Chapter 55
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Chapter 55
“Stolen?”
Tu Xuixin stood in shock for two seconds, as if struck by a sudden realization.
“Is that why I have failed to break through in all these years of closed-door training? My spiritual energy was stolen by a thief?!”
Gong Wu hesitated for a moment before sharing what she had overheard earlier in Liu Jia Palace.
She had been tending to the flower garden, loosening the soil to avoid the commotion, unwilling to listen to the repeated apologies directed at her.
Deep down, she harbored a simmering anger that she couldn’t quite express.
Ji Yang arrived with a small pot of mushroom chicken soup, finding her sulking in a corner with her back turned. He already had a sense of what was troubling her.
He placed the ceramic pot beside her and crouched next to the flower bed, using a small shovel to tend to the new sprouts.
Gong Wu lowered her head, and with a flick of her hand, clear spring water began to flow from her palm, gently watering the flower buds around her.
Another slender, pale hand caught the dripping water and silently absorbed it back into the palm.
Gong Wu paused, slightly annoyed. “Senior Brother, what are you doing?”
“I thought you might be crying,” Ji Yang said, glancing down at her. “I wanted to catch your tears before they fell.”
“I’m not crying.”
Ji Yang picked up two fallen leaves, waved his sleeve, and transformed them into two small stools. They sat together in the shade of the bamboo, as close as they had been when they were seven or eight years old.
Gong Wu was indeed hungry. He handed her the warm soup, and she accepted it, taking small, careful sips.
Midway through, she suddenly asked, “Are you really cultivating the Path of Emotionless?”
“Mm,” Ji Yang replied, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”
“So, your kindness toward me is just the way an older brother treats his younger sister?”
Ji Yang smiled softly. “It’s the way a true older brother treats his true younger sister.”
Gong Wu cradled the small pot in both hands and took a big gulp of the chicken soup. “Oh.”
She felt like a tiny seedling still buried in the soil, flattened by the weight of a shovel.
It left her feeling truly unhappy.
Ji Yang gazed at her, then brought up the topic Gong Wu least wanted to discuss.
“Guests have been coming to apologize to you these past few days.”
“I’ve been assisting Master Yan, and many have wanted to say sorry to you in person.”
“What good does it do?”
Gong Wu suddenly pressed down on her spoon, looking up at him. “I’m afraid I might bite them.”
She met his eyes and, in that moment, found the courage to voice the thoughts she had kept buried.
“I would ask them harshly how they only just realized they were at a disadvantage, scold them for spending so many years cultivating while looking down on others, and demand they clear the name of our Moonfire Valley.”
“I will become unreasonable, unwilling to back down, unkind and hard to appease, and I might even shock Master.”
Ji Yang’s eyes sparkled with amusement, not realizing his voice had softened considerably.
“You’re only cute when you bite people.”
“Feel free to scold and get angry; if you choose not to accept forgiveness, then don’t accept it.”
Gong Wu hesitated and said, “But my reputation is already terrible.”
Her senior brother, who had been casually tending to the soil, suddenly seemed serious upon hearing her words.
He set down the flower trowel and pulled his stool closer, suddenly very near to her.
Just before, Gong Wu had pressed down her budding feelings in her heart and dared not entertain any inappropriate thoughts about Ji Yang. When the distance closed so quickly, she found herself momentarily stunned.
Ji Yang was truly handsome.
His long eyelashes framed a strikingly handsome face, resembling an ethereal figure from a cave painting.
She briefly forgot what she had been saying to him and instead quietly observed his face.
“What does Little Wu most desire?”
“Is it to be respected and feared by everyone, or to have no one speak ill of you ever again?”
Gong Wu blinked and, after a long while, lowered her gaze and shook her head.
“I don’t need those.”
“I don’t want the people around me to be affected because of me.”
“Just like how almost all the Immortal Sects called me a demoness before, even Moonfire Valley lost several trade routes, and Master as well as my other brothers and sisters were impacted because of it.”
That incident ground down a naive part of her heart like a file.
Even with the recent apologies from people who visited her, a dark side within her still wanted to turn that file against those who had hurt Moonfire Valley.
Before she could finish her thought, her hand was gently taken and shook earnestly.
Her senior brother’s hand was long and broad, as if it could completely envelop hers.
“Have you ever considered that the entire valley feels relieved because of you, because you bring glory to our sect?”
“Because of you, we claimed the top spot among all sects, winning first place at the Yuan Xian Immortal Assembly?”
“Because of you, Moonfire Valley rose from an obscure, faraway sect to the very center that countless others wish to visit.”
“You can’t just see the wrongs, both true and false; you’ve done many right things too,” he gazed at her with a burning sincerity, his voice full of warmth, “Little Wu, you are truly such a wonderful person.”
Gong Wu found herself lost in his praise, as if she were hearing about someone else.
“I’m wonderful?”
“You’re wonderful.” Ji Yang’s smile deepened. “Even when you’re angry and bite people, you’re still very wonderful.”
“Come, let me take you to Liu Jia Palace.” He held her hand and helped her up, transforming the two small stools back into fallen leaves, which he gently sent back to the ground to nourish the soil over time.
With her senior brother providing her with the confidence to be fierce, Gong Wu marched bravely toward Liu Jia Palace, reviewing her grudge-list along the way.
Upon entering the hall, Hua Tingxiao sat nearby and spoke, “This is Elder Wancheng from Zhi Bai Guan; the others, you should have seen at the Yuan Xian Immortal Assembly.”
As soon as Gong Wu saw those familiar faces, her body tensed up, looking protective and anxious.
Ji Yang gently stroked her back and said softly, “Let’s sit first and discuss things at ease.”
