Mortal: Fifteenth Realm Sword Cultivator

The young girl, dressed in plain clothes and at the Qi Refining stage, was the most common "errand runner" in Tianxing City.

A type of low-level cultivator who works specifically for high-level cultivators.

They often have mediocre spiritual talent, belong to no sect or school, and lack resources.

By being diligent and familiar with the ways of the market, they earned some spirit stones through hard work.

Many high-level cultivators who are in seclusion or do not want to be distracted by trivial matters often spend a small amount of spirit stones to entrust them with tasks such as purchasing materials, exchanging information, or even handling miscellaneous tasks.

At this moment, the little girl's face turned bright red, her lips were tightly pursed, and she stood stubbornly in front of the Foundation Establishment cultivator.

She clutched a dusty gray storage bag tightly in one hand, while her other hand was open, her palm empty.

Although the little girl's voice trembled slightly, she tried her best to remain clear and argued her case: "...Senior, the number of spirit stones you just gave me is indeed three low-grade spirit stones short. The price of that 'Azure Frost Grass' is clearly written in every shop in the market. You...you can't do this..."

The Foundation Establishment cultivator was a burly man with his chest and belly exposed, a broad belt around his waist with a battle-axe hanging from it, and his whole body exuded savagery.

Before the little girl could finish speaking, he grinned and pressed forward like an iron tower.

"You little brat, you dare to cheat me out of my spirit stones? I know exactly how much this Frost Grass costs! It's worth at most six spirit stones, and you dare to ask for nine! Do you think I'm some newbie who's easy to fool?"

The young girl trembled under the pressure of the Foundation Establishment stage's divine sense, but she still managed to explain in a soft voice, "Senior, please calm down. Those six were the old price. Nowadays, spiritual herbs are scarce, and these nine are the lowest price among imitations. The average price of similar imitations on the market is around ten spirit stones. If you don't believe me, senior, I can take you to verify it. I would never dare to deceive you."

"Verification required?"

The big man was amused by these words and burst into laughter.

"I'm just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, why would I have time to waste on your idle games? My time is worthless!"

Before he could finish speaking, he casually tossed a spirit stone aside, glancing sideways with an arrogant and contemptuous tone: "Consider this a reward from me!"

The spirit stone rolled and tumbled along the way, finally coming to a stop at Lu Jianghe's feet.

The burly man glanced at him sideways, snorted heavily through his nostrils, and strode away.

The little girl watched his departing figure, her face filled with helplessness, which finally turned into a long sigh.

"well……"

She kept muttering to herself.

"How can there be so many people like this in the world? That senior from before was much better; he was not only straightforward but also gave us extra spirit stones... How can the difference between people be so vast?"

Fortunately, private duels are strictly prohibited in Tianxing City; otherwise, how could a mere Qi Refining cultivator dare to ask a Foundation Establishment cultivator for spirit stones?

Including this spirit stone, not only did I work for nothing this time, but I also lost two spirit stones after paying the initial amount!

What bad luck! Why did Siyue have to run into someone like this?

She turned around, her gaze falling on the spirit stone in the distance.

The little girl quickly raised her hand and patted her cheeks hard, forcing a sincere smile, and ran over.

But in my heart I kept praying.

"Please don't pick it up! Please don't pick it up!"

However, under her tense gaze, Lu Jianghe lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on the lone spirit stone at his feet. He then bent down and picked it up.

This scene, witnessed by the little girl, instantly made her wail in her heart.

"Oh dear, this is terrible! Good heavens, forget about losing two coins, I'm afraid I won't even get this one back."

She could see it clearly; the big man was doing it on purpose!

They could have simply refused to give it to her, or just given it to her, but instead they chose to throw it at someone else's feet.

This clearly shows they'd rather lose than give.

Although she was uneasy when she questioned the burly man from the Giant Whale Gang, she still had some courage left.

Now, I've exhausted every last bit of courage.

For a moment, Wen Siyue stood frozen in place, hesitant and undecided.

He was reluctant to part with the spirit stone he had worked so hard to earn, but he was also afraid of angering the other party.

"Please return this spirit stone to this young lady."

A clear and gentle voice came from afar.

A girl dressed in a pale yellow dress was walking slowly towards them.

She was slender and graceful, with a light step and a pretty face. Her eyes and brows exuded a gentle, scholarly air.

Although she could be considered pretty, in the tenth-level market of Tianxing City, beauties were as numerous as fish crossing a river, and her appearance could only be considered above average, far from being a stunning beauty.

With a hint of sympathy for the weak on her face, her gaze first fell on the spirit stone in Lu Jianghe's hand, and then she looked gently at the helpless Wen Siyue.

This girl in yellow was none other than Zi Ling, who had used a secret technique to conceal her true appearance.

I went out for a walk to clear my head, and before I knew it, I had left the market town.

Seeing the argument from afar, he didn't want to get involved, but when his gaze swept over the little girl in plain clothes who was trembling under the pressure of the Foundation Establishment cultivator, he felt that she looked somewhat familiar.

