Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 388: Awakening

Sword Wielding Pavilion.

This was the courtyard that the Wei Estate had specially arranged for Tang Jie to serve as his residence. Although Tang Jie spent most of his time with the Wu Family, the Wei Estate had still prepared this place for him.

To use Zheng Shufeng’s words: “The Wei Clan is your clan.”

Tang Jie stood in front of the pond of Sword Wielding Pavilion with his hands held behind his back. He watched the koi in the pond jostle for the food he had sprinkled as he said in a cold voice, “Have you still not found them?”

A servant standing behind Tang Jie replied, “We’ve already sent thirty people…”

Tang Jie cut him off. “If thirty people can’t find them, then send three hundred. If three hundred can’t find them, send three thousand, or perhaps because you think I’m not your master, you can just find whoever you have lying around to carry out my missions!? And I also told Spirit Master Lu and the others to go and pick them up, so why are they still here?”

The servant jumped in fright, taking several steps back. “Honored Master, please soothe your anger. This lowly one will send off more people at once.”

“Then save the chatter and get to it.” The one who spoke this time was Wei Tianchong, who walked in from outside with Shi Meng. “Have the estate pay for all the expenses, and have Spirit Master Lu’s group hurry up and get going. Get everything done first! Useless trash!”

The servant hastily retreated.

Wei Tianchong came over and comforted Tang Jie. “Tang Jie, don’t worry. The little tiger will be fine.”

Tang Jie sighed. “How can I not be worried? They should have arrived long before now, but even though our business is already done, they still haven’t come back. Several days now… There are too many possibilities.”

Dealing with the likes of Wang Juemie and Shi Jingzhai had required all of Tang Jie’s focus, so he had left the matter of picking up Xi Canhen to the Wei Clan’s servants and Spirit Masters. The Mount Eternal region was vast, and searching it for a single person was like searching for a needle in an ocean, even for a cultivator. Thus, it was better to use the Wei Clan’s resources and numbers to find Xi Canhen and the little tiger. If there was any danger, the Spirit Masters that the Wei Estate employed could deal with it.

But when he came back and asked about what was going on, he found that the Wei Estate had sent out only thirty-some people, with no Spirit Masters among them, which left Tang Jie furious.

Wei Tianchong was somewhat embarrassed by all this. He resentfully said, “It’s all my dad’s fault. Something happened with the Gu Clan, so they had to give up some casinos and their escort company at a low price. My dad thought this was an opportunity, but he needed manpower and money. My dad went to get the money to hire all those people, and because all that money was involved, the Spirit Masters went with him. The servants naturally did everything that my dad wanted, but they ended up putting your matter to the side.”

“Then did your father not know that I wanted to use these people?”

An awkward look appeared on Wei Tianchong’s face. “Of course he knew, but…”

Tang Jie already understood. “But the Wei Clan is his, Wei Danbai’s Wei Clan, not my Wei Clan, right?”

Wei Tianchong helplessly said, “He didn’t say that. He just said that it was only an attendant and a beast, so it wasn’t worth a mass mobilization…”

Wei Danbai had not looked down on Tang Jie’s value, but he had clearly underestimated the status Xi Canhen and Bao’er had in Tang Jie’s eyes, particularly Bao’er. He simply had no idea how important Bao’er was to Tang Jie.

But this still wasn’t enough for Tang Jie to forgive Wei Danbai!

If Zheng Shufeng had handled this matter, she might have looked down on Xi Canhen and Bao’er, but she would have never looked down on Tang Jie’s request. But Zheng Shufeng’s mother had fallen ill several days ago, and Zheng Shufeng had gone back to her hometown to keep her mother company. The Wei Estate’s affairs were now all decided by Wei Danbai, which had resulted in this incident.

Wei Tianchong said, “I’ve already spoken with my dad about how I did nothing at all and made five hundred thousand spirit coins. My dad was scared out of his wits by all this money, and he was full of remorse.”

“But it’s still too late, right?” Tang Jie coldly replied.

Wei Tianchong nervously looked at Tang Jie. “Tang Jie, if the little tiger really… I’m only saying it’s a possibility… If it’s dead… you wouldn’t really hate our Wei Clan, right?”

Tang Jie turned to Wei Tianchong.

He said nothing, only stared, and Wei Tianchong’s blood ran cold.

Tang Jie suddenly laughed. “How could I? You’re still not Celestial Heart, so I’m still a member of the Wei Clan, and I still have to intimidate the Wei Clan’s foes and suppress the scoundrels and thieves.”

