Chapter 25

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Chapter 25

What happened here? Has the younger martial sister gone crazy?

Yun Chuyou almost jumped out of bed. She immediately went out, turned right, and knocked on the door of her younger martial sister’s room, "Younger martial sister?" She asked this to make sure the other person still had their sanity.

But what made her more anxious was that after knocking several times, there was no response from inside. In her hurry, she pushed the door open, and the person was not in the room. She sensed that her younger martial sister’s presence was indeed nearby.

She opened the map of the Yu family’s big house provided by the system, found the little red dot belonging to Zhong Wei, and noticed that it was in a farther location. Yun Chuyou moved and stopped at the end of the corridor, which was the room assigned to Hu Xiao Bai today.

Yun Chuyou’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Hu Xiaobai’s appearance was intentional? She kicked open the door, and a burst of red flames suddenly rushed towards her.

"Elder Martial Sister!"

If it wasn’t for hearing that familiar "Elder Martial Sister," Yun Chuyou’s sword would have almost struck the attacker.

Hu Xiaobai’s ears and tail were so frightened that they turned her back into a fluffy white fox.

Yun Chuyou instinctively patted the back of the person in her arms and gently asked in a softer tone than usual, "What happened?"

She felt the girl in her arms pressing against her chest, and warm, wet tears fell on her clothing, sliding down the fabric and splashing dust on the ground.

If it weren’t for her robe being fire-resistant, dustproof, and waterproof, it would likely be soaked with tears now.

Is the younger martial sister crying? Actually, Zhong Wei rarely cries on the mountain. Even though she looks delicate, this little girl can endure a lot. Because it happens so rarely, her tears feel precious.

Yun Chuyou soothingly stroked Zhong Wei’s head, "There, there, senior martial sister is here."

The trembling body in her arms calmed down, but the girl still buried her face in Yun Chuyou’s chest, looking as if she didn’t want to be seen. Zhong Wei had rushed in too quickly, so Yun Chuyou didn’t catch a clear look at her expression.

Fortunately, the system showed that Zhong Wei’s Evil Value, which had risen high due to her emotional turmoil, decreased a little, going down from several tens to a single digit, hovering just above passing.

"Elder Martial Sister, what is happening?" Yu Jiu also appeared at the door. This time, Meng He, who heard the noise, also came. He felt relieved that he wasn’t asleep this time and managed to catch up.

He moved his finger joints, his voice filled with anger, "Is this wicked thing bullying the little younger martial sister?!"

Although he didn’t particularly like Zhong Wei, still, this was his little younger martial sister. It was fine to complain a little among themselves, but he absolutely couldn’t let outsiders bully her.

He had already disliked this male fox spirit. Now he had a reason to hit him, "Senior martial sister, don’t stop me! This fox monster dared to deceive the little younger martial sister’s feelings!"

Yun Chuyou did not think Zhong Wei could be tricked by a fox monster she had just met on the first day. The little younger martial sister came to Qingxu Sect at nine years old and was only fourteen now. At fourteen, she was still a young girl who hadn’t blossomed yet, "Meng He, don’t talk nonsense and tarnish the little younger martial sister’s reputation."

How could five years pass, yet Meng He still couldn’t control his mouth?

Hu Xiaobai quickly defended himself, "Benefactor, I was just fine in my room. She came to find me, I didn’t do anything!"

What kind of person is this? Just because he is a fox spirit and a male fox doesn’t mean he should take all the blame. The one who started the trouble was clearly Zhong Wei; he just wanted to be a good fox that repays kindness peacefully.

Considering that Zhong Wei had just been disturbed, Hu Xiaobai did not tell Yun Chuyou. However, if this half-demon dared to splash dirt on him, he would make a fuss.

Anyway, Hu Xiaobai understood that although Immortal Master Yun is a righteous and kind cultivator, there are no good people around her. But that is quite normal; he has seen many priests and monks, and people like his benefactor are rare—there are many with bad intentions.

So far, these cultivators haven’t done anything wrong to him, and Hu Xiaobai doesn’t plan to retaliate. He looked at Yun Chuyou with sad eyes, shaking his ears and wiggling his fluffy tail to be cute, "Benefactor, look at his clear eyes; Hu Xiaobai is truly a good fox."

Yu Jiu asked, "What did you say? Why is the younger martial sister crying?"

After all, Meng He, who likes to throw punches, seems more dangerous than this seemingly elegant white-clothed cultivator.

