5. Murdering one's wife (Part 2)

"My husband, I'm scared. Won't you protect me?"

On the Azure Sky Flying Boat, the gangway descended. The person who came stepped down the wooden stairs slowly, with a gentle expression as soft as a willow swaying in the breeze, and called her softly.

Ran Qinghe acted as if she hadn't heard at all, leaping off the deck. The man wasn't annoyed, but followed behind her, trying to find a topic to talk about again: "Qinghe, why haven't you gone back to the sect? The senior brothers and sisters in the sect miss you very much."

Me too. But he didn't say the second half of the sentence.

Ran Qinghe continued to ignore him.

Yuan Yao sensed the awkward atmosphere in the air, smiled and greeted them, "Greetings, two Immortal Lords. Are you also here to deal with the vengeful spirits in this secluded valley? May I ask how we are addressed?"

The Qingxiao disciple who spoke was dressed in a light blue disciple's robe with water ripple patterns. He had a gentle and refined demeanor and politely replied, "Immortal Lord, you may call me Xi Qi. My junior sister Lingyu and I received a message from Xuan Shui. Seeing that the situation was urgent, we came without giving any prior notice."

Behind him, a woman also dressed in a disciple's robe with water ripple patterns lazily disembarked from the boat, looking impatient.

Yuan Yao then said, "I see. I'm really sorry, but the Discipline Hall just happened to reply, so I went there and got help from two Immortal Lords."

Xi Qi turned his gaze to Ran Qinghe again and said, "It's alright. I'm also familiar with Junior Sister Ran. The vengeful spirits in Tianhai Valley are unpredictable. If we act together, we can look after each other."

Ran Qinghe said, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, it seems that Qingxiao doesn't take the matter of Xuan Shui seriously and just casually sent two disciples to deal with it."

Ran Qinghe turned around and said to Lou Tinglan, who was standing to the side with his sword in his hand, "Fellow Daoist Lou, before I came to carry out this mission, the Discipline Hall did not say that there would be trouble following me."

Lou Tinglan replied seriously, "If you encounter any troublesome issues during a mission, you can apply for compensation from the Discipline Hall after the mission is completed."

What was said unintentionally may have been taken to heart by the listener.

Although Lou Tinglan was merely stating the rules of the Discipline Hall, to onlookers it sounded as if she and Ran Qinghe were working together, implying something more.

Xi Qi's smile froze slightly: "Oh, fellow Daoist, may I ask your name?"

Xi Qiduan observed the fluctuations in this person's spiritual energy but could not discern his cultivation level, which is why he asked a question to test him.

"Disciple of the Discipline Hall, Lou Tinglan."

Lou Tinglan's name was known to everyone among his peers. After all, geniuses are never short of praise.

Ling Yu, standing behind him, bluntly asked, "So you are Lou Tinglan? Then why are you hanging out with Ran Qinghe?"

Unlike Lou Tinglan, Ran Qinghe was also well-known, but mostly for reasons other than good. She was known for being arrogant, conceited, stubborn, and unruly.

Although Lingyu joined the Qingxiao Sect relatively late, she had heard about Senior Sister Ran's many deeds, hence her question.

Right now, the fact that a wicked and ruthless troublemaker and a bright and upright young genius are traveling together makes her want to watch the show.

Her senior brother Xi seemed to have a crush on Ran Qinghe, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed over in Qingxiao's fastest flying boat upon hearing that Ran Qinghe was coming to carry out a mission.

Of course, now it's a case of offering a warm welcome only to be met with a cold shoulder.

Lou Tinglan did not answer.

His attention was drawn to the dark, resentful aura that was once again spreading through Tianhai Valley.

Seeing that the four of them had finally stopped arguing, Yuan Yao took the lead and explained, "Ever since the vengeful spirits started haunting the place, the resentment in Tianhai Valley has been fluctuating like this. Sometimes the spiritual energy overwhelms the resentment, and the valley is clear and peaceful. But if the resentment overwhelms the spiritual energy, it's like it is now."

Heaven and earth possess three kinds of energy: the clear energy above is called spiritual energy, the turbid energy below is called turbid energy, and the resentment energy is the energy that causes people to die unwillingly. When spiritual energy is abundant, it can cover up turbid energy and resentment energy.

However, now, the valley is filled with resentment and the spiritual energy is thin, which is very detrimental to the circulation of spiritual power for cultivators.

Yuan Yao suggested, "Four Immortal Lords, why don't you come back to the boat with me to rest first, and then enter the valley after the resentment has dissipated a bit?"

Ran Qinghe untied the long whip in her hand, the silver bells echoing in the empty valley, her voice very clear: "Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Yuan, since I have accepted this mission to clear away the vengeful spirits, I have no reason to turn back just because I see some black aura."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ran Qinghe stepped into the valley through the huge crevice at the entrance of the valley. Lou Tinglan followed closely behind, always keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far from her, so as not to interfere with her doing her task, and also so that he could supervise her from the side.

