Chapter 80: Senior Brother, We’ve Been Bullied
That night, as expected, Xiang’er couldn’t fall asleep.
She tossed and turned, opening and closing her eyes countless times, her mind plagued by fear. Only when she saw Chen Yin sitting by her bedside did her anxiety subside.
Chen Yin simply held her hand, silently accompanying her.
Feeling the warmth of his hand, Yu Xiang finally closed her eyes, her mind desperately clinging to the happy memories of their life on Mount Yu.
This time, she finally drifted off to sleep.
Chen Yin sat by her bedside until midnight, then gently tucked her hand back into the blanket and left the room.
A figure in azure blue stood outside the door, her back to the room.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Chen Yin asked softly.
Shen Shuanglian bit her lip, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
“Is this… why you wanted me to stay on Mount Yu? To spare me from making a difficult choice?”
Chen Yin said slowly, “That’s the sect you grew up in.”
“I know no matter what you choose, it would be painful. So I made the choice for you. I’ll bear the responsibility.”
“Just pretend that you’re being held captive on Mount Yu by Master and me, unable to return to your sect during this crisis.”
Shen Shuanglian was stunned. After a long silence, she asked hesitantly, “What… are you going to do? Destroy the entire sect?”
“Of course not.”
Chen Yin shook his head and said seriously, “You heard what I said earlier. A life for a life, a debt must be repaid. I’m going to collect a debt, not massacre innocent people.”
“Most of the Mist Spirit Sect disciples know nothing about the Changli Palace incident. Why would I kill them?”
Hearing this, the sadness in Shen Shuanglian’s eyes faded slightly, and her gaze became clear.
“This matter… must have been the decision of the Sect Master and the elders.”
“Perhaps… even my Master was involved.” Her voice was filled with a deep sadness as she spoke those words.
“He’s the Sect Master, he must have known about such a major incident.”
Chen Yin gently ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry. Stay here tomorrow. I’ll personally confront him and demand an explanation.”
“C-can I go with you?”
“No.”
“Why?” A look of disappointment flashed in Shen Shuanglian’s eyes.
“Because if you’re there pleading for your Master, I’m afraid I’ll hesitate.” He said calmly.
Shen Shuanglian bit her lip and whispered, “I won’t… I just want to hear the truth from Master myself.”
“What if the truth is something you can’t accept?”
Her expression was filled with pain and conflict.
Chen Yin understood her inner turmoil. He patted her head silently and said with a gentle gaze:
“It’s okay.”
“Just this once. You can choose to avoid it.”
“Stay on Mount Yu and pretend you know nothing. Wait for me to return.”
“Even if you hate me or resent me later, it’s okay.”
Shen Shuanglian stared at him blankly, speechless.
“…If I really choose to avoid it…”
She whispered, her eyes red-rimmed, “Will you be disappointed?”
Chen Yin chuckled softly.
“Of course not.”
“You don’t have to be so strong. Because in my eyes, you’re still that little girl who would cry in the flowerbed.”
“If you want to cry, cry on my shoulder. If you want to hide, hide behind me. That’s what I’m here for.” He said gently.
Shen Shuanglian seemed touched. She lowered her eyes and, after a long silence, nodded slowly.
“Okay. I’ll wait for you.”
Chen Yin gently kissed her forehead.
“Get some rest. Enjoy the scenery of Mount Yu tomorrow.”
“Come back soon.” She whispered.
“Okay.”
***
Yu Xiang woke up with faint tear stains on her cheeks.
She hadn’t had any nightmares this time.
But she missed her parents.
A reassuring warmth still lingered on her hand. She turned her head and saw Chen Yin sitting by her bedside, holding her hand. He said softly, “You’re awake?”
“Mmm…” Xiang’er nodded timidly.
“Then let’s get washed up and ready to leave.”
Yu Xiang slowly sat up, her messy hair and red-rimmed eyes betraying her exhaustion.
“Senior Brother… are we really going to the Mist Spirit Sect’s main branch?”
“Do you think I was joking yesterday?” Chen Yin countered.
“Every injustice has a culprit. Whether it’s your matter or Master’s, they need to answer for their actions.”
He looked towards the distance. “If they refuse to give us an explanation, we’ll take it ourselves.”
Yu Xiang stared at Chen Yin’s profile for a long time, then rubbed her sore nose, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Senior Brother, thank you.”
“You haven’t asked me for help yet.” He lowered his head, his gaze softening.
Xiang’er pursed her lips and smiled faintly, a smile as delicate as a Mist Yu flower in bloom.
“Senior Brother, Master and I have been bullied.”
“Will you avenge us?”
Chen Yin closed his eyes and smiled. “Anyone who dares to bully my family will face the consequences.”
“Let’s go. To the Mist Spirit Sect.”
Deep within the main hall of the Mist Spirit Sect, in a hidden underground chamber…
Sect Master Wu Xun sat cross-legged on a cushion, his old and cloudy eyes fixed on the six or seven figures in black robes sitting before him, his expression grave.
“…How is it?”
