The Forsaken-Grade Cultivator
Chapter 33: Ghost

Chapter 33: Ghost

"I am going to kill you,"

"....!"

"W-wha—eouk!"

The girl tried to speak, but her sentence ended in a grotesque fit of blood. She looked up at Ying, seemingly searching for something. But....

’No way... Don’t tell me.... Is he really serious...?!’ She thought.

Ying opened his palms, then stretched out his hand, causing the frightened mercenary girl to flinch backwards..... But of course, she didn’t get anywhere with that.

"....Unless, you give it to me." Ying said simply, his tone cold and even.

In response, the young mercenary struggled desperately. Only after nearly a full minute of pathetic convulsing, did she finally manage to wake out a word... Or phrase.... Or whatever.

"What.... What do you...want?" She asked, amidst coughs and strained gasps.

The fact that she was having a hard time was (literally) painfully obvious, but Ying couldn’t care less about that. He was already making a huge compromise by not killing her right then and there....

’First things first, I must secure that thing.’ Such was his thinking.

"Don’t play dumb. I know that you must have come with at least a healing potion or two. Hand them over. All of them." Ying said icily while staring at the girls’ head. The memory of Jiang Chu recovering from his injuries flashed his mind.

Before this entire.... debacle, he’d hought about every last thing that had happened to him long and hard. And thus, was able to induce that back then..... what happened was most definitely the work of some sort restorative item.

Of course, there was a possibility that he was wrong. There was also the possibility that the young mercenary would either lie or deny possession of any such item.

But that was fine.

He could just kill her and pat her down. If she turned out to be speaking the truth, that was fine too. If she turned out to really be lying, even better.

All in all, there was nothing to lose here. He was only trying to appease his humanity, in fact. Besides, who knows what sort of trouble killing TOO many NPCs would cause....

This game was mostly still unknown territory, after all.

The young girl whimpered.

And then forced herself to move her arm in an unnerving display of will power. She reached into her breast pocket, and pulled out three potions. All three glowed with different colours as descriptive panels appeared over them.

’Yes! This is it!’ Ying rejoiced, holding up the bottles to his face.

In summary, he was currently in possession of two Health Recovery Potions, and one Fatigue Recovery Brew. All were of the Earth grade.

He smiled, and downed one of the Health Recovery vials, as well as the single Fatigue Recovery mix. It tasted disgustingly bland. Ying groaned.

Ding!

[’Good’ Substance has been discovered! Purifying...!]

[You have gained 10 Qi!]

[Your Vitality recovers!]

[Your Stamina recovers!]

[Would you like to view the Constituents List; Y/N]

Ying’s eyes skimmed through the horde of messages and he swiftly opened up his Substance List. His Physique gave him the power to Cultivate Qi from merely eating, but it wasn’t without imperfections.

It was unquestionably an amazing ability, but it had its tiny flaws—

First off, although it gave him quite the edge, Ying quickly realized just how faulty it would have been had he not had the system. His taste buds were rather concise, but it could not acutely discern EVERY single Ingredient.

It was a perfectly advantageous Physique for a player with the help of a system, but it simply wouldn’t be as remarkable in the hands of an NPC.

Moreover, there was no History for the Substances he consumed. Once he dismissed the initial panel, then that was it. All that information would be gone into nothingness, so he had to be very thorough in his memorization.

The second, and perhaps the most glaring flaw of them both, was the fact that his Physique forced Adaptation alongside immunity.

When he took in the same Substance several times, his body would grow accustomed to it, drastically reducing the amount of Qi he gained. Untill, eventually, degrading to providing only the immunity benefit.

That explained why he wasn’t actively gaining Qi from merely breathing in. After all, the atmosphere was fairly saturated with Qi wasn’t it?

Yes, it was.

But his body had grown too accustomed to it long before his Physique had even awakened. So he couldn’t gain Qi from it.

Same thing could be said about the [Red Cyst Leaves]. It had stopped providing him with stat benefits after consuming it the first time, and by now, it had also stopped providing him with Qi benefits, simply turning a faded green from its original red.

"Sigh."

With a sigh, Ying committed the potion’s recipes to memory, then confirmed his most recent system messages. After which he turned to face the mercenary, her face was still kissing dirt.

