Chapter 43 The Mohist School of Central Plains (7) "Finally, I've been waiting for you..."
"I hope our Ting'er can grow up happily."
Shi Yubai gazed at the spirit in Mo Tingchuan's hair, a crystal-clear spirit that should be as clean and pure as her own soul.
"And then?" Fu Yunyao asked.
"Later..." Mo Tingchuan paused.
"Seventeen years ago, she rescued a boy, and they developed feelings for each other during their time together. In a spring rain, they came together."
Fu Yunyao thought of the painting in the incense shop in the south alley; that was probably the painting that person made that day.
"The person she saved was also a cultivator?"
Only cultivators can develop inner demons, and only they can be led astray into becoming demons.
Mo Tingchuan nodded, "He shouldn't have stayed in Zhongzhou. The spiritual energy here is simply not enough to support his breakthrough in cultivation. But he stayed for Sister Chi's sake."
As if she had thought of something, she closed her eyes, her voice pale and weak.
"I will never forget that day..."
It was a rainy day. She was in Mo Chizhao's room, where the mechanical puppet bearing Mo Chizhao's soul imprint was teaching her mechanical arts.
Just then, a commotion arose outside.
She looked up, and her first thought was that Mo Chizhao had returned.
She smiled and pushed open the door.
"Sister Chi..."
A flash of lightning revealed the scene in the courtyard, cruelly giving her no chance to escape.
Her smile froze on her face.
Amidst the pouring rain, only a disheveled man and a corpse remained...
The person who would gently call her "Ting'er" never opened his eyes again.
Her cold body was held tightly in the man's arms, and she was draped in the man's wet outer garment.
Rainwater mixed with blood flowed beneath her.
The man finally looked up, his defeated lips barely moving, and said.
"She wants to see you, one last time."
Mo Tingchuan didn't cry. She just stared blankly at the scene, her steps unsteady as she lifted them and then fell back down.
She stepped into the rain and knelt before Mo Chizhao.
Blood stained the hem of her clothes. She reached out and her icy fingertips grasped a hand that was even colder than hers.
She thought.
"I probably died on this rainy night too."
Fu Yunyao listened quietly to her story.
When the person she cherished died, her heart died.
"Sister Chi's mother, the previous head of the Mo family. She was already pregnant with Xiao Bei at the time and was about to give birth. Upon hearing this news, she was so grief-stricken that she went into premature labor and did not survive."
I originally intended to follow Sister Chi, but Sister Chi's Daoist partner's scolding woke me up.
He said that Sister Chi was thinking about seeing me one last time until she died. She even severed her connection with the Soul Imprint just to leave me with a memory. How could I let her down?
Holding my newborn son, Xiao Bei, I became the new head of the Mo family.
After finishing speaking, Mo Tingchuan seemed to have exhausted all his strength and slumped into his chair.
Fu Yunyao asked, "Then, what about him? Since he is a cultivator, why didn't he appear when the demonic energy swept through ten years ago?"
Mo Tingchuan looked at her and said, "You mean, Sister Chi's Daoist partner? After that day, his Dao heart was shattered, and he was even worse than a mortal."
After that, he stayed in the incense shop in South Alley, never going out, until ten days ago when someone set fire to it, and he disappeared without a trace.
Fu Yunyao asked again, "You gave him the puppet with the Ink Pool Soul Imprint, didn't you?"
Mo Tingchuan nodded hesitantly, "Seven years ago, he came to see me. At that time, he was emaciated and showed no trace of his former high spirits."
I think it's one of the very few mementos left behind by Sister Chi while she was still alive, so I gave him that mechanical puppet.
"You should have noticed it too, something's wrong with him," Fu Yunyao said, tapping her fingertips lightly on the table.
The person in front of him quieted down, and Mo Tingchuan lowered his eyes.
She knew that no demon had ever been able to escape the dungeon of the Demon Suppression Bureau. Since there was no problem with the dungeon, the problem must lie with the people imprisoned there.
