Stranger Danger

“The book is the second volume of the ‘Book of Lu Ban’, and the saber is a Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact named ‘To Slay Autumn Water’.”

Defeated said while holding the two items, “I hope that these gifts are good enough to earn your forgiveness, senior.”

“The second volume of the ‘Book of Lu Ban’?!”

“‘To Slay Autumn Water’?!”

Behind Ye Qing, Pedant Earth and Shangguan Hongjin exclaimed in shock. They clearly knew what the items were.

The “Book of Lu Ban” was a book written by the ancestor of carpentry, the ancient carpenter known as Lu Ban. It was a record of his life’s works and craft. The “Book of Lu Ban” was split into two volumes. The first volume recorded the carpentry skills necessary to inspect and build houses for the living, whereas the second volume taught one how to inspect houses for the dead, build tombs, fortify buildings, repel evils and more. All the spells, incantations and more necessary to perform the tasks were included as well.

If the first volume of the “Book of Lu Ban” was a book of skill, then the second volume was a book of spells.

The first volume of the “Book of Lu Ban” was so extraordinary that, despite its seemingly mundane qualities, benefited everyone be it on an individual or national level. A great propeller of technology and progress, it was worshiped as the textbook of carpentry by all future carpenters and craftsmen and known to all.

On the other hand, very few people knew that the “Book of Lu Ban” had a second volume. It was because it recorded knowledge that was considered intolerable and unusable to the common people. After all, how many people actually needed the spells and incantation to inspect a house of the dead, build a tomb, fortify a building, repel evil and more?

On top of that, those who studied the second volume of the “Book of Lu Ban” were, without exception, widowed, lacking, lonely, or broken in some ways. These qualities also meant that it was much harder for the second volume to be passed down to future generations compared to the first volume. Over time, it became lost to the ordinary folk.

But only the ordinary folk. The second volume of the “Book of Lu Ban” was, in fact, quite famous within the jianghu and wulin. Of the thirty six unorthodox sects, there was a sect called “Lacking One” whose entire culture was founded on top of the second volume of the “Book of Lu Ban”.

“Lacking One” was a sect that specialized in inspecting houses for the dead, building tombs, fortifying buildings and repelling evils. It was said that even imperial relatives, dukes, ministers, aristocratic clans and more sought out their services when they needed to build a tomb or a house for the dead.

Unlike most sects, “Lacking One” was quite lacking in head-on fights or direct combat in general. However, no one dared to offend them because they knew ways to make you wish that you never lived. For example, they could tamper with one’s house for the living, ancestral home, ancestor’s tomb and more to produce disastrous consequences. In the best case scenario, the household would be beset by constant misfortune and turmoil. At the worst, the entire lineage could be wiped from the surface from the earth.

That was why not even the unruliest, craziest jianghu warrior dared to disrespect the “Lacking One”. But at the same time, they were extremely curious about the second volume of the “Book of Lu Ban” that allowed them to perform the unusual feats they were known for.

Unfortunately, the disciples of “Lacking One” usually kept to themselves and avoided interaction unless at all necessary. Naturally, this added to the mysticism behind the second volume of the “Book of Lu Ban”.

Despite this, Defeated somehow came across a copy of the second volume. In fact, judging from its color and appearance, it did not look like a copy. Assuming that it was the original, heavens only know how the hell Defeated managed to obtain it.

One thing for certain, it was an exceedingly valuable item.

“To Slay Autumn Water” was a Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact. While not nearly as mysterious and alluring as the “Book of Lu Ban”, there were few jianghu warriors who hadn’t heard about it. It was because “To Slay Autumn Water” was the signature weapon of the head of Ling Xiao City, Bei Lingxiao when he was younger. Ling Xiao City was one of the Five Profound Sects, and Bei Lingxiao was a sage on the Heavenly Champions Ranking.

Before Bei Lingxiao became a Grandmaster, he called himself Bei Qiushui (Autumn Water) and wielded the saber known as “To Slay Autumn Water”. He had wandered everywhere, made many martial friends, and challenged all kinds of heroes and geniuses. He was never defeated. At the time, there was no one who hadn’t heard of the name Bei Qiushui.

Bei Qiushui was ranked tenth on the Human Champions Ranking, but that was just his fake identity. His real identity, Bei Lingxiao, was ranked first. A man with two identities on the Human Champions Ranking, his name was legend in the jianghu for good reason.

A mountain was famous not because it was tall, but because a celestial lived in it. A body of water was spiritual not because it was deep, but because a dragon lived in it. “To Slay Autumn Water” might just be a saber, but it was still famous because of its master.

