In a grove at the foot of Mount Emei, Ling Yi and the little girl were having a barbecue.
Ling Yi turned the wild rabbit over the fire while sprinkling it with various seasonings. The rich aroma drifted far through the grove.
Little Zhiruo sat cross-legged, her little head propped between her hands, swallowing constantly.
"Master, is it ready yet? It's already been an hour."
"If you can't wait, go back and order something from the Wish-Fulfilling Food Cabinet."
"Hehe, just like you said, Master, the Wish-Fulfilling Food Cabinet has no soul. Your cooking tastes better."
After leaving Mount Song, the two had wandered aimlessly for nearly a month before arriving at the foot of Mount Emei.
Along the way, Ling Yi had shown Zhiruo the true jianghu, letting her understand its dangers and the supremacy of strength, while also giving her a clear understanding of her own strength.
"Master, what exactly is the jianghu?" Everything Zhiruo had seen and heard along the way had dealt quite a shock to her young heart. Watching the dancing flames, she could not help voicing the question that had troubled her these past days.
"To others, the jianghu is flashing blades and gleaming swords, love and hatred, gratitude and vengeance, worldly dealings and human relationships. But to us, the jianghu is flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water."
"I don't understand!"
"Do you know what kind of person your master is?" Ling Yi asked after handing Zhiruo a rabbit leg.
"Master is an immortal."
"I'm not from this world. One day, I'll certainly leave it. If you're willing, you can come with me to explore other worlds."
Zhiruo only half understood. "Wherever you go, Master, I'll go."
"Once we leave, we might never be able to return."
"We won't be able to return?" Zhiruo thought of her father and the childhood friends she had known, then finally sighed like a little adult.
"A teacher for a day is a father for life. Wherever my master goes, his disciple should attend him."
"Then why did you sigh?"
"I sighed because I won't be able to stay by Father's side and fulfill my filial duties. Luckily, Father still has my two older brothers. Master, when we leave, could we leave my brothers some extra money? Just enough to make sure they never lack food or clothing."
"You have two older brothers?" Ling Yi was somewhat curious. Neither the television dramas nor the films seemed to have mentioned that Zhou Zhiruo had two older brothers.
Still, this was a real world, after all. There did not seem to be anything strange about Zhou Zhiruo having two older brothers.
"Of course. Before we leave, I'll ask Zhang Sanfeng to look after your family and ensure they enjoy wealth, happiness, and freedom from worry for the rest of their lives."
"Oh, that's good, then." The little girl seemed to have laid her worries to rest and immediately brightened.
Just then, both turned their heads at the same time and looked in one direction.
Soon, a middle-aged nun approached from that direction, leading a group of young nuns dressed in Daoist robes.
The middle-aged nun at the front wore an unapproachable expression and carried a longsword in an ornate scabbard. The young nuns behind her each carried a sword as well.
Their expressions were all rather grim, as though they had just experienced something unpleasant.
Ling Yi and Zhiruo glanced at them, then paid them no further attention and continued eating their rabbit meat.
The middle-aged nun seemed displeased when she saw them and walked straight over.
Once she stood before them, she rebuked them coldly. "This is the foot of our Mount Emei, Buddhist territory. Yet you dare slaughter living creatures here and incur karmic sins. Leave at once."
Ling Yi said nothing. He had already guessed who this middle-aged nun was: Abbess Miejue, the person he hated most among all the characters in the world of the Heavenly Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber.
The old Ling Yi would probably have slapped Miejue dead with a single palm strike. Now, however, he merely found her tedious and a spoilsport.
"You stinking nun! This is the foot of Mount Emei, not your Emei Sect's property. What right do you have to drive Master and me away? Do you have the deed to this land? Do you have documents issued by the authorities?" Little Zhiruo was no longer afraid of anyone. Especially with her master beside her, she feared neither heaven nor earth.
"What a sharp tongue!" For some reason, seeing Zhou Zhiruo reminded Miejue of Ji Xiaofu, whom she had killed with a single palm strike in Butterfly Valley.
Stubborn, unyielding, and unrepentant even in death, she had departed with nothing but a calm smile.
How similar this girl's gaze was to Ji Xiaofu's!
But Miejue had never believed she had done anything wrong. Seeing Zhou Zhiruo's gaze, he felt an impulse to take the girl as a disciple and keep her by his side.
He had failed in training Ji Xiaofu. She wanted to see whether raising this girl the same way would produce a second Ji Xiaofu. She wanted to prove she had done nothing wrong.
Miejue was already in a pathological state. In modern terms, she had developed a psychological illness.
Ji Xiaofu's betrayal and death had dealt Miejue a tremendous blow.
