“That Buddhist Son seems stuck right where he is—just one step short of falling to demonhood,” the Demon Lord mused. “Seems a bit unreasonable not to give him a push.”
Ning Ying: …
She was quite sure that when Senior Brother Gu said “give him a push,” he meant pushing him toward demonhood.
“Indeed,” Ye Juan nodded. “Lianhua Sect and our sect are both reputable righteous paths; we ought to help each other out. Since the Buddhist Son hasn’t fallen to demonhood yet, and the three of us are already exposed, we should help if we can.”
Ning Ying: _( :з」∠)_
When Uncle-Master said “help if we can,” he probably meant preventing the Buddhist Son from falling to demonhood. After all, the Sword Master was a righteous cultivator—he must have some compassion and wouldn’t want to see the pure and holy Buddhist Son corrupted.
Who would have thought that the Demon Lord and Sword Master would charge out one after the other, standing beside the Buddhist Son and fanning the flames?
Demon Lord: “Senior Sister Sang is whispering sweet nothings with that pretty boy right now. Can you tolerate that? Wouldn’t it be reasonable to fall to demonhood?”
Sword Master: “If you’re a real man, fall to the demonic path and descend nine hundred levels of Asura hell for her!”
Demon Lord: “Senior Sister Sang recently took a liking to some handsome junior brother, she doesn’t give you the time of day.”
Sword Master: “Tsk tsk, played for your heart and body, poor Buddhist Son.”
Demon Lord: “Why bother with this Buddhism? Better to fall to demonhood—free and unfettered, the vast world yours to roam. Why confine yourself to pure precepts—”
Sword Master: “Well said, Nephew Gu. Why suffer this unjust treatment? Liberating your true nature—that’s true happiness.”
Ning Ying: “???”
She’d originally thought Uncle-Master Ye was a good person. Who knew that even someone with such honest features would learn bad things from the Demon Lord?
Jing Nian: …
He’d been on the verge of falling to demonhood, but these two people fanning the flames had the opposite effect—he couldn’t work up the grief and indignation anymore.
Looking up again, he saw that pretty boy Sikong Qin holding Sang Jinse’s hand and talking, his face full of worship and adoration. A mouthful of old blood surged in Jing Nian’s throat. He tilted his neck and spat it out, then collapsed unconscious—the process of falling to demonhood forcibly interrupted.
Gu Qi and Ye Juan exchanged glances.
“What do we do now?”
“We just talked some trash and the Buddhist Son collapsed on his own?”
“Haha, looks like this venerable one won’t need to act personally in the future—I can kill enemies with words alone!”
“What ‘venerable one’? You little brat dare act cocky in front of your uncle-master?!”
Ning Ying: …
Uncle-master and senior brother didn’t seem very bright.
“Junior Sister, what should we do?”
“Little Ning, what do you think…”
The at-a-loss Demon Lord and Sword Master both looked at her.
Ning Ying: ?
Why were they looking at her?
“Let’s move him into the sect first. Guests are guests—we can’t just leave him lying at the gate. Those jade steps are cold; what if he catches a chill?” Ning Ying suggested.
Ye Juan nodded thoughtfully: “Good. This venerable one decides to invite Lianhua Sect’s distinguished guest into our sect for a brief rest.”
“Sword Master, I also…” Sikong Qin didn’t want to miss this chance to get close to his beloved; he wanted to visit Yaoyue Sect too.
Ye Juan glanced at him: “The Buddhist Son coughed up blood and fainted. What business do you have butting in?”
Unexpectedly, as soon as Ye Juan finished speaking, Sikong Qin clutched his chest and spat out blood too, his face pale and swaying unsteadily.
Ye Juan: “???”
“To be honest, in the fight with the Buddhist Son just now, I also sustained internal injuries…” Sikong Qin said weakly.
Ye Juan: “…”
“Fine, you come too.” The Sword Master naturally had authority over such trivial matters, and there’d be entertainment to watch besides. He waved his hand grandly: “Xiao Sang, you support him. Nephew Gu, you carry that fainted monk.”
“Yes, Uncle-Master Ye.” Sang Jinse obediently replied.
