Chapter 35 Testing What He's Testing
In the Endless Sect, Jiang Wan sat in the courtyard, her hands supporting her chin, her clear eyes filled with sorrow.
"Senior sister," Song Anran gently comforted her, "we'll wait for senior brother to return..."
"boom--"
Another roar came from inside the room.
Song Anran paused for a moment, then struggled to finish the last two words, “…Okay.”
As he finished speaking, there was another loud bang, which even made the tree trunks in the yard tremble and a leaf fall.
Jiang Wan took a deep breath, shook her head, and shook off the leaves that had fallen on her head.
"It's okay, I'm still..."
"Bang!"
good……
The air fell eerily still for a moment. Song Anran looked at the leaves that had fallen on Jiang Wan's head again and swallowed hard.
Jiang Wan closed her eyes and crushed a corner of the stone table.
"Xuan! Kui!"
The noise inside the tightly closed room immediately ceased.
Jiang Wanyi was so angry she almost laughed. "Junior brother, let's have dragon tendon soup tonight."
Song Anran remained silent.
Song Anran dared not speak.
Song Anran prayed in her heart: Senior brother, please come back soon!
"What's wrong?" Shi Yubai asked hesitantly, carrying the groceries he had just bought from town and noticing the strange atmosphere in the courtyard.
As soon as Jiang Wan saw him, she smiled and said, "Brother Yu Bai, let's have dragon tendon soup tonight."
Looking at her overly sweet smile, Shi Yubai felt a headache coming on.
"Haha, dragon tendon soup can't compare to roasted meat, right Anran?"
Under the death stare of his senior sister, Song Anran nodded with a choked voice, inwardly wailing.
Senior sister, please don't scold me, but you really can't eat that dragon!
Jiang Wanyi pressed the tip of her tongue against the soft flesh on one side of her cheek, but ultimately didn't mention the dragon tendon soup again.
Shi Yubai looked around. "Where's Fuying?"
Jiang Wanyi took the things from his hand and casually replied, "Sister Fuying went to the back mountain."
The back mountain?
Shi Yubai sighed softly. Even the strongest person couldn't accept such a huge change so quickly, and...
When Shi Yubai thought about what Cheng Minxi had told him about the Demon Realm seal, his head started to ache again.
Why are you standing here?
When Cheng Minxi arrived, she saw several people standing in the courtyard and asked curiously, "Where's Xuan Kui?"
Before they could answer, another roar came from inside the house, shaking the leaves and scattering them among their increasingly white hair.
After a moment of silence, Bai turned to Jiang Wan and said something.
"I think you're right, having dragon tendon soup tonight would be good."
Cheng Minxi said helplessly, "Xuan Kui has just successfully transformed into a dragon, so it's normal for him to be a little unaccustomed to it. Stop making a fuss."
Jiang Wanyi said with some grievance, "But all the flowers and plants in my yard are going to be shaken bare."
Cheng Minxi: ...
"How about adding some dragon's blood to the brew?"
Upon hearing this, Song Anran stared at him wide-eyed. He never expected that the seemingly most serious Minxi would also be fooling around with his senior sister and the others.
What kind of winemaking?
Su Fuying's voice came through, and Shi Yubai observed her expression. Apart from looking a little tired, she seemed normal.
Su Fuying noticed his expression and said softly, "I'm fine. It's been more than ten days. Even if I'm still sad, I should have recovered by now."
That's not necessarily true; there are even more unacceptable things waiting for you. Shi Yubai lowered his eyes, thinking to himself.
However, he and Cheng Minxi exchanged a glance, neither knowing how to begin.
Seeing their subtle expressions, Su Fuying asked, "What's wrong?"
Both of them shook their heads.
"..."
As the moonlight shone down, a bonfire was lit in the courtyard.
Xuan Kui had already transformed into human form and walked out of the room, with a suspicious purplish-blue mark on his forehead.
He looked at the strange iron frame erected over the campfire in the courtyard and asked, "What is this? Is it used for cooking?"
Jiang Wanyi placed the prepared meat skewers on a special iron rack as she replied to him.