After all, Miejue had always been grooming Ji Xiaofu as her successor.
In Butterfly Valley, she had not originally intended to kill Ji Xiaofu. But the two had clashed, and Ji Xiaofu's stubbornness had ignited Miejue's temper. In a moment of hotheadedness, she had struck to kill.
This was also why, late in the Heavenly Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber storyline, Miejue had forbidden Zhou Zhiruo from loving Zhang Wuji even as she lay dying, forcing Zhou Zhiruo to swear a dire oath.
"Your aptitude is good. From now on, you'll join my Emei Sect." At that thought, Miejue reached out to seize Zhou Zhiruo, completely ignoring Ling Yi beside her.
Smack! An extraordinarily loud slap rang out, and Miejue spun several times on the spot like a top.
Ling Yi had delivered that slap. At that moment, he felt somewhat sickened.
He had already loathed Miejue while watching the television drama. He had not expected the real person to be even more disgusting than her portrayal on screen.
"I have no idea what Zen you practice, whose scriptures you chant, or which Buddha you worship. With such a cold heart, burdened by karmic sins and a soul like an evil ghost's, where did you find the courage to lay hands on my disciple?"
Miejue steadied herself and glared at Ling Yi, her eyes nearly splitting with rage.
"How dare you insult me-"
Smack! Another slap landed, harder than the first.
Feeling the burning pain on her face, the already hot-tempered Miejue completely lost her reason.
She drew the Heavenly Sword and thrust it straight at Ling Yi.
Ling Yi merely extended a single finger and pressed it against the sword's tip.
Crack, crack, clatter!
The Heavenly Sword actually shattered beneath that single finger, its fragments falling to the ground along with a piece of cloth.
Ling Yi flicked a finger, sending a flame onto the cloth. It immediately caught fire and burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.
"Ah, damn you!" Miejue stared with bloodshot eyes at the spot where the ashes had fallen and let out a wretched howl like an evil ghost.
Little Zhiruo jumped. Miejue's current state frightened her.
Killing intent ran rampant in Ling Yi's eyes as an overwhelming presence surged from him. The pressure of a being on an entirely different level of existence made everyone present except Zhiruo feel as though a demonic god had fixed its gaze on them, forcing them straight to their knees.
"You... you..."
"Are you grieving over the Book of Wumu, the Nine Yin Manual, and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms? That's right. That silk cloth contained those three peerless martial arts texts."
"Originally, you had a chance to use the Dragon-Slaying Saber to obtain what was inside and lead Emei to greatness. But of all the things you should never have done, you provoked me. Worse still, you frightened my disciple."
"Who exactly are you?" Miejue finally regained a little of her reason, though she remained hysterical.
"Master, th-that girl seems to be the legendary immortal child," a disciple beside her said cautiously, her voice trembling.
"What? Immortal child? Nonsense! How could immortals possibly exist in this world? It's nothing but a trick to deceive people. I admit your martial arts are formidable, but don't think you can use them to fool the world."
Ling Yi suddenly laughed. Why get angry with a brainless fool like her?
"My good disciple, show this wicked nun the tricks she's talking about."
Little Zhiruo chuckled. With her master there, she was no longer afraid. She summoned the Flying Nimbus and took flight, then cast a ten-thousand-lightning spell. Next, she used a transformation spell to turn into a white dragon. After circling everyone once, she flicked her tail and slapped Miejue across the face before changing back and floating beside Ling Yi.
"Wicked nun, how did you like my tricks?"
Miejue went cold all over. Having seen the truth with her own eyes, she knew she would certainly meet a bad end today.
"I intended to kill you, but for Zhang Sanfeng's sake, I'll spare your life. Still, though you may escape death, you won't escape punishment. I'll cripple your martial arts and seal all your memories concerning them. If your disciples are filial, you may still live out your natural lifespan. Otherwise..."
Ling Yi snapped his fingers, and Miejue collapsed limply to the ground.
She could clearly feel all her memories of martial arts slowly fading. Within moments, she could no longer recall the slightest thing about them.
But her other memories remained unaffected. At that moment, all she had left was despair.
Ji Xiaofu was dead, and the Emei Sect had no worthy successors. Those who remained were all crooked melons and split dates, each harboring their own schemes. They would probably batter one another's human brains into dog brains fighting for the position of sect leader.
Ling Yi slowly walked away with Zhiruo. Their conversation drifted back from afar, growing fainter and fainter.
"Master, why didn't you kill that wicked nun?"
"Sometimes, living is more terrifying than dying."
"Master, will that wicked nun regret it?"
"No. Someone like her never regrets anything. Zhiruo, remember this: some people cannot be treated as human."
Pfft!
Miejue spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.