These final words made Wei Tianchong’s heart tighten.

These final words could be considered a cultivator’s greatest use for a clan, as an army would be for a country.

But Wei Tianchong had been able to feel an icy, murderous intent when Tang Jie had said those words.

Scared out of his wits, he grabbed Tang Jie’s hand and said, “Tang Jie, no matter what, you can’t touch my father!”

“Young Master must be joking,” Tang Jie calmly said as he pulled his hand away. “Relax; I can promise you that I will not do any harm to the head of the Wei Clan.”

Wei Tianchong nodded. “I know, and I trust that someone of your character wouldn’t go so far as to hurt my father, but…”

He looked suspiciously at Tang Jie. “Why is it that I can never relax when I look at your face?”

Tang Jie maintained his indifferent appearance. “Then that is perhaps because your father is the first person to have actually done harm to me since I started cultivating.”

This time, he didn’t use the term “head of the Wei Clan.”

——————————

The number of people the Wei Clan had sent out searching soared from 30 to 2500, with the Wei Clan hiring people to fill the ranks. So long as one was willing to pay, there were always people to hire. All of the Spirit Masters of the Wei Estate were mobilized, and Tang Jie, Wei Tianchong, and Shi Meng also went out to help with the search.

A large number of people swept over the Mount Eternal region, combing the landscape. After several days, good news finally arrived.

“We found that young man!”

Upon hearing this news, the people who had been laboring for many days excitedly cheered.

Xi Canhen had been discovered next to a mountain spring. His body was covered in wounds and he was on his last breath.

When Tang Jie arrived, he couldn’t help but be shocked at the injuries.

The passage of time had allowed the wounds to start rotting, his ribs were broken, and his organs were so damaged that he was coughing up blood. Even after all that, Xi Canhen had still managed to drag himself down from the top of the mountain, leaving a trail of blood leading all the way back to the summit.

This youth’s life force was shockingly tenacious, so much so that it wasn’t even these horrifying injuries that had him on the brink of death, but starvation.

It had been many days since he had last eaten.

When Tang Jie arrived, the youth was scarfing down food, those injuries seemingly having no effect on his ability to eat.

Xi Canhen was startled when Tang Jie appeared, stopping what he was doing to look at him.

He threw aside the dried rations and kneeled down in front of Tang Jie, yelling, “Young Sir, I let you down! The little tiger went missing! I can’t find him!”

He tearfully wailed.

Tang Jie felt his vision blur.

Was it still this outcome?

Through Xi Canhen’s story, images of that bitter battle began to emerge before Tang Jie’s eyes.

He had never imagined that the little tiger would go so far for Xi Canhen.

From what Xi Canhen had said, at the last moment, the little tiger had pierced through Xie Yu’s skull while his own wings had been torn off. His most likely fate was to have died from the plunge to the bottom of the mountain.

After the little tiger fell, Xi Canhen clenched his teeth and started to crawl down the mountain to try and find the little tiger.

Alas, he had ultimately failed to find the tiger, but because of a nearby mountain spring, he had managed to survive. If he had stayed on the mountain, he would have been a corpse by now.

At the end of his story, Xi Canhen began to weep.

Tang Jie patted his head and said, “Don’t worry. You can leave finding the little tiger to me. You just rest.”

“Young Sir, do you think Bao’er…” Xi Canhen tearily looked at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie calmly said, “No, he won’t. Bao’er comes from a noble lineage, and his bloodline is powerful. Someone of his tenacious life force won’t die so easily.”

“That’s good.” Xi Canhen’s head dropped to the side as he fell asleep.

He had been relying on one last spurt of energy over the last few days, and now that he had relaxed, he could no longer stay awake.

Tang Jie looked at the sleeping Xi Canhen and said, “Shi Meng, I leave Canhen’s injuries to you.”

Shi Meng smiled. “Relax.”

Over the last few years, Shi Meng, following Tang Jie’s advice, had focused on support, so he was rather an expert in health and medicine. In terms of medical skills, he was much stronger than Tang Jie. With a future Immortal physician like him on the job, Tang Jie could rest easy.

After taking care of Xi Canhen, Tang Jie flew over to the cliff and went to the site of the battle. After estimating the trajectory of the little tiger and Xie Yu, he flew down.

At the bottom, he saw a dense forest, so he used the Illuminating Eye.

