"With only the cultivation of the third heaven of Pass-Breaching, he beat the three of us Ascension-stage Qi Refiners into this state," Beichenzi croaked hoarsely, coughing up blood continuously. "If he were to recover his peak condition..."
Both the woman in red and the sorrowful old man shuddered. Never mind his peak—even this time, the three of them joining hands had nearly been blasted into nothingness!
Had they not brought back the demon-quelling runes, and had Beichenzi not promptly released his yellow robe to guide them, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Suddenly, the bronze bell flew toward them, crashing into the three without a word. Zhu Chanchan was hidden behind it; she punched the bell, unleashing a deafening chime!
Beichenzi and his companions had been gravely wounded by Xu Ying, but the bronze bell's power was utterly spent, and it was in no better shape. Gathering every shred of their remaining strength to resist, the three instantly knocked the bronze bell flying.
At that exact moment, Zhu Chanchan leapt out from behind the bell. Thump, thump, thump! She struck each of the three with a fist, immediately causing magic treasures all over them to rattle violently. Pale with fright, the three hastily mobilized their dwindling magic power to suppress the disturbance within their treasures.
At the same time, Yuan Qi darted out. Sweeping up Xu Ying without hesitation, he swirled with sword qi and soared into the sky, attempting to flee with him!
"Well done, Seventh Master!" the bronze bell shouted from afar.
Riding the sword qi, Yuan Qi flew at breakneck speed, tearing through the air.
The three managed to suppress the unrest in their treasures. The sorrowful old man cast out the yellow robe, and Beichenzi gathered his remaining yuan qi and blew out a breath. Flapping furiously, the yellow robe caught up with Yuan Qi in mere moments. Its sleeve swept downward, scooping up the twenty-plus-zhang serpent and pulling him into the sleeve.
Yuan Qi surged his magic power and channeled the True Cultivation of the Ba Snake, expanding into a hundred-zhang serpent. Yet as he grew, the sleeve expanded as well, scooping him completely inside.
That yellow robe was also a magic treasure, seemingly draped over an invisible figure. The invisible figure shook its sleeve, and Yuan Qi's bones and sinews went limp. He involuntarily released Xu Ying and plummeted from the sleeve.
They were high above the ground; a fall from this height would surely reduce him to pulp. Fortunately, the bronze bell flew over, its mouth expanding, and managed to catch him, though the sheer weight dragged it continuously downward!
Zhu Chanchan attacked Beichenzi and the others with all her might, but the three refused to tangle with her. Stowing away the altar and shrine, they supported one another, stamped their feet to summon clouds, and flew away from the peak.
Holding Xu Ying in its sleeve pocket, the yellow robe flew back to them of its own accord.
The bronze bell stabilized its descent and flew back up to the mountain peak, but Beichenzi and his two companions were nowhere to be seen.
Yuan Qi felt his heart turn cold. He murmured, "Those three old bastards took Ah Ying away. The world is so vast—where are we supposed to find him?"
The bronze bell's heart sank as well. Xu Ying had been sealed by the three, which meant his memories as a snake catcher had evidently been sealed away again. Just as they had deduced, Xu Ying would be fed a new set of memories to begin a new life!
And now, with the world so immense, the realm of Shenzhou so expansive, and new territory constantly surfacing, if those three hid Xu Ying anywhere at random, it would be impossible to find him!
What was more, every so often, the three would reset Xu Ying's memories, take him to an entirely unfamiliar place, and give him a fresh start all over again!
"No need to worry."
Zhu Chanchan strode over, bristling with murderous aura. "I've already tampered with the stone axe Ah Ying carries. And those three rascals' magic treasures were branded by this auntie's three punches! Not a single one of them can escape my senses!"
The bronze bell and Yuan Qi felt a mix of admiration and dread. Yuan Qi asked cautiously, "Auntie, you've punched us before too... Could we also be..."
The bronze bell swayed up and down frantically, inspecting itself for imprints, fearful that it was no longer pure. Zhu Chanchan consoled it, "I wouldn't do that to my own people."
The bronze bell and Yuan Qi relaxed slightly.
