Does it hurt?
Yan Tianhua and the other two were in such a sorry state that words failed them. He lowered his eyes, scrutinizing them, when his junior brother asked, "Does it hurt?"
He instinctively replied, "It's over, it doesn't hurt anymore."
When Yan Tianhua noticed him, he turned his head away.
We've already made very bad progress.
Yan Tianhua looked at Wang Yue, and they didn't say much.
After a pause, Wang Yue said, "I might have a way to turn things around."
Gu Shuoxing asked, "What method?"
“Master is the chief of the Ruthless Path, and I think Senior Brother can also become the chief of the Ruthless Path,” Wang Yue said naturally.
Upon hearing his words, Yan Tianhua immediately asked, "Why me?"
Wang Yue remained expressionless, his eyes lowered, choosing not to answer.
Gu Shuoxing asked, "Is there no other way?"
Wang Yue looked at him and said, "Perhaps."
But I didn't.
Gu Shuoxing: "...You're really direct."
Wang Yue had cultivated for so long that he had forgotten his original appearance. As Wang Yue's senior brother, he knew far more than Gu Shuoxing.
"What are you going to do?" Yan Tianhua asked.
"I'll help you achieve enlightenment," Wang Yue replied, looking into his eyes and enunciating each word clearly.
“I don’t want to attain enlightenment,” Yan Tianhua replied.
"Then forget it." Wang Yue said casually, as if he were abandoning an option.
Gu Shuoxing patted his chest and said, "You all follow me; I'm quite familiar with this place."
“Okay,” Yan Tianhua replied. He looked at Wang Yue, whose expression was calm.
He looked at Gu Shuoxing, and Gu Shuoxing immediately understood. They walked towards a more upscale wooden house. Wang Yue calmly gazed at the wooden house, then went inside. Yan Tianhua and the other man did the same.
Yan Tianhua's wounds were now just superficial injuries, which could heal on their own, albeit very slowly. Gu Shuoxing muttered to himself as he spoke.
"It's a bit simple here, but please bear with it. Senior Brother Yan, please take care of your wound."
Wang Yue sat in the chair, his thoughts wandering aimlessly.
"Should we go and seek revenge on the demons?" Wang Yue suddenly asked.
Gu Shuoxing smiled and said, "Junior brother, you do have a remarkable vision, but using junk to fight against someone's gold is far from enough."
After a long silence, Wang Yue said, "It seems so."
Gu Shuoxing followed his junior brother's lead and said, "Remove 'seems'."
“Then let’s go back to Heartless Peak,” Wang Yue continued.
Gu Shuoxing retorted, "Going back to Wuqing Peak now would be asking for trouble. Everyone here is too busy taking care of themselves. If we go back, we'll be like rats walking into a trap."
Wang Yue replied, "Oh."
Gu Shuoxing said, "Perhaps we can seek outside help, go to our master and the sect leader. Although the sect leaders are currently missing or seriously injured and claim to be recuperating, their ultimate goal is to deal with the demons. An attack... It's a wonder they have such an organization."
"Let's go to Dark Night," Yan Tianhua said, looking at her junior brother. "Why?"
"Because the people there are more frank and sincere."
Gu Shuoxing remained quiet as he listened to Wang Yue's words.
"Do you know the way?" Gu Shuoxing asked seriously.
"I don't know," Wang Yue said.
"Then how do you know they are simple and honest?" Gu Shuoxing asked.
“I’ve had dealings with them before. So I know a little about them, but I haven’t had much contact with them,” Wang Yue said.
"Oh, junior brother, you're so cute, answering every question so readily. But I can take you there. I haven't been back for years, and I've learned a lot from being out here," Gu Shuoxing said with a smile.
"Let's go then." Wang Yue stood up and subconsciously took Yan Tianhua's hand. Yan Tianhua looked at him with some surprise, but did not let go.
"It's warm," he thought to himself.
"This house will probably be closed for a long time. But on the other hand, it's not bad to have a journey to take," Gu Shuoxing sighed.
He quickly packed his things, and then the group headed towards Dark Night.
