Chapter 17

This was her blaming herself for being too weak yet stepping forward anyway.

Lu Shiyuan let Shang Si lecture her. Her thin lips pressed into a tight line as she stayed silent, accepting the fault in her own recklessness.

The medicine Shang Si applied was top quality. A cool, soothing sensation spread across the back of Lu Shiyuan’s hand, and the faint itch soon drowned out the pain. Propping up half her face with her free hand, Lu Shiyuan gazed dazedly at the woman’s stern features, illuminated by the firelight.

Her injury wasn’t especially severe, but blocking that cat demon’s killing blow head-on had caused some backlash. Now the pale skin on the back of her hand showed swollen blue veins, an alarming sight.

But in that moment, if she hadn’t intervened, Zhang Feng would likely have died. So even if it happened again, she would still choose to act. It was probably some instinct carved into her very bones.

However…

“A Si, are you still mad?” After finishing with the medicine, Shang Si’s expression remained unchanged. Her fiery demon-red robes contrasted sharply with the icy frost that seemed to coat her face, keeping everyone at arm’s length.

Lu Shiyuan’s pinky finger twitched. She stealthily reached out to hook the hem of the other’s skirt, a gesture of submission.

Shang Si clearly fell for it. Before long, her expression softened. “With me here, why did you have to butt in?”

“I wasn’t sure you’d save Zhang Feng. After all, the man’s behavior is pretty contemptible.” Lu Shiyuan offered her explanation.

To her surprise, Shang Si merely snorted in disdain, owning up to it frankly. “I wouldn’t have saved him. I’m no cultivator from the Mortal Realm, scrambling to protect every mortal’s life.” To her, all things had their fated span of life and death. She stood outside the Three Realms and cared little for one ordinary person’s fate.

She could have left it at that, but instead she dragged Lu Shiyuan into it too, accusing her of trying to shield everyone single-handedly, even at the cost of her own injury.

In the end, it all boiled down to resentment over Lu Shiyuan losing her cool.

Lu Shiyuan knew exactly where Shang Si’s irritation stemmed from. After mulling it over, she spoke softly. “Truth be told, stepping in today wasn’t just about saving Zhang Feng’s life. For three years in Yedu, I’ve been under your protection. My cultivation has mostly recovered now, but I feel out of practice from not fighting in so long. I’ve been weak for too long. I want to grow stronger faster, so I won’t always have to rely on you to watch my back in every fight.”

She had said all that just to convey one thing to Shang Si: someday, she wanted to stand in front of her—even if only for a moment.

But Shang Si latched onto her final words.

“Is it so bad having me protect you?” Shang Si shot back. Her expression was strange, tinged with hurt.

She was the Lord of Yedu, after all. And Lu Shiyuan wasn’t satisfied?

Did that mean Lu Shiyuan had grown bored of her company and wanted to recover fully, spread her wings, and fly off?

Once her thoughts veered in that direction, they snowballed out of control. Shang Si’s gaze darkened, her red lips pressing thin.

The two conversed in low voices by the dancing firelight. Lu Shiyuan hadn’t yet noticed the shift in Shang Si’s mood when faint footsteps approached from behind.

“Scram.” Shang Si spat the word coldly, not even bothering to turn. The scattered pebbles on the ground stirred at her will and shot mercilessly toward the intruder.

Luckily, the newcomer was nimble and dodged with ease.

“……!” Only then did Lu Shiyuan realize Shang Si’s mood had soured to the extreme. She was utterly unapproachable now.

“A Si?” she called again.

Shang Si turned her face away in silence.

At last, the poor fellow behind them—who had nearly taken a hit—spoke up. “Ahem… Ladies, I’m Li Xiu, an outer disciple of the Kunlun Sect. I was traveling at night and sensed thick demonic energy here, so I came to investigate. Might you share what happened with the demon that stirred up trouble just now?”

So it was a Kunlun disciple.

Lu Shiyuan gave him a glance of mild surprise. Talk about coincidence—they were headed to Kunlun for medicine themselves.

“Stone City falls under Kunlun’s domain, so it’s only natural for sect members to look into something like this tonight.” As she replied, Lu Shiyuan kept a close eye on Shang Si’s face to make sure she wouldn’t lash out again. Satisfied, she turned to the man and nodded. “Of course, fellow Daoist. Please, have a seat.”

With Lu Shiyuan’s go-ahead, Li Xiu let out a breath and drew closer to the fire. But he was still shaken by Shang Si’s earlier move and chose a spot nearer to Lu Shiyuan.

They recounted the full story of the cat demon’s rampage. Once he’d heard it, Li Xiu’s attention shifted elsewhere. “If I may ask, which sect do you ladies hail from?”

Lu Shiyuan answered, “Sword Spirit Sect.”

“Sword Spirit Sect?” Li Xiu echoed, surprise clear in his voice.

Lu Shiyuan tilted her head, puzzled. “What’s wrong? Is there something off about Sword Spirit Sect?”

Li Xiu waved his hands frantically while shaking his head. “No, no. I can see you two aren’t that old, and in recent years, I haven’t heard anything about Sword Spirit Sect producing such prodigies.”

