Chapter 56: Injured

Might as well leave it to Liyu.

Zora thought as she looked at the girl who wouldn't stop talking.

She picked the girl up.

The girl wasn't afraid at all, even saying excitedly: "Is the Immortal going to take me flying!"

"In a way."

The Jiangxue Sword unsheathed, carrying the two of them high into the sky.

Vane watched the two leave from afar, fell silent for a moment, and then let out a short laugh.

...

Liyu had just taken off her mask and was lying in a tree gazing at the moon when she suddenly heard a child's voice.

She turned over just as Zora landed and handed the girl over to her.

Liyu cried out in alarm: "What happened, Fellow Daoist Zora? Did the monster hurt Xiaomei!"

She quickly put Xiaomei on the ground and turned her around, finding no wounds.

Xiaomei: "The Immortal took me flying!"

Zora: "She cried, so I brought her to you."

"...Cried?" Liyu looked blankly at Xiaomei, whose hair was a mess but who was smiling brightly.

There wasn't a single tear, and she looked quite happy.

Zora took a glance and said nonchalantly: "Maybe it was dried by the wind."

"..."

"..."

This time even Xiaomei looked up at Zora, suddenly snapping out of her feverish admiration for the Immortal.

...This older sister, I feel like I've never met someone like this, so strange, but so good.

Zora urged: "Are we done? I'm leaving."

Liyu snapped back to her senses and hurriedly said: "Yes, yes. You go back first, Fellow Daoist Zora. I will take Xiaomei back."

Zora nodded.

Xiaomei immediately shouted: "Can the Immortal save the Goddess!"

Liyu froze.

Zora asked in confusion: "What exactly is a Goddess."

Liyu's face flushed red. Without her mask to hide it, she was lucky it was night. She said slowly: "No... it's nothing, just an empty title."

Xiaomei grabbed her hem: "So can the Immortal save the Goddess Sister?"

Liyu: "Xiaomei, don't make things difficult for the Immortal."

Zora examined Liyu: "Her body is in no danger. She doesn't need saving."

Xiaomei said anxiously: "But the Goddess Sister is going to leave—"

"Xiaomei!" Liyu's face darkened. "Stop talking."

Xiaomei was scolded and closed her mouth, her eyes immediately welling up with a layer of tears.

Liyu sighed in her heart. She was about to squat down to apologize and explain properly when she heard Zora's voice.

"Dying of old age is a happy thing."

Zora lowered her head and met Xiaomei's tearful eyes, her tone calm.

"It is also the hardest thing to do, and she has accomplished it."

Liyu was stunned, looking at her in sheer surprise.

Xiaomei was also dazed, feeling that in that instant, the sadness really seemed to lessen a lot.

In the silence, Liyu suddenly felt tears welling up. She quickly suppressed them and instead let out a laugh: "...Thank you."

"?"

Which sentence was she replying to now?

Zora didn't think she was comforting anyone at all, let alone that she was talking to the child, not Liyu.

After a moment of silence, Zora didn't ask further and said simply: "No need. I'm going."

"Safe travels, Fellow Daoist Zora."

Zora flew away quickly on her sword.

"...Goddess Sister, the Immortal is so different. Is every Immortal like that?" Xiaomei looked up and said to her.

"No, everyone is different. Everyone is unique," Liyu squatted down and whispered to Xiaomei, her eyes curving with a smile.

"It's just that the older sister's uniqueness is even more... different. Also, don't go out alone next time. It's dangerous."

...A Goddess, huh.

Liyu thought as she escorted Xiaomei back.

On the way back, she almost forgot who had first called her that.

*

A "Goddess" of Daoshi Village, if placed in the cultivation world, would merely be one of the many disciples with mediocre talent.

But for the villagers, Liyu was a Goddess.

Their village was remote. Migrating away from home was something almost no one in the world was willing to accept. They had deep feelings for the land. Moreover, they were completely ignorant of the outside world. Commoners didn't have things like maps; every journey outside was a danger.

They lived well enough here, passing it down generation after generation.

Until three hundred years ago, a kind-hearted woman adopted a pair of sisters who had drifted there.

Later, monsters attacked the village. The older sister and the adoptive mother died. The younger sister remained, saved by a passing cultivator of low level.

The younger sister was heartbroken. After moving past her grief, she developed a longing for power because she had glimpsed a corner of the cultivation world.

She wanted to become stronger.

The cultivator took the younger sister, Liyu, on a long journey to test her spiritual roots at a small sect that was recruiting disciples. Fortunately, she had talent, but unfortunately, it was very low.

Cultivation is meant to go against heaven's will and should not be limited by talent. However, the level of talent also encompasses fate, comprehension, and bone structure. Deficiencies can be made up for later, but it requires great effort and opportunity.

