Chapter 3

The boiling killing intent froze for a moment.

The white-clad youth didn’t release her, but the fingers that held her neck quietly loosened. His eyes were still dark, his expressionless gaze lingering on her for a while. When Yu Xizhi was about to collapse, the youth suddenly laughed and said, “Alright, help me wipe.”

Yu Xizhi: …

Are you serious?

She could only silently complain in her heart. As soon as the youth finished speaking, she instinctively rolled up her sleeves, only to realize that her Taoist robe was already stained with blood. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she hesitated in midair for a moment, then resolutely used her hand.

Perhaps due to the continuous blood loss, her hand was very cold. But the youth’s jawline was as smooth as jade. She lightly wiped the corner of his lips with her thumb, causing the crimson colour to faint and spread to her fingers.

Yu Xizhi’s fingers paused. She didn’t know if she was trembling or if the seemingly fierce youth in front of her was already on his end of strength. She was surprised in her heart, but her hand withdrew steadily.

However, just as she was halfway through withdrawing, her neck relaxed, replaced by the imprisonment of her wrist.

The youth lowered his eyes, suppressing a flutter of eyelashes. After a moment of silence, he somehow produced a clean handkerchief, sheathed his sword, and carefully wiped the blood from her hands one by one.

However, what he held was, coincidentally, the hand that was already injured.

He wiped forcefully, as if he couldn’t see the broken parts on her hand.

The wound on the back of her hand wasn’t large, with no flesh protruding, but it was deep. Upon closer inspection, there were four deep claw marks, and there were grooves on her fingers that looked like bite marks. Generally, after cultivating spiritual energy,the marrow has been thoroughly cleansed, and the body is naturally strong and extremely difficult to be harmed by ordinary animals. Yet she not only got injured, but clearly, the wound hadn’t healed for quite some time.

This was quite suspicious, but the white-clad youth seemed uninterested. He only lowered his eyes to wipe the blood; his thoughts were hidden, and his actions were not particularly gentle. Yu Xizhi trembled in pain, but he remained indifferent.

But in the end, he unexpectedly took out a plain handkerchief, bandaged her injured spot, and then released her hand.

Yu Xizhi withdrew her hand, her thoughts swirling in her mind.

Somehow, the persistent pain from her wound, which had been lingering, seemed to be suppressed by the fiery sensation after being wiped. At the same time, the grinding pain in her body also seemed to be pacified, slowly dissipating.

She had questions in her mind but didn’t know where to begin.

After releasing her wrist, the youth glanced at the handkerchief stained with her blood with apparent disgust. A faint blue flame ignited at his fingertips, burning the handkerchief to ashes.

In this subtle yet intense cold fire, the white-clad youth lifted his eyelids again and asked, “So, how did you get in?”

“I was waiting for someone and unexpectedly encountered the changes in the Misty Forest’s formation.”

Yu Xizhi, unsettled by the illogical series of actions by the white-clad youth, honestly replied, “When I came to my senses, I was already here.”

“The Misty Forest?” The white-clad youth squinted his eyes, his dark pupils reflecting a dense blue hue from the cold fire. For some reason, his previously relaxed expression suddenly turned grim. He scrutinized Yu Xizhi for a while with an uncertain expression. “Who are you waiting for?”

“My junior sister.”

Yu Xizhi saw the increasingly probing gaze of the other party. Although she couldn’t guess his identity, being inside Kunwu Sect, he must at least be a disciple of the sect.

Since she was already here, there was no need to hide anything about her and her junior sister. If he wanted to know, he could easily find out by asking around.

So, she decided to speak up herself: “Everyone thinks that when I passed through the Misty Forest, I pushed her into the formation, causing her to fall into the Sword Tomb on Xuecan Peak. But I didn’t push her, so I came here to wait for her to come out and clear my name.”

“Are the people of Taiqing Peak so foolish to think that a mere push would make someone fall into the Sword Tomb? Or do you think you’ve become so powerful?”

The white-clad youth seemed to find something extremely ridiculous, a hint of mockery appearing on his lips. “Besides, what’s the use of you waiting here?”

Before Yu Xizhi could respond, both of their expressions changed slightly.

The Yantian sword in her hand began to tremble uneasily.

At the same time, the entire space was suddenly filled with a buzzing sound, as if countless iron horses and golden spears, along with a surging momentum, were overwhelming everything.

The leaves around rustled down, the wind howled, and with the force of wind and thunder, it rushed toward the direction where the two stood!

Yu Xizhi widened her eyes abruptly.

The white-clad youth stepped forward, blocking in front of her and shielding her from the fiercest wave of sword intent. Although his long sword remained sheathed, the sharpest sword intent emanated from him, forcefully suppressing the abnormality!

