Chapter 57: Taking Off Masks
After greeting her, I looked at the jade-like girl expectantly. Even if she was another reincarnator, it was no big deal for me. A reincarnator wasn't that different from any other cultivator around here, apart from the chance to sense Qi earlier. Even then, that advantage was usually offset by their softer demeanor. Growing up in a world where cruelty was not commonplace often did that to you.
However, in response to my words, the jade beauty seemed confused.
Well, I didn't have much hope either way. The likelihood of someone from my world coming here and turning into a murder hobo was very low. They would have been more strategic about their actions.
Or perhaps she was reborn from a world other than mine? Either way, it no longer mattered.
"What do you mean by that?" asked the sickly girl, while Song Song also looked puzzled.
"Well, what did you mean by saying we're the same?" I inquired.
"If you didn't catch on, then we're definitely not the same," the sickly girl said, looking away and no longer seeming interested in conversation.
I glanced at Song Song, and she understood what must be done. We had already discussed what would happen with the sickly jade girl last night. I couldn't just let her continue causing trouble. Well, I couldn't; Song Song didn't necessarily care and still felt she could handle things. But she trusted my judgment since I had advised her correctly until now.
"Well, congratulations, sickly one," Song Song called out to the jade-like girl. "You have the honor of being immediately promoted to the inner sect and becoming my direct subordinate."
The jade-like beauty nodded, not appearing too concerned. Perhaps the jade-like girl was expecting something like this, or maybe it aligned with her goals, whatever they were.
However, I couldn't help but worry about her and Song Song spending too much time together. They might feed off each other's insanity and take things too far.
As if sensing my thoughts, Song Song turned toward me with an annoyed expression and said, "This bastard is the only one allowed to refuse my offers of making them my subordinate. Do you want to try defending the girl again? I'll spare her from a life of servitude if you decide to work under me for the rest of your life."
"No, thanks."
"How about for ten years?"
Did she forget we were acting? Also, her negotiating skills were terrible; you never dropped the price so much. I was no sales guru, but even I knew the basics.
"No..."
What a troublesome woman...
...
The next day arrived, and the jade-like beauty girl showed no improvement. She took some medical pills to stabilize her condition, so her constant coughing had ceased.
"Do you have anything good in that storage ring?" Song Song, true to her status as a cultivator, looked eager to plunder her new victim.
"Unfortunately for you, it's a blood-locked ring, so only I or those from my family can access it," she replied.
Yeah, we knew. Song Song had taken the liberty to check while the jade girl was sleeping. She had also done a bunch of other stuff and rifled through our new "friend's" belongings, which weren't much, to be honest.
As the sun rose higher, it officially hit about eight in the morning when we set off. Our sickly companion had gained enough strength to use a movement technique. However, she still refrained from using any Qi due to fear of an adverse reaction from the backlash.
I couldn't blame her; as far as I could recall, there were no records of someone using a technique to forcefully increase their cultivation and adding a pill on top of that. She was lucky her cultivation wasn't completely crushed, but her foundation might be compromised for a while, if not permanently. Logically, it seemed like the latter, but my gut feeling leaned towards the former. Somehow, she would find a way to recover from this.
Even as her breathing grew heavier and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, the sickly girl continued to follow us without complaint.
As we ran, we stumbled upon a giant tree with blood on one of its branches. This place was quite familiar to me, and upon closer inspection, I found a corpse wearing an outer sect uniform.
The body lay face-down on the ground, and I stopped beside it, turning it over. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but I still held my gaze on the mangled face. The guy had fallen face-first, and the only reason his head hadn't burst like a watermelon was because he was a cultivator.
As I touched him, his body was still cold, with patches of ice around it.
"Why are we stopping?" Song Song asked.
"To give him a proper burial," I replied, moving towards one of the trees. I utilized my cultivator strength for something meaningful by pulling on one of the roots. My muscles clenched as I struggled to lift the giant root. The ground creaked, but eventually it yielded, leaving a sizable hole where the root had been.
Gently, I lifted the corpse and placed it beneath the root. While I would have preferred a grave, I couldn't risk someone attempting a grave robbery. Besides, I knew nothing about the man, so nothing would be inscribed on his tombstone.
Offering a silent prayer for the man, I bowed my head and whispered, "Sorry."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Observing my solemn gesture, Song Song turned towards our new sickly team member and dangerously narrowed her eyes. "Well? What are you waiting for? Apologize."
Despite her social ineptitude, it seemed even Song Song had sensed the gravity of the situation.
Or perhaps she had been observing me all along. She had said that she had been observing how I was doing against the jade-like beauty for a while. It wouldn't have been unlike her to do so.
The jade-like girl remained silent at first until Song Song's intensity of glare made it clear that this was not a request but an order.
"Also, what's your name?" Song Song addressed our new team member. "I don't want to keep calling you 'sickly bitch' all the time."
"Ye An," the jade-like beauty answered, stepping beside me and appearing ready to apologize. But there was no remorse in her eyes. She would do the same if given the chance.
"No need," I shook my head and halted her from proceeding. "You don't need to apologize."
It would be disrespectful to the dead guy to have his killer offer an insincere apology. Even Song Song appeared indifferent despite her previous talks of justice and morality.
