Yun Lingyue took out the Red Spirit Jade and received the instructions Fu Lingyi had sent her.
The Red Spirit Jade was a communication magic artifact used in the cultivation world.
It was quite expensive and could only send simple messages.
But the Sect Leader had given it to them specifically just now, worried they might lose track of each other again like at the alliance meeting.
Since neither of them had learned thousand-mile voice transmission, this little gadget could still prove useful.
After reading the message, Yun Lingyue put away the Red Spirit Jade, her face beaming with uncontrollable joy. “Everyone!” she announced. “Hear me out! Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect’s Chief Disciple, Fu Lingyi, just messaged me! She says she has slain the Demon Lord with her sword!”
Hearing this news, cultivators from all the sects cheered, incredibly excited. Some even hugged each other, crying tears of joy, happy they had finally escaped the demonic path’s control.
Song Yin immediately opened her Heaven’s Mystery Disk, shouting everywhere that she would tell fortunes for free, without collecting any spirit stones.
Yun Lingyue cleared her throat, signaling she had more to say. “Senior Sister Lingyi said she suffered some internal injuries and returned to the sect first, leaving us to decide what to do,” she explained. “However, I propose that we follow her earlier suggestion and work together to destroy this demon lair! That way, the demonic path’s remaining minions won’t have a chance to rise again!”
“Destroy the demon lair!”
“Destroy the demons’ escape route!”
Her proposal received unanimous approval. They had all already begun casting spells and forming hand seals, determined to destroy the place.
Yun Lingyue was just about to join them when she spotted a demonic path cultist lurking in a corner, planning to sneak away.
“Where are you going!”
She shouted loudly and advanced with her sword. The cultist jumped up in alarm and turned to flee towards the back of the hall.
Yun Lingyue pursued relentlessly, leaving the others behind. She was led through many twists and turns, deeper into the shadows.
Seeing the cultist had no escape route, she unleashed her sword technique amidst swirling black energy, focusing it on a single point.
“Ah!”
A slightly childish scream pierced the silence.
The black mist scattered, revealing that the cultist had already fled. In their place lay a little girl clad in a black robe, face down on the ground, seemingly lifeless.
Yun Lingyue’s heart leaped in alarm. She hurried forward to help the girl up. The girl looked around fifteen, with a pure and lovely appearance, but her hair was completely white. With a slight movement, strands of white hair spilled out from her black robe.
“…Ah, my head,” the girl slowly woke up. She looked around, trembling, clutching her black robe tightly, and suddenly pushed Yun Lingyue away. “Are you… are you from the demonic path? Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer, demon!”
Yun Lingyue was pushed, staggering slightly. “No, I’m not from the demonic path,” she said. “I’m a cultivator from the Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect. Look.”
As she spoke, she took out a warm, smooth jade token from her pocket. The words ‘Disciplinary Hall’ were carved on it. She handed it to the girl.
“Disciplinary Hall… not the demonic path…” The girl looked at it, her guard lowering. She began sobbing. “Oh, thank goodness! Cultivator Sister, are you here to save me?” She suddenly burrowed into Yun Lingyue’s embrace and began to cry loudly.
Yun Lingyue felt a surge of sympathy. “Don’t cry, it’s alright, it’s alright,” she comforted. “The demonic path’s people have all been killed by us. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. What’s your name? Where is your home?”
The girl cried in her embrace for a while before she spoke between sobs. She said her name was Wu Bei, and she was from Liangzhou in Nanyang Prefecture. Her entire village had been massacred by the demonic path’s cultists. Only she was captured by the Demon Lord to refine poison, which was how she barely clung to life. Her white hair was the proof.
“Cultivator Sister,” Wu Bei asked in a low voice. She had been injured by Yun Lingyue’s sword wind and couldn’t walk right now, so she clung to her back. “I have no home now. Can I follow you to learn cultivation techniques? I want… I want to become strong! I want revenge!”
“Okay, of course you can,” Yun Lingyue replied easily. “Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect warmly welcomes those who punish evil and promote good. I believe the Sect Leader and Senior Sister Fu will both agree.”
