Chapter 24: Rebirth Countdown 1 Part 2

But she could take the hits and curses—when Shen Mingzheng dragged her late parents into every sentence, stabbing at her sore spots, grievance and anger welled up. She retorted, “I know I was wrong to trust a Demonic Cultivator so easily, but did I want any of this to happen?!”

Shen Mingzheng’s pupils shrank.

Of course she knew the Demonic Cultivators were the real culprits. As long as the Shen Family held the secret treasure, the Demon Sect would strike eventually.

But this time, at least, if Lu Mingyi hadn’t brought up the past with Ji Xuyun, the Shen Family wouldn’t have been the primary target.

Now her mom lay comatose, and on the way back, Shu Yi had described how intimate Lu Mingyi and Ji Xuyun had been atop Lingxiao Mansion that day.

Even amid heavy encirclement, Ji Xuyun had shouted she’d take Lu Mingyi with her in death.

How touching.

All sorts of emotions flooded her, stoked by Lu Mingyi’s retort. Shen Mingzheng blurted everything: “If you didn’t stir up trouble everywhere, if you hadn’t back then insisted on showing off in front of that demoness, always competing with her for the top spot, why would she fixate on you?!”

“You… what did you say…?”

Lu Mingyi’s lips trembled, eyes widening.

She felt like she’d suddenly gone deaf. After the ringing in her ears came violent vertigo.

After blurting it out, Shen Mingzheng’s face changed too; her raging fury flickered for an instant.

But emotion won out. In a flash, thunderous wrath filled her brows again. She opened her mouth: “Did I say anything wrong?! Weren’t you obsessed with being number one? You…”

But the next moment, someone at the dungeon entrance interrupted Shen Mingzheng.

The newcomer held a Night-Luminous Pearl that lit the entire dim dungeon, its soft glow illuminating her face.

“Sorry, it seems I’ve interrupted your argument.” Xiao Yuxie stood at the top of the stairs, her face bearing its usual mild, shallow smile—but her brows and eyes now held a newfound triumphant gleam. “The Huabei Wang Family head has arrived. The trial regarding the Demon Sect incident is about to begin. Shen Young Mistress, you should head over too.”

By calling her “Shen Young Mistress,” she signaled their identities had shifted—no longer sect sisters, but representatives of their families.

Seeing Xiao Yuxie, undisguised loathing surged in Shen Mingzheng’s eyes. “I’ll go myself! What are you doing here?”

“Come to pick her up.” As Xiao Yuxie spoke, the smile in her eyes faded quite a bit. She took out a token, her voice carrying a hint of seriousness. “Acting Sect Master Token. By the authority of myself and Yao Ye Zhenren, we are to escort the defendant in this case—Lu Mingyi—to Pure Clarity Hall for trial.”

Hearing her own name, Lu Mingyi, who had been lost in a daze until then, finally snapped back to reality. She lifted her gaze and immediately spotted Xiao Yuxie standing at the top of the stairs.

Today’s senior sister seems just like the past few days, she thought. The warm smile in her eyes has faded, replaced by an indifferent detachment, as if it’s none of her business.

Shen Mingzheng snorted coldly upon hearing her words.

She wiped away the tears welling in her eyes and said in a hoarse, mocking tone, “So, Senior Sister Xiao killed the Demon Sect Saintess and became one of the great heroes of this battle. Things really are different for you now, huh?”

In the clash between the Demon Sect and Taiqing Sect, Xiao Yuxie had pierced the Demon Sect Saintess Ji Xuyun’s heart with a single sword strike. Without their saintess, the remaining demonic cultivators had been left leaderless and were quickly wiped out.

She had eliminated a major threat to the righteous path and swiftly resolved Taiqing Sect’s crisis. Now, Xiao Yuxie was at the height of her fame, and even the Xiao Family, which had long been dormant in the southwest, had reentered the conversations of the Cultivation World.

“Shen Mingzheng, can you shut up for once?!” Ming Xuan had a massive headache, wishing she could slap a silencing spell on this little ancestor.

But Shen Mingzheng was covered in protective spells, so she could only interrupt her and say to Xiao Yuxie, “Nephew Xiao, please look after your Junior Sister Shen. I’ll take Junior Nephew Lu instead.”

Xiao Yuxie: “…”

Shen Mingzheng: “…”

“Ming Xuan Martial Aunt, you’re too polite.” Xiao Yuxie smiled and stepped toward Lu Mingyi. “Shen Young Mistress has rushed here all the way from Lin’an, exhausted from the journey. Martial Aunt, you should take extra care of her. As for Junior Sister Lu…”

She walked up to Lu Mingyi, lowered her gaze to the disheveled girl, and said softly, “I think she at least won’t attack her own senior sister, right?”

Junior Sister Lu.

Hearing that form of address, Lu Mingyi’s hands at her sides clenched slightly.

“…You’re probably right,” Ming Xuan frowned, sighed again, and said in a low voice, “Lu Mingyi, whatever you do later, don’t let us down.”

With that, she grabbed Shen Mingzheng to leave.

“Wait! Master, you’re really going to leave them alone together?! At least come with them…”

Shen Mingzheng hadn’t expected Ming Xuan to take her away first. She instinctively searched for Lu Mingyi’s figure, only to find it blocked by Xiao Yuxie’s back. She said urgently.

Ming Xuan was thoroughly exasperated. “Enough! If I’d known you’d cause this much trouble, I wouldn’t have let you in here at all!”

“Master!”

The sounds of their argument gradually faded, and the dungeon fell silent once more.