The intuition of the demon kind told him that if he could successfully cling to Yun Chuyou’s leg, it would be a path to glory and a bright future. But if Immortal Master Yun rejected him, he might die a terrible death.

Among the three people who came today, besides Zhong Wei, this half-demon cub who could fight, the other two were not easy to deal with. They feared Yun Chuyou’s presence and were secretly intimidating him, and if they had no such concern, they would tear this fox apart.

Hu Xiaobai shivered and quickly defended himself, "She is like this because of the Zhong family; it has nothing to do with me!"

Yun Chuyou suddenly stared at Hu Xiaobai’s face and said word by word, "I didn’t call the younger martial sister’s name. How do you know about the Zhong family?"

"Elder Martial Sister…" Before Hu Xiaobai could speak, the tearful beauty gently tugged at Yun Chuyou’s sleeve, tilting her lovely face to draw the latter’s attention to herself.

Yun Chuyou looked at her younger martial sister, who no longer had big tears falling. Her fox eyes were misty, and tears were about to fall but wouldn’t, while her small, delicate nose was slightly red, making her look particularly lovely.

"It really has nothing to do with him." Zhong Wei sniffled. Although she wasn’t a good person and held grudges, she wouldn’t go as far as to frame someone in front of Elder Martial Sister and her two senior brothers.

Besides, if what Hu Xiaobai said was true, that person had done her a kindness. Although she still disliked the male fox, she wouldn’t repay kindness with hatred.

Elder Martial Sister taught her to repay kindness with kindness and to repay grudges with grudges. If she repaid kindness with hatred, senior martial sister would surely be angry with her.

"There are some things I only want to talk about with Elder Martial Sister alone." Zhong Wei hung her head, her long, thick eyelashes like two small fans, hiding the strong emotions in her eyes. "Can we go to your room, senior martial sister? Just the two of us."

With her soft request, Yun Chuyou naturally agreed. She glanced around the room, noticing burn marks on the table and the whip scars from Zhong Wei.

They had fought, but it wasn’t too fierce, and the problem seemed minor, "Alright, we can talk about it when we get back."

She looked up at Yu Jiu and Meng He, "You two can go back first."

Yun Chuyou turned and left with Zhong Wei. Behind them, Meng He, holding a knife, made a slashing motion across his throat towards the fox, then followed the two of them out. Yu Jiu left with an elegant demeanor, and Hu Xiaobai kindly closed the door behind him, "Sorry to interrupt."

The fox demon quickly rushed to the door, bolting it from the inside. Although this small piece of wood wouldn’t do much, locking it felt like a little comfort: it was so scary at night.

Back in her own room, Yun Chuyou lit a candle and added a lamp, pouring in some oil to make the room brighter and cozier. Dim light can lower a person’s spirits, and she hoped Zhong Wei would feel a bit happier.

"I cast a silence spell, so we won’t hear anything from outside. If you have something to say, younger martial sister, now is the time," Yun Chuyou said. "If you don’t want anyone else to know, I promise no one will hear what you say next."

Zhong Wei then repeated what Hu Xiaobai had said to her, but she didn’t tell everything.

"Are you sure he was telling the truth?"

Yun Chuyou remembered the system panel, which said Zhong Wei’s bloodline was mortal. In the original story, it didn’t mention Zhong Wei being half-demon; it only said that this younger martial sister often tried to harm the main character out of jealousy.

But how could a malicious villainess compete with the main character’s good fortune? Zhong Wei ultimately faced her own downfall, dying at the jaws of a demon beast in a secret realm. This was the original story’s ending for the wicked villainess Zhong Wei.

Zhong Wei nodded and said, "I told senior martial sister that back then, I was sold far away by a human trafficker. Along the way, I encountered robbers, but actually, it wasn’t robbers; I unleashed my demon powers and killed those traffickers."

Even in the Mortal World, where slave trading exists, human traffickers are hated by many. After all, honest merchants usually keep to regular businesses.

Even if she is a concubine’s daughter and her birth mother is lowly, she is not a servant in the household. It was already wrong for the mistress to sell her away. Those who take money and sell people far away usually have bloody hands, stained with innocent lives, and killing them would not harm their moral merit; instead, it would be an act of righteousness.

Zhong Wei said this without fearing that her senior martial sister might think she was cruel. She carefully watched Yun Chuyou’s expression; the latter showed anger, but it was not directed at her younger martial sister, "Good job; letting them die so easily is too kind for them."

