Fairy, Don't Be Afraid, I Am Blind

"Stop looking, it’s nothing."

With that, Fu Cailing gracefully stood up, leaving You Su sprawled on the ancient path, and turned to walk into the night shrouded by heavy rain.

He Kongyue glared at that seductive silhouette before arduously crawling over to drag You Su into the cave.

...

There was no sense of time in the cave, and in the blink of an eye, a day had passed.

The downpour had come fiercely, but it left quickly too. The winter rain was chilling and unbearable; though the cave hadn’t flooded, it still felt cold and damp.

You Su was covered with a fire blanket, while He Kongyue was fiddling with the grass and dirt blocking the entrance.

You Su’s eyelashes fluttered gently, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

His first action upon waking was to grab the sword beside him.

"Evil woman, prepare to die!"

He Kongyue immediately stopped his actions and ran over:

"Mr. You, you’re awake!"

You Su, propping himself up and panting heavily, clearly hadn’t recovered yet, but at this moment he couldn’t care less:

"Mr. He? Where’s that woman named Fu?"

"I don’t know, when I woke up, I found you lying in the cave, and she was already gone."

He Kongyue’s complexion had returned to its rosy state. As a top nobleman, he had countless spirit medicines in his Qiankun Bag for healing and recuperation, and he had fed quite a few to You Su alone.

"Gone?"

"She saw that you defeated Huo Yuandi and feared you would do the same to her. Both of us were unconscious, so she must have found the chance to slip away. But she had some conscience and didn’t take all my possessions." He Kongyue chuckled.

At these words, You Su furrowed his sword-like eyebrows, hurriedly struggling to sit up, immediately patting himself all over.

Belt... intact.

Qiankun Bag... unharmed.

Mo Song Sword... still there.

The jade pearl given by the Grand Elder... missing?!

Upon confirming the jade pearl was gone, You Su hastily searched the ground, regretting that for convenience in crushing the jade pearl at any time, he had put it in his sleeve, giving that evil woman the chance.

"How long did I sleep?"

"Almost a day. Hey, Mr. You, what are you looking for?"

"A jade pearl. Mr. He, did you see it inside or outside the cave?"

"Jade pearl?" He Kongyue pondered for a while before shaking his head, "I didn’t see it. It rained heavily last night; perhaps it fell and got washed away."

You Su sighed softly, too tired to search. Instead of being swamped with regret, he found it better to have more faith in the sword in hand. After last night’s battle, You Su felt his Sword Intent had become purer.

"Is this jade pearl very important to you, Mr. You? What use does it have? If possible, maybe I can get a few more for you."

You Su shook his head with a smile; some things couldn’t be bought with money, like the instant aid from a peak cultivator of the Five Continents.

He Kongyue didn’t press further, then said:

"So, Mr. You, what did you mean by ’evil woman’ earlier? Who is the evil woman?"

You Su coughed violently twice, and a thick medicinal fragrance rose from his stomach. After a bit of thinking, he guessed it was the medicinal pill He Kongyue fed him, feeling grateful in his heart.

"It’s that woman named Fu."

"Her? I checked her realm; she’s only a Condensed Water Lower Realm cultivator and, by nature, a timid, cowardly woman. How could she be an evil cultivator?"

You Su did not explain to He Kongyue that this evil cultivator was Mo Ye City’s new courtesan, Miss Cailing, only offering a simple explanation:

"I’ve dealt with her before. She’s not only good at disguising her personality but also at disguising her cultivation. That Condensed Water Lower Realm is likely a facade."

"But Mr. You, you’re blind... how did you recognize her?" He Kongyue couldn’t help but question.

You Su pressed his lips together, seemingly hesitant, explaining:

"It was the fragrance. She hid her true scent very well, but after being washed by the rain, the scent of her sachet faded, and her own fragrance became stronger."

He Kongyue was momentarily stunned, then joked, "Mr. You can recognize women by their scent? Truly impressive. But what dealings did you have with this evil cultivator? To remember her scent so clearly?"

You Su was also curious; he really didn’t understand the purpose of this evil cultivator. If her intent in Mo Ye City was to hunt him, why let him conduct such inspections at Xiao Xiang Pavilion?

