HIDDEN EVIL [XIAO SHUXIANG THE SERIES]

HIDDEN EVIL [XIAO SHUXIANG THE SERIES]
41 - A Journey to the Upper Cultivation Realm

It was already morning when Xiao Shuxiang woke up. The dream he had felt was very real and until now his heart was still pounding. The one who called out to him just now was none other than Hu Li.


"Young Master Xiao...!" Hu Li looked startled, he hurriedly walked over to Xiao Shuxiang while asking in an anxious-sounding voice.


"Young Master Xiao, you woke up abruptly and made me keget. Are you having nightmares?"


"......" Xiao Shuxiang did not answer Hu Li's question as it still caught his breath. But in his heart he somehow felt very upset.


"Who's playing games with me right now?" Xiao Shuxiang without looking at Hu Li then said, "Bring me some water."


"Water? You want to wash your face?"


Xiao Shuxiang was stunned and then flicked Hu Li's head to make the white-haired young man gasp in shock. "I want a drink, Hu Li...! Are you not awake yet? Focus, okay. Get me some quick water."


"Pardon Me. I'll bring it soon,"


Xiao Shuxiang sighed. He shook his head slowly when he saw Hu Li who started walking outside the tent. He was already able to calm down now, of course because he was so unexpected that the response Hu Li had just given.


Xiao Shuxiang exhaled, "While my sleep is too deep... Strange dreams are always coming. If only once twice, I would probably consider this a normal thing. I can think of it as a side effect because lately I have rarely skinned any creature alive. But the dream came several times and each location was different..."


It was actually not what Xiao Shuxiang was worried about. But whenever he dreams of committing an inhumane act such as slaughtering the inhabitants of a house - then a day or three days later, a corpse will be found in the same condition as the one in his dream.


"Even though I've been told not to sleep, but I need rest anyway. Having a practice at the 5th level of Forging Qi actually made my physical endurance drastically reduced. It's actually bad, but I can't show this weakness to anyone."


It did not take long for Xiao Shuxiang to struggle with his mind-Hu Li came carrying a tray containing a pot of water and a ceramic cup. He then sat down beside Xiao Shuxiang and poured water for his Master.


Hu Li asked, "Young Master, are you alright?"


Xiao Shuxiang drank the water and then nodded slowly. "After seeing you my mood slowly improved. You have a nice face to look at, Hu Li. You're keeping me calm,"


Hu Li blinked, he fell silent before smiling faintly. "Thank God I've got a face that calms your mood. Does Young Master want me to bring you some food?"


"no need. Oh yeah, where's Nie Shang?"


"Young master Nie, young master Siu and young master Mo have long since woken up. They're outside. Miss Ling has also arrived and I saw the cultivators starting to be gathered."


"White Cat?" Xiao Shuxiang flinched, he asked for water again and this time used it to wash his face. His somewhat hasty actions made Hu Li speechless.


Xiao Shuxiang walked out of Nie Shang's tent and was indeed not far in front of him-seen some cultivators start walking somewhere. He walked ahead of them while searching for the whereabouts of his White Cat.


"Young Master Xiao...?!" Hu Li called out. He followed his Young Master who occasionally got strange gazes from the cultivators near them.


"You said the White Cat was here, but why didn't he see me?" Xiao Shuxiang asked as Hu Li was already nearby.


"I don't know either," Hu Li's voice softly.


Hearing him made Xiao Shuxiang exhale. "What's wrong with that girl...? I can't understand it at all,"


Xiao Shuxiang continued walking and tried to find Ling Qing Zhu's whereabouts in the crowd.


It wasn't too difficult actually to find Ling Qing Zhu. The girl had long white hair and was clearly different from most people's hair color. In just a short moment, he could already see Ling Qing Zhu who was walking among the other cultivators.


"Young Master Xiao...?!" Hu Li caught up with Xiao Shuxiang. He quickened his pace and occasionally asked to be given a path by the people in front of him.


Ling Qing Zhu himself focused on hearing the explanation from Yun Qiao Yue. The girl from the Upper Cultivation Realm seemed to be hovering and in a soft voice gave an explanation that they had to walk up the mountain.


"The more upward, the trees on this mountain will decrease. The fertile soil will begin to look dry, full of steep rocks and difficult to pass. The more up the mountain, the air supply in the body slowly began to thin. Qiao Yue wished you all could get through it,"


"Miss Yun," a cultivator asked. "Why aren't we allowed to ride flying swords? Not that I wanted to complain, but using a flying sword was much more effective up there,"


"Right, I agree too."


The other cultivator nodded. Ling Qing Zhu himself did not say anything and just continued walking. She was among the female cultivators.


There were actually times where the male cultivator walked closer and tried to approach Ling Qing Zhu. However their intentions were all instantly known by the other female cultivators. And somehow, Ling Qing Zhu so had bodyguards on both sides and behind him.


"It wasn't that Qiao Yue wanted to ban. But riding a flying sword was more draining and the ground on this mountain was extremely unsuitable for cultivators. Gentlemen could feel it themselves, the Qi in this place could not be absorbed."


!!