She did not know if there was a place like hell in this world. After all, Yu Jiu is a ghost child, and according to the book’s setting, the world is divided into Mortal World, spiritual world, Immortal Realm, Ghost Realm, Demon Realm, and the spiritual world is the place between the Mortal World and the Immortal Realm.

However, in the Ghost Realm where Yu Jiu is, there seems to be no Meng Po or Yama to judge souls. Although there is reincarnation, the process is very different from the so-called eighteen layers of hell.

The plot of the book revolves around the female protagonist, and the one who knows the most about the Ghost Realm should be Yu Jiu, who is a ghost child. But right now, Yu Jiu is still her little junior brother, and he diligently pretends to be a weak and sickly ordinary mortal cultivator. Yun Chuyou cannot possibly ask him what the Ghost Realm is like.

Yun Chuyou thought about it; the world before her was not just a story revolving around the female protagonist. Each character was lively and had their own life.

Those things that Hu Xiaobai mentioned might be true after the world filled in the details, as the system panel showed that Zhong Wei was a mortal; perhaps the system was acting up.

She checked the panel again and confirmed that Zhong Wei was indeed a mortal now.

She guessed, "Are you sure that is your true memory? Since Hu Xiaobai knows, could it be that he saved you back then?"

Zhong Wei shook her head, "If he wanted to save me, why did he wait until the carriage arrived near Linyun City?"

At that moment, her body was nearly at its limit from all the bumps along the way. After walking such a long distance, she felt hungry and thirsty, and had to endure the threats and beatings from the human traffickers.

Lianyun Mountain was too far from the capital; obviously, Hu Xiaobai had been living outside the Imperial Capital and would not come such a long way to rescue her.

When she learned the truth, Zhong Wei indeed felt resentment. She resented Hu Xiaobai for knowing the situation but not rescuing her from that dark place.

If she had lived with the fox demon, her life might not have been so miserable.

But then she thought to herself that there was no reason for the other person to save her. Half-bloods were generally not welcomed, and Hu Xiaohong was just like Hu Xiaobai, not a blood sibling.

Her true father, who was connected by blood, had treated her poorly, and her half-sister had stolen from her. With such close kinship, there was no reason to resent an outsider like the fox who did not like her. Thinking like this, if she were in that position, she also would not choose to save Hu Xiaobai.

Hu Xiaobai was kind enough to occasionally toss her a couple of fruits or throw her some chicken wings when she was hungry, which was already a generous gesture considering their past friendship.

After all, this was still their family’s affair; it is difficult for a fair judge to settle family matters. Even her beloved Elder Martial Sister could not interfere too much in such matters.

Zhong Wei’s eyes were red, "Elder Martial Sister, I just feel sad. Compared to Hu Xiaobai, I hate that woman even more. Since she still has half a demonic pill, why didn’t she choose to leave instead of leaving me with that heartless man?"

It is really foolish to use her own demonic pill to save her rival. How could there be such a foolish woman, or rather, such a foolish fox spirit, being tricked by a man again and again?

Wasn’t it said that fox spirits are good at deception? She would rather let the other party drain her biological father’s energy and dig out his blackened heart than leave herself with the Zhong family. A tiger does not eat its cubs, but Mr. Zhong, who has no shortage of partners, would not care about a daughter born from a spirit.

"If what you say is true, maybe she intended to leave her child to Hu Xiaobai," said Yun Chuyou. "Didn’t Hu Xiaobai say that she originally wanted to use her own demonic pill to complete your demon race bloodline, but she must have been trapped at that time?"

"Hu Xiaobai’s cultivation level is comparable to Foundation Establishment, but he is a spirit. In the capital, there are exorcists who hunt spirits. Your issue is a family matter, and if he intervenes, he might be killed by the cultivators in the capital."

Ordinary people cannot change their Spiritual Roots or extract demonic pills; there must be cultivators involved in this.

And it is very possible that Hu Xiaobai was harmed by cultivators back then. After all, Yunniang is only eighteen now. According to Hu Xiaobai, she saved him when she was a child; a three-hundred-year-old fox spirit should not be badly injured by mortals.

However, these are merely Yun Chuyou’s guesses for now. The specific details will need to be questioned from Hu Xiaobai, the involved spirit.

She learned from the book that Zhong Wei had her Spiritual Root stolen, but the secondary character’s storyline was not detailed. Those cold words only focused on portraying Zhong Wei as a parricide, killing her parents, and cruelly murdering her elder sister, thus highlighting the secondary character’s evil. But if the backstory is like this, what Zhong Wei did cannot be considered a big deal.

