Chapter 1209: An Unexpected Encounter
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the Li Nation of the Xuanhuang Continent, on the peak of an enormous mountain, there was a gigantic infrastructure standing tall and upright. It had four big characters spelling Seven Stars Academy written outside the gate.
At the foot of the mountain, seven small cities were nestled. They were known as the Seven Heir Cities.
One of cities, Star Heir City, was the smallest Ancient City among the Seven Heir Cities. It only had a population of slightly more than 100,000. In the World of Cultivators, as in many other places, it was difficult to be called a city with such a small population!
At that moment, unusually, Star Heir City was extremely lively. Cultivators from all over the world had gathered there. The entire Ancient City had suddenly become crowded, and all the lodging houses were jam-packed. Many tents had been set up outside the Ancient City to accommodate the thousands of cultivators who had come to the city.
The credit belonged to the Seven Stars Academy located on top of the mountain. Once every decade, the Seven Stars Academy would recruit new disciples, and they would come to be a.s.sessed. Those who got through the a.s.sessment successfully would become disciples of the Seven Stars Academy, where they would enroll and learn from the academy.
This year, the last day for the Seven Stars Academy to recruit new disciples had arrived. There were only 1,000 places left, and the recruitment was set to take place in Star Heir City. Of course, numerous cultivators from within and without the Li Nation were attracted to the recruitment. They wanted to seize the last opportunity to grab one of the 1,000 places and study in the Seven Stars Academy. In the Xuanhuang Continent, an academy was the best springboard for success and the best place to nurture their talents.
Studying in an academy allowed them to come in contact with a large quant.i.ty of Magic Arts and a great deal of resources. They could become a master once they graduated from the academy. They could also be recommended to and enabled to join other major sects. It was absolutely easier than becoming a disbanded cultivator.
It was similar to the entertainment industry. Many people wanted to be admitted to all kinds of film, music, and arts academies in order to facilitate their entry into the entertainment industry through their academic qualifications or connections to famous celebrities.
Although the sects in the Xuanhuang Continent would also recruit new disciples, most of them would give priority to the people nurtured by the academies before they would consider disbanded cultivators.
Hence, no matter which academy was recruiting disciples, there would always be countless cultivators who dashed over to partic.i.p.ate—whether they had the capabilities or were merely trying their luck.
…..
Just then, in Star Heir City, an old lady in a Taoist robe was walking down the street. She was accompanied by a young woman in a long, spotlessly white dress. The young woman had a delicate face with smooth, soft skin. She was leading a horse, and, although she seemed tired, she was exuding an aura of tenacity. She had a belief that kept her from falling and giving up.
“Yu Xi, let’s take a rest over here!” Just then, the old lady who was walking ahead stopped suddenly and said in a low voice.
The young woman was slightly startled, and she saw the old woman had stopped outside a Resting Inn.
“Master, is this the Resting Inn operated by your friend?” The young woman asked.
“Yes, go in with me. The horse can be left here for the time being. Someone will take care of it later.” The old lady nodded and stepped into the Resting Inn.
“All right,” the young woman replied. She let go of the reins and followed the old lady inside. A moment later, the middle-aged innkeeper of the Resting Inn received the old lady and the young woman. The young woman stood at the side and didn’t speak a word. But, from the conversation between the old lady and the middle-aged innkeeper, it was clear that the old lady’s friend was the father of the innkeeper, but he had pa.s.sed away. Although the middle-aged innkeeper had a warm smile on his face, the young woman felt that it was a perfunctory smile and extremely insincere!
Eventually, they were settled in a simple, out-of-the-way woodshed. There was dust and dirt all around and a musty smell hung in the air. The young woman frowned and said, “Master, that person is so insulting. How could he let you stay in such a place? I’m going to go reason with him now.”
“Forget it, Yu Xi, it is the fickleness of human nature and the world, don’t you understand this simple truth yet?” The old lady waved her hand gently and sighed.
“But Master, your illness…”
“Ha, ha, will my illness be cured if we change to a better place? Let it go, now the Seven Stars Academy is recruiting disciples, a woodshed is good enough!” The old lady smiled kindly.
The young woman saw the smile and was surprised. As far as she could remember, that was a rare smile from her Master. Upon seeing her Master’s smile, she felt uneasy, as if this was a portent that her Master was dying.
“Yu Xi, I have something to tell you!” Just then, the old lady spoke again and her voice was very gentle.
“Master, please go ahead!” The young woman hurriedly helped the old lady. She used her white sleeves to wipe away the dust on a chair so that the old lady could sit down. The old lady looked at the young woman’s acts, and she nodded and smiled. There was a trace of relief in her smile and also a little reluctance to part.
“My life span is at its end. I’m afraid I can’t take care of you any longer now…”
“Master!”
“Yu Xi, don’t interrupt me! My initial intention of bringing you here was hoping to give you a piece of enlightenment. It had never occurred to me that I would leave before I could complete that! However, the Seven Stars Academy is recruiting disciples. It may be a good chance for you. When you’ve entered the Seven Stars Academy, remember to practice hard. I’ve already taught you all that I know, and the rest depends on your own enlightenment!”
