Tainted Blood

  Chapter 1 - Cloudsoar City

  The sun’s fiery red rays were cast down upon the clouded sky, turning the evening crimson. Half the sun had sunk down below the horizon line, and as the shadow of night crept over Cloudsoar City, the buildings reflected their shapes in beautiful red light.

  Queues of people stood outside the entrance of Cloudsoar City. The guards inspected every person, so it took some time to enter the city.

  Cloudsoar City was the largest city in the Chengzi Kingdom. It was known as a haven for those seeking spiritual fruits. Merchants from the center of the continent often came here to stock up on goods.

  Young cultivators also often made their way to Cloudsoar City to buy fruits at a cheaper price. This was a place full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

  There was a group consisting of two men and a boy in the queue outside the gates. One was a handsome young man who seemed to be around eighteen years old, the second seemed to be at the same age albeit with possibly the most plain appearance you could have, and the third, a child, appeared to be no more than ten years old.

  Strangely, when they spoke to each other, it was with the tone of equals. The two older ones seemed to treat the ten-year-old boy as their equal. Though it made sense when one looked closer into the eyes of the child, should they get the chance to make eye contact—the boy’s eyes were anything but naive and soft like most children his age, gleaming with wisdom and age.

  These three were none other than Xue Wei, Hei Gou, and Bai Tianyi. They had left the border between the two countries and entered the Chengzi Kingdom on the way to the center of the continent.

  “I never expected you to still be this cheerful after Xiaoyun left you,” Bai Tianyi said. The name Wang Xiaoyun had been a taboo and no one had mentioned it after Xue Wei awoke, but now Bai Tianyi could not stop himself.

  Hei Gou glanced at Bai Tianyi with a warning glare, but the sword spirit pretended that he had not seen the glare and continued on.

  “You also accepted your identity so easily. Tell me, are you in shock? Is it because you don’t believe me?”

  Bai Tianyi was curious by nature. If there was something he did not know or understand, he would seek to unearth it.

  While Bai Tianyi was extremely casual about it, Hei Gou was careful and worried about hurting his good friend. Even if he seemed okay, he had to be keeping up a strong appearance.

  Xue Wei laughed out loud when he saw their tentative expressions.

  “I’m really okay,” he said reassuringly with a laugh and shook his head. “I know what my emotions are like and I will be true to them. One day, I’ll make her understand my emotions. Then she’ll know that we were meant to be.”

  “Also, it does not matter what I am. Humans hate me no matter what I do, so I might as well be a beast, right?”

  Xue Wei clearly did not care about this whole thing. Had this been before the Azure Dragon Spirit had hatched, he would have most likely panicked and despaired. But now he was all carefree and straightforward.

  He had complete faith in himself and his ability to reach his goals. There was a bone-deep pride in his body that told him he could have anything he wanted. However, it did not mean he had forgotten that he was merely a one layer Heavenly Warrior. He had a long way to go before he could truly make a difference with his fist alone, but he definitely had the potential.

  “There are still a few confusing things though.” He sighed. “Elder Wan seemed to know of my true identity,” Xue Wei continued, “but what is it he and the beasts want from me? My uncle and Chu Huiyin also know what I really am.”

  “I have a feeling that they are the ones I need to watch out for. The humans are troublesome, but they just want to kill me. The other side is different.”

  Bai Tianyi nodded his head. He was a human cultivator back in his prime, so he was not too privy to the connection between Sovereign Beasts and Primordial Beasts or what sort of rituals existed between them.

  “The Sovereign Beasts are the monarchs,” Bai Tianyi said pensively. “They should be the most beloved entities to the beasts, but I imagine that they aren’t all satisfied with this kind of hierarchy.”

  “I think it’s best if we avoid any interaction with both humans and beasts until we are stronger,” Hei Gou said after careful consideration.

  Xue Wei nodded his head, and Bai Tianyi agreed. They did not want to be caught up in the fights between humans and beasts before they had the strength to dictate what happened.

  By the time they were done discussing this through compressed voice communication, they reached the gates of Cloudsoar City.

  “The price of entry is fifty silver per person,” a guard said while looking over their group. Xue Wei quickly forked out the money, but the guard did not take the pouch right away.

  Instead, he stared intently at Xue Wei’s face. “State your name,” he demanded. Xue Wei, who felt that something was amiss, narrowed his eyes.

  “I am Ye Xiao,” he said carefully. The guard suddenly nodded his head as if he had recognized him.

  “I was told by the Cerulean Starlight Sect to contact you.” The guard’s face was stoic.

  “There is a branch of the Cerulean Starlight Sect here in Cloudsoar City. The sect elder told us to keep an eye out for you half a year ago. Though I’m not sure if the order still stands.”

