Chapter 126: Shi Hao’s Apology
Memories of past humiliations and scoldings, from childhood to adulthood, flooded Fang Yu’s mind, amplified by the nightmare.
In the darkness, he recalled the strange circumstances surrounding his father’s death, the subtle interactions between his mother and “Uncle Zheng.”
He woke up with a start, his body covered in cold sweat, his eyes burning with rage. His hands clenched, yet they felt empty, as if grasping for something he couldn’t reach.
For as long as he could remember, he had lived under his mother’s tyranny, cowardly and submissive, never daring to defy her.
But now, in his dream, all the memories he had tried to suppress, all the pain and humiliation he had endured, surged to the surface, erupting with a force he had never felt before.
He felt every drop of blood in his body boiling.
He saw his future, an endless cycle of abuse and humiliation, trapped in darkness, with no escape.
He stumbled to the table and grabbed a sword.
He drew the blade, its sharp edge gleaming in the moonlight.
He laughed, a crazed, hysterical laugh.
He spun around the room, the world around him twisting and distorting.
What was the point of living like this?
He stumbled out of the room, through the courtyard, over a wall.
He pressed his ear against the wall, listening.
The voice that had tormented him for so long was now a series of moans and gasps.
He had always believed he was at fault, that her constant scolding and berating were for his own good… just like she always said.
He huddled in a corner, clutching the sword tightly.
In the shadows above, a small figure watched him, its black eyes gleaming with a sinister light.
Shi Hao finally managed to wipe the rouge from Du Yuejiao’s face.
“You’re so childish,” he said, exasperated.
Xu Xiaoyan snorted, “She captured me! I was just getting even!”
Shi Hao asked, “How did she capture you?”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “That damned Emerald Beauty! I was resting in the forest when I suddenly fell asleep. I dreamt someone was approaching, but I couldn’t wake up. She captured me before I could even use the Void Traversing Brick.”
As the carriage moved through the city streets, they saw several houses on fire, smoke billowing into the sky, people crying.
Xu Xiaoyan muttered, “It’s always the common people who suffer.”
Shi Hao nodded silently… It was a sad truth.
At daybreak, they left the city and reached a hidden manor deep in the mountains.
Xuan Feng Huanzhi, Yue Yaotai, and Sha Lingshan were waiting for them.
Shi Hao carried Du Yuejiao out of the carriage… Since discovering him with Xu Xiaoyan, she had been tormented by a mixture of jealousy, shame, and the lingering effects of the demonic trial, her exhaustion evident.
“Young Master!” the three leaders bowed.
Xu Xiaoyan, trailing behind him, grinned, enjoying her reflected glory.
Shi Hao looked around, “Where are we?”
Sha Lingshan straightened up, her small fan fluttering, and smiled, “This is the Azure Shu Manor, a property of our Mirror Flower Water Moon Pavilion. Please rest here, Young Master.”
Xuan Feng Huanzhi said, “We have obtained the blood of an Undying Child, Young Master.”
Shi Hao nodded. If they hadn’t succeeded, they wouldn’t be here.
Sha Lingshan led them into the manor, a secluded estate with elegant pavilions, rock gardens, and colorful flowers blooming everywhere.
Four watchtowers, disguised as gazebos, stood at the corners of the estate. Sha Lingshan explained the manor’s layout and its various traps and defenses.
Shi Hao chose a pavilion and settled in. Xu Xiaoyan stayed with him.
Soon, Dragon Girl of the Black Lotus Realm and Huan Tingting of the Moon Lotus Pavilion arrived with several maidservants to attend to them.
Shi Hao wasn’t sure of their intentions, but he guessed that since this was the Mirror Flower Water Moon Pavilion’s territory, the other two factions likely insisted on having their own people present, ensuring he wasn’t being influenced or manipulated.
Dragon Girl, much younger than Snake Charmer, was short and petite, dressed in red, her hair in two buns, looking like a simple village girl, even shorter than Xu Xiaoyan, but her status within the Black Lotus Realm seemed higher than Snake Charmer’s.
Shi Hao asked Dragon Girl to prepare an alchemy furnace and charcoal. She didn’t understand why he, a demonic cultivator, needed an alchemy furnace, but she obeyed without question.