Secretly, Zhu Chanchan felt annoyed with herself: *They almost caught on. Luckily, neither of them seems very bright. Still, branding friends really isn't right. I'll erase them when they aren't looking. Wait a second—they're my Dao protectors. What if they sneak off?*
Along the Qingshui River in Wuling Commandery by the Yuan River, there was a village named Matoupo. It had few inhabitants, merely thirty or forty households. Because it sat close to the Yuan River, fishing was their livelihood.
At the western end of the village lived a household. The master was named Xu Jin, and his wife was Lu Si. Though married for many years, the couple had never had children.
Seven years ago, while fishing on the river, Xu Jin cast his net and caught a child. When hauled onto the boat, the boy was still breathing.
The couple revived the child and asked his name. The boy was named Xu Ying. Farther upstream lay Xujiaping, which had been raided by bandits on horseback who burned the village to the ground. The boy had jumped into the water to escape, but being a poor swimmer, he was swept along by the river's waves until he washed up here.
Pitying him, the couple adopted Xu Ying. Since "Xu" and "Xu" sounded nearly the same, they did not change his surname.
Unwittingly, seven years slipped by. The child adopted by Xu Jin's family had grown into a strapping youth. He was wide-framed, tall and slender, though years of fishing alongside Xu Jin had left his skin somewhat tanned.
Over the past few months, the earth had undergone upheavals, and much new territory had emerged. Lofty mountains had appeared from who knew where, altering the river course and widening the Yuan River more than tenfold. The waters raged, and huge fish prowled the depths, overturning small boats to devour people.
For a time, the fishermen who relied on the water dared not launch their boats.
"It's bad luck brought by that Xu Ying!" an old man in the village proclaimed. "I remember that three months ago, our village had no one named Xu Ying at all! He only appeared recently, yet once he arrived in our village, all of you acted as if you'd known him for years! He can't be human—he's a monster bewitching people's minds!"
The villagers looked at the old man with strange expressions, but he kept chattering incessantly, shouting, "That monster altered your memories! Think about it—seven years ago, did Xu Jin really go out on his boat and net a child? No! This kid clearly showed up just two or three months ago!"
"Old Man Xu has lost his mind."
People shook their heads one after another. Someone consoled Xu Ying, telling him not to take it to heart: "Old Man Xu is getting on in years; his head is always playing tricks on him. Last time he even slandered me, claiming I peeked at the young widow bathing. As if that ever happened! Haha."
Xu Ying did not take it to heart either.
At dusk, Xu Ying saw an old man with a sorrowful countenance enter the village, speaking with Old Man Xu about who knew what. A moment later, an old man in white arrived, accompanied by a woman in red.
The three were very strange. They appeared battered, as if beaten by someone: one had a broken arm, one limped, and another seemed to suffer chest pain.
As the three spoke with Old Man Xu, they began pointing fingers at him, light gleaming from their fingertips. Xu Ying watched with suspicion, grabbed a stone axe by his doorway, and strode over, shouting from afar, "What are you doing? Don't panic, Grandpa, Xiao Ying is here!"
The three had been poking and pointing, but upon seeing him approach, they quickly turned and left, vanishing without a trace in no time.
Carrying the axe, Xu Ying walked up to him. Startled by the sight, Old Man Xu exclaimed, "Ah Ying, are you trying to commit murder?"
Xu Ying was surprised. Old Man Xu had never spoken gently to him, yet today, for some reason, his temperament had completely changed, treating him so kindly.
Puzzled, the youth mumbled a few perfunctory words and walked away.
Outside Matoupo Village, Beichenzi said, "That was close. When we altered the memories of the villagers in the surrounding towns last time, I didn't expect one would slip through the net. Fortunately, we caught it in time before any trouble arose."
Standing on high ground and gazing at Xu Ying from afar, the three watched as he comfortably accepted his new identity, overturning his wooden boat to clean the hull. Only then did they heave a sigh of relief.
"This seal is foolproof! Now we can rest easy!"
The three looked at one another and laughed aloud. The woman in red chuckled, "Let's go! Now we can heal our wounds in peace!"
