CHAPTER 44

Shadow of a Great Elder

LUO FAN

A month passed swiftly, and Jinjing and I had managed to make ends meet. I had reluctantly pawned my mother’s locket to raise some quick cash, which allowed us to buy materials and apparatus for medicine production. Together, we worked seamlessly—Jinjing handling the cleaning and drying of ingredients while I took charge of the delicate refinement processes.

In that time, we had visited three villages, and every batch of medicine we brought along had sold out completely. Financially, we had enough to afford a modest wedding ceremony, but Jinjing had insisted we retrieve my mother’s locket first. She believed it was important to start our married life debt-free and with a small cushion of savings to carry us through.

Returning from our fourth village visit, we decided to stop by the market to restock on food and essentials. Having been away for five days, we planned to take a week off to rest and produce another batch of medicines before heading out again.

Encouragingly, the very first village we’d visited had sent a message expressing satisfaction with the quality of the medicines they’d purchased and requesting our return. With that in mind, we were already making preparations for the journey ahead.

“I forgot to tell you,” I said as we walked past a pottery shop. “The Village Chief of Shitong sent a message inviting us back to sell more medicines.”

“That’s great news! It means our medicines are working,” Jinjing replied with a bright smile.

“Of course. Your husband wasn’t called the Divine Mage for nothing.”

She giggled. “You’re getting cocky. You almost sound like Lord Ruan.”

I shook my head. “I could never reach his level of arrogance. It’s practically immortal, just like his cultivation.”

She laughed, but her amusement was cut short when a carriage suddenly sped toward us. Before it could sideswipe Jinjing, I yanked her behind me.

To my surprise, the carriage screeched to a halt right in front of us. A man leapt out, his posture radiating menace.

“Finally, we meet again,” he sneered. “I’ve been looking for you, blind man.”

Though his face was unfamiliar, his voice struck a chord.

“Chang Tao,” Jinjing said sharply. “What do you want from us?”

Chang Tao. Now I remembered—the drunkard who had harassed Jinjing before.

“What do I want?” he mocked, stepping closer. “Your man, of course. This beauty deserves someone like me, not a worn-out whore like you.”

“Leave her out of this,” I said, my voice calm but firm. Insulting me was one thing; disrespecting Jinjing was another.

“Don’t worry,” he said with a twisted grin. “I’m not here for her. I’m here for you.”

“And what exactly do you want from me?”

“Like what I said earlier. I want you, so you’ll have to come with me.”

“And if I don’t oblige?”

“You’ve got two choices—come willingly or fight me.”

“We’ve fought before, and we know how that ended,” I reminded him.

He chuckled darkly. “I was drunk then, and for the past twelve months, I’ve been training under a master. You’re no match for me now, so you’d better come along willingly. I’d hate to ruin that pretty face of yours.”

“I must decline,” I said evenly. “And I suggest we let bygones be bygones. There’s no need for trouble.”

Chang Tao leaned in close, his breath hot and foul. “You humiliated me, and you want me to forget? I want repayment.” His fingers clamped around my chin. “I want to see your face screaming under me while I—”

Before he could finish, I slapped his hand away with a precise strike. The force left him gasping as he cradled his wrist.

“You’re making a mistake,” he growled, unsheathing his sword. “I’ll make you regret that.”

“Jinjing, step back,” I said.

She quickly moved to a safe distance as Chang Tao lunged at me, his blade slicing through the air. I sidestepped his attack and struck the vein in his wrist with my staff, causing his sword to clatter to the ground.

“One year of training,” I said, “and you still can’t hold your weapon properly.”

He screamed profanities as he retrieved his sword and charged again. This time, I hit his wrist even harder, sending him to his knees, howling in pain.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Do you yield?” I asked.

“You son of a whore!” he spat. “I’ll kill you, then ravage your corpse and eat it raw!”

The grotesqueness of his words made me recoil. Even Ruan Yanjun, wicked as he was, had never spoken with such depravity.

Jinjing tugged on my arm. “We should leave before this draws more attention,” she urged.

Looking around, I noticed a small crowd had already gathered. Not wanting to attract more notice, I allowed her to pull me away.

The last thing I needed was to make it easier for those hunting me to find us.

We hurriedly grabbed the first edible items we could find at the market and paid without hesitation. Within minutes, we were on our way out.

At the market’s exit, a man stood waiting. His stance alone told me he was a cultivator, and not a novice. Beside him was Chang Tao, still nursing his injured wrist.

We stopped in our tracks.

This must be the “master” Chang Tao had boasted about. The man looked formidable but lacked the commanding aura of a true master. Cultivation rules required a practitioner to reach Level Six, the “Master’s Level,” before accepting disciples. Judging by his presence, this man was likely between Level Three and Four—not qualified to have disciples yet.

“My disciple claims you’ve been bullying him,” the man said, his tone sharp.

I cupped my hands in a respectful gesture, despite his threatening demeanor. “There seems to be a misunderstanding. Your disciple insulted and provoked us. I only acted to protect my betrothed and myself from his verbal and physical assaults.”

The man turned to Chang Tao. “Is that true?”

Chang Tao shook his head vehemently. “He’s lying! He’s been bullying me and my friends for over a year!”

I narrowed my eyes. That man could fabricate a lie without the slightest hesitation.

