Chapter 21: Leaving the Secular World
Translator: Cenniwdyl Editor: Caron_
“Little girl, are you alright?” Seeing her pale complexion, the youth thought she must’ve been frightened and said, “The path of cultivation is a bloody one; this kind of nasty person mustn’t be spared. You’d better get accustomed to it.”
Mo Tiange snapped back to reality and tried hard to compose herself. Senior is right. If this kind of person is allowed to live, he might entrap other people again. Moreover, he wanted to harm me, so who cares if he is killed?
She raised her head and stared at the youth, “Senior, are you my father’s friend?”
The youth smiled and stooped down to talk to her. “It’s my martial uncle who’s a friend of your father. Your father entrusted you to my martial uncle and my martial uncle sent me to pick you up.”
This person really is related to Father! Does that mean I can leave this place and live with Father?
Mo Tiange was ecstatic. She asked, “Senior, are you going to take me to my father’s place? Will I be able to see my father?”
The youth was stupefied. This child was obviously missing her father, so how could he tell her about his death? After pondering for a while, he finally said, “Little girl, your father… has already fallen. Even in his last breath, he was still thinking about you and your mother and therefore entrusted the two of you to my martial uncle.”
The smile on her face was frozen in an instant.
The youth didn’t really have the heart to see that. Hence, he tried to console her. “Don’t be sad, you still have an uncle…”
He was interrupted because the little girl suddenly grabbed his sleeves and bawled. He was completely flustered. “Little girl, don’t cry, I…” He was really bad at comforting children. His heart was filled with regret – if he had known this would happen, he would’ve told her a bit later instead of now. Now, he really couldn’t do anything except letting her cry to her heart’s content.
The youth then shifted his gaze towards the coachman. The mortal coachman was scared and stepped back, trembling beside the carriage while watching the youth with endless fear. The youth frowned and said, “Leave. We don’t hurt mortals.”
The coachman was relieved to hear this. He repeatedly conveyed his thanks and gratitude before hastily driving the carriage away.
The youth watched the carriage until it disappeared from his sight before looking down again. The child had stopped crying and was silently sobbing instead.
Although he couldn’t comfort this child, he still felt that she was pitiful for losing both her parents at such a young age. Thus, he said warmly, “Don’t be sad. I’ll take you to Kunwu to see your uncle, alright?”
Mo Tiange lifted her tear-stained face. “Senior, I… I’ve never seen my father before. I’ve been cultivating diligently to find him, but…”
The youth patted her head. “As a cultivator, we have to thoroughly understand the matters of life and death. Your father has passed away; he wished for you to live well, so you mustn’t let him down.”
Mo Tiange shook her head then nodded.
Seeing as she was no longer crying, the youth smiled. “I’ll take you to Kunwu now, okay?”
Mo Tiange hesitated. “Will I never come back in the future?”
The youth saw her expression and assumed she was unwilling to leave. But it was understandable – even if this little girl was already a cultivator, in the end, she was still a child. She had been living in the secular world ever since she was born, so maybe she was unwilling to part with her family in the secular world.
“Since you’ve stepped into the path of the Immortals, it would be better for you to give up your attachments. Little girl, if you can’t bear leaving this place and choose to cultivate here, it would be very hard for your cultivation to progress further.”
Mo Tiange shook her head. “I don’t want to stay here. None of them except Tianqiao like me.”
“Oh?” The youth hadn’t anticipated this. The child clearly seemed very smart, yet she was actually unloved. He said, “In that case, why do you still want to come back?”
Mo Tiange said, “Tianqiao treated me very well. I was wondering if, in the future, I could come back to see her.”
The youth smiled. “So it was because of this. This is easy – after you enter the Foundation Building realm, you can fly then you can come back whenever you want to.”
Fly? Fly in the sky like he did? Mo Tiange’s eyes shone brightly and she said, “Really?”
The youth smiled and nodded, saying, “Now you’re going to fly with me. We should be able to reach Kunwu in several days.”
Mo Tiange nodded before suddenly shaking her head. “Senior, can I go back to my house first before we go?”
“Sure.” With a wave of his hand, the sword on his back flew out of its scabbard. The youth then helped Mo Tiange onto the flying sword. “I’ll send you back home first.”
