Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 29

As soon as Madam Lee entered the room, a strong smell of blood assaulted her nose. Beside the bed, Sect Leader Ma and Elder Chun were sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, and between them was a basin filled with blackish blood that looked like ink.

It seemed that the two had indeed used a considerable amount of their energy, just as Han Li had said. Madam Lee couldn’t help but feel grateful to them. She quietly approached the bed and looked at Elder Lee. Although his complexion was a little pale, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

The spots on his body were now faint smudges, barely visible. It seemed that the poison had indeed been completely removed. Overjoyed, Madam Lee quietly sobbed.

After a while, when she came out, people surrounded her and began to bombard her with questions. However, Han Li was nowhere to be seen among the noisy crowd.

When she asked Ma Young, she learned that Han Li had prescribed some medicine to help with recovery and had left immediately.

Madam Lee firmly resolved that as soon as Elder Lee recovered, she would personally visit the benefactor and repay his kindness.

* * *

Underneath the lush trees in a secluded forest, Han Li, who had just left Elder Lee’s residence, was lying down with his arms behind his head.

With a bored expression, he was counting the leaves hanging on the branches one by one. Just as he reached a thousand, a black shadow fell from the sky. This shadow rushed towards Han Li with a sharp momentum, like a hawk catching its prey.

“Oh, really! Stop making a fuss. Why do you bother me every time we meet? I’m not that woman named Jang Sua or whatever!”

As Han Li shouted, the black shadow turned in the air and lightly landed next to Han Li. It was Lǚ Bìyǔ, who had followed Han Li. As Han Li shouted, Lǚ Bìyǔ hit Han Li’s butt and said,

“How dare you compare your dark face to Jang Sua?”

Han Li couldn’t stay still and jumped up as if he had been electrocuted.

“It seems our Senior Brother Lǚ is truly lost in the beauty of women, neglecting everything else!”

“Stop talking nonsense. Why did you call me? I finally had a chance to get closer to Jang Sua, and now I’ve missed it. If you don’t have a good reason, I won’t let it slide!”

Lǚ Bìyǔ seemed greatly resentful that he had been called out at such a time.

“Me? Did I say that directly?”

Han Li deliberately made a surprised face and asked exaggeratedly.

“With the look you gave me, even a blind person would know. Stop changing the subject, what’s the matter? Or should I go back?”

Han Li couldn’t be sure if he was serious or not. He changed his mind about teasing him and asked Lǚ Bìyǔ seriously.

“Don’t think I’m meddling too much, but as a friend, I have to ask you one thing. Does Jang Sua know that you took the Life Extension Pill and only have a few years left to live?”

Upon hearing this, Lǚ Bìyǔ’s face changed completely and turned pale. He couldn’t open his mouth for a long time. Han Li sighed softly. Judging by his expression, he didn’t need to ask again.

“Why do you have to force me to face it?”

Lǚ Bìyǔ, with a pained expression, answered the question painfully. Han Li simply patted Lǚ Bìyǔ’s shoulder to comfort him, despite his questioning.

“You know, the deeper the feelings, the bigger the wounds…”

When his friend regained his composure, Han Li spoke again.

“It’s better to stop before you fall too deep. It will be harder to break away later.”

Han Li added in a warm tone. However, Senior Brother Lǚ looked at him with a questioning gaze.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“How old are you? You talk like you’ve already seen through all the love affairs in the world. Do you have a lot of experience with women?”

Lǚ Bìyǔ finally poured out his doubts.

“No, I don’t. I just read it in books and it seemed reasonable, so I told you, Senior Brother Lǚ.”

“Ah, is that so? That’s right, there’s no way I would be behind you in love affairs with this jade-like appearance. So those profound words were all from books.”

Han Li was speechless. How could that guy recover so quickly? He had been looking like he was about to die just a moment ago, and now he was giggling in the blink of an eye.

Han Li decided to see this through since the topic had come up.

“Can you really give up on Jang Sua? Are you okay with seeing her in another man’s arms?”

Lǚ Bìyǔ wiped away his smile and scolded with a murderous voice.

“Who dares to touch our Jang Sua? I’ll crush that bastard’s hands! I don’t care what happens after I die. But as long as I’m alive, Jang Sua is only mine.”

His will was firm.

Han Li looked at Lǚ Bìyǔ’s determined expression and didn’t know what to say.

Suddenly, Lǚ Bìyǔ withdrew his fierce aura and started giggling again. He winked one eye and laughed loudly at Han Li.

“How is it? Isn’t this kind of momentum enough? It’s the demeanor of a hero who will dominate an era. Don’t you want to be impressed by me and pledge your loyalty?”

Upon hearing this, Han Li could only shake his head. Just when he was about to be moved by Lǚ Bìyǔ’s resolute will, his emotions were shattered by the few words that followed. Han Li glared and answered through gritted teeth.

“Hero? I only see a coward in front of me.”

Lǚ Bìyǔ didn’t care about Han Li’s scolding and laughed loudly. He seemed to have gained great satisfaction from momentarily silencing Han Li. Han Li calmly spoke despite the other’s hearty laughter.

“I’ve asked you once before. You know very well that if you give up your cultivation, you can live much longer. Then you’ll have more days to spend with Jang Sua. Won’t you reconsider?”

