Twenty-two: Times Change and Things Change - Part Two
As Mingjin spoke, he put the medicine box back into his pouch. His hand happened to touch something unfamiliar, and out of curiosity, he took out the jar.
"You've seen that ghost's memories, and you suspect that ghost will come to rescue her tonight, taking advantage of the rain," Shen Du asked in a low voice.
"I don't have concrete evidence, and I don't know if other cultivators can see the memories I can see. However, I have a bad feeling. Perhaps it's not the original evil spirit, but her disciple or something, but their strength should not be underestimated."
"I understand, I'll be careful. What is this?"
Ming Jin opened the jar for the second time, and a faint fragrance wafted to the noses of Ming Jin and Shen Du: "I don't think I've smelled this fragrance before. Is it something Elder Ji made?"
This was left behind by Boss Jiang.
As for the fragrance, Ming Jin didn't have a good impression of it, but based on recent experience, it should be the scent of flowers and trees transformed from Dan Gen. But Dan Gen is already dead. Could it be that she turned into a ghost in such a short time?
“Take this,” Mingjin handed the box to Chendu, who took it. “I can’t be sure about its effectiveness. But if you encounter a plant poison that can’t be neutralized, try using this.”
"Tian Guang, it's time to go."
The boatman, wearing a straw hat, was talking to Wan Xia after delivering the three packages. The others didn't seem to be planning to leave.
"Don't worry. It's all just speculation," Shen Du reassured him.
Mingjin picked up the umbrella and shook off the mud and water. "I hope so. Be careful, I'm off."
As they approached, Mingjin gave Zhou Wei a few words of advice before nervously following the boatman.
The small boat that Juxia used to ferry people had a canopy in the middle and a red paper lantern hanging at the bow. The boatman watched as Mingjin sat down on the boat, then pulled up the pole and pushed the boat into the water.
The boat started moving.
At the same time, a sudden downpour began, pounding loudly against the roof of the boat. The boat was still in the woods, occasionally passing ancient trees whose tall trunks blocked some of the rain.
Mingjin looked down at the stern of the boat.
A pale bolt of lightning streaked across the gloomy sky, its roar echoing throughout the world.
Mingjin recalled the past with Leidian that he didn't want to talk about.
It was Mingjin's first year of training under Du Gewen. One day, Pei Xuanzhen had an unexpected matter to attend to, but he did not disrupt the previous arrangements. Ji Zhen took Lu Sui in his place, Du Gewen took Chen Du and Mingjin, and Xiang Wan took Zhou Wei, forming a group of seven people who went out to train.
Everything was going smoothly; it was just an expected, routine outing for martial arts practice. In the afternoon, although it was still light, Xiang Wan looked at the sky and felt that the weather was about to change drastically.
"Let's head back early today," Xiang Wan said to everyone.
Before leaving, the group rested nearby for a while.
It was late spring, early summer, and the weather was fine. The four disciples, unable to sit still, suggested taking a walk around the neighborhood. Their masters repeatedly told them not to go far, knowing the nature of these big kids, and finally let the four of them go for a stroll.
Then they encountered a ghoul who used lightning magic.
At first, Mingjin and Zhouwei found a field of beautiful flowers and remembered that the flowers were medicinal herbs with roots, so they squatted down and dug up the flowers and herbs.
Shen Du and Lu Sui weren't interested in this, so they walked a little further away.
The two brothers were just strolling around the neighborhood when they suddenly heard a faint rumble of thunder. Intrigued, they followed the sound, only to encounter a malevolent spirit cultivating nearby. Powerful malevolent spirits are not easy to identify, especially those that know how to disguise themselves as humans and can conceal their ghostly aura.
Chen Du later recalled that the evil spirit they encountered was simply sitting cross-legged on a dry tree stump, surrounded by several black orbs of lightning that occasionally emitted a bolt of lightning. Unusually, the lightning not only struck from above but could also shoot out bone-white lightning from any angle in any direction. At the time, a person lay at the evil spirit's feet. The person had been struck by lightning and turned completely black; Chen Du couldn't discern the person's gender or age, and the body was distorted, making the person look less than human.