*Whoosh* The scenery before her eyes abruptly changed. Soon after, she finally saw that she was in the air. Her surroundings had transformed into a night sky while the hazy sight of mountains and rivers could be seen below her. Mo Tiange instantly lost all strength in her feet.
Seeing her reaction, the youth laughed and said, “No need to be afraid. I’m here – you won’t fall.”
Mo Tiange looked pale and was shaking out of fright. Hearing him trying to comfort her, she forced herself to nod.
The youth then started to talk, trying to distract her. “Little girl, your surname is Mo. What about your first name?”
Mo Tiange was fearfully watching the scene below with squinted eyes when she heard his question. She answered, “My name is Tiange. ‘Tian’ means heaven, ‘Ge’ means song.”
“Mo Tiange.” The youth repeated her name before he said with a smile, “That’s a good name! My surname is the same as your father’s, ‘Ye.’ My name is Jingwen. ‘Jing’ means scenery, ‘Wen’ means writing. You don’t need to call me senior – calling me Big Brother Ye will do.” After he said that, he asked, “How did you start cultivating? Did your father leave you a cultivation technique manual?”
Mo Tiange hesitated for a moment but nodded her head in the end. “En, I found it by accident.” People’s natures couldn’t be determined by their appearances. After her experience with Li Yushan, she was even more cautious than before.
Ye Jingwen’s gaze fell on her hand. After staring at it for a long time, he said, “The bracelet on your hand isn’t an ordinary object. It contains spiritual aura, so it must be a treasure, right?”
Mo Tiange was startled. As expected of a Foundation Building cultivator! Although Li Yushan had also seen her bracelet, he never felt suspicious about it. On the other hand, this Big Brother Ye could see through the bracelet with just one glance!
Ye Jingwen smiled when he noticed her frightened expression. He said, “Don’t worry. If I’m not a trustworthy person, my martial uncle would have never sent me here. I even know you’ve inherited your mother’s Pure Yin Constitution; if I had any evil intentions, I would’ve already taken you away at the beginning.”
Mo Tiange felt a bit relieved. She apologetically said, “Senior— Oh! Big Brother Ye, my father left this bracelet for my mother. I’m not sure what this thing is. The only thing I know is that this bracelet can gather spiritual aura.”
“Oh?” Ye Jingwen looked at her bracelet again and asked, “Could you let me take a look?”
After pondering for a moment, Mo Tiange took the bracelet off and handed it over to him.
Ye Jingwen kept turning the bracelet, examining every part of it. He then inserted a strand of his divine sense to explore the bracelet. When he finally returned the bracelet, he smiled and said, “If I’m not mistaken, this bracelet is made of Spirit-Gathering Pearls, and Spirit-Gathering Formations have been engraved inside them. For low-level cultivators, this thing is indeed a treasure. However, for those with high cultivation level, this is useless. Perhaps your father left this bracelet for your mother with the hope it could protect her from illnesses and prolong her life. Unfortunately…”
Mo Tiange silently took the bracelet back. She knew her mother’s illness couldn’t be cured; it was only possible to prolong her life slightly.
She raised her head to stare at Ye Jingwen. After pondering, she asked, “Big Brother Ye, was my father really an Immortal? How about you?”
“No doubt about it. Your father was a Core Formation cultivator, a very famous cultivator in western Kunwu.” Seeing Mo Tiange’s eyes brightening, he smiled. “As for me, I’m a disciple of Xuanqing School. My martial uncle is Xuanqing School’s elder, Master Daoist Shoujing. He’s an extraordinary person, a hundred-year-old Core Formation genius rarely seen in the Celestial Pole. Your father befriending my martial uncle was naturally an amazing sight.”
Mo Tiange was slightly confused because of what he said. “Big Brother Ye, if my father was such a powerful person, how could he…”
This question was a question Ye Jingwen couldn’t answer. He only sighed and said, “The path of cultivation is very difficult and dangerous. Not only do cultivators have to always be on their guard because everyone’s intentions are unpredictable, but they also have to defy the heavens for precious plants and stones as well as for fated chances. Even geniuses blessed by the heavens still can’t guarantee that they can maintain their lives…”
Seeing as Mo Tiange didn’t seem to understand his meaning, he couldn’t help but laugh. How could an inexperienced child understand this kind of thing?
While they were talking, the Mo Family’s Village finally appeared in their line of sight.