Chapter 101

Xizhou, the Tu Residence.

Arrays obtained from various sects at great expense flared brilliantly within the guest hall. The Tu family was undoubtedly shrewd; from the day Turi Qi entered the December Sect, they had not let a single day pass without accumulating wealth and power. Tu Zhu’s father had been so, and Tu Zhu was even more so. While he squandered his fortune in his later years searching for the method of longevity, he had, in fact, exchanged it for more immortal treasures.

He naturally knew that most cultivators only granted him convenience out of respect for Turi Qi, the Chief of the Sword Gate in the premier sect. Every time Tu Zhu accepted this "kindness," his resentment deepened by another degree. The fact of accepting Turi Qi’s "benevolence" felt like a humiliation.

Yet Tu Zhu did not dare refuse; he needed those things. This was all Turi Qi’s debt to him. Born of the same father, she must have stolen his fortune, even the Tu family’s fortune, for her to be the only one with spiritual roots!

Now, finally, it was his turn.

Tu Zhu wore a smile on his lips. His wife had left at some point, but he did not care. Triumph rippled in the corners of his eyes, yet his tone was mournful, as if he were concerned for her: "Turi Qi, you have occupied the position of the Sword Sovereign’s disciple for so many years, yet you have achieved nothing. You aren’t first, and you can’t even manage second or third; the Sword Sovereign must be utterly disappointed in you."

Turi Qi was momentarily bound by the array. Her body bore the marks of battle, the hem of her clothes slashed; she was surrounded by cultivators ranging from the Foundation Establishment to the Fusion stage. With Tu Zhu alone, he could never have recruited a Fusion stage cultivator, let alone so many.

Forced to her knees, Turi Qi gritted her teeth and supported the weight of an invisible, growing mountain upon her back, scanning the group of fierce-eyed cultivators. She guessed with a thought that these were cultivators who held a grudge against the Sword Sovereign or wished to slap the face of the December Sect; they were merely using Tu Zhu as a convenient, legitimate banner.

The invisible weight continued to increase. Turi Qi knelt on one knee, her left knee already crushing the bluestone floor, faint cracks spreading. Not only that, but the array was also draining her spiritual power; otherwise, against these people, Turi Qi would have been able to fight to a draw.

Sweat soon soaked her forehead, her face turning pale. Facing a certain defeat, her expression showed no cowardice as she only asked:

"Where is Zora?"

"I invited a Nascent Soul cultivator. When Nascent Soul meets Nascent Soul, I don’t know who will win," Tu Zhu said mockingly. "However, that Immortal has been in the Nascent Soul stage for a long time; he surely has a better chance than that Zora. I just don't understand—there are clearly other Nascent Soul cultivators in the world, so why is Zora the only one so famous? Hmm?"

Turi Qi’s eyes grew cold. Just as she was about to speak, an intense burst of spiritual power erupted from the back courtyard. A flash of sword light flickered, then vanished.

"Is it ready?" a cultivator asked impatiently. They only showed Tu Zhu surface-level respect.

"..." Tu Zhu’s face twisted for an instant before immediately recovering. A smile piled onto his face as he said, "I only want her Sword Bone."

"—Tu Zhu, I do not have a Sword Bone." Anxious for Zora’s safety, Turi Qi fought the array with all her might. Blood seeped from her knee, and there was blood at the corner of her mouth, yet her eyes were exceptionally bright. "I thought we were family."

"Family?" Tu Zhu laughed loudly as if he had heard a joke. The cultivators were already stepping toward Turi Qi, wanting to scrape the flesh from her bones, ideally to let the Sword Sovereign of the December Sect see the dismembered remains of his disciple.

"You are nothing but a bastard born of a lowly woman! How could you be compared to me! If you hadn't relied on your status, Father would never have yielded to you again and again! He clearly expelled you from the Tu Residence; you should have died on the road with that old woman!"

His face was filled with resentment, appearing both terrifying and ridiculous.

Turi Qi watched him quietly. Suddenly, she repeated his words: "It was Father who drove us out."

Her voice was soft, as if it would be scattered by the wind the moment it was uttered.

"Of course. That wet nurse of yours was delusional, and you were a fool to believe her," Tu Zhu finished, as if venting a long-held grudge, stepping aside to wait for the "Sword Bone." He did not fear the cultivators going back on their word, for they had sworn an oath: if they obtained Turi Qi’s Sword Bone, they would give it to Tu Zhu. A cultivator's oath was trustworthy; thus, Tu Zhu could use them with peace of mind.

The spiritual barrier Turi Qi had raised grew increasingly thin under the attacks of the cultivators. It would break sooner or later.

Her knee was a bloody mess. She tried to recall her father’s face, but the man’s features were suddenly blurred. Decades had passed; she had learned the truth, yet she felt only an empty void within, without even hate or resentment.

She had thought—she had thought she was once loved. That even without her mother and nurse, she was still loved. Turi Qi felt a bit lost.

