Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 584: Milord, This Guy’s Bad News!

Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior instantly went on guard, and focused his gaze solely on the old man.

Further up the street, the old man once again called out, “Benefactor!”

His voice seemed to thrum with feeling. His expression was one of excitement, and as he trembled, tears glistened in the corners of his eyes. It made him seem like he was swept up in a moment of extreme emotion.

Voice quavering, he said, “I’ve been looking for you for such a long, long time! Sir, I’ll never forget about how you saved my life. However, I deeply regret that I was so immersed in cultivation on that day that, by the time I gained my senses, you had long since departed! And you never even collected your medical fees!”

With that, he suppressed his immense terror and approached the Green Spirit Pharmacy.

“I’ve been feeling guilty about that ever since, and have thus been searching for you. Thankfully, the heavens noticed my feelings, and finally enabled me to reunite with you this day, sir.”

Rubbing his eyes dry, the old man looked at the expressionless Xu Qing standing inside the shop, then clasped hands and bowed deeply! When he looked at him, his expression was pleading.

“This time around, I just hope you can give me a chance to pay you, sir. Please, you have to accept the gift I prepared for you, oh benefactor.”

Heart twinging with painful regret, the old man took out three bags of holding which he held aloft.

Chen Fanzhuo watched all of this happening with blank shock. Moments ago, this old man had been bristling with frightful malice, but now he seemed full of sincerity and excitement. It wasn’t lost on him that the old man only had a total of three bags of holding, yet he was offering all of them.

It was surprising, but also strange, and it caused him to slowly look from the old man to the grandmaster of Green Spirit Pharmacy.

Inside, Xu Qing rolled the bottle back and forth in his hand as he looked coldly at the trembling old man. At the same time, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior projected a message to him.

“Milord, this guy is bluffing. He’s clearly treacherous, and definitely bad news! In most s, characters like this are the kind who stab you in the back. Definitely not like me.”

Ignoring the patriarch, Xu Qing slowly walked out of the medicine shop.

Xu Qing obviously saw right through the old man’s little ploy. Tricks like that might work on other people, but not him.

Considering this man had escaped him before, there was no way Xu Qing had any intention of letting him go this time. Even up in the rafters, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior could sense the killing intent in Xu Qing’s heart, and was egging him on, hoping to see the result.

As Xu Qing approached, the old man felt increasing pressure weighing down on him. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and Xu Qing’s cold eyes caused his heart to pound.

Seeing that his strategy wasn’t working, he anxiously glanced at Chen Fanzhuo, then gritted his teeth and said, “Benefactor! I, Li Youfei, owe a debt that surpasses heaven! Sire, you absolutely must accept this gift of thanks from me!” [1]

When Chen Fanzhuo heard Li Youfei’s name, he frowned slightly. The name seemed familiar, but clearly, he didn’t know who Li Youfei was.

When Li Youfei noticed Chen Fanzhuo’s lack of reaction, he got even more anxious. What’s going on? Why doesn’t he realize who I am? Is he not from around here?

Raising his voice, he said, “I, Li Youfei, have lived in the Bitter Life Mountains for two sixty-year cycles. It’s been a tough life. A struggle! But it really makes you understand the importance of repaying kindnesses. Benefactor, last time, you left before I, Li Youfei, managed to—”

Before he could finish, Chen Fanzhuo suddenly realized why the name was familiar, and blurted, “Sir, you’re Senior Li, also known as the Bitter-Life Immortal. Li Youfei!” He was visibly moved. “Twenty-three years ago, the notorious Qilin Blood Sect, which had kidnapped mortal children from throughout the Bitter Life Mountains to concoct into pills, was wiped out overnight. All the mortal children were saved. Since that event, everyone in the Bitter Life Mountains says that the hero of the story was the Bitter-Life Immortal, Li Youfei!

“Forty years ago, the Blood-Worshipping Sect, known for their practice of pillaging, murdering, and raping countless mudbrick cities, was completely wiped out of existence over a period of three days. According to what most people say, it was the work of Li Youfei, also known as the Bitter-Life Immortal!

“During the entire past sixty-year-cycle, any time there were natural disasters or calamities, a mysterious person would provide food to all of the stricken mortals in the mudbrick cities. Supposedly, that mysterious person is Li Youfei!

“For the past few months, all rogue cultivators who have harbored thoughts of becoming godslaves of the Red Moon Cathedral, have died, one after another. According to the rumors....”

During the time Chen Fanzhuo had lived in the Bitter Life Mountains, he had obviously heard many stories about Li Youfei. People said that he was both righteous and evil, that he had both the spirit of a hero and the spirit of a villain. However, overall, he was more heroic than villainous.

“Senior,” Chen Fanzhuo said, “the situation with your mansion grotto is all my fault. I can give back everything I took. Please, Senior, I hope you can forgive me.”

Chen Fanzhuo took a deep breath and bowed to Li Youfei. He looked very excited. However, people who rose to leadership positions in organizations in the Bitter Life Mountains were generally extraordinary. As such, it was only natural that he picked up on the tension between Li Youfei and the grandmaster of Green Spirit Pharmacy. Even if this person wasn’t really Li Youfei, at least he had a chance to smooth out a potentially deadly situation.

When Li Youfei heard Chen Fanzhuo explaining his identity, he breathed a sigh of relief. Normally speaking, he wore a disguise in public so that people wouldn’t recognize him easily. But right now wasn’t the time to hide his identity. Given the deadly crisis he was in, it seemed like a good idea to make sure this freakish monster... realized that Li Youfei could be useful.

