Chapter 88
After finishing the task, Lin Jichen breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that he seemed to have forgotten something. He thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.
"Senior Sister Lin!"
His thoughts were interrupted when Lin Jichen looked up and saw Junior Sister Anzhi.
"Long time no see, senior sister! How have you been lately?" Anzhi ran over and hugged Lin Jichen.
"I'm fine. Weren't you in seclusion? Why did you come out?" Lin Jichen hugged his junior sister back and asked a series of questions.
Anzhi replied, "It was arranged by my master. Things are so chaotic outside right now, and I want to do my part."
Lin Jichen had previously thought that dying in the battle against demons was an acceptable thing, but hearing his junior sister say this in front of him made him feel very uncomfortable. She was still so young, and she didn't need to face these storms outside.
Now she could understand why her elders didn't want her generation to face the demons. It's true that only through shared experiences can people truly understand each other. She smiled bitterly and said to Anzhi, "I regret it now. I regret not studying properly with my master back then. If I had worked hard then, I wouldn't be in such a passive position now."
Hearing Lin Jichen say this, Anzhi recalled her own training on the mountain and realized she really hadn't worked as hard as her senior sister. Since her senior sister had said that, Anzhi felt a little scared. "Senior sister, please don't think like that. If you think like that, what am I supposed to do?"
"You'll be alright, everyone will protect you, and besides, we haven't started fighting the demons yet, have we? Maybe we won't!"
When Xiao Mu arrived, this was the scene he saw. "Oh, you're all here."
Upon seeing Xiao Mu, Lin Jichen remembered that Xiao Mu had mentioned finding out about Su Liyue. Seeing that Xiao Mu had come to him meant that he himself couldn't hold back and really wanted to tell him about it.
"So you couldn't hold it in anymore?" Lin Jichen said jokingly.
Xiao Mu sat down by himself. "Yeah, you still have me wrapped around your little finger."
Anzhi squeezed in and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Xiao Mu looked up and gestured for everyone to look towards the door. Following Xiao Mu's gesture, they saw Su Liyue walk in. He scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly, "This is, after all, her privacy, and I'm too embarrassed to talk about a girl's private matters."
Su Liyue came to the front of everyone and said, "This matter really needs everyone's help. I've been on my own for so long and haven't found any useful clues." There was a pleading tone in her voice.
No one knew the inside story of the Exorcism Bureau's affairs, so since they had come to him for help, he naturally wanted to help if he could. Lin Jichen nodded, signaling Su Liyue to continue.
Everyone sat around the stone table in the center of the courtyard, waiting. Su Liyue pondered for a long time, so long that just as Anzhi was about to ask a question, she finally spoke: "At that time, I had just become an inner disciple of the Exorcism Division. My talent wasn't outstanding, and I was clumsy, so I didn't have a very good time in the inner sect..."
What sets the Exorcist Division apart from other sects is its student recruitment. Most immortal sects select disciples from all over the world, regardless of their background, focusing solely on their aptitude. Even the least talented among them are chosen from among thousands.
The Exorcism Bureau was established after Chonghua fell into demonic possession. Chonghua had caused a great disturbance in the capital, and it was only after the arrival of the immortal sects that he was exorcised. For the safety of the imperial city and the capital, the emperor decreed the establishment of the Exorcism Bureau. Due to various factors, most of the Exorcism Bureau's disciples came from aristocratic families, wealthy merchants, and even a few from the royal family.
They were all candidates selected from their families, and learning the arts of the immortal sects would greatly benefit their families. Therefore, even in a small-scale selection process, their aptitude was comparable to that of the immortal sects. However, in the emperor's eyes, the Exorcism Bureau was not an immortal sect but a government office, so their numbers were not large.
Even among this small group, class divisions remained stark. Su Liyue, an orphan whom the sect leader had taken in from outside due to her perceived talent, was relegated to the very bottom of the Exorcism Division. In her memory, anyone could bully her.
Because she couldn't read, she learned everything much slower than others. Even though she practiced diligently every day, she was still the last among the inner disciples.
While her master was lecturing, she took notes diligently. The people next to her had already learned the material, and out of boredom, she looked around aimlessly. Then she saw Su Liyue trying hard to take notes, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. She had been taking notes every day, but Su Liyue didn't seem to be making any progress.
She patted the person next to her, gesturing for him to look at Su Liyue, who was diligently taking notes, and then whispered, "He takes notes like this every day, and I haven't seen anything happen to her."
The man sneered and looked Su Liyue up and down. "A beggar sitting with me? She doesn't deserve to sit with me!"
Although the sound was soft, everyone in the room was a cultivator, and they could all hear it; some even laughed out loud. The elder on the platform noticed Su Liyue's embarrassment, but he said nothing and continued lecturing.
Given a choice between a talented female disciple and a disciple with exceptional skill and aptitude, any teacher would favor the latter. Moreover, the latter comes from a better family.
After class, the group exchanged glances, then laughed as they passed by Su Liyue, knocking the books off her desk. They walked past one after another, stepping on the fallen books as if they didn't exist, and then burst into laughter.
Su Liyue silently picked up the books from the ground and wiped the black footprints with her sleeve.
Seeing Su Liyue like this, the others said, "See? I told you no matter what we did to her, she wouldn't say a word."
