After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 13

Zhuoyan Mountain Range (III)

Zhu Singshi stepped out of the house and saw Yue Xu watering the plants. The courtyard was planted with many unknown flowers and medicinal herbs. Yue Xu straightened up, catching sight of her as well, and smiled:

“Looking at your complexion, Miss Zhu, your injuries seem to have recovered quite well.”

Zhu Singshi nodded slightly, surveyed the surroundings, and asked, “Miss Yue, do you tend to these plants every day?”

Yue Xu replied, “Yes, some of these are hard-won medicinal herbs that require careful daily attention. Taking care of these herbs isn’t actually the hard part; the difficulty lies in raising those venomous snakes and insects.”

“What is the purpose of raising those venomous creatures?”

Meeting her inquisitive gaze, Yue Xu gave a faint smile. “Many people come to the Zhuoyan Mountain Range seeking medicinal Gu. Some do it to save lives, others to commit evil. My sister and I raise these snakes and insects to create Gu according to their needs, then we engage in an equal exchange.”

Zhu Singshi paused. “If others intend to use them for evil, would you still sell the Gu to them?”

“We only want to obtain the medicinal herbs we need,” Yue Xu said truthfully. “As for the true intentions of those people, we don’t have the energy to investigate closely, nor do we wish to bring trouble upon ourselves.”

Yue Xu’s words weren’t wrong. If they truly pried into where the buyers were using the Gu, it would likely invite unnecessary trouble. The two of them lived in this deep forest presumably because they wished to stay far away from the clamor of the world.

Yue Xu observed her for a few moments and said calmly, “Righteous path or demonic path, none of it has anything to do with my sister and me. We don’t care about those disputes; we only want to find some peace here. Miss Zhu, one day you will understand the happiness of being far removed from such turmoil.”

Zhu Singshi lowered her eyes and remained silent. She had practiced at the Guiyun Sect for years; since childhood, she had accepted the ideals of eliminating demons, defending the Way, and upholding justice. If one day a great war broke out between the righteous path and the demonic cult, it would be impossible for her to stand idly by.

“Last night, did you and Miss Axu rest well?” Yue Xu asked. Just as Zhu Singshi was about to answer, a familiar voice rang out behind her.

“Very well,” Axu said, crossing her arms as she slowly approached. She arched an eyebrow at Zhu Singshi. “Isn’t that right, Daoist Zhu?”

The slightly flippant tone was exactly the same as the words spoken the night before.

Zhu Singshi frowned slightly, her expression becoming somewhat unnatural.

Seeing her ambiguous attitude, Axu was about to speak again when suddenly, a piercing sound of shattering came from the main house.

Yue Xu’s expression changed instantly. She stopped watering and hurried toward the main house.

Inside, Zhinuo was half-kneeling on the ground, surrounded by broken porcelain shards. Among those shards, many three-inch-long insects were crawling about.

Yue Xu kicked away the porcelain pieces and helped Zhinuo up, carefully checking her all over. Her tone was tense. “Sister, were you pricked by the shards?”

Zhinuo shook her head and pointed at the ground. “I’m fine. Don’t let the Gu insects scatter.”

Hearing that she wasn’t injured, Yue Xu finally turned her gaze to the floor. She took a short whistle from her sleeve and blew it gently; the insects on the ground immediately stopped crawling.

Yue Xu took a new porcelain vessel from a wooden cabinet nearby and controlled the Gu insects to crawl inside. After handling everything, she looked at Zhinuo with a hint of heartache in her voice. “I suggested before that you look after the medicinal herbs while I raise the Gu insects, but you insisted on showing off. In the future, you must tell me when you are driving the Gu; I need to be watching by your side.”

Hearing these words—half-reproachful and half-distressed—Zhinuo’s expression softened, and she gave a soft “mm.”

“How is Miss Zhu’s injury?” Zhinuo asked; she had sensed the two entering the room just now.

“It is no longer a major concern,” Zhu Singshi answered calmly.

Zhinuo nodded gently. Yue Xu swept away the surrounding shards for her, then tightly held her hand to lead her away from that spot.

Zhu Singshi’s gaze fell on their tightly clasped hands, lost in thought.

The way the two behaved so intimately indeed did not seem like ordinary sisters.

At that moment, someone lightly tugged at her sleeve. Zhu Singshi glanced sideways to see the person beside her with her palm facing up, extending a hand toward her.

Confused, Zhu Singshi asked, “What are you doing?”

Axu wore a faint smile. “If you also want to hold hands, I could reluctantly…”

“I don’t want to,” Zhu Singshi interrupted her quickly, lest she say something else bizarre.

Axu let out an “oh” and seemingly nonchalantly withdrew her hand.

Yue Xu led Zhinuo to the stone bench in the courtyard, then turned back to the house to clean up the broken porcelain.

Watching her hurried movements, Axu said, “The herb you want is the one that can cure Miss Zhinuo’s eyes, right?”

