Sword Sect, Tieu Kiem

Inside the cabin, Tieu Lan heard that sound, and her face immediately went pale.

“Young Master!”

She threw open the door and rushed outside.

Most of the poisonous smoke on the deck had already dispersed, but a sharp, fishy stench still lingered in the river breeze.

Two bodies lay near the bow.

Blood spread across the wooden planks.

Moc Luc’s black saber had fallen to one side.

Moc Thach’s iron mace had rolled close to the side of the boat, its head still stained with blood.

And Hao Nhien lay in the middle of the deck.

His face was pale.

His lips were slightly purple.

One hand still weakly gripped the edge of his robe as if he wanted to push himself up, but he no longer had the strength.

Tieu Lan ran over and dropped to her knees beside him.

“Young Master, what happened? Please don’t scare me…”

Hao Nhien opened his eyes with great difficulty.

He wanted to tell her to go back inside, but his throat tightened.

The poison had sealed his meridians, leaving the spiritual qi in his body as though trapped behind a layer of cold mud.

Every time he tried to circulate qi, his chest went numb with pain, and his breath would not sink properly.

He could only force out a few words:

“Don’t… stay outside too long…”

Tieu Lan bit her lip.

“I know. I’ll take you inside right away.”

She wrapped both arms around Hao Nhien’s shoulders and tried to help him up.

The young man’s body felt much heavier than she had expected.

She staggered and nearly fell with him, but still gritted her teeth and helped him step by step toward the cabin.

Hao Nhien drifted between consciousness and darkness.

In the last fragment of awareness he still had, he tried to send a faint thought toward the Cosmic Ark.

Downstream.

Keep going downstream.

He did not know whether the vessel received it.

But the next moment, darkness swallowed him.

When Hao Nhien woke again, he had no idea how long he had been unconscious.

The first thing he noticed was the scent of medicinal herbs.

Not a strong medicinal odor.

But the faint fragrance of Clearheart Liquid mixed with old wood and river dampness.

He opened his eyes.

The low ceiling of the cabin came into view.

Outside, the light had already turned the pale red of sunset.

Beside the bed, Tieu Lan sat on a small wooden stool, her head resting against the edge of the mattress, one hand still clutching the corner of his blanket.

She was deeply asleep.

Probably exhausted beyond measure.

Hao Nhien watched her for a while.

A deep sense of guilt rose in his heart.

Lately, Tieu Lan had followed him from one danger to the next.

There had been very little peace.

Far too much fear.

Every time he encountered danger, she was the one forced to sit beside him and watch.

Unable to bear the pain for him.

Unable to truly help him drive back the enemy.

That feeling could not have been easy.

Hao Nhien tried to sit up.

The moment he moved, his entire body felt as heavy as stone.

He tried circulating spiritual qi.

Nothing happened.

His meridians felt frozen.

His dantian was still there.

The spiritual qi was still there.

But everything had been locked down by a cold poisonous force.

The qi could not move outward, nor could it complete a full circulation.

Hao Nhien frowned.

Worse than he had expected.

This poison did not seem designed to kill immediately.

Its clearest effect was to seal the meridians, preventing true qi from circulating.

For a cultivator, in his current situation, that was almost more dangerous than an external wound.

He had nearly been reduced to an ordinary person.

Hao Nhien lay still and forced himself to think clearly.

Moc Luc and Moc Thach were dead.

But Moc Hoa had escaped.

That man was cunning.

Patient.

And he had already realized Hao Nhien possessed a method that could affect the soul, while the boat itself was also unusual.

From what Hao Nhien had seen, there was a very real chance Moc Hoa would return.

And if he did, he would not underestimate Hao Nhien again.

Hao Nhien turned toward the cabin door.

Outside was quiet.

Too quiet.

He gently pulled his hand free from the blanket.

Tieu Lan stirred slightly, her brows drawing together, but did not wake.

Hao Nhien pushed himself upright, gritted his teeth, stood, put on his outer robe, and opened the door.

The evening wind blew against him.

The smell of blood on the deck had faded somewhat.

But it was still there.

The two bodies remained where they had fallen.

There was no sign that anyone else had boarded the boat while he was unconscious.

Hao Nhien let out a quiet breath.

At least while he had been unconscious, danger had not immediately returned.

