Chapter 67
What are your plans now?
Back when they were at Gui Cang Tower, Yan Ruchao had already asked Sheng Ningyu this question.
At that time, Sheng Ningyu sat by the railing outside Gui Cang Tower, offering no answer.
But a few days later, they were sitting on a floating boat heading to Qingyi Academy.
Sheng Ningyu stood at the bow of the spirit boat, gazing at the distant floating clouds, tossing a piece of white stuff idly in her hand.
Yan Ruchao initially didn't care, thinking that Sheng Ningyu was just being playful again. But when he got closer, he realized that it was a piece of spiritual bone.
Her own spirit bone. The Ghost Canglou Master's lips twitched violently, and he warned with a stern face: "Sheng Ningyu."
Sheng Ningyu didn't take it to heart. Facing the bleak winter wind, she was still in the mood to joke with Yan Ruchao: "Senior Brother, don't worry. If you were carrying my spirit bone, it would be very painful for me to touch you. But now that the spirit bone is in my hand, I don't feel anything at all."
Yan Ruchao: "You don't care?"
Sheng Ningyu laughed loudly: "Senior Brother, you betrayed the Sword Pavilion, and I interfered in worldly affairs. Both of us have committed 'heinous' acts. Why bother with such trivial matters now?"
Sheng Ningyu felt that what she said made a lot of sense, but Yan Ruchao frowned even more deeply.
He watched Sheng Ningyu's actions, enduring them again and again, and finally came up with a compromise.
“I still have my master’s remaining spiritual bones here,” Yan Ruchao said. “If you like, you can take them and toss them around for fun.”
Sheng Ningyu: "..."
Isn't this a bit too outrageous?
Seeing that Yan Ruchao had actually taken something out of the Star River Pouch, Sheng Ningyu quickly withdrew her hand, swiftly stored the spirit bone in the Star River Pouch, straightened her posture, and said sincerely, "Senior Brother, you don't need to take it. I know I was wrong."
She felt both amused and exasperated.
Sheng Ningyu has always been easygoing. She herself no longer cares much about the matter of the spirit bone, but others are always cautious, as if the slightest disturbance in the outside world would hurt her.
Sheng Ningyu smiled, stood up and stood in front of Yan Ruchao, spreading her hands: "Senior Brother, don't worry, I'm really fine."
Yan Ruchao did not respond to that question, nor did he say whether he believed it or not. He simply looked at Sheng Ningyu quietly and asked another question.
What are your plans now?
Sheng Ningyu and Yan Ruchao stared at each other for three seconds, then suddenly their momentum vanished, and Sheng Ningyu leaned against the railing.
She looked out of the spirit boat, where the mountains and clouds seemed to be crowded together like a multitude of ordinary people.
Life is but a fleeting hundred years, filled with love, hate, and grudges, all of which are ultimately just passing clouds.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished.
Sheng Ningyu raised her eyebrows but didn't raise them again. Her already ethereal face finally revealed its proper aloofness.
"Senior Brother, if I said I don't want revenge, nor do I want to be that 'Bright Moon Sword Master' anymore, and I just want to live out the rest of my life in anonymity, would you think I'm a coward?"
Sheng Ningyu lowered her eyes, her tone indifferent, as if she had seen through the vicissitudes of life, with a hint of sadness and regret in her voice.
Anyone here, if they knew Sheng Ningyu's identity, would feel sorrow and sympathy. And because of this sympathy, the ensuing conversation would become one-sided.
But Yan Ruchao would not.
He sneered and stood in front of Sheng Ningyu, his shadow covering her head. When he spoke, his tone was low, as if carrying a cold sarcasm.
"Sheng Mingyue, if that's really what you think, that's good."
Sheng Ningyu moved her hand somewhat awkwardly, but still didn't look up.
"Sixty years have passed, and your acting skills haven't improved at all," Yan Ruchao said. "Why don't I throw you into that Mountain and Sea Never Sleeps City and see who is better at acting now, you or our junior sister?"
Others might say this as a joke, but Yan Ruchao was truly capable of doing it.
Sheng Ningyu: "..."
Seeing that the other party seemed to be seriously considering the matter, Sheng Ningyu immediately dropped her previous sentimental demeanor, coughed lightly, and said awkwardly, "This... I'm the kind of person who holds grudges, and you're not the first person to know about this, Senior Brother."
Yan Ruchao glanced at her and said, "Speak, what do you want?"
