The Overlord of Puluo

The beggar touched the festering sores on his face, his hand trembling uncontrollably. He said incoherently, ”I... I definitely won’t let him get away again. I swear there won’t be a next time. Don’t kill me, don’t kill me...”

”Don’t be afraid. They’re just a few sores,” the Greenwater Beggar said with a smile. ”You’re a beggar. Which beggar hasn’t had sores before? As long as you keep working for me obediently and stop messing things up, these sores will disappear in no time. Don’t you trust what I say?”

The beggar only wished the sores on his face would disappear immediately, but the Greenwater Beggar was not interested in hearing him speak anymore at this moment.

He heard a voice ringing by his ear. It kept calling out for him.

—Great Ancestral Cultivator, I offer my sincere prayer to you. An unwelcome guest has appeared within your territory. I am reporting this news to you straight after finding out. I am ready to fight for you.

Prayer? What kind of word is that?

The Greenwater Beggar frowned and thought of the few followers his Daoist path had.

He glanced at the beggar and said, ”Keep watch here.”

Then he turned and vanished.

The beggar sat by the roadside, still trembling uncontrollably.

Li Qi. Goodbye, Li Qi. He absolutely cannot be allowed to escape.

***

At Beyond Borders, Wan Jinxian sat in an office and looked at Cedric. ”What exactly is so urgent that you had to call me here?”

Cedric brought over a cup of black tea. ”Senior Brother, I invited you over for a visit, to strengthen the bond between fellow followers of the same Daoist Path.”

Wan Jinxian set the teacup aside. ”Have you eaten until you’re so satisfied that you have nothing better to do? I came to this hospital in broad daylight. If someone sees me, how am I supposed to explain why I’m here?”

Cedric smiled. ”That doesn’t make sense, Senior Brother. Everyone eats food. Who can avoid getting sick?”

Wan Jinxian snapped, ”I’m a Disease Cultivator. How could I possibly get sick so easily?”

Cedric pursed his lips. ”That actually makes a lot of sense. Next time I’ll try to choose a more suitable meeting place.”

”There won’t be a next time!” Wan Jinxian was furious. ”Just give it to me straight this time. What do you want from me?”

”Yesterday, you came to me and told me that a special person had arrived in Greenwater City, that young man who always wears white. You also passed this important information on to He Jiaqing. I believe what you told me was true, but I still can’t figure out why this youth in white came here.”

Wan Jinxian said impatiently, ”I already told you. He’s from the Sage’s Peak. He caused trouble for us in the past, and this time, he’s probably here for us again.”

Cedric brought his teacup to his lips and took a sip. ”What kind of trouble was it?”

”Tsk, you’re really forgetful. I told you the whole story. He almost killed Shen Rongqing at Lotus Pond Teahouse. I don’t need to remind you who Shen Rongqing is, do I?”

Cedric took another sip of tea and pondered for a long while. Then he shook his head. ”I know who Shen Rongqing is. She’s a very talented woman. But I don’t think the youth in white came for Shen Rongqing or for you and the others.”

Wan Jinxian sneered. ”You don’t even know who the man in white is, yet you think you can guess who he came for?”

Cedric replied, ”It’s true that it isn’t easy to figure out. I saw Freewind Wharf recruiting people on the street to activate New Land, and I thought it sounded interesting, so I went over to see what it was all about. I think I saw the youth in white you mentioned. I don’t dare to say for certain it was him, but his clothes, appearance, and age all matched your description of him.

”There was a powerful person beside him. I didn’t recognize that person, but his cultivation level was very high. If not for our founding cultivator’s power, I might not even have been able to see them. I kept feeling that the powerful person seemed familiar. I suspect that I may be mistaken, so I wanted to ask you to confirm it.”

Wan Jinxian had no interest in continuing this conversation with Cedric. He just wanted to leave the hospital as quickly as possible. ”I haven’t seen either of the two people you’re talking about. You don’t even know who they are. How am I supposed to verify anything?”

Cedric pressed his hand downward in a calming gesture. ”Senior Brother, sit down. Don’t be so worked up. It’s true that you can’t verify it alone, so I invited someone else to help us verify it together.”

Wan Jinxian’s pupils dilated in surprise. ”What do you mean by that?”

Cedric answered honestly, ”I told this person the information you gave me. When he arrives shortly, we can analyze the intentions of this youth in white together.”

