Ming Zhu’s gaze darkened. After a moment of deliberation, he gritted his teeth and tore away the white silk bandages wrapped around his left hand, causing blood to seep once more from the unhealed wounds.
Zhou Fuxue hurriedly stopped him, his voice kept low. "What are you doing?"
Ming Zhu fished a black glove out of his storage ring and pulled it over his hand with a frown. He then wrapped himself in the black robe Shen Hongchuan had given him, concealing his injured hand. "There are too few people on the middle deck; it’s too easy to be spotted," he said quickly. "I’ll hide inside the Domain Pearl first. You two find a chance to slip into the lowest deck. It’s crowded and chaotic there; we might be able to blend in. Little Thirteen, don’t frown. I can’t feel the pain right now, it’s fine."
In the five years they had spent together, Zhou Fuxue had grown accustomed to Ming Zhu calling him "Thirteen" with that teasing smile. Every time he heard that clear, melodious voice, it felt like a hook scratching at the tip of his heart, leaving his entire body tingling.
But now, as he watched Ming Zhu use that helpless expression to tell him not to worry, an uncontrollable sense of powerless sorrow welled up within him.
The youth had been lonely and destitute since childhood, forced long ago to witness the coldness of the world. His heart was as cold as frost, yet as he looked at Ming Zhu’s slightly trembling left hand and his forced smile, a sudden, desperate longing to become stronger surged within him.
*If only my cultivation were higher,* Zhou Fuxue thought, his teeth clenched. *Then I could protect him no matter what happened, and he wouldn't have to suffer so much.*
Ming Zhu did not notice the turmoil in Zhou Fuxue’s heart. He quickly gave the two of them a few instructions before donning his mask and being pulled into the Domain Pearl by Lu Qingkong.
Just as Zhou Fuxue had predicted, the two men lingered outside Ming Zhu’s room for a long time before finally spreading their divine sense. Upon discovering the room was empty, they seemed to mutter a curse before beginning a search throughout the entire middle deck.
The people on the middle and upper decks were all influential or powerful. No matter how high the two men's cultivation was, they didn't dare to fully unleash their divine sense and could only investigate cautiously.
Clad in black robes, Lu Qingkong and Zhou Fuxue walked out of the room with expressionless faces, heading toward the lower deck with an air of impatience. The two men at the end of the corridor seemed to sense something and suddenly called out, "Halt!"
Lu Qingkong lifted his eyelids irritably. Beneath the cover of his wide hood, he exchanged a glance with Zhou Fuxue. They quickened their pace to the wooden stairs, vaulted over the railing, and leaped down into the lower deck cabins before the two men could react.
The two pursuers followed them down, cursing all the way, but they were met with a dense sea of people. It was impossible to distinguish which ones were the pair from a moment ago.
The men cursed under their breaths, consulted each other briefly, and then waded into the crowd with furrowed brows to begin a meticulous search.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingkong and Zhou Fuxue had already ducked into a corner to shed their black robes, replacing them with drab, coarse grey tunics. Amidst the clamor and noise, they found an empty patch of floor and sat down, utterly disregarding appearances.
Sitting in the filthy corner, Lu Qingkong whispered, "Senior Brother guessed right. Those two probably want to keep the bounty for themselves, so they won't actively spread word about him. We just need to wait here until nightfall."
Zhou Fuxue’s brow was knitted tight. He accidentally brushed his hand against the wall, coming away with a palm full of black soot. The lower deck saw constant traffic and clearly hadn't been cleaned in ages; the floors and walls were covered in filth. The habitually fastidious Zhou Fuxue nearly gagged, and he vigorously wiped the soot from his hand onto Lu Qingkong’s clothes.
The unkempt Lu Qingkong didn't mind. Instead, he wiped a handful of dust from the wall and smeared it haphazardly over Zhou Fuxue’s face before doing the same to himself. This thoroughly integrated them into their surroundings; even if those two men walked right past, they wouldn't notice a thing.
Zhou Fuxue’s hair nearly stood on end, but out of fear of exposing their identity, he kept his voice low and raspy. "What are you doing?!"
Lu Qingkong ignored his fury, offering a concise explanation: "Disguise."
Zhou Fuxue trembled with rage, but he could do nothing and say nothing. He simply turned his head away, ignoring Lu Qingkong while silently cursing him a hundred times over in his heart.
The two men were truly relentless for the sake of the bounty. They spent a grueling half-hour searching through the miserable, cramped conditions of the lower deck without giving up. In their corner, Lu Qingkong was nearly nodding off.
After a period of one-sided cold war, Zhou Fuxue turned his head back with a look of utter disgust on his grimy face. "The half-hour is almost up. It’s probably not good for Senior Brother to stay in there much longer."
