Volume 2: Fuzhu Huodou
The One Who Came Late.
At Yi Qiu’s words, Xun Chi shifted his gaze to Jiang Yuyao.
At this moment, with the help of Mu Qingshuang, Jiang Yuyao was giving Luo Mingyuan a simple treatment for the wounds on his body.
“How did he get so badly injured?” Jiang Xuan stood to the side, his brow furrowing as he looked at the mix of new and old wounds covering Luo Mingyuan.
“Last time, Shidi1 was injured by the bird demon and never fully recovered. Half a month ago, we followed the bird demon’s tracks to Wuzhou and once crossed paths with that Huodou, nearly losing our lives…” As Jiang Yuyao spoke, her reddened eyes filled with heartache. “Last night, I don’t know who spread the news that the Huodou wanted to destroy the Xianlu Sect. Shidi was afraid we wouldn’t make it in time, so he flew me all the way back. His injuries were already aggravated, and then…”
Jiang Yuyao’s words trailed off, and she couldn’t bring herself to continue.
But some things didn’t need to be said for everyone to understand. Luo Mingyuan was already injured, then he carried so many people across the mountain cliff, and fought with that Huodou for a long time.
He had sustained such injuries all to protect everyone. This fact made the past actions of the Xianlu Sect seem laughable, as so few of its members had ever treated him kindly.
For a time, many people, including the Three Revered Ones of Xianlu, were lost in thought.
Xun Chi walked to Luo Mingyuan’s side, slowly squatted down, and transferred spiritual power into his body.
Jiang Yuyao was exceptionally grateful, yet she couldn’t help but ask, “Exalted Immortal2, you are still injured yourself. Is it alright for you to expend spiritual power for my junior brother like this…?”
Xun Chi was silent for a long while before sighing softly, “Do not mind it. I was supposed to save him. What’s more, I have a favor to ask of you.”
Jiang Yuyao’s expression was resolute. “Today, we owe thanks to the Exalted Immortal for bringing the divine deer to our aid. If the Exalted Immortal has any command, Jiang Yuyao will certainly do her utmost!”
Xun Chi raised his eyes and asked, “You have awakened a part of your divine power. Do you remember anything?”
Jiang Yuyao frowned in thought for a moment, then gently shook her head. “I only know that I was originally a divine tree on an immortal island. Other than that, I don’t remember anything else.”
Hearing this, Xun Chi couldn’t help but sigh. “Focus on recovering from your injuries first. We can talk about this another day.”
The people of the Xianlu Sect had escaped death, but the place where they once lived had been turned to ash. Rebuilding was not something that could be done in one morning and one evening3, so they could only descend the mountain for the time being and book two inns in Moshui City.
These sect members, who dedicated their minds to slaying demons and eliminating devils, had seen their fair share of minor demons and ghosts, but they had never seen immortals and gods. Now that they had, every single one of them was incredibly excited.
Regarding this disaster without falsehood4, and the immortals and gods who came to save them, they had countless questions in their minds, yet no one dared to disturb them. For a time, all sorts of strange stories were born from innumerable speculations.
You Yan liked peace and quiet, so she lived relatively far away. During the days she was taking care of the recovering You Yan, if Yi Qiu got bored, she would go wander around the two inns booked by the Xianlu Sect. Every time she heard those disciples who knew nothing guessing about this and that, it was like listening to a joke. It wasn’t enough for her to listen alone; she had to go back and tell You Yan all about it.
Someone said: “A vicious beast has descended upon the world, and a calamity will befall the mortal realm. Yuyao-shijie is a heavenly god, yet she was willing to be born into the mortal world to save the people of the world from within water and fire5.”
The person who made this up would probably be mortified if they knew that Fusang was just a love brain6 who descended to the mortal realm merely to accompany the Golden Crow, right?
Someone said: “The vicious beast is wreaking havoc on the mortal realm, and that white-haired immortal named Xun Chi is an old friend of Yuyao-shijie. Knowing that Yuyao-shijie was in trouble in the mortal realm, he specially brought a white deer to help.”
Unfortunately, Xun Chi and Fusang didn’t know each other, at least not on the surface. They probably didn’t know each other in the original novel either, since a character like Xun Chi never even appeared in the original.
Someone else said: “Miss Bai is so powerful, she must be some divine bird from the heavens. Chu-shishu7 was chosen by her, so his immortal fate8 must not be shallow. He will surely be able to ascend to immortality in the future.”
