Chapter 9 - 6: Demoness or Fairy
There was no shortage of food in the mountains, but one had to know what was safe to eat.
Fortunately, Lu Changyuan knew what he could eat, so he casually picked some wild fruits from the roadside and popped them into his mouth.
A woodsy fragrance, accompanied by a taste that was anything but sweet, filled his mouth.
’Disgusting.’
"Sir, who are you really?"
Xia Lianxue’s figure slowly appeared behind Lu Changyuan. She held a gourd filled with fresh water.
’She’s finally here.’
Lu Changyuan stood up. "Just a physician from the mountains."
’If the information in my eyes is true...’
’...then this gentle, lovely Fairy before me has been corrupted by a Desire Demon, transformed into a life-stealing Rakshasa.’
This Fairy was clearly far more terrifying than the two Cultivators from the Blood Demon Palace.
The most outstanding True Inheritor of Miao Yu Palace—one of the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces—and she was at her peak.
If Xia Lianxue wished it, Lu Changyuan and Qiu Yuehan could start digging their own graves right now.
’This mountain range isn’t a bad spot for it.’
’It has mountains, streams, birdsong, and fragrant flowers.’
’I don’t know what Xia Lianxue is waiting for.’
Lu Changyuan figured if he were in Xia Lianxue’s shoes, he would have already made his move. Kill Lu Changyuan first, then Qiu Yuehan. Afterward, just as the Cultivators from the Blood Demon Palace had said, she could secure her position as the Young Palace Master.
Xia Lianxue said softly, "I’d like to know how you saved my Senior Sister."
"You can ask Qiu Yuehan."
"Senior Sister won’t tell me."
Lu Changyuan replied matter-of-factly, "Then you don’t have to ask."
"If you do not wish to say, Sir, then let us forget it."
The moment she finished speaking, Lu Changyuan felt a strange pang of guilt toward Xia Lianxue.
’It’s just the unimportant story of how we met, right?’
’What’s the harm in telling her?’
’Is this some ability that makes people feel good about the caster without realizing it? Since when did Yuyue Immortal Palace have a Cultivation Technique like this?’
’Is this Miao Yu Palace or the Hehuan Sect?’
Lu Changyuan slowly turned back to look at Xia Lianxue. "Fairy, do you really wish to know?"
"I do."
Even though Xia Lianxue wore a veil, obscuring her features, Lu Changyuan could distinctly sense that she was smiling.
In that instant, it was as if the red of mountain cherry blossoms and the white of camellias brushed against his face on a gentle breeze.
It was a hazy, breathtaking beauty.
As his thoughts churned, a glint of light flashed in Lu Changyuan’s eyes. The `Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique` circulated within him, severing the misplaced feelings of goodwill.
’Qiu Yuehan, Xia Lianxue... it doesn’t matter who.’
’What has become of the Fairies in this Cultivation Realm?’
"Then you should ask Fairy Qiu Yuehan. I’m sure given your relationship with her, Fairy Yuehan will tell you if you just ask a few more times."
Xia Lianxue sighed, ultimately deciding not to push her Cultivation Technique any further. If Lu Changyuan were truly a mortal, doing so would have destroyed his mind.
There was no need to be so cruel to a mere mortal.
Lu Changyuan turned his back to Xia Lianxue and suddenly spoke. "Actually, it was nothing special. Fairy Yuehan was hunting a Demon from the Demon Dao and suffered grave injuries herself. I was gathering herbs on the mountain and happened upon the wounded Fairy. Since the mountains are full of tigers at night, I brought Fairy Yuehan back with me."
Thinking her spell had simply taken a moment to work, Xia Lianxue frowned and asked, "Why would Senior Sister hunt a Demon from the Demon Dao for no reason? Sir, do you know which sect that Demon belonged to?"
"Fairy Yuehan said he was a Demon Monk from the Eating Buddha Sect."
"Senior Sister is, as always... so devoted to despising evil."
Lu Changyuan asked casually, "Why do you say that?"
This time, Miao Yu Palace had dispatched two True Inheritors. Their true purpose was the same as the Heart-Eating Monk’s: to investigate the Heavenly Repair Pill within the Glazed Dynasty.
