Goodbye, senior brother

Zhuang Yusheng finished speaking.

The Music Sect disciples rose one after another, smiling as they stood beside their senior brother and gestured toward the cave entrance.

"We all trust Fellow Daoist Ning, and we trust our senior brother. If any of you refuse to believe them, please hurry up and leave. Give us some room."

They fussily rubbed their hands and smoothed their hair. "Otherwise, we have to sleep beside you uncouth people day and night. It's suffocating."

The Sword Sect disciples also stood beside Ning Xiaoxiao. They said nothing, but their stance was clear.

They might not necessarily trust Lou Yunxiao, but they were absolutely willing to trust Ning Ke and Ning Xiaoxiao.

Strangely enough, after Zhuang Yusheng's scolding, all those disciples fell silent at once.

Even the injured disciple who had just awakened closed his eyes and played dead, determined to stay.

After all, he still wanted to leave the Secret Realm alive. Here, people cared for him and protected him. Outside, that was far from certain.

Amid that silence, the young monk Wugou, who had spoken no more than three sentences in two months, actually spoke up.

"In a few more months, Benefactor Lou will return and give you all an answer."

Then he pressed his palms together, took up his string of Buddhist Prayer Beads, and closed his eyes to chant again.

Ning Xiaoxiao glared at those people huddling in cowardly silence, then turned and left the cave.

Zhuang Yusheng followed her.

He found Ning Xiaoxiao by the river, where she drew the Jinglan Sword and silently practiced her swordsmanship.

Scenes like this had been common over the past two months.

Ever since Ning Ke disappeared, Ning Xiaoxiao had thrown herself into cultivation.

Day and night.

She barely rested.

Today, she had finally taken a brief break, only for those people to accuse her senior brothers of being demons.

It was easy to imagine how upset she must have felt.

Boom-

Ning Xiaoxiao's sword energy blasted the surface of the river.

Fish flew out of the water and landed on the bank.

Ning Xiaoxiao put away her sword.

Turning her head, she saw Zhuang Yusheng leaning against a tree, watching her with a blade of grass between his lips.

Her emotions had settled somewhat. She cupped her fist in thanks. "Fellow Daoist Zhuang, thank you for earlier."

Zhuang Yusheng's gaze rested on Ning Xiaoxiao's face.

The girl bore some resemblance to Ning Ke. The beauty mark between her brows was lovely, and when they first met, her mischievous smile had been adorable.

Sadly, she no longer smiled.

Nor was she as playfully affectionate as she had been around Ning Ke.

"No need to thank me." Zhuang Yusheng straightened, rolled up his sleeves, and collected the fish flopping along the bank. "That swordsmanship of yours is excellent. You've even taken care of dinner."

"Come on, I'll make you some fish soup."

But Ning Xiaoxiao said, "I'm not hungry. I'd like to ask you for guidance on talisman arts."

"But I'm hungry. Just keep a starving fellow company over a meal. Once I'm full, I'll be your sparring partner. How about it?"

Only then did Ning Xiaoxiao nod.

In the blink of an eye, another three months passed.

Inside the Underground Palace, Ning Ke had grown noticeably thinner.

Don't ask. If you had to ask, it was the strain.

He stabbed himself every few days and continuously poured all his cultivation into Lou Yunxiao. It would have been a miracle if he were in good shape.

Still, he had finally collected almost half a bottle of heart blood. Now he could summon the divine dragon... No, scratch that. He could help Lou Yunxiao stop being one of the living dead!

Ning Ke was quite pleased.

Today was the crucial day when he would restore Lou Yunxiao's eyes and heart.

Once that was done, the second phase of the main quest would be mostly complete.

He would be one step closer to going home.

Cause for celebration.

[Mm-hmm. Today is the crucial day when you go to your death. Cause for celebration.]

"..." Ning Ke's eyebrow twitched as he replied to Xiao Yuan: No one will think you're mute if you keep quiet.

[But, Host, have you thought about how to fool Lou Yunxiao so he won't stay in the Underground Palace with you?]

