The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 164: The Real Targets

“Li Lang! You’re okay!” a female voice called out.

Li Lang turned to find Sima Xue, dashing out from a group of people headed their way. Before he could make out who they were, Sima Xue was already close enough to obscure his line of sight.

“Yes. I assume you met with attackers too if you returned here so quickly?”

“Yeah, but they were no match for me. I even found out their objective,” Sima Xue proudly proclaimed, only for her voice to mellow out the more she spoke. “But I knew it wasn’t likely they would be working alone, so I thought you guys were in danger, too. I was just about to request people to help me. Speaking of, they’re right behind me.”

She stepped aside as to welcome the newcomers, but Li Lang’s eyes didn’t leave her. He carefully examined the Nightmoon Valley disciple with a frown. That was because he suspected the fight hadn’t gone as smoothly as she described. Her entire attire was different from the ones earlier in the morning. The reasonable explanation was that her clothes got dirtied, or worse, damaged during the fight.

It wasn’t so easy to tell if his suspicions were true or not, though. With a recovery pill and some time, most flesh wounds would heal without a mark. In fact, his own fingers had already fully healed up. While it still ached a bit, externally, there were no signs of any injuries.

As much as he wanted to ask about the details of Sima Xue’s encounter, the other group quickly approached.

Forced to direct his attention to them, Li Lang finally recognized the people he had parted with not long ago. They were Gui Hong and Ning Fei, but also an older man behind them. He had sunken cheeks and was bony to the point that he appeared sick. However, his complexion was flush, telling another story.

“You’re back, too?” Gui Hong asked with a wondrous expression. “Did you get attacked as well?”

“Yes. Wei Ping and Long Yi are still out there, but the assailant should have retreated.”

“Retreated?” Nine Fei yelled out in alarm. “Shouldn’t the attacker have been at least around the same strength as Sima Xue’s assailant? How did you get them to retreat?”

Before Li Lang could answer, the old man in the back cleared his throat.

“Gui Hong, Ning Fei, do not forget yourselves. Keep calm and analyze as much as you can. If you did that, the answer to your question should’ve been obvious to you.”

“Yes, Elder An.”

Gui Hong and Ning Fei tipped their head toward their elder before following his gaze. It naturally led to the man behind Li Lang, the man known as Yun Ming. Having calmed down somewhat, the connection was quickly made.

“Please excuse them for their overeagerness. They couldn’t control their emotions after having heard what happened.” The old man nodded amiably to Li Lang before directing his gaze to Yun Ming. “As for you. Who might you be, friend?”

“Oh, don’t mind me,” the man in question quickly waved both hands and backed away. “I just happened to pass by and inadvertently got involved. I couldn’t exactly let my first-ever customer die just like that, after all.”

“Regardless, this matter was due to us. You have my thanks,” the elder continued.

His words got Li Lang directing a confused look at Sima Xue, who was only too happy to clarify.

“Umm, from what I learned from my assailant, they were looking for Gui Hong and Ning Fei. It just happens they were spotted with us before we left, so they wanted to make sure they didn’t sneakily get away.”

Li Lang glanced down and fell into thought as he heard the explanation.

So that’s why Sima Xue went to ask for help from the Eroding March Pavilion.

Wait, so they only ambushed us to check if they were in our Skyrunners? That means they only attacked us because they couldn’t detect who was inside, thanks to that Qi sense-blocking feature.

This could’ve all been avoided if I picked one of the other vehicles! And now, I don’t even know if Wei Ping and Long Yi are all right. They may have survived the attack, but being stranded in a forest filled with Foundation Establishment-level beasts isn’t exactly safe.

“We have to get back out there to search for Wei Ping and Long Yi before they run out of warding and concealing talismans!”

Li Lang’s words got the elder to cut his conversation with Yun Ming short.

“Yes, I should start heading out. You kids wait back in the city. It won’t take me too long.”

Li Lang reined in his urge to tag along and nodded slowly. He knew he was likely just a burden, especially if the attackers were still lurking around. Despite not being able to sense his power, the elder before him was evidently someone who wielded great power if he got into his position.

Summoning forth his own Skyrunner, the figure of the elder swiftly disappeared into the horizon.

“Well, good luck to you all. Since you’re fine now, I’ll be taking my leave,” Yun Ming said.

Very soon, only Li Lang, Sima Xue, and the two disciples from the Eroding March Pavilion were left.

They made their way back into the city with some awkwardness between them. Some of them felt responsible for the incident, while some were worried. At the same time, it couldn’t be denied that Li Lang having survived was good news as well. Mixed with these emotions, the group soon sat down inside a restaurant where they could overlook the city gates.

