CH 42

March 19th, 2023

An inexplicable familiarity surged into his chest……

No, it couldn’t possibly be that person.

This was just another one of his vain hopes, nothing more.

Xie Huai closed his eyes tightly. After a long time, he finally loosened his grip on the teacup in his hand.

With a crack, the teacup shattered into pieces.

Tao Lu had been sitting cautiously to the side the whole time. Seeing Xie Huai shatter the teacup with his grip, he quickly cast a spell to collect the tea that was spilling in all directions, managing to prevent the scene from looking too unsightly.

Now what was wrong with Shixiong?

Tao Lu took a look at Xie Huai’s ice-cold face which seemed to be covered in frost and didn’t even dare breathe too loudly. He let out a gloomy sigh in his heart, his expression complicated and pained.

He didn’t know exactly what his Shixiong had suffered at the hands of that devil nine years ago……

In short, after killing the devil, his Shixiong’s meridians had been completely broken, and he’d sunk into unconsciousness for more than a month before waking up. After waking up again, it was like he’d become a different person……

Although Xie Huai still looked about the same on the surface, Tao Lu had been at his Shixiong’s side since he was little, and he could very clearly sense that his Shixiong had changed.

The most evident change was—

In these nine years, Tao Lu hadn’t seen his Shixiong smile even once.

If one were to say that in the past, although his Shixiong had a cold exterior, he had actually been warm and gentle inside, then right now, this person was thoroughly frozen inside and out.

His Shixiong, who had always been scarce of word, spoke even less these days, like a ten thousand year old glacier that would never melt, causing anyone who approached to be unable but to feel reverence.

Gradually, all of the sect brothers who had been close to him before didn’t dare to bother him anymore……

Furthermore, after the devil on Hollow Ridge died, their master had told Shixiong to come back time after time, saying that he would forever be a disciple of Cloudbank Keep, but Shixiong refused to come back and would rather keep watch all by himself on Hollow Ridge……

Accompanied by loneliness night and day.

Why?

Why had Shixiong become like this?

Tao Lu truly couldn’t understand it. Although everyone said that the devil was evil and black-hearted to the core with enough sins to warrant a thousand deaths, he remembered very clearly that Shixiong had even spoken on that devil’s behalf at Mt. Wanxun, saying not to blindly follow the words of others, and that that devil wasn’t that kind of person. At that time, Shixiong’s eyes had clearly been full of light.

Yet now, he was like a frozen shell without a soul.

Tao Lu lowered his head and picked up the fragments of the teacup on the table one by one and threw them away outside of the inn, then lifted his hand and wiped at his reddened eyes.

So, just what had that devil done to torment Shixiong? To make such a fearless person like Shixiong who held fast to his Daoist heart and wasn’t even afraid of death turn into such a half-head, half-alive state?

Tao Lu couldn’t imagine it.

He’d just known that in the end, a devil was a devil. How could he have been a good person? Back then, Shixiong must have been deceived to make him fall to this state!

There were still a few Cloudbank Keep disciples downstairs who didn’t even dare to come upstairs. It wasn’t that Yuyi-jun was very fierce……

Yuyi-jun would never do much.

But even if Yuyi-jun didn’t speak, they still felt enormous pressure!

It was only because Tao Lu had more courage and had always been close with Yuyi-jun before that he dared to stay beside Yuyi-jun.

Seeing Tao Lu’s reddened eyes, one of the Cloudbank Keep disciples hurried over to ask with concern, “What happened to you?”

Tao Lu sighed. “It’s nothing.”

The disciple said, “Maybe you shouldn’t go upstairs after all. Shixiong likes peace and quiet. He must not want to be disturbed.”

Tao Lu nodded, in low spirits.

Actually, they hadn’t seen Shixiong in a long time, either.

This time, after hearing that the demon lord had left his treasure vault at Grieving Wind Valley, all of the sects had been stirred up, so the four great sects were naturally also sending people over.

Cloudbank Keep wasn’t actually sending people over to steal treasure, but as a role model for the righteous sects of the world, they naturally had to go along to maintain order and prevent the situation from descending into violence for the sake of looting and plundering.

