Transmigrating as the Heart Demon of the Ruthless Sword Venerable – Chapter 17

Heart Demon Manifested — Shizun

Meeting the Parent. The Parent Is Very Satisfied. “I Want to Take This One In.”

“…So in other words, you can’t gain your freedom.”

            

After learning about Tang Wenchun’s situation, Yu Zhaoming asked. Tang Wenchun squatted in the corner, gloomy as a little mushroom sprouting during the plum rain season¹, radiating an aura of utter dejection from head to toe.

Yu Zhaoming turned her head and spotted this mushroom in her corner. She paused, then asked, “What do you plan to do, then?”

Tang Wenchun shook her head, a hint of bewilderment surfacing in her eyes. After a long while, she finally spoke: “How about… you just let me stay alone in your Sea of Consciousness², and when you’re about to cross your tribulation³, just kill me off casually. But try to make it quick—don’t beat me up first and then kill me. Getting killed already hurts enough, and getting beaten on top of that…”

            

The pale-faced woman rambled on and on. Yu Zhaoming watched her in silence, then suddenly spoke up. “Is that it?”

“Eh?” Tang Wenchun looked up.

Yu Zhaoming’s words were sharp as a blade: “You want to just lie in my Sea of Consciousness with a clear conscience, becoming a parasite in my Sea of Consciousness. You claim to want freedom, but this level of resolve is far too weak.”

            

The words were truly harsh—harsh in a way that pierced right where it hurt most.

“You—you!” Tang Wenchun’s fingers were trembling.

Yu Zhaoming stood up and tossed Tang Wenchun a dismissive glance. “You what? If you’ve given up, then hurry back to my Sea of Consciousness.”

            

Tang Wenchun had never felt so furious in her life. She lurched to her feet, seized Yu Zhaoming by the collar, and shoved her backward with a thud—Yu Zhaoming’s lower back struck the hard round table behind her. Yu Zhaoming’s face paled slightly. Her gaze fell on the collar crumpled in Tang Wenchun’s grip, but she didn’t move.

“Yu Zhaoming! Look at me clearly! I’m a person! I’m a living, breathing person!”

Tang Wenchun shouted, tears welling up in her eyes again as she looked at the cold-faced girl before her. She recalled the plot from the novel—this woman would become the glory of the Sword Sect, yet at the same time, she would exhaust all her cultivation to pass it on to her disciple, fighting for a future for all cultivators in the world.

            

She thought: Sure enough, the author got it wrong. How could a cultivator of the Emotionless Dao⁴ possibly know what love is? They’ve nearly lost all human feeling—how could they possibly do all those things written in the book?

“…” Yu Zhaoming lowered her eyes. She saw Tang Wenchun’s reddened eyes. The two of them were extremely close—close enough to hear each other’s breathing. Unlike in the Sea of Consciousness, the person before her was warm, her hands soft, just as she had been in the Divine Tomb.

Just as Tang Wenchun herself had said—she was a real, living person.

            

But in the cultivation world, people like her would die.

Yu Zhaoming’s hand rested on Tang Wenchun’s. She clearly hadn’t exerted much force, yet Tang Wenchun found that Yu Zhaoming had effortlessly broken free from her grip. Under Tang Wenchun’s astonished gaze, Yu Zhaoming easily reversed the hold and pinned her again.

“Someone like you…”

            

Perhaps Yu Zhaoming, as a person, was like her Ice Spirit Root⁵—her words cold as ice, carrying a sense of emotionlessness.

As though she was born to belong to the Emotionless Dao.

Tang Wenchun squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands were held by Yu Zhaoming, unable to cover her ears—she could only use this self-deceiving way to dodge the mockery she was sure was coming.

            

“Zhaoming! What is the deal with that demon you caught!! Back and forth countless times—are you trying to turn our Sword Sect’s barrier into a sieve…”

Just then, the door was thrown open. Xuanjiu strode in, her face cold.

She was in a thoroughly foul mood. Though cultivators like her no longer needed sleep, opening and closing the barrier all night had drawn sidelong glances from the rest of the Sword Sect—not to mention, first thing in the morning she had received a mocking message from her sworn rival, saying their Sword Sect’s barrier was like a sieve that no amount of spirit stones could ever fix.

            

Feeling she had lost face, Xuanjiu couldn’t hold back any longer. Now that the little girl had finally quieted down, she had come straight to her disciple to demand an explanation.

She never expected that the moment she pushed open the door, she would be greeted by this scene.

Her disciple had the little girl pinned down. When both of them looked her way, Xuanjiu even saw the girl’s red-rimmed eyes, still glistening with tears, looking for all the world like a little wife bullied by a tyrant.

            

So what exactly had her disciple done to the girl? And why hadn’t the little girl left yet?!

Was it… she chases, she flees, she can’t escape even with wings?