"What kind of evil spirit is this, daring to injure people so casually!"
Lu Sui immediately recognized it as a malevolent spirit, but if its purpose was to steal a person's lifespan, it wouldn't harm the physical body. The malevolent spirit before her was meditating peacefully, probably annoyed by this unknown person disturbing her, which was why it attacked.
"Tianyi, let's go."
"good."
They initially doubted their own abilities, but remembering that they had three masters behind them, they felt reassured and prepared to exorcise the evil spirits.
When Chen Du was still far away, the evil spirit seemed unaware, sitting calmly and motionless. At that time, he was young and impetuous, and did not understand that the master's secret technique was to be able to hide among the people.
Lu Sui walked in front, and Shen Du walked behind, one carrying a sword and the other a gun, approaching from both sides.
The evil spirit still did not react.
When the two were only five steps apart, the thunderbolt surrounding the evil spirit began to hiss, seemingly warning them. Lu Sui was the first to notice something amiss and slowed his pace. However, he only had a feeling at the time, and didn't know where it came from. He was also trapped by this feeling, so he didn't utter a word to warn the unsuspecting Shen Du.
Unaware of what was happening, Chen Du continued to approach the evil spirit. Just as he was about to thrust his spear into the spirit, a sense of triumph flashed through his mind, only to be met with a pair of eyes that suddenly opened.
The ghost's attire made it impossible to tell if it was male or female. When its eyes finally opened, a pair of slightly square eyes gleamed coldly, staring intently at Shen Du's face. Only then did Shen Du realize it was a female face. Suddenly, Shen Du felt a flash of white light before his eyes, everything went white, and he couldn't open them for a moment.
Then, a violent impact struck his chest.
After being hit, he rolled a long way on the ground. Fortunately, someone was bracing him from behind, so he was able to regain control of his body.
Chen Du's heart pounded, and his entire head trembled. Blood streaming down his forehead covered his eyes, quickly smeared his face, and flowed into his mouth.
"Senior brother."
Ming Jin and Zhou Wei, who were blocking Shen Du's path, peeked out.
The three of them huddled together.
The two men tried to help Shen Du up, but he couldn't muster any strength and could only be supported by Ming Jin and Zhou Wei. However, seeing the blood continuously seeping from his body, the two men were so frightened that their hands and feet trembled, and they were even less able to exert any strength. The three of them could only tremble together as they looked at the evil spirit in front of them.
The evil spirit remained calm, stood up, and carefully observed the weight of the body that had been pushed back.
But after that, she did nothing. A floating thundercloud appeared above her, and with a thunderous roar, the evil spirit vanished instantly.
"What's wrong?"
The three masters who had just arrived saw Chen Du lying on the ground, but there were no evil spirits nearby, so they didn't know what had happened. Xiang Wan and Ji Zhen quickly took Chen Du from Ming Jin and Zhou Wei, and seeing that his face was pale, they quickly began to heal him.
That's where the strange thing is.
Xiang Wan used her healing skills for quite some time to save Chen Du's life, but Chen Du was not fully recovered and could not even stand up. In the end, Du Gewen carried Chen Du back.
Lu Sui remained silent throughout the journey.
At the time, everyone thought he was frightened by the evil spirit and Shen Du's injury, and since he wasn't injured, they didn't take his unusual behavior to heart.
Upon returning that day, the group brought Shen Du to the Medicine Sect, to Xiang Wan's residence. Just as they reached the main hall, Shen Du suddenly collapsed, vomiting blood on Du Gewen's back. Xiang Wan suspected there was an unknown wound, so she asked Du Gewen to put Shen Du down temporarily to prevent movement from worsening the injury. Then, she and Ji Zhen examined Shen Du together.
"Oh no." Xiang Wan frowned and wiped the blood from the corner of Chen Du's mouth with her hand.
Pei Xuanzhen, having heard of this, happened to arrive at that moment.
