Lady Cultivator

“AHH!!!”

Along with the blood-curdling scream, the hands moving on her body disappeared. Mo Tiange opened her eyes and was stunned by what she saw.

Jiang Chengxian, who just a moment ago was still doing whatever he pleased, was now sprawled askew on the ground with a huge bleeding hole in his chest, dead.

Once she raised her head, the scene that greeted her was Jiang Shanghang’s gloomy face.

“Sen… Senior Martial Brother Jiang…” A sudden wave of exhaustion struck her. She could barely speak. When those disgusting hands were moving around her body, she didn’t feel scared because she was overwhelmed by disgust. It was only now that she felt the lingering fear caused by that moment.

Just as her emotions started to calm down, she suddenly realized that even though Jiang Chengxian was dead, her situation wouldn’t change if Jiang Shanghang also had some ill intentions towards her. Thus, she looked up quite nervously to stare at Jiang Shanghang. Fortunately, her clothes weren’t yet removed and no skin was exposed. It was just that she didn’t know whether he had heard Jiang Chengxian’s words or not.

Upon seeing Jiang Shanghang’s distracted and scared expression as well as his sweat-covered face, the fact that Jiang Shanghang had just killed his younger cousin finally dawned on her. Although the two of them were more like enemies than brothers before, in the end, they weren’t strangers. Right now his feelings were probably a mess, right?

She then tried to call out to him. “Senior Martial Brother Jiang?”

Jiang Shanghang suddenly regained his train of thought and wiped the sweat on his forehead before directing his gaze at her. Soon afterward, he walked towards her and pulled off the Dragon-Trapping Rope on her body. With the death of Jiang Chengxian, this Dragon-Trapping Rope could be pulled off easily. “Get up.”

Mo Tiange sighed with relief to hear his words. Jiang Shanghang’s expression was still normal. Apparently, he had just arrived and hadn’t heard what Jiang Chengxian said.

She stood up, turned away to fasten her clothes properly and turned back. She cupped her hands towards Jiang Shanghang and said, “Many thanks to Senior Martial Brother Jiang for your life-saving grace.” Although the way she addressed him was still the same, this time, she did so with a bit of gratitude. Regardless of how Jiang Shanghang acted before, the fact was that he saved her today.

Jiang Shanghang’s old expression was restored. With an indifferent manner, he answered, “No need to thank me. You saved me once, so I’m just paying you back.”

Mo Tiange was dumbfounded.  Is he talking about… that matter three years ago? That should be it… the two of us only had an encounter then after all.

Three years ago, when Senior Martial Brother Jiang was beaten up by Jiang Chengxian, she happened to witness it and secretly brought him back. Later, she even resented him for being ungrateful. Yet it turned out that Senior Martial Brother Jiang wasn’t really indifferent or emotionless. Although he appeared to completely not care about the matter, he still remembered it three years later!

Unintentionally performing a trivial matter in passing had unexpectedly saved her life today. Mo Tiange couldn’t help but think that in this cultivation world, she didn’t necessarily have to be selfish. When she made arrangement for herself, helping others more often would probably create good karma for her. After all, in the cycle of Karma, not only was there retribution, but there was also good karma.

Thus, when she saw Jiang Shanghang once again exhibiting a cold, gloomy attitude, she no longer felt uncomfortable. Truth be told, Jiang Shanghang didn’t like being with them, had a blunt way of speaking and a cold demeanor, but there was nothing really bad about him. However… how did he know she was in danger and how was he even able to arrive at the right time?

When Mo Tiange finally shifted her gaze towards the corpse on the ground, Jiang Shanghang had already crouched down and began probing the corpse. She couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, how did you know I was in trouble?”

Jiang Shanghang answered without even raising his head, “I knew that person.”

“Huh?”

“The person who told you to come.”

Senior Martial Brother Wu?  Mo Tiange finally understood. Jiang Shanghang was cultivating in his room, so when Senior Martial Brother Wu came looking for her, Jiang Shanghang knew at once that he was Jiang Chengxian’s lackey and that his excuse “Senior Martial Brother Zhou is looking for you” was a lie.

Thinking up till this point, Mo Tiange suddenly realized how lucky she was. If it wasn’t because Jiang Shanghang happened to be in his room and heard their dialogue, she would’ve really…

“What about that person?” Mo Tiange asked. After all, Jiang Chengxian told him to stand guard.

