SFS Chapter 38 Righteousness and Justice
Chapter 38 Righteousness and Justice
Upon hearing this, Li Qingyi frowned slightly.
After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, he decided to refuse.
Time is precious now. If this matter is too troublesome, it would be better to set off directly for the capital of Xuan Kingdom, where there must be a place for cultivators to trade.
He really didn't want to waste time on trivial matters.
Seeing Li Qingyi's displeased expression, Li Jinghong's heart sank, and he secretly thought something was wrong.
His eyes flickered, as if he had remembered something. Finally, he hardened his heart and, before the other party could refuse, quickly said:
"If the Immortal Master is willing to lend a helping hand, I will not only tell you the truth, but also offer seven spirit stones as a reward!"
Li Qingyi's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed. "You should have said so earlier..."
"Wait a minute, he hasn't even reached the Qi Refining stage, where did he get so many spirit stones?"
Li Qingyi asked suspiciously, "Where did the city lord get so many spirit stones?"
Li Jinghong smiled and said, "Immortal Master, you may not know this, but as the city lord of Yishan City, the Xuan Kingdom gives me a monthly stipend of one spirit stone. This is my surplus from many years of work."
"Damn, a secure job!"
Li Qingyi was somewhat envious. He had to wander around for spirit stones, while the other person could get spirit stones without doing anything.
"But now they're all mine."
Li Qingyi smiled and said, "Lord Li, please speak freely. I am a kind-hearted person."
At a time when we are short of money, how can we refuse when someone offers us money?
Li Jinghong thought to himself, "He's clearly just after money."
However, he still greeted everyone with a smile.
"There is a mountain called Tingfeng Mountain to the west and north of Yishan City. A wicked cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining is entrenched on the mountain."
Just because I offended him, he cast a vicious curse on my daughter...
Now my daughter suffers excruciating pain every day. Although it is not fatal, this torment has left her emaciated..."
Li Jinghong's face was pained; this middle-aged man in his forties had nothing but weariness and helplessness between his brows.
"Are you sure that evil cultivator only has the third level of Qi Refining?" Li Qingyi asked cautiously.
"Absolutely true! I swear to God, if this is false, may I die a horrible death!"
Upon hearing this, Li Qingyi immediately wore a strange expression. 'This scene...it feels strangely familiar...'
Li Qingyi recalled the night she had just transmigrated, when Zhou Chuan had made the same solemn vow.
Li Jinghong, oblivious to Li Qingyi's unusual behavior, continued:
"However, he also has a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator under his command, as well as three henchmen at the Qi Opening Realm."
Over the years, they have committed arson, murder, looting, and all sorts of atrocities. If the Immortal Master does not believe this, he may freely inquire among the people of the city.
"The Qin family in Yishan City, are they just going to ignore them?" Li Qingyi asked tentatively.
Li Jinghong gave a bitter smile: "Those powerful immortal sects and aristocratic families are arrogant and look down on me as nothing more than..."
Li Qingyi understood perfectly what he had left unsaid.
Li Jinghong continued to explain:
"Several immortal masters passed by during that time, but they were either of comparable cultivation level or they thought my reward was too meager, so..."
Li Qingyi's lips twitched slightly. "Looks like I'm really desperate for money."
"Give me the spirit stone, and I'll set off immediately."
"This... Immortal Master, could you please wait until after everything is accomplished...?"
Li Qingyi refused outright, "No way."
Seeing his determination, Li Jinghong was slightly taken aback, then took out seven spirit stones from his storage bag and presented them with both hands.
Before setting off, Li Qingyi confirmed one last time: "As long as we kill that evil cultivator, the mission will be complete, right?"
Li Jinghong nodded repeatedly.
Li Qingyi turned to leave, but suddenly heard a heart-wrenching scream coming from deep within the city lord's mansion, causing him to stop in his tracks.
"That cry is comparable to the one I made when I was practicing the 'True Explanation of Swordsmanship'."
He shook his head, dispelling his distracting thoughts, and believed Li Jinghong's words even more.
Once on the street, Li Qingyi casually asked a few vendors for news about Fengshan.
The intelligence obtained was largely consistent with what Li Jinghong had said, and even worse—
They were utterly depraved, to the point that the people in the city lived in constant fear and dared not leave the city easily.
Whenever this matter is mentioned, everyone turns pale and suffers greatly.
After confirming the news was true, Li Qingyi felt somewhat relieved.
"Would you call what I did a chivalrous act?"
As dusk deepened, Li Qingyi hurried towards Tingfeng Mountain.
During the journey, Li Qingyi also wanted to simulate the situation once, just in case.