  Xue Wei was incredibly relieved after hearing this. He nodded his head and flicked a gold coin to the guard. “Thank you for telling me.”.

  The guard cleared them and they entered the city, moving inside in a steady stream of people.

  The streets were bursting with life, people walked back and forth, and noisy voices could be heard from every direction.

  “Let’s go get some information,” Xue Wei decided. “We’ve been out of the loop for half a year. It’s probably best we catch up on the recent changes, yeah?”

  The other two agreed. They went to the closest tavern to get some food, and some information as they ate.

  Although more sensitive subjects were likely to be discussed through sound transmission, most people would not go through the effort to conceal more well-known topics.

  They had found a rather typical tavern. It had food and drinks and a few rooms up for rent, but Xue Wei’s team was not there to stay the night. Instead, they found a table in the middle and sat down.

  This place was perfect for their aim. When they sat down they ordered a few dishes and drinks.

  A servant rushed to prepare their order. Soon after, they sat in silence and paid attention to the conversations going on in the tavern.

  “Did you hear about the beast horde that appeared in the southern area of the Chengzi Empire? It was so massive that eleven Primordial Beasts appeared.”

  “Did you hear that a new clue has been found in the mysterious murder that happened outside Golden Crow City half a year ago?”

  “The new faction of that Wayfarer girl is growing bigger by the day. During the last beast horde, she slaughtered four primordial Beasts, and now even members of the three great sects are following her.”

  “Have you heard that the guards said that formation master Ye Xiao entered the city? He must have a lot of valuables on his person, if you know what I mean.”

  “The medicinal pill workshop has announced that they will sell their shop to the Golden Chambers. It seems that the Golden Chambers are rather aggressive in their quest to take over all the major shops of the continent.”

  “Soon, the Cloudsoar Trade Fair will commence. I earned a lot of money to spend on a medicinal pill for my son.”

  Xue Wei listened intently. His face was completely straight, but he was inwardly surprised.

  Wang Xiaoyun was likely to be the Wayfarer girl that they were talking about. To think that sh
e went and founded a faction. It was clear that she was moving forward with her revenge.

  He wanted to know more about her faction, but he also knew that he would hear it later.

  On the other hand, he was also surprised that they had found clues about the ‘mystery murders’ outside Golden Crow City. Was it not obviously a fight between beasts and humans? Why not just blame some random Primordial Beast?

  Finally, the trade fair slated to be held soon excited Xue Wei quite a bit

  Their dishes arrived at this point, so they continued eavesdropping while eating their food, silent as ever. The three of them seemed almost brooding.

  They all savored the dishes and enjoyed the food. The food was simple and tasted good. For some reason, when they finished their meal, the waiter walked over to their table.

  “That’ll be thirty thousand gold coins,” he almost yelled, his voice booming through the entire restaurant and making all the others quiet down.

  “Thirty thousand gold coins?” Xue Wei frowned. No food was worth this much money. Not even spiritual fruits cost this much.

  “Yes.” The servant snickered. The others in the tavern leaned back on their chairs and acted like they were enjoying a show.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Bai Tianyi asked, his tone of voice dangerous. The audience was looking on in amusement.

  “Kid, this is not the place for you to speak,” the servant said.

  His words made Xue Wei laugh.

  “So expensive. Don’t you expect to lose customers once this gets out?” Hei Gou sneered.

  “Who says it will ever get out? Also, someone like you should pay up.”

  “Someone like me… I don’t seem to remember insulting you or in any way causing problems for this tavern. Why treat the patrons so badly?” Xue Wei asked.

  “We do not like people like you here,” the servant continued, “so pay up and leave.”

  Xue Wei sighed and flipped his hand, revealing the token from the Cerulean Starlight Sect.

  “You are treating members of The Cerulean Starlight Sect like this?” he asked casually.

  Every person in the tavern opened their eyes wide. Some jaws dropped, and all of them were surprised beyond belief.

  This tiny tavern was antagonizing someone from the Cerulean Starlight Sect! That was the same as dropping a stone on their own foot.

  But contrary to the expectations of the tavern’s patrons, the servant did not become gentler or apologetic; instead, he sneered at Xue Wei and company, “I know who you are. Now are you paying up or not?”

  Xue Wei could not be bothered any longer. He simply stood up and pushed past the servant. Bai Tianyi and Hei Gou followed suit. Their actions showed that they would not pay what he demanded.

  “The boss will not let you go,” the servant warned them.

  “Let him come then,” Xue Wei smiled, but his smile was tinged with malice.

  As the three stepped outside the tavern, their auras were flaring, and they were more than ready for a fight.

  Xue Wei was calm. He had the feeling that someone was purposefully making things difficult for him, but the only ones who would have the guts to do that was the Crimson Sunshine Sect and the two princes that run afoul of Xue Wei.

