FFSC_04

Chapter 4: Running Away from Home — He Despised the Human Race Most of All

At the front of the merchant convoy, three figures dressed in black stood spread apart, their early Foundation Building auras bearing down so heavily that no one in the convoy dared lift their heads.

"Im… Immortals…"

The carriage driver stammered.

"We don't even have ten people here…"

"Is that so?" The middle-aged cultivator leading them wore a gentle expression, "Then within ten breaths, kill them all."

The convoy leader kicked the carriage driver.

"Three breaths have passed."

The elderly cultivator standing at the rear spoke in a low, distant tone. He pressed two fingers together, and a wisp of dim light shot out from between them.

"Die."

Bang!

Spiritual energy clashed, and dust flew into the air. The convoy leader stumbled and fell to the ground in a panic, only to find a short figure now standing before him.

It was a lean old woman. Her mid-Foundation Building aura swept outward, her eyes sharp as torches, her complexion notably pale.

"Stop!"

The carriage was pushed open and Liu Yu leaped out.

"It's you people again! Wasn't killing my sister enough?!"

The middle-aged cultivator saw him emerge and let out a light chuckle, "Young Master, if you had been the one to die last time, we wouldn't have had to make this extra trip."

The old woman spoke in a raspy voice: "Young Master, run!"

Liu Yu turned and ran, but straight toward her instead: "Aunt Zhou, we—"

Before he could finish, the old woman grabbed him by the collar and flung him behind her, then swiftly struck out with her palm, blocking a combined attack from all three cultivators.

The spiritual energy shockwave was immense. The old woman stumbled back three steps and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The elderly cultivator clicked his tongue and shook his head, "A once-renowned master of Qingzhu City, worn down over the years, and today you meet your end far from home."

Liu Yu's eyes turned red where he had been thrown aside, "Beasts! I'll fight you to the death!"

"Young Master! Run!"

The old woman struck Liu Yu again with her palm, sending him flying several zhang away, then turned her hand back toward her own dantian—she was going to self-detonate!

The elderly cultivator let out a strange laugh and stopped concealing his aura, stepping forward—mid-Foundation Building!

His aged palm flipped over, and a massive bell came crashing down from above. His gaze was one of pity, "When I look at you, it is as Heaven looks upon a mayfly."

Liu Yu fell to the ground and lifted his face, streaked with tears and blood, charging toward Aunt Zhou without a second thought—

A slender hand reached out from beside him, hooked his collar, flicked at the wrist, and flung him whole backward.

Liu Yu: ???

Not again!

Having been tossed around like a decorative ball three times already, Young Master Liu was completely numb. He climbed to his feet out of sheer habit, then his pupils jolted.

The great bell hung frozen in midair, perfectly still.

A figure stood before him—dressed in sharp black, tall in stature, expression cold and detached.

Liu Yu stood there dumbstruck, just as the elderly cultivator barked out furiously: "A mid-Qi Refinement piece of trash dares come here to die!"

"Watch out, Brother Jiang, get back!"

The ancient bell shook violently. Its sound waves surged like crashing tides, sending all the ordinary people sprawling to the ground in agony. Liu Yu felt as though a thousand-jin* weight had dropped onto his back, crushing his eyes to bulging and his chest to caving.

*t/n; a traditional Chinese unit of weight. 1 jin ≈ 600 grams (about 1.3 lbs). So "a thousand-jin" would be roughly 600 kg (1,300 lbs)

The elderly cultivator, pouring everything into driving his magical instrument, narrowed his clouded eyes, and a vague sense of foreboding rose in him for no apparent reason.

Among the fallen crowd, only that young Qi Refinement cultivator stood upright, his dark robe swaying lightly in the wind.

He did not spare the three of them a glance. He raised his hand, a talisman held between his slender fingers, and with a flick, sent it shooting out like an arrow—it ignited on its own mid-air.

A leaping burst of flame instantly swept across everyone's eyes. The light died, and countless talismanic script flowed outward, spreading in all directions, sweeping across a hundred meters, and suppressing the sound waves of the ancient bell.

