Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

Yuen Zhou's shortsword was hidden in her sleeve, pointed at Qian Yun who looked entirely defenseless.

"There are few people in this world who would recognize this technique of mine, fellow cultivator," her reply came smoothly as she glanced at the legion of undead she was controlling.

"But all of them are associated with similar demonic techniques themselves."

Qian Yun laughed silently.

"Of course, I do not intend to hide that particular detail. However, if I had any ill will toward you, the current situation where I'm seemingly at the mercy of the dagger hidden in your sleeve would not take place. In fact, it would be the opposite. So why don't we ignore these unnecessary arguments and focus back on our topic?"

"Our topic...you want a cultivation technique that doesn't involve cycling qi in one's meridians? That's a pretty precious thing to look for. I don't know if you have the means to accept the expense."

Yuen Zhou did not deny being associated with demonic cultivation techniques. Neither did she explicitly say that she couldn't get her hands on such a rare technique. This gave Qian Yun all the information he needed for now.

"How precious? I'm assuming you do not want simple spirit stones, because we both know its worth."

Yuen Zhou nodded thoughtfully. If this deal gave her what she needed, she didn't mind parting with that technique. In her previous life, she had suppressed hundreds of demonic sects singlehandedly. She did remember being in the possession of multiple techniques at that time that fit the description.

But they were quite low-level, since few cultivators would bother to create techniques that did not suite them. These types of techniques were mostly created by desperate individuals whose meridians had been damaged in battles. Few of them were capable of creating high-quality cultivation techniques all by themselves.

"How long have you accompanied Mu Ran for?" She inquired.

Qian Yun's eyes twitched behind the mask. Where did that come from?

"Not long. I saw him once in the circle of laws. Then your martial brother Xuhan and I met him just before your arrival."

Yuen Zhou sighed dispiritedly. It looked like accomplishing her aim would not be so easy.

"In that case, there isn't anything you can give to me for now." She lowered her shortsword and decided to end the conversation.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Qian Yun suddenly said, his head full of strings of incidents that were slowly attaching themselves together.

"What do you mean?" Yuen Zhou frowned as her hand on the handle of the dagger tightened once more.

"Fellow cultivator, I think it's safe to state that all three of you are from the same sect, perhaps under the tutelage of the same master.

Now let's consider the probability of separately choosing to go on missions and yet ending up in the same place due to coincidences. It's very slim, isn't it?

What's even odder is that all three of you, despite your low cultivation bases, managed to get past the first stage of the inheritance test, a test which the majority of others failed.

Two of you claim that it was your luck and a combination of coincidences that brought you all here.

"Since I have been accompanying Han Xuhan, I can at least tell that he isn't entirely lying. But you, on the other hand, are suspicious.

Your execution of the undead controlling technique seems to have reached a stage beyond what a cultivator at your level should be able to reach. It's almost as if you have been preparing for this event for a long, long time. You might try to justify that as a simple part of your cultivation. But I can tell that all three of you belong to a righteous sect. So secretly practicing demonic techniques in there should be very difficult. This indicates that you were planning to come here, the only place within five hundred miles where one can find undead creatures.

"Now tell me, fellow cultivator Zhou, why would you purposefully reveal yourself to a martial brother of yours, who just happens to be as abnormal as you are? Don't tell me it's a coincidence, hehehe."

Yuen Zhou attentively listened to Qian Yun's ramblings. For a second, the hand with which she gripped her sword twitched, her eyes flickering over Qian Yun's throat. But just before he finished speaking, she heard something that caught her attention.

"A martial brother of mine who happens to be just as abnormal as I am?"

Yuen Zhou muttered to herself in a voice loud enough for Qian Yun to hear.

"Indeed. I might not have accompanied Mu Ran for long. But that doesn't mean I don't know anything about him that might interest you."

Qian Yun said with a snicker.

His guess was correct!

Yuen Zhou had other reasons for coming here and 'meeting up with them coincidentally'!

"How much of Mu Ran's abnormalities do you know about?"

Yuen Zhou's question made him focus back on their conversation. Faintly, he felt that something was wrong with the way she phrased the question. But he put the suspicion away for the moment.

"Enough to make him treat you as a good friend or a great foe, depending on the way you use the information."

Yuen Zhou pondered on his words for a few moments before she spoke.

"A deal it is, then. Do you want the technique right now?"

Qian Yun gave her a strange look.

"Yes...but don't tell me you carry around random cultivation techniques with you...right?" He asked in puzzlement.

"No, give me a quill and a paper," Yuen Zhou answered impatiently.

"How do you even know I have those things with me?" He was even more puzzled.

"Boy, you talk too much. Did you think I didn't recognize your cultivation technique when you whipped out your contract papers back when you were facing my army? Quill, paper, now."

Qian Yun opened his mouth behind the mask to say something, but a moment later decided against it. Without any hesitation, he pulled out a small stack of papers and a quill from inside his robe and handed them to her.

Then he watched in silence as Yuen Zhou's hand turned into a blur of motions, extremely complicated theories and diagrams appearing on the papers on her hand one by one.

She memorized entire volumes of cultivation techniques? What the hell?

Qian Yun suddenly felt that he had made a mistake by goading her and indirectly threatening her just then. This Yuen Zhou seemed like an even bigger anomaly than Mu Ran.

How can a righteous cultivator of her level get her hands on so many precious demonic techniques? Moreover, her mastery of these techniques was so great that she had memorized them?

Meanwhile, Han Xuhan and Mu Ran were sneakily glancing at the two of them every now and then.

"Underling, what do you think they're doing?"

"Well, judging by their postures and body language, both of them look rather aggressive. Yet they also seem to be continuously making compromises. Each time one of them whispers something, the other tenses up, and vice versa. And then the tense one nods in acceptance. It does look rather strange."

"What's up with those papers?"

"Brother Qian Yun practices a cultivation technique that relies on contracts, as far as I'm aware."

"Contracts?" Mu Ran's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had figured it out.

"Oh...oh, what if...the two of them fell in love at first sight, and now they're signing some sort of contract as a proof of their eternal love for each other in case an accident happens..."

"Uh, boss, that can't be right. They were wearing masks when they first met. Can this legendary love at first sight sprout when the sight is mostly blocked ?"

"Well, they could still see each other's eyes through the masks. And they say the eyes are the windows to the soul after all..."

Han Xuhan was rendered speechless. What could he say after that idiom?

He shouldn't have encouraged his boss to continue this completely ridiculous conversation.

Right, speaking of souls, there was something he needed to test.

"Windows to the soul? In that case boss, what would anyone see if they made eye contact with you?"

Han Xuhan carefully slid a question he had been pondering for a while. He wanted to see what Mu Ran's reaction would be upon being reminded of the fact that Xuhan knew his big secret. If there was any sort of hostility, things would get a bit hard to control.

"My eyes? Heh, of course, they'd see a true dragon within!" Mu Ran proudly answered.

"Of course, boss is a true dragon among men."

Han Xuhan sighed in relief. It looked like Mu Ran didn't hold any ill will toward him over this. He had even reverted back to his cocky, easygoing personality.

Lost in his thoughts, he missed the cunning gleam running through Mu Ran's gaze.