“He never considered the patient’s feelings at all.”
Ao Tian and Ji Shiyu hadn’t stopped chattering away in the cabin for ages.
This time, the blonde girl and her servant had reaped all the benefits. Without lifting a finger, they had seized Yinglong’s fortune and absorbed most of the Divine Tree Dragon Essence, dominating the competition.
“Mmm…”
Yun Liu’s throat was parched. His body felt like it had fallen apart; even moving a finger was a struggle.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the little blonde girl’s pretty face looming close, her eyes shut and her lips puckered up high.
“Mju!”
Startled, Yun Liu hurriedly raised a hand to block her.
“What are you doing?”
“Teacher, you really are awake!”
Ji Shiyu’s kiss landed on his palm. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she exclaimed in delight,
“Ah, so Teacher’s Sleeping Beauty story was true!”
Yun Liu shot her a look, gave a weak smile, and said sarcastically,
“Not calling me Big Brother-in-Law anymore?”
Ji Shiyu carefully helped him sit up. Her cheeks were flushed—whether from residual dragon blood or because an idiot could feel embarrassment.
Both of them were covered in sticky dragon blood, reeking horribly. They hadn’t even had a chance to wash up, so they looked quite disheveled.
Yun Liu clenched his fist. The Tree Sea Soul Essence had been fully absorbed under the dragon blood’s tempering. His spiritual breath was pressing straight toward the peak of the fifth stage. His realm advancement was alarmingly swift.
He probed with his divine sense. Inside his Jade Palace, the third fortune stream entangled around his Golden Core had deepened somewhat, but the lion’s share should have gone to Ji Shiyu.
Yet why had that fourth, obscure yin-tainted fortune stream also become slightly clearer?
When he looked at the blonde girl beside him, it was even more shocking.
Great Circle of Foundation Establishment!
With her accompanying Vermilion Bird spirit and the Xuantian Nine Transformations, the crippled Mystic Maiden was finally starting to resemble a Heavenly Fate Girl. If she swallowed the Heavenly Condensed Golden Pill, even Golden Core Stage 3 wouldn’t be able to stop her.
Ji Shiyu chattered on about what had happened after Yun Liu fell unconscious.
Ao Tian counted on his fingers and shamefacedly handed over a pile of leftover scrap materials.
Unexpectedly, the young man just nodded, offering no reproach.
It didn’t matter that Nuo Nuo had gotten the advantage.
Gains and losses came together. In Yudu, they had relied on the mother hen to save the Vermilion Bird. Now, the Demon Sect had only gained one Guardian Sacred Beast. Not losing anyone was already the best outcome.
Gelan heard the commotion and came down into the cabin. She said nothing, just leaned against the doorframe, staring coldly at the young man on the bed.
Yun Liu sighed. He had foreseen this.
Since everything was settled, the Dragon Slaying Squad was no longer necessary. This brief and beautiful journey had come to an end.
“Ahem, adults are talking. Kids, go outside for a bit.”
“I’m not a kid! What whispers can a genius beauty like me not hear? You usually take care of me, but now you’re hurt, so I’m staying here to take care of you!”
The rebellious girl shook her head and yelled, refusing to be left alone to watch the house again.
Yun Liu glared at her.
“Who was it that said she’d listen to me about everything from now on?”
Little Yellow Hair’s antennae quivered, and she grew shy.
“You… you heard all that?”
“You were shouting so loud, I’m not deaf.”
Yun Liu pinched Ji Shiyu’s ear and, enduring the pain, dragged her out the door. He scolded with a laugh,
“And who said something about ‘giving you my whole heart, never wavering to the death’? A girl saying things like that—aren’t you ashamed? I don’t remember teaching you to be such a shameless rebellious disciple!”
“Oww, oww, it’s true anyway! Who told you to dump your fiancée for me, and now the little princess has rejected your marriage, so I have no choice but to offer myself as compensation!”
“Don’t flatter yourself. Who wants your compensation? When you grow up, I’ll be satisfied if you can see to my funeral in old age.”