Yun Chuyou said, "No matter how you want to deal with that family, senior martial sister will support you. As for the Spiritual Root you mentioned, I will ask Chen Qi to find out which sect took away your elder sister."

"That cultivator might be very strong. If you can’t defeat him, senior martial sister will help you. If senior martial sister can’t win, we will ask Master for help." Thinking of Xie Fuzhi, Yun Chuyou smiled slightly, "If a disciple is bullied outside, the master will surely take revenge for us."

Zhong Wei said, "If I can’t defeat him, I will practice hard and kill him myself!"

"That’s not a problem. Master can help you catch your enemy. After he is seriously injured, we can let you kill him. Such evil people should die sooner rather than later." Doing such a wicked thing definitely means they are a corrupt cultivator.

She remembered that Zhong Wei went to the Zhong family today and quickly asked, "Is your father still alive?"

Zhong Wei nodded and gritted her teeth, saying, "I should have killed him today!" Just cutting off his root was too light a punishment.

Her stepmother was indeed detestable, but there was no blood relation between them. In order to survive and compete for benefits, she was cruel, and she really should be killed. However, her biological father was the true source of all evil; he deceived the fox spirit with feelings, clearly knew everything, yet allowed his wife to act like this, and even stole her belongings for another daughter.

Zhong Wei hated her stepmother, but she hated her biological father even more.

Yun Chuyou sighed with relief and emphasized, "Younger martial sister, you can’t kill your father yourself. The consequences would be too heavy. Such a person is not worth getting your hands dirty."

Getting revenge by oneself is certainly satisfying, but cultivators are bound by karma, and moral laws remain. In the Investiture of the Gods, Nezha is reincarnated, having only gone into the belly of Yin Shiniang. If one wishes to cut ties with family, they must repay their mother with flesh and their father with bone.

The ethics in the realm of cultivation are not that extreme, but if Zhong Wei were to murder her own father, she would surely be struck by heavenly lightning.

Yun Chuyou said, "For such a beast, letting him die easily would be far too lenient."

Since the Zhong family could change Zhong Wei’s Spiritual Root and has a daughter with an exceptional Water Spiritual Root in the cultivation world, they might be able to obtain a medicine that can heal her broken limbs and restore the missing leg.

"If you want to eliminate future troubles, have someone else arrange to kill him, but do not do it yourself."

Zhong Wei indeed finds it difficult to kill her father, but the way of Heaven would not force a child to save a parent. If she doesn’t want to bear this karma, she can simply outsource it.

Yun Chuyou is truly a pure and kind person. She has lived a smooth life for two lifetimes and has never experienced such pain and darkness, so she cannot think of particularly cruel methods.

If it were her, faced with an enemy, Yun Chuyou would surely resolve the matter quickly and decisively. But this is a situation that causes Zhong Wei immense pain and is quite tricky.

"Younger martial sister, I don’t have any particularly good ideas to help you find relief, but there is someone who does. It’s up to you whether you want to seek his help," Yun Chuyou said. "You don’t need to share the past you’ve told me with him, just ask for help, and he will assist you."

Zhong Wei didn’t really mind sharing this kind of thing; her original personality was indeed twisted and sensitive. Luckily, since she joined the Qingxu Sect at the age of nine and followed Yun Chuyou, who is a responsible and caring Elder Martial Sister, her personality has improved a lot because of her influence.

Right now, she wasn’t in too much pain; after all, the woman’s face was too blurry for her to feel real hurt. At this moment, the anger of being tricked and having her life stolen was much greater than the pain.

The reason she insisted on talking to Yun Chuyou alone was that she didn’t want to look pitiful with two bright lights nearby.

Zhong Wei only heard about this kind of thing from Hu Xiaobai and wanted to share it with Elder Martial Sister right away. Adding Yu Jiu and Meng He would change the atmosphere and feeling completely.

Now that everything had been said, with Yun Chuyou by her side, Zhong Wei’s emotions calmed down a lot. She asked in a calm tone, "Of course, but I wonder who this person is that you mentioned, Senior Martial Sister?"

Yun Chuyou looked to the left side of the room, her expression subtle, and said, "Your Second Master Brother, Yu Jiu."

Suddenly learning such a big secret, Yun Chuyou would definitely have trouble sleeping tonight. Besides, after reaching Foundation Establishment, cultivators don’t actually need much sleep. After getting Zhong Wei’s consent, she took her younger martial sister and knocked on the door of the neighboring room where Yu Jiu was.

