“Jiu Hui, why are you here?” Not expecting Jiu Hui to suddenly appear, Yu Luan tightly pinched the medicine bottle hidden in her sleeve and slowly put it back.
Bu Ting looked at the young woman outside the courtyard gate and slowly said, “Miss Jiu Hui doesn’t stay at the banquet. Why have you come to see this Bu-mou?”
“Your sect’s banquet is so delicious that I ate too much, so I’m walking around to digest. The scenery around the Immortal Venerable’s residence is beautiful, and before I knew it, I had walked over here.”
Jiu Hui stepped through the courtyard gate, walked to the stone table on the side of the courtyard, and sat down. She took out a pot of hot tea from her storage ring. “Junior has come uninvited, Immortal Venerable. You don’t have to entertain me. Please continue your conversation and don’t mind me.”
Watching Jiu Hui’s happy and content appearance, Yu Luan fell silent, and Bu Ting did not speak either.
With the silent Immortal Venerable, the speechless Yu Luan, and Jiu Hui, who treated the Immortal Venerable’s courtyard as a resting place, the entire courtyard was filled with an absurd yet eerie tranquility.
“Would you like some tea? Sit down and tell me slowly.” Seeing that neither of them spoke, Jiu Hui picked up the teapot and looked at them. “This is a very rare white tea that can improve eyesight and protect the liver, clear the lungs and detoxify. Are you sure you don’t want a cup?”
Only then did Yu Luan notice that the courtyard was filled with the fresh fragrance of camellias. The tea fragrance was faint, suppressing the resentment and killing intent in her heart.
Bu Ting watched Jiu Hui with vigilance. He would not be so foolish as to believe that Jiu Hui had simply passed by by chance.
“Little friend Zhi You, why didn’t you come with you?” Bu Ting walked to the stone table and looked down at Jiu Hui. “Little friend, you and little friend Zhi You are always inseparable. Why didn’t you let little friend Zhi You come and taste this good tea?”
“The elders in his family cherish Zhi You very much, so what I have, he naturally has too.” Jiu Hui poured two cups of steaming tea and gestured for them to sit down. “Immortal Venerable, big sister Yu Luan, please take a seat.”
The tea fragrance seemed to come alive, eagerly drilling into his nostrils. Bu Ting waved his sleeve to brush away the tea fragrance, his tone indifferent. “Thank you for your kindness, Little Friend Jiu Hui, but I have a hidden injury and should not drink tea.”
“In that case, it’s a pity.” Jiu Hui put away her tea cup, got up and walked to Yu Luan’s side, reaching out to take her arm. “Big sister Yu Luan, when I came over just now, your sect’s head disciple, Daoist Friend Qing Heng, was looking for you. Let’s go together.”
Yu Luan’s fist, hidden beneath her sleeve, clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white and her nails dug deep into her flesh, leaving faint traces of blood in her palm. She looked at Jiu Hui, who was still oblivious to everything, and took a deep breath. After a long while, she managed to force a smile. “Alright.”
The opportunity to get close to Bu Ting was rare, but Jiu Hui was innocent, and she couldn’t let her get involved.
“Little friend Jiu Hui,” Bu Ting called out to the two who were leaving. “This Miss Yu Luan, you haven’t told us about what happened fifteen years ago. If you two leave like this, wouldn’t it seem like Bu-mou am not being a good host?”
Jiu Hui turned her head and saw that Bu Ting had already gripped his Cosmos Sword in his hand. The trees in the entire courtyard rustled as if they were shaken by the sword energy.
“Whatever happened fifteen years ago, it was a matter between you and me, and it has nothing to do with anyone else.” Yu Luan hadn’t expected that Bu Ting, who had been seriously injured and coughing up blood every day, would still be so formidable. She was forced to gasp for breath by the fierce sword energy.
She stepped forward, shielding Jiu Hui behind her, and said to her, “Jiu Hui, you go back first. I still want to chat with Immortal Lord Bu Ting about some old times.”
