NEBM Chapter 14.2: Falling Ill

Although Shen Zhixian hadn’t officially severed his relationship with Yan Shen, he was very estranged from him. He would avoid his greetings, hardly summoned him, and would only occasionally nod to him.

Yan Shen wasn’t even as good as those two young disciples who ran up and down the mountains all day.

In the past, the Supreme Master valued him the most. How did things change so suddenly? It must be that Yan Jin said something about him that should not be said, which made Master angry.

Yan Shen plastered a smile on his face to hide his gritted teeth and thought about the many times he’d had to respectfully greet Yan Jin. In these three years, he’d tried to create stumbling blocks for Yan Jin but failed every time. Instead, he’d lost the respect of his master, and his status only slid lower and lower among the many disciples.

This huge drop in status and respect turned his character even more distorted.

As a child, Yan Jin had suffered many hardships, and so he was very sensitive to Yan Shen’s superficial shell of goodwill that hid his malicious intent. Instead of engaging, he merely looked down at his sword with an expressionless face and turned a deaf ear to Yan Shen’s words.

When Yan Shen couldn’t get a response, he gritted his teeth, tightly grasped his sword, strode to the empty space everyone had deliberately vacated, and cupped his hands toward Yan Jin.”Senior Brother, please enlighten me.”

Yan Jin looked at him indifferently and remained seated, not saying a single word.

During the stalemate, the discussion around them gradually faded, and the atmosphere turned awkward. The smile on Yan Shen’s face was somewhat forced, and his voice sounded aggrieved when he said, “Does Senior Brother look down on me and that is why he won’t exchange pointers with me?”

To be honest, yes.

Yan Jin already had a gifted spirit root. In the past years, Shen Zhixian had been feeding him well and elevating him with top-notch cultivation techniques. As a result, his spirit root was tempered to the extreme. Not only that, he was also able to learn Shen Zhixian’s improved sword techniques. These factors, combined with his protagonist halo, had resulted in him far surpassing the other disciples in swordplay.

There were even rumors within the sect that Yan Jin would become the second Shen Zhixian, who was the best sword cultivator of his time. This, of course, referred to the young Shen Zhixian, before he had his heart injury and became a veritable waste.

People could only sigh with envy.

Senior Brother Shao looked on as Yan Jin silently stood and entered the encirclement with his sword. As he drank a cup of tea, he pressed down a little sigh from the bottom of his heart and began to watch the battle.

Without a doubt, Yan Shen would never be able to defeat Yan Jin. Although Yan Shen cultivated well in the early stages, his growth eventually rapidly declined due to his unstable mind. He would often come to Third Peak to request a lot of elixirs to aide his floundering cultivation.

Yan Shen drew his sword, the motion at once urgent and hurried and ruthless. This was not learning; this was more like fighting. Though, clearly, it was just a joke in Yan Jin’s eyes.

However, Yan Jin did not deliberately play with him, nor did he ruthlessly oppress him. He was always very low-key.

Yan Jin’s attacks had more offensive moves than defensive. His methodical sword moves forced Yan Shen to retreat again and again. Until, at last, Yan Shen began to look quite pathetic. Finally, he made the one sword move that he’d taken pains to memorize by heart.

Dark Clouds Covering the Moon.

Yan Shen’s sword qi swirled as his spiritual force blended into it, turning the energy into a thick cloud of fog that quickly enveloped the two men. This move was not very lethal. Its main purpose was to obstruct Yan Jin’s sight so that he won’t be able to see Yan Shen’s next move.

Yan Jin didn’t want to bother with him anymore. His blade emitted a clear, ringing sound as his sword ray broke through the fog. Just as he was about to end this boring fight, the corner of his eyes suddenly caught a flash of green.

Shen Zhixian’s little grass bud?

How could this little guy be here?

Xiao Caoya had always been very low-key, probably because Shen Zhixian had repeatedly warned it to never allow other people to see it. Why would it suddenly appear here now?

Because he was slightly distracted, Yan Jin didn’t notice that, hidden within the fog, Yan Shen’s arm gently trembled. Immediately, a thin strand of black qi snaked down to the tip of his sword and flew onto Yan Jin’s body.

