Meaning the two of us will send someone else to the crematorium together.
Ling Xiyue accidentally lost track of Shu Fu. By the time he arrived with the dog, he saw his intellectually disabled little brother being beaten by Shu Fu, curled up like a golden egg with both arms over his head. The scene was violent, vulgar, and rapidly spiraling out of control.
“…………”
What was going on???
That little idiot practically clung to his big brother every day. How had he suddenly ended up here?
Ling Xiyue felt his forehead go “boom” as his head seemed to swell to twice its size. If anything happened to Ling Fengming right in front of him, his big brother would definitely seize the opportunity to pin a hundred different charges on him and cause him no end of trouble. At a time like this, how could he hand Ling Fengqing any leverage and give him another chance to suppress him?
Ling Fengming could die for all he cared. He could die ten more times and Ling Xiyue still would not shed a tear. But he absolutely could not die within a hundred paces of him.
With no other choice, Ling Xiyue rushed forward in a single stride, put on an impeccably gentle smile, and threw himself between Shu Fu and Ling Fengming.
His face was all smiles, while his heart was already planning his little brother’s funeral.
He cleared his throat and advised her in the most pleasant tone he could manage, “Miss Jiang, Fengming is young and doesn’t know any better. Please be magnanimous and forgive him. Don’t hit him. If you must hit someone, hit me instead.”
“……”
Shu Fu promptly took half a step back and gave him an expression that clearly said, Ew. “Young Master Ling, has anyone ever told you how perverted you look when you act like you enjoy being beaten?”
Ling Xiyue froze, then hurriedly defended himself. “No, I have no such proclivities. It’s only that I admire Miss Jiang’s bearing. Whether you hit me or curse me, I—”
Shu Fu: “Wow. You’re only a pervert with me? Isn’t that even scarier?”
“……Never mind.”
Seeing that she was impervious to reason, Ling Xiyue could only sigh mournfully. He turned to the teary-eyed Ling Fengming and said, “Fengming, weren’t you in Yao City with Big Brother, staying at the city lord’s residence? Why did you suddenly come here alone?”
The moment he finished speaking, Ling Fengming—who had been as quiet as a chicken in front of Shu Fu—leaped up and pointed at his nose. “I can go wherever I want! What’s it to you?”
“Fengming, I—”
“I’m the one who should be asking you questions! That crazy woman hit me, so why are you smiling and apologizing to her instead? Big Brother was right. You’re nothing like the rest of the Ling family. You’re a traitor who’s brought shame to our ancestors’ bloodline—”
“……”
Ling Xiyue took the stream of elementary-school-level insults in stride. Even the gentle smile on his face did not diminish in the slightest.
“Fengming, Weicheng has always maintained strict neutrality and never allied itself with any sect. There are also many cultivators here who have poor relations with Lingxiao City and won’t give us any special treatment. Once you’ve calmed down, you should return to Yao City as soon as possible.”
No one could have guessed that what he was really thinking was: Once you’ve calmed down, preferably you’ll go ahead and die too.
“……”
Shu Fu watched the three brothers from the side, her expression cold. These three were freaking ridiculous.
The eldest was a textbook scumbag. The second was a smiling black-hearted lotus. The third was clearly a giant baby with stunted mental development, whose IQ and EQ had both remained at elementary-school level. At first glance, it seemed that when Nuwa had created him, she had gotten creative and molded his head hollow.
She could never have imagined that Ling Shanhai, a mighty overlord in his own right and the foremost figure in the modern cultivation world, could have raised his sons into such a pack of disasters.
Could it be… that someone had deliberately indulged Ling Fengming, turning him into a harmless little idiot?
After all, given Ling Shanhai’s cultivation, it was perfectly normal for him to spend twenty or thirty years in secluded cultivation at a time. He might not have been able to personally watch his son grow up. Back when Qi Feng was obsessed with seclusion, Third Master Qi had taken charge of the family. Hadn’t the descendants of the Qi family turned out to be a whole collection of oddballs as well?