The head of the Dark Night Sect is Wen Yue, who is somewhat cold towards people. Upon arriving in Dark Night, the scenery is unique, with the dark sky stretching as far as the eye can see, dotted with twinkling starlight. Their rooms are all individual buildings, hidden among the others.
Chi Wenliu was somewhat intrigued to see outsiders. He immediately stepped forward to inquire, "Where are you from? Who are you looking for?"
"Luo Shu, find Wen Yue," Gu Shuoxing said.
“Oh. But he won’t see anyone, so it’s no use if you go to ask him to see him,” Chi Wenliu said to him.
“Let’s go then.” Wang Yue looked at him earnestly.
Gu Shuoxing said, "Since we're already here, and the people are so kind and honest, can we at least take a good look around?"
"Whatever," Wang Yue said.
Chi Wenliu had no interest in their exploration of the local specialties and made up an excuse to leave. He didn't forget to say, "Have a good time."
Wang Yue and the others wandered around for a long time before finally leaving.
One of them watched them intently after they left.
"What are their intentions?" Wen Yue scrutinized their retreating figures.
"I don't know, they might be looking for you to join forces," Gou Xunhuan said.
"Hmm. However, their idea is impossible." Wen Yue then turned around and went back.
A bright lamp was silently extinguished in the darkness.
They wandered around and came back to dawn and dusk.
The leader of Chaomu is Zhan Dian. Zhan Dian is a girl, and she is very gentle, but when it comes to Gu Shuoxing's so-called "alliance", she changes the subject.
They stayed for some time, and then left.
After they left, Zhan Dian, the leader of Chao Mu Sect, coldly said to Qi Xiang in his room, "Come out. You heard what I just said, didn't you? But I will never agree to their demands."
I have my own ambitions, and there is peace and tranquility in the world. However, I want to place my own pleasures before the pleasures of the world.
"Qi Xiang, I must warn you, I hope you will keep your promise. If you break the agreement, we will both suffer losses," Zhan Dian said firmly.
Qi Xiangdao said, "Of course." He thought to himself, "Crazy woman."
Gu Shuoxing couldn't understand why neither the Dark Night nor the Dawn and Dusk agreed to concentrate their forces to deal with the demons.
He murmured, "Isn't our goal in the cultivation world to protect the human world? Why are you so indifferent, using sweet words or simply closing your doors to guests as a shield?"
Wang Yue patted his shoulder and said, "Second Senior Brother, we must believe that there are more good people than bad people in the world, like you and Senior Brother."
Upon hearing this, Gu Shuoxing completely forgot her earlier sadness.
"If we follow your analogy, then all of us on Ruthless Peak are good people, while the others are a mix of good and bad. In terms of numbers, the good people are rampant, and the bad people are about half and half."
Yan Tianhua sighed, "How did you come up with this sentence? It sounds a bit strange."
"As the saying goes, reading a lot is very beneficial. I just have lofty ambitions in my heart, and my literary talent is just for show," Gu Shuoxing said dialectically.
"Hmm," Wang Yue said absentmindedly.
“Let’s go home,” Wang Yue said again.
"Okay." Yan Tianhua agreed to him, and also to Gu Shuoxing.
Gu Shuoxing smiled and said, "Our next stop is Luoshu, Wuqing Peak."
The journey was smooth, saving them three days of travel time. Arriving home always brings a feeling of returning home after a long absence.
Wang Yue returned to the Bamboo Grove Pavilion and gazed into the distance. He seemed to sense that something was about to happen, so he went to visit his senior brother.
“Senior Brother, what we’re about to do may only be the beginning,” Wang Yue said perceptively.
Yan Tianhua chimed in, "We should indeed have such a sense of crisis. Also, I've noticed something amiss..."
As they spoke, everything followed.
"Swish swish——"
A barrage of arrows flew toward their Ruthless Peak.
Everything seemed to move exceptionally slowly. Yan Tianhua shielded Wang Yue beneath her, and Wang Yue suddenly opened his eyes wide. He and Yan Tianhua switched positions, and he pushed the other down, reaching out to protect her, while drawing the Cang Sheng Sword.
