Crazy Man
Facing the number one most dangerous figure on the Yunshui Sect map, Yingshi's legs were shaking, her vision was blurring, her breath was weak, and her head was spinning.
The oppressive presence Mi Ruotian brought was extraordinary. It was completely incomparable to Xu Mingcheng's dark scowls. What was more, he was intentionally releasing his spiritual pressure right now, smiling while asking in a sinister tone, "I wonder, little friend, where did you learn my name?"
The surrounding air seemed to be completely drained at this moment, crushing Yingshi so heavily that her heart and lungs ached faintly.
Her heart beat like a drum. She forced herself to stand firm and let out a dry laugh. "So, so the Immortal Master has already arrived! My father mentioned earlier that he invited you to teach and guide my brother and me. He described to me how you possessed the bearing of a transcendent immortal and a righteous spirit. Seeing you today, you truly live up to the rumors, allowing me to recognize you at a single glance..."
Mi Ruotian stared at her. The superficial smile on his face slowly receded like the ebbing tide, revealing a bottomless calm underneath. His thin lips parted slightly. "Oh, is that so?"
Yingshi previously thought his smile was terrifying, but now, facing his undisguised, icy cold face, she felt she had been ungrateful earlier. Keeping a straight face was clearly even more terrifying, okay!
She hurriedly lowered her head, suppressing the involuntary tremble in her voice, and replied, "Y-yes... As for me, I still have to return to the inner sect to submit my coursework to my father! Please excuse me, Immortal Master!"
Saying this, she tried to bypass Mi Ruotian and dash straight ahead. She had to escape; she had a premonition that her little life was in grave danger!
However, just at the moment she brushed past him, Mi Ruotian casually raised the hand he had been keeping behind his back and accurately grabbed the collar at the back of her neck.
"Wait."
His grip was not heavy, and could even be called gentle, but it carried a sense of absolute control. Yingshi instantly turned into a young beast caught by the scruff of its neck, freezing in place, unable to move forward even a fraction of an inch.
"Why is my disciple in such a hurry? You are even walking the wrong way." With a slight twist of his wrist, he effortlessly turned Yingshi around to face the direction he was looking—the small path occupied by a bizarre black mist. He spoke slowly and methodically, "The path back to the Yunshui Sect's inner sect is this way."
Mi Ruotian presumptuously started calling her his disciple, but Yingshi didn't dare to try and build a connection by calling him master.
Forced to once again directly face that clump of obviously sinister black substance, she understood that he was doing this on purpose. He insisted that she discover that flaw belonging to demonic cultivators.
Why? Could she not just pretend she hadn't seen anything?!
"...This disciple saw some unusual things on that path and felt afraid, so I wanted to take a detour," Yingshi said, biting the bullet.
"Then does my disciple know what that is?"
"...I have never seen it before, I truly do not know!"
Mi Ruotian said in a flat tone, "That is demonic energy leaked from the Nether Realm, known as Ghost Fog."
"..."
Yingshi wanted to cover her ears and refuse to listen.
The novel had mentioned Ghost Fog, saying that when demonic cultivators who suffered a backlash from the Nether Realm's demonic energy died, they would turn into chaos, leaving no corpse behind. The Ghost Fog was essentially their lingering corpse aura.
In the middle and later stages of the plot, the Ghost Fog would even become one of the male lead's techniques, allowing him to command dead demons—a very unorthodox and evil path.
It was just that Yingshi never expected the Ghost Fog to look like this...
Moreover, the appearance of Ghost Fog on a small path near the Yunshui Sect's inner sect proved that a demonic cultivator had just died here, and it was a very fresh death!
This small sect had practically been infiltrated until it resembled a sieve.
Especially the Repentance Cliff, which had practically become the Nether Realm's embassy stationed within the Yunshui Sect.
"There are demonic cultivators within the Yunshui Sect," Mi Ruotian, the biggest demonic cultivator boss around, stated.
"...H-how could this be?"
Yingshi's pale face was completely unfeigned; this was her most appropriate reaction yet.
Mi Ruotian let go of her collar, gently rubbed his fingertips together, and said, "A spy must have snuck in. I will definitely report this matter to the Sect Master and ask him to investigate thoroughly. As for you, my disciple, your cultivation is still shallow, and your spiritual mind is not yet firm. If you get too close, you could easily be eroded by its cold yin energy, damaging your foundation. You truly should take a detour."
