Wen Kexing gave her a cold look, voice venomous, “What makes you think you can interfere with my business?”

His tone was so unusually cruel that it took Gu Xiang by surprise; her eyes widened and she jumped down from the ceiling. She started following Wen Kexing since she was little, and she knew that while he took important matters very seriously, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t allow some joking around. Gu Xiang bantering with him was a frequent practice and he never showed any disapproval, so she didn’t understand what this was about.

Gu Xiang examined him warily, voice soft, “Master, this…”

Wen Kexing fell silent, then inhaled after a good while, still feeling incredibly irritated. He casually leaned on the window to enjoy the chilly wind and said to Gu Xiang in a bland voice, “Say, according to you apparently I’m not at all interested in women, can only bed handsome men and harm those who don’t look that good? Can’t I have a friend or two just to talk to?”

He didn’t intend to scare Gu Xiang, but the girl had no idea what he wanted from her so she only became terrified. She stammered, “Yes, Master, I was wrong.”

Whatever Wen Kexing was about to say was swallowed once he saw Gu Xiang’s lost look. Talking to her was such a chore since they weren’t on the same wavelength. In some ways, he felt an accumulating amount of sadness at himself; these days, the lot he was surrounded with was either scared of him or thought that he was a stubborn madman. Not many would have sat with him by the fire like that, listened to him singing off-key like that, talked about old stories that only he could understand like that.

He suddenly asked, “Ah-Xiang, do you think I’m crazy?”

Gu Xiang was stunned, and looked at him hesitantly. Seeing the dull calmness on his face without any trace of anger, she nervously nodded. Wen Kexing turned away and scoffed.

After some thinking, Gu Xiang added, “I’m following you even if you are.”

“And why do you want to follow a madman?”

Gu Xiang tried her hardest to formulate her thoughts. Even when she was a child, she refused to study, which was even a greater joy when no one forced her into it; so now what she knew was very little. At this moment she realized having some kind of education was useful after all, since she had so much she wanted to say but didn’t know where to start.

In the end, she blurted out, “Who cares if you’re mad, I still think you’re a thousand times better than others.”

Wen Kexing looked at her. After a while, a smile spread across his face.

Upon that smile which seemed to carry loneliness, Gu Xiang felt a prickling sensation inside, so she continued without restraint, “Master, I think… you’re actually a great person.”

Wen Kexing laughed out loud and nodded, “Good, after all of your bullshit tonight you’ve finally speak the human tongue again.” Then he pushed open the window and jumped outside.

Gu Xiang asked, “Master, where are you going?”

Wen Kexing waved his arms, “Ye Baiyi isn’t the trustworthy type, that pale face of his can only spell trouble. I’m gonna go see how the silly little Zhou is doing against that man, I’m worried about him.”

He disappeared before Gu Xiang could answer him. After coming back to her senses, she finally realized who “silly little Zhou” was and brightened as she murmured, “Now I finally know how it is to lie without even blinking, silly little Zhou… silly little… if he’s really that then I’m the stupidest girl on Earth.”

It was perhaps unfortunate that no one had heard her, otherwise she would have received a comment on that – she might see it only as a self-deprecating joke, but there was definitely some truth in it.

Ye Baiyi didn’t told Zhou Zishu the purpose of getting both of them out here at midnight. With his lightning-fast qinggong, it was as if he was flying past the shadow. Zhou Zishu realized with astonishment that if the other man wasn’t intentionally waiting for him then he would have been left in the dust long ago.

They chased after each other like that for a long period of time before Ye Baiyi stopped, hands behind his back, his profile facing Zhou Zishu. The latter had no idea why he was brought to this empty intersection, but there was one guess. He stood a few steps away, examining the man in silence.

Ye Baiyi didn’t elaborate, leaving him to his scrutinization. This man had a sturdy stature, and usually when someone wore white, they would carry either an unmatched ethereal, elegant aura or a frivolous, pretentious predisposition. It would look like some of the physical weight in their body had been lifted somewhat from an outsider’s look, but this was not the case with Ye Baiyi.

In the night, he looked like an ancient Buddha statue, and for some reason, Zhou Zishu had a feeling that the man’s weapon had to be a very heavy sword to compliment his unwavering stance.

