Would Junior Sister Be Willing to Go With Me?

Sheng Ziling stood rooted to the spot as if he had been hit by an immobilizing spell. After a long while, he came back to himself, and the first thing he did was turn his head shakily toward his seated master at the edge of the arena.

The Wind Thunder Fist Sect Master looked awful.

Sheng Ziling desperately twisted his expression, wanting to argue. He seemed to be saying soundlessly that the battle had not been as everyone had seen it—that this blind man had actually launched a sneak attack while he was unprepared, which was utterly against martial ethics, and that the other side should have been declared the loser outright.

Yet he was left speechless, unable to say a word.

Sheng Ziling turned to look at the scabbard You Su had withdrawn, and grew ever more despairing about his future cultivation career in the sect. His gaze also grew increasingly venomous. He did not dare make a move; he merely swallowed, intending to curse with the filthiest words and humiliate this man who seemed utterly indifferent to everything with the vilest terms.

In the blink of an eye, the Ink Pine Sword was once again pressed against Sheng Ziling's neck. The difference was that this time it was no longer the scabbard, but the sword's icy edge.

"If I cut here, you won't die, but you'll be mute for the rest of your life. So, are you still going to curse?"

You Su held the hilt lightly, and not the slightest hint of threat could be heard in his tone.

Everyone at the edge of the arena drew a sharp breath. No one had expected You Su to dare attack even after the contest had ended.

The Wind Thunder Fist Sect Master was so furious that he stood up on the spot, his pair of blazing hands smashing the armrests of the wooden chair to pieces.

"You Su! What do you think you're doing?"

City Lord Liu sent out a burst of force to soothe the furious, burly old man, then calmly addressed You Su in the arena:

"You Su, put down your weapon. The spar is over. Don't lose all sense of proportion."

Hearing this, You Su smiled faintly and withdrew the Ink Pine Sword. As he pulled it away, his wrist moved slightly, leaving a nearly imperceptible bloody mark on Sheng Ziling's neck.

"Please forgive me, City Lord Liu. I misunderstood. Seeing Brother Sheng's stance, I thought he still hadn't had enough."

Sheng Ziling did not hear what You Su was saying. He was absorbed in the stinging pain from that exceedingly shallow cut. He had a feeling that, if necessary, this blind man really would turn him into a mute—or the kind lying in a coffin, his entire body cold.

A chill spread upward from the soles of his feet, and he suddenly realized that his trousers felt somewhat warm and damp. Why did this feeling of losing control seem so familiar? When had it been last?

He remembered. It had been when he was twelve, accompanying his master outside to buy something. He had taken a fancy to a jade ring that had just been bought by a woman. The woman was holding the hand of a blind child. She was dressed in rags, yet stood even somewhat taller than his burly master. Somehow, his master and that woman had come to blows after exchanging only a few words.

To call it a fight was inaccurate. His master had been the only one taking a beating. His master's proudly cultivated fist techniques had been smashed to pieces by that woman's pair of fists. But wasn't that woman the Sect Master of the Sword Sect?

After beating his master, the woman gave him a cold look. It was the first time he had seen such a gaze, and the first time he had seen his master—who was like a god in his heart—so utterly battered. When he saw the woman advancing step by step, he had been frightened into wetting himself right there.

But the woman had paid him no attention. As the young blind child walked past him, sucking on his finger, he said blankly to the woman beside him:

"Master, what smells so pungent?"

The woman burst into hearty laughter at those words.

He had remembered this incident to the present. He had thought that the woman was gone, his master had broken through, and he had grown stronger, so that fearful, embarrassed, and mortifying feeling from back then would never appear again. He had never expected that the blind child from those days would bring it back to him now.

"What a pungent smell."

You Su sheathed the Ink Pine Sword, pinched his nose, and left the arena.

Meanwhile, the burly man in the arena watched the white of his robe and trousers grow darker and darker. Amid the unceasing laughter from the edge of the arena, he collapsed onto the ground, his face utterly ashen.