After considering that this trip would be extremely dangerous and would require someone who could watch over things, Elder Ming Yin had personally written to Xie Huai to ask him to lead the group during the journey.

Originally, everyone had thought that Xie Huai wouldn’t go. After all, Yuyi-jun never paid attention to these mundane affairs, and it was even more impossible for him to be interested in the demon lord’s treasure vault. For the past nine years, he had never asked about what was going on in the world and rarely left the ridge…… But what surprised everyone was that this time, Xie Huai had actually agreed.

Their party had set out for Grieving Wind Valley, and Hualin Town was an unavoidable stop on the way to Grieving Wind Valley. They’d hurried on the road for over ten days in a row and were finally stopping to rest for a night at the inn in town.

Atop the inn.

Xie Huai sat alone with eyes closed, the air all around him grave like unmeltable ice.

After a long time, a trace of derision appeared at the corners of his lips.

So, exactly what was he looking forward to……

Going anywhere that that person had once been, searching for traces of that person in every crumb and pebble left behind……

But, in the end, he was only fooling himself.

Even if he flipped the whole world upside-down, he would never be able to see that person again.

Because that person was long gone.

He had been killed by his own hands.

His soul scattered to pieces, not a trace of his corpse left behind.

……………………………

Only after Fang Li had returned to his own room did his face finally pale, his body wavering slightly.

He had only just arrived in this body and had been left with no choice but to use the power of his consciousness to forcefully apply spiritual power to the leaf and scare those two demonic cultivators away. Right now, waves of dizziness crashed against his mind.

Moreover, using this type of bluff once or twice was fine, but if used continuously, sooner or later, it would be exposed.

If those two demonic cultivators came to their senses and came back for a sneak attack, or if he encountered a stronger demonic cultivator next time, he was afraid he wouldn’t have the power to protect the whole family.

Although this body of his had good potential for cultivating, unfortunately, the last ten plus years had been wasted, and this body had been continuously attacked by spiritual power, so his damaged meridians needed time to recover.

Furthermore, after being reborn, he didn’t have a cent to his name. Forget these types of cultivation resources, he didn’t even have half a spirit stone. Under these circumstances, regaining his power would require at least a few years’ time.

Originally, Fang Li had been indifferent about it. He wasn’t in a hurry to gain accomplishments, only wanting to cherish his present life. But looking at it now, he still needed to recover his strength as soon as possible.

After all, he was no longer all alone without friends or family.

Fang Li pondered to himself for a moment, his expression wavering.

He recalled what was inside Grieving Wind Valley.

Back then, Yan Sui had truly collected too many spiritual stones and items, and many of them had been thrown into Grieving Wind Valley. Those things were useless to the Yan Sui of the time, but Fang Li remembered that there were a few types of spiritual herbs within them that would be perfect for helping his body recuperate right now.

Seeing as everyone who went would get a piece of the treasure, it wouldn’t be overboard for him to grab a few things that had originally belonged to him anyways.

Fang Li made his decision after a bit of contemplation. Only, his current identity was that of a fool. Wandering around Hualin Town was well and fine, but if he were to go to Grieving Wind Valley on his own, his family definitely wouldn’t agree. That was indeed a bit tricky.

……………………………

These few days, Fang Li would wander around outside whenever he had nothing to do.

Every time he was about to leave the village or strayed a bit too far, the servant girl by his side would immediately grab hold of him and shepherd him back home with coaxing and persuasion.

His family treasured him like the apple of their eye and feared nothing more than that he would wander off and get lost, so they watched him extremely closely.

Later on, Fang Li simply stopped going outside.

These days, he would stay at home. He heard noises coming from the front gate, indicating that a guest had arrived.

He headed to the front hall where guests were entertained and saw a middle-aged man in long, yellow robes with a short beard. The man had two long blades at his waist, and although those blades appeared low-quality in Fang Li’s eyes, they were in fact genuine spiritual weapons. This man should be a cultivator.

Eldest Young Master Fang’s memories did include this person. In the past, he’d frequently come to their home, and he was Fang Li’s father’s good friend. Every time he came, he would bring delicious treats, so Young Master Fang liked this uncle very much.

