8. Murdering one's wife (Part 5)
"Or should I address you respectfully as Sect Leader?"
Yuan Yao paused for a moment, then tentatively called out, "Fellow Daoist Ran?"
Ran Qinghe waved her hand, slowly tightening the black energy binding his wrists, and threatened slowly, "Not going?"
Yuan Yao broke out in a cold sweat. He was just a weapon cultivator, but he couldn't withstand the torment of the vengeful spirit. It seemed that the vengeful spirit had now possessed Fellow Daoist Ran.
This was the third time, and even though he was alone, he was already familiar with the process.
He quickly ran out of the bamboo hut; next, he should head to the bamboo forest to find his fellow Daoist Lou.
Without Ran Qinghe and Lou Tinglan's guidance, he wandered aimlessly around the bamboo hut in the deep valley, like a headless fly, before finally standing at the entrance of the bamboo hut again.
Yuan Yao: ...It feels like we've returned to the very beginning.
He steeled himself and went back into the bamboo hut. Ran Qinghe, dressed in her wedding attire, saw him return alone, looked behind him, frowned, and asked, "Where is my husband?"
Why not bring him back?
Seeing that the man was not obeying her orders, she was about to take action when Yuan Yao scratched her head sheepishly: "Miss Anian, could you tell me roughly which direction the bamboo forest where your husband practices swordsmanship is? It's a long story, but anyway... uh... I'm lost again."
Ran Qinghe: ...
Ran Qinghe grabbed his collar and roughly dragged him to the door, pointing southeast: "See that tallest ochre-colored Xiangfei bamboo? My husband practices swordsmanship there every day, you know? Hurry up and go, or if you're late, I'll have my husband slash your neck too."
When possessed by a vengeful spirit, the worst aspects of a cultivator are amplified, making Ran Qinghe, who is possessed by a vengeful spirit, even more difficult to deal with at this moment.
Yuan Yao nodded vigorously, but inwardly she thought with grief and indignation, "Is going to the bamboo forest to find my husband some kind of fixed plot? Why can't the two of them just get married directly? Why do they have to go through all this trouble?"
Despite these thoughts, he still obediently went in the direction Ran Qinghe pointed out.
However, in the bamboo forest, Lou Tinglan stood with his sword, having already slicing away most of the bamboo stalks as thick as wooden buckets beside him. A giant bamboo stalk swung precisely at Yuan Yao, who quickly dodged it. The stalk landed with a loud bang. He could only shout, ignoring everything, "Fourth Brother, oh no, Fellow Daoist Bu, Miss Anian sent me to find you and bring you back."
Lou Tinglan continued chopping down the giant bamboo, seemingly oblivious, showing no intention of stopping. It was clear that the bamboo forest was almost completely leveled. Yuan Yao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "Fellow Daoist Bu, today is the day you and Miss Anian are to be married. You should fulfill your duties as a husband. Come back with me now!"
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lou Tinglan first repeated in a low voice, "Duty?" Then she nodded slightly, as if confirming something. After confirming, she naturally sheathed her sword and followed behind Yuan Yao.
Yuan Yao tried to talk to him, but he remained indifferent, maintaining an attitude of keeping people at arm's length.
After much effort, the two finally met at the entrance of the bamboo hut, and Yuan Yao secretly wiped away a bead of sweat from his brow.
Upon seeing Lou Tinglan, Ran Qinghe angrily said, "Fourth brother, don't you know that today is our wedding day? Why are you still practicing swordsmanship and haven't returned yet? Do you not want to marry me?"
Lou Tinglan said coldly, "I did."
This tone was colder than the falling snow at the White Void Sect atop the far north.
Yuan Yao sighed and said, "Fellow Daoist Lou, your reaction doesn't sound like you want to get married. It sounds like you're being forced into marriage with a sword to your neck."
Ran Qinghe continued her sarcastic retort, "Then why aren't you changing into your wedding robes? What are you doing dressed all in white? Are you here for a funeral?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao quickly brought the wedding robe from the inner room for Ran Qinghe and handed it to Lou Tinglan: "Fellow Daoist Bu, please change quickly. On this auspicious day, don't miss the appointed time."
