The name "Divine Movement Talisman" sounds incredibly powerful, but in reality, it can only move one a very short distance.
Xie Jingci was unfamiliar with the scenes within the secret realm. Coupled with the urgency of the moment, she didn't have time to think carefully. She randomly determined a direction within the dense forest and left Pei Mingchuan's presence with Pei Du.
She had met thick-skinned people before, but encountering someone as shameless as Pei Mingchuan was truly a first. Thinking further about Pei Yu, Bai Wan, and Pei Fengnan, she felt her scalp tingle and couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted.
"It's a wonder you could stay with that whole family for so long."
Xie Jingci said with genuine feeling: "Just Pei Mingchuan alone is bad enough. Pei Yu must have given you a hard time too, right?"
"It was my fortune to be taken in by the Pei Manor."
Pei Du replied softly: "Miss Xie, had I not met... Master Pei, I definitely would not have stepped onto the path of the sword so easily. Regardless of the Pei Manor's intentions, they did me a kindness."
This was an indisputable fact.
Pei Du's rise from an obscure mortal youth to a heaven-defying prodigy admired by all was inseparable from Pei Fengnan's guidance. Even though he had now severed ties with the Pei family, this debt of gratitude could not be denied.
Even now, in this situation, Pei Du would consciously stand opposite the Pei family, drawing his sword against them openly and honorably, but he would absolutely never resort to cursing them behind their backs or speaking ill of them wantonly.
Xie Jingci snorted: "Always so clear-headed, you."
He didn't reply immediately this time. Instead, he paused briefly before suddenly saying: "Miss Xie."
Xie Jingci looked up: "Hmm?"
Pei Du was momentarily stunned by her direct gaze. Unlike usual, he didn't look away but forced himself to meet her eyes, his voice dry as he spoke: "...Your hand."
Only then did she realize. Earlier, to use the Divine Movement Talisman, she had thoughtlessly linked her arm with Pei Du's. The motion had been so fluid and natural that if he hadn't deliberately mentioned it, Xie Jingci wouldn't have given it a second thought.
This was a terrifying phenomenon.
She seemed to be gradually getting used to... various physical contacts with Pei Du.
Hearing this, Xie Jingci let go of his arm, put on a stern face, and took a step back. Then she heard him continue: "Thank you, Miss, for earlier."
This wasn't mere politeness; Pei Du truly wanted to thank her.
He had few friends at the academy, and his status at home was far inferior to Pei Yu's. When faced with difficulties, no one had ever been willing to speak up for him.
That moment when Miss Xie hugged him earlier felt like something heavy had struck his heart, hot and tingling, making Pei Du yearn to pull her tightly into his embrace.
He wasn't one for flowery, extravagant words. Perhaps feeling nervous, his eyelashes fluttered: "If we encounter such matters again in the future, leave them to me. Miss Xie, you need not make too many enemies on my account."
Xie Jingci looked back at him with clear, bright eyes.
"I want to."
After a long moment, she turned sideways and kicked away a smooth pebble by her foot: "Enemies are enemies. If they dislike me, must I go out of my way to please them? Besides—"
Xie Jingci paused: "Besides, whether those people are sad or happy has nothing to do with me, but you are different."
The young man with his gentle, serene expression suddenly froze.
"Just," she carefully chose her words, "we are... friends. I absolutely could not possibly side with those people on purpose and let you suffer. If I couldn't even do that, then we couldn't be called friends."
A good while passed, and Pei Du remained silent.
Xie Jingci's voice gradually softened, a rare hint of bashfulness appearing on her face: "Is it... a bit cheesy?"
"No."
He finally snapped out of it, carefully tucking her words away in his heart. When he spoke again, his tone unconsciously carried a faint smile: "Miss Xie is... very good."
Good heavens.
Xie Jingci had never imagined that one day, a mere five words could make her ears burn.
Pei Du was truly lethal.
The topic had reached its end, and she didn't want to extend it further. She looked up and scanned their surroundings: "This place is..."
Pei Du answered for her: "The Puppet Tower."
The scene before them was completely different from before. The dense, lush ancient trees had all disappeared, replaced by a cold, austere little building.
Wandering Immortal Yunshui had wide-ranging interests and delved deeply into the art of puppetry. For this purpose, she specially built a pavilion to store her puppets.