The distraction lasted only for a brief moment, but it was enough. After Yan Jin returned his attention back to the matter at hand, his sword ray completely scattered the fog and connected at once with Yan Shen’s sword. An ice-cold spiritual force burst out, turning Yan Shen’s wrist numb. His sword fell out of his hand, the tip lodged diagonally into the ground.

Immediately, loud voices rose all around them. The moves Yan Jin had displayed was originally created by Shen Zhixian and were rarely seen by these junior disciples. The moment the battle ended, they scattered into pairs to discuss the moves they’d just witnessed.

Yan Shen’s face was pale, his expression displaying a moment of viciousness at he looked at Yan Jin. Then, his concealed his expression and said, “Thank you, Senior Brother Yan, for your guidance.”

Yan Jin merely looked at him silently, nodded indifferently, and returned to his seat.

After the sword comprehension exchange came to an end, Yan Jin turned his gaze toward Xiao Caoya, who looked to be in a hurry and was frantically waving its grass blades at him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he had no choice but to approach Senior Brother Shao to announce his intention to leave first.

Yan Jin’s quietness and his preference for solitude was famous among the disciples. Senior Brother Shao did not force him, but merely waved his hands and pulled out two small sachets. As he handed them over, he said, “This array was requested by Elder Shen. Please take these to him.”

Yan Jin cupped his hands, thanked Senior Brother Shao, and quietly left.

He deliberately walked the path that lead toward Xiao Caoya’s hidden spot. As expected, the little grass bud immediately rushed over, seeming particularly anxious, and pointed a grass blade in the direction of Shen Zhixian’s peak.

Although Yan Jin couldn’t understand its language, he’d spent four years with the little grass bud after all. He could still understand what this meant. Probably, something had happened to Shen Zhixian.

He followed after Xiao Caoya and hurried all the way behind the mountain, where the hot spring was located.

The water surface had faint steam rising from it, and it looked calm and peaceful. There were no movements to be seen anywhere. Yan Jin was confused so he said in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Caoya loosened its grip on Yan Jin’s sleeve and jumped into the water. It stretched out a small leaf, waving for him to follow, before disappearing underneath the water’s surface.

Yan Jin hesitated for a moment. Finally, he employed a water avoidance spell and slowly walked into the water.

Yan Jin naturally knew about this hot spring. After all, Shen Zhixian liked it so much.

In fact, Shen Zhixian had once even asked him if he wanted to soak in it, saying that doing so would soothe his veins. He’d refused out of precaution.

However, he didn’t expected that the first time they found themselves in the same pool together would be because of such a situation.

The bottom of the hot spring was peaceful, and a person dressed in white laid there with his eyes closed, as if he was merely slumbering. His long, black hair were scattered under his slender body. His face was pale and bloodless, making the little tear-shaped mole at the corner of his eye looked particularly red. The whole person looked like a fragile, white jade carving, exuding a delicate and enchanting beauty.

Due to a cultivator’s instinct, a faint barrier had immediately enclosed around him, blocking the warm water from rushing over his body. But, because he was unconscious for so long, the barrier was too weak to touch.

Xiao Caoya carefully stretched out a small leaf and poked the bubble-like barrier, which silently shattered at once.

The water rushed over in an instant, pouring into Shen Zhixian’s ears and nose. Even though he was unconscious, he probably still felt an unknown pressure assailing his throat and he subconsciously tilted his head slightly, as if trying to dislodge it.

But, he was at the bottom of the hot spring and there was water in all around. He couldn’t avoid it.

“Chirp!” Xiao Caoya was in a panic. It turned back, anxious urging Yan Jin to save the person.

The bottom of the hot spring was not dark. Yan Jin half-knelt beside Shen Zhixian, gazing at him with a deep, motionless stare. After a long while, he slowly raised his hand.

And, placed it on Shen Zhixian’s fragile and unguarded neck.

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The author has something to say:
The master was choked to death again. The End! Sprinkle flowers!