"Looks like that's settled."
Shen Bai's voice echoed through the street, snapping the woman in yellow out of her astonishment.
After coming to her senses, the woman in yellow seemed hesitant, but she still grit her teeth and said, "The arms he was cultivating are completely gone. He won't fall into a frenzy again."
"Will he try to cultivate again later?" Shen Bai asked.
The woman in yellow shook her head. "After something like this, he wouldn't have the guts to cultivate again, not in a million years."
Shen Bai turned his head and saw that aside from a pale face, there was nothing else unusual about the thin man. No blood flowed from the stumps where his hands had been.
Just then, the thin man stirred, showing signs of waking up.
Shen Bai thought for a moment, then pulled some silver coins from his robes and placed them in Yaya's hands.
Yaya stared at the coins in her hand, her face a mask of bewilderment.
"When your father wakes up, take him and leave Shengyun County. Start a small business," Shen Bai said.
Even though the man had lost his hands, the conditions in the Great Zhou Country forced many children to learn right from wrong and how to survive from a very young age.
Once the thin man was conscious, they could at least go somewhere else and set up a small stall to make a living.
Yaya clutched the money pouch tightly, then suddenly dropped to her knees and kowtowed to Shen Bai.
Shen Bai was taken aback.
To be honest, this was the first time anyone had ever kowtowed to him, let alone a little girl of five or six.
"I may be little, but I know you're a good man, sir. You saved my daddy and gave us money. When I grow up, if I'm lucky enough to meet you again, I'll do anything to repay you."
Shen Bai snapped back to reality and helped Yaya to her feet. "You're a very sensible child," he said.
Having transmigrated here, Shen Bai didn't see himself as some kind of savior.
But this child before him reminded him of his previous life.
Back then, he'd also been an orphan, just as resolute as this little girl.
So, by giving the silver coins to Yaya, he was, in a way, bidding a final farewell to his past self.
Shen Bai patted Yaya's head without another word and turned to the woman in yellow.
"Can you still walk?"
The woman in yellow clutched her abdomen. "Barely. I'll be fine as long as I don't move too strenuously."
"Follow me."
Shen Bai started walking ahead.
The woman in yellow watched his back for a moment, hesitated slightly, then limped after him.
...
「On a remote, deserted street.」
Shen Bai found a rock, and he and the woman in yellow sat down together.
"Name, origin, purpose."
Shen Bai's words were simple, and so was his goal.
Since he had intervened, it was only natural that he get some useful information out of it.
The woman in yellow bit her lower lip, then took a deep breath and said, "Cheng Shuang."
"A disciple of the Great Zhou Country's Five Immortals Sect."
"I'm on a sect mission to capture a traitor."
'The Five Immortals Sect?'
Shen Bai stroked his chin. "What's their relationship with the Five-Heart Sect? Wait... Five Immortals, Five Hearts... Don't tell me the so-called Sect Leader of the Five-Heart Sect is your traitor?"
It didn't take much to connect the dots.
Cheng Shuang looked surprised. "You don't know of the Five Immortals Sect? We're a well-known power in Fenglin State."
'She couldn't understand it. How could this man, whose power was so profound, be so ignorant of the ways of the Jianghu?'
"Elaborate."
Shen Bai added, "Be as detailed as possible."
'I don't know a damn thing,' he thought. 'I only just came into contact with this other side of the world a few days ago. Aside from being a good fighter, I'm a complete newbie in every other respect.'
Coincidentally, with Cheng Shuang here, Shen Bai had a chance to ask for details.
Cheng Shuang thought for a moment before speaking. "The Five Immortals Sect believes in borrowing the power of the Five Immortals: the Fox, Weasel, Hedgehog, Snake, and Rat. We're considered a legitimate power in Fenglin State."
"But not long ago, a traitor escaped the Five Immortals Sect and twisted our Cultivation Technique into an Evil Technique."
"He no longer borrows the power of the Five Immortals. Instead, he cultivates his head and four limbs, calling them the 'Five Hearts.'"
"Periodically, his limbs and head wither, so he needs to graft on replacements from others who also practice the Five Heart Technique."
"This Five-Heart Sect... it's really just a way for him to extend his own life."
At this point, Cheng Shuang trailed off.
Shen Bai had already gotten the gist of it. 'Somehow,' he thought, 'the Five Immortals Sect's cultivation doesn't sound much more righteous than the Five-Heart Sect's.'
He actually had some idea of what the Five Immortals—the Fox, Weasel, Hedgehog, Snake, and Rat—were. After all, he'd been here for three months and had heard some of the more morbid local legends.
These Five Immortals were the fox, the weasel, the hedgehog, the snake, and the rat.
Borrowing the power of these five creatures struck Shen Bai as very strange and grotesque.
Of course, besides that, there was the other matter: the Five-Heart Sect.
If you cultivated one limb, that limb would detach itself from your body. If it was your head, like with Master Qian, you would probably die on the spot.
"Do you have any leads?" Shen Bai asked.
Cheng Shuang shook her head. "I'm a new disciple in the sect, an unfamiliar face. That's why I was sent here, to avoid alerting our target. I haven't found any clues yet."
Shen Bai just grunted in acknowledgement.
Cheng Shuang then asked, "May I know your name, sir?"
She was very curious now. Shen Bai truly didn't seem to understand much, yet his strength was immense, which piqued her interest.
Shen Bai shot Cheng Shuang a look. "Ask what you should ask. Don't ask what you shouldn't."
The corner of Cheng Shuang's mouth twitched.
'That's not how this is supposed to work.'
'You ask me, and I answer.'
'I ask you, and you say nothing.'
'If you weren't so damn strong, I'd at least have to ask if that's fair, wouldn't I?'
"What's your current level of strength?" Shen Bai asked again.
Cheng Shuang composed herself. "I'm currently at the Daoist Scripture Realm."
"The Daoist Scripture Realm... what kind of realm is that?" Shen Bai asked again.
'Since I'm asking anyway, I might as well get a clear answer.'
Now that he had started, Shen Bai had no intention of hiding his ignorance.
Cheng Shuang was stunned once again.
She suddenly realized that Shen Bai truly seemed to know nothing at all.
After a great deal of hesitation, Cheng Shuang ventured a question.
"Could it be... that you were raised by some great expert who only taught you skills but none of the fundamentals?"
There were many strange people in this world, and such individuals did exist. One of the martial uncles in the Five Immortals Sect had this very quirk, which is why Cheng Shuang made such a guess.
Shen Bai nodded. "That's right."
'Since she'd already guessed as much, he might as well go along with it.'
Cheng Shuang thought for a moment, then pointed to her Dantian. "The Daoist Scripture Realm is a Cultivator's first stage. We call it that because for us, this place is a sacred repository, a treasure."
"The special stream of energy produced through Cultivation is called Qi. When your Dantian is completely filled with this Qi, you have reached the peak of the Daoist Scripture Realm."
"After that comes the Three Treasures Realm."
Cheng Shuang paused here.
The interest in Shen Bai's eyes grew.
These realms were vastly different from the ones in the novels he'd read in his previous life, and they sparked his curiosity.
Resigned, Cheng Shuang had no choice but to continue.
"The so-called Three Treasures are Essence, Qi, and Spirit."