Chapter 87 Descending the Mountain "Alright, senior brother agrees."
Ever since Ning Yu returned from the Immortal Sect Grand Competition, one person's name has been hanging over his head like a sharp sword.
He never expected that the person would not only break his sword formation but also win the championship.
Fortunately, Jiang Yuhuo was seriously injured and unconscious, and had been missing ever since, which allowed him to escape death by sheer luck. No one knew her whereabouts, but fearing retaliation, Ning Yu feigned illness and secluded himself on Chongyuan Peak for a period after returning to Kunlun. Only when her scandal subsided and fewer people mentioned her name did he gradually return to his former life.
However, now, some of his fellow disciples are saying that Jiang Yuhuo has returned to Kunlun.
Ning Yu became even more uneasy.
But what's meant to come will come eventually.
That night, Ning Yu had not yet gone to bed, and the room was dark, so he sat on the couch meditating. Since returning from the Immortal Sect Competition, he had not lit a lamp in the room at night.
Without warning, the door was violently flung open, and a gust of wind rushed toward his face.
Ning Yu knew that Jiang Yuhuo had come to settle scores with him.
The overwhelming spiritual power suppressed him completely, rendering him utterly powerless to retaliate.
The newcomer grabbed him and shot him away like an arrow, until they reached a deserted grassy area, where they threw him off from mid-air.
Ning Yu suddenly fell from the sky, feeling as if all the bones in his body were about to crack. But before he could even feel the pain, a gleaming sword was pointed at his neck.
His gaze followed the blade upwards, and there stood the female cultivator he had always feared, looking down at him with an indifferent expression.
At this moment, Ning Yu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and her heart, which had been hanging by fear, finally settled down.
It can end now, it's just death.
"Jiang Yuhuo, as long as you don't spread rumors about me and my master outside, you can kill me, and I won't resist."
He closed his eyes, waiting for Jiang Yuhuo to plunge the sword into his throat. Once it was in, severing his neck, everything would be over. There would be no more worries or concerns, no more need to think about anything...
"It's as if you can resist."
The cold tip of the sword was pressed against his neck, but it did not pierce him.
"Ning Yu, are you afraid of dying?"
A deep voice sounded above his head. Ning Yu slowly opened his eyes. The female cultivator, with an indifferent expression, held her sword without moving. The tip of the sword was only pressed against him but not going in, leaving his life hanging between life and death.
His previous courage to bravely face death suddenly weakened, but the newcomer clearly wouldn't let him go easily.
"Or are you more afraid of your affair being exposed than of dying?"
Ning Yu's gaze sharpened as she looked directly into Jiang Yuhuo's eyes. "You may kill me. The sword formation was all my doing. My master was unaware of it. You don't need to involve her."
Jiang Yuhu tilted her head, glancing downwards. "So this is what you're afraid of."
The sword in her hand slowly moved down from his neck to his left shoulder, the tip piercing his shoulder blade, circling and slowly stabbing deeper, grinding away at his flesh bit by bit, carving out a large and deep bloody hole in his left shoulder.
Ning Yu couldn't help but cry out in pain. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and he felt so bad that he wanted to roll on the ground.
He originally thought that as long as he wasn't afraid of death, he would be fine, but in reality, he was afraid of such prolonged and agonizing pain.
Ning Yu had no strength to resist. She was completely suppressed by Jiang Yuhuo's spiritual power and could not move on the ground. She was like a fish on a chopping board, at Jiang Yuhuo's mercy.
He was no match for her from the start; he only managed to trick her by setting a trap using his master's magical artifact. But now, she has become stronger than before.
Jiang Yuhuo coldly looked at the person who had become a pile of mud on the ground and said in a flat tone, "This is nothing. Compared to your sword formation, this is already quite merciful."
"Jiang Yuhuo... if you want to kill me, then kill me. Why torture me like this?" Ning Yu's eyes were red with pain, and his gaze was somewhat unfocused. He only wanted her to give him a quick death.
"Why should I make you suffer?" Jiang Yuhuo rubbed the sword against his shoulder again. "Now, you have two paths before you."
"First, like now, I will pierce you with 180 bloody holes and run over them one by one. This will only make you bleed, not kill you. After that, I will report your affair with Qinglin to the council hall, so that everyone in Kunlun will know that you and your master murdered your fellow disciple because you were afraid that your affair would be exposed."