He walked over to Moc Luc and removed the ring from his hand.

Then he searched Moc Thach and found a storage pouch tied at his waist.

Even those few movements made his breathing heavier.

But the bodies could not remain on the boat.

Blood.

Smell.

Traces.

All of it could bring trouble.

Hao Nhien rested several times as he slowly dragged the two bodies toward the stern.

Without spiritual qi supporting him, what would normally have been a trivial task now left his arms trembling.

Only after a long while—

Splash.

Splash.

The two bodies fell one after another into the Thanh Van River.

The water swallowed them quickly.

In this cultivation world, cultivators dying in battle and corpses drifting downriver were probably nothing unusual.

But Hao Nhien stood there watching the water for a long time.

He did not regret it.

If he had not killed them, he and Tieu Lan would have been the ones to die.

But not regretting it did not mean it felt light.

After a while, he scooped up a few buckets of river water and washed away the most obvious bloodstains on the deck.

Then he bent down and gathered the medicinal herbs Moc Thach had ripped from the soil, placing them back into their pots as best he could.

Several roots had already been crushed.

They might not survive.

But he still put them back.

When Tieu Lan woke, at least she would not have to see them scattered all over the deck.

By the time he finished, Hao Nhien was nearly exhausted.

When he returned to the cabin, Tieu Lan had just opened her eyes.

The moment she saw him, she rushed over.

“Young Master!”

She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

Tears immediately began to fall.

“You’re awake… you scared me to death…”

Hao Nhien raised a hand and gently stroked her hair.

“I’m fine.”

Tieu Lan looked up at him with red eyes.

Hao Nhien paused.

Then corrected himself.

“I’m alive.”

“But the poison still hasn’t been cleared.”

Tieu Lan looked both angry and worried.

“Why didn’t you wake me when you got up?”

“You even went outside by yourself?”

“I wanted to clean the deck first.”

“But you’re poisoned!”

“That’s exactly why I had to do it quickly before anyone else came.”

Tieu Lan had no answer.

She only bit her lip.

More tears fell.

Hao Nhien sighed softly.

“I made you worry again.”

“Sorry.”

Tieu Lan shook her head.

She did not want to hear an apology.

But she did not know what else to say.

After a long while, Hao Nhien finally spoke.

“Sit down.”

“Let’s first see what they left behind.”

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He took out Moc Luc’s ring and Moc Thach’s storage pouch.

He tried activating them with spiritual qi.

Nothing happened.

His meridians were sealed.

He could not open storage artifacts.

Hao Nhien handed them to Tieu Lan.

“You try.”

Tieu Lan blinked.

“Me?”

“You’ve already reached the threshold of the first layer of Qi Condensation.”

“Even though you haven’t truly broken through, you can already guide a faint trace of spiritual qi into your body.”

“Try.”

“If the ring doesn’t have a strong restriction, it might be enough.”

Tieu Lan accepted it.

Her expression became slightly tense.

She placed her hand over the ring, closed her eyes, and carefully guided a tiny thread of qi into it.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

The ring gave off a faint glow.

There was no backlash.

The next moment, a pile of objects clattered onto the floor.

Both of them froze.

Gold coins.

Spirit stones.

Medicine bottles.

Several old books.

A few small weapons.

There was even a stack of old talismans, though neither of them knew whether they were still usable.

Hao Nhien stared at the pile in front of him.

For a moment, he did not know what to say.

“Robbery really is a fast way to get rich.”

Tieu Lan had been worried only moments ago.

Hearing that, she could not help letting out a small laugh.

Then she immediately seemed to realize the situation was not exactly appropriate for laughter and lowered her head.

Hao Nhien continued:

“We’ll call this robbing the robbers.”

“At least it compensates you a little for being scared.”

Tieu Lan said softly:

“Then… I suppose we made a small profit.”

The atmosphere inside the cabin eased slightly.

The two began sorting everything.

There were quite a few gold coins.

The spirit stones came in two kinds.

One type was paler, with thinner spiritual qi—

low-grade spirit stones.

There were more than a thousand.

The other type was brighter, with much clearer spiritual fluctuations—

mid-grade spirit stones.

A little over a hundred.

Hao Nhien picked one up, sensed it briefly, then put it down.

