Volume One: The Wild Child Chapter Seventeen: Master of Mount Si

Morning light slowly rose, the sun's rays gently intoxicating. The death of Yu Wenlong drew a final line under ten years of suspicion and struggle.

On Zhang Yi’s face, no trace of joy or sorrow could be seen—no elation at having survived, nor the slightest delight in a victory delivered from the heavens. His eyes remained filled with desolation, undisturbed by any ripple of emotion.

Yu Baili descended to the ground with a flourish, looking smugly at Lin Changtian, awaiting praise. “There’s something wrong with you,” Lin Changtian said, a twitch at the corner of his eye. Yu Baili curled his lip, walked straight to Zhang Yi’s side, and looked him up and down. “So, you’re the second-in-command of Yishan, aren’t you? You look less like a bandit than before—now you’re no different from a dead man.”

Zhang Yi glanced at him, half-lidded eyes, and said nothing.

Yu Baili grinned widely. “What’s this? You’re about to become Yishan’s chief. Not happy about it?”

Zhang Yi lifted his head and replied calmly, “You are so powerful that wiping out Yishan would be a trifling matter. Since you’ve gone to such lengths, you must value the prowess of my brothers. Unfortunately, our best warriors have all perished here at Sishan. Those left behind are only women, children, and the weak. I fear your plans are in vain.”

Yu Baili rubbed his hands together, excitement shining in his eyes. “Not in vain at all! Catching a big fish like you today is worth it. Think about it—join us. We’re the official army.”

Zhang Yi was about to refuse, but Yu Baili cut him off, as if he knew what Zhang Yi was going to say. “I’m not inviting you. I’m giving you an opportunity—one that can save the families of the Yishan bandits.”

Zhang Yi frowned deeply. “A strong cultivator like you, my worthless life isn’t worth you lowering yourself to threaten the lives of women and children.”

Yu Baili yawned, speaking unhurriedly. “Enough with the theatrics. You’re too long-winded. Let me ask you: since Yishan had a cultivator like Yu Wenlong, why didn’t he just wipe out Sishan? Why drag so many people into this?”

Zhang Yi pondered for a long while, eyes narrowing, and realized the matter was far from simple. He looked at Yu Baili with grave seriousness and shook his head solemnly. “I don’t know.”

Yu Baili wore an expression of ‘nothing escapes my calculations’ and said slowly, “To the south of the Northern Territory, the only force that can rival Yishan is Sishan. For Yu Wenlong to dread them for ten years, there’s only one explanation: Sishan, too, has a cultivator, no weaker than Yu Wenlong. Following that logic, Yu Wenlong’s attack on Sishan this time may have been genuine—a last desperate gamble before stepping down, to clear the way for Yishan to dominate the southern North, rather than to harm you.”

“So?” Zhang Yi sounded slightly flustered.

Yu Baili yawned again and gave a cunning smile. “So, if you don’t join us and Yishan loses Yu Wenlong’s protection, when Sishan’s cultivator descends, by bandit rules, how many of your brothers’ families will survive unscathed?”

...

Atop Sishan, a force gathered like a giant python, as if to devour the sky. It soared to the heavens, descended to gather the clouds, so startling that in the Celestial Court above, only soft voices dared disturb the silence.

When all returned to calm, the magnificent canopy seemed forlorn, but what emerged was a beauty like the blooming lotus. The Celestial Court was silent, for the immortals’ elegance had been shattered by such overwhelming radiance.

It is said that a poem was left a thousand years ago: In the North, there lives a beauty, peerless and aloof. One glance topples a city; another glance topples a nation.

This matchless beauty, however, now revealed her splendor amid the Northern Territory’s bitter chill.

“Yu Wenlong is dead, and dealt with as if it were nothing.” The woman idly supported her brow with a slender hand.

“That’s right, Mistress. And that man possesses an exceedingly strong spiritual sense—I dared not approach for fear of being detected.” The servant replied respectfully, her hands never pausing in their work.

The woman rubbed her temple. “So, I’ll have to go down the mountain myself?”

“That’s correct, Mistress.”

“In that case, prepare warm water. I’ll bathe first.”

“Mistress, you’ve bathed more than a dozen times today. We’re running low on hot water.”

“We’ll make do. Just thinking about having to fight after going down the mountain makes me weary.”

...

“Well? Have you made up your mind?” Yu Baili looked expectantly at the deeply conflicted Zhang Yi, raising his eyebrows triumphantly at Lin Changtian.

Lin Changtian’s eye twitched. He thought to himself that forcing someone’s hand was Yu Baili’s strong suit, though, given Zhang Yi was a bandit to begin with, it seemed a fitting outcome. As Lin Changtian mused, Zhang Yi gritted his teeth, finally bowing to Yu Baili’s coercion. “I’ll do it. But you must promise at least to treat us like people.”

Lin Changtian shot Yu Baili a sidelong glance. “That’s what you get for never acting like a decent person—look how you’ve scared the kid.”

Yu Baili coughed awkwardly and waved his hand. “Don’t worry. I said we’re the official army. You know the Northern Border’s reputation—it’s solid.”

Had Yu Baili not mentioned it, Zhang Yi’s expression would have stayed the same, but now his face darkened. “Don’t you know the saying that circulates among the bandit gangs of the Northern Territory?”

Yu Baili tilted his head, curiosity all over his face.

“When there’s danger, the border troops hold the line; when there isn’t, the border troops are the greatest danger.”

With that, Zhang Yi quickly put some distance between himself and Yu Baili, as if afraid he’d be punished. Lin Changtian nodded in deep agreement, clearly resonating with this truth of the bandit world.

Yu Baili’s face flushed, and he coughed a few more times. “Enough joking. Since Zhang Yi is willing to cooperate, we should return to Yishan. There’s much to attend to.”

The two managed to stifle their laughter and returned, their expressions now solemn. It wasn’t that Yu Baili’s matters were so urgent, but when this man drew his blade, few in the world dared refuse him.

The three set out together for Yishan. Along the way, Yu Baili informed Zhang Yi of the turmoil the Awakening World had brought to the outside, while Zhang Yi described the power shifts in the southern North after the border’s destruction. As for Lin Changtian, he had little information to offer, so he regaled Zhang Yi with the origins of his status as the Heaven’s Chosen, spinning such a fantastic tale that the notorious bandit chief was left utterly convinced—especially since Lin Changtian carried himself with his hands behind his back and gazed skyward with the bearing of a master.

Suddenly, at the head of the group, Yu Baili pursed his lips, drew his blade, and Lin Changtian hurried to explain, “I wasn’t speaking ill of you—just airing a few complaints. Don’t draw your blade!”

Yu Baili shook his head. “Soon, a woman will arrive. You two had better guard your hearts.”

Lin Changtian’s eye twitched again. “Did you catch a whiff of her perfume, or is it her scent? You really don’t see yourself as human, do you?”

While Lin Changtian was still grumbling, the world ahead seemed to part for the arrival of a beauty from the mortal realm. The clouds withdrew, and the heavens themselves became a stage for grace and elegance.