Chapter 28: Short Are These Bitter Days
“Don’t refuse me.”
The last time Ning Ruoque had said something like that, the consequence was being sarcastically remarked upon by Yin Buran.
Moreover, with so many medical cultivators in Azurefall Creek, and even Yin Buran herself being proficient in medical arts, if she really had hysteria, it should have been noticed.
Now, Ning Ruoque was more inclined to believe there was another reason.
But Chu Xuan insisted on her own idea and tried to give an example: “In the past hundred years, her temper has become more and more strange.”
Ning Ruoque silently took out a handkerchief to wipe her sword, seemingly daydreaming, but in reality, she was listening very seriously.
A few points of candlelight struggled to squeeze through the stacked artifacts, illuminating the edge of her sword.
Chu Xuan: “Look at Yin Buran’s white hair. It’s said that it’s because of a mistake in her cultivation, leading to qi deviation.”
Ning Ruoque pressed her lips together, not quite agreeing. “What if she just likes this color?”
She thought it looked quite nice, a beautiful silvery white.
Chu Xuan clicked her tongue a few times and continued, “She treats people based entirely on her mood. The deputy sect master of the Cloud Sword Pavilion asked her to treat his injuries, and in front of so many people, she directly said she wouldn’t save ugly people.”
Ning Ruoque didn’t think Yin Buran was in the wrong.
In fact, that deputy sect master wasn’t ugly, but he was used to stepping on the low and fawning on the high, treating mortals as ants, which was really not something to be praised.
She was just worried that Yin Buran would make an enemy of that deputy sect master because of this.
Seeing that her friend not only didn’t believe her but also seemed to have the intention of refuting, Chu Xuan was immediately anxious.
“She let a snake bite my butt today! The old Yin Buran would never have done that!”
Ning Ruoque’s gaze shifted. She thought of the Yin Buran wrapped in a fur cloak, sulking silently, making one want to reach out and poke her.
Her hand, which was wiping the sword, suddenly stopped, and she said in a small voice, “A little… cute.”
Chu Xuan couldn’t believe it. She immediately took out a ball of light and held it up to Ning Ruoque’s face, trying to identify if the person under this skin was really Ning Ruoque.
But she didn’t find anything else, except for a clear view of the faint red on her ears.
“…”
Chu Xuan exploded on the spot, her voice almost lifting the roof. “Ning Ruoque, you’re done for! Have you been hit by Yin Buran’s love gu!”
Ning Ruoque had a headache from the noise and impatiently slapped the handkerchief she was using to wipe her sword on Chu Xuan’s face. “Yin Buran is very good to me. It’s just that I…”
She paused, then spoke calmly, “I’m not the same kind of person as her.”
Chu Xuan pulled off the handkerchief, spat a few times, and was about to agree.
But when she looked up and saw Ning Ruoque’s eyes, they were like a deep, ancient well, with not even a speck of light shining in.
It was a bit like when she had first met Ning Ruoque. This person was always like this.
Chu Xuan’s tongue suddenly became tied, and she even forgot what she wanted to say.
She hesitated several times, but then suddenly turned around and threw a small knife towards an empty space.
“Who’s there?!”
The small knife hit something in the air and was knocked to the ground.
At the same time, a black mist dispersed, and the originally distorted space returned to its original state.
Yin Buran was sitting in a wheelchair, propping up her head, staring at the two of them with a blank expression, it was unknown how long she had been eavesdropping.
She had changed her clothes. Her white dress was trimmed with cloud patterns and embroidered with hidden plum blossoms, and her long hair was tied up with a flowing cloud hairpin.
Like a clear lotus just emerging from the water, unstained by a speck of dust.
Only then did Qingtong and Qieyu come in from outside the door, standing quietly behind Yin Buran.
Eavesdropping and talking behind people’s backs were both not very proper. Chu Xuan laughed awkwardly and automatically skipped over the previous topic.
