Chapter 13: The Taoist

"Run!" I shouted, grabbing Lu Xi's arm as we hurriedly dashed back the way we came.

After taking several turns and running for a while, we suddenly noticed a faint light ahead. Clutching onto this glimmer of hope like a lifeline, we sprinted toward it.

Suddenly, a cold flash streaked before my eyes. I came to an abrupt halt—just in time to avoid having a sword pressed against my throat. If I had moved any faster, I might have been dead.

Lu Xi wasn't any luckier. I heard a sharp exclamation, followed by an "Ah!"—he had failed to stop in time and had crashed into a girl.

Lu Xi scrambled to his feet, hastily mumbling several apologies. In the firelight, his face seemed completely flushed. The girl he had knocked over stood up, puffing out her cheeks angrily, glaring at him as if she wanted to swallow him whole.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The young man holding a sword to my throat seemed surprised to see us but remained calm. He wielded a slightly aged-looking sword, its blade engraved with winding, rune-like patterns. Dressed in a flowing white robe, he had a refined and gentle appearance, with his hair tied up in a bun, exuding an ethereal aura.

"We… came here… to collect medicinal herbs to save a life," I stammered, worried that if I didn't answer quickly enough, the sword would pierce my throat.

"Hmph, you don't look like good people to me." The young girl beside him, wearing a purple robe and also with her hair tied in a bun, was small and delicate. She held a slender, thin-bladed sword in her hands and shot another angry glare at Lu Xi before turning back to the young man. "Senior Brother, don't believe them. There are no medicinal herbs here."

"We really are here to gather herbs to save someone." It wasn't difficult to explain, but it also wasn't something that could be clarified in just a few words. Though the girl looked angry, she hadn't called for an immediate attack. Seeing this, I mustered my courage and playfully nudged the sword blade with my finger. "How about this? Put the sword down, and I'll explain everything properly?"

The man in white studied Lu Xi and me for a moment, seemingly deciding that we weren't a threat, then withdrew his sword.

"This is what happened…" I briefly explained our mission to gather herbs to save Xiao Han, omitting any mention of the orcs. I simply stated that Xiao Han had been bitten by a spider.

"Liar! Where would you find a spider that big?" The young girl clearly didn't believe me. To be honest, I couldn't blame her—if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either. However, the white-robed man remained silent, frowning as he listened. Then, suddenly, he asked, "Did you say the spider was as big as a cow?"

Lu Xi and I nodded vigorously.

"I believe you." To our surprise, the white-robed man accepted our story without hesitation. His junior sister was about to protest, but he stopped her. "On our way in, I noticed the corpses of scorpions and cave larvae. I think they're telling the truth."

Then, turning back to us, he asked, "May I know your names, heroes?"

"I'm Fang Zheng, but everyone calls me Azheng. This is my good friend, Lu Xi. We're from the border village of Dragon Guard's Homeland." I wasn't used to being called a "hero"—if anything, the title made me a bit embarrassed. How was I a hero?

"And you? Who are you, and why are you here?" While they were curious about us, I was even more curious about them.

"My name is Qing Ming, and this is my junior sister, Chen Xi. We come from the Taoist Academy, and we are here for a mission she must complete," Qing Ming said politely, cupping his hands in greeting. Lu Xi and I mimicked the gesture awkwardly. Compared to Qing Ming's refined etiquette, we were undoubtedly a couple of country bumpkins.

"The Taoist Academy?" Lu Xi asked, glancing at me. I froze for a moment before recalling what Old Man Yu had told us about the battle against the demonic tribe a hundred years ago. The great demon lord had been sealed away, and a Taoist Academy had been built over the site, named the Bairi Daoist Sanctuary.

Qing Ming then provided us with more details about the academy. Just as Old Man Yu had described, after the battle, the demon tribe was forced into a vast thicket of shrubbery filled with caves and tunnels. The Dragon Guards pursued them relentlessly, leading to a final battle against the great demon lord. Two Dragon Guards perished alongside the demon lord, while the surviving one returned and established the Taoist Academy at the edge of the shrubland, sealing the entrance with Taoist magic. This Dragon Guard became known as the Taoist Venerable.

