Unexpected Alliances and Perilous Journeys

Qin Jiu had always spoken to her with utmost politeness. His sudden outburst of anger startled Luo Yingkong.

“I never imagined Brother Qin to be this kind of person. It seems I misjudged him again,” Luo Yingkong sighed softly.

Since matters had escalated to this point, she knew she would have to pay the price for her misjudgment.

Pure self-interest and petty greed were utterly useless here. Rational thought alone wasn’t enough; one also needed to consider emotional intelligence and logic.

“What’s wrong with me? After all the time I’ve spent on you, all the elixirs and spirit stones I’ve wasted, you think you can just walk away?”

“Hmph hmph~ It doesn’t matter what you think of me now. You’ll just stay here forever and be my plaything!”

Qin Jiu’s eyes were filled with avarice and a lecherous gaze. He reached out to undo Luo Yingkong’s clothes.

She, however, was not concerned. This body, this mere skin, was not her own, and she felt a pang of apology to the body’s original soul.

“Has Brother Qin forgotten that my body contains potent toxins? If you were to proceed with such an act, you would surely die from poisoning.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiu indeed paused his actions. Yet, his hesitation was brief. “Don’t try to fool me! You can only maintain such composure for now.”

“Alas…” Luo Yingkong sighed softly and closed her eyes.

Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the door. Qin Jiu, without turning his head, angrily shouted, “Didn’t I forbid you all from entering?! Get out, or I’ll have you dragged away and beheaded!”

“Oh? Behead me?” A young man’s voice drifted in. The prince turned his head, his eyes narrowing.

“Who are you?!”

A handsome young man, clad in a black robe, strode in. His pupils, like a viper’s, reflected a crimson glow.

“Guards! Didn’t you see someone barge in?! What good are you to me!” Qin Jiu roared.

But then, an eerie silence descended. There was no movement at all from outside the room.

The young man broke the stillness. “I killed two of your subordinates, and the rest all fled. It seems you’re a rather useless prince.”

Qin Jiu’s eyes darted about as he cautiously inquired, “Surely, we are strangers, are we not? Why trespass into my imperial residence?”

“Indeed, we are strangers. I have always been able to see you, though you could never see me. Initially, you appeared to be a righteous gentleman, but I never expected you to be a beast in human clothing. Humans are truly unfathomable.”

The young man slowly approached. Qin Jiu pulled a long sword from beneath his mattress and threatened, “What do you want? Trespassing in an imperial residence is a capital offense!”

“Hmph!” The young man scoffed, and an immense aura of a cultivator erupted from him. Qin Jiu’s head throbbed excruciatingly from the cold snort, and then his eyes rolled back as he collapsed into unconsciousness.

The young man paid him no mind, walking directly to Luo Yingkong instead. He chuckled, “How could you be subdued by a mere mortal? How can you still be my master?”

“You are… Jiaofeng?” Sensing a faint mental connection, Luo Yingkong asked, bewildered. Jiaofeng had been in a deep slumber for some time, and now his appearance had drastically changed.

“I owe much to that Spirit Cultivation Pill you gave me. I broke through my bottleneck in just six months, and now I am at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Your strength is too weak; you’re still not quite qualified to be my master.”

“Out of our past connection, I’ll save you this once. Our debt is settled, and from now on, you and I have no further ties.”

Jiaofeng retrieved her Natal Soul Tablet from his storage bag, tossing the rest of her belongings back to her.

“I haven’t touched a single one of your items. Until we meet again, my master~”

He turned to leave, intending to make a dashing exit, but Luo Yingkong called out, stopping him.

“Wait.”

“What? You can’t make me stay. The difference in our cultivation is too vast. Remaining by your side would only slow my cultivation. After being repeatedly tricked three times, how could such a master inspire confidence…”

Jiaofeng’s words were cut short by Luo Yingkong. “No, you should at least help me neutralize the poison.”

“Uh…” He looked slightly embarrassed, then turned back to pick up the storage bag and rummage through it.

“You have so many elixirs. Which bottle is the antidote?” Jiaofeng searched for a moment before pulling out a wooden box.

“What is this?”

“A Face-Setting Pill. Useless,” Luo Yingkong glanced at it and said.

“It seems this fellow gave it to you. Why keep it?” Jiaofeng shoved the pill into Luo Yingkong’s mouth. She couldn’t even muster the strength to spit it out and had no choice but to swallow it.

“This poison is special. We shared a pot of wine earlier, so he must have the antidote on him,” Luo Yingkong explained.

****

“Hmm, makes sense!”

“There really is one!” Jiaofeng found a small white bottle on Qin Jiu’s person. Without verifying if it was indeed the antidote, he immediately forced it into Luo Yingkong’s mouth.

“Wait… mmmph…”

She was unable to articulate her bitterness. Even with their evolving intelligence, demonic beasts were still not as clever as humans. Thankfully, the medicine was the correct one; if she had ingested another poison at that moment, she would likely have perished.

Jiaofeng was true to his word, waiting until Luo Yingkong had mostly recovered before getting up to leave.

With some strength restored, she sat up cross-legged, regulating her breath and recuperating.

Since arriving in this world, she had faced three major perils, each time misjudging someone: first Zhang Yu, then Qian Yuling, and now Qin Jiu.

One could never be too cautious. The only person she could fully trust was herself. If there was a next time, she might not be so fortunate.

In this world, devoid of modern communication, human hearts were even more treacherous than in her original world. It was impossible to discern who was good and who was evil, and even if one did, people would change with time.

‘It seems I must be more careful from now on,’ she thought. The path of cultivation was long, and a single mishap could ruin everything. For a minor figure like her, even mortals could scheme against her, let alone cultivators. Only by staying alive could she hope to seek the Dao.

Slightly recovered, Luo Yingkong glanced at the unconscious Qin Jiu, sighing deeply. In the end, she did not move to kill him.

Stepping out of the room, the sunlight was blinding. It was already noon. The imperial residence was deserted, with only two bodies lying on the ground.

She hurried back to the spirit insect chamber to retrieve her butterflies, placing them in an empty spirit beast pouch. Then, she collected her thousand spirit stones, checked her personal belongings, and left the imperial residence.

Taking out a map of Wu Kingdom, she located Autumn Leaf Valley. The journey was quite long; even at full speed, it would take her a week. She could barely make it in time.

****

After traveling for several days, she arrived in a small town in Wu Kingdom and decided to find an inn to rest.

Because the gathering was about to begin, many cultivators had also arrived in this town. Luo Yingkong had never seen so many cultivators before, ranging from Qi Refinement Layer 1 to late Foundation Establishment.

As she entered, she saw several people seated in the inn. Seven or eight cultivators eyed her, one of whom was an old man at the Foundation Establishment stage, while the others were at the Qi Refinement stage.

“One room, I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.”

The shopkeeper responded, taking out a room key. “Miss, please go to the second floor. Would you like some food? I’ll have someone bring it to you.”

“No need.”

As she took the key, a young cultivator not far away approached with a smile.

“Young lady, you must also be heading to the Autumn Leaf Valley gathering, correct? There’s still a short distance to go, and you’ll encounter many cultivators. It’s inevitable to meet those with ill intentions. Why don’t we travel together? We can look out for each other and it will be safer.”

“I apologize, but I’ve been preoccupied with matters recently and won’t be traveling with anyone,” Luo Yingkong said, then proceeded upstairs.

“That’s truly a pity. A lone cultivator is very dangerous, especially for us Qi Refinement cultivators. If you change your mind, young lady, you can always find me…”

****

Luo Yingkong returned to her room, set up a simple defensive array, and promptly fell asleep.