“……”
Shu Fu made no effort to conceal her thoughts. She turned and glanced at Ling Xiyue, her suspicions and deductions written plainly across her face.
Reading her expression, Ling Xiyue understood what she was thinking. A complicated, bitter smile surfaced at the corner of his lips, and he gave her an almost imperceptible nod.
So that was it.
Shu Fu was quick-witted. After a moment’s thought, she had pieced together the whole story. She sighed leisurely. “The eldest young master of Lingxiao City really is an admirably clever man.”
“What?”
Ling Fengming paused, then puffed out his chest with a proud look. “Hmph. At least you know enough to praise my big brother. But I’m telling you, even if you flatter him now, I still won’t forgive you!”
Shu Fu: “……”
This child was beyond saving. Someone take him out and bury him.
The eldest young master of Lingxiao City—Ling Fengqing—was the sworn enemy who had murdered the Tong clan and Tian Xin. He was also the man Shu Fu was determined to kill.
Ling Fengqing was arrogant, narrow-minded, shallow, and vicious. At the same time, he possessed a kind of cunning and treachery beyond that of ordinary people. Unless someone’s heart and lungs were completely rotten, most people simply could not come up with the sort of malicious little schemes he devised.
He had not even spared his own brothers.
For his second brother, Ling Xiyue, who was quick-minded and exceptionally talented, Ling Fengqing had suppressed him from the very beginning. He had arranged for him to be abducted and sold on the black market, stripped him of his bloodline, and broken his spine, ensuring that he could never compete with him again.
As for his third brother, Ling Fengming—naive, ignorant, proud, and willful—Ling Fengqing had personally lifted him to the ninth heaven, indulging his every whim. He had cultivated in him the temper of a young master who believed that everyone beneath heaven existed to mother him, artificially forging a 24-karat pure idiot.
For a moment, Shu Fu could not decide which brother was more miserable.
Regardless, their big brother had to die.
As Shu Fu was pondering this, the merman senior brother beside her stepped forward and fixed his gaze on Ling Fengming.
“Junior Sister, he’s insulting you.”
Shu Fu: “Yes, I heard him. He’s terrible at insulting people.”
Si Fei: “Should I kill him?”
Shu Fu: “No need. Don’t bully a lower life-form. This little brother is like fish lice. Even if you were a fish, you wouldn’t waste the effort eating them one by one.”
“What did you say?!”
Ling Fengming was so furious that he jumped three feet into the air. “You’re insulting me! Don’t think I can’t understand—Eek!!”
This time, he only managed half a shout before a tiny snow-white snake emerged from Shu Fu’s sleeve and bared a little pair of fangs at him in warning.
Ling Fengming let out a shriek and stumbled backward again and again. “Y-you play with snakes too?! You’re disgusting! I hate snakes more than anything! Take it away, take it away!”
Shu Fu: “……”
That wasn’t “hating” them. He was plainly terrified.
Considering that this child was actually a young yuan-chu—oh, no, a young phoenix chick—it was only natural for him to fear snakes.
Could it be that Jiang Xuesheng had deliberately chosen a snake as his host in order to intimidate this whole nest of bird-people from Lingxiao City?
To be honest, it did seem like something he would do.
Shu Fu shook her head, driving away the bizarre train of thought. She was just about to tease the idiot little chick a bit more when she suddenly heard crying coming from across the street.
Every sob was filled with grief, heartrending and desolate. The moment the sound reached their ears, it made their hearts clench involuntarily.
……On such a wonderful holiday, how could anyone possibly be crying?
Shu Fu had spent several years in the cultivation world as a chivalrous heroine who vanquished demons and defended the weak. She loved sticking her nose into other people’s business, so the moment she heard the crying, she could no longer stand by. She was just about to abandon the Ling brothers and go investigate when the young master, who had been teary-eyed only moments ago, ran off even faster than she did, shouting even louder:
“What’s going on? Who’s crying? What happened? I’ll handle it! But from now on, you have to pledge allegiance to Lingxiao City and follow our lead!”
