Before We Part

The Qinghe Sword Sect was simply too far from Cui County. By the time Su Chunyi returned, the whole city was draped in mourning white. White banners filled her view.

Every household was in mourning. It looked as if Cui County had just been through a battle.

Su Chunyi was shocked. Had the boys and girls who had been conscripted met with disaster?

But as she hovered in midair and carefully sensed the city, she discovered that few families were weeping, and there was little grief to be seen. Instead, many passersby wore smiles, though they dared not show them openly and could only bow their heads and chuckle to themselves.

The strange sight left Su Chunyi utterly bewildered.

The whole city was in mourning, so why was everyone smiling?

Still puzzled, Su Chunyi lowered her swordlight and landed in the city. A spell concealed her, and the passersby never noticed a celestial maiden descending from the sky.

After walking a few dozen paces, Su Chunyi arrived at the teahouse.

The Baiye Teahouse looked much as it had before, but inside, the bustle was gone. The vast room held only two customers, one of whom was Chen Ye.

For some reason, seeing Chen Ye made Su Chunyi breathe a sigh of relief.

Whatever misfortune had befallen Cui County, with Chen Ye there, at least she had someone to discuss it with.

Su Chunyi went over to Chen Ye and sat down as naturally as could be, not even noticing the little girl beside him with her head bowed.

Chen Ye picked up the teapot and poured her a cup. "Miss Su, you're finally back. Have some tea and rest a little."

Su Chunyi took a sip and said in surprise, "This tea tastes better than last time."

Chen Ye smiled. "Of course. This time it's proper good tea, not Yemozi Tea."

Su Chunyi only took a small taste, then asked anxiously, "Has the matter of the boys and girls been settled?"

Chen Ye nodded.

"Most of the children have been sent home, though not all. These past few days, I've had Xiao Shitou help track things down and make sure every child who survived was taken care of."

The children had been treated fairly well, but when they were first forced to serve, some parents had resisted. Cui County's magistrate was no kindhearted man; in the end, some people had been killed.

Hearing Chen Ye's account, Su Chunyi looked toward the silent little girl and said sincerely, "This was my responsibility to resolve. I never thought I'd end up standing by and watching. Thank you both for helping."

Lan Shi raised her head and glanced at Su Chunyi, then silently nodded. She still said nothing.

Su Chunyi could tell the girl was in low spirits, and felt too awkward to press her. She continued asking Chen Ye what had happened.

Chen Ye had no intention of hiding anything, and briefly explained the whole affair. "I used the same old trick I used against the monk Ku'e... The princess couldn't escape blame, but in the end, she died with the Old Devil. You could say she redeemed herself..."

Su Chunyi listened closely, her expression growing more and more astonished.

She had never imagined the story could twist so many ways. Elder Tianwu, that fiend, had secretly manipulated the imperial court and committed such a horrifying atrocity.

"So the whole city is in mourning because the princess died?"

Su Chunyi thought only royalty could make an entire city go into mourning.

But Chen Ye said, "The princess's body wasn't even left behind. Who could know she was dead? For now, she's just considered missing. The whole city is in mourning because I killed Cui County's magistrate. Besides that corrupt official, I also dealt with the officials and thugs who'd helped him. I followed their testimony to clear them out. Unfortunately, I couldn't find Jiang Shiyue. I don't know whether he fled or went into hiding."

Chen Ye's first target had been Jiang Shiyue, the little fiend. But he was far too good at hiding. Chen Ye had searched Cui County for days with his Spirit Eye and still found no trace of him, so he had simply killed the magistrate instead.

Who would have thought the magistrate's family would be so brazen as to order the whole city to wear mourning clothes? But once people heard the magistrate was dead, nearly everyone in Cui County wanted to laugh out loud. That was how they ended up with the bizarre sight of every household in mourning and everyone smiling.

Chen Ye had simply watched them dig their own graves.

The princess had vanished in Cui County. No one could find the royal jewel, yet the magistrate's family had made a great show of holding a funeral for him. The consequences were easy to imagine. The magistrate's family was used to throwing their weight around, and there wasn't a single clever person among them.

Su Chunyi wasn't bothered by Chen Ye killing an official. She had already learned of the magistrate's crimes. Anyone who looked into it would know the corrupt dog deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces.

But the Qinghe Sword Sect had strict rules, and Su Chunyi couldn't attack mortals at will.

Chen Ye wasn't a disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect, so he had no such scruples.

Su Chunyi only felt it was a shame. "If I'd known sooner, perhaps I could have saved the princess."

Looking at Lan Shi, whose grief was beyond words, she couldn't help saying, "She wouldn't have had to borrow the Qinghe Sword Sect's name if she hadn't been driven to the brink. She hoped the Qinghe Sword Sect could save her life. If only I'd noticed sooner and handled things more carefully, perhaps she could have lived, and you wouldn't have had to risk yourself..."

Chen Ye shook his head. "Miss Su, why take a fiend's wrongdoing upon yourself? The princess was determined to die. Even an immortal couldn't have saved her.