Hualin Town had a little cultivation sect called Golden Blade Sect, and today’s visitor was the Golden Blade Sect’s sect master, Lu Hongdao.

When he saw Fang Li come over, his expression was full of fondness, and he laughed in a bright voice, “So little Li is also here. Perfect, I’ve brought your favorite Golden Silk Pear Blossom cake.”

Fang Mingyuan laughed and said, “You’re still so polite.”

Lu Hongdao took a look at Fang Li, then turned back to Fang Mingyuan and said, “This child’s life hasn’t been easy. He should have some more delicious things to eat while he can…… That’s right, is he about to turn twenty this year……?”

Hearing that, Fang Mingyuan’s expression dimmed, and he nodded.

Lu Hongdao also immediately fell silent.

For a time, the atmosphere was a little solemn.

Because Fang Li was a fool, the two of them didn’t hide their conversation from him in the least. He couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled. What was wrong with turning twenty?

Lu Hongdao let out a sigh and changed the topic, switching to formal matters. “I’ve heard about Grieving Wind Valley, and I also plan to head over to try my luck.”

Fang Mingyuan said with a bit of worry, “I’ve heard that there are hundreds of sects rushing over there. Who knows, maybe some leftover demonic cultivators will go, too. It would be better if you didn’t join in, it’s still hard to say if it will bring good fortune or misfortune.”

Lu Hongdao said with a laugh, “The four great sects have all sent people over, so nothing big should happen. I’m just going to take a look. What if I really am able to pick up a little something…… Don’t worry, I’ll just follow behind the four great sects, I definitely won’t stick my neck out. Besides, if a cultivator never struggles for anything at all, then what kind of piss-poor cultivating would they be doing?”

Fang Mingyuan said helplessly, “I think that living a good, honest life is pretty good, too.”

Lu Hongdao said with a laugh, “You’re always like this. That’s why back then, you wouldn’t enter the sect even if someone were to stick a knife to your throat. You only wanted to become a rich old man.”

Fang Mingyuan said, “Being a rich old man has its own delights. I knew full well that I don’t have that ability, so I didn’t want to bother wasting my efforts.”

Lu Hongdao smiled. “Anyways, I only came to give little Li some treats today, and also to tell you that it might take a while before I return from this trip.”

Fang Mingyuan said, “Be careful on your way.”

After that, Lu Hongdao left.

Fang Li’s expression shifted, and he turned to head out the door.

………………………………………

Golden Blade Sect was only a little cultivation sect, but it still had hundreds of members. Lu Hongdao had brought a good number of people with him this time, and they stopped periodically as they went. It was only after about ten days’ time that they finally arrived at Grieving Wind Valley.

That day, when a disciple went to the back of the horse-drawn cart to get some dry rations from a basket, he suddenly cried out in alarm.

Lu Hongdao immediately went over to take a look. When he saw what was happening, he also got a fright!

Fang Li was hiding in one of the baskets, arms wrapped around a pile of corn, sleeping soundly. Probably because he’d been woken up by the cry of alarm, he slowly opened his eyes and revealed a disoriented expression, then looked at Lu Hongdao and gave him a slight smile.

Lu Hongdao: “……”

This old man is about to have a heart attack!

When did this child hide in here!

Fang Li smacked his lips and said, “Golden Silk Pear Blossom cake, I still want.”

Lu Hongdao: “……”

He immediately felt a terrible pain in his skull. What was he to do now? He’d only brought Fang Li a piece of cake, and Fang Li had ended up following him all the way here!

It would be one thing if they were going anywhere else. At worst, they could just bring Fang Li with them, but this was Grieving Wind Valley! Right now, both righteous and demonic cultivators were gathered here, and aside from the numerous dangers lurking around, a fight could also break out at any time. If Fang Li ran into some kind of mishap, how was he to explain it to Old Fang?!

Lu Hongdao felt like his heart was being crushed by a mountain, feeling an unprecedented pressure, and even his back seemed to hunch a bit more……

They were already at Grieving Wind Valley now, and it was too late to send Fang Li back. How had this child managed to hide for so many days without being discovered?

Lu Hongdao was completely baffled.

