Chapter 288 - 41: Descending the Mountain with a Blade

Chapter 288: Chapter 41: Descending the Mountain with a Blade

One of the slightly older guards curled his lip. "Travel with us? This isn’t a charity. We don’t take on freeloaders."

The other, younger guard was a bit kinder and tried to reason with him. "Brother, you look like a Cultivator yourself. Isn’t it much freer to travel alone? Our caravan has a lot of rules, and we move slowly. It would just waste your time."

Chen Ye knew they were afraid he was a bandit or just trying to freeload, so he didn’t get angry. He simply took out a few pieces of broken silver from his robes and discreetly pressed them into the older guard’s hand with an apologetic smile.

"You’re absolutely right, sir. I understand the rules. Please take these few taels of silver for my food expenses. I won’t cause any trouble for you. Besides, I don’t have many other skills, but I’m pretty handy with this blade of mine. If we run into any trouble on the road, I can certainly pull my weight."

The older guard weighed the silver in his hand, and his expression softened considerably.

He sized up Chen Ye again, his gaze lingering on the calloused hands that had clearly held a blade for a long time. Finally, he nodded.

"Alright, then. Since you put it that way, you can follow at the back of the caravan. But let me be clear: on the road, you follow our Steward’s orders. Don’t wander off, and don’t cause trouble. Otherwise, don’t blame us for leaving you behind."

"Of course, of course. Thank you, sir," Chen Ye said, thanking him profusely.

And just like that, Chen Ye successfully blended into the caravan.

He dutifully stayed at the very back of the group, not initiating conversation with anyone, just walking in silence.

Seeing that he knew his place, the people in the caravan paid him no further mind.

After half a day’s travel, the caravan stopped to rest at Noon. A young caravan hand walked over, carrying a bowl of water and a hard, dry flatbread, and offered them to Chen Ye.

"Here, this is for you."

"Thanks, brother." Chen Ye took the water and flatbread and voiced his gratitude.

The hand looked to be no older than seventeen or eighteen, his face still holding a trace of boyishness. Seeing how polite Chen Ye was, he sat down beside him and asked curiously, "Hey, brother, are you also going to Qingzhou City for the Immortal Ascension Ceremony?"

"Immortal Ascension Ceremony?" Chen Ye feigned confusion, blinking. "What’s that?"

"Heh, you don’t even know about the Immortal Ascension Ceremony?" The young hand immediately perked up, as if he’d found the perfect opportunity to show off. He lowered his voice and said mysteriously,

"It’s the biggest event in our Qingzhou, held only once every ten years! Celestial Sword Manor and a few other Immortal Sects from Qingzhou Prefecture City will join together to publicly recruit disciples. Just think about it! If you get chosen, it’s like a carp leaping the dragon gate—a single step to the heavens! That’s why people call it the Immortal Ascension Ceremony!"

The young hand’s eyes shone with longing; he was clearly passionate about the subject.

Chen Ye’s heart stirred.

’Public recruitment? Celestial Sword Manor?’

He had just been worrying about how to find Jian Wuchen, and now an opportunity had fallen right into his lap.

At a major event like this, one that all of Qingzhou would be watching, Jian Wuchen, the Young Manor Master of Celestial Sword Manor, was certain to make an appearance.

’This is a heaven-sent opportunity!’

Despite this, Chen Ye’s face maintained its simple, honest, and curious expression.

"So that’s what it is. No wonder it’s been so lively on the road, with people everywhere. Then Celestial Sword Manor must be the most glorious Sect at this Immortal Ascension Ceremony, right?"

"You bet!" The young hand slapped his thigh, speaking as if he shared in the glory. "Celestial Sword Manor is the leader of our Qingzhou! Every Immortal Ascension Ceremony, out of the ten most talented prospects, they take at least seven or eight! And don’t even get me started on their Young Manor Master, Jian Wuchen—he’s like an Immortal!"

At the mention of Jian Wuchen, a look of fanatical worship appeared on the young hand’s face.

"Let me tell you, brother, that Young Master Jian is a true prodigy! He’s already a master of the Inner Realm at such a young age! He’s handsome, too, and his Swordsmanship is simply divine. He’s the role model for every young person in Qingzhou!"

Chen Ye silently gnawed on his dry flatbread, listening to the young hand’s fawning praise, but inwardly he was sneering.

Of course, Chen Ye let none of this show on his face. He just listened quietly.

He could tell the young hand was a chatterbox; there were some things you didn’t even need to ask about, as he would bring them up himself.

And just as he expected, the young hand continued to chatter on, telling him much more.

But when the young man mentioned how, five years ago, Jian Wuchen had ventured alone into the Southern Wilderness Mountain Range to capture a scoundrel named Chen Ye and bring him back for public execution, Chen Ye couldn’t help but freeze.

But he quickly understood what had happened and couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

’So, in the eyes of the world, I’m already a dead man who was beheaded.’

And he had supposedly died at the hands of Jian Wuchen, becoming just another entry in his glorious list of achievements.

Chen Ye truly hadn’t expected that the Young Manor Master of Celestial Sword Manor would stoop to finding a scapegoat to impersonate him, all just to save face.

’That move... is truly shameless.’

But on second thought, Chen Ye realized this was actually a good thing for him.

’After all, who would be on guard against a man who’s been dead for five years?’

’This is the perfect natural disguise.’

At this thought, Chen Ye’s mood inexplicably brightened, and he even remembered to play along.

"It seems this Young Master Jian will definitely be the center of attention at the Immortal Ascension Ceremony."

"The center of attention? He’ll be more than that!" the young hand said excitedly. "I heard that on the last day of the ceremony, Young Master Jian himself will personally oversee the final disciple selection and present awards to the most outstanding geniuses! What an incredible honor that would be!"