Calm and Happy Days

"Brother You, are you busy?"

He Kongyue lay on the silver-threaded and gold-embroidered bed, her gaze gently fixed on the Xuanji Token in her hand.

Her long hair was casually scattered on the pillow, smooth as water, which complemented her handsome face.

You Su did not reply immediately, which made her furrow her brows slightly, revealing a hint of anxiety and anticipation.

He probably won't stay up all night without replying to messages again...

Suddenly, the Xuanji Token trembled slightly, and a glint of joy flashed in He Kongyue's eyes. She quickly connected with the Mystic Qi.

"Brother He, I'm here. Is your father feeling better?"

"He's much better now, thanks to the poem you gave him; it gave him more motivation to live."

"It's nothing. If your father likes it, I actually have several poems in memory of my deceased wife."

"Are you perhaps the reincarnation of the Poet Immortal?"

"It's all hearsay, not my own writing. I can read it to Brother He now, and he can just copy it down."

He Kongyue still felt something was strange. Even if You Su accidentally learned of some of the unpublished works of reclusive literary figures, it shouldn't all be concentrated on him alone.

You Su probably harbored some secrets unknown to others, but she had no interest in finding out. She didn't know the poets, only that You Su was the one who gifted them to her.

"No need for now. This poem, 'Ten Years of Separation, Life and Death,' is enough for my father to savor for a long time. If you, Brother You, wish to present more poems, you can come to my house in person. My father specifically instructed me to invite you to visit the He family more often."

"I will definitely visit you again when I have time."

You Su had the same idea; he had no reason to refuse if he could build a good relationship with his Mistress's wife's father.

"Then tomorrow?!"

Without the slightest hesitation, He Kongyue blurted out the answer instinctively.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He had only parted ways with her two days ago in the Lingxu Mountain Range, and now he was going to pester her every day. Wouldn't You Su get annoyed?

Before You Su could answer, He Kongyue interrupted:

"Wait, tomorrow doesn't seem feasible. I have things to do tomorrow..."

He Kongyue nervously bit her lower lip, feeling like a fool for asking and answering her own questions.

"Then let's wait until Brother He has some free time, since we live nearby anyway."

Looking at You Su's answer, He Kongyue still felt a little disappointed, but You Su was right, there's plenty of time in the future, so why worry about this one day or two?

"If Brother You wants to come, just let me know in advance."

He Kongyue ultimately couldn't bring herself to say, "The doors of the He family will always be open for you."

"By the way, Brother He, you haven't told me your speculation about Cheng Ying Venerable's abilities yet."

A blush crept onto He Kongyue's fair face as she realized she had been chatting about trivial family matters and had forgotten about the important matter at hand.

Before we talk about this, let me ask you a question.

"Brother He, please ask."

"I have taken the Cheng Ying Venerable as my master, so I should be considered her retinue. The retinue of evil spirits is no different from evil spirits themselves, so why do you regard me as an ordinary person?"

"Naturally, it's because Venerable Jiyuan has already examined Brother He, and Brother He remains innocent."

He Kongyue knew this was just an excuse. "But Miss Tao clearly told me that before Venerable Jiyuan examined me, you also protected me in every way. At that time, weren't you afraid that I was an evil spirit? That you would be accused of protecting an evil spirit?"

This question seemed to stump You Su. After a moment, You Su replied:

"I don't know whether you are human or evil, I only know that Brother He is my friend, and it is my duty to protect you. Even if you are truly a member of an evil spirit, I will not stand idly by."

He Kongyue stared in astonishment at the text that appeared in her Sea of Consciousness, feeling a strange joy welling up inside her. However, she hid this joy well and replied:

"Brother You shouldn't think like that. Evil is evil, and people are people; they should never be confused. You're judging people by their relationship to you, not by their righteousness or evil. That's a very dangerous and biased idea. If you're not careful, you might become corrupted by evil."

"Does Brother He think I shouldn't help you? But if we were in each other's shoes, wouldn't you have protected me?"

These words left He Kongyue speechless. She was the one being protected, so what right did she have to say that others shouldn't protect her?

"Of course I will protect you."

As He Kongyue used her Divine Sense to output these words, she felt her cheeks burning slightly.

"That's it then. You Su is just an ordinary person; he only understands that this is human nature."

He Kongyue could only sigh softly. You Su would hold a high position in the future, able to control the lives and deaths of people with a wave of his hand. How could he still arbitrarily side with his relatives instead of the law?