Seeing that Lou Tinglan had changed her clothes, he breathed a sigh of relief and tried to move his bound wrists, but he still had a bad feeling in his heart.
After Lou Tinglan left, Ran Qinghe said to Yuan Yao, who was standing there dumbfounded, "Since you helped me find my fourth brother, I have no way to repay you. Why don't you stay and officiate our wedding?"
Yuan Yao: ...Okay.
He stood awkwardly between the two people standing opposite each other, and recited quickly: "My heart is not a stone, it cannot be turned; my heart is not a mat, it cannot be rolled up. The rock is immovable, and the reed is as resilient as silk. Please perform the mutual bowing ceremony. First bow to unite as husband and wife, second bow to be of one heart forever, third bow to treat each other with respect. The ceremony is complete."
Judging that the newlyweds were about to begin their heartfelt confession, he quickly tried to minimize his presence, retreating to the wedding table behind him and staring blankly at the longan shells on the table.
Ran Qinghe's expression softened slightly, and her tone was no longer as sharp as before. She asked, "Fourth Brother, don't you have anything to say to me?"
Lou Tinglan shook her head.
Ran Qinghe smiled faintly and said directly, "But I have many things I want to say to Fourth Brother."
"My fourth brother brought me to this deep valley to cultivate in pursuit of enlightenment. It has been more than three years. Although I have made some progress in swordsmanship, I have not made any progress in Taoist arts."
What is Fourth Brother thinking?
"Do you want to live a good life with me, or continue to revolve around swordsmanship and enlightenment every day?"
Lou Tinglan frowned and said with difficulty, "I... love you and want to live the life of an ordinary married couple with you."
Ran Qinghe seemed moved: "But I don't want to. Fourth brother, I heard everything you said to that immortal in the bamboo forest that day."
Lou Tinglan was taken aback. Ran Qinghe continued, "Since Fourth Brother can't bring himself to do it, then I will make the decision for him."
She swiftly drew her spirit sword, and before the two could even show surprise on their faces, she plunged the sword into Lou Tinglan's heart.
Yuan Yao: ? ? ?
The sharp blade pierced through his flesh, pinning him to the spot, unable to move an inch.
Ran Qinghe's lips curled into a wicked smile: "I'm willing to sacrifice myself for Fourth Brother?" She trailed off, her gaze deep as she stared into Lou Tinglan's glassy eyes, as if trying to see through them to something else: "You want to hear me say that, is that it, Fellow Daoist Bu Si?"
In an instant, black energy surged from Lou Tinglan's body, but it was merely a show of force. The vengeful spirit was temporarily immobilized by the longsword and could not move an inch.
At the same moment, an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy rushed in, overwhelming the resentment on Bu Si's body and rushing into "A Nian's" body, cleansing her dantian. It turned out that "A Nian" had attained enlightenment.
And this is precisely where the grudges of vengeful spirits lie.
"The true form of the vengeful spirit has always been you, hasn't it, Bu Si?"
Although Ran Qinghe's tone was questioning, it brooked no argument.
Yuan Yao gasped. Wasn't the vengeful spirit always Miss Anian? Why did it become Bu Si? What was going on?
Lou Tinglan, possessed by Bu Si, suddenly coughed up blood because of the sword that pierced her heart. The blood seeped into her wedding robe, making it even more vibrant.
When Ran Qinghe saw that Lou Tinglan was awake, she was momentarily lost in thought. She wondered if the sword she had stabbed into Lou Tinglan's body had hurt as much as the wound on her left shoulder.
Thinking of this, she felt a dull ache in the wound on her left shoulder again. After all, being eroded by resentment was not a pleasant experience.
She laughed maliciously and triumphantly, then tightened her grip on the sword hilt again, cruelly pressing it down.
Lou Tinglan could clearly feel the cold blade cutting into his heart, and the intense pain made his consciousness somewhat blurred.
Ran Qinghe, however, did not let go. She twisted the sword hard and churned it around his heart, leaving his flesh sticky and raw.
