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Xu Qing watched the dharmaship until it disappeared over the horizon. Huang Yan had never acclimated to Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, so it made sense that he was leaving. Xu Qing would respect his decision, and hope that both he and Second Elder Sister would find happiness in South Phoenix.

“I wish you well in everything,” he murmured. Turning, he left the port and went back to the Seven Blood Eyes headquarters.

It was time to pay respects to Master Sixth.

He’d intended to go the day before, only to be taken by Arch-Immortal Plumdark to the demon snake skeleton in the land of good fortune. As he ascended the stairs leading up the mountain headquarters of the sect, the wind blew through the trees, causing the leaves to rustle. Xu Qing felt very calm at heart.

Even at dawn, there were a lot of disciples out working on early morning cultivation. It was possible to hear the sound of chanting; that was something that Seven Blood Eyes had adopted only after joining the coalition. The disciples were cultivating their hearts. Xu Qing had been informed about this new custom at the banquet the previous night. Cultivation of the heart was something Master Seventh had suggested, as a way to begin transforming the sect as a whole. At first, many disciples found it strange. After all, the sect had previously focused on magical techniques, and had not bothered with any sort of spiritual cultivation.

Upon pondering the matter, Xu Qing got the feeling that the timing of his Master making this suggestion seemed to line up with the study of the experimental god body. Wrapped up in such thoughts, Xu Qing followed the winding staircase to the back of the mountain. Any disciples he encountered along the way were extremely respectful, and would clasp hands and bow, even from a great distance away.

On the rear of the mountain was a bamboo forest, and a grave, in front of which was a random assortment of objects. Smoke spiraled up from incense sticks that had been placed there.

Two middle-aged cultivators stood there silently.

Xu Qing recognized them; they were apprentices of Master Sixth.

When they noticed Xu Qing approaching, they turned and clasped hands. It wasn’t possible for them to hide the emotion in their eyes.

“Congratulations on becoming a swordsage, Junior Brother Xu.”

Xu Qing quietly returned their salute.

“The two of us have been assigned a mission outside. Before leaving, we wanted to pay respects to Master. Ai. There’s nothing stable in this world. It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year.”

“We’ll leave you alone, Junior Brother Xu. Farewell.”

Bowing again, Xu Qing said, “Please, Elder Brothers, have a safe journey.”

Looking somewhat melancholy, the two of them flew up into the air and left.

According to the old saying the dead are dead, the living must move on. Unfortunately, there are always times when the heart has trouble finding calm.

As Xu Qing sat down in front of Master Sixth’s grave, he took out two jars of alcohol. After putting one down in front of the grave, he took a drink from the other. He didn’t talk. He just drank. The wind blew through the trees. There were no clouds in the sky, just light. It grew brighter and brighter, filling the world. Two hours later, Xu Qing stood up.

“Master Sixth, the next time I come back, I’ll bring some Torchlight heads along with the alcohol.”

With that, Xu Qing bowed deeply to the grave, and prayed that all would be well going forward. Turning, he left the rear part of the mountain. However, he didn’t leave the headquarters. His plan was to go see his Master.

It had been a long time since he had a good talk, and there were things to discuss. For instance, the changes to the Ghost Emperor mountain in his sea of consciousness, or the things he had learned from the swordsage grand elder about plants and vegetation being the path to godhood.

As he walked the mountain path, he sent a voice message to Master Seventh asking if he could come pay a visit. Master Seventh replied that he was in the building at the mountain summit. Xu Qing knew the place. As he started walking faster, his expression flickered and he looked toward one of the side paths on the mountain.

A familiar voice had caught his ear. “You’re lucky to have run into me, kiddo. Your Sect Uncle Ding Xiaohai has a bad temper. You really think you can argue with him and come out on top? If I hadn’t come along, he probably would have beaten you silly. From now on, you stick close to me, okay?”

In response to Ding Xue, a somewhat bashful voice responded, “Sure, I’ll do everything you say, Sect Aunt Ding.”

A moment later, Xu Qing caught sight of Ding Xue. Her hair was in a ponytail and she seemed quite heroic with her ancient sword strapped to her back. She looked like someone from the Senior generation as she walked along with a boy of about ten years of age.

The boy was very clean and tidy, especially his face. He was nodding politely in response to Ding Xue. However, as soon as he noticed Xu Qing, his expression flickered. He looked afraid. Even terrified. He suddenly stopped in place, instinctively shrank back, and half hid behind Ding Xue.

Ding Xue looked surprised, but then she noticed Xu Qing. Eyes lighting up, she gently pushed the boy away from her and hurried over to Xu Qing. What had been an air of heroism that surrounded her was now just pure joy.

Eyes glittering, she said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, I was just planning to go looking for you. When you got back yesterday I was in seclusion. Look! I’m about to open my 60th dharma aperture! Soon I’ll have two life flames! And I haven’t forgotten about studying plants and vegetation. In fact, I’m working even harder at that. What are you doing here on the mountain, Big Bro Xu Qing?”

Xu Qing smiled. He was actually surprised at her fast progress. After all, only a year before on the trip to the Ghost Emperor mountain, Ding Xue had just ignited her first life flame. That said, given how Master Seventh doted on her, it made sense.

“You’ve done well,” Xu Qing said sincerely. “I’m going to pay a visit to my Master.”

Ding Xue’s heart raced in response to Xu Qing’s praise, and she blushed slightly.

Xu Qing looked at the boy behind her, who still looked nervous.

