Whispers

"Curse! Curse! I don't want to do anything glorious or great either. If I'm going to sacrifice, at least do it in a worthwhile way! Am I supposed to shed my blood for the sake of the common people? I'm asking for it! What do I care about the fate of the world? Who does something that doesn't benefit them?" Yue Qianchou muttered to himself, meekly letting him curse as much as he wanted. But he did realize something: this guy knew who he was as soon as he heard his name, and after all that, he was just teasing him.

Under the strange gaze of the woman in Ziyi, Nong Zhu seemed to realize that she had lost her master's demeanor. She awkwardly said to Yue Qianchou, "Tell me what you think. I can tell that you don't want to go either. As long as you refuse, I think Old Man Bi will have nothing to say, and this matter will naturally be dropped."

"Forget it! You're too scared to step forward yourself, so you expect me to? Do you think I'm an idiot? That old Bi is like a butcher when he gets angry. I'm just a small, promising young man; I wouldn't even be a match for his finger." Yue Qianchou coughed and said solemnly, "Since it's my master's order, how can I, as his disciple, disobey? I would never do such a thing. Yue Qianchou is willing to give his life to relieve my master's worries and troubles, even at the cost of his life!" His expression showed a strong determination to die a heroic death.

After he uttered these righteous words, the slight disdain in Ziyi's eyes vanished instantly. A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, unfathomable!

Nong Zhu, however, kept winking and twitching as he said, "Hehe... you! Hehe! What a filial disciple. If the deceased Qingguang Sect Master heard your words, he would definitely be so angry that he would come back to life."

Yue Qianchou ignored the sarcastic remarks as if he hadn't heard them, and instead said, "Senior, I think my master has other plans and won't let me and the girl in Ziyi go into danger alone."

Actually, he felt that the name Nong Zhu was particularly bad. Usually, when he addressed a senior, he would add their surname before "senior." For example, Senior Zhang, Senior Liu, etc. But if you added their surname to Nong Zhu, it would become Senior Nong. Senior Nong? He really couldn't bring himself to say it, so Yue Qianchou simply called him "senior" directly.

"Old Man Bi has other plans?" Nong Zhu's eyes lit up slightly, and she asked suspiciously, "How do you know? Did he tell you something?"

"I didn't say anything, but think about it, senior!" Yue Qianchou explained, "Although it's inconvenient for my master to take action, can't we just have someone else do it? As the Punishment Envoy of the Demon Ghost Domain, my master has countless demons and monsters under his command, and there are a frightening number of those at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage. If my master can let me take them out, no matter how many cultivators come from various countries, I am confident that I can crush their ambitions."

Nong Zhu him up and down and said disdainfully, "What kind of dream are you having? Are you out of your mind? You're supposed to be Bi Changchun's disciple. Do you think you can just release any Demon Ghost Domain? If your master had a choice, he would rather the Huaxia Cultivation World be destroyed than release a single demon or monster."

"What does it matter? At worst, we can just send them back to the Demon Ghost Domain later," Yue Qianchou said dismissively.

Nong Zhu stared into the distance with a somewhat confused look in her eyes, as if recalling some past events. After a pause, she shook her head and sighed, "You don't need to mention this matter again. Your master would not do such a thing. This involves the oath made by the Punishment Envoy of the Demon Ghost Domain when they took over. It was established by the High Antiquity war god 'Myriad Sword Demon Lord'. It is not worth mentioning to outsiders."

Ziyi asked curiously, "Master, do you know?"

Nong Zhu looked at his disciple and sighed, then said with a wry smile, "If it weren't for my laziness and unwillingness to take on heavy responsibilities, the current Punishment Envoy of the Demon Ghost Domain wouldn't be Old Man Bi, but me. Speaking of which, I tricked Old Man Bi back then, keeping this generation's strongman trapped in the Demon Ghost Domain for over a thousand years. Otherwise, with that old guy's talent, he might have ascended to the Immortal Realm long ago, and we wouldn't be in this situation now. So, this matter is somewhat related to me; I wronged him first."

He looked at Yue Qianchou and sighed, "Fine, fine. Since you're determined to obey your master's orders, I have nothing more to say. Consider it a debt I owed Old Man Bi back then, and I'll repay it to him today. Let Ziyi go with you!"

Having heard Bi Changchun mention this matter, Yue Qianchou knew that Nong Zhu was originally supposed to be the current Punishment Envoy of the Demon Ghost Domain, but what exactly happened in between was unknown. Seeing that Nong Zhu, who had initially been vehemently opposed, had now agreed to something because of his words, Yue Qianchou couldn't help but blame himself for being nosy. Previously, when Nong Zhu wanted him to refuse, he had spoken righteously, but wasn't he also secretly hoping Nong Zhu would refuse?

