No Peace

Cheng Lingshuang began to explain:

"That is Su Yi's Xuanyuan Sword."

"I see. No wonder Su Yi chose to kill herself."

Fu Hua nodded.

Kaino glanced at the teary-eyed Li Sushang beside him and nodded thoughtfully as well.

What could a mother not do for her child? In fact, barring any accidents, Qin Su Yi's suicide had essentially protected Li Sushang.

After all, if Ma Fei Ma had not suddenly sought out Cheng Lingshuang, then given Cheng Lingshuang and Li Sushang's habit of living in seclusion in remote Mobei for over a decade, they would never have learned that the Immortal had awakened and Yi Xin had been destroyed.

Likewise, since the two had almost completely cut off contact with the outside world, it would have been difficult for the Immortal to find them, allowing them to live in peace.

Of course, it now seemed that although the Immortal was furious and heartbroken, she had no intention of killing them for revenge. Qin Su Yi's suicide had instead led Li Sushang to walk right up to the Immortal herself. Truly, the ways of the world were unpredictable.

Yet although it had been an extreme act born of emotional turmoil, no one could criticize her resolve to protect her child.

Kaino had not considered the possibility that the Immortal was lying, either. Fu Hua had the air of an honest person who would not lie, and compared to lying before meeting the other disciples with them, attacking them here directly would have better suited a vengeful person's interests.

But if what the Immortal said was true, then how had Yi Xin Mountain Villa caught fire? Had the servants panicked upon seeing Qin Su Yi's corpse and accidentally started a fire?

And if he remembered correctly, Ma Fei Ma had said that Su Mei had instructed him to find Cheng Lingshuang. Otherwise, he would not even have known where Cheng Lingshuang was... Wasn't Su Mei's presence a little too conspicuous?

Leaving aside Kaino's doubts, Fu Hua looked at Li Sushang with a trace of apology.

"I am sorry about Su Yi. Although I did not lay a hand on her, her death was ultimately connected to me."

Li Sushang lowered her head without speaking, but the hand gripping the Xuanyuan Sword had already relaxed. She had likely given up on the idea of killing the Immortal, though she probably needed time to process the truth of her mother's death.

"However, although I apologize, I still need to take back the Xuanyuan Sword."

"What? No! It's Mother's only keepsake!"

Li Sushang immediately raised her head and stared at Fu Hua with wide eyes. Her chest heaved violently; her emotions must have been in great turmoil.

It seemed she did not need time to recover after all... But how would Fu Hua handle this?

Kaino's expression twisted in conflict.

Should he recreate a Xuanyuan Sword for her? Wouldn't he get captured and turned into a Xuanyuan Sword-making machine?

"That is acceptable."

To Kaino's surprise, Fu Hua merely nodded and did not continue demanding it back.

"The Xuanyuan Sword was originally prepared to strengthen those warriors who fought against Honkai. If you are willing to abide by the Tai Xu Sect's rule of Kill on Demonization in the future, then there is no harm in letting you keep it."

Hey, hey, Immortal, aren't you being a little too easygoing?

Kaino stared at Fu Hua in disbelief.

She bore no killing intent toward the enemies who had killed her once, and they did not even have to return the Xuanyuan Sword they had taken... What kind of Immortal was she?

Oh, right, she was an Immortal to begin with. Never mind.

"Um, Fu Hua, can I ask you a few questions?"

Ignoring the equally incredulous Li Sushang, Kaino spoke to Fu Hua.

"Call her Ancestor."

Cheng Lingshuang spoke from the side.

"It is fine."

Fu Hua shook her head and looked at Kaino.

"Ask. As long as it is something I know, and revealing it would not endanger humanity, I will tell you."

Would it be fine to ask about some of your private personal matters too?

Suppressing the urge to complain inwardly, Kaino spoke with a serious expression:

"The thing is, I am not actually from this place."

Fu Hua frowned. "Your Raiken features are not for show. Naturally, I can tell. Besides, you said that you were from the Kaslana family. Other than that battle when Schicksal invaded Shenzhou, they have never come here."