Generally speaking, a puppeteer would only have at most three puppets accompanying them. This wasn't just because controlling too many was difficult; more importantly, a deep bond existed between the puppeteer and their puppets, akin to soulmates who were attuned to each other in a way.
Since they were close companions, one definitely couldn't be promiscuous with them.
But Wandering Immortal Yunshui was different.
She was passionate about creating puppets, turning the proper art of puppetry into something like a life-sized Barbie dollhouse. It was said she even tried to have the puppets live with her like ordinary people, all to comprehend the so-called "emotion."
The Puppet Tower had only two floors. From its construction to the present day, though a thousand years had passed, it showed no signs of dilapidation, likely protected by layers of spiritual power, untouched by wind and sand.
Wandering Immortal Yunshui hadn't adorned it with lavish decorations. The small wooden tower stood alone in the forest, inexplicably exuding an eerie, secluded air.
The wooden tower's door was not closed.
Looking through a thin layer of moonlight, one could see numerous humanoid figures neatly arranged inside. The puppets were all life-sized, indistinguishable from ordinary people, standing quietly in the corners, making Xie Jingci think of standing corpses.
The scene was rather chilling.
Wandering Immortal Yunshui vanished without a trace five hundred years ago, suddenly disappearing. Since then, the puppets, having lost their spiritual power support, became ordinary dolls, not of much use.
Xie Jingci didn't want to stay here long. Just as she was about to pull Pei Du away, her gaze swept into the room, and she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine—
The moonlight was cold and white, illuminating the row of human shadows inside the tower. In the quiet, thin light, suddenly, one of the shadows jerked violently.
Xie Jingci was, after all, a young girl. She was used to facing things head-on but couldn't quite handle these eerie scenarios. Seeing this, she quickly moved closer to Pei Du's side and lowered her voice: "Did you see that?"
"Yes."
Pei Du hadn't expected her action. A faint smile flashed in his eyes as he raised his voice slightly: "May I ask which fellow cultivator is inside the tower?"
That shadow moved again.
This time, Xie Jingci saw clearly; it should be a slender man.
Or rather, a youth.
The person didn't avoid or hide. Hearing the voice, he walked out of the pavilion step by step. He seemed injured, his movements extremely stiff, occasionally shaking his neck and arms, adjusting his joints.
A wild thought crossed Xie Jingci's mind: this posture seemed exactly like that of a puppet.
As the youth gradually approached, she finally got a clear look at his appearance. It wasn't a particularly outstanding face—pale, frail, and slender—but his eyes were exceptionally beautiful, pupils round and jet-black, like pearls brimming with watery light.
The youth seemed bothered by the moonlight, frowning slightly and raising a hand to shield his forehead.
Those who entered this Guiyuan Immortal Manor were all accomplished young cultivators. Xie Jingci recognized most of their faces but had no impression of this person at all.
Curious, she asked: "May I ask how I should address you, fellow cultivator?"
The youth stared at her unblinkingly with his dark, clear eyes.
Xie Jingci belatedly realized that from the moment they stepped out until now, he hadn't blinked once.
He silently looked the two of them up and down, his bloodless lips parting slightly. His voice was as clear and clean as flowing water: "What time is it now?"
Seeing Xie Jingci stand there blankly, the young man's brow twitched slightly: "How long has it been since Wandering Immortal Yunshui sealed her divine consciousness?"
Xie Jingci: ?
For a traditional cultivator, these words might seem rather abrupt, but she had to admit, this line... she was very familiar with it.
In any time-travel drama, when the protagonist inexplicably arrives in an unfamiliar dynasty, they would invariably pick a random lucky passerby, tug on their sleeve, and ask: "What time is it now?"
Pei Du sensed something was off and stepped forward, shielding Xie Jingci behind him: "Sealed her divine consciousness?"
The world knew that Wandering Immortal Yunshui had mysteriously disappeared, her immortal abode falling into ruin overnight. Yet this young man before them could accurately utter these four words, suggesting he was likely closely connected to her.
The young man frowned: "You don't know about this?"
"That senior has been missing for five hundred years, with no trace of her found."
Xie Jingci said: "How does fellow Daoist know the reason behind it?"
The young man fell into thought, his gaze distant.
Without any hesitation, he stated: "Oh, I am Wandering Immortal Yunshui."
A—bolt—from—the—blue.
Xie Jingci: ???
