Chapter 2
After leaving the broken temple, Fu Yan rode a Windrunner horse and quickly hurried in the direction of Heiquan Town.
This Windrunner horse was a treasured steed personally raised by the Shuiling Sect. It could travel a thousand li in a single day and was one or two times faster than an ordinary fine horse, making it an excellent helper for long journeys.
As for traveling by flying on a sword, that method could only be used after one successfully opened their qi sea and reached the Illumination stage. So for the current Fu Yan, she could only ride a horse.
Speaking of which, Fu Yan before transmigrating had not known how to ride a horse. Fortunately, the body had its own memories. After adapting for a little while, she was soon able to ride with ease.
By afternoon, Fu Yan had successfully arrived at Heiquan Town. By this time, however, she was already so hungry her chest was practically sticking to her back.
Fu Yan’s current cultivation had not yet reached the stage where she could abstain from food, so naturally, like ordinary people, she still needed to consume a fixed amount of food and energy every day. She had been traveling the whole day and had not eaten anything since last night, so by now, she truly could not endure it anymore.
The Shuiling Sect naturally had its own relay station in Heiquan Town. Fu Yan quickly found the place according to her memories, left her Windrunner horse there, then went alone into the town and found an inn.
Perhaps because it was not yet evening, there were not many tables of customers inside the inn, so Fu Yan’s food was served very quickly.
As Fu Yan ate, she did not forget the mission she was carrying. Seeing that the waiter happened to have nothing to do, she called him over.
“Waiter, I heard that a notorious lecherous thief has appeared here recently. Is that true?” Fu Yan ate at an unhurried pace, raising her eyes to look at the waiter in front of her as she asked.
Hearing this, the waiter’s expression immediately turned rather grim. He let out a light sigh, looked at Fu Yan, and said, “Sigh, things really haven’t been peaceful lately. That lecherous thief is a cultivator. How could ordinary mortals like us possibly stand against him? Guest, you may not know this, but ever since he appeared, several married women in our town have already suffered at his hands.”
Fu Yan nodded, silently pondering.
The waiter seemed to only then realize that Fu Yan was also a beautiful woman. He could not help advising her, “Miss, I suggest you go home quickly after eating. It’s going to be dark soon, and you absolutely mustn’t wander around outside. The kind of person that lecherous thief likes most is a young, beautiful woman like you.”
Fu Yan smiled awkwardly. She was actually afraid that the lecherous thief would not dare show himself in front of her. However, she still needed more clues, so she said honestly, “It’s fine. I’m also a cultivator, so I’m not afraid of that lecherous thief.”
“Miss, you’re also a cultivator?” The waiter seemed a little surprised, but he did not doubt her. After all, there was indeed a sword on Fu Yan’s table.
After saying that, the waiter seemed to think of something, and his eyes widened. “Could it be that Miss is a disciple of the Shuiling Sect?”
It turned out that some time ago, the lecherous thief seemed to have set his sights on the young lady of the Lin residence in town. Squire Lin had hurriedly sent people to the Shuiling Sect to ask for help. Everyone in Heiquan Town knew about this matter, so now, upon hearing that Fu Yan was also a cultivator, the waiter had asked that question.
Fu Yan choked a little while eating and quickly poured herself a cup of tea. After drinking it, she swiftly nodded at the waiter.
“That’s wonderful! Immortal, you must catch that lecherous thief!” The waiter was only an ordinary mortal, so toward cultivator disciples from those sects, he naturally carried a kind of reverence. When he looked at Fu Yan, his expression became noticeably more solemn.
Being called “Immortal” really made Fu Yan feel rather embarrassed, but she could not worry about that right now. She quickly asked again, “Do you know if there has been any recent news about that lecherous thief?”
At the question, the waiter could not help thinking carefully. Only after a while did he explain with some confusion, “Now that Immortal mentions it, I hadn’t noticed before, but that lecherous thief really does seem to have not shown himself for several days.”
As soon as those words fell, Fu Yan, seated before the table, could not help furrowing her brows slightly. She did not believe that the lecherous thief had already slipped away because he was afraid someone from the Shuiling Sect would come. After all, missions sent out by the Shuiling Sect had always been fairly accurate.
She only hoped nothing unexpected had happened.
After finishing her meal, Fu Yan paid the bill and headed straight toward the Lin residence.
Upon learning that someone from the Shuiling Sect had arrived, Squire Lin hurriedly came out personally to greet her. However, when he saw that Fu Yan was alone, the joy on his face could not help pausing slightly.
“Why is there only one immortal? Are your other fellow disciples still behind you?” After thinking for a moment, Squire Lin still asked Fu Yan honestly.
Fu Yan understood his concern. He was afraid she alone might not be able to handle it. She did not think Squire Lin meant to look down on her, so she answered truthfully, “It’s only me.”
Hearing this, although he had already been mentally prepared, the disappointment on Squire Lin’s face was still very clear. “This…”
“Squire Lin, there’s no need to worry. Since I accepted the mission, I will certainly protect Miss Lin’s safety.” Fu Yan nodded slightly at Squire Lin, giving him a bit of reassurance.
“In that case, I must thank you, Immortal.” Squire Lin had no other choice. He could only place all his hope on Fu Yan.