One thousand low-grade spirit stones exchanged for one mid-grade.

One thousand mid-grade exchanged for one supreme-grade.

It looked like a lot.

In truth, it was not that much.

Especially for someone like Moc Luc, who had already reached the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, was close to Foundation Establishment, and made a living through robbery.

Compared with the supreme-grade spirit stones in Senior Tieu Dao’s ring, these could hardly be placed on the same level.

But for Hao Nhien and Tieu Lan right now, this was the kind of wealth they could actually use.

Not too conspicuous.

Not too high-grade.

Enough to live in Thanh Van City for a while.

There were also several cultivation manuals.

Saber arts.

Mace arts.

Sword arts.

Hao Nhien skimmed through them.

For now, he was not interested.

But they could still be used for reference or traded for spirit stones later.

A thicker book caught his attention.

Its cover was old.

The corners were worn.

Three characters were written across the front:

Hundred Herbs Record.

Hao Nhien opened it and flipped through a few pages.

Inside were records of hundreds of common medicinal herbs, their uses, processing methods, and several simple formulas.

Nothing high-level.

But extremely practical.

He handed it to Tieu Lan.

“You’ll probably like this.”

Tieu Lan took it.

The moment she opened it, her eyes lit up.

“Yes!”

“There are so many herbs here I don’t know.”

“And there are preparation methods too…”

She flipped through several pages.

Her face brightened so much that she almost seemed to forget the tears from before.

“Young Master, this is very useful.”

“Then keep it safe.”

“Yes.”

She hugged the book against her chest like a treasure.

Seeing her like that, Hao Nhien suddenly felt that nearly dying earlier had at least bought something that genuinely made her happy.

Several medicine bottles remained.

Tieu Lan checked them one by one.

“This is for injuries.”

“This one restores true qi in emergencies.”

“This bottle smells like a hemostatic medicine.”

“As for these two…”

She frowned.

“I don’t know.”

Hao Nhien picked up a small brown bottle.

He examined it carefully.

No label.

He opened the stopper cautiously and poured out a pale-brown pill.

A faint medicinal fragrance spread through the air.

There was also a slight spicy note.

Hao Nhien looked at the pill.

Those three had traveled with Moc Hoa.

If Moc Hoa regularly used poisonous smoke, then the other two very likely had to carry something to protect themselves.

This pill might have something to do with detoxification.

But he did not dare take it.

Unless things became desperate, swallowing an unknown pill could easily make the situation worse.

Hao Nhien set the bottle aside.

“Don’t use it yet.”

Tieu Lan nodded.

“I’ll check the Hundred Herbs Record and see if there’s anything about it.”

Hao Nhien looked at her.

“All right.”

“But remember, don’t test it on yourself.”

Tieu Lan was about to nod when she suddenly remembered the incident with the supreme-grade spirit stone.

Her expression immediately became serious.

“I know.”

“No testing medicine on myself.”

“And no letting Young Master test it before we’ve checked it.”

“Mm.”

After sorting the spoils, Hao Nhien had Tieu Lan keep the spirit stones and gold coins inside Moc Thach’s storage pouch.

Moc Luc’s ring, he kept separately for now.

Anything that could easily draw attention—talismans, cultivation manuals, unknown pills—was gathered into one corner.

Hao Nhien thought for a moment, then said:

“Tieu Lan.”

“Moc Hoa escaped.”

Tieu Lan hugged the Hundred Herbs Record.

Her expression immediately became serious.

“Yes.”

“If he comes back, he’ll probably bring more people.”

“And this time he’ll be much more cautious.”

“My meridians are sealed by poison right now, and I don’t have a quick way to recover.”

“If we’re surrounded—”

“the situation will be dangerous.”

Tieu Lan gripped his hand tightly.

“I’ll read the herb manual as quickly as I can.”

“Maybe there’s a way to clear the poison.”

Hao Nhien nodded slightly.

“You read first.”

“I’ll try circulating qi a few more times.”

Tieu Lan sat beside him and opened the Hundred Herbs Record.

She began reading page by page.

Hao Nhien closed his eyes.

He tried several different methods of circulating true qi.

First, he slowly guided spiritual qi upward from his dantian, following the old route through the center of his chest and the hollow at the base of his throat before trying to send it down into both arms.

