As Expected of Me

After delivering Xia Jin to the pavilion, Xu Jinghuai handed her two fish he’d casually plucked from Green Water Pond.

He left her to satisfy her hunger by her own hand, using the excuse that he had “urgent matters” to attend to away from the pavilion for a while.

Deep beneath the surface of Youyun Peak, in a hidden cavern.

An apricot-yellow flag was planted at an angle. Despite the lack of wind underground, the flag fluttered steadily, emitting a faint yellow radiance.

Suddenly, a hazy phantom manifested beside the flag. Before long, the phantom solidified completely. Looking at its features, it was none other than Xu Jinghuai.

The first thing Xu Jinghuai did upon arrival was check the flag for any signs of tampering.

Finding everything as it should be, he breathed a sigh of relief. He muttered a few incantations, forming a seal with one hand while aiming the palm of his other toward an empty space.

Shoom—

A streak of light darted from his palm and landed on the ground, transforming into a figure identical to himself.

This was, indeed, Xu Jinghuai’s Out-of-Body Incarnation.

Since the incarnation was a part of himself, their thoughts remained interconnected as long as they were in close proximity. Whatever the main body thought, the “Xu Jinghuai” clone knew instantly.

Xu Jinghuai didn’t waste words. He stepped forward, patted his clone on the shoulder, and said solemnly, “I need you to stay by the Peak Protection Array for the next few days. No matter what commotion occurs within the Wuling Immortal Sect, activate the array immediately.”

The clone “Xu Jinghuai” frowned. “Why aren’t you staying here yourself this time? Why let me stay out here to handle things on the fly?”

This decision didn’t fit his usual personality. Normally, the moment the main body caught a whiff of trouble in the outside world, he would bolt to the ancestral secret chamber beneath Youyun Peak and hide, leaving the clone to deal with any fallout.

While the first half of the plan remained the same, the second half had changed, leaving the clone bewildered.

‘He dares to leave his main body out in the open?’ ‘A man this obsessed with his own life actually made such a choice?’ ‘Is the sun rising from the west?’

The real Xu Jinghuai shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking. I’m not that stupid.”

With a wave of his hand, he pulled three talismans from his spatial ring and shoved them into the clone’s hand.

“Mother-Son Transposition Talismans?”

The clone recognized the yellow parchment immediately. Those were top-tier talismans capable of instantly swapping the positions of two people holding the corresponding “Son” and “Mother” tags.

Xu Jinghuai nodded. “Exactly. The moment I deem a situation uncontrollable, I will activate my talisman to swap us. The three I gave you are all ‘Mother’ talismans. One for the initial transport, one as a backup in case the first fails, and the last is a spare—for the ‘just in case’ of the ‘just in case’.”

The clone took the talismans and couldn’t help but snark, “Seriously, where do you get so many of these?”

Xu Jinghuai crossed his arms, looking matter-of-fact. “Did you forget? Three hundred years ago, the Peak Master of Zhenfu Peak visited us. He stuffed a mountain of talismans into your hands, and you dumped them all on me. I was bored, so I spent my free time improving a few as a hobby. What’s so strange about that?”

The clone gave his main body a thumbs-up. “Impressive. As expected of me.”

Xu Jinghuai waved him off. “Enough. Now that the arrangements are clear, I’m heading back.”

With the instructions delivered, Xu Jinghuai scanned the cave one last time. In a single thought, his figure vanished, reappearing instantly inside his small hut.

The trip hadn’t taken long; smoke was only just beginning to rise from the chimney of the neighboring pavilion. He felt like he could probably drop by for a meal in a bit.

Setting his mind at ease for the moment, Xu Jinghuai took out three “Son” talismans and pasted them to the inner lining of his robes for immediate access. Only after patting his clothes to feel the hidden charms did he finally feel a sliver of security.

But it wasn’t enough.

His gaze shifted to the wall of the hut, where a silver spear and a peachwood sword were mounted. The two cold weapons hung there quietly; in the dim room, their presence was minimal.

The peachwood sword, in particular, looked so plain and unadorned that it seemed to have zero lethality, resembling a mere decorative trinket. But Xu Jinghuai knew better—both of these weapons were legendary.

They possessed the power of Immortal Artifacts!

With a beckoning motion, both flew into his hands. The peachwood sword, adorned with an exquisite red tassel, shrank in his palm until it was only the size of a thumb, and he tucked it into his waist.

He gripped the silver spear. Just by holding it, power surged into his hand without him doing a thing. The shaft began to tremble, seemingly vibrating with excitement for a potential upcoming battle. After all, she had been hanging on that wall for a long, long time without any exercise!

The moment her excitement peaked, Xu Jinghuai rapped her on the “head” with a sharp knuckle.

He withdrew his fist expressionlessly as the silver spear went silent. “Settle down, Yunlai Xia. I’m not taking you out to fight today. The Cangnan Realm is unstable lately; I want you to follow me in your Artifact Spirit form to help handle any unexpected situations.”

The spear shivered slightly, and a crisp, lively loli voice emerged from it: “Do I get to go out and play?”

Xu Jinghuai answered instantly: “No.”

The spear mimicked his tone and replied just as fast: “Then I refuse.”

“Too bad. You don’t have a choice.”

Xu Jinghuai was blunt. He tossed the silver spear into the air. In mid-flip, the weapon transformed, landing on the floor as a seemingly harmless little girl.

The loli had waist-length hair—silky silver strands that faded into a cute pastel pink at the tips.

Her face was as pale and smooth as mutton-fat jade, featuring big, innocent, cherry-pink eyes framed by long lashes that were incredibly captivating.

She wore an oversized, off-the-shoulder white dress that didn’t fit her at all; it hung loosely on her frame, looking as though it might slip off at any moment.

Her long sleeves were so large she had to hold them up with her tiny hands, leaving half of them trailing on the floor.

As soon as Yunlai Xia landed, she puffed out her cheeks and stomped a tiny bare foot. She waved her oversized sleeves at Xu Jinghuai, complaining like a spoiled child.

“Bad Master! Mean Master! You only know how to bully your spear!”

“You keep me hanging on the wall with that piece of dead wood every day, and you won’t let me go anywhere!”

“I’m bored to death! I’m annoyed to death! I’m practically growing mold! I want to go out and play!”