How had her life been, up until now? It was like an invisible hand pushing her, picking and choosing everything around her and leaving her only the worst, leaving her with no one to rely on but her Master. Without Zora and the others, she might have been destined to revolve around him, destined to never escape this mindset, seeing only what was right in front of her. A leaf before the eye, blocking the sight of Mount Tai.

Junior Sister Zora... right, there was still Junior Sister Zora. Turi Qi cast aside her stray thoughts, her face showing determination. She had to go save her.

Just as her barrier was about to shatter, the array beneath her feet suddenly snapped, ceasing to function.

"What!? What’s happening—!" Tu Zhu shouted in alarm, losing his composure.

Though she didn't know why, Turi Qi seized the opportunity, swinging her sword to create a gale that forced the cultivators back several steps. Her spiritual power was slowly recovering.

The weight vanished. Turi Qi stood up, blood from her left knee dripping down her leggings. Looking closely, beads of blood also seeped through her clothes on her back; the array’s restraint had produced wounds the moment she tried to break free.

Several cultivators immediately formed a battle line, watching her like tigers.

Turi Qi: "What exactly do you want?"

One man smiled and said coldly: "Naturally, to let that damn Sword Sovereign see his disciple’s corpse!"

Countless sword lights flashed. Trees were shattered by the sword wind, and the houses were not spared. Tu Zhu scrambled and crawled toward the study, where he had accumulated immortal treasures for protection. Reaching the study, with the deafening sounds of battle outside, he ransacked the room.

Can't find it, why can't I find it!

Thud!

Everything on the desk was swept to the floor. The man panted heavily, his pupils dilating in fear.

"...It’s that woman. It must be her! She betrayed me!"

The man’s features twisted with soaring hatred. "Li Xin—!!"

Li Xin had long since left the back courtyard, heading north. She had hired a carriage in advance and was now swaying within it. The woman nervously clutched the bundle on her lap, which contained treasures of immense value.

The commoners were attracted by the commotion at the Tu Residence, noisy yet none daring to approach. Li Xin stared blankly at the floor of the carriage, but was awakened by the chaotic sounds; instead, she curled her lips and let out a laugh.

Who would believe that if Tu Zhu obtained the Sword Bone and cultivated, he would give her any benefit? He would likely become young and kick this "yellow-faced hag" away, or simply kill her to keep the secret! If she couldn't have it, Tu Zhu wouldn't either.

When she brought the array scrolls over, she had secretly hidden one; the duration of the array would naturally be shortened. Fortunately, Tu Zhu was afraid of death and chose arrays that even those Foundation Establishment and Fusion stage cultivators couldn't break instantly, so they naturally wouldn't find the flaw immediately.

Besides, what flaw? The array was perfectly complete. There were too many cultivators, so many that mediocre ones were everywhere; the stupid ones were still just as stupid, no different from mortals! Even the legends handed down contained stories of peerless masters being carelessly killed by a mortal.

It was clear that a fool with spiritual roots is still a fool, just living for a few hundred years longer. Li Xin stroked the cloth of the bundle, having long forgotten the son she had raised into a waste. Her heart was full of wealth, her gaze fixed, her smile widening to an exaggerated, terrifying degree.

A son couldn't secure wealth, but inanimate objects were more useful. The carriage wheels pressed over the soil, drifting leisurely into the distance toward the north.

In a clearing, two trails like meteors in the sky constantly touched, separated, then crossed at high speed. The massive spiritual power made the surrounding vegetation wither or swept it away entirely.

After a long time, the sun had descended quite a bit when one of the meteors finally fell. The other also landed slowly, seemingly exhausted and significantly injured. There was even a deep sword gash on her back, vaguely revealing flesh and bits of white bone.

Zora’s vision was white; she was nearly covered in blood. The opponent’s cultivation was a bit higher than hers—just a bit. Even if the opponent had been in the Nascent Soul stage for a long time, having little progress meant having little progress. In cultivation, the higher the strength, the less it depends on the length of time.

She rested for a while before standing up. The girl looked up at the sky. Senior Sister Turi should still be there.

Zora recalled the original work. The male lead had not wiped out the Tu family; relying on his cultivation, he hadn't cared about the mortals' schemes, thinking it wasn't important. Who would have thought they would actually try to take Turi Qi’s life?

The girl’s face showed no emotion, appearing dazed and cute, yet her face was streaked with deep red blood, and her entire body was covered in wounds. Her blue and white clothes were nearly turned red. She stopped to rest every few steps.

—It couldn't be helped; it was too painful. Sometimes the body was so pained it couldn't be controlled.

Reaching the Tu family, she didn't see Turi Qi, but saw some people trying to flee, including Tu Zhu. She set a boundary, forcing them to stay within the Tu Residence. Zora then followed the traces of battle.

Walk a while, stop a while. She even walked through the streets. The commoners were terrified by her appearance—as if she had been fished out of a sea of blood—and the thing she was carrying in her hand; they scrambled to give way, forming a vacuum around her.

Zora took a few steps and stopped without warning before a bun stall. The vendor’s legs shook with fear, but before he could submissively kneel and beg for mercy, the girl continued forward.

