Chapter Thirty-Six: Once Again Trapped in an Ambush

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Yu Lang gripped his blade tightly; on this narrow path, there was no turning back. The man called out joyfully, “Brother Lang, don’t you recognize me?”

Sensing no malice from the stranger, Yu Lang looked closely and, to his astonishment, recognized an old acquaintance from months ago in the Yangzhou county jail. “Yu Dan?”

Yu Dan’s smile was radiant. “That’s right.”

Draped in animal pelts, his hair simply tied with a loop of tender branches, Yu Dan looked every bit the wild man of the mountains. Most astonishing of all, the limbs he had once lost had miraculously grown back.

Circling Yu Dan, Yu Lang couldn’t help but marvel aloud.

“For me, regrowing limbs is as natural as your hair regrowing after a cut. It’s nothing extraordinary,” Yu Dan said.

Yu Lang was full of questions. “How did you get out of the county jail? I went to ask about you, but the jailer said you suddenly disappeared from your cell.”

Yu Dan’s expression darkened. “What truth could you expect from that lot? Magistrate Xie, finding he couldn’t make things difficult for you, grew resentful and had me taken out of Yangzhou in secret to be killed.”

“Killed?” Yu Lang echoed in disbelief.

“They thought they killed me, but before long I came back to life. I fled to these wild hills and gradually nursed myself back to health.”

Yu Lang noticed there wasn’t the slightest fluctuation of inner energy in Yu Dan’s body. Indeed, a mere mortal entering the mountains wouldn’t attract the attention of any Watchers from the Xiyue Academy stationed in these wilds. Yet, not only was there no sign of inner energy in Yu Dan, even the basic indicators of life were faint, barely human. When the mountains were sealed, no one realized that Yu Dan remained within.

The first time Yu Lang met Yu Dan, he was weak and ignorant of cultivation, his ability to sense such things minimal. Only now did he realize that Yu Dan did not breathe at all. Yu Lang recalled reading in an ancient tome of a race on the continent that was neither living nor dead, whose bodies and consciousness were but a part of nature itself: undiminished, undying, never fading. Such people often lived in a muddled haze, memories slipping away so that, despite their near-eternal lives, their recollections never lasted long.

In other words, Yu Dan could have lived a thousand years already, perhaps even fought as a Shang dynasty soldier at the battle of Muyi, witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations in the Central Plains. Looking forward, Yu Dan might even survive to Yu Lang’s own era—the 21st century.

The thought excited Yu Lang immensely.

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Yu Dan had no inkling of the wild thoughts swirling in Yu Lang’s mind. He chuckled. “Brother Lang, I don’t know why, but though I usually drift through life in a fog, whenever I spend time with you, I feel clear-headed for a while, and fragments of memory return.”

Perhaps that was why Yu Dan felt so naturally drawn to him. Had his prodigious intellect already reached the point of spilling over into the world? But wait—was it possible Yu Dan was absorbing his intelligence, and over time he’d be left a simpleton? Once again, Yu Lang was lost in fanciful speculation.

Yu Dan, seemingly wary of the blade at Yu Lang’s side, shifted and sat on the other side of the cave. He pointed at the grindstone-forged knife. “I have a feeling that if this blade were to strike me, any part it cut away would never grow back.”

Yu Lang’s eyes lit up. “Think carefully—have you seen this knife before, anywhere?”

Yu Dan concentrated, but it only brought him a splitting headache. He couldn’t recall more, though a deep-seated fear of the blade remained, etched into his instincts.

Not wanting to press him, Yu Lang took some rations from his supply box and shared them with Yu Dan.

Yu Dan shook his head. “It’s dull to only eat cold food. I just roasted two wild rabbits.”

Seeing the steaming rabbits, a chill ran through Yu Lang’s heart.

He’d been careless; he hadn’t noticed that Yu Dan had built a fire here. The disciples of Xiyue Academy were not to be underestimated—this cave was likely already exposed!

With a lowered voice, Yu Lang said, “You must leave now. My position may have been discovered.”

Yu Dan clenched his fists. “Who dares bully you? I’ll go teach them a lesson!”

Yu Lang shook his head. “You may be hard to kill, but you’re no match for these people.” He unclasped his Source tokens from his chest and handed them to Yu Dan. “Hide for now, and come find me at dusk. Return these five tokens to me then—they’re vitally important.”

The rules of the competition required Source tokens to be kept on one’s person. Yu Lang didn’t know if this gambit would help, but with few options, he decided to take the risk.

Yu Dan nodded, not fully understanding, but he always trusted Yu Lang’s words. Without hesitation, he climbed down the rocks like a monkey, disappearing into the wilderness.

Sure enough, as soon as Yu Lang slung his supply box and Source case over his back and climbed up the peak, he found thirteen students already waiting for him.

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At their head were two renowned figures: Ma Youjian, the Pegasus Swordmaster, and Ju Peiyuan, who could sever the Qinhuai River with a single stroke. Both were practitioners of the Flowing Sea realm, while the remaining eleven were at the Hundred-Refinement level—here to pick up the spoils.

Ju Peiyuan said coolly, “Yu Lang, word is you’ve had quite a lucky streak and must have at least twenty Source tokens by now. Hand them over yourself, so we don’t have to harm a fellow student.”

Yu Lang set down his supply box and drew his blade. “Surely you don’t mean to gang up on a mere ordinary man with unopened dantian? Even if you took first place this way, your reputation would be ruined.”

Ma Youjian burst out laughing. “Impossible! We didn’t gather here to bully the weak with numbers. The smoke and fire here drew us all, and when we’ve taken your tokens, we’ll settle matters among ourselves. You’ve made it this far on luck and cunning—your true strength is no secret. No one will pick on you. My sister will be the one to test your skill.”

Ma Tingting resembled her brother so closely they seemed cut from the same mold—short and slender, wielding twin swords. She bowed to Yu Lang and gestured for him to begin.

The two moved, exchanging steps and blows.

Ma Tingting’s footwork was as light as it was steady—clearly the Ma family’s agility techniques ran deep. Her twin swords, paired with her steps, wove a dazzling web, closing in around Yu Lang.

Yu Lang struck with a horizontal slash. Her twin swords snapped at the waist, and Ma Tingting staggered back more than ten steps before she could steady herself.

Straightforward in nature, Ma Tingting wasted no words. She removed the Source tokens from her chest and handed them to Yu Lang.

The other students were shocked. Ma Tingting was at the mid-Hundred-Refinement level, yet she hadn’t lasted three moves against Yu Lang’s blade. To be precise, it was only one true strike—the first two had been mere feints.

Ma Youjian exchanged a complicated glance with Ju Peiyuan, caught in a dilemma. He had planned for his sister to win and claim the lion’s share of the tokens, but had not expected Yu Lang—supposedly unable to open his dantian—to display upper-Hundred-Refinement level strength. Yet he could not challenge Yu Lang himself; if he spent his inner energy on Yu Lang, he would be at a disadvantage facing Ju Peiyuan next, who might seize the opportunity.

Yu Lang grew solemn. What he truly feared was not this tenuous alliance of rivals, but those hidden in the shadows, waiting to reap the spoils from the victor.