant she didn’t want him to know.
After Xu Mu left, the middle-aged man asked curiously, “Miss, why are you so lenient with him? Didn’t the Family Head say that each person could only bring two people?”
The journey was long and arduous, having an extra person only added more danger.
In the vast wilderness, having more people was not necessarily better.
“Of course, it’s because his talent is good enough! He is only in his forties, there’s a great chance that he can become a tier-three alchemist in the future. This trip to seek refuge at Liyang Sect, we have to start everything from scratch. Having an additional potential alchemist would make things much easier!”
Chi Feiyan stood by the window, looking at Xu Mu who had disappeared into the rain, and said languidly:
“If we truly encounter danger, wouldn’t he be a good sacrifice?”
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