Chapter 39
Su Liyue went into that hidden cave alone.
Inside the cave, the women were tending to an injured woman lying on a stone bed. After feeding her a bowl of water, the woman on the bed suddenly realized something. She struggled to get up and stared at the direction of the cave entrance.
The women around him tensed up when they saw this, and some even picked up their homemade weapons, just waiting for the man to come in.
This was the scene Su Liyue saw when she entered.
"Are you wary of me?" Su Liyue spread her hands and turned around. She showed everyone that she had no weapons and no hostile intentions.
The woman lying on the bed seemed to despair upon seeing Su Liyue. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, Su Liyue saw the determination in her eyes. Su Liyue smiled bitterly, "I really won't do anything to them."
"Get out of my way! She's a cultivator, I can't even beat her, let alone you!" The woman pushed aside the people blocking her way, struggled to her feet, and looked at the newcomer with full vigilance: "So you've come to kill me?"
Upon hearing the woman's words, the guards around her immediately blocked her way, and one of them even stepped forward and said, "We killed those people, so arrest me instead!"
"Me too!"
"We killed them all together!"
...
Many people stepped forward to take the blame, their eyes no longer filled with timidity, but with determination. Looking at their expressions, Su Liyue remained silent, watching the woman being protected by the crowd.
"I told you, she's a cultivator, and you're no match for her," the woman said again, her voice trembling sharply. "Get out of the way, let us talk alone."
No one backed down, and no one gave in.
Seeing this, Su Liyue felt like she was the villain, even though she had previously played the role of "savior." She also told the group, "Don't worry! I have no ill intentions towards your 'savior'."
"Did you kill those people in Jianye Town?"
"yes."
None of the people around the woman were from Jianye Town. She asked again, "Why kill them? There are no people from Jianye Town here."
“So what if I killed them? I killed them all. There’s no reason why.” Someone else stepped forward to take the blame for the woman. But Su Liyue ignored this person.
Looking at the group of people she had rescued, and how they were protecting her at all costs, the woman felt a pang of sadness. She lowered her eyes and said, "I made a deal with the wronged souls of Jianye Town."
"I killed the people they wanted to kill for them, and they fed on my resentment." The woman looked at the people around her and said helplessly again, "You should all leave! They came to me not because of you. They will arrange a good place for you afterwards."
But still no one moved. A middle-aged woman with tears in her eyes said, "We can't leave. You saved me when I was about to be beaten to death. No one can take you away today."
Everyone echoed this, and some even swung wooden sticks and stones at Su Liyue. However, when the sticks hit her, they broke; when the stones hit her, they shattered.
Seeing everyone smashing and damaging Su Liyue, the woman shouted to stop them: "Stop it! Don't touch her!" She was very weak and could barely stand, but she struggled to stand in front of Su Liyue, looking at everyone with a look of pity.
Su Liyue, who was being attacked, never fought back, yet no one managed to harm her. Not even a speck of dust got on her.
"Then who injured you?"
"...You cultivators."
This wasn't the answer Su Liyue wanted. She looked at the female demon and said, "No, we just arrived in Jianye Town and haven't encountered you before. Nor are you one of the three junior brothers from Tianyu Mountain. So who injured you?"
The succubus avoided Su Liyue's gaze, sensing that the other was waiting for her answer. "...I...this matter has nothing to do with the answer you want. I cannot answer you now."
Outside the cave, a group of people were waiting for the outcome. Su Liyue said she had a way to get a result, and she would go in alone to talk to them.
"It's been so long, why isn't it out yet?" Some people were already getting impatient.
Xiao Mu wanted to hear what was happening inside, but the cave was sealed off by some kind of magic, and not a sound could be heard. Based on past experience, everyone should have just started talking by now. "Let's wait a little longer!"
Shi Yunzhou looked at Zhou Xuanzhi and saw his relaxed expression. "It seems you already have the answer. What did you two talk about?"
