Cultivation Nerd

Three weeks later, Ye An finally recovered from the injury Song Song had inflicted on her.

She looked outside her window and saw barely any snow left in the town. Only a few snowy patches remained where the shadows of the buildings had protected the cold snow from the sun.

Ye An enjoyed the approaching warm weather, and it was perhaps time for her to finally begin moving. The thought of breaking through, catching up to Song Song, killing her, and continuing her journey excited her. However, she would need to figure out a way to convince Liu Feng to become someone who would give up his life for her; pawns like that were extremely useful.

As she was planning her next move and considering how to keep Song Song away until she could also break through to Foundation Establishment, her thoughts were interrupted by sensing a Qi Gathering Cultivator approaching her house. It wasn't any of the Clan Leaders or the Governor, whose Qi signatures she had grown accustomed to and memorized.

Ye An peeked out the window and saw that the newcomer was an unassuming young man wearing a blue uniform. He was an inner sect disciple.

Right, Ye An had been far away when spying on them. But she recalled Song Song had knocked out some weakling using her aura.

The weakling was about to knock on her door, but Ye An opened it before his knuckles could meet the door. When he saw this, his eyes widened like a deer's, and he stood still in fear.

He radiated insecurity, fear, and a lack of confidence.

Was this guy like this before, or did Song Song's technique have some kind of mental effect on him? Ye An wondered. However, she didn't care much either way; the guy was a mental weakling.

That made the guy come to his senses and straightened his posture. "The Inner Sect has sent a message saying that we should find a way to bring the turtle to the Sect!"

Ye An frowned in confusion. By the Inner Sect, he likely meant the Blazing Sun Sect. Still, it was better to specify these kinds of things. This incompetent and feeble-minded guy spoke as if she knew what he was saying.

"What turtle?" Ye An asked.

"Ah," his eyes widened, and he looked embarrassed before quickly adding, "Liu Feng's turtle."

She considered making turtle meat stew depending on whose pet it was, but Ye An held herself back because this was Liu Feng's turtle. She had just been thinking of a way to get closer to Liu Feng, and this opportunity had landed in her lap.

Now, she could only hope that after she brought him his turtle, Liu Feng would forget the incident where she had tried to kill him. They were cultivators; there were stories of cultivators who tried to kill each other one day and became sworn brothers the next.

Of course, there were also stories of the exact opposite happening. But Ye An hoped that Liu Feng was naive enough to let his guard down.

All those thoughts went through Ye An's mind in an instant. She had already made up her mind but didn't show it. There were a lot of benefits to be gained with little to no risk.

"Either way," Ye An said, "what are you doing here?"

"The governor has sent me to ask if you would be willing to take the turtle with you on your way back to the Blazing Sun Sect," the guy added, looking to the side and avoiding her gaze.

A coward to the core, Ye An thought. This guy was clearly attracted to her, as was any man with a healthy body and mind, but he didn't even dare to meet her eyes. Not that it would impress her, but it would stop her view of him from getting lower than it already was.

Ye An thought of the way Liu Feng looked at her. He was like a moving, emotionless doll. It was as if his mind controlled his body without any emotion involved; at least, that was how she remembered it when she chased him to kill him.

True, she had been holding back so he would lead her to his leader, which in hindsight, had been a terrible idea. But still, he was genuinely creepy when fighting.

Liu Feng would owe her one with this turtle thing, and that guy could be pretty resourceful. He was a very emotional man outside of battle.

Liu Feng was willing to risk his life for a crazy bitch like Song Song. She bet she could do something similar and have him do the same for her.

Ye An took her time to answer this time, making the weak guy uncomfortable.

"I will do it for a thousand spirit stones," she said.

Sure, it was convenient for her to do this. But it didn't mean she was stupid enough to not notice that the other party was quite desperate to get this thing done. So, she was going to get something out of it.

The feeble-minded guy nodded and finally mustered the courage to glance in the general direction of her face.

"There is a good chance the governor will agree to this offer," he said, and added, "We will also be traveling together. I will also be returning to the Blazing Sun Sect."

He bowed his head as if that was supposed to do something.

"Give me another ten thousand spirit stones," Ye An said.

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"What?" The guy was confused. So confused that he finally looked at her face without blushing like a maid.

"As payment," she clarified.

"Why is my price so much higher?" he asked, finally showing that he was more than a worm and had some pride. "Why are you doing this? I am a Qi Gathering Cultivator, and I will likely reach the Foundation Establishment level in the future!"

Not only was he a coward, but he was also stupid. Just when she thought her view of him couldn't get any lower, he did something like this. It seemed like he didn't understand the basics.

Why would the strong need to explain to weaklings what they were doing?

She could snap his neck, and nobody would bat an eye. Why? Because she was strong, and he was weak. What kind of sheltered life did this guy grow up in? That kind of person sounded annoying to be around.

"It just became twenty thousand spirit stones because you are extra annoying," Ye An said.

The guy opened his mouth as if to say something. Before he could do that, Ye An released an overwhelming Qi, pushing away the remaining snow in her yard's shadows and ruffling his hair.

That made him stop whatever he was about to do, and he stepped back.

"Nobody likes a pushy guy," Ye An reminded him.

He got the message and walked away with his head down.

There were always pests who thought their lives mattered. Ye An thought differently.

She closed the door and kept staring at the retreating figure's back until the closed door blocked her sight.

…

The next day, early in the morning, Ye An was ready to finally leave the random home she had occupied for the past month. She had prepared everything to set off and wore her Inner Sect uniform.

