Su Jing found a large rock and chose to sit on it as she massaged her feet. Now that she finally looked, her shoes were with some blood, signalling how her pain wasn't for nothing.
What did she do to have such a wound?
Not having anything at hand, Su Jing broke one of her inner sleeves and enveloped her feet, feeling a bit more comfortable now, although still in pain.
As the Sixth Elder directed his attention towards the group, Su Jing became alert, eager to hear what he had to say.
"The Tian Men Gateway is the only way mortals can reach the immortal realm, as few of you probably know already. Everyone is welcome to try their chances to reach the immortal realm, but take notice. If you weren't selected in our previous test, your journey from this point will be without Tian Hui Sect s protection.” he paused, his gaze taking in the massive group of people that weren't accepted, ”And staying too long in this mountain path would make the demons flourish inside your soul by lengths and bounds, risking easily a death. I hope you will take your decision with care."
Su Jing gazed up the stairs as he talked, being a bit overwhelmed by the immensity of the stairs. She followed these people because she did not know where else to go, but now with the elder's words, it made her regret that she did not choose the other group that went down the slope!
Rummages and howls were constantly heard as if telling her the way back wouldn't be that easy to take either. The woods were all of a sudden dark to take without the master.
She seemed to be the only one fighting the worries inside her head. People began to step on the stairs, their figures getting lost one after another in the view. Many of them were excited and happily talking to each other as if the word ”death” did not even escape the immortal mouth.
The master turned towards the three chosen persons, starting to instruct them separately. He did not seem surprised by the ”mortals” reaction.
Now that Su Jing looked over, she observed that the two young immortals weren't with him. Were they so powerful they could go on their own?
Su Jing got up from her stone and approached the stairs hobbling, wanting to eavesdrop on the master. She did not walk much though. A cold and soft hand touched her shoulder, making Su Jing flinch in fright.
”Oh, my apologies. I did not want to startle you.”
Su Jing turned, and was surprised to see Bai Xiu Ying!
Zhu Tai Chang was behind her too, having his arms crossed as he was staring elsewhere, clearly in disgust at interacting with Su Jing. Su Jing quickly bowed her head, feeling a rather numb pressure on her stomach now that those two were around her.
”Immortal Bai, Immortal Zhu.”
The soles of her feet still hurt, and as she was having her face down, she couldn't help but notice what beautiful shoes both Bai Xiu Ying and Zhu Tai Chang had. While hers were bluish, with a soft touch of flowers, Zhu Tai Chang had a pair of resistant and comfy boots - something Su Jing would die to have right now.
”Sister does not need to greet us like that. Although our origin is in the immortal realm, we are still pretty young in age.”
Looking up Su Jing saw Bai Xiu Ying gently smiling, different from how Zhu Tai Chang was beating his finger impatiently against the forearm.
She next stretched out her hand, having a green jade bottle in her palm. Su Jing took a moment to stare at it, not recognising what it could be - it was too small to be a bottle of water and yet too big to be only for decorative purposes.
”And I actually approached you to give you this elixir. I saw you limping during our walk here, and I figured out you were wounded. It can heal any injury or wound instantly.”
Bai Xiu Ying smiled politely as she said that, appearing truthfully worried about Su Jing's condition. Su Jing however staggered for a moment, being taken aback by her actions.
She murmured, ”Miss Bai really is too generous.”
Shouldn't medicine be really expensive? Su Jing had no money or any other way to repay her. However, Bai Xiu Ying simply stuffed the elixir in her hand, not giving too much time for Su Jing to think.
”You will need your body to be healed in order to reach the gate. Although I said I would abandon my alchemist way, my family's upbringing wouldn't let me leave you like that.”
Su Jing held the bottle, still feeling Bai Xiu Ying's body coldness. It was weird to feel that since normally, a body would be warm! Or was it just her hands?
Bai Xiu Ying did not stay too long, and once she saw that Su Jing accepted her help, she went after the boy Zhu Tai Chang and then together towards the master. Su Jing kept in her palm the elixir, a bit scared that she might accidentally drop it down.
”Did Immortal Fairy Bai really help that?”
