“He didn’t agree.”
Outside the window, a bird chirped, its song mingling with the wind, crisp and pleasant, carrying a hint of coolness.
The child’s voice grew indignant, “He’s an idiot… It was just a matter of a single sentence, just one sentence could have saved his life. At that time, we all thought you were dead—dead people don’t come back to life, but the living still have to continue. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, and staying alive first and planning for the future is also a way out, isn’t it? But he… didn’t care how desperate we were, stubbornly insisting that you were not the killer, and telling the people of Chihua Sect that you were not a murderer. Isn’t that just adding fuel to the fire?”
“In short, he just wouldn’t push the blame onto you.”
Zanxing let out a light laugh.
This was indeed Gu Baiying’s temperament. Although he was stubborn and unyielding, he had a good heart. Everyone thought that dead people couldn’t speak or be angered. Trading a dead person’s reputation for a living person’s life seemed like a good deal. But to him, a dead person’s reputation was more important than a living person’s life, and Yang Zanxing was even more important to him than himself. So even if everyone knew it was a losing deal, he would still choose to do it.
Just like how Gu Baiying once gave her the hairpin containing his soul and lied that he bought it from the Hua Jin Building.
He was always engaged in such losing deals.
Men Dong continued, “Because he refused to speak a word against you, and everyone saw how he risked his life to protect you during the Ten Thousand Killing Formation, rumors started spreading that Martial Uncle and you… had that kind of relationship.” At this point, Men Dong became agitated again, “Even if you did have that kind of relationship, what does it matter to them? Why should they gossip behind your back?”
Seeing Zanxing’s silence, Men Dong hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn’t hold back and asked the question that had been troubling him: “So… were you really in that kind of relationship?”
Zanxing: “No.”
Men Dong let out a long sigh of relief, “I thought so. If you were really in that kind of relationship, how could it possibly escape my notice? Anyway, the rumors kept getting worse, and the thunder punishment became more and more severe. If things continued this way, he would definitely die, or at the very least, lose all his cultivation.”
“So… So the Sect Leader used the Heart-Extinguishing Needle to sever Martial Uncle’s memories and feelings, making him forget you.”
Zanxing’s heart stirred: “Heart-Extinguishing Needle?”
“It’s a secret technique obtained by the former Sect Master from a friend. No one in Gufeng Mountain had ever used this needle before. But it’s fortunate that the Sect Master used it. Because after leaving the Wulei Platform, Chi Hua Sect wanted to prove that Martial Uncle really had no connection with you by making him go through the Emotional Array.”
“What is the Emotional Array?”
“It’s a very terrifying formation. Anyone trapped in this array who harbors emotional thoughts will be turned to ashes, while those without such thoughts can pass through unharmed. This type of formation has been lost in the cultivation world for a long time, and it’s surprising to find it in the hands of that old geezer, Lingxin. Anyway, because the Sect Master used the Heart-Extinguishing Needle on Martial Uncle, he was able to pass the Emotional Array.” Men Dong recalled this matter with lingering fear, “After Martial Uncle passed the Emotional Array, the sect had a pretext, and on the surface, they accepted the claim that Martial Uncle was manipulated by you, allowing him to leave the Wulei Platform.”
“After leaving the Wulei Platform, Martial Uncle returned to Gufeng Mountain. Because his injuries were so severe, he stayed in seclusion to recover, only emerging from seclusion this year.” Men Dong looked up at Zanxing, “Actually, Martial Uncle didn’t just forget you. He also forgot about our trip to Li’er Country and Wufan City. He didn’t remember Brother Tian and the others, and we didn’t dare to tell him the truth. Even if we did, he might not believe it. Besides, at that time, we all thought you were dead. If he were to recover his memory, with his stubborn nature, he might even go to Chihua Sect to seek justice for you. But…” Men Dong’s eyes also showed some confusion, “Even though your life token shattered, why are you still alive? I’d been crying for half a year for nothing.”
The life token represented the life of a disciple. If the disciple was still alive, the life token would never shatter. Because of this, after Zanxing’s life token shattered, Daoist Lingxin were willing to let Gu Baiying go.
Zanxing pondered in her heart upon hearing this. On the day she was captured by Gui Yansheng with the Asura Umbrella and had the Xiao Yuan Pearl taken away, she thought she was doomed. Yet, she unexpectedly woke up in the Abyss of Extreme Ice. At that time, the red marks that had been growing on her palm had all vanished. Perhaps, from the perspective of the Dao of Heaven, the disappearance of the Xiao Yuan Pearl meant that her ‘accidental’ death was complete, and the ‘Miss Yang’ who was a piece on the life token no longer existed. Hence, the life token shattered.
And what remained was her, Yang Zanxing.
“I don’t know either,” she said nonchalantly, “Maybe it’s because I’m a demon.”
Upon hearing the word demon, Men Dong’s expression faltered for a moment, as if he had just realized the difference between Zanxing and his current identity. He paused, then suddenly asked in a low voice, “Are you really a demon?”
Zanxing smiled, “You’ve seen the Demon King’s Seal. Don’t you believe it?”
“Then why did you go to Gufeng Mountain?”
“If I said I went to Gufeng Mountain to heal the wounds left on my face by Yu, would you believe it?”
Men Dong honestly shook his head, “I don’t believe it.”
Zanxing sighed, “I knew you wouldn’t.”
“However, it doesn’t matter,” the child’s voice came out with determination. In a brief moment, he seemed to have convinced himself. “Martial Uncle believed you were not a bad person, and I don’t either. Since you’re not dead, that’s the best outcome. Anyway, with that golden-eyed demon wanting to destroy the Three Realms, we might all die here, so whether we are human or demon doesn’t matter much.”
His words, tinged with both sorrow and a hint of irony, made Zanxing ask, “By the way, your Demon Extermination Army is quite peculiar. I see that besides our sect’s people, most of the disciples have rather ordinary cultivation levels. Could it be that Gui Yansheng has killed everyone in the cultivation world?”
Men Dong, enraged, replied, “Don’t even mention it. This time at Yue Mountain, everyone in the cultivation world knows that the fifth wheel of the Five-Wheel Pagoda is a place from which one can’t return. The demon lord’s methods are cruel, and going to Yue Mountain is extremely dangerous, almost certain death. This vanguard force, on the surface, seems to be gathering information, but in reality, they are just stepping stones for death!”
“Stepping stones?”
Men Dong became even more agitated, clenching his fists tightly. “That old fox Lingxin, although he spared Martial Uncle out of respect for the Sect Master, he still harbors resentment. This is personal revenge. Knowing that this team is mostly going to their deaths, he still personally appointed Martial Uncle as the leader of the Demon Extermination Army. What a wicked scheme!”