“Is there anything I can’t hear about?” Jiu Hui looked innocent and naive, like a child who wanted to join in the fun but couldn’t, and was reluctant to leave: “Just talk, I promise not to tell anyone.”
Yu Luan’s forehead and back were already drenched in cold sweat. She gritted her teeth and said, “You go quickly.”
Jiu Hui was so innocent and naive that she didn’t understand the hidden meaning in Bu Ting’s words. If she didn’t leave now, she might not be able to leave at all.
“Big sister Yu Luan, don’t make me leave.” Jiu Hui held Yu Luan’s sweaty hand, as if she hadn’t noticed the cold sweat in her palm. “Why don’t you guys catch up later? You can accompany me on a tour first.”
Yu Luan looked at Bu Ting without speaking. She was afraid that even if she wanted to leave now, Bu Ting would not let her go.
“Fifteen years ago, three demons kidnapped nearly a hundred children and set up a Blood-Devouring Formation in Manxiang City.” Bu Ting looked at Yu Luan. “The young City Lord of Manxiang City sacrificed herself to break the formation and save the children, but she died in the process. What is your relationship with the young master of Manxiang City?”
“My mother was born into the Zishu family, a family of scholars. She was exceptionally talented, had an upright character, and was widely respected by the people of Manxiang City.” Yu Luan’s eyes were red, and she couldn’t suppress the hatred in her heart.
“Fifteen years ago, the demons raided the city and set up a Blood-Devouring Formation. If the formation was completed, countless people in Manxiang City would go insane. My mother was at a critical moment in her cultivation, but she ignored her own safety and entered the formation alone, fighting the demon Dharma protectors to the death.”
Yu Luan’s voice trembled. “Immortal Venerable, have you forgotten what you said after you stepped into the formation without a speck of dust on you and killed those three demons with one sword?”
Bu Ting remained silent.carpreads.pages.dev
“Immortal Venerable, you said…” Yu Luan choked out, tears welling up in her eyes. “Immortal Venerable, you said that the Demon Clan would as expected choose Manxiang City as the center of their formation and those fools were practically asking to die.”
Her mother, covered in wounds, lay in a pool of blood, never knowing until her death that she and Manxiang City were just bait to lure out the Demon Clan’s Dharma Protectors.
“Exalted Immortal Venerable, what did you think you were doing to our Manxiang City? What did you think my mother was?” Yu Luan said in a loud voice. “They are people, living, breathing people, not bait!”
“Those three Demon Dharma Protectors were elusive and had killed countless people. Nearly ten thousand innocent civilians died at their hands…”
“But what crime did my mother commit, and what crime did the people of Manxiang City commit?!” Yu Luan summoned her sword and pointed it at Bu Ting. “You hypocritically praise my mother’s noble character while continuing to act as a lofty and venerable immortal. Who remembers my mother’s tragic death now?”
“Do you know how much pain she was in before she died? Do you know that she was still comforting the children not to be afraid when she was dying?” Yu Luan was unwilling and resentful: “But why? Why is it like this?”
Every night, she dreamed of the day her mother was brutally murdered. She would wake up in the middle of the night, haunted by the memory, unable to find peace.
“You are a lofty Immortal Venerable with profound cultivation and boundless magic power. Why didn’t you go directly to the Demon Clan and kill the Demon King to rid the world of demons?” Yu Luan wiped away the tears on her face. “Or was it more worthwhile to let the young City Lord of Manxiang City die than for you to directly charge into the Demon Clan?”
Bu Ting remained silent, but he did not refute.
“Why aren’t you the one who died?!” Yu Luan stabbed with her sword. “Why aren’t you the one who died, you hypocritical sanctimonious bastard?”
Bu Ting dodged Yu Luan’s sword sideways. In his eyes, Yu Luan’s swordsmanship was like that of a one or two-year-old child who had just learned to walk. It posed no threat whatsoever.
Before the strong, the weak’s accusations, hatred, and anger were all feeble and powerless things.
