Chapter 322

Chapter 322: Lu Shi Qing’s Madness

After careful thought, Master Ling Xiao’s heart began to tip toward a choice, and he made his decision.

Feelings matter. He must help her get them back, and he also cannot accept that his own technique sits below another’s.

Besides, Shen Sang Ruo will return to Thunder-Scale Peak and bow to him as her master again. How could she keep practicing someone else’s technique then?

So he decided to have her cultivate the Profound Fire True Dragon Art again and endure the pain of removing the technique she practices now. Short pain is better than long pain. He would do everything he could to make sure the removal went smoothly and to lessen her suffering. [This will be the last time I let her hurt. After this, I will keep her in the palm of my hand and not let any harm touch her.]

Feng He Yun’s call pulled Master Ling Xiao back to himself as he stared off: “Master, Master?”

He blinked. Feng He Yun asked with concern, “Master, what were you thinking about?”

Master Ling Xiao answered lightly, cold as usual: “Nothing much. I was only thinking about how to help Sang Ruo get her emotions back.”

He did not say a word about the Profound Fire True Dragon Art. If he said it, they would surely despise his plan. But he had no other way. This was the only path. [They do not understand me.]

Seeing Feng He Yun about to ask more, Master Ling Xiao quickly changed the topic and asked: “How did you discover her emotions were stripped away? And how do you know there is a way to retrieve them?”

Now it was Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing whose faces looked uneasy.

They could not say they traded news with the remnant soul of the Heretic Cultivator Skywatch Pavilion Master. The Flying Cloud Sect already had the stain of Bai Mu Mu. Shen Dao Chen and Master Ling Xiao hate Heretic Cultivators and Malevolent Spirits to the bone. If they told the truth, they would be expelled on the spot. This secret had to rot in their stomachs.

Lu Shi Qing steadied his voice and said: “I used the Seven Emotions Gu and the Emotion-Summoning Gu on her many times, but she never reacted, so I guessed her emotions were taken. Her feelings for us were so deep that they could not just vanish.”

Feng He Yun took over and added: “Then we went to the Archive Pavilion and searched the books. We finally found the method to retrieve emotions in an ancient text.”

He shrugged and said: “We put the book back after reading it. We cannot recall which one it was, but the method is definitely right.”

Master Ling Xiao and Shen Dao Chen exchanged doubtful looks. The two boys sounded so sure that, although suspicious, neither master linked it to a Malevolent Spirit or a Heretic Cultivator. To them, the method to get the emotions back mattered most; where it came from did not.

Shen Dao Chen was about to turn and leave, then he remembered what Lu Shi Qing had just said, and anger flared up again. He roared at Lu Shi Qing: “What did you say? It is bad enough that you used the Seven Emotions Gu on her again and again, but you even dared to use the Emotion-Summoning Gu!”

Smack! A sharp sound rang in everyone’s ears. Shen Dao Chen had struck hard.

A bright red handprint rose on Lu Shi Qing’s cheek. His eyes were fierce, and his voice held defiance as he snapped back: “I only wanted to confirm her feelings for me. Was that wrong?”

Shen Dao Chen snorted and said with scorn: “Her feelings for you? What a joke. What feelings does she have for you? Because of your self-centered fantasy, she suffered years of gossip, and even I misunderstood her.”

He jabbed the air and said: “You have no right to talk about her feelings. You are the least qualified person to retrieve them.”

After Bai Mu Mu’s exposure, it was as if Shen Dao Chen’s conscience finally woke up. Now he truly treated Shen Sang Ruo like a daughter. He said coldly: “Before, you ignored her. Now you pretend you are deeply devoted. Do not think I cannot see through you.”

“You are not worthy of her, and I will never allow someone like you to be with her. As her father, I must guard her future Dao Companion.”

He stepped closer and warned: “Listen. Behave yourself. If you dare covet my daughter again, I, the Sect Master, will cast you out of the sect and let the world spit on you!”

With that, Shen Dao Chen flicked his sleeve and left.

Lu Shi Qing lowered his head and stayed silent, but the darkness and stubbornness in his eyes were clear. Shen Sang Ruo said she never liked him only because her emotions were missing. Once he got them back for her, she would remember. As for Shen Dao Chen, he already disliked Lu Shi Qing and would never listen.

Being a Flying Cloud Sect Disciple was nothing compared to Shen Sang Ruo. Right now, no one and nothing mattered more to him than her. [I only want Shen Sang Ruo. I can give up everything for her.] His eyes grew hot and wild, almost crazed. [So what if that old man disagrees. He is not her real father.]

[Once she gets her emotions back, she will agree to elope with me.] Then no one would bother them.

The more excited he became, the more the Gu Poison inside him stirred. The pain in his body rose, yet it still could not crush the joy in his heart. [Sang Ruo, wait for me. I will take you away!]

Beside him, Feng He Yun felt that look on Lu Shi Qing’s face was scary. But in the past few years, Lu Shi Qing had shown that expression from time to time, so he was used to it.

Feng He Yun turned to Master Ling Xiao and said: “Master, our second Junior Brother was locked in the Disciplinary Tower because of Bai Mu Mu. It must have been a frame-up. Can we release him now?”

He prayed that the Slaughter Formation had not harmed Wen Xuan.

Only then did Master Ling Xiao remember there was still a Disciple he had not freed. It was not really his fault. His mind had been on Shen Sang Ruo. Even the four of them together could not weigh as much as she did in his heart. He nodded and answered softly: “Mm.”

He started toward the Disciplinary Hall, when a stabbing pain split his head. His vision darkened, and even his soul seemed to tremble. He almost lost his footing.

Feng He Yun rushed forward and asked: “Master, what is wrong?!”

Luckily the pain lasted only a single breath before fading. Master Ling Xiao caught himself and waved his hand: “It is nothing.”

Maybe it was an aftereffect of having his cultivation stolen by that monster, or maybe the shock of his beloved Disciple’s true face had hit too hard. For a moment he felt very tired. After he finished handling the Flying Cloud Sect’s mess, he should rest for a while.

Luo Chu, who had been away, heard the news and hurried back from Floating Dream City. When he saw the state of the Flying Cloud Sect, he was stunned.

Wen Xuan happened to be released then. Every second in the Disciplinary Tower had been torture. He had lost weight, rough stubble shadowed his face, and worry never left his eyes. He was nothing like the gentle man he used to be.

It was the first time the four of Thunder-Scale Peak had gathered since the truth came out. No one spoke. They only sighed.

Things had changed. People had changed. Nothing was like their memories anymore.