T/N: Hi, jillaimee here again! The only reason for the prompt update was because I had a day off today, and spent the entire day translating instead of tackling the pile of work by my desk. It is a great way to procrastinate, I must say.
Trying to experiment with inserting credits randomly, hopefully without disrupting the flow of the story too much. Let me know if its too annoying. (I’m just too petty to let other sites have an easy time of stealing my things hahaha.)
“Sect Leader once instructed not to murder indiscriminately…”
“If it is anywhere else. For those who intrude into the Forbidden grounds, regardless of the reasons, kill.”
“Yes…yes, this subordinate will remember…”
“Once this is settled, go to the Disciplinary Hall to receive your punishment.”
How mighty he has become now. I coldly scoffed inwardly, stretching my neck and my fingers with a few ‘crack’ sounds, getting rid of the stiffness in this body.
Zhi Yan stared at me from behind. “What are you planning to do now? Didn’t you say that after I answer your questions, you would return the body to me?” She seemed a little anxious, perhaps because she was remembering some of the things I’ve done when I was alive. “You, are you planning to renege on your words?”
I kept my narrowed eyes on the path, as far as I could see through the rain, and heard the sound of approaching footsteps. “Didn’t you ask me earlier who buried me here?” I said. “Well, see for yourself.”
Just as I finished speaking, Mo Qing, in his dark clothes, appeared in our vision.
“Its….its the Wan Lu Sect Leader…Li Chen Lan.”
Oh, so he is actually called Li Chen Lan. I laugh lightly, the son of the Demon King should indeed be surnamed Li. When we first met, he was so adamant on not saying his name, to the point that I was exhausted wracking my brains trying to think of a name for him. Now that I think back on it, I was deceived by him from the very beginning to the end.
“Little lady,” I called out to Zhi Yan. “Earlier you said, you wanted to enter Wan Lu Sect right?”
Zhi Yan looked at me blankly. “Y…Yes.”
“I have a simple solution.” I turned my head to look at her, curling my lips into an evil smirk. “When I built Wan Lu Sect, I laid down a rule – whoever has the ability to kill me will have the right to become the next Sect Leader. I was thinking, if you want to take revenge, entering Wan Lu Sect to become a low-ranked subordinate doesn’t have much meaning to it. Why not…” I bared my teeth in a tiger-like smile, “I send you straight to the top in a single move, what do you think?”
“What do you mean…straight to the top?” Zhi Yan appeared a little confused.
That is, to send you to become the Sect Leader ah!
As I replied her those words in my heart, my eyes brightened as with a twist of my wrist, the Bai Shui Jian Xin Sword was summoned into my hand. I wiped away the mud and water clinging to the sword, and gazed at Mo Qing, who was approaching through the curtain of heavy rain. New enmity and old hatred rose in my heart; I pumped energy into my legs and sprung forward, waving my sword, the sword aura piercing straight towards the dark-robed Mo Qing.
“Protect the Sect Leader!” The disciples behind him yelled, but even before their voices had faded, my sword aura had already descended on Mo Qing.
A loud ‘bang!” resonated, like lightning striking onto the ground creating the sound of thunder. I stared through the haze of the heavy rain at where he stood, a proudly satisfied smile on my face. Zhi Yan’s body lacks internal energy and physical strength, but even if it was a body with a poor foundation, in my hands, I would also be able to…
I would also be able to…
Not do much damage.
As the brightness of the sword aura faded, Mo Qing’s figure was still standing, unruffled, in the rain. He stood with his hands behind his back, with all the demeanor of a great scholar. The sword aura I released earlier, to not speak of injuring him, even just creating a small tear on his robes… did not happen. Yet it was this sword aura that successfully focused his attention on me.
Because we were so far apart, I couldn’t see his expression clearly, yet I could so obviously sense that this man, and the person standing in front of my gravestone before seemed like two completely different people. His gaze was frigid and sharp; a cold and murderous aura emanated from him, completely different from the ugly little monster I had known before.
I was a little dazed, and it was in this split-second of inattention that Mo Qing suddenly moved.
