Martial Cultivator

On the way to the Small Hill Sect, they encountered quite a few cultivators and demons, but the return journey was much calmer. Chen Chao did not try to act tough and allowed Liang Jinjin to use her qi refiner techniques to find the best route, avoiding traces of demons. They did not encounter any other cultivators, but once, when it was impossible to avoid, they ran into a group of cultivators who had just fought their way out of a demon encirclement. Upon seeing this lone man and woman, the group fell silent for a moment before one of them smiled and said, ”Fellow Daoists, do you have any spiritual elixirs or medicine? Could you spare us some? We would be grateful.”

The man was naturally speaking to Liang Jinjin, ignoring Chen Chao who was clearly a martial artist.

Liang Jinjin originally had some medicinal pills, but after Chen Chao bore the brunt of the avalanche, she gave them all to him to heal his injuries. Now, only a small bottle remained with just two or three pills left.

She did not hesitate, handing over the medicinal pill before turning to leave, but with a glance from the man, a few others immediately blocked her path.

The man shook the bottle of pills and then smiled, ”Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to be so stingy. We’re all humans, and if you lend a hand today, who knows, maybe one day we’ll return the favor.”

Liang Jinjin frowned, ”I only have these few medicinal pills left. It’s not that I’m unwilling to give more.”

The man glanced at Chen Chao, noticing the young martial artist’s pale complexion, which clearly indicated he was injured. He smiled slightly, ”Would Fellow Daoists mind if I search for myself?”

Liang Jinjin frowned deeply. Aside from the issue of propriety between men and women, the items she carried were not something she could hand over lightly. Otherwise, she would not be able to account for it upon her return.

Hence, she said with some irritation, ”Fellow Daoist, you’re being unreasonable. I really don’t have any more medicinal pills on me.”

The man was indifferent, merely glancing at the two people beside him. They silently approached Liang Jinjin, and whether they were after the medicinal pills or something else was unclear, but they seemed likely to take whatever they could find.

Liang Jinjin grew anxious but quickly prepared to cast a technique. However, before she could do anything, a sudden scream rang out unexpectedly.

Turning toward the sound, that seemingly sickly martial artist had somehow moved next to Liang Jinjin. With just a grab of a cultivator’s wrist, he had forcibly crushed the wrist bone.

The scream originated from that.

Chen Chao, who had crushed the man’s wrist, showed no emotion and simply uttered one word, ”Scram.”

But that person was clearly undeterred, giving a wave of his hand, causing the cultivators behind him to rush forward.

Chen Chao did not hesitate. Within the span of a short time, he had arrived in front of the man and grabbed him by the throat, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent.

Behind him lay a scene of groans and fallen young cultivators.

The man’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Chen Chao reached out and took the bottle of pills from the young cultivator in front of him, who was only at the Bitter Sea stage. With a slight exertion of his wrist, the man’s face turned crimson.

Chen Chao tossed the bottle aside and said calmly, ”Is this how you repay kindness?”

The young cultivator flailed his hands wildly but could not reach Chen Chao.

After a moment, Chen Chao looked at him a few times before throwing him aside, choosing not to kill him.

The young cultivator struggled to get up, coughing with an ugly expression. He then asked viciously, ”Do you dare to leave your name? Today’s insult will be repaid another day!”

Chen Chao glanced at him and replied calmly, ”Are you really so eager to die?”

Hearing those words and seeing the killing intent in Chen Chao’s eyes, the group hesitated, their mouths opening as if to speak. But in the end, they said nothing and quickly fled.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and shook his head. He was not surprised to encounter such a thing. This was something he had anticipated.

Meanwhile, Liang Jinjin stood there, a little dazed and lost in thought.

Chen Chao did not say anything. When it came to this woman before him, some things had to be experienced firsthand to be truly understood.

……

……

A few days later, the two arrived just outside Coldgate Pass, where the wind and snow were far less severe than in the depths of the desolate north.

They were about to part ways.