He stood in place, neither walking forward nor fleeing. He looked nervous. The truth was that he was really scared of Xu Qing. Though he had come to the sect with the identity medallion Master Seventh had provided, it was actually Xu Qing who had given it to him. And the words Xu Qing had spoken to him revealed that Xu Qing knew the truth about him.

He could still feel the pressure of Xu Qing’s strength, and could also tell that it was much stronger than the last time they’d met. Most people wouldn’t be able to sense that, but this boy was different. He knew full well that the pressure came from the Ghost Emperor mountain. This was the same boy that Master Seventh had identified when they traveled to the Ghost Emperor mountain. He was actually a grue in human form. [1]

Seeing Xu Qing looking at the boy, Ding Xue said, “Do you remember him, Big Bro Xu Qing? He’s that boy from the village.” Turning to glare at the boy, Ding Xue said, “Wang Ling, hurry up and offer greetings to your Sect Uncle Xu!” [2]

The boy stifled his terror, took a few steps forward, and bowed to Xu Qing with clasped hands. Voice trembling a bit, he said, “Hello, Sect Uncle Xu.”

After that, Ding Xue explained the circumstances. Wang Ling had arrived in the sect a few months ago, but had spent all that time in the Offpeak environment. He had come to the mountain peak to purchase a dharmaboat. Then he had somehow attracted the ire of Ding Xiaohai. Ding Xue had happened across them at that moment and had stepped in.

Keeping the smile on her face, Ding Xue secretly projected a message to Xu Qing. “I noticed a while back that Ding Xiaohai was watching him. There was a weird look in his eye, like he wanted to devour the boy. I’m not really sure what’s going on, but I had to help.”

Although Ding Xue always acted cute and virtuous in front of Xu Qing, the truth was that she was very spirited and had a strong heart. What was more, she was an adept schemer and had sharp eyes. “You go on ahead and pay respects to your Master, Big Bro Xu Qing. I’ll come visit you later. For now I need to take little Wang Ling down the mountain.”

Xu Qing nodded and continued on his way.

Meanwhile, Wang Ling looked over at Xu Qing, and his eyes glittered with admiration. Thinking back to what Xu Qing had said to him that day, he suddenly said, “Big Bro... er, Sect Uncle Xu. About what you told me that day....”

Xu Qing turned, looked at him, and nodded. “Work hard, and it’ll happen.”

Wang Ling took a deep breath, then nodded back.

Smiling, Ding Xue led him away.

He wanted to become human. A real human. That was the main reason he’d come to Seven Blood Eyes.

After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Xu Qing reached the building at the summit of the headquarters. There he saw his Master, looking very somber as he played a game of Go with his servant.

In contrast to Master Seventh’s grave demeanor, the middle-aged servant seemed very relaxed.

Upon seeing Xu Qing, the servant was about to get to his feet and clasp hands in greeting. Before he could, Xu Qing hurried forward, ducked his head, and bowed with clasped hands.

The servant smiled, stood, and returned the greeting. [3]

Meanwhile, Master Seventh flicked his sleeve, scattering the pieces on the Go board.

“You’re a horrible Go player. I gave up a lot of pieces, yet you still lost. Fourth Sib, you come play with me.”

Smiling wryly, the servant stepped off to the side.

Xu Qing’s expression was the same as ever as he sat down on the other side of the board, cleaned up the scattered pieces, and then made his first move. That said, Xu Qing wasn’t actually very good at playing Go, so as they went back and forth placing pieces, Master Seventh eventually started smiling.

“Fourth Sib, your heart isn’t calm. You see, Go is affected by your thoughts. From the way you’re playing, I can tell you have something you want to talk about.”

“I can’t hide anything from you, Master,” Xu Qing said, looking Master Seventh straight in the eyes. Naturally, he didn’t mention the voice message he’d just sent in which he directly stated that he needed some advice.

Upon hearing the conversation, the servant backed up a few steps and then waved his hand to seal the area. Then he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to meditate.

“What is it?” Master Seventh said, picking up a game piece and fiddling with it.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Qing somberly said, “Master, the Ghost Emperor mountain inside of me has changed.”

“What kind of change?” Master Seventh replied casually, extending his hand to place the piece on the board.

“It looks like me now.”

The Go piece Master Seventh had been about to place slipped out of his fingers and clattered across the board. He looked up blankly at Xu Qing. “What’d you just say?”

1. Xu Qing gave the boy the identity medallion in chapter 307. The boy was introduced a few chapters before that, but the truth about him wasn’t revealed until 307. ☜

2. Wang Ling. Wang is listed first on the 100 most common Chinese surnames. It’s the same surname as Wang Lin from Renegade Immortal. It also means “king.” Ling means a variety of things including “thick ice, intimidate, insult, confront, brave.” Madam Deathblade says this name sounds intimidating and cool. In English this name is very close to Wang Lin, but in Chinese the two characters Lin and Ling are completely different and don’t contain any similar elements, though they are pronounced similarly. There were some comments from Chinese readers noting the vague similarity, but no one seemed to think there was any actual connection between the two characters. One comment was, “did Wang Lin have a missing son somewhere” and another was “Er Gen, did you run out of ideas for names?” lol. ☜

3. It’s probably fairly obvious, but I should point out that Xu Qing rushing to bow first is a clear display of respect. Given Xu Qing’s status as a swordsage and dao child, it wouldn’t be inappropriate to expect the servant to bow first, despite the servant being older. Instead, Xu Qing humbly takes the initiative, giving a lot of face to the servant. ☜