Wan Jinxian flew into a rage. ”You told someone else what I told you? You even asked that person to come see me? Are you trying to get me killed?”

”Senior Brother, calm down,” Cedric urged. ”This person isn’t an outsider.”

Wan Jinxian shoved Cedric aside and roared, ”I don’t care who he is! If he dares appear in front of me, I’ll kill him!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Greenwater Beggar appeared. Wan Jinxian stared at him. The Greenwater Beggar was covered in festering sores that oozed green pus. Wan Jinxian had never met the Greenwater Beggar, but at that moment, he could tell who the beggar before him was.

The Greenwater Beggar looked at Wan Jinxian and asked, ”You’re going to kill me?”

Wan Jinxian took a breath and answered calmly, ”No.”

Then he collapsed to the ground, face down. He tried to pull himself up into a kneeling position, but his knees trembled so violently that he could not do it, so he remained lying there instead.

Cedric was much more composed. After all, this was not his first time meeting the Greenwater Beggar. He prepared to bow to the Greenwater Beggar to show his respect.

However, the Greenwater Beggar waved a hand to dismiss the gesture. ”No need. Tell me, what do you want from me?”

”My senior brother saw a man in white in Greenwater City, someone from Saint Sage Peak. I saw him too,” Cedric said and went on to recount the incident he had told Wang Jinxian earlier.

When Cedric was done with his account, the Greenwater Beggar frowned and asked, ”You’re talking about Zhong Huaien from the Sage’s Peak, aren’t you? Why did you insist on telling me about this?”

”To show my loyalty to you, Great Ancestral Cultivator.”

Greenwater Beggar laughed when he heard that. ”Where is your loyalty? Can I see it?”

”You can!” Cedric exclaimed. He pulled open his robe and revealed the tattoo on his chest: I Love the Great Ancestral Cultivator.

If the Greenwater Beggar had not been standing right in front of him, Wan Jinxian would have burst out laughing. This lunatic... What’s the point of showing that?

”Very good.” The Greenwater Beggar nodded in satisfaction, then he turned to Wan Jinxian. ”What about you? Are you loyal to me?”

What am I supposed to do now? Wan Jinxian thought, dumbfounded. He did not have a tattoo.

”G-Great Ancestral Cultivator... m-my loyalty to you... i-is in my heart!” Wan Jinxian stammered. His words had not emerged smoothly, but it was the best answer he could think of.

”Is that so? Let me see what your heart looks like.”

The Greenwater Beggar waved his hand, and a patch of green pus splattered onto Wan Jinxian’s chest. It disappeared into his skin and seeped into his chest cavity.

Wan Jinxian clutched his chest and felt countless living creatures wandering and darting through his chest cavity.

Wan Jinxian squeezed out a plea. ”Great Ancestral Cultivator, spare me. I am utterly loyal to you.”

”Heheheh~” The Greenwater Beggar crouched in front of Wan Jinxian and carefully examined his face. ”Your face is pale, but I see that your heart is black. You don’t seem to be all that loyal.”

”I am loyal!” Wan Jinxian exclaimed, unable to think of any other words.

”I believe you.” The Greenwater Beggar patted Wan Jinxian on the head. ”I’m giving you a task. Find out why Zhong Huaien came here. That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

”This follower will do his utmost!”

”Your utmost?” The Greenwater Beggar was dissatisfied with that answer. ”If you fail this task, you’ll lose your life.”

Wan Jinxian did not know how to respond to that.

The Greenwater Beggar stood up and looked at Cedric. ”The same goes for you. You’re very loyal, but I despise useless loyalists. Tell me first, besides demonstrating your loyalty, what other purpose did you have in seeking me out?”

Cedric answered truthfully, ”I crave power.”

The Greenwater Beggar frowned. ”It’s tiring listening to you talk. You want cultivation power, right?”

Cedric nodded. ”I crave a higher cultivation level that you will bestow upon me, Great Ancestral Cultivator.”

”What do you want that for? A longer lifespan?”

Cedric shook his head. ”I don’t seek to lengthen my own life. I seek to shorten the lives of others.”

The Greenwater Beggar stared at Cedric for a moment. ”You really are a little like me. I’ll give you a task as well. Go to Blue Poplar Village and find a beggar on the road leading to the New Territory. Watch him and see what he does. If someone kills him, or if he kills someone, report it to me immediately.”

Cedric asked, ”What distinguishes this beggar from other beggars?”

