Glimpse into a Hundred Aspects (6)
"Huh? Can I still go back to see my parents?"
"Why not?" Li Zhoubai smiled matter-of-factly. "Pack your things and we'll leave tomorrow."
Yun Yanqiu was somewhat dazed, but since Li Zhoubai had already said so, how could she refuse? So she hurriedly went back to the courtyard to pack her things.
As Qin Wenshuang watched his departing figure, she couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "Don't forget what I told you before."
“He’s still young and inexperienced, there’s no rush to make a decision now.” Li Zhoubai said calmly. “Letting him go out and see the world is never a bad thing.”
So it turned out that he was being sent out to gain experience and then come home to visit. Qin Wen glanced at Li Zhoubai and said jokingly, "Then when he leaves, you'll be all alone on Xuanming Mountain."
"Huh?" Li Zhoubai was suddenly taken aback, and hurriedly looked at Qin Wenshuang, "Where are you going?"
"Let's go back to the valley of the Ferocious Eagle." Qin Wenshuang's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I already felt that the demonic cultivator was not quite right, but I came back first because I was afraid of implicating Xiaoyan."
Li Zhoubai also became serious: "You want to kill her?"
Seeing that Qin Wenshuang tacitly agreed, Li Zhoubai said indirectly, "Although demonic cultivators are all cunning and treacherous people, they still abide by the restrictions and have never interfered with the lives of mortals."
Qin Wenshuang said with dissatisfaction: "They dig out inner cores, raise corpse puppets, and do all sorts of bad things. Why should we believe that these guys would let unarmed mortals go?"
“Cultivation is inherently a dog-eat-dog world, indiscriminate in its distinction between good and evil. Whether the path of demonic cultivation is suitable or not is ultimately determined by the will of Heaven.” Li Zhoubai sighed helplessly. “Moreover, most aristocratic families and sects have some connection with demonic cultivators. If they were to stand up now and become the first to oppose it, they would probably only be throwing their eggs against a rock…”
Li Zhoubai's words displeased Qin Wenshuang: "You are a rogue cultivator, without sect or school, and without any constraints. You should be the least worried about these things."
“I don’t care, but I’m worried about you,” Li Zhoubai replied without hesitation. “Even if you leave Yanqing Sect, you are still the sect leader’s only daughter. Others might take advantage of that to harm you.”
Li Zhoubai's arguments were so logical and convincing that no one could refute them. But Qin Wenshuang remained unconvinced: How could they allow demonic cultivators to harm the world?
"I think you're just scared!" A fire suddenly blazed in her eyes. "Rogue cultivators have always been weak and vulnerable, the easiest to be bullied. You, as one of the best among them, are unwilling to stand up for them. What kind of person are you?"
"Shuang, I..."
"Don't use me as an excuse!" Qin Wenshuang roared at Li Zhoubai. "I never regret my decisions. I'm going to kill this demonic cultivator!"
She walked towards the mountain exit without looking back, her steps swift, giving Li Zhoubai no chance to explain. Li Zhoubai chased her all the way to the exit, but she had already vanished without a trace. In his haste, he stepped beyond the boundary, and immediately heard rumbling thunder in the sky. Li Zhoubai looked up at the rapidly gathering dark clouds, hesitated for a moment, and then helplessly retreated back to Xuanming Mountain.
He silently returned to the courtyard, only to find Yun Yanqiu waiting for him there.
"Why aren't you resting?" Li Zhoubai suppressed his disappointment and glanced at Yun Yanqiu. He noticed that the guy had already packed his bags and looked ready to leave at any moment. He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you leaving tomorrow?"
"The sooner we go, the sooner we'll return." Yun Yanqiu glanced behind Li Zhoubai, somewhat puzzled, "Where's Master's wife?"
“Her…” Li Zhoubai’s eyes darkened. “She’s very busy; she’s gone out to suppress the demonic beasts again.”
"Then I..."
"Don't worry, she'll definitely be back before you." Li Zhoubai forced a smile and waved his hand to comfort her. "Since you want to leave early, I won't stop you. The outside world is not like Xuanming Mountain, so be careful on the road. Be wary of both people and things."
"Disciple understands." Yun Yanqiu clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Zhoubai and bowed. "Then, Master, I will take my leave first."
As they spoke, a small blue bird flew down from above and landed on Yun Yanqiu's shoulder. Li Zhoubai looked at the two of them getting along so well, and a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.
Yun Yanqiu embarked on his journey home with his little bird. The road to Ganzhou was neither long nor short, simply heading south.
Yun Yanqiu held Ye Yingying in his arms and hurried to the nearest post station to Xuanming Mountain.
As the sun began to set, the driver at the post station told him that the last carriage would reach the next post station before sunset. Without a word, Yun Yanqiu climbed into the carriage, then tugged at his collar to let Ye Yingying out for some fresh air.
The little bird fluttered its wings twice and landed on Yunyanqiu's leg. It looked around and, seeing that there was no danger, squinted and began to doze off.
The post station was quiet, save for the occasional heavy breathing of horses. Yun Yanqiu stroked Ye Yingying's fluffy head as he waited for the driver to set off. Suddenly, he heard a soft, feminine voice outside. After asking the driver a few questions, the woman walked into the carriage.
Yun Yanqiu looked toward the direction of the curtain, and his pupils contracted sharply the moment he saw the face of the person who spoke—it was the demonic cultivator he had saved in the valley.
The female demon cultivator lifted her eyelids and calmly smiled back when she met Yun Yanqiu's surprised gaze, then sat down opposite him.