"Really... I didn't even feel anything," a cultivator gasped. He had the talent to directly absorb the Qi from nature directly, but now his ability seemed to be of no use at all.


A female cultivator asked. "Miss Yun, then why don't you walk like us? Your energy isn't going to be much more drained now?"


Yun Qiao Yue smiled, she looked down and noticed the girl who had the color of the pink clothes. He said, "This is because Qiao Yue is stronger than all of you."


!!


Although his voice was soft, but somehow it was very piercing day. And even though the gaze of the eyes was shady, but somehow it felt like being humbled. 


Ling Qing Zhu, behind his thin veil was only a flat expression. Even the gaze of his eyes did not change at all, remaining cold and full of prestige. 


He glanced at the little female cultivator who spoke to Yun Qiao Yue just now and saw that woman's expression that seemed offended, yet also envious because what Yun Qiao Yue said was not wrong at all.


"I'm sorry Qiao Yue for talking too honestly--"


!!


Yun Qiao Yue was just about to speak again when a sudden exclamation sounded. He looked down and all the other cultivators looked back. However Ling Qing Zhu still looked straight ahead.


"He-hey...!"


"Oh..!"


"Surge,"


"Young Master...! You must 'excuse me and ask to be given a way' my goodness..." Hu Li was worried. Xiao Shuxiang cut off the path in a somewhat crude manner, even some people barely fell for it.


Yun Qiao Yue herself smiled at Xiao Shuxiang's mannerisms. He greeted the young man and was about to float down when Xiao Shuxiang did not look at him at all.


"White Cat...!"


Ling Qing Zhu stopped walking. He turned his head as Xiao Shuxiang was already beside him, This Guardian of his looked sullen.


"You're making trouble again." Ling Qing Zhu's voice was cold. He actually felt relieved because his Guardian Guardians looked perfectly healthy.


!!


It was not like Xiao Shuxiang who felt mediocre hearing Ling Qing Zhu's voice. The people around him were so shocked when he heard Ling Lang Tian's little brother speak. Whereas before, being able to hear a brief mutter of a Ling Qing Zhu alone was already a special thing to them.


"Miss Ling..."


Some female cultivators felt touched. They had already repeatedly asked Ling Qing Zhu to speak, yet the girl had only given them a cold look. Even the girl's gaze was much more piercing towards the men. Yet somehow this foreign youth could do it."


"wait. He's a..."


People started to notice who the young man who broke through between them just like that and some people started to be shocked. It was not because of the dazzling handsome face with the outstanding posture, but because they knew who this young man was.


"Xiao... Shuxiang...?!"


"Wait on! He's Xiao Shuxiang?!"


"Wasn't he the one who fought last night?!"


"What does that person have to do with Miss Ling?"


"He mentioned Miss Ling, 'White Cat'? Right, right?"


"Xiao Shuxiang again. He's very insolent. Now he was acting impolite with Miss Ling, shameless."


"Xiao Shuxiang's...! Is it possible he... Uh! It must not be Xiao Shuxiang who 'that'."


The noise was not even captured by Xiao Shuxiang's hearing at all. He had more personal business with his White Cat.


Xiao Shuxiang, "I am angry with you. You just left without waiting for me to wake up, and then today you did the same. You're a bitch."


"Mrs..." Ling Qing Zhu simply muttered and walked back to the front. He made the young man beside him even more pouty.


"White cat, you're a bitch."


"I know, thank you."


"That's not a compliment...!"


Xiao Shuxiang and Ling Qing Zhu walked over as if there was nothing. Behind them people were silent and had not moved at all. Even Yun Qiao Yue remained floating without any movement from him. 


Hu Li himself was finally able to get out of the crowd of people and catch up with his Young Master. And the other people who felt that Xiao Shuxiang's attitude towards Ling Qing Zhu was common because it had been seen so often were Siu Yixin, Nie Shang and Mo Huai.


"Brother Xiao is indeed something. I was thinking what's going on, but it's it." Nie Shang played the fan in his hand and walked in the aftershocks by Siu Yixin as well as Mo Huai.


"I think Young Master Xiao was originally looking for us..." Mo Huai and Nie Shang were actually among the other cultivators, yet they were not flashy at all. And most likely, only Siu Yixin who previously attracted quite a lot of attention because of her lively appearance.


"Come on, we'd better catch them." Nie Shang half ran. Although a little, he had a semblance of mannerism like Xiao Shuxiang who seemed to be indifferent to the views of others.


Elsewhere, Xiao Shuxiang continued to curse at his White Cat for leaving him in the Sky Pagoda Sect alone. Hu Li walked behind him.


Xiao Shuxiang, "I don't care where you're going. But can't you ask me for permission? Or saying goodbye and such. Well, at least appreciate me a little, I do... Your husband..."


"......"


"White Cat, I've been talking since. But you didn't respond at all. Being cold and sparing to talk also has its limits, this you. You hurt me," Xiao Shuxiang is really sulking right now. He was just about to speak again when he heard Ling Qing Zhu's voice.


"You're sick. And I don't want to bother you. You slept so well. I don't want to... My presence woke you up."


Ling Qing Zhu did not want to ignore his Guardian. He only wanted this young man beside him to be able to rest well.


******