Transmigrating as the Heart Demon of the Ruthless Sword Venerable – Chapter 31
by Little PandaSword Sect Disciple (3)
Returning to the Sword Sect
What does “studying hard” even mean?
As a university student who fought her way out of exam-oriented education, Tang Wenchun declared: Ha! She wasn’t afraid of that at all.
Moreover, compared to Yu Zhaoming’s “education” that involved killing at the drop of a hat, the Sword Sect was a major sect, after all. Presumably, they had a long-inherited, systematic educational approach that wouldn’t suppress one’s desire to learn quite like Yu Zhaoming did.
Since transmigrating to this place, Tang Wenchun had essentially been completely in the dark. Her understanding of the outside world came entirely from fragments of conversation from the people around her. Now that she could study systematically, Tang Wenchun was rubbing her fists and palms, feeling quite excited.
“Yes! Shizun!” Tang Wenchun replied loudly.
Seeing this, Xuanjiu smiled until her eyes narrowed, nodding repeatedly: “Very good. As expected of a young person, full of drive.”
Yu Zhaoming, however, stood to the side and glanced at Tang Wenchun several times. She didn’t understand what her heart demon was getting so excited about. Could it be she thought she, Yu Zhaoming, had been too lenient? She didn’t understand.
Under Xuanjiu’s lead, the group quickly set off for the Sword Sect. With Xuanjiu around, they naturally wouldn’t make the children suffer anymore. Xuanjiu tossed out a small wooden boat. The small boat grew upon encountering the wind, rapidly expanding into a flatboat with a canopy, steadily floating in mid-air.
Tang Wenchun: “…This, can it fit so many people?”
Xuanjiu, smoking her long pipe, turned her head and swept a glance at Tang Wenchun, revealing a smile: “Sumeru in a Mustard Seed1, a great thousand worlds in a reed2—such is the means of immortals. You…”
Yu Zhaoming didn’t wait for Xuanjiu to say more. She hooked an arm around Tang Wenchun’s waist. Tang Wenchun was startled out of her wits and reached out to block Yu Zhaoming’s approach. Yu Zhaoming simply swept her a glance: “Hold on tight.” Before her voice had even faded, she directly grabbed Tang Wenchun and leaped onto the boat.
Once inside the canopy, Tang Wenchun hurriedly shrank to the side. At this moment, no one else had boarded yet. Tang Wenchun gritted her teeth and said, “What were you thinking, under the watchful eyes of everyone…”
“Wouldn’t it be fine as long as it’s not under the watchful eyes of everyone?” Yu Zhaoming asked.
Tang Wenchun shut her mouth. Yu Zhaoming’s way of thinking had always been direct. Having spent so much time with her, Tang Wenchun understood her quite well. Besides, the other party wore such an “of course” expression that it made it seem like she, the one trying to avoid suspicion, was the one harboring impure thoughts.
Tang Wenchun felt utterly deflated. She was clearly very pure.
Meanwhile, outside the flatboat, a group of Sword Sect disciples watched Xuanjiu in silence: “Um… Elder, are we still getting on?”
They felt that if they boarded now, it would be like destroying some beautiful atmosphere.
Xuanjiu spat out a smoke ring heavily: “If you don’t get on, are you planning to walk back yourselves?”
Though Sword Sect disciples could endure hardship, who actually loved eating bitterness! Immediately, they boarded in twos and threes.
Xuanjiu smoked in silence on the spot for a few puffs.
She could see it now—her eldest disciple cared a little for her little disciple, but not much. After all, if there were truly romantic feelings, she wouldn’t so casually and unconcernedly go over and hug someone. As for the little disciple… her heart was entirely hung on Yu Zhaoming, so she’d probably be in turmoil of heart while secretly sad.
Sigh, both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh. Whoever got sad, as Shizun, she couldn’t bear it. Should she go back and beg those people at Alchemy Peak to make some sort of medicine to help her little disciple?
While thinking, Xuanjiu boarded the flatboat, standing at the bow to steer the direction without going inside.
The disciples sat upright inside the canopy, occasionally glancing at Yu Zhaoming, then at Tang Wenchun, their eyes full of gossip, and the room full of silence. After a while, sunflower seeds, fruits, and vegetables appeared on the table. Only then did the disciples gradually relax, gathering in twos and threes to speak in hushed tones.
Tang Wenchun was grabbed by Bian Man, who stuffed a handful of sunflower seeds into her hand: “Elder Xuanjiu is the richest elder in the Sword Sect. You’re really lucky, shijie.”
“Shijie?” Tang Wenchun glanced at Bian Man.