After a long while, Ye Baiyi asked, “What have you discovered?”

Zhou Zishu startled, finally able to pinpoint why there was a distant feeling emanating. He lowered his head, “Please forgive this junior’s terrible eyes, for I have severely disrespected you in the past few days.”

Ye Baiyi, after a bout of silence, suddenly swatted his hands at Zhou Zishu’s left shoulder in a sharp and brutal move; there was really no chance to reason with him.

Zhou Zishu, alarmed, flew several feet away from the ground to dodge. Ye Baiyi went after him immediately, his sleeves flared, intending to block all the important acupuncture points on his body.

Zhou Zishu had said the other’s martial arts style leaned toward the “hard” way, and since he himself had lost half of his core strength, he couldn’t risk a direct confrontation. He initially wanted to utilize his advanced qinggong to evade, but then he found out that it was a mistake. His opponent’s attack was everywhere at the same time, and he had no leverage staying mid-air like this. As a dire solution, he kicked at Ye Baiyi’s wrists.

Ye Baiyi wasn’t fazed and grabbed his calf. Zhou Zishu twisted his body and used that force to slide away and fall to the ground gently. When his feet touched the earth, his expression changed and he spoke in a slow, deep voice. “What do you want, Sir?”

Ye Baiyi withdrew his attack. After judging him over, he said, “The “Enchanted Song” Qin Song was once a disciple of that damned old man, being driven out of the sect for his uselessness. He actually still retained some capability of playing instruments from his master, but all of his cultivation was destroyed with your song just like that. I first thought about how this world had already given birth to such a dangerous offspring, but turns out… Hey, rascal, you use a whip sword, correct?”

Zhou Zishu’s eyes widened as he took half a step to the side, hands instinctively retracting into his sleeves. Murderous intent that was long buried now resurfaced – this was the first time he was in the kind of situation where he couldn’t accurately gauge his opponent’s capability, but the other man knew him all too well.

Seeing that, Ye Baiyi’s lips curved up, his smile stiff and mocking, “If I wanted to do something to you, do you really think you could still stand there and talk to me? The qinggong skills you just demonstrated belong to the one-and-only “No Boundaries, No Traces” branch. Your shifu is the former lord of Si Ji Holdings, Qin Huaizhang, isn’t he? Hmph, when it comes to being small-minded you two really are birds of the same feather.”

Zhou Zishu replied coldly. “You are a highly respected figure in this pugilist scene, Monk Gu, but my Master had passed away long ago. This junior will not let you tarnish his reputation even if it means treating you with discourtesy.”

Ye Baiyi was taken aback, crying out, “What? Qin Huaizhang is dead?”

Zhou Zishu didn’t have the chance to answer him. Ye Baiyi’s gaze dimmed, his expression a little lost. He looked down. “Of course, so many years have passed… It’s been so long, I don’t… I don’t know anything anymore… Things have changed, even Qin Huaizhang has ceased to exist.”

Zhou Zishu examined him with a frown. Upon finding out that the other man harbored no ill will and was merely speaking cryptically, he relaxed.

He was sure that the person before him was the Monk Gu of Mount Chang Ming in legends, but had no idea how he had managed to retain his youthful look throughout the years. Maybe the rumors that he had reached immortality were true after all?

Ye Baiyi held out his hand. “Let me see your sword.”

When it was met with no movement from Zhou Zishu, his tone became impatient. “You think I haven’t seen that thing? It was a gift from me to your shifu way back then, and no one will bother to steal it from you, so why can’t I have a look? What an incompetent disciple Qin Huaizhang has!”

That was when Zhou Zishu was reminded that there were the words “Baiyi” carved on his sword. He once thought it was some kind of mysterious motto, but turned out it was this man’s name. His face turned sullen and he felt incredibly uncomfortable; involuntarily, he reached down his waist and felt around a bit before pulling out an impressive whip sword. He gave it to Ye Baiyi.

Ye Baiyi cast a quick glance at the sallow, malnourished skin of his hand. He scowled, scrutinizing him while receiving the weapon, “Always prancing around in such disgusting get-up – I hate this the most about you and your shifu.”

