The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The next day, when the other jailer arrived to take over his shift, he realized that something was wrong. The third floor was full of corpses and all of them were missing body parts, ranging from limbs to innards. Not one corpse was in perfect condition.

“Death by poisoning.” Arrester Wang kneeled before the jailer’s corpse as he inspected it for the cause of death.

Meng Qi, Qi Zhengyan, and the others who had been invited there, all had grave expressions on their faces. They had not expected Duan Rui to remain in possession of such potent toxins!

Arrester Wang had performed a thorough check before Duan Rui had been put in jail to ensure that he was not hiding any poisons, miasmas, concealed weapons or other dangerous items. This was a Six Fan School rule that prevented prisoners from escaping.

Moreover, after Meng Qi had finished talking to Duan Rui, he had intentionally asked the jailer to perform a check once more. It was not for the sake of negating anything, but rather a routine duty that had to be done everytime a prisoner met someone. It was done to prevent visitors from giving them any useful objects. Hence Arrester Wang did not suspect Meng Qi or Qi Zhengyan of intentionally letting Duan Rui out.

“His acupoints were sealed and his limbs were chained. Even with his natural talent, if he hadn’t had poison to kill the jailer, it would’ve been tough for him to escape…” The hero, Lin Baozhi, had a point.

The jailer had obviously gone there to perform additional acupinning for Duan Rui. He would not have waited till the minute before Duan Rui’s acupoints were unsealed to do it, because he would be placing his life in danger. Therefore it was possible to exclude the assumption that Duan Rui had recovered part of his strength.

“But the question is, how did he get those toxins?” Huang Huafeng grumbled rather frustrated. They had finally captured their father’s murderer after much effort, and now he had escaped from the heavily guarded Six Fan School prison!

Arrester Wang was slightly embarrassed. Was he accusing him and Six Fan School of being inadequate in their search?

Meng Qi hesitated before saying, “Arrester Wang is an experienced Super Arrester. He searched every possible place that Duan Rui could’ve hidden something, even his mouth in case there was a pouch of poison in it. Logically speaking, there shouldn’t have been any potent toxins.”

If they had not done a thorough check, and had confidence in the results, how could the jailer have dared to go near such a dangerous criminal?

Huang Huafeng and Xiao Liang were about to voice their doubts when Meng Qi kneeled down to lift up the jailer’s corpse. “He came to perform acupinning for Duan Rui, so his position should’ve been like this… Duan Rui was locked up with chains, so if he didn’t stand up…”

He was trying to recreate the scene. “There’s a high chance that the jailer was killed by poison spat from Duan Rui’s mouth. However, we should exclude the possibility of there being a pouch of poison in his mouth, which means that Duan Rui’s demonic art allows him to change his saliva into poison…”

Nodding in agreement, Arrester Wang said, “There’s a high chance of that. But how was he still using his demonic art when his acupoints were sealed?”

“Sealing his acupoints only restricted his activity and the main routes his genuine Qi flows through. If there’s some trickery in transforming his saliva into poison, then the acupinning may not have had an effect on it.” Being the eldest legend there, Sha Wanhao had seen many uncommon occurrences before.

“The most important thing right now isn’t to think about Duan Rui’s demonic art, but to catch him!” Huang Huafeng was not doing too well at controlling his emotions.

Arrester Wang immediately announced, “Duan Rui contains the evil spirit. Even though he has not committed any crimes, he can’t be allowed to run amok. I’ll issue a warrant for his arrest in Jun City at once!”

“I’ll help capture him too.” Meng Qi said in a low voice.

If Duan Rui’s escape route did not cross over into Ying City, his plan to challenge Master Lotus would have to wait.

First of all, although he was not responsible for Duan Rui or his escape, he had still suggested curing him of his Soul-dissociating Syndrome before considering the kind of punishment to be imposed on him. He had to account for it somehow to the Elite-gathering Gang, after all.

Secondly, Duan Rui seemed to have practiced the “Muscle-Strengthening Scripture”. He and his adoptive father could be related to Zhen Chang’s theft case from back then. Perhaps Meng Qi would be able to find clues about the spy. He himself had already left Shaolin Temple and no longer had any attachment to that place, but his master and junior brothers were still there. Catching the spy would mean being able to protect them from being framed or harmed someday.

Thirdly, there were still many things to carefully think about with respect to the nine postures Duan Rui had shown him.

Since Qi Zhengyan himself was a Rogue Cultivator to begin with, it was not a must for him to go to Ying City. He promised to do the same after seeing Meng Qi do so.

Huang Huafeng knew that Killing Blade Su Meng could not be blamed for the incident. Who could have known that Duan Rui’s demonic art was so strange?

“Young master Su, Young master Qi, you both are truly chivalrous.” He cupped one hand in the other and thanked them.