Bian Man smiled: “Your cultivation is higher than ours, and you’re a disciple of the Taoli Peak Elder, so naturally we have to call you shijie.” Seeing Tang Wenchun’s eyes look bewildered, she took the initiative to explain, “Elder Xuanjiu cultivates the Red Dust Sword3, but for some reason, the Eldest Senior Sister is learning the Emotionless Dao. It looked like Elder Xuanjiu’s lineage was going to be cut off, but fortunately, there’s you.”
Having her probably wasn’t a good thing either… after all, she was just an ordinary, unremarkable heart demon.
Tang Wenchun touched the tip of her nose, not daring to respond. She just felt rather sympathetic toward Xuanjiu in her heart. This master-disciple fate didn’t seem very good; how were both disciples like this…
Bian Man had finally made a friend and didn’t mind Tang Wenchun’s silence. Looking around, she whispered, “Elder Xuanjiu truly deserves to be the richest person in the entire Sword Sect! There’s even a spatial artifact inside this flying artifact4! My Shizun can’t even fly without relying on her natal sword5… I really don’t know how Elder Xuanjiu earns her spirit stones.” Her envy was written all over her face, practically overflowing.
Tang Wenchun recalled the items and storybooks Xuanjiu had made Yu Zhaoming sell. She fell silent for a long while before replying, “Probably, to be glorious before others, one must suffer behind their backs.”
Bian Man: “Although I don’t know what this means, I feel it has great profound significance.”
The two chatted and laughed, but occasionally, when Tang Wenchun turned her head, she would see Yu Zhaoming sitting in the corner, holding Cangfeng. She sat very upright, her eyelashes lowered, concealing those eyes that sparkled like stars. Her long black hair was tied up neatly, yet a few mischievous strands still drooped down, casting dark shadows on her cheek.
Beautiful like a action figure6 doll.
Suddenly, Yu Zhaoming raised her head, and their eyes met. Tang Wenchun immediately averted her gaze as if fleeing, but she couldn’t control herself and would always quietly look back again.
Actually, there was no other meaning to it. It was just that in this world, the only connection she had with it seemed to be Yu Zhaoming alone. Naturally, she couldn’t help but pay more attention, and moreover…
Although Yu Zhaoming was amidst the crowd, no one came to speak with her.
After such a long time together, Tang Wenchun understood very well that everyone revered and believed in the Eldest Senior Sister, but they likewise only dared to watch from afar, not daring to approach.
Just like now, even though Tang Wenchun was an outsider, even though Tang Wenchun was a newcomer, everyone would rather talk to her than chat with Yu Zhaoming.
How should she put it?
Tang Wenchun thought, she couldn’t help but feel it was a bit lonely…
After boarding the flying boat, the journey was compressed significantly. In just three days’ time, the group heard Xuanjiu’s voice: “We’ve arrived, come on out.”
Everyone had long since grown sluggish from staying put. Now, hearing Xuanjiu’s voice, they all immediately perked up, hurriedly scrambling out and shouting, “Finally going home!”
To be able to call the sect “home” was proof enough of the Sword Sect disciples’ recognition of their sect.
Tang Wenchun followed the group as they slowly walked out of the flying boat.
Emerging from the canopy, the light suddenly became intense. Tang Wenchun instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes. When she lowered it, she only saw a misty sea of clouds, with mountain peaks looming faintly amidst them. In mid-air, immortal cranes7 flew past, letting out bursts of crane cries. Further away were green pines and cypresses, as well as jagged, strange rocks.
What a scene of immortals.
However, after this sigh of admiration, Tang Wenchun saw a dilapidated Taoist temple that didn’t match this immortal scenery at all. Tang Wenchun raised her head. On it were written the two characters “Sword Sect.” She narrowed her eyes, staring at those large characters, only to find those characters twisting and turning. In an instant, Tang Wenchun felt as if several giant hammers were striking in her mind at the same time, with countless sword intents crisscrossing within, all attacking her.
“Ah!”
Tang Wenchun covered her head. A pair of hands simultaneously covered her eyes: “Don’t stare at it.”
It was Yu Zhaoming.
It seemed like whenever she was in trouble, Yu Zhaoming was always by her side.
This thought flashed through Tang Wenchun’s mind. She pressed down on Yu Zhaoming’s hand. At the same time, a smear of dark red streaked across the bottom of her eyes, but no one noticed, not even Tang Wenchun herself.
“I, I’m fine.” After the headache subsided, Tang Wenchun tugged Yu Zhaoming’s hand.
Yu Zhaoming lowered her hand, looking down at Tang Wenchun: “The sword intent of the Sword Sect’s ascended founding ancestor remains up there. You can’t stare at it. If you use our sect’s cultivation method to visualize it, you could actually gain great benefits.”
Other people wouldn’t stare at the words “Sword Sect” for very long. Yu Zhaoming didn’t understand what Tang Wenchun was thinking, but she still responsibly explained.