Yun Lingyue was carefree about it. Along with everyone else, she rode her sword into the sky. At the same time, they unleashed fire techniques downwards. The area where the Qingyuan Palace stood burst into raging flames, burning even the nearby trees completely to ashes.
She announced loudly that the demonic path’s main base, the Qingyuan Palace, was utterly destroyed. The demonic path, from this day forward, would cease to exist.
Meanwhile, Wu Bei, clinging to her back, was expressionless, watching the scene below coldly.
The previous night, Wu Bei had discussed things with Wu Ju for a long time. However, the only result they reached was ‘Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed’. This left her extremely frustrated, and she decided she couldn’t just sit and wait for death. First, she had most of her trusted cultists relocate, leaving the Qingyuan Palace.
As for herself, she would also go to a safe area to hide for a bit.
But when the righteous path attacked the mountain, she worried that the stubborn Wu Ju might get into trouble. Feeling extremely conflicted, she returned, clad in a black robe to avoid attention, wanting to drag her along. Unexpectedly, she found nothing; Wu Ju was gone.
Wu Ju had already left, leaving only scattered flowers and plants in the fields, showing the desolation of the place.
That wretched person! she fumed. Spouting about “Heaven’s secrets, Heaven’s secrets,” and “no rush, no rush,” who knew they’d be faster than a rabbit when it came to escaping!
Wu Bei’s eye twitched. Helplessly, she was just about to leave when a fleeing cultist ran squarely into her.
Then came the Disciplinary Hall Sword Technique, murmured near her ear.
Perhaps it was because of her own incredibly skilled acting, she mused, or perhaps the woman named Yun Lingyue before her was simply too easy to deceive. Anyway, this woman easily believed her one-sided story and even solemnly vowed to take her back to the sect to learn cultivation techniques.
Wu Bei thought, she would be a person from the demonic path. If she entered the sect passed down by that person and became a disciple… that would surely make that person so angry they’d come back to life.
And so, she decided not to leave. She would first keep up this act using Wu Bei’s identity.
Add a bit of trouble for that person’s precious sect.
Fu Lingyi’s residence was located on a side peak. Venerable Yi Qing was in seclusion there and did not know she had brought someone back.
Although that Demon Lord’s current behavior truly seemed like they had lost their memory, she still couldn’t reach a definitive conclusion.
She inwardly sneered. But now, she could finally reclaim some of the humiliation she had suffered.
Yue Jin felt very frustrated.
All the frustration she felt in her entire life combined could not compare to this moment.
How could a so-called righteous path person throw someone who had lost their memory into such a small room and even lock it!
She angrily banged on the door twice. It was useless, and she even panted heavily.
Now that she had no cultivation, her strength was weakening, and she even felt hunger like a mortal. But from dawn until deep into the night, Fu Lingyi still hadn’t come to see her.
As if she had been completely forgotten.
The moon sank in the west, hanging on the branches. Yue Jin’s stomach grumbled loudly from hunger. But the lock on the door had restrictions placed on it – she couldn’t get out, and not even an ant could crawl in. She leaned against the door, hugging her knees and curling into a ball.
She couldn’t remember how many years ago she had last felt such hunger…
Perhaps it was before the previous Demon Lord picked her up.
Since she was young, Yue Jin had no parents or relatives, and was nameless and without a surname. Before she was ten, only a dog accompanied her, stealing and snatching food from one end of the street to the other.
At that time, no one taught her right from wrong. She constantly committed small wrongs and was often beaten with sticks by merchants, her body covered in scars and wounds that wouldn’t heal.
A little girl wrapped in rags, no one taught her how to speak. She only knew how to open her mouth and make strange cries, baring her teeth at everyone. No one saw her as human.
Later, that stray dog died, and she truly became a stray dog.
Dawn broke. Yue Jin tightly clutched the precious jade token in her embrace and gradually fell into a light sleep.
