Chapter 4: Dirty Deal

Fifteen years later.
Azure Cloud Mountain, Samsara Peak.
Samsara Peak stands 20 miles high, piercing through seven layers of cloud sea. Its height is second only to the Witch Mountain in the Southern Wilderness and the sacred mountain in the western snowy mountains, making it the third highest peak in the world.
Legend has it that the first generation ancestor of Azure Cloud Sect, Master Azure Cloud, was originally a down-and-out scholar who failed in his attempts to succeed. While traveling the world, he came to Azure Cloud Mountain and found an ancient cultivation method in an unnamed cave behind Samsara Peak. He then closed himself in the cave to cultivate and comprehend the Tao. Later, he founded the Azure Cloud Sect on Samsara Peak.
To this day, the Azure Cloud Sect has been in existence for over four thousand years.
The Azure Cloud Sect was once the leading sect of the righteous path and was in its prime.
But as the saying goes, what goes up must come down.
A thousand years ago, the development of the Azure Cloud Sect hit a bottleneck.
The last straw that broke the back of the Azure Cloud Sect came from the Demon Sect.
Eight hundred years ago, a Ghost King named Master Jackson emerged from the Demon Sect. After unifying the Demon Sect, he launched a large-scale invasion into Central Land. As the leading sect of the righteous path at that time, the Azure Cloud Sect was naturally the first target for the Demon Sect to eliminate.
The righteous and demonic sides engaged in a protracted bloody battle on Azure Cloud Mountain, which was the largest scale magic battle in history.
In the end, in a critical situation, the then head of Azure Cloud Sect, despite the prohibition of previous ancestors, forcefully activated the Zhou Edward Reincarnation Formation.
Master Jackson and many high-ranking members of the Demon Sect died or were injured under the Reincarnation Formation, but the Azure Cloud Sect also suffered heavy losses. Most of their elite disciples and elders died in that battle, greatly injuring the vitality of the Azure Cloud Sect.
Now, the Azure Cloud Sect barely ranks alongside the Profound Heaven Sect, Ethereal Pavilion, and Jaya Temple, making up one of the four major sects of the righteous path.
Samsara Peak, halfway up the mountain, disciples' quarters!
"Harrison! You beast!"
"Ouch! Not the face!"
Early in the morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, a woman's piercing scream disrupted the tranquility of Samsara Peak.
Moments later, a young man with black and blue eyes staggered out of a house. Following him, a beautiful young girl dressed in a sash, barefoot, and wielding a fly-sword that emitted a red flame, chased after him.
As the girl pursued him outside, she saw the young man sprinting dozens of feet away, his face purple with rage.
She yelled furiously, "Harrison! I'm going to kill you!"
At this time, disciples began to emerge from the surrounding houses one after another. Seeing herself only wearing a sash, which was rather indecent, the beautiful young girl stamped her foot in frustration and returned to her room.
Harrison, having run a long distance, looked back and saw that the tigress wasn't chasing him anymore, which finally eased his nerves.
The sky was just brightening, and a thin layer of mist enveloped Samsara Peak. It flowed slowly under the morning breeze, bringing a hint of coldness.
Harrison ran into a small courtyard, sneaked a few glances outside, and upon seeing that there was no one around, he pushed open the door of a room in the yard.
Inside the room was a man in his twenties who looked rather sleazy.
Seeing Harrison come in, he quickly asked, "Junior Brother Harrison, how did it go?"
Harrison pulled out a woman's embroidered shoe from his bosom, threw it to the man, and said, "The tigress discovered me. I couldn't steal her belly-cover, so I stole one of her shoes. You've really screwed me over this time! Hurry up, thirty taels of silver. I need to leave the mountain and lay low."
The sleazy young man's face instantly turned ashen upon hearing he'd been discovered. He pulled out two silver ingots and handed them to Harrison, saying, "I'll give you forty taels. Whatever you do, you can't rat me out!"
Harrison weighed the silver, his eyes brightening into a smile. "Rest assured, Senior Zhu. This isn't our first collaboration. Don't you trust my reputation? I take the money and eliminate the trouble. Keep the tigress's shoe safe. I'm out of here."
Without any further delay, he pocketed the silver and left the small courtyard.
Harrison was brought back to the mountain by Jeremy of the Azure Cloud Sect fifteen years ago when he was just an infant in swaddling clothes.
No one had expected that the adorable baby boy of that year would grow up to be so unruly, greedy, and lustful. Moreover, he inherited his Master Jeremy's fine tradition of being a natural lover of wine.
To scrape together some money for wine, he often took money from his fellow disciples, delivering love letters for one brother, stealing personal ornaments of the women they secretly admired for another.
For example, this time, he made a deal with Senior Zhu for thirty taels of silver to help him steal Senior Olivia Gu's belly-cover, to alleviate Senior Zhu's lovesickness.
Unfortunately, those who walk by the river often get their shoes wet.
He hid under Olivia's bed for an entire night without getting a chance to act. By dawn, he knew that if he waited any longer, he would definitely be discovered, so he took a risk and implemented his theft plan.
He hadn't even had a chance to search for Olivia's belly-cover when he was detected by the highly skilled Olivia. In his panic, he grabbed a shoe and ran out.
"Business is getting harder and harder. Sigh, I should go back and pack up, leave the mountain and hide for ten days to half a month. Otherwise, that tigress Olivia will kill me..."
Thinking of the Smoky Sword in Olivia's hand, Harrison couldn't help but shudder, quickening his pace.
Over the years, he had been living with his master Jeremy in an independent small courtyard, with just two dilapidated brick houses.
He sneaked back to his room, pulled out a large bundle from the cupboard, and tied it to his body.
It seemed that this rascal had long been prepared to run at any time, with an emergency backpack. In case of any sudden incidents, he would immediately take the emergency backpack and leave the mountain to lay low.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the door, he was dumbfounded.
In the small courtyard stood three people, one man and two women.
The man was his master, Jeremy, who brought him to Azure Cloud fifteen years ago. Jeremy was known to be the laziest elder of Azure Cloud Sect.
The two women were of different ages.
The older one was a middle-aged lady who looked under forty. She was dressed in a mysterious robe and had an extraordinary aura. In her youth, she must have been a stunning beauty that stood out among all others. Even now, as she was older, time seemed not to have left many marks on her face. Her skin was still fair and clean, and her features were quite elegant.
The younger woman looked around seventeen or eighteen. She was dressed in flaming red, her delicate figure enough to make women jealous. The places that should be protruding were not concave, and the places that should be concave were not protruding. She had a standard oval face, with big, beautiful eyes.
However, this young girl was glaring furiously at Harrison, who was carrying his bundle of belongings and preparing to run, with a red fly-sword tightly in her hand.
These two women of different ages were Olivia and her Master Isabella.
Harrison suddenly felt an unprecedented chill envelop him, as if he had plunged headfirst into an ice cave in the freezing winter.
He swallowed nervously and said cautiously, "Master, Master Isabella, Senior Olivia, why are you standing in front of my door so early in the morning? If there's nothing urgent, can we talk another day? I need to go down the mountain for a while. I'll be back in a few days. I'll take my leave now."
"Harrison Ye!"
Olivia practically ground out his name through gritted teeth.
Harrison dropped to his knees with a thud, grabbing hold of his Master Jeremy's thigh as he wailed, "Master, I was wrong. Please give me another chance to mend my ways and start afresh!"