He had been using this spell a lot as of late and was growing more and more proficient with it. A spirit eye appeared with a wave of his hand, taking in all of the surrounding area.

A few moments later, Tang Jie spotted a human body four-hundred-some meters away.

He ran over to take a look and found that this person’s head had been cracked open and all his bones were shattered. He was as dead as dead could be. This was probably Xie Yu, but there was no sign of the little tiger near him.

Looking around, Tang Jie saw a small river flowing past in the distance.

Tang Jie couldn’t help but frown. If the little tiger had fallen into the river and gone downstream, finding him would be difficult. As for Yiyi finding him through plants, the length of time that had passed rendered this method ineffective.

He flew back to the main group and ordered, “Everyone search along the river, and make sure to leave no area out.”

The large-scale search once more began.

But no matter how they looked, they couldn’t find the little tiger. It was as if he had vanished from the face of the world.

They searched for many days until Wei Danbai finally sent a message that the search for the little tiger had taken far more money and manpower than expected and could no longer be maintained, so Wei Tianchong had no choice but to call back the people.

Before leaving, he apologized to Tang Jie. Tang Jie didn’t seem to mind, indifferently saying, “In your father’s eyes, a single tiger naturally can’t compare to the wealth of a clan and tens of thousands of gold coins. This is not because he is incapable, but because of the limits of his mortal vision. Perhaps when you go back, you can tell him a story.”

“What story?” Wei Tianchong asked.

“In the central region of Rosecloud is a strange beast known as the Illusion Fox. It is born at Spirit Sensing and can transform as easily as it breathes. If captured, it will be loyal to its owner, so it serves as an excellent cultivation companion. But fiend foxes are cunning and can take on many forms, so they often mix in among humans and are difficult to capture. Three hundred years ago, there were traces of a fiend fox. A cultivator desired to obtain it, but he was unable, for the fiend fox transformed and concealed itself among humans. In fury, that cultivator…”

Tang Jie raised his head and looked at Wei Tianchong.

Aghast, Wei Tianchong said, “What did he do?”

Tang Jie icily said, “Burned down the city.”

Wei Tianchong felt like he had been dropped into a freezer.

He suddenly understood what Tang Jie meant.

In Wei Danbai’s eyes, one tiger wasn’t worth the Wei Clan investing that much, but in the eyes of a cultivator, a single mortal clan was worth even less.

For a single Illusion Fox, a cultivator could burn an entire city to the ground to force it out.

Wei Danbai’s mistake was a mistake of vision. He had no idea that what he was giving up was a fiend beast that a cultivator regarded as ten thousand times more valuable than a mortal like him, not even considering the many years they had spent together.

“It is hard to blame him,” Tang Jie indifferently said. “He is the clan head, so he has to feel like he controls everything. Even cultivators like us will ultimately be a part of the Wei Clan, always one of his subordinates. We cannot overstep his authority, as that would be breaking the rules.”

Wei Tianchong knew what he meant and sighed, “For many years now, the clan’s Spirit Masters have been polite to my father, and the two sides have had a genial relationship. This has made my father gradually forget about the dignity of a cultivator. He doesn’t want to place himself above Spirit Masters, but…”

Tang Jie coolly picked up where he left off, “But he feels like there’s no problem with sitting on the same level as them; but he feels like the welfare of the Wei Clan should always come first; but he feels like he’s already done enough for me…”

Wei Tianchong could no longer say anything.

Tang Jie patted him and said, “Go. No matter what I say, he’s your father, so you have to listen to him. But while Wei Danbai can order you around, he can’t force me to do anything. I will continue the search on my own.”

Wei Tianchong saw that Tang Jie was willing to call his father by name and knew that Tang JIe was furious. He sighed, but as he was unable to say anything more, he turned and left.

The Wei Clan’s people withdrew, leaving Tang Jie and Yiyi to search the mountains alone.

But no matter how he searched, he could find no sign of the little tiger.

That familiar figure was no more within that sea of trees, no matter how much Tang Jie flew back and forth across the skies all by himself.

A month went by in the blink of an eye. In this month, Wei Tianchong sent many messages to him, regarding such things as how the goods had been delivered to the Basking Moon Sect and that all the matters had been settled. All of the Sageheart Kingdom had been shaken by the news, and every level of Basking Moon was stunned as Tang Jie grew even more famous. But everyone’s rewards had yet to be officially distributed. It still needed to be assessed, investigated, and discussed.

