In the Grand Building, the man in the brocade robe standing in the center of the great hall seemed to sense something. He lifted his head, looking towards the bird that disappeared into the horizon. Stroking his stubble-covered chin and squinting his eyes, he lightly patted the long sword at his waist, as if lost in thought.
The brown bird soaring in the sky was none other than Zhou Li, who had just been on the rooftop. His ability to transform into a bird and escape from the Grand Building was all thanks to a reward he received from previously completing a mission from the Intruding Destiny Line—the Ten Thousand Spirit Vermillion Spirit Ling Zhu Sphere.
It was said that the Ten Thousand Spirit Vermillion Spirit Ling Zhu Sphere was crafted by an Ancient Beastmaster named [Zhi]. Each sphere contained a magical Spirit Beast, and gaining the beast's approval would allow one to control it or transform into its form. The spirit contained within the sphere Zhou Li held was a bird-like Spirit Beast called a "Bidiao."
Sensing the depletion of Spirit Qi within his body, Zhou Li, who had already flown beyond the outskirts of the city, surveyed his surroundings before gently gliding down to an open space after flapping his wings a couple of times. After a flash of red light, a bare Zhou Li appeared on the wasteland, holding a red sphere in his hand.
?
Feeling the cold nakedness of his body, Zhou Li was immediately shocked and instinctively tried to cover his chest, then realized his mistake and covered his lower half instead. Then, remembering that he was in an uninhabited wilderness, he casually resolved to retrieve clothes from his Ten Thousand Spirit Vermillion Spirit Ling Zhu Sphere with the demeanor of a noble gentleman who remains composed while a scoundrel frets.
Where are my clothes?
Zhou Li squatted on the ground, staring at the Bidiao inside the Ten Thousand Spirit Vermillion Spirit Ling Zhu Sphere, which was tearing at something. He fell into a deep contemplation.
As a modern person who had traveled to ancient times, Zhou Li had relatively progressive ideas. He could accept girls wearing white silk stockings from the Western Regions, or even white sugar in spicy soup, but walking one hundred eighty miles naked was an ordeal he doubted he could endure.
After estimating the difference in strength between himself and the Bidiao, and considering how much effort he had put into raising the Bidiao to be able to transform into it, Zhou Li clenched his teeth and closed the Ten Thousand Spirit Vermillion Spirit Ling Zhu Sphere, resigning himself to suffering in silence.
As a cultivator in the stage of cultivating Spirit Qi, his internal Spirit Qi was not sufficient to sustain continuous transformations into a Bidiao. Thus, Zhou Li found himself in a dire predicament he had never anticipated before.
Should he return to Shangjing City as an audacious performer, risking arrest while seeking clothes in the busiest market whilst naked? Or should he streak for one hundred eighty miles back to Beiliang City, enduring a lifetime of mortification and disgrace?
No, why are both options social suicide?
Zhou Li scratched his head, beginning to wonder if this turn of events was divine punishment for his daily quest for amusement by making himself the amusement. However, just as he was agonizing over what to do, a burst of laughter and cheerful voices suddenly came from not far away.
Hearing the noise, Zhou Li quickly hid in the nearby underbrush and peered out. On the little path not far away, several students dressed in scholarly robes walked on the uneven dirt road, seemingly engaged in some interesting discussion, their youthful faces brimming with smiles.
Trailing behind them, a petite girl with snow-white hair held up her skirt's hem, kicking the pebbles on the road with a look of utter boredom that set her apart from the students.
The Imperial Academy students...
Zhou Li recognized their identity from their clothing. As a former scholar of the Imperial Academy, he held a certain fondness for these students.
After all, if it weren't for these wealthy brothers from the Imperial Academy frequently buying exam answers from him, the medication for his sister might have been in short supply on several occasions.
Elementary Learning Manor, Middle School Manor, Zongxue Manor, Imperial Academy... what else was there...
