Chapter 56: Wind-Chasing White Crane
The night was dark and the wind was high. A crescent moon hung in the sky, its cold light spilling down onto the small courtyard.
Corpses lay scattered across the courtyard. Some had their necks torn open, others had their hearts pierced, with blood trickling from the wounds. Aunt Qiao was moving the bodies, while the little girl struggled with a bucket and broom to wash away the bloodstains. Two small black dogs squatted nearby, tongues lolling, guarding them silently. When the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold had attacked, Ye Xing had sent the little girl and Aunt Qiao to the underground stone chamber. The chamber was very safe and well-hidden, and it even had a monitoring system that allowed them to see what was happening in the courtyard.
About twenty bandits from Black Wind Stronghold had attacked. Thirteen of them died, while eight or nine managed to escape. These bandits were cunning, after all, scattering in every direction to flee. As fast as Cyan Wolf was, it could only pursue them in two or three directions, killing about a dozen in total.
"Qiao’Er, go back inside. I’ll clean the bloodstains on the ground," Ye Xing said, walking in through the main gate.
"Big brother, you’re back!" the little girl cried, running to him happily. A few crystalline tears still clung to her long lashes; she had clearly been crying just a moment ago.
"Why are you crying? Didn’t I come back safely?" Ye Xing smiled, wiping the tear tracks from the little girl’s face.
"Big brother, why did you have to fight that man in black? We could’ve just sent Cyan Wolf out to chase all the bad guys away! Now you’re hurt!" The little girl pouted, her big eyes fixed on Ye Xing’s blood-stained right arm, full of worry. She had been watching on the monitoring screen in the underground chamber. When she saw the masked man in black cut Ye Xing, she had burst into tears. If Aunt Qiao hadn’t held her back, she would have stormed out of the chamber.
"Haha, those men in black weren’t that strong. They were perfect for me to practice on. Your big brother wanted to use them to improve my own power and gain some combat experience. After all, Cyan Wolf is just an external source of our strength. Our own power is what truly matters." Ye Xing playfully tapped the little girl’s nose and smiled. "Qiao’Er, you have to work hard on your Cultivation too, understand?"
"Mm-hm!" The little girl nodded emphatically. "I’ll work hard at my Cultivation and help Big Brother fight bad guys!"
"Good girl. Qiao’Er is the best," Ye Xing said, affectionately patting her head. "Now be a good girl and go back to your room to practice your Cultivation!"
"No, I can’t! There’s blood all over the ground, it’s filthy. I’ll clean the floor first, then I’ll go practice my Cultivation!" the little girl insisted.
"Your mother and I will clean the bloodstains on the floor. Go back to your room and cultivate right now, or I’ll get angry!" Ye Xing said, his face stern.
There were several bodies and pools of blood in the courtyard, making for a gruesome scene. Though the little girl pretended not to be scared, Ye Xing knew she was just forcing herself to be brave. She was still too young, and it wasn’t good for her to be exposed to such gore. So, Ye Xing put on his sternest Patriarch-like expression and firmly sent her back to her room to practice her Cultivation.
"Patriarch, what should we do with these bodies now?" Aunt Qiao asked, running over.
"I’ll go dig a pit on the back mountain and bury them all. I’ll have to trouble you to clean the blood here, Aunt Qiao," Ye Xing said.
"Alright!" Aunt Qiao took the broom and bucket from Ye Xing’s hands and began to clean the ground. She splashed water from the bucket to dilute the bloodstains, then started sweeping back and forth with the broom.
Ye Xing, meanwhile, carried the bodies of the black-clothed men to the back mountain. Grabbing a hoe and a shovel, he began to dig. Shovelful by shovelful, he flung dirt out, piling it high beside the growing hole. As time went on, the pit grew larger and deeper, and the mound of earth beside it grew taller. After more than half a shichen, he had finally dug a deep, wide pit. He then tossed the bodies in, one by one, and filled the hole back in.
’The tree may crave calm, but the wind will not cease,’ Ye Xing sighed softly. ’Tonight was just a few common bandits. As my wealth grows, I’m afraid I’ll start attracting master brigands with powerful martial arts.’
