The White Moonlight Subdues Everyone with a Suona - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Na Na Na Na Na

“You can’t even handle a simple task! What a bunch of useless trash!”

Dusk was falling. A dark mist enveloped the sky like a heavy shadow. Cries and wails echoed from all directions alongside ghost-like howls. Violent gusts of wind swept through, seemingly trying to swallow every living creature in the area.

This terrifying display alone was enough to make one’s knees knock and body tremble with fear. What was worse, faint whispers and high-pitched, agonizing screams of a woman occasionally echoed through this normally deserted area. It was impossible to tell whether it was human or demonic, transforming the region into a ghost story that kept nearby villagers completely away.

If someone were able to look down from above, they would be stunned to discover that this jagged stone forest—once thought to be nothing more than an overgrown wasteland—had subtly taken on the formation of the “Seven Kills Array,” radiating a suffocating sense of slaughter.

Right in the eye of this array stood about ten black-robed cultivators.

One was seated, one stood, and the rest were all kneeling.

The harsh rebuke just now had come from the black-robed man standing.

Having berated the kneeling woman, he quickly put on a flattering, obsequious smile and turned to the seated figure: “My Lord, permit your subordinate to report. In my humble opinion, these women are utterly useless. It would be better to silence them permanently, lest…”

He left the sentence unfinished, but the implication was clear to everyone.

The women below trembled even more violently. They exchanged glances filled with mutual hostility, blaming one another for failing the mission, yet not a single one dared to challenge the man at the top.

The man referred to as “My Lord” sat leisurely on a rattan throne, playing with a flower that had withered the exact moment it bloomed on the armrest. He was handsome, naturally possessing an aura of wicked charm and untamed elegance. A closer look revealed that his facial features bore some resemblance to Li Fuqing, though his underlying temperament was entirely different.

If Li Fuqing was charming and uninhibited—looking comically chuunibyou even when flashing a wicked smirk—then the man before them was gaudy, greasy, vulgar, and utterly cliché.

By bloodline, this man was Li Fuqing’s younger uncle, Li Wuyan—and currently the most famous General of White Bones in the Realm of Demons.

Oh, wait—no longer a “General.” As early as the hundredth year after Li Fuqing vanished, he had led a group of followers to break away and establish his own sect in the Western Demon Realm, styling himself the “Sovereign of White Bones.”

After hearing out the words of the demon follower beside him, Li Wuyan let out a soft sneer. He tossed aside the withered flower in his hand and put on an act of feigned displeasure: “How can you be so rude? These are all talented individuals of our Western Demon Realm. This General believes that even if they didn’t bring back major news, they must have gathered a great deal of intelligence.”

Due to certain reasons that were inconvenient to state openly, even now, Li Wuyan did not dare to refer to himself as “This Sovereign.”

Li Wuyan had sacrificed himself to the Demon Abyss to gain greater cultivation. As a result, he frequently had to go into secluded cultivation in the Western Demon Realm to rest and regain his strength. The figure present today was merely a strand of his divine sense, unable to step outside this jagged stone forest.

He had no choice but to rely on these women to act as his eyes and ears.

“Red Demon, you speak first.” Li Wuyan leaned back against the chair, raising the left corner of his mouth in a greasy smirk.

Yet, for a fraction of a second, a flicker of disgust passed through his eyes when his gaze fell upon Red Demon.

On the surface, however, Li Wuyan remained genial.

“This General trusts your methods. Over these past days, you must have gathered quite a harvest.”

Contrary to the impression her name “Red Demon” might evoke, the woman below looked thin, small, and withered, bearing the appearance of someone who suffered constant bullying.

She wasn’t particularly beautiful, appearing merely delicate in the Cultivation World where beauties were as common as clouds, yet she easily evoked pity in others.

Not the lustful pity a man feels toward a woman, but a genuine, empathetic compassion from one woman to another.

Red Demon kept her head lowered, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.

“This disciple has been staying inside Lingxiao Pavillion. Aside from occasional petty bickering among the women, no anomalies were discovered.”

This made sense. After all, Lingxiao Pavillion was full of women.

And women—what major scheme could they possibly pull off?

Li Wuyan didn’t doubt her words at all. Or rather, he had simply picked someone at random to question.

Compared to Lingxiao Pavillion, he cared far more about other matters.

“How are the rumors spread to the outside world going?”

“Replying to Your Lordship: the common folk no longer speak of the Phoenix Clan. Even for totems, most now use landscapes, birds, and beasts.”