Bu Ting didn’t make a move, but Yu Luan couldn’t even touch the corner of his clothes. All of this was just a pathetic farce of the weak.
Her spiritual energy was overdrawn, and blood dripped from her sword-wielding hand. Her heart’s blood also flowed from the corner of her mouth, but she still did not stop.
“Yu Luan, you lost your parent at a young age and it wasn’t easy for you to join the Wenxing School. Don’t be so stubborn.” Bu Ting extended two fingers and gently pinched Yu Luan’s trembling sword. “Go back. I won’t hold today’s incident against you.”
“Not holding me accountable, what a way to not hold me accountable.” Yu Luan looked at Bu Ting while crying and laughing, blood tears flowing from her eyes. “Should I thank the Immortal Venerable for his magnanimity?”
Her raven-black hair turned white inch by inch, and her pupils gradually turned blood-red.
“Sister Yu Luan!” Jiu Hui noticed that something was wrong with Yu Luan, so she flew forward and grabbed Yu Luan’s hand. She gathered her spiritual energy at her fingertips and pressed it against Yu Luan’s forehead.
Yu Luan was about to become a demon!
Snap!
A Pure-Heart Talisman was pasted on Yu Luan’s forehead. Seeing that Yu Luan showed no signs of waking up, Jiu Hui pinched a hand seal, and countless Pure-Heart Talismans rose into the air from behind her.
“Clear your mind, calm your spirit, and unite your heart and mind!”
Countless Pure-Heart Talismans enveloped Yu Luan, who struggled for a while before gradually calming down. After a long time, Yu Luan, surrounded by the talismans, let out a low sob.
“Sister Yu Luan.” Jiu Hui lifted her hand to remove the Pure-Heart spell and gently stroked her hair. “Sister, it’s not your fault that you have resentment and hatred in your heart. It’s the fault of the Demon Clan and Immortal Venerable Bu. You shouldn’t force yourself to this point.”
Yu Luan looked up at Jiu Hui in a daze. It was the first time she had ever heard anyone say that it was Bu Ting’s fault.
Everyone worshipped the lofty Immortal Venerable. Some people advised her to let go, and some people asked her to cultivate her mind, but no one had ever admitted that “Bu Ting was wrong”.
Only Jiu Hui, only this young woman she had first met in Wenxian City, stood by her side in front of her and Bu Ting.
She reached out to hug Jiu Hui and burst into tears, as if all her unwillingness and resentment had finally been acknowledged at this moment.
Jiu Hui patted the back of the Yu Luan to calm her down. She looked up at Bu Ting, who had an expressionless face.
Their gazes met. Bu Ting put away his Cosmos Sword and said coldly, “You may leave.”
“Immortal Venerable Bu, have you ever regretted anything in your life?” Jiu Hui’s palm flickered with spiritual light, allowing the tearful Yu Luan to fall asleep in her arms as she asked Bu Ting curiously.
Bu Ting answered irrelevantly, “You came here specifically for this woman. Who exactly are you?”
“I’m junior Jiu Hui, could it be that Immortal Venerable was severely injured and even lost some of his memories?” Jiu Hui gently patted Yu Luan. Even though she had fainted, Yu Luan’s body was still trembling slightly due to her extreme grief. “If I hadn’t come, how would Immortal Venerable have treated Yu Luan?”
“If she doesn’t explain the reason and tries to kill me, she won’t be able to leave this courtyard.” Bu Ting put his hands behind his back. “If I knew that she is the daughter of the young City Lord of Manxiang City, I would not kill her.”
“The Immortal Venerable didn’t take her seriously, so if this junior hadn’t come, she might have died, or she might have become a demon and fallen into madness.” Jiu Hui stroked Yu Luan’s dark hair, recalling the kindness Yu Luan had shown her when they first met in Wenxian City.
Later, when Yu Luan pretended not to know her on the Wenxing School’s flying boat, her mood must have been very complicated.
