Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Whenever a major matter within the Four Domains needed to be discussed and settled, representatives from each sect would be summoned to one domain for the Four Regions Assembly.

By unspoken agreement, the location was chosen as whichever domain was currently the strongest.

Before Xiangwu Mountain appeared, that had been the Northern Plains.

After Xiangwu Mountain appeared, that honor passed to Dongze.

In my memory, I had lived through three Four Regions Assemblies.

Each time, Yong Palace would suddenly fill with so many people. On the road, they would sometimes meet and speak in low voices; other times, they would argue until their faces turned red.

I did not know what they were discussing, and Father would not allow me to see guests, so I could only lie on the highest windowsill of Xuanxiao Pavilion and quietly watch all the bustle.

Wuwang Continent was vast and boundless, and the customs of the Four Domains differed from one another.

For someone like me, who was used to the monotony of Yong Palace, simply watching those unfamiliar faces in strange clothing come and go was already satisfying enough.

And yet, many years later, now that I was among them, I no longer felt that old, carefree excitement I had felt as an onlooker.

There was only one month left before the Four Regions Assembly opened.

The attendees had begun arriving one after another, and Dongze’s defenses had been strengthened far beyond what they used to be.

Before entering the territory, I bought the clothes off a beggar child by the roadside and blended into the crowd.

This was a method Senior Brother had taught me. He said the Four Domains had rules: Blessed Cultivators had an obligation to protect mortals from the Central Realm and could not drive them away or beat them at will. But most Blessed Cultivators looked down on mortals and disdained speaking with them.

So if one wanted to avoid some search or inspection, all one had to do was dress like a filthy, stinking, cowardly mortal.

Sure enough, the guard merely swept me with a glance before telling me to hurry up and get lost inside.

I acted terrified, covered Qingque and Mojian hidden at my waist, bent over, and scurried past.

Dressing as a beggar really had been a wise move.

No one was willing to look at me properly, as if afraid I would latch onto them the moment our eyes met. Wherever I went, a path even opened on its own.

Apart from being threatened a few times by other beggars who treated me as competition, I ran into no real trouble.

I planned to find the path I had used to escape Yong Palace back then and enter the forest from the marketplace.

It was early summer, and the shade was dense and lush.

Few people came here. As I walked alone, the wildly overgrown branches and leaves rustled continuously with my movements.

The echoes traveled all the way into the depths of the woods, making the place seem especially eerie and forcing me to stay on high alert.

So when the sound of footsteps following me drew closer, I noticed it easily.

“Little sparrow, help me find a route that’s easy to slip away through.”

I took Qingque from my chest, gave it a low instruction, and released it.

This was how we had made it all the way from the Northern Plains to Dongze.

No matter who the other party was, as soon as something felt wrong, we ran at once.

Although Senior Brother had taught me many defensive moves before he left, he had also said that fleeing danger was safer than facing danger.

Qingque beat its wings lightly and flew off.

I pretended not to have noticed anything unusual and kept moving forward.

A moment later, the footsteps behind me grew urgent. I took the hidden weapon from my sleeve, preparing to buy myself a chance to escape.

But just then, the sound abruptly vanished. In its place came a dazzling beam of light shining straight into my eyes.

The grass and trees before me suddenly parted, revealing a shadowy figure within.

Before I could make out what the person looked like, I first heard him say mockingly,

“I thought you were supposed to be impressive. Turns out it’s just a handful of chili powder?”

Who was he looking down on?

What was wrong with using chili powder as a hidden weapon?

I wanted to seize the chance to scatter the powder, only to realize then that my hand was empty-

At some point, that person had taken my bundle without me noticing at all.

My heart chilled. I fixed my eyes on him.

He was a youth who looked about my age, with delicate, handsome features, yet he carried a gloomy air that did not match his appearance.

He also looked at me expressionlessly. His light-brown pupils were like whirlpools churning at high speed, as if they could suck a person in.

Realizing my mind was beginning to blur, I hastily looked away, but what I saw dealt me another blow.

The woods were still the same woods.

But the once-lush grass, trees, branches, and leaves were withering rapidly. In the blink of an eye, all that greenery turned into a scene of bleak desolation.

Qingque, which I had released to scout the path, was still circling in the empty forest not far away, becoming the only moving shadow in that deathly silence, abrupt and eerie.

What I had seen just now was an illusion. What lay before me now was reality.

This was illusion magic of the Mind-Heart Dao.

West Ridge was on good terms with Dongze, and I had seen plenty of high-level concealment spells before.

Judging from the range of this person’s spell, his skill was not low.

Cold sweat seeped across my back. I clenched my weakening fists hard and forced myself to sound calm.

“Who are you?”

The youth did not answer me at once.

He raised a hand in Qingque’s direction. As if drawing a fine thread from his fingertips to bind it, he gave a light hook, drawing Qingque to his side.

Only after the little sparrow settled obediently in his palm did he say in a low, gloomy voice,

“Who are you?”

His voice was deep and carried extreme impatience.

But he seemed like someone who might still listen to reason.

I let out a long breath inwardly and tried speaking again.

“Since we don’t know each other, why are you following me? …Could it be that you’ve mistaken me for someone else?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

I was utterly confused, yet I did not dare anger him rashly, so I weighed my words even more carefully.

“Great hero, you don’t look like a bad person. Could you give me a reason?”

The moment I finished speaking, the youth suddenly let out a cold laugh.

“Sure.”

He spoke very rudely, and clearly had no understanding of etiquette. Quite offensively, he raised a finger and pointed it coldly at me.

“But before I explain why I followed you, you’d better explain something first.

“Why was my Qingque with you?”