“Replying to Your Lordship: according to my investigations, the old subordinates in the Cultivation World who once followed Prince Feng have all vanished without a trace. Some obstinate ones, like the Ji family faction, have already been wiped out by internal strife. Others believed the rumors spread by our agents and feel abandoned by the Phoenix Clan. For instance, the Pavilion Master of Fengqi Pavilion deeply hates Prince Feng and refuses to even mention his name.”

Splendid.

Li Wuyan almost burst out laughing.

It hadn’t even been a thousand years yet.

In a mere five or six hundred years, these forgetful humans had completely forgotten Prince Feng—the one who had sacrificed his body to block the array and gouged out his own heart to restore the heavens for their sake—and instead believed the rumors he had spread.

Should he say this was expected of the ignorant, forgetful, and ungrateful human race? Li Wuyan wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

He gave a cold laugh and then asked casually, “Did the trials for this new cohort of disciples proceed according to our plan?”

The exam questions for this generation’s disciple trial had been set by that old stubborn fool Xuan Feng from the Xuantian Sect. As luck would have it, Xuan Feng possessed Xuanyuan blood, and Li Wuyan—who had long since secretly colluded with the Xuanyuan family—felt as if the heavens themselves were helping him.

He had effortlessly slipped his own directives into the trial instructions.

He wanted to plant the seeds of slaughter and distrust into these new disciples right from the very beginning.

It was the same principle as raising Gu venomous insects.

The more fiercely the Gu fought each other to survive, the stronger the ultimate survivor would be. Yet no matter how strong, a Gu was nothing more than a pawn in the hands of the master.

Since the outcome was already predetermined, there wasn’t much left to discuss.

Li Wuyan raised his eyelids listlessly.

“Who won first place? Was it the boy from the Xuanyuan family, or that young girl from the Yan family? How chaotic did it get in the middle?”

Li Wuyan asked cruelly, “How many died? Did it successfully stir up conflict between the humans and the noble families?”

A suffocating silence spread through the stone forest. Several people below opened their mouths, but not a single word came out.

Li Wuyan realized something was off. He sat up straight and randomly pointed at one person.

“Green Glow, you tell me.”

Green Glow reported: “Replying to Your Lordship, the first-place winner of this year’s new disciple trial was neither from the Xuanyuan nor the Yan family, but rather a female disciple from the Ji family named Ji Bingyu.”

Upon hearing the surname “Ji,” Li Wuyan’s brows furrowed.

But hearing the word “female,” he relaxed slightly.

Thank goodness.

It was just a woman; she couldn’t cause any major waves.

“Chaos did break out during the trial, and many disciples ended up dead in the end.”

Before the corner of Li Wuyan’s mouth could curve up into his signature one-sided smirk, Green Glow added with absolute honesty: “…They were all our people.”

Li Wuyan: “…”

Seeing their Lord fall silent, the sycophant standing nearby immediately barked.

“You useless trash! Why didn’t you instigate them into fighting each other?!”

Green Glow let out an ‘Ah’ and said with unusual sincerity.

“This subordinate tried! I even participated in the new disciple trial and attempted to stir up conflict among them.”

“And then?!”

“And then… they said that as long as people share the same ideals and fight for the same goal, they are all ‘good comrades’—and good comrades must never engage in internal strife.”

Li Wuyan: “…”

Li Wuyan suddenly felt a surge of despair.

Green Glow scratched her head as she looked at her silent Lord.

“That faction was led by Ji Bingyu, and her control was far too strict. So, this subordinate went over to the other faction.”

Li Wuyan asked,”The other faction?”

“Yes, that faction was led by Xuanyuan Fentian.”

Remembering Xuanyuan Fentian, Green Glow smiled bashfully, “Subordinate successfully sowed discord into their relationship and even drove that Feng family girl away!”

Li Wuyan: “…”

If Li Wuyan had felt divine intervention earlier, he now felt as if the pillars supporting the heavens had collapsed.

Slowly, he pulled back his lopsided smirk.

“Speaking of which, it was the same for the Liuming Valley where this subordinate was stationed,” another woman whispered softly.

“This disciple disguised herself among the sweeping servants, attempting to praise one while belittling the other to stir up resentment. Who knew they would say things like ‘We are all good comrades with shared ideals,’ ‘There is no high or low in status,’ and ‘We must engage in healthy competition’… They simply refused to fight! Even when I risked my life to lure them into the same inner-sect secret realm and watched them physically fight and even force-feed each other talismans, nothing came of it. After exiting the secret realm, the relationship between those two actually became even closer!”

Li Wuyan: “…”

Force-feeding each other talismans?!?!

Li Wuyan could hardly believe his ears.

