Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 262: Chapter

Nie Yun frowned. After he collected that mass of Dark Cloud Sword yesterday, he’d actually planned to take Shen Hao into the tomb passage today. But Shen Hao wanted to go out and find a weapon, and leaving the village meant another twenty li each way—for a total of forty li—costing quite a bit of time. He couldn’t possibly guard Shen Hao all the way. Yet he’d already promised to keep Shen Hao safe, and now his pride was caught in a bind.

Shen Hao smiled and said, "Nie, don’t worry about it. There aren’t any Tomb Beasts outside the village, and those Cloud Swords won’t actively stick to me. Worst case, I’ll just hide and lay low if anyone comes in—I won’t be in any danger."

Last night, Shen Hao had already thought everything through. Going out to find a weapon was just a reasonable excuse—easy for him to bring up, and also gave Nie Yun a way out.

Nie Yun had mentioned earlier that the reason he was still outside was simply to adjust his state and collect that cluster of Dark Cloud Sword. But Shen Hao figured Nie Yun definitely collected more than one Dark Cloud Sword in the Cloud Sword Domain. After that, Nie Yun would head into the tomb passage for sure.

Though risk and reward are directly proportional, there’s got to be a limit on risk. Outside the tomb, just the Tomb Beasts alone were more than Shen Hao could handle, never mind the dangers inside. Nie Yun said he’d protect him, but would he really follow through at the critical moment? Shen Hao didn’t buy it. Put himself in Nie Yun’s place—would he risk his life to save someone? Definitely not.

So rather than foolishly staking his life on someone else’s sense of justice for gains far beyond his capabilities, it’d be better to honestly stay in a safe spot. After yesterday, Shen Hao at least figured out the general safety of this Cloud Sword Domain. It was time to stop clinging to someone’s thigh and try surviving on his own.

But Nie Yun’s expression was grave—he shook his head and said, "Brother, you’ve been mixing in the mundane world for years, even served in the Xuanqing Guard, so you should know how treacherous people can be. Sect cultivators are the same. Maybe they hold back in the outside world, but faced with opportunities like this, most will become fanatical and ruthless. And since you’re so weak, just hiding or laying low won’t keep you safe.

Let’s put it this way: if someone finds out that your Cultivation is so low and you haven’t fallen into the Illusion Realm of the Cloud Sword Domain, the very first thing they’ll probably do is force you to hand over your Storage Bag. If you’re lucky, you just lose money to avoid disaster; if not, you’ll be silenced for good."

Shen Hao’s heart skipped a beat as he listened. True, up to now, his plan had been to play dumb and keep his head down. Because in his mind, sect cultivators always projected that transcendent aura—like Nie Yun here—and he instinctively imagined them as good people, ignoring human desires.

With Nie Yun’s reminder, Shen Hao had a sudden realization and thought to himself that he’d been naive. Danger wasn’t limited to the mundane world. There was no pure land in the sects, either. Here, faced with opportunities and treasures, human greed would be amplified to the extreme.

But... going into the tomb with Nie Yun wasn’t much of a solution either. If something went wrong, there’d be even less chance to back out.

"Did you bring that Little Gourd I gave you before?" ƒrēewebnovel.com

"I did." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

"Take it out."

Shen Hao didn’t know why Nie Yun suddenly asked this but obediently took the Little Gourd magical artifact Nie Yun had given him as a Token from his Storage Bag and handed it over.

Nie Yun took the Little Gourd, made a flurry of hand seals, and the array markings on the gourd changed ever so slightly. Then, using his finger like a blade, he carved a tiny "tree" character into the gourd.

Done, Nie Yun handed the modified Little Gourd back to Shen Hao. "I’ve redone this gourd. Now it’s no longer my personal Token, but serves as the credential for a Named Disciple of Old Tree Peak, Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute. If someone tries to stop you, just show them this. It’ll shield you from most people."

Most, but not all. Nie Yun didn’t say it, and Shen Hao didn’t ask. If he came across that "minority," he could only blame his own bad luck.

Shen Hao glanced at the Little Gourd in his hand, then carefully put it away and cupped his hands to Nie Yun in thanks. To be honest, Nie Yun really was a loyal guy. If their roles were switched, Shen Hao doubted he’d have done this much.

This man was worth befriending.

Not just the kind of friend you trade interests with, but one you could truly open your heart to.

Afterward, with Nie Yun accompanying him, Shen Hao left the main house. Along the way, they searched quite a few rooms, gathering a lot of food for the road. Shen Hao even stuffed a big water jar into his Storage Bag.

"Nie, let’s part here. Once things are settled, we’ll drink to our hearts’ content!"

"We definitely will. You still owe me twenty jars of Wuliangye—don’t think you can get out of that."

"No worries! I won’t stiff you— I’ll treat you to twenty more on top!"

"Pfft, talking big! Even if you had money, you couldn’t buy that wine! Enough, go on, take care of yourself."

No more sentimental words—the two cupped their hands in farewell. Nie Yun turned back to prepare for the tomb passage. Shen Hao then left Caiyuan Village, heading out to the wilderness, hoping for a chance to snag more Cloud Swords and bracing for the arrival of sect cultivators.

After exiting Caiyuan Village, Shen Hao walked back several li, found an open area, and climbed to the treetop to survey and get a grasp of his surroundings.

Outside Caiyuan Village, three hills encircled the area on three sides, with winding goat trails for roads. Only the southern side had a wide, direct path. So, Shen Hao had entered the Cloud Sword Domain from the south, and those swept in and trapped by the Illusion Realm were mostly to the south as well.

Some people caught in illusions had already started dying—and all had relatively high Cultivation. Using their cultivation, mind, and some of the Xuanqing Guard’s relevant training, they’d managed to break free of the Illusion Realm after a while, but without Shen Hao’s particular Soul Strength, breaking free meant instant death for them.

The Garrison forces hadn’t lost many yet, but Shen Hao specifically checked on them: every one of them was pale-faced. Stuck in the Illusion Realm, their minds couldn’t recover through sleep, and bodies couldn’t replenish energy through food. Another day or two and many would likely collapse.

Shen Hao dug a simple earthen stove where Cloud Swords were sparse, pulled out a big pot from his Storage Bag, poured in rice and water without washing it, and set it over a fire to cook slowly. Once the rice turned soft, he tossed in fresh greens from the nearby vegetable patch, pulled out the firewood, and let it simmer dry. In less than an hour, a big pot of rice was ready. Some of it was still a little undercooked, but at least it was edible—and it wasn’t for Shen Hao anyway. He was already doing all he could.

The pots and bowls were taken from village houses. Shen Hao filled a big bowl and started feeding the Garrison first—there were more ordinary folk among them, and they needed food more urgently.

He didn’t try to figure out who was most "worth" saving. Shen Hao didn’t want to do that. He just honestly gave food to whoever needed it most at the moment. With just over four hundred jin of rice in his Storage Bag, plus the water jar, that was already the maximum he could carry.

Save as many as he could while he could.