Chapter 83

You're saying she's missing?

Inside the Nine Heavens Pavilion, Yu Tanqiu, who was at the head of the table, slammed his palm down on the table. This palm strike contained a full amount of spiritual power, which instantly turned the century-old Xuanwu wooden table into dust.

The disciple who came down to report felt the immense pressure from above and was immediately terrified into silence, inwardly lamenting his impending doom.

Since Madam Han passed away, the Pavilion Master's temper has become increasingly eccentric. It is only because Madam Han left behind Miss Yu that he still has some lingering thoughts of her.

However, Miss Yu later betrayed the Nine Heavens Pavilion and changed her name to "Han Yuyi". Although the Pavilion Master seemed to have no problem with this, the occasional look in his eyes was truly frightening.

"Replying to the Pavilion Master, this disciple...this disciple is certain that after the great fire at the Chu family residence, the Bright Moon Sword Master disappeared."

Yu Qinqiu forced herself to suppress her anger and asked again, "Was there anyone else with her when she disappeared?"

The kneeling disciple said tremblingly, "This disciple did not see anyone else."

Sensing the sect leader's aura growing stronger, and with a faint, oppressive, turbid spiritual energy surrounding him, another disciple suddenly had a figure pop into his mind, his face flushed, and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, the suffocating pressure dissipated abruptly, and the disciples finally caught their breath, gasping for air. They shouted almost recklessly, "He's a demon, extremely powerful. All the other demons around him treat him with utmost respect..."

"...I heard them, those cultivators, all call him 'Demon Lord'!"

The Nine Heavens Pavilion was resplendent in gold and jade, and the flickering candlelight echoed with the disciples' urgent voices, almost distorted with urgency.

After a long pause, Yu Tanqiu's voice, devoid of emotion, echoed in the hall: "Are you all certain that the person with Sheng Ningyu is Xie Qianjing, the current ruler of the Demon Realm?"

Now that things have come to this, there is no room for denial.

The disciples lowered their heads even further and said with utmost respect, "Yes!"

Yu Tanqiu lowered his eyes, turned the ring on his hand, and after a moment, he suddenly laughed.

"Alright, what are you all kneeling for? Get up now." Yu Tanqiu laughed. "Sword Venerable had a past with your young lady, which is why I sent someone to visit her. Since Sword Venerable has other matters to attend to, then so be it."

Faint, ethereal music drifted from outside the hall. The disciples kneeling below dared not breathe, secretly exchanging glances. Only after confirming the sect leader's intention did they cautiously stand up and say, "Disciples take their leave."

Such behavior was hardly appropriate, and in the past, Yu Tanqiu would have certainly been furious. But today, as the melodious string music drifted in from outside, his smile grew even more pronounced.

The afternoon sunlight was just right, casting a hazy glow on every corner of the Jiuxiao Pavilion's main hall, as if a thin veil had been draped over it.

Although there was no temperature at all.

"The dignified Sword Master of Bright Moon has actually stooped to associating with demonic cultivators... How pathetic and lamentable!"

"You never learn your lesson!"

Yu Tanqiu burst into hearty laughter.

Sheng Ningyu... Sheng Ningyu!

Did she think she was still the same junior disciple of the Sword Pavilion who could recklessly let demons and ghosts go?

Putting everything else aside, the fact that she was trapped in a coffin for sixty years is legendary enough. And after her identity was exposed during the Thousand Mountains Trial, many more people will flock to her!

Furthermore, there were those who had trapped her in the Great Array of Heaven back then. The Chu family was one of the main forces, but by no means all of them. Did Sheng Ningyu really think that those people would let her go so easily?

For fame and fortune, for curiosity, for the path to enlightenment.

Consider yourself, consider others, consider your teachers and old friends, consider all living beings!

She, Sheng Ningyu, had no right to act willfully or recklessly!

She is destined to be caught in this inescapable net!

...

Xie Qianjing really knows how to choose a location.

Sheng Ningyu followed the route planned by Xie Qianjing. The two first took a spirit boat. No one knew how Xie Qianjing managed it, but along the way, there were no puppet barriers and they didn't encounter a single person.

