Chapter 203. The Central Plains Murim (1)

The Piercing Mark was drawn successfully. Little Ghost would still have to fight to determine whether it was effective or not, but it appeared that the sorcery was successfully drawn.

Most experts can't really deal with Little Ghost.

Little Ghost's childlike appearance was a massive advantage, as it made her enemies let down their guard, allowing her to dispatch them by surprise.

Even among the Phantoms, Little Ghost's strength was incredible. No, she could actually be the strongest of them all. Although she was still young, she had already achieved many things.

It was all thanks to the training that she had done with Zhou Xuchuan during their time together. The most noticeable change was the increase in her qi absorption rate and cultivation.

Reading her pulse, Zhou Xuchuan could tell that her qi reserves had reached an incredible level.

I was thinking of finding a new elixir for her, but I guess that's no longer necessary.

The vitality and sorcery energy that was converted to qi was more than he had expected. At this rate, she could rise up a tier.

Her qi reserves hadn't increased to an absurd point that it could be considered practically infinite, but it could be compared to the younger generation talents of the major sects, specifically those who had consumed an elixir.

"If you feel anything unusual, tell me right away."

"Understood."

Zhou Xuchuan ordered Little Ghost to hide nearby. After a rough cleaning of the scattered ink, he returned to the group.

Not long after he started walking away, he ran into Duan Hecheng, who was standing nearby as his Dharma Protector.

"Great Hero Zhou!"

"Is something wrong?"

Duan Hecheng's expression wasn't great. He seemed anxious for some reason, making Zhou Xuchuan wonder whether there had been an enemy attack.

"I should be asking that question. I was so surprised when I sensed something ominous from where you were, Great Hero Zhou," Duan Hecheng remarked.

He was worried, and he wanted to check up on Zhou Xuchuan, but he couldn't do it, as he had been asked to stop anyone from approaching. Thus, he had no choice but to wait, stomping in anxiety.

"Ah..." Zhou Xuchuan scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.

Duan Hecheng was talking about the evil qi within the skull. It had to have leaked out. Well, it would have been stranger if Duan Hecheng hadn't noticed it, as a decent amount had leaked.

"Did those sorcerers show up again?" Duan Hecheng asked, looking around with wary eyes.

"That's not the case, so don't worry," Zhou Xuchuan replied. Then, he racked his brain in an effort to solve the misunderstanding. "I'm still suffering from the aftereffects of that battle, so I was treating myself. The evil qi within me must have leaked out in the middle of treatment."

It was a plausible lie, even though he had come up with it on the fly.

Duan Hecheng nodded in agreement. "Well, it's not strange to be injured after clashing head-on with that monster. Are you okay now?"

"I'm done treating myself."

"What a relief. Everyone must be worried, so we should go down now."

It seemed that everyone else had noticed the evil qi as well. When they went down to where the others were located, Zhou Xuchuan found that they all looked alarmed.

"My apologies for making everyone worried. I had to take some time to treat the aftereffects of that sorcery."

"Aftereffects?" Tang Hui asked, her beautiful forehead knitted in a frown. She looked a bit displeased. "How long has it been since that battle? What do you mean by 'aftereffects'?

"You're not stupid enough to think that dealing with something like that hasn't been worth it until now, are you? I know your fleshly body is strong, but if you really thought that way, then you must be dumb—too dumb to describe."

Tang Hui then walked over and held out her hand.

"...?" Zhou Xuchuan tilted his head.

"You know the saying that there should be a limit to one's stupidity, right?"

Tang Hui let out a deep sigh and grabbed Zhou Xuchuan's wrist. He then read his pulse with her index and middle fingers.

I've noticed it long ago, but even though you have an absolutely shit personality, you're still incredibly beautiful. You really are incredibly beautiful now that I'm looking at you up close.

Thump, thump, thump.

Since she was reading Zhou Xuchuan's pulse, the latter managed to get a closer look at the beauty of the Poison Phoenix for the first time ever.

It was fortunate that he had developed an immunity to beauties, as he had grown up with the most beautiful woman in Mount Hua, Luo Xiaoyue. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to calm his heart down.

"Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm done treating myself," Zhou Xuchuan remarked. He could not help but feel guilty, as the so-called "aftereffects" were a lie.

"Great Hero Zhou is right," Duan Hecheng explained on Zhou Xuchuan's behalf. "It is not uncommon for one to think that one has completely rid oneself of poison only for the remnants of the same poison to flare up and cause problems later."

"

Hmm.

I guess that makes sense."

They were worried that there were issues with their benefactor.

"Oh, if it's okay with you, can you read his pulse and check up on him, Elder?"

"Fine with me," the Divine Physician responded, nodding.

"Everyone, it's really not a big deal. Please do what you have to do," Zhou Xuchuan remarked.

The search party finally let down their guard and backed down.

"It's not that big of a deal for this much fuss..." Zhou Xuchuan muttered.

A small lie had unexpectedly grown like a snowball.

"It's not a bad thing to be cautious of unexpected situations. Moreover, I have a few questions I want to ask as well," Tang Hui remarked.

"Oh, as expected. You must be worried that misunderstandings might pop up if we talk privately. You've done well, thinking it through."

"Shut up. I feel dumber hearing that from someone like you," Tang Hui retorted, gripping Zhou Xuchuan's wrist tighter.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Zhou Xuchuan.

"The secret force backing the major tribes; the first great divine art of the Mount Hua Sect..." Tang Hui muttered.

"You got me there..." Zhou Xuchuan grimaced, and his expression betrayed his composure.

"Of course, I got you. It was faint, but you've been spewing out a violet-colored aura," Tang Hui said. Then, she stared at Zhou Xuchuan with a bewildered gaze. The life-or-death battle between Zhou Xuchuan and the Head Archivist had been so terrifying that it made the onlookers shiver in fear.

Their battle—a clash comparable to a fight between the strongest experts of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven—was astonishing, but there was something more astonishing than it—the Violet Haze Divine Art.

Of course, only the strongest experts in the search party had noticed it, and they had all decided to stay quiet.

Duan Hecheng stayed silent, as he had no intentions of embarrassing his benefactor. However, he cast a curious gaze at Zhou Xuchuan as well.

"Good."

Zhou Xuchuan then told Tang Hui about how the Divine Physician had gone to the Southern Jungles upon hearing of the Head Archivist's offer and how they ended up working together.

"Please be lenient on me regarding the divine art," Zhou Xuchuan said, smiling bitterly.

He couldn't talk about the Violet Haze Divine Art even if he wanted to do so. He knew it would eventually be revealed, so he had prepared an excuse. Still, this wasn't the time to reveal it. Moreover, his excuse could change depending on the situation, so he couldn't say anything rashly.

He's truly an unpredictable man.

Tang Hui relaxed her grip on Zhou Xuchuan's wrist and fell into deep contemplation upon hearing the whole story.

She thought of this from the moment they met, but Zhou Xuchuan was utterly different from any man—no, from any person she had ever seen until now. More than anything, she had assumed that he was joking when he told her about the Dark Heavens Association.

As time passed, however, it turned out that he was telling the truth.

From then on, his actions became questionable.

The hero of the Righteous Faction, Plum Blossom Order Sword...

The hero of the Evil Faction, Phantom Bow Swordsman...

Wouldn't the Central Plains be turned upside down if the truth behind their identities was discovered? No, no one would actually believe it.

If she hadn't known the truth before the Phantom Bow Swordsman's rise in fame, Tang Hui wouldn't have believed the truth herself.

The fact that the hero of the Righteous Faction and the Phantom Bow Swordsman were the same person was shocking enough, but the fact that he could use martial arts of different natures was just groundbreaking.

Tang Hui wasn't exactly sure about what techniques he had in his arsenal. She knew that he was skilled in the swordsmanship of Mount Hua, but to think that he was skilled in archery and hidden weapons as well.

It was already hard to believe that one person could do all of that, but what if the said person was a young man? It was simply beyond common sense.

With that in mind, Tang Hui became even warier of the Dark Heavens Association. After all, the strange man before him was wary of them.

The Tomb of the Ominous Demon incident alone was serious enough, but she could never have imagined that their influence had already reached all the way to the Southern Jungles.

