Destiny in Cinders

The fact that An Jing got visitors wasn't that surprising. After the administration found three dead Fortification Realm martialists in the building's wreckage, they identified them as pirates from Lake Chang. The leader also had an insignia that was related to the Heavenly Demon Cult, which made their deaths a service rendered rather than a law broken. Zheng Mo imagined how bad the consequences would be for three martialists of that level to infiltrate Keensight while there wasn't a guardian adept and immediately knew how serious it could've gotten.

"The city manager wanted us to let you know that you don't have to be in a hurry to leave after killing crooks from the demonic or fiend cults in the future," said the messenger. He had goosebumps all over his body when he recalled the state the corpses were in. One of them was completely cut apart. Another had been killed in a single strike. Even the strongest one who had set the building on fire was bisected from top down. All that had transpired in less than fifteen minutes. The messenger knew that as long as he was polite to An Jing, he wouldn't be attacked, but that didn't stop the nervous sweat from forming on his back.

"Getting rid of evil crooks is only to be expected. Next time, after you kill such people, you can notify us about it. We will clean it up for you," said the messenger respectfully. "If possible, let us know in advance before you make your move so that we can help evacuate civilians nearby."

"No problem." An Jing was all too happy to agree. Typically, local administrations didn't take kindly to vigilantes who didn't even bother to inform them about what would go down, not even when the enemies were cultists. But in consideration of how helpful An Jing had been to the city since he arrived and his completely ruthless actions against the fiend followers, Zheng Mo chose to close one eye to this matter. At the end of the day, having more heroes like An Jing in the undefended city was a good thing. As such, not only was he not held accountable for anything, he was even rewarded with a bounty for the kills and official permission to enforce the law.

Even though the old man I took away wasn't included in the bounty, the other three were worth a hundred liang of silver each. The administration didn't even tax the bounty at all! An Jing truly marveled at how easy things became after he had built a reputation for himself.

"The Lord Inspector of the West will no doubt demand payback," Madam Huai said as she left the backyard. She didn't criticize An Jing for what he did nor worried for his safety. Instead, she handed him a waterscreen that was covered in talisman script. "Come."

"What's this?" An Jing received the waterscreen artifact.

"This is the waterscreen I use to contact the divine cult. That's how I received information about the people that the Lord Inspector of the West sent here. Since I no longer have much time left, I'll let you use this however you see fit."

"Thanks a lot." An Jing put the waterscreen away and looked at the old woman. Her presence was beginning to feel more hollow by the day. Her lifespan had long run out and she was only barely prolonging her life using the power of her lifearc. She would pass away in the coming month for sure.

However, everyone became more resigned to that outcome. Different people had different lots in life. The old lady had lived a long and fulfilling life, managing to change the world around her in significant ways. The mere act of warning An Jing about the moves that the Lord Inspector of the West was making probably spared him lots of trouble in the future.

"Do your best. Do note that the waterscreen won't be usable for long," Madam Huai said with a look of pity. "After I die, my lifelight in the cult will be extinguished. After that, the waterscreen will probably stop working."

"Every bit of information counts. I'm glad to have it either way." An Jing didn't mind if the waterscreen stopped working. In fact, he wouldn't use the waterscreen after Madam Huai's death even if it still functioned. Who knew whether the demonic cult could inspect the condition of the waterscreen in some way and use it to track him down?

Xuan Mingjing, on the other hand, stood beside An Jing obediently, much to his puzzlement.

"What are you doing?" He didn't know why she was following him around.

She shook her head and said, "I don't know either, but Uncle Ming told me that I have lots to learn from you. Even though I studied fengshui geomancy, talismans, abilities and formations, all that was part of my upbringing as a commanderial princess. After betraying the imperial court, I no longer have the luxury to sit by the sidelines. I need to learn more ways to protect myself. Uncle Ming said that you have incredible fundamentals that surpass even his, so he asked you to teach me about forming good habits for martial training in his stead."

So that was it. An Jing nodded and understood what his master had in mind. He didn't mind it at all. "Then, feel free to join me in the mornings for a lesson. I will come up with a training routine for you."

He wasn't merely bragging; planning out the training regimen of his junior disciples had been his routine at Direlife Manor. While he couldn't guarantee that his regimen produced talented martialists, he was confident it could take care of the fundamentals.

"Also..." Xuan Mingjing looked down and said in a hushed voice, "Commanderial Princess Xuan Mingjing of Grand Chen can no longer show up in public. Please continue to call me You Ruhui."

"Alright, You Ruhui. I was gonna say that people would easily put two and two together once they hear Mingjing and Ruhui."[1]

Since then, An Jing had You Ruhui join him for his morning training sessions. Her bodily constitution was rather good. In fact, An Jing probably wouldn't be able to exert as much force as her if he hadn't cultivated using Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal.

Imperial blood enhanced one's physical attributes holistically. Not to mention, You Ruhui would've no doubt consumed all sorts of fine spirit herbs and medication to build a strong and stable foundation for her body and soul. While nobles of Grand Chen typically focused more on abilities and techniques that sought to deal with large groups of enemies, they would definitely make rapid progress if they focused on martial practice instead and end up stronger than others on the same level.

By the time Ming Guangchen returned, An Jing summarized the plan he drafted for her. "For now, you don't have to force yourself to practice any particular martial technique. What you should really focus on is sensing the ebb and flow of aura and learning how to manipulate it with your will. In other words, you need to meditate and constantly purify your aura until you can control it freely."

Had Ming Guangchen not been there, An Jing would've taught You Ruhui Sword of Tranquility on the spot. The contemplation technique that the sword soul had taught him was incredibly useful. It could hone the mind, clear the soul and even suppress desires and negative emotions. It truly had all sorts of applications. Yvelbane didn't mind passing the technique to You Ruhui either.

"Doing so will no doubt affect your future greatly. This lines up well with your celestial arc," Yvelbane said with a tone of anticipation. "The thought of a princess of imperial blood learning my secret teaching unawares and overthrowing Grand Chen is something to look forward to indeed. Well, there's no rush for now. You can just teach her this over the imperial blood droplet's connection in the future."

1. Refer to Chapter 210 to see the explanation of how she came up with her alias. ☜