As Zhou Li waited in the brush for the students to leave, he heard a faint whistle from not far away.
yu~~~
As he turned his head towards the source of the whistle, a hurried clatter of horse hooves suddenly rang out from the nearby woods. In the blink of an eye, six tall horses gathered together, surrounding and trapping the startled students.
A head wrapped in a yellow turban, a waist encircled by blue cloth, a sharp whistle clenched in the mouth, and a steel knife in hand.
How could there be horse bandits here?
Zhou Li was momentarily stunned upon seeing the attire of these riders; he hadn't expected that the horse bandits, notorious in southern cities, would appear in Beiliang of all places. Moreover, from the looks of it, they seemed well-prepared, even having a carriage adorned with a cage at the ready.
"Line up in threes and squat down!"
While Zhou Li lay naked and motionless in the bushes, secretly observing, the horse bandits' leader shook his long knife, and his rough voice sent shivers down one's spine.
"Yellow turbans don't kill scholars, so don't struggle or play any tricks. Come with us obediently, and I guarantee each of you will return home in one piece. But if you don't heed my advice..."
With another shake of his knife, a chilling blade light shattered the clump of earth on the ground beside them. Satisfied with the effect on the students, who were too scared to move, the leader nodded and spoke coldly, "then you can't blame my blade for being ruthless."
The release of Spirit Qi, it seems to be a swordsman in the Spirit Qi Refinement stage.
Huddled naked in the bushes, Zhou Li touched the split soil in front of him and made up his mind. Although that last strike, if it had been three inches off, would have saved him the trouble of getting cleaned up and directly marked him for the Eastern Depot, Zhou Li wasn't too panicked. Instead, he silently assessed the opponent's strength.
The cultivation systems in this world are rather messy and manifold. Within the King Ming Dynasty, apart from the Imperial Court's endorsed Dragon Tiger Qi, the most prevalent are the Spirit Qi Masters who practice Spirit Qi.
The ranking of Spirit Qi Masters is straightforward, consisting of nine realms, classified according to one's affinity for and control over Spirit Qi. The horse bandits' leader in front of him, capable of releasing Sword Qi, but lacking the "Zhi" character, belongs to the Third Realm's Spirit Qi Refinement stage.
So, what should I do?
Zhou Li looked at the students from the Imperial Academy Mansion, steadily encircled and ultimately succumbing, bound by ropes, and fell into deep contemplation.
To save them, of course, was possible. Though Zhou Li himself was also a Third Realm Spirit Qi Refinement stage cultivator, along with his Bidiao and the poison skills he had mastered, he had a fair chance in a fight.
But the problem was, if he were to appear suddenly in such avant-garde attire, he seriously doubted whether the students would perceive his au naturel figure as anything but a pervert, greatly damaging his reputation.
To not save them was also understandable, given that he had long lost his official status and had no obligation to draw his sword and come to their aid.
But based on Zhou Li's estimates, if he missed this chance, he might have to succumb to the mortifying fate lines of streaking a hundred li through the wilderness or wandering the cities supernaturally exposed; both scenarios spelled social death. Therefore, he must devise a plan to acquire a set of bandit clothes.
Perhaps a compromise, then.
Noticing that the horse bandits didn't seem to have any intention of killing the students—merely throwing them into the nearby carriage—Zhou Li, crouched in the bushes, suddenly came up with a plan.
Gently opening the Ten Thousand Vermillion Spirit Ling Zhu Sphere, a lithe brown bird emerged, its yellow-and-red front feathers displaying a graceful elegance. After disdainfully spitting out the shreds of Zhou Li's clothes aside, Bidiao glanced at Zhou Li, who was in his birthday suit, appeared to nod in approval, and then soared into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.
In the vast wilderness, with the sun setting obliquely, the wild wind whistling, horse bandits racing, students bound inside the carriage quietly weeping, and a snow-haired girl, expressionless and seeming utterly indifferent to the circumstances.
And beside them, a man crawling on the ground, nude.