Not only that, Bei Lingxiao carried the saber with him all year long until he outgrew it, meaning that “To Slay Autumn Water” was nurtured by his saber intent until it grew into something extraordinary. If its new owner could glean something from the saber intent imbued within the saber, who was to say that they wouldn’t become another legend? At the very least, they would become much stronger than before.

It was rumored that one man once issued a challenge to the warriors of Ling Xiao City, and Bei Lingxiao had awarded that challenger “To Slay Autumn Water” after taking note of his extraordinary talent. The mysterious man’s identity was kept a secret, but now, it would seem that it was none other than Defeated.

Both of Defeated’s gifts were incredibly valuable. Ye Qing also knew exactly why he chose these two particular items.

Defeated must have chosen them after taking note of his good relationship with Pedant Earth and Shangguan Hongjin. After all, neither of these items was a good fit with him, but they were a perfect fit for the duo.

As a fengshui master, Pedant Earth was a dabbler of many fields of knowledge. He was well-versed in the arts of divination, math, crafting and more. The dream book of any fengshui master, diviner, or craftsman, the second volume of the “Book of Lu Ban” was exactly what he needed to broaden his knowledge and horizon further.

If he was Pedant Earth, he would’ve accepted the offering without a second thought. He knew this for a fact because he could feel the sheer greed bubbling inside Pedant Earth’s heart.

As for the saber “To Slay Autumn Water”, it was obviously meant for Shangguan Hongjin. Shangguan Hongjin was a saber wielder, and she had a taste for famous, high quality sabers. She had just recently lost one of her two sabers, and without it, it would be as if she had lost an arm. It wasn’t like she could pick up a random saber either. Any sabersman worth their salt would know how critical a good saber was to their strength.

Besides, “To Slay Autumn Water” was not your conventional good saber. It contained Bei Lingxiao’s saber intent as well. If she could understand it, she would become much, much stronger than she was before. It might even be the push she needed to become a Grandmaster. To say it was an invaluable fortune would be an understatement.

Naturally, Shangguan Hongjin would like to have it if at all possible.

Ye Qing did not accept the items, however. He simply smiled and said, “Heh. You’re quite the cunning one, aren’t you?”

Defeated’s heart skipped a beat. He did not think Ye Qing would figure out his scheme so quickly.

“Let me ask you a question. Do you think your life is worth only two items?” Ye Qing asked with a smile that didn’t reach the eye. “Take your time. For your own sake, don’t answer me until you’re sure about your answer!”

“... No. My life is priceless!” Defeated answered after a moment of silence. He then grabbed his Nature’s Shell and handed it to Ye Qing.

“Well said! Sometimes, a life is worth more than all the treasures in the world combined. And sometimes, it’s worth less than the dirt beneath your feet.”

Ye Qing left Defeated to stew for a bit before he finally accepted the Nature’s Shell, the “Book of Lu Ban” and “To Slay Autumn Water”. He then added, “I accept your compensation. You may leave. If you cherish your life, then don’t ever make such a mistake again.”

He knew that this could not be the extent of Defeated’s possessions. He must have other good valuables such as the hoard of martial arts he was famous for. But since he already made up his mind to release Defeated, he did not demand the warrior to give up everything he had.

If you were going to do something, make sure that you don’t leave behind loose ends. But if you weren’t going to make the extreme option, then you should take care not to take things too far.

“Thank you, senior!”

Defeated gave Ye Qing a bow before stepping backward. He didn’t leave though. He was clearly waiting for the Holy Son of Maitreya. It looked like they were good friends.

Ye Qing paid Defeated no attention. He turned to look straight at the Holy Son of Maitreya.

The monk wordlessly removed the prayer beads he wore on his wrist. When Ye Qing accepted it, he discovered that it was a storage-type Strange Artifact similar to his Nine Heavens. Its internal space was massive, and it contained all kinds of treasures such as Strange Artifacts, pills, martial arts manuals, rare items, and even money such as gold and silver. Long story short, he was rich as fuck.

He could imagine how wealthy the Maitreya Sect was just looking at their Holy Son’s hoard. Not only that, the monk was honest enough to give him everything without any deceit.

“Very good. You may leave as well.”

Ye Qing put away the prayer bead and nodded at the Holy Son of Maitreya. Frankly, he did not harbor any ill will toward the monk. Although he was the Saint of the Maitreya Sect, one of the Nine Demonic Ways, he had not heard anything of ill repute regarding the man. Besides, it was clear from this gesture that he was a pretty honest and down-to-earth man.

The Holy Son of Maitreya clasped his hands together and silently chanted the Buddha’s name. Then, he left together with Defeated.

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