“Steward Zhuo, your temper hasn’t changed I see. Still as violent, ha-ha-ha…”
On a gloomy lone path, five people walked. A youth with a sinister smile and four five-foot midgets.
Violent Demon was fanning Zhuo Fan and sucking up at the same time.
Zhuo Fan mocked, “Do you think less than half a year is enough to change anyone? Then again, you four shits only get more outrageous after a few days away from my side. You even had the nerve to show off to me!”
“Steward Zhuo, please, that was just the perks of the job.” Wimp Demon explained, “Besides, the sect is filled with nasty people, always acting tough to the newbies. We were only helping you stay out of trouble.”
Zhuo Fan raised an eyebrow, “Did you just think… I’ll be railroaded?”
The four jerked, and shook their heads at once.
Violent Demon cuffed Wimp Demon over the head, “Ignorant fool, who do you take Steward Zhuo for? It’s already a miracle if he doesn’t railroad others. But if others did that to him? That’s a death sentence.”
All bobbed, Zhuo Fan included.
[Others aside, if you four don’t know me by now after all this time, now that’s ridiculous.]
[A mere Demon Scheming Sect, an average sect of the mortal domain, can’t have anyone that can stand up to me.]
Zhuo Fan’s grin widened.
Violent Demon checked the time and was all wishy-washy, “Steward Zhuo, there is the matter of overdoing things. We should hurry along, since we’re already late. It won’t do for us to earn Sect Leader’s ire. Let’s fly at least!”
“Where’s the fire? I’ve been cooped up in Tianyu for years and now that I get to travel, can’t I enjoy the view, have a taste of the great outdoors?” Zhuo Fan shot him down.
He had no intention of fitting in just yet, who knows when he’d get out. He’d need approval for any outing or relaxation once institutionalized, and with no place to vent, he’d go stir-crazy.
So if he could drag it out, he’d go the distance, on foot!
The Four Scheming Demons though, were feeling quite tense. It was a mission from the sect to receive new disciples. Being late would get the Sect Leader on their backs, the one who they couldn’t mess with.
Yet he paled in comparison to this new guy, the great Steward Zhuo, having fed them Bloodworms.
They’d be on someone’s bad side no matter the choice and the four felt like crying.
Since when did taking in a new disciple become such a toil? To any rowdy disciple, there were so many ways to get him to wait on the guides, by the time they reached the sect, he’d be a meek lamb.
While on this lord before them, the usual tricks never worked. In fact, they’d be happy if this steward stopped waiting on them, to say nothing of what other dirty tricks his twisted mind might cook up. One wrong word and it’d be hell on earth.
[This is no new disciple, but an ancestor’s detail!]
“Steward Zhuo, think of our fond times together and help us out a little. Let’s fly. We can just carry you if you want. Going like this will really make us run late!” Violent Demon implored while sobbing.
The other three put on sad faces and puppy eyes.
Zhuo Fan eyed them and snorted, “What are you scared of? Xie Wuyue invited me in. You think he’d mind some slight delay?”
“Bro, he won’t mind it with you, but he’ll ruin us.” Violent Demon cried a river and wailed, “Steward Zhuo, we’ve risked life and limb in the old days, for you. You can’t always treat us like dirt or the Sect Leader will have us thrown in a thunder prison for another century.”
The others nodded with pleading faces.
Zhuo Fan shook his head and sighed, “Fine, we’ll fly as a favor for those days. But you’ll carry me! “
“Yes, sir!”
The four grew ecstatic and Zhuo Fan shook his head.
[Xie Wuyue must have everything in a tight grip to have even these wild and unpredictable pygmies wrecked with fear.]
The four joined hands in lifting Zhuo Fan high above. Zhuo Fan closed his eyes, feeling soothed just like in a deck chair.
The clear blue sky, the warm rays of the sun, all felt like utter bliss.
Though the fighting sounds from the nearby woods broke the mood. The Four Scheming Demons looked at each other to see the glee in their eyes.
“Someone’s fighting. Let’s have a look-see.” Wimp Demon said thrilled.
Violent Demon was in total agreement, “Who is it I wonder? Suck a ruckus is bound to be interesting.”
“Even if it is, should we go? We don’t have much time left to return.” Scrooge Demon calculated the pros and cons.
Sly Demon asked the final question, “Do we go or not?”
After a moment of silence, looking at each other’s eyes, the four’s decision was unanimous, “Damn right we go!”
They threw Zhuo Fan off their backs while they turned into black smoke to go in the battle’s direction.
Zhuo Fan had some me time, basking in the sun’s warm glow, only to have a very rude awakening, smashing face first into the ground.
With a raging glare he searched his quarry, to find none.
“Blast and thunder, now I see why Xie Wuyue would want to throw them in prison for a century. It’d be a thou-, ten thousand years if it were me!”
Zhuo Fan patted the dust off of him, his face burning with rage. And noticing the sounds, he flew straight towards it with an insidious mind.
[You like to watch, don’t you? See how I’ll make you the stars of the show!]
Fifteen minutes later, Zhuo Fan found the pygmies at a valley entrance. With their butts stuck out and heads in a bush.
Zhuo Fan grinned and grabbed them, “Now I got you, you little shits!”
The four panicked alright, yet for some odd reason they kept shushing him while pointing at the bush.
Zhuo Fan paused, noticing it was an odd behavior even for these clowns. Curiosity got the better of him as he let them go and stuck his head into the bush.
The valley was more like a trench. Their bush’s position offered a good vantage point and clear view to the sheer drop below and the two groups of men at the bottom.
One was clothed in black, with the character for soul written on them, exploding with savage energy; demonic cultivators. While the other side wore all white with the word mystical sewn in golden on one of their shoulders.
The two sides were in a deadlock, their eyes only for the small plant with three leaves of red, yellow and blue between them.
Its intoxicating aroma was felt all the way up to the spectators.
“9th grade spiritual herb, Tri-color Soul Fixing Grass!” Zhuo Fan muttered.
Violent Demon used this prime chance to suck up, “Steward Zhuo is wise and farseeing. It is indeed the rare Tri-color Soul Fixing Grass. The pill made from it can protect one’s soul from scattering. Even after months of soul drifting, you’ll still be at peak. It is the most rare and precious herb in assuring an Ethereal Stage expert’s life.”
Zhuo Fan nodded. For anyone below the Ethereal Stage, it would keep their soul in one piece and save their life.
If he had it when Ning’er’s soul was wounded, he wouldn’t have needed Xie Wuyue.
While in the case of an Ethereal Stage expert, it would slow down the decay of the soul while devoid of a body and help them seize another.
If Elder She had it, he wouldn’t have panicked so much on losing his body.
Tri-color Soul Fixing Grass was such a rare safety measure that one would be hard pressed to find it even in sects. Which explained the impasse below.
“Do you know who they are?” Zhuo Fan asked.
Violent Demon nodded softly, “Steward Zhuo, those in black are from the Demon Soul Sect, demonic cultivators like us both of different factions. Their sect is even stronger than ours; best left alone. While the ones in white are on our side, from one of Tianyu’s three guardian sects, Mystical Heaven Sect. But righteous and demonic factions can’t coexist, walking different paths.”
“Mystical Heaven Sect?” Zhuo Fan was shocked.
[Isn’t that the same one Grandmother said Qingcheng went to…]
