Chapter 51: Heart-to-Heart Under the Stars (Part 1): Let’s Talk

“Am I wrong?” Blood still poured from Shang Shan’s head, her body covered in mud, but she did not care at all. Her gaze was resolute, her tone righteous.

Mu Qian Tan reached out and tugged her ear. Not wanting the two behind them to hear, she lowered her voice. “Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me?”

The girl tilted her head to one side from the tug and shook it with effort. “I don’t know.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “When did you recognize me?”

Shang Shan said, “When you were watching Qin He refine pills from the audience.”

Mu Qian Tan had originally thought it might have been some gesture or tone of speech after entering the Outer Mountains that tipped her off. But it turned out she had been discovered that early?

This mask might as well not have been worn at all!

The thought that she had been interacting with them under the Yao’e persona from the very start—this way and that—while it was all seen by the brain-damaged weak-minded moron dimwit retard idiot dragon made Mu Qian Tan’s scalp tingle with embarrassment. Her heart surged, and she could not bear to look back.

She could not even remember how the brain-damaged dragon had reacted to her at the time. It was not poor memory; it was her brain’s protective mechanism at work. It had to be.

Mu Qian Tan gritted her molars and tried to maintain a semblance of dignity. “Don’t you know the saying ‘see through but not point it out’? Why call me out? The purpose of the disguise is to hide my real identity, but you just blurt it out loud and poke a hole in it. On purpose, right?”

Shang Shan said, “I didn’t originally want to call you out. Otherwise, I would have done it from the start, right? But I did mess up on this matter. I can apologize. Sorry, I was just really worried about you.”

Mu Qian Tan could not help but spit. “Worried my ass! What’s the use? Don’t I still have to be the one killing demons?”

Shang Shan mumbled, “But it was you who told us to go under the waterfall in the first place…”

They were circling back again. The hand pinching her ear shifted to pinching her lips. The girl’s cheeks immediately puffed up in anger. Mu Qian Tan said, “Shut up.”

Shang Shan condemned her with a look: If you can’t win with words, you resort to force! Not a gentleman at all!

Mu Qian Tan seriously considered whether to kill her outright. Then she remembered something else and asked, “How did you figure out it was me?”

Before she got an answer, she suddenly heard the sound of something breaking through the air. She looked up toward a certain spot in the sky and saw faint ripples of spiritual power.

Someone was coming.

The commotion here was probably too big and had drawn the proctor’s attention. Afraid there might be a risk to the disciples’ lives, they had come to check. This was usually a hall master. Getting caught would be trouble.

Mu Qian Tan released some spiritual pressure and held up an index finger to her lips, telling the three, “Don’t say I was here.”

Her cold demeanor made it hard to be gentle, but it was very effective for threats.

With that, she turned and stepped into the tree shadows, vanishing quickly.

She had just left when Jiang Zhouyao arrived right after. The woman’s features were soft and beautiful. Her water-red gown nearly trailed the ground, with ribbons draped over her arm. Fragrance wafted from her, like a blooming water lily—an immortal fairy among flowers.

Qin He’s eyes lit up, and the tension in her heart eased at once. She called out, “Master!”

Jiang Zhouyao said, “Mm. So it was the commotion you all made. What happened?”

Qin He said, “Just now… we killed a mud demon.”

She had nearly let slip about Yao’e Immortal but suddenly remembered her warning not to reveal her identity. Though she did not understand why, she changed her words in time.

Jiang Zhouyao said, “A mud demon?”

Qin He said, “Not just a mud demon, actually. It was originally a yellow sparrow, but then it got hit by a rock…”

She tried to explain clearly, constantly organizing her words. Jiang Zhouyao hummed in acknowledgment. Lowering her gaze, she saw how disheveled Qin He was. She gently hooked the stray hair behind her ear and wiped the dirt from her face with her fingertips. “Sounds a bit complicated.”

Fu Li suddenly leaned in. “Yeah, my family has a demon tower with all sorts of bizarre demons inside, but I’ve never seen one like that.”

Jiang Zhouyao asked, “You’re all injured?”

