Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 27: A Stranger as Pure as Jade

Wolf howls echoed through the dark mountain forest. The sound lasted only a moment before fading into a whimper, as if the beasts had sensed a predator far more ferocious than themselves stalking through the night.

Striding through the pitch-black woods, Xu Qing struggled to bury the heavy sense of loss weighing on his chest. Growing up in the slums, he was no stranger to partings, but this one cut exceptionally deep.

A hollow ache gnawed at him. He walked in absolute silence, his solitary silhouette looking ever more desolate against the encroaching dawn. After trekking through the night, the scavenger camp finally appeared beneath the breaking light.

Lanterns flickered sparsely within the settlement. In the past, no matter how late Xu Qing returned from the restricted zone, a single light had always burned in the distance, waiting for him. Today, that corner of the camp was swallowed by the dark. One lamp was gone forever.

The desolation thickened. Xu Qing slipped into the camp and approached the pitch-black courtyard. Pushing open the gate, he found the pack of stray dogs sitting in the yard, watching him in eerie silence. He looked up at the three cabins. All dark. No people, no light, no life.

The kitchen still held the remnants of yesterday’s dinner. Xu Qing stepped inside and stared at the three sets of bowls and chopsticks resting on the table. After a long, blank silence, he sat down and mechanically ate the cold leftovers. Bite by bite, he forced it down. When he finished, he washed the dishes, tidied the kitchen, took a deep breath, and retreated to his room.

He closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

Outside the courtyard, the purple-robed old man and his servant stood in the shadows. Their gazes seemed to pierce the wooden walls, resting directly on Xu Qing. A heavy silence hung between them until the old man let out a soft sigh.

“He is a child of deep loyalty and affection.”

“Seventh Master, should we give him a token?” the servant asked.

“Let us wait until we retrieve the Cloud Dream Flower that Master Bai requested from the restricted zone,” the old man replied. His body slowly dissolved into the night air. The servant nodded and vanished alongside him.

…

The night passed.

When Xu Qing stepped out of his room the next morning, his eyes instinctively darted toward Captain Lei’s cabin. He quickly forced his gaze away. In silence, he attended Master Bai’s lecture, and in silence, he returned.

He cooked for himself. Yet, he still set out three pairs of bowls and chopsticks on the table. He ate without a word, occasionally glancing up at Captain Lei’s empty seat. One less person. One less voice.

The suffocating quiet threatened to let the loneliness seep back into his heart, but Xu Qing ruthlessly crushed the emotion down. After clearing the table, he tossed scraps into the yard for the stray dogs. He watched the pack devour the food for a moment before returning to his room to meditate.

Days bled into one another. Soon, it was the sixth day since Captain Lei’s departure.

Xu Qing had buried his sense of loss entirely, reverting to his usual icy detachment. Yet, a careful observer would notice that his coldness had sharpened into something far more brittle and dangerous.

Outside of Master Bai’s tent, Xu Qing’s hyper-vigilance never wavered. This state of constant, lethal readiness wasn’t unfamiliar to him. For the past six years, this had been his baseline.

He was a lone wolf once more.

He cultivated with a manic intensity, using the grueling physical exertion to anchor himself in his familiar isolation. Late into the night on the seventh day, his cultivation finally broke through.

He shattered the bottleneck of the Sea Mountain Technique’s fourth layer, stepping into the fifth.

Deep, thumping reverberations echoed from within his body. Outside, the stray dogs sensed the oppressive force radiating from his room. They whimpered and backed away, terrified by the apex predator aura bleeding through the wooden walls.

The rumbling within his flesh lasted far longer than any of his previous breakthroughs. Half an hour later, as the foul, black impurities oozing from his pores reached their peak, Xu Qing’s eyes snapped open.

A fleeting flash of purple light illuminated the dark room.

The moment his eyes opened, a sickening chorus of cracks erupted from his body. His bones lengthened, his muscles tore and knitted back together, and a violent stretching sensation wracked his frame.

Yet, the agony was well within his tolerance. He endured it with cold indifference. Another half hour passed before the violent transformation subsided. When Xu Qing stood up, his clothes hung noticeably shorter on his frame.

His wiry body had undergone a near-complete metamorphosis, forged into something incredibly dense and refined. More strikingly, his body was entirely devoid of Mutagen. This absolute purity enhanced his naturally sharp, clean features. Paired with his chilling aloofness, he exuded a strange, magnetic charm that even the layers of grime couldn’t hide.

Xu Qing cared nothing for his appearance. He stepped out of the room and tested his speed, throwing a punch into the empty air. A muffled thunderclap echoed from his fist. His strength had more than doubled compared to the fourth layer.

Even more astonishing, as his fist descended, a surge of spiritual energy rippled out, faintly coalescing into the phantom of a Kui, its mouth full of sharp fangs like a malevolent ghost!

“Is this the power of one Kui?” Xu Qing murmured, glancing at his fist as the stray dogs trembled around him.

The Sea Mountain Technique mentioned that each layer increased one’s strength by the equivalent of a tiger, with five tigers equaling one Kui, and two Kui equaling one Kui. But after some thought, Xu Qing felt he didn’t quite match the technique’s description.

His current strength likely reached the level of seven or eight tigers, and his speed was similarly enhanced. He was even confident that by the time he cultivated to the sixth layer of the Sea Mountain Technique, he would possess the power of two Kui ahead of schedule.

“It must be the effect of the Purple Crystal and my attempt to replicate that deity statue’s blade strike from the temple.”

Xu Qing murmured inwardly, staring at his right hand. After a long silence, he slowly raised it, visualizing the deity statue’s blade strike in his mind. The surrounding air currents seemed to gather faintly.

