After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 31

Meeting Again (Part II)

The pale yellow light from the corridor filtered through the crack in the door, casting scattered spots of starlight into the room. Chongying looked at the person walking in and asked curiously:

“What did you say to Miss Zhu?”

“Nothing at all.” Ning Xu closed the door, the emotions in the depths of her eyes unclear.

“Go and investigate which women with significant strength and good family backgrounds have visited the Guiyun Sect over the past five years.”

Chongying muttered, “Doesn’t everyone who joins the Guiyun Sect every year meet those criteria?”

Ning Xu frowned slightly. “That is not what I meant.”

Chongying observed her expression for a moment before realization dawned. “You needn’t worry too much. Miss Zhu has been in secluded meditation; she hasn’t had contact with anyone else at all.”

Then what is going on between her and Ji Yanshu?

Ning Xu took a deep breath, the irritability in her heart growing stronger.

Back then, she had hoped to one day find a place to eat, drink, and have fun without bothering with these trivial matters. Now that she no longer served the Demonic Sect, she could clearly live the life she desired. Yet, when news of Zhu Shengxi ending her seclusion arrived, the heart in her chest stirred restlessly, filled with inexplicable emotions.

Without knowing why, she had rushed to Chaosheng City overnight and even chose the same inn as them.

Ning Xu pressed her hand against her heart, feeling the teardrop-shaped jade. After being warmed by her body heat, the jade was no longer as icy as before, yet it still carried a lingering chill.

“Why don’t you just ask Miss Zhu directly? Or, asking Ji Yanshu would work too.” Chongying’s gaze was puzzled; things that required so much investigation could be cleared up with a single question.

Ning Xu remained silent for a moment before repeating:

“Go and investigate.”

Seeing her mind was made up, Chongying didn’t waste any more words and slowly faded into the night.

A sliver of dawn clung to the horizon. Ning Xu leaned by the window, looking at the small green bottle over and over again.

She had looked into the ingredients later; it was made by grinding several types of rare medicinal herbs. Even though the Guiyun Sect was one of the three great immortal sects, rare herbs weren’t used lightly. Yet, that person had said this bottle was given “casually.”

“Ah—!” A scream interrupted Ning Xu’s thoughts. She put away the small green bottle and walked quickly downstairs.

Zhu Shengxi and several cultivators had already reached the first floor. There, hanging at the inn’s entrance, were two corpses.

They were the cultivators who had guarded the door last night. Their deaths were gruesome. Zhu Shengxi scanned the surroundings, her gaze finally landing on the inn’s front door.

A large character for “Death” was written there in a piercing, bloody red.

“I… I came downstairs this morning and saw these two hanging corpses,” one cultivator said, his eyes filled with terror and his voice trembling.

“Staying any longer means death. It’s better to pack up and change inns immediately,” someone whispered nearby.

Ji Yanshu approached and swung her sword to cut the hanging ropes. As the two corpses hit the ground, she probed them with a specialized silver needle. Her expression turned grim.

“Still no sign of poison.”

“We grew wary last night, so they pulled this stunt this morning. It’s clearly intended to intimidate us,” Ning Xu said as she walked over slowly, looking at Zhu Shengxi.

One after another, cultivators packed their bags and left the inn. Shi Su and the others watched from the side without stopping them. But suddenly, someone—it was unclear who—remarked:

“The Guiyun Sect and Kunchen Sect sent their disciples, yet they can do nothing about this. All that cultivation for nothing.”

Hearing this, Shi Su and the other Guiyun Sect disciples frowned.

But those complaining words seemed to ignite the dissatisfaction in everyone’s hearts. Fragmented grumbles broke out, one of which was particularly piercing: “That Zhu Shengxi from the Guiyun Sect is here as well, yet she can’t catch the evil cultivator responsible for the murders. Her Nascent Soul stage cultivation is a waste.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of Shi Su and her companions darkened instantly.

Ji Yanshu and the group of Kunchen Sect disciples remained silent, saying nothing.