Seeing that her attempts to dissuade him were unsuccessful, He Kongyue had no choice but to change her mind and say:

"I think you've probably noticed that after I became the disciple of Cheng Ying Venerable, I seemed to develop a strange connection with her. Her pain is my pain, her injury is my injury, and I can even feel the pain in her heart. I think this is the ability she gained after she became evil."

After sending the message, there was a brief silence; You Su was probably deep in thought.

"Could this be some kind of spiritual connection? But this ability seems rather useless."

"What we might see as a trivial matter is not in the eyes of Cheng Ying Venerable."

"What's the meaning?"

"A thousand years ago, people discovered the Divine Radiance Stone. With it guarding the coast, the number of evil spirits on the Five Continents began to decrease significantly. While bringing peace, it also reduced the ways in which cultivators on the Five Continents could learn about evil spirits."

"But Cheng Ying Venerable is an evil spirit from a thousand years ago. Does Brother He mean that she is of great research value?"

"Indeed, what is Cheng Ying Venerable's greatest obsession?"

"Revive the sect."

Even after falling into evil ways, this former sword immortal still thought about taking on disciples to the Cheng Ying Sword Sect.

"Her ability is actually the one that best aligns with her obsession. She will be bound to everyone in her sect, sharing both glory and ruin, and will never be separated again."

"Brother He, do you think that the abilities these people gained after becoming completely corrupted are actually manifestations of their obsessions?"

"It's less of an obsession and more of a demon in one's heart."

You Su was startled as he looked at the words that appeared in his Sea of Consciousness. Could it be that the Purification Sect's guess was really correct?

What exactly are evil spirits...?

"Alright, that's all the conclusion I can draw, but it's ultimately just my speculation. Brother You, remember this: never let your inner demons fester."

"Thank you for reminding me, Brother He. I will be careful."

The conversation should have ended there, He Kongyue felt it wasn't over yet. She reluctantly put down the Xuanji Token, wanting to continue talking to You Su.

"By the way, Brother You, you still haven't told me why you can see evil spirits."

He Kongyue tugged at the blanket, feeling like she was a genius at finding topics to talk about.

But then she glanced at the deep, cold night outside the window, and couldn't help but worry that continuing their conversation might be getting too late, and what if it disturbed You Su's rest?

She suddenly paused, as if seeing herself for the first time.

So I'm actually someone who overthinks things so easily...

However, to her relief, You Su did not appear embarrassed, but instead spoke frankly about her situation.

Of course, You Su also made a great deal of changes. He portrayed himself, the person who stirred up trouble in the Chuyun City incident, as an innocent pawn who was caught up in the Evil Cultivator's conspiracy.

He Kongyue, however, did not find it boring. On the contrary, she listened with great interest and asked You Su many questions, You Su answered patiently one by one.

He Kongyue suddenly woke up, realizing that she had been chatting with You Su until the third watch of the night.

He Kongyue didn't feel tired at all; on the contrary, she became more and more energetic as they talked.

But she was too embarrassed to continue, so she suppressed her urge to chat.

"I'm sorry to have kept you from resting. It's getting late, you should get some rest."

"Good night, Brother He too."

He Kongyue looked at the words "Goodnight" and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

She couldn't resist and replied again:

"Good night."

He Kongyue's eyes were clear and bright. She only put down the Xuanji Token stopped vibrating for a long time, and then pressed it tightly against her heart.

She had naturally used the Xuanji Token to contact others before, but this was the first time she had found chatting on it so interesting that she wished she could talk with You Su all night long.

She suddenly noticed that the Xuanji Token seemed to be vibrating again, so she quickly picked it up again, but when she probed it with her Divine Sense, she found a new message that You Su had sent her.

Only then did she realize that it wasn't the Xuanji Token that was shaking, but her own soft and yielding heart.

"What... is wrong with me?"

You Su took back the Xuanji Token, but he did not rest as Brother He had suggested.

He hesitated for a moment, but still decided to send a message to Lord Ash, hoping that the other party would actually receive his message.

"Lord Ash, I need to talk to you."

To his surprise, in the dead of night, Lord Ash not only received his message but also replied to it instantly.

"What's up?"

"I'd like to continue our discussion about getting He Kongyue to leave the Purification Sect."

After a brief silence, Lord Ash replied:

"You joined the Purification Sect Cult to protect him?"

"To be honest, I still can't trust you. Brother He is a very good friend of mine, and I don't want to see him get stuck in this mess."

