Saving the White Moonlight Chapter 74

After Gu Chen received Yun Mixue’s message, he quickly understood the meaning inside it.
Yun Mixue would not specially warn him to keep a close eye on Su Qian’er. This message must have been that little girl Yan Zhuguang’s idea.
Gu Chen’s feelings toward Yan Zhuguang were rather complicated.
Even though all of her movements before coming to Fenghua Immortal Sect were very clear, and even though Yun Mixue had personally brought her back, Gu Chen still felt that this person was not simple.
He even felt that having her spiritual root purified by heavenly tribulation, being brought back to Fenghua Immortal Sect by Yun Mixue, and even everything she had met before that had all been planned by Yan Zhuguang herself.
This person had an unclear origin, unclear goals, and an unclear background. Logically speaking, she was a rather dangerous person. Even if Gu Chen did not keep her under watch, he should at least be guarded against her.
Yet not only had he failed to guard against her, he had also allowed Yan Zhuguang’s schemes and arranged her at Yun Mixue’s side.
Looking back on it, Gu Chen had once thought he was mad. But even if he had to do it again, he would still make the same arrangement.
He had not truly lost his reason. He had only made a somewhat bold and risky decision.
He could see that this little girl cared very much about his junior sister, Yun Mixue, that famous kindhearted person of the cultivation world.
That feeling was very strange. It was as if Yan Zhuguang had been born for Yun Mixue.
It was as if Yun Mixue was the whole meaning of that girl’s existence in this world, the only tie connecting her to this world.
Gu Chen did not understand this feeling, but he also did not think he had seen wrongly.
He was even a little envious. He envied that little girl Yan Zhuguang. That was right. He did not envy Yun Mixue. Instead, he envied that little girl Yan Zhuguang.
Because this little girl was too much like him.
He knew that Yan Zhuguang was the same as him. Perhaps it came from past experiences, perhaps from extraordinary strength and talent, or perhaps it was simply her nature. They drifted outside this world, and there was nothing they truly placed in their eyes.
Proud and beyond saving.
His pride showed on the surface. In Fenghua Immortal Sect, he had suffered plenty of exclusion because of that pride. Before becoming the sect master of Fenghua Immortal Sect, he had even been punished to reflect on Yiku Cliff for offending the former sect master.
Only when the sect fell into trouble and needed someone with hard methods, someone who did not fear drawing hatred, to hold the situation down did he leave, thanks to Yun Mixue’s reminder.
Even so, his nature had long since formed. Even now, he still refused to change no matter how many times he was taught.
Yan Zhuguang was the same as him. Even though she acted obedient and clever in front of Yun Mixue, Gu Chen could sense that all her gentleness was deliberately put on to match Yun Mixue. In her bones, she was just as cold as he was.
That was why Gu Chen envied Yan Zhuguang.
He envied that she could find someone for whom she was willing to change herself.
Because of that faint feeling, Gu Chen placed Yan Zhuguang beside Yun Mixue. He believed Yan Zhuguang would not betray Yun Mixue, and he also believed that with Yan Zhuguang protecting her, Yun Mixue, that foolish junior sister of his, would at least not be bullied by others.
There were not many people Gu Chen cared about. Yun Mixue, this junior sister who had rarely kept a pure and kind heart, counted as one of the few.
Gu Chen pressed down the thoughts in his heart and raised his hand to send a message to the inner disciple area.
A long while passed before Su Qian’er arrived at Fenghua Immortal Sect’s council hall.
Whether Gu Chen did it on purpose or not, despite knowing that Su Qian’er had only just stepped into cultivation and had only just drawn qi into her body, he had not sent anyone to receive her. He actually let her walk alone all the way to the council hall on the mountain.
When Su Qian’er first stepped into the hall, she was panting lightly. Her body, weak for so many years, could not support her in climbing this hill with an unchanged expression, even though to cultivators, it was not considered high.
“Disciple Su Qian’er greets the sect master.”
She lowered her gaze and did not dare look directly at Gu Chen.
Gu Chen’s tone had no rise or fall. “Did you tell anyone about this trip?”
“The sect master instructed me, so this disciple did not dare tell anyone.” Su Qian’er pinched the edge of her sleeve, seeming a little at a loss.
Gu Chen nodded slightly. This daughter of the former sect master did have unusual talent. After only flying through the sky twice, she could find this place on foot. Counting the time she had taken to arrive, it seemed she had not lost her way or been delayed on the road, but had come straight here.
“Your talent is good. It has only been one day, yet you can already draw qi into your body. In the future, your prospects will be limitless.”
Su Qian’er’s heart jumped. For some reason, she felt nervous. “Disciple… disciple could not cultivate in the past, but I had already memorized the basic cultivation method by heart. Now that my body is much better, I could not help trying it. Succeeding in drawing qi into my body was only luck. It is not worth mentioning. Sect Master praises me too much.”
“You do not need to be nervous,” Gu Chen said. “I called you here not to ask about your cultivation.”
Su Qian’er pinched her sleeve even more tightly. “Then, why did Sect Master call this disciple here?”
“The Qiao branch family head and the surviving branch family members were ambushed by unknown people on the road to the Qiao main family. The whole group was wiped out. Please restrain your grief.”
Gu Chen did not give Su Qian’er any chance to breathe and directly threw this thunderbolt down.
After suddenly hearing the news, Su Qian’er did not react for a moment. She tilted her head as if she thought she had heard wrong. No longer lowering her head to look at the floor, she looked straight at Gu Chen and asked, “Wh-what?”