She was afraid that her fellow disciples would laugh at her because of the shabbiness of Wangshu Pavilion, which would affect her integration into Wenxing School and make her lose the opportunity to become a core disciple. Only by becoming a core disciple would she have the chance to get close to Bu Ting and take revenge. She also felt guilty because of this behavior and could not let it go for a long time.
Kind people were often more likely to blame themselves.
The indifferent ones were rarely moved by the suffering of others.
Jiu Hui held Yu Luan in one arm and said to Bu Ting, “Immortal Venerable, gold and silver treasures can all be measured by quantity, but only life cannot.”
“No one is born to sacrifice. Hypocrites sacrifice others, while the righteous sacrifice themselves.” Jiu Hui sneered, “Which category do you think you belong to, Immortal Venerable?”
“I’m not a hypocrite, nor am I a righteous person.” Bu Ting spoke indifferently, “I only do what I believe should be done.”
“What do you mean by what ‘should be done’?” Jiu Hui asked in return. “For example, in the case of Manxiang City, even if you wanted to use it as bait, wasn’t there a more secure plan?”
“With your cultivation as an Immortal Venerable, can’t you transform and enter the formation in place of the young City Lord of Manxiang City?” Jiu Hui pressed on. “Even if you can’t, you could lower your head and ask Immortal Venerable Qiu for help. I know that the two of you have a grudge, but given Immortal Venerable Qiu’s character, for the sake of the people of Manxiang City, even if she despises you to the extreme, she wouldn’t stand idly by in this matter.”
“Immortal Venerable Qiu Hua is a woman. If she’s willing to disguise herself as the young City Lord of Manxiang City, could the Demon Cult’s Dharma Protector tell the difference?”
“But if they see through it, everything will vanish into thin air.” Bu Ting looked at Jiu Hui. “I can’t gamble. I only want to be absolutely sure.”
“Then why didn’t you explain the whole plan to the young City Lord?” Jiu Hui’s face was cold. “Are you afraid that she would be unwilling to sacrifice herself for the people, afraid that she would lose her courage?”
“The Jiutian Sect has countless treasures, can’t they take out a few protective magic treasures?” Jiu Hui was a little disgusted: “Your foolproof plan was filled with fresh lives, and it was exchanged for the fear of nearly a hundred children’s lives.”
“Those three Demon Cult Dharma Protectors have killed countless people. What’s wrong with sacrificing the young City Lord of Manxiang City to destroy their bodies and souls?”
“Don’t you understand? All of this must be done voluntarily with the young City Lord’s consent, not through your calculation.” Jiu Hui carried Yu Luan horizontally. She didn’t want to talk to Bu Ting anymore. It made her feel sick.
“Voluntarily?” Bu Ting asked rhetorically. “If she was unwilling, what could be done?”
Jiu Hui scoffed, “Even if she didn’t know your plan, she still had entered the formation without hesitation.”
“Because her daughter was also captured in the formation.” Bu Ting watched Jiu Hui’s departing figure. “If her daughter wasn’t in the formation, would she still be so resolute?”
Jiu Hui was very glad that Yu Luan was unconscious at the moment and did not hear Bu Ting’s words.
“Immortal Venerable Bu’s words are truly disgusting.” Jiu Hui turned around, holding the Yu Luan in her arms, not hiding her disgust and mockery. “The Immortal Venerable is so stubborn and indifferent. How can you still be a gentlemanly sword cultivator? I’m afraid your heart has already become a demon’s.”
Bu Ting’s pupils trembled slightly. He looked at Jiu Hui, whose expression was indifferent, and said, “Shut up.”
“What are you afraid of, Immortal Venerable?” Jiu Hui asked without hesitation. “Are you afraid of losing control over the cultivation world? Are you afraid that the world won’t develop according to your wishes? Or are you afraid of regretting certain things?”
Bu Ting closed his eyes, suppressing the surging emotions within him. “Leave,” he commanded.
“Master…”
Nan Feng slowly walked out of the door. He looked at the Yu Luan in Jiu Hui’s arms and tried hard to force a smile, but in the end, he could only helplessly lower the corners of his mouth. “The Elder of the Wenxing School is looking for Fellow Daoist Yu Luan.”