“You liar!” Jinjing snapped. “We’ve only ever tried to stay away from you, but you keep starting trouble!”

“Shut up! Whores have no right to speak in the presence of men,” Chang Tao shot back.

I glared at him, my voice dangerously low. “Call her that again, and I’ll cut out your tongue so you can’t utter another foul word.”

Chang Tao’s eyes widened as he saw the fury in mine. He faltered and turned to his master. “Did you hear that, Master?”

“Silence,” his master barked. “This gentleman is right. Your language is uncalled for. How many times have I told you to respect women?”

“But she’s a prost—”

“Regardless of who she is,” Bai Li interrupted, “a real man always treats women with respect.”

Chang Tao bowed his head. “Yes, Master.”

I gave Bai Li a small nod of approval, though my respect for him was limited. His willingness to break the sacred rule of discipleship spoke volumes.

“Young Master,” I said politely. “If you don’t mind, may I know your name?”

“Bai Li,” he replied curtly.

“Young Master Bai Li,” I said, cupping my hands again. “I mean no disrespect, but surely you’re aware of the rule requiring cultivators to reach Level Six before taking on disciples?”

“I am,” he replied with a smirk. “This isn’t an official arrangement. He paid me to teach him martial arts without joining a sect, so I accepted.”

I nodded, understanding. While frowned upon, accepting payment to privately tutor a student who’s not a member of any sect was seen as unethical, but it was not prohibited by any law. “In that case, I apologize for my assumption.”

Bai Li’s smirk deepened. “You can apologize properly—by fighting me.”

I frowned. “I regret that my skills may not match yours, Young Master Bai Li.”

“That’s why we must fight. So you can learn.”

Despite his earlier lecture on respect, it was clear Bai Li was itching to avenge his disciple.

Before I could respond, Bai Li drew his sword. Sensing the inevitable, Jinjing quickly stepped back.

“Fan, be careful,” she urged.

“Keep your distance so I can focus,” I said.

Satisfied she was far enough, I turned to Bai Li.

“Enough talking,” he said, charging forward.

I deflected his strike with my staff, and we both staggered backward.

I noticed something very familiar.

“You’re a disciple of Elder Ye from Frost Mountain,” I said, not as a question but a statement.

Bai Li stiffened. “How do you know?”

I smiled faintly. Jiayi must have sent this man to hunt me down, but it seemed he did not even recognize me.

“That move you just used,” I said. “Someone once told me its origin.”

Bai Li chuckled darkly. “So you’re familiar. Let me show you another.”

He launched into a technique I recognized immediately, one of Elder Ye’s signature moves. It targeted the opponent from all directions with lightning-fast strikes, designed to confuse and exploit any lapse in defense.

That move was developed by Elder Ye specifically for low-level cultivators. I had to admit that compared to those disciples who had sparred with me in the past using that same technique, this man had executed it flawlessly. But I had long studied its pattern and developed a counterstrategy.

As he darted around me, thinking he’d disoriented me, I silently counted his movements, biding my time. The moment he closed in, I thrust my staff directly into his path.

With his speed, he couldn’t stop in time. My staff struck his groin with full force.

Bai Li crumpled to the ground, pale-faced, eyes wide, struggling to catch his breath.

“Master!” Chang Tao cried, rushing to help him.

I stepped back, gripping my staff tightly, prepared for what might come next.

This was the opportunity I had been waiting for. While Bai Li was still incapacitated, I grabbed Jinjing's hand, and we ran as fast as we could.

Though I had the upper hand in terms of strategy and experience, I knew better than to prolong the fight. My stamina was limited, and if I pushed myself too far, it would only take one misstep for him to turn the tables.

Once we had put a safe distance between us, we ducked behind a dense thicket of trees to catch our breath. Both of us were gasping so hard that neither could speak for several moments.

When her breathing steadied, Jinjing broke the silence. “That final move you pulled earlier… it was incredible.”

“Sect Leader Ruan taught me that,” I replied, wiping sweat from my brow. “He called it Quickie.”

Her jaw dropped, her expression one of utter disbelief. “Quickie? Why in the heavens would Lord Ruan name it that?”

“Because it’s executed quickly, as the situation demands,” I explained, puzzled by her reaction.

Her astonishment only grew.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Fan,” she said, trying to stifle a laugh, “do you know what quickie means in my former line of work?”

I blinked. “No. Should I?”

Her laughter erupted like a dam breaking, loud and uncontrollable. I panicked, glancing around in case our pursuers were nearby.

“Jinjing! Keep it down, or they’ll hear us!”

She hastily clapped her hands over her mouth, muffling her giggles. When she finally calmed down, she looked at me with sparkling eyes. “Fan, are you really that innocent? Do you want me to explain in detail what a quickie is?”

I frowned, wracking my brain until realization struck me. “Does it… have to do with copulation?”

Her laughter returned, though this time it was stifled behind her hands. She was giggling so hard she doubled over, clutching her stomach as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

The pieces clicked together in my mind as I recalled the exact words Ruan Yanjun had used when he taught me the move:

“This technique isn’t meant to be gentle. It has to be done hard and fast, otherwise, you won’t finish in time and you’ll be deprived.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I clenched my fists. “Ruan Yanjun!” I growled through gritted teeth.

Jinjing fell into another fit of laughter, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.