Chapter 44: Short Are These Bitter Days
For the first time, she was shut out by Yin Buran…
If one wasn’t born left-handed, there were very few sword cultivators in the world who could use a left-handed sword.
Moreover, the left-handed sword technique was the opposite of the right-handed one. It was not something that could be touched by those without exceptional talent, and the number of sword cultivators who could practice both at the same time was even rarer.
Ning Ruoque happened to be one of them.
Back then, it was with this left-handed sword, as swift as lightning and as aggressive as fire, that she had defeated the sect master of the Cloud Sword Pavilion and made a name for herself in the world.
Ning Ruoque was a natural-born sword cultivator. No one would deny this.
Her left-handed sword was even more agile, impossible to capture with the naked eye. Only countless flashes of sword light flickered, illuminating this part of the world and forcing the Shirou to scream repeatedly.
Chu Xuan dropped He Zhen and flew into the battle.
The Shirou suddenly jumped up, and Ning Ruoque nimbly turned around like a swift to get out of the way. The flames rolled up in tacit understanding, biting onto the Shirou and not letting go.
Knowing that it was no match for Chu Xuan, the Shirou dodged in a hurry, but was intercepted by Ning Ruoque’s sword every time.
The wounds on its body grew more and more numerous, and a foul-smelling liquid flowed out.
Countless blood-red eyes opened from the wounds, making one feel nauseous.
The flames instantly turned white. While dodging the poison that the Shirou sprayed, Chu Xuan threw the two juniors and a child into her protective formation.
She didn’t forget to grumble, “So ugly! I won’t be able to eat when I get back!”
Ning Ruoque’s expression was as usual. She ignored the faint pain from her spiritual soul and focused on finding the Shirou’s demon core.
Unfortunately, no matter how the sword light and fire intertwined, the Shirou remained immortal.
She pressed her lips together. Could it be that this isn’t it either?
“Be careful!” Chu Xuan’s cry of alarm sounded.
The giant axe blocked for her for a moment. Ning Ruoque ducked, and saw a stream of red light fly over her head and towards the Shirou.
That was the Shirou’s demon core!
It wanted to escape with its demon core!
Knowing that they couldn’t let this opportunity slip by, Ning Ruoque and Chu Xuan struck at the same time.
The moonlight was as clear as water, just enough to reflect her sharp features.
Why hate being in the mortal world, when a three-foot green-edged sword can cut through sorrow!
The sword’s momentum was like a swimming dragon. The moment it was swung, the long wind ceased, leaving only a streak of sword light that rolled the target into countless pieces of minced meat.
And the flames wrapped around the demon core, burning fiercely, forcing the latter to flee everywhere.
“Ning… Ning—”
The Shirou’s scream seemed to pierce one’s eardrums. Every eye on its body bulged excessively, as if it would burst in the next second.
Then it self-decomposed into countless tiny lumps of flesh, writhing on the ground.
“Ugh!”
A hoarse and painful groan came from not far away.
Before Chu Xuan could make a move, a ball of black Shirou drilled into He Zhen’s body in full view of everyone. The demon core also sank into it.
So she changed her move, and the giant axe, carrying flames, came crashing down.
The ground cracked open with large and small fissures, and the remaining Shirou all rolled into the cracks and were burned to death by the lava.
He Zhen’s face was extremely unsightly. After vomiting a mouthful of black blood, she suddenly fell to the ground, her limbs weak.
Qingtong, who was beside her, hurriedly covered the child’s eyes, afraid that she would get emotional.
But the child in her arms was surprisingly quiet, not making a fuss, like a porcelain doll.
Chu Xuan stroked her chin, and her elbow casually rested on Ning Ruoque’s shoulder. “You’ve become so famous that any random monster knows you?”
Ning Ruoque frowned and quickly pushed her away. “It might just be a coincidence. When you were killing that Shirou clone, did you find a special piece of sword blade?”
Chu Xuan: “No.”
“Oh.”
This time, she didn’t find a fragment of her life-bound sword. Ning Ruoque lowered her eyes, inevitably a little disappointed.
However, this disappointment was soon replaced by a bone-chilling cold.
A chill ran down her spine, and her whole body suddenly froze on the spot.
“Ning Ruoque.”
A clear and cold voice sounded, like a thin piece of ice.
Ning Ruoque didn’t dare to turn her head and only heard Yin Buran’s footsteps approaching from a distance. Accompanied by her pounding heart, it only took a few breaths for her to arrive behind her.
Yin Buran stood still with a cold face and kicked Ning Ruoque’s heel fiercely in front of everyone.
Rarely seeing this scene, Chu Xuan excitedly raised her hand. “I can help you kick her butt!”
Yin Buran gave her a cold look, and the latter immediately shut up, hugging her arms and watching the show from the side.
Feeling that Yin Buran was about to kick a second time, Ning Ruoque hurriedly turned around and dodged to the side.
Her bones were hard. She couldn’t let Yin Buran hurt her foot.
