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Lu Xiaobai’s secret, which had gone undiscovered for two years, was suddenly exposed by Lin Ji, creating a somewhat delicate atmosphere.
After reacting, Lin Ji hurriedly stepped forward to pour a cup of tea, warming it slightly with his spiritual power before handing it to Meng Wanqiu. He then took out a healing pill he had recently purchased with spirit stones from his storage bag, dissolving it and feeding it to his master.
Meng Wanqiu coughed more violently in his excitement, and Lin Ji had to gently pat his back to help him ease the discomfort. He had thought that a thief had broken into Qiushui Pavilion… but it turned out that all the blood was from Meng Wanqiu himself.
Lin Ji felt a bit helpless. He knew Meng Wanqiu’s health wasn’t great, but he hadn’t expected his old injuries to be so severe. “Since when has this been happening?”
Meng Wanqiu, fully aware that he could no longer hide the truth after being caught, could only say, “It’s been like this for many years. By the way, A Ji, it’s getting late. What brings you here to find me?”
Lin Ji ignored his deliberate change of topic and continued to ask, “Does Lu Xiaobai know?”
“Does he know? It would cause a commotion! Don’t tell him,” Meng Wanqiu had no choice but to yield. “This isn’t just an old injury; it’s…”
Lin Ji interrupted him, “It’s demon poison, and it’s hard to eradicate.”
Meng Wanqiu looked up in surprise. How did A Ji know?
Of course, Lin Ji knew. In his previous life, he had been surrounded by demons. Although he hadn’t been poisoned, he had been invaded by demonic energy.
When a cultivator turns to the dark side, they must sell their mind and conscience. He didn’t want to completely lose his sanity, so he could only resist forcefully, which made the demonic energy feel unbearable.
Demonic energy attacks the mind, while demon poison directly harms the celestial body. A cultivator poisoned by demons has their meridians disturbed by the invading foul energy, which is equivalent to losing half of their cultivation.
In severe cases, it can even damage the internal organs, leading to spitting blood.
Meng Wanqiu explained that the demon poison he suffered was either from the demons he had captured or from Mo Shangxian. Before his downfall, he had captured a group of demons and sealed them in a deep abyss for twenty years. Even if he lost, he still wanted to cause trouble for the cultivation world.
Twenty years later, the demons broke free from their seal and wreaked havoc everywhere. These cultivators had to come out to exterminate the demons, and it was during one of these extermination missions that Meng Wanqiu accidentally got the blood of a great demon on his wound, thus becoming poisoned.
A hundred years ago, Meng Wanqiu’s cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and his celestial body was fully developed. Unfortunately, the demon poison hindered his breakthrough to the Transformation stage.
He couldn’t die, but it was tormenting. His celestial body was like a wind-blown coat with several holes poked in it. During battles, it would flare up, making it hard for him to protect himself, let alone fight back.
The sect leader and elders had forced the demon poison to only flare up during the full moon, which was already their best effort.
The flare-up cycle could last for years or as short as a few months. It seemed infrequent, but it had been going on for decades. Lin Ji couldn’t imagine how Meng Wanqiu had endured it alone.
In his eyes, Meng Wanqiu was truly foolish. He sacrificed so much for the world, but what could the world do for him in return?
If one day he were to suffer a flare-up and be surrounded by demons, would those people protect him as he had protected them?
Lin Ji used his spiritual power to tidy up Qiushui Pavilion and draped a thick coat over Meng Wanqiu before observing the surroundings.
The pavilion was beautiful and elegant, with a certain artistic charm. Not far away hung a painting of a beautiful woman, the female immortal in the painting had a graceful figure and splendid attire, but her facial features were not depicted.
After Meng Wanqiu had calmed down, he noticed Lin Ji staring and even felt a bit embarrassed, blushing slightly. “Ah, it’s a pity that I was hit by Mo Shangxian and saw stars, so I couldn’t see her face clearly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have painted her without features.”
Lin Ji: “…”
Meng Wanqiu wrapped himself tighter and thought for a moment before waving to Lin Ji, “A Ji, come sit beside me.”
Seeing that Lin Ji was hesitant to reveal his purpose for coming to Qiushui Pavilion, Meng Wanqiu understood. His little disciple probably thought he was still upset about the incident with their fellow disciples and wanted to apologize, but now he didn’t know how to say it.
Lin Ji closed the window to prevent the wind from blowing in and sat down opposite Meng Wanqiu. “Master, I…”
Meng Wanqiu suddenly said, “A Ji, have you ever been curious about why I took you as my disciple?”
Lin Ji was genuinely curious, but he didn’t know how to ask directly. “Isn’t it because I have exceptional talent, a remarkable physique, and am a genius in cultivation?”
Meng Wanqiu laughed and coughed twice but didn’t refute him. “That’s one reason, but not the main point.”