She didn’t sleep long. A sudden impact from the opening door hit the back of her head squarely. She groaned in pain and squinted to look at the person standing behind her.
Fu Lingyi stood against the light, the sun at her back creating a faint outline around her. She curved her lips and put down the plate she was holding. “Eat,” she said.
On the plate were several hard, dry steamed buns and a bowl of water.
Yue Jin’s voice held a hint of annoyance. “I won’t eat this.”
“What’s wrong? No appetite?” Fu Lingyi squatted down and reached out to check her forehead. Yue Jin forcibly held back from dodging. “You don’t want to eat, do you? That’s alright, darling,” Fu Lingyi said softly. “Then I’ll just take it away…”
“Wait.”
Yue Jin looked at her, saying almost pleadingly, “I want porridge.”
Having been hungry all night, she didn’t ask for anything else; she just wanted something warm to eat.
Fu Lingyi didn’t speak, just stared into her eyes.
That expression was one Yue Jin sometimes couldn’t quite understand.
How long had they known each other?
From back then, when she’d been foolish enough to insist on finding trouble with her, until now… it had been almost two or three years.
This wasn’t a long time, not enough to truly understand a person’s true nature.
She knew her request might not be granted, but she was going to ask anyway.
Fu Lingyi only stared for a short while before immediately breaking into a bright smile. “Porridge? Okay,” she said. “Wait for me to cook it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up and carried the tray away, not even leaving the water.
Yue Jin felt a bit of regret. She should have drunk a mouthful of water first. Now her throat was incredibly dry and burned painfully.
Day turned into night. That person cooked porridge again, from daylight until dark.
This room was incredibly small. There wasn’t even a stool. It was probably a broken-down room where miscellaneous things were usually stored.
Yue Jin’s left leg was still the same, unable to recover. Sitting on the ground for long periods made her pain worse. Hunger was mixed with loneliness. Only a few beams of moonlight shining through kept her company.
Where had her thoughts gone last night? Right, the stray dog.
She should have frozen to death in that winter.
That year, when she was thirteen, a famine suddenly struck the city, and mortal wars raged everywhere. In such chaotic times, who would care about a little girl who couldn’t be controlled or even cured?
Snowflakes fell lightly, yet pressing down on a person, they felt as heavy as Mount Tianheng. The small figure curled up her body, lying beside the withered tree near the temple.
That was where that dog was buried.
That was her only friend.
Later, footsteps sounded all around, and the chaotic thundering of horse hooves began. Golden yellow sashes swayed, dazzling her eyes so she couldn’t open them.
In her memory, she was gently picked up by someone and placed on a piece of soft fabric.
She had never felt that kind of softness before. It was like a cloud.
She hadn’t frozen to death. Her body was warming up comfortably. She struggled to open her eyes, wanting to see clearly who was stroking her forehead at that moment.
Yue Jin suddenly opened her eyes.
She didn’t know when she had fallen asleep. Fu Lingyi was resting her head on her lap, gently stroking her hair and chanting a calming technique to help her sleep more soundly.
This scene was incredibly startling, startling her so much she almost jumped onto the roof. “You!” she exclaimed. “When did you come?”
Fu Lingyi tilted her head slightly, signaling her to look at the ground.
On the tray, there was a bowl of warm millet porridge, still steaming.
Yue Jin swallowed. Her stomach had been empty for a long time, and now it was cramping painfully. But looking at the current situation, she didn’t quite dare to eat it. This person was so gentle now, and even brought her porridge. Who knew what she was truly planning?
Could it be she was done playing her role and wanted to poison her?
“Aren’t you eating, darling?” Fu Lingyi asked, seemingly very confused. She picked up the bowl, scooped out a spoonful, blew on it to cool it, and brought it to Yue Jin’s mouth. “Eat,” she said softly. “I cooled it for you.”
But the temptation of the food was simply too great. She snatched the spoon, swallowed the porridge in a few gulps, and breathed out with her mouth open, as if she had burned her tongue.
Fu Lingyi just watched her, smiling faintly.
Thanks for the chapter