This time, her main role was to accompany and not interfere with her younger martial sister’s decision.

When the door opened, Yu Jiu was quite surprised. Yun Chuyou noticed that although his room was also a guest room, it was much more luxurious than the other guest rooms.

It is understandable to think about it. Yu Jiu was originally the heir of the Yu family and the original owner of this house. The servants brought in all the things that Yu Jiu had used before, so the setup was naturally much more thoughtful than for their guests.

The handsome young man got up to pour tea but was waved off by Yun Chuyou, "No need, I don’t drink tea at night."

She had just caught the scent of the calming tea and was already not very sleepy. She feared that drinking it would keep her awake all night, "Pour some tea for the younger martial sister to soothe her throat."

After crying and sharing her troubles, Zhong Wei still had a hint of redness around her eyes, and her voice was a bit hoarse. Drinking some calming tea would help her feel better.

Yu Jiu passed the cup of tea in his hand to Zhong Wei, "Little younger martial sister, have some tea."

Zhong Wei carefully took it, "Thank you, Martial Brother Yu Jiu."

Yu Jiu took a new teapot and handed a cup of water to Yun Chuyou, "Senior martial sister, please."

This time Yun Chuyou accepted it and sipped some water to ease her embarrassment.

Zhong Wei’s words were much simpler when talking to Yu Jiu, and her tone was calm, without any sobbing or seeking pity.

"Younger martial sister, I am very happy that you can be honest with me." Yu Jiu listened calmly, unlike Yun Chuyou, who could empathize with Zhong Wei from the heart.

Yu Jiu looked and acted like a refined young man from a noble family; he showed no emotions, as if nothing could easily move him. After more than five years, only Meng He, his rival, could break through his calm demeanor.

Yu Jiu said, "Before we continue, I have a question: how did you think to invite me for this idea, younger martial sister?"

Zhong Wei instinctively looked at Yun Chuyou, who strategically took a sip of water and then cleared her throat, "Naturally, it is because Junior Martial Brother is wise, while Junior Martial Brother Meng He is rather reckless. If we follow his approach, it would just be simple fighting and killing, and that would not fulfill younger martial sister’s wishes."

Yun Chuyou continued, "Moreover, men and women think differently. As women, younger martial sister and I understand the pain points differently than men. Also, the Zhong family comes from an official background, and my junior brother comes from a noble family. He should have more experience in dealing with such tricky situations than I do."

In truth, she asked Zhong Wei to approach Yu Jiu because he was the most cunning, but she couldn’t say that out loud, "If my junior brother is unwilling, that is also fine."

"I am honored that senior martial sister thinks highly of me. I will naturally take on the responsibility for younger martial sister’s matter."

Yu Jiu pondered for a moment and then came up with an idea, but he did not let Yun Chuyou hear it; instead, he sent a private message to Zhong Wei to keep it away from Yun Chuyou’s ears.

After that, he asked, "What do you think, younger martial sister?"

Zhong Wei’s hand trembled slightly, almost spilling the tea, "Brother, your idea is truly wonderful. I, your younger martial sister, will remember this kindness. Thank you, Brother."

Second Master Brother was really very cruel; Father Zhong would absolutely feel like he was suffering greatly. Every second he lived from now on would fill him with deep regret.

Even she, his enemy, briefly felt pity for that man. She secretly vowed that no matter what, she should never offend her own Second Master Brother!

Yu Jiu took a sip of clear water, while only Zhong Wei drank tea. He chose the same mountain spring water as Yun Chuyou, "There is no need for thanks between us, as brothers and sisters."

He looked at the curious Yun Chuyou, "Elder Martial Sister has given her orders, and I will do my best. Is there anything else?"

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "That’s all." Zhong Wei’s matter was the most important thing right now.

She was actually very curious about the specific idea Yu Jiu had for Zhong Wei. It felt like a cat’s paw scratching inside her heart, but since it concerned her younger martial sister’s privacy, she felt it would be rude to ask if the other person did not speak.

Yun Chuyou chose to respect the younger martial sister’s wishes; if she wanted to say something, she would certainly speak up. She thought about her schedule and then said, "Tomorrow, I plan to go to Huaishi Village. I accepted a commission earlier, so I need to see it through."

At that moment, she could not imagine that what she thought would be a simple trip to Huaishi Village could turn into trouble.