Chapter 160: Act While the Opportunity Lasts

This place had much in common with Second Uncle’s little courtyard, except that it was nowhere near as large. In fact, there was no courtyard at all—only a single wooden house.

Several wooden stools and a small wooden table stood outside the house.

“My master and I only arrived here recently, so the house is rather shabby. Please don’t take offense.”

The little boy was very polite. He explained everything to me as we walked.

I nodded, indicating that I did not mind. What use was a large house, anyway?

When we were almost at the wooden house, the boy called out in his childish voice before we could reach the door.

“Master! We have guests!”

He then asked us to sit down while he waited beside us for his master. Several seconds later, a deep voice came from inside the house.

“Little Qing, we have guests. Don’t be rude. Brew some tea and welcome them properly!”

Judging by the voice, the speaker seemed to be an old man. After hearing this, Ma Qingzhi gave a quiet acknowledgment before going inside to fetch teacups and tea leaves.

A while later, his master finally came out. The moment he saw us, his expression softened.

What surprised me was that he was not an old man at all, but a fairly young middle-aged man.

Out of courtesy, I quickly stood up and cupped my hands.

“Greetings. My name is Lin Yao.”

This man behaved like an old gentleman in every way, despite having a face that was not particularly old.

He wore a blue robe decorated with embroidery that had faded in places, yet it was easy to tell that the garment had once been extremely fine.

His face still carried a spirited air. Though there were a few wrinkles, he remained a handsome man with a stern and dignified countenance.

“My name is Ma Xingyu. Could you be the Lin Yao who recently made such a stunning name for himself?”

There was no good way for me to answer that question. Since I was indeed responsible for the incident, however, I could only admit it.

“That would be me. It was nothing more than a minor matter, hardly worth mentioning.”

Ma Xingyu burst into laughter a few times. At that moment, Little Qing emerged from the house carrying a teapot.

Ma Xingyu lifted his robe and sat down with an easy, commanding air. After looking me over several times, he said, “Young man, you have a promising future ahead of you. Little Qing, look at these big brothers of yours—they have already reached the Spirit Lotus Realm. You, on the other hand, should hurry up and cultivate.”

Little Qing gave another quiet acknowledgment, puffed out his cheeks, and turned to go back inside.

“Little Qing has already told me what happened. I must thank you on his behalf.”

Ma Xingyu was very courteous as well, and soon began chatting with us about ordinary matters.

During our conversation, Ma Xingyu mentioned that he knew the parents of Li Zijian and Chen Chen. Later, he explained himself.

“I am an elder of a certain sect, but I no longer wanted to be confined by the sect’s rules, so I requested permission to descend the mountain and travel the world.”

“That journey has lasted more than ten years…”

It seemed that Ma Xingyu truly enjoyed this kind of freedom—carefree and unrestrained.

Who didn’t? It was only that all of us were trapped in the Ghost King’s game and could not escape. Otherwise, I would have loved to travel the world with a sword at my side, helping the weak and punishing evil.

After hearing why we had come, Ma Xingyu rummaged through his ring and brought out a large quantity of medicinal herbs, insisting that he give them all to us.

I examined them. They were precisely the herbs Second Uncle had asked us to gather—nearly half a basketful. That was already far more than enough.

I felt embarrassed accepting so much and hurriedly waved my hands.

“Saving Little Qing was merely a small favor. It was nothing. I would much rather become friends with you, Senior.”

If I had judged correctly, Ma Xingyu had reached the sixth grade of the Spirit Lotus Realm. He was the most powerful person I had ever encountered.

After hearing this, Ma Xingyu laughed heartily again.

“One matter is one matter. You must accept the herbs. Besides, we are friends now.”

Seeing that I could not refuse, I picked up the medicinal herbs and placed them into the basket before thanking him.

“Then this junior will accept them. Thank you, Senior.”

In the cultivation world, respecting one’s elders and teachers was the most basic rule. Anyone stronger than you, or anyone older, had to be addressed as Senior.

Ma Xingyu thought for a moment before speaking again.

“I have no other particular talents, but when it comes to refining pills, I was once considered among the best. I’ll give each of you a gift as a token of our first meeting.”

I was just about to refuse when Ma Xingyu had already taken three blue bottles from his ring and handed them to me.

When he saw that I was unwilling to accept them, he added, “What’s wrong with a senior giving something to his juniors? Take them.”

There was nothing I could do, so I reached out and accepted the three bottles. Ma Xingyu took a sip of hot tea before explaining.

“These three bottles contain the pills I am best at refining. I named them Returning Origin Pills. They not only have remarkable healing effects, but can also increase one’s cultivation speed for roughly a week after being consumed.”

After hearing this, I realized that these pills truly were precious. They might not even be available for purchase in Qulong Town, and even if they were, they would certainly cost a fortune.

“Then this junior thanks you once again.”

I divided the bottles among Chen Chen and Li Zijian before speaking to Ma Xingyu.

“We should be leaving, Senior. We still have some matters to attend to tonight, so we need to make preparations.”

It was nearly noon, and I had to return to report to Second Uncle. I also wanted to rest before we set out for Mount Tianyang that evening.

“All right. I’ll be staying here for the time being. You may come find me whenever you wish.”

I nodded and bade Ma Xingyu farewell. Then I called for Li Zijian and Chen Chen, and the three of us headed back.

“Lin Yao, these pills really are something. You can tell they’re excellent just by looking at them.”

Chen Chen spoke from behind me, then handed me his bottle. In an instant, I caught a faint, intoxicating fragrance.

I examined the pill again. It was blue and about the size of an ordinary pill.

“Keep it safe.”

After saying that, I returned the bottle to Chen Chen, and the three of us followed the same route back.

We would not lose our way. As long as we kept walking in a straight line, we would eventually return to the mountain where Second Uncle lived.

Along the way, whenever we came across medicinal herbs, we picked them and brought them home. The more of those things we had, the better.

It was nearly one o’clock when we finally returned home. Only Second Uncle was in the courtyard, practicing with his sword. Nangong Xi was probably still cultivating inside the house.

When Second Uncle saw us return, he sheathed the long sword in his hand.

“Second Uncle, we brought back quite a haul this time.”

Li Zijian scampered over and set the basket down in front of him.

“That really is quite a lot. How did you manage to gather all this?”

We then told Second Uncle about rescuing Ma Qingzhi and meeting Ma Xingyu. Only then did he understand what had happened.

This amount of medicinal herbs would be enough to last him a very long time, so he quickly carried them into the house.

While he was doing that, I said to Li Zijian and Chen Chen, “Don’t tell Second Uncle that we’re going to Mount Tianyang to provide support. We’ll leave directly tonight and act according to the circumstances.”

The two of them understood immediately. Li Zijian returned to his room to contact Old Li, while Chen Chen went back to rest.

I had nothing to do sitting alone in the courtyard, so I began practicing my saber techniques.

By now, I had mastered the first three chapters of the Wing Shadow Saber Art to perfection. Not only was every move familiar to me, but I had also grasped the deeper principles behind them.

Therefore, I began studying the fourth chapter as well. Compared with the earlier chapters, this one was undoubtedly far more difficult.