Chen Chao hesitated for a moment before saying softly, ”Having a good heart is fine, but not everyone will repay your kindness with kindness. When doing good deeds, you have to be prepared for the possibility of getting nothing in return, or even losing your life. If that happens, I wonder if you’ll regret it.”

Liang Jinjin had been deep in thought throughout the journey. Hearing Chen Chao speak again, she pondered for a moment and asked, ”But how can I know what the outcome will be before I do it?”

Chen Chao shook his head and replied softly, ”You’re asking me, but I don’t know either. Before I do anything good, I always assess the situation first. Telling you this might not make much sense because, honestly, I haven’t done many good deeds, and I wouldn’t call myself a good person.”

Liang Jinjin looked at him with a serious face and said, ”But you are a good person.”

Chen Chao smiled, ”Not many people would agree with you.”

Liang Jinjin thought for a moment and said seriously, ”I’ll think it over carefully.”

Chen Chao nodded. The reason he said all this was simply because of the apology from her that night. Now that he had escorted her safely to Coldgate Pass, ensuring her safe return to her sect, he had already done all he could.

Saying that it was because of karma, it seemed to be a full circle now.

”Go back, and remember, don’t mention me.”

Chen Chao waved at Liang Jinjin, signaling her to head toward the Coldgate Pass ahead, while he prepared to return to the desolate northern plains.

Liang Jinjin did not turn around, she just stood there and asked Chen Chao, ”Will we meet again?”

Chen Chao smiled bitterly and said, ”That depends on luck and whether I can make it out of the desolate north alive. But I’ve always had decent luck, so I probably won’t die.”

Liang Jinjin wanted to speak, but swallowed her words back. In the end, she bit her lip, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, and handed it to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao looked at the handkerchief and asked in surprise, ”What’s this? A token of affection?”

Liang Jinjin felt both shy and annoyed. ”For you to wipe off blood!”

Chen Chao let out an ”oh,” but did not reach out to take it. Instead, he smiled and said, ”No need. Carrying something like that would feel weird for a man like me.”

Liang Jinjin frowned. ”If you don’t take it, I’ll go around telling everyone that you killed a bunch of our cultivators!”

The corners of Chen Chao’s mouth twitched, feeling rather speechless. What kind of crazy was this girl up to?

However, he still did not plan on keeping the handkerchief. If Xie Nandu were to find out about it later, it would be hard to explain.

Ignoring him, Liang Jinjin forcibly shoved the handkerchief into his hand, then turned and ran off.

Chen Chao stood there, feeling a bit lost.

After running a good distance, Liang Jinjin turned back and shouted, ”Don’t tell anyone!”

Chen Chao was a bit puzzled.

Before he could respond, Liang Jinjin had already reached the entrance to Coldgate Pass. She took out her identification token, entered the pass, and left the desolate north.

Chen Chao frowned, looking down at the handkerchief in his hand. Only then did he notice a series of tiny, densely packed characters written on it. At first glance, was this not that so-called Qi Observing Technique?

Chen Chao could not help but chuckle. This girl had actually ended up teaching him this secret technique.

He had joked about it many times before, knowing how important this technique was to Liang Jinjin. He never really expected that she would actually teach it to him in the end.

Chen Chao put away the handkerchief, recalling her last words. It seemed that when she said not to tell anyone, she meant not to spread this Qi Observing Technique, right?

Though whether he could even cultivate it or not was another question.

Chen Chao chuckled, thinking that such a valuable technique truly could not be allowed to go extinct!

……

……

Returning to the desolate northern plains, this time Chen Chao did not hesitate and headed straight toward the deeper regions.

Although his injuries were serious, Chen Chao did not pay them much mind. This journey northward, though just beginning, had already given him significant progress in his cultivation.

Earlier, on the way back to Coldgate Pass, he had gained new insights into Dragon Rearing Head.

”It would be perfect if someone showed up to test my saber right now,” Chen Chao muttered to himself.

But just as he looked up, he wished he could slap himself a few times.

On a distant snow hill, a woman stood quietly.

An old acquaintance.

An old acquaintance he did not want to meet.

Especially not now.