Feng Xin felt his cheek, and his muscles tensed when he seemed to prod somewhere that hurt. There was a gash on his face, and one of his arms had been wrapped carefully with neatly layered bandages. Someone else had clearly taken care of them for him, but Xie Lian was primarily concerned about the injuries underneath the dressings.
“How did you get hurt?”
No mortal could easily harm someone with Feng Xin’s skill—and it was his shooting arm that had been injured, no less. But Feng Xin didn’t seem to care. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just some thugs trying to wreck my business, that’s all.”
Xie Lian was shocked and bewildered. “Was it the street performers from the other day?”
“Yeah, them,” Feng Xin replied.
“Why did they crash your show?” Xie Lian questioned, but then he understood. “Was it because you still went to busk after we admitted defeat that day, so they came to chase you out?”
That was pretty much the whole story. A sudden rage exploded in Xie Lian’s chest.
“Don’t go there anymore!” Xie Lian’s voice was hard.
However, Feng Xin brushed him off. “Who cares about them?! I’ll perform there whether they like it or not. You’re the one who admitted defeat, not me, so it doesn’t count as going back on my word. I’m gonna set up shop there and busk no matter what happens. Other than sneaking around and crashing the show, what can they do to me? I wasn’t prepared this time, but next time I will be. If it comes to fist fights, I’m not scared of them!”
The abrupt hostility that had rushed to Xie Lian’s head instantly dissipated as he listened, replaced by guilt. Feng Xin had been steadfast while Xie Lian was out wallowing in his own misery. How could he possibly face his loyal servant, this man who still hadn’t abandoned him despite everything?
Xie Lian sighed. “I’m sorry, Feng Xin.”
Feng Xin was taken aback, then waved hard. “Why is Your High-ness apologizing to me? What rubbish.”
“You were out earning money all by yourself for the past couple days. I’m sorry for the trouble,” Xie Lian said.
“As long as you focus on your cultivation and ascend again soon, it’ll be worth it!” Feng Xin replied.
There was the word “ascend” again. Xie Lian nodded heavily.
The king and queen believed Feng Xin’s lies and thought Xie Lian had spent the past few days training. When they saw him return, the queen happily cooked a meal as always. Xie Lian didn’t have the heart to make Feng Xin suffer, so he took his bowl and helped him eat the food. He didn’t sleep that night.
The next day, Feng Xin rose bright and early and headed out while Xie Lian remained behind to cultivate. Although he’d pulled himself together by that point and regathered his energy by a millionfold, he still couldn’t focus.
The only way to rise above the rest was to study and train diligently—that was just common sense. But was there even one in a million who had the ability to study and train to the extremely high level required? By the same logic, Xie Lian could tell himself to clear his mind a million times, but it wasn’t so easily achieved by just saying it.
His cultivation progress remained at a standstill for a dozen consecutive days. Xie Lian wasn’t accomplishing anything, and he couldn’t help feeling anxious—especially since every night, Feng Xin dragged his exhausted body back home, and he and the queen asked after Xie Lian’s progress. The pressure he felt was indescribably immense.
He didn’t dare tell them the truth, so he could only vaguely answer that yes, he was making progress, which made Feng Xin and the queen both very happy. Still, he knew this couldn’t last forever. After two months, Xie Lian finally couldn’t let it go on any longer.
One evening when Feng Xin had returned very late, he and Xie Lian sat at the table together eating the previous day’s leftovers. As they ate, Xie Lian suddenly turned to him.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to leave for a while.”
Feng Xin was taken aback, but he didn’t stop stuffing his face with rice. “Huh? Leave? Where are you going?”
“I’m going to search for a quiet land filled with spiritual energy where I can cultivate in seclusion,” Xie Lian said slowly.
A cultivation spot with abundant spiritual energy gave the cultivator significant benefits.
At first, Xie Lian hadn’t wanted to leave his parents and attendants behind, so he’d never left them to pursue seclusion. But now he’d changed his mind.
Feng Xin didn’t overthink it. “Great! Your Highness, you should’ve done this a long time ago! Cultivation is most effective in quiet seclusion, after all!”
Xie Lian nodded, paused, and then said, “I’ll have to trouble you to look after Father and Mother while I’m gone.”
Feng Xin was about to respond, but he hesitated. Although it was only for a moment, Xie Lian knew him very well—how could he miss that flash of uncertainty?
“If you must go, then go,” the king bellowed from the back room. “This king doesn’t need anyone to look after him.”
Feng Xin and Xie Lian lowered their bowls and chopsticks and looked toward the back room. It seemed the king wasn’t asleep yet and had overheard their exchange, then barged in on their conversation.
Xie Lian shook his head and whispered, “Acting tough again.”
Feng Xin smiled. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. Of course I’ll look after them.”
Well, that answer was completely straightforward. Still, Xie Lian didn’t forget how Feng Xin had seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering—like he had some other conflicting concern.
But when he thought about it, perhaps he was mistaken. Feng Xin didn’t know anyone outside their group and had no other attachments, so what other concerns could he have? Xie Lian stopped dwelling on it and moved on to planning what needed to be done before his departure.
The next day, Xie Lian packed a simple satchel and bid a temporary farewell to his parents and Feng Xin.
He walked on foot for dozens of kilometers, eating and sleeping in the wild for days. Finally, he found a place suitable for quiet cultivation within a thick, vast, remote mountain forest. Upon examining the area, Xie Lian was stunned at first, but soon his heart was filled with wild joy.
“Such luck… The feng shui here is excellent. I can’t believe I’ve found a rare piece of blessed land!”
Xie Lian could hardly believe it—his luck had turned around so unexpectedly after so much misfortune. He checked and rechecked until he was absolutely sure—but this area was indeed a sacred land brimming with spiritual energy. If he could immerse himself in training and focus on cultivation for the next few months, then surely he could achieve twice the result with half the effort. He could make exponential progress!
Xie Lian finally saw a ray of hope, and his gloomy feelings from recent days suddenly cleared. His heart leapt with joy.
“Father, Mother, Feng Xin, wait for me. I’ll be back very soon!”
He hiked the steep, perilous mountain path for many hours and finally entered the deepest recesses of the spiritual mountain just before sunset. As he moved through the dense forest, he could clearly sense that he was getting closer and closer to the source of the land’s spiritual energy. His steps grew quicker and lighter. But just as he was picking out a location for secluded cultivation, he was interrupted by the clamor of footsteps behind him.
How could there be so many feet on such a secluded mountain? Xie Lian glanced over, but he couldn’t have expected the sight that awaited him, and the smile on his face froze.
A number of people had arrived behind him, about thirty in total. They came in various shapes and sizes and all wore different styles of attire, but the one thing they had in common was that they were all heavenly officials. A few were officials of the lowest rank in the Upper Court, but most were officials from the Lower Court.