What do you think of this plan?
Ning Yu stiffened her neck and remained silent.
"Secondly, you must do my bidding. If I give you any orders, you must carry them out immediately. Otherwise, you will return to the first path."
"What's your choice?"
Ning Yu endured the pain in his shoulder, struggling to gather his nearly broken spirit as he considered her conditions. The first was the outcome he least wanted to face. He wasn't afraid of death, but the current torment was too painful, completely shattering his courage. But the second condition was clearly an insult, forcing him to become her servant. How could he, Ning Yu, be treated like a dog? What was she anyway?
Jiang Yuhuo's sword tip pierced his flesh an inch deeper, reminding him that she now held his life in her hands.
The physical pain brought Ning Yu to the brink of madness, and he finally screamed, "Second option! I choose the second option!"
Jiang Yuhuo curled her lips into a smile, and swiftly pulled out the iron sword. The person on the ground convulsed in pain as she drew the sword.
She wiped the blood from the tip of her sword. "Very good. Remember your choice today."
*
Inside the bamboo courtyard of Zhenyang Peak.
Wen Yizhan has accepted that he needs to drink his junior sister's blood to heal his injuries.
When Jiang Yuhu cut her wrist and handed her hand, Wen Yizhan hesitated for only a moment.
Just as the blood was about to drip, he suppressed his inner struggle, took her wrist, and with a flick of his tongue, scooped up the drop of blood that was about to fall. Then he placed his lips on the wound and sipped the blood.
As he swallowed her blood, he used his intact eye to observe Jiang Yuhuo's expression.
Her face was always pale and bloodless, so even if she lost a lot of blood, it wouldn't be noticeable. But Wen Yizhan was still afraid of harming her blood and qi, so he only sucked a few mouthfuls before stopping. Finally, as before, he licked the bloodstains off her white wrists clean.
Jiang Yuhuo smiled at him and showed him her wrist, "This way, not a single drop will be wasted."
Wen Yizhan swallowed the last bit of blood, and pursed her lips uncomfortably, as if the warm and delicate touch of her wrist still lingered on them.
Perhaps it was because he had just drunk her blood, but seeing her unguardedly showing him her fair and delicate wrist, he actually felt a little hot.
"Junior sister, I'm much better these days. The dragon poison hasn't flared up for a long time."
Jiang Yuhuo looked into his eyes, waiting for him to continue.
"If you don't believe me, touch it. You're not cold anymore." Wen Yizhan pulled her hand to his neck, trying to prove that his poison was no longer a problem. He let her hand press on it for a while before speaking, "...From now on, you don't need to feed me blood anymore."
Jiang Yuhuo touched his palm to confirm that his body temperature was no different from that of a normal person before nodding and saying, "In that case, drink it one last time tomorrow. If there is a relapse, I will feed you blood when I come back."
Wen Yizhan was stunned for a moment, "Junior sister...where are you going?"
Jiang Yuhuo lowered his gaze and rolled up his sleeves. "Let's go down the mountain."
That day, she had already instructed Ning Yu to search for information about the Earth Flame Vine. He came from a prestigious family and had a vast family network supporting him, so naturally, he would be more effective than her in gathering information alone. The reason she spared his life was because she still thought he could be of use.
Her time was limited, and her senior brother's detoxification was imminent. Since that was the case, she could only put aside her grudges and try to use the quickest method possible.
At the same time, she didn't forget the token Ji Yun had given her. The day before, she had gone down the mountain to a branch of the Ji family and asked them to help search for information about the Earth Flame Vine.
This morning, she received a message from Ning Yu saying that she had heard that a group of people in Luoyue City had a Ground Flame Vine that they wanted to sell, but they were unwilling to reveal the specific conditions. They insisted that she come in person before they would discuss the price.
Jiang Yuhuo didn't want to delay, as the poison from the Nether Dragon could get out of control at any moment. She planned to set off tomorrow. Given the effect of her blood on the cold poison, she could feed it again tomorrow, and Wen Yizhan's cold poison shouldn't cause any more trouble in the short term.
She didn't want to hide these things, so she told Wen Yizhan everything in detail.
Wen Yizhan immediately wanted to get off the bed, "I'll go with you."
Jiang Yuhu shook his head and pressed him back down. "No need. We're just going to probe their strength. Don't worry. The dragon poison needs to be suppressed. Avoid any rash actions. You can rest here and recuperate. I'll let you know if anything happens."
