Chapter 39 Part 2

Zhao Zhi’s smile froze on his face. He shot a venomous glare at the meddlesome Jiang Yiguang, completely unable to fathom her stance—as stubborn as Jiang Li! Now that the Four Great Families were walking separate paths, many matters were no longer coordinated with the Jiang family. He took a breath and nudged the silent Wang Xuanming. Xuanzhen Dao Court or the noble clans—they had to make a choice eventually.

It wasn’t that Wang Xuanming didn’t want to speak; rather, he felt an immense pressure bearing down on him, as if Mount Tai itself had landed on his shoulders. Blue veins bulged on his forehead; his face instantly flushed beet-red. Large drops of sweat rolled down his taut cheeks and dripped onto his collar, spreading into a small damp patch.

Tushan Yi’s gaze turned deep and unfathomable. “A junior of the Wang family, eh—”

It was very difficult for Wang Xuanming not to recall that travelogue left by his ancestor. Many things remained unclear, but the fact of sealing the Nine-Tailed Fox was real. The gouging of her inner core and severing of her nine tails, while unrecorded—that too was real. This was, undeniably, an almost irreconcilable blood feud. If the Nine-Tailed Fox went to the Wang family, would it be a visit… or revenge? He had broken away from his family and joined the Xuanzhen Dao Court, but he also didn’t want to bring trouble upon them.

“Mm… I’ll go to her house, then.” Tushan Yi withdrew her gaze, pointed a casual finger, and smiled cheerfully.

“Me?” Jiang Yiguang was stunned. She never would have guessed Tushan Yi would pick her. But bringing a millennium-old Great Demon back home… wasn’t that just asking for trouble? A losing deal wasn’t worth it. “That’s not suitable,” Jiang Yiguang refused, shaking her head. She came up with an excuse. “The Xuanzhen Dao Court is the proper, official department. If you are the envoy of Azure Hill, then you must go communicate with the relevant authorities.”

“Of course, I will communicate,” Tushan Yi replied, still all smiles. “But as an envoy, I have the right to choose where I reside, do I not? Or do you intend to imprison me? If that’s the case, then an alliance between humans and Azure Hill… perhaps there is no need to continue.”

This was outright blatant threat, wasn’t it?

And as for what she’d said earlier—who could yet determine whether it was true or false? She had the scent of blood on her. If she’d been stained with human lives, she should be classified as a demon of evil, too!

“And if we don’t agree?” Jiang Yiguang probed.

Tushan Yi replied, “Then I shall simply have to do my utmost to… persuade you.”

Her smile contained only four words: “ample martial virtue.”

Fu Juan thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll return with you.” The matter of Azure Hill was clearly a hot potato; she didn’t feel comfortable leaving Jiang Yiguang to handle it alone.

Over on her side, Jiang Yiguang nodded, albeit unwillingly.

Still, upon hearing Fu Juan’s words, she did feel a flicker of inexplicable happiness—and a secret sigh of relief. Afraid that her thoughts might once again be dominated by Fu Juan, she forced herself to focus on her character panel. After dealing with the evil Daoist, the main storyline task was considered complete. An item had been added to her possessions: the “Follow One’s Heart” tool. Jiang Yiguang didn’t even need to think twice; she immediately used it. Only when her Compatibility Value dropped below fifty did she feel a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. If she endured just a little longer, her Compatibility Value with the world would soon hit zero. At that point, she would no longer be a puppet of Fate. She could face her future, which by all rights should hold countless possibilities, head-on.

—

Before returning to Shen City, Fu Juan and Jiang Yiguang made one more trip to Crabapple Street. It was at the request of the female ghost, Yan Zhenghe. After succumbing to the murderous miasma, she had, after all, been stained with human blood. Even now that her consciousness was lucid, she still had to face the Xuanzhen Dao Court’s judgment. She had a thousand, ten thousand reasons why she’d had no choice, but a crime was still a crime.

