Martial Cultivator

The young man named Erhu hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he knocked on Chen Chao's door by himself.

Chen Chao opened the door and looked at the young man in front of him, who seemed cautious and obviously troubled, asking, "Something wrong?"

Glancing at the empty plates over there, the young man looked at Chen Chao and probed, "Sir Chen isn't an ordinary person, right?"

Ordinary people would not carry skygold coins when they go out, nor would they casually throw one away.

Chen Chao frowned and said bluntly, "Just say what you have to say."

The young man took a deep breath, making up his mind, and then spoke up, "Sir Chen, I have a deal, are you interested?"

Chen Chao glanced at the young man, neither speaking immediately nor inquiring about the deal.

The young man gritted his teeth and explained his intentions to Chen Chao, "I have a demon bead in my hand, not the ordinary kind. Sir Chen, would you be interested? If you are, I can sell it to you."

Chen Chao took two steps back and sat down on a nearby chair, raising an eyebrow. "A demon bead? Take it out and let me see its quality?"

The young man did not hesitate. Since he had chosen Chen Chao as his buyer, there was nothing to hide. He quickly took out the box from his pocket and, upon opening it, revealed the emerald-green demon bead.

Chen Chao had killed demons in Tianqing County for several years and had seen many demon beads. Naturally, he knew that this demon bead was indeed of a high grade. It was likely that the demon had already reached the pinnacle of the Bitter Sea Realm during its lifetime and was about to step into the Great Beyond Realm.

In the Great Liang Dynasty, demons occasionally preyed on humans, but the demon beads left behind after their deaths had many uses for cultivators. Whether for refining magic artifacts or medicinal purposes, they were valuable. The young man did not need to worry about selling this demon bead. However, whether he could sell it or it would be snatched away was hard to say.

Chen Chao glanced at the young man and was absorbed in thought as he asked, "Why are you in such a hurry to sell it? Is there something dubious about the origin of this demon bead?"

The young man smiled bitterly, "Sir Chen, you're overthinking it. This demon bead was acquired at the cost of my parents' lives. I've stored it all these years. Now, seeing that Sir Chen doesn't seem like a bad person, I thought to sell it to you, get some money, and use it as travel funds to leave this place."

Chen Chao asked, "Travel funds? Where are you going?"

The young man said softly, "Divine Capital. Only there is where life is truly life, and humans are truly humans." Chen Chao remained silent. He understood the struggles of the people in the Great Liang Dynasty, and he could understand the young man's longing for the Divine Capital. However, Chen Chao was not interested in this demon bead; he had plenty of beads of similar quality.

"The Divine Capital might not be as good as you imagine. Leaving one's homeland to wander in a foreign land may not be a good thing."

Chen Chao shook his head.

The young man said softly, "It's still better than staying here."

Chen Chao did not say anything, just silently took out several skygold coins and placed them on the table.

The young man could not help but urge, "Sir Chen... this is too little..."

Chen Chao looked at him, shaking his head, "I don't want this demon bead because it's of no use to me. These skygold coins are given to you as travel funds. When the demon bead reaches the Divine Capital, if you still want to sell it, find a bigger shop. Even if they undercut you on the price, you'll still get a decent sum of money. It will be enough for you to buy a small house in the Divine Capital. By then... find a livelihood for yourself. Who knows, you might really live well."

Chen Chao paused, then could not help but add, "Don't let your guard down against others. Don't be so reckless next time. If I wanted to snatch your demon bead, what could you do?"

"Think more before making decisions. It's not easy to live. Don't take unnecessary risks."

The young man looked at the skygold coins on the table, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Chen Chao continued, "The road to the Divine Capital is not safe. You'd better find a caravan to travel with. It's worth paying them some money. They hire guards, which will be safer."

Upon hearing this, the young man's eyes brimmed over with hot tears.

Chen Chao did not say anything more, just waved his hand, indicating for the young man to take the skygold coins, and then sent him out.

The young man wanted to kneel down in front of the young man, but Chen Chao frowned and said in a deep voice, "A man should have dignity. Don't kneel easily. If you kneel too much, you won't be able to stand up anymore."

The young man felt uneasy.

The young sir in front of him was truly a good person, and definitely not just an ordinary good guy!

Chen Chao remained silent. He could not help but think of Xie Ying, that little girl. If he had done more earlier, those things would not have happened.

After seeing off the young man, Chen Chao stood alone at the door, looking up at the night sky where the moon shone brightly tonight.

……

……

Returning to the cellar, the young man had a complicated expression.

The girl asked softly, "Big Brother, how did it go?"

The young man did not know what to say. But after some thought, he decided to tell his younger sister everything that had happened.

The girl said with some joy, "I told you he was a good person!"

But the young man bowed his head guiltily. "But I lied to him."

Earlier, when Chen Chao asked if he was alone, the young man did not tell him about his sister.

"Sis, I think we should go and apologize to him."

The young man said earnestly, "He helped us so much, we shouldn't have lied to him."

The girl nodded, "Yes, that's the right thing to do."

Having made up their minds, they climbed out of the cellar. But this time, they changed to a set of clean clothes.

As the young man was about to step out of the woodshed, he caught a whiff of alcohol. Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of the woodshed for no apparent reason. A scruffy daoist stood there, sniffing heavily. He grinned, "Who would've thought I'd find some loot here."

The young man shielded the little girl behind him, staring intensely at the unexpected visitor.

The daoist got straight to the point, "Kid, bring out the demon bead you're hiding. This isn't something you should be holding onto."

Furrowing his brows, the young man was about to speak when the daoist glanced at the girl behind him, revealing a strange smile, "This girlie is quite the beauty."

Cultivators on the mountains rarely had distracting thoughts, but these itinerant cultivators were different, indulging in various desires beyond common understanding.

The young man quickly made a decision and spoke up, "I'll give you the demon bead, but you have to let us go."

The scruffy daoist raised an eyebrow, "Do you think you're in a position to make demands?"

As he finished speaking, he walked towards the young man.

Steeling his heart, the young man charged at the daoist and shouted, "Sis, run!"

The daoist sneered coldly, grabbing the young man in front of him and throwing him out of the woodshed. He then caught the box that fell from the young man's arms, confirming that the demon bead was inside. The daoist grabbed the girl, allowing her to continuously pound on his waist.

The girl cried out for her older brother.

Carrying the girl out of the woodshed, the scruffy daoist grinned, "Little beauty, why are you crying?"

However, as he reached the yard, the young man who had been thrown out earlier had picked up a stick and charged back at him.

When the young man reached him, the scruffy daoist kicked out, sending the young man flying once again.

The girl pleaded through tears, "I beg you, don't kill my brother!"

The scruff daoist was expressionless. He just took a few steps, approaching the young man to deliver a final blow.

But before he could strike, a voice sounded out opposite, stopping him in his tracks.

A young man in black with a saber stood at the door of the opposite house, looking calmly at the scruffy daoist. He said calmly, "If I were you, I wouldn't kill after robbing."