The Rise of the Sword in Five Elements, Chapter 95: You Ruo's Journey

Through the transmission of a jade token, the secret letter reached Hu Zhanggui. He had his own channels to directly deliver the intelligence into the palace's Wu Feng Hall.

From Su Ye's words, Huang Bao learned of the Demon Cult's secret preparations, his brows furrowing tightly. "This Jiazi Demon Extermination, the demonic forces and numbers far exceed imagination... The Demon Cult plots mischief in the shadows again. Ambushed on both sides, it may bring catastrophe upon the common people."

"Are you leaving Danyang City?"

"Recently the Cishi Mansion issued orders: all Demon Taming Masters above the Fei Yun Realm are to suspend extermination and case-solving actions, entering a dormant state."

"You can leave your clone here to accompany me to Danyang City."

"This..."

Demon Taming Masters are subordinate to the Cishi Mansion, their commands to be obeyed without exception. Defying the Cishi's orders brings fifty strokes of the court rod for minor offenses and the divine whip with cruel torture for the severe.

Huang Bao was accustomed to following rules and now faced breaking them, struggling to decide for a moment.

Su Ye said somewhat impatiently: "Low-grade Demon Taming Masters delve into the human world with flesh and blood to confront demonic evils. You high-grade Demon Taming Masters, with your superior abilities, instead wrap yourselves in old women's bound-foot bandages, trapping yourselves in plainly unreasonable rules."

Upon hearing this, Huang Bao gazed at Su Ye in astonishment. His words insulted not only the high-grade Demon Taming Masters but also casually cursed the Confucian principles. Wasn't courage itself enough?

"Although that may be so, once secular rules are established and deeply rooted in the heart, I fear..."

Su Ye raised his hand: "Huang Elder, if you won't go, I'll go alone. I want to see whether a world that awaits the descent of the savior truly has saviors among itself."

Huang Bao remained silent.

After a long while he said, "Do as you say."

Su Ye thought to himself, "After all, he is a Zhen Yao Shi of pure character, easily hoodwinked."

Huang Bao's body was encircled by spiritual energy, which pulled forth thread-like patterns that condensed three feet away into an out-of-body clone identical to his main form.

The righteous indignation on Su Ye's face vanished. Upon close inspection of Huang Bao's clone he found no flaw whatsoever: "This is... the out-of-body clone?"

"Precisely. This is the most vital mark of a cultivator in the Miaomiao Realm—the out-of-body clone."

Before Su Ye could speak, Huang Bao had already read his thought. He joined his two fingers and condensed a spiritual seal.

"It is often said that a drop of kindness must be repaid with a spring of water," Huang Bao said softly. "I taught you some rudimentary skills in tracking and investigating cases... Today I pass on the secret of the out-of-body clone to you. I hope you remember people like me who have helped you along the way, so that in times of extreme peril you may also lend a hand to assist the world."

"From his perspective, you've all been cowed by Senior Song Yang and Senior Ouyang Zhi."

Huang Bao nodded deeply in agreement.

From his perspective, Song Yang views the world as nothing. Ouyang Zhi, who himself spares the innocent, is already rare. Founding a Demon Cult to build a new world is simply checking first whether his mind is sound. Su Ye possessed extraordinary talent and an upright nature, though he harbored small flaws of greed for wealth and slippery speech; yet these did not obscure his virtues. Compared with the previous two, he was already the closest to the image of a savior.

"A snake once bitten, ten years afraid of well rope," Huang Bao sighed. "I hope this time my guess proves correct."

His two fingers hovered three inches above Su Ye's brow, transmitting the secret of the out-of-body clone. There are no shortcuts on the path of cultivation, yet by using formations, spiritual treasures, and pills to manifest an out-of-body clone it remains ultimately an illusion, fleeting and momentary. Su Ye committed the method of the clone to memory. He also understood that the Great Dao of cultivation, bearing the mandate of heaven, required constant tempering and forward progress.

