The Price of a Favor and a Physical Memory Eradication

‘Logically speaking, the protagonist should have an all-knowing, all-powerful grandfather who likes to hide in a ring.’

‘That old man…could he be in the underground cave immortal residence?’

‘Forget it. I’ll just take the protagonist back to the cliff later. If there really is an old master, he’d probably want to kill me after seeing me and realizing I’d emptied his immortal’s abode.’

As Bai Qiuyuan continued to let his thoughts wander, Yang Xueqing, after spending several hours, finally completed her healing.

Rising, Yang Xueqing bowed in salute to Bai Qiuyuan.

“Thank you for the elixir, Senior.”

The elixir Bai Qiuyuan had given her proved even more potent than Yang Xueqing had imagined.

Elixirs were graded from first to ninth, lowest to highest; the one she’d just taken, according to her system’s evaluation, was at least a fifth-grade elixir, making it invaluable!

Bai Qiuyuan looked at Yang Xueqing and chuckled.

“There’s no need to be so polite.”

“I didn’t give you the elixir for nothing. In exchange, I require a favor from you.”

Upon hearing this, a wave of relief washed over Yang Xueqing’s heart, for she knew that unsolicited help was rare in this world. If Bai Qiuyuan had ulterior motives, she found it easier to accept.

Thus, Yang Xueqing continued.

“Please elaborate, Senior.”

“As long as it is within this junior’s capabilities, I will certainly agree.”

Bai Qiuyuan chuckled at her reply.

“I… require… you…”

As he spoke, the air in the mountain depths seemed to solidify.

Yang Xueqing: “???”

Just as Yang Xueqing gazed up at Bai Qiuyuan with a bewildered expression, Bai Qiuyuan slowly drew out the Ink Severing Sword, a smile still playing on his lips.

“…to take me with you to your next destination.”

“As for when I will leave your side, it could be as short as a month or two, or as long as one or two years.”

Yang Xueqing: “…”

‘Senior, is it truly appropriate to speak with such a dramatic pause??’

‘You nearly scared me to death!’

For cultivators, a year was not considered a long time.

After a moment of contemplation, Yang Xueqing spoke.

“Senior, I am heading to the Sword Pavilion to participate in the disciple recruitment competition. Would Senior care to accompany me?”

Bai Qiuyuan chuckled.

“Agreed.”

“Here are the candied hawthorns I promised you earlier. Consider this payment for your troubles, for guiding the way.”

With that, Bai Qiuyuan tossed a pale blue spatial ring to Yang Xueqing.

Yang Xueqing caught the ring, then froze in place.

“Senior…”

Just as Yang Xueqing was about to take out a candied hawthorn and return the spatial ring to Bai Qiuyuan, he chuckled.

“The ring is also a gift to you. I have plenty more, anyway.”

Bai Qiuyuan said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xueqing instantly drew a sharp breath.

‘He’s just giving it to me? There isn’t some scheme, is there??’

‘This is a spatial ring!’

‘And he has plenty more? Senior, is your family in the business of wholesale spatial rings?’

What Yang Xueqing didn’t know was that Bai Qiuyuan, having just plundered an immortal’s abode, now possessed enough resources to establish an entirely new sect!

After a long silence, Yang Xueqing, realizing Bai Qiuyuan wouldn’t take the ring back, performed the blood-binding ritual and then examined the space within the ring.

The spatial ring’s interior was roughly the size of two basketball courts, based on Yang Xueqing’s memories from her previous life.

Inside the ring, dozens of skewers of candied hawthorn (TL Note: A traditional Chinese snack consisting of hawthorn berries coated in hardened sugar syrup on a skewer) were neatly arranged.

Aside from them, the ring contained nothing else.

Yang Xueqing stared at the pile of candied hawthorns in the ring, lost in thought.

‘How much does Senior love candied hawthorn? Why does he carry so many around??’

Yang Xueqing rubbed her stomach, feeling a pang of hunger. She picked up a skewer of candied hawthorn, unwrapped it, and took a bite.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve had a snack…’

For some inexplicable reason, Yang Xueqing felt her tears suddenly stream down, unchecked.

This wasn’t Yang Xueqing’s own emotion, but rather a lingering obsession from the original Yang Xueqing of this cultivation world, a trace remaining deep within her soul.

At the moment she tasted the candied hawthorn, this obsession was stirred, briefly influencing her body.

But soon, that last trace of obsession completely vanished.

It was due to the disappearance of that lingering obsession that Yang Xueqing fully regained control of her body.

Her cultivation was now only half a step away from the next stage.

Yang Xueqing: “…”

‘A coincidence?’

‘I never imagined that the last lingering obsession of this world’s Yang Xueqing was merely to eat candied hawthorn one more time…’

‘Rest assured, I will reclaim every injustice this world brought upon you!’

With this thought, Yang Xueqing used her True Qi to dispel the tears from her eyes.

Bai Qiuyuan, not noticing Yang Xueqing’s tears, picked up his luminous pearl and chuckled.