Zhou Zishu didn’t bother firing back. Damn old geezer, he thought.

Ye Baiyi held the whip sword in his hands. The weapon, full of his core energy, began to stiffen and vibrate somewhat, making buzzing sounds. Sorrowful reminiscence flashed under Ye Baiyi’s long, thin eyelashes. He looked at the “Baiyi” sword and thought, All old acquaintances were gone now; on the contrary, these objects still persevere and are now in the hands of your successors.

He gave it back to Zhou Zishu after a long while.

Zhou Zishu spoke with no indication of his true feelings, “Why do you call me out here at this hour, other than to test my background? Is there…”

He was cut off by Ye Baiyi’s palm landing on his chest, so fast that he didn’t have any time to react. If the other man had intended to kill him, he would have been utterly powerless to retaliate. He stopped talking, body stiffened.

However, Ye Baiyi didn’t do anything else but frown. Zhou Zishu felt a gentle stream of core power transmitting from the other’s hand into him, as if it was investigating inside his body. Triggered from the inside, the Nails started to act up again, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. He tried to reign it in.

Suddenly, the power multiplied; the small stream became a river, filling up his half-withered meridians. Zhou Zishu felt like the Nails were further stirred by the foreign incentive; everything went dark before his eyes as he staggered back.

There was a shadow of someone appearing behind his back, that person shouted, “What are you doing?” while catching Zhou Zishu in their hold. They raised a sleeve to bat away Ye Baiyi’s hand; and with an “Oh”, the man unabashedly clashed with them. Ye Baiyi came into contact with a strong demonic energy; it startled him and gave his chest a suffocated feeling.

Wen Kexing was even more taken aback. He just utilized a majority of his core strength in that attack, but it was met with a seemingly untraceable wall. His grip on Zhou Zishu’s waist tightened as he leaned forward a little to both cover for the man in his arms and stabilize his footing.

He then inspected Ye Baiyi, narrowed eyes entirely devoid of cheerfulness. His gaze reminded Ye Baiyi of a viper—dreadfully chilling and firmly glued to you like a maggot gnawing away one’s bones.

Wen Kexing gave her a cold look, voice venomous, “What makes you think you can interfere with my business?”

His tone was so unusually cruel that it took Gu Xiang by surprise; her eyes widened and she jumped down from the ceiling. She started following Wen Kexing since she was little, and she knew that while he took important matters very seriously, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t allow some joking around. Gu Xiang bantering with him was a frequent practice and he never showed any disapproval, so she didn’t understand what this was about.

Gu Xiang examined him warily, voice soft, “Master, this…”

Wen Kexing fell silent, then inhaled after a good while, still feeling incredibly irritated. He casually leaned on the window to enjoy the chilly wind and said to Gu Xiang in a bland voice, “Say, according to you apparently I’m not at all interested in women, can only bed handsome men and harm those who don’t look that good? Can’t I have a friend or two just to talk to?”

He didn’t intend to scare Gu Xiang, but the girl had no idea what he wanted from her so she only became terrified. She stammered, “Yes, Master, I was wrong.”

Whatever Wen Kexing was about to say was swallowed once he saw Gu Xiang’s lost look. Talking to her was such a chore since they weren’t on the same wavelength. In some ways, he felt an accumulating amount of sadness at himself; these days, the lot he was surrounded with was either scared of him or thought that he was a stubborn madman. Not many would have sat with him by the fire like that, listened to him singing off-key like that, talked about old stories that only he could understand like that.

He suddenly asked, “Ah-Xiang, do you think I’m crazy?”

Gu Xiang was stunned, and looked at him hesitantly. Seeing the dull calmness on his face without any trace of anger, she nervously nodded. Wen Kexing turned away and scoffed.

After some thinking, Gu Xiang added, “I’m following you even if you are.”

“And why do you want to follow a madman?”

Gu Xiang tried her hardest to formulate her thoughts. Even when she was a child, she refused to study, which was even a greater joy when no one forced her into it; so now what she knew was very little. At this moment she realized having some kind of education was useful after all, since she had so much she wanted to say but didn’t know where to start.

In the end, she blurted out, “Who cares if you’re mad, I still think you’re a thousand times better than others.”