Xie Jingci: "W-wait! Wasn't Wandering Immortal Yunshui a female cultivator? How could she look like this? And you said she sealed her divine consciousness, meaning she should be in deep slumber. How could she appear before us?"
The plot development had completely exceeded her expectations, filling her mind with little question marks. Meanwhile, the "Wandering Immortal Yunshui" not far away slightly furrowed his brow.
"I was born lacking a strand of the emotion root. After achieving some cultivation success, I secluded myself within the Guiyuan Secret Realm, painstakingly researching the concept of 'emotion.' However, I studied for too long without significant results and... went mad."
In short, she suffered a deviation in her cultivation, forced into an inescapable inner demon.
"The inner demon plagued me. Living alone in Guiyuan, with no one to help alleviate it, I sealed my own divine consciousness and locked my body within the Heart-Cleansing Array on the back mountain. I thought if the secret realm opened, passing cultivators might incidentally discover me and lend a hand, helping me break the inner demon."
His tone remained calm and unruffled as he continued: "I never expected that no one would notice until today."
Xie Jingci couldn't understand: "Since senior hasn't been discovered yet, then this body—"
"Naturally, I wouldn't be completely defenseless."
Wandering Immortal Yunshui's gaze darkened slightly: "When I sealed my divine consciousness, the inner demon sensed it and escaped with a strand of my divine consciousness. What you see now is a sliver of my clear consciousness that I separated to capture it."
Seeing her expression of understanding, the young man added: "When the main body falls into slumber, both I and the inner demon also lose consciousness. As a strand of divine consciousness, I needed to find a host to reside in. At that critical moment, I had no time to choose carefully and entered this puppet body before falling asleep."
For this senior, it seemed that whether the form was male or female, or what the appearance was like, were matters of no concern whatsoever.
Pei Du frowned: "Now that you, senior, have awakened, what about the inner demon and Wandering Immortal Yunshui's main body..."
"Correct."
The young man maintained an expressionless, dead-fish face from start to finish. Even with the urgent situation, his tone remained flat: "The inner demon should have awakened as well. The Heart-Cleansing Array, unbroken for many years, has weakened in spiritual power and likely won't hold for much longer. If the inner demon enters the main body, causing it to go completely mad, there will certainly be great chaos within the secret realm."
No matter how unreliable or eccentric Wandering Immortal Yunshui's personality might be, she was still a supreme expert at the peak of the Deity Transformation stage. If something went wrong as he described, not to mention the many cultivators currently here, even the secret realm itself would likely collapse with a thunderous crash.
Xie Jingci had originally thought entering this secret realm would be a relaxing, retirement-style cultivation trip. She never expected the tone to shift so drastically, turning into a desperate race against time more thrilling than ever before.
Time was tight. She didn't have leisure to ponder deeply and asked solemnly, "What should we do?"
"Go to the main hall."
Wandering Immortal Yunshui said: "My main body is surrounded by numerous evil-warding talismans; the inner demon cannot approach. The only method it can think of is to destroy the Heart-Protecting Mirror in the main hall, causing evil energy to spread and erode the Heart-Cleansing Array."
The Heart-Protecting Mirror was a magical treasure meticulously refined by Wandering Immortal Yunshui, possessing the efficacy of warding off evil, dispelling demons, and suppressing evil energy.
Although the Guiyuan Immortal Abode housed numerous demons and monsters, they had remained relatively well-behaved without causing major chaos after her disappearance. The reason was precisely because the Heart-Protecting Mirror dispersed the evil energy, imposing awe over the area.
"I am but a strand of divine consciousness, no match for the inner demon. I hope you two young friends can assist me—please follow me."
Wandering Immortal Yunshui finished speaking and began walking. Xie Jingci followed behind, curious: "Senior, to resolve the crisis, we still need to break the inner demon. May I boldly ask, what exactly is your inner demon?"
Wandering Immortal Yunshui: "...?"
Wandering Immortal Yunshui: "I forgot."
His tone held little fluctuation: "I don't possess the main body's complete memories, only recalling a very small portion of past events. To know the content of the inner demon, we must first find it and that portion of divine consciousness."
After all, he was merely a strand of separated consciousness, while Wandering Immortal Yunshui had lived over two thousand years, with a divine sea vast and boundless.
"Therefore, there's no need for you two to address me as 'senior' either."
The young man said: "My mundane name is 'Chu Zheng'—Zheng as in the zither. You may address me as such."
