Meanwhile, Fu Jinyue was walking along the main road of the sect.
She was merely pretending to be obedient, not actually obedient.
For a great cultivator to suddenly entangle himself with her for no good reason, and to be so incredibly attentive, it could not possibly be love at first sight. Even if it were, would one love so deeply and intensely upon a first meeting, following her every step of the way?
Fu Jinyue: Ha, men who are in a hurry always have issues.
So, seizing a gap, she had hurriedly slipped away.
Sizing up the passersby, Fu Jinyue thought to herself, “Although the Sword Sect is no longer hosting the banquet, there are still plenty of external cultivators coming and going. There are juniors out to see the world, and there are great powers with completed cultivation. I should be able to set my sights on one, right?”
As she walked, she closely paid attention to the casual chats of the passersby. Whenever a conversation touched upon private or important matters, the cultivators would shield it using sound transmission. What she could overhear was mostly gossip, such as which male cultivator was coming, or how the evil cultivators had recently vanished, which likely indicated something brewing, or for instance—
“Hey, do you know that True Monarch Jishi also came to the Sword Sect recently?”
“True Monarch Jishi?”
“The one from the Yun family, the genius who built his foundation at fifteen, formed his core at twenty, and is proficient in alchemy, drawing talismans, and medicine…”
A genius? Fu Jinyue’s heart stirred.
At that moment, the Sword Sect disciple leading the way ahead suddenly turned his head.
“Fel… Fellow Daoist, please keep up, don’t get lost.” The male disciple said timidly.
Fu Jinyue smiled and responded with an agreement.
The male disciple was extremely shy, quickly turning his face back. The two continued walking.
He was a Sword Sect disciple Fu Jinyue had randomly intercepted on the road. Initially, Fu Jinyue only wanted to ask how to get to the guest quarters, claiming she had lost her way. Who would have thought that this man’s face would turn red the moment he saw her, and he would proactively offer to lead the way.
He was a male disciple at the early stage of Qi Refining, with ordinary looks. When he spoke, he didn’t even dare to lock eyes with her, his hands and feet appearing utterly clumsy.
Fu Jinyue didn’t think much of him, but she wasn’t surprised either. Since someone wanted to proactively show goodwill, she would just accept it.
Along the way, the male disciple frequently turned back to look. Fu Jinyue could see he was racking his brain for a topic, yet she pretended not to notice.
Finding herself with nothing to do, she let the system in her mind continue to drill her on the worldview.
The system was a bit useless and didn’t possess very profound knowledge; it could only speak of common sense known to everyone.
It said, “This world is abundant in spiritual energy. Furthermore, because everyone possesses spiritual roots, even a mortal with a bit of innate spirituality can successfully draw Qi into their body after a sudden enlightenment, stepping half a foot onto the immortal path. However, cultivation still requires guidance from a cultivation technique. If one cultivates blindly, at best, one makes no progress, and at worst, one undergoes qi deviation.”
Fu Jinyue thought of the young man in the cave.
“No wonder he still needed to find a sect to apprentice under despite being at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. So that’s why.” It made sense; otherwise, he could have just cultivated on his own to roam around, and once he saved enough spiritual stones, he could just hire an alchemist.
The system hummed and hawed a few times in agreement, fell silent for a moment, and then asked as if casually, “By the way, Host, how did you think of that?”
“What?” Fu Jinyue was puzzled.
“The Hehuan Sect’s technique,” the system prompted, “You actually thought of using the technique on a plant, using its operational characteristics to evade that male cultivator’s attention. What a unique way to clear a path.”
“Oh, you mean that.”
Fu Jinyue didn’t care much. “I was curious before. This technique is said to be for dual cultivation, but in reality, it behaves more like resonance. Since people can resonate with one another to reap benefits, what if it’s with an existence that isn’t human? I was just bored and wanted to try, so I used it on a patch of grass.”
She hadn’t expected her words to become a reality.
She wasn’t sure if it was because the plant had remained in an immortal land for a long time, soaking in spiritual energy until it developed a bit of spirituality, but the technique had actually managed to connect her with it.
The blades of grass swayed, looking exceedingly joyful.
This kind of resonance was different from that between humans; it was more like a profound, mysterious communion of minds.
