Chapter 4: Injured!

Huh, injured?

Yun Luoyi glanced at the bloodstains on A Shang’s body, caused by her sword aura. It wasn’t life-threatening.

But as she looked at A Shang’s fox-like, alluring face, Yun Luoyi found it increasingly irritating.

In the next second, her sword aura surged fiercely toward A Shang’s face, as if intending to scar it.

The disciples present couldn’t help but gasp. Just as they thought A Shang’s face was about to be marred by Yun Luoyi’s sword aura, a sudden flash of white light appeared out of nowhere, swiftly freezing the fierce sword aura into frost, which then shattered and vanished mid-air.

“Luoyi!”

A cold male voice rang out. Yun Luoyi turned her head and saw her elder brother, Yun Lanci, and standing beside him, Xie Hengyu.

“It’s Senior Brother Xie…”

An unknown disciple in the crowd suddenly spoke up, and everyone turned their attention toward the source.

Xie Hengyu, the sole disciple of Qingyu Zhenren, was a name almost universally known in the Cultivation World.

He had entered Qingyun Zhenren’s tutelage at the age of four. By ten, he had already mastered Qingyun Zhenren’s “Nine Sword Techniques of the Sword Continent,” and by thirteen, he had created his own unique sword technique, the “Nineteen Swords of Solitary Frost.”

Six years ago, at the Grand Sect Assembly, he defeated dozens of cultivation experts in succession, securing the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking—a position no one has surpassed to this day. He was hailed as the number one swordsman in the Cultivation World.

Xie Hengyu rarely made public appearances. The disciples present, who might only catch a glimpse of him a few times a year, were thrilled to see their Senior Brother Xie here today.

A Shang looked up and caught sight of Xie Hengyu dressed in a light green robe. However, after just a glance, she averted her gaze.

Elder Jikai stepped out from behind the two, frowning as he surveyed the scene. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

A disciple named Zuo Tang, who harbored feelings for Yun Luoyi, was the first to step forward. He spoke up, “Elder Jikai, Miss Luoyi and A Shang were sparring. It seems A Shang’s swordsmanship isn’t up to par, and Miss Luoyi accidentally injured her.”

With these words, Zuo Tang attributed A Shang’s injuries to her inferiority to Yun Luoyi while absolving Yun Luoyi of any blame.

Hearing Zuo Tang’s explanation, the disciples exchanged glances. Although they generally disliked A Shang, they knew that Yun Luoyi had been the one to provoke the incident in the first place.

The crowd instinctively turned their gaze toward Xie Hengyu, curious to see how Senior Brother Xie would react to the situation.

After all, A Shang was still Xie Hengyu’s cultivation partner, even if the method by which she had become his partner was less than honorable.

Unfortunately, Xie Hengyu’s expression remained impassive, and his gaze didn’t even fall on A Shang.

“A Shang, you speak,” Elder Jikai said, turning his attention to A Shang.

A Shang lowered her gaze to the cuts on her arms, inflicted by Yun Luoyi’s sword aura. She remained silent, knowing full well that even if she spoke the truth, it wouldn’t matter.

On one side was a cherished sect noblewoman, adored by thousands, and on the other was a lowly half-demon with no background, who had even tainted their Senior Brother Xie’s reputation. It was obvious who they would side with.

Just as the silence grew overwhelming, one of the disciples mustered the courage to speak up. “It was Miss Luoyi who first proposed a spar with A Shang. A Shang didn’t want to, but Miss Luoyi took the initiative and even tried to injure her…”

“Luoyi, apologize!”

Yun Lanci’s cold voice cut through the air, interrupting the disciple mid-sentence.

“Brother!” Yun Luoyi was stunned. Her brother was actually asking her to apologize to this half-demon.

Yun Luoyi was unwilling, but under her brother’s stern gaze, she finally muttered reluctantly toward A Shang, “I’m sorry.”