"If the demon lord was killed, why the need for a seal?" I asked.

"Although they perished together, the Taoist Venerable always believed that the great demon lord was not truly dead—or rather, that they lacked the means to completely destroy it," Qing Ming said, a hint of concern in his expression.

"Not completely destroy it?" I found this hard to believe. It was like the nine-tailed cat demon we had encountered—if nothing else worked, couldn't they just burn it?

"Correct. But as for the details of that battle and the exact extent of the demon lord's power, I do not know. Perhaps it is simply beyond my comprehension," Qing Ming replied with certainty.

"You mentioned a mission. What exactly are you here to do?" Lu Xi asked.

"Yes, under the Taoist Venerable's orders, Junior Sister Chen Xi must retrieve an item from this orc cave," Qing Ming explained.

"The Taoist Venerable?" I was shocked. "He's still alive?" How old would he be by now?

"Oh, you misunderstand," Qing Ming said, smiling. "The Taoist Venerable is merely a title, referring to the leader of our academy. The current Taoist Venerable is the third of his lineage."

He continued, "Disciples of the Taoist Academy begin by training their spiritual power and physical endurance. Once their spiritual power reaches a certain level, they can learn Taoist spells. As their skills grow, they can even summon mutated creatures to fight for them."

"Spiritual power?"

"Summoning?"

Lu Xi and I asked simultaneously. We truly were just a couple of country bumpkins, completely ignorant of such things. When Zhang Yi had decided to study magic, we had been surprised, but we had no real concept of what a mage was. Now, hearing Qing Ming's description of the Taoist profession, we were utterly astonished.

For Lu Xi, the mention of "spiritual power" struck a chord, likely due to his own training in the Spirit Sword Technique. For me, it was the summoning aspect that piqued my curiosity.

"Hm?" Qing Ming looked at Lu Xi with interest. "You've trained in Spirit Sword Technique?"

Lu Xi nodded.

"No wonder your aura feels different from his. You may not be a disciple of the Taoist Academy, but your spiritual power is remarkably similar to ours."

"Senior Brother, are you saying he also has spiritual power?" Chen Xi was clearly skeptical.

Qing Ming merely nodded slightly and turned to me. "The reason we are here is that Junior Sister Chen Xi has reached a bottleneck in her training. She is now eligible to learn the Summon Mutated Skeleton spell, but according to our tradition, she must complete a mission assigned by the Taoist Venerable before she can be taught the spell."

I became more curious. "What exactly is this mission?"

Chen Xi answered before Qing Ming could, "It's simple. We need to find the King's Tomb on the second level of this orc cave and retrieve an item from it."

"This… is simple?" I didn't think so at all. "The paths in this cave are extremely complex, and it's filled with all sorts of strange creatures."

As I said this, I suddenly remembered the two skeleton monsters we had encountered earlier.

"Right! We were running away just now because there were two skeleton monsters ahead!"

"Skeleton monsters?" Both Qing Ming and Chen Xi looked surprised. Chen Xi turned to Qing Ming and asked, "Senior Brother, no one mentioned anything about monsters being here when we came."

"That's right!" Qing Ming nodded. "I've been here more than once. The cave paths are indeed complicated, but I've never encountered skeleton monsters—at most, there were just some scorpions and bats."

"You're not trying to trick us, are you?" Chen Xi turned her head sharply, her big, watery eyes glaring at me and Lu Xi.

Under her intense stare, Lu Xi's face turned slightly red. He hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head, insisting we weren't lying.

"Maybe we just ran fast enough to shake them off," I added.

After speaking, I started contemplating our next move. Should Lu Xi and I leave, or should we continue with them? This was an awkward situation. Qing Ming seemed quite powerful, and Chen Xi's Taoist abilities had also reached a certain level. Compared to them, we were probably much weaker. If we stayed, we might only slow them down.