Shu Fu: “…………”
What an energetic little punk. Who could have guessed he belonged to the villain’s faction?
Naturally, the Lingxiao City cultivators accompanying him had no intention of letting the young master get involved. The poor middle-aged nursemaid rubbed his backside, which had just been kicked in turns by Shu Fu and Si Fei. After much coaxing, and after bringing up the name of the eldest young master, Ling Fengqing, he finally managed to persuade the little ancestor to leave.
“Fine, fine, I’ll go back. There’s nothing fun here anyway, and there’s some crazy woman staring at me. Big Brother and Elder Huayue are really something. When I stay in Yao City with them, they don’t let me do anything. I want to help too!”
The young master was deeply unwilling to leave. His lips stuck out like a duck’s bill. At the very end, he glared viciously at Shu Fu.
“Woman, I’ll remember you!”
Shu Fu raised one eyebrow. “Please don’t. Come back and put on your overbearing immortal act after you’ve grown some hair. Though, honestly, I doubt you’ll ever manage to cultivate into an immortal.”
“Hmph! Just you wait! I’m going back to tell Big Brother and have him deal with you!”
After tossing out those parting words, Ling Fengming climbed into the flying carriage and sped away.
By Shu Fu’s estimate, the young master’s thrilling adventure in Wei City had lasted approximately five minutes, one of which had been spent getting beaten up.
“I apologize, Miss Jiang. I hope that didn’t make you laugh.”
Ling Xiyue did not leave with him. Under the icy gazes of Shu Fu and the White Snake, he remained at the scene through sheer, extraordinary endurance.
“Were you planning to investigate the source of the crying? If you don’t mind, may I accompany you?”
Shu Fu cast him a sidelong glance. “What, has the weasel decided to go vegetarian today?”
As if to match her tone, the White Snake slithered up onto her shoulder, raised its head high, and struck an aggressive pose.
“Miss Jiang, what are you saying?”
Suppressing his instinctive fear of snakes, Ling Xiyue smiled.
“As the saying goes, ‘With love, even water is enough to fill the stomach.’ As long as I’m with you, I’d be perfectly content to live on wind and dew, let alone skip a meal.”
He spoke with heartfelt sincerity and considerable romantic flair. Shu Fu, however, merely replied with a cold, indifferent “Oh.” Then she turned around as though nothing had happened, not even sparing him a glance as she headed toward the source of the crying.
With her back to Ling Xiyue, she waved dismissively and said offhandedly:
“What benefit is it to me if you live on wind? Forget it. You’d better go eat. If you offer me the money you save on meals, I might even be a little tempted.”
“And next time you come looking for me to chat without any particular reason, I charge five hundred spirit stones per stick of incense. We’ll exchange goods for payment and owe each other nothing.”
Ling Xiyue: “……”
Wait. You’re not moved by me—you’re just moved by money, aren’t you?
Pom: “A-Yue, I think you should give up. You look so pitiful that even a dog can’t bear to watch.”
“……”
Ling Xiyue fell silent for a long while before speaking word by word:
“Xuan, you don’t understand. Although I’m disappointed that Miss Jiang treats me so coldly, I still like her. If she were like everyone else and fawned over Lingxiao City, I wouldn’t like her at all.”
Pom: “……”
Big Brother, why are you doing this to yourself?
……
After ruthlessly abandoning the clingy male second lead, Shu Fu, Si Fei, Little Qing, and Little Bai made their way through the crowd and found the source of the heart-wrenching cries.
It was an ordinary household by the roadside. A middle-aged woman in brightly colored clothes was slumped at the entrance. She had clearly dressed up especially for the festival; the flowers on her chest and in her hair had not yet been removed. Covering her face with both hands, she wept bitterly.