Wandering Immortal Yunshui had no sect, no attachments, no emotions, no desires, and her origins were unknown—a rather mysterious loose cultivator in the cultivation world. Probably no more than ten people knew this name.
Chu Zheng knew the secret realm like the back of his hand. Leading the two through dense forests, it didn't take much effort before a towering, magnificent hall came into view.
That must be the main hall.
Perhaps out of boredom, Wandering Immortal Yunshui, having secluded herself in the secret realm for many years, used arts to construct numerous buildings of varying styles. There were gardens reminiscent of southern water towns, grand pavilions of the vast desert, and even floating towers from the cultivation world—all kinds, dazzling to the eye.
Among them, located at the center, was an ancient-style palace.
Quite a few people had entered the Guiyuan Immortal Abode, and this place, situated in the most prominent central location, already had small groups of cultivators visible halfway there.
However, Meng Xiaoting and Mo Xiaoyang were nowhere to be seen.
"Since strands of divine consciousness all need to find hosts," she transmitted via voice, "the inner demon should also be possessing something right now, correct?"
Chu Zheng nodded: "The Heart-Protecting Mirror is a thing of utmost purity. If the inner demon wants to damage it, the simplest method is to possess an evil entity, break through the various evil-warding incantations outside the main hall, and once inside, pour evil energy into it, causing it to lose its divine nature."
Actually, this method had an extremely low success rate.
The inner demon was also just a small, separated strand, not particularly powerful in strength. If it tried to forcibly break through the incantations, it would only suffer heavy damage—the gain not worth the loss.
But there were always exceptions to everything.
"Aside from the evil entities originally in the secret realm, it has another, more secure choice."
Chu Zheng's gaze darkened slightly, glancing at Xie Jingci: "Do you two know, among all the cultivators who entered the realm, is there anyone carrying demonic or evil energy?"
As soon as these words were spoken, both Xie Jingci and Pei Du froze.
"A cultivator possesses power sufficient to breach the forbidden curse. A heart demon need only attach itself to that power to enter the main hall unimpeded."
Chu Zheng continued, "'Demonic miasma' is not the same as a demonic cultivator or pure demonic energy. It originates from the evil thoughts and killing intent of fiends. While not common, it's better to be safe than sorry. It would be disastrous if it slipped in."
Demonic miasma.
Xie Jingci's heart suddenly lurched into her throat.
Back in the Ghost Tomb, with its multitude of fiends, Bai Wan, in order to frame Pei Du, had taken advantage of his exhaustion to forcibly inject an extremely violent and domineering demonic breath into his body.
That should have been—
The moment this thought surfaced in her mind, a deep, mournful sound like a beast's whimper erupted around them.
The sound wasn't sharp or high-pitched, yet it pierced directly through the eardrums into the heart, like a cold, coiling serpent slowly sliding over skin and flesh, stirring waves of bone-chilling cold.
"Ah."
Chu Zheng's expression was blank, his tone calm. "The heart demon got there first. The Heart-Protecting Mirror is broken."
As his words fell, from beyond the wide-open doors of the main hall, a shrill, mad laugh suddenly rang out.
The laughter was neither male nor female, brimming with baleful aura. In an instant, a sinister wind arose, the waning moon was swallowed by dark clouds, and the Everlasting Lamps swayed wildly like dancing ghost fires.
With the Heart-Protecting Mirror shattered, the foundation suppressing the evil spirits was largely destroyed.
The Guiyuan Immortal Manor was rich in spiritual energy. The demons and ghosts residing here for centuries had greedily absorbed it for millennia, frustrated by the Heart-Protecting Mirror forcibly suppressing their cultivation and preventing their rampage. Now that the divine artifact was damaged, evil energy erupted violently.
Within the vast palace, a cultivator's terrified scream echoed: "Wh-what is this thing!"
In the blink of an eye, the Guiyuan Immortal Manor had completely transformed.
Demonic winds surged, countless evil spirits ran amok, mad laughter lingered in the ears, accompanied by an unbearable stench of blood and rot.
Those present were all Golden Core and Nascent Soul stage cultivators. After a very brief moment of panic, they quickly steadied their minds, pulling out magical artifacts to meet the enemy. Amidst the incessant cacophony, one voice stood out: "N-no, it's bad! The Heart-Protecting Mirror in the main hall... it suddenly went dark!"
