Chapter 400: Fifth World: Mist of Death

Ever wondered how it feels to watch your lover being lured by another person right in front of you? If Wen Qinxi could describe such a feeling it would like your chest was being crushed by a twenty-tonne vinegar tanker. After it's done crushing you the vinegar stings your wounds like a thousand needles stabbing at the skin all at once.

Well, his description could be labelled as exaggerated but that's the only illustration he could come up with right now. Wen Qinxi found the food rather tasteless when he saw Nu Shen brazenly tugging at Qie Ranzhe's sleeve while calling out, "Sect leader," in a coquettish voice.

Unable to hide his contemptuous look, Wen Qinxi smacked the chopsticks on the table and stood up to leave in a huff. The entire table fell silent watching the grown man leave without a word. Qie Xieling was about to place a piece of stir-fried pork into Zhao Zhi's bowl when the man up and left just like that.

His hand holding the chopsticks paused as he watched Zhao Zhi leave. As soon as Zhao Zhi's figure disappeared, he looked at his father and then at the fingers tugging his father's sleeve with a raised brow. A somewhat absurd conjecture popped into his mind but he wasn't certain.

"I, I will go check on him," said Qie Xieling not forgetting to clean out his bowl before running after Zhao Zhi.

As soon as Qie Xieling left, Qie Ranzhe created some distance between him and Nu Shen. He knew exactly what was going on the moment Nu Shen sat beside him. He had seen the same look on those women he kept in his sect. The only reason why he didn't stop her was that he was curious to find out where this was headed.

And now that he knew he naturally ended Nu Shen's play. According to Zhao Zhi's reaction, he seemed to like this female disciple and Qie Ranzhe could see why. She was a beauty and her skills weren't bad. Nu Shen would make the perfect dual cultivation partner for Zhao Zhi. But what he couldn't understand was why Zhao Zhi pushed him down and kissed him the previous night if he was interested in this junior sister.

Of course, it was because Zhao Zhi wanted something from him but did he have to go as far as kissing him. Qie Ranzhe didn't bother looking at her as he spoke, "Use me again and I won't spare you," before standing up to leave.

His tone of voice made Nu Shen feel a sense of peril dampening her high spirits. She was elated that her sisters' plan was full proof proving Zhao Zhi had feelings for her but Qie Ranzhe just had to scare the living daylights out of her. A chill ran down her spine as Qie Ranzhe's figure passed her back. "Terrifying... too fuckin terrifying," mumbled Nu Shen not daring to look at Qie Ranzhe's disappearing figure.

She was fully aware of Qie Ranzhe's reputation but she was so desperate that she dove in without thinking. The result was that she offended this great buddha that if her sect leader finds out she won't have a good ending.

***

The rest of the day the Zhao sect disciples were relaxed enjoying what this beautiful town had to offer. They had been too preoccupied with their own personal business to notice Zhao Zhi's absence. Even if they realised he was missing they wouldn't necessarily be worried because their Shixiong was powerful and diligent in cultivation so there wasn't any cause for concern.

Surprisingly, it was Qie Xieling who ran around looking for his Shixiong. The man had simply vanished for the entire day after brunch making him anxious. At first, he wasn't as worried. He was simply looking for him to check if he was alright but as time passed he couldn't shake this gut feeling that something terrible was about to happen. This feeling had him determined to find Zhao Zhi and bring him back to his father for refuge.

Who knew after searching for several hours he still couldn't catch sight of Zhao Zhi. If it weren't for the fact that Machu came to take him back to Qie Ranzhe he would have kept looking.

As soon as he reached his father, Qie Xieling didn't hesitate to speak up. When it came to important things such as this he didn't hide anything from him. "Father," he said before licking his dry lips.

Qie Ranzhe saw this and said, "Sit," while Machu poured some water for him. Qie Xieling knew that his father was simply caring for him so he obediently sat down before gulping down the entire cup of water. While he drank, Qie Ranzhe spoke to him. "Why are you punishing yourself like this?.... He is probably frolicking with his lover while you are running around looking for him?"

Qie Xieling shook his head in refusal and said, "He isn't. Something is coming, something big. Father, we have to find him."

Seeming relaxed Qie Ranzhe beckoned him to bring his arm over without saying a word. Qie Xieling was used to this. Whenever his father had time, he would check on his meridians and dantian especially after feeding him a lot of rare medicine. But this time he hadn't consumed any of that stuff but his father was checking on him.

A familiar warm Qi invaded his body searching for something through the complex network of veins. The tension in Qie Ranzhe's brows soon relaxed as he retracted his hand from Qie Xieling's wrist. "Try and circulate your Qi," he said with a look of encouragement. Qie Xieling couldn't understand what this was all about but he complied. Maybe after doing this his father would go out to look for Zhao Zhi.

Qie Xieling closed his eyes and controlled the flow of Qi from his dantian which he had tried several times before. To his surprise, some of his Qi flowed through his meridians though minimal. He couldn't do this before earning him the title 'cultivation wastrel' but now he could.

His face brightened as he opened his eyes. Trembling in excitement he placed his palms on his cheeks feeling like he had finally gained independence but before he could jump on his father to express his joy, Qie Ranzhe asked him a vital question. "Who else other than Zhao Zhi were you in contact with last night?"

Qie Xieling excitedly replied, "It was only Shixiong... I didn't talk to anyone apart from Shixiong."

Having got his answer, Qie Ranzhe couldn't deny it anymore. Whatever happened to the two of them had everything to do with Zhao Zhi. But the problem was that Zhao Zhi didn't seem to know anything which was concerning.

Thinking they could finally have an open discussion and figure out how to break the seal on Qie Xieling's body entirely and get rid of whatever was preventing him from a breakthrough, Qie Ranzhe stood up to search for Zhao Zhi.