"Ah, no, that is not what I mean."

Kaino scratched his head, thinking about how to explain it.

"What I mean is, the place I came from was the twenty-first century, roughly five hundred years after this era. And Honkai had not merely yet to erupt there—it had already erupted in two major Honkai disasters, and the Herrscher of the Void had already been killed."

"But I somehow suddenly came here, and I do not know how to return... Fu Hua, do you know anything about this?"

The three people present all revealed strange expressions.

Li Sushang looked sympathetic and whispered to Cheng Lingshuang, "Master, can a problem with the Sword Heart Sutra damage the brain?"

She did not understand things like the twenty-first century, major Honkai disasters, or Herrschers, but she did understand the part about five hundred years from now.

Cheng Lingshuang looked doubtful and shook her head, indicating that she did not know either.

Seeing their reactions, Kaino could not help tugging at the corner of his mouth in helplessness.

There was nothing he could do. His situation truly sounded unbelievable. If not for the strange abilities his Stigmata had given him, even the friends from his Orphanage might not have believed him.

However, Kaino was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see that Fu Hua wore a grave and earnest expression.

"You mean that you came from another world?"

Fu Hua asked in a serious tone.

Kaino blinked. That was the same judgment the priest had made.

"Probably? I do not know either. I was being hunted at the time, and when I closed my eyes and opened them again, I was here."

Fu Hua's frown deepened.

After a long while, Fu Hua shook her head.

"Traveling through time is certainly impossible. But if it was travel between worlds, there is no reason you could have safely crossed the Quantum Sea while unconscious. And outside our world, there is also..."

"My memories are missing a great deal because of this attack. Yue Yi... Once we understand what happened this time, come with me to Mount Tai Xu. There is plenty of material there to consult, and perhaps it can solve your problem."

"If that still does not work, I will contact several of my comrades. They should be able to answer your doubts."

Kaino's eyes lit up, and he nodded in agreement.

"Alright!"

Peace Does Not Exist

"Uncle Cheng, the Sect Leader invites you to Cloud Sweeping Temple."

Just as Kaino and the others reached an agreement, there came a knock on the door, followed by a young man's voice from outside.

Cheng Lingshuang frowned slightly, glanced at Fu Hua, and spoke.

"You want to meet this early in the morning? Did Senior Sister explain why?"

Upon hearing Cheng Lingshuang's voice, the male voice clearly grew angry.

"The Senior Sister guarding the gate of the Tai Xu Sword Sect was knocked unconscious by some thief, and the person who injured her is now nowhere to be found. Senior Sister has yet to wake up, and we are searching for the culprit. The Sect Leader sent me to ask you to come discuss this matter with us."

The three people in the room all looked at Kaino. Kaino covered his face, feeling a little embarrassed.

They had been so absorbed in their conversation that he had forgotten about the gatekeeper.

"Oh, right. The Sect Leader also asked you to bring Uncle Li and Uncle Kaino with you."

"Hmph, she certainly knows how to order people around. I understand. You may leave first."

Cheng Lingshuang snorted.

After the footsteps gradually faded away, Li Sushang patted Kaino on the shoulder and asked curiously, "Hey, Raiken, why did you knock her unconscious?"

Kaino rolled his eyes. "What else was I supposed to do? If she saw Fu Hua, we would definitely have been held up and unable to leave. Forget bringing Fu Hua here and talking for so long—we would be lucky if we were not harassed to death by all those Fu Hua fanboys and fangirls."

To the outside world, the Red Sparrow Immortal had ascended nearly twenty years ago and had not appeared again. No one could say what irrational things those fans might do now that she had returned.

Besides, who knew how many people in the Tai Xu Sword Sect had come to study martial arts because of the title of the Immortal's first disciple, just like that female disciple guarding the gate? Those people could absolutely be considered fanatics.

The kind of fanatics who had spent twenty years obsessing over someone and were finally seeing the real person they idolized for the first time.