A life that had not opened its spiritual wisdom possessed only the most basic instincts.
It wanted to grow, it wanted to bloom, and it wanted to bear fruit. Fu Jinyue casually channeled her spiritual energy into it, and then… somehow, her external aura became identical to the grass, becoming ubiquitous, ordinary, and noticed by no one.
This was truly a pleasant surprise.
Because the faint, lingering sense of being watched that had been hovering over her… had also vanished.
Cui Zai was no saint.
Fu Jinyue understood that he had actually been keeping an eye on her in secret all along.
The gaze wasn’t tight, nor was it deliberate; he merely spread his perception from time to time to see where she was.
Like a large hand hovering over her head, waiting for an opportunity to move.
At that instant, sensing the disappearance of that watchful gaze, Fu Jinyue knew deeply that there would be no better opportunity than this. She indifferently swept a glance over the two people conversing in low voices and directly slipped away without a single pause.
The system listened, dumbfounded. It seemed it had never thought the gift of the Hehuan method could have such a use.
System: “Incredible, Host! It seems I have bound myself to a very formidable person.”
This flattery was pleasant to hear. Fu Jinyue snorted without speaking, but she was proud to the extreme.
“Fellow Daoist Fu.” The male disciple suddenly stopped and bowed toward Fu Jinyue.
Looking around, the two had somehow veered into a side path. The surroundings were a lush bamboo forest, quiet and pleasant.
“I must trouble Fellow Daoist to wait here.” His voice seemed to tremble.
Fu Jinyue looked at him. The youth’s thin skin blushed instantly, and with a panicked expression, he averted his head, his steps frozen.
A bit strange.
Fu Jinyue withdrew her gaze, turning it over in her mind, and actually picked out a bit of anomaly.
He didn’t seem to be blushing because of shyness. He was… nervous?
What was he nervous about? Nervous around me?
Without knowing the reason, alarm bells instantly blared in her heart. How could Fu Jinyue stay any longer? Her expression changed and she turned to run, but a wave of pressure was faster than her, crashing down upon her head. She fell to her knees uncontrollably.
Her knees slammed hard against the bluestone, and her head was forced low, her brow pressing tight against the ground.
It hurt severely.
“Where did this evil cultivator come from, daring to trespass into the Sword Sect!”
A shout exploded above her head, but because Fu Jinyue was being forcefully pressed down, she couldn’t see the newcomer’s face at all. Relying on her hearing, she could perceive a few people gathering around her. The male disciple who led the way repeatedly tried to stop them, saying, “Senior Brothers, Senior Brothers, lower your voices, don’t let others hear.”
“Indeed, we must absolutely avoid alerting the enemy.”
“Evil cultivators are exceedingly cunning, sending a low-cultivation spy who won’t arouse suspicion to infiltrate. We must keep a close watch and not let any word leak out.”
An evil cultivator? A spy?
If she couldn’t lift her hand, Fu Jinyue would have wanted to point at herself blankly.
Are they talking about me?
While several Sword Sect disciples were talking, another sound suddenly rang out.
“I told you to detain the person, not to capture them! Whether she is a spy has not yet been investigated. What are you doing!” It sounded like the previous Cultivator Lu.
The pressure suddenly loosened, and Fu Jinyue was helped up.
It really was Lu Liuru. The female cultivator looked over with concern, her hand supporting Fu Jinyue’s forearm, refusing to let go for a long time.
“Fellow Daoist, this is truly an offense. There are suspicions of villains breaking into the sect, so they were just a bit nervous.”
“Suspicion gives you the right to oppress people with pressure? What logic is that!” Fu Jinyue put on an indignant and aggrieved expression, trying to shake off Lu Liuru’s hand.
Yet the female cultivator tightly gripped her wrist without letting go.
“Can the little Fellow Daoist tell me, for what reason did you ascend the mountain?”
“Of course it was to attend the celebration,” for some reason, Fu Jinyue spoke uncontrollably, “And also… to look for male cultivators.”
During her hesitation in speaking, everyone present had tensed up their spirits, fearing the spy might suddenly strike, making a fierce battle inevitable. But unexpectedly hearing this answer, they couldn’t help but look at each other.