Compared to Yun Luoyi, who stood there radiant and flawless, A Shang, covered in bloodstains, indeed looked far more pitiful.

The Qingyun Sect and the Immortal Sect had maintained a friendly relationship for many years. To preserve the harmony between the two sects, Elder Jikai smiled and intervened, “Since that’s the case, let’s each take a step back and consider this matter settled.”

Yun Lanci nodded slightly and said, “This incident was indeed started by my younger sister. Here is some Golden Jade Ointment. Please accept it, Miss A Shang.”

Golden Jade Ointment?

The disciples present were astonished. Golden Jade Ointment was an extremely rare treasure for repairing skin, and even a small amount was considered priceless. An entire bottle like this would cost an unimaginable amount of spirit stones.

Seeing Yun Lanci give such a precious item to the half-demon, Yun Luoyi couldn’t help but speak up, “Brother, the Golden Jade Ointment is so valuable. How can you just give it away like this…”

“Silence.” Yun Lanci shot a stern glance at his unruly younger sister, his tone sharp.

Yun Luoyi angrily closed her mouth, having already cursed A Shang a thousand times in her heart.

“What does Brother Yan Daojun ^[1]A respectful title for a Daoist master, often used for high-ranking figures in Daoist cultivation settings. think?” Yun Lanci turned to Xie Hengyu beside him.

Xie Hengyu didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he glanced at A Shang, as if waiting for her answer.

The wounds on her body throbbed faintly. A Shang knew the value of the Golden Jade Ointment, but she wasn’t foolish. She wouldn’t let herself suffer such a great injustice for nothing.

“Thank you, Young Sect Master Yun.” A Shang accepted the Golden Jade Ointment handed to her by Yun Lanci.

Yun Lanci looked at A Shang, then at Xie Hengyu. Despite being cultivation partners, the two now seemed like strangers when they met.

At this moment, he began to believe some of the rumors he had heard.

Rumors had it that Xie Hengyu had been drugged and seduced by a half-demon woman, leading to a night of passion. The laws of the Immortal Sect were strict, and Xie Hengyu was a model disciple of the sect. Although the woman had orchestrated the incident, Xie Hengyu, having taken her virtue, felt obligated to take responsibility.

Yun Lanci had always believed that someone like Xie Hengyu would never marry a woman he didn’t love unless it was of his own volition.

But now, seeing Xie Hengyu’s cold and indifferent attitude toward his newlywed cultivation partner, it was clear that love was absent.

Who would have thought that Yan Daojun, revered by countless disciples as a paragon of virtue, would one day marry a woman he didn’t love, all because of some rigid sense of honor and propriety?

How utterly absurd.

However, what surprised Yun Lanci was that the half-demon woman who had supposedly drugged Xie Hengyu out of infatuation didn’t seem to match his expectations. Upon seeing A Shang today, he realized she was different from what he had imagined.

He had assumed that a woman capable of such a shameless act would be nothing more than a vulgar and unrefined character, unfit for any respectable setting.

Xie Hengyu soon left with Elder Jikai. Throughout the entire time, he didn’t exchange a single word with A Shang alone. Seeing the bloodstains on her arms, he remained unmoved.

From beginning to end, he treated her as if she were a stranger.

A Shang had long come to terms with the fact that he didn’t care for her. Without expectations, there was no room for heartache.

After leaving the Sword Practice Hall, A Shang went to the library to borrow a few books and then returned to her quarters. There, she retrieved the blade she had brought with her—Wushuang.

Wushuang had been a gift from her father. Though her father was a scholar with no strength to even hold a chicken, he understood that in these turbulent times, as a half-demon, she needed a reliable weapon for self-defense.

Wushuang was an ordinary blade, not yet imbued with a spirit. It had been stored in her storage pouch for a long time, but when she took it out now, its blade still gleamed with a faint silvery light. Near the top of the blade, a character for “Shang” was engraved by her father’s own hand.

A Shang gently ran her fingertip over the engraved character. In this life, she would wield Wushuang well.