The events in the Southern Jungles had occurred in a neighboring country, so she didn't really care about them. However, the Head Archivist's strength and cultivation had put her on edge.

"Fine. You must have your reasons for saying something like that. Just don't overdo it to the point where you're left grappling with the aftereffects," Tang Hui said.

"Fine. You must have your reasons for saying something like that. Just don't overdo it to the point where you're left grappling with the aftereffects," Tang Hui said, raising her long and slender index finger and placing it on his forehead.

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not worried about you. I just think it'll be embarrassing on your end if you use that as an excuse when you lose to me in our rematch later," Tang Hui added, frowning as if Zhou Xuchuan were annoying.

***

Hefei, the Murim Alliance.

"We're finally back!"

The search party cheered upon arriving at the Murim Alliance.

It was spring when they had left the Central Plains back in March. Time had flown by, and it was already early summer.

It was quite hot in Hefei, but the search party had experienced the murderous heat of the Southern Jungles, so they found the weather to be pretty cool rather than hot.

It was like a paradise compared to the Great Forest of the Southern Jungles; the Southern Jungles' heat and humidity seemed omnipresent, and to make matters worse, there weren't any winds to blow away the mustiness.

Had it really taken three months?

They had arrived in the Southern Jungles around mid-March; it had been two and a half months since their battle against the major tribes. They had also spent quite some time finishing their part in the Southern Jungles' power struggle and the clean-up.

In addition, they had taken breaks here and there during their return journey. The search party had worked diligently, meaning that Zhou Xuchuan couldn't complain about their relaxed attitude on their return journey.

There was nothing urgent waiting for them, so everyone assumed a leisurely attitude on their way back home.

"Welcome. Thank you for your hard work." Strategist Zhuge Xiang was the first one to greet them as soon as the main gates were opened.

"Master!" an anxious-looking middle-aged man standing behind Zhuge Xiang shouted upon spotting the Divine Physician. His shout ended up interrupting Zhuge Xiang's words.

"

Huh?

What brings you here?" The Divine Physician's eyes widened upon seeing the middle-aged man. Then, he exclaimed, "What about the clinic?!"

"You went missing, Master. How is the clinic the problem here?!" Li Gen exclaimed, pounding his chest in frustration. He was the Head of the Benevolence Clinic and a famous doctor as well. He seemed to have suffered incredibly, as half of his hair had turned gray, making him look ten years older than his age.

"Please, please, think about us! Do you know how I felt upon losing contact with you?!" Li Gen roared.

After being entrusted with the clinic, even though the Alliance Leader had told him not to worry and leave it to the Divine Physician, he still couldn't help but worry.

He was worried about the Divine Physician's life, but what really made him feel like he was going crazy were the gazes of those around him.

He really felt like going crazy when the Divine Physician's creditors visited and stared at him with narrowed eyes. Some of them even openly said, "I'm not going to let you slide if you decide to pull some nonsense."

Their statements made him feel like crying.

As the Divine Physician's absence got longer and longer, the more suspicious the people became of him. Li Gen's worries intensified as time went on as well. In fact, when he heard that the search party couldn't make contact with the Divine Physician, he truly wanted to die.

Sleeping soundly had become a thing of the past since the disappearance of the Divine Physician. Whenever he closed his eyes, he'd see the suspicious gazes of the gossipers around him.

He was so nervous that he could not conduct his duties as a physician; in fact, he hadn't been able to sleep and eat properly. He lived each day like an ox waiting to be dragged to the slaughterhouse.

A few weeks ago, the news he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Li Gen looked at the Divine Physician with a resentful gaze, and then he smiled brightly at Zhou Xuchuan, who was standing next to the Divine Physician.

"Oh my, Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan!" Li Gen exclaimed, walking over to Zhou Xuchuan, who now looked like a son—no, a grandson in his eyes. He almost knelt down as he grabbed the latter's hand.

"As expected, you are indeed the Hero of the Righteous Faction! You saved someone—no, you saved the entire Benevolence Clinic! Thank you so much!

Ofufu!

"

Is he suffering because he picked the wrong teacher?

Zhou Xuchuan thought. He truly found Li Gen to be quite pitiful.