Chapter 68 You've fallen in love with your best friend's daughter, how can you face her?
Mei Xu advanced an inch, piercing through the hem of the garment, aiming for a beating heart. Cang Luo grasped the sword blade with his bare hands, stopping it from continuing.
Zhuang Jinfu and Cang Luo were locked in a fierce battle, neither willing to concede to the other.
"Don't try to drag anything else into this," Zhuang Jinfu said, tossing seven arrows and a bent bow at Cang Luo's feet. "Don't let me find out you've laid a hand on her again, or don't blame me for disregarding our past relationship."
The sword plunged deeper, and Cang Luo, enduring the pain, said resolutely, "She is an obstacle on your path of cultivation. Keeping her alive is harming yourself."
"Qingxi, you're driving yourself to your death."
"Enough!" Zhuang Jinfu's anger was palpable. "So what if I force myself to my death? Of the four of us, only you have forgotten your true self."
Cang Luo was stunned.
Zhuang Jinfu: "No matter what, I cannot let Ling Shu die. This is what we cultivators owe to her and her daughter. The karmic retribution for the cultivators' destruction of the demon race is something we can never repay even after a hundred lifetimes of cultivation."
Do you remember how Wenji died?
Cang Luo gave a bitter laugh. In her memory, the gentlest and kindest Wen Ji seemed to be standing in front of her, smiling radiantly as she asked if she wanted noodles.
"She single-handedly drew away all the cultivators' firepower to kill the demon, and was constantly hunted down. In the dead of winter, she fought back and forth in the icy river, and finally died in the desolate wilderness, disappearing from this world without a trace, leaving only one bloodline."
"The child she entrusted to us is the future Demon King who can protect those weak demon races. He is also the last bit of tenderness Wen Ji left us. Cang Luo, have you lost your mind?! How can you face her?!"
Cang Luo, not to be outdone, retorted sharply: "You insult me? And what about you? You fell in love with your best friend's daughter, how could you face her?"
Zhuang Jinfu was taken aback, and his offensive momentum weakened instantly. Cang Luo took the opportunity to draw his sword, covered his bleeding mouth and gasped for breath, saying, "Let's not curse each other, we both owe each other."
"..."
"If you dare to use your magic again, I will sever all ties with you for the rest of my life."
Unable to vent his anger, he then thought of Hu Shi, who had tripped him up in the Tongxuan Secret Realm. He had been too busy to deal with her before, and the sentence handed down by the execution platform was still pending. Zhuang Jinfu left the execution platform and headed towards the prison.
In prison.
When the guarding cultivator saw Zhuang Jinfu, dressed in spotless white robes, step into the filthy and stinking prison, he stepped forward in confusion and asked, "What are your orders, Immortal Venerable?"
Where is Hushi Pass?
The guarding cultivator thought that since it was someone the Immortal Venerable had specifically asked to see, it must be something important, so he didn't think much of it and led her inside.
Hu Shi was kept in a cell alone. His prison uniform was clean, but his hair was slightly disheveled. Flies and mosquitoes swarmed around him, and a foul stench wafted out from behind the cell door.
When she saw Zhuang Jinfu, she knelt down and said, "Greetings, Immortal Venerable." Her attitude wasn't very sincere.
"Open the door," Zhuang Jinfu said to the person next to him.
The door opened, and she walked in calmly. Hu Shi wondered what she was doing there, but thinking that even a celestial being couldn't bypass the execution platform, and since the platform hadn't issued a document to judge him, she couldn't kill him, so he asked indifferently, "What brings you here?"
"You push the Ling Shu down to the shin pit." The statement was a simple statement of facts, delivered in a tone that brooked no argument.
Hu Shi, seemingly unfazed, retorted, "It's me, so what? You're not going to kill me, are you?"
"You admit it."
"That's right, what's there to be afraid of? That bastard is in my way and blocking my path, so of course I have to kill her."
A white shadow flashed by, and then Hu Shi was seen being lifted up by the neck. The person, cold as ice, said sternly, "Don't call her a bastard!"
Hu Shi's feet were off the ground, his face was purple, and he was panting. He still said, "She was originally the bastard child of Sect Leader Wang and a demon born before their marriage... Let me go... You can't kill me..."
Seeing that things were not going well and that the Immortal Venerable intended to kill someone, the cultivator beside him kindly advised, "Immortal Venerable, the execution platform has not issued a judgment document, so the trial cannot be conducted without going through the execution platform! Please reconsider!"
It would have been better if she hadn't said anything, because Zhuang Jinfu was even more furious. She didn't care about anything else, grabbed Hu Shi and tried to walk out, but the guarding cultivator stopped her, saying, "You can't take her away without permission."
"Get out of the way!" Her imposing aura spread, making it hard for everyone around to breathe. Even when she wasn't angry, people already avoided her. When her anger was on her face, it was like an avalanche, cold and terrifying, making people feel suffocated.
The guards dared not stop her, but out of duty they still had to stop her, otherwise they would have a hard time explaining to the execution platform. Three cultivators stood in front of Zhuang Jinfu: "Immortal Venerable, please release her."
Zhuang Jinfu glanced down at them from his high position, and with a gentle wave of his hand, the three of them were no match for him and were instantly blasted against the prison wall by his magic.
Zhuang Jinfu grabbed her shoulders, flew off on his sword, and headed straight for the mountain gate. Hu Shi struggled, "Where are you taking me? Let me go!"
The person who was as cold as ice did not answer.
As they headed west from the mountain gate, Hu Shi felt a chill run down his spine. This... this was the direction to the Tongxuan Secret Realm!