Of course, she dared not speak. She had lost everything. After her parents passed away, her family's house was seized by her clan, and she was driven out of her home, forced to wander the streets. If the sect leader hadn't seen her and recognized her talent, she would probably be in a mass grave by now.
So no matter what happened, Su Liyue remained silent, thinking that this would make the other party feel that there was no point in improving the situation. However, she did not expect that they would only escalate their behavior. Getting the bed soaked and thrown out of the house was a minor issue; they would even shoot her with a slingshot on the way.
Everyone present was a cultivator, and the slingshots they used were all modified with magic. When the slingshot struck Su Liyue's head, she felt a sharp pain followed by an itch on her face. She reached out to touch it and felt something damp and sticky—blood. Blood had already dripped onto her shoulder.
She looked at the male disciples, but they said nonchalantly, "Sorry, we missed."
Missed her target? They were clearly doing it on purpose, but no one in the Exorcism Division could help her. Even if she went up to argue with them, she would still be the one who suffered in the end. She finally ran away, the laughter behind her so grating.
After quickly treating her injuries and changing her clothes, Su Liyue went to the canteen. No matter what she tried to take, the old woman there said, "Someone has already reserved it."
The other woman's disdainful look told her that she wouldn't be able to eat anything today. As she turned to leave, she heard the old woman sneer, "Don't you know who you are? You think you're worthy of eating such good food!"
"Alright, how old are you? Why are you still acting like a child?"
"What's wrong with me? I can't even afford to eat, so why should a beggar like her get to eat?"
"She is a disciple of the Exorcism Bureau..."
Su Liyue stopped listening to what they said after that. As expected, the person who spoke up for her would also be ridiculed by them in the end.
Days passed like this. Although she made progress, she was still the one being bullied. Because her grades improved a little, sometimes her teacher couldn't stand it anymore and would reprimand those people. They would admit their mistakes on the surface, but behind her back, they would retaliate against her even more fiercely.
The girl from a noble family, rejected by her crush, took leave that day and got completely drunk in her dormitory. Then she saw Su Liyue returning to the dormitory after lunch break, and all her resentment turned into anger. She said to Su Liyue in a commanding tone, "Su Liyue, come here."
Su Liyue simply stood there at a distance and asked, "Is there something you need?"
The woman ignored her and continued, "Come here!"
Su Liyue didn't go over; instead, she turned to leave the dormitory. The girl was furious. In her eyes, being rejected by someone like Su Liyue was an utter disgrace. She angrily rushed up behind Su Liyue and kicked her, sending Su Liyue sprawling to the ground.
Before she could react, the other person grabbed her by the collar and stood her up, then slapped her across the face. "Didn't you hear me calling you?" Then another slap followed.
Just as Su Liyue was about to retaliate, she was immobilized by a spell and then subjected to a brutal beating...
She saw people passing by outside the door, but they were just passing by; some looked at her with disdain, as if all of this was something she was meant to endure...
The woman stopped hitting her when she was tired, but she still grabbed Su Liyue's collar and slapped her face. "From now on, you have to do whatever I tell you to do, understand? If you don't listen to me, you can forget about having your ears!"
Finally, she lay down on the ground and fell asleep.
By the time the immobilization spell was lifted, it was already evening. Su Liyue ran out, out of the Exorcism Bureau, out of the capital, and finally to the outskirts of the city. Her body ached terribly, and she wanted to leave, but she didn't know where she should go.
The world was so vast, yet it seemed there was nowhere for her to find refuge. Su Liyue squatted down, hugged her legs, and began to cry. She didn't know how long she cried, but then it started to rain.
But she wasn't wet. She looked around and saw a man holding an umbrella for her. He was young, looking to be in his early twenties, and quite handsome. He had a worried expression on his face. When Su Liyue looked up, he asked, "Are you Su Liyue? What are you doing here?"
Only after saying all this did he notice the injury on Su Liyue's face and anxiously asked, "How did you get hurt? Who did this?"
She felt not only anxious, but also angry. Su Liyue shook her head, remaining silent. Only then did she realize that the man was wearing the uniform of the Exorcism Division; he was a member of the Exorcism Division.
The man was somewhat surprised to see Su Liyue's evasive expression. He was anxious and worried, but he did not step forward. Instead, he explained softly, "We have met before. When the sect leader brought you back to the Exorcism Division, I was by his side. Don't you remember me?"
Su Liyue carefully examined the person before her. Yes, there was a boy beside the sect leader. That boy didn't seem to mind her dirty appearance at all; he took her hand and led her to the sect leader. She recalled carefully, afraid of missing any details, and then tentatively called out, "Rong... Rong... Rong Xi, Senior Brother?"
The man nodded and smiled, "It's me. What are you doing here? And who hurt you?"
Su Liyue felt a lot of grievances. When she saw the person who led her into the Exorcism Division, she felt an inexplicable sense of closeness. But he wasn't just her senior brother; everyone else had to call him senior brother too.
Looking at Su Liyue's aggrieved face, Rong Xi patiently said, "No matter what grievances you have suffered, you must tell your senior brother. No matter who bullies you, your senior brother will stand up for you."
Su Liyue finally followed her heart, and she hugged Rong Xi, crying, "Senior brother, they... they all bullied me..."
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