He lowered his voice even further, carrying a strange rhythm, and said leisurely, "In addition, your soul was unsettled just now, you were deeply frightened, and you directly faced the Ghost Fog, which can easily breed dark shadows within you... How about I conduct a brief examination for you? It can be considered fulfilling my duty as your master."
To Yingshi's ears, these words sounded no different from telling her to go die first.
She remembered that Mi Ruotian was a pervert. In the plot, this person had abducted quite a few disciples for human experiments. For example, Xu Xiaoran, who later made a deal with him due to gambling debts, was one of them.
Now that he was saying these things, it was clear he was interested in her and wanted to catch her to be his guinea pig. Even his following her earlier couldn't have been a coincidence... It was just that her blurting out his name had slightly disrupted his rhythm.
"...There's no need. Since the Immortal Master just arrived here, you should rest first. How could I have the nerve to trouble you!" Yingshi said anxiously. "Once I return to the inner sect, I'll just ask my father to take a look at me!"
She repeatedly brought up Xu Mingcheng, only hoping that Mi Ruotian would have some scruples. In the plot, he showed mercy to Xu Xiaoran because he was the Sect Master's son, so he should at least consider her status as the Sect Master's daughter, right?
Looking at the entire cultivation world, although the Yunshui Sect was just a small faction, Xu Mingcheng, as a Sect Master, still had some strength. Mi Ruotian in his clone state probably couldn't defeat him; otherwise, why would he lie low as a spy? He might as well just trample the Yunshui Sect flat.
A pleasant chuckle came from Mi Ruotian's throat. This was his only genuine smile. After a long while, he slowly said, "Very well."
Receiving his approval made Yingshi feel even more creeped out. She didn't step forward immediately, but quickly glanced at Mi Ruotian's expression. Unexpectedly, she made direct eye contact with him. Yingshi shuddered, and Mi Ruotian happened to raise his hand, casually flicking the horsetail whisk resting in the crook of his arm toward the direction of the Ghost Fog.
His movement was incredibly casual, like brushing dust off his lapel. Yet the Ghost Fog occupying the side of the road seemed to be ruthlessly squeezed by an invisible giant hand. It violently shrank inward, then expanded and dispersed, disappearing from the spot as if it had evaporated within two seconds.
But its disappearance was by no means out of thin air, because Yingshi felt an incomparably cold wave of energy silently spreading. It not only instantly covered the surrounding vegetation with a layer of grayish-white frost but also made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
Mi Ruotian's move seemed to be clearing the obstacle for her, but in reality, he was intentionally letting the Ghost Fog affect her so he could enjoy her fear!
How could there be such a bad person? In just a short moment, he had relied on his sheer strength to surpass Jing Fengliu and Sun Xuanyi, becoming the top of her mental hit list!
The dispersed Ghost Fog was truly too cold and sinister. Yingshi couldn't stop shivering. When she saw black energy beginning to condense again by her side, her heart practically stopped,
Spring Sun
Only one word remained in her mind: Escape!
Relying almost purely on instinct, at the moment the Ghost Fog gathered, she sprinted forward with all her might—maybe Xu Mingcheng was still waiting at the intersection to catch her like yesterday? As long as she returned to the inner sect, as long as...
The moment she took her third step, a figure moved like a phantom, starting later but arriving first, pressing silently right behind her.
Yingshi did not even hear the sound of robes cutting through the wind. She only felt a strike on the back of her neck. The force was incredibly precise; it was clearly not heavy, but it instantly severed the flow of strength throughout her entire body, and her consciousness snapped along with it...
Was this the legendary hand chop? And an evolved version at that!
All perception faded away in an instant, and darkness quickly swallowed her.
Before Yingshi completely fell into unconsciousness, her ears caught a whisper that made her blood pressure spike:
"Interesting, there is actually someone in the Cloud Water Sect who recognizes me... Hehe."
Hehe, hehe my foot!
...
The bright sun shone high in the sky.
Sunlight filtered through the open wooden door of the thatched cottage, casting a dazzling glare in front of the table where Shuangjian sat upright.
He finished his cultivation with a pale face, not even having the heart to feel frustrated over his meager spiritual power. He merely turned his head, pursed his lips, and looked outside.
