novelraw Chapter 128: Rely on Yourself Alone
Chapter 128: Rely on Yourself Alone
Two months of wind for food, dew for drink, stars for blankets, moon for lantern.
Two Qi Refining cultivators—worn thin, ragged as refugees—finally reached the foot of Xi Meng Mountain.
The peaks rose sheer and majestic, wreathed in drifting immortal mist that caught the morning light like silk. Qi Xiu glanced at Zhang Shishi—hollow-cheeked, robes torn and filthy—then down at his own dust-caked self. He gave a wry, tired laugh.
“Clean up first. Can’t let them look down on us.”
Zhang Shishi just grunted.
They burned cleansing talismans to scour away the grime, changed into fresh Chu Qin sect robes, and re-tied their hair. Only then did they approach the entrance.
The Xi Meng Sect’s mountain gate dwarfed everything Chu Qin had ever built. The welcoming plaza alone was larger than Immortal Grove Hollow’s entire compound. A towering ceremonial arch bore four bold characters in flying-dragon script: Xi Meng Immortal Mountain.
Qi Xiu slipped a visit card into the array. They stood straight-backed and waited.
“If He Yu really chose this himself,” Qi Xiu said quietly, “we turn around and leave. No scenes. No tantrums like last time.”
Zhang Shishi’s voice was hoarse. “I won’t, Senior Brother. I won’t.”
A young Dao boy soon materialized—poised, neither servile nor arrogant, the mark of a great sect’s gatekeeper.
“May I ask who the seniors seek?”
“He Yu,” Qi Xiu answered. “A Foundation Building cultivator. He joined recently.”
“Please wait. There are many disciples. I must inquire.”
The boy bowed slightly and vanished into the array.
They waited.
Visitors came and went—fellow Daoists paying respects, messengers, merchants with business—each casting curious glances at the two dusty strangers. Qi Xiu eventually pulled Zhang Shishi farther back from the arch.
Still no reply.
He sent a second card.
Nothing.
Zhang Shishi shifted restlessly. “Senior Brother—”
“Patience.” Qi Xiu kept his tone even. “This is a major sect of the Qi Yun lineage. They’re just making us wait. Showing face. They won’t ignore us forever.”
“Quite insightful, Daoist.”
The boy reappeared without warning, clearly having watched the whole exchange. He handed over a neatly folded letter with a polite smile.
“This is from Martial Uncle He. He asked me to pass it on. Said he has no face to see you. Please return.”
Zhang Shishi’s breath hitched. “He won’t even—”
Qi Xiu cut him off with a low warning. “Enough.”
He opened the letter.
He Yu’s handwriting. Unmistakable.
A few sparse lines.
Apologies to Chu Qin Sect. Apologies to his fellow disciples. The Great Dao lay ahead—he could not turn back. In the future, if fate allowed, he would repay the ten-plus years of care and nurture.
Tucked inside was half a torn talisman paper.
A promise: should Chu Qin Sect ever face calamity, present this fragment. He would do his utmost to help—once. That was all.
Qi Xiu felt cold water pour through his veins. Every drop of warmth drained away.
He passed the letter to Zhang Shishi.
The big man read it. Shook his head slowly.
“I see.”
Silence stretched between them.
What more was there to say?
Human hearts were impossible to predict. Fate was merciless. Trying to drag someone back now would only be pathetic.
Zhang Shishi spoke first.
“Let’s go home. I’ve got nothing left to say.”
He turned and started walking—head bowed, steps heavy.
Qi Xiu followed.
They truly had nothing left.
Two wilted eggplants trudging back the way they came.
Two days out, Zhang Shishi collapsed.
Qi Xiu nursed him the whole way—slow, careful, stopping often. The return journey took twice as long.
When they finally reached Immortal Grove Hollow, Zhang Shishi declared himself ill. He relinquished his post as Enforcement Elder, handed over his personal grass hut, and elevated his two long-time concubines to equal wives. From now on, unless the sect faced life-or-death matters, he would not appear.
Qi Xiu sighed.
“Fine. Heaven and earth will punish anyone who doesn’t put himself first. You wrecked your body over this—it wasn’t worth it.”
Wei Minniang helped him out of his travel-stained robes. Half a year of hardship had aged him visibly—new lines at the corners of his eyes, a touch more gray at the temples.
He gave a bleak laugh.
“Just a dream of yellow millet. One long, empty dream…”
He rolled over and slept like the dead.
…
When he woke, every muscle ached.
A delicate maid—barely more than a girl—stood by the bed.
“Where’s Minniang?”
The girl blushed scarlet before she spoke.
“She… she told this servant to attend you, my lord.”