But he had already thought it through. He agreed, so what? He'd go back to doing what he was doing. He couldn't be so stupid as to fight a losing battle! Making money quietly was the best way.

"Yue Qianchou, come with me, I have something to say to you." Nong Zhu greeted him and then walked towards the purple bamboo grove outside the courtyard. Yue Qianchou was taken aback. What couldn't be said here? He glanced at the Ziyi who had turned her face away and immediately understood. Nong Zhu wanted to have a private conversation with him and didn't want his disciple to hear. Feeling a little curious, he quickly followed her out.

The two stopped one after the other on the path through the purple bamboo forest. A halo of light expanded around Nong Zhu, quickly enveloping Yue Qianchou as well. Nong Zhu turned around and asked, "What are your plans for this trip?"

Damn! What's so mysterious that they even need to set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping? Yue Qianchou glanced at the circle of light surrounding the two of them and asked in astonishment, "Senior, do you have some good ideas?" He had never intended to put in any real effort, so he couldn't say what his plans were and simply pushed the question away.

Sure enough, Nong Zhu glared at him and said, "Am I asking you or are you asking me? Since you're going to obey your master's orders, don't you have any plans at all? I don't think you're the kind of kid who's rushing to his death."

Yue Qianchou, still maintaining a serious demeanor, replied, "This junior truly has no plans. After leaving the South China Sea, I intend to immediately return to Shuntian Island to consult my master. Whatever my master says, this junior will do without hesitation." He added inwardly, "Trying to get the truth out of me? Keep waiting. Who knows if you'll betray me later? You and Old Man Bi have a thousand-year-old friendship, while I've only known you for a few days—less than a day."

"Yue Qianchou, don't try that with me. I can't compare to your master in terms of cultivation, but when it comes to judging people... hehe! I've had no interest in cultivation and have wandered the mortal world for a thousand years. What kind of people haven't I seen? I can tell you're no good just by looking at you. I bet you're thinking, 'Go out and do whatever you want,' not putting in any effort? You think you can fool me!"

Nong Zhu really saw through his thoughts at a glance. But so what if she saw through him? Yue Qianchou had also grown up in a gang of scoundrels in his previous life, and his skin was exceptionally thick. Besides, what could she do if someone guessed what he was thinking? It was all baseless speculation.

Yue Qianchou waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, senior is really wronging me. I would never have thought of such a thing, not even once." He was very sincere.

"Oh! You really haven't?" Nong Zhu looked at him seriously and sneered, "Then swear a solemn oath to me now. If you've ever had such a thought, curse yourself to die a horrible death the moment you leave the South Sea Purple Bamboo Forest. Swear it now!"

"Fuck your grandma..." Yue Qianchou cursed inwardly. Could such a solemn oath be made? Oaths made by cultivators were said to come true, though he had never seen one come true, but everyone said so, and who would dare risk their life? Yue Qianchou awkwardly smiled and said, "Senior is too suspicious. My conscience is clear; there's no need for a solemn oath..."

"Open and honest my foot!" Nong Zhu immediately gave Yue Qianchou a sharp rap on the forehead with his flute. His cultivation was high and his attack was incredibly fast. Yue Qianchou didn't even have a chance to dodge. The pain on his forehead was so intense that he couldn't even close his mouth in a grimace.

Nong Zhu poked his forehead with her flute and warned, "There's nothing wrong with what you think. You should do that after you get out. You absolutely cannot do something that you know will lead to death. If you want to save the world, you must first protect your own life. Otherwise, what will you use to save others? Do you understand what I mean?"

"Oh!" Yue Qianchou covered his forehead in sudden realization, but still did not want to leave any room for criticism in his words, so he nodded repeatedly and said, "I will never forget what you said, senior, and I will definitely try my best to understand it."

Nong Zhu watched him shake his head repeatedly, clicking his tongue and saying, "Looks like I wasn't wrong about you. You really aren't a good person. That's fine, I feel much more at ease leaving Ziyi in your care." Then his tone changed, and he sneered with a sinister look, "Ziyi can protect you when she goes out with you, but you absolutely cannot let her be in danger. That girl is stubborn and easily gets stuck on her own ideas. I'm warning you, even if you have to die, you have to die before her, otherwise I'll drag you out and grind you to dust, no matter where you are. There's something I won't hide from you: Ziyi is nominally my disciple, but she's actually my biological daughter. Your master knows this too. When you encounter trouble outside, you'd better use your brain."

"Ah!" Yue Qianchou froze, stunned, and asked, "This... who's protecting whom?"

"This is your business, don't ask me." Nong Zhu ignored all that, retracting the light circle into her body, casting a fierce glare, and walked straight back to Ziyi's side to give her instructions...

.