It did not work.

Then he changed direction.

He tried drawing an extremely thin thread of qi downward from the base of his throat into his chest, searching for a gap in the poisonous force sealing his meridians.

Still nothing.

Finally, he gritted his teeth.

He tried forcing the meridians open.

Only a little.

But the moment he did, his chest went numb with pain.

It felt as though a layer of ice had lodged across his meridians.

The spiritual qi was clearly still inside.

But it had been locked into broken sections.

Unable to connect into a flow.

Hao Nhien opened his eyes.

He let out a heavy breath.

The situation was worse than he had expected.

At that exact moment—

Thud!

A heavy impact sounded from outside.

The boat trembled.

Hao Nhien immediately tilted his head.

Another boat had come alongside.

The next moment, dense footsteps sounded across the deck.

Not one or two people.

Nearly ten.

Tieu Lan, who had been bent over the Hundred Herbs Record, heard them too.

She immediately put the book down and stepped over to grip Hao Nhien’s hand.

Her eyes were full of worry.

Hao Nhien looked at her.

For some reason, in a situation this dangerous, he caught a strangely determined look in her eyes.

Judging by that expression, the girl seemed genuinely ready to step forward and protect him.

Hao Nhien lightly patted her shoulder.

“Stay here.”

“Don’t rush outside.”

He looked toward the cabin door.

“Let’s see whether they can break through it first.”

Tieu Lan bit her lip.

But nodded.

Sure enough, shouting quickly erupted outside.

Then—

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound rang out.

A weapon slammed into the cabin door.

The door only trembled slightly.

Not a single crack appeared.

Hao Nhien paused.

Then some of the tension inside him eased.

Another blow came.

Boom!

This one was stronger.

But the door still only shook.

As though the people outside were not striking wood, but a thick slab of stone covered in old planks.

Hao Nhien let out a silent breath.

As expected.

Even though the Cosmic Ark’s seals were still deeply intact, this vessel was not something a few Qi Condensation cultivators could casually break open.

But that only gave him a little relief.

The situation was still a deadlock.

If they stopped trying to break the door and simply waited outside, then even if Hao Nhien managed to clear the poison, escaping would still be difficult.

And right now, he did not even have a way to clear it.

After a while, the pounding gradually faded.

Only low voices remained outside, mixed with the occasional sound of footsteps.

Hao Nhien frowned.

He listened carefully.

But the cabin walls blocked most of the sound.

He only caught a few scattered words.

“Moc Hoa…”

“Inside…”

“Poison…”

Not enough.

Hao Nhien looked at Tieu Lan.

“Tieu Lan, can you hear what they’re saying?”

Tieu Lan immediately moved closer to the cabin wall.

She tilted her head and listened.

Her hearing had always been sharper than his for small sounds, and unlike him, her mind was not weighed down by poison.

After a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up.

She turned around and whispered excitedly:

“Young Master, I think someone came to save us!”

Hao Nhien looked surprised.

“Who?”

Tieu Lan pressed her ear to the wall again.

She listened carefully before speaking quickly:

“Someone is asking them what happened.”

“I heard them say… they want to capture Young Master because you killed their brothers.”

“That person seems to be questioning them.”

“His voice is very authoritative.”

“They don’t dare speak as loudly as before.”

She hesitated.

“Young Master, what do you think?”

Hao Nhien frowned.

It could be a trap set by Moc Hoa.

That man was cunning.

Patient.

And he already knew Hao Nhien carried secrets.

Using someone else as bait was not impossible.

But after thinking it through, there had not been much time.

Moc Hoa had only just escaped.

Then returned with others to surround the boat.

It was unlikely he had enough time to arrange such an elaborate performance.

And if someone outside truly was interfering, then this might be the best opportunity to break the siege.

Taking a small risk was worth it.

Hao Nhien nodded.

“All right.”

“I’ll go out and take a look.”

“You stay here until I call you.”

Tieu Lan immediately shook her head.

She said nothing.

But her expression was firm.

Hao Nhien looked at her.

Something in his heart softened.

But his voice remained serious.

“Don’t worry.”

“If Moc Hoa wants my secrets, he won’t kill me immediately.”

“But if you go outside—”

“they’ll have one more thing they can use against me.”

