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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 187: The Universal Practitioner
As Xia Zhou's voice faded, the soldiers let out cries of agony. His Eight Desolation Needles had struck them, sending a group of soldiers tumbling to the ground. The Serpent Bat Dragon soared high above the ground, while Ji Zichen leaped from branch to branch. In a swift motion, Xia Zhou reached down and grasped Ji Zichen's hand, pulling her up effortlessly.
Ji Zichen settled onto the Serpent Bat Dragon, and at that moment, she noticed flames flickering in the distance behind the trees; the Pursuers were closing in on them.
Having rescued Ji Zichen, Xia Zhou immediately commanded the Serpent Bat Dragon to fly away swiftly. Ji Zichen looked at him, and he smiled lightly at her. "Sorry for taking a moment to heal the Serpent Bat Dragon, but we made it just in time."
Ji Zichen finally relaxed her tense demeanor. "I thought the Serpent Bat Dragon was dead."
Xia Zhou replied, "I thought so too at first. It's quite resilient. But it seems you know those people?"
"Yes, I know her." Although Ji Zichen responded, her mind was still blank as she struggled to comprehend how she had ended up here.
"Who are they?" Xia Zhou asked, gazing at Ji Zichen with curiosity.
Ji Zichen countered with a question of her own. "How did you know I knew her?"
Though Xia Zhou couldn't distinguish between 'her' and 'she,' he explained, "It's simple. If they didn't know each other, they would have already started fighting instead of just glaring at one another."
Ji Zichen found Xia Zhou amusing; his reasoning was sound. "That woman is one of Western King's people."
Xia Zhou was taken aback. "A woman? I thought that person was a scholar?"
Ji Zichen chuckled softly. "On the surface, yes, but she has no soul left; she's being controlled by someone else."
"Controlling someone else's soul?" Xia Zhou's expression darkened with disdain. "Who would do something so horrific?"
"I actually don't know who she is either," Ji Zichen admitted, her tone filled with indignation. "We crossed paths at Corner Lodge; thankfully, I didn't end up dead at her hands."
"Enemies? I thought they were friends," Xia Zhou said.
Ji Zichen shot a glance at Xia Zhou. "Friends? Do friends need to stare at each other like that?"
Xia Zhou smiled slightly. "I suppose you're right."
Leading Ji Zichen forward, Xia Zhou asked, "Where are we going now?"
"Since you've come along, I'll take you with me," Xia Zhou replied.
Ji Zichen suddenly exclaimed, "Where to?"
Xia Zhou repeated, "You'll know when we get there."
They arrived at a low valley where many villagers were scattered about. Over a dozen villagers were inspecting the bodies on the ground, while five others were scouting ahead for any unusual occurrences.
Some villagers were dragging the bodies of their deceased comrades onto carts. The corpses of the villagers lay intertwined with those of Western King soldiers, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place here.
What was happening with these villagers? Ji Zichen felt increasingly confused; wasn't this Divine Dawn? Such a place should be isolated from the world—how could so many people suddenly appear?
The Serpent Bat Dragon landed, and both Xia Zhou and Ji Zichen dismounted. Xia Zhou approached a middle-aged man in his forties who looked older than his actual age. His face was weathered, but his eyes shone brightly. This man had a bushy beard that grew wildly like unkempt weeds on his face.
The man's beard had a slight gray tint, and he had a broad forehead and a strong build. He wore a suit of plate armor and carried a large sword on his back, similar to Ji Zichen's, though the craftsmanship of his sword was far inferior to that of the Demon-Slaying Sword.
Xia Zhou seemed to know him; otherwise, the villagers wouldn't have stirred upon seeing the Serpent Bat Dragon land. He introduced Ji Zichen, saying, "This is Uncle Jiang."
Xia Zhou was younger than Uncle Jiang, and such a title sounded somewhat disrespectful. While Xia Zhou might not care about formalities, Ji Zichen felt quite awkward. She nodded at Uncle Jiang and greeted him, " Uncle Jiang."
Uncle Jiang grinned broadly. "Guard officer, is he the one coming to replace you?"
Xia Zhou glanced at Ji Zichen and shook his head with a smile. "No, he is an outsider."
Jiang Dahuzi looked puzzled and asked, "An outsider? Is he a mortal?"
The conversation between the two was quite strange. Ji Zichen stared at Jiang Dahuzi with wide eyes. "Aren't you one?"
Jiang Dahuzi hesitated, unsure how to respond. He turned his gaze to Xia Zhou, seemingly seeking his opinion. Xia Zhou maintained a calm expression and smiled at Ji Zichen. "They are not mortals; they are practitioners."
"Practitioners?" Ji Zichen did not understand what that meant.
Xia Zhou smiled slightly. "Simply put, they are people who spread our faith. They practice here, and once they have accumulated enough merit, they can go out and promote the teachings."
Ji Zichen frowned. "Teachings? Is it like that Desolate Evil Hall?"
Xia Zhou shook his head, looking somewhat confused. "Desolate Evil Hall? What kind of sect is that? Just from the name, it doesn't sound like a good place. We are not that malevolent sect; in the near future, we will establish Buddhism."