The burning talisman light shone brilliantly. Everyone heard only that cool, clear voice: "Stand down."

The elderly cultivator furrowed his brow and quietly retreated behind his companions.

A talisman cultivator?

Not mid-Qi Refinement at all—but peak Qi Refinement… yet how could someone still in the Qi Refinement stage exert such overwhelming pressure? He could not see through his true cultivation at all!

The other two cultivators were still sneering, "A Qi Refinement brat dares to show off— today we'll send you to your grave!"

Chen Moqing lowered his eyes with cold indifference.

The flowing talismanic script suddenly turned razor-sharp, like countless interwoven streams of sword energy tearing open the long night and the river of stars—the ancient bell shattered, and the two early Foundation Building cultivators who had charged to the front died in an instant!

The elderly cultivator immediately clasped his hands in a bow and retreated dozens of meters in a flash, "Senior! We meant no offense, please show mercy! This junior will withdraw at once!"

What followed was an ice-cold voice: "Too late."

The talismanic script blazed like roaring flames—the killing formation was complete.

The scorching light swallowed the elderly cultivator's clouded eyes in a single instant.

How could this be?!

Two hundred years of cultivation, with the Golden Core almost within reach—how could it end like this…

The elderly cultivator desperately reached out his hand, not even managing to speak a single word of plea—engulfed in talisman fire, both body and soul were destroyed.

The merchant convoy fell utterly silent.

In less than ten breaths, three Foundation Building cultivators had been killed.

After a long, dead silence, Liu Yu sucked in a sharp breath, "Th-th-this is peak Qi Refinement?"

The old woman he helped to her feet wore a complex expression.

No, that person was absolutely not merely peak Qi Refinement!

It was said that some talisman path prodigies could craft talismans that carried power beyond their own cultivation boundary—just as sword cultivators, when trained to the highest extreme, could use their sword to cut down enemies above their level. Heaven's favored children always carried heaven's fortune with them.

This was without a doubt a prodigy who had mastered the talisman path, and might even be a direct disciple of the Tingyu Sect!

So young, yet already possessing such attainment in the talisman path. And his strikes were so ruthless and decisive, killing without hesitation… this person was not to be underestimated!

"This old one is Zhou Feixu. I thank Fellow Daoist for the life-saving grace."

"Brother Jiang! From today onward we are brothers, though not of the same father nor the same mother!"

Inside the spacious carriage, Liu Yu bent forward in a deep bow.

Chen Moqing stepped aside to avoid the bow, "There is no need. Young Master Liu invited me to share the carriage. That debt is already settled."

"Not so. A life-saving grace cannot be so easily offset. Brother Jiang's great virtue, I will carry it in my heart always!"

Liu Yu smiled, then let out a sigh, "I imagine Brother Jiang is also wondering why those people were trying to kill me."

Chen Moqing: "Not particularly."

Liu Yu seemed not to have heard him, murmuring to himself: "My surname is Liu, the Liu of the Liu family of Qingzhu City."

"After giving birth to me and my sister, our mother spent years recuperating in the countryside, and passed away not long ago. Father sent people to bring us back, but who could have known we would be ambushed along the way– and my sister, she…"

"Aunt Zhou was gravely wounded protecting us, her cultivation dropping two minor levels. I had thought that since this place was barely a hundred li* from Qingzhu City, those people would not dare act again—yet here we are…"

*t/n; a traditional Chinese unit of distance. 1 li ≈ 500 meters (0.5 km), so "a hundred li" would be roughly 50 kilometers.

The small snow-white creature in his lap let out a yawn, looking thoroughly bored. Chen Moqing directly smothered it with his sleeve and said calmly: "Even so, you still intend to press forward?"

"Yes!" Liu Yu wiped the corner of his eye and clenched his fists tight, "The one behind the assassination is my younger brother. We are not of the same mother, yet he is this vicious. Once I return and tell Father, he will not come to a good end!"