Fu Yan followed Squire Lin into the residence. After listening to him speak, she roughly understood the current situation.
The lecherous thief really had set his sights on Miss Lin, and he had already come to attack once. Fortunately, Squire Lin had managed to stop him.
“Immortal, you may not know this, but in earlier years, I accidentally saved a cultivator. To repay me, he left an array in my residence. It was precisely because of that array that the lecherous thief failed to succeed.” Recalling what had happened that night, Squire Lin still seemed somewhat shaken.
An array?
“May I go take a look?” Fu Yan asked Squire Lin.
Naturally, Squire Lin did not refuse. Very soon, he personally brought Fu Yan to a loft.
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, Fu Yan could sense the spiritual energy fluctuations of the array. She paused slightly, then walked around the loft once. In her heart, she already had an answer.
Although Fu Yan was not proficient in the Dao of arrays, the array before her was only the most ordinary self-defense array. For someone with cultivation at the Foundation Establishment stage like her, breaking through it would indeed be rather tricky.
But for someone at the Illumination stage, it could be swept away with a raise of the hand.
From this, it could be seen that the lecherous thief’s cultivation was indeed only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
“This array of yours has fallen into disrepair over the years. It could block that lecherous thief once, but I’m afraid it would be difficult for it to do so a second time.” Fu Yan looked at the array, shook her head, and stated the truth.
As soon as those words fell, Squire Lin could not help sighing softly. “What Immortal says is exactly right. That is precisely why I went to the Shuiling Sect to seek help. I still hope Immortal will definitely capture that lecherous thief.”
Fu Yan also found the spot where the array had been attacked. After observing it carefully for a while, she had a clear idea in her heart. The lecherous thief’s cultivation was indeed roughly at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. For her, that should not be a major problem.
“How many days has it been since that lecherous thief last appeared?” Fu Yan asked Squire Lin again.
Hearing this, Squire Lin counted on his fingers and thought carefully for a while before finally murmuring, “It seems… ever since he was blocked by the array that day, he has not appeared for five days.”
Five days…
That was rather strange. Logically speaking, after failing once, that lecherous thief should have quickly come back to strike again. Why would he seem as if he had given up and not appeared again?
Although she had some doubts, Fu Yan did not think too much of it. After all, she also had something on her that could protect her.
Thinking back to the original owner’s memories, Fu Yan knew the original owner was not an arrogant person. After accepting the mission, she had used all of her sect contribution points to exchange for an explosion talisman.
This so-called explosion talisman was a talisman condensed from true essence by a powerful Illumination-stage expert within the sect. Once this talisman was thrown out, it would be equivalent to a strike from an Illumination-stage expert. Against it, someone at the Foundation Establishment stage could be said to have no power to fight back at all.
“Starting today, I’ll disguise myself as Miss Lin’s maid and stay in this loft, waiting only for that lecherous thief to show himself again.” Having made up her mind, Fu Yan honestly told Squire Lin her plan.
The lecherous thief came and went without a trace. No one knew where his lair was, so they could only wait for him to appear in person.
Hearing that Fu Yan would stay in the residence, Squire Lin instantly relaxed quite a bit and hurriedly said, “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Immortal.”
And so, Fu Yan temporarily settled down in the loft.
That night, everything was calm and peaceful. Nothing strange happened at all, and the lecherous thief still did not show himself.
“Do you think he might have given up?” Miss Lin seemed a little too naive. Seeing that several days had passed without incident, she could not help staring at Fu Yan curiously as she asked.
Fu Yan shook her head. Not only did she not think the lecherous thief would give up, she instead felt that he might be plotting something bigger.
As if to confirm Fu Yan’s guess, on the second night, when Miss Lin in the loft had already fallen into a deep sleep, Fu Yan, who was hiding in the shadows, suddenly opened her eyes.
A tremendous tremor came from the array outside.
In an instant, the spiritual energy fluctuations of the array completely vanished. Fu Yan inside the room could not help being startled. Logically speaking, although the lecherous thief could break the array, this was far too fast.
In almost the blink of an eye, the array had shattered completely.
There was not much time for Fu Yan to react, because in the next moment, the lecherous thief, dressed entirely in black, instantly appeared inside the loft.
His target seemed very clear. It was Miss Lin on the bed.
A faint sound of wind came from outside the window. The moonlight tonight seemed especially bright, and mottled patches of moonlight slipped secretly through the window and scattered into the loft room.
The lecherous thief was dressed fully in black. His face seemed to have been concealed by some kind of secret method, and with Fu Yan’s cultivation, she could not see his appearance clearly at all.
He walked step by step toward the edge of the bed.
Time was tight. Fu Yan instantly leapt out from the shadows. Gripping her refined iron sword, she stabbed straight toward the lecherous thief.
Yet unexpectedly, that person had absolutely no intention of dodging. He directly used his body to take Fu Yan’s sword head-on.
Only…
When Fu Yan’s sword was only a hair’s breadth away from the lecherous thief, it was imprisoned by a powerful force. She could no longer push it forward by even half an inch.
This was… true essence!
Realizing that her refined iron sword had been locked in place by something, Fu Yan immediately felt as if she had been struck over the head. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
It was over!
This person was actually at the Illumination stage!!
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!