’They say a tall tree has deep roots, but my roots aren’t firm enough. A strong gust of wind could send me toppling. Without power, I can’t protect my home. I need to improve both my external and internal strength as quickly as possible. I have to cultivate harder! As for this score with the Black Tiger Stronghold, I’ll settle it later. There’s plenty of time.’ A cold glint flashed in Ye Xing’s eyes as he shot a final, indifferent glance at the freshly filled grave. Then, he returned to the Ye Mansion to resume his Cultivation.
...
In a pitch-black cave, a hazy Purple Light Group hovered, faintly crackling with lightning.
Beside the Purple Light Group, Ye Xing sat cross-legged in the Five Hearts Facing Heaven meditation posture. He operated his Innate Skill, breathing deeply as he absorbed the purple glow. The True Qi in his body flowed slowly through his meridians. With every complete Circulation, his True Qi grew a little stronger.
The quality of a Cultivation Skill largely determines the speed of one’s True Qi Cultivation. The Innate Skill was, without a doubt, a superb Internal Cultivation Method. Ye Xing had once asked Tantai Mengxue out of curiosity what grade the Innate Skill was, wondering if it was a Profound Level, High Tier Internal Cultivation Method. However, she never told him. She only said that the Innate Skill was the most suitable Internal Cultivation Method for a Martial Artist who began their training late in life and urged him to practice it diligently.
If the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi were a bottle of water, then the quality of one’s Cultivation Skill would be the size of the bottle’s opening. If the opening was too small, say, the size of a straw, then drinking the water would naturally be slow and strenuous. But if the opening was large enough, perhaps the size of a ping-pong ball, then one could drink GULP GULP, very quickly indeed.
The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in this purple-lit cave was several times denser than in many Pocket World Blessed Lands. Combined with a High Tier Internal Cultivation Method like the Innate Skill and his own painstaking efforts, Ye Xing’s Cultivation speed was advancing by leaps and bounds. He was getting closer and closer to the Martial Arts Second Realm.
Immersed in Cultivation, time passed quickly.
「Two days passed in the blink of an eye.」
It was early morning. The sun had just begun to rise in a vast, clear sky, its rays streaming down upon the world like a volley of ten thousand arrows. The leaves and branches on White Cloud Mountain were gilded with a pale golden light, and the lakes and waterfalls all shimmered with a crystalline brilliance.
At that moment, a snow-white crane circled high above the entrance to Immortal Spring Manor. The gentle flapping of its wings stirred the air, creating a WHOOSHING sound. It was none other than the Wind-Chasing White Crane.
Below the Wind-Chasing White Crane, three young women stood gracefully before the gates of Immortal Spring Manor. One was a Little Maid in a green dress with large, dewy eyes. Another was a girl in a red dress with a Treasure Sword at her hip. And the third was the exquisitely beautiful Snow-clothed Woman, her face hidden behind a light gauze veil.
"Hey, beauties, I’m here! Sorry to keep you all waiting!" A figure dashed out from the nearby woods, moving with incredible speed. It was Ye Xing, dressed in traditional green robes with a longsword strapped to his back.
"You scoundrel, couldn’t you have come earlier? You’re here to hitch a ride, and you still have the nerve to be late!" the red-skirted girl said, arching an eyebrow as she began to berate him.
"Exactly! Sister Xia is right," the little maid in green quickly added, chiming in.
"Something unexpected came up and delayed me a bit!" Ye Xing said as he approached. His eyes shifted to the little maid in green. "Hey now, little Chunyu, you’re supposed to be on my side! Instead, you’re ganging up on me with Xia Girl. What if I don’t let you come to my mansion to watch TV next time, huh?"
"I..." The little maid’s face fell. She looked at Ye Xing with pitiful, dewy eyes before turning to the red-skirted girl. "Sister Xia, actually... he wasn’t that late. We were just early..."
"Little Yu, are you siding with him already?" the red-skirted girl said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
Watching the three of them bicker, a hint of a smile touched the Snow-clothed Woman’s beautiful eyes. "Alright, that’s enough bickering. It’s time to depart."
The moment she finished speaking, she tapped her delicate feet on the ground and soared into the air. With a single, light leap of six or seven meters, she landed gracefully on the back of the Wind-Chasing White Crane.