Zhou Xuanzhi looked at the cave entrance and said, "It's nothing, I just want her to atone for her sins by doing good deeds." Since they can't capture this monster, they'll let her do more good deeds to offset her sins.
Actually, he didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong, but there was no other way now.
They didn't know where to send the mortals in the cave, nor what means they could support themselves. Their only option now was the monster in the cave; she could take care of them.
If this monster is imprisoned in Guancheng, the women inside will be sent back to their previous hell, where their lives will be entirely in the devil's hands.
"I have no better way." If it were her master, she wouldn't need to consider these things. She spends more time down the mountain than up on it; she has all sorts of connections and channels in the human world.
"Couldn't we also..." be like our master, building our own network of connections in the human world, so that we can do whatever we want whenever we want?
Shi Yunzhou pursed his lips tightly; he couldn't do these things. He was still the young master of Huanhai, and there were still many things in Huanhai that awaited his attention.
Zhou Xuanzhi could read his mind just by looking at his expression. He also knew what he was hesitating about and what he was worried about. "After the Immortal Alliance Conference, you go back to Huanhai and be your young master. I'll go and build our own network of relationships, so that we can save anyone, no matter how many people there are in the future."
Looking at his senior brother's face, Shi Yunzhou finally shook his head. "Your strength is still not enough. You should stay on the mountain and cultivate for a while longer. Don't embarrass your master."
It's unclear when exactly, but the two of them came to agree on one thing: they couldn't bring shame to their master. This consensus was reached during their training at Guanxiang Peak.
Guanxiang Peak is a special peak in Tianyu Mountain, originally the same mountain as Maoshan. Because of this, the mountain was home to various demonic beasts. The patriarch, seeing it as an excellent training ground, cleaved the mountain in two with a single sword strike. Thus, Maoshan and Guanxiang Peak came into being. Maoshan was teeming with demonic beasts, but the patriarch erected a barrier, preventing any of them from ever leaving Maoshan.
There is also a teleportation array between Maoshan and Guanxiang Peak. Every so often, demonic beasts are transported to Guanxiang Peak for disciples to undergo trials. Guanxiang Peak is also divided into different areas to provide trial grounds for disciples at different stages.
I still remember the first time the two of them stepped into the training ground. Every step they took was shaky and unsteady, and they were almost following behind their senior brothers and sisters.
Suddenly, a monstrous beast burst forth from the dense forest, roaring as it charged towards the group. Everyone was terrified by the enormous creature before them. The senior disciples around them drew their swords, ready to fight. Zhou Xuanzhi, remembering Shi Yunzhou behind him, trembled as he drew his sword. Before he could even finish, he was pulled away by those around him and dragged into the forest.
He recognized Shi Yunzhou's figure and said while looking back, "We can't beat them, so let's hide and wait for them to come looking for us."
But they had all forgotten that the demonic beast they had just encountered had run out of this forest. When they came across the few newly awakened demonic beast cubs, they were almost too afraid to move.
"They're here, so is their... mother also nearby?" Shi Yunzhou felt a pang of regret. He thought that nothing would have happened if he had been right behind his senior brothers and sisters.
Zhou Xuanzhi dared not turn around or move. He closed his eyes and said, "I...I guess so!"
They themselves didn't realize that their voices were trembling.
After the senior brothers and sisters drove away the demonic beasts, they realized that two people were missing from behind them. They were their junior uncle's disciples, who had only recently joined the sect.
These people don't care about anything else now; they're either looking for people or calling for help when they go out.
They searched for a long time but couldn't find it. By the time the news reached Shi Wanqing's ears, more than half a day had passed. When the older disciples saw Shi Wanqing arrive at Guanxiang Peak in a panic, they all started thinking about where they would be buried after they died.
"I'm sorry, Junior Uncle, I lost him." The disciple bowed his head and apologized, almost crying.
Seeing that the man wasn't very old, Shi Wanqing didn't say anything harsh. She only asked, "When did you two break up? Do you remember?"
