A Reckless Past and a Dire Ailment

“Heh heh,” The Old Senior chuckled. “I observed your movement technique just now, your qinggong. It must be the ‘Soaring Step’ of the Autumn Water lineage, no? Heh! That brat Liu Buping truly married a wife and cast aside his roots. I wonder if all the martial arts he learned back in his Divine Cult days have been returned to his former mentor?” Hearing my candid admission, The Old Senior let out another ‘heh heh’ and nonchalantly exposed the light-body skill I practiced.

“Senior, your insight is keen,” I replied. “However, my father once said that the Asura True Qi Palm is far too sinister and damaging. The Six Paths of Samsara Sword, on the other hand, he had originally intended to pass on to me. Alas, I was too young then, and my true qi was insufficient to learn that sword technique.” Sensing a hint of displeasure in his words, I hastily recounted my father’s exact words, leaving my fate to chance regarding how this shadowy Old Senior would react.

Sure enough, he let out another cold snort after listening, then sneered, “Hmph, so he didn’t spend a few years messing around with that old good-for-nothing Ling’aozi, and now Liu Buping has become a scholar of Taoist principles in the blink of an eye? What kind of airs is he putting on, like a pig sticking green onions up its nose to pretend to be an elephant! Ling’aozi, even if his martial arts were lacking, at least cultivated the Tao from a young age. But your father? He became a practitioner halfway through life, only doing so because of a young girl in the courtyard. What kind of false piety and fake compassion is he peddling?”

Listening, cold sweat drenched me. I knew my previous recounting must have been somewhat inappropriate, likely provoking The Old Senior, and my heart swelled with anxiety for my own fate.

After The Old Senior in the shadows finished speaking, an uncharacteristic silence settled for a long moment. Then, with another ‘heh heh’, he chuckled, “Little one, I’ve been speaking ill of your father. You wouldn’t secretly be cursing me, would you?”

Sensing the hidden barbs in his laughter and the inscrutable nature of his mood, I dared not delay. I immediately responded, “No, no, Senior, you speak the truth. What my father did back then was indeed a bit crude, inappropriate, truly inappropriate.”

Though these words left my lips, in my heart, I secretly mused, ‘If the other three ruffians in my dorm knew of this scene, they would probably despise me to no end, wouldn’t they?’

****

‘You spineless wretch, selling out your own father for gain!’ The thought flashed through my mind, and in that fleeting moment, I seemed to hear Guo Hao’s disdainful curse.

****

However, regardless of the attitude of those scoundrels in my dorm, The Old Senior in the shadows seemed quite pleased with my words. I heard him chuckle, “It seems, little one, you are more sensible, far superior to your father! This old man truly doesn’t understand. That brat should be around forty now, shouldn’t he? At such an age, he’s still so unreasonable!”

To this, I could only feign agreement, secretly praying my father wouldn’t blame me. After all, it was his past trouble, and the feudal idea of a son paying for his father’s debts was simply unacceptable!

Fearing that The Old Senior would once again become enraged because of my trouble-making father, I hastily changed the subject. “Senior, judging by your words, you must be a senior expert from the Foreign Cultivation Academy, no? This junior is ignorant and truly does not know your name or surname… And why are you here, Senior? Are you, like me, hiding from enemies in this place?”

I chose my words carefully, but this only elicited another burst of wild laughter from him.

“Haha, hiding from enemies? Aside from Dugu, that damned old coot and principal of your Tianwu University, who else in this world dares to make an enemy of me?” He suddenly roared with laughter, and I felt my eardrums vibrate violently. Then, the world spun, followed by the ground shaking. The entire cavern seemed to be thrown into a precarious tumult by his laughter.

“Senior, Senior, please have mercy!” I cried out frantically, covering my ears and straining my voice against his sinister and wild laughter. I still worried that his unrestrained laughter, powered by his Dantian true qi, would attract those Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Saber seniors. Yet, on second thought, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to summon those five ruffians to meet this ominous figure. After all, from a certain perspective, since he had a history with my father, he would surely side with me, wouldn’t he?

Whether it was my plea for mercy or simply the immense drain on his true qi from such ghostly wails and earth-shattering laughter, The Old Senior in the shadows finally ceased his prolonged laughter. But no sooner had the laughter died than he began to cough violently.

Having been influenced by my mother’s upbringing since childhood, I couldn’t bear to see others suffer so much. Disregarding whether this person was friend or foe, I executed the ‘Soaring Step’ and instantly rushed to his side. The Old Senior in the shadows did not try to stop me; he merely continued to cough and wheeze. I stood beside him, repeatedly patting his back with my right hand. ‘This Old Senior truly possesses both profound skill and immense daring,’ I mused. ‘Though I have not yet reached adulthood and my martial arts are far from perfected, I am still a practitioner. Yet, he allowed me to approach him so easily, even letting my palm touch a vital spot on his back. Either he is supremely confident in his martial arts, or he has accepted his fate, unconcerned with life or death.’

While contemplating this, I reached into my懷里 and retrieved a waxed paper packet containing two Nine Revolutions Bear-Snake Pills. With nimble fingers and swift movements, I untied the hemp rope securing it, then opened the paper, presenting the two pills before The Old Senior’s face.

“Senior, these are Nine Revolutions Bear-Snake Pills. Please take one; see if it can offer some relief,” I said with some concern amidst his continuous, worsening coughs. I then moved my left hand, holding the two pills, closer to his lips, which still trembled from his wheezing.

“Cough, cough, cough, no, no, no need. Mere Nine Revolutions Bear-Snake Pills… *cough cough*… cannot cure… *cough*… this old man’s… *cough cough*… ailment…” He coughed, attempting to push my hand away, but at that very moment, his coughing and wheezing intensified. I caught a faint, sweet, metallic scent of blood, followed by a retching sound. A warm, slick wetness suddenly splattered onto my left hand, which was still holding the pills before his lips.

“Senior, you…” A sense of dread crept into my heart. Due to the pervasive darkness, I couldn’t discern what exactly had just transpired, only making a rough guess based on the scant evidence. Yet, despite the obscurity, the true situation was not far from my suspicions.

He spoke, his voice slightly muffled compared to before, as if his mouth were full of water.

Yet I knew, with chilling certainty, that what filled his mouth at this very moment must undoubtedly be fresh blood.

Coughing blood, severe wheezing—could this Senior truly be suffering from such grave internal injuries?

****