Type-Moon's Problem Child from Collapse

Fu Yuan felt his senior sister's emotions through his perception, but he only held her tightly in silence, saying nothing.

In truth, A Yuan had already forgiven her for that matter long ago.

He didn't know how long passed before he realized the person in his arms had fallen asleep. Wiping the still-damp tears from his own face, he let out a helpless chuckle.

After all, he'd been dragged in here because he wanted to sleep! And now he had to serve as a free pillow on top of that.

But... he didn't hate it.

Chapter 31: Restraint, Appearance

Miao Territory, Wu Shuang Sect

Su Mei sat in the seat of honor, watching the crowd below with a bored expression.

'Are these guys NPCs? Useless except for filling up the space.'

Looking at these wastes before her, this thought suddenly popped into her mind.

"Sect Master... Sect Master? Sect Master!" Xiao Miao, seated below, noticed that her sect master had drifted off and quietly called out a couple of times.

Su Mei's slightly unfocused pupils gradually regained clarity. She looked at the still-arguing crowd, and a hint of displeasure crept onto her originally gentle face, though it was quickly masked by a smile.

"Finished arguing?"

She tapped the table twice, and once they had completely fallen silent, she asked in a very amiable tone.

The crowd, who had been wearing all sorts of expressions just a moment ago, instantly snapped into uniformity. Every head was lowered, cold sweat beading on their backs.

At the same time, they were frantically racking their brains to recall if they had recently offended her in any way. Wu Shuang Sect was powerful, and they hadn't had their fill of enjoying it yet.

The reason they had dared to argue like this was simply because Su Mei had been acting a bit different lately—extremely easygoing whenever she was in front of that Immortal's Little Disciple.

This had given them a certain illusion. For example: I'm built different!

But that illusion shattered the moment Su Mei opened her mouth.

Instinct, or perhaps a martial artist's intuition, told them they would die. They would definitely die.

Soon, the meeting ended. The vast hall was left with only Su Mei and Xiao Miao, who had reminded her earlier.

Su Mei rubbed her temples, somewhat exasperated as she looked at the girl before her, whose eyes were full of admiration.

"Leak the route I'll take back to the mountain."

Without waiting for a reply, Su Mei walked straight out, not caring about her reaction. These people weren't worth her extra attention.

As for Xiao Miao doing something unnecessary—no, that wouldn't happen. This was the sect she had built, and her words were absolute law. She would never allow anyone to interpret them beyond their literal meaning.

After all, some idiots were truly troublesome. And if someone couldn't even properly convey her orders, what use were they?

On a rugged mountain path, Fu Yuan, who had finally retrieved his Beloved Sword, was visibly excited. He hopped ahead quickly, like a child who would never grow up.

Su Mei watched his figure from behind, a flicker of guilt appearing in her eyes, but she immediately extinguished it.

She had always known that her Junior Disciple Brother possessed Emotion Perception. In her eyes, that was a Divine Skill.

Night fell. Inside a cave, Su Mei lay weakly within, while Fu Yuan stood guard outside with an expression far darker than his daytime cheerfulness.

Everything was proceeding according to her plan. The assassins appeared quickly, and were promptly caught by the Junior Disciple Brother, who was stationed at the entrance with his Emotion Perception.

"Do you know what you're doing? Senior Sister is an Immortal Disciple!" Fu Yuan questioned angrily. He had never imagined anyone would be bold enough to poison an Immortal Disciple.

An Immortal Disciple was not just a title. It carried a responsibility, a glory.

Immortal Chi Yuan had always taken it as her duty to protect All Living Beings, and her disciples naturally followed suit.

The assassin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looking at Fu Yuan with despair in his eyes.

Thinking of the Peerless Lady's methods, he steeled himself and prepared to bite down on the poison hidden in his mouth.

Fu Yuan was quick. He grabbed the man's jaw, shock and anger flashing across his face. He couldn't understand what this person was trying to do.

"Are you insane?!"

The assassin, seeing his last means of suicide taken away, let out a bitter laugh.

He looked at the child before him, known to the outside world as the Banished Immortal Reborn, and then thought of the Demon currently inside the cave. It all struck him as absurd.

Leaning back against the wall behind him, the assassin spoke with a mocking tone.

"Do you even know what that person you're protecting has done?"

"Yes, she's an Immortal Disciple. She kills Demon Beasts too. But does that give her the right to ruin other people's families?!"

His voice suddenly turned fierce, and seeing Fu Yuan's obvious disbelief, he let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"Right. She's your senior sister. Of course you'd defend her."

"I've lost this round. But can you protect her once? Can you protect her for a lifetime?!"

With that, the man closed his eyes and stopped caring about the outside world. Do what they will—kill him or torture him, it was all the same.

Fu Yuan stared at the man before him with an expression of profound complexity, the sword in his hand never falling.

After a long moment, he lowered the blade anyway, but suddenly ropes coiled around the man's body, binding him tight.

Fu Yuan shook his head. He still didn't believe it.

"Forget it. I'll leave this to Master to decide."

It was simple—his ability told him the man wasn't lying. But... he didn't believe it. Immortal Disciple, guardian of All Living Beings—this was the creed he had always upheld.

Besides, in the several large-scale Demon Beast disturbances before, Senior Sister had clearly been one of the most devoted.

Sensing someone approaching from behind, Fu Yuan composed his expression, then turned to face his Senior Sister with a smile.

"Senior Sister, are you feeling better..."

