Chapter 36
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“Your expression that day was too scary,” Yuchi Rui focused intently, holding the fishing rod and looking at the float in the water.
In the pond outside the Chengshu Palace of the Palace, Gong Wei took off his shoes and sat cross-legged on a moss-covered rock, lazily fishing with one hand while supporting his chin with the other. He said lazily, “I was avenging you and Senior Brother. Don’t you know that?”
“But you shouldn’t have drunk his blood,” Yuchi Rui frowned, displeased. “It’s disgusting. What were you thinking?”
What was he thinking?
Gong Wei paused, seeming unsure of how to answer. After a moment, he affectionately said, “I didn’t really think about it. I just felt that this way, I could intimidate others, and no one would be able to harm Senior Brother in front of me!”
Yuchi Rui was shocked almost to the point of dropping the fishing rod. “You, this dog, actually have a conscience like this?”
Gong Wei grinned, propping up his chin.
Just then, a huge chariot passed overhead, driven by four giant birds with long platinum tails, heading towards the Chengshu Palace in the distance. Gong Wei immediately jumped up barefoot, exclaiming, “Ah, the Blood River Chariot! Xu Bai is here!”
He hurriedly ran towards the shore, eager to put on his shoes and leave. Yuchi Rui couldn’t stop him in time, only seeing the fat fish that was about to be hooked scatter away, feeling a pang of heartache. “B*stard! Where do you think you’re going?!”
“Xu Bai hasn’t seen my sword yet!”
“One day, Xu Bai will definitely kill you!” Yuchi Rui shouted angrily, watching as Gong Wei happily slipped away in the dust.
Gong Wei hugged his sword and rushed through the corridor like the wind. The Chengshu Palace disciples passing by in the distance all stopped and looked at him with respect and fear, watching him leave with complex expressions.
Gong Wei didn’t notice the subtle change in others’ attitudes during this time, or if he did, he didn’t care much. He ran eagerly to the door of the study, deliberately lightening his footsteps and holding his breath, wanting to give Xu Shuangce a surprise. However, he didn’t expect to hear a loud bang from inside the study, the sound of a teacup slamming onto the table. Xu Shuangce’s voice was icy as he said:
“I disagree.”
What were they talking about?
Gong Wei’s hand paused on the door, peering inside through the crack. He saw Ying Kai and Xu Shuangce facing each other, sensing a tense atmosphere. Ying Kai frowned impatiently, “What’s there to disagree about?”
“On the surface, that assassination was supposed to be the Overcome Ghost Gate seeking revenge on Gong Wei, but both you and I know what really happened. Why did they choose the day Gong Wei was accompanying me to ascend the platform for the sacrifice? How could the assassins infiltrate the heavily guarded Ascension Immortal Platform? Why, despite thorough investigation afterwards, were there no clues? The Yellow Springs poison, Yin and Yang mantras, all belong to the Overcome Ghost Gate, but why did they go to the extent of destroying the twelve death soldiers’ faces and bodies with the life-for-life formation?”
“Because behind this, there are intricate connections with the major noble families!” Ying Kai said slowly, emphasizing each word. “Every major master is striving to promote their own disciples, lavishing resources and techniques on their direct descendants. As a result, only the noble families can produce masters, and even the masters only support their own families. The Iron Sect name has been passed down for three generations by the Changsun family of Julu City, and the Sword Sect name has been passed down for two generations by the Yuchi family of Yejinmen. Even though they are considered relatively upright in terms of family traditions—other families govern their own territories, fight for resources, and engage in various selfish acts. Commoners and wandering cultivators can only rely on them, otherwise they will have no future! The Immortal Alliance threatens the interests of the noble families and major sects, naturally they will face collective hostility from them. Even if they didn’t participate in this assassination, they would have tacitly approved it! Over time, where’s the fairness?”
However, Xu Shuangce calmly said, “To ordinary people in this world, it’s natural for elders to protect their descendants. Human nature is a matter of good and evil, let it be. Why do you have to defy it from the beginning?”
Ying Kai was choked for words, unable to speak for a moment. After a while, he said, “Do you disagree with me establishing the Punishment Hall, or do you disagree with me appointing Gong Wei as the Grand Elder?”
Does Senior Brother want me to be the Grand Elder?
Gong Wei’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…”
Xu Shuangce fell silent, his back facing Gong Wei, making it impossible to see his expression. After a long time, he said, “This child should not appear in public.”
“What do you mean?” Ying Kai frowned. “The Punishment Hall will naturally be supervised by me personally, and appointing Gong Wei is just a nominal position. I just want to give him this title so that he can learn and experience various affairs by my side, interact with more peers, make friends, and it’s all good for his mental growth…”
“He shouldn’t grow anymore,” Xu Shuangce suddenly interrupted Ying Kai.