Had Liuming Valley, one of the Four Great Sects, devolved into such a absurd state by now???

Heh, as expected, each generation is worse than the last.

A sudden wave of contempt rose within Li Wuyan.

“Where did that Ji Bingyu go in the end?”

“Replying to Your Lordship: she was taken away by Daoist Master Qingxu of the Changqing Sect.”

The four words ‘Daoist Master Qingxu’ instantly triggered unpleasant memories for Li Wuyan.

With a dark face, Li Wuyan stepped down from his throne, scanned the crowd, and grabbed the chin of a woman kneeling on the ground.

With deliberately greasy movements, Li Wuyan rubbed her red lips with the pad of his thumb, intentionally lowering his voice to ask, “Qin Sha—tell this General, after infiltrating the Changqing Sect, did you obtain any useful intelligence?”

Qin Sha—who was actually “Yu Qianxue”—had never expected to be questioned by the Demon Lord in person. Her body trembled.

“Daoist… Daoist Master Qingxu has been frail ever since the grand battle against you a century ago. He has been in secluded cultivation on Xueyu Peak and almost never appears before others.”

“As for the rest… this subordinate… this subordinate is incompetent.”

Li Wuyan raised his eyebrows.

His hand slowly moved to the top of Qin Sha’s head, and before anyone could react, he slammed his hand down heavily!

Pain! Pain! Pain!!!

The excruciating pain—as if her soul was being ripped apart and reassembled—left Qin Sha unable to breathe for a moment.

For a split second, she even thought she had been killed by her Lord.

Thus, when she opened her eyes again, her gaze was still hollow and bewildered.

So much so that she felt as if she were hallucinating.

—Why did the Lord, who had just extracted her memories, look even more hollow, bewildered, and in agony than she did?

Extracting memories did more than reveal what the memory’s owner had seen; it amplified extreme emotions.

Emotions like fear, terror, and sheer disbelief.

For instance, right now, it felt as though five hundred ducks and seven hundred marmots had suddenly taken up residence inside Li Wuyan’s head.

Their shrieks and howls rose and fell in waves, breaking through the shackles of his soul and piercing through all worldly phenomena, dragging Li Wuyan straight down into the underworld.

—A miscalculation!

Li Wuyan staggered back to his main seat, gasping heavily for breath.

The shrill, startled screams of the sycophant beside him made Li Wuyan’s blood boil with irritation, making him wish he could shut the man up permanently.

Splitting with a excruciating headache, Li Wuyan overlooked a distinctly different gaze amidst the crowd below.

Or perhaps, he had never cared about these women to begin with.

A flash of joy glinted in Red Demon’s eyes.

She hurriedly lowered her head, putting on a wooden and terrified expression while forcing down the rising corners of her lips.

She had lied.

She had deceived the Demon Lord; she actually knew a great deal of news.

For instance, although the Pavilion Master of Fengqi Pavilion was reluctant to mention Prince Feng, it was far from harboring deep hatred toward him.

For instance, while those humans superficially went along with the trend to worship deities like the God of Wealth and used landscapes, flowers, and birds for traditional attire or ritual patterns, the truth was that many households still secretly possessed an old portrait of Prince Feng.

Humans were the most forgetful, yet they were also the most capable of passing these memories down through generations.

They shouldn’t look down on the human race.

Recalling her experiences inside Lingxiao Pavillion and her fellow disciples who treated her like sisters, a soft smile—one that did not belong to the Realm of Demons—bloomed on Red Demon’s face.

Right, I also learned one more piece of news.

Prince Feng… might still be alive.

…..

Having finally managed to appease Li Fuqing—that aggrieved, chastity-obsessed man—Ji Bingyu let out a long sigh of relief.

Who would have thought that Eldest Senior Brother, coming from the Demon Realm, was actually such a pure and innocent youth?

Hadn’t she merely wanted to lay things out clearly to prevent trouble before it started? Was there any need for such a massive reaction?

Heaven’s Will, having fully caught Ji Bingyu’s inner thoughts: “…”

It silently lit a candle for Li Fuqing in its heart while inevitably gloating over his misfortune.

Finally! It wasn’t the only one in this world being tormented by Ji Bingyu!

Feeling immensely proud and vindicated, Heaven’s Will—even though it knew Li Fuqing couldn’t see it—still manifested beside Li Fuqing to show off its triumph, rolling around several times on the floor.

The corner of Ji Bingyu’s mouth twitched.

She decided to ignore this embarrassingly foolish creature.

On the surface, the matter was now resolved.