His expression flattered, perhaps a last minute of contemplation? Before he sighed again. Then, feeling the energy within him recover greatly, he jumped to his feet, walked to the sealed window, and opened it.

Cool breeze immediately flooded the room.

And he took a deep breath. So did the young girl. Her face contorted into a feral mix of relief and greed. Ignoring this, Ying asked her a question.

"Oi. What’s your name?"

The young girl didn’t answer immediately—she was too busy savouring the colourless and odourless gas of sweet, sweet respite. Eventually, she regained herself, then responded:

"It’s Mei... Zhao Mei."

"...I see. Can I call you Mei Mei then?"

At the question, Zhao Mei furrowed her brows. Her expression was a strange combination of fear, relief, rage and disappointment. Ying could only infer from her silence, that the answer was No.

’Hmm... It’s probably because I killed those friends of hers. How regrettable. But as they say, all is fair in love and war. I think it should be more pronounced in this case, considering it’s a mixture of both,’ Ying thought with an ominous foreboding, as his gaze returned to the flinching mercenary.

"Ok then Zhao Mei. Have this (Ying tossed her the last Health Potion), take it in about twenty minutes, when the effects have drastically worn down. You should be able to move in about an hour, less if you are really lucky." Ying said.

He didn’t say anything else after that.

Then, while the the lone survivor watched, he shamelessly robbed the dead assassins of all they were worth. Retrieving a nice spear, a pair of daggers, a sword, and a bunch of recovery potions—all of which were of the Earth grade— he moved out of the room.

It was quite worrying, this... habit of his, but with any luck, this was merely temporary.

’Huh? Hey! This is NOT a phase....! Wait, No! That’s not right... Ugh, what the hell is happening to me-!’

Ying’s thoughts trailed pointlessly, until he was abruptly interrupted by an unexpected question. He stopped moving, and tilted his head.

"W-where are you going?" Mei asked, her frightful tone hinting at something dreadful. Of course, Ying had no way of knowing what that something was exactly.

"Who, me? Hmm, I wonder... Well, if I had to put it in words – like, really had to – then, I’d say that I’m about to make a really bad decision..."

At his words, Zhao Mei tried to tilt her head out of confusion, but failed. Her body hadn’t recovered to that point just yet.

"...Yup, a really bad decision. A horrible one, really. Probably one of the worst ones I’ve ever made. Hell, it might even be the death of me..." Ying shrugged, and then fell into a short silence, seemingly thinking about his next words.

Suddenly, he grinned, "...But nevertheless, I think it would at least make for a really great story. So I’m still going to do it, if for nothing else, then the lore."

"...!"

Zhao Mei fell silent.

Her mind spun as she theorized different unintended meanings to Ying’s light hearted statement.

"I... I see." She said, eventually. Her tone sounded a bit different from earlier. Was this perhaps.... Hate? Ying on the other hand, didn’t really care, and thus didn’t stick around to f

He left the room.

’It’s about time I finished up business here,’ He thought as he strutted across the empty hallways of the spacious mansion.

His destination was the hidden bunker, which was innocuously hidden away underneath the unassuming Library. How did he know all of this?

Well, let’s just say he resorted to some... eccentric methods.

Ying summoned the Rising Feather, and switched out his short sword for Captain’s. The combination was slowly becoming more and more familiar to him, shaping his versatile fighting style.

’Let’s make this into a good show, shall we? A display befitting the debut of the spiteful Loser from Hell.’ Ying beamed evilly as he walked.

Ding!

[Your Talent trembles greatly! There is a High Chance of an Awakening!]

The system sent him a message, but he merely glanced at it for a short second before looking away, damning thoughts filled up his mind...

...Thoughts that were better left unsaid, for the sake of all things good.

*****

Ba-Thump! Ba-Thump!

Xian Shan’s heart beat wildly, as she sat in the desolate, dimly lit room in the secret bunker underneath the library.

Unable to do anything but wait, the fair Lady of the Xian family bid her time in morbid anxiety.

Her flickering expressions were testament to the inner turmoil unfolding within her very soul. She was clearly frightened, and it was all because of a single individual... His smirking face still filled her with tumultuous uncertainty.