The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Hearing this, Xie Jingci turned and, amidst the flashes of sword light and firelight, saw Pei Yu's figure.
She and Pei Du had not yet approached the Heart-Protecting Mirror. Regardless of whether demonic energy remained on him, this sudden calamity definitely had nothing to do with him.
And in the Ghost Tomb, among those who were alongside Pei Du amidst the demonic tide... Pei Yu was one of them.
Was it possible that he... had inadvertently been invaded by evil energy back then, becoming the heart demon's prey now?
Her heart thumped wildly. Seeing a seductress fiend lunging at her, she subconsciously drew her blade, but before she could strike, a flash of sword light appeared before her eyes.
Pei Du focused intently, his brow slightly furrowed. "Miss Xie, be careful."
"The Heart-Protecting Mirror? How could the Heart-Protecting Mirror shatter?"
Someone yelled amidst the fierce combat: "Isn't that the treasure of Wandering Immortal Yunshui?!"
Pei Yu was equally distraught: "It's surrounded by evil energy! We don't know what happened either!"
"It just cracked suddenly, the mirror surface turned completely black!"
Another young master beside him tossed out talismans like scattering beans: "These demons have gone mad! Let's run!"
Someone, voice strained, shouted back at him: "The secret realm closed long ago! We have to stay in this place for a full seven days!"
Seven days.
Those outside couldn't see into the secret realm. These seven days, originally meant for rapid advancement in cultivation, now seemed like an inescapable nightmare.
Pei Du didn't speak. His long sword moved like a dragon, releasing cold white sword energy around him. Xie Jingci, recognizing his technique, paused her Ghost Crying Blade: "You plan to form a sword array?"
With this place losing the Heart-Protecting Mirror's protection, it would inevitably attract endless demons and evil spirits. Since resistance was difficult, it was better to find a way to block the approach, separating the crowd from the evil fiends.
"Y-yes! A sword array—let's join forces to create a formation!"
A young cultivator beside her grasped at this lifeline: "As long as we combine our spiritual power, they won't be able to get in!"
Compared to those millennia-old monsters, each of their individual strengths wasn't particularly high. But if they could converge into an array, they would surely possess the power to contend with them.
There were quite a few sword cultivators present, and they responded upon hearing this. The others provided protective support, repelling the evil spirits.
As the primary array-former, Pei Du faced the most ferocious attacks. Although Xie Jingci and a few others guarded his side, the onslaught was endless. Surveying the entire hall, he alone was almost completely drenched in blood.
Outside the palace, the foul wind howled ceaselessly; inside, sword lights flashed like a surging tide.
The spiritual power of the cultivators gradually gathered, condensing into a daylight-like brightness amidst the bloody scene, igniting the turbid night sky.
The sword array was about to be completed.
The assault from outside the palace was temporarily held at bay, but those that had already broken into the hall were still clamoring.
Amidst the clamor, a sharp male voice suddenly rang out: "I... I know!"
It was Pei Yu.
Xie Jingci originally didn't want to pay him any mind, but his voice cut clearly through the noise, making her grip the straight blade in her hand.
"Pei Du... it's Pei Du! Why did the Heart-Protecting Mirror suddenly rupture and become occupied by evil energy? It's all because he carries demonic energy within him, corrupting it into useless trash!"
His voice trembled, with fear and a hint of hidden excitement: "It's all because of him! He's the one who doomed us!"
The moment his words fell, the sword array was finally completed.
A solemn, icy-white radiance enveloped the surroundings, the sword energy vast and mighty. What it slowly illuminated, however, was Pei Yu's grinning mouth: "The matter of the Ghost Tomb isn't even over, and you come to harm people again... You're clearly in league with the evil demons, aiming to slaughter us all! You bring misfortune, you calamitous star!"
A moment of silence.
"Think about it, besides Pei Du, who among us carries demonic miasma?"
Seeing this, he grew more agitated: "And why was he right there in the main hall when the Heart-Protecting Mirror shattered? Because he is the culprit who harmed us! Don't forget what he did to me and my mother in the Ghost Tomb!"
He actually had the face to bring up the Ghost Tomb.
Xie Jingci was locked in combat with a fiend. Her fingers pressed down, unable to suppress the surging anger. She quickly glanced in Pei Du's direction.
The sword array was complete. He had expended most of his strength, his robes slashed open in several places, seeping with fresh red blood.
He could barely stand, supported only by his long sword, his back straight as a pine tree.