Sheng Ningyu quickly raised her head, blinked, and said, "I told Senior Sister Yuyi before, and she has already agreed!"
Yan Ruchao remained unmoved by the winds, leisurely sipping tea, and raised an eyelid: "Oh? Is that so?"
In the past, Sheng Ningyu couldn't fool this senior brother, and now, sixty years later, it's still the same.
Sheng Ningyu sighed heavily and obediently expressed her thoughts.
It sounds complicated, but it's actually very simple to do.
After the Thousand Mountains Trial began, Sheng Ningyu also joined the other disciples in the trial.
"Since the person behind this is so cunning, using puppets and creating some kind of 'reincarnation'... there must be something special about him wanting to start the Thousand Mountains Trial."
Under Yan Ruchao's increasingly cold gaze, Sheng Ningyu lowered her head further and lower, and whispered, "...He has harmed me so much, I must know who he is and what he wants to do."
Outside the Gui Cang Tower, the wind suddenly subsided.
Yan Ruchao took a deep breath and pointed: "He's with you?"
Sheng Ningyu was taken aback. When she saw Xie Qianjing, who had appeared out of nowhere, she instinctively gave him a smile: "No, he's guarding the outside."
Defend the position?
To those unfamiliar with immortal techniques, those who can enter the formation together and share life and death are true friends. However, those who have some knowledge of formations and secret realms know that the person left outside to guard the formation is the one the cultivators truly rely on.
Yan Ruchao's eyebrows twitched. He watched as the young man, whose body was shrouded in demonic energy, sat down naturally next to Sheng Ningyu. He said with a half-smile, "In previous years, you didn't need anyone to guard the formation... Ah, I remember now, on a few occasions, you had Rong Que guard the formation for you."
Another mess of accounts.
Sheng Ningyu rubbed her temples, her face expressionless, and said, "Senior Brother, do you really want to bring up old matters with me today?"
Yan Ruchao laughed heartily when he saw her looking like she was living a life worse than death.
His gaze shifted slightly, meeting the eyes of the young man beside Sheng Ningyu, and his smile deepened.
“Alright, let’s change the subject.” Yan Ruchao’s expression suddenly changed, his sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes forming a comical arc. He began to coax and persuade, “Mingyue, what about the marriage contract you left with the Chu family? The Chu family head publicly declared that it was a token, and with it, he accepted the title of ‘Sword Venerable Reincarnation’.”
Sheng Ningyu: "...Senior Brother, let's change the subject."
What should she say?
Does she dislike Chu Jiye, or is that thing just a fake?
The more they talked about it, the stranger it became, and the wider the range of things involved.
Before everything is clear, it's better not to say a word.
However, Sheng Ningyu did not expect that Yan Ruchao shared the same idea as her.
This question itself doesn't require Sheng Ningyu to answer.
Yan Ruchao seemed to be joking around with Sheng Ningyu, but his gray-white eyes were fixed on the white-robed young man beside her.
Noticing Yan Ruchao's gaze, Xie Qianjing finally lifted his eyelids, but still had a faint smile on his lips: "It's just an external thing. We can destroy it when the time comes. Why should Master Yan take it to heart?"
Ha, what a magnanimous demon lord!
Yan Ruchao gave a cold laugh.
But he didn't believe a word of it.
"Chu Jiye seemed to know something and rushed to my Ghost Cang Tower overnight. Feng Shaojun also briefly sent me a message, so I sent people to stop him." Yan Ruchao looked at the two of them leisurely. "But guess what? When my people arrived, they found that the place was full of puppet barriers, which trapped the Zhu family retainers who were traveling with him."
"This move was skillfully executed, both in terms of timing and formation."
Xie Qianjing smiled slightly: "Master Yan is too kind."
That's a really convincing act.
Yan Ruchao scoffed.
If the ghost messenger hadn't returned to report, he would have truly believed that this new Demon Lord was of a stable temperament, never bloodthirsty or indiscriminately killing, and never tyrannical or lustful.
To be honest, although Chu Jiye has some ability now, the reason he was able to survive from that group of crazed demons...
Yan Ruchao felt that a large part of the reason was because of his junior sister.
Yan Ruchao's gaze fell on Sheng Ningyu, who was standing to the side.
Sheng Ningyu looked up while biting into a fruit: "Hmm?"
[...Xie Qianjing can be asked to take action.]
Sheng Ningyu thought about it and agreed.
Thanks to Feng Xiaosheng, they resolved the matter very easily.
