It was just the first glimpse of youthful spirit.
Chapter Forty-Seven
"Ah—a ghost!" Gu Ling screamed, her face pale with shock.
Zhou Yulin emerged from the darkness, glanced at Gu Ling who was trembling with fear by the fire, and slowly looked at Chen Muyao, who stood to the side with a calm expression.
The boy's eyes were unfathomable, and something was hidden in his gaze as he looked at her.
"Zhou Yulin".
She heard the other person call her name.
"Are you a demon or a genius?"
Gu Ling hadn't even wiped away his snot and tears when he heard the woman's voice and almost fainted from fright. Only Chen Mu remained calm and slashed at the back of Gu Ling's neck with his hand. Gu Ling collapsed limply to the side.
"Why is the young master of Nine Star Pavilion so concerned about a cripple like me?" Zhou Yulin could now casually mock herself. She wiped away her tears and met the scrutinizing gaze without flinching, her tone leisurely, "Compared to me, isn't the young master even stranger?"
"When Bai Long came to the Jiang family in disguise, if it weren't for the young master's help, how would we have met Jiang Zanghua, who was eager to find his relatives? Thanks to your good wind, you gave Jiang Zanghua the opportunity to bring two scripts."
Faced with Zhou Yulin's questioning, Chen Muyao remained even more indifferent, the firelight flickering deep in his eyes. The young man chuckled and shook his head, "Looks like you're not as stupid as I thought."
Zhou Yulin had just broken out of the formation, and the spiritual power of her nascent soul was in disarray.
She swallowed the blood that rose up her throat. "But you didn't consider one thing."
"In the painting 'A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains,' you narrowly escaped death and almost lost your life."
She looked up at the moon on the horizon; it had never been clearer than it was now.
Tonight is the sixteenth, the day that, according to theory, the Fate-Binding Gu should take effect.
"Oh?" Chen Mu shook her head and looked at Zhou Yulin. "So? What are you trying to say?"
"What is your purpose in coming to the Qingyun Sect, and what do I want to know about what exactly happened in Jinyang City back then?" That year, Jinyang City became a taboo subject for everyone, and those who knew the truth all suffered unforeseen misfortunes afterward. Chen Muyao, who stormed into Jinyang City and escaped unscathed, became the last person to know the truth about that battle.
He glanced at the urgent look on her face, then lowered his eyes and said, "I don't remember."
"I have no memory of Jinyang City after I woke up."
Chen Muyao looked at her again, "This is also why I came to Qingyun Sect."
"The Qingyun Sect possesses a divine artifact called the Mirror of Preservation, which can understand cause and effect and trace back to the past."
After he finished speaking, he was quiet for a while, as if giving Zhou Yulin time to think.
"Okay, I'll help you."
I help you, not because I believe in you.
The cold wind from the cliff edge blew across Zhou Yulin's still tear-stained face, and the pain in her lower abdomen surged, reminding her even more clearly of the promise she had made.
Just before she collapsed from exhaustion, she was caught by someone.
It suddenly brought back vivid memories of our first, hazy encounter years ago.
At that time, Zhou Yulin was eight years old, and Chen Muyao was also eight years old.
The two were born on the same day of the same year.
Before the child was born, Qing Youning had a fortune told.
The divination result was very auspicious. At that time, everyone in the Xuanling Sect was certain that this child was the so-called person with "sword bones and a Dao heart".
Unfortunately, Lei Yun only passed by in a hurry, and with the cries of a newborn child, he landed in a dilapidated temple at the foot of Xiaobie Mountain.
Thus began their entanglement.
The incident happened when she was eight years old, which was also something from her previous life, but she still remembered it clearly. When she was lying under a tree waiting to die, seriously injured, a pair of faded white clothes came into her view.
Her vision blurred, but she remained conscious.
Because the hands are small, it must be a child.
The severe injuries and poisoning made Zhou Yulin feel cold all over. When the person took her pulse, the warmth of his fingertips touched her skin, causing her to instinctively grab his hand.
The other person was clearly frightened, and after a long while, he finally uttered a muffled voice, "I won't die. But if you keep holding my hand, things might not be so good."
Zhou Yulin ignored her, gripping the other person's hand tightly. "Will I die?"
