Evil Warding Token

"I... I don't know anything." You Su clutched his head in both hands, shaking it over and over. "I don't know anything!"

True Man Ling glared furiously, seemingly unable to understand how such an intelligent youth could be so cowardly and stubborn. But on second thought, the anger on his face eased somewhat.

Seeing the boy struggle like this, it was not hard to guess that the evil entity must be deeply connected to him. True Man Ling asked himself: if he and You Su traded places, could he truly be frank and open about it himself?

Only human nature...

True Man Ling let out a heavy sigh and said quietly:

"Young man, I know that evil entity may be no ordinary acquaintance of yours, and you and I have only just met. But that is no reason for you to shield an evil entity. Evil entities of the Dream Master Type are exceptionally sensitive to Mystic Qi. If I make a rash move and it notices, the consequences will be impossible to predict."

"Take this Evil Warding Token. Infuse it with Mystic Qi; if there is an evil entity nearby, it will change color and grow warm. Once you have tried it, you will have your answer. I will wait for you here at the hour of the Dragon tomorrow. Come and return the token, and I shall regard you as a friend. If you do not come, then you are an enemy!"

You Su lowered his hands, disheveled strands of hair falling before his hollow eyes. This old man, who had only just suffered the pain of losing a loved one, had already shown You Su enough patience.

You Su sensed True Man Ling extending a hand toward him, the evil-warding jade pendant resting in his palm.

True Man Ling looked into You Su's eyes. The turmoil within them seemed ready to spill from the youth's dim pupils. He knew that You Su still possessed a conscience. At this moment, he stood wavering at the edge of a cliff—how could he bear to watch such uncut jade fall into a bottomless abyss? He had to pull him back!

"You Su, you are a pitiful child. But you must understand: blindness of the eyes is not frightening; blindness of the heart is what truly is. Those people you know so well may no longer be themselves. I failed to save my Junior Brother after he was bewitched, but you still have a chance to save those trapped within the fog of delusion! So..."

True Man Ling suddenly clenched the jade pendant, then thrust the hand holding it forward. "Take it!"

You Su looked at the Evil Warding Token before his eyes, and focus seemed to return to his scattered gaze.

"Can it... really save them?"

"Whether it can be done depends on what people do!" True Man Ling's voice boomed like a great bell.

Hearing this, You Su brushed the hair from his face, revealing sharply defined features. The air of confusion around him vanished without a trace. Standing there, he was a keen blade.

True Man Ling studied the youth, who had suddenly become resolute, approval shining in his eyes.

Immortals only spoke of how hard it was to save oneself—but was saving others any easier? Though he did not know whether the road of banishing evil ahead would be smooth, seeing the youth turn back from his lost path was already cause enough for joy.

You Su reached out and took the jade pendant.

"At the hour of the Dragon tomorrow, I will return the jade."

True Man Ling watched the youth's retreating back, and at last, a faint smile forced its way onto his lips.

To ensure nothing could go wrong, he needed to make some further preparations.

The Mandarin Sword Sect stood in the western part of Chuyun City. Since the west side of the city needed rebuilding, this was one of its most desolate districts, and the neighboring houses all stood empty. Even those who remained were merely elderly folk in the twilight of their years, unwilling to move into the main city district.

You Su hurried along, carrying the gradually cooling crisped cakes in his left hand and gripping the icy jade pendant in his right, thoughts churning within him.

No wonder he had always felt that something was off. Only after True Man Ling appeared did he understand: when Uncle Liu said he had arrived late at Breakfast Street today, it had not been a simple joke.

Converted to the timekeeping of his previous life, he usually woke at six forty-five, washed up and left home before seven. At his pace, it took about ten minutes to reach Breakfast Street—yet today, he had not arrived until after seven thirty! More than twenty extra minutes had appeared out of nowhere!

The entire process of Junior Sister celebrating his birthday with him had probably taken only a little over ten minutes. Where had the remaining ten minutes gone?

The more You Su thought about it, the more terrified he became. Everything that had happened with that monster of a Junior Sister and Mistress truly had not been a simple dream.