Among the elders, there was also the old man who had repeatedly called for help earlier. Upon seeing Gong Wu, he couldn’t stop bowing deeply, his gratitude overflowing.
Even though Zhi Bai Guan had been sending gifts and apologies like flowing water these past days, today several disciples still carried gift boxes with both hands, not daring to neglect even the slightest formality.
Elder Wancheng, leading the group, exchanged some light pleasantries with Hua Tingxiao, then showed a hesitant expression and said, “We have made too many mistakes in the past, and we cannot fully atone for them in just a day or two.”
“But today, we have come to ask your sect a question.”
He revealed an expression that suggested he might offend everyone, giving a wry smile. “In the past hundred years, has there been anyone in your sect who, despite their utmost diligence, could not make any progress in their cultivation?”
“Someone originally blessed with excellent roots, who practiced cultivation and sought enlightenment with a hundredfold diligence, yet remained stuck at a certain point, unable to advance further?”
Hua Tingxiao remained unfazed. He took a sip of tea and said lightly, “Isn’t that a common occurrence?”
“Enlightenment depends partly on individual diligence and partly on opportunities. Not just Moonfire Valley, but look at all the Immortal Sects and temples—which sect doesn’t have such regrets?”
Elder Wancheng stood up and bowed again, as if preparing to say something outrageous, asking everyone for their understanding.
“Well, what if the person is not lacking in fortune for Ascension to Immortality, but has had their spiritual energy and techniques stolen by outsiders? How should we view that?”
“Stolen?” Hua Tingxiao chuckled. “Is there really such a thing? If so, wouldn’t everyone be stealing from others, making it unnecessary to endure the hardships of seclusion?”
Elder Wancheng knew that the young man before him was proud and retorted, “After the incident with the Eye Serpent Plague, do you still think this way?”
The mention of the Eye Serpent Plague caused everyone present to change color immediately.
Last year’s vague and mysterious plague, and the eye behind He Zhao Li in Jin Yan Tuo, were still fresh in everyone’s minds!
With He Zhao Li’s original strength, he could hardly have slain the old Master of Jin Yan Tuo, let alone single-handedly invaded the sect multiple times!
That parasitic eye disease specifically sapped the essence and blood of young, strong individuals, leaving robust men and women as thin as paper and brittle as clay. It had caused widespread panic across the Southwest.
At the time, Moonfire Valley and Zhi Bai Guan had not yet turned against each other. They had even invited their Daoists to set up formations to control the plague, expending great effort just to contain it!
Hua Tingxiao had initially felt a hint of anger, privately thinking that Elder Wancheng was mocking Tu Xuixin’s awkward position. Unexpectedly, the elder truly wanted to engage in a serious debate, and Hua Tingxiao became earnest at this moment.
“Do you believe that there are crooked methods capable of siphoning the cultivation and spiritual energy of someone thousands of miles away, leaving the victim completely unaware?”
“Ordinary disciples are like poor households guarding only one or two bowls of rice; losing even half a bowl would be noticed immediately.” Elder Wancheng looked around and emphasized, “Everyone here possesses profound cultivation, like wealthy households with more than ten tall granaries.”
“If someone were to secretly steal half a bowl of rice over the years, gathering it for other uses, would you notice?”
“We both know that practitioners often enter seclusion for several years, sometimes abstaining from food and sleep to ponder the Great Dao, as if condensing their entire life’s spiritual energy to break through to the next level.”
“If someone were to covertly divert that effort and transfer the results elsewhere, the victim would only think they had failed in their cultivation and lacked the right opportunity, wouldn’t they?”
At this moment, Hua Tingxiao could no longer sit still. He discreetly sent Gong Wu to fetch her master and asked Ji Yang to invite Elder Kan and the Master Ancestor.
This line of reasoning was too shocking, like a tale from a distant dream.
They had never believed something so bizarre could happen. Yet, with Gong Wu’s immortality, the siphoning of the Eye Serpent Plague, and their various fateful encounters with spiritual items—which of these made any sense?!
When Tu Xuixin arrived at Gong Wu’s request, he looked around the room with a half-believing, skeptical gaze.
Hua Tingxiao had not disclosed the matter of Tu Xuixin’s cultivation block. He had simply gathered the Masters of the Six Palaces, stating that this matter was of great importance and required everyone to discuss it together.
While waiting, a disciple rushed in and whispered to Hua Tingxiao, “Master, something terrible has happened! An Immortal Sect has directly sent young boys and girls over. Should we accept them or not?”
Hua Tingxiao frowned and dismissed the disciple, saying, “Accept what! We are not an evil sect!”
After everyone had taken their seats, Elder Wancheng restated his earlier points, leaving many people deep in thought.
“Actually, I discussed this theory with my uncle twenty years ago,” Elder Wancheng said. “But at that time, without evidence like the Eye Serpent Plague, it was merely idle speculation.”
“Today, I have come to seek your assistance in investigating this matter further.”
“If this is true, it will not only remove a great threat to Moonfire Valley and Zhi Bai Guan, but also spare all practitioners in the world from a calamity. It would be a tremendous blessing!”
Ji Yang had been sitting quietly to the side, rarely speaking.
Only when he noticed that everyone seemed moved did he finally speak slowly.
“What you say may not be false.”
“But if you are hiding anything, our Valley will not assist you again.”
“Elder Wancheng, have you truly revealed all the details?”
Elder Wancheng’s expression shifted several times, and after a long pause, he sighed deeply and offered a sincere apology.
“Young master is indeed perceptive; I cannot hide anything from you.”
“I fear the disaster originated from Zhi Bai Guan, and it all stems from the sins of fifty years ago.”