His expression lifted back into something spirited, and he clasped his hands toward Chen Moqing, "Great kindness needs no thanks! I can see Brother Jiang is also not the type who cares for money. In the future—"

Chen Moqing: "I am."

"I figured as… huh?"

A moment later, Chen Moqing tucked several bulging pouches of spirit stones into his storage pouch, then tossed one stone to the Demon Emperor beside him to play with.

Cang Shun sat upright on the cushion, regarding the bright, round little stone with utter disdain.

A little while passed.

The snow-white creature began batting the spirit stone with its paws.

【With this, can we buy a lot of wonton soup?】

Chen Moqing paused briefly and said: "Enough to last ten years without running out."

Cang Shun was satisfied. He hugged the spirit stone and played with it a while longer, then seemed to remember something, raised a paw, and pulled a packet of osmanthus cake out of thin air, tossing it lightly to the person beside him.

Chen Moqing: "You are not eating it?"

Cang Shun turned his head away.

【Tired of it. Don't want it anymore.】

Chen Moqing smiled faintly and unwrapped the neatly folded packet of osmanthus cake.

The osmanthus fragrance was not as it had been in younger years.

...

Three days later, Qingzhu City.

A talisman path city built across an entire mountain range, its walls etched with ancient talismanic script. Upon first arriving, Chen Moqing immediately sensed the surging, abundant aura of the talisman path that permeated the place.

At the city gate hung a bounty board, with the faces of wanted criminals rendered in spiritual energy. Chen Moqing gave it a casual glance.

Twelve bounty scrolls in total. Every single one bore his name.

Cang Shun shot a sideways look, "Who is this person, your full-blooded brother?"

"Chen Moqing? I've heard he's quite the fearsome demon!" Liu Yu stared at the portrait in amazement, "Thank goodness he's already been slain. If someone like that had slipped into Qingzhu City, the whole place would have been doomed to ruin."

Barely had he finished speaking when the little demon beast in Brother Jiang's arms began to tremble and shake, laughing so hard its fur flew in all directions.

Then Brother Jiang gave it an unhurried knock on the head.

In an instant, the little creature's round beast eyes flew wide open, and it started up its fierce-but-adorable mewling and whimpering, crying out very loudly.

It looked ferocious enough, yet it would not even bring itself to bare its claws for a scratch.

Liu Yu found it impossibly endearing and crooked a finger toward it, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty."

Suddenly a sharp pain exploded across his face, as though a razor claw had split it clean in two. He let out a wretched cry, covering his face with his hands—yet not a single drop of blood was to be found.

Zhou Feixu beside him opened her mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it and looked the other way entirely.

"Right, Brother Jiang, do you have a place to stay?" Liu Yu hissed through his teeth, still clutching his face, "How about coming to my home as a guest…"

"No need," Chen Moqing pressed a hand down on Cang Shun's head, his expression calm and composed, "We part ways here."

Liu Yu froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "Alright! Qingzhu City may be large, but there will surely come a time we meet again. If Brother Jiang ever needs anything, come find me at the Liu household!"

"Take care."

After parting with Liu Yu, Chen Moqing carried Cang Shun—whose mood had inexplicably lifted—and made a round through the city, quickly locating a place that dealt in talismans.

The Qianxuan Pavilion.

A dazzling, resplendent signboard. A twelve-story tower that soared into the sky.

A maidservant came to receive him almost immediately. Upon learning that Chen Moqing wished to sell lower grade talismans, she guided him to a section on the first floor.

A gray-robed elder sat behind the counter, eyeing the newcomer sideways.

He was a very young cultivator—mid-Qi Refinement, plainly dressed, his looks no more than ordinary, yet he carried about him a clean, refined quality like bamboo after the rain, pleasing to anyone who laid eyes on him.

On his shoulder sat a demon beast. Its spiritual energy was unremarkable, but its bearing was fine enough that capturing such a creature spoke to a measure of real ability.