"This is a 'barbecue grill' made by our master himself. Look, there's also a special sauce. The food grilled on it is delicious."
Is it tasty?
Xuan Kui looked at the charred meat in Shi Yubai's hand and expressed his doubt.
Su Fuying followed his gaze and saw the charcoal-black roasted meat, and couldn't help but laugh.
"After all these years, you're still the same as before, with absolutely no talent for cooking."
Shi Yubai retorted, "Isn't there Wan Yin?"
He had barely finished speaking when he froze, a new skewer of meat in his hand sizzling with oil, the dripping oil igniting flames and turning the skewer charcoal black once more.
Xuan Kui, unaware of their thoughts, asked casually, with a piece of meat between his teeth, "Who is Wan Yin?"
The courtyard was completely silent, so long that Xuan Kui thought he wouldn't speak again.
Shi Yubai threw away the meat skewers that were no longer edible and spoke in a low, hoarse voice.
"Wanyin, she is our lifelong friend."
"Ah—" Xuan Kui's mouth was full of meat, his voice muffled, "Where is she? Why didn't you call her along?"
Shi Yubai picked up a skewer of grilled meat again, his voice no longer heavy as before, but loose and somewhat deliberate.
He said.
"They won't come back."
Jiang Wanyi and Song Anran quietly grilled the meat, not saying a word, afraid of stirring up that painful past.
Cheng Minxi patted Shi Yubai's shoulder lightly, and Shi Yubai laughed casually.
"Aren't you all curious about what kind of person your senior sister, whom you've never met, is?"
Jiang Wan looked up and observed his expression; he seemed quite normal.
"Don't worry, it's been so many years, I'm not sad anymore, it's just that I miss her a little."
A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, making a soft "shush" sound.
The atmosphere in the courtyard gradually returned to normal, while outside the courtyard, just a wall away, the girl's veil fluttered gently, intertwining with the hem of her plain white dress.
She heard Jiang Wanyi's curious voice coming from the courtyard, "Senior sister, what kind of person is she? Master never mentions her to us."
What kind of person is she?
Fu Yunyao recalled her first meeting with Jiang Wanyin.
At the foot of Kunwu Sect's mountain, she deflected the swords held by the Kunwu Sect disciples blocking her way, and her gaze met that of Jian Wanyin in the crowd.
Her eyes were clear and bright, but also tinged with anger, she said.
"There is no rule prohibiting mortals from participating in the cultivation competition."
This was the second person she had encountered who was willing to speak up for her since leaving the forbidden area.
As Fu Yunyao thought about it, a hint of a smile appeared in her gentle eyes.
She heard Shi Yubai's voice coming from inside the courtyard.
"Wanyin is a very good person."
She is indeed...very good.
She heard Su Fuying say, "Wanyin is very smart and thoughtful. Back then, she and Yunyao were the closest of friends."
Jiang Wanyi asked in surprise, "Young Master Yao? But I heard..."
She hesitated for a moment, and Su Fuying finished her sentence for her, "Yes, it was indeed because of Wanyin that we broke up."
Wen Ci stood to the side of Fu Yunyao. He lowered his eyes and looked at the person beside him, but she was wearing a veil, so he could not see her true expression.
Inside the courtyard, Cheng Minxi sighed softly, "It's all in the past now."
He wanted to drop the subject, but Shi Yubai didn't want to, so he spoke up again.
"Does the Boundless Sect hate her?"
"Huh?" Jiang Wanyin and Song Anran asked at the same time. Who she was was self-evident.
“Yu Bai.” Cheng Minxi frowned and reminded him.
Shi Yubai didn't stop. "For a while, I really hated her."
I hate her. She won't tell us anything. I would believe anything she says if she just opened her mouth.
I hate her for not trusting us enough, even though we went through dangerous situations together, relied on each other, and were even willing to give everything for one another.
I hate her.
But I also felt sorry for her.
She endured the pain of killing Wanyin alone, faced the doubts and departure of her best friend, and the suspicion and fear from the outside world.
The ones truly trapped on the day Wanyin died were not us, but her.