“We’ve barely recovered half our strength.” One of the figures slowly removed their mask, revealing Elder Changwen from the Scripture Hall.
“My previous injuries hadn’t fully healed, and now Yu Ling has made things worse. I’m afraid it’ll take at least ten days to half a month before I can even use my spiritual energy properly.”
Another figure, his voice filled with displeasure, also removed his mask. It was Elder Mo Jie, whom they had encountered at the Fairy Conference.
“I knew Yu Ling would be troublesome, but I didn’t expect her to be this formidable.” Another figure sighed, his voice laced with a sinister tone. “We wasted the Immortal Binding Pot, and even with the combined strength of seven Supreme Clarity Realm cultivators, we still ended up suffering heavy losses.”
“The strongest cultivator below the True Immortal realm is truly terrifying.”
Sect Master Wu Xun was silent for a long time, then sighed softly.
“…We underestimated her.”
“Then what should we do, Sect Master?” Elder Changwen asked with concern. “Immortal Yu Ling’s status is special. We failed to eliminate her even after risking everything. If our attack on her is exposed, the consequences could be far worse than the Changli Palace incident.”
“The Mist Spirit Sect might truly become a public enemy, facing the wrath of the entire cultivation world.”
Wu Xun’s wrinkled brow furrowed deeply as he pondered the situation.
“…Where’s Qingying? I ordered her to follow Shen Shuanglian. Why haven’t we heard from her?”
“I don’t know.” Elder Mo Jie shook his head slowly. “If everything went according to plan, Qingying should have killed Yu Ling’s chief disciple and returned to report by now.”
“No news… It’s not looking good.”
Wu Xun sighed wearily.
“One wrong step, and we’ve ruined everything. The Changli Palace incident has truly backfired.”
…They had failed to find the Heavenly Dao Fragment, and somehow, a survivor had escaped.
A single lie required countless more lies to cover it up. And once the cracks started to show, the entire edifice would crumble.
Their greed had led to their downfall.
Silence fell over the chamber.
One of the figures, his voice cold and sinister, finally spoke, “Since we’ve already exposed ourselves, why not strike first?”
“Yu Ling is also seriously injured. Let’s attack Mount Yu under the pretense of eliminating the remaining demonic remnants of Changli Palace and get rid of those two nuisances once and for all.”
“Even if we can’t discredit Yu Ling, we can easily spread rumors about her disciples and ruin their reputation, making them outcasts in the cultivation world.”
“That’s not a good idea.” Elder Changwen shook his head.
“If we can’t deal with Immortal Yu Ling, then no amount of rumors will matter. Her connections will render them meaningless.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” The sinister old man snapped.
“We still don’t know if Immortal Yu Ling has obtained the Heavenly Dao Fragment.”
Changwen pondered. “She took in the Changli Palace orphan and kept her hidden for so many years. There must be a reason.”
“Since we can’t eliminate Immortal Yu Ling, I suggest we seek reconciliation. We can offer her compensation to appease her anger and ask her to restrain her disciples from investigating the Changli Palace incident further.”
“That Changli Palace orphan hasn’t come forward for over a decade. She might not even be seeking revenge anymore. We can find her and appease her, make up an excuse for the Changli Palace incident, and blame everything on the demonic path.”
The sinister old man scoffed. “Heh, do you think Yu Ling is that easy to fool?”
“We’ve already shown our hostility. She won’t be merciful!”
“But we were the ones in the wrong in the first place.” Changwen frowned. “I tried to stop you from going to Mount Yu and provoking Immortal Yu Ling, but you insisted on your own way!”
“You!”
As the two elders argued, Wu Xun finally roared, “Enough!”
“Arguing won’t solve the crisis we’re facing.”
After careful consideration, he said softly, “We were reckless in dealing with Yu Ling. The more we struggle, the deeper we’ll sink. Reconciliation is the best course of action.”
“I will personally apologize to Yu Ling, even if it means paying a hefty price. We must appease her anger.”
“How can you be sure that Yu Ling will accept our apology?” Elder Mo Jie frowned. “What if she insists on fighting to the death?”
“She won’t.”
Wu Xun’s old eyes flickered with an unknown emotion.
“Immortal Yu Ling’s ambitions… are not limited to dealing with us.”
“She has more important things to do.”
“If she truly wanted us dead, she wouldn’t have agreed to become a guest elder of the Mist Spirit Sect in the first place.”
“As for the Changli Palace orphan, we’ll do as Changwen suggested. We’ll blame everything on the demonic path, and then—”
Before Wu Xun could finish his sentence, Elder Changwen’s expression suddenly changed.
“Something’s wrong! People from Mount Yu are causing trouble at the sect gate!”
Everyone in the chamber was shocked. Wu Xun asked urgently, “How is that possible? Even with her extraordinary abilities, Yu Ling couldn’t have recovered from her injuries in just a day or two—”
“Immortal Yu Ling isn’t here.”
Changwen’s expression turned strange.
“It’s… her two disciples.”
“Yu Xiang and Chen Yin.”
Leave a Reply