Duan Chenhui walked ahead with his sword in hand. After a while, his steps faltered slightly, and he plunged the giant Que sword into the ground.

“General?” He Qing, startled, quickly ran over to support him. “I think the general needs some rest.” Duan Chenhui had likely not taken any breaks on this journey, nor had he had time to rest. The symptoms of the insect poison were acting up.

“I’m fine.” Duan Chenhui pulled out the sword and continued walking.

He Qing let go and stood still. “Why push yourself, General?”

“I know my body better than anyone.” Duan Chenhui turned, his hands gripping the sword’s hilt. “You don’t need to worry. I won’t drag you down.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He Qing realized how guarded Duan Chenhui was in front of others. Normally, Duan wouldn’t even react when He Qing snuck up behind him. Was it because the identity of “He Qing” seemed too weak? Is that why Duan was being so cautious?

Duan Chenhui remained still, staring intently at him. “I don’t even know what your real name is.” His tone made it clear he was indeed wary. “What do you say?”

“My name is He Lian,” He Qing replied smoothly, having already prepared this name in advance. He smiled, “General, I’m not your enemy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have sold you those medicinal herbs.”

Duan Chenhui pondered for a moment before sitting on a stone behind him, looking up. “So, you deliberately appeared in front of me that day?”

“If the general insists on thinking that…” He Qing maintained his calm demeanor, even though he was half-exposed, he didn’t fully reveal his intentions.

Duan Chenhui’s lips curved slightly. “Was that letter reporting the insect eggs also sent by you?”

He Qing responded with a smile. He couldn’t tell if Duan had proof or was merely testing him, so he vaguely answered, “As I said, I won’t be your enemy. Ever.”

“Ever?” This took Duan Chenhui by surprise. To him, He Qing was still a stranger, and it was odd to hear such a declaration from a stranger.

“Because I’m just a traveling doctor,” He Qing said, putting on an innocent face.

“You’re a doctor?” Duan Chenhui glanced at him. Apart from the pale hair, He Qing was dressed all in black, looking less like a doctor and more like a suspicious undercover agent with unclear motives.

“An anatomist,” He Qing clarified, not lying. He had indeed studied anatomy.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Duan Chenhui frowned slightly. While He Qing’s words seemed impeccable, something still felt off—his instincts told him the half-truths were the most dangerous.

“But it’s the truth.” He Qing walked over. “If the general doesn’t mind, I can take a look at you.” As he spoke, he instinctively began to tie his hairband over his eyes.

“I think the one who minds is you.” Duan Chenhui narrowed his eyes slightly, echoing He Qing’s earlier words back to him. “No need to force yourself, Mr. He.”

“…” He Qing remained silent, his hand touching the hairband. “Perhaps the general is right.” He untied the hairband, meeting Duan Chenhui’s piercing gaze directly. “It was out of personal courtesy before.”

Their gazes locked, and Duan Chenhui smiled. “I thought you would continue to be uptight.”

“…” He Qing was startled. In all his time roaming the cultivation world, no one had ever called him uptight. And now, suddenly, he was the conservative one?

“But the poison is from insects,” Duan Chenhui continued, “and I doubt you have a cure.”

“I have healing abilities. It’s worth a try,” He Qing insisted, wanting to assess Duan Chenhui’s condition.

After a moment of silence, Duan Chenhui rolled up his pant leg.

He Qing glanced down, his pupils shrinking in shock. The blood-red lines, like crawling veins, covered Duan Chenhui’s leg, moving as if alive. It was similar to the cursed marks of demonic cultivation.

He Qing hesitated over where to place his hands. After observing for a while, he carefully placed his hand on Duan Chenhui’s knee, just close enough to touch his skin.

Duan Chenhui raised an eyebrow, watching him.

Closing his eyes, He Qing recited a mantra internally while channeling his spiritual power to sense the poison. The toxic lines had already spread to the upper part of Duan Chenhui’s thigh. He Qing injected a bit of his spiritual energy, testing it out. Under the suppression of the energy, the poisonous lines gradually quieted down.

So it actually works.

He Qing continued for a long time before finally opening his eyes. He instinctively clasped his hands together in relief but quickly shifted to adjust his mask. “How do you feel now, General?”

“It’s definitely better.” Duan Chenhui looked up at him. “You really are a doctor?”

“Authentic.” He Qing smiled. “Do you have any more medicine, General? I can apply it for you.”

“I ran out about half a month ago.” Duan Chenhui stood up again, seemingly more trusting of him. “The palace is actually in the direction to the right.”

“…” He Qing’s eyes widened slightly. “It seems earning the general’s trust is no easy task.” It felt like a battle of wits and courage. What if He Qing had handled this situation instead?