“But the gold paint on it has completely peeled off,” Tang Wenchun said, rubbing her eyes.
Yu Zhaoming was taken aback. Although she knew what Tang Wenchun was thinking, she still didn’t understand why this person, Tang Wenchun, always focused on things that others wouldn’t care about. She raised her head and glanced at the large characters of “Sword Sect,” finding that the gold paint had indeed peeled off completely, and there were even marks scraped by sword blades.
“…Perhaps some generation’s Sect Master scraped off the gold paint to sell for money.”
Hearing Yu Zhaoming say this, Tang Wenchun immediately gasped in a breath of cold air. This poor? She was suddenly filled with unease about her future.
“Alright, alright. Our Sword Sect used to be quite wealthy, but now…” Xuanjiu’s hand wrapped around Tang Wenchun’s shoulder. She glanced at the sect plaque and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly before she hurriedly changed the subject, “Although we are a bit poor now, we cannot be poor in education no matter what. We still value our disciples very much.”
It sounded like the admissions office of some shady school tricking students.
Tang Wenchun thought this. She took a deep breath, glanced at the sect, and still followed Xuanjiu into the Sword Sect.
Perhaps Xuanjiu was indeed right. The Sword Sect occupied an extremely vast area. Between the buildings still in use, there would be several empty grand halls, or ruined walls that had not been repaired.
Just looking at it made one feel a bit of heartache.
“These things ah… were still being used when I was young. At that time, I was still a little disciple. The Sword Sect was bustling with people coming and going, and immortal carriages and immortal boats at the entrance never stopped. Whether mortals or cultivators, they came and went frequently.” Xuanjiu swept a glance at those buildings and exhaled a smoke ring. “Most of these buildings were for receiving guests. At that time, the Sect Master even said there were too many guests, which hindered the disciples’ cultivation, and it would be best if there were fewer guests.”
“Now, you could catch sparrows at the gates of the Sword Sect. If the old Sect Master’s spirit in heaven knows, he should be gratified.”
No, she didn’t think the old Sect Master would be gratified…
Tang Wenchun listened to Xuanjiu talking all the way while offering snarky commentary in her heart, finding it quite amusing. Meanwhile, behind them, crane cries sounded in waves, interspersed with the voices of the Sword Sect disciples: “Elder Xuanjiu, Eldest Senior Sister, Little Senior Sister, we’ll be going on ahead.”
Tang Wenchun raised her head, only to see many Sword Sect disciples either riding their flying swords or resting on the backs of white cranes, flying toward the distant peaks. Cranes cried among the clouds, and ancient buildings in the distance revealed their upturned eaves through the clouds and mist or the forest, giving one the feeling of being in an immortal realm from a novel.
…She seemed to be in a novel right now…
“I am going to see the Sect Master now,” Xuanjiu said. “Zhaoming, you take your shimei to make a soul tablet8 first. I’ll come over later.”
“Yes.” Yu Zhaoming responded.
But Tang Wenchun instantly stiffened. She was a heart demon; would leaving a soul tablet really not reveal that her soul had problems?
The author has something to say:
Xuanjiu: Sigh, both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh. How can I help my little disciple fulfill her wish?
Yu Zhaoming: …
A Shizun who unhesitatingly sides with her little disciple, haha
Tang Wenchun: It must be that Yu Zhaoming’s educational methods are wrong
Later…
Tang Wenchun: …It must be that my transmigration method was wrong!!
Begging for comments, kowtowing to everyone!
Footnotes
- 须弥芥子 | Xumi Jiezi | Daoist and Buddhist spatial compression principle where vast worlds exist within tiny vessels, defying normal spatial constraints.
- 大千一苇 | Daqian Yiwei | Buddhist phrase describing vast worlds contained within a single reed, paralleling the Sumeru in a Mustard Seed spatial compression concept.
- 红尘剑 | Hongchen Jian | Elder Xuanjiu's sword path, a manifestation of worldly attachments and mortal ties, contrasting with the Emotionless Dao.
- 飞行法器 | Feixing Faqi | Cultivation flying vessel that expands from a small wooden boat into an enclosed flatboat, utilizing internal spatial dilation.
- 本命剑 | Benming Jian | A cultivator's primary bonded sword nurtured alongside their soul, used for sword flight and life-linked combat.
- 手办 | shouban | Highly detailed collectible model figures based on anime or game characters, prized for craftsmanship and faithful character recreation.
- 仙鹤 | xian he | Celestial cranes revered in Daoist culture as symbols of immortality and transcendence, often depicted as divine mounts.
- 魂牌 | Hun Pai | Sect identity talisman linked to a disciple's soul, used to record vital signs and confirm spiritual authenticity.
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