But thinking about these things was of no use anymore. He carefully lifted Fang Li out of the basket. When touching the young man’s thin frame, Lu Hongdao was terrified that he might shatter him by accidentally using a bit too much strength, and he rubbed his hands uneasily as he said, “There aren’t any Golden Silk Pear Blossom cakes right now……”

He saw Fang Li’s eyes immediately redden.

Lu Hongdao’s words promptly turned into, “But I’ll buy some for you as soon as we get back!”

Lu Hongdao’s disciples were also very at a loss.

Wasn’t this the Fang family’s foolish young master? How come he’d secretly followed along? Now what were they to do?

Lu Hongdao muttered to himself for a moment, then waved his hand and said, “Let’s enter the valley first and talk later.”

Although the valley might be dangerous, it was even more impossible for them to leave Fang Li outside by himself. Leaving aside the demonic cultivators, he wouldn’t even be able to bear it if a wolf came along and carried Fang Li away.

Fang Li smiled cheerfully and followed the Golden Blade Sect members into the valley.

The entrance of Grieving Wind Valley was covered in thick fog, and after one walked inside and the fog dispersed, there was a ravine entrance shaped like the mouth of a gourd. In front of the entrance, there were plenty of sects already gathered.

Because Cinnabar Gate had been destroyed, there were only four great cultivation sects in the world today.

The four great cultivation sects currently all had representatives present.

Dressed in tight-fitting silver and black robes were Jade Hawk Palace’s female cultivators. Wearing black Daoist robes were the cultivators from Heaven’s Summit. Dressed in plain green garments were the cultivators were Black Star Tower…… and lastly, the ones wearing white robes with jade swords on their backs were the sword cultivators of Cloudbank Keep.

The four great sects each occupied a corner, and the other little sects were all settled around them.

Lu Hongdao looked around.

Jade Hawk Palace’s female cultivators could be ruled out first, as they prioritized protecting female cultivators, and the cultivators around them were all women. It wasn’t too appropriate for them to go over.

Black Star Tower’s cultivators had arrived early, and the area around them was full of people, most of them from the Black Star Tower’s subordinate sects.

Because they’d made a name for themselves back then when marching against Hollow Ridge, Heaven’s Summit vaguely had the posture of being leader of the righteous sects, but because their reputation was too great, the area around them was crammed so full that there wasn’t even a crack to be found. There was really absolutely no way for them to squeeze in!

Lastly, Lu Hongdao’s gaze fell in the direction of Cloudbank Keep.

Cloudbank Keep’s sword cultivators had arrived last, and they were situated right by the valley entrance. Although this bunch of sword cultivators were a bit too aloof, each of them took evil as their sworn enemy and had incredible battle power. Most importantly, Yuyi-jun was also there!

At the very least, if they followed Yuyi-jun, they couldn’t die.

Lu Hongdao promptly decided to bring his disciples to squeeze on over. Their luck wasn’t bad, and there was still space. If they had been any later, they wouldn’t have been able to squeeze in!

When Fang Li saw that Xie Huai was also here, he was actually extremely surprised. To his understanding, Xie Huai didn’t seem like the kind of person who liked to join in on this kind of excitement…… But with Grieving Wind Valley’s treasure vault making an appearance, the leftover demonic cultivators might make an appearance, and the righteous sects might also break into a fight at any time over treasure……

Some who cared about the living beings of the world as much as Xie Huai certainly wouldn’t watch as this place descended into slaughter, so it wasn’t unreasonable that he was here.

Because Xie Huai was present, Fang Li didn’t really want to go over to where Cloudbank Keep was. He sure didn’t want to expose his identity…… But right now, he was a fool, and there truly was no easy way for him to express his dissent. He could only follow along and sit down in the corner furthest away from Xie Huai.

He snuck a peek at Xie Huai, his emotions complicated.

Although it had only been a short moment to him, to Xie Huai, nine years had already passed…… Although he’d long heard from other people’s mouths that Xie Huai was doing very well right now, he hadn’t thought that they’d meet again so soon.

Xie Huai was still in that full set of white robes, his features cold and clear as icicles atop a towering mountain. His eyes were closed in meditation, looking as though asleep, and where he sat, the disciples around him sat with backs straight as a pen, not speaking a word, the atmosphere unusually solemn.