”There’s nothing particularly distinctive. He looks like any ordinary beggar. But you’ll definitely recognize him, because I left a mark on his face.”

”How high is his cultivation level?”

”Not the Terranean Layer. Level one of the Cloudborne Layer.”

”Great Ancestral Cultivator, I don’t dare negotiate with you, but if his cultivation level is at the Cloudborne Layer, I’m afraid I won’t be able to complete the task of monitoring him.”

”I’ll help you. Don’t you want power? I’ll give it to you! Hold out your hand,” the Greenwater Beggar said. He tapped Cedric’s palm, and tiny creatures burrowed into his flesh.

”Thank you for the gift, Great Ancestral cultivator!” Cedric exclaimed, bowing respectfully once again.

The Greenwater Beggar looked at Cedric and Wan Jinxian and nodded. ”My fellow followers, perhaps I shouldn’t kill all of you. Perhaps there’s still some use in keeping you alive.”

Once he was done talking, he disappeared.

Wan Jinxian scrambled to his feet, grabbed Cedric, and hissed, ”You damn foreign devil! You brought the Great Ancestral Cultivator here?”

”Senior Brother, calm down. I merely used the power he left us and offered him a prayer. His power is inside your body as well. It’s the blisters I left on you. That power is extremely strong. As long as you focus your mind on the blisters, you can also contact the Great Ancestral Cultivator.”

”That’s not what I’m asking!” Wan Jinxian shouted angrily. ”Why did you call him here?”

”I was trying to help you, Senior Brother. I know you want to become stronger too. Aren’t you following He Jiaqing so you can attain more power?”

”I follow him for the sake of establishing a new Puluo!”

Cedric shook his head. ”You can deceive me, but you can’t deceive yourself. You obey a young man’s orders because you want to become stronger. But the power He Jiaqing gives you is ultimately limited. The Great Ancestral Cultivator can give you unlimited power. Join me and throw yourself into the Great Ancestral Cultivator’s embrace!”

Then he took out a needle.

Wan Jinxian was startled. ”What are you doing?”

Cedric said calmly, ”Relax. I just want to give you a tattoo like mine, the one that says ’I Love the Great Ancestral Cultivator.’ The next time you meet the Great Ancestral Cultivator, you can use it to prove your loyalty to him.”

”Bullshit!” Wan Jinxian barked and shoved Cedric away.

Cedric did not get angry, though. ”Senior Brother, let me give you a reminder. If you’re looking for the youth in white and his friend, go to Freewind Wharf. They seemed to be waiting for someone outside.”

***

Wan Jinxian staggered his way to the entrance of Freewind Wharf and found that Cedric’s information had been correct. He found the person he was looking for—the youth in white, Zhong Huaien.

What is he doing at Freewind Wharf? Is he looking for Li Qi and Ma Wu?

Standing beside him was a man dressed in an ash-gray overcoat and a matching ash-gray fedora. Even from behind, Wan Jinxian thought the man looked a little familiar. The man occasionally spoke with the youth in white beside him. Wan Jinxian stared at his profile for a long while but still could not identify him.

People passed by all around them, yet none of them could see the two men. Wan Jinxian should not have been able to see them either. The older man’s cultivation level was extremely high, and he had concealed himself and the youth in white. However, the Greenwater Beggar’s power inside Wan Jinxian allowed him to see the two men while also concealing his presence.

The two men spoke very quietly, and Wan Jinxian could barely make out parts of their conversation.

”Mr. Chu, you don’t need to stay here. I can have the Pure Conduct Society keep watch instead.”

”The Pure Conduct Society may not be capable enough. Wait a little longer. I have a feeling it’s almost time.”

Zhong Huaien suddenly glanced in Wan Jinxian’s direction. Wan Jinxian thought he had been exposed and quickly retreated into the distance.

In truth, Zhong Huaien had not seen Wan Jinxian. The person he had spotted was Miss Chu—Chu Huaiyuan.

Miss Chu stepped around the street corner and arrived at Freewind Wharf with more than a dozen people.

Zhong Huaien asked the man, ”Mr. Chu, shall we go over and take a look?”

The man was silent for a moment before saying, ”I’ll go take a look. You wait here.”

Author’s Note:

PS: The youth in white was arrogant toward everyone except the Sage, yet he addressed this man as Mr. Chu. It’s truly rare for him to show someone such respect.