Liyu cultivated diligently, but her temperament was insufficient. She was always eager for quick success, and her cultivation stalled at the Qi Refining stage.

She longed for flying and longevity too much; no one could resist these temptations.

With the help of the cultivator and piles of herbal pills, Liyu barely stepped into the late Foundation Establishment stage in her sixties, and since then, she had made no progress.

Many choose to stay in their sects, living as long as they can. Life in the cultivation world is much more pleasant than in the mortal realm; spending a few hundred years before dying of old age is also a form of happiness.

Liyu was not like that.

Initially, like everyone else, she seized the most important hundred years for cultivation.

The first hundred years are most critical for a cultivator because the body is still changing, aging, and deteriorating.

She would return occasionally, but the tight schedule of cultivation and entering secret realms for materials could take several years at a time.

Until she received a mission in a far-off place. After completing it, she had a sudden whim to return to Daoshi Village and take a look.

The journey was taxing for her at the time, and she reached it with great difficulty.

At that time, Daoshi Village had been plagued by monsters for a while. Casualties were heavy, and the people were rebuilding the village time and again.

Liyu killed the monsters alone and watched the village from afar for five days and nights.

She still desired longevity and flying, but she also felt a lingering attachment to the village.

Heaven's way helped her choose. Her temperament helped her choose.

"Liyu, you are so eager for quick results and have such a restless mind; you are truly not suited for cultivation. Cultivation is about the heart. To resist heaven and enhance fate requires a firm and powerful heart, not rushing to learn something else just because you can't learn one mental method. You were already lacking in talent, destined not to go far," her master had said.

"Spiritual roots are the condition for entry, but talent and temperament are not. Many with high talent actually die more often because the dangers they face are greater. The last genius of our sect had his bones and tendons stripped just because others pursuing the immortal path believed the rumor that bone structure could be transferred."

"And those who go far are precisely the disciples who have varied talents but all possess excellent temperament."

"Liyu knows her mistakes," she kowtowed. "Please permit this disciple to leave the sect."

She returned to Daoshi Village.

She stood guard for three hundred years.

In the fiftieth year, the cultivator whose life was ending gave her one last, extremely precious pill, allowing her body to return to the prime of her twenties.

In the fifty-first year, Liyu's suddenly youthful appearance frightened a child into crying.

She put on the mask.

In the hundredth year, a woman who had left the village to pursue embroidery brought her a low-grade magical tool—a white bird mask.

In the hundred and fiftieth year, she and other villagers who sided with her defeated, for the countless time, companions who had betrayed them and tried to sell information about the ore veins.

learned a truth.

A matter, a place, a group of people—there is always good and bad. She stayed because of the good people in the village, and in the torrent of time, she learned not to grieve alone for the sake of the evil ones.

In the hundred and sixtieth year, she decided to keep the secret of the ore veins forever, because they could not afford to attract more powerful enemies.

In the two-hundredth year, the last ordinary person who knew about the ore veins died of old age.

...

In the three hundred and eleventh year, she had grown old. Cultivators also cannot escape birth, aging, illness, and death.

A villager accidentally wandered into the mine and sold the news to others. A few days later, monsters entered the ore vein to feed.

Every time she fell asleep, Liyu would dream of the vast sky and sea of the cultivation world, the scent of pills, the abundant spiritual energy, and the joy of increasing longevity.

Upon opening her eyes, what lay before her was the bright moon hanging in the night sky, the quiet woods, and the breeze on her face.

She did not consider herself noble enough to deserve the title of Goddess, because if she had been able to achieve anything in the cultivation world, she most likely would not have returned.

But looking back, between living out her remaining years happily in the cultivation world and living in the village, she chose the latter. She did not regret her choice.

She simply liked both paths; she took one and felt regret for the other.

Just like her sister.

The cultivator only spoke when she left the sect: "Your sister, she righteously told me to take you away, but I heard her."

After the younger sister escaped, she too had been terrified, praying to heaven, earth, gods, and buddhas.

She had told Liyu that one must rely on oneself and that there were no gods in the world. But at that moment, she had desperately hoped there truly were a merciful Buddha, becoming the most devout believer in gods.

In that moment, there was no one in her mind but fear.

Stories of those who sacrifice their lives for others and finally die with a smile of satisfaction, rather than in undignified terror, are too rare.

Those who walk one path and have absolutely no attachment to the abandoned one are also too rare.

At least her sister wasn't one, and neither was she.

...

*

After sending Xiaomei back, Liyu returned to the woods. She suddenly stopped, recalling Zora's words, and stayed in place for a long time.

After a while, Liyu laughed to herself again and went back to lying on the branch.