Those words reminded Ning Ke of something important.

After considering it for a while, Ning Ke said: I'll knock him out and have the Pale Silver Sword take him outside. That way, the Underground Palace's explosion won't hurt him.

[Then you'd better say a proper goodbye to him,] Xiao Yuan said. [After all, from that point on, Junior Brother A Ke will truly be dead. You'll never be able to use that identity again.]

[Got it.]

As they spoke, Lou Yunxiao successfully completed his advancement, his cultivation stabilizing at the peak of the nascent soul stage.

"A Ke! I did it!" He eagerly sought praise from Ning Ke. If he had a tail, he probably would have wagged it clean off.

"Such a good boy. Well done." Ning Ke stroked his head.

He straightened Lou Yunxiao's disheveled clothes one last time. "Now close your eyes. You mustn't open them until I tell you to."

"I promise that when you open them again, you'll be able to see. And here..."

He touched Lou Yunxiao's heart. "It'll go thump, thump, and beat again."

"Then we'll escape together."

"We'll escape somewhere your master can't find you."

"How does that sound?"

Lou Yunxiao nodded. "Mm-hmm! I'll do whatever A Ke says!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he obediently closed his eyes.

Looking at the innocent young man, Ning Ke felt grateful that Lou Yunxiao had no memories while he remained one of the living dead.

And this would be the last time he lied to Lou Yunxiao as A Ke.

When Lou Yunxiao opened his eyes again, his memories would return, and he would see the light once more.

He would have a better future.

"A Ke." Lou Yunxiao's sudden voice pulled Ning Ke from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"You're not going to trick me, are you?"

Ning Ke's heart jolted.

But then Lou Yunxiao continued, "I read in that book that the master wanted to escape, so he tricked his disciple by saying he wanted to kiss him and telling him to close his eyes."

"And he really did close his eyes. When he opened them again, his master was gone."

"..."

"But I don't think A Ke would ever trick me." Lou Yunxiao smiled. "A Ke likes me. He couldn't bear to run off alone."

Ning Ke lowered his eyes, suddenly feeling a terrible pain in his heart.

It took a long time to ease even a little.

He attributed it to the aftereffects of extracting his heart blood.

Forcing the corners of his mouth upward, he leaned toward Lou Yunxiao and gently kissed the young man's trembling eyelashes. "The master lied. He never kissed his disciple."

"But I kissed you, so I haven't lied."

Lou Yunxiao's smile brightened at once, and he nodded obediently. "Right!"

Ning Ke pressed his lips together and extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand. His nails slowly lengthened and sharpened, taking on the form of a demon claw.

Demonic power swirled around them before they pierced his eye sockets.

It hurt...

Even wrapped in demonic power, it hurt.

No less than extracting his heart blood.

Ning Ke trembled all over as he completed the process.

Blue foxfire instantly surged from his palm, enveloping the pair of eyes.

Refine!

He refined them into pure nourishment, then turned his hand and pressed it over Lou Yunxiao's tightly closed eyes!

At the same time, Ning Ke had Lou Yunxiao swallow the pill he had previously found in the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion.

Following his instructions, Lou Yunxiao circulated his spiritual power to absorb it.

Ning Ke took out the small porcelain bottle containing his heart blood again, poured it out, and refined it once more with foxfire!

A quarter of an hour later, the flame mark he had sent into Lou Yunxiao's chest enveloped the rigid heart, slowly repairing it...

Time passed, second by second.

Five double-hours later.

Thump-

Lou Yunxiao's heart, silent for half a year, beat for the first time.

Something forgotten slowly began to awaken.

A jumble of memories-those from before, those from the past half year, the things he had said and done with A Ke...

They all poured out as though a breach had opened.

Lou Yunxiao opened his mouth, about to say something.

But a sudden stab of pain struck his consciousness, and he collapsed into Ning Ke's arms.

Before he lost consciousness, he heard Ning Ke say,

"Goodbye, senior brother."