Since this Pill had ties to the Chang’an Daoist, it was worth the journey for the two of them.
But the two didn’t travel together. Qiu Yuehan had already been near the Glazed Dynasty, so she came here directly after receiving the Sect’s summons. Xia Lianxue, on the other hand, had to travel from the Sect and arrived later.
In the ten or so days before her arrival, something major had happened.
A hundred-some li from Lu Changyuan’s village, the inhabitants of three neighboring villages had been completely slaughtered, their hearts and livers torn out.
The perpetrator of this atrocity was, of course, the Heart-Eating Monk.
Qiu Yuehan, having arrived early, learned of this and set out alone to kill the Heart-Eating Monk.
In the end, the Heart-Eating Monk fought while retreating, and the two battled for days until, at last, Lu Changyuan reaped the benefits in that dilapidated Compassionate Temple.
A day ago, Xia Lianxue had also reached the outskirts of the Dynasty. She happened to receive Qiu Yuehan’s message just then, allowing her to arrive in the nick of time to save them.
Lu Changyuan offered one of the fruits he was holding to Xia Lianxue.
The gesture caught Xia Lianxue off guard.
She politely waved her hand in refusal, only to watch as Lu Changyuan popped the fruit into his own mouth.
Ever since she had stepped onto the Immortal Path, every mortal she met had been utterly reverent. This was the first time Xia Lianxue had ever encountered a mortal with so little regard for propriety.
It was as if she, a Fourth Realm Cultivator, was somehow inferior to him and in need of his care.
It reminded Xia Lianxue of her own terror when she was first brought to the Sect many years ago, seeing those Immortals for the first time.
’No matter.’
’Having never embarked on the Immortal Ascension Path, this young man before me has no idea of my standing.’
’To him, an Immortal is just an Immortal.’
Lu Changyuan, unaware that his casual attitude had thrown the ethereal Fairy into a state of complex thought, simply asked, "So what kind of sect is the Eating Buddha Sect, anyway?"
Xia Lianxue bit her lip. "They’re a pack of animals."
The Eating Buddha Sect is also a Major Sect, one of the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces. The sect has no predecessor; it was newly founded during a time of great turmoil.
Legend says that five hundred years ago, the first monks of what would become the Eating Buddha Sect found the corpse of a Buddha Immortal that was thousands of years old. These monks dismembered and ate the corpse, causing their Buddhist Dharma to advance by leaps and bounds. The Eating Buddha Sect was thus named and established.
Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes. "In that case, this Heart-Eating Monk must be an extraordinary member of the Eating Buddha Sect’s younger generation?"
’To be able to fight Qiu Yuehan to a standstill, he must be someone on par with a Buddha’s Son among the Demon Dao sects.’
Xia Lianxue nodded. "The Heart-Eating Monk inherited his Buddhist title from his master. He’s considered an extremely formidable figure in the Demon Dao, but unfortunately for him, he’s still no match for Senior Sister."
’Why is Xia Lianxue so full of praise for Qiu Yuehan?’
"Fairy, you seem to hold Fairy Yuehan in very high regard?"
Xia Lianxue lowered her gaze. "It is merely a fact. Senior Sister has always been incredibly strong within the Sect."
Lu Changyuan recalled Qiu Yuehan’s intimate behavior in the carriage earlier.
’That woman... she couldn’t be deliberately trying to turn Xia Lianxue’s attention to me, could she?’
"You’re quite formidable yourself, Fairy."
"Senior Sister has the pure heart of a child. Her mind is simple, and she is devoted only to her Cultivation. I, of course, cannot compare." Xia Lianxue looked to the sky. "Sir, we should hurry back to the carriage. It’s about to rain."
With that, she turned and headed back toward the carriage.
A few dark clouds drifted across the sky, and a heavy, uncomfortable humidity seemed to fill the air.
Just like Xia Lianxue’s mood.
She had cultivated in the Sect since childhood and had never once bested Qiu Yuehan in anything.
Watching the Fairy’s slender figure and straight back, Lu Changyuan found the situation growing more and more interesting.
’Qiu Yuehan, despising evil and pure of mind?’
’That was the funniest joke Lu Changyuan had heard in days.’