From afar, Gu Yao watched You Su's back disappear into the crowd, his eyes shimmering with light.

That night.

You Su still bought chestnut chicken, along with red bean porridge, black fungus, brown sugar water, and a series of other blood-nourishing foods.

Ji Lingruo was dressed simply. Her loose jacket and skirt concealed her graceful curves, while some rosiness had already returned to her complexion. Her skin was so delicate it seemed to glow, appearing even more lustrous than before.

She looked at the tableful of dishes, both delighted and speechless.

The two silently picked up food, and for a moment the atmosphere grew somewhat dull.

"Hey, what were you doing during the day?" Ji Lingruo glanced at the black fungus her senior brother had put into her bowl and curled her lips.

"I went to the City Lord's Mansion to take care of something." You Su also picked up two mouthfuls of black fungus with his chopsticks. "Eat more black fungus. It replenishes qi and nourishes the blood."

Ji Lingruo moved her chopsticks twice. She clearly disliked black fungus, but because of the lie about her monthly period, this senior brother had bought such a huge plate and was forcing her to eat it. She felt rather helpless.

"If you want to eat it, eat it yourself. Don't you like black fungus the most?"

"My junior sister actually remembers what I like to eat. Your senior brother is very gratified. But what I like isn't black fungus—it's white fungus." You Su smiled and began drinking his porridge.

Ji Lingruo stuck out her delicate tongue and secretly made a face before asking, "What did you go to the City Lord's Mansion for? Was it about that search last time?"

"No. The City Lord's Mansion had an honored guest, and all the Spirit Platform Realm cultivators in the city had to go greet him."

"What kind of honored guest? Such a grand entrance?"

"An outer sect steward of the Xuanxiao Sect from Mount Henggao, named Gu Yao. What is it? Do you know him?"

"Hmph, what's so impressive about him? What did he come to Chuyun City for?"

"To inspect its affiliated sects and select disciples who could go to the Xuanxiao Sect to attend lectures. They had to have reached at least the Spirit Platform Realm." You Su concealed Gu Yao's third purpose. He did not want to mention the term "evil spirits" in front of his junior sister.

"Oh? Then don't you have a chance too?" Ji Lingruo's beautiful eyes lit up.

"A little. Junior sister, do you want to go to the divine mountain?" You Su asked tentatively.

In the end, taking his junior sister and Mistress to the divine mountain to dispel the evil was still only his own wishful thinking. But it was not yet time to confess everything. For now, he had to bring the two of them to the divine mountain first. Only after ensuring that they could be saved even if their consciousness returned could he tell them everything.

Ji Lingruo did not answer immediately. She seemed somewhat hesitant, as if she did not know what to think:

"Do you want to go?"

"Me? I suppose I do." You Su lifted his bowl, his head lowered. "If I get this spot to attend lectures, would junior sister be willing to go with me?"

"Of... of course I would." Ji Lingruo's chopsticks never stopped, as if she were concealing something. She added, "Who wouldn't want to go to the divine mountain?"

You Su sensed that something was off, but he did not ask directly. He assumed his junior sister was afraid that, with her being possessed by evil, she would become a burden to him:

"That's good. I've saved quite a lot of money. We can buy a house with a courtyard in a more remote part of Henggao City. During the day, I'll go up the mountain to attend lectures while junior sister can sleep. At night, I'll come back and continue teaching you swordsmanship. Once you become stronger, you'll surely be qualified to attend lectures on the divine mountain too. We can also write more stories. The people in Henggao City are all very wealthy, so we'll definitely earn far more than we did in Chuyun City."

You Su envisioned the future, while Ji Lingruo pointed out the flaws in his future plans one by one. The two began arguing as usual, and the dinner table gradually grew lively. Only no one could see the trace of deep-seated worry hidden in the girl's eyes.