The jade pearl was lodged securely in the secret pocket of his sleeve, impossible to fall out; it must have been taken intentionally. But what’s her intention in taking the jade pearl?

Who is she really? What does she want?

"I also rely on some conjecture."

You Su chose to shift the topic to avoid awkwardness.

"Oh? How so?"

You Su recollected everything that happened before he lost consciousness and said, "Actually, till the end, I didn’t quite understand why things ended up going downhill with Huo Yuandi. Looking back, I realized it was all that evil woman manipulating events from behind the scenes."

"You mean... she intentionally sought out this ferocious rogue, and through some maneuvers, instigated a death feud between Huo Yuandi and us? Did she intend to pit the tiger against the wolf?"

Proactively luring Huo Yuandi outside the cave, then at the critical moment of drawn swords, deliberately turning against him to infuriate Huo Yuandi, subsequently exposing Huo Yuandi’s vile actions to spark irreconcilable conflict...

Everything seems deliberate; if she were merely an ordinary Condensed Water Lower Realm female cultivator, coming across the vicious Huo Yuandi in the wild, how could she possibly escape unharmed?

"But I still don’t know her ultimate purpose." You Su shook his head, the hidden worry on his brows unsolvable.

He Kongyue deliberated briefly, then took some tea and food from his Qiankun Bag and said:

"Since it’s come to this, why overthink it? Perhaps it’s more apt to say this evil cultivator gifted you a good reputation for vanquishing evil. Huo Yuandi committed numerous misdeeds, and you removing this menace deserves respect! And triumphing in the Spirit Platform Realm over Feather Transformation Realm, amazing! Last night’s sword strike, indeed, offered a glimpse as to why Sword Dao is hailed as the greatest of all skills. Impressive!"

You Su shook his head without a hint of conceit:

"He was already grievously injured, with one hand severed, his strength halved. Moreover, after fighting with you, he was also exhausted, plus the narrow confines of the cave didn’t allow his Feather Transformation Realm advantages to manifest, and being burdened by brute Sword Dao needed to confront swords directly, it was by mere luck I prevailed. Yet I must thank you, Mr. He. That arrow of yours could have aimed straight for his heart instead of the left shoulder."

You Su acknowledged that He Kongyue was providing him with the chance to strike. If the arrow had targeted Huo Yuandi’s heart, He Kongyue wouldn’t have needed to withstand even one sword strike, thus he willingly bore an injury solely for You Su’s benefit.

"Mr. You, no need for modesty. Even if I hadn’t harmed him, that sword of yours wouldn’t have been easily countered. Besides, if I hadn’t sustained any injuries, how would I extort my father?"

He Kongyue laughed heartily, speaking these words in the tone of a genuine playboy.

...

In the unfathomable cave, one could hear a pin drop, with only the heavy breathing echoing continually.

Huo Yuandi lay on the ground resting, still bleeding profusely. Even at this moment, he couldn’t believe his defeat—who really was that youth?

Even for someone as coarse as him, the imagined child of Sword Dao ought to be debonair and elegant; how did he end up being even burlier than himself?

However, it was fortunate that meddlesome wench kicked him off the cliff.

Damn fool forgot that I’m at the Feather Transformation Realm—I can fly!

Although exhausting all of his Primordial Qi only allowed him to float briefly, he survived after all...

Suddenly, he glimpsed a feeble glimmer deep within the cave, compelling him to staunch his bleeding and laboriously crawl toward the source of the light.

As he neared the light, his pupils abruptly widened, and even his heartbeat skipped a pace.

Because a serendipity so many cultivators had sought in the mountains... lay right before him!

Instantly, Huo Yuandi forgot his recent grievances, indulging in fantasies of his future splendor.

He envisioned drawing an Immortal Sword, achieving peerless Sword Immortal status despite his maimed state, and then gaining fame across Central Continent, crushing the He Family into dust!

Filled with this determination, an unknown force propelled him as he managed to drag himself to the sword’s side.

But just as he was about to grasp the hilt, a skeletal foot stomped down on his trembling hand.

He looked up, finding the hollow eye sockets of the sinister skeleton gazing back at him, that cold glare seemingly traversing a thousand years...