“Master, it’s all my fault. If you hadn’t risked your life saving me, you wouldn’t be like this now!” Saying this, the young woman’s tears were flowing from her eyes.
“That’s not true. If I hadn’t taken you, how would you have fallen into such a trap?”
“No, Master, in the first place, I was the one who begged you to take me. I wanted to find someone, but I never realized how enormous the world was and how difficult it was. I even dragged you into this mess…”
“Do you regret coming out to search for him?”
“I…” The young woman paused slightly. But the firm expression in her eyes had already answered the question. She didn’t regret it in the slightest bit, never!
The old lady looked at her and laughed. She would no longer mention that matter. Instead, she said, “Yu Xi, remember, in the future, never take out the Seven Stars Order that easily. No one can save me. Even if you exchange more medicinal items with the Seven Stars Order, it’s only prolonging my painful life!”
“Master, I’ll bear this in mind!” The young woman nodded.
“Good, I can finally set my mind at rest…” When the old lady finished her sentence, her eyes gradually closed, and she pa.s.sed away while wearing a smile.
The young woman was stunned and rooted to the ground. She was completely overwhelmed. The young woman had never expected her Master to leave her in such a sudden manner.
Despite the serenity on her Master’s face, it was still hard for the young woman to accept.
“Master…” The young woman knelt down in front of the old lady and cried her eyes out. If Xu Que had been here, he would have been utterly surprised. This woman in white was actually his girlfriend, Lin Yuxi, when he was in college.
“Master, you can rest a.s.sured that I’ll do my best to avenge you!” Lin Yuxi looked at the old lady who had left this world peacefully, and she whispered. She was determined. This was a new goal added to her life!
…..
Eventually, Lin Yuxi buried the old lady under the woodshed. That was something the old lady had hinted to her long ago.
The inn had been opened by her and her friend. She had many fond memories of their life in the inn. The old lady once said that she hoped that she could return to her origins and be buried there.
In the past, Lin Yuxi didn’t understand why the old lady wanted to come to this place. But, it was only now that she understood the rationale of her Master. The old lady not only wanted to escort her to the Seven Stars Academy, but she also wanted to rest in peace in the place where she had been the happiest.
Bam!
Suddenly, there was a m.u.f.fled sound from outside her door. It sounded like someone who had fallen to the ground.Then there was a burst of noise.
“What a scoundrel, how dare you come here to eat and drink for free, are you courting death?”
“D*mn, do you still want to do business in this inn? I took the medicinal item out for others to admire, but it was eaten by this man. How are you going to compensate me? It’s a Second Grade Mind Restoration Pill. I’m afraid you can’t afford to compensate me even if you sold the entire inn!”
“Please forgive me. This person will be handed over to you, and he’ll be at your disposal!”
“At my d*mn disposal? This person is obviously a fool! Even if I killed him, can I recoup my losses?”
“But…”
“Humph, in order to partic.i.p.ate in the a.s.sessment of the Seven Stars Academy, I had purposely got my hands on the Second Grade Mind Restoration Pill, but your inn let a fool in and he ate my pill. The inn should be responsible in this matter.”
“Sir, we’re running a small business here. How can we afford to compensate for the Mind Restoration Pill?”
“Can’t afford it? Then I’ll burn down your inn, even if the City Governor is here. He will be unable to find fault with me! Get over here, get rid of all the people in the inn. As for this fool, beat him to death, and throw him out to feed the dogs after killing him!”
..…
At the end of the conversation, the innkeeper begging for mercy and there was a burst of dense fighting noises.
Lin Yuxi frowned slightly and shook her head.
It seemed that the middle-aged innkeeper was down on his luck. But judging from the situation, she shouldn’t stay in the inn any longer.
Creak!
She pushed opened the door gently and checked out the situation outside.
She saw the middle-aged innkeeper kneeling in front of a young man, he was begging for mercy. There were a few guards next to him, and they were furiously beating up an unkempt man. But the man didn’t utter a single word. He hugged his head and stayed low to the ground. He was munching crazily in his mouth. It seemed that he was badly starved.
Lin Yuxi sighed when she saw that. The weak were an easy prey to the strong—it was a world of the survival of the fittest. When her Master was alive, she always taught her not to be meddlesome. Moreover, now that her Master had pa.s.sed away, even if she wanted to help, she didn’t have the ability to.
“Uh?” Suddenly, just as Lin Yuxi was about to close the door and ignore it, she locked eyes with the man who was being badly beaten.
That glimpse—it was as though she had cut across the Void, traveled through time, thousands of years ahead! She had searched for him hundreds and thousands of times in a crowd. Now, when she looked back by chance, that person was waiting for her there and then!
She stared with her eyes open wide. It was unbelievable, and she trembled with excitement, “Xu…Xu Que!”