Vendor: "?" ...Anyway, he escaped a disaster!

Stopping and starting like this, she reached the depths of a forest. A woman sat slumped on the ground, her head lowered, black hair obscuring her face. She was at the end of her strength. Not far away lay several corpses.

...

After Turi Qi defeated those people, she was exhausted and couldn't stand up. Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"You probably won't die."

"..."

She looked up blankly. Zora was even more of a mess than she was, yet her expression was indifferent. Against the light, the brilliant sun wrapped a layer of glow around her body, and in her hand, she held a severed head with eyes wide in death.

"Junior Sister Zora..." Turi Qi murmured.

Zora studied her, looking her over from top to bottom, then confirmed: "You won't die."

Looking at her, Turi Qi suddenly smiled: "Yes, I won't die yet."

Zora: "Are we going to the Tu family together?"

"...What?"

Zora frowned in confusion: "He wanted to kill us. Naturally, we go for revenge."

"...Right, revenge," Turi Qi said softly, lost in thought for a moment.

Zora turned the head over and over to look at it, finding that he didn't look like any of the targets wanted by the sect. Besides ordinary missions, the sect occasionally had bounty notices. Not a single one matched; she had looked at the wrong thing.

Feeling a bit unhappy, she raised both hands and threw the head away. The head rolled away like a ball for quite a distance. Zora turned her face, her eyes widening slightly as if surprised or startled.

"You're crying."

Turi Qi touched her face, finding thick blood and tears. She whispered: "It’s nothing, I’m just a bit..."

Zora: "A bit?"

Turi Qi lifted her face, squeezing out a smile: "I’m just a bit afraid in hindsight, wondering what I would look like now if Junior Sister Zora hadn't been here."

Just that? Zora was very helpful and mentioned the original work: "Revolving around Wanghua-jun, your emotions easily swayed by him, with no friends and no family, only him alone." Finally, she added a serious evaluation: "Very annoying."

"..." Turi Qi was silent for a moment. "It is very annoying."

Her tears, however, wouldn't stop. Turi Qi should have been more mature, but now, seeing someone close to her, the emotions accumulated within her poured out uncontrollably. It wasn't a loud wail, but a silent flow of tears. The expression on her face was merely a slight frown, appearing as a faint, lingering sorrow.

Zora glanced at her and walked a few steps away. She paused, glanced at her again, and walked back to her original spot.

"Junior Sister Zora," Turi Qi suddenly looked up and smiled. "Can I give you a hug?"

"Mhm... okay."

After thinking about it, Zora simply sat on the grass too. The blood from their clothes stained the green grass red. Turi Qi hugged her gently, not touching the wound on her back. Zora didn't touch her wounds either, forming a clumsy hug.

"There's no need to mind my wounds; it'll be fine," Turi Qi said.

Is that so. Zora didn't hesitate to hug her firmly, her arms lightly pressing against the wounds on Turi Qi’s back—sticky flesh—and rested her chin on her shoulder. Her whole body lost its support as the spiritual power within her recovered at high speed.

Zora naturally didn't just have wounds on her back; the hug also tugged at other injuries. Neither of them cared. The scent of blood drifted. The most serious of Turi Qi’s wounds was pressed by Zora’s arm, yet she instead relaxed her brow.

"...I was very terrified today. I feared I had taken the wrong path in the past. The cultivation world is so large, yet back then I only had the sect and Master. The sect would be the same with or without me, so I naturally cared more about Master."

"The Tu family was a small anchor for me, something that could bind me. I thought it would continue like this..."

"Now that's gone too." Turi Qi’s voice suddenly grew calm. The blurred image of her father in her memory had long since drifted away. She thanked the long time of a cultivator. It could make even the betrayal of a kinsman seem so insignificant.

Zora urged her: "Are we going to the Tu family or not?"

Turi Qi let out a laugh: "If I don't go, would Junior Sister Zora not go?"

"No."

"Besides, I still can't beat Junior Sister Zora." Turi Qi’s teasing voice grew quiet, her features completely taking on the steady look of the Chief of the Sword Gate. "Then let's go."

The brilliant sun shone high, and the two were enveloped in a golden glow. Both were heavily injured, yet they embraced on the grass. Their sleeves were entwined like fate.

Vane tilted his head to look at the morning sun hanging high in the sky.

"Senior Brother Vane!" a disciple said, panting and urgent. "There’s a mission here that we need Senior Brother Vane’s help with!"

The youth turned his head. He happened to need to leave the sect to buy some ingredients. Lowering his lashes to scan the contents of the mission letter, Vane suddenly smiled and said, "Naturally, this is part of my duty."

He didn't know what Zora was doing right now. He didn't know who she was talking to, or who could see her. He couldn't help but think and guess.

Let him think about what dish to make for her tonight. What to say to her, and what interesting things to do. What kind of smile to use to entice her into looking at him.

The youth's chest and mind were filled to the brim with thoughts of Zora, and he found it absolutely delightful. Rather, this was the most pleasurable thing he could do when he wasn't by Zora’s side and could only be alone.