His face was even paler than before, coughing uncontrollably, but his eyes were brighter. After the wave of sword intent passed, he smirked and said, “It looks like your junior sister is lucky.”

When the anomaly occurred, Yu Xizhi had already guessed that it was Xia Yiyao who had obtained the Sword of Destiny.

Although she hadn’t anticipated such a commotion from the supposed resonance of myriad swords, at this moment, she was more curious about this young man in front of her who could withstand such sword intent.

From his few words, she had already guessed that the formation she was involved in might be more complex than she had imagined, and it was highly likely that she wasn’t even in the Misty Forest anymore.

And this young man, unexpectedly using such an indifferent and arrogant tone to speak of the main peak where the sect master of the Kunwu Mountain Sect resided as foolish, clearly indicated that his identity was not ordinary.

There were many elders in the sect, but those who were qualified to speak such words were as rare as elders with as many years and beards. Where could such a young person come from?

Could it be… the illegitimate child of Master Huaiyun? Or perhaps a closed-door disciple hidden by one of the elders?

Yu Xizhi’s thoughts spun, considering another possibility.

Yes, the old monsters in the sect had reached such high realms that, inevitably, some would like to revert their appearance back to their youth.

So, the person in front of her, more likely than not, wasn’t some white-clad youth but the venerable white-clad patriarch.

Thinking of this, Yu Xizhi took a step back and earnestly bowed, “Thank you, senior, for saving Xizhi’s life.”

“That sword intent may not kill you; at most, it leaves you half-dead.”

The venerable white-clad patriarch appeared unappreciative, but in the next moment, he glanced at Yu Xizhi again, seemingly lamenting, “I have saved many people, yet you are the only one to express gratitude.”

He coughed a few more times uncontrollably, his demeanor finally returning to calm, as if the capricious and furious person with the raging sword intent from before wasn’t him. “Your junior sister is very lucky, but you are not so lucky. Your wound is stained with my blood. If you don’t want to die, wait for me beneath the Qianya Peak, every new moon.”

“What you’ve seen of me, there’s no need to tell others.”

While Yu Xizhi was still pondering the meaning behind his words, before she could ask further, a dizzying blur swept over her. She only saw the white-clad patriarch standing with his hands behind his back, leaving her with a vague silhouette. The next moment she raised her eyes, she found herself back in the misty forest once again.

And before her stood her long-lost junior sister, Xia Yiyao.

Xia Yiyao gripped a slender sword that was still trembling. She wore the attire of an inner disciple of the Kunwu Sect, her slender waist accentuating her exquisite figure. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, her eyes seemingly holding a hint of tears.

She looked bewildered, furrowing her brows as she lowered her head, then suddenly looked up at Yu Xizhi. “S-Second Senior Sister…? What are you doing here?”

Yu Xizhi glanced at her fingers, now bandaged by the unnamed patriarch, and when she looked up again, tears had welled up in the corners of her eyes.

She looked at Xia Yiyao with a mixture of excitement and relief. “You’re safe… That’s wonderful!”

Xia Yiyao was startled, raising her hand instinctively, but she forgot about the sword intent she had absorbed from the Sword Tomb. As she raised her hand, both her original sword and the new one in her hand were unsheathed simultaneously, pointing directly at Yu Xizhi!

“Yiyao!” A voice suddenly resounded, countless sword lights streaking across the sky. Clearly, the disciples of Taiqing Peak also sensed the disturbance in the Sword Tomb. When they arrived, riding their swords, they saw Xia Yiyao raising her sword against Yu Xizhi!

Almost without thinking, the instructors subconsciously felt that Yu Xizhi had done something excessive after finding Xia Yiyao, forcing Xia Yiyao to retaliate.

So several instructors surrounded Xia Yiyao, swords drawn, pointing towards Yu Xizhi. “How dare you!”

Only the young man wearing a purple jade crown stood in front of Yu Xizhi. His long hair was blown aside by the instructors’ killing intent, a few strands falling. Yu Si instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, but ultimately didn’t draw it, merely blocking steadfastly in front of Yu Xizhi.

“Brother.”

Yu Xizhi lightly patted his back, her voice calm. This made the tense young man relax slightly. She walked out from behind Yu Si, seemingly oblivious to the swords bristling before her, and spoke softly, “Junior sister, it seems that when you suddenly stepped into the Misty Forest earlier, you were drawn by the allure of a famous sword. I worried needlessly. Did the sword intent from the Sword Tomb harm you?”

At this remark, the instructors holding swords were all stunned.

“It… it was Yiyao’s good luck. She wasn’t harmed, which relieved Second Senior Sister’s worries.”

