Martial Cultivator

In the darkness of night, Chen Chao ignited another fire at a concealed snow mound and then changed into a new snow-white long robe. He also took several medicinal pills that he had swiped from the palace before setting out.

But it was not exactly swipe. After all, he was just taking something from his family!

After meditating with his eyes closed for several hours, Chen Chao's injuries improved considerably. Although he had two spear wounds on his shoulders that had penetrated his body, they were still minor compared to the other injuries he sustained.

In his battle with Yuan Ling, Chen Chao reviewed the situation afterward. He had sustained at least dozens of wounds, all of which were troublesome. Some of his meridians were already blocked. If it were not for the white mist inside him, he would probably be in a state akin to being a living corpse; unable to move at all.

After circulating the white mist inside him one last time, the final blockage in his meridians was cleared. Chen Chao exhaled a mouthful of white mist, finally feeling a lot more comfortable.

At this moment, Liang Jinjin who had been unconscious finally woke up. This female qi refiner was immediately panicked, her mind clearly still stuck in the previous battle with the demon race. However, once she realized it was dark outside and she was next to a campfire, she let out a sigh of relief. But she soon noticed that there were no signs of her senior brothers or sisters around, only a young man with a complexion as pale as paper, which made her anxious again.

But she quickly recognized Chen Chao's face. Though his complexion was pale, his appearance had not changed, so it was easy for her to identify him. “Why is it you?”

She was somewhat surprised, thinking that she should have been with her senior brothers and sisters instead.

Chen Chao glanced at Liang Jinjin. He had no ill intentions toward her, on the contrary, he had a rather good impression of her. Otherwise, he would not have remembered her at the end and gone through the trouble of digging her out of the snow. Not to mention, he had traveled hundreds of miles to escape the battlefield and avoid further demon pursuers.

At that time, Chen Chao was in a worse state than the average person. Carrying a woman and walking hundreds of miles had nearly cost him his life.

He did not know what this woman ate growing up. Despite her seemingly delicate and fragile appearance, she was surprisingly heavy to carry!

“My senior brothers and sisters, where are they?”

Liang Jinjin quickly asked.

Chen Chao tossed a piece of dry wood onto the fire and said indifferently, “Dead.”

Liang Jinjin was taken aback and then became sorrowful, but she still asked hopefully, “Who died?”

Chen Chao glanced at her and replied, “All of them.”

Liang Jinjin was stunned and asked curiously, “How do you know?”

Chen Chao was somewhat speechless.

"Saw it with my own eyes."

Chen Chao was somewhat weak as he spoke in a listless tone.

Upon hearing this answer, Liang Jinjin lowered her head in sadness, and soon her eyes were filled with tears. She was someone who placed deep importance on relationships. Although her senior brothers and sisters often scolded her, they were still close companions with whom she had spent many days and nights. Naturally, she was heartbroken to learn of their deaths. After a long while, Liang Jinjin looked up at Chen Chao, her face streaked with tears, and asked, “Where are the bodies of my senior brothers and sisters? I want to help retrieve them.”

Chen Chao shook his head. “That place is likely swarming with demons right now. If you go there, you'll just be walking into a trap, and there's no chance you'll come out alive.”

Liang Jinjin lowered her head again, looking as if she was about to cry once more.

Chen Chao felt a bit guilty and said with a sigh, “I've already buried them for you. At least they have a proper resting place.”

Liang Jinjin suddenly looked up but soon, her eyes fell again. “You're lying!”

Chen Chao was taken aback. Did all women have a mysterious ability to see through things that men did not know? Whether he was lying or not, was it possible to see through it with just one glance?

Thinking this, Chen Chao felt even more frustrated.

Chen Chao indeed had not helped retrieve the bodies of those people. On one hand, it was because the situation had been urgent. If he had not left quickly, the demons that arrived afterward would have discovered him, and his fate would have been sealed.

On the other hand, Chen Chao simply did not want to do such a thing. Whether it was the group of qi refiners or the other group of cultivators led by that young sword cultivator among them, they were not good people. Their deaths meant nothing to him, why would he take care of their bodies?