Yin Buran raised her hand with a blank expression.
Ning Ruoque thought she was going to treat her, so she obediently extended her bloody and broken right hand.
But she didn’t expect Yin Buran to swing, and her uninjured arm was slapped hard, which was actually a little painful.
Ning Ruoque was stunned for a moment, as dazed as a big dog that had been beaten for no reason. She withdrew her hand and carefully observed Yin Buran’s expression.
The person before her’s face was as pale as ever, but the corners of her eyes were wet and red, and there were faint bite marks on her lips.
Her gaze at Ning Ruoque was also like a knife, a broken knife. She wished she could skin her and tear her apart, and also hurt herself until she was covered in blood.
It seemed that she was really at the peak of her anger, even worse than last time!
After scolding the person, Yin Buran turned to look at He Zhen, who was kneeling on the ground.
This person had been vomiting blood and had been injured by a sword before.
Now she was dirty all over, blood and mud mixed together, with snowflakes in between, so disheveled that she didn’t look human.
But she could still remain conscious, staring at Ning Ruoque without blinking, her crimson eyes reflecting that completely different face.
Seeing Chu Xuan’s attitude towards “Ning Man,” and Yin Buran even calling her name directly, He Zhen finally knew the other’s true identity.
Even after a hundred years of death, the Sword Venerable’s status had not been shaken by anyone.
Even a three-year-old child in the human world had heard her legend.
He Zhen let out a low laugh. “So that’s how it is…”
She raised her head, but as if she were looking down on Yin Buran, her eyes were full of contempt.
“I never thought that the Divine Pivot Lord, with her unparalleled medical skills, would also have someone she couldn’t save.”
He Zhen’s crazed laughter echoed in the night sky.
After laughing enough, she commented with disdain, “You’re just like me, just a person driven mad by this life and death.”
Qingtong suddenly found her strength and immediately retorted with an even louder voice, “Are you worthy of being compared to my Little Senior Sister? You even find excuses for harming people. How shameless, pah!”
Yin Buran’s expression did not change, not at all affected by her words.
She just returned a calm, even a little pitiful gaze, without saying a word.
He Zhen’s smile gradually froze on her face.
She looked up at Yin Buran walking slowly towards her, her figure as white as the moon, untouchable.
“Where are we the same?” Yin Buran asked softly.
She looked down at the person. “I have never harmed another’s life for my own selfish reasons. Besides, Ning Ruoque doesn’t need to ‘change’ her body.”
Under the art of life and death, Ning Ruoque was a perfect ‘creation.’
This was simply an undisguised provocation.
He Zhen’s fingers dug deep into the snow, so cold that her flesh turned blue. She couldn’t feel the pain and only saw the dirty, muddy self in Yin Buran’s eyes.
But Yin Buran’s hands were as white as jade carvings, her ten fingers slender, so perfect that it made one jealous.
If she could possess Yin Buran’s body…
She secretly gritted her teeth, circulated the last of her spiritual energy, and endured the intense pain, attaching a wisp of her spiritual soul to the Shirou.
Her fingers trembled slightly, and a rice-grain-sized Shirou moved quickly under the snow, silently arriving at Yin Buran’s feet.
Then it leaped up with the wind to a person’s height, looking for a suitable landing spot.
Ning Ruoque had been secretly glancing at Yin Buran.
When the black dot appeared in her line of sight, her pupils suddenly shrank, and she subconsciously used all her strength.
The hum of the sword being drawn resounded through the heavens and the earth.
In the astonished gazes of the crowd, intricate formation patterns rose from the ground, so large that they could encompass the entire Xiaochi Village.
A line of white light broke through the ground, and before Ning Ruoque could act, it shattered the Shirou and pierced through He Zhen’s chest.
At the same time as the sword light flashed, it also brought out a blood-red demon core.
He Zhen’s eyes widened, completely unable to resist.
She could only watch helplessly as the demon core flew into Yin Buran’s hand, while the stream of light drilled into Ning Ruoque’s body.
Ning Ruoque instantly perked up, the corners of her mouth almost unable to be suppressed.
It was a fragment of her life-bound sword! It had been suppressed under Xiaochi Village all along!
But after the surprise, more and more undeniable questions came to her.
It seemed to be another incident of using a demon core to do evil. Where did this demonic art come from?
Clearly, she was not the only one who thought so.
Chu Xuan’s brows knitted tightly, and just as she was about to ask, Yin Buran stepped forward first.
“The demon core will affect a person’s mind. Haven’t you realized that the beneficiary of this matter is not you, but that Shirou?”
“Without your help, it would be impossible for it to assimilate so many people and in the end, have no demonic aura at all.”
Fortunately, it was discovered early. Otherwise, it would be a disaster for the human world and the upper realm.
Yin Buran summoned her paulownia wood zither, and the seven snow-white strings emitted a faint cold light.
This time, she did not let others do it for her and directly pressed, “I’ll ask one last time. Who is the person who taught you this demonic art?”