Xia Yiyao’s soft voice came from behind the crowd. The instructors finally realized, belatedly, that the atmosphere wasn’t as they had thought. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, they awkwardly made their way.

Yu Xizhi stepped through the crowd, her gaze briefly sweeping over the slender sword at Xia Yiyao’s side, smiling as she said, “Famous swords are often unruly, especially when newly acquired. Give it a few days; there’s no need to be too nervous. Congratulations on seizing this opportunity, junior sister.”

Only then did Xia Yiyao suddenly react, her eyes momentarily shifting.

This was not what she had originally planned.

Clearly, she hadn’t reached the stage of incorporating the sword into her body. With this new sword in her hand, even if she didn’t say anything, others would be able to tell at a glance.

However, since she had obtained this sword, she naturally knew that it was the female sword of a pair, and the spirit of the sword had instructed her not to reveal anything about the male sword to others for the time being, as there might be unexpected changes and troubles.

At that time, when she agreed, she was prepared to pretend to have amnesia after leaving the Sword Tomb.

But she had forgotten about this predetermined plan when her senior sister suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

It was clearly too late to feign amnesia now.

While she was still contemplating what to do, Instructor Xu’s face lit up with joy, “So the commotion just now in the Sword Tomb was caused by Yiyao retrieving the sword? Wonderful, this is a great opportunity! Among this generation of disciples, Yiyao should be the first one to be drawn by the Sword Tomb, right?”

Instructor Wang beside him also clapped his hands and sighed, “Even Ah Si hasn’t been drawn by the Sword Tomb, right?”

“We have such extraordinary talents in our Kunwu Sect, we don’t need to worry about the next millennium!” Instructor Xu laughed heartily.

“I’ll inform the Sect Master immediately. Even hosting a banquet to celebrate wouldn’t be excessive!”

“It shouldn’t be announced so quickly. Kunwu Sect is the leading sect among the Immortal Sects and is easily targeted. It’s better to keep a low profile for now.”

“Nonsense. Kunwu Sect’s sword can sweep across the world. When do we ever need to consider other sects’ opinions?”

There were congratulations and sentiments among the instructors, but Yu Xizhi didn’t interrupt. She just stood by and listened to the whole conversation before seizing a sudden lull in the conversation to speak up. “So, do you all now believe that my junior sister wasn’t pushed by me?”

The instructors were suddenly stunned, as if just remembering this crucial detail.

Instructor Xu, displeased that his train of thought was interrupted, waved his hand. “Since it’s not related to you, you may leave on your own.”

Seeing Yu Xizhi standing still, Instructor Xu’s frown deepened. “What, do you really expect me to apologize to you?”

He glanced at Yu Si and continued, “Ah Si, you go inform the Sect Master.”

Yu Xizhi remained silent, standing in place.

She slowly clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

She couldn’t quite articulate her feelings at this moment.

If she could, of course, she also wanted to force Instructor Xu to apologize and make all those who had spoken ill of her at that time bow their heads to her.

But she couldn’t.

She couldn’t, not because of anything else, but simply because she was inconsequential.

Because of her mediocrity, her usual modesty, her lack of prominence, and her low cultivation level—she was inconsequential.

Yu Xizhi had originally thought she would be very angry, but seeing Instructor Xu like this, she unexpectedly felt a sense of anticipation, even feeling a bit like laughing.

Just because of this, if it was her fault, she would pay the price for it; if it wasn’t her fault, this matter would be lightly passed over.

This wasn’t about some protagonist halo or the inevitable misfortune of a supporting character. Since she had transmigrated here, even if this was a world from a book, it should still have its own logic, and there should always be fairness and justice.

If given the choice, who wouldn’t want to be born to be loved, shining brightly, and soaring all the way to the top?

But how many people are born standing on clouds?

She suddenly thought of her character’s fate in the original book and absentmindedly gazed at the slender sword in Xia Yiyao’s hand, the sword that would pierce her heart with a single stroke and annihilate her soul. Then she smiled faintly.

She was very angry, yet also very calm.

“Brother,”

She looked at the instructors in front of her who no longer paid attention to her and were back in the heated discussion.

She called softly to Yu Si, who stood in front of her with an equally displeased expression.

“Are they ignoring me and looking down on me because my cultivation level is too low and my strength too weak?”

Yu Si pursed his lips. He turned around, expecting to see a disappointed, angry, or sad expression on Yu Xizhi’s face. He was already contemplating how to comfort her. However, to his surprise, he was met with a face bearing a calm smile.

The disheveled girl’s bright eyes seemed to be saying something mundane: “If that’s the case… Brother, I want to become stronger.”

If this world was destined to be survival of the fittest, where the weak were inevitably devoured, then she would use the sword in her hand to carve out fairness for herself.