Zhi You stood next to Nan Feng with an expressionless face, as if nothing in this world had anything to do with him, until his gaze met Jiu Hui’s.
“Little Senior Sister,” Zhi You said gently, “Is this fellow Daoist in trouble?”
Jiu Hui shook her head.
“That’s good.” Zhi You said, “Fortunately, Nan Feng is here with you. I was really worried that Immortal Venerable Bu would go astray and kill you all to silence you.”
“Only you guys came?” Jiu Hui smiled slightly.
“Fellow Daoists were all worried about Daoist Friend Yu Luan’s whereabouts, so they came together.” Zhi You turned sideways, revealing the crowd at the door.
Pingling Yao of the Qinglan School, Luo Kui of the Changshou Palace, Jin Qingqiu of the Yuzhen Sect, Zhu Yan of the Wanhuo Sect, Qing Heng of the Wenxing School, and Yuan Wo of the Shenji School were all present.
Bu Ting looked at these sect’s next generation successors and cast his gaze at Jiu Hui.
With his cultivation, it was impossible for him not to notice that there were other people outside the door, unless someone present had a higher cultivation than him and was concealing the others’ auras.
“Did we arrive at an inconvenient time?” Jin Qingqiu gently shook his jade fan and said with a smile, “Rest assured, Immortal Venerable, we didn’t hear anything.”
What’s the difference between this sentence and “We heard everything”?
“Little friend Jiu Hui, you’re quite the schemer.” Bu Ting coughed a few times. “Did you summon all these people?”
“Immortal Venerable, what do you mean?” Jiu Hui’s eyes widened in surprise. “They’re all worried about Daoist Friend Yu Luan, so they came out to look for her.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Yuan Wo nodded quickly. Seeing that the others did not speak, he retracted his head.
The others present had complicated feelings. Fifteen years ago, the young City Lord of Manxiang City had died tragically at the hands of demon Dharma Protectors while trying to save the people of the city, which had moved the entire cultivation world. They hadn’t expected that this matter would actually be related to Immortal Venerable Bu.
Luo Kui and Zhu Yan exchanged a glance, both recalling the incident at Daoist Master Yin Ji’s Body Integration ceremony.
Were they also Immortal Venerable’s bait to lure the Demon Clan’s prince?
“Such a big matter, we juniors can’t make the decision.” Jin Qingqiu said with a smile, “Why don’t we ask our Sect Masters to solve it?”
Yuan Wo stole a glance at Jin Qingqiu. Are you enjoying the show?
The storybook about the Demon Princess was just a baseless rumor, but if this incident in Manxiang City break out, it would truly ruined Immortal Venerable Bu’s reputation, leaving him unable to face the entire cultivation world and completely losing his authority over the Jiutian Sect.
No one spoke. Some looked at Jiu Hui, while others looked at Nan Feng.
Nan Feng bowed to Bu Ting, turned around, and stopped looking at Bu Ting. “Fellow Daoists, please go and invite… the sect masters of the Ten Great Sects.”
When Nan Feng spoke, Jiu Hui didn’t refuse. Zhu Yan and Luo Kui left in a hurry, but Bu Ting laughed out loud.
“Very good.” Bu Ting looked at Nan Feng with relief. “As the head of a sect, you finally understand how to act without personal feelings and how to better protect the interests of the sect.”
“Immortal Venerable,” Jiu Hui said, “is it possible that Nan Feng’s actions are not for the benefit of the sect, but for the sake of his own moral code? Nan Feng is a man of integrity, a noble gentleman recognized even by Immortal Lord Fuguang. Do not tarnish his reputation.”
The rest of the crowd: “…”
Fellow Daoist Jiu Hui, you really know how to stab at the heart.
Author’s Note
Little Garlic Chive: Zhi Youyou is not by my side, so he must have other arrangements.
Zhi You: Now, I am no longer the same as before. I know how to add fuel to the fire.