"Senior Brother, protecting yourself is the priority," Wang Yue said coldly.
"Also, thank you." The voice softened slightly, carrying a hint of a smile, which vanished in an instant.
Yan Tianhua watched him step forward to fight, and he drew his Uncrossable Sword to meet the enemy. However, there were too many of them, and they were no match for the enemy's numbers, so they had to retreat temporarily.
So the three of them hid in a secluded place, at the very bottom of Ruthless Peak, a place known only to their own people.
They witnessed their home being trampled upon by those demons. The demon elders themselves came; there were four elders in total: He Wei, Qi Xiang, Wei Yao, and Mu Luohai.
Among them were people from other so-called "orthodox sects," including many junior disciples of the Chaomu Sect. They talked about things like "cooperating with the demons," "Luo Shu was tough on the outside, but in the end, his entire sect was wiped out," and "this is the fate they deserved."
There are also people in the shadows, but they are less ruthless. This doesn't mean they haven't killed their own kind.
That night, blood stained the Luoshu River red.
The three of them also fell silent for a time, and the silence spread, leaving only the three former disciples of the Luoshu Sect.
Elder Lu Qingyun used his own blood as a catalyst and Fufeng as a boundary to protect Fufeng, killing many demon generals. However, they eventually broke the barrier of Fufeng. There were very few disciples left on Fufeng, and in the end, there was no one left.
Elder Danxin Peak directly set up an illusionary spell, trapping everyone who entered it. However, the demons and humans together broke his spell, found his people, and killed him.
Thus, Danxin Peak was slaughtered, with no survivors.
The elder of Ruthless Peak has disappeared without a trace; he only has three disciples, none of whom can be found. The arriving demon general, finding no one, first started a large fire, then ordered the entire place burned down.
Thus, not a single spot of the original site of Wuqing Peak remained.
Gu Shuoxing understood why they hadn't done it, and the mockery from Chaomu's disciples made his blood boil.
"Why? Why!" Gu Shuoxing choked out, wanting to cry, but found that tears were already streaming down his face.
He held his senior brother's hand tightly, and Yan Tianhua silently acquiesced, even though it hurt. But compared to that, his heart ached even more.
He was heartbroken.
Wang Yue saw the red marks on Yan Tianhua's hands, his face went numb, and he said to Gu Shuoxing, "Second Senior Brother, let go, grab me. It doesn't hurt."
Gu Shuoxing raised his eyes and looked at their youngest junior brother, who was indeed the one who remained the most composed.
"No, you're crazy, you're the one who doesn't feel pain." He let go of his senior brother's hand. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I'm just in a bit too much pain."
Gu Shuoxing apologized, his voice trembling slightly.
Wang Yue spoke up at this moment, tearing a hole in his clothes, "Second Senior Brother, don't cry, you're the best."
Despite his flat tone and somewhat wooden expression, there was something about him that calmed him down.
"Okay, I promise you." He wiped away his tears, but his heart still ached terribly.
Yan Tianhua also tried her best to maintain her balance, but she was a little stronger than Gu Shuoxing.
Wang Yue never forgot his senior brother, saying, "Senior brother, you are also great."
"What are you thinking about right now?" Yan Tianhua asked Wang Yue.
"I miss you," Wang Yue said to himself.
"I miss my second senior brother, I miss Elder Xingjuan, I miss the days of cultivation on Wuqing Peak. Because I feel that they are still here, I am still alive."
Yan Tianhua hugged him tightly, so tightly that he could hardly breathe, but he didn't say anything. Gu Shuoxing hugged him back, and they huddled together, feeling warm and cozy.
Yan Tianhua never imagined that what followed would be the most painful time for him.
Gu Shuoxing died tragically, and Wang Yue was a little liar.
Wang Yue lied to him for that sliver of hope, but he was so exhausted that he suffered for years. Yet, in that instant, he fell in love with him.
Love made him see the problem from a different perspective; in fact, he felt that Wang Yue loved him.
As a result, he lived a long life, his withered bones miraculously rejuvenated.
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