He gave Huan Tingting a list of ingredients, instructing her to gather them personally, ensuring their accuracy… Besides the four main ingredients, the sixth-rank Immortal Formula also required several supplementary herbs.
Fortunately, these were common and easily obtainable, as long as he had the money.
He carried Du Yuejiao upstairs, laid her on the bed, and lay down beside her. When she woke up and saw him, she instinctively tried to hit him, but he held her close.
She bit his shoulder in frustration, but her bite was gentle, leaving no mark.
Shi Hao chuckled, “Still angry?”
She bit her lip, “Let me go!”
She examined her internal state and exclaimed in surprise, “What have you done to me? And where are we?”
Shi Hao said, “This is Evil Lotus Sect territory.”
Du Yuejiao asked, alarmed, “A demonic sect?”
Shi Hao said, “Indeed. And you now possess a demonic foundation. If you return to the Chongxian Sect and accidentally use your demonic energy, the consequences could be severe.”
Du Yuejiao’s face paled, “A demonic foundation? How… how is that possible…?” She wanted to say that dual cultivation was impossible.
But then she remembered that it was precisely because of his dual cultivation that she hadn’t realized he was both her captor and her rescuer.
She turned away from him, tears silently streaming down her face.
Shi Hao put his arm around her and began to comfort her. He wasn’t worried. If a girl let you comfort her, even while angry, it meant she still cared. He wasn’t afraid of her anger, but of her indifference.
“How could you do that to me?” she whispered, her voice filled with grievance.
Shi Hao said, “You weren’t very nice to me either. You accused me without proof on Red Mountain, and you gave me trouble when I was just trying to buy some ingredients. How could you treat me like that? I liked you.”
The girl said angrily, “You’re blaming me? You carved marks on my leg! You… you… what are you doing?!”
Shi Hao pulled back the covers and, ignoring her struggles, untied her robe.
The marks he had carved were gone. After all, the Chongxian Sect had plenty of healing salves and elixirs.
He gently kissed the places where she had been injured, his voice soft, “Let me apologize. Isn’t that enough?” He continued kissing her, tracing the paths of his earlier cruelty with tenderness.
She resisted halfheartedly, “Don’t… don’t touch me… you… you bastard, is that all you know how to do… no… not there… don’t…”
His apology, however, seemed to have softened her anger.
“You bastard,” she mumbled, playfully hitting his chest.
A gust of wind, and a small voice called out from the table beside the bed, “Young Master.”
The girl emerged from under the covers, her shoulders bare. She saw the doll sitting on the table, a wooden box beside it.
The beautiful doll said, “I have the ingredient you requested, Young Master.”
Shi Hao, holding the girl close, said, “Take it to the alchemy room. I’ll be there soon.”
“Yes, Young Master,” the doll said, picking up the wooden box with its small hands and flying out the window.
Du Yuejiao, in his arms, looked up at him, her eyes filled with curiosity, “Why does it call you ‘Young Master’?”
Shi Hao said, “Because I’m the true inheritor of the Evil Lotus Sect.” He explained the situation.
Du Yuejiao, listening to his explanation, was stunned. She touched her chest, where her middle dantian was located, and whispered, “Dual cultivation… is that really possible? Is that what I am now?”
Shi Hao also touched her chest, and she blushed, trying to push his hand away, but he held it there. He said, “Dual cultivation is possible. It’s just that no one has discovered it, or dared to try it, before.
“The key is balance, like the yin and yang of a taiji symbol, constantly interacting and supporting each other. In fact, dual cultivation can be much faster than ordinary methods, although advancement is also more difficult, requiring both demonic rituals and Daoist elixirs, doubling the resources needed.”
Du Yuejiao sighed in relief, “So, the Emerald Beauty wanted to turn me into a demonic cultivator. And you… you were trying to save me?”
She looked at him, then muttered, “If I become a demon, I’ll kill you first.”
Shi Hao shook his head, “If you pass the demonic trial, you won’t care about me anymore. Not just me, but even your master. Your bond with her will be severed.”
The mention of her master made Du Yuejiao anxious, “I’ve been missing for so many days. Master must be worried.” She hugged him tightly, her head resting on his chest, “It’s all your fault!”
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