She looked out the window. "Besides, Master will be out of seclusion soon. He might have a solution."
Wen Yizhan knew that what she said made sense, but she still couldn't help but ask, "Do you know where the other party is from in Luoyue City?"
He couldn't help but overthink it. Luoyue City was Tianque's territory, and the thought of that merman clan leader made him wary.
Looking back, the way that merman looked at her that day was clearly not innocent. If she were to get involved with him again, Wen Yizhan was afraid that Jiang Yuhuo would be tempted and blinded by him.
His junior sister was a pure person, and he didn't want to see her like his mother, seduced by people of high position and power, foolishly giving her heart away, only to end up being betrayed and abandoned.
"The other party did not disclose this," Jiang Yuhuo told the truth.
Wen Yizhan subconsciously felt that this matter was inevitably related to the merman clan leader of Tianque. There were several fire peaks at the bottom of the sea back then, and it would be quite reasonable for the merman clan to have harvested the Earth Flame Vine before the fire peaks erupted. However, he did not want Jiang Yuhuo to ask him for help.
"If the person holding the Earth Flame Vine is a disciple of the Heavenly Palace Sect, please promise me, Junior Sister, don't beg him, okay?"
Having not thought of this person for a long time, Jiang Yuhuo was stunned for a moment when she suddenly heard it.
"Then you must promise me one thing, senior brother."
Wen Yizhan immediately perked up her ears.
"Jia Yue said that when you asked him to sink me in the water, you agreed to three conditions." She looked into his eyes and sighed softly. "For the rest, don't listen to him anymore, okay?"
“I will not beg him, nor will I use his aquatic plants again. I don’t want to see you suffer these unnecessary injuries.”
"I want a senior brother who is healthy and happy."
Wen Yizhan was stunned for a long time, unable to speak. He looked into Jiang Yuhuo's clear and sincere eyes, as if he could see her passionate and pure heart in them, and how sincerely she cared for him.
How fortunate he is, an illegitimate child who was once despised by everyone.
The room was quiet, except for the chirping of birds outside the window.
After a long time, sounds came from inside.
"Okay, I promise you."
*
Meanwhile, in a courtyard in Falling Moon City, all was equally silent.
The next moment, all the cups and saucers on the table were wiped clean without warning, and the green and white porcelain shards were scattered all over the floor.
"Why hasn't she received the message yet!"
"Why is it so slow?!"
"Did you even bother to properly spread the message?!"
There was nothing left to throw on the table. The handsome young man angrily spun around, smashing everything he could find at hand.
"Were you bribed by some old geezer? How much did they pay you to betray me like this?!"
The subordinate, dazed and confused from the blows, immediately knelt down upon hearing that final, furious interrogation. "It is my fault, I deserve to die! I would never dare to betray you, young master! Please, young master, see the truth..."
It wasn't that he wasn't taking his work seriously, but who could have imagined that the person the young master was trying to capture had already returned to Kunlun long ago? Luoyue City and Kunlun are thousands of miles apart; even the most well-connected news couldn't travel that fast. Moreover, if news of their involvement with the Flame Vine were to spread like wildfire, wouldn't that seem suspicious?
The subordinate knew this, and he knew the man in the hall knew it too. But that was just the young master's temper; he would lash out whenever he was in a bad mood. It was like a storm, fierce yet quick to rage and just as fast to subside. As long as one could endure it for a while, one could serve this young master well and enjoy the wealth and power that the family brought.
He knelt on the ground and fell silent. Only the man's angry breathing filled the hall. He knew that the young master was trying to calm the emotions that were difficult for him to control.
A hurried footstep approached from outside the hall; the visitor brought good news that had saved him from dire straits.
"Reporting to the young master, a message has arrived from Kunlun Mountain, stating that someone intends to come and purchase the Earth Flame Vine."
The young man, who had just been furious, suddenly changed his expression. He glanced casually at the dim golden mark on his palm, then sighed leisurely, as if all the anger in his chest had dissipated with that breath, and a sense of satisfaction crept into the corners of his eyes.
He dusted off the corner of his clothes, strode over the mess on the ground, and personally helped up his kneeling subordinates.
"Alright, it's not your fault this time."
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Author's Note: Senior brother, I'm going to report someone else! Someone else is seducing Xiao Jiang! [doge emoji]
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