"How is it?" Pei Xuanzhen bent down and carefully examined Shen Du's wound.
“His spiritual veins are injured,” Xiang Wan said, suppressing a sigh. “I have to try again to see which spell can cure this.”
Because they dared not move Chen Du's body any further, Du Gewen and Ji Zhen supported Chen Du while Xiang Wan treated him.
Pei Xuanzhen, not wanting to disturb Xiang Wan's treatment, turned around and strode towards Ming Jin and Zhou Wei, who were standing against the wall on the other side, and asked.
"What happened?"
They both quickly shook their heads.
"We were playing around when we realized we'd gotten separated from them, so we chased after them. When we got there, we saw our senior brother heading towards the evil spirit, while Senior Brother Lu was standing to the side, not moving. When we saw the evil spirit was about to make a move, we called out to it. Our senior brother ignored us, so we rushed over. But we could only catch it when it was being attacked."
Ming Jin rarely saw Pei Xuanzhen looking anxious, so he stammered but quickly explained the situation clearly.
"You called him?"
“We called him, but he didn’t respond. We thought it was strange, so we ran over quickly,” Zhou Wei replied, then put his hand on Ming Jin’s shoulder to demonstrate. “I grabbed his shoulder. When we first touched my senior brother, I pulled him back a little. Then he was hit by that evil spirit, and we helped him cushion the blow.”
"Where's Lu Zi'an?" After listening to the two younger ones, Pei Xuanzhen put his hands on his hips and looked around, only to find that his most problematic disciple was nowhere to be seen. "He wasn't doing anything?"
Ming Jin and Zhou Wei dared not speak.
"Where is he?" Pei Xuanzhen asked again.
They all shook their heads.
"You two, stop here and go find him for me."
Upon hearing this, the two were granted a pardon and quickly ran out of the gate. They first searched the vicinity but found no one, so they expanded their search area and finally spotted Lu Sui's back on a small cliff near the Medicine Sect.
Ming Jin only saw a vague shadow, but pulled Zhou Wei along and walked over.
In the distance, the sky stretched out unobstructed by any mountains. It was dusk, yet the sky was almost cloudless. Lu Sui's eyes were unfocused, his attention seemingly wandering elsewhere. Ming Jin and Zhou Wei watched him from either side, but he didn't respond, nor did they call him. Finally, Zhou Wei took the initiative, patting Lu Sui on the back.
Only then did Lu Sui come to his senses and turn to look at the two of them.
"Senior Brother Lu, the sect leader is looking for you."
Zhou Wei was frightened by his gaze and could only stammer out these few words.
Lu Sui seemed to understand, but ignored the two of them and turned to leave.
The two younger ones dared not go in, but they also dared not walk, so they followed Lu Sui into the Medicine Sect's main hall, keeping a few steps between them. But before they could even put their feet down, they heard Pei Xuanzhen's furious roar.
Pei Xuanzhen was usually cheerful, and since the sect leader didn't lecture at the academy, Mingjin and Zhou Wei had never been scolded by him for their poor grades. Now, suddenly seeing him angry, the two stood at the door, unsure of what to do. However, still worried about Chen Du's situation, they quietly went inside.
Pei Xuanzhen cursed Lu Sui several times, but Lu Sui didn't respond. So he added another reason for his frown.
“Lu Sui!” Pei Xuanzhen stood in front of Lu Sui and carefully examined him.
Hearing this, Lu Sui finally snapped out of his daze and looked at Pei Xuanzhen. But his gaze was completely different from usual, leaving even Pei Xuanzhen momentarily at a loss for words.
"What's wrong with you?" Pei Xuanzhen was getting impatient. He took a step back and stared at Lu Sui, asking, "What happened? Why didn't you help?"
Xiang Wan, who was standing to the side, had already figured out some clues, so she quickly adjusted her magic to heal Chen Du. Du Gewen and Ji Zhen watched as Chen Du's tightly closed eyes trembled slightly with his upper eyelashes, and then he lifted his eyelids and suddenly looked at the three masters surrounding him.