With Fellow Daoist Zora's temperament, she will surely go far.

...

The next day, Zora and Vane went to the mine to ambush the Taotie-like creature, while Liyu stayed in the village to protect the villagers.

It was indeed hard to fight. It was thick-skinned and occasionally emitted miasma to paralyze the body. Fortunately, the two were prepared and didn't fall into the old trap again.

However, the Fuyun Valley rating was clearly wrong. The creature went into a frenzy midway through, which far exceeded the mission grade.

They fought a battle of attrition for a day and a night. Since Zora led the battlefield and her combat power was stronger, Vane coordinated with her throughout.

After the prolonged battle, the spiritual energy she used had dissipated too much. She couldn't dodge in time when the creature lunged to bite and her forearm was caught in its jaws.

"...Ugh."

"Zora—!" The youth's dark pupils widened slightly, but he was too far away to arrive in time.

He couldn't describe the feeling at that moment; his eyes were filled only with the scene before him.

Zora didn't wait for him. The Jiangxue Sword, which had left her hand, let out a hum and was suddenly driven by her from a distance, piercing the creature's eyes and creating a split second of an opening.

She held up her forearm to resist it. Blood dripped onto her cheek. Zora shifted her gaze toward Vane.

Vane instantly understood her meaning.

He should do as she hinted—pierce its weakness. That was the best way to save her, but she would be injured even more severely. That was her arm, the arm of a sword cultivator. Even if it was the left arm, it was extremely important. But if he missed this chance for a one-hit kill, he didn't know how long they would have to wait.

—He should listen to her. He should do it.

...But she would be seriously injured.

In the next instant, the youth's heart hesitated, yet his body did not stop for a moment as he moved to pierce its mouth to make it let go.

He was entangled in a soft and fragile will. Sharp on the outside and cruel in his heart, he was nearly weak toward her.

Zora was not.

A drop of blood fell into Zora's right eye, staining the white of the eye. She did not blink.

What is he doing? Did he not understand?

Zora had no hesitation. The Puppet Threads activated, immediately controlling his body. She didn't hold back because of his injuries; she knew what was most important.

"...Wait...!" Vane only felt his body was out of control. The spear was forced to turn, piercing toward the creature's weakness.

He wanted to resist, for the first time wanting to rebel.

Vane bit his lip, blood staining the corner of his mouth.

Even though the veins on the back of the youth's hand bulged slightly and the nerves at his temple were throbbing, he could not resist the drive of the Puppet Threads. With one strike, he hit the creature's weakness.

Only then was the creature ripped open, crashing to the ground. The traces of demonic aura it left behind dissipated.

Zora was already in a mess, her left forearm a bloody blur.

Vane was no better. His spiritual energy was exhausted, his injuries were heavy, and being forced to perform an all-out strike under control made things even worse.

He suddenly let go of his hand. The spear rolled to the ground with a crisp sound.

The youth was gasping for breath, but in the next second, he braced himself and walked over.

Zora lay on the ground unable to move. He helped her up.

The pain was too great. Zora's body sent out warnings, her vision turning white. Seeing that Vane could still move, she said: "Apply medicine and bandage it."

He remained silent throughout. Hearing her, he took out the ointment from his storage bag. He even took the wrong one a few times, but he seemed to calmly put it back and pick it up again.

He cut away the sleeve, revealing the mangled flesh.

Zora took a look at the wound and didn't care much.

After all, Ning Chi, the Master of Fuyun Valley, could reattach broken legs and arms and restore them to as they were, as long as the main meridians for cultivation weren't destroyed.

While he was bandaging, his movements were too slow. The youth's finger bones were still trembling slightly.

Only then did Zora notice his abnormality and looked at him.

Vane looked down at the wound, his pupils as black as a deep night, his lips pale.

Looking closely, she realized he was covered in sweat, his facial muscles tensed to an uncontrollable slight tremor, as if he were fragile transparent crystal that would shatter at a touch.

Zora watched him for a long time, but he didn't notice and didn't meet her eyes in time.

Zora asked in confusion: "What's wrong with you? Is your injury too serious?"

Vane paused, his voice carrying a trace of imperceptible stiffness: "Why... did you make me kill it first?"

"?" Zora was even more confused. "It was better this way. You knew that too."

He was even smarter.

"...Yes, that's true. That was the only way to end the fight quickly. That was the greatest possible protection for you." Vane listed the benefits of that choice over and over—a basketful of benefits that anyone would know how to choose.

He was convincing himself, but that one drawback in his heart was magnifying infinitely. The scales could no longer measure fairly.

Double images almost appeared before his eyes. The youth's heart beat too strongly, pulling at every part of his body to vibrate. Even the sensation of blood flowing through his vessels emerged in dense detail.