Xu Ying was very familiar with fishing. After scrubbing the boat clean and setting it to dry, he went to dry the nets. Just then, Xu Jin returned from worshiping the gods, limping slightly. When Xu Ying asked, Xu Jin said, "I got kicked by Lord River Earl at the Heshen Temple."
Xu Ying flared up in anger. "He dared kick my father?!" With that, he snatched the stone axe resting in the corner of the wall, preparing to go risk his life against the god.
Xu Jin frantically held him back, saying, "Have you lost your mind? That's the lord god worshiped by our Majiapo! He could crush you to death with a single finger! Put the axe down!"
He sighed and continued, "These days, we thought that with the new territory emerging, the officials wouldn't be able to come collect taxes. Who knew Lord River Earl would become even worse? Just now, Lord River Earl demanded we build an additional temple for him and increase the offerings. When we said we had no money and couldn't even catch fish, he kicked me."
Xu Ying said, "To me, that Lord River Earl is nothing more than a clay statue with no real ability. Why fear him? Ever since the new territory appeared, he's been bullied daily by the big monsters in the water. After getting beaten a few times, he dared not set foot in the water again. This River Earl bullies women, taking so many wives the temple can't even hold them all. Now he wants a new temple built—most likely so he can marry even more wives! If he takes all the women, won't your son be forced to remain a bachelor? If you ask me, I should march over with this axe and chop him to pieces, guaranteed!"
Xu Jin glared at him and scolded, "Lawless rascal! You, wanting a wife? Even selling your father wouldn't raise enough for the bride-price! Have you finished washing the boat? If you're done, get inside and go to sleep—we head out tomorrow morning!"
"Old man, we haven't even eaten dinner, what the blazes should I sleep for? What's for dinner?"
"How many days has it been since we caught fish? Feast on the northwest wind!"
Even so, Xu Jin took down a dried fish from the wall, patted off the dust, and brought it to Madam Lu to cook.
The next day, father and son had some porridge. Madam Lu packed up the leftovers from the previous night for the two of them and brought out several roots from some unknown plants. "Yesterday, I went into the mountains with a few aunties to dig up tree roots," she said. "They tasted very sweet when gnawed on. I didn't dare give them to you last night, but I ate some and haven't dropped dead yet, so I'm giving you some to stave off hunger on the road."
Xu Ying took the roots and took a bite. They were indeed sweet, if a bit fibrous. Xu Jin scolded, "You wretched brat, that's our rations for the entire day—don't eat it all!"
Xu Ying replied, "I'm hungry."
"Don't eat it anyway. Save it for when we return this evening. Otherwise, you won't have the strength to punt the boat, and if you can't make it back, you'll end up feeding the big fish."
Xu Ying put the roots into the cabin. Xu Jin poled with the bamboo staff, and the small boat entered the turbulent Yuan River. Once they reached the middle of the river, a giant fish four or five times larger than their boat swam beneath them, nearly capsizing it.
Father and son hurriedly steadied the boat and watched the giant fish swim away into the distance.
The sun rose over the river, and several snowy-white giant birds let out high-pitched cries as they flew overhead, their wings casting shadows like clouds.
This was a bend in the river where the current was too swift to catch fish. Father and son steered downstream toward a tributary of the Yuan River.
It lay several tens of li downstream, where the water was shallower and the current gentler, offering fish and shrimp. Xu Ying stood at the bow, adjusting the boat's direction while practicing his breathing and qi-guiding.
He practiced an art called the Taiyi Guiding Technique. Strange to say, this technique seemed etched into his mind, though he had no idea where he had learned it.
"Practicing day in and day out—what bloody use is it?" Xu Jin scoffed with utter disdain.
Dividing his attention three ways, Xu Ying replied, "I think it's very useful. Besides, we've got nothing better to do, so I might as well practice casually. Father, do you want to learn? I can teach you."
"Can it help me catch fish or swim?" Xu Jin laughed. "What would I learn it for?"
Xu Ying could only let him be and focused on his cultivation. Strange to say, today's qi refining felt different from yesterday's: above his head, sunlight converged into streams, speckles of radiant currents trickling continuously into his body.
The radiant streams in the air gradually formed a vortex, within which specks of light swirled and poured into his body.