Li Sushang did not really understand this, but Fu Hua nodded in deep agreement.

Back when she had exterminated demons, people had often surrounded her in worship. She had even seen statues of herself. Yet those enthusiastic people meant her no harm, so she could not use force against them.

"Let us stop chatting for now. We should go meet Chaoyu and the others first."

Fu Hua, who was both the oldest and highest-ranking among them, was the first to rise and address everyone.

"I will try to speak with them properly. But if they attack outright as they did back then, I will not show mercy either."

"If Senior Sister and the others truly make the first move, then I will stop them with you, Master."

Cheng Lingshuang stated her position.

"That would be for the best."

Fu Hua nodded and rose to push open the door. But her movements suddenly paused, and she turned to look at Kaino.

"Please conceal our forms for us. If I go out looking like this, it will cause some trouble."

Kaino nodded and used the Herrscher of Wind's authority to keep all four of them invisible.

The Tai Xu Sword Sect was large, but its disciples all knew one another. If Fu Hua went out directly at this time, she would be recognized immediately.

Then either they would recognize that she was the Immortal herself and go mad with fan worship, or they would regard Fu Hua as a thief who had infiltrated the Tai Xu Sword Sect and try to capture her.

Either way, it would be troublesome for them.

While invisible, the disciples of the Tai Xu Sword Sect treated the group as if they did not exist. Before long, the four arrived at the summit of Sky Vault Peak without obstruction.

"My informants recently learned that Master had already approached the Tai Xu Sword Sect, but there was no news after that. So the person who knocked out Senior Sister and infiltrated the Tai Xu Sword Sect was most likely Master."

The moment they reached the summit, Su Mei's voice came from inside the building.

What a familiar scene...

"I am here."

Cheng Lingshuang frowned slightly, knocked on the door, and then pushed it open.

Aside from Cheng Lingshuang and Qin Su Yi, all of the Seven Disciples were present. Kaino and the others had arrived last.

Lin Chaoyu turned her head upon hearing the sound and frowned.

"Ling Shuang, why are you only arriving now? Master, she..."

But halfway through, Lin Chaoyu's voice abruptly stopped. The whole room fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Everyone stared dumbly at the figure behind Lin Chaoyu.

Fu Hua followed behind Cheng Lingshuang, sweeping her gaze over the room with a complicated expression. Her eyes paused briefly on the markings on Jiang Wanru's face and on Su Mei before finally settling on Lin Chaoyu.

"Chaoyu..."

Fu Hua spoke, her voice full of melancholy.

If there was one among the Seven Disciples whose betrayal hurt Fu Hua the most, it was naturally Lin Chaoyu.

Unlike the others, Lin Chaoyu had followed Fu Hua almost constantly as they exterminated demons together. Even after the Tai Xu Sword Sect was founded, Lin Chaoyu had often accompanied her when she went out. The time Fu Hua had spent with Lin Chaoyu was likely longer than the time she had spent with all the other disciples combined.

Yet Lin Chaoyu had still betrayed her.

Fu Hua's voice jolted Lin Chaoyu out of her daze. Excitement came first, followed by fear; the torrent of emotion on her face made her seem like a young girl.

But the next moment, the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand was immediately drawn. After hesitating slightly, she pointed it at Fu Hua with absolute determination. All the emotions erupting from her body faded away, and she became once more the incomparably imposing Sect Leader of the Tai Xu Sword Sect.

"Ling Shuang, did you bring Master here?"

Her still-trembling eyes glanced at Cheng Lingshuang as Lin Chaoyu spoke coldly.

"Chaoyu, why did you betray me back then?"

Before Cheng Lingshuang could speak, Fu Hua spoke first.

"I more or less know why the others betrayed me, but why did you betray me? Tell me."

Looking back at Fu Hua, Lin Chaoyu took a deep breath to steady herself, then slowly spoke.

"Master, there is nothing left to say. I do not regret what happened back then. That is enough."