As Xie Lingjun grasped that hand, a flicker of surprise stirred within him.
He had expected to touch soft, smooth skin like that of the men and women who had once tried to tempt him, their bodies flawless. Fu Yun was skilled in spells and talismans; there was no reason for his palms to be rough.
Yet the hand that now tightened around Xie Lingjun’s was strong, calloused all over.
The base of the palm, the webbing between thumb and forefinger, the pads of the fingers the calluses on both their hands overlapped, rubbing faintly against each other in their tight grip. Xie Lingjun searched for the meridians, but before he could channel fire spiritual energy, the overlapping areas already began to generate warmth through friction.
When Xie Lingjun’s spiritual sense probed deeper and made contact with the chilling yin energy, Fu Yun’s struggle and pain also swept through the young swordsman’s body via their connected spiritual power.
Spiritual energy flowed, a gentle breeze rustled, and the sword scabbard lay horizontally on the ground, unable to block the colliding currents of air.
Xie Lingjun kept his eyes tightly shut, his back straight and upright. Only their palms touched as he restrainedly channeled spiritual energy.
He sensed the unusual movements in his hand. Spiritual energy began to flow once more through Fu Yun’s meridians, as did his blood. His pulse grew from weak to strong, thumping rhythmically against Xie Lingjun’s fingers.
Xie Lingjun tightened his grip on Fu Yun’s wrist, and the fire spiritual energy he channeled grew fiercer. Fu Yun let out a sharp, pained gasp.
Xie Lingjun forced himself to relax. He had to focus, could only focus. Sweat gradually soaked through both their backs; it was unclear who was more disheveled than the other.
Fu Yun’s frozen thoughts began to thaw, and he could finally think again.
Young people, full of fiery energy while Fu Yun was half-frozen, Xie Lingjun’s nose still glistened with a faint sheen of sweat. Fu Yun envied him envied his youth, and envied his pure fire spiritual root.
Dark emotions, like serpents, pumped into his heart alongside the scalding spiritual energy. The cold poison was being expelled, but a new poison was taking root in his heart a hollow space between envy and jealousy.
In his dazed state, Fu Yun glimpsed his inner demon.
He murmured “death” and “cold,” trembling all over, unsure whether he feared death or the cold perhaps both.
Xie Lingjun accelerated the cleansing of the cold poison. Hearing the chaotic muttering, he finally opened his eyes to observe Fu Yun’s condition. He saw the wet trails on Fu Yun’s face but asked no questions, using fire spiritual energy to evaporate all traces of moisture.
Every meridian was cleansed with fire spiritual energy. He didn’t know how much time had passed.
Fu Yun pushed himself up, regaining his composure, and offered a grateful smile to the person beside him.
Xie Lingjun immediately released his hand, stepping back a few paces, and nodded with a detached expression.
“Since you helped me, I should return the favor,” Fu Yun said, offering a string of beads. “These are Clear Heart Glazed Beads. They have the spiritual effect of calming the mind, focusing the spirit, and warding off external evils.”
Xie Lingjun refused outright. “You helped me remove the love poison; I helped you cleanse the cold poison. There’s no need for any return gift.”
“Consider it compensation for your sword tassel,” Fu Yun said, looking at Xie Lingjun with shimmering eyes, like autumn waters rippling.
Xie Lingjun recalled their journey so far Fu Yun’s gaze toward him had always seemed this gentle, no matter how coldly he himself acted.
An earlier suspicion resurfaced in Xie Lingjun’s mind, and his brow furrowed deeply.
He had long believed that only those with the firmest will and the strongest Dao heart were worthy of standing beside him. Everyone else was but passing clouds.
Fu Yun had some skill, but he was a disciple of the Green Sage Sect, having entered the sect thirty years ago without yet breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. And judging by his performance in this secret realm, it could only be described as “opportunistic.”
They were not on the same path.
Seeing Xie Lingjun remain unmoved, Fu Yun said, “Take it, so I can rest easy. I won’t speak of the secret passage to anyone, including Little Junior Brother.”
Xie Lingjun fell silent for a moment before saying, “In that case, we are even. That’s for the best.”
The system was practically howling in indignation: “Fine! Taking the gift and then turning hostile! Host, snatch it back!”
Fu Yun: “You’re so stingy.”
“…” The system grew suspicious. “You’re suddenly being so generous there must be something wrong, right?”
“There’s always a bit of affection in a meeting,” Fu Yun replied with a laugh in his heart. Seeing the house, one thinks of the crow accepting someone’s gift meant owing them a debt of affection. “And can a debt of affection be repaid with just a few words?”
The system was stunned. “You like Xie Lingjun?”
Fu Yun: “I want him to think I like him.”
He had never forgotten the plot for a single day, nor had he forgotten that he would die at the hands of the protagonist team.
Not long ago, the cold poison had catalyzed his inner demons. Fu Yun saw himself pierced by countless swords, his blood drained dry. It was so cold so cold he thought he was about to die.
He deliberately let Xie Lingjun hear his agonized cries: I’m afraid of the cold, afraid of death.
Lingjun, remember this.
Xie Lingjun took the string of glass beads.
They felt warm to the touch whether from Fu Yun’s palm or his own, he couldn’t tell. He tucked them into his sleeve.
With the matter of the cold poison resolved, they finally reached the end of the secret passage.
When they emerged, the glaring sunlight stung their eyes. Looking back, wasn’t it just the stone wall they had entered through?