Suddenly, a cold hand touched his forehead. Vane snapped back to his senses.

When he looked up, he saw Zora's blood-stained face. She was reminding him: "Focus more on the bandaging."

"...I understand."

The bandaging finished. Zora rubbed her eyes. Blood dripping into the eyes was truly uncomfortable.

Vane watched for a while, staring at her in a daze. His reactions were much slower than before. After a while, he took out a handkerchief.

Vane handed her a pill: "This is for removing miasma."

Zora took it and rested for a bit, recovering some ability to move, at least enough to walk.

They left the place and put their weapons back into their storage bags. Midway, Zora wanted to lean on Vane's back to be lazy, but her hand touched something muddy.

He didn't feel any pain. He had been observing the surroundings, seemingly in a state of being startled by every rustle. As soon as she touched him, he looked over, his tone relaxing slightly: "What is it?"

"..." Zora looked at the blood on her palm and then at his mangled back—it was just like her arm, the flesh ripped open.

"Is your back okay?"

"It's fine." Vane took out a handkerchief and lowered his head to help her wipe clean the hand dirtied by his blood.

Seeing that he could walk and talk, and his injuries were about the same as hers, Zora said: "Alright then."

The two returned to the village without being disturbed. Vane also rejected Liyu's help with a smile that was polite but brook no argument.

"No need, Fellow Daoist Liyu. We just need a day of rest."

"...Alright. Thank you." At the door, Liyu looked worriedly at Zora inside the room—she couldn't see her, as Vane blocked her completely.

She faintly sensed the youth's resistance.

When Zora wasn't injured, he could still analyze the pros and cons. But once she was injured, and Vane had just experienced a fierce battle, his tensed inner heart immediately surfaced. He was as alert as a predatory beast, keeping a close eye on any creature that tried to approach.

Liyu didn't stay any longer and left.

With no one else around, what little sense of security Vane had left finally flowed back slightly.

He even wanted to leave the village. The thought of the surrounding villagers made his body tense. But this place was too desolate. He was fine, but Zora would be uncomfortable.

Vane watched Zora fall asleep after her medicine was applied and tucked in the quilt for her.

He didn't leave, falling asleep at the table in Zora's room, often awakened by the wind and the rustling of grass.

After Zora fell asleep, the pain arrived slowly. At the time, the pain had been too great, as if half of it had been blocked by her brain.

She was woken by the pain. As soon as she opened her eyes, a youth came to her bedside: "Does it hurt a lot?"

Clearly, his back hurt just as much, yet his expression didn't show the slightest effect.

Zora gave a slow "mhm." "Bodily reaction. Can't control it. Can't sleep."

Vane gave a slow response.

Zora felt him gently sprinkling pain-relieving powder on her wound, watching her, accompanying her, and asking her softly.

After a while, Zora closed her eyes and fell asleep.

...

【Host...】

【Host—】

【Host!!】

Zora was startled awake, and the system's anxious voice came through.

【Host! You've been contaminated by a demonic cultivator's aura, and the villainous demon-seed has reacted! How can this be... clearly it shouldn't be provoked so easily. Has his state of mind been shaken?】

Several spots on the surface of Zora's body were contaminated by demonic aura, which was trying to drill into her meridians to affect her state of mind.

Zora immediately circulated her spiritual energy to expel it.

How could there be a demonic cultivator's aura? Was that Taotie-like creature something raised by a demonic cultivator?

Clang!

The crisp sound of a teacup shattering.

Zora bit her lip, resisting the whispers in her ear caused by the demonic aura. She looked toward the sound. The youth stood by the table, with only his back visible.

He was very calm, dead silent. Demonic aura swirled around him, yet found no opening.

【Fortunately, fortunately... this is a brief outbreak of the demon-seed. It hasn't been fully activated yet. The plot hasn't collapsed. But this will also trigger the villain's bloodthirsty instinct. If he gets a bit extreme and ends up killing and eating you, Host, what will we do! Once the Master-Servant Oath is triggered again, it's a double death!】 The system broke down.

【The first priority is to stay alive, Host!】

Just as the words fell, the youth tilted his head. His beautiful face was exactly the same as before, and his expression was even calmer. But his eyes did not reflect any shadow; there was no thought in them.

He had developed evil intent, and the Master-Servant Oath was trembling.

The intense pain from the breach of contract should have made him unable to move. However, the youth's body was no longer supported by bone and flesh, but by the abundant demonic aura from the demon-seed outbreak, which resisted the first stage of the Master-Servant Oath.

Zora gripped her sword hilt.

Having just finished fighting a monster, must I now fight a person?