Wen Kexing looked at her. After a while, a smile spread across his face.

Upon that smile which seemed to carry loneliness, Gu Xiang felt a prickling sensation inside, so she continued without restraint, “Master, I think… you’re actually a great person.”

Wen Kexing laughed out loud and nodded, “Good, after all of your bullshit tonight you’ve finally speak the human tongue again.” Then he pushed open the window and jumped outside.

Gu Xiang asked, “Master, where are you going?”

Wen Kexing waved his arms, “Ye Baiyi isn’t the trustworthy type, that pale face of his can only spell trouble. I’m gonna go see how the silly little Zhou is doing against that man, I’m worried about him.”

He disappeared before Gu Xiang could answer him. After coming back to her senses, she finally realized who “silly little Zhou” was and brightened as she murmured, “Now I finally know how it is to lie without even blinking, silly little Zhou… silly little… if he’s really that then I’m the stupidest girl on Earth.”

It was perhaps unfortunate that no one had heard her, otherwise she would have received a comment on that – she might see it only as a self-deprecating joke, but there was definitely some truth in it.

Ye Baiyi didn’t told Zhou Zishu the purpose of getting both of them out here at midnight. With his lightning-fast qinggong, it was as if he was flying past the shadow. Zhou Zishu realized with astonishment that if the other man wasn’t intentionally waiting for him then he would have been left in the dust long ago.

They chased after each other like that for a long period of time before Ye Baiyi stopped, hands behind his back, his profile facing Zhou Zishu. The latter had no idea why he was brought to this empty intersection, but there was one guess. He stood a few steps away, examining the man in silence.

Ye Baiyi didn’t elaborate, leaving him to his scrutinization. This man had a sturdy stature, and usually when someone wore white, they would carry either an unmatched ethereal, elegant aura or a frivolous, pretentious predisposition. It would look like some of the physical weight in their body had been lifted somewhat from an outsider’s look, but this was not the case with Ye Baiyi.

In the night, he looked like an ancient Buddha statue, and for some reason, Zhou Zishu had a feeling that the man’s weapon had to be a very heavy sword to compliment his unwavering stance.

After a long while, Ye Baiyi asked, “What have you discovered?”

Zhou Zishu startled, finally able to pinpoint why there was a distant feeling emanating. He lowered his head, “Please forgive this junior’s terrible eyes, for I have severely disrespected you in the past few days.”

Ye Baiyi, after a bout of silence, suddenly swatted his hands at Zhou Zishu’s left shoulder in a sharp and brutal move; there was really no chance to reason with him.

Zhou Zishu, alarmed, flew several feet away from the ground to dodge. Ye Baiyi went after him immediately, his sleeves flared, intending to block all the important acupuncture points on his body.

Zhou Zishu had said the other’s martial arts style leaned toward the “hard” way, and since he himself had lost half of his core strength, he couldn’t risk a direct confrontation. He initially wanted to utilize his advanced qinggong to evade, but then he found out that it was a mistake. His opponent’s attack was everywhere at the same time, and he had no leverage staying mid-air like this. As a dire solution, he kicked at Ye Baiyi’s wrists.

Ye Baiyi wasn’t fazed and grabbed his calf. Zhou Zishu twisted his body and used that force to slide away and fall to the ground gently. When his feet touched the earth, his expression changed and he spoke in a slow, deep voice. “What do you want, Sir?”

Ye Baiyi withdrew his attack. After judging him over, he said, “The “Enchanted Song” Qin Song was once a disciple of that damned old man, being driven out of the sect for his uselessness. He actually still retained some capability of playing instruments from his master, but all of his cultivation was destroyed with your song just like that. I first thought about how this world had already given birth to such a dangerous offspring, but turns out… Hey, rascal, you use a whip sword, correct?”

Zhou Zishu’s eyes widened as he took half a step to the side, hands instinctively retracting into his sleeves. Murderous intent that was long buried now resurfaced – this was the first time he was in the kind of situation where he couldn’t accurately gauge his opponent’s capability, but the other man knew him all too well.

