Chapter 43: Growing Smaller

Langyuan City covered an enormous area and had roughly a million permanent residents. That number might not be worth mentioning in a modern metropolis, but in ancient times, it already qualified as a major population center. And there were at least a hundred cities like Langyuan City across Hengze Continent.

Of course, large cities were generally built around major sects. Beyond Langyuan City were Xishan City, Baigu City, and others, but they were rather far away. With Wen Xu’s current cultivation at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm, he basically had no chance of visiting them within the next three years.

“My little disciple, do you know why the cultivation world has no imperial rule?”

“Because of cultivators.”

Wen Xu came from the imperially governed Mortal Realm. After arriving in the cultivation world, he had naturally been astonished by its city-based system of administration, with each city resembling a small state with few inhabitants.

At the time, he had believed that the Son of Heaven ruled by mandate of Heaven and that a nation could not go a single day without a sovereign. Yet Hengze Continent managed to govern itself without a ruler. The key, naturally, lay with cultivators.

Cultivators could harness the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for their own use, strengthening their bodies, extending their lifespans, and increasing their power. Just imagine how terrifying it would be if an emperor could live forever.

People changed. How many wise rulers in the history books had governed diligently in their youth, only to become muddleheaded and tyrannical in old age, refusing to heed even the most loyal words that displeased them?

“That’s right. It’s because cultivators live too long. Hengze Continent once had imperial rule, but under the Heavenly Dao, all things are kept in balance. If a cultivator becomes sovereign, they can no longer cultivate. There are no exceptions.”

“Then why can the lord of a city still cultivate?”

Divine Venerable Chengwei smiled. “How do you know becoming a city lord doesn’t interfere with their cultivation?”

“It actually does?”

“Apparently. But I’ve heard the effect is very slight. And no matter which city they govern, any city lord who still wishes to advance their cultivation will avoid involving themselves too deeply in mundane affairs.”

Wen Xu understood. “I see. So imperial rule disappeared from the cultivation world because those who could become sovereigns preferred longevity and ascension?”

“Exactly. And whether it was deliberate or not, several of the rulers in the cultivation world back then had exceptionally good cultivation talent. Many of their descendants became cultivators too. Do you know the Sui family of Hanhai? They used to be an imperial clan.”

Wen Xu said, “…I don’t.”

“That reminds me. Ah Xu, you were born with an imperial destiny. Now that you’ve entered the path of cultivation, I’m afraid you can no longer become an emperor of the mortal world. Do you regret it?”

Wen Xu shook his head, entirely at peace with the matter. “Master, this disciple is also an ordinary man.”

So even if he had been given a choice, he might still have chosen to enter the Dao rather than become some emperor.

Besides, he had never been given a choice.

And imperial destiny alone could never make someone emperor. From the moment he had been abandoned among a group of beggars, no one would ever have expected him to become the ruler of all beneath heaven. With his current temperament, he had no desire to take responsibility for all the common people in the realm either.

As for his so-called imperial destiny, without his master, he might have lived his entire life and died without ever knowing about it.

“Exactly. Being an emperor could never be as satisfying as being a cultivator.”

As master and disciple chatted, they finally arrived at the Shared Cup Tavern.

It was right at the evening mealtime, and the place was packed with customers. Quite a few errand boys waiting to make deliveries stood outside. Before they had even entered, the rich aroma of hot pot drifted toward them.

What a pity. A strand of divine sense could not eat hot pot.

Divine Venerable Chengwei sighed inwardly with regret.

Wen Xu wore the disciple robes of Yonglu Mountain. In Langyuan City, the common people might fail to recognize the city lord, but they would never fail to recognize Yonglu Mountain’s insignia. Thus, even though he was blind, no one dared show him the slightest disrespect.

“Immortal Wen, please come inside. Are you here to see the owner?”

“He’s here too?”

The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly led him upstairs. “He is, he is. Something happened today, and another Immortal Xia is here as well. Fortunately, no one died. Heaven truly protected us.”

“Someone nearly died? What happened?”

Wen Xu sensed the atmosphere inside the restaurant. It did not feel like anything serious had occurred.

“It wasn’t anything too terrible. It’s just… the black fish in the shop were stolen again. That deranged thief even abducted a little girl and threw her into a fish barrel. Fortunately, the child was blessed with good fortune and nothing too serious happened to her.”

Wen Xu paused.

Did that mean the fish thief had been caught?

That was a good thing.

When he reached the door and was about to knock, Bian Chunzhou rushed out in a panic and nearly collided with him.

“I didn’t hit you, did I, Wen Xuxu? What are you doing here?”

“I’m not made of paper.” Wen Xu pursed his lips. “What happened? Why are you panicking?”

“Oh, right! I need to fetch a mystic physician. You go inside first. Senior Sister Xia Ying is in there.”

With that, Bian Chunzhou hurried downstairs and soon vanished into the stairwell.

Wen Xu pushed open the door and immediately sensed Xia Ying using spiritual energy to nourish the little girl in her arms. When she saw him enter, she did not interrupt the flow of energy and merely said, “Junior Granduncle-Master, you’re here.”

Divine Venerable Chengwei exclaimed in his mind, “Heh, for a moment I nearly thought she was addressing me! But speaking of this little girl… things don’t look good.”

“This child…”

Xia Ying briefly explained what had happened.

After putting the little girl to sleep, the two of them had decided to entrust her to the shopkeeper and his wife for the time being. Yet in the brief moment it took them to turn around, the girl, who had originally reached Bian Chunzhou’s waist, had suddenly become five or six centimeters shorter.