You Ruo, also known as Du Ruo, is a fragrant herb. Before the city was built, vast stretches of You Ruo grass once grew here. Cultivators and traveling merchants who passed through could always catch the refreshing fragrance, a pleasant surprise on the long journey. Later the Great Night Emperor issued a decree to construct a city here, accepting the suggestion of the Literary Sage Meng Yang, scribe at the Wen Chang Yuan, and designating the place as the origin of spices and rouge powder. An industry stretching thousands of years, it served not only as this city's economic pillar but also as a distinctive emblem within the Great Qian Realm. Countless cultivators and merchants came each year to admire and trade, drawn by economic prosperity and the city's grandeur. Thus it enjoyed great popularity among female cultivators and ordinary women, earning the title of Fragrant Flower City.

"...Master, how many Taoist companions does your family have?" Su Ye used the alias Su Wuming and temporarily acted as Huang Bao's disciple. Huang Bao took the name Huang Chunyu. On Su Ye's suggestion the two posed as outer-sect master and disciple of the Yu Xuan Sect. At their next meeting, whether Qin Yu would still dare claim to know Su Ye was unknown. Such concerns vanished in an instant. Su Wuming had done nothing wrong and tarnished no reputation of the Yu Xuan Sect, so there was no need to fear being marked with a dark-fire order and hunted by thousands of sect disciples. He therefore set his doubts aside.

"The master is not talented and has two Taoist companions," Huang Bao spoke the truth, not fabricating a backstory for Huang Chunyu, "one shares my master's lineage, the path traversed longer than imagined; the other met in the jianghu and developed mutual affection."

"When we enter You Ruo City, when you visit shops to buy rouge powder and sachets... are they the same two or tailored to fit?"

Huang Bao feigned anger: "Wicked disciple, in such a leisurely scene, do not speak of inauspicious topics."

"It seems balancing two bowls of water is difficult, constantly testing your skill," Su Ye smiled brightly.

"Enough," Huang Bao raised a hand to stop his words, "I am already beginning to feel a headache."

The city-gate officer, overhearing their casual conversation, smiled and joined in: "Headache in the daytime, at night one enjoys marital bliss. Enduring some hardship is worthwhile."

Huang Bao and Su Ye exchanged a subtle glance. Most secular officials, when opening their mouths, had not yet shed their seven emotions and six desires and might frequent brothels. Such men possessed no integrity or character, lacking silver in their purses and easy to coax. Huang Bao laughed heartily: "This is indeed... but once this woman's cultivation reaches a certain level, she is more terrifying than tigers or wolves."

After speaking, his features bunched together. The city-gate officer sighed, "The dry die of drought, the flooded die of flood. This official wants to satisfy a craving and must sneak into the shop to eat." A clever way of referring to visiting a brothel.

"Lord Officer, rare opportunity for business; may I invite you to the restaurant for a drink?" Huang Bao seized the chance to invite. The city-gate officer glanced at the sun and smiled, "Coming early is not as good as coming at the right moment. Soon it will be shift change. You all sit at the table and wait a moment."

Su Ye and Huang Bao sat opposite each other on the long bench for the city-gate army rest, a long wooden table with several upside-down ceramic bowls. Only the one facing upward held a few remaining tea leaves, few in number and many stems. Su Ye was adept at such matters; summoning fine tea from a jade gourd, he brewed a pot of excellent tea. "Fellow daoists have labored all day and must be thirsty. Please come and share a cup of cool tea to relieve fatigue."

The city-gate officer, catching the fragrance of the tea, strode to the table. Huang Bao, also no ordinary person, smiled: "Commander, do not hurry; there are even better teas waiting for you." The city-gate officer laughed heartily and called to his subordinates, "Rotate the shifts; reward each of you a cup of fine tea." "Thank you, Commander." "Thank you, Commander." "..." The thanks of the city-gate army were scattered like sand, with no unity. The soldiers, accustomed to coarse tea, found fine tea tasting bland at first. When they realized, the tea-drinking spot had already been taken by other soldiers. They ran to Su Ye's side begging for tea leaves. Su Ye distributed the tea leaves while observing everyone's demeanor. The soldier who demanded three handfuls without changing expression smoothly entered his field of vision. Unable to resist even fine tea, how could he withstand the temptation of silver?