“My child, my poor child! Where have you gone? It’s all my fault for not watching you properly. That’s why you were abducted… Demons! It must be the work of demons!”
“Mrs. Zhang, don’t panic. Little Treasure is a lucky child. Good people are blessed, and he’ll definitely be fine! Maybe he only got lost. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with demons!”
“That’s right, we’ve already asked the Lord of Wei City for help! With so many cultivators under her command, she’ll definitely be able to find your son!”
Several townspeople, dressed up just like her, stood around offering comfort and reassurance, taking turns speaking. Yet nothing they said could stop her tears.
Shu Fu felt a stir in her heart. The scene looked strangely familiar—much like Xianglin’s Wife discovering that A-Mao had been carried off by a wolf.
If the lost child could not be found, the woman might well spend the next several decades drifting through life in a daze.
This was certainly worth stepping in to help with. Shu Fu was just about to move forward when Jiang Xuesheng gently caught her sleeve between his teeth.
“Wait. Don’t show yourself just yet. Listen to what she has to say first.”
Wu Yao also lowered his voice. “It is not uncommon for demons to abduct children in the cultivation world. But this place lies at the foot of Wei City, and it is also right before the festival. I’m afraid this may not be the work of an ordinary demon. Little one, do not act rashly.”
Shu Fu thought that made sense, so she stopped and moved aside. She watched as other passersby approached the woman and listened while she recounted the entire story through a torrent of tears and mucus.
It was one thing not to know; it was another to hear it and be horrified.
Before they arrived, children had already been disappearing from Wei City from time to time. There had been more than ten victims, yet the culprit had never been found.
They called the perpetrator a “culprit” because most of the missing children were discovered several days after they vanished.
…Their skeletons were found abandoned in a hastily dug pit in the outskirts.
According to the autopsies, every child had died in exactly the same way—asphyxiation.
In other words, each time, the culprit had buried the child alive and quietly waited for them to suffocate before digging the body back up and leaving it to be discovered.
The cruelty of the mind behind it, the viciousness of the method, and the utter inexplicability of the motive were enough to make it stand out even among demons and other practitioners of the dark arts.
“I heard from relatives of mine in Yao City that the same thing happened there several years ago, but it stopped afterward. Could it be that the demon responsible has wandered from Yao City to Wei City…”
“Of all times, it had to happen right before the Flower Festival. How can the families who’ve lost their children possibly have the heart to celebrate?”
“If you ask me, Mrs. Zhang, you should go pray at the Flower Child Temple. When all else fails, it’s worth a try. Maybe Lord Flower Child will show mercy and bless your Little Treasure with a safe return.”
“That’s right, go to the Flower Child Temple! Look at you, saying things like ‘when all else fails’ and ‘worth a try.’ Show some respect. Lord Flower Child is incredibly efficacious! Last time, one of my chickens went missing, and I prayed to Lord Flower Child—and they helped me find it!”
“You’re the one talking nonsense. How can a living person be compared to a chicken? Still, the Flower Child Temple really is effective. Praying to Lord Flower Child works better than praying to any Grand Immortal.”
“For hundreds of years, Weicheng has worshiped the Flower Child, and the weather has always been favorable. We’ve never suffered any major disasters, and life has grown better with each passing year. Sister-in-law Zhang, everyone’s going out to help you look for your child. Why don’t you go to the temple and pray as well? It might at least put your mind at ease.”
…
“‘Flower Child Temple’?”
Shu Fu repeated the peculiar name under her breath. “I’ve never heard of it. Since there’s a Flower Child Temple, does that mean there’s a Bridesmaid Temple too?”
“What’s a bridesmaid?” Wu Yao asked.
Jiang Xuesheng had heard the term from Shu Fu. His reply was as flat as ever: “If you insist on keeping your standards for choosing a Dao companion, yet refuse to change that temper of yours, then a bridesmaid is something you’re destined never to have anything to do with. There’s no need to ask.”
Wu Yao: “????”