Lu Mingyi clutched the wound at her ribs, breathing shallowly. Her head was still buzzing, echoing with the contents of her argument with Shen Mingzheng. Sensing someone approach, she looked up at the poised senior sister standing before her.

Today, she wasn’t wearing the Sword Peak uniform of Taiqing Sect, but a moon-white robe that shimmered with elegant light. The robe was intricate yet form-fitting, accentuating her extraordinary poise. At her waist hung a small, luminous white jade pendant engraved with tiny characters.

As Xiao Yuxie had said, she was here today as the Xiao Family Young Mistress, not as Sword Peak’s senior sister.

Not my senior sister.

Xiao Yuxie’s light, sweeping gaze looked down at her, carrying a hint of scrutiny and a strange, spine-chilling unfamiliarity.

“Senior Sister Xiao…” Qi Yinxue sensed the odd atmosphere and couldn’t help speaking up.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Yuxie seemed to notice her only then, flashing a faint smile. Then she did something neither Lu Mingyi nor Qi Yinxue had anticipated.

She actually knelt down halfway, one arm sliding under Lu Mingyi’s knees, the other supporting her slender waist.

Just like that, Xiao Yuxie scooped Lu Mingyi into her arms.

“Senior sister?”

Even Lu Mingyi was utterly surprised, especially after sensing earlier that Xiao Yuxie seemed to be deliberately distancing herself.

After all, she usually called her “Little Yi,” but just now it had been “Junior Sister Lu.”

Suddenly, Lu Mingyi’s body went rigid.

She felt Xiao Yuxie’s hand land on her waist—the exact spot where Ji Xuyun had gripped her days ago.

That area had been squeezed hard back then, leaving bruises.

Now, Xiao Yuxie’s warm hand pressed there, applying slight pressure. A faint ache and numbness surged up, and in such a sensitive spot on her waist, it made Lu Mingyi’s body tremble lightly.

Bewildered, she shot Xiao Yuxie a puzzled look, but all she could see was the other’s flawless jawline and impeccably neat collar.

They were too close; a faint scent of orchids wrapped around her.

Xiao Yuxie smiled at Qi Yinxue. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Senior Sister Xiao! Senior Sister Lu… she’s still injured!” Qi Yinxue reminded her nervously, noticing the deepening red stain on Lu Mingyi’s clothes.

Xiao Yuxie smiled faintly. “Mm, so we should hurry. The trial can’t be delayed. After it’s over, we’ll tend to Junior Sister Lu’s wounds.”

“But…”

Qi Yinxue mumbled a few times, wanting to say it would be more comfortable for Lu Mingyi to ride on Tingyu, but Xiao Yuxie didn’t give her the chance. She carried Lu Mingyi out of the dungeon.

And Lu Mingyi was indeed suffering.

With her cultivation repeatedly suppressed, she was no different from the most ordinary person in the Cultivation World now. The stab wound from Flying Light at her ribs had been healing agonizingly slowly, especially after days in the dungeon’s dark, damp, hellish environment.

After getting beaten by Shen Mingzheng and flying into a rage, the wound had split open. Now being held like this by Xiao Yuxie, it hurt even more.

And that bruise on her waist was being pressed by her senior sister!

Having been locked in the dungeon for days, Lu Mingyi’s eyes had adapted to the dim light. Now, under the blinding sunlight, it stung so much she could barely open them, tears welling up.

Instinctively, she turned her head, nuzzling into Xiao Yuxie’s embrace a few times.

This motion made Xiao Yuxie tighten her hold instantly. The bruise on her waist was pinched, the soreness so intense that Lu Mingyi wanted to roll over. She couldn’t help crying out softly, “Senior sister, senior sister, senior sister! Be gentle, my waist is so sore!”

Her soft plea startled them both.

Over the past century in Taiqing Sect, Lu Mingyi had actually spent the most time with Xiao Yuxie.

As Sword Peak’s senior sister, Xiao Yuxie was responsible for managing the junior sisters on the peak. Lu Mingyi was her direct disciple, lively and mischievous. When she got in trouble and Xiao Yuxie had to discipline her sternly, Lu Mingyi hadn’t been shy about acting coquettishly and rolling around begging.

Those intimate moments were still fresh in her mind, and reliving them now felt strangely distant.

Lu Mingyi couldn’t help thinking: In less than two months, my world has truly been turned upside down.

Xiao Yuxie, after a moment of stunned silence, felt the faint estrangement in Lu Mingyi shatter.

She lowered her gaze to the person in her arms, her eyes filled with complex emotions. After a silent pause, she couldn’t hold back. “Little Yi…”

Hearing the call, Lu Mingyi’s long lashes trembled. On her pale, fragile face, her delicate features still shone brightly, her eyes holding the same trust as always.

Xiao Yuxie’s throat moved slightly. She suppressed the strange emotions rising in her heart, closed her eyes to avoid Lu Mingyi’s face, and said flatly, “Stay calm during the trial ahead. If you didn’t do it, you’ll get justice.”

With that, she pressed her lips tight and said no more—her reminder was enough.

Hearing about the trial, Lu Mingyi frowned tightly.

She knew that back at Lingxiao Pavilion, the things Ji Xuyun had said and done in front of all of Taiqing Sect were meant to slander her as colluding with the Demon Sect.

In the past, with her status as a Shen Family member and direct disciple of Long Rainbow Sword Venerable, most people would scoff and never believe it.

But now, bearing the ominous title of Child of Prophecy, with the old case of “cursing” the Taiqing Sect Leader to death, and Ji Xuyun’s embellished rumors adding “colluding with the Demon Sect” during the prophecy’s spread…