After a while, Xu Qing didn’t continue. He lowered his hand.

“Still not enough.”

Xu Qing could feel his replication wasn’t complete. He took a deep breath and was about to return to his room when, under the moonlight, he turned and looked down at his own shadow.

During his breakthrough, all the Mutagen had merged into his shadow as usual. Now, from the inside out, his body was completely pure, with no trace of Mutagen left.

Staring at the shadow, a sudden idea struck Xu Qing.

“I wonder if I can control this shadow…”

The thought grew stronger in his mind. Xu Qing kept staring, mentally trying to make the shadow’s hand move. He tried for a long time but couldn’t do it.

Xu Qing sighed softly, thinking he was being greedy. Just as he was about to give up, his shadow’s hand suddenly twitched!

This made Xu Qing’s eyes widen, his breathing quickening slightly.

He was sure it wasn’t an illusion. His own hand hadn’t moved, so he intensified his focus and attempts.

After a while, his shadow’s hand, without Xu Qing’s own hand lifting, slightly… rose!

Just that one movement made Xu Qing feel as if his head was about to explode, leaving him empty and dazed.

It took a long time for him to recover somewhat from the headache. Panting heavily, his eyes shone with intense light.

“I can control it!” Xu Qing looked down, giving his shadow a deep glance.

He knew it was extremely difficult to control now, and the emptiness in his head and the current headache told him the consumption was immense.

But he believed that with practice and as his cultivation improved, he would eventually be able to manipulate his shadow flexibly.

And by then, the shadow… would become his unexpected weapon!

“I hope that day comes soon.” Xu Qing took a deep breath, rubbed his throbbing forehead, and returned to his room to sit in meditation.

By dawn, he had only recovered halfway, looking somewhat listless.

Forcing himself to perk up, he changed into a larger set of old clothes and hurried to Master Bai’s tent.

Chen Feiyuan wasn’t there, and Master Bai hadn’t arrived yet. Only Ting Yu was there, reciting the pharmacopoeia. Seeing Xu Qing arrive, she casually waved a greeting and continued her recitation.

It had been like this recently. Xu Qing had heard from Ting Yu that among the young men and women who came from outside earlier, some were Chen Feiyuan’s friends, so he often took leave to go play with them.

And Master Bai had been busy with something lately, arriving later each day and leaving quickly after the lesson ended.

Xu Qing nodded and sat to the side, taking out his bamboo slips to silently review yesterday’s lesson. Ting Yu, who had lowered her head after greeting him, suddenly looked up again, eyeing Xu Qing suspiciously.

“Why do I feel like you’ve changed somehow?”

Xu Qing didn’t look up, continuing his review.

Ting Yu’s bright eyes widened as she scrutinized him carefully.

Soon, Master Bai arrived, so she had to stop. But throughout the day’s lesson, she glanced at Xu Qing multiple times.

In the past, Master Bai would have been strict, but today he seemed preoccupied, only scolding her a few times before ignoring it.

After finishing the lesson and assigning tomorrow’s assessment content, Master Bai hurried away.

Once the teacher left, Xu Qing stood up to leave, but Ting Yu darted over, blocking the doorway.

Xu Qing frowned slightly, looking at Ting Yu.

Ting Yu met his gaze defiantly, her beautiful, delicate face with starry, moon-like eyes glaring at Xu Qing. Her gaze swept over his height and face, and she said in a daze,

“I know, you’ve grown taller.”

“Mm.” Xu Qing nodded, trying to walk around Ting Yu, but she shifted again, blocking his way. Her brilliant, starry eyes held curiosity.

“Kid, your face is always dirty. I don’t even know what you look like. Today, you’ve changed again. No, I have to wipe it clean and see what you really look like.”

Ting Yu said, taking out a handkerchief and preparing to act.

Xu Qing recoiled, about to step back, but Ting Yu snorted.

“Kid, I helped you get leave. That’s a favor!”

Xu Qing paused, and in that moment of hesitation, Ting Yu instantly closed in. Her handkerchief, moistened with spiritual energy, gently wiped across Xu Qing’s face.

The wiped cheek instantly revealed fair skin. Xu Qing felt impatient and was about to force his way out.

“Kid, I’m your Senior Sister!” Ting Yu shouted again, and the words “Senior Sister” clearly carried significant weight, making Xu Qing’s body stiffen.

Ting Yu’s eyes curved like crescent moons, full of spirit and cunning. This time, she moved even faster, wiping the handkerchief all over Xu Qing’s face.

Though Xu Qing strongly resisted internally, the title “Senior Sister” made him ultimately not dodge.

Thus, as Ting Yu wiped, Xu Qing’s face slowly became visible.

Ting Yu’s movements gradually slowed, her eyes widening as she stared dumbfounded at Xu Qing’s appearance. For some reason, sunlight flashed in her mind.

For the first time in six years, Xu Qing’s face was clean, making him extremely uncomfortable. Taking advantage of Ting Yu’s daze, he immediately slipped past her and dashed out of the tent.

The sunlight shone on his face, making Xu Qing even more uncomfortable, as if he were walking outside naked.

So he lowered his head, picked up some mud from the ground, and smeared it on his face. Only then did he relax, feeling much more comfortable inside. He resumed his cold demeanor and headed toward the restricted zone.

After he left, Ting Yu in the tent finally let out a long sigh, murmuring softly.

“Hmm, not bad-looking.”

As she spoke, she unconsciously lifted the tent flap, watching Xu Qing’s retreating figure. Her elegant, delicate face flushed slightly, and her heart fluttered as she looked around.

“Much better-looking than Chen Feiyuan. No, Chen Feiyuan can’t compare to him at all.”