Fu Li said, “A little. That demon was pretty tough to deal with, after all.”

Jiang Zhouyao’s brows curved in a smile. “Good job.”

Fu Li coughed dryly twice. “Well… it’s okay.”

“Actually…” Qin He cleared her throat and lowered her head. “We won mostly thanks to luck.”

“Luck is a form of strength too.” Her fingertips smoothed the stray hair on the girl’s forehead. Jiang Zhouyao smiled. “Look at the state you’re all in. Are you still going to catch demons later?”

The trial had two more days left. In theory, they could explore more. But their battle with the yellow sparrow had drained too much energy, and their spiritual power was nearly depleted. Even if unwilling, they would only get beaten facing another demon. Plus, their wounds were untreated. They probably could not catch any more demons. The three exchanged looks and helplessly shook their heads.

Jiang Zhouyao said, “Then head to the relay station to rest. Walk and talk on the way.”

The “relay station” was a supply and rest area prepared by the sect in the trial grounds for disciples. It was stocked with spare clothes, healing medicines, food, and more. Disciples who had trial scores, felt satisfied, and did not want to continue capturing demons could rest there until the trial ended, then settle their scores.

As they walked to the nearest relay station, Qin He recounted everything from the spotted cicada to what happened after entering the waterfall. When she mentioned the woman who severed her own umbilical cord, she could not help but sigh in regret, her eyes even reddening slightly.

Seeing this, Fu Li exclaimed in surprise, “You’re crying already?”

Qin He ignored her and asked, “If you had been there, Master, would there have been a way to save her?”

Jiang Zhouyao pondered for a moment and said warmly, “Even as your master, I have no way. Her life was connected to the demon. Either they live together, or they die together.”

Kill the man-eating demon and the innocent, or spare the demon to let the innocent live—it was an impossible choice where both could not be had.

Qin He’s expression fell. “So hard to choose.”

Jiang Zhouyao said, “There are many things in the world that cannot be both perfect, so regrets always come in pairs.”

“When faced with a dilemma and you don’t know what to do, just follow your heart. The final result will be your true choice. Don’t regret it—the imperfection lies in the options themselves, not in you.”

“The mountain demon had harmed countless people. Though the innocent died, no one else will end up in its belly afterward. You saved countless lives. You did the right thing.”

“And remember this: her not being saved has nothing to do with your strength. It’s absolutely not your fault. It’s the fault of us adults who didn’t notice the man-eating mountain demon from the start. It has nothing to do with you. Understand?”

Qin He bit her lip, wiped her eye corner, and nodded. “Mm, I understand. Thank you, Master.”

Fu Li rolled her eyes, glanced at the woman, thought about something, then looked away.

Jiang Zhouyao smiled and turned back. “Yao’e’s little disciple, why so quiet? With all that blood on your head, does it hurt?”

Shang Shan had been absentminded. Hearing the topic turn to her, she snapped back. “No, I’m thinking about things.”

Jiang Zhouyao said, “Mm, come walk with us. Don’t zone out, or you’ll trip.”

Shang Shan quickened her steps to catch up. “Okay!”

At the nearest relay station, Jiang Zhouyao gave a few more instructions, telling them where the medicines and clothes were. Mindful of her proctor role, she left first.

The three had a simple meal at the relay station. Fu Li pulled out her storage pouch and dumped out piles of small porcelain bottles without even lifting her eyelids. “You sure you want to use those healing medicines? I just checked—they’re made from subpar ingredients, not even a tenth as good as mine.”

Qin He picked two bottles from the shelf—just enough for her needs, no more—and sat back in her chair to tend her wounds. “It’s enough.”

To ordinary disciples, the medicines provided by Tianyu Sect were definitely top-notch. But to the young Fu Clan head raised on heavenly treasures, they were indeed subpar. Fu Li said, “Then I’ll put mine away.”

Qin He said nothing and looked toward the door.

Shang Shan had not tended her wounds or changed clothes. Instead, she squatted by the door, poking the dirt outside with her finger, as if hesitating.

As if reading her mind, Qin He said, “Shan Shan, if you go out now, your trial score will be voided.”