Bypassing the outer edge of the Bluebird and the Leaf Flower, passing through the mountains, and approaching the city of the human world, Xie Qianjing put away the spirit boat, and the two followed the road forward, finally getting close to the Mountain and Sea Never Sleeps City.

Even from dozens of miles away, Sheng Ningyu could see the bright halo ahead. It was not dazzling, but rather very gentle, just like the warm sun in the daytime, making people want to get closer from the bottom of their hearts.

"It truly lives up to its reputation as a place where mountains and seas never sleep."

Sheng Ningyu exclaimed in admiration. She and Xie Qianjing had already disguised themselves and successfully passed through the guards at the gate, entering the city.

Although it is nominally a "city", it is comparable to a country.

Sheng Ningyu had not visited the human city for a long time and was very curious.

Since waking up, she had been busy with the matter of the spirit bone and had not had such a leisurely day for a long time. She tugged at Xie Qianjing's sleeve and casually entered a small shop, ordered two bowls of sweet soup, and then very familiarly took out a piece of silver from Xie Qianjing's sleeve and asked the waiter, "Young sir, we have traveled here. May I ask where the most prosperous and bustling place in this city is?"

"I dare not accept such praise!" The waiter's eyes lit up and Sheng Ningyu leaned her head forward to cooperate. Xie Qianjing lowered his head, slowly sipping the sweet soup, without reacting.

Seeing that there were people supporting them, the waiter lowered his voice even more and asked mysteriously, "Do you two honored guests know about the resurrection of the Bright Moon Sword Master?"

Sheng Ningyu feigned surprise: "My junior uncle and I heard about this on our way here. Could it be true?"

Xie Qianjing glanced at her, then lowered his head again without saying a word.

The waiter couldn't help but take a look at the two. They were clearly a young couple, and although they addressed each other as "Junior Uncle," their behavior was intimate.

Especially now, that junior uncle is actually drinking his own junior nephew's sweet soup...

Hmm, these cultivators are such a mess!

The waiter gave the two a disdainful look: "Of course it's true! It's the talk of the town!" He recalled the legendary figure and couldn't help but feel a surge of longing: "You outsiders don't know! During the Thousand Mountains Trial presided over by our city lord, the Bright Moon Sword Master also disguised herself and infiltrated the trials, cleaving through all the darkness and gloom with a single sword strike! Just like the legend passed down from my ancestors, as soon as she draws her sword, the heavens and earth change color, and the sun and moon lose their light..."

"It is said that the Bright Moon Sword Master endured five hundred years of hardship and humiliation, all for the sake of thwarting the Chu family's grand conspiracy. Sure enough, the Chu family members couldn't withstand more than three moves from the Sword Master's sword..."

It's not that weak.

However, Sheng Ningyu loved being praised and was extremely pleased. She only twitched her lips when she heard "five hundred years old" and subconsciously looked at Xie Qianjing. Sure enough, she saw him slightly raise the corners of his mouth.

Xie Qianjing's tricks to conceal his appearance were naturally ineffective against Sheng Ningyu. He was already handsome, and under the sunlight of the Mountain and Sea Never Sleeps City, he appeared even more ethereal and otherworldly, looking as if he were carved from a piece of snow jade, truly exquisite.

Sheng Ningyu stared for a while before she realized what was happening.

Okay, they're laughing at her!

Sheng Ningyu immediately corrected the waiter: "I remember, the Bright Moon Sword Master himself isn't even five hundred years old, is he?"

"Vulgar!"

The waiter glanced at Sheng Ningyu and Xie Qianjing's clasped hands and said disdainfully, "How could a commoner like you know that 'five hundred years' is just a figure of speech? Those immortal beings are carefree and have undergone countless reincarnations. How could they be calculated based on our mortal years?"

Sheng Ningyu honestly said, "In any case, the Bright Moon Sword Master is really not five hundred years old."

"Alright, alright, the liveliest place in the city right now is the wasteland where the Sword Master once set foot during the Thousand Mountains Trial. If you want to join in the fun, just go there!"

After saying that, the waiter glanced at their connected sleeves again, muttered "vulgar" under his breath, and then turned and left.

Sheng Ningyu: "..."