Yue Xu’s movements paused. She replied slowly, “That’s right. I don’t believe that being born blind means there is no possibility of recovery. That’s why I’ve collected all sorts of herbs to try. The rare herbs in the courtyard were all specifically sought out and planted by me. Even if there is only a sliver of hope, I must try.”

Axu thought for a moment. “I actually recall a certain medicine. Snake gall is cooling and clears the vision. If one could find the gall of a thousand-year-old great serpent to use in medicine, it would certainly be beneficial for Miss Zhinuo’s eyes.”

Yue Xu sighed softly. “I once thought about collecting snake gall, but a thousand-year-old serpent is rare to see; I have yet to find one.” After finishing with the shards, she brought a plate of pastries out to the courtyard.

“These are pastries I made this morning. Miss Axu, Miss Zhu, please try some,” Zhinuo said to the two of them, hearing the sound of the plate being placed on the stone table.

Zhu Singshi politely declined: “Thank you, but I do not care for sweets.”

Axu picked up a pastry, took a bite, and exclaimed, “So delicious!”

Her eyes were curved with a smile and her gaze was lively. Only now did her smile seem truly genuine. Zhu Singshi watched her for a few seconds before shifting her gaze away.

Zhinuo groped for and held the hand of the person beside her, smiling. “I told you someone would like them.”

Yue Xu gave a helpless smile. “Mhm. It seems Miss Axu is just like my sister—both have a sweet tooth.”

Suddenly remembering something, Zhinuo asked, “Have you packed the Gu insects?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve placed them in the porcelain vessel.”

Hearing this, Zhinuo was relieved. “That’s good. People from the Kunchen Sect will come to collect them in three days.”

The Kunchen Sect?

Zhu Singshi spoke up: “Are people from the Kunchen Sect also coming to seek Gu?”

Zhinuo hummed in affirmation. “A month ago, people from the Kunchen Sect arrived. They said they were willing to exchange a Soul-Attracting Grass for one Gu.”

“Soul-Attracting Grass can return scattered souls to their bodies and only grows once every fifty years. The Kunchen Sect is actually willing to use such a precious medicine for a single Gu,” Axu said in surprise.

The Kunchen Sect, along with the Xuanqing Sect and the Guiyun Sect, were known as the three major immortal sects. As one of the three major sects, they certainly wouldn’t use Gu to do evil; therefore, it could only be for saving someone.

For it to be worth such a heavy price from the Kunchen Sect, it meant that person was definitely no ordinary disciple.

Seeing the two of them fall silent, Yue Xu said, “It does no harm to tell you. The Young Sect Master of the Kunchen Sect was ambushed and afflicted with a Love Gu. That’s why they came here, hoping we could develop a new Gu to counter it.”

Zhinuo added, “I heard them say that the Young Sect Master practices the Path of Heartlessness. She has practiced for years with a heart as still as water and was originally supposed to attain the Great Dao. However, the Love Gu induces instability in her mental state, causing her cultivation to drop repeatedly. If left unchecked, I’m afraid her cultivation will be completely destroyed.”

Axu scoffed. “Why bother practicing the Path of Heartlessness? Humans aren’t plants or stones; how can one truly be heartless?”

Zhinuo nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Although the Path of Heartlessness allows for very fast cultivation, if one is not careful for even a moment, it is very easy for one’s cultivation to dissipate.”

Zhu Singshi asked, “Then have you developed the new Gu?”

Zhinuo nodded slightly. “I spent a month nurturing it. Those just now were the new Gu insects. They are incompatible with the Love Gu. The new Gu is named ‘Severed Emotion’; it can make a person cut off all obsessions and feelings in their heart.”

Severed Emotion… the two words alone were enough to make one’s heart tremble. Axu couldn’t help but murmur, “Cutting off all feelings, leaving the heart empty, just to achieve the Great Dao—is there any meaning in that?”

Zhu Singshi glanced at her. “Everyone’s choice is different. For that Young Sect Master, it must have meaning.”

She seemed not to be repelled by such an extreme method. Axu frowned and asked, “If it were you, would you also take the Severed Emotion Gu for the sake of raising your realm?”

Zhu Singshi answered calmly, “I do not practice the Path of Heartlessness. There is no such ‘if’.”

Hearing their conversation, Zhinuo said warmly, “There are no shortcuts in cultivation. The Severed Emotion Gu surely has unknown side effects. Unless it is a last resort, it is best not to try it lightly.”

Zhu Singshi nodded slightly and asked, “Miss Zhinuo, do you know how far the nearest town is from here? It is time for us to leave.”

Yue Xu replied, “I know that. The closest one is Yiyu City; it’s five hundred miles to the east.”

Just as Yue Xu finished speaking, several sword chimes suddenly rang out from outside, followed by a woman’s crisp voice:

“I am Yao Zhixin of the Kunchen Sect, here to collect the Gu.”

Zhinuo raised her voice to reply, “Miss Yao, there are still three days until the originally agreed-upon time.”

Yao Zhixin’s voice carried a hint of urgency as she spoke again: “We cannot wait three days. My Senior Sister’s realm has dropped by more than half. I ask the Misses to appear and give me the Gu.”