Duan Chenhui turned to glance at him. “There are still students there. If it were just me, I wouldn’t mind.”

“I suppose that’s true.” He Qing smiled lightly. Duan Chenhui clearly meant that if worst came to worst, they’d just fight it out.

Duan Chenhui resumed leading the way, but He Qing suddenly sensed something. He looked up at the forest, now shrouded in darkness.

On the other side, He Qing’s clone was being dragged out in the middle of the night by Qiao Yi. He looked at the forest ahead and asked Qiao Yi, “Mentor, are you really going in?”

“Of course.” Qiao Yi patted his shoulder. “Weren’t you looking for the general? They’ve been trapped inside for half a month. Even if they’re okay, they’re probably out of food by now. We need to go support them.”

“My body’s feeling a bit weak…” He Qing covered his mouth, coughing a few times. But inside was his other identity! Was this going to be a meeting of two personas? Would he get exposed?!

Qiao Yi sneered. “Your koi soup was too delicious. I couldn’t sleep at night. Let’s go, student He.” Nobody had told him that He Qing was actually a master of dark cuisine!

He Qing sighed. “What if we run into the general?”

“Easy, we’ll just say you got lost. I’ll cover for you.” Qiao Yi laughed, dragging him along. But the two weren’t so lucky. As soon as they entered the forest, they were transported to a demonic pool, where countless large and small demonic creatures turned to stare at them.

Qiao Yi locked eyes with the creatures, his large eyes meeting their smaller ones. Then, the demons roared and charged at them.

“Damn it! What kind of bad luck is this?” Qiao Yi cursed, pulling out a laser gun. “Where did these monsters come from?” He fired several shots but quickly realized they were ineffective. “Are these real monsters?”

“This looks like a demon pool, Mentor. Let me handle this.” He Qing stepped forward.

Qiao Yi put away his gun and hid behind his student. “I’ll leave it to you, then. If you can’t do it, I’ll use my mech.”

“Alright.”

He Qing raised his gaze slightly, summoning his staff. The metal rings on the staff hummed with spiritual energy. With a flick of his wrist, the staff transformed into a massive golden arrow.

He Qing focused on the demonic creatures, as a formation appeared under his feet and in front of him. He drew the bow back to a full arc with his other hand.

He released the string, and a barrage of arrows shot through the formation, raining down upon all the demonic creatures.

Qiao Yi looked up, his eyes widening slightly as the creatures were pierced by the arrows, disintegrating into particles of golden light. This ability was too eerie.

“Amitabha.” He Qing waved his hand, retracting the staff, and turned back to Qiao Yi with a smile. “Mentor, shall we continue?”

Qiao Yi slapped his forehead. “Wait, was that magic or an ability you just used?”

“Magic.” He Qing still smiled brightly. “I told you I didn’t want to come.”

“Scaring your mentor will cost you points.” Qiao Yi smirked and patted his shoulder. “Student He, I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice. And you’re telling me this was magic?”

“What else?” He Qing shrugged helplessly. “Just think of it as magic, Mentor. Some things can’t be explained.”

Qiao Yi squinted at him. “Are you some kind of ancient spirit?”

He Qing clasped his hands together. “A hundred-year-old man, a thousand-year-old tree, a ten-thousand-year-old lotus seed. Which one do you think is the oldest, Mentor?”

The comparison amused Qiao Yi. Stroking his chin, he scrutinized He Qing for a moment before raising his hands in defeat. “Fine, I’m the oldest.”

“In my species, I’m actually quite young…” He Qing defended himself again. He really hadn’t been born for long, and besides, he was a spirit creature.

“I get it.” Qiao Yi patted his shoulder in consolation. “Let me process this for a while.” To be honest, he was still a bit shocked. Had he unknowingly accepted an ancient spirit as his student? And the spirit was pretending to be young!

He Qing didn’t know that Qiao Yi still saw him as an “ancient spirit.” Looking at the path ahead, he asked, “Do you need me to explain anything, Mentor?”

“Probably just some kind of contaminated creature or something. Whatever, I won’t encounter it often. I’m just a poor teacher.” Qiao Yi glanced at the black pool. “Let’s go find Duan Chenhui.”

He Qing was a little surprised. “I didn’t expect Mentor to be so open-minded. You’re very suited to our path of cultivation.”

Qiao Yi grinned. “I have no choice. I’m older than you, so I see things more clearly. Right, student He?”

He Qing chuckled. “Older and wiser, as they say.”

“Enough already.” Qiao Yi finally clutched his forehead in exasperation.

He Qing quietly shut his mouth. He was only stating the truth…