Lies

They moved through the forest. Yuchi Meizhen was following behind. Huan Wei was walking with intense thoughts. He was really scared of this girl. He couldn't do anything wrong. He had to take her somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. So he came to the border of the forest.

"I saw him here," he said, looking at her. It was a very ordinary area. There was nothing but trees, stones and grass. Yuchi Meizhen looked around calmly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Huan Wei gave a short answer but regretted it. "I saw him here. He was heading inland."

Yuchi Meizhen took out a piece of paper from her storage ring. It was a map with sides of almost a meter. She examined it for a while. Then she put it back in the ring. "Was he holding anything when you saw him?" she asked.

"I don't remember clearly, but I don't think so." The young man was becoming increasingly suspicious of this girl. Her actions did not match her intentions. She must have guessed that her friend was dead. Then what was she really looking for?

"What can you tell me about this forest, Huan Wei?"

The young man thought for a while. "The outer areas are mostly inhabited by simple animals. As you go deeper, you encounter natural monsters. As far as I know, there are not many plants in this forest that can be used for alchemy. If there were, other cultivators would flock here. Otherwise it is a normal forest."

"You said you rarely meet others." Yuchi Meizhen looked at him. "Why do you think they come to this forest?"

Huan Wei shrugged as he raised his hands. "I have no idea. There are definitely things beyond me."

She wandered around the area for a while. Then she discovered the cliff and stood on the edge. She looked down at the cliffs and the ocean below. Huan Wei was behind her. If she didn't have her flying sword, he could have pushed her over and killed her, but she had it. Even if he started to run, he couldn't escape. He felt he was getting into more and more trouble. He felt he had to distract her. He had not to give her time to think things through.

He approached her and said, "May I ask you something, senior sister?" Yuchi Meizhen did not turn her head towards him and continued to watch the cliff.

"Ask away."

Huan Wei took a deep breath. "What is the Great Sword Palace like? I've been curious about it since I was a little boy. You're the first disciple I've seen."

"It's not as perfect as you think." Her voice was cold. "It's a place where everyone tries to step on each other's toes, pulling each other down. From the students to the elders, they are all drowning in greed."

Huan Wei thought he had hit on a useful point. "But it is one of the four great sects of the continent. Isn't competition normal?"

"Are you planning to enter the sect?"

This sudden question silenced Huan Wei. It was obvious that he could not enter the sect. He was still in the Traveler stage. Who knows how long it would be before he even reached the time when he would choose a path? "I... Maybe one day."

"You are young, Huan Wei." Yuchi Meizhen turned to him. "Maybe you don't have a pleasant life. Work hard, though. If you manage to enter one of the Lifelink Realms before you turn 18, you can enter the sect."

"The Lifelink Realm? Isn't it enough to choose a path?"

The girl left the cliff edge and walked into the forest. "How old do you think I am, Huan Wei?"

The young man looked at her. "You're only a few years older than me."

"I'm 27."

"What? 27 years old? That's impossible. I'm 14."

"This is the benefit of the Lifelink Realm. Your body's aging slows down. Your life span increases. So you have time to go further."

This talk had lost its purpose. In trying to distract her, Huan Wei had distracted himself. Could life span be extended? He had never heard of such a thing in Bitter Sea Town. How could this girl be 27 years old? Or was she making fun of Huan Wei. "Please don't make fun of me."

Yuchi Meizhen took a deep breath. "This world is full of endless opportunities if you are strong enough to explore it. There are more ways to get stronger than you could ever want, but our job is not to talk about that. We must find Gongsun Xiasheng."

The girl began to move into the depths. Huan Wei followed her. Because there were so many things he was curious about. "So does everyone in the sect have one of these flying swords? How do you learn to ride them?"

She replied as she walked away. "You do some work and earn crystal stones. Then you trade them."

"And the techniques? Do you have access to very powerful techniques?"

"Huan Wei..." Her voice grew cold again. "You'll agree with me that I'm not here to talk."

All the young man's excitement was gone in an instant. "I'm sorry. It was just the first time I had the chance to talk to someone like you. I got a little excited."

Huan Wei is back to his old self. This girl didn't seem patient. He still managed to divert her attention away from the cliff, but where they were going... Yuchi Meizhen was heading towards the place where Gongsun Xiasheng was killed. Huan Wei felt uneasy again. "He didn't come this way," he told her.