  Only they had the power to make people do their bidding against the Cerulean Starlight Sect. It was likely the Crimson Sunshine Sect.

  But why would they want gold coins? Xue Wei could not figure this out.

  Chapter 2 - Finding Trouble

  The servant fumed with anger, but he knew better than to engage in a bout of battle with them. Although they were merely Heavenly Warriors, the servant himself was only an Earth Warrior! It was simply a joke for him to consider facing off against the group.

  The audience was intrigued by how things were playing out. These three experts were incredibly daring to leave without paying for their meal, but every person in the crowd knew it was because they were being scammed by the tavern.

  If they were in the same situation, they would have reacted in the same way. Conceding to the restaurant servant’s absurd demand would mean admitting that they were easy to bully, after all.

  “Halt,” someone called out from the staircase. However, Xue Wei and the two others continued to walk towards the door as if they had not heard him.

  A loud crash emanated from inside the tavern and a bottle flew at Xue Wei like a bullet, who agilely avoided it then turned to look at the perpetrator.

  “I told you to stop. Did you not hear me?” the man asked with a grim expression on his face. Xue Wei laughed out loud in response.

  “Am I your servant?” he asked mockingly. “I think not. Why should I do what you tell me to? You think you can decide what others do just because you say so? Seriously, go see a doctor, make sure your disease doesn’t spread to others,” he sneered.

  “Don’t worry,” Bai Tianyi chimed in. “Stupidity can be inherited, but it usually isn’t contagious. We should be fine.”

  Hearing the dialogue between the two, most people in the tavern could hold their laughter, but one lost it and started laughing out loud. This created a domino effect, and soon all those that had tried to keep a straight face were laughing alongside each other, inadvertently mocking the man on the stairs.

  The expression on the man’s face turned black. He did not know much about Xue Wei and his two companions, but one day, half a year ago, someone from the Crimson Sunshine Sect had appeared before him.

  This man had brought a picture with him, a picture of Xue Wei. Or rather Ye Xiao, as it portrayed his altered face after using the mask.

  He was told that if he came across this young man, he was to create trouble for him; the more the better. If he then reported it to the Crimson Sunshine Sect afterwards, he would be heavily rewarded.

  This was not the only store owner who had been given this task; every independent shop within Cloudsoar City had been contacted. But out of fear of leaking any details, they all went about it quietly, not even discussing it amongst themselves.

  The painting of Xue Wei had been posted in the back of every single store in Cloudsoar City, so he had become a celebrity without even knowing it.

  They had not been told to what extent they should inconvenience Xue Wei, but the rather vague request let them come up with their own ideas.

  The boss of this tavern was not aware that Xue Wei had connections with the Cerulean Starlight Sect. Neither the servant nor the Crimson Sunshine Sect had informed him.

  So when he saw the token in Xue Wei’s hand, he suddenly paused. Was he caught in the middle of a sect war?

  He had been told that Xue Wei was an independent cultivator. The man had done some unacceptable deeds so he needed to be punished, but killing him would be too extreme as humans stood united and rarely gave the death sentence to their own.

  It was only now that the boss realized that something was off. Why had they come to his small tavern to make problems for one person? Their sect could deal with everything themselves… unless they did not dare to do it themselves.

  The only reason they would not dare to do so would be if they were up against another sect of equal standing or if it was something like going against a supreme expert.

  This boy was clearly not a supreme expert, but he carried the token of authority from the Cerulean Starlight Sect.

  This gave the boss a headache. He turned to the waiter and gave a malicious glare. It was clear that the tavern and this young man had already fallen out completely, so there was no chance to salvage the situation without losing face.

  Xue Wei noticed that the boss was hesitating. He shook his head and turned to leave again. But who would have thought that it was not the boss that stopped them this time but the servant.

  “Pay up for your meal and we will let you go! Can you not see that the big boss is an ordinary knight? He can deal with you as easily as slaughtering chickens! Even your reputation as members of the Cerulean Starlight Sect is nothing compared to my boss�
�� background!”

  The boss felt like falling on his face when he heard this. Bloody hell, was this servant trying to kill him?

  Even if this situation had been instigated by the Crimson Sunshine Sect, they would not have his back through thick and thin.

  They had, at most, a superficial relationship, whereas this kid held a token of authenticity belonging to a rival major sect! That was the real deal! If anything happened to this boy in his store, would he not suffer greatly at the hands of the Cerulean Starlight Sect in the future?

  Why was his servant so adamant about stirring up trouble? He could only guess that it had something to do with jealousy. The servant was now thirty years old, but he was stuck as an Earth Warrior while these three seemed to be much younger and had already become Heavenly Warriors.