Zhinuo was silent for a moment before slowly standing up to go out. Yue Xu pulled her back, worried. “Sister, I’ll go.”

Zhinuo shook her head. “I am the one who made the Gu; it will be clearer if I explain it to her.”

“Fine.” Yue Xu was somewhat helpless and followed her out of the small courtyard.

Zhu Singshi took an ordinary spiritual sword from her storage bag. Seeing this, Axu whispered, “Don’t forget what I warned you about.”

Zhu Singshi hadn’t expected Axu to guess her thoughts from a single action. Her tone was steady: “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry.”

Axu glared at her. “If you push yourself again and cause your spiritual energy to fall into chaos, I won’t care anymore.”

Zhu Singshi ignored this and walked out holding her sword.

Seeing her cold and indifferent manner, Axu was momentarily speechless. After a while, she stomped her foot hard but still followed.

Outside the courtyard, a woman dressed in goose-yellow clothes stood with a long sword strapped diagonally across her back and her arms crossed. Seeing Zhinuo and Yue Xu come out, she asked, “Which one is the Gu maker?”

“It is I,” Zhinuo responded.

Yao Zhixin frowned as she looked her over, and her tone suddenly changed. “You cannot see. How could you possibly make an effective Gu insect? Now you keep delaying—could it be you haven’t thought of a way to counter the Love Gu at all?”

Her words were blunt and full of suspicion. Yue Xu’s face instantly turned cold. “We said to come in three days. By coming early, you have already broken the rules. If you don’t believe us, your Kunchen Sect can find someone else.”

Yao Zhixin sneered. “You accepted our Kunchen Sect’s things, yet you haven’t produced the new Gu. If your abilities are limited, you shouldn’t have taken this on.”

“It wasn’t us who wanted to take it; it was your Sect Master who begged my sister to take it,” Yue Xu said directly.

The word “begged” stung Yao Zhixin. Angered, she drew her sword with a clang and pointed it at the two of them.

“All I know is that the Sect Master told me to come collect the Gu today. Therefore, you must hand over the new Gu.”

Hearing her words, Axu curled her lip. “Unreasonable. One can tell at a glance she’s used to being pampered in her sect.”

Zhinuo looked displeased and said in a heavy voice, “Miss Yao, the new Gu is only half-finished. It is useless even if you take it now. We guarantee we will give it to you in three days.”

Yao Zhixin sneered, “Who knows if this is just an excuse to stall?” As soon as she finished speaking, that silver-white long sword lunged toward Zhinuo without another word.

With a soft thud, Zhu Singshi raised her sword and blocked Yao Zhixin’s blade. Yao Zhixin’s brow furrowed as she changed her sword moves, her strikes becoming faster and faster.

Zhu Singshi turned her wrist, easily blocking every incoming strike. That long sword of Yao Zhixin’s was clearly no ordinary item; after about a hundred exchanges, Zhu Singshi’s spiritual sword was already nearing its breaking point.

Yao Zhixin glanced at the ordinary spiritual sword with a trace of disdain in her eyes. Her long sword quivered as she lunged directly for Zhu Singshi’s right shoulder.

Most cultivators were right-handed; if the meridians in the right shoulder or arm were injured, one would at least be unable to hold a sword in the short term, and at worst, be unable to use a sword forever. Being in a sect like Kunchen, which was full of sword cultivators, it was impossible for Yao Zhixin not to know this.

Standing to the side, Axu’s lips were pressed tight, her gaze toward Yao Zhixin exceptionally cold.

Zhu Singshi’s expression remained unchanged. A moment before the long sword could pierce her right shoulder, she shifted her body slightly. She applied force with her spiritual sword and flicked it upward; the blade struck heavily against the back of Yao Zhixin’s hand. Yao Zhixin gasped in pain, her hand jerking, and the long sword fell directly from her grasp onto the ground.

“You!” Yao Zhixin cried out in pain, looking at Zhu Singshi in astonishment.

“What small sect are you from? Today you hindered me from retrieving medicine for my Senior Sister. Once I report this to the Sect Master, the entire Kunchen Sect will not let you off.”

Zhu Singshi gave an indifferent “oh.” Seeing this, Yao Zhixin picked up her long sword, preparing to move again.

“Miss Yao, take it,” Zhinuo said in a cold voice, handing her the porcelain vessel containing the Gu insects.

“Tell your Sect Master not to come here again.”

Yao Zhixin gave a huff, took the porcelain vessel, and turned to leave. Zhinuo looked apologetic and said to Zhu Singshi, “I am sorry, Miss Zhu, for bringing you trouble. I should have just given her the Gu from the start.”

Zhu Singshi shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Axu walked to her side and silently took hold of her wrist. After checking to ensure her spiritual energy was normal, she let go.

Uncharacteristically, she didn’t make any extra movements or say any extra words. Zhu Singshi couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

Axu remained silent and turned to walk a few steps. The next moment, she suddenly collapsed to the ground.