Lu Qingkong gave a distracted hum. Seeing the two men in the distance turn their backs, he said to Zhou Fuxue, "Open your robe."
Without time to think, Zhou Fuxue pulled open his wide outer robe. The Domain Pearl flashed, and Ming Zhu appeared out of thin air, tossed straight into Zhou Fuxue’s embrace by Lu Qingkong.
Zhou Fuxue reacted instantly, wrapping his wide cloak around Ming Zhu and pulling him tight against his chest.
Ming Zhu curled his body into a ball, covering his mouth tightly to keep from vomiting, his eyes swimming with tears.
Seeing how miserable he looked, Zhou Fuxue gently stroked his back and whispered, "Don't hold it in. Just let it out."
Ming Zhu was currently huddled in Zhou Fuxue’s arms. To avoid detection, he couldn't move at all. If he vomited, it would go directly onto Zhou Fuxue. Yet the almost pathologically clean Zhou Fuxue had actually told him not to hold back—the implication was clear.
A buzzing rang in Ming Zhu’s ears. His last shred of consciousness kept him lucid, and he forced himself not to vomit on Zhou Fuxue.
Beside them, Lu Qingkong could hardly bear to watch. Just a moment ago, Zhou Fuxue had nearly lost his mind and tried to kill him over a bit of dust on his face, yet the moment Ming Zhu appeared, he was suddenly willing to let the man vomit all over him.
"Tch," Lu Qingkong sneered. He seemed to recall the terror of years past when Shen Hongchuan used to hover around Ming Zhu, nearly blinding the entire sect with his devotion. He simply turned his head away, deciding that what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over.
Having spent half an hour in the Domain Pearl, Ming Zhu felt as though his entire body had been shaken apart. He spent most of the day huddled in Zhou Fuxue’s arms in a daze. By the time he woke again, the sky outside was completely dark.
Seeing him open his eyes, Zhou Fuxue immediately took a cup of water from his storage ring to feed him.
Ming Zhu took two sips before turning his face away, his expression weary. "Where are those two?"
Lu Qingkong didn't even open his eyes as he replied, "Probably gave up. Haven't seen a sign of them since the afternoon."
Ming Zhu gave a faint "mm." He was about to climb out of Zhou Fuxue’s arms, but the moment he saw the filth on the nearby walls and floor, his movements froze, and he obediently huddled back into his original position.
Lu Qingkong lazily scanned the teeming crowd and stretched. "When there’s fifteen minutes left before landing, we’ll head to the exit and wait. The sooner we leave, the better. By the way, where’s that little useless Kua Yu? For safety’s sake, have him send word to the people of Rizhao Mountain to come pick us up once we land."
Ming Zhu shook his head weakly. "There are very few in Rizhao who have cultivated a sword spirit. Counting them up, there’s only your Third and Fifth Senior Brothers. Old Five is in secluded meditation, and as for Old Three... tsk, he’s blind. By the time he fumbles his way here, we’ll be long gone."
Lu Qingkong asked, "What about the West Mountain?"
Recalling Ming Fuhua’s frost-cold face, Ming Zhu couldn't help but shudder. He shrank further into Zhou Fuxue’s arms, thinking to himself: *If she finds out I ran away from Rizhao without permission, there’s no telling how angry she’ll be. If she really comes, it probably won't be to save me, but to kill me to keep me quiet.*
Ming Zhu shook his head and said nothing.
The three of them stayed quietly in their corner until midnight. When the Sky-Kite was about seven minutes from landing, they fumbled their way through the hatches and onto the lower deck’s external gangway to wait.
However, before they could breathe a sigh of relief, a soft chuckle suddenly echoed from the darkness—a sound so sinister it made one’s skin crawl.
Before Ming Zhu could even react, he instinctively shielded Zhou Fuxue and Lu Qingkong behind him, his eyes staring intently into the shadows.
Then, a tall man and a short man stepped out from the darkness. Under the light of the carved lamps, two smiling faces were revealed. One of them reached out and tapped toward Ming Zhu’s plain, unremarkable face. "Truly a top-grade skin; I couldn't see through the disguise at all. But little beauty, don't you think it’s a pity to hide such flowery loveliness behind this mask?"
The other man laughed along with him.
These two were the Nascent Soul cultivators who had been searching for them all day.
Ming Zhu’s gloved hand trembled slightly. Seeing that their identities were exposed, he stopped trying to hide. He flipped the mask up to the side of his face, revealing his true features and the red mark beneath his eye. He gave a soft smile and said, "Seniors, everyone in the Five Provinces knows exactly how beautiful this face of mine is. There’s no need to go to such lengths to praise me. If you want to compliment me, why not be a bit more direct?"