The small group exited the cell and took a look at the other corpses. Lin Baozhi sighed and said, “The devil is so cruel. Even if it killed them with one move, it still had to break their limbs or gouge out their innards…”

The rest of them looked at the dismembered bodies in utter silence.

… …

After escaping from prison, Duan Rui climbed over the city walls and made a mad break for the nearby mountains. He was in such a rush that he did not bother looking where he was going.

He kept on running until the midday sun hung high above. Bathed in the golden light, he suddenly collapsed on the ground and leaned against a withered tree to catch his breath.

He panted for a while, then his deep dark eyes suddenly turned back to normal. Utterly confused, he stared at his surroundings.

“Where, where am I?”

He had clearly been in the jail cell before he had fallen asleep. How did he wake up to the wilderness?

“Did someone rescue me?”

“Impossible… Could it be that my Soul-dissociating Syndrome acted up again, and I was possessed by the evil spirit? Did it hurt the jailer and break out of prison?”

The more Duan Rui thought about it, the more convinced he was that it was the truth. He could not help but cry painfully with his head in his arms. He willingly had himself locked up to avoid harming other people before his Soul-dissociating Syndrome was cured, but in the end he had still hurt the jailer…

“What the hell are you crying for? Useless loser!” A familiar voice piped up all of a sudden.

Duan Rui got up in shock. He scanned his environment, but did not see anyone’s shadow.

“What’re you looking for? I’m the ‘evil spirit’ in your mouth!” Duan Rui’s face twisted as he spoke.

Immediately after that, he returned to normal. “Evil spirit? I’ve no money and I’m terrible at kung fu. Please give me a break and stop bothering me!”

He was almost begging for mercy.

His face twisted once more. “Haha, I’m you and you’re me. What do you mean ‘give you a break’? Actually, we were originally one and the same. Who doesn’t want revenge after being bullied? It’s just that a useless coward like you doesn’t dare to retaliate. You obviously have great strength yet you’re not willing to kill people, so I had to do things my way!”

“Nonsense! I was never soft-hearted when I was a hunter. But you harmed my Master and left me unable to justify myself. Now I’ve lost my peaceful life…” Tears started spilling over onto his cheeks as he spoke. “My Master saved me from dire straits and treated me like his own son. He would always think of me first whenever there was something good in the sect. He never scolded me when I messed up my kung fu, and patiently corrected me instead.”

“He gave us a new way of life, loved us deeply, and yet you killed him! What else could you be besides an evil spirit?”

Duan Rui threw his head back and released a laugh so loud and hearty that his tears were trembling in his eyes. “Fool! Imbecile! Everyone on this earth is evil. I merely wouldn’t harm myself. We were originally the same person, so everything I do is for your own good.”

“For my own good? If it were for my benefit then you wouldn’t have killed Master!” Duan Rui hollered in rage.

The corners of his lips turned upwards into a cold smirk. “Why did he save you? Of course, it was because he noticed our gift and guessed that we knew a supreme art. That day he was already suspicious of our kung fu. If we had come clean with him, he would definitely have killed us! I had no choice but to strike first!”

“These are all your baseless assumptions!” Roared Duan Rui. “And what’s wrong with our kung fu anyway?”

He sneered, “Wasn’t he normally always beating around the bush with that body-strengthening exercise? Isn’t that just him coveting the Divine Skill?”

Duan Rui was young and inexperienced, and thus rendered speechless for a moment at the evil spirit’s indirect accusation. He became flustered and did not know how to explain his way out. “M-Master was only concerned about me…”

The mocking expression remained on his face. “You really think that’s just a body-strengthening exercise? You think the mad old man would really adopt you as his son out of goodwill?”

“M-My adoptive father didn’t have any ill intentions!” Duan Rui was growing increasingly shocked.

“The old madman didn’t dare practice it himself and was using you as a scapegoat. Luckily I was alert and purposely led him astray! Heh, that’s why he eventually went mad…” His laugh was full of pride.

Then his expression turned serious. “Do you really think Killing Blade Su Meng is trying to help us? He’s also after our Divine Skill! When we were in prison, did he ever mention how he would treat your Soul-dissociating Syndrome? All he asked about was the ‘body-strengthening exercise’!”

Duan Rui had nothing to say to that. His mind was in a state of confusion.

“Humans are all treacherous creatures. We can only trust ourselves. I’m you and you’re me, so why would I harm you? The others are the ones who are trying to do that! They’re after our Divine Skill and are trying to hurt us!” The look on his face was bordering insanity now, and his eyes were brimming with hatred towards others. “We’ve practiced such a powerful Divine Skill, so how can we stay unrecognized in some small town! Since we’ve already escaped, forget about going back. Don’t you want to live a grand and impressive life?”