In their eyes, I was the odd one.
"Let's go," I said, and we resumed our rush forward.
As we neared the beaches, the air carried a salty scent. This place was warmer than the forest, as there were fewer shadows from the giant trees. However, the sun was still mild since it was Autumn.
Just as we were about to step onto the beach, I paused, removed my mask, and tucked it under the chest part of my uniform.
Ye An peered at me as if committing all my features to memory, which was unnerving. However, I said nothing, knowing there was little we could do about it. To avoid appearing weak, I maintained eye contact with her. Ye An had cleaned her face of blood, though she still looked sickly. She had also attempted to wash her clothes, but smudgy red spots remained.
Setting foot on the warm sandy beach, we surveyed our surroundings. My chubby friend and the rest of the team weren't the only ones present; numerous others dotted the area. Although the outer elder was absent, the ships we arrived on remained anchored at the shoddy dock.
Spotting my team waving, I waved back. My muscular ex-chubby friend approached with a broad grin. "Thank the Gods you're okay. I was quite worried when a girl arrived here screaming hysterically about some masked guy and girl."
After exchanging casual greetings, they all respectfully bowed their heads toward Song Song, acknowledging her leadership. However, their attention lingered on Ye An, the jade-like beauty.
Ye An appeared disheveled, with sickly pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. Yet, her undeniable beauty captivated my teammates, momentarily entrancing them.
As I approached my not-so-chubby friend, he and several others from the team seemed less affected by Ye An's allure. It appeared they had learned their lesson from Song Song.
While Song Song possessed her own charm, harboring romantic feelings for such individuals would only lead to heartache. Given time, the others who were infatuated with Ye An were destined to learn this lesson the hard way.
"By the way, where's my turtle?" I asked.
Yong Cho gestured towards my two cousins who were in the water. One fanned my turtle with a large leaf while the other walked alongside it, though I couldn't hear what they said over the surrounding noise. Speedy relaxed in the sand, occasionally rolling onto its back, prompting my short-haired cousin to set it upright.
"After learning that the turtle was your pet, they insisted on looking after it," Yong Cho explained with a shrug.
Noticing our gaze, my cousins quickly approached us, gently holding Speedy.
"Good job," I commended them.
"It's no problem, hon-... cousin," said the long-haired cousin, Liu Long, correcting himself. Liu Lia nodded rapidly, her excitement evident.
Before I could continue conversing with my cousins, a gasp in the distance caught my attention. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Song Song also turning to follow my gaze.
In the distance stood the girl I had saved from Ye An, Cao Wu. Shock filled her eyes as she looked at Ye An, tears streaming down her cheeks while her body trembled. Yet, amidst her fear, there was a hateful glare, indicating her desire for vengeance against Ye An.
The only other person who seemed to notice was Song Song, who turned towards me and silently sought counsel.
"I will handle this," I whispered to Song Song. Though we were about ten feet away and the surrounding crowd was boisterous, she seemed to hear me and nodded.
Approaching Cao Wu, her gaze shifted from Ye An to me. As she realized I was the same person from the group as Ye An, her face paled, and she stepped back while I attempted to wear the friendliest smile I could muster.
The comfortable autumn sunlight warmed my skin, and the sand crunched beneath my feet. Despite the cold water, this place would be ideal for a vacation. I never did enjoy blistering heat too much.
Coming within ten feet of Cao Wu, I didn't want her to feel threatened, so I carefully stopped approaching. With people around, I couldn't say anything too revealing. I reached into the inner pocket of my uniform, revealing part of the mask I had worn when saving her.
Her eyes widened, and she went from pale to outright terrified, tears welling up in her eyes once more.
What was with that reaction? I was trying to show her I was alive, and it didn't seem like those were tears of joy.
Attempting to understand from her perspective, neither of us spoke at first.
Then it hit me like lightning.
Ah!...
From Cao Wu's viewpoint, it likely looked like I was mocking her and her savior's death since I was in the same group as Ye An.
"It's me," I quickly assured her. "We have her under custody."
She blinked owlishly, initially confused. Perhaps she was hesitant to trust someone who had been seen with her tormentor. So, I added, "Your name is Cao Wu, and I carried you like a sack of potatoes under my arm when I heard you begging for help."
With each word, she seemed to calm down. Her complexion regained some color, and she even gave a weak smile.
"I'm glad you're alive..." she began, then stopped abruptly, grimacing. Without warning, she bowed deeply at the waist. "Sorry for being unable to find any elders here to come and help you! I tried asking for help from other disciples, but no one cared, and when I asked about where the elders were, there were none. Also-"
"Don't worry about it," I interjected before she could continue. "Sometimes, even the best among us make mistakes."
I had also made a mistake by only revealing my mask. I had been more concerned about hiding my identity as the mask-wearing guy than anything else. It had been my idea to have her seek out an outer elder here. The last time I had seen one here, so my choice wasn't necessarily wrong. But circumstances changed, and no plan was perfect.
Looking up at the blue sky, feeling the gentle breeze on my face, I smiled.
At least that whole mess was resolved... for now. As I considered that last thought, my gaze shifted to a certain red-haired young man in the distance, who was also here and had passed the exam.
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