It only took a couple of days for someone to show up out of nowhere. It was just some guy with unassuming looks waiting for me at the library while talking to the librarian.
"Why do people who send letters or need to meet with my personal disciple come here? You do know that this isn't his home, right? This is a public space," the librarian complained. His voice was as dull as always, and he seemed like he was giving a lesson and teaching rather than reprimanding someone.
On the other hand, the unassuming guy kept bowing and apologizing. By the Qi around the newcomer, he was around a one-star or two-star Qi Gathering Cultivator.
I walked up next to him, but his eyes were still on the librarian, and he kept apologizing without a care in the world other than what was in front of him.
How careless...
Even though I was a whole large realm below him, if I wanted to kill him right now, it would not be hard to do so. He had his guard down, and his senses were dog shit. If he hadn't had such plentiful Qi and a blue uniform, I would not have believed someone as unskilled as him could be a Qi Gathering Cultivator.
No, perhaps I was being too harsh on him. Most of my experience with Qi Gathering Cultivators was with people like Ye An and Song Song. They were both very skilled.
"Is everything alright here?" I asked, and instead of jumping away in fright that someone had gotten so close to him, the guy only looked at me with a surprised look.
"It seems like Song Song has sent someone to pick you up," the librarian said, nudging his chin toward the newcomer.
"Do I need to come immediately?" I inquired.
"Yes," the inner disciple answered, this time without the apologetic look he had toward the librarian.
Even some second-rate cultivator with third-rate capabilities would look down on someone with lower cultivation than them.
"Well, I will just get a backpack from the second floor and come right down," I said, turning my back on the man and walking up the stairs.
While climbing the stairs to the second floor, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering toward the journey ahead. A part of me still doubted whether I made the right decision with this one. But I was not going to fight or suppress that side of me because the day I stopped doubting my decisions would be the beginning of a countdown to my untimely death.
On the second floor, the place no longer had books scattered around like before when I used to do research. Now, they were categorized on their own shelves. Techniques were separated from theories, making it easier for people to find what they needed without wasting time searching.
But I didn't linger long. Instead, I walked toward the hidden room on the second floor, where the old man usually stayed. However, to my surprise, the place was open, and the old man was sleeping inside.
"This guy... did he think no one would stumble upon something like this? What if anyone other than me came here," I whispered.
Despite expressing my displeasure, I carefully retrieved a wooden coffin-like backpack from a corner of the room. I tried not to wake the old man. The backpack was made of wood and had strange inscriptions carved into it.
I had already packed everything except for the Monster Encyclopedia I had painstakingly built. So I picked it up, placed it in the wooden backpack, and searched for Speedy.
While the wooden backpack wasn't a storage ring, it was something the librarian had personally inscribed arrays on. So its weight was barely noticeable. However, that might also be because of my raw strength.
It didn't take long to find Speedy; the big guy crawled under one of the shelves, bumping into it. I grabbed him, placed the wooden backpack down, and carefully tucked the turtle inside. Thankfully, he fit snugly, and there was even a small opening in the box-like backpack where he could poke his head out. Speedy did just that and gave a happy squeal.
"You should try to act this cute when the ladies are around," I joked as we returned to the first floor.
As soon as I stepped foot on the first floor, the inner disciple here to pick me up stared at me like a hawk.
"C'mon, we have to set off," he said in a monotone voice.
He spoke oddly, unlike the guy who had practically been groveling toward the librarian. But I followed without making an issue out of it.
"See you guys later," I waved at the librarian. "Tell the old goat I also said hello. Also, make sure to check on him. I think he was sleeping, but it would be quite morbid if he died due to consuming too much tea, and I walked in on his corpse and didn't notice anything."
Thinking about how these words would annoy the old goat brought me joy. The librarian raised a questioning brow at my comment, but in the end, he just shrugged and nodded.
As we left the library, a thin veil of snow covered the stone yard and the surrounding trees. Where there had once been a view of greenery as far as the eye could see, now everything was blanketed in white.
The inner disciple didn't stop to appreciate the scenery and simply walked down the stairs. I followed beside him, but he turned to me and frowned. I thought he might be angry for a moment, but he just turned away and looked straight ahead without saying a word.
What was wrong with him? He hadn't spoken a word since we left the library.
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Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped abruptly, and I did too. He turned toward me, and our gazes met. I was about to offer a friendly smile and say something when, without warning, I felt a stinging sensation on my cheek, and my head jerked to the side.
I... was slapped?
As my head turned, I saw a dozen people around us staring. Some gawked, while others whispered.
Ah, this was quite embarrassing. Being publicly humiliated like this was not pleasant.
"Why did you walk next to me like we were equals?" the inner disciple said. "You should know your place, trash. How do you think it felt being an inner disciple made to come and pick up someone like you?"
He continued his rant, but I had already tuned him out, focusing instead on noting down all his features.
He had straight dark hair, green eyes, and fair skin, though not as pale as Ye An's. His face was unassuming, with the only standout feature being his green eyes, which, at most, made him above average in looks.
From now on, this was not someone I would forget. I will remember him for the rest of my life.
