Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Where Did She Go

Immortal Ling Xu said softly: “It’s pointless to argue about this now. Whether or not Li Shuang was the one who saved Shen Yue back then, Zhao Zhao never knew the truth from start to finish, and she did not lie. If we must blame someone, blame Li Shuang for not explaining clearly and causing a small misunderstanding.”

Li Shuang lowered her eyes.

[Was it that I did not explain clearly, or that no one would have listened to me at all?] she thought. [I am not as lively or fun as Ye Zhao Zhao, and I cannot talk the way she does.]

Ye Zhao Zhao’s mind was always full of clever new ideas.

She would tell Sheng Yuan stories she wrote herself. Those stories were not sold anywhere, and they were thrilling enough to make anyone pound the table. Even Li Shuang liked to hear them.

Ye Zhao Zhao made little crafts. The fluffy dolls she made still sat in Shen Yue’s room.

She invented all kinds of games. Chang Le An was the youngest, so the two of them got along best. Sometimes they played what she called soccer, sometimes poker or mahjong.

She could also brew wine. The liquor she made was unknown across the whole Immortal Realm, and Master loved it.

At first, Li Shuang had liked this Junior Sister who brought laughter to Ling Xu Peak.

[But later…] Li Shuang’s gaze dropped, her heart clear and still. [I cannot be as clever and cute as Ye Zhao Zhao, so it makes sense they favored her. But now I have people who will stand with me and protect me. I did not speak to win anyone’s apology. I spoke because it is the truth.]

“A bunch of blind people,” Lin Qing Ling said with a cold laugh as she glanced at Shen Yue, who was writhing in pain on the floor. “You should think about how to handle Shen Yue’s condition first.”

Qi Deviation was extremely dangerous.

If it was discovered at once, handling it was a little easier. You could ask a high-level Disciple with water or ice attributes to help.

But now…

Who knew how long Shen Yue had been in demonic frenzy? The heartfire likely first flared at his dantian, and now it had spread all over his body. That meant at least one or two hours had already passed.

Lin Qing Ling shot another mocking look at Ye Zhao Zhao. [Just gone for a little while?] she thought. Ye Zhao Zhao had probably left long before this.

“I also have a fire spiritual root. If I act, I will only make it worse,” Immortal Ling Xu said slowly, frowning.

He could not help looking at Li Shuang.

If Li Shuang were still at Nascent Soul Stage, she might barely be able to suppress it, though it would be risky. As for other Nascent Soul Cultivators, they would never take such a risk for someone else.

But now, Li Shuang had only Qi Refining cultivation and could do nothing at all.

With Shen Yue like this, only a Cultivator at Divine Transformation or above, and with a countering Single Spiritual Root, would have a real chance to save him.

There were only a few such people in the whole sect.

And they were not people he could summon at will.

Immortal Ling Xu pressed his lips together: “I will go ask for help,” he said, and hurried away.

The others did not leave. As news spread from inside, the gathered Disciples began to gossip with interest.

“Shen Yue fell into Qi Deviation five years ago? How did that never get out?”

“The people of Ling Xu Peak actually thought he got through it because Ye Zhao Zhao called him back with her voice…”

“Hahaha, seriously? They have cultivated all these years and still think like children?”

“Senior Sister Li is the pitiful one. She worked hard to suppress his heartfire and then got blamed by everyone.”

“So what about the snow mountain incident? What do you think the truth is? Did Senior Sister Li really abandon them there?”

The crowd kept arguing.

Even the old mystery of the snow mountain, with two sides both insisting they were right, was dragged out and analyzed again.

Hearing the whispers, Ye Zhao Zhao’s face grew whiter and whiter.

“Junior Sister, don’t listen to them,” Chang Le An said, heart aching for her. “They don’t know what a gentle and kind person you are.”

Zhao Zhao would never lie.

The events five years ago must have been a chain of accidents. How could that be her fault?

Chang Le An shot a glare at Li Shuang.

So.

Li Shuang had stayed silent back then, yet today she suddenly spoke up.

Was she trying to ruin Junior Sister’s name on purpose?

What a deep scheme.

“First Senior Brother, you must stand up for Junior Sister. Li Shuang, she—” Chang Le An started to press Sheng Yuan.

Sheng Yuan’s thoughts were in chaos. At Chang Le An’s words, he suddenly barked: “Enough. I said enough.”

Startled, Chang Le An and Ye Zhao Zhao both froze.

Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes reddened with hurt: “First Senior Brother…”

Looking at her tearful face, Sheng Yuan pressed his lips together and lowered his voice: “Second Junior Brother’s life or death is still unknown. I don’t have time to think about anything else.”

He looked at Shen Yue, whose body was wreathed in flames, and felt something he could not name. Even standing a distance away, he could feel the heat of the heartfire.

[What pain did First Senior Sister endure to save Shen Yue? What injuries forced her into seclusion?]

And them?

They had accused Li Shuang of abandoning their Junior Brother, accused her of failing her duty as First Senior Sister.

[What did she feel back then?] He glanced at Li Shuang.

The people of Emotionless Peak stood in front of her. Her face was calm, her heart like clear ice.

He did not know what Li Shuang had felt then.

But now, [she will no longer rise or fall because of us], he thought.

A sharp pain pierced Sheng Yuan’s heart. He still did not understand how things had become like this.

By rights, it should never have ended up this way.

Seeing him like this, Chang Le An and Ye Zhao Zhao did not dare speak again. An odd silence fell over the scene.

Soon, Immortal Ling Xu paid a huge price and invited a Steward of the sect at Divine Transformation to act.

The Steward entered the room while the rest stepped back.

Staring at the closed door, Immortal Ling Xu trembled inside. He had only two loves in life, wine and wealth. To save Shen Yue, he had bled himself dry this time.

“Everyone knows Qi Deviation comes from a mistake in cultivation. Your Disciple likely gave birth to his own Devil Demon,” Lin Qing Ling said coolly. “You cannot blame us for that.”

Immortal Ling Xu ground his teeth: “That Devil Demon must be tied to your people. The spirit stones I spent to invite Steward Fang this time, your Emotionless Peak will pay half. Then we will call it even.”

Lin Qing Ling laughed coldly: “You dare ask me for spirit stones? For Shen Yue’s Qi Deviation to be this severe, at least one or two hours must have passed. If someone had noticed earlier, it would not be this bad. You should first ask your ‘I only stepped away for a little while’ Disciple where she really went.”

All eyes turned to Ye Zhao Zhao.

Ye Zhao Zhao’s heart sank. Why would this not end?

She was still trying to think of an explanation when, suddenly, the Sect Master’s voice sounded outside: “Old Hong, this is Ling Xu Peak. Who exactly are you here to see?”

Cultivation realms in this story:

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divine Transformation (the Sword Sect’s Steward level), Integration (Peak Master and Sect Master level), Spirit Refinement (Elder level), Tribulation Crossing (Supreme Elder and other old monsters).