Although the 20% reward was a set rule, weren’t there times when the rules were broken? Moreover, besides the reward, they also needed to calculate the contribution points and promotions, and there was also an explanation needed for the overstepping of authority.

Thus, Bei Canghan, Wu Xianguang, and Peng Yaolong were going all over the place, placating whoever needed to be placated and arguing for whatever needed to be argued. Before they got any money, they would first have to pay out a large sum of money, and they were all taking loans to pay for these gifts. But as everyone knew that they had a lot of money coming, this money was easy to borrow. They didn’t have Tang Jie do anything in this phase, handling everything on their own. In this way, Tang Jie was finally able to take advantage of them for once.

Wei Tianchong also took a trip back to Sunwatch Peak to ask Yan Changfeng to help with the negotiations. He had performed rather well lately, appearing in the limelight with Tang Jie multiple times and not bringing shame to the dignity of Sunwatch Peak, so Yan Changfeng had come to find this disciple of his more agreeable. When Wei Tianchong was going back, Wei Danbai had him bring a large sum of money with him, perhaps because he knew that he had done wrong and wanted to make amends. Wei Tianchong told Tang Jie about this and said that this money was jointly offered under the names of both the Wei Clan and Tang Jie, but Tang Jie simply grunted, his stance remaining ambiguous.

Wei Tianchong could only sigh and leave.

Tang Jie spent another month in the Mount Eternal region, but he still turned up nothing. Finally, he decided to leave.

Before leaving, he looked at the mountains and muttered, “I believe you’re not dead, Bao’er. Your lineage is noble and your bloodline powerful. You would never die so easily… Perhaps, you only need time to recover. I will wait for you… wait for your return!”

A river wound through the region, through forests and through mountains. Occasionally a tributary would split off to flow elsewhere, perhaps into a small lake or perhaps to link with another river, or perhaps it would disappear into the lightless world of the underground.

In a distant corner of the region, an underground river peacefully flowed. The cave next to the river had formed numerous stalactites in various bizarre shapes.

Years of erosion had smoothed out the floor. The little tiger lay in the clearing next to the river, his torn wings placed over his body like a blanket.

This slumber had gone on for one hundred days!

In these one hundred days, the little tiger had been completely motionless. Only the slight rising and falling of his body proved that he was still alive.

On this day, a Sawtooth Sicklefish jumped out of the river and flew toward the little tiger.

As it was about to strike the little tiger, the little tiger’s body erupted with a crimson light.

This savage fish didn’t even have a chance to bounce off before it was pulverized into dust.

The little tiger suddenly moved.

First, it was the claws that lightly trembled, and then the severed wings. At some point, they had grown back, and they slightly opened and closed on the little tiger’s back.

And then the enormous body of the tiger trembled.

With this shudder, white steam issued from his nose.

The little tiger slowly opened his eyes.

As the tiger’s eyes opened, they glimmered with the light of intelligence.

A moment later, he stood up like a human and shouted, “What a long dream!”

He could now speak! This was a sign that Bao’er had officially entered Mind Opening.

But a moment later, Bao’er threw his head back and laughed. “What a long dream. I finally remember…”

“I finally remember…”

“Remember…”

“Member…”

His voice rang out like a giant bell, echoing off the walls of the cavern.

Bao’er’s face turned wrathful.

The flame of wrath erupted from the depths of his body, forming a powerful torrent that swept through his surroundings.

He let out a furious roar that sounded like thunder.

“Basking Moon Sect!” he bellowed, blood in his eyes. “You dared to treat my White Tiger Clan this way? I will not let you go!”

He lowered his head and looked at his claws.

He shook his head. “But now is not the time… I need to find my own power… to find the power that has been missing from my clan for a long time now…

“When that day comes, I will come back and seek you out.”

He spoke in a deep and heavy tone.

Suddenly, he trembled.

“Tang Jie…” he blurted out.

A moment later, countless images flashed through his mind, causing his heart to abruptly soften.

Yes, in the Basking Moon Sect, there was at least one person who had treated him with sincerity.

“Alas…” The tiger closed his eyes, two beads of blood flowing down from them.

He muttered, “The kindness of a single man cannot compare to the resentment of an entire race. The affection of upbringing and the grace of freedom can only be repaid in the next life. Starting from today, I am no longer Bao’er.

“My name… is Wang Yao!”

The miscalculations of a single mortal have awakened a mortal enemy of the Basking Moon Sect! I guess Wang Poguan is happy…