The laughter stopped abruptly, and Lǚ Bìyǔ’s face became serious. He looked at Han Li with intense eyes, and Han Li stared back with his usual clear gaze. After maintaining this state for a long time, Lǚ Bìyǔ averted his gaze.

“Han Li, I will never consider scattering my inner energy [cultivation energy]. I know you mean well, but don’t ever bring up that topic again.”

He was forcing a smile, but his tone was full of pleading.

“Besides, if I become an ordinary person without the strength to even catch a chicken, would Jang Sua even look at me?”

Han Li shook his head to indicate that wasn’t the case. He looked at the path Lǚ Bìyǔ had come from and spoke in a low voice to remind him.

“Since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t try to persuade you anymore. Go back quickly. I hope things go well with Jang Sua and that you have good news soon.”

Lǚ Bìyǔ became cheerful and patted Han Li’s shoulder.

“You’re a good friend, that’s very nice to hear. It’s the best thing I’ve heard today. Well, I should go now.”

Lǚ Bìyǔ seemed to flick his body and disappeared from the path in an instant.

“Ouch, it hurts!”

Han Li grabbed his shoulder. Just now, Lǚ Bìyǔ had secretly used his inner force while patting his shoulder. Han Li’s shoulder was swollen and puffed up like a red dumpling, and the pain was considerable.

“Ungrateful bastard! I even used medicine to relieve your pain, and this is how you repay me?”

Han Li said through gritted teeth, but he hurriedly took out medicine from his pocket to treat the wound on his shoulder.

‘Hmph! I’ll get you next time we meet!’

* * *

Han Li was now a seventeen-year-old boy.

While Han Li was growing older, the Seven Mysteries Sect eventually entered into a full-scale war due to the pressure from the Arang Gang.

Numerous large and small clashes frequently occurred on the outskirts of both forces, and many of Han Li’s fellow disciples who had entered with him also died. This made Han Li sigh.

The large bell hanging outside the Divine Medicine Valley also rang frequently due to the injured, and Han Li made great progress in his medical skills while treating many seriously injured people.

However, no matter how miraculous Han Li’s medical skills were, many sect members died without even having the chance to receive his treatment.

As a result, young masters who had distinguished themselves in battle took over the positions of the higher-ups who had been vacated.

For example, the Five Fiends, Three Eagles, and Two Leopards of the Arang Gang and the Seven Heroes and Two Champions of the Seven Mysteries Sect were the most famous.

Lǚ Bìyǔ was one of the Two Champions. He killed a flag bearer wearing purple clothes from the opposing side and was promoted to the position of Deputy Head of the Outer Affairs Hall, rising to the higher ranks.

He had now become a truly influential figure, and his relationship with Jang Sua had also developed rapidly, reaching the stage of discussing marriage.

Upon hearing this news, Han Li couldn’t help but sigh. He wasn’t sure if Lǚ Bìyǔ was doing well or not, because he knew that while he understood the desire not to lose a loved one to another man, marrying someone while knowing he would die soon didn’t seem like the right answer.

While Senior Brother Lǚ was busy with battles and marriage talks, Han Li, after countless failures, finally managed to use the Wind Riding Technique.

The Wind Riding Technique, like the Heavenly Eye Technique, was a supportive technique. It could only be used on one’s own body, and its practicality was far superior to the Heavenly Eye Technique.

Once the Wind Riding Technique was activated, the body became as light as a swallow, and even a slight push off the ground could easily move one far away.

Enjoying the thrill of speeding across the ground, Han Li would run madly around the Divine Medicine Valley every day before finally taking a rest. He was now worthy of being called a master of lightness techniques.

Of course, the acceleration effect of the Wind Riding Technique was completely different from the Soaring Smoke Step. The characteristic of the Soaring Smoke Step was to turn the impossible into the possible through surprise attacks.

It was a method of accelerating in short distances by consuming a lot of stamina, so it produced the best results when used in confined spaces.

In the case of the Wind Riding Technique, a small amount of magical power was continuously consumed after the technique was activated, but there was no physical burden.

He could run as much as he wanted without getting tired, and as long as he had magical power, he could enjoy the acceleration effect almost indefinitely.

Those who cultivated to become gods were called cultivators, and cultivators were known from ancient times as those with supernatural powers. The state of a cultivator who was immortal was the dream that many people aspired to and pursued forever.

Generally, one of the essential techniques for lower-level cultivators when they had to travel long distances or move quickly was the Wind Riding Technique.

* * *

After mastering the Wind Riding Technique, Han Li poured an enormous amount of time and effort into two other techniques: the Mind Stabilizing Talisman and the Object Manipulation Technique. However, after several deep training sessions, Han Li discovered an unexpected fact.

The Mind Stabilizing Talisman was a kind of spell using a talisman, and a magic book had to be prepared before casting the spell.

Han Li recalled Master Moon’s magic book and used precious materials like silver powder to copy the symbolic patterns from the book, creating his own magic book. Outwardly, the magic book he made was exactly the same as the one in the book.

However, when Han Li tried to use the magic book by chanting the spell, the dazzling silver light or strange phenomena that occurred when Master Moon used the Mind Stabilizing Talisman did not happen.

Han Li was frustrated because he couldn’t figure out if he had chanted the spell incorrectly, made the wrong hand seals, or if there was something wrong with the magic book.