Seeing their collective silence, Ning Xu let out a cold laugh, her tone laced with suppressed anger: “If anyone says one more word, I will cut out their tongue.”

The cultivators silenced themselves instantly upon hearing this and quietly fled with their belongings.

Ning Xu looked toward Zhu Shengxi with concern, only to find that Zhu Shengxi was also looking at her. Their gazes met for a fleeting moment before they both looked away in a tacit understanding.

“I will stand guard at the inn entrance tonight,” Zhu Shengxi said calmly.

Ji Yanshu frowned, clearly disapproving. “It’s too dangerous. Xie Funing’s strength is unknown, you…”

Zhu Shengxi replied: “She will definitely come again tonight. It’s a good chance to exchange blows and gauge her power.”

Ji Yanshu wanted to argue further, but she heard Ning Xu interject: “Fine, I will stay with you.”

Seeing this, Ji Yanshu found it hard to dissuade them further, only saying: “If you cannot hold them off, send a voice transmission to us immediately.”

It was night.

Zhu Shengxi stood at the inn entrance holding her sword. Within moments, Ning Xu arrived as promised.

The two faced each other in silence. After watching her for a long while, Ning Xu took the initiative to start a conversation:

“I am no longer the Left Protector of the Demonic Sect.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t have much of a reaction, giving only a cold “Mm.”

Ning Xu hadn’t expected her not to take the bait at all. Either she didn’t want to talk, or she simply didn’t care about Ning Xu’s situation.

This version of Zhu Shengxi felt like a stranger. The old tricks of acting shamelessly couldn’t be used now. The passage of five years and the distance between them were fully realized in this moment.

Ning Xu changed the subject: “You’ve crossed paths with Xie Funing before, haven’t you?”

On the matter regarding the Xie family, Zhu Shengxi began to respond seriously: “Yes. Compared to before, her cultivation seems to have improved significantly.”

Ning Xu was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: “Does she know about the unique nature of your blood?”

“Don’t ask about irrelevant things.”

At this, Ning Xu couldn’t help but knit her brows. “How could this be irrelevant? If she knows, she will surely find every possible way to target you.”

Zhu Shengxi was indifferent. “So what?”

Seeing her unconcerned attitude, Ning Xu felt both baffled and anxious. She said instinctively: “Let me stay with you, I will…”

The unfinished sentence stopped abruptly when she met Zhu Shengxi’s chilling gaze.

Then, Ning Xu heard the other woman say, word by word: “You? If you are with me, I have to be even more on guard.”

Ning Xu slowly lowered her head, realizing belatedly how ridiculous her words were.

After what she had done in the past, how could Zhu Shengxi still trust her or allow her to stay by her side?

The words that followed from the person in front of her were like a knife to the heart: “Taking my heart’s blood while my spiritual energy was depleted, causing damage to my heart’s meridians and a drop in my cultivation… Ning Xu, I feel that the person I should guard against most is you.”

As if struck by a heavy hammer, Ning Xu’s heart ached dully. She couldn’t help but ask: “Then why did you still agree to let me stay here with you?”

Zhu Shengxi countered: “Did I agree? You came over on your own accord.”

Ning Xu understood then. Her silence at the time wasn’t tacit consent…

“Do you hate…” Before she could finish, a heavy sword burst out from the darkness, lunging toward Ning Xu’s direction.

Zhu Shengxi’s pupils constricted. She immediately pushed Ning Xu aside. The Chenque Sword clashed with the heavy sword, producing a dull, heavy thud.

Ning Xu stumbled back a few steps, drew the jade flute from her waist, and stared at the person not far away.

A face of extreme pallor appeared particularly eerie under the moonlight. More terrifyingly, while half of the face looked normal, the other half was completely blank, devoid of any features.

The last time they had seen Xie Funing, she had been wearing a half-mask of gold. Zhu Shengxi hadn’t expected that beneath that mask, it would look like this…

An unprecedented chill rose in her heart. Zhu Shengxi said in a low voice: “Go call Ji Yanshu and the others.”