The old lady’s sickly pallor was even more pronounced. Those life-extending Yin-evil items had indeed prolonged her life, but they had also harmed her. Now that the medicine stopped, her decay would only accelerate faster and faster. She didn’t have much time left.

Yan Zhenghe, clad in a white dress, stood at the entrance to the small courtyard, watching.

She had met the person she most wanted to treasure her whole life at the most beautiful time of her youth, yet in the end, she had abandoned her.

“If I were given another chance, I would still make that same choice.”

“For me, it was ‘a single meeting of golden wind and jade dew surpasses countless encounters in the human world’ … but for her…”

Yan Zhenghe said no more. She transformed back into a wisp of smoke and merged into the spell talisman.

Jiang Yiguang looked at the desolate little courtyard and suddenly sighed with emotion. “People are not wood or stone—all possess feelings. Better, then, never to have met such a stunning beauty.”

Inside the courtyard, the old lady in her rattan chair felt a sudden stir in her heart. She abruptly looked up.

The cat demon Ah He leaped out from the flower bushes, quickly redirecting the old lady’s gaze. The old lady smiled kindly at Ah He. The merciless years had stolen her youthful bloom but could not steal her gentle heart. Ah He meowed twice, and under the old lady’s helpless gaze, wriggled her bottom, leaped over the courtyard wall, and plunged headlong into Jiang Yiguang’s arms.

Ah He asked, “Are you leaving?”

Jiang Yiguang gave the cat a rub, responding with a “Mm.”

Ah He purred comfortably. After a moment, she added carefully, “Can I come find you later?” If she were just a cat, she might have already reached her twilight years, like the old lady. But she had awakened her intelligence; watered by spiritual energy, she had become a cat demon. As long as nothing unexpected happened midway, she would be forced to accept separation through death.

“Sure,” Jiang Yiguang readily agreed, rattling off her home address. A little kitty delivered right to her doorstep—why refuse? However… thinking of a certain possibility, Jiang Yiguang frowned slightly and cast a glance toward the courtyard. Having been through those events after all, she couldn’t remain completely unmoved. At the corners of her eyes and brows, she couldn’t help but let a trace of compassion show.

–

When they returned, a fine, drizzling rain was falling over Jiang City.

She hadn’t seen the rivers, nor found any trace of her mother. She only knew that at some point, her mother had appeared in this city.

Jiang Yiguang hugged her arms. Her heart was lost, her gaze vacant. Relying on the system, could she only change her own destiny? But if she tried to alter other people’s outcomes, then what were those others’ destined paths supposed to be? What could she do?

Fu Juan watched Jiang Yiguang and asked gently, “Are you worried about Aunt Jiang?”

Burdened with thoughts, Jiang Yiguang didn’t bother with jumbled matters and simply answered sullenly, “Yes.”

Fu Juan thought for a moment and comforted her: “You know Aunt Jiang’s abilities; she has few rivals in the Mystic Sect. If she hasn’t contacted us, it’s likely because she’s still busy. After all, with the Mountains and Seas reviving now, there’s more to deal with than just demon-ghosts and evil Daoists.” Seeing Jiang Yiguang’s gaze flick toward her, she paused and added, “If you have doubts in your cultivation, you can come ask me.”

Hearing such words from Fu Juan’s mouth was truly rare. One had to know, the attitude she’d displayed in the past was nothing but impatience—impatience she didn’t even bother to hide. Something in Jiang Yiguang’s heart ached and swelled; steeped in complicated emotions, she found it hard to sort out her thoughts. After a long moment, she pressed her lips together and refused, shaking her head. “Not necessary.”

Fu Juan paused, then nodded. “Mm. If you ask Senior Sister Qi Ji, she’ll also teach you.”

Jiang Yiguang: “…” If Fu Juan hadn’t brought her up, she would never have thought of that person. She didn’t bother guessing Fu Juan’s meaning. She just nodded randomly, closed her eyes, and rested her mind.

