Beyond the Timescape [Wuxiaworld]

Xu Qing remained on guard. In the moment before teleporting away, he had noticed the reaction of the disciple by the portal. Although the disciple’s expression had been one of surprise, there had been a certain amount of thoughtfulness in there as well.

Of course, putting himself in that disciple’s shoes, Xu Qing had to admit that the reward was indeed enticing, so if anything, it would be unreasonable to expect people to not be tempted by it.

And then there’s my Seazombie enemy. The... what did he call himself? The dao child.

If the statue’s nose couldn’t be repaired, then it seemed to indicate that when things were damaged by Golden Crow Assimilates Myriad Spirits, they couldn’t be restored. And in that case... it seemed likely the dao child’s face probably couldn’t be healed.

He definitely hates my guts. I need to figure out how to get rid of him.

Those thoughts were on his mind as the glittering teleportation light faded away, and things grew clear. He was back in Seven Blood Eyes.

He was immediately met by familiar sights and sounds, the usual hustle and bustle of the capital city. There was a line of people waiting to access the teleportation portals. And there were two disciples off in the distance handling registration matters. One was male, one was female, and both wore gray robes. Glancing at them, Xu Qing thought they seemed familiar, but didn’t take time to think much about it.

As he neared, his violet robe caught the attention of the crowd. As for the two disciples handling registration, their expressions flickered and they immediately got to their feet and clasped hands respectfully.

“Well met, Sect Uncle!” they said.

She was pretty, a bit skinny, with a ponytail. When his eyes locked onto her, she immediately got nervous and even started shaking a bit. Heart pounding, she bowed her head even deeper.

“Your cultivation base isn’t bad,” Xu Qing said. “You’re not far from the sixth level. But the Forbidden Sea aura from your Seaforming Scripture isn’t on par with disciples of the same level from the Seventh Peak. Improve that aura, and you’ll have a much easier time with your breakthrough.”

The trembling girl offered thanks for his advice, and then he was gone.

The reason Xu Qing gave her the advice was that these two disciples were the same ones who had been there to receive him when he arrived at Seven Blood Eyes. And this girl had warned him about the dangers of the sect. It was a small act of kindness, but Xu Qing figured that upon meeting her again, he might as well repay her with some good advice. [1]

After Xu Qing was gone, the two disciples stood there sweating.

Xu Qing’s cultivation base naturally emitted immense pressure, and he also had a baleful aura that could only be acquired on the battlefield. To these two Qi Condensation disciples, he seemed like a fiendish monster.

“That senior’s cultivation base... was so strong!!” the male disciple said, gripping his fan so tightly it snapped in half. Looking curiously at his female companion, he said, “Wait, do you know him?”

The girl stood there looking absent-minded for a moment, then she rushed over to the spell formation to look at the teleport records. After finding what she was looking for, her eyes went wide.

“Xu Qing!”

“Xu Qing!?” the male disciple said, shivering. “Wait, you mean the same one who got famous recently after destroying a holy item in Seazombie territory? The one the Seazombies set a huge bounty for? That Xu Qing?”

The female disciple nodded blankly.

“How do you know him?” the male disciple asked, his eyes gleaming with unprecedented envy.

“I can envision it clearly,” she said quietly. “It was about a year ago. Do you remember that scavenger kid who came in with a white identity medallion? I warned him about the dangers in the sect. I remember looking at his information back then. His name was also Xu Qing.”

The male disciple gasped as he thought back to that same incident.

The girl turned and looked at her companion. “I remember you saying he wouldn’t last two months.”

The male disciple’s face was ashen; he was having a hard time breathing steadily and controlling his feelings of alarm. He remembered thinking back then that this junior sister of his had acted like a fool. But now it seemed she had created a possible opportunity for herself.

Xu Qing had no idea what the two disciples were talking about right now. He had given that advice on a whim.

Now that he was back in the city, he put on a gray robe again as he headed toward the Transportation Division in Harbor 176. His dharmaskiff had been destroyed, so if he wanted a safe place to rest he would either need to go to his mansion grotto on the Seventh Peak, or rent an inn somewhere in the city. The Violent Crimes Division was also an option, but instead of going there, he decided to see Zhang San first to ask him about getting a new dharmaskiff.

He hadn’t been back in the Seven Blood Eyes capital city for about half a year. Looking around at the crowds, and the familiar shops and vendor stalls, he suddenly felt unusually calm.

The battlefield was far, far away, and thus, the atmosphere of war wasn’t very prevalent. Everything looked the same as it always did.

One difference was that the sect was making full use of Harbor 176. It was now an important strategic location for the transportation of goods. Though spell formations could be used to teleport things instantly, they were extremely expensive. Merchant ships were slower, but considering the war had already been going on for half a year, such speeds were acceptable. After all, the war wasn’t going to end anytime soon.