“Since you’re also at the Foundation Establishment cultivation stage, have you learned sword-riding?”

“…No.”

No sooner had Yang Xueqing spoken than she felt a spell descend upon her.

An incredibly pure True Qi then enveloped her entire body.

Yang Xueqing: “?”

Immediately afterward, Yang Xueqing was pulled by the True Qi, floating into the air!

Bai Qiuyuan, holding the Ink Severing Sword and having put away his luminous pearl, pointed the sword directly upwards and chuckled.

“Then let’s go up together.”

“Close your mouth, lest you bite your tongue. And… you’d best close your eyes too.”

Yang Xueqing: “?”

“Aaaaaahhhhh!!!!”

“Hand over everything you possess!”

“I can at least leave you an intact corpse!”

A burly man with a scarred face, clad in sect attire, shouted at a black-clad man on the edge of the cliff, who was barely standing, propped up by his sword.

“Never!”

The black-clad man spat out a mouthful of stale blood towards him, then gritted his teeth and glared at the scarred man.

“Then die!”

With that, the scarred man raised his sword, intending to strike the black-clad man.

Just then, two figures suddenly shot out from the cliff behind the black-clad man, soaring straight into the sky!

Scarred man: “?!”

Black-clad man: “?!”

Then, both men watched as a small child wearing a white rabbit mask fell from the sky.

The two, who had been locked in combat, froze in place, utterly baffled by the sudden turn of events.

Soon, Yang Xueqing dropped from the sky and was caught by Bai Qiuyuan in a princess carry.

After setting Yang Xueqing down, Bai Qiuyuan stood silently between the scarred man and the black-clad man, unmoving and saying nothing.

Both the black-clad man and the scarred man felt a powerful, invisible pressure envelop them!

‘What powerful aura!’

‘A true master!’

At that moment, Bai Qiuyuan finally moved, gripping the Ink Severing Sword with both hands.

Seeing this, both men immediately eyed Bai Qiuyuan with wariness, thinking simultaneously:

‘He’s about to make a move!’

“Ugh…”

Just as they thought this, Bai Qiuyuan abruptly plunged the Ink Severing Sword into the ground, bracing himself, then bent over and began to retch.

However, everything Bai Qiuyuan had eaten had already been refined into True Qi and completely digested, so he had nothing to throw up, only dry heaving on the spot.

Feeling a little better, Bai Qiuyuan straightened up and took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

‘The side effects of using time-stop haven’t worn off yet. Suddenly sword-riding so fast feels just like airsickness…’

‘If I hadn’t digested everything, I would’ve actually thrown up…’

‘Hm? Where am I?’

Bai Qiuyuan put away his handkerchief, looking around with a puzzled expression. It was only then that he realized he seemed to have stumbled into some troublesome situation.

Seeing the two men, Bai Qiuyuan paused for two seconds before speaking.

“How about we just leave, and you two can continue?”

Scarred man: “…”

Black-clad man: “…”

Yang Xueqing: “…”

Yang Xueqing instantly felt that this person before her could absolutely not be someone who would scheme behind others’ backs.

After all, how could a proper villain get airsick from sword-riding???

Perhaps it was the suggestive power of the rabbit mask on Bai Qiuyuan’s face, but at this moment, he looked utterly harmless.

The scarred man immediately shouted.

“Who are you people?”

Bai Qiuyuan replied earnestly.

“Passersby.”

Scarred man: “…”

“No matter who you are.”

“Since you’ve seen us! Then die together!”

Bai Qiuyuan: “…”

Yang Xueqing knew Bai Qiuyuan could handle himself, so she didn’t intend to intervene immediately.

Instead, she quietly observed from the side, watching how Bai Qiuyuan would react.

Bai Qiuyuan calmly spoke.

“Brother, since you’re unwilling to pretend you haven’t seen us.”

“Then I shall use my unique spell, specially designed to erase memories, on you!”

Scarred man: “!”

Black-clad man: “!”

Yang Xueqing: “!”

Having never heard of a spell that could erase memories, all three were startled.

The scarred man, who had been about to make a move, stopped once more, looking at Bai Qiuyuan with extreme caution.

Bai Qiuyuan reached into his spatial ring.

He then pulled out a giant spiked club, taller than himself, and said.

“Just a gentle tap on the back of your head with this, and you’ll forget all about us! (Laughs)”

“My spiked club is a bit large, so you might feel a little pain. Just bear with it.”

With that, Bai Qiuyuan ran directly in front of the scarred man, gripped the spiked club with both hands, swung it, and brought it crashing down directly onto the scarred man’s head!

Scarred man: “What the hell!!!”

“Don’t come any closer!!!”

Black-clad man: “What the hell!!!”

Yang Xueqing: “???”

Bang!!!

Accompanied by a tremendous thud, the black-clad man and Yang Xueqing instantly understood how that so-called memory-erasing spell worked.

The scarred man, meanwhile, foamed at the mouth in despair and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

‘Bai-style Memory Eradication Technique (Physical)!’