"Besides, I'm neither your junior from the sect nor some ignorant child. I'm a cultivator. My cultivation may be low, but we're equals. My life and death are my own, so you can't be blamed for them."

Su Chunyi pondered for a moment, then said, "What you say makes sense, but my master taught me that cultivators must champion justice and speak up for the suffering of the world. We mustn't bully the weak as we please, or act recklessly and bring harm to the innocent. Mortals are fragile. If cultivators aren't careful, countless lives may be put at risk.

"Since I asked you to investigate the case, your safety is naturally my concern."

Chen Ye was utterly baffled. Was that really how the Qinghe Sword Sect's rules worked?

It was almost too righteous—bordering on the demonic.

Under ordinary circumstances, Chen Ye should have agreed with Su Chunyi and accepted the kindness she was offering. If he added a few more humble words, he could be sure she'd feel guilty, and the benefits would surely follow.

But Chen Ye said, "Miss Su, the Qinghe Sword Sect's concern for the world is certainly admirable. Those are your sect's rules, and I'm an outsider with no standing to question them. But as I see it, before championing justice, one must first understand what led to the situation and consider what may come of it. I could have walked away. I chose to risk myself and fight the fiend who had possessed someone.

"So the choice was mine, and it had nothing to do with you. Even if that fiend had killed me, I could only blame my own recklessness—not you."

After this experience, Chen Ye had come to pay even more attention to cause and effect.

Understanding cause and effect could make many complicated matters clear and simple. Su Chunyi, however, couldn't tell the difference between "I want to" and "I ought to." If this went on, she might develop a heart demon.

Still, Chen Ye could only say so much. Su Chunyi's cultivation was far above his; anything more would make him seem presumptuous.

Su Chunyi listened seriously, then nodded. "Thank you for clearing things up for me. Meeting you on this journey has been the greatest good fortune of my life."

Her words made Chen Ye feel a little embarrassed. After all, he was the one who had benefited.

After exchanging a few modest remarks, they both fell silent. They knew it was time to talk about the subject neither of them wanted to bring up.

In the end, Su Chunyi was the first to speak. "Now that the matter in Cui County is settled, what do you plan to do?"

Indeed, the two of them had joined forces only to deal with Cui County's forced conscription of boys and girls. Now that it was resolved, it was time for them to part.

Chen Ye felt a little reluctant, but said, "I'm just a Rogue Cultivator. What plans could I have? I've formed my qi sea, so the next step is to strengthen it and reach the Gangsha realm as soon as possible."

Unfortunately, there weren't many pills that worked for this realm. The key was the cultivation method.

Great sects had secret arts that could speed up the growth of a qi sea, but those treasures were never passed on to outsiders. Chen Ye could only explore on his own and see if he could create a method from scratch. Besides that, he needed to start gathering things imbued with Gangsha in preparation for body tempering.

That meant Chen Ye had to leave the mortal world and venture into truly dangerous places.

Su Chunyi knew that was the right path, but she couldn't help feeling reluctant. She asked, "If you're willing, perhaps I could recommend you to the sect leader for admission to the Qinghe Sword Sect. The sect leader thinks highly of you as well. He also asked me to tell you that the secret art you shared is of great importance, and the Qinghe Sword Sect is willing to offer a magical treasure in thanks."

"The sect leader of your sect has heard about me?"

Chen Ye drew in a sharp breath. His name had reached the ears of the greatest cultivator under heaven. It was more than a little frightening.

An ordinary Rogue Cultivator would have been so happy to hear that he'd gain a few extra years of life. Chen Ye, however, was terrified.

His background wasn't exactly clean. He might fool a sheltered little girl like Su Chunyi, but the greatest cultivator under heaven had no doubt slain countless fiends. Trying to deceive him would be asking for death.

As for the Qinghe Sword Sect's reward, Chen Ye wasn't especially tempted.

He couldn't even make good use of the Sword Box Su Chunyi had given him. His cultivation was the biggest obstacle; even if they gave him a flying sword, he couldn't use it. He would rather trade for pills and improve his cultivation as quickly as possible.

Still, there was no need to hurry. They could discuss it later.

"I appreciate your kindness, Miss Su, but I'd be unworthy of it. Unfortunately, I can't keep the Qinghe Sword Sect's rules. In my eyes, exorcising fiends and upholding the Dao are only secondary. What I seek is longevity. I'd probably be expelled from the sect in a few days."

Su Chunyi was a little disappointed, but she understood that the sect's rules were strict. Few cultivators in the world could endure them; otherwise, the Qinghe Sword Sect wouldn't have so few disciples.

But after today's farewell, they might never meet again.

As if she could read Su Chunyi's thoughts, Chen Ye said, "Still, before we part, I have one more favor to ask of you."

Su Chunyi's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

"That little fiend named Jiang Shiyue escaped, and he's done plenty of evil. They say you have to stamp out evil by the roots. I'd like you to help find him. Only once he's dead will the matter in Cui County be truly settled."

Su Chunyi smiled at Chen Ye. "You're right. This time, I won't let you face danger alone."