Fighting him now would be foolish; my chances of winning were fifty-fifty at best. I knew nothing about this guy or his techniques, and we were too close. Despite his lack of awareness, I doubted I could activate a level 2 array in time before he knocked my teeth out.
No, my odds of winning were not favorable at all. I shouldn't let my emotions override my logical thoughts. What if the guy had some kind of defensive artifact?
"Sorry," I apologized, stepping back and staying behind him.
This guy was Song Song's subordinate. No doubt, he was accustomed to resolving things through violence.
"Good, Song Song was right. You do learn fast," he smirked and began walking.
I removed my wooden backpack and gently placed it on the grass beside the stone pathway, making no noise.
Staring at his back, I moved carefully, making as little sound as possible as I approached him.
Artifacts were not sentient, so they typically detected an attack based on the speed of approach.
Finally, I was within arm's reach of him.
Slowly, I extended my arms toward him, mimicking a friendly gesture. I moved slowly enough so no low-level defensive artifact would pick up my movements. It would register as harmless.
"Huh?" The guy finally noticed, but by then, it was too late as I wrapped my arms around his neck and put him in a chokehold. "What the hell?"
I also wrapped my legs around his waist and held him in place, ready to incapacitate him further.
He struggled and scratched at my arms, but it was futile. While Earth's martial arts were mostly ineffective here, certain dominant moves still worked on cultivators.
The rear naked choke was one such example. It was an absolutely dominant move. Even someone much weaker could defeat someone much stronger with it.
While he struggled, I leaned in and whispered, "Do you think I could break your neck from this position if I tried?"
Hearing that, he made raw grunting noises and struggled even harder. Ultimately, he jumped up and slammed back-first into the stones below. But since I was between him and the rocks, I took most of the damage, and a piercing pain ran through my back.
However, the damage inflicted was nowhere near enough to incapacitate me or force me to release my hold. Instead, I tightened my grip around his neck as his body began twitching uncontrollably.
Shifting the position of my arms, I placed one hand under his chin and the other at the top of his head, then twisted as if trying to screw a giant bolt. "How about we test that? I bet I can break your neck, and you bet that I can't. If you win, you get to keep your life."
He emitted pitiful groans and attempted to say something, but I was done listening. Though I was done with pushing, it was clear that with him in this position, I could break his neck. But committing murder in front of so many people would be dumb.
Not long after, he stopped moving. For a moment, I almost considered releasing him. Instead, I tightened my grip further, and he began thrashing once again.
Did he think I was foolish enough to let go because he stopped moving? What a silly guy.
After a while, he ceased moving again, and I maintained my hold on him until his face turned purple. I doubted he could fake that.
Releasing him, I rose to my feet, but despite my clear victory, I remained vigilant, ready for any retaliation. After several moments of him remaining motionless, I retrieved my wooden backpack. I donned it, all while keeping a watchful eye on him.
By now, the onlookers had fallen silent. Perhaps they would gossip about my alleged cowardice in attacking a man when his back was turned. However, I cared little for their opinions as long as they refrained from voicing them in my presence.
Grasping the inner disciple by his clothes, I dragged him away, his lower body scraping against the ground like a discarded ragdoll. What a pity; his once-bright blue robe was now tarnished with dirt.
But where to now?
He was meant to lead me to Song Song.
She would likely be at the front gates. If not, then she'd be in the inner sect. I'd need someone to inform her that one of her subordinates had gone rogue. Perhaps he needed to be disciplined... Or maybe I should simply dispose of him myself and bury him in the forest. No one would ever find his body.
In my experience, these people never let things slide. Murder might be too extreme to commit within Sect grounds, but crippling his cultivation was just another Tuesday.
But such thoughts were quickly dismissed. Song Song needed all the pawns she could get her hands on. A useless guy like this was still valuable as a meat shield.
With his fate postponed for now, I dragged him toward the front gates, drawing more attention from outer disciples along the way.
By the time I reached the front gates, about three dozen people had gathered just before them. They ranged in age from teens to thirties. Among them stood the jade-like beauty Ye An, along with Liu Bo and two other familiar faces he was hanging out with. Though I hadn't met those two, I remembered from Liu Feng's memories that they were Liu Heng and Liu Qian, the latter being the Liu Clan Leader's daughter.
A lone figure in the group's center stood, capturing everyone's gaze.
From an outsider's perspective, she was stunning, with long, dark silky hair, blue eyes, a diamond-shaped face, and a petite chin. The gracefulness of her movements and her hourglass figure would make any man willing to do anything for her. But the illusion shattered upon meeting her eyes. One didn't need to be a mind reader to see the raging flames of unquenchable madness hidden behind them.
That was Song Song, the woman I had decided was my safest bet.
She was in conversation with one of her subordinates when she suddenly stopped and turned toward me as if sensing my gaze. As our eyes met, a smile spread across her face, and the intensity of madness in her eyes multiplied tenfold.
That crazed look in her eyes put me at ease for some inexplicable reason. With her here, nobody could touch me anymore.
Approaching closer, I halted when the rest of the crowd noticed me. With one swift motion, I threw the guy I had been dragging along, and he landed roughly on the stone pavement in front of Song Song's feet.