Elder Brother Zhang San gambled correctly.

Xu Qing thought about the future profits that would be coming his way, and was very pleased. That said, he also kept his guard fully up. After all, the escapade with the Captain was going to result in a lot of greedy people looking his way.

It’s a good thing the Captain is in the #1 spot. And he has a bigger bounty. Anyone who’s thinking of making a move will probably target him first.... He’d probably prefer it that way, for his reputation’s sake. I wouldn’t want to make him lose face.

After thinking about it for a bit, he nodded his head, fully convinced that his assessment was correct. Now he just had to wait for the Captain to get back.

Before long, he arrived at Harbor 176.

The sect was using over half of the entire harbor. There were all sorts of boats and ships present, and when Xu Qing saw them all, he sighed. The construction work was much further along than half a year before. The streets were all in good order, and many shops were already doing business. The place was far more crowded than before. There seemed to be ten times as many people or even more.

Because the harbor was a combination of three ordinary harbors, it was rather large. That led to larger crowds, and also more shops with more varied wares for sale.

Xu Qing walked at a brisk pace, taking in the hustle and bustle until he arrived at the Transportation Division.

Instead of immediately going inside, he sent a voice message to Zhang San.

A moment later, Zhang San flew out.

“Xu—” Zhang San knew what was what, and after blurting out Xu Qing’s surname, he cut himself off. Looking Xu Qing up and down excitedly, he pulled him into one of the warehouses in the Transportation Division.

As soon as they were alone, Zhang San said, “You and the Captain are famous!!”

“The Captain did it,” Xu Qing corrected.

“You two are both crazy! I can’t believe you actually destroyed the nose of the seventh zombie ancestor’s statue! Did you know the damage is permanent? I heard it has no nose now!”

“The Captain did that too,” Xu Qing said immediately.

“It’s absolutely crazy! I heard that the frontline Seazombie forces went berserk. The Seazombie leadership even tried to open negotiations with our patriarch. They want that nose back! The patriarch refused, of course.”

“The Captain is crazy,” Xu Qing said with a sigh, “and I got dragged along against my will. Did you hear what I said earlier? The Captain did all of it.”

Zhang San was finally starting to calm down. Looking at Xu Qing with eyes glittering, he lowered his voice and said, “Any chance you still have the nose? Can I see it?”

“I still have it,” Xu Qing said. “But after leaving Seazombie territory it turned into ordinary stone. There’s nothing miraculous about it.”

Sighing regretfully, he took out the stone nose and put it down with a loud thump.

“Careful!” Zhang San blurted.

It was huge, being about thirty meters tall. Gray in color, it didn’t emit any aura at all, though it seemed a bit barbaric. There were countless tiny holes on its surface, seemingly put there by sand and wind, which emanated a sensation of ancient time. After walking around it in a circle, Zhang San reached out and touched its surface. Eyes shining even more brightly than before, he looked at Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing, who says this nose isn’t miraculous? It’s from the Seazombie’s divine likeness! Every Seazombie in existence wants to get it back. It basically represents their dignity.” Zhang San’s eyebrows danced up and down as he continued, “I have an idea. Why don’t we build a museum here in our harbor? We can put this part of the nose in it. And when the Captain gets back, we’ll put his half in it as well. Together. With a museum like that in our harbor... believe me, Xu Qing, we’ll be unstoppable!

“We won’t even need to hire guards. The sect will send people to guard it for us. And the sect will do all our advertisement as well. Our harbor is going to become famous! People will come from all over! We’ll be the number one harbor in Seven Blood Eyes!

“Furthermore, the storefronts near the museum will be worth a lot more money! We’re gonna get rich too!”

Hearing this, Xu Qing’s eyes lit up. Seeing how excited Zhang San was, he had to admire how talented he was when it came to running businesses. After some thought, he agreed.

They discussed some of the details, and then Xu Qing lowered his voice and said, “Elder Brother Zhang San, my dharmaskiff....”

Zhang San rubbed the zombie ancestor’s nose contentedly and laughed. It was almost as if he had anticipated Xu Qing asking about his dharmaskiff.

“Bring it out! I figured you’d come back with your dharmaskiff all messed up. Our harbor is profitable enough that however bad the damage was, I can have it good as new in no time.”

“Thank you so much, Elder Brother Zhang San,” Xu Qing said. “Hopefully you can get the job done quickly. Many thanks!”

With that, Xu Qing clasped hands, then turned to leave.

“Uh, hey, where’s the dharmaskiff?” Zhang San said. “How am I supposed to fix it if you don’t give it to me?”

“It’s gone,” Xu Qing said.

The warehouse went completely silent.

Zhang San looked at Xu Qing, his eyes slowly growing wider and wider. “Gone?”

Xu Qing nodded solemnly. “Gone.”

1. Xu Qing’s interaction with these two disciples was in chapter 47. ☜

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