After seeing the two’s posture in the room, Xuanjiu’s mind had already conjured up a full hundred-thousand-word storybook. She had lived over five hundred years, fond of fine wine, fine food, and fine beauties—naturally, she had read more than enough storybooks. Her source material was exceedingly rich.

            

Yu Zhaoming had no idea that in the span of a few exchanged glances, her Shizun⁶ had already imagined the entirety of their future anguished romance and what their future children would call her. She released her hands, straightened her clothes, carefully smoothing out the spots Tang Wenchun had crumpled, then bowed to Xuanjiu. “Shizun.”

“Mm…”

Xuanjiu gave a response. She caught the flash of panic in the girl’s eyes, but the girl didn’t come toward her seeking protection—instead, she instinctively shrank closer to Yu Zhaoming.

            

Xuanjiu raised an eyebrow. It seemed her suspicions were correct.

But… her gaze settled on Yu Zhaoming. She knew her own child’s temperament better than anyone. And her disciple practiced the Emotionless Dao. Since ancient times, how many Emotionless Dao cultivators had ever turned out well?

Of all the people to fall for, why did it have to be her disciple?!

            

At this thought, Xuanjiu’s gaze toward Tang Wenchun filled with pity and sympathy.

Tang Wenchun felt her hair stand on end under Xuanjiu’s gaze—pitying, sympathetic, and tinged with maternal warmth. Though people in the cultivation world couldn’t be judged by appearance, being looked at this way by a woman who looked barely older than herself still made Tang Wenchun deeply uncomfortable. She shrank a little further behind Yu Zhaoming.

Yu Zhaoming glanced at her. Tang Wenchun shrank back cautiously, her movements carrying a faint hint of grievance.

            

Yu Zhaoming stepped forward, shielding Tang Wenchun. Looking at her Shizun, whose eyes had suddenly begun to sparkle, she faltered—a rare occurrence—before asking, “What business does Shizun have with your disciple?”

“There was business, but it’s nothing to do with you now.”

Xuanjiu stepped forward, shoved Yu Zhaoming aside, then reached out and plucked Tang Wenchun out like grabbing a chick.

            

Tang Wenchun resisted instinctively, but Xuanjiu’s cultivation was such that even Yu Zhaoming couldn’t withstand her, let alone Tang Wenchun. Still, that brief exchange allowed Xuanjiu to probe Tang Wenchun’s cultivation level.

Her eyes crinkled into a smile. “A bone age⁷ of barely early twenties and already at the Golden Core⁸ stage—not bad, not bad. A bit behind my disciple, but still a genius by the standards of the entire cultivation world.”

That’s because I’m literally using your disciple’s cultivation!

            

Tang Wenchun opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. She could only cast a pleading look toward Yu Zhaoming.

“Shizun.”

Yu Zhaoming stepped forward. Her gaze dropped to the wrist held in Xuanjiu’s grip. Her heart demon⁹ looked like an ordinary young girl—she wasn’t in the habit of shielding her body with Spiritual Qi¹⁰. The skin there was now flushed red, starkly visible against her snow-white complexion.

            

“You’re hurting her. Shizun, please conduct yourself properly—don’t get handsy.”

Sensing the subtle displeasure in her disciple’s tone, Xuanjiu chuckled. “A cultivator’s body isn’t that—” She looked down, fell silent for a moment, then released her grip. The girl she had finally gotten her hands on hastily scurried behind Yu Zhaoming. Yu Zhaoming shifted her stance, shielding Tang Wenchun completely.

Xuanjiu’s mouth twitched. Disciple, you were just swearing up and down that she was a demon! Look at what you’re doing now!! And you say I’m getting handsy—do you want to review what you looked like pinning her down just now??

            

But this was her own disciple, raised by her own hand.

Xuanjiu drew a deep breath and forced a smile. “Fine, fine, I won’t touch. But who is this young lady, and under whom does she study? If she’s gone too long, her family may worry.”

Xuanjiu probed from the side, terrified her single-minded disciple wouldn’t catch the hint. The girl had come and gone so many times—you couldn’t just play the tyrant!

            

Yu Zhaoming replied, “They won’t worry.” As she spoke, she felt something soft and small gently pinch the back of her robe. In that instant, she felt a tug at her heart as well. She swallowed the urge to tell her Shizun the truth and simply said, “Her name is Tang Wenchun. She…”

Yu Zhaoming turned her head. Her light brown eyes met Tang Wenchun’s worried gaze. She paused, then suddenly offered Tang Wenchun a faint smile rich with reassurance. “She is my friend, staying with me temporarily.”

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The author has something to say:

            

Xuanjiu: Disciple, do you think I’m blind?

Yu Zhaoming: I can also pretend you’re deaf…

Xuanjiu: …

            

Yu Zhaoming is exasperated with her heart demon for not standing up for herself.

Please bookmark! Please bookmark! Just rambling.

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