Once entering a rest relay station, one had to stay until the trial ended. Leaving midway was a violation—taking supplies and continuing would make all prior efforts wasted.

Shang Shan stood, grabbed a few healing medicine bottles from the shelf—probably her share—and stuffed them into her bosom. “I have to stay here for two more days before I can leave. I can’t stand it.”

Fu Li casually asked, “Can’t stand what?”

Shang Shan said, “I want to go see her.”

Fu Li said, “Who?”

Right after asking, she made an enlightened expression herself. “Yao’e Immortal?”

Seeing her nod, Fu Li said, “What do you want with her?”

Shang Shan pulled open her clothes to show her the healing medicines she had just put away. Fu Li got it and said strangely, “She’s a hall master. Would she lack your bit of scrap?”

Shang Shan recalled. “Seems not.”

Fu Li said, “So there’s no need for you to go. People of her strength and status won’t be taken down by a minor injury like that.”

Shang Shan lowered her head and touched the cool surface of the small porcelain bottle. “Her health wasn’t good to begin with…”

She pulled her clothes closed. “No, I have to see her. I can’t wait. Besides, I didn’t really kill that yellow sparrow. I don’t need that score. Claiming it would be lying. Void it if it’s voided.”

With that, ignoring whatever the others in the room said, Shang Shan called out a goodbye and jumped out the door without a second thought.

.

Mu Qian Tan coughed with every step. It took great effort to return to her proctor post. She did not even have the strength to pull out a chair and simply sat cross-legged on the ground, her back against the rattan bed, regulating her breathing.

She took out the Heavenly Eye Spirit Pearl from her bosom and glanced at it casually before tossing it onto the table, where it knocked into the pen holder and stopped.

Fortunately, there had been no distress signals. That had saved her a lot of trouble. Otherwise, it really would not have been easy to muddle through.

This trip, she had seen Shang Shan awaken the ability to use spiritual power flames and was about to become famous worldwide for slaying a curse-level demon. The mission was accomplished.

It was just that the demon she killed would end up credited to the protagonist. This classic merit-giving behavior was rather unsatisfying.

Of course, the most unsatisfying part was her disguise being exposed.

Thinking of this, Mu Qian Tan held her forehead. It even seemed like the wound in her abdomen hurt more.

She really could not dwell on it. This memory was poisoned.

Annoying.

She sat on the ground resting for a while, but felt no improvement.

This time, her body was too depleted. Activating the formation twice had scraped her spiritual power clean, and she had lost too much blood. Her head spun, her feet felt unsteady, making her feel like an empty shell without weight—hollow inside, everything drained away.

Or maybe it had always been empty.

She sat motionless and watched the last ray of sunlight vanish outside the window. Stars climbed up, diligently shining.

She had to get up and eat something, or her stomach would hurt again.

In this state, she could not afford another pain point.

Propping herself up from the ground to stand, Mu Qian Tan suddenly heard a knock at the door. She instinctively checked the Heavenly Eye Spirit Pearl first—no issues—before asking, “Who is it?”

It was that big idiot dragon’s voice. “It’s me, Master. Shang Shan.”

“…” Mu Qian Tan’s mind was fine. She remembered clearly that there were two days until the trial ended, and candidates leaving the grounds privately was a violation. She could not help but say, “Are you sick? What are you doing here?”

Shang Shan said, “I want to talk to you. Lots of things. I want to ask what you’re thinking, why you’re mad at me. I also want to tell you what I’m thinking and why I’m mad at you.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “I don’t want to know. Get lost.”

Shang Shan said, “Don’t chase me away. I’ve been out too long. I can’t go back.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “I’ll count to three. Get lost now. One, two…”

Footsteps sounded outside the door. She must have gotten scared and run.

Mu Qian Tan leaned back and sighed. But before the sigh finished, a soft low voice came from the window. “Master.”

Looking up, Shang Shan stood outside the window, her face covered in black dirt. Her chin rested on the windowsill, her expression aggrieved, like a grudge-holding calico cat with a black face.

“Master, let’s talk.”