And those who should have been guarding his side either subtly retreated a few steps or stood frozen in terror.
Xie Jingci gritted her teeth, her long blade piercing through the fiend's chest, spreading a vista of crimson.
...She needed to get to Pei Du's side.
This thought broke through the killing intent, occupying all her thoughts. Yet, the moment she took a step, she heard a ding-dong sound in her ear.
[Detecting dimensional fluctuation. Character archetype conversion in progress!]
[Please wait...]
[Congratulations! The "Player" file has been stored in the system. Please check, Host!]
It always appeared at the worst possible time.
A sudden pain throbbed in the back of Xie Jingci's head. She directly skipped the archetype introduction, hurriedly glancing at the task listed right below.
[As a Player, when encountering danger, of course you must share your favor equally!
Task One: The Sword Sect's junior martial brother is being pursued by a Bone Demon. Draw your blade and save him!
Task Two: The Second Senior Brother of Tianxin Pavilion...]
She didn't continue reading further, her voice turning low: "Where is Pei Du?"
[A playboy, fickle and heartless. Just have fun with him. Someone in his situation, would he be willing to personally step up and shoulder the criticism and blame with you? Not worth it, not worth it.]
Not worth it.
Xie Jingci remained silent, dragging her blade forward.
[Hey, hey, aren't you going to execute it?]
The system gave a light tap in her consciousness: [There are only two tasks, they can be completed quickly. I know you want to help him—just a few swings of the blade, won't take much effort from you.]
Xie Jingci still didn't respond to it.
In such a situation, to abandon Pei Du and go fawn over someone else... she'd be insane.
How hurt would he be if he saw it.
The system seemed helpless: [You remember there are penalties for not executing tasks, right?]
Of course she remembered.
When she first entered this minor world, young and ignorant, clinging stubbornly to pride, she had once refused a task without hesitation. The result was agony as if ten thousand fires were burning her heart, pain that made her wish for death.
Looking back now, aside from that one act of willfulness, ever since binding with the system, she had always obediently followed its instructions, never seriously considering what she truly wanted.
Xie Jingci's first blade strike severed the evil spirit swooping down towards him.
The evil spirit wailed, dissolving into thick, scattering black smoke. She suppressed the blood rising in her throat and tightened her grip on the Ghost Cry long blade.
What she truly wanted... what exactly was it?
At this moment, Xie Jingci seemed to understand a little.
Heaven's will, the system, criticism, blame, or slander—those were other people's matters.
Setting aside all that sincerity and pretense, for her, she simply... did not want Pei Du to be hurt.
She wanted to hug him, and also let him know that there was still someone by his side.
He was more important than any task.
More than a task-bound persona that shifted unpredictably, she was first and foremost Xie Jingci.
Excruciating pain surged violently, from the crown of her head to her heart, every part feeling as if being torn apart, yet Xie Jingci silently swung her second blade.
The second blade swept away the deathly aura swirling around Pei Du. The Ghost Cry blade hummed, illuminating the young man's pale profile.
Blood mist surged like a tide. Their eyes met.
Today's scene was exactly the same as back in the Ghost Tomb.
He stood alone at the storm's center, battered and bruised, the hand holding his sword already devoid of strength, unable even to voice a defense.
Back then, no one was willing to step forward, not even to say to him: "I believe you."
Amid the roars of demons from all directions, Pei Du stared at her in a daze, his gaze falling into Xie Jingci's pitch-black eyes.
Pei Du had striven desperately to reach her through countless unknown days and nights.
And this time, Xie Jingci, treading upon white light and blood, came to his side.
His voice trembled: "...Miss Xie."
A garment was gently draped over him, covering his bloodstains and wounds.
"I actually have a few questions I'd like to ask Second Young Master Pei as well."
Xie Jingci turned, a cold light lingering in her eyes: "First, you claim that the Heartguard Mirror only began to collapse after Pei Du arrived. But at that time, we were near the main gate, and the person closest to the Heartguard Mirror was actually you, wasn't it?"
"You're just trying to frame—"
"Second, Young Master Pei keeps talking about 'evil demonic aura.'"
She paused, her tone tinged with sarcasm: "Evil aura and demonic aura shouldn't be that easy to distinguish, right? That friend beside you mentioned the mirror shattering, but only said 'a mass of black.' Should I say you're well-informed, or that you harbor ulterior motives?"