I was completely defenseless as he appeared before me in an instant, and I barely saw the golden seal in his palm flash by.
A killing blow! A hit by that would definitely kill me!
This thought flashed past my mind, and losing my head momentarily from anxiety, I raised the Bai Shui Jian Xin sword to deflect the blow – “Ba!” a delicate sound like that of a drop of water falling into a lake rang out. Yet I was forcefully hurled away by the huge force, smashing through the curtain of rain and landing a great distance away, rolling around like a dung ball as the mud from the ground splattered onto my clothes. My momentum only barely came to a halt when I crashed into a stone.
I spit out a mouthful of blood. I dropped the broken sword in my hands and laid pathetically on the ground, vomiting blood for what seemed to be forever, unable to catch my breath.
This ugly little monster now plays…heh heh…plays very well ah.
“Ah Ah Ah!” The one with an even more heart-rending scream than me, turned out to be the spirit Zhi Yan in front of my gravestone. “I am going to die!” Panic-stricken, she circled my gravestone anxiously like an ant around a pot of food. “My body, my body! Is going to die!”
I coughed once, spitting out the blood in my throat. “Won’t die,” I hoarsely said these words, and raising my head, saw that Mo Qing had once again appeared in front of me in a flash.
The ink scars on his face have disappeared long ago, yet at this moment, his face looked a million times more terrifying than before.
In my heart I understood; between the two of us now, there was practically the difference of ten thousand Liu Cang Lings, but since I have provoked him today, then the only solution for now was to…
Admit my loss.
“Hero is superior!” I yelled. “This humble little girl admits defeat!”
Zhi Yan yelled from the side, “I’m dead, I’m dead. You people of the Wan Lu Sect never leave any survivors. Li demon is vicious and merciless, you are definitely going to die, I’m also definitely going to die, we are finished, I can’t take revenge for my father anymore…”
Her non-stop muttering could not be heard by anyone else, other than me. I also understood that if Wan Lu Sect was the kind to let anyone who admitted defeat off so easily, then we would never have become the Number One Demonic Sect.
I sneakily raised my head to glance at Mo Qing, trying to gauge his expression so I could adapt accordingly.
But unexpectedly, what I saw was a stunned looking Mo Qing. He stared at me, but yet it was as if he was staring past me and seeing something else.
Anyway I can never understand that kind of seeing-yet-not-seeing expression that these young people like to do; the only thing I need to understand is that he doesn’t seem very keen on killing me right now.
Hm, the method of admitting defeat has some potential. -chapter done by jillaimee
As long as Zhi Yan’s body is here, there will be plenty of chances to take revenge. I firmly decided to continue admitting inferiority without pause. I completely scrapped my plan of sending Zhi Yan straight to the top, and decided to take the wonderful path of “saving the country in a roundabout way”.
“Hero! Ah, no, that is…Li Sect Leader! This humble little girl Lu…” I stopped, lightly coughing, “Lu Zhi Yan.”
Zhi Yan’s spirit had finally managed to float over with great effort, and in between her complaining about how slowly ghosts walk, she rebuked me, “I am not surnamed Lu!”
Who cares what your surname is, I was so used to announcing my own name that I almost blurted it out, the fact that I could stop in time was already very impressive, okay. I ignored her and continued weaving my story together. “My father was killed by the Jian Xin Sect Leader Liu Wei, I was desperate, and whole-heartedly came here to join Wan Lu Sect, but unexpectedly just as I reached the doors of Wan Lu Sect I was coerced and brought here by that Jian Xin Sect disciple. To have intruded upon the forbidden grounds, it was truly an unintentional mistake, I can only hope for Sect Leader’s great mercy.”
I admitted my mistake and conceded defeat with the utmost sincerity. Zhi Yan stared at me with wide eyes, her mouth agape. “Lu Zhao Yao…female demoness…you…you are actually this kind of demon.”
Hn, an inexperienced little girl who doesn’t understand anything. Knowing when to fight and when to retreat is the very first principle of becoming a demon. I couldn’t resist, and secretly rolled my eyes at Zhi Yan. Yet it was at this moment when I rolled my eyes, that Mo Qing opened his mouth. “Whole-heartedly wanting to join?” He took a step forward, stepping on the broken Bai Shui Jian Xin sword on the floor. “Yet your sword moves are not bad.”