At that point, he glanced lingeringly once more at Shang Si, who hadn’t uttered a single word.

His words were flattery, but they also betrayed his doubts about their identities.

Clearly, Shang Si’s earlier burst of anger had left a deep impression on him, prompting him to reassess their cultivation levels.

Lu Shiyuan wasn’t some naive child ignorant of the world. She caught his meaning at once and simply flashed their Sword Spirit Sect inner disciple tokens. “Brother, does this convince you now?”

Li Xiu cupped his hands repeatedly in apology. “My apologies, my apologies. It’s just my old suspicious nature.”

“No harm done. It’s always wise to stay cautious when traveling abroad.” Lu Shiyuan curved her eyes in a smile, but the initial warmth had faded entirely. She tucked away the token.

Meanwhile, Shang Si lounged idly on one side, poking at the fire pile without so much as acknowledging Li Xiu’s presence.

Oblivious to the shift in mood, Li Xiu sighed in admiration. “I never imagined you two ladies were truly from Sword Spirit Sect. It seems the sect has been churning out talents these past years. Following in Junior Sister Lu’s footsteps, now we have you two as well. The rankings among our generation at the upcoming Centennial Dao Discussion Conference will surely need a shake-up.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than sparks burst from the fire. Shang Si turned her face toward him and cut in. “Which Junior Sister Lu?”

Caught off guard by her sudden interjection, Li Xiu paused for a beat before answering swiftly. “Why, the one with peerless talent, of course—the pride of the immortal sects, lauded by elders from every major gate. Junior Sister Lu Shiyuan.”

“Back in the day, this junior sister broke through in a mere ten years, vaulting straight to the pinnacle of our generation. Unfortunately, eight years ago during that Dao Discussion Assembly, my master kept me behind to guard the sect gates, so I never got the chance to witness her brilliance in person.”

“Oh?” By now, Shang Si’s lips had curved into a faint, fragmented smile, as if her earlier displeasure had been nothing but an illusion. Her gaze flicked briefly over Lu Shiyuan before she asked, “Such high praise, really?”

“…”

The subject of the conversation buried her face in her arms, her expression half-hidden in shadow and impossible to discern.

Hearing others recount her own past glories made Lu Shiyuan want to claw a hole in the ground big enough for three rooms and a hall.

But just then, Li Xiu’s tone took a sharp turn. Puzzled by Shang Si’s keen interest, he ventured, “Miss, you’re from Sword Spirit Sect yourself—how have you not heard of Junior Sister Lu’s legendary exploits?”

“Though to be fair, her glory was short-lived. As the saying goes, the tree that stands tallest in the forest invites the wind’s destruction. She simply had rotten luck—ambushed by demons in a secret realm, her spirit veins crippled. All that former acclaim turned to dust, just a fleeting beauty’s tale. And these days… Ow!” Before he could finish, Li Xiu lurched forward violently, nearly tumbling headfirst into the fire.

“Who hit me?!” He whipped around in fury, but there was only endless night behind him. The nearest campfire was several meters away.

No one was there. Aside from the three of them, the area was filled only with ordinary folk.

The curse on the tip of his tongue died in his throat. His pupils contracted sharply as a horrifying thought struck him. He turned back to the two women. “Don’t tell me… those demons never left. They’ve come back?”

“It’s not impossible.” Shang Si’s lips hooked up in a smirk as she casually stoked the flames.

Even as she spoke, in the space of those few words, the fire before Li Xiu erupted outward in a shower of sparks that nearly singed their faces.

Once might be a fluke, but twice? Li Xiu’s face drained of color. He swallowed hard, forgetting his unfinished sentence, and bolted toward the crowded caravan.

In an instant, only Lu Shiyuan and Shang Si remained. Once he was out of sight, Lu Shiyuan reached out to nudge the scattered firewood back toward the center of the pile. She scooted a bit closer to Shang Si as well.

The dancing firelight stretched their overlapping shadows long across the ground.

“A Si.” Lu Shiyuan turned her face slightly and called out in a soft, chuckling whisper.

She caught sight of Shang Si’s thick, crow-feather lashes. The other woman’s eyes were lowered, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.

“Well?” Shang Si didn’t even lift her gaze, her tone slipping back to its earlier cool detachment.

Seeing this, Lu Shiyuan traced a small spell in the air with her finger. In the next instant, sparks burst from the fire before them.

It was a clear hint, and they both knew exactly what it meant.

Shang Si let out a light, indifferent hum, neither confirming nor denying that she was responsible for everything Li Xiu had just endured.

“Just now, weren’t you still fine? How come when others mention my flaws, you get upset instead?” Lu Shiyuan’s almond-shaped eyes curved into smiling crescents, the warmth and tenderness in them nearly overflowing. Her eyes brimmed with dancing firelight, resembling the stars scattered across the night sky. Unfortunately, Shang Si wasn’t looking at her right then.

Otherwise, it would have been an entirely different scene.

Shang Si didn’t respond to Lu Shiyuan’s words. Instead, she reached out, picked up a dry branch from nearby, and tossed it into the center of the campfire. The flames leaped even higher. “We should hurry to Kunlun. Once your cultivation is fully restored, let’s see who dares to call you a short-lived beauty then.”