She had to complain forcefully about this one. Being “chosen by Miss Bai” should probably be called a deep demonic fate. Ascending to immortality would be difficult, but to fall into the demonic path should be a bit simpler—of course, she wouldn’t let You Yan do that.
Besides these, there was an even more ridiculous one: “Although Shidi Luo is a half-demon, the Three Revered Ones kindly took him in and let him grow up in the Xianlu Sect. Now he has cultivated a good character, and even the immortals and gods don’t dislike him.”
It wasn’t hard to tell that the person who said this still held prejudice against “demons.”
If they were to find out that this half-demon junior brother was the son of the Heavenly Emperor, and that they had treated him that way back then, wouldn’t they all be scared to the point of farting and rolling, pissing and flowing9?
Actually, when it came to the identities of these immortals, demons, gods, and devils, the ones with the most complicated feelings should be Jiang Xuan and Luo Mingyuan.
Just ask any member of an immortal sect, who among them wouldn’t revere immortals and gods?
Jiang Xuan was called the Sword Reverence by the people of the immortal sects, considered a senior respected by all. But when he discovered that his only daughter was actually a heavenly god who had come to the mortal realm to undergo a trial10, he had been repeatedly doubting his life, caught between shock and pleasant surprise. Every time he went to check on his daughter’s injuries, his eyes held not just concern, but also a kind of respect tinged with awkwardness.
To put it in a way that was both heartbreaking and amusing, when Jiang Xuan faced Jiang Yuyao, he no longer dared to put on the airs of a father lecturing his daughter.
As for Luo Mingyuan, that silly boy still saw himself as a half-demon. Now, seeing the senior sister who had been the kindest to him and whom he had always secretly admired in his heart suddenly become the reincarnation of a goddess, the bit of inferiority complex in his bones grew a little more.
However, although the Huodou’s rampage at the Xianlu Sect injured many disciples, most were minor injuries. Looking around, the one with the most severe injuries was still that kid Luo Mingyuan.
Ever since he was first injured more than a month ago, he had been constantly adding new injuries on top of old ones. On the night he was saving people at the Xianlu Sect, if Xun Chi hadn’t stopped the Huodou, he probably would have kicked the bucket then and there11, directly stamping a big “GG12” on the unlucky alpaca’s book-transmigration career.
The protagonist’s halo13 in other people’s novels was a positive BUFF14, making them cool and acting pretentious like the wind15 wherever they went. The protagonist of 《Thin, Withered Branch》 was different; he got injured wherever he went, taking a beating all along the way, constantly in a state of remnant blood16.
Miserable, truly miserable, so miserable that Yi Qiu wanted to carve a large character for “miserable” on his forehead.
Fortunately, he was now finally acknowledged by most of the Xianlu Sect disciples. The occasional few with loose tongues would be shut down by other disciples.
The little good-for-nothing everyone once looked down on had suddenly become a fragrant steamed bun17. At first, ah, many shijie18 and shimei19 from the Three Pavilions were rushing to take care of him, but after Jiang Yuyao went, everyone tactfully left.
“See, I told you so. Yuyao-shijie has always taken great care of Shidi Luo…”
“The way Yuyao-shijie cares for Shidi Luo, even a blind person can see it’s special.”
“I thought that among the Three Pavilions, Yuyao-shijie only had eyes for men like He-shixiong20, a gentleman like jade21, practically a second Chu-shishu… But speaking of which, in terms of looks, He-shixiong really can’t compare to Shidi Luo. No wonder Yuyao-shijie likes him.”
“Isn’t that right? When Shidi Luo was captured by the bird demon, only Yuyao-shijie was anxious to find him. She even had a big fight with the Sect Master over it back then.”
This behind-the-scenes gossip was coincidentally overheard by Yi Qiu. She took advantage of a moment when Jiang Yuyao was away to secretly repeat it all to Luo Mingyuan.
The little pig’s trotter was different from the big scumbag in the original text in every way, except for being as thin-skinned as described in the early parts of the original. Yi Qiu hadn’t even finished speaking when he nervously began a very standard “denial triple combo22.”
The force of his denial was so strong that Yi Qiu couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
These protagonists in novels were really something. In the eyes of others, they had gone through thick and thin together, life and death, and had a relationship so good they were like an old husband, old wife23 who could roll the bedsheets24 at any moment. But in their own eyes, they were still just an ordinary man and woman, insisting on playing out the drama of “love is in my heart but cannot be spoken” or “I love her but she might not love me.”
At this rate, who knows when these two clueless people will finally start dating. It’s so frustrating.