When Yan Ruchao met Sheng Ningyu and heard the name "Chu Jiye," there was no trace of worry or reluctance on her face; instead, she felt a slight sense of relief.
His right hand unconsciously touched the hilt of his sword: "On my journey through the mountains, I will definitely kill that Chu Jiye."
Upon hearing this, Xie Qianjing's expression remained unchanged, but Sheng Ningyu beside him frowned slightly.
Sheng Ningyu pondered for a moment and said, "Senior Brother, please slow down your attack."
This time, not only Yan Ruchao, but even Xie Qianjing's gaze drifted over.
Sheng Ningyu was startled by Xie Qianjing's gaze and almost reflexively grabbed his hand, as if she were about to swear to the heavens: "I am definitely not the kind of person you are thinking."
Xie Qianjing's eyelashes curved, his icy demeanor instantly melting away. He raised the corners of his lips, his voice clear and crisp like shattered jade falling into a spring: "How did you know what I was thinking?"
Sheng Ningyu muttered to herself, "How could I not know you?"
With Yan Ruchao present, she couldn't argue with Xie Qianjing about those things, so she immediately changed the subject: "Chu Chang'an is still useful."
"...That 'reincarnation' sounds like puppetry. And in this world, besides the demons who possess many bewitching spells, among the righteous, only the Chu family possesses the Yin-Yang Mirror, which can keep any demons and monsters from approaching. Back then, it was precisely because of this that the former head of the Chu family was particularly fond of making puppets..."
Sheng Ningyu quickly interrupted him: "They even wanted to use their own flesh and blood to carry out the puppet technique!"
She gave Xie Qianjing's hand a suggestive squeeze. He chuckled softly, then stopped replying, but instead took her fingers in his palm.
His palms were always cool to the touch, like a handful of spring snow covering her, enveloping her fingertips completely.
Xie Qianjing particularly liked doing this action, and Sheng Ningyu didn't mind it at all.
If he likes it, let him go.
Yan Ruchao took in everything, raised an eyebrow to himself, and remained silent.
Just then, Han Yuyi arrived. She listened quietly for a while, but the more she listened, the more unsettled she became: "The Chu family once inlaid your spiritual bones into the Yin-Yang Mirror?"
Sheng Ningyu nodded: "Later, it was Senior Brother Fei Fou and Xie Qianjing who removed it for me."
Yan Ruchao's face had already darkened, but he also noticed something.
"You don't seem to believe that Chu Jiye did this?"
Han Yuyi sat down next to Yan Ruchao, and Sheng Ningyu leaned closer to her, peeking out: "This couldn't have been done by Chu Chang'an."
Even Han Yuyi was puzzled: "Why is Junior Sister Mingyue so sure?"
Thinking of Chu Chang'an, Sheng Ningyu scoffed and drawled, "If he did it, given his current crazy state, he would probably make it known to the whole world. Why would he keep it a secret?"
Han Yuyi's heart sank: "So Junior Sister suspects?"
"I have my doubts about Master Yuandao."
On the floating boat, Yuan Bushu strode over, but stopped upon hearing these words: "Chu Yuandao perished at the hands of the demons."
Sheng Ningyu shook her head: "Senior Brother Fei, in the eyes of the world today, I also died at the hands of the demons."
I cannot forgive my sudden loss of voice.
After a moment, Yuan Bushu said in a deep voice, "I will send a message to Linghuanwu."
Han Yuyi thought for a moment and said softly, "If Chu Jiye knows Mingyue's identity, will he use it to blackmail her, or will he do something underhanded?"
Yan Ruchao scoffed, his face full of sarcasm: "That's something the Chu family would do... but he can come if he wants. If he doesn't come, I'll have to go looking for him, which is troublesome."
He and Han Yuyi exchanged a glance, their unspoken understanding unspoken.
Sheng Ningyu watched all this from the side and suddenly blurted out, "Actually, this is fine too."
The conversation paused, and everyone looked at her. Sheng Ningyu scratched her head and said, "I just remembered that someone once told me that the more chaotic the situation, the more people feel that there is an opportunity to take advantage of it, and all kinds of thoughts and desires will surface."
"All we need to do is wait, and the one who waits in the end will be the winner."
Yuan Bushu said, "That makes sense."
Yan Ruchao chuckled, then turned his head to look at the young man on the other side.
Dressed in pristine white, with an elegant and otherworldly demeanor, she was a figure of unparalleled grace. No one would mistake her for a cannibalistic demon.
But that's exactly what he is.