This time, Lord Ash remained silent for even longer. You Su looked at the empty Sea of Consciousness, wondering if his meddling had offended the other party.

"But you should also know that from the moment he became your familiar, he was already unable to leave."

You Su sighed inwardly, truly baffled as to how he had inexplicably turned Brother He into his kin.

"Isn't there a way to sever the kinship relationship?"

"No."

Lord Ash answered quickly, his two words decisive and leaving no room for doubt.

You Su was taken aback. In his eyes, Brother He was an upright young man who pursued justice and adventure, and he really shouldn't have gotten involved in the quagmire of the Purification Sect.

He was both a friend and his Mistress's wife's younger brother, and he felt it was his responsibility to take care of her.

"I will cooperate with you."

What are you trying to say?

"The price is to assign him fewer dangerous missions in the future; I'll handle the killing of the evil spirits."

Lord Ash seemed quite surprised by what You Su said, and remained silent for a long time.

It's a deal.

After sending those four words, Lord Ash never replied.

You Su lay on the bed, finally relaxing, and suddenly felt a wave of fatigue wash over her.

Compared to his time in Chuyun City, he now has many more identities and thinks about many more things.

I've only been back at Lotus Peak for a day, but I feel like I've accomplished so much.

His life was no longer as simple as a bowl of plain porridge in Chuyun City; instead, many people appeared, allowing You Su to experience the world's vibrancy even without using his eyes.

Although he was tired, he did not feel annoyed.

He wanted to find his master, help his junior sister avenge her enemies, assist Xue Ruo in revitalizing the snake clan, help his senior sister overcome those obstacles, take care of Brother He, bring his Mistress back to the He family, and help the Third Elder make the Emperor House Tree sprout...

I also want to uncover the true mysteries of this world.

You Su had never felt so purposeful in his life. He seemed to have formed a strong connection with the world, no longer the blind child who felt it didn't matter if he died.

A strange sense of peace welled up within him, and filled with eager anticipation for tomorrow, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Life has been quite uneventful lately.

The junior and senior sisters were still leaving early and returning late, busy with who knows what, You Su seemed lonely on the mountain.

He then pretended to be ignorant about swordsmanship and went to Lotus Birth Pool to ask He Shutong for advice. He Shutong patiently answered his questions, and You Su felt as if he were bathed in a spring breeze. Gradually, he even dared to tell jokes to the woman who was now his friend, He Shutong did not find it childish and accepted them all with a smile.

You Su felt that his Mistress was like a broad-minded mother, embracing everything about him, which was very heartwarming.

When the two women returned in the evening, You Su spent time with them again.

Taking advantage of his senior sister's inattention, he would secretly tease Ji Lingruo. This kind of furtive physical contact was particularly exciting, making You Su want to knock on the door at night many times.

Ji Lingruo was adamant, insisting that they wait until she had mastered the soundproofing Technique Method before coming. You Su, however, felt it wasn't that simple; his junior sister might be mastering not only the soundproofing Technique Method but also the Qi cultivation manual she obtained from the Book Mountain Pavilion. Fortunately, he had never slacked off in his cultivation of the Sun Yang Sword Nurturing Art.

However, the accumulation of You Su's yang energy was indeed a problem. Ji Lingruo once couldn't persuade You Su otherwise, so she helped him in another way. But the next day, the girl insisted on eating porridge because her cheeks were so sore that she couldn't chew anything. Incidentally, one night Ji Lingruo washed her feet three times, as if there was always something dirty on them.

When her junior sister wasn't looking, You Su would also secretly make intimate contact with her senior sister, holding hands and rubbing her head. Although she no longer washed her senior sister's feet, their hands would no longer separate when telling bedtime stories late at night.

Back in bed, You Su had to face He Kongyue's bombardment of Xuanji Token.

You Su often chatted with Brother He until late at night; Brother He always seemed to have endless things to say. Even when they were face to face, You Su never felt that Brother He was a chatterbox.

At first You Su didn't think anything of it, but then she thought, two grown men exchanging messages every day, isn't that a bit ambiguous...?

But I'm not really a girl named You!

However, You Su had to admit that from Brother He's words, he gained a more comprehensive understanding of the world he lived in.

Without the disturbances of the Evil Warding Department and the Purification Sect, the days passed peacefully and happily.

Finally, Bihua Pavilion, a store specializing in stockings, opened in Bihua Peak.