It was far too bizarre.

Reverse growth?!

Had some famously unscientific child detective suddenly descended into the cultivation world?!

Cultivators possessed exceptionally sharp senses. There was no way they could overlook such a visible change, and both of them had seen it clearly.

“I’m not seeing things, am I, Senior Sister?”

Xia Ying also sensed the girl’s life force rapidly dwindling. “You’re not. Hurry and fetch a spirit physician. I’ll look after her!”

That was what had led to the scene at the doorway moments earlier.

Wen Xu was equally stunned upon hearing the explanation.

There were actually people in this world who grew backward?

“There are,” his master said in his mind. “Though your eyesight isn’t good enough to see it. No, wait—you’re pretending to be blind.”

At last, his master’s voice had returned.

Wen Xu steadied himself and was about to ask a question when his master cut him off.

“This child is almost at her limit.”

Perhaps it was Wen Xu’s imagination, but his master’s voice seemed tinged with pity.

“What a shame. Even I cannot save her. The only one who can save her is herself.”

Wen Xu could not hide his shock. “Even you cannot save her, Master?”

“There’s nothing to be done. I went through the same thing back then. That old man who was your grandmaster had already reached the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, yet he was equally helpless. So…”

Wen Xu was so shocked that his eyes opened.

Through the ribbon covering them, he saw the little girl in Xia Ying’s arms, her face twisted in pain.

Was she… a half-demon?

“I’ll help you, Senior Sister Xia Ying.”

As he spoke, Wen Xu mobilized his spiritual energy to support Xia Ying.

At the very least, they had to keep the girl alive until Chunzhou returned with the mystic physician.

Xia Ying nodded gratefully, but her heart sank lower and lower.

She was a cultivator. She would never believe that so many coincidences could happen at once.

And the girl kept growing smaller.

Perhaps… she really was Ah Qing.

That was why Listening Crane Manor had not dared announce anything. That was why Xia Ying had used the power of the city lord’s estate yet still failed to find Ah Qing.

It was not because Ah Qing had already left Langyuan City.

It was because—

“Ah Qing, it’s you, isn’t it?”

The girl in her arms seemed to understand.

She struggled to open her eyes, but before she could see the person in front of her clearly, she was once again plunged into the agony of regression.

Not enough.

It was not enough!

She wanted to eat fish.

She wanted fish!

The mystic physician Bian Chunzhou had summoned finally arrived.

He appeared middle-aged and possessed Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation. At a glance, he seemed ten thousand times more reliable than a certain fake spirit physician.

The instant he entered and saw the little girl, he knew he probably would not earn any spirit stones from this visit.

“…She’s a half-demon, isn’t she?” Xia Ying asked hoarsely.

The middle-aged mystic physician nodded. “The one who tied the bell must untie it. Every half-demon is destined to cross this trial. No one is exempt.”

Not even the Divine Venerable on Yonglu Mountain had been an exception.

A half-demon was the offspring of a human and a demon cultivator.

In truth, the odds of a half-demon being born were extremely low.

Generally speaking, demon cultivators were blessed by nature and possessed pure bloodlines. Even when they formed a union with a human cultivator, conceiving offspring was difficult. Furthermore, demon blood was far more domineering than human blood.

Unless the human partner possessed a special ancestral bloodline, the child was more likely to be born a demon.

Of course, when a powerful human cultivator joined with a weak demon cultivator, there was also a strong chance that their child would be entirely human.

A half-demon, however, possessed half demon blood and half human blood. The two bloodlines were evenly matched, with neither holding the advantage.

Because of this, a half-demon carried no demonic aura at all. Before making their true choice of “species,” they displayed no demonic aura whatsoever and grew up just like ordinary humans.

“But her condition is very unusual.”

Xia Ying asked urgently, “What do you mean?”

“A half-demon’s regression should never happen this quickly. Someone must have interfered with the process. Let me examine her pulse carefully.”

A spirit physician examined pulses using spiritual energy.

The energies inside the little girl’s body were tangled and chaotic. The physician probed for a long time, but he could not find anything abnormal.

Still, as an old mystic physician with several decades of experience, he gave them his judgment.

“The sooner this is handled, the better. Since you appear to know her identity, try to find her family. They may be able to help her.”

Xia Ying made her decision at once.

“Let’s go. We’re heading to Listening Crane Manor!”

Even if she had to flatten Listening Crane Manor today, she would tear the truth out of He Qian’s mouth.

She had known Ah Qing for decades, yet she had never known—

“Should we follow them?”

It was also Bian Chunzhou’s first time seeing a half-demon.

Good grief. This whole situation was terrifying.

Wen Xu nodded.

He now had a rough idea why his master had urged him to come down the mountain.

His master must have sensed the half-demon’s aura through him.

After seeing the mystic physician off, the two followed Xia Ying toward Listening Crane Manor.

Fortunately, Bian Chunzhou had been there once before and still remembered the way.

But when they arrived, he stared ahead.

“Senior Sister is this fierce? She blasted down their courtyard wall?”

Wen Xu, however, caught an unusual scent on the wind.

“Something’s wrong. Chunzhou, stay alert.”

Bian Chunzhou trusted his friend completely.

The expression vanished from his face, and he immediately drew one of the talismans he always carried, gripping it tightly in his hand.

“It’s coming—”

Wen Xu felt a wave of pure malice rolling toward them on the wind.

The moment it struck, he drew the spiritual fan from his sleeve and swept it outward without hesitation.

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