Ah?
Hearing this, Lu Liuru found it amusing, her expression relaxing a bit, and she asked again, “Is Fellow Daoist a rogue cultivator?”
I am…
These words stuck in her throat and couldn’t be uttered. Fu Jinyue possessed a quick wit; her peripheral vision caught the wrists where they touched. The object pressed against her skin felt rough and thin, like some kind of paper.
Paper, a talisman?
Could the cultivation world have talisman spells that acted like truth serum?
With a turn of her mind, she had a guess. Fu Jinyue screamed inwardly that things were going terribly.
Could it be that she was currently forced to speak the truth?
Other things were fine, but if they asked about her sect, answering would mean instant death; the charge of being a demoness of the Hehuan Sect would be slapped straight down upon her.
Oh no, she was truly facing her doom.
“System, system, system, syyyystem—”
The system also cried out in panic, on the verge of tears. It seemed it couldn’t be counted on.
Seeing her silence, Lu Liuru tightened her grip a bit, pressing the talisman in her palm closer.
She pressed on, “Is Fellow Daoist a rogue cultivator?”
“……No.”
Fu Jinyue couldn’t control her own mouth.
While answering, she tentatively released her spiritual energy. The surrounding circle consisted of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth layers of Qi Refining. The female cultivator beside her possessed the highest cultivation; she probably couldn’t defeat her.
Lu Liuru looked at her, vigilance on her face. “Then do you have a sect?”
Fu Jinyue grit her teeth. “……Yes.”
“Which sect?”
This was truly a lethal question.
Fu Jinyue’s heart raced, but her mouth spoke beyond her will, saying, “……The… Orthodox Hehuan Sect.”
No one noticed the word ‘Orthodox’.
Everyone’s mind was captured by the other three words, and rage surged.
The Hehuan Sect?
It was actually the Hehuan Sect!!
A Sword Sect disciple immediately drew his sword, shouting in fury, “You bunch of sanctimonious things, it wasn’t enough that you abducted our elder, yet you actually have the face to send a spy to the Sword Sect?”
All the disciples were burning with anger.
The evidence of guilt was set.
Lu Liuru’s face was heavy. Her left hand brushed past the sachet at her waist, summoning a rope to bind her, while her right hand, which had been holding Fu Jinyue’s wrist, also slowly let go.
The moment that hand loosened, the talisman hidden in her palm was immediately revealed.
Fu Jinyue turned her hand to grab the female cultivator’s hand, preventing her from leaving, and said coldly, “Ask me again! Use your talisman to ask me again whether I harbor any malicious intent toward the Sword Sect!”
Since you want to ask, why not ask clearly?
Her attitude gave Lu Liuru a start.
The remaining disciples, however, either sneered or showed disdain, clearly not believing her.
The mountain of evidence was absolute; what else could she say? It was all just the nonsense of an evil cultivator!
Lu Liuru cast a glance at Fu Jinyue.
Fu Jinyue persisted, “I have never harbored half a shred of malicious intent toward the Sword Sect!”
Lu Liuru sighed. The talisman in her palm had long since silently self-combusted, turning to ash. She lifted her hand to show her. “It is not that I am unwilling, but the Truth Talisman has a limited number of uses. This was my last one.”
Was she just going to let herself be at their mercy and be escorted away?
Lu Liuru: “This talisman is not easy to make and rarely circulates on the market. Little Fellow Daoist, your apprenticeship under the Hehuan Sect is already ironclad evidence. We absolutely will not waste another Truth Talisman on you. You had better confess early and pour out the evil cultivators’ plans one by one.”
Fu Jinyue looked at her. “I know nothing of any plans, nor am I an evil cultivator.”
“Still being stubborn!” The surrounding Sword Sect disciples detested her to the core, even their swords vibrating uncontrollably. If not for the fact that they still hoped to interrogate her for some ghostly plan, Fu Jinyue didn’t doubt at all that they would hack her into ten thousand pieces.
Just at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out from behind: “What this person says is true; she is not an evil cultivator.”
Upon hearing this voice, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. Fu Jinyue noticed that Lu Liuru’s expression was full of surprise, while the faces of the junior brothers and sisters whose seniority was lower than hers were all filled with yearning and respect.
