Chapter 17: The Warlock’s Plight, Xu Fei’s Costly Apology
These Warlocks delved into feng shui and geomancy, prying into heavenly secrets and fate. They emulated the methods of the Ancient Qi Cultivators, who sought to "seize the very fortune of heaven and earth." They used these arts to exorcise evil spirits, suppress zombies, and eliminate demons.
It sounded as if they possessed vast Divine Techniques, capable of achieving the impossible and projecting an air of immense power.
But behind this "power" lay a miserable end, one so tragic it was terrifying.
Borrowing and controlling the Power of Heaven and Earth... Was the power of the heavens really so easy to "borrow"?
As the saying goes, even some fathers charge their own sons interest on loans. So how could one borrow power from the enigmatic "heaven and earth" without consequence?
Thus, almost no Warlock could escape the infamous curse of the "Five Deficiencies and Three Shortages."
This wasn’t an empty threat. It was the "backlash" and "price" they had to pay for performing their arts and communing with heaven and earth.
The Five Deficiencies are: being a widower (losing one’s wife or never having one), being a widow (losing one’s husband), being an orphan (losing one’s parents young), being solitary (childless in old age), and being disabled (physical impairment).
The Three Shortages are: a shortage of wealth (a life of poverty), a shortage of life (a short life or untimely death), and a shortage of power (being powerless and facing a difficult fate).
Almost every Warlock was fated to suffer from at least one, if not several, of these eight calamities.
It was like a cruel transaction with heaven and earth: for every bit of "Divine Technique" you borrowed, you had to repay it with your own fortune, prosperity, longevity, and happiness.
Widower, widow, orphan, solitary, disabled, poor, short-lived, powerless... One of these executioner’s blades, or even several, was always hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.
Therefore, true Warlocks were often mysterious, low-key, and some even deliberately became recluses.
Seeing Lu Yun remain silent, merely watching him with those deep, calm eyes, Xu Fei felt his scalp tingle.
An invisible pressure bore down on him like a mountain, nearly suffocating him.
The scene reminded Xu Fei of a terrifying experience from two years ago, one that had taught him the profound lesson that there is always someone stronger, always a heaven beyond the heavens.
Back then, Xu Fei had just officially taken over as Hall Master of Yishun Hall from his retired master, the former Hall Master.
At the same time, his own Martial Arts Realm had successfully broken through to the Peak of Anjin.
Riding high on his success and burning with ambition, Xu Fei believed he had few rivals in the area around the Yun Port City Pier.
When a person gets arrogant, they tend to get carried away.
He was no longer content with Yishun Hall’s traditional territory at the pier. He began extending his reach into Yun Port City’s more prosperous and lucrative core commercial districts.
To plant his flag and claim new territory, conflicts were inevitable with the local powers, other gangs, and even certain merchants with deep connections.
Xu Fei had long anticipated the daily fights and the proliferation of enemies.
Then, on a rainy night two years ago, Xu Fei personally led his men to hunt down a bitter enemy in an alley near the Ping’an Restaurant on Baihua Avenue.
The chase was exceptionally fierce. They fought from one end of the alley to the other, a flurry of flashing blades, their eyes red with bloodlust.
A young woman holding an oil-paper umbrella, hurrying on her way through the rainy night, was caught up in the chaos of the chase.
She was accidentally shoved, causing her to stumble and fall. The umbrella flew from her grasp, and the rain instantly soaked her clothes.
At that moment, blinded by bloodlust, Xu Fei couldn’t be bothered with her. He even found the woman to be a nuisance and cursed at her to get out of the way.
Who would have thought that this one shove would nearly cost him his life!
This seemingly ordinary young woman was actually the granddaughter of one of Yun Port City’s three great Grandmasters of Huajin, the renowned Sect Leader of the White Cloud Sect, Bai Longfei!
The White Cloud Sect! They were a prestigious and righteous Martial Arts sect, renowned not just in Yun Port City but in several surrounding provinces. Their foundation was exceedingly deep, and their disciples were countless.
Bai Longfei himself was a Grandmaster of Huajin who had been famous for many years, his power unfathomable.
Forget him personally—even just one or two of his direct disciples would have been more than enough to spell serious trouble for Xu Fei and Yishun Hall.
That evening, just as Xu Fei returned to the hall and was treating his wounds, still shaken, Bai Longfei suddenly paid him a personal "visit."
There were no unnecessary words, no grand display of force.
Bai Longfei simply stood calmly in the main hall of Yishun Hall’s headquarters, ignoring the terrified gang members.