Seeing this, the other three also entered the valley together.

Following the entrance to Tianhai Valley, one could originally lead directly to the sect's training grounds, but the resentment interfered with the flow of spiritual energy, affecting navigation. Ran Qinghe walked at the forefront, stepping on the moss-covered stone slabs that were permeated with dampness.

A gentle breeze blew through the valley from both sides of the stone slab, rustling the bamboo leaves. However, despite the rustling of the leaves, the bamboo itself remained completely still. Ran Qinghe measured it with her fingers and determined that the bamboo was at least a hundred years old.

Even the bamboo itself bears traces left over the years, such as bluish-black bruises left from practicing swordsmanship.

Ran Qinghe couldn't help but wonder, since everyone in the Xuan Shui Sect was a weapon cultivator, how could they have left such a sword mark? And judging from the sword mark, the swordsman must have been practicing a set of sword techniques repeatedly, such as slashing upwards, cutting downwards, parrying to the left, and thrusting to the right.

This swordsmanship seems so familiar.

As if she had figured something out, Ran Qinghe raised a smirk, turned around, and lashed out with her long whip, aiming straight for Xi Qi's face. Xi Qi instinctively blocked, but was puzzled as to why Ran Qinghe had suddenly attacked.

She flicked her whip, and Xi Qi cleaved it with his sword. She then spun the whip around his sword-wielding hand, and Xi Qi again slashed down, grazing the whip. As he struggled to parry, he asked, "Qing He, what do you mean by this?"

Yuan Yao anxiously advised from the side, "Fellow Daoist Ran, what is the meaning of this? Please do not harm your fellow disciples."

Ran Qinghe did not stop, and sneered, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, you must have misunderstood something. I have no sect or school, so where would I get fellow disciples?"

Seeing that Yuan Yao was about to rush forward to stop her regardless of the consequences, Lou Tinglan, who was standing with his hands behind his back, finally spoke up: "Fellow Daoist Yuan, there is no need to worry. She has no intention of harming Fellow Daoist Xi. She is just testing him."

Ran Qinghe glanced at Lou Tinglan with an ambiguous expression. She thought he was going to stick to his mute persona.

Indeed, she was testing the waters, and after several rounds, she finally brought down her whip.

Now, Ran Qinghe was certain that the sword style learned by the person who had practiced swordsmanship in this bamboo forest was almost identical to the sword style of the Qingxiao Sect used by Xi Qi.

Ran Qinghe asked, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, within the Xuan Shui Sect, is there anyone who was once a sword cultivator or who came from the Qing Xiao sect?"

Yuan Yao asked in surprise, "Fellow Daoist Ran, have you discovered any clues? Let me think, all the elders and disciples of my sect are weapon cultivators. If we're talking about swords, we practice swordsmanship on the martial arts stage every day, but when it comes to true sword cultivators, there are practically none."

Ran Qinghe said, "Just now, when I fought with Xi Qi, I discovered that the sword marks left on the bamboo were actually from the Qingxiao Sword Technique."

Yuan Yao asked, "You suspect that the vengeful spirit originated from Qingxiao?"

Seeing that her sect's innocence had been falsely accused, Lingyu immediately retorted, "Can you really determine our sect's swordsmanship based on just a few sword marks? There are countless Qingxiao Sword Manuals; how can you start fabricating something out of thin air?"

Ran Qinghe retorted, "Fabricating out of thin air is something your Qingxiao Sect excels at. I'm sorry, I'm not good at that."

"There are indeed countless Qingxiao sword manuals, but the one practiced by this swordsman is the Nine Forms of Falling Snow from Qingxiao. If you don't believe me, try it and you'll see if what I'm saying is true."

Lingyu actually tried it out, and the sword technique she had practiced did indeed match the marks on the bamboo. She couldn't think of any reason to refute it, so she could only give up in disappointment.

Just as the group was about to continue on their way, Lingyu, who was walking in the middle, suddenly cried out, "Ah, something just touched my face!"

She immediately started slashing and stabbing wildly with her sword: "Is a vengeful spirit coming after me? Senior Brother Xi, Senior Brother Xi, look quickly."

Ran Qinghe turned around, raised her long whip, and cut off the ribbon in Lingyu's hair that had been blown away by the wind. Then, she used the whip to hook the ribbon in her hand and handed it to Lingyu. Then, she smiled and said:

"Alright, the vengeful spirit has escaped now."

However, the mockery in Ran Qinghe's tone didn't seem to reach her. Lingyu lowered her head, hiding the burning sensation in her cheeks, took the hairband from her hand, and mumbled a thank you.

Ran Qinghe: ?

During the time she was gone, did one or two of the Qingxiao disciples lose their minds? What kind of thanks are they offering?

The five of them ventured deeper and deeper until they stood before another boundary gate. Yuan Yao continued, "This is the trial boundary gate of our Xuan Shui Sect. Those who enter the boundary gate will be randomly teleported to various locations in Tianhai Valley."

