Stranger Danger

Although it was just a wisp of a Sage’s divine thought, defeating it was still beyond his current capabilities.

After all, a Sage was someone who had transcended mortality. How could he, a mortal, possibly hope to stand against it?

Therefore, he had no choice but to find another way.

He had had to rack his brain long and hard to think of a solution. It wasn’t until he read about the Rebellious Spirit in an ancient book that he finally had a clear idea on what he should do.

The plan was simple. Keep the Chief Libationist busy with the Rebellious Spirit and kill Chu Wangsun in the meantime.

The Chief Libationist’s divine thought was attached to Chu Wangsun. Once his host was dead, he would disappear after a short time, meaning that he did not have to worry about the vengeance of a Sage for too long.

The plan sounded good, but there were obstacles he had to overcome to put it mildly. For one, a Rebellious Spirit was extremely rare. Tracking one down and obtaining it was no easy feat either. Even with the Annon Sutra to guide him, it still cost him a lot of time and energy to finally acquire one.

Judging from the results though, it was well worth the investment.

“You can rest in peace now, Chu Wangsun!”

Ye Qing cracked a grin at Chu Wangsun after he confirmed that the Chief Libationist was definitely tied up by the Rebellious Spirit. Then, he wasted no time in throwing a punch.

Although the Rebellious Spirit was extremely dangerous to scholars, the Chief Libationist was an exception.

The Chief Libationist was a Confucian Sage whose wealth of knowledge was only rivaled by his martial cultivation. Not even the Rebellious Spirit would be able to tie it up for long. That was why he needed to kill Chu Wangsun as fast as possible.

Seeing Ye Qing’s approach, Chu Wangsun finally could not maintain his arrogance and calm any longer. Terror riddled his face as he shouted, “You can’t kill me, Ye Qing! If you kill me, you will die as well!”

Ye Qing was unmoved, so Chu Wangsun continued to threaten him, “If you kill me, Chu will hunt you to the ends of the earth! Teacher won’

Chu Wangsun’s voice slowed to a crawl before he could finish. It was because a man had appeared in front of him, and an arm had punched through his chest.

His body began falling apart bit by bit like porcelain.

“I don’t know if I will live, but today is definitely the day you die.”

Ye Qing stared straight into Chu Wangsun’s eyes and said seriously, “Goodbye. I won’t be seeing you off.”

With that, Chu Wangsun’s body crumbled into ash.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The instant Chu Wangsun crumbled into ash, a hand reached out and gathered it all into its palm. A single wisp was flashing amidst the ash.

“Sigh. Thank you for showing mercy and granting my unworthy disciple a shot at reincarnation, young friend.”

The Chief Libationist said with a hint of sorrow as he looked at the spiritual light in his palm.

“You flatter me, mister. You did not go all out against this junior even though you could have, so it is only natural for me to repay the favor,” said Ye Qing with a salute. “Chu Wangsun is your favorite disciple. Although I bear a grudge against him, it is only in this lifetime. Since he is dead, my vengeance is fulfilled, and his debt to me is cleared. Be it to repay your favor or ease my heart, I see no reason to annihilate him.” �

“Also, this junior is the murderer of your favorite disciple. That you do not resent me for his death is already a boon unto this junior, so how could I possibly accept your thanks?”

He could have annihilated Chu Wangsun utterly just now, but he did not. Instead, he allowed a wisp of true spirit to live and enter the cycle of reincarnation.

The reason he did this was very simple: to placate the Chief Libationist and curry favor with him.

For one, the Chief Libationist did not abuse his sagely powers and try to kill him despite possessing the ability to do so. Instead, he chose to lower himself and negotiate terms with a nobody. In terms of character and virtue, he was a respectable man at the very least.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Two, Chu Wangsun was the Chief Libationist’s disciple, and he was his murderer. Although the Chief Libationist promised that he would not attack him if he managed to overcome all obstacles and kill Chu Wangsun—and in this case, he did not think that the Chief Libationist would break his oath—that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be unhappy about it. Considering the authority and influence the Chief Libationist wielded, he had a hundred ways to kill him without dirtying his own hands.

Therefore, leaving a wisp of Chu Wangsun’s true spirit alive wasn’t just because he wanted to do the Chief Libationist a favor, but also to save his own life. No reason to burn his bridges now, right?

Man plans, gods laugh. In the end, he could only do his best and pray for the same.

“Calamities brought by the heavens may yet be averted, but ones that are brought forth by one’s own actions? What could one do but suffer the consequences? It was both his sin and his fate.”

The Chief Libationist sighed. “To be honest, it was my fault. I knew that he was treading down the wrong path from a long time ago, but I failed to discipline him while I still could. Yesterday’s cause is today’s consequences. Even if he didn’t die in your hands today, he would have perished in someone else’s hands in the future.”

“Looking at this from another perspective, you at least kept a wisp of his true spirit alive and gave him a chance to be reborn. If it was someone else, he might not even get that chance.”

Ye Qing saluted him and said, “Your mercy is unparalleled, and your broadmindedness knows no bounds, mister. This junior is infinitely impressed.”

The Chief Libationist saw right through him and grunted, “Hmph. save the flattery. As I promised, I won’t attack you now or in the future, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Thank you, mister. You are most magnanimous, mister.” Ye Qing sighed internally. Yay! I don’t need to lick this old man’s boots any longer!

“Don’t thank me yet.”

But the Chief Libationist continued, “Wangsun died because of his own actions, so I see no reason to punish you for it. As I’ve promised you, I won’t attack you directly or indirectly. However, I am not going to hide what you did today, nor will I help you against those who might think otherwise regarding Wangsun’s death.”

“Long story short, you have your work cut out for you, young friend.”

“But of course, mister. Once again, thank you for showing this junior the utmost benevolence you could.”

Ye Qing predicted this, of course. In fact, he knew what would happen from the moment he rejected the Chief Libationist’s proposal. As soon as news of his deeds had spread, the friends and families of Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun would chase him to the ends of the earth. In fact, he would soon face the full might of Chu’s power. Still, he didn’t care.

That the Chief Libationist declared that he would not be targeting him was already a pleasant surprise. He wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Alright, I’ll be leaving now, young friend. If fate deems it necessary, then we shall meet again in the future.”

The Chief Libationist waved his sleeve, and Su Bancheng in the distance was swept into the sky. He was gone in the blink of an eye.

The Chief Libationist was also gone. All he left behind was a message.

“Oh right, I’ll be taking this boy with me.”

“Unlike me, that old mule isn’t nearly as amiable. He’s fiercely protective, you see. If you kill this boy, the old mule will personally chase you to the ends of the earth, the face of a Sage be damned.”

“This is for your own good. No need to thank me.”

Ye Qing shrugged and responded, “See you in the future, mister.”

Ye Qing was neither surprised that the Chief Libationist would take Su Bancheng with him, nor worried about letting Su Bancheng go.

The biggest reason the Chief Libationist chose to whisk Su Bancheng away was because he was afraid that Ye Qing would silence him, of course. However, the moment the Chief Libationist appeared, Ye Qing knew that there was no way he could keep today’s matter under wraps. As a result, there was no longer any point in killing Su Bancheng.

That was why he didn’t mind this. Or rather, he was mentally prepared for this to happen.

In fact, he never once expected perfection from the moment he plotted to kill Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun. In this strange world where anything was possible, he did not dare indulge in optimism for a second and think he could get away with their murders forever. From the start, he had plotted the assassinations believing that the ultimate consequence—becoming a public enemy of Chu—would befall him. It was just a matter of when.

All things considered, this was an excellent outcome.