As soon as her voice fell, He Zhen’s eyes suddenly rolled back, and her whole body began to convulse violently.
“This?” Ning Ruoque couldn’t see the reason, only that her spiritual energy was in chaos, and she already had the face of a dying person.
Yin Buran touched He Zhen, her expression a little unsightly. “The Shirou in her body is devouring her flesh.”
The zither notes were clear, just like the clear cry of a young phoenix. Several mist-like lotus flowers flew out and poured into He Zhen’s body.
Chu Xuan let out a cold sneer. “What’s the point of wasting spiritual energy? Just burn her to death.”
But not only did Yin Buran not withdraw the lotus flowers, she also raised her hand and pressed it on He Zhen’s head.
Suddenly realizing that she wanted to use the soul-searching technique, Ning Ruoque quickly stopped her. “Don’t!”
Soul-searching was irreversible. Once used, the person whose soul was searched would become a fool at best, and at worst, their soul would be scattered. And the person who used this technique would also suffer great pain.
Ning Ruoque hurriedly pulled her away. Yin Buran glanced at her and directly shook off her hand.
She said in a deep voice, “It’s too late. Her spiritual soul has already been mostly eaten by the Shirou.”
As if to prove her words, He Zhen’s eyes were vacant, and she fell down limply.
The clue was broken again, which was already annoying.
Her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Ning Ruoque, who was staring at her eagerly, which added another layer of dissatisfaction.
Chu Xuan pulled at her curly hair. “How do we clean up this mess?”
There were still many “people” locked in Pengpeng’s room, and these “people” could turn into Shirou at any time.
Not to mention that there was also Pengpeng, who was even more special.
Yin Buran let out a breath, and when she looked up again, the gloom in her eyes had been swept away.
The paulownia wood zither circled around her, playing a slow and gentle tune that lulled people to sleep.
She turned around and did not look again, casually handing the demon core to Chu Xuan.
“Burn them all. I can’t treat those whose souls are incomplete and have already been assimilated by the Shirou.”
Entering the cycle of reincarnation early was the only way to prevent their souls from dissipating in the world.
“As for Pengpeng…”
This time, she was silent for a long time, as if it were difficult to decide.
Ning Ruoque did not dare to make a sound and stood quietly beside Yin Buran.
Chu Xuan simply snapped her fingers first. The courtyard spontaneously ignited, and she also threw the demon core into it.
The scorching flames rolled over the snow, determined to burn everything to ashes.
The big yellow dog and a few hens drilled out from their hiding places and rushed to escape into the forest.
Qingtong quickly picked up Pengpeng, and the group retreated outside the door.
She felt that her palm was wet. She quickly let go and saw that the child’s face was mottled with tear stains, and she was already sobbing uncontrollably.
But when a cluster of flames landed on He Zhen’s sleeve, He Peng, with a strength that came from nowhere, suddenly broke free from Qingtong’s hand and rushed over recklessly.
“Wait!” Qingtong was so frightened that she anxiously tried to pull her back.
Ning Ruoque immediately stopped her and said calmly, “That is her wish.”
Earlier in the day, when Pengpeng was proudly teaching her how to coax people, she had asked Ning Ruoque to promise her one thing. She had said—
“You don’t have to save me.”
Chu Xuan clicked her tongue and was the first to walk out of the village, striding away without looking back.
Qingtong supported Qieyu, wiped her eyes, and also followed.
In the firelight, He Zhen seemed to have suddenly woken up from a dream and struggled to shout in a fluster, “Pengpeng, Pengpeng—”
“Sister, have you seen my sister!”
He Peng grabbed her hand and pressed it against her face. Although her tear stains were not yet dry, she bloomed into a sweet smile.
“I’m here.”
She used all her strength to hug her loved one, like every long-awaited reunion.
“Sister, don’t be afraid. I’m with you.”
She hummed a lullaby, and the person who had been so frightened and uneasy just now suddenly quieted down.
The lullaby drifted through Xiaochi Village.
The flames devoured the two dolls leaning against each other, devoured the annotations on the medical books, the broken-toothed wooden comb, devoured the old red string, the brand new cotton-padded jacket.
Until it devoured the two embracing figures.
Ning Ruoque stared for a long time, stroked the hilt of her sword, and turned to chase after Yin Buran.
Qingtong frowned and asked, “Little Senior Sister, can’t Pengpeng really be saved?”
Yin Buran’s expression was listless. “There are always things that we doctors are powerless to do. Don’t force it.”
After a whole night of turmoil, she was very tired and actually didn’t even want to talk.
In the open space outside the village, Chu Xuan had already prepared the flying boat.
Seeing Yin Buran step gracefully into the room, Ning Ruoque quickly followed.
Who would have thought that with a loud “bang,” the door would slam shut without any room for argument, almost hitting her in the nose!
For the first time, she was shut out by Yin Buran. Ning Ruoque was completely dumbfounded.