His words were filled with sarcasm, reminding me of the undeniable fact that I had attacked him at first sight earlier. (This chapter is translated by jillaimee on Silent Moon Translations)
My eyes rolled back for an instant, and I quickly smiled. “I was too excited to see Sect Leader earlier, and wanted to spar with you. Truthfully, it is not that I’m boasting, but with my abilities, within Wan Lu Sect, other than Sect Leader, I feel that no one else can take me as their disciple.”
I raised my head, my mouth full of blood and my entire body caked with mud, but despite the pathetic figure I made, my gaze was full of sincerity. “Sect Leader, I only wanted to acknowledge you as my master ah!”
Mo Qing looked at me with his head bowed, his gaze heavy, not speaking a word. That kind of far away expression once again appeared within his gaze.
I still cannot fathom his thoughts, and can only allow the strands of rainfall between us to weave out layer upon layer of a large web that drenched my hair and face again and again.
Finally, his figure moved slightly. This body, whether it is for life or death, will all depend on a single thought from him…
“Ah! Wanting to acknowledge Sect Leader as your master! You Celestial Sect dog, in your dreams!” A guard coming up from behind interjected. My gaze flickered over to him, committing this flat-nosed, small-eyed face to memory. When he finished speaking, his approach did not stop, and he side-stepped Mo Qing, raising his sword to hack at me.
Hn, even daring to walk in front of the Sect Leader, how ignorant! One look and I can tell that you will never be able to achieve a high rank in Wan Lu Sect.
Just as my heart filled with scorn, indeed, even before he managed to raise his huge sword fully, his entire figure was struck by an invisible blow, and he landed on his bottom in a pile of mud. Mo Qing inclined his eyes towards him, his gaze frigid. “Who gave you the guts to make a move?”
“Sect…Sect Leader.” This flat nose follower didn’t even dare to make any sound of pain, immediately kneeling flat on the floor. “Sect Leader said earlier…anyone who intrudes into the forbidden grounds, regardless of their reasons, is to be killed…right?”
I can bear witness; Mo Qing did indeed say that earlier.
However, Leader ah! What is a Leader! A Leader is, when he says one, you must say one; when he says it is not one, even if he said it was one earlier, you must also never mention that he said one before. Because that would make it seem like the Leader is extremely stupid, making him especially lose face.
After all I had been a Leader before, so I can completely understand Mo Qing now, as the Sect Leader, the kind of awkward emotion when he meets such a dumb disciple.
So I very kindly decided to mediate a compromise. “This can’t be called intruding ah! I was being forced to intrude ah, so you can’t kill me.” I turned my head, pointing to the Liu Cang Ling I had knocked out earlier, lying at a side. “Kill him, it’s all his fault.”
“You can’t!” Zhi Yan called out from the side.
But other than me, no one can hear this lone ghost’s words, even if it was Mo Qing who had obtained the Wan Jun Sword and cultivated to such a powerful level.
I shot a glance at Zhi Yan, not planning to listen to her. If this responsibility was not carried by Liu Cang Ling, then there would be no one else to bear it. I am not stupid, of course I would first move to protect Zhi Yan’s body, whether or not Liu Cang Ling lives has nothing to do with me.
I turned my gaze back to Mo Qing, waiting for him to make his decision.
Finally, he turned to leave, only saying, “Xi Yue Peak, get some people to arrange your accommodation yourself.”
That is agreeing to let me stay then, and as for whether or not to take me in as a disciple, whether or not to kill Liu Cang Ling, he did not explain. Only, just before he left, as he walked past my gravestone, his footsteps slowed slightly, his fingers twitched, and a dimensional space, shining with golden light, opened up in the air above my gravestone, sheltering it from the rain like a huge umbrella.
My brows twitched.
Just what is his meaning? Conveniently tossing out a charity handout?
There was no opportunity to ask, and no way to ask, for Mo Qing’s figure then completely faded into the curtain of rain.