“A demonic beast suddenly rushed out from the depths of the dense forest and appeared in front of us, and then…” The disciple fell silent.
Seeing the despair on Shi Wanqing's face, a female disciple stepped forward and added, "No, we drove that monster away. That monster didn't get close to either of our junior brothers."
"They seem to have disappeared while we were fighting the monsters..."
With such a serious matter as the disappearance of a disciple at Guanxiang Peak, the sect leader was naturally present. He helped Shi Wanqing up and reassured her, "Don't worry, they've probably found a place to hide."
When everyone found the two people, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing that neither of them was injured and that they were each playing with two small demonic beasts, he became somewhat angry. Of course, these weren't his disciples, so he had no right to discipline them.
When Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou were sent back to the back mountain, they also brought the four little demon beasts back with them. Seeing that Shi Wanqing showed no remorse, but instead ran happily to her, the two exclaimed, "Master, Master, look how cute they are!"
Shi Wanqing stared at the four-limbed demonic beast, nearly choking on her own breath. Her face ashen, she forced a smile and asked, "When did you two leave the main force?"
"When the monsters came to us, we were no match for them and didn't want to cause trouble for our senior brothers and sisters, so we hid in the dense forest," Shi Yunzhou explained.
"So you didn't even say hello?"
Shi Yunzhou nodded, then noticed Shi Wanqing's unusual expression. He lowered his head and remained silent. Zhou Xuanzhi, seeing his master's grim expression, knew he had gotten into trouble.
"Do you even know what kind of place that is? How dare you run around in there? You ran out without even saying goodbye. Do you know how dangerous it is in there?" Shi Wanqing's roar could be heard even on Qiu Zhufeng.
Upon hearing Shi Wanqing's roar, Mingmo broke out in a cold sweat. She asked the sect leader with great concern, "Master, aren't you going to go and check on them?" She was afraid that Shi Yunzhou and Zhou Xuanzhi would be beaten to death.
Han Wenqing sighed and shook his head, saying, "I asked my junior sister to take on disciples because I thought she was too lonely on the back mountain and I wanted one or two people to take care of her health. But these two disciples..."
Han Wenqing didn't continue. Mingmo knew what his master wanted to say. He wanted to say that these two disciples were not easy to take care of, but rather that it was his junior uncle who was taking care of them.
"Do you want to die?" Shi Wanqing's roar came again.
Mingmo was genuinely afraid that his junior uncle would severely punish his two junior brothers in a fit of anger. The trouble wasn't actually that big, but it was just a headache. "Master, should we try to persuade him?"
Han Wenqing waved his hand and said, "These two are too audacious. Let Junior Sister teach them a lesson so they'll remember it."
The little demon beasts in Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou's arms were taken away by Shi Wanqing, and they didn't dare to ask where they were sent.
Because they caused many of their fellow disciples to fail the assessment, the two of them are now being punished by copying the sect rules a thousand times this morning, and in the afternoon they are forbidden from using any magic and must run a lap around Lingqiu Peak. The punishment will end when they finish copying the sect rules.
Lingqiu Peak was really big; by the time they finished running a lap, it was already past midnight. After washing up and waking up, they had to copy the sect rules, and then go run laps again. Exhausted, the two of them slept whenever they could.
When a disciple saw how exhausted the two men were, he offered to give them a ride on his sword to ease their burden. However, given that they were being punished, he insisted on receiving some payment to avoid being implicated and losing everything.
Looking at each other's dark circles and their hands and feet that could no longer be lifted, the two quickly nodded in agreement.
This business lasted for over a month, and the two's punishment finally ended. However, a "sword-for-hire" service emerged afterward: if a disciple was punished by running through the mountains, someone would ride him on a sword for a while and collect some hard currency such as pills and talismans in return.
This business has now spread throughout the entire immortal sect, and Shi Yunzhou and Zhou Xuan later made a lot of money from "sword substitution".
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