As soon as these words left his mouth, not only were the two Nascent Soul cultivators stunned, but even Lu Qingkong and Zhou Fuxue looked pained. They thought through gritted teeth: *What time do you think it is? Will you die if you don't act like a flirt?*
Ming Zhu’s palms were slick with cold sweat. He pressed down on Kua Yu and sent a message through their mental link: *Release your divine sense now. Find someone to save me.*
Kua Yu obediently spread his divine sense, chattering away: "I want ten spirit crystals when we get back! No, twenty!"
"I'll give you all of them."
Kua Yu cheered and asked, "Who should I send it to?"
Ming Zhu gritted his teeth. "Everyone!"
Kua Yu gave an "oh." Once his divine sense spread, he quickly located several faint sword spirit signatures in the distance. He didn't waste words, simply screaming at the top of his lungs: "Is anyone there?! Someone come quickly! Help! Help!"
The Wuxin Sword, which was linked to Kua Yu’s divine sense, was experiencing this kind of commotion for the first time. It was shaken by Kua Yu’s earth-shattering voice, and the blade itself began to vibrate violently.
Soon, an extremely cold voice echoed back through Kua Yu’s sense: "It’s the middle of the night. You’re too loud. Who is trying to kill you?"
Kua Yu remembered who this was and said hurriedly, "Ten miles away on a Sky-Kite! Someone is trying to assassinate Ming Zhu! Come quickly! If you’re late, you can just collect three corpses!"
The cold voice paused for a moment, then said without a single wasted word: "Understood."
With that, the connection was cut.
Kua Yu: "Wow, so reliable."
Soon, another lazy female voice came through the link: "You disturbed my sleep. Do you have a death wish?"
Kua Yu’s usual sharp-tongued bravado vanished instantly. He pitched his voice high, feigning a childish tone: "Big Sister, please come save me!"
The woman’s voice paused, then she spoke with clear disdain: "In your dreams. Can't save you. Just die."
Kua Yu: "..."
While Kua Yu was scouring the mental network for help, Ming Zhu faced the two men with a wary expression, testing the waters. "Seniors, you are likely here for the bounty of the Extermination Order. How about this? I still have some spare crystal jade in my storage ring..."
He paused and asked Lu Qingkong beside him, "How much did Hongchuan pack for me?"
Lu Qingkong’s face was still sour. "About seventy or eighty."
Ming Zhu: "Huh?"
Lu Qingkong snapped, "Seventy or eighty thousand! Thousand! That spendthrift Shen Hongchuan... next time I see him, I’m going to rob him until he doesn't even have his undergarments left."
"Oh," Ming Zhu turned back to the two men, speaking with total sincerity. "There’s about seventy or eighty thousand. I’ll give it all to you, as long as you let us live. What do you say?"
The two men looked at each other. Then, the tall man broke into a smile. His eyes greedily drank in Ming Zhu’s face before wandering down toward his loosened collar.
The gaze was too intense. Ming Zhu uncomfortably pulled his robes tighter, maintaining a forced smile. "Seniors?"
"I’ve changed my mind," the man said with great interest. "With your looks and temperament, even without the Extermination Order, if we sold you to the Langyuan Tower in the Shishen Kingdom, countless powerful masters would probably fight to the death over you. We’d make far more money then than from some bounty or the jade on your person."
Ming Zhu’s brow furrowed. Though he didn't know what this "Langyuan Tower" was, based on the man’s tone, it clearly wasn't a pleasant place.
Beside him, Lu Qingkong and Zhou Fuxue’s faces turned ashen. They wished they could grind the two men before them into dust.
Lu Qingkong coldly drew a sleeve-blade from his waist. Zhou Fuxue immediately grabbed him, whispering, "What are you doing? Your cultivation isn't enough to—"
Before he could finish, he saw Lu Qingkong grab Ming Zhu’s shoulder. He moved the sleeve-blade back and forth in front of Ming Zhu’s pale face, saying coldly, "How can one face cause so much trouble? Stand still. I’m going to disfigure you first."
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
The two Nascent Soul cultivators: "..."
---
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 畛域珠 | Domain Pearl | A spatial artifact used for hiding or storage. |
| 行鸢 | Sky-Kite | A large flying vessel or airship. |
| 晶玉 | Crystal Jade | The currency/spirit stones used in this world. |
| 诛伐令 | Extermination Order | A high-level bounty or kill order. |
| 剑灵 | Sword Spirit | A sentient spirit born from or residing within a sword. |
| 阆苑楼 | Langyuan Tower | Implied to be a high-end brothel or pleasure house. |
| 实沈国 | Shishen Kingdom | One of the nations in the setting. |
| 袖刀 | Sleeve-blade | A small, concealable knife. |
| 无心剑 | Wuxin Sword | "Heartless Sword"; likely the name of a specific sword. |
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Is Everyone Else's Eldest Disciple Like This? | Chapter 46 | A Narrow Encounter | Novela.app | Novela.app