Seeing that, Ye Baiyi’s lips curved up, his smile stiff and mocking, “If I wanted to do something to you, do you really think you could still stand there and talk to me? The qinggong skills you just demonstrated belong to the one-and-only “No Boundaries, No Traces” branch. Your shifu is the former lord of Si Ji Holdings, Qin Huaizhang, isn’t he? Hmph, when it comes to being small-minded you two really are birds of the same feather.”

Zhou Zishu replied coldly. “You are a highly respected figure in this pugilist scene, Monk Gu, but my Master had passed away long ago. This junior will not let you tarnish his reputation even if it means treating you with discourtesy.”

Ye Baiyi was taken aback, crying out, “What? Qin Huaizhang is dead?”

Zhou Zishu didn’t have the chance to answer him. Ye Baiyi’s gaze dimmed, his expression a little lost. He looked down. “Of course, so many years have passed… It’s been so long, I don’t… I don’t know anything anymore… Things have changed, even Qin Huaizhang has ceased to exist.”

Zhou Zishu examined him with a frown. Upon finding out that the other man harbored no ill will and was merely speaking cryptically, he relaxed.

He was sure that the person before him was the Monk Gu of Mount Chang Ming in legends, but had no idea how he had managed to retain his youthful look throughout the years. Maybe the rumors that he had reached immortality were true after all?

Ye Baiyi held out his hand. “Let me see your sword.”

When it was met with no movement from Zhou Zishu, his tone became impatient. “You think I haven’t seen that thing? It was a gift from me to your shifu way back then, and no one will bother to steal it from you, so why can’t I have a look? What an incompetent disciple Qin Huaizhang has!”

That was when Zhou Zishu was reminded that there were the words “Baiyi” carved on his sword. He once thought it was some kind of mysterious motto, but turned out it was this man’s name. His face turned sullen and he felt incredibly uncomfortable; involuntarily, he reached down his waist and felt around a bit before pulling out an impressive whip sword. He gave it to Ye Baiyi.

Ye Baiyi cast a quick glance at the sallow, malnourished skin of his hand. He scowled, scrutinizing him while receiving the weapon, “Always prancing around in such disgusting get-up – I hate this the most about you and your shifu.”

Zhou Zishu didn’t bother firing back. Damn old geezer, he thought.

Ye Baiyi held the whip sword in his hands. The weapon, full of his core energy, began to stiffen and vibrate somewhat, making buzzing sounds. Sorrowful reminiscence flashed under Ye Baiyi’s long, thin eyelashes. He looked at the “Baiyi” sword and thought, All old acquaintances were gone now; on the contrary, these objects still persevere and are now in the hands of your successors.

He gave it back to Zhou Zishu after a long while.

Zhou Zishu spoke with no indication of his true feelings, “Why do you call me out here at this hour, other than to test my background? Is there…”

He was cut off by Ye Baiyi’s palm landing on his chest, so fast that he didn’t have any time to react. If the other man had intended to kill him, he would have been utterly powerless to retaliate. He stopped talking, body stiffened.

However, Ye Baiyi didn’t do anything else but frown. Zhou Zishu felt a gentle stream of core power transmitting from the other’s hand into him, as if it was investigating inside his body. Triggered from the inside, the Nails started to act up again, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. He tried to reign it in.

Suddenly, the power multiplied; the small stream became a river, filling up his half-withered meridians. Zhou Zishu felt like the Nails were further stirred by the foreign incentive; everything went dark before his eyes as he staggered back.

There was a shadow of someone appearing behind his back, that person shouted, “What are you doing?” while catching Zhou Zishu in their hold. They raised a sleeve to bat away Ye Baiyi’s hand; and with an “Oh”, the man unabashedly clashed with them. Ye Baiyi came into contact with a strong demonic energy; it startled him and gave his chest a suffocated feeling.

Wen Kexing was even more taken aback. He just utilized a majority of his core strength in that attack, but it was met with a seemingly untraceable wall. His grip on Zhou Zishu’s waist tightened as he leaned forward a little to both cover for the man in his arms and stabilize his footing.

He then inspected Ye Baiyi, narrowed eyes entirely devoid of cheerfulness. His gaze reminded Ye Baiyi of a viper—dreadfully chilling and firmly glued to you like a maggot gnawing away one’s bones.