At this moment, the resentful spirit Bu Si, who was possessing him, was no longer as resentful as before.
It whispered weakly, "How did you discover that the vengeful spirit's true form was me, and not Anian?"
Ran Qinghe scoffed, puzzled, "You seem to think I'm a fool, don't you? If Miss Anian is a vengeful spirit, then why would she hide her resentment? She's the victim; she should be trying her best to guide us to kill you and eliminate the resentment, shouldn't she?"
"The first time, the second time, in your carefully staged tricks, Anian was like a fool. Not only was she tricked into coming to this godforsaken valley, but she was even willing to sacrifice her life for you. Did you think that by turning your scheme into the other party's self-sacrifice, you could deceive others and yourself?"
She didn't intend to draw her spirit sword, but instead let the blood flow down his chest along the blade, slowly deducing the truth of the whole incident.
"Firstly, after your death, you became a vengeful spirit and have been lingering in the valley for a long time. Until recently, when the disciples were undergoing trials, you suddenly attacked and kidnapped a pair of Daoist couples. You used the identities of these Daoist couples to create an avatar as A-Nian, trying to mislead us into believing that A-Nian was the vengeful spirit. However, the first time, you overlooked the grudges of a vengeful spirit, which aroused suspicion."
"Therefore, you had to possess Lingyu and Xiqi again to try to tell us that you finally succeeded in enlightenment, while A'nian died and developed resentment, becoming a vengeful spirit. But you overlooked one point: sword cultivators and weapon cultivators have different ways of enlightenment. Sword cultivators will generate a natal spirit sword in their dantian, while weapon cultivators will reshape their dantian and use it as a container to temper all things."
"So even if the situation is repeated, you can only clumsily imitate the scene of Anian's enlightenment. This scene must be haunting your mind every day, and you must be so jealous that you can't rest whenever you think of it."
"Secondly, why was A-Nian willing to die? What was she doing it for? Was it for you, a cowardly, incompetent, and useless person who could only struggle and deceive himself in the valley all day long?"
Suddenly, Bu Si broke down and shouted, "Shut up! What do you know? The immortal said I was born with sword bones, destined to cultivate the Dao. The Great Dao is difficult to achieve, so isn't it only natural to sacrifice one or two people? She can die for me; she should feel honored! Utterly honored!"
Ran Qinghe chuckled and continued to provoke her relentlessly: "What a pity, you so-called innate sword bone, you couldn't even achieve enlightenment. You can only watch helplessly as A-Nian, whom you originally regarded as a stepping stone, successfully achieved enlightenment. Then you spend your days lingering in the muddy ground of this valley, looking up at A-Nian, who has already cultivated to the Great Dao, and being trampled under her feet."
"Even your replies are just a bunch of lovey-dovey couples who stage a series of clumsy dramas to comfort your pathetic self-esteem."
Bu Si covered his ears, shaking his head with all his might, trying to dispel all her hurtful words: "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!!"
As the force of the tearing occurred, blood gushed from Lou Tinglan's chest. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, as if he were about to bleed dry. Ran Qinghe's hand, which was manipulating the sword blade, paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, a surge of triumphant satisfaction rising within her.
Suddenly, she drew her spirit sword!
Fresh blood spurted out, and a few drops even landed on her fair cheeks, warm and glaring.
And at that moment, the vengeful spirit ended its life; the grudge was resolved, and the resentment completely dissipated in the valley.
Ran Qinghe picked up a handkerchief and wiped the bloodstains off the spirit sword, then tossed the handkerchief to Lou Tinglan, who was clutching her chest: "Be careful."
Although a Golden Core cultivator's life depends on the Golden Core, if the heart meridian is damaged, it will likely severely deplete their vital energy. She is still waiting to return to complete her mission and regain her freedom, so she doesn't want this person to collapse halfway and cause her more trouble.
Outside the red-curtained window, a few bamboo leaves slowly drifted down.
She then looked up and smiled:
“Miss Anian, you’ve watched these three good shows from afar, it’s time to come out.”
"Or should I address you respectfully as Sect Leader?"
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