“So, how exactly did you manage to get such timely assistance from that creator guy?” Sima Xue asked. “Are you sure he wasn’t lurking around the entire time?”

Everyone at the table glanced over at Li Lang for an explanation now that they settled down.

“You mean he was following me? I don’t think so. I managed to buy some time and set off some smoke to draw the attention of anyone nearby, and he happened to show up. I don’t really see a reason for him to be stalking me, either.”

“Hmm, it’s better to be more suspicious of others.”

Both Gui Hong and Ning Fei nodded at her words.

“Please allow us to formally apologize to you again!” Gui Hong said as he stood up and bowed to the two.

Ning Fei quickly mimicked his actions.

“You guys not only saved us a few days ago, but we also got you into this mess. Please allow us to compensate you.”

“Yes, our elder has arrived as well. We can definitely compensate you. Just tell us what you want.”

This caused Li Lang and Sima Xue to share looks with each other as they puzzled over how to deal with them. Eventually, Li Lang shrugged and passed the ball to the Nightmoon Valley disciple to handle it.

“You guys, sit back down first,” Sima Xue advised. “In the first place, our safety is our own concern. We decided to help you before due to our own initiative, so you owe us nothing. And there’s no need to compensate a disciple of Nightmoon Valley for helping or those under their care.”

“But—”

“This matter is over. Let’s talk about more pleasant things. Sit down.”

The two Eroding March Pavilion disciples finally calmed down and returned to their seats. Sima Xue quickly poured them some tea as she drove the conversation elsewhere.

“So, do you guys have any idea why some powerful organization is after you?”

“Well, it may be because of the wealth we’re carrying?” Gui Hong speculated.

“Ha, that amounts to nothing for organizations at the size we’re talking about.”

“Wait,” Li Lang interrupted. “Why are you so sure they are from a large organization? Did they confess where they’re from to you?”

His question got Sima Xue to grimace.

“I tried interrogating them using our secret soul technique, but someone else had placed a safeguard on them. Their souls shattered when I asked about their origin. They only told me who they were targeting, and that they didn’t know the reason why. These safeguards they had in place can’t be placed by just anyone.”

“I see…”

As Li Lang contemplated how unlucky they had gotten, getting involved in what seemed to be a more complicated matter than he first thought, the others continued their speculations.

An hour after they sat down, they finally got hungry and began ordering some food to the relieved looks of the staff. Noon was just around the corner, so the place wasn’t that busy yet, but they welcomed the business.

Just as the food was placed down, streams of people began entering the restaurant for lunch. The group ignored them as they stoically ate. They didn’t let the jolly atmosphere infect them, as they weren’t in the mood. The elder was still out searching for Li Lang’s companions, so everyone made sure to keep a respectful demeanor while all the other tables joyously ate lunch.

It was only when they had their fill that someone approached them.

“What’s wrong with you young lasses? When you look so gloomy, you’ll affect the mood of others as well. If something is troubling you all, why don’t you consult with this uncle here? Maybe I can help you, maybe not. It’ll at least make you feel better to talk about it.”

The middle-aged man took a seat at their table without an invitation. From the way he behaved, he was likely a demonic cultivator who had recognized them or the organization they hailed from. It wasn’t rare for people to try their luck at making a connection with members of these prestigious organizations.

Sima Xue sighed as she prepared to tell the man off when they sensed new people approaching.

The newcomers went right up to the middle-aged man and placed a hand each on his shoulders.

“Sir, can you surrender that seat to us?”

“Yeah, we’d a-appreciate it if you did. S-sorry for being late, friends.”

Li Lang instantly turned to the newcomers and found his two companions standing there, completely unharmed. They had a wide grin on their faces as they pressured the man to relinquish his spot.

“Wei Ping? Long Yi? You’re both okay?”

Before they could answer, Gui Hong interjected.

“Where’s our Elder An?”

“Elder An?” the two parroted in unison, exchanging a brief glance. “W-we didn’t cross p-paths with any elder. We asked some g-gatekeepers regarding the whereabouts of Nightmoon Valley’s Lady Xue, b-but we didn’t ask any elder.”

“Umm, sorry to interject,” Li Lang said. “Wouldn’t that just mean he’s still out there searching? Do you have some way to contact him from here?”

The two Eroding March disciplined glanced down awkwardly.

“...No.”

That day, Elder An searched for a full twelve hours before he returned after the sun had set.

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