He knew that Xu Qing wanted to get to the Moonrebel Congregation. Normally speaking, only very determined people would try to do that. And Li Youfei wanted Xu Qing to know that he was just such a person! Although he hadn’t passed the test to get into the Moonrebel Congregation, all he needed was a godslave to offer. In fact, many of the things he had done through the years were in the hopes of achieving that goal.

With such thoughts on his mind, Li Youfei looked pleadingly at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, had stopped in place, and was looking Li Youfei up and down without saying a word.

His silence caused Li Youfei to tremble from head to toe.

A very long moment passed. Finally, Xu Qing made a grasping gesture, and the three bags of holding flew over to him. Taking them, he walked back inside the Green Spirit Pharmacy.

After Xu Qing was gone, the pressure weighing down on Li Youfei eased. Feeling like he had just survived a near-death experience, he exhaled slowly. Clasping hands and ducking his head, he bowed, then turned and left. He didn’t notice at all that an eyeball had suddenly appeared in his shadow. It quickly closed, vanishing from sight.

For the moment, Xu Qing wasn’t planning to kill Li Youfei. Instead, he left a shadow eye on him. If it turned out that Chen Fanzhuo’s description of him was accurate, then Xu Qing wasn’t opposed to sparing him. However, if it turned out the man was malicious and villainous, then it didn’t matter what else he did, he wouldn’t have any chance of surviving. The shadow could easily take control of him and make him eat himself to death.

Now that Li Youfei was gone, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Meanwhile, Chen Fanzhuo, who had witnessed everything, suddenly felt even more reverential toward Xu Qing. Rejoicing at his previous decision to show so much respect, he turned to the Green Spirit Pharmacy and bowed at the waist. Then he left.

Inside the medicine shop, Ling’er blinked a few times and then looked at the bags of holding Xu Qing had taken. Ever since running the business, Ling’er had become very profit-oriented, to the point of being a bit miserly. Xu Qing had noticed that. Smiling, he checked the bags of holding with divine sense to make sure they were safe, then handed them to Ling’er.

Letting loose an excited exclamation, Ling’er took them and opened them with the same exuberance she would open a wish box.

Xu Qing looked on for a moment, grinning, then went into the back room, sat down, and took out the mirror fragment.

Thus, three days passed.

On the morning of the fourth day, he reached the very end of the welcoming light from the Moonrebel Congregation. There he stood, his heart full of excitement and anticipation.

It took over a month, but I’ve finally finished the third subtest. It was so hard!

Clenching his hand into a fist, he launched a punch straight ahead of him. Cracking sounds rang out, and the final three meters were cleared. Light shone brightly, wrapping him up as he stepped forward. It felt like being immersed in cold water.

Then he found himself in an ancient temple. It wasn’t a very large temple. It was only about thirty square meters. It was gloomy, without any joss flame inside. There was a small altar present, but nothing else.

Xu Qing was currently standing atop the altar.

However, he didn’t look like he normally looked. Instead, he looked like a statue. The statue depicted an old man in a long robe, with facial features that seemed threatening without being angry. He had a beard that went down past his chest, and had the demeanor of a transcendent being. Strapped to his back was an enormous bottle gourd. There was something vaguely holy about the way he looked.

After examining his appearance, Xu Qing sent divine sense out, only to find that it couldn’t pierce the walls. Its range was limited to the interior of the temple. After confirming there were no other auras present, Xu Qing lifted his hand.

The stone hand looked as if it had been expertly painted years ago. However, after all the time that had passed, it was spotted with age, and there were even cracks on its surface, some deeper than others. Xu Qing put his hand down and looked around.

This is the Moonrebel Congregation?

Xu Qing wasn’t sure why he’d been transformed into a statue. But he could sense that this statue form contained life force power that wasn’t his own. It was almost like a suit of armor.

In other words, there was a statue here before I arrived? And after I came here, I entered the statue?

After some thought, Xu Qing did some tests.

The altar vibrated. Dust fell. But Xu Qing managed to awkwardly walk the statue off the altar. With that, he moved around a little bit to get used to the statue ‘armor,’ and also inspect the temple. He quickly found that his cultivation base was meaningless here, as he couldn’t use it. The only way to move around was to make the statue move. That said, he could access his bag of holding.

With that, he looked at the main door of the temple. It had once been bright red, but after all the years that had passed, the paint was cracked and faded.

I guess the Moonrebel Congregation is on the other side of the door.

Eyes shining with anticipation, he sent the statue walking toward the door. He reached it in only a few steps. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door. However, the moment he touched the door, something unexpected happened!

***

Outside the Bitter Life Mountains on the edge of the Greenhair Badlands, a five-colored light shot through the green wind and sand. It moved with incredible speed, occasionally flickering forward in minor teleportations to reach even higher speeds. The desert was a dangerous place, but apparently, as long as this light could move fast enough, it wasn’t scared of anything.

Occasionally, the light would stop briefly as if searching for something. During those times, if you looked very closely, you would be surprised to find that the light contained one of Wu Jianwu’s children, specifically, the parrot.

Every time he slowed down, the parrot would inhale deeply, then look around as if searching. Soon enough, the parrot spotted the Bitter Life Mountains off in the distance. When he did, his eyes lit up.

“Oh yeah, who’s the badass now? I found them! If my dad were here to see this, he would definitely be so excited he would come up with a great poem. As the smartest of all his children, I should step in for him to do the same.” Sounding very proud, the parrot said, “When the parrot debuts, the dad sucks balls; when I show up, call me pops, ya clowns!”

In his heart, he was just sad that no one was around to hear his amazing poem.

1. Li Youfei: Li is #2 on the list of 100 common Chinese surnames. You means “to have” and Fei means “villain, bandit, brigand.” Madam Deathblade says it sounds strange and is an unlucky name. She said, and I quote, “No loving parents would give a baby that name.” ☜