Su Jing overheard what the nearby people said, and her back suddenly felt targeted. Her heart couldn't help but loudly beat, aware they wouldn't be as nice as Bai Xiu Ying if Su Jing got into a conversation with them. She quickly retracted and went back to her rock she previously sat.
As she unpacked the garments that were around her feet, more and more people were gone, even those immortals. Bai Xiu Ying waved her hand towards Su Jing when she caught sight of her, and with that, Su Jing was left alone.
It was slightly unrestful, but hearing the bird's peaceful chirping and the wind made Su Jing relax a bit as she massaged the elixir on her wounds.
Bai Xiu Ying seemed to not lie as the elixir really did its job fast and repaired even the injuries that were on Su Jing's hands. Su Jing decided to keep half of the elixir in the bottle and put it in her pocket along with the red berries and coins.
With that, Su Jing finally felt better. She could see a few people in the distance, but they were already way ahead.
Not that Su Jing wanted to meet them, if anything, she did not wish to meet anyone or anything ferocious on this isolated mountain.
She started climbing, the small breeze bringing with it a strange fading fog.
”What a terrible girl...”
”I know, right? She wants to be a chicken through the heavens!”
Su Jing was startled by the sudden voices. With a rock in her hand from the ground, she looked around for the two persons but did not see anyone.
Only the fog was circling her, like a trap that doomed her to be blind from all points.
Confused, she continued to climb up, wary of any sounds she encountered.
”Hahaha, let's do it, let's do it. I am curious how much she can hold on.”
”She should have listened to the Village Head!”
Vague, scattered fog phantoms appeared in front of Su Jing, their faces blurry and hard to put together. These images didn't hurt her, but Su Jing felt that those held significance to be suddenly shown to her.
Were those maybe her memories? Su Jing tried hard to recognise those voices, but it was all for nought. Her head was like a white piece of paper.
Su Jing continued on her way, trying to not put too much thought on these mean voices in her head. As the staircase narrowed, each step started to be higher than the other one.
A scary cliff was just near the railing.
And in front, to Su Jing's surprise, there was the back of a real person. Su Jing approached hesitantly, and with each step, she was sure the guy was someone she saw at the root test.
”Mother, mother...”
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Murmuring, he was kneeling on the ground as he held his head. She stopped a few steps away from him, not sure if she should check if he was alright.
”Mother, I am so sorry! Please, forgive your son!”
He started shouting harder now, as if the fog around his head had increased his pain. Su Jing did not know what to do, and to make things worse, when she stopped a few metres behind him, he seemed to hear her.
The man suddenly turned, his face red from crying.
”You, wait! Let go!” Before Su Jing could get away, he went kneeling to her feet, catching her dress strongly in his palms.
”Mother, you are here! At last, I thought I'd lost you.”
He circled her legs, making Su Jing almost fall.
”What the, I am not your mother. Woke up, you prick!”
She hit him in the head with her palm, getting frightened by his strong grip.
”Why can't you see that it is I who always sacrificed everything for our family! Can't you forgive me only once this time? After everything I'd done!”
Su Jing had no idea what he was saying, but once she noticed that his hands were going higher around her body, she couldn't hold it anymore and hit him hard on the head, with all her force.
”I said, let go!” She then kicked him with her leg, salting above his body and running up the stairs.
The man was crying in pain as if throwing a tantrum on the ground. Su Jing's idea of helping had long been gone so now that she had the opportunity, she no longer stood still and went away.
”So it all comes to this, huh? Do you truly hate me? Am I not your child, mother?”
Su Jing couldn't care less about his mommy issues and continued to walk. However, a cold wind passed down the stairs, taking with it even more fog. This time its colour was an intense black, attaching itself around the man's body.
”My brother did not deserve to be an immortal! He was good for nothing!”
He looked straight towards her, his whole eyeballs being covered in red. Su Jing had no time to think as he salted towards her, clearly wanting to hurt her.
Su Jing could only run higher on the stairs, running away from his punch. The place trembled as he hit the ground, making Su Jing unbalanced and almost fell down the cliff. She locked air in her lungs, looking back at the cloud of dust from behind,
Once the wind washed it away, Su Jing was horrified to see the place where he hit it destroyed to bits. A big hole was now between him and her.
