Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lonemoon dragged Shen Ying and directly rode his sword down the mountain and towards the Immortal Ascension Rock. Strips of paper were pasted densely upon it. Some were old and some were new, on them were all kinds of wishes for help.
Ever since the opening of the mountain to take in disciples last time, mortals often came here. And starting from someone unknown, people pasted all kinds of wishes on there in hopes of asking the immortals for help. They had already used Immortal Ascension Rock as a God Begging Rock. Only that among these paper slips, there were some that seemed to be asking for help regarding troubles from demons.
When Lonemoon went out to dissipate his fortune, he would resolve some on his way when he saw. Slowly, a common practice was formed. Those who really met difficulties would come here despite the long distances, asking for help from immortals.
He glanced at it and saw three red paper strips. He took it down casually. Two of them were quite far. The only closer one required two days of traveling. He gave it a look and decided to take a trip.
So he directly handed the paper strip to Jian Xing and said, “Right in the west, let’s go to this place called Quhang City and take a look.”
“Yes, Master.” Jian Xing nodded and took it. He gave it a look and then handed the paper strip to the other three.
Just when everyone was about to get on their swords, a female voice suddenly came, “Big brother!”
A woman around thirty years old by the looks ran over and looked towards Jian Xing in the middle with her face full of surprise. Her looks were familiar, and there was cultivation on her, only it was just at Qi Refinement.
“Little Lin!” Jian Xing was stunned, and blurted out, “Why are you here?”
Even Fatty was shocked. This person was actually Zhi Lin, Jian Xing’s younger sister. Only that her look right now was no longer that of a young girl. She actually looked much older than Jian Xing.
The joy on the woman’s face fell, and it was replaced by a face of sadness. Some moisture also gathered in her eyes. “Big Brother, I have waited here all these years.” As she talked, she turned towards Lonemoon and kneeled down towards him. “Exalted Master, I was young and stupid, such that I made huge mistakes. I already know that I was wrong, and I kept regretting over all these years. I don’t dare to plead for Exalted Master to forgive me, I only hope… only hope to have an opportunity to atone for my crime.”
Lonemoon’s face darkened. He glanced at her and said, “Is that so? Then tell me, what was your fault?”
Zhi Lin was stunned, as though she didn’t know how to answer. She was stuck. She subconsciously looked towards Shen Ying at the side, her eyes turned and she said, “I… I shouldn’t be disrespectful towards Big Sister Shen… No, Exalted Master Shen! I…”
“Ho!” Before she finished speaking, Lonemoon directly sneered. “You don’t even know what was your fault, how could you talk about knowing that you were wrong?” If she really knew what her faults were, she wouldn’t appear here today, much less with such a posture of the weak.
Back then, Fatty did abolish their cultivation, but he didn’t hurt their foundation, much less making them lose their memories. If she worked hard enough, she would have regained the cultivation of mere Foundation Establishment long ago, but she was still at Qi Refinement now.
Lonemoon didn’t look at her anymore, but only looked at the others and said, “You may leave once you are ready.” With that said, he directly called out his sword, grabbed Shen Ying and flew up.
“Exalted Master!” Zhi Lin’s look was completely anxious. Seeing that nobody paid her any heed, she had to look towards Jian Xing. “Big Brother!”
Jian Xing gave her a look, held himself back and turned to fly away on his sword.
Others followed. Mushroom actually gave her a look and called out tenderheartedly, “Little Sister Zhi Lin…”
“Mushroom!” Fatty called out and dragged her away.
But Zhi Lin didn’t give up, but followed behind them on a sword, a sad look on her face.
Jian Xing turned back and gave her a look. After a long while, he turned back and continued sword-riding.
“Do you think that I was too cruel to their group of disciples?” Lonemoon gave Jian Xing a look and asked.
Jian Xing was stunned. He shook his head and said, “No. They made mistakes and failed to live up to Master’s expectations in the first place. Right now… they only returned to their original positions. Only that…” He couldn’t help but look back once more, before saying seriously, “Zhi Lin is my younger sister after all. Though I know for sure she can’t possibly return to the sect, I can’t manage to be completely indifferent to her.” His look was conflicted, there was no grievance in his eyes.
“Hmm, good that you understand.” Lonemoon nodded. This disciple saw things clearly and didn’t need him to worry much. “Though she’s no longer a disciple of the sect, it’s not necessary to be too distant towards her. It’s good so long as you know the proper limits.”
“Yes, Master!”
Lonemoon said no more and continued flying towards their destination. Yet Shen Ying behind him suddenly turned her body and looked straight towards Jian Xing.
Jian Xing looked up subconsciously, but only to see meet a big smile from Shen Ying. He was stunned for a moment. His look was all confused, but somehow… he suddenly felt flustered.
——————
Lonemoon flew with the disciples for two days before they finally reached Quhang City. This was a relatively large city on the west. What was described on the paper strip was a strange matter that happened inside the city recently. Since a few months ago, the people inside the city seemed to have gotten a strange illness together, and they inexplicably fell into sleep once the night fell. Moreover, every one of them had nightmares and only woke when morning came. The locals thought that there were demons, so they went to the seaside to seek the help of immortals.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, the party dressed as caravan businessmen who went into the city to buy goods. Lonemoon found an inn, settled down, and let the others go inquiring.
The four asked around the city properly and only returned at sunset. They started communicating about their discoveries.
“I heard that the people here fall into sleep every night at eleven. It seems that the demon only comes out at night.”
“But there’s no remnant demonic aura in the city. It doesn’t seem to be demons then.”
“People on the west side of the city said that this matter has continued for five to six months. Now, people are lethargic not only at night but also during the day, for no reason at all.”
“Exactly. People on the east side also said so. And those who fell asleep during the day had to sleep for four or five days before waking up. Some even took more than ten days.”
Everybody finished talking, and then they all looked towards Lonemoon in the middle. Apparently, they didn’t have a clue.
“Have you seen those people in lethargy?” reminded Lonemoon.
Jian Xing at the side spoke, “Master, I went to see several of them, but there were no other abnormalities with their bodies. They looked to be merely asleep.”
“Yes.” The oldest among the four also said, “I’ve also checked their bodies, there was no trace of invasion by demonic aura.”
“Hmm.” Lonemoon nodded and said, “Have you thought about any way to tackle this?”
The four exchanged a look before replying, “We intend to wait till eleven tonight and find out more about the situation first.”