To be fair, considering the identity she made up on the spot and the behavior of the two people, the waiter's scolding was actually justified.

But she immediately put away the loose silver she had intended to give.

It's not worth arguing with a waiter who doesn't know the inside story, but Xie Qianjing's increasingly upturned lips are rather irritating.

Sheng Ningyu finished the sweet soup in a huff and dragged Xie Qianjing away, only to see him use his spiritual power to suppress something at the bottom of the bowl.

Sheng Ningyu glanced at him sideways, but didn't look away, and snorted coldly: "Why should I give you more money? Are you happy because he scolded me?"

Even so, Sheng Ningyu still held tightly to Xie Qianjing's sleeve, not letting go for a moment.

Xie Qianjing let her pull him along: "I'm only happy when he praises the Bright Moon Sword Master."

Sheng Ningyu grabbed Xie Qianjing's sleeve and said without turning her head, "I already paid for praising Sword Master Mingyue before."

This street is also very bustling, with crowds of people, many shops and restaurants around, as well as some vendors hawking their wares and people playing around in the alleys, giving it a very down-to-earth atmosphere.

Xie Qianjing slowly said, "There's one more thing."

Sheng Ningyu turned her head to the side, the hairpin on her head swaying: "That sentence?"

Xie Qianjing smiled slightly, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Vulgar."

Sheng Ningyu: "..."

She immediately let go, but at the same second someone grabbed her wrist.

The cool fingertips caressed the scars on her wrist, sliding into her fingers and interlocking tightly.

Xie Qianjing's smile vanished almost instantly, his gaze fixed intently on her, yet his eyes curved into a slight smile the moment she looked back, his eyes devoid of any gloom.

"There are too many people," Xie Qianjing said gently. "Don't let go."

Amidst the bustling crowd, he stood tall and elegant, his smiling eyes crinkling, like ice and snow melting in the spring breeze.

Sheng Ningyu couldn't vent her anger, so she could only say helplessly, "It's fine if it's outside, but I can't possibly lose it inside."

As they were talking, the two happened to stop in front of a pastry shop. Sheng Ningyu looked in the direction of the vendor's cries, and before she could speak, Xie Qianjing had already paid the money without hesitation.

The surrounding noise and laughter were incessant, and the pastries I held were steaming, blurring the passage of time. In a moment of reverie, it seemed as if no time had passed.

Xie Qianjing looked at it for a while, then asked softly, "Is it delicious?"

Sheng Ningyu remained calm: "It should still taste the same as before."

Because her spirit is incomplete, she still cannot taste the flavor.

She just felt she should buy one.

Seeing that Xie Qianjing seemed about to speak again, Sheng Ningyu quickly stuffed a piece of food to Xie Qianjing's lips, silencing him.

"How was it?" Sheng Ningyu had barely asked the question when she realized it was inappropriate and laughed first.

"I've eaten it," Xie Qianjing said slowly. "It tastes a bit bland than before."

Sheng Ningyu was skeptical: "Before? You really ate this? What other pastries have you eaten?"

In the city that never sleeps, the sunlight never dissipates, warm and comforting, as if one were soaking in a very thin layer of spiritual energy.

Sheng Ningyu and Xie Qianjing strolled down the street, chatting idly. For some reason, she inexplicably started talking.

"I used to eat very sweet pastries. I've always loved extremely sweet things; I'd have three pieces of sugar cake with a bowl of herbal soup. No one in the sect could stand my taste. Master and Old Man Yuan said what I ate was sickeningly sweet, outrageous. My eldest brother said, 'Why are alchemists researching poison pills? Why don't they just learn from my junior sister's plate?' My senior brother Yuan said, 'Junior sister, did you raid the bee clan's lair?'"

Actually, it's not just sweet, Sheng Ningyu thought.

Unlike the refined elegance of Jian Ge, Sheng Ningyu's love and hate are always intense, and correspondingly, her tastes are also quite extreme.

Sheng Ningyu liked to eat extremely sour plums and extremely sweet molasses cakes with five times the amount of sugar and spirit flower honey water. However, since cultivators do not care much about their appetites, apart from one person who would indulge her, everyone else had little interest in these foods.