“I killed him,” Jiang Shanghang said indifferently.

Mo Tiange was dumbstruck.  This Senior Martial Brother Jiang… is also a very merciless person…  When it came time to kill, he wasn’t lenient at all. However, it gave her a different impression of Jiang Shanghang; she felt his mercilessness was a strong point. In this cultivation world, when they had to be ruthless, they definitely couldn’t be lenient. Otherwise, they simply wouldn’t survive for long.

Right at this moment, Jiang Shanghang found two Qiankun Bags. He threw hers back to her. “This is yours, right?”

Mo Tiange took it and answered, “Yes, thanks.”

Having finished probing Jiang Chengxian’s corpse, Jiang Shanghang stood up and turned towards her. He frowned and said, “Junior Martial… Brother Ye, in the end, what was your reason behind dressing as a man and entering Yunwu Sect?”

Jiang Shanghang was still using that cold tone of his, but now, Mo Tiange didn’t feel annoyed at hearing it. Perhaps it was because her impression of him had changed, or perhaps it was because he wasn’t really asking.

With a wry smile, she answered, “Would Senior Martial Brother Jiang believe me if I said I have no purpose?”

Jiang Shanghang said, “It doesn’t matter whether I believe you or not. Anyway, I’m not interested in your business. It’s just that for today’s incident, the two of us won’t be able to escape the consequences.”

Mo Tiange naturally knew what he was saying. When she prepared to fight Jiang Chengxian, she already thought about this matter. Since they killed Jiang Chengxian, they naturally couldn’t remain in Mount Yunwu. They had to leave as soon as possible to avoid getting caught by Jiang Clan. However, Jiang Clan had two Core Formation cultivators. It was indeed…

Mo Tiange sighed and said, “This incident… I’ve implicated Senior Martial Brother Jiang. I’m truly sorry.”

After he heard what she said, a faint frustration finally appeared on his face, yet he said resolutely, “Since I was willing to involve myself, I naturally don’t care. I’ve long wanted to leave this Jiang Clan.”

“You wanted to leave Jiang Clan?” Mo Tiange asked with surprise. Even though Jiang Shanghang wasn’t valued by Jiang Clan, in the end, he could still benefit from its power and influence. Since he hadn’t yet built his foundation, he would face a lot of inconveniences in the future if he left Jiang Clan now.

Jiang Shanghang sneered, “The last time I went home, I learned that the only grandmother I had remaining passed away. My grandmother was only a mortal. She caught a few minor diseases; they only needed to casually move their hands and they would’ve been able to cure her, but they didn’t care… Why should I remain in that clan?”

Maybe it was because the two of them were now in the same boat that he accidentally blurted out these things. Nevertheless, he did seem quite regretful after he finished and immediately said, “Enough with this nonsense. Since the matter’s progressed to this point, we’d better hurry and leave. If we continue to delay and are found by others, we’d certainly lose our lives.”

Mo Tiange nodded. “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, I’m going to be frank. This matter will definitely get linked to me. Some people must know that the senior surnamed Wu came looking for me, so when his death is investigated, any leads would point to me. You, on the other hand, can wash your hands of this matter easily.”

Jiang Shanghang said, “I don’t dare to believe in luck. It’d be better for me to take advantage of this occasion to leave. All of them would chase after you, so it’d be easy for me to escape.”

Mo Tiange understood his reasoning. Although the two of them committed a crime, Jiang Shanghang stayed hidden, so it was quite easy to conceal his involvement. She didn’t feel unhappy because of this. After all, the matter originally happened because of her. Hence, she nodded and said, “I understand.”

Having reached an agreement, Jiang Shanghang sized up Jiang Chengxian’s corpse which he handled by casting a Quicksand Spell.

When Jiang Chengxian’s corpse finally disappeared into the ground, Jiang Shanghang once again opened Jiang Chengxian’s Qiankun Bag, seemingly looking for something. In the end, he took out a medicinal pill bottle and poured its contents out. Jiang Shanghang’s expression immediately became gloomy once he saw the five pills from the bottle.

Confused, Mo Tiange asked, “What’s wrong?”