It seemed to be a person of very high status.
That person walked over slowly. His movements were clearly steady and leisurely, yet in the blink of an eye, he had stepped in front of them.
He wore a robe as white as snow, with black hair like satin, and his back was as straight as a pine or bamboo. His features were handsome, yet his gaze was calm and devoid of ripples. His brow seemed to carry frost and snow, his expression indifferent. When he lowered his eyes, he possessed a bit of the desireless and emotionless aura of a deity on a high altar.
“Hand this person over to me, Little Fellow Daoist Lu.” His voice was also as clear and cold as snow.
What a textbook examples of a repressed, emotionless flower of the high peaks.
He had influence, a face, and cultivation.
Fu Jinyue took it all in, her heart stirring a bit.
Lu Liuru frowned and said, “Senior Yun Heyin, this spy is a small person but involves a major matter. Furthermore, it is related to the Sword Sect and is an internal affair of our sect. With Senior’s current status, I am afraid it might not be appropriate…”
The man named Yun Heyin did not speak upon hearing this, merely displaying an object in his hand.
Fu Jinyue only managed to catch a hurried glimpse of a small corner; it looked like a jade pendant or a token.
Seeing this, Lu Liuru fell silent. After a moment of internal struggle on her face, she quickly gave up her resistance, immediately saying, “Since it is the Sect Master’s order, then we juniors shall withdraw.”
Without any repeated back-and-forth, Cultivator Lu led her fellow junior brothers and sisters away, as hurried as when they had arrived.
Although Fu Jinyue was bewildered, she still raised her eyes to stare before they left, firmly engraving their faces into her mind and writing them down in her little notebook.
She had a fair idea in her heart. Although the leader was Lu Liuru, there had been no abnormalities during their conversation at the sect gate earlier. For them to suddenly launch an attack now, they must have heard something from somewhere.
As for where it came from, and from whose mouth it was learned.
Fu Jinyue sneered inwardly.
Oh my, how hard to guess. Could it be you, a certain Cui who has been following me with ill intentions all this time?
While she was calculating how to repay this debt on one hand, she didn’t forget her savior on the other.
Scrambling up from the ground and patting the dust off her body, Fu Jinyue caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye that her savior remained entirely silent. He looked straight ahead, standing like a pine tree, presumably waiting for her to finish tidying herself up.
This is a bit difficult to handle. This type who looks rigid and solemn at first glance usually follows the rules and never crosses boundaries. To take him down, she would probably have to be completely shameless.
However, since his surname was Yun, could he be the cultivation genius the passersby spoke of just now?
Fu Jinyue pondered secretly, thinking to herself that trying wouldn’t hurt anyway, so she raised her face once more.
“Thank you, Senior Yun Heyin, for stepping forward to save me.” She said clearly, performing a bow.
Right after, just as she was about to report her own name to make a friendly start, she saw the white-robed man nod toward her and speak, “No need.”
“I am aware of Fellow Daoist’s identity, which is why I came to receive you. Fellow Daoist is the sole descendant of the Dingshan Fu family, named Jinyue.”
His expression was indifferent: “You are the person who carries the Heavenly Mandate to save the world in this realm.”
The two words of her fake name ‘Fu Qian’ were still resting on the tip of Fu Jinyue’s tongue. Hearing his words, she froze. Thoughts flew wild in her mind, and question marks cropped up one after another, yet her expression remained unchanged.
The Heavenly Mandate? Who bestowed this destiny? Is it a conspiracy or a trap? Is this matter good or bad?
Amidst her flying thoughts, Fu Jinyue swallowed back the words she had intended to say, turning instead to slowly reveal a faint smile.
“It is me.”
She actually dared to boldly admit it.
The author has something to say:
Welcoming Male Guest No. 2 to the stage. Male Guest No. 2 is super interesting; the face-slaps will ring loud and clear.
Early stage: He is cold, he is heartless, he is devoid of desires and demands.
After meeting the protagonist: He begs, he sinks, he is twisted with jealousy.
Fu Jinyue: Heehee.
When writing a flower of the high peaks, I just love writing about him falling helplessly in love amidst his self-restraint.