Chapter 80: Sweeping Away the Remnants of the Rebellion – No Mercy for the Killers.
When she woke up again, no one was beside her. Shen Lixia closed her half-open eyes again, rolled over to Qiao Yanshen's side, and buried herself in the blanket. The warmth and breath had dissipated, and she curled up listlessly, trying to trap the last bit of air that Qiao Yanshen had left behind.
After dawdling for a while, the girl finally got out of bed, straightened the covers, and went to the living room. There was a note on the desk; she picked it up and read it in neat handwriting:
"I'm going to Frostblade Peak. Get some rest and don't cry anymore, your eyes will get swollen. The candy is in the cupboard."
Shen Lixia put down the note and touched the corner of her eye. The redness and swelling had long since subsided, thanks to her spiritual power. She muttered softly, "An excuse."
It was all out of spite. She knew Qiao Yanshen's trip to Frostblade Peak was definitely for important business, and it would be better for him there; with Aunt Ruan watching over him, she wouldn't have to worry about his injuries. She had many reasons to leave.
Upon returning, she suddenly felt a little out of place. Memories of the past flashed before her eyes; usually, Qiao Yanshen would bring her breakfast at this time. She hadn't eaten in a long time, only occasionally feeling a craving, but now it wasn't out of longing for hot food, but simply a longing for the habit itself. Walking to the cupboard, she saw amber-colored maltose in the sugar jar, but she had no desire to take it.
It was as if the food wasn't given to her by Qiao Yanshen; otherwise, it would lose its flavor. Shen Lixia slowly wandered outside to wash up, and only when a handful of cold water splashed on her face did she realize how to describe her feelings.
Greed. She had become greedy, wanting to understand Qiao Yanshen better and be by his side at all times. It wasn't that she wanted anything tangible from him; perhaps anything Qiao Yanshen gave her, even a casually picked flower, she would treasure.
For her, this relationship was extremely complicated, and had been absent from her life until now, but has finally arrived long overdue.
Shen Lixia shook her wet bangs, changed her clothes, and walked out of the courtyard.
She wanted to visit places she hadn't been to in a long time.
-
In the valley where spiritual plants grow, someone is tearing apart various precious herbs and stuffing them whole into their mouth.
Several figures swarmed like bookworms, almost swallowing the grass and soil together. A group of girls entered the garden, chatting happily until they fell silent upon seeing these people ruining the sacred field. Those who practiced martial arts drew their swords, while those who didn't grabbed nearby farm tools.
"Don't touch our fields!"
The lead child swung a shovel at it, only to see the creature slowly raise its head, still chewing on spirit herbs. Its jaw was already rotten, dripping saliva that mixed with a black liquid and splattered on the ground. When it opened its mouth, it emitted a foul stench and let out a muffled roar, then lunged at the child before it.
Just then, a strong hand pulled the girl aside. With a muffled thud, the boy who had been stealing the spirit herb clutched his head and ran out the door in a panic.
Ji Yun, holding a stick, struck the other boys on the head several more times. They seemed to have several rotten spots on their bodies and their cultivation was severely weakened; after being hit, they quickly ran away like a bunch of rats.
After finishing, the old man coughed a few times, gathered the girls together, and said gently, "It's alright now."
She seemed to instinctively reach for some candy, but then stopped, her expression suddenly turning stern: "Didn't I tell you you didn't need to come these next few days?"
A child tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "We want to come and see Grandma."
“Yes, we miss Grandma so much!” Another child came up and called out to Ji Yun, “The Spirit Field is something we all take care of together, we can’t slack off!”
Facing these little girls, Ji Yun couldn't bring herself to turn her back and shoo them away. She could only step back a little and shake her head, saying, "Grandma is sick, and I'm afraid you'll suffer too. I'll teach you how to take care of the spiritual plants after I get better, okay?"
The lead child hesitated for a moment, then earnestly extended his hand to pinky swear with Ji Yun. The old man smiled gently, obliged her, and after making the promise, saw them to the door. He watched them for a while, and only returned to the house after the children's figures had faded into the distance.
A few more coughs followed, sounding extremely weak, like leaves about to wither, trembling slightly in the cool morning light.
After the children left the valley, they went to different places. One of them didn't take a step, wanting to turn back and see Ji Yun again.
Just then, someone blocked her way. She tried to walk around them, but the person followed her. Looking up, she saw a familiar face.
"elder sister!"
Shen Lixia picked her up, cheered, spun her around, and then put her down.
The girl happily opened her arms, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
Immediately, the boy squatted down, smiling as he extended his hand, "Long time no see, let's give each other a high five."
"A high five?"
She gestured for the girl to raise her hand, and then proactively touched her palm to the other, producing a clear, resonant sound.
“Like this! That shows I’m very happy. What are you doing waiting here? I just heard Grandma Ji tell you all to go back.”
This was the girl Shen Lixia had asked to bandage her wounds before. Shen Lixia remembered the girl's name; she usually called her by her nickname, Xiao Qiu.
Xiao Qiu's smile vanished instantly, and she said uneasily, "Grandma is very ill... I want to go and take care of her."
Shen Lixia frowned and asked, "How did you get sick? What kind of illness is it?"
“I don’t know. After that group of people started staying at the handyman’s place, Grandma suddenly fell ill. She was afraid we would get sick too, so she sent us back, saying she would call us back when she found someone to reassign us.”
At this point, Xiao Qiu frowned and clenched her fist in anger.
"I never expected them to come and eat the spirit herbs. Just now they looked like they were going to devour people alive too!"
