Fairy, Don't Be Afraid, I Am Blind

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

Three consecutive echoes of the word "good" resonated through the grotto, shaking the soul.

"When has our Shadow-accepting Sword Sect seen such grandeur in our millennial heritage? A thousand years ago, few recognized the brilliance of our Shadow-Embracing Sword Skill, and there were few who entered our Sword Sect. Yet, the talented youths of today have discerning eyes, gathering at the gates of our Shadow-accepting Sword Sect, aspiring to join us!

Our Shadow-accepting Sword Sect has hopes of revival! Hahaha..."

On the Sword Discussion Platform, Mr. Chengying looked at the cultivators sitting on the ground and laughed heartily.

Her voice was excited, but her tone was gentle, like a kind and amiable old Sect Leader, watching with relief at the future of the Sect.

But none of those present could smile as they looked at her.

The reason was that the famed Mr. Chengying in front of them had almost lost all semblance of human form.

She had a pair of slender, jade-like hands, whose delicate fingers would always remind people of tender bamboo shoots emerging after a spring rain.

But these jade hands abruptly protruded from a mass of blackish-brown, mud-like soft flesh.

Beneath the soft flesh, countless worm-like tendrils writhed, continually dripping blood with a heavy stench of decay. The consistency of the blood varied, it didn’t seem like the blood of one person, but rather filthy blood lingering on her after a massacre outside...

And her face was bizarrely perched atop this mass of decaying flesh, two eyes staring excitedly at the crowd, exposing her blackened, yellow teeth, an underbite no less.

This heroic beauty recorded in history now looked like a grotesquely bizarre bloody ugly fish, yet with a pair of jade-like arms.

"Why don’t you laugh?!"

Mr. Chengying suddenly roared in anger:

"Could it be that you feel wronged to join my Shadow-accepting Sword Sect?!"

She screamed hysterically, as if someone had stepped on her tail.

The terrifying pressure descended, like a sharp sword hanging over everyone’s heads, ready to claim the life of any ’misbehaving person’ at any moment.

You Su, sitting at the edge of the crowd, took a deep breath and then burst into laughter:

"Hahaha... To have the chance to join the Shadow-accepting Sword Sect is truly the fortune of my life!"

You Su laughed while also flattering the Shadow-accepting Sword Sect.

He Kongyue, sitting to his left, also burst out laughing, imitating You Su in praising the Shadow-accepting Sword Sect.

The others followed suit, but most laughed awkwardly, only forcing themselves to smile with all their might; some laughed exaggeratedly, even wiping tears.

Unfortunately, there were always those who couldn’t laugh.

A young girl was suddenly seized by an invisible force, struggling against it as she was lifted into the air.

You Su glanced to his right, where the seat was empty, and it was the Ye Family’s Ye Erong being lifted.

When Mr. Chengying brought these ’apprentice disciples’ she had sought from the outside into the cave, Ye Erong had been wandering aimlessly among the crowd, and upon seeing You Su and He Kongyue, she approached them as if grasping at a lifeline.

Now her face was covered in tears, with only fear and grief remaining. This pampered girl had never encountered such a formation and had long been frightened out of her wits, unable to muster a smile.

"Why do you not laugh?"

Mr. Chengying coldly looked at her.

The girl, her throat constricted, could not utter a word, not even to plead or explain.

Seen from behind, she still wore that pink dress, but the front of the skirt was stained scarlet with blood. She was not wounded; it was merely the blood from the many deceased Ye Family servants in front of her.

Everyone could only watch helplessly as the life was slowly drained from the girl by this demon. At this moment, no one dared to intervene or feel sorry for such a fading flower, as they were all preoccupied with their own survival.

"Did your elders never teach you?! That when a senior asks a question, you must answer properly?!"

Mr. Chengying clenched her fists, seemingly furious at Ye Erong’s discourtesy.

"Speak... words!!"

As her words fell, Ye Erong’s face flushed even more red, her kicking feet becoming increasingly powerless, resembling a flower withering in the wind.

"Mr. Chengying, please wait!"

You Su and He Kongyue stood up together, almost in unison.

He Kongyue met Mr. Chengying’s scrutinizing gaze, hurriedly bowing his head and slightly kneeling, tilting his body forward.

This was a solemn ancient etiquette when meeting elders, but due to its complexity, it had gradually fallen out of use over the millennia.

Yet Mr. Chengying’s eyes showed approval as she saw this, loosening her grip, allowing Ye Erong a bit more breathing space though still held.

"What is it you wish to say?"

He Kongyue remained in his bow and said:

"Mr. Chengying misunderstood my younger sister... It is not that she does not respond to you, but she is unable to speak."

"Oh?"

Mr. Chengying relaxed her grip further, allowing the girl to gasp for air.

"Is your sister by chance a mute?"

Even at this moment, this deranged Venerable had not realized that it was her own actions preventing the girl from speaking.

"Indeed, my sister was born mute. She is a mute. Her tears are from being overly joyful. After all, among the world’s Sword Sects, few are willing to take in a disabled Sword Cultivator. I implore the Venerable to forgive us."

He Kongyue dared not provoke this erratic monster, fearing she might go mad and kill more if her actions were exposed.

"A mute?"

Mr. Chengying squinted her eyes at the girl, her eerie gaze sending chills down one’s spine, leaving Ye Erong too frightened to speak further.