”I am sorry, I am sorry...”
All of a sudden he kneeled again, putting his hands on his face as he cried. Su Jing looked horrified at him.
”I killed him, I killed you...” he murmured, shaking his head, ”You are here to reprimand me, aren't you? To stop me, maybe?”
Su Jing understood that the man in front of her killed his family before coming here, taking his dead brother's place as a contestant.
The man again swung his fist at her, this time his killing intent being even higher. Thankfully, he was kind of slow in his acts since he was in the hole, giving time to Su Jing to avoid him and make him stumble down.
At this moment, she gave him no other seconds as she ran away, going as fast as she could up the stairs, through the dense fog. He continued to scream, but as Su Jing persisted and did not look back, his voice eventually faded, lost.
The silence did not persist for long as Su Jing's inner voices came back, this time with the tone of an elderly woman.
”Of course, she's here to marry Uncle Ben's nephew, Little Du! But she's kind of a wild one, and needs instruction.”
”Hahaha, he will surely have fun with such a little concubine.”
Su Jing's steps gradually steadied, an uncomfortable pressure getting on her chest. This chaos of her running away and the memories plunging her mind almost made her dizzy and she couldn't stand straight anymore on her legs.
She surely had no idea of any of them, but their words weighed heavily on her mind.
Had she run away from her home? That would explain her swollen feet and dusty clothes.
Hitting her palm through the grey cloud that gathered around her head, Su Jing persisted, now sure that the mortal realm had no home welcoming her in.
There were more similar accidents like the previous one. People were in a dream memory because of the fog, making Su Jing feel weird that she was passing so easily through this.
Certainly, it wasn't that easy for her too to remember that she was a little wild-running bride, but some of the things she heard from those people were really flashing!
Killing, cheating, betrayals... they had done everything possible to reach this place, yet, they were ending in such a way. Su Jing had now a vague understanding of why the master rejected so many of them.
While she was walking, she once again saw someone.
This had happened so many times that she wasn't even surprised anymore. Su Jing chose to stay at a distance from them and go off the stairs to hide behind some stones, but as she took a fugitive glance, she was surprised to see Feng Zhi Hao!
What, what was she doing here? Su Jing was sure she left last, yet Feng Zhi Hao was in front of her!
Su Jing observed her, finding it weird that she was so silent. Usually, people were screaming their dissatisfaction and using violence.
Miss Feng however, was as hushed as a statue.
The wind moved her hair elegantly in the air. As harmless as she looked, the previous encounters taught her to not headlessly go near people again.
She stood hidden, wondering how to bypass her.
”Oi, who do we have here? Miss Feng herself!”
Su Jing froze and quickly hid better behind the rocks. Looking higher than Feng Zhi Hao, she was surprised to see one of the three accepted contestants. Wasn't he with the master and immortals?
It was confusing, but Su Jing couldn't care less about that now since she needed to find a way to escape!
It was clear that there was gonna be a fight here!
Unlike the tumultuous state of Su Jing, Feng Zhi Hao did not react at all, continuing to stay immobile. Her back was still straight and her eyes closed, seemingly fighting an inner memory of hers.
In her crawling away down, Su Jing got hesitant, thinking Feng Zhi Hao would end badly if she was against the top contestant.
But as much as Su Jing wanted to help, she was weaker!
”Hahaha, it's surprising how you even got here.”
The young man wore a yellow belt, seemingly giving the impression of gold. Hanging down these were countless pouches, making Su Jing sure that he stole them from others!
”I heard that Old Patriarch Feng gave you lots of things before dying.”
He got an ugly sight, before going closer and encircling Feng Zhi Hao.
”Feng Zhi Hao, hei! Can't you hear me?” he moved his hands in front of her, pushing her lightly. Soon, he pulled the jade hairpin she wore, with no regard that he might have broken her hair.
”Ah, damn! What could I expect? This is not even a jade, it's just a useless piece of wood. ”
He threw it on the ground, the sounds of it falling down the stairs getting lost gradually.
He then searched her clothes and hands, but couldn't find anything.
