Bamboo Chest Chapter Four: Hereafter

A teacher came to Verdant City and opened a private school, which flourished rapidly. After a year, dozens of students had already enrolled.

Beneath a thatched cottage in the northern part of the city, Xiao Zhai, dressed in a scholar’s robe, sat cross-legged on a straw mat in the lecture hall, holding a book in his hands.

Outside the house, Lu Yun and Lu Cui watched several children of the demon tribe reciting lessons.

“By now, the entire Baiyuan Dynasty knows there’s a school in Verdant City,” Lu Cui said, her gaze uncertain as she looked at Xiao Zhai. “He’s too dangerous. Over the past year, the Baiyuan Dynasty has sent more than one powerful demon, but each vanished without a trace, like stones sinking silently into water.”

Lu Yun harbored some suspicions about Xiao Zhai but even he found it hard to believe.

If he truly was who they suspected, then with his current cultivation, nothing would be impossible.

Just as Lu Cui spoke to him now without using deliberate sound transmission, it was because it hardly mattered whether they did or not.

“Brother, I heard the capital of Baiyuan is holding a tournament to seal kings. You should go,” Lu Cui urged.

Lu Yun frowned. “No.”

“I’m your sister; you have to listen to me!” Lu Cui crossed her arms and snorted coldly. “Verdant City can’t just live off its past. He won’t protect us forever. One of us siblings must venture out.”

“The city lord is right,” Xiao Zhai said, closing his book and letting the students continue reading on their own. He stepped out of the cottage and joined Lu Yun and Lu Cui.

“What does the teacher mean?” Lu Yun raised an eyebrow.

Xiao Zhai smiled gently. “Mr. Lu has already felt the threshold of the Mid-Five Realm these days. But this is still the Wild World. Since you are a demon, to break the mirror, you must face utter despair and forge ahead.”

“No schemes?” Lu Yun asked seriously.

“I swear by the heavens,” Xiao Zhai said, pointing upward.

“I don’t want you to swear by the heavens. I want you to swear to yourself,” Lu Yun replied.

Xiao Zhai nodded. “Then I swear to myself that this matter will not harm Verdant City, nor you or the city lord.”

Only then did Lu Yun relax.

“Then I’ll go to the Baiyuan Kingdom,” he said.

...

That night.

In the same thatched cottage, the siblings moved a wooden table outside and set a simple meal.

Lu Cui propped her chin on her hand, smiling softly as she watched her brother devour the food.

“No one’s stealing your food; why eat so fast?” she teased.

“From tomorrow until a year from now, I probably won’t get to eat your cooking again. I have to eat as much as I can tonight,” Lu Yun mumbled, his mouth full as he grabbed another piece of meat with his chopsticks.

Lu Cui’s eyes softened. She looked up at the sky and whispered, “It feels like a dream—meeting the Sword Immortal elder, meeting Teacher Xiao, and somehow becoming the city lord of a place like this…”

“Sis, then you’ll have plenty of dreams ahead! Once I become a great demon, I’ll take you to tour the Vast World—its scenery is far better than the Wild World!” Lu Yun said, placing several pieces of meat on her plate with determination.

“You’ve never been there. Besides, there’s a Sword Qi Great Wall between us and the Vast World. How are we supposed to get there?” Lu Cui rolled her eyes.

Lu Yun paused, suddenly realizing that a hundred years from now, the Wild World and the Vast World would likely be at war, and that Sword Qi Great Wall might be split in two.

What would he and his sister do then?

Lu Yun admired those great Sword Immortals and felt a stronger connection to the Vast World, but after all, he was a demon.

He had to become stronger.

Lowering his eyes, he thought silently.

Lu Cui, sensing she might have struck a nerve, hurriedly reached out to ruffle Lu Yun’s hair and comforted him gently, “I was just speaking casually. The Vast World is so far away, and I’m still busy! If it comes to it, we’ll just leave Verdant City and find some place to live.”

No longer quite a girl, she withdrew her hand and gazed at Lu Yun’s increasingly mature face, feeling a bit dazed.

“When the time comes, I’ll find you a beautiful wife, little brother. As for me, if I meet someone I like, I’ll get married…”

“The days ahead will surely be better.”

...

The Baiyuan Kingdom was considered a major power in the Wild World, rumored to be backed by a throne demon.

At this very moment, in the bustling capital city of Qianjing, a shabby middle-aged man with a beard entered a tavern.

His gaze was indifferent, a long sword hung at his waist.

The sword sheath was worn and old, and upon closer inspection, several fine cracks appeared as if it could shatter at any moment.

“Bring a pot of warm wine,” the man said calmly as he sat on a wooden stool.