The more I look at the outline of her eyebrows and eyes, the more I feel that vague sense of familiarity lingers in my heart.

"Wen Qiang..."

Zi Ling whispered to herself, and a name instantly came to mind.

No wonder it felt familiar.

It turns out he is the son of an old friend.

Lu Jianghe turned his head and his gaze fell on the woman in yellow in front of him.

The magical artifact Zi Ling used to conceal her aura and appearance emitted a light like a thin mist, revealing the "truth" at a glance. (This is from the latest work by author Saturday No Rest, "Mortal: Fifteen Realms Sword Cultivator," exclusively released here.)

She still possessed that celestial beauty, but compared to when I saw her a few years ago, she was even taller and more exquisite, with an even more captivating charm.

Then his gaze shifted to the little girl beside him.

There is speculation about his identity.

An idea popped into my head.

Is there some kind of inertia in the course of things in this world?

As if drawn by invisible threads, they will eventually tend towards a certain predetermined trajectory, like a river flowing into the sea, difficult to change.

This thought reminded him of a bizarre theory he had heard at the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Every world, in its cycle of birth, death, and operation, has already repeated countless times in the endless river of time.

Each cycle of reincarnation repeats itself with the same core ending and general outline, without any deviation.

All living things and inanimate objects in the world, whether dust or giants, are subject to this "calamity." The calamity begins at the beginning of the creation of the world, when all things are born, and ends when the world is extinguished and all sounds return to nothingness.

Then, everything resets to zero, and we start afresh, reenacting the story exactly as it was.

However, there are many conflicting opinions regarding the length of this calamity.

Some people claim with certainty that it is 108,000 years, a cycle of reincarnation.

Some have estimated it to be even further back, mentioning 1,266,000 years ago.

Even more extreme, some believe that it is a scale far beyond imagination.

This is why the saying "inescapable calamity" spread among cultivators in later generations.

Upon hearing this, Wen Siyue composed herself.

Then, mustering her courage, she walked up to Lu Jianghe. She held her hands in front of her and raised them high.

"Please, senior, return my spirit stones."

Even though it's their own stuff, they still say it's "troublesome."

The little girl really is a little girl.

This stubbornness, however, reveals a rather intriguing charm.

Lu Jianghe gave the little girl Wen Siyue a gentle smile, and then gently placed the spirit stone in her outstretched palm.

Then he turned and left.

As she brushed past Zi Ling, Wen Siyue shouted loudly at his retreating figure, "Thank you, senior!"

Lu Jianghe didn't turn around, he just waved his hand casually.

Zi Ling turned around and looked at the other person's back. A strange and intense feeling of palpitation instantly gripped her.

She blurted it out instinctively.

"Fellow Daoist, haven't we... met somewhere before?"

After saying that, Zi Ling inexplicably chased after him, stepping forward to block Lu Jianghe's path and forcibly stopping him in his tracks.

This action was simply unimaginable for her.

Normally, she would never actively chase after or stop a strange man, let alone exchange a few pleasantries with a male cultivator.

Apart from the cultivator named Li Feiyu who helped her in her time of crisis, whom she felt grateful for and had goodwill towards, all other men were nothing more than that in her eyes.

As for romantic love, she never took it to heart and couldn't even imagine it.

Lu Jianghe's deep eyes seemed to pierce through her carefully crafted illusion, reaching directly to her stunningly beautiful true face. He joked:

"But I've never seen your face before."

Zi Ling's face showed confusion.

The sense of familiarity the other person brought was not like that of the young girl Wen Siyue, where the outline of her eyebrows and eyes reminded her of an old friend.

It was a flutter in my heart.

It's not an illusion.

The man before me possessed a unique air of composure.

But Zi Ling was absolutely certain that in the past, they had never had a deep relationship, and had never even had a proper conversation.

This flutter is more like the lingering mark after a fleeting glance, or a chance encounter.

Who exactly is the other party?

She searched her memory, only to find a void and a cold emptiness.

Zi Ling repeatedly confirmed in her mind that she definitely did not know this person.

Why does the heart palpitation feel so real?

This prompted her to step forward.

baffling.

I was even a little sad...

How could this be? How could this happen?

"Sorry, maybe... I mistook you for someone else."

Lu Jianghe smiled faintly, "It's alright."

After saying that, he walked around the other person and continued walking forward.

In an instant, Zi Ling felt as if she had touched something she had longed for. Her fingertips were about to touch it, but they slipped away quietly.

A sense of loss welled up inside me.

Wen Siyue came up from behind, put her hands together in front of Zi Ling, and said gratefully:

"Thank you, thank you so much, beautiful lady, for speaking up for me."

Zi Ling came to her senses and looked at the little girl in plain clothes in front of her. Her eyes softened and the sense of loss she had felt earlier seemed to be dispelled by her innocence.

"What's your name?"

The little girl quickly and earnestly replied, "Wen Siyue, you can just call me Siyue, sister."

"Wen Siyue..."

Zi Ling softly murmured the name, and looking at the other person's slightly nervous but sincere face, her thoughts gradually became clearer.

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