"Of course, unlike other sects, our sect's trials do not require killing demonic beasts. The spiritual energy in Tianhai Valley is much more abundant than that in other valleys, so there are all kinds of spiritual herbs and rare minerals. As long as the new disciples find resources that can be used for refining weapons, they will have passed the sect's trials."

"But due to the haunting of vengeful spirits, two of the disciples from the previous batch who entered the Trial Realm Gate were never found."

Just as Yuan Ling was about to continue the introduction, a song drifted from the deep valley, faintly discernible as coming from a young girl:

"My love, my love, tonight is our wedding night, why have you brought a sword to my heart?"

"My love, my love, I have waited for you for so long, waiting for you to return and grow old with me."

The sound echoed through the valley, appearing even more sinister and terrifying amidst the black mist.

Ran Qinghe said slowly, "Do you know that high-level vengeful spirits can possess cultivators and control them to resurrect the grudges they had in their previous lives?"

Resentment is actually the cause of death of vengeful spirits. When a deceased cultivator is still haunted by the scene before his death and harbors resentment in his heart, he will turn into a vengeful spirit without a physical body, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation, and do evil in one place.

The song, accompanied by Ran Qinghe's words, sent chills down everyone's spines. Lingyu gripped the sword hilt and instinctively tugged at Xi Qi's sleeve.

As the song ended, the surrounding black energy instantly solidified and charged towards them. At that moment, the flow of spiritual energy in the surrounding area also stagnated once again.

Ran Qinghe wielded her long whip, completely unaffected, and casually dispersed a cloud of black energy with a single lash. However, the troublesome thing was that after the black energy was dispersed, it returned to its original state within a few breaths and attacked them again.

Such continuous attacks are still manageable for a Golden Core cultivator, as their inner core stores spiritual energy, which allows them to fight a protracted battle.

Among them, Lingyu had the lowest cultivation level, only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Without the spiritual energy stored in her Golden Core, she was exhausted in no time.

Xi Qi originally wanted to protect Ran Qinghe, but Ling Yu beside him was on the verge of exhausting her spiritual power and was about to collapse from swinging her sword. He said, "Ling Yu, hide behind me first."

The vengeful spirits attacked haphazardly, rampaging wildly as if enraged. A vast expanse of black energy swept in, causing Ran Qinghe to momentarily lose her focus.

She was like this when she was in Qingxiao, except that at that time, she was alone, deep in the poisonous miasma, with no help around her, struggling and twisting, not even resembling a human figure.

However, this momentary stagnation was exploited by the black energy.

"Pfft—"

The black energy pierced her left shoulder, and the chilling resentment exploded instantly.

Ran Qinghe groaned, her face paling for a moment. Enduring the pain spreading in her shoulder blade, she turned around and used the whip, imbued with spiritual power, to forcefully disperse the resentment.

As the resentment dissipated, she finally noticed that Lou Tinglan was standing behind her, his Tranquil Heart Sword still sheathed.

Therefore, he witnessed the resentful attacks against her from behind, but remained unmoved.

Her gaze suddenly turned cold, a hint of deep impatience lurking within that coldness.

She asked, "Why don't you make a move?"

Lou Tinglan said calmly, "My responsibility for this mission is to supervise."

Ran Qinghe coughed up a mouthful of black blood, which dripped onto the stone slab. She casually wiped the blood from her lips and glanced at the wound on her left shoulder that was still oozing black energy. As if venting her anger, she dispersed the resentment around her while subtly sending it to Lou Tinglan with her spiritual power.

Perhaps she overdid it, and the vengeful spirit was unable to defend itself for a moment. The black energy that condensed again did not attack Lou Tinglan beside him, but instead changed direction and turned towards Xi Qiling and Yu beside him.

Ran Qinghe then realized something, landed and stopped whipping. At that moment, all the black energy seized the opportunity and surged towards Xi Qiling and Yu, surrounding them completely. The black energy was so thick that it was almost impossible to see their figures.

They simply vanished on the spot.

Yuan Yao, who had been hiding to the side, rushed forward and, having witnessed everything, asked in shock, "Why did the vengeful spirit take away only the two of them?"

Ran Qinghe joked, "Oh, maybe the vengeful spirits can't stand the people of the Qingxiao Sect."

"You knew all along that the vengeful spirit's target was Xi Qilingyu, so why did you stand by and watch her die?" This question was directed at Lou Tinglan.

Lou Tinglan's expression remained cold and indifferent: "Should I save him?"

His task was to supervise Ran Qinghe, a prisoner in the Discipline Hall; the others were none of his concern.

Ran Qinghe tore off the armband from her wrist and hastily wrapped it around the wound on her left shoulder. Driven by the pain, she couldn't help but have some wicked thoughts.

Before the dark aura dissipated, she tugged at Lou Tinglan's sleeve and said softly, "Husband, I'm scared. Won't you protect me?"