To be honest, when Meng Wanqiu took Lin Ji as his disciple, he had the intention of guiding him back to the right path.
During their first meeting, he noticed the lingering hostility and killing intent in Lin Ji’s eyes. He always seemed gloomy and stared at others with a fierce gaze. He even saw the boy unleash a killing formation against a rat demon, gathering a dark energy in his palm that didn’t resemble righteous techniques.
Later, he noticed that Lin Ji’s hostility doubled when he saw his other disciple, Xiao Bai, as if he were looking at an enemy.
While he was puzzled, he also felt uneasy. Such a good seedling in cultivation couldn’t be led astray halfway.
Since he had seen it, he couldn’t pretend not to know. Out of a sense of meddling, Meng Wanqiu wasn’t afraid to take on any hot potato.
But after truly taking Lin Ji under his wing, he found that A Ji wasn’t as bad as he had imagined. He was usually obedient and respectful to his elders, and it turned out he had been narrow-minded.
Meng Wanqiu changed the subject, “I think you’re special, different from other juniors. While others are all noisy when they first arrive at the immortal mountain, you remain calm and composed, clearly someone destined for great things. That’s why I decided to take on another disciple for fun.”
Lin Ji: “…” Alright, actually, Master’s indirect way of saying it only confirmed his guess.
Meng Wanqiu thought that his odd behavior compared to his peers was why he took him in, to prevent him from harming others.
Meng Wanqiu continued, “A Ji, speaking of which, I haven’t asked about your background, family, and friends. Would you mind sharing with me?”
He didn’t believe that a fourteen-year-old boy could hide so much in his heart. He should have asked clearly and shown some concern.
Lin Ji opened and closed his lips but couldn’t make a sound. He wasn’t sure if he should tell others about his past, even though he hadn’t had the chance to do anything bad yet.
But seeing Meng Wanqiu’s concerned gaze, Lin Ji sighed softly, “They’re all gone.”
Meng Wanqiu was stunned. “What?”
Lin Ji smiled gloomily, “My family is all dead. I’m sure they were harmed by someone. Even if my enemies die a thousand times, it won’t repay the debt.”
In his previous life, his initial intention for joining the immortal sect was to seek revenge, and in the end, he got what he wanted, so he never regretted it, even if it led him down a path of no return.
Meng Wanqiu didn’t expect Lin Ji to have experienced a family massacre. No wonder his mindset was different from others. Meng Wanqiu felt guilty and spoke earnestly, filled with righteous indignation, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you find your enemies and avenge you!”
Lin Ji: “…”
But he had already avenged himself… Remembering how he had taken revenge, Lin Ji chose to remain silent.
He didn’t want Meng Wanqiu to get excited and fall ill again, so he quickly comforted him, “Now that I have become your disciple, one of my lifelong wishes has been fulfilled.”
To his surprise, Meng Wanqiu wasn’t excited but rather moved: What a good child!
He took out a box from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Ji, “I have re-refined the Silk Fang Jin for you. I understand your feelings, but don’t point the sharp end at yourself.”
Lin Ji took it in a daze, realizing that his master really wasn’t angry with him.
He felt a sense of relief and then noticed the table was filled with various ancient books, all related to refining spiritual roots. One of them was opened, covered in dense annotations.
Seeing that he had noticed, Meng Wanqiu sighed, “Xiao Bai is so smart. He understands the principles of the techniques I explain to him in just one go, yet he has such a waste of a spiritual root. I can’t help but feel sorry for him and want to find a way out for him.”
As the master of two peculiar disciples, Meng Wanqiu was truly worried sick.
“A Ji, please don’t tell Xiao Bai about my demon poison. I really don’t have the energy to argue with him. Good disciple, promise me?”
“…Sure.”
A few days after their conversation in Qiushui Pavilion, Lin Ji was still heavy-hearted.
He recalled what Meng Wanqiu had said to him before he left: “A Ji… do you not like Xiao Bai?”
Since joining the sect, Meng Wanqiu had never seen them refer to each other as brothers. He noticed that Xiao Bai was quite enthusiastic towards A Ji, but A Ji always gave him the feeling that he preferred to avoid him.
Usually, their interactions in front of him were relatively harmonious, but they couldn’t be called friendly. The root of the issue lay in A Ji’s invisible resistance and rejection towards Xiao Bai.
Although disciples under the same master don’t always have good relationships, he only had two disciples, and as an elder, it was quite distressing to watch them.
“A Ji, I hope you won’t let outside opinions affect your view of Xiao Bai. Over time, you’ll realize that Xiao Bai does things well and is an even better person.”
“…”
Lin Ji once again easily completed the task assigned by the elder and returned his sword to its sheath.
He heard gasps and applause from the side, along with whispers from his junior brothers and sisters, all of which Lin Ji caught in his ears.