Thinking of this, Sheng Ningyu couldn't help but sigh: "Even Feng Xiaohong couldn't stand it. She once suspected that I had been drugged and that my spiritual apertures were blocked, which is why I had such strange tastes. She dragged me to the Medicine Sect to get an antidote."

Xie Qianjing listened quietly, a gentle smile playing on her lips, her long eyelashes fluttering in the dappled sunlight.

Like snow falling when the weather is still chilly, the thin, gossamer-like snow is about to melt away.

"...Back then, only my second senior brother indulged me." Sheng Ningyu looked into the distance, where willows swayed gently, and the scenery was infinitely beautiful.

“He would personally cook pastries for me, adding five times the amount of sugar. My junior sister accidentally ate a piece and almost threw up. Even Da Huang couldn't stand it; after taking a bite, he ran all over the yard, barking loudly, causing chaos.”

As she spoke, Sheng Ningyu sighed again, unable to articulate the emotions swirling in her heart.

"The pastries made by my second brother are especially delicious; they are the best pastries I have ever eaten."

She recalled the day she brushed past her second senior brother. She handed the summoned sword of discipline to him, but held her breath and didn't look at him or linger.

The old man had said that his second senior brother was no ordinary person, but he hadn't provided any evidence. As for the eldest senior brother and everyone else, they all believed that the second senior brother would never harm him.

Sheng Ningyu... Sheng Ningyu didn't know.

She didn't know whether she should believe it, think about it carefully, or doubt it.

Sheng Ningyu was a little distracted. She took a few steps forward aimlessly, but her wrist suddenly felt heavy.

"Xie Qianjing?"

She turned her head and looked in surprise at the person standing motionless behind her.

Xie Qianjing's smile had vanished at some point. His dark eyes stared at her silently, devoid of any emotion, as calm as an unfathomable pool.

The sunlight was still as warm as a thin veil, but now it could no longer dispel the chill emanating from him.

And, the demonic energy that suddenly surged forth!

Sheng Ningyu's heart tightened, and she immediately set up an isolation array.

Ignoring the pain, she gripped Xie Qianjing's wrists tightly with both hands, tilted her head back slightly, stared intently into Xie Qianjing's eyes, and shouted, "Xie Qianjing! Stop!"

If it were cultivators, it wouldn't matter, but this place is densely populated with mortals, and they can't withstand even the slightest bit of leaked demonic energy!

Especially Xie Qianjing's dense aura... it absolutely must not dissipate!

We really should be more careful.

Sheng Ningyu secretly regretted it.

She had noticed earlier that Xie Qianjing had become unusually silent since entering the Mountain and Sea Never Sleeps City, as if he was indifferent to everything and had prepared everything she wanted, giving her whatever she asked for.

She wanted sweet soup, so Xie Qianjing sat down. She needed money, so Xie Qianjing put it in his sleeve.

Even the argument she deliberately provoked, Xie Qianjing did not continue.

"Second Senior Brother, Rong Que, Young Master Wuque."

Xie Qianjing lowered his eyelashes and spoke slowly in a mechanical, calm tone.

“I remember that your former sword was named ‘Wuque’. The famous divine sword ‘Yue Wuque’ was so renowned that even after it fell in the Mitian Formation, countless people still flocked to even a small fragment of it. Everyone said that this sword was a perfect match for your title ‘Bright Moon Sword Master’. It was a stroke of luck from the heavens and a match made in heaven.”

A gentle breeze blew, and the person in front of me looked up.

Even before Sheng Ningyu spoke, Xie Qianjing had already withdrawn the demonic energy emanating from his body. Now, he even curved his lips into a smile again, his black hair flowing like a waterfall, his lips as red as blood, exuding the air of an otherworldly immortal. He also seemed to have an extremely good temper, showing no trace of the tyrannical and unpredictable demon lord of the rumored realm.

Only in those suddenly raised eyes could one glimpse the surging madness, like a monstrous wave rising up.

"Sheng Ningyu, now even the pastries are the best he gives you, isn't that right?"

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Author's Note: Translation: Sheng Jiuzhong, do you love me or him? [crying emoji] (just kidding)