Duan Rui had developed a wariness of Meng Qi, Arrester Wang and the others. Although he still could not accept the “evil spirit”, he eventually grit his teeth and got up, his face dark. He began advancing down a paved path.

“I can find a doctor on my own too!”

Sometimes he walked on the paved road, and sometimes he passed through mountain ridges. Within three days, he had long left the boundaries of Ying City.

Out of the blue, he heard a tiger’s growls and screams for help ahead of him. Thus, he quickened his pace and passed through the forest before him.

At the foot of the mountain, a humongous tiger, twice the size of an average tiger, was sinking its teeth into an old man dressed in a servant’s clothes. It was completely oblivious to the long saber being swung at it.

There was a collapsed horse-drawn carriage behind the old man. A heavily injured woman sat next to the carriage, dressed in white robes covered by a pale yellow cloak with a fluffy collar. Her face was beautiful, and she appeared gentle and refined. Several corpses of both genders were strewn about next to her. She was the one who had been screaming for help.

Seeing that the old servant was about to die, and with her injured legs preventing her from helping or escaping, Feng Yuanjing had been at a loss for what to do. Therefore, she had instinctively cried for help.

She cursed her misfortune at having met a tiger that was right about to become a spiritual being. Excluding the wilderness where running into monsters and beasts was possible, there had not been any traces of them for a long time on the paved roads in the River East region.

Just then, she spotted a young man who looked strong and good-natured approaching them. She was delighted at first, but then filled with sorrow as she cried, “Don’t come over here, beware of the Tiger Demon!”

Duan Rui took a deep breath and dashed forward. In a flash, he had arrived at the tiger’s side, and used his right fist to deal a strong and heavy punch.

Since the tiger’s skin was impenetrable, it kept biting onto the old servant’s shoulder and slapped Duan Rui with its claw instead.

Just then, blood flowed out of its eyes and nose. Then its body went limp and it dropped dead to the ground, just like that!

Feng Yuanjing stared blankly at the scene before her. She could not believe that the ferocious Tiger Demon had been killed so easily! Among her servants were masters on the level of seven or eight acupores, as well as many who had enlightened their Acupores. They had all perished at the claws of the Tiger Demon, yet this young man had managed to kill it with just a single punch?

“Miss, are you alright?” Duan Rui supported the old servant over, gentle concern shown on his face.

Feng Yuanjing repressed her shock and replied, “Thank you for saving us, Sir. May I ask your name?”

“D-Duan Fusheng.” Duan Rui gave her a fake name.

From that day onwards, he was beginning a new chapter in life.

“Sir, you’re so brave and your kung fu is extraordinary…” Feng Yuanjing gradually lowered her head and her face flushed. She felt that the Duan Fusheng before her was strong yet simple, very different from the young lords she usually met.

It was Duan Rui’s first time being praised and thanked by a beautiful girl, and it was his first time being looked at by such bright and teary eyes. He scratched his head and said, “I study martial arts, so of course I’d help when there’s trouble.”

Somehow, he felt sort of happy. No girl had ever looked at him in such a manner before.

“Childe Duan, are you going to Chang Chuan?” Asked Feng Yuanjing.

Duan Rui had long lost all sense of direction and geography, so he casually went along with it. “Yes.”

“My home is in Chang Chuan, why don’t you…” Feng Yuanjing was halfway through her sentence when she saw Duan Rui’s complexion change. “Sir, what’s wrong?”

A foreboding sense of danger was creeping up on him. He fearfully replied, “Perhaps my enemies have caught up with me…”

“How terrifying were these enemies, to be able to make a man who had just killed a Tiger Demon with one punch so scared?” Feng Yuanjing thought of something and asked, “Childe Duan, how did you become enemies?”

“I was framed, and they’re now after my Divine Skill…” Duan Rui was still inexperienced in Jianghu matters, and therefore told the concerned Feng Yuanjing about his “assumptions” regarding Meng Qi and the others.

Feng Yuanjing thought of what had happened just now, looked at the honest-looking Duan Rui, and grit her teeth. “Childe Duan, I believe you. Quick, hide in the carriage! If someone comes to ask about you, I’ll help cover you.”

Duan Rui felt a slight twinge in his eyes. He was touched. There were still good people in this world!

He hid inside the collapsed carriage and used his Divine Skill to conceal his breath and activity. Not long after, two horses came galloping over.

“Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.” As the horses drew near, Feng Yuanjing saw that they were two young men clad in hero’s robes. The one in front was dressed in black robes with a blade in his hand. He was handsome and appeared masculine.

“Such a young enemy? Are they the ones who scare Young lord Duan, who killed a Tiger Demon with just one punch?” Feng Yuanjing found it a bit unbelievable.

“Miss, have you perhaps seen a young man pass by?” Meng Qi inquired. He provided a description of Duan Rui’s appearance and traits, and scanned the surroundings.