It was highly unusual.
Yingshi had not appeared as promised.
Two hours ago, when the dawn was just breaking, he thought she might have been too exhausted from copying books to wake up in time.
An hour ago, when the morning glow covered the ground, he thought she might have been stopped by Xu Mingcheng. Perhaps the use of puppet techniques to copy books had been discovered, and she was delayed because she was being reprimanded.
But now it was already mid-morning, with the scorching sun high in the sky. It would be entirely unreasonable if Yingshi still did not show up.
Even if her final plan was "not coming to the thatched cottage will not arouse the suspicion of Xu Xiaoran and the others, and thus will not bring him a beating," preferring to forfeit the first opportunity set by the plot to loosen his seal just to spare him from physical pain... she would not take it upon herself to execute all of this without a word.
At the very least, she would have shown up at the cottage to explain her considerations to him.
So, if she had not come, could she have met with an accident?
Whether she was locked in confinement or entangled by someone, she must have encountered some trouble or even danger that she could no longer resolve with her own strength, causing her to miss their appointment like this...
Shuangjian stood up and walked outside. The forest breeze brushed against the loose hair on his forehead. His gaze swept over the silent mountains and woods, finally settling in the northwest direction.
There was a shortcut connecting the back mountain and the inner sect, and Yingshi was accustomed to taking that path back and forth.
And... that was also the edge closest to the Repentance Cliff.
After a brief hesitation, he chose to head in that direction.
While his strength was still restricted, bearing the burden of a severe chronic illness, he would feel his wounds tearing open if he walked just a little further. But now, he had to take action.
This was a rather sensitive period, and something beyond his control must have already happened. Shuangjian did not want to consider the worst possibility: for instance, that another troublesome person had noticed Yingshi's uniqueness and taken an interest in her.
Yet his subconscious seemed to have already perceived something, and his sinking heart drove him to approach the exact location of the Repentance Cliff.
Shuangjian's throat tasted of blood from the exertion of walking. It was right at that moment that he caught a glimpse of an unusual white among the trees by the road...
A palm-sized piece of paper was twisted among the branches, like a casually discarded piece of trash. Its original shape was indiscernible; one could only tell that it was not a regular, square piece of paper.
But that was clearly the paper puppet Shuangjian had cut out with his own hands yesterday. Before leaving, Yingshi had held every piece in her palm, her posture implying a deep sense of care.
The hand hanging by his side clenched slightly for a moment. After pausing in place for a few seconds, he walked expressionlessly toward the spot where the paper figure had been left.
The closer he got, the more he could feel a familiar aura enveloping the area.
Shuangjian's gaze shifted to the branches and leaves of the tree closest to the paper figure.
Its tips actually displayed an extremely unnatural grayish decay. It was not the withered yellow of autumn, but a deathly stillness stripped of all vitality.
Under the sunlight that should have brought warmth, those leaves actually flickered with scattered crystalline glints. However, they lacked the roundness of morning dew entirely; instead, they exhibited a cold and harsh sharpness.
That was not dew; it was frost.
That was the residual trace of the ghost fog that had once gathered and dispersed here.
He was no stranger to this unique, chilling coldness in the world, and this indicated that Yingshi might have come into contact with the Nether Ghost Fog.
...She had encountered a demonic cultivator.
...Was it a mere lackey, or... Mi Ruotian?
The fragmented scenes experienced in his previous two reincarnations briefly flashed through Shuangjian's mind, and his breathing suddenly became incredibly light.
If something had happened to Yingshi...
Did it also mean that the key was broken, the shackles would return, and his soul would once again be imprisoned in this predetermined trajectory of fate?
Did it mean he would be manipulated like a puppet once more?
Did it mean that the reality and vividness he had felt over the past two days would slip through his fingers?
Did it mean that those fragments, which seemed like illusions but were not, would become permanent, empty dreams?
...Was this also a restriction of the rules?
Why should the things he had not yet firmly grasped be plundered by others?
...On what grounds?!
...
Shuangjian's hands clenched tightly, his knuckles turning almost white. His profile was half-lit and half-shadowed under the mottled light. His eyelashes were lowered, but they could hardly conceal the madness that flashed in his eyes.
In a split second, he suddenly raised his hand and touched those cold glints at the tips of the withered leaves.
