Chapter 42: Reinforcements Part 3

Si Xianling was very satisfied. She held Xiang Manyu’s arm and smiled sweetly. “I knew my aunts were the best to me.”

Xiang Manyu beamed at once. She touched Si Xianling’s face. “Only now do you know your aunt is good? Will you still run away from home next time?”

“No more.” Si Xianling tugged at her tattered clothes and said pitifully, “Eldest Aunt, this time I’ve truly learned my lesson. I won’t go out again. If I hadn’t met Sister Shen this time, I’m afraid my little life would have been gone. Thinking about almost not seeing you all, I really regret it!”

Xiang Manyu touched Si Xianling’s little face tenderly. Her finger picked up blood oozing from a wound, reigniting her fury. “The Heavenly Feast Sect’s price is still too small!”

“Big Sister.” Su Manqiu quickly chimed in. “The Heavenly Feast Sect dared to torture and kill our Beast Taming Sect’s junior sect master. Even if we bring this to the Divine Pavilion, we’re in the right. Their sect-protecting grand array has already been broken by Shen Yanting, and we’ve killed most of their elders. Why not wipe the Heavenly Feast Sect off the map?”

Si Xianling whispered extremely softly, “Little Aunt, I’m still alive. I was just beaten, imprisoned, not tortured to death.”

Su Manqiu gave her a look. “If you were really killed, it would be too late!”

Si Xianling muttered, “Sister Shen broke their sect-protecting grand array, so the Heavenly Feast Sect elders who participated in setting it up probably suffered varying degrees of cultivation damage. Now is indeed the best time to strike. If we let them recover later, they might seek revenge and capture me again for another beating… Hmm, but if the Divine Pavilion gets involved, it’s troublesome. We don’t have a good excuse.”

Bo Xuenong was still in a standoff with Elder Wu. Strangely, though Elder Wu had said she would kill her and grabbed her wrist, there were no further actions.

Even as the Beast Taming Sect people anxiously threw harsh threats at Elder Wu and swore to protect Bo Xuenong henceforth, Elder Wu released her, as if she had never said she would kill her. This gave Bo Xuenong a chance to observe Si Xianling.

Bo Xuenong felt Si Xianling was not really trying to dissuade Xiang Manyu and the others—she was fanning the flames.

She somewhat guessed Si Xianling’s motive. The Heavenly Feast Sect had refined human talismans and destroyed Mistlongevity Village, forcing living people to become spirit supplements for them to consume and use in sleep. They deserved ten thousand deaths. But Shen Yanting’s words made sense too—the fewer human talismans and spirit supplements, the safer Mistlongevity Village’s people.

Si Xianling seemed prepared to use herself to incite Xiang Manyu and the others to slaughter all the wicked Heavenly Feast Sect cultivators, making everyone who had touched human talismans and spirit supplements vanish completely.

This would be extremely difficult for others, but not too hard for Si Xianling, who was doted on by thousands.

Now was indeed a great opportunity. Caught off guard, the Heavenly Feast Sect had already lost a batch of core disciples to Shen Yanting and Bo Xuenong’s preemptive strike. With their sect-protecting grand array destroyed and the Beast Taming Sect suddenly attacking—mixed with the top talisman cultivator Elder Wu—they were scattered before fully exerting their strength.

Such a chance would not come again.

“If they dare seek revenge, let’s see if they survive today!” Su Manqiu grew angrier the more she heard, easily inflamed. “Excuses? What excuses do we need? The Heavenly Feast Sect harbors demonic cultivators and tortured our junior sect master to death. They deserve to die ten thousand times over.”

Xiang Manyu nodded. “I agree.”

Tu Manzhu nodded too. “I agree as well.”

Sheng Mandong looked toward Zhu Ningfu, who had not spoken since Elder Wu arrived. “What does the sect master think?”

Zhu Ningfu pondered for a moment before saying, “We’ve killed so many of their people. If we let them recover, they’ll be endless trouble. Cutting the grass at the root is a good idea. Now that the sect-protecting grand array is broken, the disciples with shallow ties to the Heavenly Feast Sect have probably fled—we needn’t chase them. But not a single sect elder or inner sect disciple should be spared.”

A shallow smile hung on her face, but her words were cold enough.

Though Xiang Manyu and the others opposed Elder Wu, their former sister-in-law, everywhere, they listened well to Zhu Ningfu, their new sister-in-law.

With Zhu Ningfu’s order, they scattered to hunt down the remaining Heavenly Feast Sect survivors.

Si Xianling wanted to follow but was too weak. She nearly fell after one shaky step, but Zhu Ningfu, closest to her, steadied her in time. Si Xianling could only mutter softly, pleading repeatedly, “Kill, kill, kill! This young lady almost died in this damned place, and they still dared refine human talismans and harbor demonic cultivators. Not even a live chicken should be left!”

Si Xianling grew angrier as she spoke, her voice unconsciously rising.

Everyone still there heard clearly. She looked up guiltily and saw Zhu Ningfu smiling gently at her.

She glanced around and unconsciously leaned toward Gui Nian’an. “I didn’t mean to let it slip. You… you can rest assured. My mom and little mother definitely have no interest in human talismans.”

Gui Nian’an and Liu Huairou said nothing. Their gazes were fixed on the two male cultivators Elder Wu had just dragged over.

Four pairs of eyes nearly spat fire.

Once Xiang Manyu and the others had left, Wu Qingshu no longer mentioned killing Bo Xuenong.

She bent down slightly and tapped the throats of the two male cultivators respectively, staring fixedly at the one among them who already had quite a bit of white hair. “Hua Jinshi, you truly have some nerve, daring to refine a human talisman.”