The elder unhurriedly took a sip of tea, drawing out his words in a slow, lazy tone, "And what talismans might you have for us today?"

Chen Moqing tapped the tabletop lightly with his knuckles, and three talismans slid into the air before them.

The elder cast a casual glance over them— then his eyes went wide, and he straightened up sharply, "These are… two first-grade Fire Blaze Talismans, and a second-grade Thunderbolt Talisman!"

Talisman cultivators could draw talismans mid-battle using their spiritual energy, or infuse spiritual energy into talisman paper in advance to produce finished talismans.

Talismans were divided into nine grades— first and second were lower grade, third through fifth were middle grade, sixth and seventh were upper grade. Upper grade talismans were worth several million to tens of millions of spirit stones, and anything eighth or above was a supreme talisman capable of stirring heavenly phenomena, beyond all estimation in spirit stones.

The elder had appraised countless talismans in his time. One glance told him that while these three talismans were lower grade in rank, they were dense with spiritual energy and their script was exceptionally refined, indicating that the one who had drawn them possessed extraordinarily deep attainment in the talisman path—each one was a perfect specimen of the highest quality.

"The Fire Blaze Talismans are one thing, but this second-grade Thunderbolt Talisman is considerably difficult to produce, and once made, its power is formidable— capable of unleashing the full combat strength of a peak Foundation Building cultivator!"

The elder had assumed Chen Moqing would have nothing remarkable to offer, yet here was a master who kept his abilities well hidden. He immediately switched to a warm smile, "Quickly, bring tea for our esteemed guest! Please, have a seat, it is this old one's poor eye that let you stand this long!"

A maidservant at once brought over a grand armchair and thoughtfully added a cushion as well, so the guest's little demon beast could curl up on it comfortably.

The elder carefully lifted the second-grade Thunderbolt Talisman into the air with great delicacy, "Was this talisman crafted by your own hand?"

Chen Moqing raised his teacup, "A gift from my master."

The elder's eyes creased into slits with his smile, "For these two first-grade Fire Blaze Talismans, we are willing to offer six hundred spirit stones each, and for this second-grade Thunderbolt Talisman, we are willing to offer three thousand spirit stones!"

Each grade apart between talismans was a world of difference, and even within the same grade, different talismans varied considerably— the Thunderbolt Talisman was already among the most destructive of all second-grade talismans.

The price the elder quoted was one-tenth above market value, with the intention of building goodwill with this talisman cultivator. It was generally only Golden Core cultivators who could maintain a youthful appearance indefinitely, so the elder did not believe this young Qi Refinement cultivator had crafted the Thunderbolt Talisman himself—yet possessing such a talisman spoke to connections that ran deep.

Chen Moqing was in no hurry. He said: "Do you carry Grade Three protection…"

"Eight hundred spirit stones. I'll take it."

A sharp, somewhat shrill voice cut in. The elder's eyelid twitched as a young man draped in gold and jade came striding over, tossing a pouch of spirit stones onto the table without a second thought, "Eight hundred. All three of those talismans are mine now."

The elder groaned inwardly.

Why was it him again?

The most pampered youngest son of the Liu family's patriarch, the tyrant who ran roughshod over all of Qingzhu City—Liu Jue.

Toward this person who had barged in uninvited, Chen Moqing had only one thing to say: "Four thousand two hundred spirit stones."

Liu Jue's face curled into a sneer, "Ha. This young master is willing to pay at all and you should be grateful. Think carefully, when Liu Jue wants something, no one in Qingzhu City dares contest it!"

Chen Moqing's gaze shifted toward the elder. The elder let out a few awkward laughs, "Well, this…"

This talisman cultivator was certainly worth investing in, but right now he was alone. And Liu Jue's father was the Liu family patriarch— one of Qingzhu City's three great powers, a mid-Golden Core cultivator!

Chen Moqing said nothing more and calmly retrieved his talismans, "Then forget it."

He extended his arm, and the snow-white creature leaped onto his shoulder, letting out a low, drawn-out sound.