The woman appeared to be about the same age as Qin Wenshuang. Although the dark aura in her eyes had been concealed, the thin, pale red scar on her forehead was still clearly visible. She exuded an inescapable air of malevolence, and her cold gaze swept over Yun Yanqiu and the little bird on his leg, as if she were scrutinizing something.
Yun Yanqiu kept a wary eye on her, his eyes filled with barely concealed vigilance, which made the female demon cultivator curious: "Young hero, why are you staring at me like that? Have we met somewhere before?"
Yun Yanqiu then realized what was happening, immediately looked away, and said coldly, "You're overthinking it."
The demonic cultivator chuckled, his eyes growing increasingly cold: "It seems I misunderstood. But meeting is fate. My name is Lu Yin. May I ask your honorable name, young hero?"
No comment.
Seeing this, Lu Yin wasn't annoyed. He just smiled and changed the subject: "Is that little bird on your leg a spirit pet?"
Yun Yanqiu didn't want to have any more involvement with her, so he chose to remain silent.
The demonic cultivator's lips curled up as he continued, "The Azure-White Sparrow is indeed adorable as a spirit pet, but its lifespan is extremely short. I'm afraid that once you've formed a bond with it, you'll be separated by life and death."
"What do you mean?" Yun Yanqiu frowned, glaring at her angrily.
"Don't be nervous." Lu Yin lowered his body, rested his chin on the back of his hand, and said in a deep and seductive voice, "I'm just telling the truth."
The woman was clearly provoking her, and Ye Yingying was afraid that Yun Yanqiu would fall into her trap, so she chirped a warning.
Just then, the curtain was lifted again, and a young man carrying a heavy sword appeared in front of the two.
"Wow, quite a few people here," the man remarked, then took down his heavy sword and sat down next to Yun Yanqiu.
With the crack of a whip, the carriage swayed and set off.
The last man to board the bus had a neat and straightforward appearance. He sat down next to Yun Yanqiu, towering over her by half a head. His angular face had a healthy tan, and his black hair was neatly tied back, making him look very energetic.
"Oh dear, the snow in this northern continent is really hard to walk on. I almost missed the last bus!" The man had thick eyebrows, and his face became lively as he spoke.
He had a very loud voice and talked incessantly, a real chatterbox. Ye Yingying's head ached from his noise, so she simply buried her head in Yun Yanqiu's clothes.
Lu Yin observed the man discreetly. After confirming that he had no ulterior motives, she smiled and became an audience member, occasionally chiming in. But to Yun Yanqiu, this smile was filled with ill intent. He stared intently at Lu Yin, a cold glint in his eyes.
Lu Yin ignored him and turned to chat with the man again: "To be honest, I don't know your name yet."
"Me? My name is Zhao Huai Ren!" the young man answered readily, which startled Ye Yingying out of Yun Yanqiu's arms.
She peeked out and stared at Zhao Huai Ren with her beady eyes, only to suddenly realize that apart from being a little dark-skinned, his cheerful and straightforward manner was exactly the same as Zhao Yu Xiao's!
As expected of grandfather and granddaughter... Ye Yingying blinked with mixed feelings, then her vision suddenly went black as Yun Yanqiu pressed her back into her clothes.
"Let it watch if it wants to. Are you trying to stop it because you're afraid it will change its mind?" Lu Yin seized the opportunity to stir things up. Seeing Yun Yanqiu's face getting darker and darker, she felt extremely pleased.
"It's none of your business." Yun Yanqiu said coldly, as cold as an ice cube.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Huai-ren asked curiously, "Brother, you even keep spirit pets? What a refined hobby!"
Yun Yanqiu found him annoying and only glanced at him indifferently without replying.
Undeterred, Zhao Huai-ren noticed the longsword behind Yun Yanqiu and immediately started a conversation again: "Hey, you're a sword cultivator too? I practice swordsmanship too!" As he spoke, he patted his heavy sword and showed it to Yun Yanqiu.
Yun Yanqiu remained silent, but Lu Yin seized the opportunity to ask, "Brother Huai Ren, which sword-wielding sect are you from? How can you wield such a magnificent sword?"
"Hey, I'm from no sect, just a rogue cultivator!" Zhao Huai Ren blurted out without warning, not noticing the fleeting glint in Lu Yin's eyes. He then turned to Yun Yanqiu and asked, "Brother, what about you? Do you have a master? Or are you practicing on your own?"
No comment.
Yun Yanqiu still wouldn't say a word about herself, which annoyed Zhao Huai Ren: "Come on! Just reveal a little bit, okay? Look at me, I've already..."
Before the words were finished, a shrill neighing of a horse suddenly rang out outside the carriage, causing the entire carriage to shudder and shake violently. Caught off guard, the passengers were thrown heavily to one side.
Zhao Huai-ren stumbled, his elbow slamming against the carriage wall, but ignoring the pain, he flung open the curtain—and saw the steed with bloodshot eyes, galloping wildly. The coachman's muscles were taut, veins bulging on his arms, and he was almost suspended in mid-air by the reins, yet he still couldn't stop the mad horse's charge.
Zhao Huai-ren gritted his teeth and, together with the coachman, pulled on the reins. The rough hemp rope instantly dug into their palms, a burning pain shooting straight to their hearts. The horse, as if possessed, pounded stones with its iron hooves, dragging the carriage straight toward the cliff. The coachman's face turned ashen, and he managed to squeeze out incoherent sobs.
"Jump out of the car!" Zhao Huai-ren roared, his voice breaking in the howling wind.
The cliff was just inches away. The dust kicked up by the wheels tore a trail of despair in the air. The group rushed to either side. Ye Yingying was suddenly thrown from Yun Yanqiu's arms and watched helplessly as the horse, carrying the sturdy carriage, plunged into the abyss without hesitation.
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