With this thought, Chen Chao could not help but cough a few times, and some blood uncontrollably spilled from his lips onto the snow.

He grabbed a handful of snow to cover the blood and sighed deeply. This was a big loss.

Liang Jinjin glanced at Chen Chao and quickly took out a pill from her robe, handing it to him. “You got injured saving me, didn't you? This is a spirit pill from our Pinecreek Mountain, it's very precious. I only have one. Please take it.”

Chen Chao did not take it and simply shook his head. “Save it for yourself. There might be more dangers ahead, and you might need it to save your own life.”

Liang Jinjin frowned but stubbornly handed the pill to Chen Chao. “You saved me, and I must repay you. Take it!”

Chen Chao said with a bitter smile, “It’s not exactly saving you, just pulling you out of the snow. I can't accept such a big reward.”

This statement was half true and half false.

Liang Jinjin frowned again. “You're lying!”

Chen Chao opened his mouth but was at a loss for words.

Damn it...

Chen Chao reluctantly took the medicinal pill but did not eat it immediately. Liang Jinjin soon fixed her gaze on him, clearly unwilling to relent until he took it.

With a sigh, Chen Chao had no choice but to put the pill in his mouth and swallow it. After a short while, he actually felt much more comfortable. When it came to alchemy and similar skills, Great Liang was indeed far behind these foreign cultivators.

“How did you find us?”

Seeing Chen Chao finish eating the medicinal pill, Liang Jinjin asked again.

This time, Chen Chao remained silent. He could not possibly say that he had been following them from the beginning, could he? But if he did not say that and made something up instead, he figured the young woman in front of him would point at him and accuse him of lying again!

Chen Chao felt quite troubled.

After hesitating for a moment, Liang Jinjin asked softly, “Can you tell me what happened after I passed out?”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and then recounted what happened afterward. That young sword cultivator had attacked Xu Ruchu, another human, at a critical moment. After that, they had all perished there.

“So you killed all those demons by yourself. You're really amazing, but…”

Liang Jinjin trailed off, wanting to ask something but hesitating to do so.

Chen Chao thought for a moment and then said softly, “It’s not that I didn't want to save your senior brothers and senior sisters. When I arrived, there were still some demons on the periphery, so I was delayed.”

Seeing that Liang Jinjin was about to say something, Chen Chao sighed and said, “Alright, I lied.”

Liang Jinjin shook her head and said, “No, you didn't.”

Chen Chao was startled, then thought for a moment but said nothing.

Suddenly, Chen Chao asked, “Do you have some special ability that allows you to tell if someone is lying?”

Liang Jinjin shook her head. “I can't tell you.”

Chen Chao continued talking to himself, “It's probably some magic spell that can detect things others can't easily find and just happens to also reveal if someone is lying?”

Liang Jinjin was stunned for a moment, then got a little angry. “You were eavesdropping on our conversation!”

Chen Chao calmly replied, “I wouldn't call it eavesdropping. That night, your Senior Brother Xu was a bit too arrogant, thinking that I couldn't hear from a distance. But I was born with good hearing, so I overheard.”

Liang Jinjin was about to speak again.

Chen Chao waved his hand to stop her. "I don't want to hear anymore!"

Liang Jinjin hesitated for a moment, said nothing, and just lowered her head in anger.

Chen Chao smiled.

“You must have been following us since that night because you also want to find those sect ruins?”

Liang Jinjin quickly asked again.

Chen Chao retorted, “I lost track of you guys a few times in between. It was fate that we met in the end. But I have no interest in those sect ruins. I was just bored and decided to tag along for a look. Who knew I'd end up in this mess? If it weren't for noticing that you were still alive, I probably would have run off by now.”

This time, Liang Jinjin looked at him but did not say those two words.

Chen Chao sighed and said, "I later thought about it. If you hadn't said sorry to me that night, I probably would have just run off without any guilt.”

Liang Jinjin shook her head and said, "No, you wouldn't."

"Mhm?"

Chen Chao glanced at Liang Jinjin with some puzzlement.

She replied softly, "You're not that kind of person."

Chen Chao smiled, "Well, if you put it that way, I guess I'm a good person after all."