Tieu Lan froze.

Hao Nhien spoke more slowly:

“You staying here—”

“is the best way to protect me.”

Tieu Lan’s eyes reddened.

She looked at him for a long time.

Finally, she nodded.

“I understand…”

“Young Master, be careful.”

Hao Nhien took a deep breath and walked toward the door.

He slowly opened it.

Light immediately poured inside.

Hao Nhien narrowed his eyes slightly.

Nearly ten men in black had gathered near the bow.

He quickly spotted Moc Hoa.

The thin, sinister-looking man stood slightly behind the others.

His expression was dark.

One hand remained hidden inside his sleeve.

In front of him stood a middle-aged man with hawk-like eyes and a fierce aura, clearly the leader of the newly arrived group.

Facing them, near the edge of the boat, stood a young man in white robes with his back turned toward Hao Nhien.

He was not unusually large.

But his posture was perfectly straight.

His white robe was almost untouched by dust, with extremely fine silver patterns embroidered along the edges.

At his waist hung a long sword in a silver-white sheath.

No overwhelming killing intent.

No oppressive aura.

Yet simply by standing there, he kept nearly ten black-robed men from taking even half a step forward.

When Hao Nhien appeared, the black-robed group immediately turned their attention toward him.

Killing intent flashed clearly in several pairs of eyes.

The white-robed young man seemed to notice the change.

He turned slightly.

Only then did Hao Nhien see his face clearly.

Around twenty-two or twenty-three years old.

Handsome features.

Sword-like brows.

Bright, calm eyes.

That gaze passed over Hao Nhien.

No contempt.

No obvious probing.

Only a calm assessment, as though he were looking at a fellow cultivator encountered on the road.

But that single glance was enough for Hao Nhien to understand one thing clearly:

This man was not ordinary.

Not ordinary at all.

At that moment, Hao Nhien, who had never stopped watching Moc Hoa, saw the man’s left hand shift slightly.

The hand hidden inside his sleeve lifted.

Subtle.

But Hao Nhien recognized it immediately.

The same trick.

“Sir, watch out for poison smoke!”

Hao Nhien’s warning had not even finished when the young man in white moved.

His right hand rose.

His fingertips lightly touched the sword hilt.

There was no audible sound of the sword leaving its sheath.

Only a flash of white.

Thin.

Clean.

Almost no sound of wind.

Hao Nhien barely caught a streak of sword light crossing the air.

Moc Hoa froze.

The hand inside his sleeve was still raised.

A poison pellet fell onto the deck.

It rolled once.

Twice.

Then stopped.

A hair-thin line of blood appeared across his throat.

One breath later, his body collapsed.

His eyes remained wide open.

The terror on his face had frozen in place.

Only then did Hao Nhien hear a very faint sound.

Clink.

The silver-white sword had already returned to its sheath.

The young man in white stood exactly where he had been.

Not a single drop of blood stained his robe.

The deck fell silent.

The nearly ten black-robed men who had been so aggressive only moments before now did not dare take another step.

One had gone deathly pale.

Another’s weapon trembled in his hand.

One man even dropped to his knees.

Hao Nhien stood motionless as well.

His heart pounded.

He had used the Spirit Sword to shake the soul.

He had calculated his way into killing Moc Luc.

He had used the Cosmic Ark to kill Moc Thach.

But compared to the sword strike he had just witnessed, all of that still seemed crude.

It was not explosive power.

It was control.

Terrifyingly precise control.

The sword moved, and the result was already decided.

Hao Nhien stared at the silver-white sword at the young man’s waist.

He knew that once a cultivator reached Foundation Establishment, they could use divine sense to guide artifacts.

Controlling a sword from a distance was not impossible.

But that strike still shocked him.

Draw the sword.

Kill.

Sheathe the sword.

Everything had nearly merged into a single motion.

Not half a measure of wasted strength.

Not half a beat too slow.

Moc Hoa had not even managed to release his poison.

This was not merely a difference in cultivation realm.

It was also a difference in swordsmanship.

Hao Nhien looked at the young man in white again.

This man was definitely a sword cultivator.

And not an ordinary one.

Only then did the white-robed young man turn toward the black-robed group.

His voice was not loud.

“Leave.”

One word.

