Chapter 14: New Developments

Chapter 14: New Developments

14

New Developments

I

Theres something else Id like to know, Tian Jin said, looking over at Hao Zhen.

The two of them were on their way to Tian Jins residence. Previously, when Tian Jin had said that he lived a few doors down from Duo Lan, he had failed to clarify what exactly he considered a few. They had already been walking for a couple of minutes now, and their destination was nowhere in sight yet.

Its about Duo Lan, right? Hao Zhen asked.

Tian Jin nodded his head. Why exactly did you just accept what she said? She was clearly lying.

Oh, she was, Hao Zhen said, shaking his head. But that wasnt the time to confront her about it. Moreover, as far as I can tell, she is on our side, regardless of her secrets.

Tian Jin frowned. What do you mean?

Hao Zhen didnt answer immediately, taking a moment to think of the best way to put his thoughts and impressions into words. Its just Im certain that despite her crankiness and arrogance, she means wellor, at the very least, shes not a bad person. Just a while ago, when she gave me the sound-transmission token, that was her natural reaction, as far as I can tell. She saw that I needed help with something, knew that she could help me, and so she helped me, without even taking a moment to think how odd it was for her to not only have a spare sound-transmission token but to also give it away so easily. Of course, there was another possibility. Well, either that, or shes a really good actress, Hao Zhen added. What do you think? Youve known her for much longer.

I Tian Jin trailed off, thoughtful, before sighing. I think youre right. She can be really competitive, and she cant stand losing, but I dont believe shes a bad person, either. Is that why you didnt try to pry? Because you knew she wasnt ill-intentioned?

Mostly, Hao Zhen said. But also because I wasnt sure how shed react if I pressed the issue and actually tried to get to the bottom of it. Duo Lans rather mercurial, and she doesnt seem like she thinks things through before doing them. I didnt want to risk falling out with her, not when we have bigger problems at hand.

Tian Jin didnt appear fully convinced yet. What about the fact that she seems to know Du Qing?

Oh, that would be very problematic, Hao Zhen said, nodding, if it werent for the fact that she seems to hate his guts. Now that I think about it, even back in the valley, when we revealed to her what happened between you and Ke Li and Du Qings involvement in all of this, and she got mad, I thought that it was because Du Qing also wanted Ke Li to kill me and her, just to make sure there werent any loose ends. Now, though, I believe she was angry because she was already on bad terms with Du Qing, and having Ke Li kill her was just the cherry on the cake. He still hadnt managed to figure out yet what kind of relationship Duo Lan and Du Qing had, however. There was too much he didnt know. Have you heard any rumors about the two of them knowing each other? he asked Tian Jin, hoping that he might be able to shed some light on the situation. Or have either of them mentioned the other before to you?New novel chapters are published on

Hmmm. Tian Jin narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming one of concentration. Then he shook his head. No. Nothing at all.

Hao Zhen had figured as much. Do you happen to know anything about her past, then? Her origins, or what kind of life she led before joining the sect?

Nothing, either.

Hao Zhen sighed. Unsurprisingly, Duo Lans past was about as much of a mystery as Tian Jins had been. Then I guess that there isnt really any point in worrying about it right now. At the moment, our focus should be on dealing with Du Qing, Hao Zhen said. Of course, that doesnt mean we should just ignore Duo Lans matter altogether, he added. We should keep our guards up around her, just in case, and keep an eye out for any more suspicious behavior. I just dont think we should actively try to pry into her past, at least not right now, as we have more important priorities.

I think youre right, Tian Jin said, not thinking too long before agreeing. Also, tomorrow, Id like to spar with you a little.

What? Hao Zhen turned to look at Tian Jin, confused. Then he noticed the worry on Tian Jins face and realized what this was about. You want to see how good I am at defending myself, right?

He could guess what Tian Jin was thinkingthat he wasnt strong enough to protect himself should Du Qing send someone after him while Tian Jin wasnt around. And Tian Jin would be right: Hao Zhen had absolutely no confidence in his fighting abilities. He had never been in a single physical fight in either of his lives. He didnt know the first thing about fighting, let alone any martial arts.

Yes, Tian Jin said, nodding his head, openly admitting it. I also think you should start practicing using Ethereal String Puppetry as soon as possible until youre able to use it effectively in combat. Ill do my best to help you with it.

This was something Hao Zhen had been planning on asking Tian Jin for help with anyway, so he readily accepted. He needed to become strongernot just to deal with whatever Du Qing threw at them, but also to be able to stay by Tian Jins side later on. According to the trajectory of a cultivation novel protagonist, it was only a matter of time before Tian Jin left the Blazing Light Sect, and Hao Zhen needed to be strong enough to keep up with Tian Jin if he wanted to follow him. As a second-level redsoul that had already proved himself capable of killing third-level ones, Tian Jin was already far ahead of him in terms of power, and he needed to do his best to close that gap.