Speaking of which, after the Xianlu Sect was burned down, the disciples who had left the mountain for training also rushed back from all over.
When Chaoyun25 returned, it was the second day after the great fire had burned the mountain. She was proficient in pharmacology and immediately got busy taking care of the injured disciples, showing no signs of anything unusual.
But after a few days, the more Yi Qiu thought about it, the more something felt wrong. She couldn’t help but mutter in a low voice to You Yan, who was resting with her eyes closed.
“From the time we left Xi City to when the Xianlu Sect had its incident, it was only two days. Chaoyun was still in Xi City taking care of Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao before we left. How did she disappear in the blink of an eye?”
“Jiang Yuyao said Chaoyun suddenly left to find the Huodou. But the Huodou set fire to the Xianlu Sect and spread the news everywhere, clearly not intending to hide. Both Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao knew to return to the Xianlu Sect to find the Huodou, so why would Chaoyun go looking somewhere else and arrive so much later?”
“I don’t quite get it… You Yan, what do you think is going on with Chaoyun? Isn’t she supposed to be protecting Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao? That time in Wuzhou, the Yi Bird wanted to use the Huodou to kill Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan, but gave up the plan because it didn’t want to harm Chaoyun.” Yi Qiu sat on the floor mat by the bed, rubbing her temples as she spoke. “So, if Chaoyun had been there that day, the Yi Bird probably wouldn’t have been so reckless. How could Chaoyun have disappeared for several days at such a critical time? And where did she go?”
As Yi Qiu spoke, she frowned when she saw You Yan wasn’t responding. “You Yan, are you asleep?”
“No.”
“Were you listening to me?” Yi Qiu asked again.
“The night the Xianlu Sect was destroyed, I thought you had gotten smarter,” You Yan said leisurely without even opening her eyes. “Turns out you’re still that stupid.”
“Right, right, I’m stupid, I’m the stupidest,” Yi Qiu replied casually, without a hint of displeasure in her tone. She simply propped her hands on the edge of the bed, rested her chin on her wrists, and asked curiously, “So you’ve figured it out?”
“It’s not hard to figure out,” You Yan replied.
Yi Qiu took a deep breath and rolled her eyes slightly. She suspected You Yan was indirectly refuting her intelligence for a second time, but she couldn’t be bothered to argue.
Lately, she had developed a very strong immunity to You Yan’s mockery. After all, compared to arguing about “stupid or not,” she was more curious about what she was figuring out day after day.
Because of this, after being scorned, she reached out a hand and gently tugged on You Yan’s sleeve. “Tell me! It won’t take much effort. I’ve been serving you food and drinks these past few days, and I even told you stories. Can’t you talk to me a little more?”
After hearing this, You Yan couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle and asked in return, “Are you done talking?”
Yi Qiu frowned, displeased. “What do you mean? Was that whole pile of words I just said that stupid to you?”
“No, I just suddenly feel that the sound of you chattering on the side is quite pleasant to the ear.” You Yan opened her smiling eyes and said with a curved brow, “If you’re not done, you can continue.”
“…” Yi Qiu tugged hard on You Yan’s sleeve and frowned. “I’m done, it’s your turn to talk!”
“Mm.” You Yan was silent for a moment, then said flatly, “After we left, Chaoyun concealed Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao’s spiritual auras, then also set off for Ao’an Mountain. Unfortunately, she was a step behind us and made the trip for nothing.”
“Huh? How do you know?”
“I ran into her on the way back,” You Yan said.
“When?”
You Yan thought for a moment. “Probably… when I said ‘something brushed past us.'”
Yi Qiu thought back for a moment and remembered that You Yan had indeed said something like that. For a moment, the corner of her eye couldn’t help but twitch. “So, you knew that was Chaoyun, and you also knew she was going to find the Fuzhu for help?”
You Yan: “Uh-huh.”
Yi Qiu said in shock, “Then why didn’t you call out to her!”
You Yan closed her eyes and said, “Too lazy to turn back.”
Yi Qiu: “…”
The author has something to say:
Late again, still giving out red envelopes before the second update tonight _(:3」∠)_
Someone asked why Fusang isn’t afraid of fire. Little bird coo coo fly says she doesn’t know, so I don’t know either. If you look at the legends, the Golden Crow and Fusang are quite harmonious. Don’t ask, if you ask, the answer is: “This is how the ancestors passed it down26.” If you must ask, then it’s the “protagonist’s halo” (everyone stands, applause and encouragement)!
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