Pei Yu gnashed his teeth: "Sheer nonsense!"
"Who's spouting nonsense, I wonder."
From the side hall, a familiar young voice suddenly rang out: "Slander, frame-ups—haven't learned much else, but you've mastered this craft quite well."
Light and shadow intertwined, a flash of sword energy illuminated the young man's sharp brows and bright eyes.
It was unmistakably Mo Xiaoyang.
Meng Xiaoting peeked out from behind him: "I'm afraid Second Young Master Pei was prepared long ago—by the way, is there even a difference between evil aura and demonic aura? I only heard about such a distinction today. And how exactly did Second Young Master come to know about it?"
She paused, waving at Xie Jingci: "Sorry, sorry! We didn't wait properly in the main hall. Long Xiao got entangled by Dreamfire, and we ended up stumbling into the side hall trying to help him."
Long Xiao, his face swollen, walked out from behind her. The three of them looked like stacked building blocks.
"I think... if Pei Gongzi were truly the culprit, there'd be no need for him to risk himself by leading us to create the sword formation."
After Meng Xiaoting's voice faded, someone finally spoke up slowly: "He's already injured so badly."
"Right! Besides, that incident at the Ghost Tomb... ahem, anyway, I believe him."
"Second Young Master, instead of just standing there doubting others, why not join us in clearing out the demons?"
"Wait, isn't demonic aura just evil aura? What exactly is this 'evil demonic aura' thing?"
These cultivators were all outstanding talents of the cultivation world; the vast majority had their own judgment and consideration, not easily led by the nose by a few words.
They already held respect for Pei Du's efforts in forming the sword array. Hearing Pei Yu's words, although they felt some doubt, with Xie Jingci and the others taking a stand first, they shed their hesitation.
[Although I don't want to punish you... the battle was too dangerous then, you definitely couldn't have handled it. I postponed the remaining punishment a bit. It'll come in the time it takes an incense stick to burn, don't forget to endure it.]
The system's voice sounded muffled: [I violated the rules, going into confinement now, bye.]
Xie Jingci: "Love you."
The system fiercely tapped her consciousness again: [Damn it, don't radiate that playboy charm at a time like this!]
The situation abruptly reversed. Gossip flew everywhere, from Pei Yu maliciously spreading rumors about Pei Du, to the details of that day on the Ghost Tomb cliff. Ordinary cultivators weren't Pei family servants; after a bit of discussion now, they overwhelmingly sided with Pei Du.
Pei Yu, failing in his frame-up, had his face metaphorically slapped resoundingly. He trembled with rage: "Xie... Xie Jingci! He's a jinx... if you keep stubbornly following him, you'll surely face retribution!"
As he said this, Xie Jingci had already turned to face Pei Du, wiping the bloodstain from the side of his face.
She let out an almost imperceptible sigh: "Does it hurt a lot?"
Miss Xie's touch was very gentle.
Everything was the same as that day on the cliff, yet everything was completely different.
That day, he stood alone atop the precipice, surrounded by countless people's curses and accusations, his entire body in excruciating pain, his chest so numb it was almost unbearable.
If anyone were willing to stand against everyone, resolutely moving towards him—that was a scenario that wouldn't even appear in dreams.
Especially... if that person were Miss Xie.
He had been a sharp sword for so many years; no one would ever think to ask the sword, does it hurt?
So gentle it made him want to weep.
All the changes had come without warning. Pei Du almost thought this was a dream. Lowering his gaze, his eyes fell directly into hers.
Like deep water, possessing a soul-stealing magic, luring him to willingly drown within.
Upon hearing Pei Yu's voice, she actually let out a soft laugh.
Xie Jingci did not turn her head to look at Pei Yu, but instead kept her gaze fixed on his line of sight. Their two stares collided silently. Pei Du saw the slight curve at the corner of her eye, her lifted red lips like a hook of utmost ambiguity.
The young woman's fingertips were soft and warm, trailing from the corner of his eye downward, stirring currents of electricity.
He could scarcely bear such tenderness; his heart ached with a light, floating pain, and a faint, aching red tinged the rims of his eyes.
"Pei Du and I are already engaged. To put it another way—"
Pei Du heard her speak softly, her fingertip pressing firmly into the hollow of his dimple—whether for Pei Yu's benefit or for his, he did not know: "I am his destined future cultivation partner, willing to stay by his side. Do you understand?"