"That's great." Du Gewen burst out laughing, and Ji Zhen couldn't hide his smile either.
Chen Du glanced at the expressions on his three masters' faces. Although he wanted to speak, he couldn't utter a word and could only make some gurgling sounds in his throat. Hearing Pei Xuanzhen's voice from the side, he turned his head slightly to see what was going on.
“Master, Master, you’re not there,” Lu Sui said to Pei Xuanzhen in a trembling voice, his tone filled with excitement. This surprised not only Pei Xuanzhen, but also Du Gewen and Ji Zhen, who had just recovered from their shock. “So Master didn’t get to see that dazzling moment.”
"What?" Pei Xuanzhen's face trembled slightly as half of it broke.
"That evil spirit, when she sat there, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky. It tore open a hole in the clear sky, and those standing in the mortal world could only bear the pressure of that lightning; how could they do anything more?"
At this point, Shen Du realized that the lightning Lu Sui mentioned was the same lightning that the evil spirit had struck him with.
He had been wondering why Lu Sui hadn't helped him back then, but now Lu Sui was saying these things in front of Pei Xuanzhen. He couldn't accept it for a moment, gripping the ground, wanting to turn around and question Lu Sui. But Du Gewen held him down, preventing him from moving, so he could only turn his neck to look.
"What exactly do you mean?" Pei Xuanzhen sighed helplessly, then lowered his upper body slightly to ask him.
Although Pei Xuanzhen didn't understand what Lu Sui was thinking, he knew his disciple best, especially his pursuit of lightning techniques. It was this extraordinary obsession with lightning techniques that gave him the motivation to practice every day, making him one of the top disciples on the mountain and someone to be highly regarded.
Therefore, when Pei Xuanzhen heard Lu Sui say this, and his eyes shone with light as he looked up at something that didn't exist, Pei Xuanzhen's heart suddenly pounded with unease.
What exactly did that evil spirit do?
“Spells, lightning spells, the spells learned from flower and plant spirits are really not enough,” Lu Sui suddenly said to Pei Xuanzhen in a low voice. “I used to think wrong. How could a human possibly figure out celestial spells on their own in the mortal world? At least it has to be a ghost or spirit that personally went to the underworld to learn the spells. That’s the most practical way.”
Before Lu Sui could finish speaking, Pei Xuanzhen interrupted him with a shout of "Shut up! Are you possessed?" and stepped forward to stop him from speaking any further. However, Lu Sui really did seem to be possessed, showing no fear of Pei Xuanzhen. Instead, he pushed Pei Xuanzhen backward in the direction of his force.
Ming Jin and Zhou Wei were stunned and dared not move, but when they saw Pei Xuanzhen lose his footing and back down, they ran over to support him.
"There's no point in continuing my cultivation here; it would be a waste of my time."
When Pei Xuanzhen was thrown, Lu Sui also lost his balance and stumbled back several steps. But no one was there to catch him, so he fell to the ground.
He didn't waste any time lying on the ground; he quickly got up, supporting himself with his hands.
Ji Zhen and Du Gewen exchanged glances, then Ji Zhen released Chen Du from his arms, got up, and chased after him.
"What are you doing!" Pei Xuanzhen roared, preparing to go forward and teach him a lesson. However, Ming Jin and Zhou Wei sensed that something was wrong between the two of them, so they each grabbed one side of Pei Xuanzhen to stop him from moving forward, shouting, "Listen to Uncle Ran, calm down."
"I bid farewell to this uninteresting life and spiritual practice. It turns out that only after death can one truly access profound insights."
Before Ji Zhen could get too close, Lu Sui suddenly conjured a short, silver-gleaming dagger and slashed it at his own neck.
He used tremendous force, severing half of his own neck. His neck, unable to support him, slumped backward. Losing consciousness, Lu Sui's entire body also fell backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
Blood gushed out of his neck wound, especially as Lu Sui's body continued to fall backward, the blood spraying haphazardly throughout the hall.
A surge of bloody energy instantly filled the entire hall.
A hint of blood appeared in everyone's eyes.
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