Gu Chen repeated without any tact, “The Qiao branch family was wiped out.”
Su Qian’er opened her mouth and froze for a long while before understanding what this news meant. Her eyes gradually became somewhat empty.
All strength suddenly left her body. Her legs went soft, and she knelt on the ground, muttering, “How could this be? How could this happen?”
“Why are they doing this to me?”
“Ah!” She forgot where she was and punched the ground again and again, as if she wanted to smash the council hall’s floor to pieces.
However, just like the tragic truth she could not accept but had to accept, the council hall’s floor was not something her small strength could shake. Even though she had heartlessly beaten her fists bloody, the floor did not tremble in the slightest.
“Why? Why? What did I do wrong? Why are they treating me like this?”
She raised her head. The gaze she aimed at Gu Chen held hatred she could no longer hide. Tears burst from her red eyes like a broken dam, almost like bloody tears. “Why, in the end, am I still all alone? What sin did I commit?”
Su Qian’er lost control badly in the council hall. Gu Chen took in every action, but he did nothing. He only quietly let her vent.
She stopped the useless self-harm. Her bloodstained hands braced against the floor as she half-collapsed there. She cried until she sobbed, yet for no clear reason, she also laughed at herself. Crying one moment and laughing the next, she looked extremely strange.
Only after she finally calmed down did who knew how much time pass.
Su Qian’er wiped the tear marks on her face and barely fixed her appearance. “Although I know this is against the rules, this disciple still boldly asks. This disciple wishes to leave the sect and investigate the reason my family was destroyed. I ask the sect master to permit it.”
Gu Chen said, “I knew you would do this.”
Su Qian’er raised her head and looked at Gu Chen stubbornly.
Gu Chen refused without hesitation. “Have you thought about why Family Head Qiao sent you into the immortal sect?”
Su Qian’er bit through her lip. “I think Grandfather did it to protect me.”
“Since that is so, why do you still want to leave the sect? Have you thought about Family Head Qiao’s good intentions? If you leave the immortal sect and meet danger, have you thought about how sad Family Head Qiao would be?”
Su Qian’er laughed at herself. “Grandfather would indeed be sad, but only if he were alive. He is already gone. Talking about whether he would be sad or not is just lying to myself, is it not?”
“If he did not want me to take risks, then he should come stop me himself. He should tell me himself that he worries about me and does not want me to do foolish things!”
Su Qian’er almost shouted the words.
Gu Chen did not take issue with Su Qian’er’s disrespect, nor did he agree to let her leave. “The Qiao family’s matter is not only being handled by the Qiao main family. The righteous path sects will also investigate it together. They do not lack you.”
“If you leave, other than adding trouble, you will have no use.”
Su Qian’er’s eyes were pitch-black. She showed no reaction to Gu Chen’s words, clearly not listening at all.
Gu Chen said, “If you want to leave, it is not impossible.”
A ripple finally appeared in Su Qian’er’s eyes, and she looked at him.
“Cultivate to Foundation Establishment,” Gu Chen said. “After Foundation Establishment, no one will stop you.”
Su Qian’er sneered. “To cultivate to Foundation Establishment, the fastest would still take three to five years. By then, the killer will have long disappeared. What would I still investigate?”
“It is not that there is no fastest method,” Gu Chen said, ignoring Su Qian’er’s rudeness. “With your current strength, even if no one attacks you, you will not be able to investigate anything.”
“What method?”
“Challenge the tower.”
…
Yan Zhuguang and Yun Mixue wandered around near Tianyu City for several days. They seemed to be very seriously searching for something, but in truth, they were only taking the chance to travel and enjoy themselves.
Tianyu City counted as a rather prosperous city in the cultivation world. After strolling through Tianyu City for several days, Yan Zhuguang gained quite a bit of understanding about this world’s cultivation market.
She also changed her appearance and bought some interesting things at the merchant houses in Tianyu City. In any case, after completing several main missions, she was now a little rich girl. She could afford to spend.
Among those things was a strange jade pendant. Yan Zhuguang had won it at a black-market auction. Even its owner did not know exactly what it was. Yan Zhuguang thought it was carved very beautifully, so she bought it.
Only, she still had no time to study it. She put it aside and planned to fiddle with it when she had time.
The jade pendant was placed in her backpack. The system curiously scanned it. Although it could not tell what it was, the power contained inside was not small. Had its host picked up another treasure?
Tsk, tsk.
Yun Mixue and Yan Zhuguang had gone outside originally to lure out the people of the Dripping Blood Demon Domain. But before they discovered any strange people, they first received Gu Chen’s message.
“Challenge the tower?”
Yan Zhuguang looked curiously at the jade tablet in Yun Mixue’s hand. “The sect master wants Eldest Senior Sister to go back and preside over the opening ceremony of Fenghua Immortal Sect’s inner sect Qinggong Tower?”
Yun Mixue said, “Not only that. Every inner disciple has one chance to enter Qinggong Tower. You have never entered Qinggong Tower before. When we go back this time, you can also enter and try challenging it.”
Yan Zhuguang thought for a moment. “That would be fine. I can go play.”
The male lead was worthy of being the male lead. They had only said he should call them back, and in the blink of an eye, he had found an opportunity. He had even stopped Su Qian’er, who wanted to run outside. He truly made a good plan.
Unfortunately, they had failed to find the people of the Dripping Blood Demon Domain. That was still a little regrettable.