After a pause, he continued, “Don’t let Gong Wei interact with anyone else anymore.”
From Ying Kai’s expression, it seemed as if he thought there was something wrong with his ears. “What are you saying?”
Xu Shuangce did not answer.
“Gong Wei’s talent is certainly not limited to this. With proper guidance, his future cultivation might not be inferior to ours. Do you really want to keep him locked away for life and never see the world?”
The last sentence was clearly a rhetorical question, but Xu Shuangce didn’t answer, only staring at him intently.
Gong Wei held his breath.
He still couldn’t see Xu Shuangce’s face, but he knew that Xu Shuangce’s expression must have revealed something, because Ying Kai’s gaze gradually became very shocked. After a while, he uttered in disbelief, “….Xu Bai, are you out of your mind?”
Ying Kai was a very polite person, rarely addressing anyone of the same generation by name.
But Xu Shuangce seemed oblivious to it. “Don’t you find his talent terrifying?”
“…” Ying Kai struggled, “Xu Bai, when you formed your Core, you triggered the Nine Heavens Tribulation unseen for a hundred years. When I unsheathed Mountain Ocean Order Sword for the first time, the Mountain and Ocean resonated. No one called us terrifying.”
“Do you really think you can guide him well?”
“Of course I can. Gong Wei’s nature is innocent and pure. He’s just…”
Xu Shuangce interrupted Ying Kai for the third time, asking with a hint of sarcasm, “Do you really think his nature is innocent and pure?”
Gong Wei felt as if he had fallen into a surreal and terrifying nightmare. He didn’t understand what was happening in front of him, but an instinctive pain surged from the depths of his heart, piercing his throat.
Don’t say anymore, his breathing became rapid.
Don’t say anymore, Xu Bai.
“Gong Zhiyu could never be human.” Xu Shuangce spoke with his back to the door, his voice devoid of any emotion. “I know what you’re thinking. Even if demons and monsters take human form, they cannot cultivate the three souls and seven spirits. Anyone with the seventh spirit must be human. If not human, then they can only be beings higher, more ethereal, or closer to the ‘heavenly dao’ itself.”
“Do you think Gong Zhiyu could be such a being?”
Ying Kai stood silently, neither confirming nor denying.
“But Ying Kai, you believe in the benevolence of the heavenly dao, while I believe in its chaos. The heavenly dao may not be benevolent to cultivators like us. Gong Zhiyu is treating people well now because everyone he interacts with treats him well. If you want to maintain this situation, you have to seal off his spiritual veins, lock him in a forbidden place, and forbid anyone except you, me, and Yuchi Rui from seeing him. In the future, when Yuchi Rui grows up, isolate him too.”
“If you can’t do this, Ying Kai,” Xu Shuangce said, “remember my words. Gong Zhiyu is sweet like a dream now, but he will turn into a nightmare in the future. One day, you will regret it.”
Gong Wei’s pupils contracted sharply due to the stinging sensation.
With the change in angle, he finally saw Xu Shuangce’s profile. That handsome face had never appeared as cold and ruthless as it did now, as if he were talking about not a familiar person, but some kind of bizarre, ominous, and urgent heresy that needed to be eradicated from the world.
Negative emotions from all directions rushed in like a tidal wave, overwhelming him.
The last few threads of closeness to Xu Shuangce made him want to control himself, but the more dominant nature took over. The same hostility surged from the depths of his heart, as if poisonous flames were burning through his organs, even his bone marrow sounded with a creak due to intense pain.
Don’t say anymore, he thought in confusion.
It really hurts, please don’t say anymore—
Ying Kai was infuriated, accusing vehemently and angrily. Xu Shuangce remained unmoved, and the argument grew louder and more intense. Finally, Ying Kai slammed the paperweight heavily on the table, “Xu Shuangce! I think you’re the one who’s bewitched!”
“That thing we picked up from the Peach Blossom Forest in Cangyang that year was not a person at all; it was a heresy of the heavenly dao.” Xu Shuangce’s words were clear and chilling. “We brought back this heresy, and one day it will bring destruction to everyone in this world!”
Click! The door was pushed open.
Both of them turned around simultaneously, and Gong Wei stood outside the door, staring straight at Xu Shuangce.
Ying Kai exclaimed, “Gong Wei…”
For a moment, Xu Shuangce’s expression was actually quite strange. He seemed to be forcing himself to look away by half an inch, but then he stopped, slightly raised his head to take a breath, and stood there calmly.
“Do you dislike me now, Xu Bai?” Gong Wei asked softly.
Xu Shuangce did not answer.
Ying Kai was practically forcing two words out of his tight throat, “Gong Wei…”
Gong Wei stubbornly asked, “Will you always hate me in the future?”