However, to quell the dispute, Ji Bingyu didn’t have to attend classes at Hall of Enlightenment for the time being. She could comfortably stay on Xueyu Peak, which served as a confinement punishment on the surface.

After all, Ji Bingyu’s incident of “severely beating Yu Qianxue” wasn’t exactly a secret; many people had learned about it that very day.

To prevent a trend of mutual violence within the sect in the future, Sect Master Chang qingzi decided to give Ji Bingyu a corresponding punishment.

It had to be said that Chang qingzi was a man of great foresight, and his decision was exceedingly correct—though it was still one step too late.

Even though only a few people had actually witnessed Ji Bingyu beating someone with a suona that day, such a grand scene still left a deep, shocking impression on their young minds.

So… Sound Cultivators can actually cultivate like this?!

Putting those later events aside for now, upon hearing this decision, Ji Bingyu raised no objections.

She even sighed with emotion in her heart: Being a sect master is truly tough.

Externally, one had to act like a social butterfly, skillfully dealing with silly, stubborn old fools like Daoist Xuan Feng; internally, one needed the prestige of a strict father, the warmth of a loving mother, and sometimes even had to play the mediator to resolve disputes among these troublesome kids.

#SectMasterIsSoPitiable#

Beside her, Rong Qingyuan spoke up unexpectedly.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Thinking about how fortunate I am not to be a sect master.”

Realizing this statement might be ambiguous, Ji Bingyu quickly added, “I don’t mean Sect Master isn’t doing a good job—it’s just too exhausting, too hard.”

At this point, Ji Bingyu’s corporate slave DNA kicked in, and her mouth started spouting fluff automatically.

It was extraordinarily fluent, requiring zero thought, relying entirely on the instincts of her tongue.

“If Sect Master Chang qingzi has any flaw at all, it’s that he’s far too hard on himself! He doesn’t know how to take care of his own health—how can that be okay?”

Ji Bingyu looked heartbroken.

“We still need Sect Master’s patient guidance, and the development of Changqing Sect over the next decade still requires Sect Master’s wise leadership—”

Heaven’s Will truly couldn’t listen to this any longer.

It felt that if this continued, even its non-existent toes could dig out a pillar supporting the heavens right on the spot.

[Dad, this isn’t a corporate morning meeting. Dial it back, dial it back.]

Called out by Heaven’s Will in her head, Ji Bingyu snapped back to reality.

She instantly shut her mouth, clearing her throat lightly to change the subject.

“Master, please don’t worry. I think staying on Xueyu Peak without having to go to morning meetings—err, morning classes—is actually pretty great.”

Ji Bingyu spoke earnestly.

She swore that no sentence she uttered today would be more sincere than this one.

Shaoyang Yu cast a glance at Ji Bingyu, clearly noticing her intent to slack off.

The corners of her lips curled up slightly, but she didn’t stop her.

As for Shen Hege—he was still immersed in the emotions from the hall earlier, unable to pull himself out for the moment.

Among the remaining people, Rong Qingyuan remained noncommittal, whereas Li Fuqing—who had been shouting, causing a scene, and nearly coming to blows with Ji Bingyu just moments ago—immediately voiced his dissatisfaction.

“On what grounds is Sect Master preventing Little Junior Sister from going?”

Li Fuqing, who had just been unleashing his sharp taunts on Ji Bingyu, instantly turned his spearhead around.

The youth of eleven or twelve grit his teeth, so angry that his face rounded out, his tone inexplicably carrying a hint of jealousy.

Ji Bingyu suddenly realized that Li Fuqing had the making of a true “lemon monster”—envious of everything he didn’t have, regardless of the actual situation.

“Clearly, it was Piaomiao Peak that picked a fight first and acted unreasonably later. On what grounds should Little Junior Sister be punished?”

Li Fuqing’s tone was ridiculously righteous, leaving even Rong Qingyuan silent for a moment.

However, Ji Bingyu hadn’t guessed wrong about one thing: under normal circumstances, Rong Qingyuan was indeed exceedingly easygoing. He wouldn’t get angry over such trivial matters.

Meanwhile, Shen Hege, who had finally snapped out of his stupor, gently explained to Li Fuqing in good humor.

“Eldest Senior Brother, don’t be angry. This time, it was indeed Little Junior Sister who struck first.”

Shen Hege said, “Besides, Eldest Senior Brother previously managed to demand treasures from Piaomiao Peak back in the hall. Sect Master must balance the various peaks and cannot show favoritism.”

“What do you mean ‘Little Junior Sister struck first’?” Li Fuqing rolled his eyes.