"We've already collected all the medicinal herbs we need. Maybe we should just head out?" I suggested to Lu Xi.

Lu Xi hesitated and didn't respond immediately. Just as the silence was starting to get uncomfortable, Qing Ming suddenly spoke.

"Brother Lu Xi, I would like to invite you to join our Taoist Academy. Would you be willing?"

The moment Qing Ming finished speaking, Lu Xi didn't answer right away but instead looked at me. Although the torchlight was dim, I could still see a flicker of both desire and reluctance in his eyes. He was waiting for my response.

That look of desire—he wanted to improve his mental power further. The Taoist Academy, which specialized in spiritual energy and Taoist techniques, had already piqued his interest when Qing Ming first mentioned it. Now, being personally invited by Qing Ming, he was undoubtedly tempted.

But at the same time, Zhang Yi had just left us. If Lu Xi also left, I would truly be alone.

Sometimes, a single glance between close brothers could express countless emotions. Lu Xi hadn't responded to Qing Ming's question, probably because he was conflicted. The more I saw his hesitation, the more I didn't want to make things harder for him. He had the right to pursue a better future.

"I think… you should go." Pushing aside my reluctance and inner turmoil, I forced myself to say it with courage. But the moment the words left my mouth, I felt a bitter taste in my heart.

"But you…" Lu Xi started but didn't finish his sentence.

I chuckled. "Come on, I'm a grown man—what are you worrying about me for? There's nothing to worry about. If one day you master Taoist techniques and become a formidable spellcaster, I'll be proud of you."

I felt like this was the most sentimental thing I had ever said in my life. To cover my embarrassment, I reached out and patted his shoulder as a show of sincerity.

"Perhaps we don't need to rush into a decision." Qing Ming seemed to have noticed the complicated emotions between us and spoke again. "If you don't mind, the two of you can accompany us to the King's Tomb on the second level of this cave. If we encounter danger, we can watch each other's backs. Along the way, I can also tell you more about what it means to be a Taoist ."

I honestly didn't want to go deeper into the cave—who knew what horrors lay below? But now wasn't the best time to make a final decision. If Lu Xi chose to join the Taoist Academy, he would most likely go to the King's Tomb with Qing Ming and Chen Xi, while I would have to leave alone. At that point, he probably wouldn't feel comfortable letting me go alone, and I wouldn't be at ease letting him go with two strangers either.

Thinking this through, I realized that Qing Ming's suggestion was indeed the best choice. If we traveled together as a group of four, it would be much safer. Plus, I could take this opportunity to learn more about the Taoist profession. And honestly, I had been wondering just how strong Qing Ming really was—if we ran into the skeletons again, I was curious to see how he would handle them.

"Alright!" I turned to Lu Xi. "What do you think? Let's go down together and come back out together."

Lu Xi nodded.

With that, Lu Xi and I each lit a torch, and the four of us continued exploring the cave.

Qing Ming was indeed familiar with this place—he even pulled out a rough map and compared it with the paths as we moved forward. Before long, we came across a dark, gaping hole in the uneven walls of the cave.

"This is the passage leading to the second level," Qing Ming said, pointing at the pitch-black opening.

"Hmph, I told you—there's no such thing as skeletons carrying axes," Chen Xi scoffed.

Strangely enough, despite all the twists and turns in this cave, we hadn't seen any sign of the two skeletons we had encountered earlier. Who knew where they had gone? Since there was no proof, there was no point arguing. Lu Xi and I simply kept silent.

"Let's take a short rest before heading down," Qing Ming said calmly, choosing not to respond to Chen Xi's skepticism. He didn't seem particularly fazed by the mention of skeletons.

With that, they took out some food and water from their packs. I noticed that although their bags looked different from our Qiankun Pouches, they functioned similarly—no matter how much they took out, the bags showed no sign of changing shape.

After a brief rest, we stepped forward and descended into the second level of the orc cave.