Without another word, she began undoing her sash. Clothes slipped away, revealing skin flushed with shame and fear. Trembling, she climbed onto the bed.
Qi Xiu took one look—pretty enough, features open and sweet, but still half-grown. Barely budding, like two tiny chicken heads standing at attention. He couldn’t help laughing.
“Nonsense. Get dressed and go fetch her.”
Tears the size of beans rolled down her cheeks. She scrambled into her clothes and fled.
Qi Xiu had just finished dressing when Wei Minniang slipped inside.
“Not to your taste?” she teased. “Kan family girl. Kan Qin. Pretty face, nice wide hips—good for bearing.”
“Why would you even think of this? I told you—having you is enough.”
He pulled her close, pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Half a year without touch had left her starved. She melted against him, arms circling his waist.
“You looked so pitiful,” she whispered. “Zhang Shishi goes home to a house full of wives and children to comfort him. And me… all these years, I still can’t give you even one child…”
Qi Xiu shook his head.
“You’re overthinking. I’m not like him. If He Yu can’t be relied on, then so be it. I can rely on myself.”
His gaze hardened.
He was a single-affinity cultivator too, wasn’t he?
The Scarlet-Buttocked Horse Monkey was one of the rarest heaven-and-earth spiritual creatures in existence—only a handful across countless worlds. How could He Yu’s Stone-in-Water affinity possibly compare?
The strange substitution method. The four innate talents: Not Within Calculation, Know One’s Heart, See Human Nature, Observe Treasure Light. Chu Huixin’s version of the Clear Mind, See True Nature Art and the Seek Advantage, Avoid Calamity Technique—they were in no way inferior to the Mountain-Water Grotto Profound Scripture.
Foundation Establishment was within reach.
A sudden surge of fierce confidence rose in his chest.
“If he can do it, so can I! Relying on heaven, earth, or other people—none of it beats relying on yourself!”
Wei Minniang stared up at him, dazzled by the sudden fire in his eyes.
“With a husband like this… what more could a wife ask for?”
Her phoenix eyes curved. With a flick of her wrist she swept the desk clear of brushes and inkstones, then draped herself across it, soft and inviting.
Qi Xiu grinned. “Another trick you learned at the He Huan Sect?”
His hand drifted down.
“Villain… ah…”
She shivered, voice trembling.
They were lost in each other, reunion heat rising fast—neither noticed the door open.
Kan Qin stood frozen in the entrance. The sight of such intimacy scorched her face crimson. She spun around.
“Immortal Master Zhan has arrived. He’ll be here any moment.”
Qi Xiu hissed.
His Know One’s Heart talent slipped for a heartbeat—enough to make Wei Minniang’s legs kick wildly.
He sensed Zhan Yuan approaching the door. Throwing his robe around himself, he bolted outside and intercepted the man before he could step in.
“Sect Leader. I’ve heard about He Yu. Take care of yourself.”
Zhan Yuan’s tone was concerned, but the faint upward curve at the corners of his mouth betrayed him.
Qi Xiu’s eyes narrowed. “You seem awfully pleased.”
Zhan Yuan dropped to his knees at once.
“I wouldn’t dare! I’m happy for another reason—good news from the market!”
Qi Xiu swept his See Human Nature talent over him. No lie.
He hauled the man up.
“What news?”
Zhan Yuan explained quickly.
The rogue cultivator who won the preliminaries—Duoluo Xin—had placed fifth in the main Qi Refining bracket. Eager to gather precious pills for his own Foundation Establishment and uninterested in running a business, he decided to sell the ten-year lease he’d won. While Qi Xiu was away, Zhan Yuan had jumped into the bidding and secured it.
That shop—prime location—was now Chu Qin Sect’s for the next decade.
Qi Xiu blinked.
“That… couldn’t have been cheap.”
“Not cheap at all.” Zhan Yuan grinned. “We’ll probably have to liquidate most of the old Wang family loot to pay him off. But the spot is perfect. I’ve had my eye on it forever. If not for… well. Give me ten years, Sect Leader. I’ll make back ten times the cost. Trust me.”
Qi Xiu studied him.
He understood. The market was Zhan Yuan’s obsession—the same way He Yu had been Zhang Shishi’s. Neither would stop until they hit a wall.
He believed the man’s judgment.
“Fine. Hand over the goods. And when you sign the contract with Duoluo Xin, use Grand View Pavilion as witness. Soul-binding contract. No skimping. After opening, keep your head down. No conflicts. Especially watch Chu Youguang and Zhenlin Sect. Don’t provoke them.”
“Understood!”
Zhan Yuan practically bounced away.
Wei Minniang peeked out, cheeks still pink, tongue poking out in relief. She and Qi Xiu shared a small, tired smile.