Still reeling from shock, You Su had already arrived at the gate of the sect's old residence. Suddenly, his foot stepped on something hard. He put his things away and bent down to pick it up. It was a piece of wood.

The door plaque had fallen again.

Four large characters were carved upon the plaque he had commissioned himself—Mandarin Sword Sect.

He had not commissioned this plaque to put on airs, but to cover the rotten old plaque beneath it. Over the years, the new plaque had occasionally fallen off, as though the old plaque below were protesting.

You Su carefully ran his fingers over the old plaque. Several characters were carved upon it, each vigorous and powerful. Though You Su could not see which characters they were, he knew what they said, because his Master had read them to him:

Heaven-and-Earth Yin-Yang Union Mandarin Sword Sect.

When You Su had been young, he had cared about saving face and wanted to take down the old plaque. But his Master had refused, saying that the signboard passed down by their ancestors could not be replaced so lightly. You Su had agreed, but after his Master left, he commissioned this new plaque overnight and covered the old one with it. Afterward, he often checked to see whether it had fallen, and after Junior Sister arrived, he checked even more diligently.

Perhaps even now, she believed Mandarin Sword Sect was the sect's full name.

You Su hammered the plaque more securely into place, then put on a show of inspecting the sect all around. He recalled how, before his Master left, he had casually told him that he would protect the sect well. Now it seemed that truly was no simple matter.

"Why are you back so late?"

You Su jumped at the sight of Junior Sister, who had suddenly appeared at the gate. He secretly reproached himself for letting down his guard. Otherwise, this trip might very well not have ended in going home, but in plunging into the abyss.

"Why are you so jumpy?" Ji Lingruo curled her lips. "Where's my cake?"

You Su took the still-warm crisped cake from his robes. Ji Lingruo's eyes immediately lit up. She hurriedly accepted her share, weighed it in her hand to feel its temperature, then puffed out her rosy little lips in anger. "Why has the cake gone limp too? Tell me! What were you doing?"

"I got delayed chatting with someone on the road." You Su wore an apologetic expression.

Ji Lingruo clearly did not believe him. Her beautiful eyes shifted, and suddenly her willow brows shot up in fury. "Did those people stop you again? You're pretty good at bullying me, but when it comes to outsiders, all you know is how to run? You should teach them a lesson! The more you hide, the worse they'll get, understand?"

Ji Lingruo was filled with righteous indignation, as though she had suffered something similar herself. She only hated that her strength was too shallow for her to vent You Su's anger on his behalf.

"Then next time, I'll run even faster." You Su smiled.

"You're beyond saving!" The girl stomped her foot in anger, looking as though she hated iron for not becoming steel. Then, in the blink of an eye, she became somewhat self-reproachful. "Honestly, you said you caught a chill, didn't you? Why didn't you rest properly? Who told you to go buy cakes?"

"I had a craving, so I went. It's nothing serious."

Only then did You Su remember that he had lied to Junior Sister that morning, saying he had caught a chill. In truth, his original purpose in buying the cakes had been to thank Junior Sister for celebrating his birthday, because Oil-Crisped Cakes were her favorite. But after his encounter with True Man Ling, the words, "I bought them especially for you," could no longer leave his mouth.

"Then couldn't you have had me buy them?"

"Junior Sister, are you willing to go out?"

"Forget it. Running errands to the bookstore and blacksmith's shop for you yesterday nearly cost me half my life. I still get scared just thinking about it."

"Actually, Junior Sister, you could go out and take walks more often."

"No! I... I'm so pretty, lots of bad people will have their eyes on me!" The young girl clenched her delicate fists in fear.

"That's true." You Su agreed on the surface.

"Alright, I'm going back to my room. You should get some rest too." Ji Lingruo left with the flatbread in hand, then suddenly turned back. "Oh, right! There's some cold medicine I brewed for you on your table. Drink it quickly—don't wait until it gets cold!"

"I'll drink it right away. Thank you, Junior Sister."

You Su stared in the direction Junior Sister had left, the hand tucked into his robes slowly loosening its grip on the jade pendant he had just clenched.