Ning Xu could tell she was trying to send her away, but at a time like this, how could she leave with peace of mind?

“I won’t leave.”

Xie Funing’s voice was grim: “You couldn’t leave even if you wanted to. Tsk tsk, two golden cores.” As soon as she finished speaking, her figure moved like an arrow from a bow, rapidly closing in on them.

Ning Xu scanned the surroundings and discovered that demonic beasts were hidden in the darkness, having already surrounded them silently.

Zhu Shengxi quickly formed a seal. Suddenly, the sword light flared brilliantly. Wherever it passed, the demonic beasts were struck to the ground by the sword wind. Ning Xu watched the approaching Xie Funing and poured spiritual energy into the jade flute; the flute music drifted out mournfully.

The piece she played was called “Soul Parting,” specifically designed to deal with evil cultivators like Xie Funing who were shrouded in yin energy.

Xie Funing’s figure faltered for a second, but she didn’t stop. The heavy sword struck again from a tricky angle. Zhu Shengxi raised her sword to block, but that heavy sword carried an unknown resentment and yin energy that even suppressed the pure righteous aura of the Chenque Sword.

The Chenque Sword emitted a humming sound. Zhu Shengxi realized things were going south. At the same time, the heavy sword pressed down with force, suddenly knocking the Chenque Sword aside and lunging straight for Zhu Shengxi’s abdomen.

Seeing this scene, Ning Xu felt as though her blood had frozen. Without thinking, she used the jade flute to block the heavy sword.

Clink. The jade flute shattered into two pieces, its dark green glow fading. Ning Xu was also struck by a heavy blow, coughing up a large mouthful of blood.

The jade flute was her natal spiritual weapon. If a cultivator’s natal weapon is damaged, it is a fatal blow to the cultivator themselves.

“Quickly, leave. Send a transmission to them,” Ning Xu urged urgently, enduring the searing pain in her internal organs.

Zhu Shengxi looked at her with unidentifiable emotions in her eyes and whispered: “The transmission has already been sent.”

Hearing this, Ning Xu’s heart sank halfway. Ji Yanshu and the others hadn’t come down, which meant Xie Funing must have used some method to block the transmission.

Zhu Shengxi grabbed Ning Xu’s wrist, channeled some spiritual energy into her, and kept her eyes fixed on Xie Funing.

Strangely, Xie Funing stood motionless, making no further move to approach. Instead, she wore a look of confusion.

Time passed slowly. Zhu Shengxi didn’t dare move recklessly, only tightening her grip on her sword hilt. Suddenly, the featureless half of the face began to twitch. Xie Funing abruptly clutched her face and vanished.

As soon as Xie Funing disappeared, the voice transmission reached Ji Yanshu. Within moments, they were downstairs at the inn entrance.

Without waiting for Ji Yanshu to ask questions, Zhu Shengxi picked up the unconscious Ning Xu and said to a medical cultivator: “Follow me upstairs.”

She didn’t know which room was Ning Xu’s. After a moment’s hesitation, Zhu Shengxi pushed open the door to her own room and placed Ning Xu on the bed.

“Please, check on her.”

The medical cultivator nodded and reached for Ning Xu’s wrist. After a long while, she wrote a prescription and said:

“This lady’s injuries are not light, but her life is not in danger. With good rest for a few days—she must stay in bed during this time—she will recover.”

Zhu Shengxi glanced at the prescription. “Thank you.”

The medical cultivator left quickly. Zhu Shengxi placed the two pieces of the broken jade flute by the bed and looked at Ning Xu with a complex gaze.

Why did you block that sword for me? Once a cultivator’s natal weapon is shattered, there will never be another spiritual weapon as perfectly attuned to them.

This person was so accustomed to using such methods, making her owe favor after favor, followed by cold-blooded calculation.

Zhu Shengxi really wanted to know: while she was exploiting her sincerity, did Ning Xu ever feel a single shred of guilt?