Her fingertips landed on the books on one side.
She thought, he's so smart, he should have learned this "puppet soul transformation" technique too, perhaps he...
They have already fallen to demonic possession.
Mo Tingchuan breathed a sigh of relief, "I can't bring myself to harm him. He is Sister Chi's lover, and one of the few traces Sister Chi left in this world."
Shi Yubai sighed inwardly, thinking that if it were him, he probably wouldn't be able to make the same choice either.
The room fell silent for a long time before a soft laugh could be heard.
Fu Yunyao stood up, her voice tinged with laughter, "You are the ruler of Zhongzhou. If you don't want to kill him, no one will disagree with you."
Originally, I didn't care whether he lived or died, nor did I care about the innocent civilians and demon hunters in Zhongzhou City who died at his hands.
Even if he plots against me, I can ignore it.
It's just a pity..."
She paused, the laughter in her voice fading, replaced by a hint of coldness.
"He shouldn't have set his sights on him."
Fu Yusheng's life should naturally be reserved for her, not something that any minor demon or monster could covet and spy on.
"Young Master," Mo Tingchuan called out to her as she was about to leave.
"He's been trapped in Sister Chi's death for too long; even the best person would be driven mad."
I know that his use of the essence blood of the Sword Master of the Dust Sword as a test must have displeased you, but in his heart, nothing in the world is as important as Sister Chi.
The opportunity was presented to him; he couldn't possibly let it pass him by.
Fu Yunyao turned around, "You want me to let him go?"
Mo Tingchuan gently shook his head. "I would like to ask you to give him a chance."
Chance?
Fu Yunyao turned around and left the Mo family.
Shi Yubai and Xuan Kui exchanged a glance and then left as well.
As dawn slowly breaks, sunlight spills down, shadows sway, and Fuyun Yao's white dress flutters in the wind, the veil rising and falling.
Hearing footsteps, she turned her head, her clear gaze meeting that of the puppet boy bearing the imprint of the floating jade soul.
The soul bell swayed gently, its sound seemingly filled with boundless longing and tenderness.
"Yun Yao." Shi Yubai's voice came through the phone. He asked, "Are you alright?"
Along with his voice came a telepathic transmission that only Fu Yunyao could hear.
"Come on, come find me, he will always be by your side."
Receiving no response, Shi Yubai tentatively called out again, "Yun Yao?"
"Mmm," she responded softly.
Let's go.
...
Inside the half-open courtyard gate, a little girl gripped the wooden door, only half her head peeking out, her clear eyes staring blankly at them.
Fu Yunyao smiled and squatted down in front of her.
Today, unusually, she did not wear a veil, but only wrapped a white gauze around her neck to cover the forbidden patterns on her neck.
Fu Yunyao tilted her head slightly and blinked gently. Her soft eyebrows and eyes looked exceptionally gentle in the sunlight.
The little girl met her gaze and blinked gently.
Shi Yubai found it strange that every household in the city had their doors closed, but this house was the only one with its door open. Moreover, after they had been there for so long, apart from the child in the courtyard, they had not seen a single other person.
Moreover, the girl's eyebrows and eyes seemed somewhat familiar.
The girl kept clinging to the door frame until she let go, making a "clink" sound.
She slowly took a few steps back, the chains on her ankles dangling to the ground, clattering with her movements.
Fu Yunyao stood up and stared at the dried bloodstains on the door frame.
She lightly tapped the Rangchen Sword, which hung at her waist like an accessory, with her fingertips, and a few drops of spiritual energy adhered to her fingertips.
"You've been hiding very well, but you've forgotten one thing."
He made the Dust Sword materialize and land in her palm, then shook it as if to claim credit.
"Let Dust Sword be the most sensitive and familiar with demonic energy."
There was no movement inside the courtyard, except for a little girl who quietly watched them.