She asked as if nothing had happened, “Why didn’t you soak for longer? Are you in such a hurry to go?”
Yin Buran only replied with four words, “Delays breed trouble.”
Her attitude was still cold, and it sounded like she was still angry.
Ning Ruoque turned her head away guiltily, avoiding Yin Buran’s gaze.
She pressed her hand on the hilt of her sword, hoping that these few strands of coolness could suppress the heat on her face.
What was more terrifying than being caught by the person you were talking about was that you didn’t know how much the other person had overheard.
“Alright, alright.” Chu Xuan didn’t care. She strode forward and snapped her fingers crisply.
The sound of mechanisms engaging came from all directions. Qingtong was startled, and then a feeling of weightlessness came from under her feet.
The scenery outside the window had already turned into mottled lines. This room was actually rising continuously!
She carefully held on to Qieyu’s shoulder and whispered, “Qieyu, do you think I’m… inexperienced?”
Looking at the reactions of others, they were all very calm. Even Qieyu had maintained a faint smile.
She felt even more that she had been too lax, and her temperament was also lacking.
But Qieyu blinked and comforted her in a soft voice, “How could that be, Senior Sister? I’ve only read about Sect Master Chu’s mechanism formations in books. Seeing them today, they really live up to their reputation.”
These words were really thoughtful. Before Qingtong could feel relieved, a sentence was abruptly interjected.
“Such sweet words. Just right, I’ll show you my proudest work in recent years.”
As her voice fell, the room had already stopped.
After a grating sound of gears meshing, the roof suddenly folded to both sides, revealing a gray sky.
The surrounding walls fell, and only then did everyone realize that they were already standing on the highest terrace of the Forging Fire Sect.
Looking out from here, one could see the magma cutting the entire territory of the Forging Fire Sect into pieces.
But what was more attractive than this was the huge golden formation plate floating in the center of the terrace.
Its brilliance was dazzling, its momentum scorching.
The runes on it were as intricate as a small starry sky, and its structure was so complex that Qingtong’s eyes were blurred, but she still couldn’t make out anything.
Ning Ruoque, on the other hand, could see some of it, a little unsure. “This is…”
Chu Xuan laughed, her head held high, and introduced with great pride.
“That’s right. This is a formation that is large enough to cover the entire front line of the ancient battlefield, with both defense and attack integrated. As long as it’s used properly, it can at least withstand three waves of the highest-level demonic beast tide.”
“Its name is, the Jue-character Nine Heavens Xuan Yao Grand Formation!”
Qingtong and Qieyu clapped their hands in cooperation.
The grudge between the demon and human races had a long history. Just by hearing its function, one could tell that it was indeed an unprecedented divine work.
As narcissistic as Chu Xuan was, she had directly put her own name in it.
This way, its character name seemed a bit out of place.
Jue, is a jade with a piece missing.
Yin Buran glanced at Ning Ruoque without a sound and found that this person’s eyes were full of excitement, with a silly look on her face.
She was not infected by the enthusiastic atmosphere and instead asked unhurriedly:
“Why is it called this name?”
She hadn’t thought about this question at all. The originally dancing and gesticulating curly-haired person was stunned for a moment.
She patted her own head, her eyes slightly dazed. “…I forgot.”
Yin Buran lowered her eyes and did not ask any more questions.
“It’s not important. I’ve always been casual with names.” Chu Xuan waved her hand as if this were just a trivial matter.
“Besides, this thing does have many shortcomings, such as consuming a large amount of spiritual energy and requiring long-term maintenance, and so on.”
She said while summoning the flying boat, “This formation still needs to be modified. If the demon race produces another demon god, we can protect the rear and free up more people to deal with it.”
The Demon God Calamity of a hundred years ago had brought untold suffering to the world, and the cultivation world was also filled with lingering fear.
All the cultivators who had participated in that great war were still preparing for the next battle.