"If you want to die, I can help you." The man sounded very kind, but in reality, he was forcefully pulling his own hand back. Zhou Yulin didn't know where the courage came from, but she grabbed the other person's hand and pulled him closer, so close that their breaths were almost touching.
“My name is Zhou Yulin. Fairy Youning of Xuanling Sect is my mother. I’m telling her the news of her death so she won’t worry. I have a jade pendant on my waist, which is a token of love that my father gave to my mother. I don’t need it anymore, so I’ll give it to you. Consider yourself lucky to have met me today.”
After giving her last words, Zhou Yulin leaned back with a sense of relief and released the other person's hand. "My life has been a little short, but it's been enough."
Unexpectedly, the sound of rummaging came from beside me.
A few seconds later, the man grabbed Zhou Yulin's chin and forced her to drink something.
The sweet medicine flowed down her throat, and the scenery before her eyes gradually became clear.
The pitch-black figure gradually gained color.
He was dressed in a clear, cloud-blue outfit. The boy pulled off the light-colored hairband that was tied up to bind the wound on Zhou Yulin's leg. He had long eyelashes and fair skin. Although he was young, he had a mature air about him when treating the wound.
What did you just feed me?
He did not answer.
After that, no matter what Zhou Yulin asked or said, the person stopped speaking. If Zhou Yulin hadn't heard the person's reply at the beginning, she would have almost thought the person was mute.
His hair was loose, but the young boy was very serious.
Zhou Yulin also stared at the other person.
It is said that many orphans would pick up discarded or unwanted herbs from the Divine Medicine Valley and sell them. Some might even be lucky enough to be taken in as disciples by the Divine Medicine Valley's herbalists. Therefore, the Divine Medicine Valley set up a special place at the foot of the mountain called the Lonely Town.
The town wasn't far from here, so Zhou Yulin assumed the boy in front of her was an orphan. Perhaps because of a shared pity, she looked at him with more sympathy. "Don't move," he said, pressing his hand against Zhou Yulin's leg. "Don't move while I'm treating your wounds if you don't want to die."
Zhou Yulin rarely gets scolded, and she stares dumbfounded at the person who has suddenly lost their temper. She blinks and thinks, "Oh, I didn't know they could bite."
Zhou Yulin couldn't remember how they said goodbye afterwards.
It was only today that I realized that the jade pendant Chen Muyao always wore was a gift from her.
This is truly surprising.
After all, Zhou Yulin always felt that the jade pendants that people carry with them should be objects of great significance, or gifts from important people.
*
At the foot of Xuanling Sect Mountain, the disciples guarding the outer gate looked at the graceful figure approaching from afar and felt that it was extremely familiar. It wasn't until it got closer that they recognized that this person was Xuan Qingxian, who had killed his junior sister three years ago and fled!
The newcomer's white robes were stained with blood, his face was weary but his eyes were bright, showing no sign of being possessed by a demon.
"Senior brother... Senior brother is back!"
I can't say whether I was surprised or delighted.
Upon hearing the sound, Xuan Qingxian looked up at the Xuanling Sect, which had not returned for a long time, but was blocked by the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper's legs were trembling, clearly out of fear, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Senior brother, you can't go in."
Just as Xuan Qingxian was about to speak, the person falling from above uttered a series of eloquent words.
“Xuan Qingxian, you murdered Junior Sister, you are a wanted criminal of Xuanling Sect.”
"We are following the sect leader's instructions and will escort you to the interrogation platform!"
Xuan Qingxian didn't move; he seemed to have realized something.
He rummaged in the bundle on his shoulder and took out a box of pastries, handing it to the gatekeeper disciple. "Thank you for your help. These are pastries I brought for my master."
Unexpectedly, the pastries were thrown to the ground by Zong Mingqing the next second. The exquisite pastries were scattered on the muddy ground. The gatekeeper disciple felt a little sorry for them. He could tell that the pastries were handmade and must have been bought by his senior brother in the morning.
However, Zong Mingqing pointed at Xuan Qingxian and sneered, "What are you pretending to be kind about? Who can guarantee that you didn't add something else to the pastries to harm the sect leader? Do you still think you're the senior disciple of Xuanling Sect back then? The sect leader isn't someone you can just see whenever you want."
Xuan Qingxian didn't make a move. If he did, no one present would be his match. He glanced at the crushed pastries on the ground and said nothing more.