Bo Xuenong realized the identities of the two.

One was Sect Master Wu Liangyi of the Heavenly Feast Sect, who supported the refinement of human talismans, and the other was Hua Jinshi, the first-grade talisman cultivator who had led the effort back then.

The two most responsible for the tragedy that had befallen the entire Mistlongevity Village.

Hua Jinshi curled his lips disdainfully. “Wu Qingshu, what are you pretending for? You’re not killing me and the sect master because I told you I successfully refined the human talisman, right? Which talisman cultivator in the world wouldn’t want to possess their own human talisman—immortal, indestructible, and…”

His voice abruptly cut off as Wu Qingshu snapped his arm.

Hua Jinshi widened his eyes in disbelief, but Wu Qingshu’s expression showed no great change. “Hua Jinshi, do you know why, as fellow first-grade talisman cultivators, you’re only ranked tenth while I’ve always been first?”

“That’s because the people of the Divine Pavilion don’t know I refined the human talisman. If they knew I succeeded, they would only…”

His voice stopped again, and Wu Qingshu finished for him. “If the Divine Pavilion knew, you’d die even faster.”

Wu Qingshu straightened up and no longer looked at Hua Jinshi. “I have no interest in human talismans. I’m sparing your lives only because those you bullied and forcibly turned into human talismans should be the ones to deal with you. You flayed her skin, extracted her bones, dug out her meridians inch by inch, and separated her organs bit by bit—whatever suffering she endured, you should suffer the same.”

Her face was cold, but her heart was warm.

Gui Nian’an and Liu Huairou hurriedly thanked Wu Qingshu. “Thank you, thank you!”

Wu Qingshu didn’t know their identities and wasn’t sure how to respond.

Shen Yanting quickly explained the matter of Mistlongevity Village and its people to her. Wu Qingshu looked at Hua Jinshi and Wu Liangyi, whose cultivations she had crippled, and the chill in her eyes deepened. “It seems I caught too few. Everyone from top to bottom in your Heavenly Feast Sect should go to Mistlongevity Village to atone.”

Wu Liangyi looked much younger than Hua Jinshi, but at that moment, he was as wretched as could be. His body was covered in scattered wounds, one leg broken, without a trace of his usual haughty demeanor as sect master of the Heavenly Feast Sect. Thinking that Wu Qingshu still wanted to take them to Mistlongevity Village to suffer humiliation from that group of lowly people, he wished he could immediately flay her skin and extract her tendons. “Wu Qingshu, didn’t you just want to kill your daughter’s savior? You’re no good person either—what right do you have to judge us?”

Wu Qingshu ignored Wu Liangyi and walked over to Bo Xuenong. “Did I kill you?”

“No.” Bo Xuenong shook her head honestly. Wu Qingshu had only said those words and hadn’t truly made a move.

Si Xianling leaned against Zhu Ningfu, her head resting lightly on her arm as she chuckled softly. “So stupid. My mom only said that to provoke my aunt and the others. My aunt and them are used to opposing my mom. If my mom agreed to protect the little disciple, then as soon as the little disciple made the slightest mistake, my aunt and them would latch onto it and find every way to kill her. But by showing intent to kill the little disciple, my aunt and them are now desperate to protect her personally.”

Bo Xuenong had a sudden realization. No wonder Wu Qingshu had said she wanted to kill her, and Shen Yanting hadn’t uttered a word.

Shen Yanting had probably seen through it early on. She had spoken up to protect her at first, then suddenly gone silent.

Bo Xuenong could move now. She anxiously glanced at Shen Yanting and saw no shock on her face, confirming her guess was right.

Zhu Ningfu pinched Si Xianling’s cheek. “Naughty girl, scheming even against your own aunt.”

Si Xianling leaned against Zhu Ningfu, ignoring the pain from her injuries as she coquettishly said, “But Little Mother clearly saw through it and didn’t stop us.”

Si Xianling had no intention of harming Xiang Manyu and the others.

The oaths they swore were merely to protect Bo Xuenong, not to protect her with their lives or go all out.

How well they would protect her in the end was anyone’s guess. The oath was just to prevent them from opposing Wu Qingshu. From then on, any targeting of Bo Xuenong would be off-limits. The people of the Beast Taming Sect were fine in every way—united and strong—but there just weren’t many with brains.

Zhu Ningfu smiled without denying that she had seen through the pair’s scheme from the start.

She looked toward Wu Qingshu and said softly, “In cultivation, the greatest fear is birthing a heart demon. Enmity must be repaid with gratitude where it’s due.”

Wu Qingshu was also looking at her.

Looking at the intimacy between her and Si Xianling.

Wu Qingshu frowned and stepped forward. She pulled the two apart and drew Si Xianling into her embrace, gathering spirit energy to heal her wounds while coldly sweeping her gaze over Zhu Ningfu. “I’ve told you many times—don’t steal my daughter from me.”

Zhu Ningfu still smiled. “Oh, I was born deaf and didn’t hear.”

That smile, gentle as a spring breeze, appeared warm and amiable, but Wu Qingshu wanted nothing more than to tear her apart. “Don’t push me.”

Zhu Ningfu tugged at Si Xianling, her voice extremely soft. “Xian’er, your mom wants to kill me.”

Bo Xuenong and Shen Yanting together observed this family of three with their somewhat complicated relationship. This Zhu Ningfu seemed gentle but wasn’t truly so. She appeared deeply scheming, her thoughts hard to fathom.

She seemed to care only about Si Xianling, utterly unconcerned about provoking Wu Qingshu’s anger.

But Wu Qingshu was Si Xianling’s birth mother. If she got along poorly with Wu Qingshu, wouldn’t it put Si Xianling in a tough spot?