Chu Xuan led everyone onto her flying boat and finally got to the point. “We’ll try to arrive at Xiaochi Village before dark. Before that, let’s rest well.”
This flying boat was not as large as Azurefall Creek’s and only had three rooms.
After Chu Xuan finished speaking, she took one room for herself. Qingtong pulled Qieyu away, and in the end, only Yin Buran and the exceptionally reserved Ning Ruoque were left.
The sword cultivator pushed Yin Buran to the front of the couch and then stood far away, sullenly, not daring to speak.
After spending some time together, she thought she had figured out Yin Buran’s expressions and actions for the most part.
But the current situation was clearly very different from usual.
A certain person was no longer sulking, but she wasn’t happy either. Instead, her eyes under her dense eyelashes were even more empty.
She was like a white porcelain doll, beautiful and exquisite, but lifeless.
This emotion was like disappointment, and also like—
A deep sense of powerlessness.
There were probably very few things that could make Yin Buran feel powerless.
Ning Ruoque began to carefully recall her previous actions, but she couldn’t figure out anything even after racking her brains.
She could only steel herself and sit in front of Yin Buran, using the most stupid method.
“Yin Buran, you don’t seem happy.”
Yin Buran didn’t even blink. “I’m not unhappy.”
Ning Ruoque unconsciously picked at the seam of her clothes and muttered softly.
“But you didn’t hit me today.”
From her experience, if Yin Buran reached out to scratch her, it meant she was very angry, but could be coaxed.
If she ignored people and sulked alone, it meant she was very angry and would take more effort to coax.
So she would rather Yin Buran hit her.
Yin Buran squinted and glanced at Ning Ruoque with an indescribable expression.
The structure of a certain sword cultivator’s head seemed to have become strange after her rebirth.
Although she had always been dull, she was clearly even more slow-witted now, and also clumsy in matters of love.
Ning Ruoque asked cautiously, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
Yin Buran pressed her lips together, suddenly clenched her fist, and punched Ning Ruoque’s shoulder.
She clearly didn’t use any force, but the latter’s eyes widened, and her face instantly turned pale.
Ning Ruoque couldn’t speak. It was as if a thousand needles were stuck in her brain, and a sharp pain and ringing in her ears came at the same time.
At the same time, her spiritual energy also began to run amok, and a mouthful of sweet blood rolled up her throat.
She lowered her head and quickly covered her mouth. “Cough, mmph—”
Fresh blood still gushed out from between her fingers, dripping onto her neck, collar, and everywhere, blooming into a glaring red.
“Ning Ruoque!”
Ning Ruoque felt her body relax, and when she came back to her senses, her perspective had already flown to the roof.
It was soul separation.
Was there a problem with her spiritual soul again?
Yin Buran was so anxious that the corners of her eyes turned red, and she couldn’t care about anything else.
After tapping a few acupoints, she struggled to stand up with her weak body, pressed on Ning Ruoque’s shoulder, and leaned over, their foreheads touching.
Ning Ruoque’s pupils shrank. “Wait, don’t—”
Another sharp ringing in her ears, and her vision was blurry. She had clearly returned to her own body.
Her chest heaved violently, and her whole body still hurt.
Most importantly, her blood hadn’t been cleaned up in time and had stained Yin Buran all over.
The contrast between red and white was far more conspicuous than black.
Not to mention that large patches of blood were concentrated on her chest and waist, and even a few strands of her hair were stained, looking shocking.
The original sweet floral fragrance from her bath had all turned into the smell of blood.
Yin Buran’s newly changed clothes were all dirty. Ning Ruoque was very flustered and wanted to push her away, but her wrist was fiercely grabbed.
Yin Buran’s voice was low and hoarse. “Don’t refuse me, or it will hurt my spiritual soul.”
Ning Ruoque was so frightened that she didn’t dare to move, and her brain also went blank.
A cultivator’s spiritual soul was the embodiment of their mental power and soul, and was just as important as their body.