The team was still waiting in place, gathering around to explain. Only then did Fu Yun and Xie Lingjun realize that time flowed differently inside and outside the stone wall while they had been fighting for their lives inside for at least three days, only one night had passed in the outside world.
The team’s attitude seemed to have shifted.
Toward Xie Lingjun, it remained as before respectful yet distant. But toward Fu Yun, even the clever and lively Murong Yan was somewhat cold, offering only a few perfunctory words of concern, mostly observing him with scrutiny.
The group walked out of the secret realm’s exit.
The elders showed no joy, their expressions grave. The disciples who had exited earlier were equally tense, as if a storm was brewing.
The Joyful Union Sect’s ambush on disciples from various sects had shaken the major sects. The surviving disciples whispered among themselves.
“How did they know the team’s route? Were they following us the whole way?”
“Our team had night watch every night, with experts at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. It’s impossible they wouldn’t have sensed anything.”
“Maybe there’s a traitor?”
“Tsk, who knows? Maybe it was someone from a friendly sect disguised as a Joyful Union seductress, killing people themselves but pinning the blame on the Joyful Union.”
An elder scolded, “You are disciples of the Di Sect! How can you engage in baseless speculation and become a laughingstock?”
On the surface, the elders were all harmonious, expressing that this was a time for unity and thorough investigation. Privately, however, they set up sound transmission barriers, warning their own sect’s disciples not to interact with outsiders.
The Taiyi Sect’s spirit ship was docked outside the secret realm. Originally, it was meant to pick up the disciples after the secret realm ended, but due to the Joyful Union ambush, it stayed for half a day to gather clues.
In the main hall of the spirit ship, the elders gathered to inquire about the detailed events inside the secret realm, especially any clues related to the “Joyful Union Sect.”
The team leaders reported first.
Xie Yun said, “Among the Joyful Union cultivators who attacked us, three had missing storage pouches. Broken cords with residual wood spirit energy were found.”
An elder immediately said, “Nephew Yun, if you suspect someone, speak plainly.” His voice softened. “Don’t be afraid. This is Taiyi’s territory.”
He slowly scanned the disciples present. Another elder chuckled and said, “Old Sun, I heard you recently mastered the Mirror-Sword Qi, capable of piercing through those with impure hearts. Last month, you helped the Discipline Department deal with quite a few spies.”
The elders chatted back and forth, but with each word, the sword qi grew more intimidating.
Suddenly, a sharp cry pierced the air. A disciple, distracted and unsettled, had been wounded by a sword aura. The stern gazes of several elders immediately fell upon him. The disciple dropped to his knees, stammering, ” I was bewitched, I was deceived.”
A series of agonized screams followed. An elder’s sword aura pierced the disciple’s spine, pinning him to the ground. “Put him in shackles,” the elder commanded coldly. “Send him back to the sect for interrogation by the Disciplinary Hall.”
So there really was a suspected traitor!
The Taiyi Sect’s Disciplinary Hall was notorious suspects would inevitably suffer the torment of soul-searching. And who didn’t have secrets they wished to keep? Once inside, life and death were no longer in one’s own hands.
The disciples eyed each other with suspicion, their gazes sharp and assessing. The spirit vessel was spacious enough to hold a hundred people, yet now only the sound of tense breathing filled the air. In the oppressive silence, a dull, heavy thud echoed
Thump.
Murong Yan took a large step forward.
Her foot landed with such force that it seemed to jolt everyone’s hearts. She bent at the waist, bowing respectfully. “Esteemed elders, this disciple has a lead to report.”
“Speak.”
“The wood-attribute aura that Captain Xie Yun mentioned seems to match that of Senior Brother Fu Yun from my team.” She then recounted how Fu Yun had left the group the day before and returned only after a long absence.
Murong Yan had weighed her words carefully before deciding to speak up.
“The wood aura likely came from Fu Yun” Xie Yun had hinted at this in the secret realm. If he truly cared for this senior brother, he wouldn’t have pointed it out so publicly.
Murong Yan had understood immediately: Xie Yun intended to put Fu Yun in a difficult position. Since she had come here to befriend Xie Yun, she decided to do him a favor by exposing Fu Yun’s suspicious behavior, leaving it to the elders to investigate thoroughly.
Murong Yan was fully aware that her motives were entirely self-serving. After making her report, she didn’t bother dressing it up with lofty talk of loyalty to the sect or concern for her fellow disciples. She simply lowered her head and waited silently for the elders’ decision.
If Fu Yun’s spiritual energy had been left on the enemy, there were only two possibilities: either he had stolen it during the chaos, or he had colluded with outsiders.
“Recount every detail of your experience during the time you were separated from the team,” an elder demanded, stepping closer to Fu Yun. “And hand over all the gains you acquired in the secret realm for our inspection.”
They intended to examine his storage pouch publicly.
Fu Yun’s expression remained unchanged, his breathing steady, but cold sweat had already begun to seep through the back of his robes.
He hadn’t kept the storage pouch from the Joyful Union Sect, but he had retained a jade slip containing a dual cultivation technique. As it involved a secret method, the slip was layered with multiple restrictions. Fu Yun had planned to unravel them slowly once things settled down.
Now, that jade slip lay hidden deep within his storage pouch.
If it were discovered that he was secretly harboring a dual cultivation technique, Fu Yun would have no way to explain himself.