“Bleh! I’ve been grown up for ages! And you’re not my dad, so stop trying to take advantage of my mom. Hmph, she’d never agree!”
Ji Shiyu made a funny face and was shut outside. If she wasn’t allowed to listen, fine.
Little Yellow Hair turned around and dove into the water to wash. Even as the icy seawater enveloped her body, her bold heart kept pounding.
It was embarrassing, but having broken that unspoken barrier in such a strange way, the girl actually felt much lighter. No more pretending.
A filial daughter could see to her master’s old age in other ways!
Ao Tian flew to the bow, gazing at the Inner Sea Vacuum Whirlpool with a strange expression.
He recalled the comical scene when they first met at the foot of the Sea of Clouds Peaks Forest—it had a sort of “one look at Yun Liu and your life is doomed” feel.
Having finally driven away the troublesome little one, the young man closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He had to use joking words to cover up his fluster.
While he was unconscious, what played over and over in his mind was the image of a certain lovable golden-haired girl, tears streaming down her face as she held him and poured out her heart.
It was impossible not to feel his heart tremble.
“A fool with luck.”
“It’s not luck from foolishness—it’s heaven’s favor for the virtuous. You are that child’s heavenly fate.”
Gelan curled her lips, silently watching their playful banter.
Yun Liu looked at the bloody hole in Gelan’s abdomen and asked with concern,
“Lady Lan, how are your injuries?”
“I have my avatar to protect me, unlike that demonic man. Just a flesh wound, nothing serious.”
Compared to the adoptive mother who had been backstabbed by her own daughter, she was more worried about another matter.
The words “demonic man” seemed pointed, but Yun Liu just smiled and said nothing.
“Stop smiling!”
Gelan scolded, pointing at the younger generation wallowing in self-degradation, and demanded,
“How did you get involved with… that thing? Tell me the truth!”
“What thing?”
“Still pretending! Even if you don’t tell me, I can guess. I found it strange back then. When you and Ran were attacked, it was because the Bloodthirsty Banner Demons were searching for the stolen Demon Sect Fragment Scroll. That group even chased all the way to the Outer Sect, trying to kidnap Shiyu and Ran!”
“And then?”
Yun Liu sat back on the bed, scratching his head in confusion.
“They thought that thing was still with Shiyu, but they never realized it was on you the whole time. So that’s when you came into contact with the Demon Sect Scripture, and maybe you even found a way to save yourself from it, am I right?”
Gelan’s voice trembled, her expression complex.
Yun Liu didn’t deny it. He didn’t want to deceive her, but he couldn’t confess either, so he let her guess.
“That’s why you were so determined to leave the sect.”
Gelan’s eyes were filled with pity, and she looked lost.
Worse than failing as a second mother was watching the son of an enemy walk down the wrong path.
What cruel tricks fate played.
Divine Radiance couldn’t save Yun Liu, but the demonic way that had crippled him brought him back from the dead. How ridiculous was that?
“The Great Dao has ten thousand paths. A weapon itself has no distinction between righteous and evil—it depends on how people use it. Since I am now free, I no longer label myself as a Right Path practitioner. Every move I make, every how I cultivate, I only seek to have a clear conscience.”
Lady Lan’s ingrained prejudices ran deep, like the conventions that had kept them apart. They couldn’t be undone in a short time.
But what did it matter if a Wandering Cultivator became a Demonic Cultivator?
Shanhai Pavilion had no such sectarian bias.
“Th-that may be so, but the Sacred Fire is still a harmful thing, and the evil demonic arts…”
“Did I force you to eat grass?”
Yun Liu blinked.
The implication was: weren’t you just starving?
Gelan’s face instantly flushed red. She gritted her teeth and pounced on the young man, pinning him to the bed, making it impossible to continue the topic seriously.
“You little brat, is that how you talk to your elder? Don’t think I’ll be scared just because you’ve fallen into the demonic path! Push me too far, and I’ll put family loyalty aside and eat you up all the same!”