Chen Moqing patted the snow-white creature's back and walked toward the exit.

The elder opened his mouth to stop him, but his gaze swept sideways to Liu Jue, and in the end he could only let out a sigh and gesture for the guest to see himself out.

Liu Jue had not expected Chen Moqing to simply walk out like that, not giving him even the slightest face. He stood frozen for a few seconds, then forced out a cold laugh, "Doesn't know what's good for him!"

He stormed out of the Qianxuan Pavilion, but found no trace of the man anywhere. He rounded on the attendants waiting at the door in fury, "Are you all blind?! Go! Get those talismans back for me!"

One of the attendants quickly leaned in close, "Young Master, there is news just received—"

"What?! Those useless fools couldn't even deal with two people?! Did they not bring the Demon Suppressing Bell with them?! That is a treasure-grade artifact of peak Foundation Building!"

"Zhou Feixu? Ha– it seems I underestimated that old woman. A master of Qingzhu City from years past is still not to be taken lightly!"

The attendant lowered his voice further, "Young Master, there was also a mid-Qi Refinement talisman cultivator who entered the city with them. It seems he lent them his aid as well."

"Another talisman cultivator?"

The very words set Liu Jue's temper ablaze. His eyes rolled as something quickly came to mind.

"Heh. Hehehe…"

After a string of unsettling laughter, Liu Jue's gaze turned cold and sinister, "Go and invite Uncle Xue. Have this matter put to rest."

"Kill that person and bring me his talismans. Mother's birthday is coming soon. With something this fine, she will surely be pleased, and her illness will get better too."

Cang Shun padded leisurely around the table, leaning in to sniff at this and sniff at that, then turned his head to look at Chen Moqing sitting in meditation on the bed.

【Not eating?】

Chen Moqing did not lift his eyes, "I forgot to mention, I have long since abstained from food."

【…Oh.】

Then why did he keep wanting to eat things!

Cang Shun fixed his gaze on the plate of braised fish before him. The rich, dark sauce soaked into the crispy skin, beneath which lay snow-white tender flesh, garnished with fine slivers of scallion and ginger.

Not interested.

He was the Demon Emperor. He did not eat the food of common folk.

He turned and jumped down from the table.

"The food will go cold."

"...…"

Two seconds passed.

The snow-white creature jumped back onto the table and began eating the fish as though nothing had happened.

While picking out the most tender pieces of belly meat, it said at an unhurried pace: 【Benzun can make one move. I will help you kill that piece of trash.】

"No need," Chen Moqing said, "Just stay by my side."

He feared that when this Demon Emperor did act, it would not be subtle— it would shake the heavens and draw every eye to them.

Cang Shun: "...…"

He treats me rather well.

He… he even wants me to stay by his side.

Cang Shun fell quiet, eyes drifting repeatedly in a certain direction, even slowing down a little in his eating.

Paying no mind to a certain Demon Emperor's wandering little glances, Chen Moqing let his spiritual sense sink into his spiritual sea.

The once-barren spiritual sea had filled again, spiritual energy flowing freely through it. Though he had not yet broken through to the next level, Chen Moqing knew his combat strength had already crossed into Foundation Building territory.

Now, there was still one more problem before him.

Of the thousand spirit stones Liu Yu had gifted him earlier, only a few dozen remained after refining four talismans.

Spirit stones contained the spiritual energy of heaven's Dao and could be used by cultivators for their practice, as well as circulated as currency. When talisman cultivators refined talismans, it consumed vast amounts of spiritual energy, and their own cultivation required spiritual energy as well—if one directed all of one's personal spiritual energy toward cultivation, then talisman refinement could only draw on spirit stones instead.

At present he was only refining lower-grade talismans, which consumed only spirit stones. Higher-grade talismans would additionally require rare and precious natural materials, at costs too steep to easily imagine.