Shen Lixia understood, stood up, patted Xiao Qiu's head, and chuckled, "Xiao Qiu, you go back first. I'm going to visit Grandma and take good care of her for you."
“Okay,” Xiaoqiu nodded. “Sister, will the medicine be very bitter? Please take this to Grandma for me.”
The person in front of her gave her a strange sense of security. The girl reached into her clothes, pulled out two pieces of candy, handed them to Shen Lixia, glanced reluctantly at the spirit field in the distance, and finally ran off in another direction.
Shen Lixia's smile faded, she carefully put the candy away, and walked behind a large tree. The tree was connected to dense grass, and it was easy to miss without close inspection.
A muffled sound rang out. Shen Lixia kicked the body, then, as if disgusted by the dirt, plunged her sword straight into the skull, tearing it to pieces before pulling it out. A burst of flames quickly erupted from the corpse, and in the blink of an eye, nothing remained.
It turned out to be a beast that could stalk people. Fortunately, she noticed the strange aura and intercepted it in time.
It's a pity we can't make it spit out the spirit herbs. Shen Lixia snorted coldly and turned to walk towards the spirit field.
It's cheap to use as fertilizer, but it's best to grind its bones into ash.
Passing by the horribly destroyed spirit field, Shen Lixia took a deep breath, barely suppressing her anger, and headed straight for Ji Yun's house. She gently knocked on the door and called out:
"Grandma, I'm coming in."
Not hearing a reply from Ji Yun inside, Shen Lixia grew even more worried and quickly pushed open the door. She went into the inner room and saw the old woman lying on the bed, struggling to breathe. Four years was actually a very short time for a cultivator, yet she seemed to have aged considerably.
Thinking about it this way, Ji Yun had previously said that she was over two hundred years old. The lifespan of a Qi Refining cultivator is two hundred and fifty. If you calculate it this way, she is stuck at the Great Perfection stage and unable to break through. At this moment, her lifespan is indeed coming to an end.
But he shouldn't be this weak. Shen Lixia bent down, and the strange aura intensified. She frowned, placed her hand on the old man's forehead, and probed with spiritual energy.
A powerful surge of turbid energy swept in, instantly swallowing up the spiritual power she had probed. This turbid energy was demonic energy—the divine fire had determined this. Unlike what she had encountered before, Shen Lixia finally understood that demonic energy also came in different types.
Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it "pathogenic qi".
This dark and chilling force huddled within Ji Yun's body, corroding her cultivation and physical condition. The young man wanted to activate the divine fire, but feared the old woman was too weak to withstand it.
She pondered for a moment, thinking that she should have asked Xiao Qiu if she knew where those people lived.
A sudden coughing sound rang out, and Ji Yun slowly woke up. Her cloudy eyes gradually cleared after a while.
After recognizing the person in front of the bed, she smiled gently. The smile was half joy and half tender reproach.
"Why did you take so long to leave the sect for a mission? Don't take on anything too difficult, it's better to take it slow... Otherwise, you'll come back like a completely different person."
Shen Lixia reached out and pressed down on the old woman's shoulder, telling her not to get up and to sleep soundly.
"It was a bit of an accident, but it's been resolved." She gently shook her head. "Grandma, get some rest. When did you get sick?"
Ji Yun replied, "About a week ago. Strangely enough, it was right around the time that group of students started to be active in this area..."
There was indeed something amiss. Shen Lixia took out a bottle of pills from her storage bag and handed it to Ji Yun, but the other party pushed it back.
“It’s no use,” the old man said with a bitter smile. “Part of the reason I am in this state is that my lifespan is coming to an end and my spiritual energy is depleted. If I cannot break through to a higher realm, even if I recover from my illness, my days will not be long.”
However, she was not particularly talented in the path of cultivation. In fact, Ji Yun did not have many expectations; she only felt that it would be enough to see Taihui develop for one more day and accompany the children as they grew up.
Shen Lixia bit her lower lip, put away the medicine bottle, and said seriously, "No, Grandma. You'll get better."
The boy stood up, placed two pieces of maltose in the old man's hand, and said in a slightly softer voice, "They will also live a long and healthy life."
Next, Shen Lixia asked Ji Yun about the places where that group of boys often frequented. After confirming, she held Ji Yun's hand and transferred a stream of spiritual energy to it.
Having done all this, Shen Lixia walked out of the hut. Her hand gripped the sword tightly, golden light gleaming in her eyes. There were a few places she might have to search slowly…
Or perhaps, in the first bowel movement.
In the abandoned courtyard, several people huddled together, each with their own unique characteristics of decay. The rotting seemed incredibly slow, leaving behind large patches of intact flesh interspersed with blackened patches, with drops of thick, foul-smelling liquid dripping down, making one want to vomit.
Their faces were grim, and two of them were already delirious, tearing at the rotting flesh on their arms with their mouths wide open, muttering, "Spiritual power... spiritual power..."
They were no longer the barely human beings they once were; they had been completely transformed into filth.
The others, still conscious, clutched their heads in panic. Someone whispered, "Why can't it repair itself after consuming so many spiritual plants? Does it really mean they have to eat people...? Yes, eat people..."
Before the last word could even escape its throat, a sword pierced through its mouth. It fell to the ground with a thud, its back revealing the boy's calm face.
Her eyes were filled with coldness, like a bright but indifferent golden sun. A slight curve appeared at the corner of her lips, but it wasn't a genuine smile.
"The grand prize." Shen Lixia drew her sword and looked at the others.
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