She acted as if she didn't care, but all that had happened in the past couldn't be faked.
She clearly cares a lot.
Fu Yunyao leaned against the courtyard wall, looking up at the moon's shadow on the treetops, somewhat puzzled.
Does she care?
She chuckled softly, her voice muffled by the rustling of the treetops.
"Did you deliberately let me hear these words?"
Wen Ci did not refute, "Yu Bai has been searching for the truth of what happened back then all these years. He really cares about you."
"But why?"
"He doesn't want to lose you as a friend, and neither do we... back then..."
“Wen Ci,” Fu Yunyao interrupted him, “I know what you want to say, but I didn’t come here today to pour out my heart to you. Besides, what you’re saying sounds a bit off.”
Wen Ci paused, and after a while, a smile appeared on his cool eyes. "Alright, Minxi and Yubai have already told me about the matter of the Nanheng Sect Master. Are you sure that the breaking of the Demon Realm seal is related to the sect masters?"
"I am certain that the breaking of the Demon Realm seal is related to the Kunwu Sect Master, the Nanheng Sect Master, and the Tianyan Sect Master."
"Master has no reason."
Fu Yunyao looked at him with amusement, "If I had found out why he broke the seal, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now."
Wen Ci sighed softly, "You're too flamboyant. They must have noticed this kind of investigation method."
“They already knew I was investigating.” Fu Yunyao didn’t care and turned to ask about another matter, “Why did you fight so hard in your duel with me back then, even sacrificing your blood?”
Her question stirred up some memories for Wen Ci.
The day before the competition, Wen Ci's master, Qing Wu, the sect leader of Kunwu, summoned Wen Ci.
He swirled the wine in his bowl, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, and said to him, "Tomorrow, I want you to lose to Fu Yunyao."
Wen Ci's expression hardened. "Impossible!"
"Aren't you friends?"
"Even if we're friends, we can't be friends; there are no friends on the competition stage."
“But Fu Yunyao is a mortal. If a mortal wins the grand competition of the cultivation world, it can inspire disciples of various sects to work hard and give more hope to other mortals who cannot cultivate. Isn’t that good? Nowadays, spiritual energy is dwindling and cultivators are indulging in pleasure. They have no sense of crisis that the demons may make a comeback.”
“If she wants to win, she can use her own abilities to defeat the sword in my hand. If Master wants me to lose to him, even if he looks down on his disciple, he also looks down on her. I will compete with him seriously. If I lose, it is because my skills are inferior. If I win, she will definitely accept it.”
"..."
Fu Yunyao paused slightly as she listened to him, "He wants you to lose to me?"
"What's wrong?" Wen Ci noticed the subtle change in her tone and asked, "Is there a problem?"
Fu Yunyao looked at him, her eyes flickering slightly.
If the Kunwu Sect Master had not said these words, Wen Ci would certainly not have risked using blood as a sacrifice in the competition. She could think of this, so how could the Kunwu Sect Master, as her master, not know it?
Or perhaps, he was testing something?
Testing or probing?
Wen Ci recalled that competition and said, "That day's competition was the first time I faced death directly. The sword energy of Sword Master Chen was truly cold and piercing, bringing endless despair to people."
Fu Yunyao repeated in a low voice, "Icy cold? Boundless despair?"
But Fu Yusheng's sword intent was clearly like a spring breeze, full of vitality. Even when he held the Chen sword, the sword energy he wielded only seemed to be cold and icy, but actually contained infinite vitality. How could it be despair?
Just then, Shi Yubai's clearly drunken voice came from inside the room.
"Fu Yunyao's people are just like her sword intent—cold-hearted and ruthless; once you get close, you'll feel a bone-chilling cold..."
Her sword intent?
Fu Yunyao suddenly looked up. She remembered that day on the dueling platform, or more accurately, she had Chen Jian block Wen Ci's sword move for her. If that was her sword intent, then what the Kunwu Sect Master was testing was...
Her relationship with Rang Chenjian!
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A note from the author: Today is National Day.
Happy birthday to our motherland! May she prosper and flourish!
Wishing all the babies a happy holiday!
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