Now possessing thirteen spirit stones, he has accumulated a small fortune.
But when he looked at the current simulation costs, he felt a headache coming on, because the price had gone up...
The cost is as high as fifteen spirit stones.
Left with no other choice, he had to bite the bullet and kill the evil cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining.
As night fell, Li Qingyi quietly made her way to the foot of Tingfeng Mountain.
He concealed his presence and crept along the mountain path, soon spotting the outline of a mountain stronghold hidden in the woods.
As he was pondering how to infiltrate, he suddenly stopped.
Now that my swordsmanship is nearing completion, my sword energy is abundant, and my cultivation has reached the fourth level of Qi Refining, wouldn't it be a waste of all this cultivation if I still had to sneak around?
With this in mind, Li Qingyi immediately activated her cultivation technique, suppressing her aura to around the second level of Qi Refining. Then, she joined her fingers like a sword, and a sharp sword aura shot out.
boom!!!
The gate of the stockade shattered with a crash.
The guards on the outpost turned pale with fright and shouted hoarsely, "Enemy attack!"
However, all resistance was in vain.
Li Qingyi entered the stronghold with ease, as if it were empty.
However, the scene before him caused his expression to freeze.
Many ordinary men, dressed in shackles like livestock, with vacant stares, were building fortifications in the village.
When his divine sense swept over the scene inside the room, his face turned completely gloomy.
Men were slaves, and women were prostitutes.
"These people deserve to die!"
Hearing the noise, the bandits inside the house poked their heads out, only to be killed by Li Qingyi with a single sword stroke.
The woman inside screamed in alarm.
Li Qingyi noticed that the bandits of Tingfeng Mountain all had rosy complexions, a stark contrast to the sallow-faced and emaciated prisoners.
This relieved him of the worry about accidentally killing someone.
He swung his sword and cut the prisoners' shackles, declaring loudly, "You are free now, leave immediately."
Then, with a few more sword strikes, all the bandits hiding in the house were killed.
Ignoring the astonished and uncertain expressions of the crowd, Li Qingyi charged towards the heart of the mountain stronghold, leaving a trail of blood and screams in her wake.
This action naturally alarmed the master of Tingfeng Mountain.
As Li Qingyi approached, dozens of bandits retreated in panic, including the core subordinates that Li Jinghong had mentioned.
"Weren't you living a carefree and happy life before?" Li Qingyi said coldly.
The cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining forced himself to remain calm and shouted sternly:
"You're only at the second level of Qi Refining. Once my master emerges from seclusion, he will surely take your life!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a gust of cold wind suddenly arose.
"With your meager skills, you dare to cause trouble at my Tingfeng Mountain!"
A gloomy-faced cultivator stood not far away, glaring angrily at Li Qingyi.
Li Qingyi was too lazy to waste words, and her sword energy moved with her thoughts.
Before the monk could react, his limbs had been severed at the root.
A heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the mountain village.
Upon seeing this, the bandits were terrified and scattered in all directions.
Unfortunately, their speed was no match for the crisscrossing sword energy.
Li Qingyi strolled over to the dying evil cultivator and said calmly:
"Would you rather hand over all your belongings and get a quick death, or have me come and collect them myself, so you can slowly experience what it's like to be worse than dead?"
"Oh no, why do I feel like a villain?" For some reason, Li Qingyi had the strange feeling that she was the villain.
The evil cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining was already terrified out of his wits, only muttering repeatedly:
"Spare me... spare me..."
Seeing that he was no longer conscious, Li Qingyi ended his life with a single sword stroke and took the storage bag from his waist.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered an unexpected delight: four spirit stones and some gold and silver items were inside.
"So poor..."
Li Qingyi pursed his lips and was about to put away the storage bag when an exquisite black box engraved with a crescent moon emblem caught his attention.
The box is made of neither wood nor gold, and it feels cool to the touch. The crescent moon pattern on it seems to shimmer under the moonlight.
Even more strangely, when he tried to probe with his divine sense, he was completely blocked.
He searched around but couldn't find the key to open it.
Li Qingyi initially intended to forcefully break it open, but suddenly felt it wasn't safe enough.
It's best not to mess with things of dubious origin that look suspicious.
"Let's take it back to Xiyue and see; perhaps she'll recognize it."
After collecting her spoils, Li Qingyi turned and walked out of the village.
As he approached the village gate, he saw a large number of rescued ordinary people standing still, seemingly waiting for something.
Upon seeing him, everyone knelt down in unison, their voices echoing through the mountains and forests.
"Thank you so much, Immortal Master! I will never forget your great kindness!"