It wasn't just the demon race, but also the demon lord whom the demon race worshipped.
interesting.
Yan Ruchao thought that if everyone here had something to gain, some wanted revenge, some wanted to avenge their grievances, and some wanted to vent their resentment...
So what is this Demon Lord's desire here?
Yan Ruchao swirled his teacup, exchanged a glance with Yuan Bushu, and shook his head slightly.
It's probably not just a simple matter of having a grudge against the Chu family.
Similar to his feelings when he first met his junior brother Rong Que, Yan Ruchao also couldn't see through Xie Qianjing.
Throughout the entire conversation, Xie Qianjing did not participate in their conversation. He held Sheng Ningyu's hand with one hand and loosely wrapped his other arm around her side, as if afraid that she would fall. He even had a layer of impure spiritual energy covering the teacup on the corner of the table, as if afraid that someone might bump into it.
Who among us here is not a name known throughout the fourteen continents? And who among us would be as easily injured as that ignorant and arrogant child?
Ha, no, that's not right.
There really was one in front of me.
Yan Ruchao secretly raised an eyebrow.
He was somewhat worried, after all, demons are driven by desire and bloodlust, often displaying violent and unpredictable nature.
But after watching Sheng Ningyu interact with this Demon Lord for a while, Yan Ruchao was no longer worried.
"Speaking of which, you were most fond of that dignified and handsome little immortal back then," Yan Ruchao said casually. "Then why didn't you like Rong Que?"
Sheng Ningyu was joking with Han Yuyi with a smile when she heard this, and she almost spat out her tea.
She was indeed choked and coughed repeatedly, startling Han Yuyi. Seeing this, Xie Qianjing's smile also faded. He sighed helplessly and patted her back to help her catch her breath: "Why are you in such a hurry? Slow down, don't rush to speak."
They actually managed to hold back.
Having said that, Yan Ruchao couldn't help but feel a little admiration.
To be fair, if he were in Xie Qianjing's position, he probably would have drawn his sword long ago upon learning that Han Yuyi had such a man by her side.
Upon receiving the sudden pressure of demonic energy, Yan Ruchao secretly raised an eyebrow.
It seems this person isn't entirely indifferent after all.
only……
He glanced at the demonic energy that was deliberately avoiding Sheng Ningyu, and found it somewhat amusing.
So he doesn't even dare to let his junior sister see him get angry?
The demonic power was terrifying, but Yan Ruchao was no ordinary person either. He withstood the overwhelming demonic power and said, "Is that so? Years ago, the two of you were inseparable. I thought that the Sword Pavilion was about to produce another couple."
Sheng Ningyu was truly shocked and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Cough, that's my second senior brother!"
She finally stopped coughing and, after regaining her composure, immediately cleared her name and Rong Que's name.
"The difference between my second senior brother and me is as great as the difference between a normal person and a swordsman from the Sword Pavilion!" Sheng Ningyu said righteously. "Putting everything else aside, senior brother, would you dare to write my second senior brother's name on the sign at the entrance of Ghost Cang Tower?"
Regardless of what exactly happened to Rong Que, Sheng Ningyu will never take the blame for this!
Yan Ruchao: "..."
I really wouldn't dare.
The main reason was that Rong Que looked gentle and refined, like a spring breeze, but Yan Ruchao knew that he had his own plans.
In terms of methods, the entire generation of Sword Pavilion combined probably can't compare to Rong Que.
Han Yuyi sighed, and suddenly slapped Yan Ruchao. She used all her strength in the slap, but Han Yuyi had grown up in a noble family since childhood, and even such a direct and almost reckless action, when performed by her, had an indescribable elegance.
Han Yuyi withdrew her hand with a calm expression and smiled elegantly at Yan Ruchao: "Achao, what nonsense are you talking about?"
It's true what they say, what goes around comes around!
Sheng Ningyu laughed so hard that she leaned against Xie Qianjing.
That laugh traveled from Qingyi Academy to the City That Never Sleeps.
The mountains and seas never sleep, and thousands of lights illuminate every home.
These tiny lights, when gathered together, resembled countless stars in broad daylight, illuminating every corner.
However, as soon as Sheng Ningyu stepped off the spirit boat, she was blocked from her path before she could take more than a few steps.
-----------------------
The author's note: Yan Ruchao did not make things up on the spot.
"The difference between my second senior brother and me is as great as the difference between a normal person and a crane from the Sword Pavilion!"
But what your second senior brother hates most is this [pigeon].
Same old rules, 24/7!
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