Fu Yuan's words cut off abruptly. He stared blankly at the head flying through the air—the man who had been pleading with him just seconds ago was now completely severed, body and head apart.

Only when warm blood splattered across his face did he slowly snap back to reality. Watching his Senior Sister, who acted as if she had done something trivial, he—usually so talkative—found himself at a loss for words. Finally, he managed a trembling call.

"S-Senior Sister..."

What to say, how to say it—Fu Yuan didn't know. He could only repeat over and over in his mind: Jianghu vendetta. This is just a Jianghu vendetta.

It's fine. This is normal. A Yuan will encounter this too someday. So it's fine, right?

Su Mei broke from her usual demeanor, her face icy cold, as if she were reciting a tally.

"This man might be a survivor from half a year ago. To root out a group of Demon Beasts, I personally slaughtered an entire village—about nine hundred people. He was one of the ones who got away."

Ignoring Fu Yuan's shocked stare, she let out a cold laugh and continued in a flat, emotionless tone.

"A year ago, a sect conflict escalated into a fight to the death. I stepped in and destroyed everyone in that sect."

"Also a year ago, I..."

"Stop! Don't say anymore!"

"Senior Sister must have had no choice, right?"

Fu Yuan suddenly interrupted Su Mei's words, looking at her with desperate hope, waiting for her to nod, waiting for her to return to that gentle version of herself.

"There was a choice. It just wasn't worth it."

"After all, that was the fastest way to handle it."

Su Mei cut off Fu Yuan's delusions, then spoke the words he least wanted to hear.

The light in Fu Yuan's eyes visibly dimmed. But soon, a new spark of hope kindled.

"Senior Sister, I—we can make up for it, right?"

"At least that way, people won't hate you so much."

'We... what an idiot.'

She suppressed the reluctance in her heart, but on the surface, she looked as if she had seen something utterly amusing.

"Are you joking, Junior Disciple Brother?"

"There's a limit to self-deception."

Hearing these blunt words, Fu Yuan's smile turned bitter. Since childhood, Master had taught him to guard All Living Beings, but the Senior Sister he loved most... What was he supposed to do?

"But isn't protecting All Living Beings our duty?"

Su Mei let out two cold laughs at this, then stepped forward, closing in on Fu Yuan's face, and asked with deadly seriousness.

"If it came down to All Living Beings or your Senior Sister—only one can live—what would you choose?"

"Those two things don't conflict, right, Senior Sister?" Fu Yuan's expression was pained. Faced with his pressing Senior Sister, his voice wavered with uncertainty.

"How do you know they don't conflict?" Su Mei pressed even closer, relentless, clearly determined to get an answer today.

"S-Senior Sister is also Master's disciple. How—how could they conflict?" Fu Yuan stepped back two paces, suddenly afraid of this version of his Senior Sister.

"If you hadn't been here today, I'd already be a corpse." Su Mei suddenly turned her gaze to the corpse beside her, as if talking to herself, then shifted the topic back to Fu Yuan.

"If I died, would Junior Disciple Brother be angry?"

"Yes!" At this, Fu Yuan visibly perked up, his tone firm.

"Would you avenge me?"

"Yes."

"Does Junior Disciple Brother like Senior Sister?"

"...Yes."

"Now there are a hundred people, all good people, but one is the murderer—and you can't find them. What would Junior Disciple Brother do?" Su Mei's tone suddenly turned sorrowful as she quietly waited for his answer.

"I would..." Fu Yuan's words stopped abruptly. He stood frozen in place.

'What would I do? Kill them all? But that goes against everything I stand for! But if I don't, Senior Sister will be sad, won't she?'

"All Living Beings or your Senior Sister—which one do you choose?" Su Mei circled back to the original question, her expression calm, silently waiting for his reply.

"I... I don't know..." Fu Yuan's face suddenly clouded with confusion, as if facing some monumental choice, hesitating so much that even his sword heart wavered.

"Junior Brother, are you choosing All Living Beings?"

"No, I'm not!"

"Then you're choosing me?"

"...I, I don't know."

The topic passed like that, but it wasn't over. The two returned to Taixu Mountain, only the atmosphere was no longer as cheerful as before.

"Xiao Yuan, do you admit to leaving without permission?" Fu Hua, seated at the head, spoke in a very calm tone, then looked at Fu Yuan, whose expression was utterly lost, and shot two dissatisfied glances at Su Mei.

How could she have nothing to do with this this time!

"...Mm." Fu Yuan was still stuck on that night, his thoughts a tangled mess. All Living Beings? Or Senior Sister!

Fu Hua watched Fu Yuan, still lost in a daze, with some displeasure. He stared at Fu Yuan for a long time, only to find he still hadn't snapped out of it.

Chao Yu, who had already returned to the mountain, saw Su Mei's lack of reaction and coughed twice beside her to remind Fu Yuan.

Fu Yuan looked up at his master with some confusion, his entire being thoroughly conflicted.

"Master, why do we have to protect All Living Beings?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the few people on the mountain instantly became interesting.

Fu Hua was stunned by the question. It wasn't that the question was difficult, but he never expected Fu Yuan to ask it.

After all, from the moment Fu Yuan went down the mountain to slay Demon Beasts, he had always upheld this principle.

Looking at Fu Yuan, who radiated confusion from every pore, Fu Hua had no idea how to explain.

"Go reflect on Guilt Cliff for a few days first!" Fu Hua finally sighed and gave a punishment that was neither light nor heavy.

This time, Fu Yuan didn't complain like before. Upon hearing these words, he simply walked silently toward the back mountain.