They sped along until they reached Tongxuan Lake. Zhuang Jinfu held incense in one hand and lit three sticks of incense with magic. The incense floated forward, pointing the way. An oval-shaped water ripple mirror appeared. Zhuang Jinfu grabbed the person and flew in. Yin Yu on the barrier stone saw Zhuang Jinfu call her "Immortal Venerable". She stopped and asked Yin Yu, "Where is the nearest Nei Pit?"
Yin Yu looked at the person in her hand and saw that it was Hu Shi, that cunning and wicked person. So she took the initiative to lead the way. Hu Shi trembled like a leaf: "You can't treat me like this... I will die. Then everyone will talk and you will be in big trouble."
Yin Yu slapped her: "When you kicked me into the pit, did you ever think about whether I'd survive?"
Zhuang Jinfu said coldly, "If I'm afraid of what people say, what kind of immortal would I be?"
Once outside the pit, Zhuang Jinfu grabbed her neck and reached his hand over the pit. Below, green flames flickered, and ghostly figures moved about. Sensing the yang energy of a living person, they began to stir. Zhuang Jinfu gave her a cold, disgusted look and said, "Die."
He let go, and Hu Shi plummeted to the ground.
A scream of agony echoed across the field, then quickly faded away.
With the matter settled, Zhuang Jinfu finally vented her anger. Yin Yuyouye laughed loudly beside her, "Serves you right, the wicked get their just desserts." Then she looked at the composed Zhuang Jinfu and nudged her with her elbow, "Hey, Immortal Venerable."
"What is it?"
Are you with my precious grandson?
"...None of your business."
Tell me about it.
Zhuang Jinfu did not answer, and kept walking out.
Yin Yu persisted, noticing that something was wrong with her expression. She was like an iceberg that had transformed into a cold, unapproachable person. When she was on good terms with Ling Shu, she was all smiles and much more approachable. Something was off about her now. She asked, "Did you two have a fight?"
Zhuang Jinfu suddenly stopped in his tracks: "I said it has nothing to do with you."
Yin Yu affirmed, "You two are just having a disagreement."
Zhuang Jinfu frowned, curious to know how she had guessed: "How do you know?"
Yin Yu said, "Punishing Hu Shi is such a gratifying thing, how could Ling Shu not come to help that little rascal? Besides, she likes to stick to you all day long, can you leave her side for even a moment? The fact that you have the opportunity to come out behind her back to settle scores for her means that you two must have had a fight. I can see that your face is so dark that you could eat people, this time it must have been a big fuss."
"..."
"You're right."
“…Never mind that.” He said and continued walking.
Yin Yu followed up and said earnestly, "What's the fuss about? I'm a great-grandmother, you should treat me like an elder. If you have any troubles, just say so. What's there to be ashamed of?"
Zhuang Jinfu remained silent and quickened his pace to walk ahead.
One leg can't outrun two long legs. Yin Yu couldn't catch up at all. He put his hands on his hips and panted, "Hey, you silent gourd, you can't even chase your wife after she's gone."
The person in front suddenly stopped, without turning around, and simply said, "I can't give her what she wants."
Seeing that things were going well, Yin Yu slithered over and leaned forward to see her expression: "What does she want?"
His expression wasn't very pleasant, like the bitter face left by the seeds on the cut surface of a bitter melon.
"She wants recognition and status."
"I can't give it to you."
“My Qingxi Mountain possesses unparalleled treasures, I have superior cultivation, and I have fame, status, and wealth. Whatever she desires, I can do everything in my power to support her and give her the best. There is only one thing I cannot give her, and that is…”
For ordinary lovers, the simplest thing is a formal title. That's the only thing I can't give her, but that's all she wants.
"Then she truly loves you."
Yin Yu's words, like the red thread of fate from the Old Man of the Moon, struck her heart. She felt as if the sky above her head and the ground beneath her feet were unreal: "How...how is this possible..."
"You're so good, why would she choose something you don't have as a reason to break up with you? Think about it carefully, when did she start to distance herself from you?"
Zhuang Jinfu was stunned for a long time. She had never thought about why, and only thought that it was because he was a fickle young man. He would dump her if he didn't like her anymore, and she would just have to bear it. In time, they would both be able to let go, and then who would care who loved whom?
She pondered carefully and said slowly, "It seems to have been after meeting Gu Wan."
Yin Yu nodded and said, "That's right."
"Which one is right?"
"She's afraid you'll end up like Gu Wan."
"She knew that even immortals could one day become fallen immortals. Gu Wan had been guarding a wisp of her soul for nearly four hundred years, enduring four hundred years of darkness. She didn't want you to suffer the same fate. Let me venture a guess as to what she feared most."
What is it?
"She's afraid you'll call her out on it."
"She fears that you might callously expose her because of her, and then she would have failed the people."
Yin Yu's words were like the clear, refreshing sound of a temple bell.
So that's how it is.
Zhuang Jinfu's pent-up anger dissipated instantly. Eager to return home, he wished he could fly straight to Qingxi Mountain on his sword. With some distance still to go, he looked at Yin Yu and asked in confusion, "Almost everyone was against it, so why did you insist on bringing me and her together?"
Yin Yu shrugged: "I went to see the future with the Jade Realm Master."
"Hmm?" Zhuang Jinfu only saw her mouth opening and closing, but didn't hear her voice. "You made a sound?"
Yin Yu understood: "Perhaps the Jade Realm Master's system forbids the disclosure of heavenly secrets. It's alright, let's go back."
Zhuang Jinfu was not surprised. After leaving the Tongxuan Secret Realm, he hurriedly headed towards Qingxi Mountain.
After entering the palace, I headed towards the Golden Thread Palace. I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I sensed the presence of the spirits inside, but there was no one there. I searched around and found that Ling Shu's presence was... in her study.
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