"Buddhism?" Ji Zichen found the term quite novel. However, he understood that it was similar to Kai Zhou Shen's approach of recruiting followers for their divine lineage.
Xia Zhou continued, "I haven't been completely honest with you before; I stayed here to protect them from disturbances, but now there are threats against them."
Ji Zichen didn't know what teachings Buddhism had, but thinking of Spider Emblem made him choose to stand with Xia Zhou. "We should find a quiet place to talk; staying here isn't safe."
"You are right," Xia Zhou nodded. "Although I don't know how those people got in, they have already set up camp here. It seems some among them know this place well, which explains why they operate so efficiently. If we stay here, they could surround us as soon as reinforcements arrive."
Jiang Dahuzi said, "We'll leave once they finish packing up."
The sky was beginning to lighten, but it wasn't fully bright yet; the stench of decay was already spreading from the corpses. A young villager approached them; although they were practitioners, their clothing resembled that of the villagers. The villager reported that there were two injured soldiers, one severely wounded but still conscious, while the other seemed to be on the brink of death. He asked if the guard could check on them immediately.
Xia Zhou nodded. "You all hurry up and get ready," he said. "I'll go take a look." With that, Xia Zhou strode forward across the blood-soaked ground.
Ji Zichen wanted to connect with the past, but Ginger Beard placed his strong hand on Kiko's shoulder, looking at him with a kind gaze. "I'm curious about you. Can you tell me why the Guardian trusts you so much?"
"He trusts me?" Ji Zichen chuckled bitterly. Of course, Xia Zhou revealing these things to him was proof that Xia Zhou believed in him. Kiko understood this well, but that trust was something he had forced out. He joked, "He doesn't trust me; if I hadn't insisted on coming along, I wouldn't even know about your situation."
Ginger Beard laughed heartily. "I never thought the Guardian could be coerced."
Ji Zichen organized the events he had encountered. Initially, Xia Zhou seemed confused and attacked him, then went back to his room for some unknown reason, and later there were the camp and these professionals.
So many strange occurrences had flooded in, and Kiko still had no clue about any of it. On the other hand, he knew those people wouldn’t leave easily until they achieved their goals.
Ji Zichen asked Ginger Beard, "How long have you been here?"
Though Ginger Beard appeared rough around the edges, he seemed cheerful and kind. "Probably a few hundred years. I'm not the first one to come here, so I'm not really sure."
"You've been cultivating here for hundreds of years?" Kiko looked at Ginger Beard in surprise.
"Not exactly; I just arrived a bit earlier than the Guardian," Ginger Beard replied.
At that moment, Xia Zhou approached and said, "I need to go to the Sanctuary of the Professionals with the others. You can't come along; I'll have Serpent Bat Dragon take you back."
Kiko stared blankly. "I can't control this Serpent Bat Dragon."
"Don't you have a ring? You can communicate with it," Xia Zhou said.
Xia Zhou seemed a bit anxious as he added, "Alright, just go back quickly."
Without waiting for Kiko to respond, Xia Zhou instructed the other professionals to leave. In no time, only Ji Zichen and Serpent Bat Dragon remained. Kiko stared blankly at Serpent Bat Dragon for a moment before sighing, "I hope I won't get thrown off."
Kiko climbed onto Serpent Bat Dragon and grabbed the reins. He pulled on them as if trying to guide it like a horse, but it didn’t seem to help at all.
Ji Zichen said, "Oh, right, I need to communicate with it."
Ji Zichen began to enter the Spiritual Awareness of the Serpent Bat Dragon with her perception. The Serpent Bat Dragon sensed Ji Zichen's command, and with a flap of its wings, it took off immediately. Ji Zichen exclaimed, "So it's that simple! I just need to tell it what I want to do."
The Serpent Bat Dragon soared into the clouds. At that moment, there was a thick mist above. When Ji Zichen flew over the largest camp, she said, "No, I can't go back like this. I need to see what she's doing here."
Ji Zichen instructed the Serpent Bat Dragon to land on a secluded cliff. She jumped off and patted the side of its neck, saying, "Go back and find your master."
The Serpent Bat Dragon looked at Ji Zichen with a hint of concern for her safety. Ji Zichen smiled and reassured it, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
After gazing at Ji Zichen for a moment, the Serpent Bat Dragon spread its wings and flew away.
Ji Zichen sighed, "Despite its ugly appearance, the Serpent Bat Dragon is actually quite spiritual."
She watched until the Serpent Bat Dragon disappeared from sight. Regaining her focus, Ji Zichen noted that this cliff was not far from the main camp. There were quite a few guards in the camp, but behind it lay the cliff where only a few soldiers were dozing off. Ji Zichen had deliberately chosen this spot.
Since this was the back cliff, no one would attack from here. Ji Zichen descended along the cliff face and hid in the shade of a tree, which was out of sight from the soldiers. The camp was surrounded by barriers topped with spikes, but that did not deter Ji Zichen.
With a swift motion, she leaped over the barrier and began to stealthily approach the largest tent.
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