”Why the fuck are you even a Feng if there is nothing good about you?” he lashed out at the unconscious Feng Zhi Hao, pulling on her clothes in anger.
Feng Zhi Hao destabilised a bit and Su Jing saw her frowning in her sleeping state, signalling that she was somehow aware of what was happening.
However, since the man had pulled her clothes, the front side had got undone a little, showing her white neck and clavicle. There, going distinct, was a pure green stone, shining quietly as it out shown in the open.
”That's a Qi-enhanced artefact! I knew it - she was hiding something!”
He put his hand with brute force around the necklace, trying to rip it out of her neck. Su Jing did not have the time to observe these events too much because suddenly Feng Zhi Hao's hand moved, hitting the man hard in the stomach!
”Argh, you crazy - !” Screaming in pain, his back arched trying to cover the focal point of the hit.
Feng Zhi Hao then used her hand and hit the fingers that were holding still to her necklace. finally breaking free from his clutches. What surprised Su Jing was that during all this time she was keeping her eyes closed!
”Feng Zhi Hao, so you were pretending all this time!” With blood coming out of his mouth, the man slowly got back up on his legs, a burst of maniacal laughter coming out of his mouth, ”I should have guessed it, you have a treasure with you. From Qi Country till the Shun Mountains, how could a single miss like you come on her own?”
Feng Zhi Hao kept her silence, keeping a bead in her hand that fell from her necklace. She wrapped her fingers around it.
Su Jing admired her tenacity for seeking meditation, but out of all moments, it was rather improper to do this now when someone was with a clear killing intent directed towards her!
”You dare to ignore me?! Don't you know that this mountain is not bound to any rules, be them from the immortal or mortal realms?” he somehow materialised a sword from his sleeves, swinging it in front, ” Be prepared to die!”
Seeing this awful course of action, Su Jing closed her eyes, not wanting to watch a gruesome scene happening in front of her. However, instead of the sword sounds she had expected, a blast happened, throwing her on her back by the force of the air.
It was so strong that even the stone looked like it was crumbling.
The pine trees swayed in the distance, and Su Jing's body seemed to lose all strength, utterly drained of energy.
A golden light started to sprout around, and when Su Jing looked in front, she observed that it was coming from Feng Zhi Hao's clenched hand, slowly enveloping and spreading to the surroundings.
The girl appeared to be transforming in terms of power, even her wounds healing rapidly on their own. Su Jing was astonished, having been blown away by the incredible abilities she was witnessing.
”You...” the man whispered, now trembling with his sword in hand. He was also astonished, but not at Feng Zhi Hao since he greedily looked at the treasure in her hand.
He got back up and punched again, not afraid of the colossal energy around Feng Zhi Hao.
Without warning, Feng Zhihao also lunged forward without a single weapon. Catching the hand holding the sword, she bent it, making the ruffian scream painfully.
Feng Zhi Hao did not give him even two seconds to talk as she easily took his sword and slashed it across his chest. She did it multiple times as if wanting to make sure that each hit was causing him more pain.
The man's face was pitifully struggling to get up.
"You'll regret this!"
Feng Zhihao surprisingly smirked mockingly at the one who spoke, crushing his fingers one by one with her feet.
The man's screams were so piercing that they sent shivers down Su Jing's spine.
”Wait...!”
"Initially, I wanted you to send my regards to my dear second sister, but I've changed my mind."
The tip of the sword glittered in the air, sending with it a bad omen. The man's scream did not have time to be heard as Feng Zhi Hao sliced open his neck, making the actual bloody scene even more horrendous.
Su Jing did not dare to even breathe now that she saw this.
She felt like she was assisting something she shouldn't be seeing and this only increased her sense of dread.
Feng Zhi Hao had now her eyes fully open, looking with indifference at the now breathless body that was lying in a pool of blood.
She kneeled in front of him, starting to rummage through his clothes and pouches. Su Jing saw how she took almost all the valuable things she could see on his body, throwing them in a ring that miraculously appeared on her finger!
When she thought things finally got peaceful, the dead body wasn't in view anymore, a flame quickly burning it to dust.
The girl swiftly tidied all the mess as if she hadn't committed one killing.