Fang Li pressed his lips together. Xie Huai seemed to be the same as before, with no change at all, but he also seemed to have changed somewhat…… The air he gave off seemed to have become a little colder?

Perhaps it was just his misperception……

A powerful master like Xie Huai would be able to sense it as soon as someone started watching him. Fang Li didn’t dare to look too long and quickly withdrew his gaze.

As long as Xie Huai was still doing well, then he was at ease.

Lu Hongdao’s party took a seat on the ground, each of his disciples full of excitement. Who would’ve thought that they’d be able to see the real, live Yuyi-jun with their own eyes! Even if they didn’t obtain a single thing on this trip, it was worth it!

One of the disciples said in a small voice, “Yuyi-jun is even better-looking than the rumors. He really is just like a celestial.”

Another disciple said, “Isn’t he basically a living celestial, able to kill the demon lord with one strike of his sword? It’s said that nobody in the world is his match right now!”

The disciples sobbed, “Being able to see Yuyi-jun’s magnificence with my own eyes, I can really die without regrets!”

A smile hung off the corners of Fang Li’s lips, and he listened boldly and openly.

It hadn’t been a waste of all of his painstaking efforts to hand off his life to Xie Huai. Everything was just like in the original book, and Xie Huai was still the Yuyi-jun admired by the whole world.

Fang Li listened and listened, then let out a sigh, a little regretful.

It was a pity he couldn’t brag that Xie Huai had once been his good brother.

On the other hand, the Cloudbank Keep disciples nearby sat at attention, holding their breaths, unable to sit at ease. None of them dared to look in Xie Huai’s direction.

The conversation nearby couldn’t escape their ears, and they all felt agitation in their chests. These outsiders didn’t know, but as fellow sect members, they couldn’t be more clear that the demon lord was a forbidden topic that couldn’t be brought up in front of Yuyi-jun!

As soon as Shixiong heard the words “demon lord,” his aura would become extremely frightening, so in all these years, the thing they feared most was speaking those two words in front of Xie Huai.

Yet it turned out that as soon as they went outside, everyone was talking about it……

They couldn’t even hide from it.

Tao Lu watched as everyone spoke with increasing vigor, his heart sour. The world only knew of the glory of Shixiong striking down the demon lord in one blow, but they didn’t know of the things that Shixiong had suffered in secret, those humiliations and torments unknown to anyone. Although these seemed to be words of praise, every single sentence was pouring salt into Shixiong’s wounds!

They were reminding Shixiong of that unbearable past!

Tao Lu finally couldn’t bear it any longer and quietly stepped over, arriving at the crowd nearby to carefully implore them one by one.

The Golden Blade Sect disciples on this side were just in the middle of a fiery discussion when they saw a Cloudbank Keep disciple come this way. That disciple had a cute baby face, but right now, his expression was solemn, and he entreated in a very low voice, “Yuyi-jun doesn’t like noise, so please be a little quieter…… Especially, you mustn’t bring up the demon lord in front of Yuyi-jun, understand?”

Fang Li was sitting silently to one side, and when he heard those words, his heart immediately went ba-thump.

After waking up and seeing that the mission was complete and that everyone was doing well, he’d only had celebrating in mind and hadn’t had time to think much about anything. Besides, although he’d only made Xie Huai kill a devil who was already supposed to die…… But, after all, his methods hadn’t been too honorable, and he’d gone against Xie Huai’s will.

With Xie Huai’s stubborn, proud personality, being controlled by the love parasite to kill someone whom he didn’t want to kill—that time, he’d definitely offended Xie Huai miserably…… He was afraid that what little camaraderie they’d had before was completely gone now.

Fang Li couldn’t help but recall before his eyes the image of Xie Huai being forced to pierce him with his sword, those ghastly, savage, bloodshot red eyes……

He immediately felt a shiver go through his whole body.

He definitely couldn’t allow Xie Huai to recognize him!

Definitely!

………………………………

The Author Has Something to Say:

Fang Li: I’m not scared at all.

Author: Heh heh.