Fu Yunyao didn't care at all. She gripped the Rangchen Sword, pushed open the courtyard gate, and stepped into the courtyard.
With each step, frost flowers fell from the blade of the Dust Sword, dazzling and dazzling, yet also chillingly cold.
Until she got closer to the girl's side.
A fierce wind swept through the courtyard, and a demonic aura rushed towards her. Fu Yunyao frowned, gripped the Rangchen Sword, and with a wave of her hand, the demonic aura, which had not yet gotten close, dissipated in mid-air.
She looked up and met the pair of dark red eyes inside the room through the window.
Upon seeing the commotion in the courtyard, Shi Yubai quickly went to Fu Yunyao's side.
Xuan Kui, who had been pretending to be dead while hiding in his wrist, also transformed into human form and landed in the courtyard.
"Are you alright?" Shi Yubai asked with some concern.
Fu Yunyao shook her head slightly.
Shi Yubai turned his head to look at the girl beside him, and suddenly stopped.
The girl's features vaguely resembled those of Mo Beili, whom he had met in Qiushui Town; no wonder he felt a sense of familiarity.
A wisp of demonic energy leaped out of the window, landed in the courtyard, and slowly took on a human form. His dark red eyes were filled with pleasure, and he spoke, his voice tinged with laughter.
"I've finally waited for you—"
The young master of Yaotai Realm.
Fu Yunyao didn't speak, but the little girl beside her started moving closer to the man when he appeared.
The man raised his eyebrows and gently reached out to the little girl, picking her up in his arms.
In the sunlight, the dark red mark on the girl's slender wrist was particularly noticeable.
Shi Yubai instantly realized, "She is... Mo Chizhao?!"
The man held the girl in one arm and gently stroked her hair with the other. He did not answer his question.
"I heard that the young master of the Star Gazing Pavilion and the young master Yao broke up ten years ago. I never expected that you would appear together again."
Fu Yunyao ignored his teasing, the Rangchen sword in her hand gleaming with cold light.
She asked, "Are you sure you want her to stay here?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "I invited the young master here, not to fight you. We are not enemies who need to draw swords against each other."
"If we're not enemies, are we friends?" Xuan Kui scoffed.
The man's gaze fell on him, seemingly in amazement, "Dragon? You also received help from that lord, didn't you?"
Xuan Kui touched the soft flesh on the side of his cheek with the tip of his tongue, then closed his mouth and remained silent.
The man didn't mind. He put the girl down, gently stroked her head, and said softly, "Xiao Chi, go back inside and wait for me."
The girl blinked and obeyed his instructions to return to the room.
As she moved, the chains fastened to her feet jingled.
"These chains look so familiar," Shi Yubai murmured. He was puzzled. Why would that person, who seemed to love her so much, use chains to restrain her?
“Those are the chains from the Demon Suppression Bureau,” Fu Yunyao reminded him.
Shi Yubai suddenly realized, "That's right! The chains from the Demon-Slaying Bureau, but aren't those only for trapping demons?"
The man watched the girl return to her room, then looked away and spoke.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Zhu Yu, a former cultivator of the Hengyang Sect and Xiao Chi's Daoist partner. The reason I invited you all here today is to discuss something. We may not be able to be friends, but we can still be allies who help each other out of mutual benefit."
"Alliance, friend?" Fu Yunyao repeated slowly.
Zhu Yu smiled, "Young Master, shouldn't you know about my deal now that you've come?"
He reached out and pointed to the puppet boy standing beside her, his voice seductive, "I can make him stay by your side forever."
Fu Yunyao's gaze remained unmoved. "A puppet?"
Zhu Yu withdrew his hand and said calmly, "How could a mere puppet be worth Young Master Yao's attention? My sincerity is genuine..."
He raised his eyes, his dark red pupils meeting Fu Yunyao's gaze, and slowly added.
"Let the Dust Sword Master..."
-----------------------
Author's note: To be continued tomorrow~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
