Hidden Purpose

Even with the mask covering half of Chang Liuyun's face, the shock and subsequent relief he felt were still obvious as he stared at Lei Mingxing. He leaned against the door frame for suppor, the tension in his body gradually dissipating.

"You're here...", Chang Liuyun sighed.

"Yeah..., she woke up shortly after you left," Jing Jiang explained guiltily, awkwardly avoiding his eyes, instead focusing on the bowl in front.

He quickly gulped down the rest of the porridge and got up from his seat. Letting Chang Liuyun sit down next to Lei Mingxing as he scooped a bowl of porridge for the other. After putting the bowl neatly on the table with a soft 'clack', Jing Jiang hurriedly passed Chang Liuyun to go down to the workshop again.

As soon as Jing Jiang left, Chang Liuyun limped to the seat and sat down where Jing Jiang had previously. With a deep sigh, he leaned back in his stool and took off his mask, laying it on the table before massaging his eyes with his hand and taking a few breaths to calm down.

Lei Mingxing noticed that there were dark shadows beneath his blue eyes and Chang Liuyun looked pale in general. But before she could say anything Chang Liuyun parted his lips.

"I'm glad you woke up, I was almost about to let your boss and his father take you to a doctor."

Chang Liuyun gave her a small tired smile.

"I apologize," Lei Mingxing said, "I've no idea what happened, especially since I wasn't that injured to begin with."

A frown appeared on her face as she recalled her prior state but it soon changed into a slightly excited expression.

"But it's not all negative, whatever it was, it caused me to break through to Qi Condensation!"

Chang Liuyun stared at Lei Mingxing with widened eyes hearing these words. He quickly used his Qi to take a closer look himself, and sure enough, the Qi around Lei Mingxing was much denser than it was previously.

Chang Liuyun just continued speechlessly blinking at Lei Mingxing.

Watching Chang Liuyun's silly expression, a strange bubbly mood rose in Lei Mingxing and she couldn't help but laugh once. Although she quickly pressed it down again with a cough.

"Ahem, now, I'll be able to create much more and better artifacts. Then we can get away from Dark Spirit Town."

Her words awakened Chang Liuyun from his stupor and he nodded with a somber expression.

"Yes, that would be for the best. There are too many potentially dangerous people here," Chang Liuyun seemed to ponder for a moment before leaning over the table, continuing in a lower voice, " I think there is something fishy going on inside the town, hidden from the general public's eye I mean."

Lei Mingxing's expression also became serious hearing Chang Liuyun's words.

"Why do you think so?"

"I heard Suan Bian arguing with his father's servant the day I went to work at the Somber Spirit Pharmacy. Originally, Suan Bian's father forbade him from going into the Dark Spirit Woods for the next few weeks, but Suan Bian went despite his father's warning. And what happened?" , Chang Liuyun paused, he recalled the hellscape that the Dark Stone Clearing had turned into after the emergence of that monster. Just thinking about it caused a shiver to run down his spine. The dread he felt from that creature was almost instinctiual.

"But that's not all, after you fell unconscious, we were picked up by two 'mercenaries' who brought us back to town. Did your boss already tell you about that?"

Lei Mingxing nodded with a dark expression.

"He also said that their mounts were exceptionally rare beasts, almost priceless even," she added.

Chang Liuyun's face darkened even further.

"So it's really like that...," Chang Liuyun murmured almost to himself, before continuing, " They told us they had been on their way to the Dark Stone Clearing to pick herbs, but couldn't find it, when they saw our traces and decided to follow us to see if we could help them."

Chang Liuyun fell quiet for a moment, kneading his forehead.

"Their explanation sounds pretty reasonable at first, but I don't think they're telling the truth, the fact that they really are somewhat wealthy only adds to this impression. Why would they pick herbs themselves if they could afford priceless mounts? Or why follow the tracks of random people who could very well be evil cultivators just to ask some questions?"

He stopped his words to gaze intently at Lei Mingxing.

"I think, they knew about the monster."

Lei Mingxing nodded her head, her eyebrows locked in a deep frown.

She had the same thoughts as Chang Liuyun.

A monster like that wouldn't just appear out of nowhere, it was much more likely to be the guardian of some ancient treasure buried in the clearing. The addition of an ancient treasure also explained the whole existence of the Dark Stone Clearing much better than just some random phenomenon, as these treasures usually cause elemental Qi to gather around it, which in turn nourishes herbs.

Things like that aren't actually as rare as one might think. After all, there are countless ancient treasures from civilizations lost in time buried in Ren Continent.

And sometimes they surface once more.

This caused cultivators, especially the ones with old families or powerful sects behind them, to wildly compete with each other, as every ancient treasure gained meant a bit more influence for the sect or family.

Considering all these factors, Lei Mingxing was finally able to dispel one of the biggest doubts and fears that had been haunting her.

The presence of Mu Yinxian.

From the moment she met them at the candy stand, she wondered what they were doing here, in this town, a whole country away from the Mu Principality.

As the most talented, young cultivator of the renowned and powerful Mu Family, shouldn't he be training diligently, protected by the countless cultivators of his family? Quickly advancing, so he had the strength to do whatever he wanted however it pleased him?

Even if he pushed people into the depths of the abyss with his thoughtlessness?

...

Now wasn't the time for this.

Lei Mingxing softly shook her head to loosen her tightened jaw and disperse the growing wrath inside her heart, before sharing her thoughts with Chang Liuyun, although she didn't directly mention Mu Yinxian.

The other listened to her words, growing gradually paler.

"We really need to hurry up."

Chang Liuyun rubbed his tired eyes, as the one who had traveled across the continent for several years, just thinking about what they would have to prepare and the expenses already gave him a headache.

His actions didn't go unnoticed by Lei Mingxing.

She tried putting on a comforting voice.

"Don't worry too much, I'll work harder. At Qi Condensation I can create artifacts that are worth a lot more than arrows!"

She gave him a small smile from behind her face veil.

Hearing Lei Mingxing's familiar rough way of talking, Chang Liuyun felt a bit more relaxed and let out a soft laugh.

Glad to have lightened the mood a bit, Lei Mingxing got up from her seat.

"I'll go down to the workshop, you finish the porridge."

Lei Mingxing quickly cleaned up her dishes, leaving Chang Liuyun to watch her hurry out of the living room and down the stairs.

With a smile on his face, Chang Liuyun comfortably began to eat his bowl of now-cold porridge.

Meanwhile, Lei Mingxing was already standing in the workshop and trying her best to convince Jing Jiang to let her work.

At first, he was very reluctant but after Lei Mingxing promised him not to touch the furnace for today at least, he let her do as she wanted for better or worse.

As she began to clean up the already much messier workshop and storefront, she pondered all the trouble that was lying in wait around them when a sudden thought popped into her mind.

After debating silently with herself for a while, she went to Jing Jiang.

Small theater:

Jing Jiang: A bowl of porridge as a peace offer!

Chang Liuyun:... for what?

Jing Jiang sweating profusely: Nothing at all!