Xu Ying marveled in wonder. By the time they reached the lower reaches, the radiant vortex above his head had grown massive, spanning four to five zhang across.
*If I hadn't netted him seven years ago, I'd really think he was a monster,* Xu Jin thought at the sight.
They steered downriver and spotted boats smashed to splinters, with several huge fish feeding on corpses beneath the wreckage.
Accustomed to such sights, Xu Ying and Xu Jin steered the boat into the tributary, following the waterway into a forested mountain. Xu Jin cast his net to fish, but strangely enough, every cast yielded only palm-sized small fish, failing to catch any big ones.
Tired, Xu Jin let Xu Ying cast the net. When Xu Ying threw it, there was a sudden, violent tug that nearly overturned the boat. A giant fish had been caught in the net, dragging it and bolting madly along the channel!
Xu Ying gripped the net tightly, unwilling to let go, while Xu Jin held down the stern to keep the boat from capsizing.
The boat shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. Terror seized Xu Jin, and he yelled, "Ah Ying, let go! Don't get us fed to the fish!"
Turning a deaf ear, Xu Ying watched as the giant fish dragged their boat for over ten li into the mountains. On both banks, peach blossoms bloomed in abundance, the fragrant grass was fresh and lush, and fallen petals drifted through the air.
Neither father nor son had the leisure to admire the scenery, for the giant fish was pulling the boat headlong toward a sheer cliff!
Xu Jin shrieked. Just as it seemed they would be smashed to pieces, a fissure appeared in the rock wall, and the giant fish dragged the boat right into it!
Bang!
The giant fish became wedged tightly in the fissure, unable to budge. Xu Ying hastily unhooked the stone axe from his waist and chopped into the fish's head with a single blow.
An eerie sight unfolded: all the qi and blood in the giant fish suddenly surged into the stone axe. The stone axe shone with a bloody glow, illuminating the fissure!
Xu Jin jumped in fright and told Xu Ying to throw the stone axe away.
Reluctant to part with it, Xu Ying tucked it back into his waistband. Father and son hauled the giant fish out and lashed it to the side of the boat. Xu Ying peered deeper into the fissure and saw light shining from within.
Thinking there might be treasure, father and son followed the fissure inward. Xu Jin remarked, "If we can find some treasure and sell it off, I can save up enough to get you a wife!"
At first, the fissure was extremely narrow, just wide enough for a person. After walking a hundred paces or so, the view suddenly opened up before them.
Meanwhile, back at Matoupo Village, the river water suddenly swelled. Schools of giant fish broke the surface with violent splashes, some leaping more than a dozen zhang into the air, a terrifying spectacle.
On the riverbank, the villagers stood paralyzed with fear, not daring to move. As they stared outward, a colossal serpent swam into view across the river.
From the back of the giant serpent's head grew two horns, one black and one white, each three to four zhang long. Its scales shimmered with rainbow light, splendid and radiant. Resembling an ancient god, the serpent moved in utter silence, yet exuded a natural, overwhelming majesty. Its slow, elegant swimming terrified the river's fish monsters into jumping continuously.
Hovering above the serpent's head was a bell, breathing in and out against the sunlight, expanding and shrinking.
Perched atop the bell loop sat a girl in her teens, clad in loose robes with wide sleeves. She was remarkably pretty, with a jade-like nose, star-bright eyes, and snow-white skin tinged with a youthful flush of pink.
The girl said, "I sensed the axe was nearby, but for some reason, it suddenly vanished."
The great serpent spoke human tongue, its voice rumbling like thunder across the water: "Ancestor Chanchan, is your sensation really reliable? We've been searching for months and still haven't found him!"
Catching sight of houses along the riverbank, the serpent said, "I'll go ask by the shore."
The bronze bell cautioned, "Seventh Master, be gentle. Don't frighten anyone."
"I know what I'm doing."
The great serpent slithered over to the shore. The moment he opened his mouth, sand flew and stones scattered, yet he spoke with utmost politeness: "Stop running, stop screaming! I really am not a man-eating monster—whoa! You dare throw black dog blood at me?!"
Yuan Qi cleared his throat and inquired, "Have you seen a youth named Xu Ying? Tall and thin, with somewhat dark skin."
Chapter 113