His gaze locked directly onto the pale-faced Xu Fei, who was on the main seat, and he spoke faintly.
"Take one palm strike from me, and I will spare your life."
To this day, Xu Fei remembered that palm strike vividly. Every time he recalled it, a chill ran down his spine.
When he struck, the palm was not overwhelmingly fierce. Instead, it seemed to stir the surrounding air and the fine rain.
The palm’s afterimage was as fleeting as a drifting cloud in the sky, ever-changing and impossible to track. Yet, it carried a terrifying, irresistible power that sealed off all of Xu Fei’s escape routes!
This was precisely Bai Longfei’s famous ultimate technique, the Floating Life Cyan Cloud Palm!
Under that palm, Xu Fei felt like a small boat in a raging storm.
All of his resistance, all of his Anjin, seemed utterly laughable before that palm’s power—as ethereal as a white cloud, yet as heavy as a mountain.
At the critical moment, it was Xu Fei’s long-retired master, who had rushed over after hearing the news, who intervened. By joining forces, they barely managed to withstand the majority of the palm’s power.
Even so, both of them ended up vomiting blood and suffering severe injuries. It took them a full six months to recover!
As for Bai Longfei, it seemed he had truly only delivered a "casual strike." He showed no intention of attacking further, merely leaving behind a cold "Conduct yourself accordingly" before drifting away.
After this incident, all of Xu Fei’s arrogant pride was utterly shattered.
He finally understood the massive gap between a Grandmaster of Huajin and someone at the Peak of Anjin—a gap that seemed like a thin line but was in reality a celestial chasm.
It was a fundamental difference, a complete suppression on the level of life itself!
So today, when Xu Fei personally confirmed that Lu Yun was also a Grandmaster of Huajin, the deep-seated fear from two years ago instantly erupted!
What gang leader’s dignity? What pride of a Peak of Anjin expert? In the face of those three words, "Grandmaster of Huajin," all of it was as fragile as a newborn.
’Once bitten by a snake, one fears a rope for ten years.’
’He was truly afraid, afraid to his very bones! He knelt so quickly not because he had no shame, but because he knew all too well that in front of a Grandmaster of Huajin, face... was worthless. Survival was the only thing that mattered!’
At this moment, Xu Fei seized the opportunity to pledge his loyalty. "Lord Lu, your success in taking that step to become a Grandmaster of Huajin is a joyous, heavenly occasion!"
"I, Xu Fei, on behalf of all of Yishun Hall, wish to present five thousand silver dollars as a small token of our sentiment. Please accept it as a congratulatory gift. We wish you prosperity in your Martial Arts and a life as long as the heavens!"
Then, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he took the initiative to bring up yesterday’s events. "Also, that fool Wu Zhongyi, who doesn’t know life from death, dared to bring his men to offend you."
"That was entirely his own doing and has nothing to do with Yishun Hall! I will deal with him properly upon my return and give you a satisfactory explanation!"
’Better you die than I,’ he thought. ’Who the fuck talks about loyalty in this line of work? That’s just nonsense to fool the grunts and outsiders.’
’At a critical moment, saving your own skin is the top priority.’
Xu Fei felt not the slightest burden in his heart for selling out a "sworn brother" who was already crippled.
Hearing this, Lu Yun glanced casually at Xu Fei, and the frown that had just formed began to slowly relax.
’Kill Xu Fei?’ Lu Yun thought. ’Easy. But what then?’
’Yishun Hall would be left without a leader, and chaos would surely erupt.’
’The balance at the Yun Port City Pier would be shattered. All sorts of shady characters would emerge to seize territory and stir up trouble.’
’The situation would become chaotic, and there’s no guarantee some opportunist wouldn’t try to fish in troubled waters. Someone might even get desperate and target my family, the Lu Family.’
’Though I am strong, I can’t possibly protect every family member at all times.’
’Keeping Xu Fei alive, letting him manage Yishun Hall in fear, would maintain a surface-level stability at the pier. It’s actually more beneficial for me and for the Lu Family.’
’A ’smart man’ who has been scared witless and knows how to read the room is sometimes more useful than a dead ’tough guy’.’
"Go."
Lu Yun’s single word felt like a full pardon to Xu Fei. He quickly bowed and said,
"Yes! I will take my leave! The gift will be delivered to your residence shortly!"
After speaking, he didn’t dare to linger for a moment. He backed out of the main hall and only dared to straighten his back after turning into the corridor, hastily departing from the Lu Family’s Old Mansion.