5 days.
Xu Sheng gave Mo Ruxue a 5-day buffer. After all, for a strong-willed woman like her, some things could not be rushed. However, his original words only instructed her to bring Zhu Yuexi to him in 5 days.
He hadn’t specified whether they would begin the treatment then or if he would collect a bit of “interest” first. This was part of Xu Sheng’s psychological game. By telling her to find him in a few days without stating what would happen first, he left Mo Ruxue alone to let her imagination run wild during those 5 days.
How she would toss and turn, how worried she would be…
When imagining certain scenarios, her heart would initially suffer through extreme torment. Yet, behind that torment, when would a sliver of a different kind of desire be born? Xu Sheng only needed to drop an anchor, or rather a seed, and then provide a few hints. All he had to do was wait for that seed to slowly sprout.
Oftentimes, victory — or the overall direction of a person’s thoughts — was changed by these small details. Xu Sheng didn’t have much room for error, so if he could, he would naturally utilize every single step.
***
Xu Sheng had truly left.
Mo Ruxue had even briefly activated the sect’s grand array to test if he was still hiding within the grounds. After all, based on the strength Xu Sheng had displayed, even Mo Ruxue, the current Leader of the Righteous Path and the number one in the world, was not confident she could defeat him.
The result was that she found no trace of Xu Sheng’s aura within the Linxian Sect. If he truly could evade the sect’s grand array, his strength had to be infinitely close to, or perhaps already at, the legendary 10th Realm.
And someone with that kind of power… why would he need to lead the Demon Gate into hiding? If he truly possessed the strength of the 10th Realm, the entire world would likely be named “Demon” rather than “Righteous” even on the surface.
Thinking of this, Mo Ruxue felt a bit more at ease. At that moment, she was sitting by Zhu Yuexi’s bed. Following Xu Sheng’s “treatment” just now, Zhu Yuexi’s condition had stabilized. She looked as if she were merely sleeping peacefully.
Mo Ruxue reached out and gently rubbed Zhu Yuexi’s palm. The heartache in her eyes intensified as she looked at her unconscious disciple. She had always treated Zhu Yuexi like her own daughter. From the moment she picked the girl up from the freezing cold to watching her grow up into a graceful young woman, she viewed her as true family.
She would never allow anything to happen to Zhu Yuexi. Even if it meant sacrificing herself, or…
At that thought, Mo Ruxue took a deep breath. She felt a sudden wave of emotion realization that the little girl who loved to follow her around had grown so much. She had always been strict with Zhu Yuexi, constantly wanting her to grow up quickly and become independent. Perhaps she truly had been too harsh in the past…
During the 1 month since Zhu Yuexi was poisoned, although Mo Ruxue had been constantly on the move, she had indeed reflected a lot. Who wouldn’t want their child to remain innocent forever? Who wouldn’t want to protect them for a lifetime?
She recalled how Xu Sheng had reached out to pinch Zhu Yuexi’s cheek earlier. That was likely a test directed at her. Regardless, Mo Ruxue had to maintain her stance. Perhaps… as the Sect Master, there were things she couldn’t control. But as a Master, letting her disciple remain pure and untainted, guarding her innocence… that was exactly what she should be doing right now.
As she was thinking this, Zhu Yuexi’s butterfly-like eyelashes fluttered before she slowly opened her eyes.
“Master…” Zhu Yuexi murmured weakly.
Mo Ruxue felt a pang of sadness, but she forced a smile for her disciple. Although Zhu Yuexi wasn’t remarkably brilliant, aside from having a bit of a temper, she wasn’t stupid. Having lived with Mo Ruxue for so long, she could naturally tell that her Master’s smile was a bit strained.
However, she didn’t consider the possibility that Mo Ruxue had already sacrificed herself. That Demon Gate scoundrel, Xu Sheng, seemed to want to use her treatment as a bargaining chip to take half the lifespans of everyone in the Linxian Sect.
In truth, the lives of the people in the sect meant absolutely nothing to Zhu Yuexi. The only thing she cared about was her Master’s mood. Her Master had always been like the clear wind and the bright moon, upright and incorruptible. Zhu Yuexi hadn’t expected her Master to actually cooperate with Xu Sheng so decisively for her sake.
How long had it been?
She suddenly remembered the “house-demolition effect” Xu Sheng had mentioned to her earlier that night. He had used her to threaten her Master; otherwise, her Master wouldn’t have agreed so quickly. This meant that she was already important enough to her Master to warrant such a sacrifice.
Even though half the lifespans of the entire sect were gone, Zhu Yuexi still felt a flicker of joy in her heart.
“Master…” Thoughts flashed through Zhu Yuexi’s mind as she propped herself up and began to cough. “Cough, cough, cough…”
“I don’t know why… but I seem to feel a little more uncomfortable.”
As she spoke, she secretly peeked at Mo Ruxue’s reaction. Mo Ruxue’s expression stiffened upon hearing this, but she quickly adjusted. She shook her head, seemingly having made a firm decision.
“It’s fine… I have already found a solution. In 5 days, I will take you to see a Medical Immortal.”
“Okay!”
***
Although Mo Ruxue had used the power of the grand array to check if Xu Sheng remained in the Linxian Sect, and he had indeed left, that didn’t mean he lacked the means to monitor them.
At that moment, Xu Sheng was sitting on a mountain peak just outside the Linxian Sect’s borders. Before him was a holographic screen, broadcasting everything happening on Mount Dengxian in real-time.
Seeing the end of the scene, Xu Sheng couldn’t help but laugh.
Mo Ruxue truly was a person worthy of respect… Her decisive refusal when faced with his first demand said everything. He knew that given her character, even if he hadn’t offered a second choice, she would never have chosen to harm her fellow sect members. She might have looked for another way, or she might have fallen into total despair…
In short, the only cooperation she could accept was “harming” herself.
He wondered how Mo Ruxue would feel once she knew the full truth — once she discovered that the precious disciple she was protecting was actually arrogant and malicious.
However, even though he was acting quite like a villain, Xu Sheng was, in the end, doing it all to treat her illness.
As for Zhu Yuexi… her nature was indeed not good. Putting aside her lack of caution against others, she harbored plenty of intent to harm them. Xu Sheng recalled what had happened 1 month ago. It was solely out of jealousy that she had tried to ruin a fellow disciple… and it was precisely because of this that Xu Sheng had found an opening to exploit.
Now, considering Zhu Yuexi’s personality, Xu Sheng didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt for taking things to this level.
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