No one saw Xu Shuangce’s shoulders and arms tensing up. His fingertips deeply pierced into his palms, and a warm liquid finally overflowed along the palm lines.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but after a long silence, he tightly closed his mouth again, without saying a word, and walked out briskly.
Ying Kai anxiously said, “Xu…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Xu Shuangce’s arm tightened, and it turned out that he was pulled back by Gong Wei at the moment of passing by, the young man raised his head and stared straight at him.
—–Kill him, the innate consciousness deep within the primordial spirit resonated once again.
“…Gong Wei,” Xu Shuangce’s voice was hoarse, “I told you not to use these inhuman tricks on me.”
A hint of crimson appeared in the youth’s right pupil, like eerie flowers blooming in another world.
Xu Shuangce tightened his grip slightly. “Gong Wei!”
—Xu Bai must die.
Xu Bai must die first.
None of them can escape. Xu Bai must die first.
Gong Wei closed his eyes, and suddenly opened them again, his right pupil had turned into a rich and pure blood-red!
Xu Shuangce’s complexion changed slightly, and he dodged, but it was too late. Bai Tai Shou came out with astonishing momentum, wrapped in a huge aura, and swept towards him face to face. The spiritual power swept out in a ring shape, the floor burst into millions of cracks instantly, and the doors and windows were shattered into pieces!
Clang!
The clash of metal and stone was deafening.
Xu Shuangce firmly pressed the sword handle back, only using the scabbard to block this extremely deadly blow. The metal friction produced a terrifying sharp sound!
The bright sword body of Bai Taishou reflected the young man’s eyes from close range during the encounter, and his eyes flickered with a hint of light.
He stared hard at Xu Shuangce who was close at hand, his eyes widened, as if he could forcibly hold back the glimmer in his eyes by doing so. But that ultimately failed, a line of tears rolled down, pattering on the sharp edge of the unrelenting sword, instantly cut into countless tiny water lights.
“…”
Xu Shuangce let go of the sword handle, wiped away the water marks on Gong Wei’s cheeks with his hand, and asked softly, “Do you want to kill me?”
His palm could cover half of the young man’s face, the breath intermingled in an instant, seemingly seamless.
He slightly leaned down to Gong Wei’s ear and said, “You won’t have this opportunity again.”
At this moment, there was a loud clang behind him. Ying Kai drew his sword and shouted sternly, “Shuangce!”
Xu Shuangce stood up straight, sheathed his sword, said nothing more, brushed past and walked out.
But as he stepped over the threshold, Gong Wei suddenly turned around and swung his sword, the sword light broke through the void, Xu Shuangce turned around and blocked it, his robe sleeve torn apart with a swish!
His blood finally splattered, forming a faint arc on the ground.
But Xu Shuangce didn’t look back, he stepped steadily over the threshold and walked out.
***
The huge commotion had already alarmed most of the Chengshu Palace, and the disciples rushed over to hear the sound, but they dared not approach, hiding far under the white jade platform in front of the main hall. Xu Shuangce acted as if he hadn’t seen them, walking alone with his hands behind his back through the corridor. The wind swept from the end of the sky and earth, and the torn sleeve fluttered behind him; a few years ago, it was in this place that a thin and small figure suddenly appeared from the wall under the spring sun, looking at the two jingling small coins in his hand with wide eyes, full of curiosity.
Ding Ling, Ding Ling.
Xu Shuangce didn’t stop.
He saw the youth leaping down from the void, and in a moment as they passed by each other, the youth snatched the small golden coin, tightly clutching it in their slender, white hand, as if afraid of losing it accidentally.
Their robes vanished into the depths of the corridor like flowing clouds.
The wind continued to whisper in his ears.
Ding Ling, Ding Ling.
Clearly, he was at the peak in his ruthless Dao, his Dao heart should have been unwavering, yet there was a hidden ache that he couldn’t pinpoint the origin of, like layers of fine threads, wrapping around the heart in his chest, which had long turned as cold and hard as iron.
It must be because he was bewitched by those eerie eyes, he thought.
Xu Shuangce’s fingers deeply pierced into the flesh of his palm, as he raised his head and walked towards the continuous mountains, as if as long as he persisted in not looking back, he could walk out of that gorgeous and sweet dream, out of the deeply immersive time of the late spring of that year.
The long wind of the 18th year of Taiyi swept over the overlapping palace eaves, with peach blossoms fluttering in the azure sky.
The Sect Master of Cangyang, with hands behind his back and sword on his back, walked alone down the magnificent steps of Dai Mountain, leaving behind the distant jingle in the void, step by step towards the distant future of joyous feasts with red candles and sudden bloodshed.
Author’s Note: End of Volume One.
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