Although she was wild outside the sect, she still respected her elders within.
Gu Qi, however, looked thoroughly unwilling and disgusted: “He’s all covered in blood he coughed up. This venerable one finds it nauseating.”
“Venerable one?” The Sword Master smacked Gu Qi on the back of the head. “You little brat, you dare call yourself that in front of your elder?”
Demon Lord: “???”
Though he dodged the slap in time, he was still thoroughly displeased.
Clearly Ye Juan didn’t know Gu Qi’s true identity. Ning Ying sighed inwardly and stepped forward to mediate: “How about I drag the Buddhist Son? Uncle-Master, Senior Brother, stop arguing.”
Ye Juan: “???”
Gu Qi: “???”
They both said in unison: “No way!”
“That monk’s covered in blood—can’t dirty Junior Sister’s hands.” Gu Qi grabbed Jing Nian’s kasaya and hoisted him over his shoulder. “I’ll take him.”
Ye Juan added: “Little Ning, Nephew Gu is impetuous by nature and self-centered. Giving him tasks tempers his character and takes him down a peg.”
Ning Ying seemed convinced: “That works too.”
The Demon Lord, walking ahead with Jing Nian over his shoulder: “???”
He turned back: “I can hear you badmouthing me!”
Ye Juan wasn’t one to take abuse lying down. He opened his mouth to curse back, but Ning Ying gently tugged at his robe: “Uncle-Master, please calm down.”
Hearing the girl’s sweet, soft voice, Ye Juan seemed instantly soothed. Somewhat awkwardly, he said: “I… I’m not angry!”
“I know, Uncle-Master’s not angry,” Ning Ying agreed. “Senior Brother Gu has some issues here—please be tolerant, Uncle-Master.” She pointed at her head as she spoke.
“…Oh, I see,” Ye Juan said thoughtfully. “I really shouldn’t stoop to a fool’s level.”
With Ye Juan pacified, now the Demon Lord up ahead got angry. He threw the Buddhist Son on the ground, sat on the steps at the sect entrance, and started slacking off passive-aggressively.
“That Buddhist Son’s too heavy. I’m tired. Need Junior Sister’s kisses and hugs to get up.”
Ning Ying: “???”
What the hell?
Sang Jinse, walking ahead, immediately spun around, drawn by the gossip: “Junior Sister, Junior Brother—something’s going on with you two!”
Ye Juan was also shocked, then found a reasonable explanation: “Nephew Gu really does have brain issues.”
Just as the situation reached an impasse, a clear, ethereal voice sounded above everyone’s heads.
“Gu Qi, why haven’t you completed the task I assigned you?”
“Master!” Sang Jinse trembled with fear. She was most terrified of the Sect Leader Master.
Because Master was truly strict, unlike Uncle-Master Ye who was easy to talk to.
Gu Qi glanced down at his arm. Though his cultivation was high and his injury had mostly healed, he still recalled the terror of having his arm broken.
…And also remembered the time during the immortal-demon war when Yun Qingyuan had charged into the demon realm with his sword, nearly costing him his life.
Damn it!
Gu Qi squinted, exchanging a glance with the Immortal Lord descending on a cloud. He decided that discretion was the better part of valor and picked up the discarded Buddhist Son.
“Just hiding my identity, just hiding my identity…” he muttered under his breath, trying to brainwash himself. “It’s not that I got cold feet…”
“Senior Brother, you got cold feet?” Ning Ying, who happened to overhear this, sidled up and whispered in Gu Qi’s ear.
Gu Qi: “…” Why did Junior Sister have to hear that part? His image!
Help—he wanted to switch sects.
Seeing Ning Ying and Gu Qi close together, whispering in each other’s ears, Sang Jinse showed a gratified auntie smile: “If Junior Brother and Junior Sister end up together, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
No sooner had she spoken than she felt a cold gaze from mid-air land on her head.
“…Does Master have some instruction?”
“Your junior sister is still young. Don’t bring up such matters in the future.” Yun Qingyuan’s expression was calm and indifferent, but the fingertips hidden beneath his frost-white sleeves trembled slightly.