She didn't have a mirror, but she knew she looked beautiful today too.

As she checked her storage ring and made sure everything was in place, she sensed something at the edge of her awareness outside.

Ye An looked out of her window and saw a turtle the size of a horse lying on the cold grass, snoozing.

It had such a faint presence for a monstrous beast. Was it controlling its Qi? She wondered. That was quite rare for a monstrous beast.

"Is this the turtle I'm supposed to be escorting?" Ye An wondered aloud.

Well, if Liu Feng had a turtle, it would definitely be a weird turtle.

The sleeping turtle woke up, opened one of its eyes, and turned toward her. Then it retreated its head inside its shell and poked it out again with a rolled-up carpet in its mouth.

Ye An was confused.

The turtle imbued Qi into the carpet and made it float.

Was it showing her that this carpet was an artifact? Ye An wondered. She had never seen such strange monstrous beasts!

After demonstrating the carpet's function, the turtle put the artifact down but kept staring at her.

This was very strange. But Ye An had seen many odd things in her life. She walked outside, used her Qi on the floating carpet artifact, and instantly bonded with it. Ye An quickly figured out how to use the carpet and placed it under the turtle. With a command from her, the turtle floated with the rug underneath it.

After this, the monstrous beast yawned and fell asleep without a second thought, as if its job was done and the rest was up to Ye An.

Ye An shrugged and let the sleepy turtle float next to her as she gave one last look at the house she had lived in for the past month. Then, she began walking toward the town gates. With the sleeping carriage-sized turtle floating beside her, she made quite a strange sight.

She cast one last look at the town she was planning to leave. Now that the snow and cold were departing, many building projects were taking place. The town was ready for the rebuilding process that would take over during spring and summer.

It was a shame that the man who had gone through all the effort to save this town was unlikely to ever see it rebuilt.

The guards at the gate took one look at her and immediately moved aside to let her pass.

No one knew exactly what had happened in that mansion nor why Ye An was here, but they knew it was something they shouldn't be involved with in any way. With the floating turtle next to her, even the dumb ones could tell she was a genuine cultivator.

As Ye An walked through the gates, she couldn't help but smile. She took in the vast field, and bits of greenery began to emerge from the thinning snow. The cold wind felt warm against her skin, and her smile widened.

Ye An waved her hand, and a sword emerged from her storage ring. It was a long, straight sword with an icy edge. She jumped onto the sword, easily balanced herself, and began flying toward the Blazing Sun Sect.

She wasn't flying at her top speed, keeping pace with the carpet's top speed as it carried Speedy. It was still quite fast.

As the wind brushed against her silky hair, Ye An's pale skin regained some of its healthy color in the sunlight. The critical condition she had endured all winter was almost over.

As they were minding their business, flying over a battlefield likely set by Liu Feng to trap monstrous beasts, the craters and destruction became visible as the snow melted.

Something strange happened as Ye An felt the air shift, like something coming out of nowhere. Her eyes widened as she sensed nothing before this new creature appeared, emerging from a water-like ripple in the air.

The monstrous beast resembled a rainbow-winged butterfly the size of a human. However, instead of attacking Ye An, the butterfly sent pink and purple flower petals toward the turtle, carrying a sweet scent familiar with poison.

Ye An was about to intervene until she sensed something strange again. This time, it came from the turtle.

The turtle opened its mouth, generating a suction force that drew all the pink petals toward it. Ye An winced, realizing there was nothing she could do now. Her plan to get Liu Feng on her side had failed before she could even take the first step.

But what happened next surprised her once again. The turtle's cheeks bulged after gathering all the flower petals. Although its mouth no longer moved, and the poison should have been in its stomach, she could still hear a munching sound.

Somehow, the turtle was okay, for now.

However, the slow monstrous beast wasn't done. It grunted and jumped off the flying carpet with surprising grace for a turtle. The turtle's move must have caught the butterfly by surprise, or perhaps the previous attack had weakened it. The turtle slammed into the butterfly and bit down on one of its wings before it could dodge.

The butterfly fell alongside the turtle, and as they slammed onto the ground, the trees they landed on broke apart, sending splinters flying.

A loud sound rang out from the impact. What followed next was brutal. Contrary to the butterfly monstrous beast, the turtle wasn't hurt or dazed by the fall. It used its surprisingly fast bite to chomp the beast in half. Then, the turtle began to rip apart the butterfly, which was still alive and writhing on the ground.

The butterfly's wings lost their luster as it died.

"Are turtles somehow resistant to poison or venom? Or is it some kind of variant?" Ye An wondered.

When an animal became a monstrous beast, certain traits were always amplified. But she had never heard about turtles being resistant to poison. She kept staring at the turtle devouring its fellow monstrous beast. With surprising intelligence, the turtle wiped its bloody mouth on some leftover snow in the forest and stomped on whatever was left of the corpse.

Ye An used her carpet to pick the turtle up. As it floated up, its legs still dripped blood onto the ground below. The turtle turned and looked at her.

She could swear there was a sense of creepy intelligence behind those eyes. But the monstrous beast snoozed away almost immediately as it landed on the carpet, making her thoughts about its intelligence seem like she was seeing things.

If it had been anyone else, they might have doubted their eyes. Perhaps they were just assuming things. But Ye An rarely doubted herself. No matter what, she always stuck by her decisions, even though some of those decisions had sometimes almost led to her death.

This turtle was definitely intelligent, Ye An concluded.