The others reacted as if they had been granted amnesty.

The hawk-eyed middle-aged man’s expression shifted between green and white, but in the end he did not dare say anything.

He bowed deeply.

“Yes.”

No one dared retrieve Moc Hoa’s body.

No one dared stare at Hao Nhien for long.

Within a few breaths, nearly ten men had already jumped back onto the boat pressed alongside theirs.

The mooring lines were released.

The other vessel quickly pulled away.

Farther.

And farther.

Until it became nothing more than a small shadow on the river.

Hao Nhien still did not fully relax.

He looked at the young man in white.

The other man looked back at him.

After a moment, the young man smiled faintly.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been poisoned.”

Hao Nhien cupped his hands.

“That’s right.”

“Thank you for stepping in today.”

The young man in white shook his head.

“I was passing by.”

His gaze moved over the bloodstains still visible on the deck.

Then toward the broad saber and iron mace lying to one side.

“Looks like before I arrived, you didn’t entirely need rescuing.”

Hao Nhien did not answer immediately.

This man had only looked at a few traces and had already guessed quite a lot.

The white-robed young man smiled faintly again.

“No need to be tense.”

“I’m not interested in your belongings.”

Hao Nhien paused.

Clearly, the other man had seen through his caution.

He could only smile.

“In my current situation, being a little careful doesn’t hurt.”

“True.”

The young man nodded.

“A cultivator who survives too long on luck usually doesn’t survive for very long.”

Then he looked toward the cabin door.

“The girl inside can come out now.”

Hao Nhien frowned slightly.

The young man seemed to notice his reaction and added:

“I heard her breathing.”

“Don’t worry.”

“I didn’t use divine sense to probe inside your cabin.”

Only then did Hao Nhien understand.

He turned his head.

“Tieu Lan.”

The door opened immediately.

Tieu Lan hurried over.

But she did not stand in front of Hao Nhien as she had been prepared to earlier.

She stopped beside him instead.

One hand instinctively supported his arm.

The young man in white looked at the two of them.

A faint trace of amusement passed through his eyes.

Then his gaze settled on Hao Nhien’s face.

“Poison sealing the meridians.”

“Not especially high-grade.”

“But with your cultivation, forcing it out on your own would be difficult.”

Hao Nhien’s heart moved slightly.

“You recognize the poison?”

“Not the exact type.”

The young man replied.

“But the way it acts is common enough.”

He reached into his sleeve.

Tieu Lan immediately tensed.

Hao Nhien also became instinctively cautious.

But the other man only took out a small jade bottle.

He tossed it over.

Hao Nhien caught it.

“A common Detoxification Pill.”

“It may not clear everything, but at the very least it should help reopen your meridians.”

Hao Nhien looked at the jade bottle.

He did not immediately take it.

The young man in white noticed, but did not urge him.

He simply stood there calmly.

Tieu Lan looked at him.

Then at the bottle in Hao Nhien’s hand.

Hao Nhien remained silent for a moment.

Finally, he cupped his hands.

“Thank you.”

The young man in white nodded.

Hao Nhien suddenly asked:

“I still don’t know your name.”

The other man looked at him.

The river wind passed by.

The hem of his white robe fluttered gently.

“Sword Sect.”

He said.

“Tieu Kiem.”

Hao Nhien paused slightly.

Sword Sect.

Tieu Kiem.

He had never heard the name before.

But after seeing that one sword strike, he already understood that the words Sword Sect carried weight.

Tieu Kiem seemed to notice the unfamiliarity in his eyes.

The corner of his mouth curved slightly.

“You’ve never heard of it?”

Hao Nhien answered honestly:

“No.”

Tieu Kiem looked at him once more.

This time, there seemed to be a little more interest in his eyes.

“Then you really did come from very far away.”

Hao Nhien did not answer.

Tieu Kiem did not press him.

He simply rested one hand lightly on the sword hilt at his waist and said calmly:

“I am a disciple of the Sword Sect.”

“I came to Thanh Van City on some business.”

Hao Nhien looked at the silver-white sword.

Only then did the sword strike from earlier seem to have found its explanation.

Foundation Establishment.

Sword cultivator.

A disciple of the Sword Sect.

This was the first time since entering this world that Hao Nhien had truly met a proper sword cultivator.