"How do you know?"

"He didn't seem to be following the cliff."

Yuchi Meizhen looked at Huan Wei in silence for a few seconds. The young man was also looking at her without saying anything else. He had to keep his eyes on her. He couldn't give away that he was lying.

"Don't you think you're overestimating a bit for someone who has only seen him for a moment?" Huan Wei swallowed involuntarily as her brows furrowed slightly.

"I'm just trying to speed things up."

But she walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. She was looking directly into his eyes. "Tell me, Huan Wei. All of it."

The young man twisted sideways as she squeezed his shoulder a little. "Okay, okay... I'll tell you."

Yuchi Meizhen let him go. She was still looking at him angrily. There was not much Huan Wei could do.

"'He didn't want anyone to know where he was going," the young man said. "He paid me to keep quiet."

"Don't worry. At this rate you will be silent forever." Huan Wei took a few steps back when the girl walked towards him. "Speak."

"He was going this way. He gave me some copper coins. It was enough to keep me quiet. I'm a poor man. I needed every copper coin. I was scared when you suddenly came and asked about him. I have nothing to do with him. If he's your enemy, please don't hurt me. I am just a simple hunter." He raised his arms and shielded himself.

She stopped and looked at him with contemptuous eyes. "You are lying. I can tell by looking at you that you have seen Gongsun Xiasheng again. If you don't take me there, you will fly off the cliff."

Huan Wei glanced furtively toward the cliff. Was the void into which he had thrown everyone else going to be his grave too? Did you really reap what you sow?

He thought he was paying attention to everything. His arms were raised, his voice was unnecessarily thin, he spoke with fear. How had this girl understood? Had real fear made him make a mistake? Had he not acted his part well enough?

"Okay, I'll take you there."

"Start walking."

Huan Wei went ahead. He was moving at a fast pace. At the same time, he thought about what to do. If he took her to the place where he had killed Gongsun Xiasheng, she would probably find out about the murder. So he slightly diverted his way away from the cliff.

"Don't think about changing your way, Huan Wei."

Yuchi Meizhen instructed from behind. The girl's attention must have been very high. She understood Huan Wei's every move. Would he be able to get out of this?

"I was just trying to remember."

"Stop talking, keep walking."

The young man became silent. He gritted his teeth. Why did he have to deal with this at the beginning of the path? Was he going to be killed as soon as he passed a stage? This was unacceptable.

He strained his mind. He had to come up with something. There had to be a lie out there somewhere that this girl would believe. Too bad he didn't know her. He hadn't completely figured out her personality. He didn't know what her purpose was. These things prevented him from coming up with a decent lie.

Huan Wei walked to the place where he had finally killed the man. As his steps continued, he took a quick look around. There were the tracks he had left on the ground with his knees. He hadn't paid any attention that day, but the tree that Gongsun Xiasheng had leaned against was stained with blood. Yuchi Meizhen noticed it too.

"Stop."

Huan Wei stopped. He turned around and pretended not to know. "He was heading this way."

"Be quiet." The girl approached the tree and looked at the dried blood stains. It was clear that more than a week had passed. A heavily wounded man had been sitting here. Then her gaze turned to the ground. She examined the dirt. It was not difficult for her to see two small pits ahead. She hurried over and looked at the small pits. They were right at the edge of the cliff. She turned her head and looked at Huan Wei. The young man's heart was beating like crazy. He could feel his legs trembling, but he tried not to show it.

Yuchi Meizhen was looking at him as if she was thinking about something. Then she turned her head back to the cliff. Huan Wei took a deep breath. She must have decided he wasn't that strong. That was a good sign, but the girl was looking at the cliff still.

"How often do your fishermen cast a net?"

Huan Wei answered quickly. "As far as I know, every few days."

"Have you heard any rumors of something strange caught in the net?"

"No, I haven't."

Yuchi Meizhen looked down for a few more seconds. Then she swung her hand from right to left and summoned the flying sword. After mounting it, she turned her head to Huan Wei. "Get on."

The young man wanted to try his luck. "I don't know anything more than that, can I go home now?"

The girl frowned again. "I told you to get on."

Huan Wei reluctantly climbed onto the sword and held on to her. The flying sword took off and started to move down the cliff.

"Let's go to your fishermen. Let's see what's caught in the net."