"Take away!"
Zong Mingqing gave the order.
The Xuanling Sect kept the news under wraps, and by the time it reached Chang'an, Zhou Yulin had already successfully entered the Qingyun Sect.
Dressed in the robes of an outer disciple, she stood in the sun as punishment.
He overheard his fellow disciples discussing this nearby.
"I heard that the Xuanling Sect has captured their senior brother who fell into demonic possession back then?"
“Hey, I have a friend in the Xuanling Sect, he came back on his own.”
"Huh, you killed someone and came back on your own?"
"I don't know, I just heard that after being taken to the interrogation table for a few days, they were locked up in the water dungeon."
The group walked past Zhou Yulin as if nothing had happened. "Zhou Zhao!"
Upon hearing the sound, Zhou Yulin looked at the girl who was running towards him.
"Why did you talk back to the elder? He's an old-fashioned man, always spouting empty platitudes. Just bear with it." Zhou Yulin avoided mentioning her argument with the elder. "Can we have lunch now?"
Qu Suiwan: "You've been standing here for so long, and this is all you've got?"
Zhou Yulin thought for a few seconds and said seriously, "There's one more thing, I'm hungry, if I don't eat lunch soon I'm really going to fall asleep."
Qu Suiwan was truly at her wit's end with this person. She rolled her eyes at her and said, "You greedy girl, you'll never thrive in the Qingyun Sect like this."
Zhou Yulin: "I never thought I would become successful."
Qu Suiwan was exasperated. "You were ranked first in the written test when you first came in. Can't you have some ambition?!"
"Oh." That was a very perfunctory response.
The Qingyun Sect has a special canteen for disciples who have not practiced fasting. Zhou Yulin is used to eating, so even though he has reached the Nascent Soul stage, he still insists on eating in the canteen. Every day, the Qingyun Sect will have some strange dishes.
For example, today there is a dish called "Floating Life Grass Fried Rice".
Looking at the sword cultivator who had fallen asleep after eating fried rice not far away, Zhou Yulin silently glanced at the woman opposite him who had finished half a plate of fried rice in one go, "What's wrong?"
Qu Suiwan noticed Zhou Yulin's gaze, lifted her head from the rice cooker, and asked curiously, only to be met with a hesitant expression from Zhou Yulin. After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out, "Is it delicious?"
Qu Suiwan savored it for a moment and commented, "It's alright, just the taste of ordinary herbs. Would you like some?"
Zhou Yulin politely declined, thanking the invitation for such a poison.
After finishing their meal, she and Qu Suiwan returned to their dormitory.
The outer disciples of the Xuanqing Sect share a room in groups of four, while the inner disciples share a room in groups of two.
Outer disciples can only challenge inner disciples once after a full month of membership in the sect, in order to gain the qualification to enter the inner sect.
The dormitory was dark, with the curtains drawn tightly.
"Hey! Don't disturb my sleep."
This is one of Zhou Yulin's roommates, named Yu Tingting.
This person was originally an inner disciple, but because she ranked near the bottom of the inner disciples, nearly a hundred people challenged her at the end of last month, causing her to get injured and fail the inner disciple assessment, resulting in her being demoted back to the outer sect. Because of this incident, she's a powder keg that's ready to explode at any moment.
"Did you hear me? Are you deaf?"
Her tone was not friendly.
Zhou Yulin and Qu Suiwan exchanged a glance, and the latter spoke first, "Thank you for your greeting. Our ears are very good. Do I need to remind you? It's already high in the sky. It's obviously unlikely that opening the door would disturb your sleep."
"..." Yu Tingting was quiet for a while.
Zhou Yulin didn't speak, but quietly drew back the curtains, letting in the blinding light.
Yu Tingting covered her eyes, and the blanket covering her was suddenly pulled off.
The woman's icy voice fell, "Who gave you permission to bring a man to the dormitory?" Qu Suiwan didn't expect Yu Tingting to be so bold, and her face turned somewhat ugly.
"You!" Yu Tingting glared at Zhou Yulin.
He quickly laughed and said, "Oh? So what can you do to me even if I bring you along?"
Qu Suiwan bit her lip, looking at the shirtless man and Yu Tingting lying on the bed. Even with her good temper, she felt like cursing.
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