Fu Juan also turned back, not staring at Jiang Yiguang any longer. The degree of her body’s collapse was even worse now. Even trying to suppress it deliberately, she still let out bursts of suppressed coughing from time to time.

But the person beside her seemed not to hear at all, never once looking her way.

–

During the return trip, the matter in Jiang City had already been reported up to the Xuanzhen Dao Court.

Under Fate’s manipulations, the cultivators, originally busy with all sorts of tasks, suddenly found free time and the leisure to gossip in the group chat. To show the importance they placed on the Azure Hill Envoy, besides Qi Ji, another high-ranking member of the Xuanzhen Dao Court paid a visit to the Jiang household together. This person’s name was Tao Junran. In the past, he had cultivated in seclusion on Mount Mao, serving the 《Scripture of the Upper Clarity Realm》. After the Dao Court was established, he left the mountain and threw himself into working for the Court’s affairs.

After an entire journey of rushing about, Jiang Yiguang was already bone-weary. She wished she could just sleep deeply like the Ancestral Master Chen Tuan. Yet the meeting place was her own home; she had no choice but to put on the air of a “hostess” to receive those people who had never really regarded her at all.

“A thousand years ago, by the Ruler’s decree, I passed through an extremely tiny fissure into the Human Realm to search for a method to allow Azure Hill to re-enter the world.” Tushan Yi cracked open a can of Happy Water, smiling as she recounted her origins. “But the spiritual energy in the human world was truly too thin. That fissure was not easy to traverse. During the journey… I forgot my own past. After that, I was used by various people and gave me the name of a femme fatale who brought calamity to kingdoms. But none of that matters now.”

The people seated on the sofas held their breath, waiting for Tushan Yi’s next words.

Tushan Yi suddenly changed the subject. “I know you care about the Mountains and Seas, and about the Azure Hill matter. But before all that—shouldn’t I be allowed to seek my revenge? That old Daoist of the Wang family gouged out my inner core and severed my nine tails. Shouldn’t those be retrieved?”

Tao Junran said, “We will do our utmost.”

This conversation ended quite hastily. No one asked about the matters of Southern Mountain or the evil Daoist of Jiang City, as if the Nine-Tailed Fox before them had absolutely nothing to do with those two supernatural incidents. They didn’t even inquire about the past karmic entanglements, directly agreeing to Tushan Yi’s request and preparing to go to the Wang family to retrieve the items they had held onto for a thousand years.

Fu Juan lowered her head, deep in thought.

Tushan Yi crossed her legs and threw a flirtatious wink toward Jiang Yiguang. “Does it seem a little strange? Don’t mention that after my obsession was severed, all karmic ties were completely cut. Even if I truly had been stained with human lives, they wouldn’t pursue it.”

Jiang Yiguang asked, “Why?”

Tushan Yi smiled radiantly. “Because of Azure Hill.”

Jiang Yiguang raised an eyebrow. “Because the Lord of Azure Hill is King Yu’s wife?” Back then, King Yu suppressed the Mountains and Seas. Azure Hill had naturally contributed to that effort; it was the most natural ally of humanity.

Tushan Yi shook her head. “No.” After all these millennia that had passed, if the Xuanzhen Dao Court still clung to that notion, Azure Hill would only look down on them.

Fu Juan looked up and stated blandly, “It’s because of Chiyou.” 《The Gui Cang·Qi Shi》 states: “Chiyou emerged from Sheep Water, with eight arms, eight toes, and a sparse head. He ascended the Nine Marshes to attack Kongsang. The Yellow Emperor slew him at Azure Hill.” Within the Mountains and Seas Realm, Chiyou’s corpse was suppressed at Azure Hill. Chiyou was an ancient demon god, and also the Lord of Arms worshipped in later ages. Now that the Mountains and Seas were beginning to revive, who knew whether Chiyou’s demon soul might awaken? If Azure Hill was entering the human world over the matter of Chiyou, then all other concerns must be set aside for this. After all, Tushan Yi… was the sole envoy to have come from Azure Hill!