Was she suddenly feeling guilty for what she had done?

Perhaps she was.

But it was already too late for that.

Now, she could only wait for her steward to come, and bring her news of the deed being done.

It was regretful, truly.

Although she didn’t really hold Ying in that high of a regard, it didn’t change the fact that he had still saved her life, once. Jiang Chu also admired him, even thinking of the young stranger as a dear brother of his.

’Jiang Chu...’

For now, what would happen here today would be kept secret. But it wouldn’t remain as such forever. She imagined a bright, sunny day, by that time she and Jiang Chu would have already gotten married.

And then, the news would resurface. Striking their family of three kids like a dreadful storm. On that forsaken day, how would Jiang Chu react?

She wondered.

Would he hate her and stop loving her altogether......Or would he defy all odds and continue dotting on her flawed self?

Xian Shan’s heart ached.

Nevertheless, she had done what had to be done. That fact was her sole consolation...

’I’m not a bad person... Yes, I’m definitely NOT a bad person. He’s the bad guy, that Ying... He’s the evil one.... Jiang Chu would understand me, right?’

She was anxious, extremely so.

But all her nerves was met with nothing but a deafening, resounding, lot of nothing but utter silence. The strange quiet felt intrusive, and ever-present. It was unnerving, even....

In an attempt to confirm if she was still alive, Xian Shan moved.

Klop!

The underground bunker was built with the intentions of keeping intruders out, and ironically, works just as well while trapping people in. It was quite spacious and there was but a single door, which served as both entrance and exit.

There were guards standing watch there—on the steps that directly led into the room—Qing Lo didn’t install more than two elites, as that would make things all the more conspicuous.

Xian Shan walked though the partly dark expanse.

Klop! Klop!

The poor lighting served a pointless hindrance, as Cultivators had senses which were far superior to that of ordinary humans. She reached the iron door, and knocked gently, then waited.

Knock knock knock

Three knocks followed soon after, signifying that a guard was still alive and well, Xian Shan heaved a sigh of relief. Then leaning against the wall, she spoke, her voice shaky and nervous:

"I... I’m scared."

In all honesty, it wasn’t at all right for a ruler to say such things to her servant. But Xian Shan damned all that to hell.

The atmosphere was suffocating, and there was an ominous foreboding about all this,

’Aren’t they finished with their task? Why is it taking so long?’ She thought, not even considering the possibility of Ying’s comeuppance. She sighed.

Knock. Knock.... Knock.

Three knocks again, this time in a unique succession resounded across the room. Xian Shan’s expression brightened visibly. She knew what that meant....

’Finally! It’s over!’

Xian Shan breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled out a jade from her robes. Then knocking once more, she counted down to three and simultaneously placed it on the lockless door, causing it to creak open.

Indeed, the long night was about to end.

But not at all in the way that the fair lady had imagined it.

"Qing Lo—! What?!"

Her expression drastically shifted. From anxious excitement, to blood curdling dread, as the face which had appeared was not the one she was expecting....

She quickly tried to scurry away, but at that moment, something slipped her, and she felt down on her arse.

She looked down.

It was blood.

The blood of her supposed guards stained the stone. Her gaze went back up.

She instantly regretted that action, as her heart was thrust into the depths of primordial despair. Her hair stood on end and her pupils dilated. She fretted visibly.

Before her face, was a young man. Black haired, black eyed, his visage was all too familiar. But the thing that struck her the most was his expression.

He was smiling.

Seemingly genuinely.

But the light hearted gesture, to Xian Shan at least, resembled the embodiment of death and depravity. It caused her to tremble greatly.

And then, the man went ahead and did something even more.... Insidious. He winked.

In response, Xian Shan’s very soul dropped, and fear seemingly constricted her blood vessels. She went pale, like a ghost... Or, someone who had just seen one...

A ghost...

A creature that shouldn’t be existing in this place, at this time. It was the perfect description.

Her strong reaction was not because of the supposed ghosts’ handsomeness, however. Instead, it was a rendition of a truly harrowing premonition.

"Been a long minute, hasn’t it? Xian Shan," The ghost spoke, its cherry tone laced with an incomprehensible amount of mischief, "When did you get back from the ’Sect’?"