Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 242: Chapter 167: A Qi Refiner’s Instruction

Broken Sword waited for a moment, then sidled up to the entrance again and peeked inside...

BOOM!

”You bastard!”

BANG!

Broken Sword was sent flying once more.

It did a somersault in mid-air, stabilized itself, and its blade trembled with rage.

This time, however, it didn’t charge again.

It just flew in circles from a distance, glancing back at the ruined temple from time to time. ’Just you wait ’til my master gets back! He’ll beat the crap out of you!’

...

「The real world.」

Wan Ze opened his eyes and sat up in the coffin.

The lights in the basement were on.

He vaulted out of the coffin, landed on the floor, and stretched his limbs.

This trip to the Otherworld hadn’t yielded much in terms of tangible gains, but the amount of information was significant.

The existence of Deceitful Beasts meant that world was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

And the Female Sword Immortal was currently fighting them, so she wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

He glanced at the time...

Only a minute or two had passed in the real world, yet he had spent twenty minutes in the Otherworld.

The difference in the flow of time still existed...

’I still have a good amount of Spiritual Form left, so there’s no rush for now... but my Magic Sense is still lacking.’

Wan Ze pondered this, recalling his recent experience.

The interaction between Broken Sword and the True Monarch Statue had been somewhat surprising.

The relationship between those two seemed more complex than he’d thought—not simple hostility, nor pure reconciliation, but a kind of... unspoken, indescribable understanding.

Then there was the True Monarch Statue’s attitude toward him.

From unconditional protection at the beginning to tacit approval now, what was it after?

Wan Ze couldn’t figure it out.

Still, one could never be too careful.

Although the True Monarch Statue hadn’t shown any malice, its origins and motives were unknown. He couldn’t possibly trust it completely.

Taking a deep breath, Wan Ze looked at the physical body inside, enveloped by the mysterious substance, and a question suddenly occurred to him...

’Are the Female Sword Immortal and this body a case of a separated soul and body?’

’Or is she already dead, with only a lingering obsession left behind?’

Only she herself could likely answer that question.

Wan Ze shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside.

He closed the coffin lid again and turned to leave the basement.

In the next room, Zhai Yu and Zhai Jia were still buried in documents.

The table was piled high with files, and a dozen or so more were scattered on the floor. The two of them were getting headaches just looking at it all, occasionally whispering a few words to each other.

Wan Ze pushed the door open and went inside.

”How’s it going?”

Zhai Yu looked up, rubbing his eyes. ”There’s too much. We won’t be able to get through it all anytime soon. This is all that Qin Yuming’s research records. The things involved are... very complicated.”

Zhai Jia pointed to the pile of documents on the table and added, ”I can’t make heads or tails of it, anyway. Cellular activity, energy fluctuations, Soul resonance... It’s all giving me a massive headache.”

Wan Ze walked over and casually picked up a file to flip through.

It was indeed complex.

The terminology and data would be difficult for an ordinary person to understand.

He put the file down and looked at Zhai Yu. ”I’ve already notified that senior. It’s just that she can’t come back for the time being. There’s a situation in the mountains.”

Zhai Yu’s brow furrowed slightly. ”What kind of situation?”

Wan Ze thought for a moment before saying carefully, ”Something is making a move on her territory.”

He didn’t go into detail about the Deceitful Beasts and such. It would be too troublesome to explain, and they might not believe him even if he did.

Zhai Yu nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

Zhai Jia pulled out some experimental data, a bit excited. ”Ah Ze, you might not believe this, but Qin Yuming and his crew were really onto something. I almost regret killing him.”

”How so?” Wan Ze looked over.

Zhai Jia lowered his voice. ”They cut off a small piece of the mysterious substance enveloping that body to study it... It’s rich in all sorts of rare elements, and extraction is difficult. But they found a way to neutralize it with external materials and discovered that if this substance is absorbed, it’s incredibly beneficial to the body... Large doses can even extend one’s life!”

’Tang Monk’s Flesh?’

Wan Ze couldn’t help but be stunned.

Zhai Jia was tempted, but he was too afraid that grand-auntie would come for him in his dreams, so the matter ended there.

Then he asked, ”So what do we do now?”

Wan Ze shook his head. ”All we can do is wait for her to return.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Zhai Yu stood up, walked to the window, and gazed out at the night, his thoughts unreadable.

After a while, he suddenly spoke, ”Ah Ze, tell me... what do you think that senior actually wants?”

Wan Ze was silent.

He had wondered about that same question many times.

’What happens after she gets her body back?’

’What will she do?’

’Will she resurrect herself? Or does she have other plans?’

He didn’t know.

But he did know that since he had made a promise, he had to see it through.

”Whatever she wants, we give her the body first. We’ll deal with the rest when the time comes.”

Zhai Yu glanced back at him and nodded.

Zhai Jia yawned and leaned back in his chair. ”Alright, we’ll wait then. Ah Ze, you know how to play Guan Dan? Wanna play a couple of hands?”

”I’m going to cultivate.”

”...Right. How about you, Brother Yu?”

”I want to beat you up.”

”Uh, okay, pretend I never asked. I’m gonna go take a leak.”

...

「11:30 PM.」

Wan Ze had just finished showering and getting dressed when his communicator suddenly blared.

A moment later, Zhai Jia’s frantic wailing came through from the other end: ”Ah Ze!!! Help!!! That grand-auntie just came for me again!!!”

Wan Ze paused in the middle of drying his hair. ”She’s back?”

”She struck me with her sword a hundred times! A full hundred times!!!” Zhai Jia’s voice was on the verge of tears. ”Only after she finished did she tell me to have you go over! Damn it, I must have run my mouth this afternoon. The old lady must have heard me bad-mouthing her... Ah Ze, hurry up and come! I can’t take it anymore!”

Wan Ze didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”Alright, I’m on my way. I’ll contact you guys if there’s any news.”

After hanging up, he pushed open his door, walked down the corridor, went downstairs, and entered the basement.

Under the bright lights, Wan Ze walked to the coffin, pushed the lid aside, and looked down at the body inside, which was enveloped in a translucent substance.