“Lin Shixiong is so amazing! In such a short time, he has learned the basic techniques from all the peaks without making any mistakes. The elders look at him like he’s a prized possession!”
“But he’s so indifferent and cold. I see many senior brothers wanting to befriend him to learn techniques, but they all seem intimidated by him.”
“Don’t mention the senior brothers from other main peaks; just look at Lu Shixiong. It seems he can’t handle Lin Shixiong either. When have you ever seen them appear together?”
Lin Ji: “…” Lu Xiaobai not appearing is simply because he can’t be bothered to come to Lingxiu Peak! It sounds like he’s deliberately avoiding him!
He and Lu Xiaobai were practically two completely opposite paths. He was privileged in the early stages but suffered later, while Lu Xiaobai was extremely cautious in the beginning and soared to great heights later on.
His master didn’t understand; he didn’t dare to look down on Lu Xiaobai but was rather wary of him.
Lin Ji had completed all his tasks for the day and didn’t want to listen to others’ discussions anymore. He realized that his temperament had already restrained a lot in Peifeng Sect. If someone had discussed him like this in the past, he would have taught them a lesson without hesitation.
Before learning to control his sword, the disciples relied on teleportation arrays to quickly reach Lingxiu Peak, but Lin Ji could now come and go freely at any time.
Just as Lin Ji was about to ask the supervising elder for leave, he heard the elder call out, “Luo Xiang, come here for a moment.”
Luo Xiang exchanged glances with her female companions before stepping forward to bow respectfully.
The usually stern elder spoke to her with a kind expression, “I heard you’ve hit a bottleneck in your cultivation recently, right? Take these two books on spiritual cultivation back with you; they might help you.”
Luo Xiang was surprised, “How did the elder know?”
The elder smiled, “Isn’t it thanks to our Ling Yun Zunzhe’s attentiveness? These are books he annotated himself, so take good care of them!”
There were countless admirers of Meng Wanqiu within the sect, and Luo Xiang was one of them. Hearing this made her so happy that she felt like jumping up. “Yes, I will definitely remember the Zunzhe’s teachings!”
After Luo Xiang and her female companions left hand in hand, Lin Ji stepped forward.
The elder naturally had no objections to him doing as he pleased, but he looked at Lin Ji with a hint of unease.
This child was good in every way, but he always wore a cold expression. He couldn’t help but wonder if someone often made him unhappy.
When Lin Ji returned to Luoxia Peak, he saw Lu Xiaobai sitting by the pond, smiling at him. “A Ji, do you want to eat fish tonight?”
Lu Xiaobai was actually fishing with a rod?
A wave of irritation rose in Lin Ji’s heart: it was this kind of smile that made one feel an urge to destroy it.
Did he smile so happily at everyone? Why did he show such concern for others?
“What’s wrong with you?” Lu Xiaobai touched his arm, feeling inexplicably cold.
Lin Ji stepped forward to take a look. “The pond isn’t that big. If you want fish, can’t you just use a net or catch them yourself?”
Lu Xiaobai leisurely adjusted his robe. “That’s naturally because it’s fun. Don’t believe me? I’ll give you the rod, and you can try it too. Why be so tense every day? The cultivation world is still quite peaceful now!”
Lin Ji turned his head away, speechless for a moment, and unexpectedly felt a malicious thought arise.
If Lu Xiaobai knew that his master’s old ailment was actually quite serious, would he still be so carefree?
Thinking of this, Lin Ji’s heart sank, and his rationality returned.
Right, was he really going to hide his master’s condition?
His master didn’t want Lu Xiaobai to know, simply because he was afraid he would worry. He was considering the present but was laying hidden dangers for the future.
But Lin Ji was someone who had lived a life before; he knew that Meng Wanqiu would eventually face defeat, even to the point of losing his life… In his previous life, he had wondered why, with Meng Wanqiu’s cultivation, he shouldn’t have been so severely injured at that time.
Lin Ji’s expression changed several times. Although he had promised not to say anything, he foresaw that the situation would become serious. Was hiding the truth really good for his master?
Even regarding the demon poison, Lin Ji didn’t have a complete method to eradicate it. Speaking out would only add to someone’s worries.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Lu Xiaobai suddenly interrupted Lin Ji’s thoughts. The smile on his face had disappeared, and the familiar feeling returned to Lin Ji.
Lin Ji hesitated, “I… it’s nothing.”
Lu Xiaobai put down the fishing rod and stood up, grabbing his wrist. “You must tell me!”
Lin Ji was puzzled. “You can tell just by looking at my expression that something’s wrong? Do you know me that well?”
After a long time, Lin Ji reluctantly spoke: “Do you know that Master is poisoned by demons?”
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Lost Nexus[Translator]
Hi, I’m Lost Nexus or call me Nex! I translate web novels into English so more people can enjoy these amazing stories.