As Jiang Shanghang put the medicinal pills back into the bottle, he hesitated for a moment then gave two pills to her. He said, “These are Jiang Clan’s Foundation-Refining Pills. Taking one when you build your foundation can increase your odds of success.”

Mo Tiange raised her eyebrows with surprise and stared at the medicinal pills in her hand. She had long heard that Jiang Clan had a kind of medicinal pill that could assist in building their foundation, but Jiang Shanghang hadn’t received any shares. No wonder he had that kind of expression a moment ago. He already obtained a Foundation-Building Pill and just needed to build his foundation, yet he didn’t get even one pill from the clan. Now, they actually found five pills on Jiang Chengxian’s body… In the end, how far did the partiality of this Jiang Clan go!?

At the moment, she felt that leaving Jiang Clan was a good thing for Jiang Shanghang. They regularly bullied him, neglected him and his immediate family, and even discriminated against him in important matters like foundation-building; even if he stayed with Jiang Clan, he definitely wouldn’t benefit!

Mo Tiange then looked at the medicinal pills in her hand, hesitated for a moment and asked, “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, these are such precious things. Are you really giving them to me?”

Jiang Shanghang said, “Every time you take one of these Foundation-Refining Pills, their efficiency decreases slightly. After three pills, their efficiency isn’t much. Just take these two pills as a reward for helping me eliminate dangers.”

His reasoning was justifiable, so she nodded and kept the two pills. Soon after, she thought of another matter and said, “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, try checking if he had a kind of medicinal pill you don’t recognize.”

Jiang Shanghang stared at her with doubt, so Mo Tiange simply said, “He has Constitution-Enhancing Pills.”

Jiang Shanghang’s eyes widened with shock. Obviously, he knew what Constitution-Enhancing Pills were. He asked, “How do you know?”

With a bitter smile, Mo Tiange answered, “That was the reason I offended him.” She didn’t explain in detail because even though Jiang Shanghang saved her life, the fact that the recipe for Constitution-Enhancing Pills was in her hands was better kept secret.

Jiang Shanghang also didn’t ask further and straightaway began searching. Sure enough, he found a jade bottle inside Jiang Chengxian’s Qiankun Bag that contained two white-colored medicinal pills that had a rich medicinal smell.

“These seem to be it,” Mo Tiange joyously said. These two medicinal pills looked exactly as described in the Jade Slip.

Seeing as Jiang Shanghang offered one pill to her, Mo Tiange waved her hand and said, “Senior Martial Brother Jiang doesn’t need to give me one. Just take it as I’m returning your kindness.” Since she had the recipe for Constitution-Enhancing Pills, why should she fight for these two pills against Jiang Shanghang? In any case, he saved her life and even gave her two Foundation-Refining Pills – she wasn’t someone who couldn’t recognize other’s kindness.

Jiang Shanghang, having no suspicion at all, directly stored the two pills in his Qiankun Bag. Constitution-Enhancing Pills were indeed rare, but its users needed to take other medicinal pills for a long time before it could show its worth. Just these two pills really didn’t amount to much and couldn’t even compare to Foundation-Refining Pills.

Now that they finished splitting the loot, Jiang Shanghang said, “We can’t delay any longer. Junior Martial Brother Ye, let’s take off on our respective ways.”

Mo Tiange naturally knew that time was precious, so she didn’t say many superfluous words. She only cupped her hands as a farewell and said, “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, take care. We’ll meet again if we’re fated to.” Right after she finished, she turned around and walked away.

However, Jiang Shanghang’s voice came from behind her: “Junior Martial Brother Ye.”

Mo Tiange turned around.

Jiang Shanghang revealed a faint smile while pointing at his own head.

Mo Tiange finally realized her hair was still undone. She hastily picked up the hairpin on the ground and tied her hair into a Daoist’s bun.

After she once again bid farewell, Mo Tiange walked down the mountain, feeling ridiculous in her heart.

Although they had known each other for three years, she always considered him a stranger. However, she hadn’t expected that when she ran into a catastrophe, it would be him who came to help her. Unfortunately, the two of them had only gotten a bit closer, yet they had to go their separate ways to flee for their lives without knowing if they would have the chance to meet again in the future. The affairs of this world really made her sigh over their impermanence.