This was a common struggle shared by many cultivation path practitioners not born into great clans or noble sects—if one directed one's spiritual energy toward refining artifacts, one's refinement technique would improve, but cultivation would advance at a crawl, making it impossible to produce high-grade artifacts. Yet if one focused on advancing cultivation while neglecting refinement technique, one would have cultivation but no skill in the craft, leaving oneself equally without means in battle.

This was precisely where sword cultivators held their natural advantage—to cultivate the sword was to cultivate oneself, with no need to divide one's attention between the two. And for this very reason, those born with sword path aptitude were exceedingly rare, and were often regarded as heaven's favorites.

Chen Moqing flicked his hand, and several dozen spirit stones floated into the air, each giving off a faint glow.

A pitiful number.

No matter how he arranged or stacked them, he could not make the pile look any larger.

Was there really no technique in existence that could make spirit stones generate more spirit stones on their own?

Chen Moqing sighed softly. It was a shame he could not collect his own bounty—truly a great loss.

While his thoughts were wandering, something soft and fluffy had at some point burrowed into his palm without his noticing. He was still deep in thought, not looking down, and absently raised his hand to stroke it.

It was only when a faint sound drifted to his ear that he finally came back to himself a little, and lowered his eyes.

Curled in his palm lay a round, fluffy little ball.

The little ball narrowed its demon eyes slightly, its belly letting out a soft, steady rumbling.

Chen Moqing withdrew his hand.

The snow-white creature lifted its fluffy little head, its round demon eyes fixed on him without blinking.

Chen Moqing: What are you doing.

He tossed the Demon Emperor lightly to the side of the bed and began drawing some low-grade talismans that did not consume much spiritual energy.

Cang Shun landed on the bed with a thud, "...…"

He hated the human race!!

For who knew what number of times, a certain Demon Emperor's fur bristled up. He stared at Chen Moqing for a few seconds, and seeing that he had no intention of paying him any attention, angrily flicked his tail and leaped out the window, vanishing into the night.

The full moon hung high. Willow branches brushed along the riverbank.

On the eaves of the inn, a snow-white creature crouched along the roof ridge. The cold night wind tousled his fur into a mess, and his round little ears drooped slightly.

One fluffy paw scraped at the glazed roof tiles again and again. What looked like soft little paws left deep gouges in the tiles with each pass, producing an eerie scraping sound in the night wind.

Cang Shun waited a while, but no one came running out to look for him. The ears that had been perked up drooped a little further.

…Ignore him then.

So weak, yet he dared stay alone in a room. If someone came to his door, he would have no means of protecting himself whatsoever.

No, wait— it had nothing to do with him.

He was not going back. He absolutely refused to share a room with that insufferable human!

…His fish was still unfinished.

........

It was definitely not for that person's sake!

Inside the room, Chen Moqing was just about to push the door open and head out when he heard a sound by the window. He turned around.

A puffed-up little ball of fluff came squeezing in through the window in a huff, jumped onto the table, and grabbed two small dried fish in its mouth.

Shot Chen Moqing a glare. Turned away with an air of cold disdain and jumped.

Crouched coldly outside the window and began gnawing on the dried fish.

Chen Moqing: "…..."

The corners of his eyes curved ever so slightly. He walked over and gathered the cold, fluffy little ball into his arms.

The little ball was still all puffed up, squirming and fussing, until he pressed two slender fingers gently against its head and gave it a little rub, "Behave."

The little ball went completely still.

Chen Moqing tucked the little fluffy ball into his chest and wrapped his robes around it.

The little ball buried itself against his chest, perfectly still.

Going soft and pliant.

"Don't come out in a moment."

Having said that to the little ball, Chen Moqing raised his head. The cold, clear moonlight reflected in his dark, deep eyes.

"What are you waiting for, sir?"

A moment later, a figure appeared outside the window, "Waiting for your last words."

Great perfection of Foundation Building.

Half a level above peak Foundation Building, one half-step from the Golden Core— a Pseudo-Core cultivator.

The greatest beneath the Golden Core.

Author's Note:

———————————

A certain Demon Emperor: I'm running away from home!

One second later: I'm back from running away from home!

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