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墨書 Inktalez
Qi Xiao drew some water from the well and, under the moonlight, observed it for a while. He found the well water as clear as ever, with no apparent abnormalities. However, when he closed his eyes and used his spiritual sense, he could vaguely detect some elongated shapes quietly swimming within the water.
These shapes sometimes remained motionless, floating at the bottom, while at other times they twisted their bodies and poked their heads out of the water. Qi Xiao suppressed his disgust and dipped his finger into the water, but he touched nothing. The things he sensed seemed like an illusion.
Lu Mingyuan watched him with his eyes closed, occasionally frowning and looking puzzled. Unable to contain himself, he scratched his head and spoke up. "Junior Brother, what are you doing?"
Qi Xiao handed over the ladle for Lu Mingyuan to take a look. Lu Mingyuan stared at it for a moment before slowly saying, "Junior Brother, is there something in this water? I can't see anything at all!"
Qi Xiao relaxed his furrowed brow. Indeed, these creatures seemed to be of a similar nature to spiritual consciousness. Although he did not know their origins, Qi Xiao was certain that these creatures were extraordinary! He had never heard of such bizarre insects, let alone seen them. He even suspected that they might not belong to the realm of cultivation at all!
With a light sigh, Qi Xiao poured the water from the ladle into a small ceramic bottle. He intended to take this specimen back for further study; if he still had no answers, he would bring it back to Qingjing Peak for the elders to examine.
"Junior Brother, where are we going now?" Lu Mingyuan asked.
"Back to the room to sleep."
In the room, Qi Xiao lay on his bed with his eyes closed while Lu Mingyuan, unable to sleep, intentionally came to his room to join him.
Lu Mingyuan clicked his tongue in wonder. "If this thing is real, it would be incredible! Junior Brother, do you think this could be something from the legendary demon clan?"
"Not sure; I've never seen it before," Qi Xiao replied.
Lu Mingyuan scoffed lightly. "You're really no fun."
"Hey, Junior Brother, doesn't this mean we've found the source of this illness?"
"I think we're getting close, but I need a way to test it."
"Right! There's an alchemy competition happening in the city right now, gathering many alchemists and doctors. If you take this specimen there and explain the situation, those alchemists will surely be eager to help."
As Qi Xiao sank into darkness, feeling drowsy, he faintly heard a distant yet clear chime, as if it were coming from the far horizon or perhaps right beside his ear. Almost instantly, that peculiar sound jolted him awake.
He caught a glimpse of a sword light rushing toward him from the darkness. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed a vase from the table and smashed it in that direction. The vase shattered on the ground, breaking into four pieces.
The crisp sound of the shattering not only startled Lu Mingyuan awake but also roused other sharp-eared cultivators in the inn.
"Junior Brother, what happened?" Lu Mingyuan exclaimed, jumping out of bed. A figure in black coldly smiled before pushing open the window and leaping out.
Lu Mingyuan felt a surge of urgency and wanted to draw his sword to pursue, but Qi Xiao stopped him.
"Senior Brother, don’t chase after him just yet."
Fuming, Lu Mingyuan cursed, "Damn it! How dare he ambush us? If I ever catch him again, I’ll tear him apart!"
"Junior Brother, you’re too lenient. You just let him escape like that? Aren’t you afraid he’ll come back for another attempt? We should seize this opportunity to chase after him and settle this once and for all!"
"I just fought him and could clearly sense he was holding back. If it weren't for his deliberate noise, I might have actually been hurt."
"Are you really going to chase after him without worrying about falling into his trap?"
Lu Mingyuan was still seething with anger when Qi Xiao’s words made him pause. "Then what’s his intention? He wants to kill us but doesn’t? Is he testing us on purpose?"
Qi Xiao took a few steps forward and picked up a jade pendant from the ground, suddenly smiling. "Senior Brother, look! He even left us a token, afraid we wouldn’t be able to find him."
Lu Mingyuan leaned closer and saw that the hollow circular jade pendant had a character engraved on its front.
He scratched his head in confusion. "‘Home’? Could it be from the Tongling family?"
"No way! We just arrived here, and they’ve already discovered us?"
"Regardless, we did save their young master once. Why are they trying to kill us instead of showing any gratitude? If I had known earlier, we should have just dealt with that unfortunate fellow directly!"
Lu Mingyuan gritted his teeth in frustration, feeling that his goodwill had been completely betrayed.
Meanwhile, Qi Xiao was thoughtfully examining the jade pendant, lost in contemplation.
"This is interesting," he mused. "That person came with orders to kill but hesitated at the last moment and even revealed his identity on purpose. Is he trying to lure us to their home or provoke enmity with them?"
Although Qi Xiao did not understand, he felt that the one who couldn't sit still was not himself. As long as he remained motionless, someone would surely be anxious.
The next day, Qi Xiao woke up and found the main venue of the Alchemy Competition by asking passersby for directions. A young man at the front, who looked drowsy, straightened up upon seeing him and casually asked, "Are you here to withdraw from the competition?"
Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh at him. As an official, was this really the first thing he would say?
"No, I'm here for something else. I want to find a few masters."
"Oh, they're all busy saving lives right now and don't have time for visitors."
"That's exactly why I came," Qi Xiao replied as he surveyed the area. He noticed that it was filled with dazed patients. He smiled and said, "You haven't found an effective treatment yet, have you? What if I told you I have some leads?"
The young man frowned as if he were looking at a madman. "So many renowned seniors haven't found any clues, and you think you can?"
He scoffed in disbelief. "Don't talk big here; do you even know where you are?"
Qi Xiao shrugged. "Believe it or not, but let me tell you this: you're not wasting my time; you're wasting these patients' time! Are you sure you want to keep delaying like this?"
The young man still didn't believe him. It was hard for him to imagine that a young boy could discover clues that so many experienced seniors had missed. Yet on the other hand, he didn't dare to take the risk—what if this young man was telling the truth?
If the other party really had found a lead, then by blocking him, wouldn't he be wasting precious time for treatment? The thought sent a shiver down his spine, making him feel uneasy all over.
No, no, no—he couldn't bear that responsibility. If this boy was lying, he could report it and maybe just get scolded a bit. But if what the young man said was true and he failed to report it, then things could get complicated!
"Wait here; I'll go report this," the young man said hurriedly before turning to leave.
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