“I don’t blame Little Junior Sister for taking action at all. It’s simply because that person’s name was poorly chosen! ‘Yu Qianxue, Yu Qianxue’—if you say it fast, doesn’t it sound just like ‘Deserves A Beating’? I say she was born asking to get hit!”

(T/N: It’s a pun. Say “Yu Qianxue” quickly, and it sounds like “Yu Qian Xiao”—slang for “deserves a beating” or “asking for a hit.”)

Hss—

Ji Bingyu took a sharp breath. Eldest Senior Brother’s skill in shifting the blame and distorting black and white was truly formidable!

Placed in modern times, he’d at least be at the level of a top-tier spin doctor!

For some unknown reason, even though Li Fuqing had never interacted with Yu Qianxue before, he had felt disgusted the moment he saw her.

He always felt this female disciple had a strange sense of incongruity about her, naturally exuding an annoying aura.

Unexpectedly… she somewhat resembled those people from the Western Demon Realm.

Shaoyang Yu was speechless upon hearing these words. She harbored no malice toward that female disciple, only thinking she was somewhat spoiled and mouthy.

Once the matter passed, it was over; there was no need to dwell on it.

Shaoyang Yu rubbed her temples, patted Li Fuqing’s back, and said sternly in a low voice, “She’s a decent girl who didn’t commit any major wrongdoing. Say a few less words.”

Li Fuqing: “???”

Li Fuqing’s eyes widened in disbelief: “Little Second, whose side are you actually on?!”

Shaoyang Yu’s hand paused: “Eldest… Senior… Brother, what did you just call me?”

Feeling a intense wave of killing intent, Li Fuqing hurriedly changed his tune.

“Second Senior Sister! You’re the Second Senior Sister of Xueyu Peak! Our favorite Second Senior Sister!”

(T/N: Xiao Er/ little second is the common term for an inn waiter or servant. Calling her that sounds like he is addressing her as a low-level servant rather than a respected fellow martial sibling…hehe)

Ji Bingyu: “…”

Rong Qingyuan: “…”

Shen Hege was bewildered for a moment. Having had too little contact with the outside world, he didn’t react right away and asked softly, “Does this ‘Little Second’ have any special meaning?”

Shaoyang Yu sneered: “It’s something your Eldest Senior Brother is about to lose.”

Ji Bingyu sighed, her gaze drifting distantly into the distance amidst a chorus of croaking frogs.

“It represents your Eldest Senior Brother’s departed youth.”

Rong Qingyuan said with wistful regret.

“We should have found him earlier back then, rather than letting him eat too many demon frogs and ruin his brain for nothing.”

In the distance, the setting sun dipped low, its faint glow lingering over Xueyu Peak.

Accompanied by the tragic croak-croak of the husky frog, today’s Xueyu Peak was once again so harmonious and bright!

……

Just when Ji Bingyu thought that, after two lifetimes, she had finally achieved her dream of a true, immortal, retired life, the elusive Heaven’s Will appeared once more, bringing unfortunate news.

“—So I absolutely have to participate in that ‘New Disciple Talent Showcase’ or whatever?”

“I’ll say it again: it’s the Newcomer Martial Tournament! And given that all of you in this cohort of disciples are so talented—everyone is in the Qi Refining stage, and a few have even reached Foundation Establishment—this year’s Newcomer Martial Tournament was merged with the inner-sect arena match!”

Relying on being inside Ji Bingyu’s cave dwelling, Heaven’s Will acted without restraint, sitting boldly across from Ji Bingyu.

Recently, it had discovered that although it couldn’t form a physical body, it could absorb the essence of the mortal world—for instance, the plate of Osmanthus Willow Leaf Pastries on the table smelled exceptionally sweet and delicious.

And so, after Ji Bingyu snapped back to reality, her hands trembled as she picked up a piece of Osmanthus Willow Leaf Pastry and popped it into her mouth, only to suddenly find it tasted completely insipid—just like accidentally inhaling a mouthful of chalk dust while nodding off in the front row back in her school days.

Thinking about how she hadn’t enjoyed even a few days of comfort before being forced back into work, and looking at the human-shaped Heaven’s Will across from her savoring the flavor with relish—as if committing some illegal act—Ji Bingyu was utterly heartbroken.

“I thought our Little Heaven was the purest, kindest boy in the world. Who knew you would be so rebellious? Cold leaves flutter down and scatter across my face; my child’s rebellion breaks my heart. Ah, Little Heaven, I failed to protect you properly—”

Heaven’s Will sucked in the last bit of flavor with an expressionless face, raised its head, and for the first time showed the pride of a victor.

“Dad, your osmanthus pastries are gone.”

“—You unfilial son!!!!!!”