After walking for a little while more, Tian Jin pointed out his house in the distance. Hao Zhen could barely see it in the deepening darkness. At a glance, Tian Jins house was clearly smaller than Duo Lans, but it still appeared to be many times the size of his cottage. Like all the other houses in the area, it was enclosed by tall walls.

Once they got closer, they realized that there was someone standing beside the entrance, right in front of the gateway.

The contents of the jade slips that remained on the table were miscellaneous in nature. The only ones he ended up finding useful were the ones containing pill formulassets of instructions for concocting a particular pill, including a list of the ingredients requiredas well as the one with a map of the area around the sect, which they had used to find the way back to the sect from the Gentle Green Valley.

Hao Zhen returned the useful jade slips to the spatial ring, leaving the ones he didn't care for on the table.

He then went through the swords, picking up and holding each one for a few moments. Unfortunately, he didnt know the first thing about swords or magical artifacts, so he couldnt tell whether they were of good quality, though considering Ke Li had four of them, he reckoned they werent all that expensive. He returned the swords to the spatial ring before moving on to the pill flasks.

Once again, Hao Zhen found himself unable to draw any conclusions. He couldnt recognize any of the pills, but that was a given, considering he had never had the opportunity to take any before. He didnt dare to open any of them, either, as he didnt want to risk some of them being poisonous or quickly losing their effects after coming into contact with the outside air or something.

After returning the flasks to the spatial ring, Hao Zhen picked up the stack of paper talismans and looked them over one by one, paying attention to the array of symbols on them, which he now knew were called matrixes. Two of the paper talismans, he found, were identical to the one he kept in his pocket. The others he didnt recognize.

Just as he was about to put the talismans away, a knocking sound came from the door.

Huh. That was fast.

Before Hao Zhen could say anything or stand up, Tian Jin opened the door. Ah, so you were here after all, he said, walking inside. What were you His gaze fell on the table. Going through Ke Lis things?

Yeah, Hao Zhen said, nodding. These jade slips are the ones with nothing useful on them. I think I remember hearing that jade slips can be wiped, their contents erased. Do you know how? He wasnt about to throw away perfectly good jade slips if he could reuse them.

Tian Jin then showed him how to erase the contents of a jade slip and helped him return all of the jade slips on the table to a blank state, after which Hao Zhen stored them all inside the spatial ring.

Everything all right with Bao Yun? Hao Zhen asked once they were done.

Hmmm? Yes, Tian Jin said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

She wasnt curious about what I was doing here?

I dont think so. Or at least she didnt ask anything. Tian Jin shrugged. She didnt stay for long, in any case. She had to leave in a hurry. Apparently, shes preparing for some big event.

Hao Zhen knew foreshadowing when he saw it. Did she say anything about it? he asked, leaning forward a little.

Only that shes not supposed to tell me, but that Ill find out about it soon.

As far as Hao Zhen could tell, based on both what Tian Jin had told him and what he had seen of the girl, Bao Yun was on Tian Jins side, so whatever this big event was, it probably wasnt anything ominous. Something she had to prepare for maybe some kind of tournament or competition? She couldnt tell Tian Jin about it, though, and hed supposedly find out soon, so there was a good chance it involved both the Outer Court and the Inner Court, considering Bao Yun was a prime disciple.

Well, I guess well be finding out soon, then, Hao Zhen said.

Yeah. Tian Jin nodded his head. Everything all right with the room?

Its perfect.

After giving him another nod, Tian Jin stood. All right. I guess this is it for today. Tomorrow morning, well go to your place and pick up your clothes. For now Tian Jins spatial ring flashed, and some sleepwear appeared on Hao Zhens new bed, folded. You can wear this.

Hao Zhen glanced at the bed. Hed probably look ridiculous in the much taller boys sleepwear, but it wasnt as if he was planning on walking around the sect with it.

He then thanked Tian Jin once more for letting him stay, and after confirming that there wasnt anything else that Hao Zhen needed, Tian Jin bade him goodnight and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Tomorrow, Hao Zhen would see if Tian Jin could help him figure out what the pills and talismans were as well as whether the swords were any good. Hed also try to get to the bottom of what exactly was going on between him, Bao Yun, and Du Qing in order to ascertain whether it was related to the feud between Tian Jin and Du Qing.

At the moment, however, there was only one thing on Hao Zhens mind, and that was sleeping. With nothing else he still needed to do today, he changed into Tian Jins sleepwear and threw himself on the bed, falling asleep in an instant.