Medical cultivators had long known that if there was no guidance from a cultivation technique, rash contact between spiritual souls would produce unpredictable after-effects.
But Yin Buran couldn’t care about that much.
The medicine she had given Ning Ruoque before required her own blood essence as a guide. Now, even if she forcibly drew blood, she didn’t have time to make the medicine.
She could only use her own spiritual soul to nourish Ning Ruoque’s damaged spiritual soul.
With the previous warning, the pure white, soft ball of light entered Ning Ruoque’s spiritual platform with almost no effort.
She found a messy ball of spiritual soul in a corner.
Ning Ruoque didn’t know what she was doing. Her spiritual soul was tattered, with torn gaps everywhere, like a pile of unwanted trash.
Yin Buran was both angry and heartbroken. With a thought, she made her own spiritual soul stick to it.
A medical cultivator’s spiritual soul was needed to investigate injuries and illnesses, so it was stronger and more sensitive than a cultivator of the same rank.
The pure white ball of light slowly pressed itself against the gaps in the small trash, and before it could be fully pressed, it couldn’t stop trembling.
In an instant, Yin Buran’s wrist went limp, and she couldn’t stand up, directly straddling Ning Ruoque’s legs.
She squeezed out three words with great difficulty, “You… don’t move.”
Feeling the weight on her body, Ning Ruoque of course didn’t dare to make a rash move and continued to empty her mind, not thinking about anything.
She just felt a tingling numbness all over her body.
It was as if she were wrapped in something fluffy, or as if she were being washed by a warm current.
It was so comfortable, not painful at all. She even wanted to hug her back.
She was in a daze for a while, and only when her neck tickled did she regain some of her attention.
A slightly rapid breath fell on her skin. Ning Ruoque subconsciously tensed up, and her heart suddenly slowed by half a beat.
Is Yin Buran… rubbing her head against her? She was rubbing without any pattern, just purely venting some kind of emotion.
The hand on her shoulder had no strength, but it still wrinkled her clothes.
Ning Ruoque’s gaze slid down from that slender, well-defined finger.
It swept past the red-stained white clothes, the messy collar, and then to the side of her face that had been accidentally stained with a little blood.
Just this little bit of blood made this originally cold side profile instantly become extremely beautiful.
Ning Ruoque thought to herself, This is great. Both of them are dirty. Yin Buran’s bath was for nothing.
But it was Yin Buran who had rubbed against her.
The short treatment was over.
But Yin Buran was still sitting on Ning Ruoque’s legs. She took a while to recover before straightening up.
For some reason, Ning Ruoque called out eagerly, “Yin Buran…”
“What, does the Sword Venerable think this posture is too intimate?”
Yin Buran tried her best to maintain a cold tone, but her body was really not cooperative. The voice that came out was soft, and even the corners of her eyes were watery.
She turned her head and coughed a few times, trying to suppress her unusual state.
She snorted coldly, “Unfortunately, I have no strength now. I can only trouble you to carry me down yourself.”
For a moment, Ning Ruoque was enlightened and heard that this sentence was said in anger.
She didn’t move, silently brewing words of thanks in her heart, and also recalling Yin Buran’s actions just now.
It felt strange, her heart was so numb, as if it were about to melt into a pool of boiling water.
Yin Buran glanced at Ning Ruoque and bit her lip.
She tentatively leaned over, wanting to curl up in a certain sword cultivator’s arms.
Just then, a knock like a sudden downpour came from outside.
Chu Xuan said in a loud voice, “Ning Ruoque, are you there? Are you asleep? You’re definitely not asleep. I have something to tell you.”
Knowing that this person was used to not following the rules, Ning Ruoque jumped and instantly pulled over a wooden screen with her spiritual energy to block the view.
Then her mind went blank, and in a flash, she pushed Yin Buran onto the bed and covered her with a quilt as if hiding food.
Chu Xuan pushed the door open and walked in.
