20 Crossing Swords

After the sudden gale of wind blew, the dazed pair quickly snaps out of their stupor. Fang Lei, with his heart about to burst out of his chest, uses his two hands to push Wen Po off with all of his might.

"Get off of me, stupid old man!"

...But when he pushes, he feels a firm surface, well-developed muscle, that he does not expect the merchant to have. Not to mention, since his body was just of a young, adorable cultivator—no matter how much he pushes, he's unable to topple Wen Po over.

Fang Lei's face turns red from embarrassment, and although he's attempting to sneer, it only looks like a childish pout with that cute face of his.

Wen Po only grins smugly at him, firmly staying put and trapping the young man in between his arms underneath him. "Hey, looks like I finally managed to get a different reaction other than annoyance out of you. Looks like you're capable of other humans emotions, too! Congratulations!"

[Achievement unlocked: Topping a spirit!]

"You… You…!!!" Seeing nothing but red, Fang Lei uses his spiritual power to summon his sword back to his side. With its golden aura, it springs towards Wen Po's direction—

"Woah, there!" Wen Po immediately rolls off of Fang Lei, the unforgiving edge narrowly missing his flank. With the weight of the merchant gone, Fang Lei immediately sits up, his white robe having picked up dirt from the road. Irritated, he aggressively dusts himself off as he stands up.

Wen Po, still on the ground, gets up without a trace of worry on his expression. "Phew, that was close! If I hadn't dodged in time, I would've been dead by now!"

Fang Lei sends another cold glare at him, his cheeks still flushed scarlet.

Wen Po trails off into a momentary silence. Then, a look of realization appears upon his countenance. "Wait, don't tell me you actually wanted me dea—"

"Shut up! Leave me alone!" Fang Lei angrily interrupts. Without listening, he turns around and walks off. Wen Po doesn't hesitate to stand up and follow after the young man.

Fang Lei settles on completely ignoring Wen Po for the rest of the journey, occasionally harassing him with his sword when the man got too close for comfort.

Wen Po continued to follow him with a small smile, his interest finally piqued after traveling for many years.

---

When Liu Jian opens the doors of the entrance to Yun Sect Leader Qin Jin's chambers, Xu Jiyu no longer feels nervous. Instead, with renewed confidence, he strides beside his partner into a gorgeous, well-kept interior. Although the Yun Sect has been around for several hundred years, the place was still modern as if everything was just built not even a year ago.

Glancing around with curious eyes, Xu Jiyu sees many scrolls with cultivation techniques strewn about while the shelves are lined with many books. At the very end, in the center of the room, sits an incredibly handsome man—Qin Jin, the Sect Leader.

Xu Jiyu's golden eyes open as wide as saucers, shocked upon seeing such a youthful looking man. He had nearly forgotten that once cultivating to immortality, even aging stops. For a moment, he really had been expecting a powerful old man of some sort.

However, Liu Jian is not surprised at the least, and greets him accordingly—

"This disciple greets his Sect Leader. I, Liu Jian, have returned with an acquaintance." Liu Jian cups his hands and bows, stepping to the side to let Xu Jiyu have the spotlight.

Realizing it was his turn to speak, Xu Jiyu quickly snaps out of his thoughts and copies Liu Jian's action: "Greetings, Sect Leader Qin Jin. My name is Xu Jiyu, a traveling cultivator from the Song Sect of the South. My apologies for suddenly intruding without any notice. I consider Senior Brother Liu Jian as my partner, and so I followed him here…"

Qin Jin raises his hand, a signal for Xu Jiyu to stop speaking. Xu Jiyu immediately shuts his mouth, afraid of the icy glint within Qin Jin's azure eyes.

"Xu Jiyu of the Song Sect… how did you become acquainted with my disciple?" Qin Jin questions without a trace of emotion on his face.

"We… were both searching for a certain young man named Lang Jing, who we believed might have been possessed by the King of Spirits. So we became partners in order to find him together, Sect Leader." Xu Jiyu explains, managing to keep calm.

Next to him, Liu Jian makes a face of confusion. Is that how they really met? He doesn't remember any word of it… but it's only natural, since he was apparently possessed by the King of Spirits, as Xu Jiyu has told him.

Qin Jin raises an eyebrow, his gaze moving to his disciple. "Searching for the King of Spirits? That was not the mission I gave you, Liu Jian."

Liu Jian bows his head down, "Sect Leader, please forgive this one's actions. It seems I have forgotten everything beginning from when you first gave me this important mission. The only thing I remember is that it's important, but I do not know the contents of it, strangely enough…"

Qin Jin's expression darkens. Just as he's about to speak—

"Please don't blame it on Liu Jian! In fact, he doesn't remember because he was possessed by the King of Spirits for a short moment!" Xu Jiyu bravely cuts in, defending his partner. He doesn't want Liu Jian to be punished for not remembering—after all, it wasn't his fault in the first place. It was the King's fault for being so powerful that it wiped one's memories clean up to a certain point! Yes, he's sure that this is what's happened to Liu Jian…

For a moment, silence fills the room.

Then, Qin Jin's expression changes to one of interest. "Is that so…? The King of Spirits possessed Liu Jian again?"

Xu Jiyu silently mulls over the Sect Leader's words in his mind. What did he mean by 'again'?

It wasn't the first time Liu Jian was possessed by the King?

The youth sends a questioning glance over to his partner, but his partner only ignores it and nods. "En, that appears to be the case. I'm not sure why the King decided to return to my body, but one thing's for sure: I really don't remember anything starting from the moment he possessed me."

Xu Jiyu shakes his head, "But he possessed you for such a short amount of time! If that were true, then you would have remembered me…"

Liu Jian finally turns his head towards Xu Jiyu. Upon locking gazes, he simply says: "The time you spent with me was most likely not with 'me', but with the King."

Xu Jiyu: "....."

Liu Jian: "....."

Qin Jin: "....."

A crow caws in the distance.

Xu Jiyu: "Liu Jian, please summon your spiritual sword."

Liu Jian: "...Why?"

Xu Jiyu: "That crow needs to be taught a lesson."

Liu Jian: "That's not what spiritual swords are for, it's an extension of my so—"

Xu Jiyu: "Your mother is an extension of your soul, ah! Give me the damn sword!"

Qin Jin: ".....Are all Song Sect members like this?"