After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 32

Reunion (Part III)

Her consciousness gradually returned. Looking at the unfamiliar furnishings around her, Ning Xu felt a sense of trance.

It felt as though her internal organs had shifted out of place. Reclining against the headboard, she felt utterly powerless.

The door creaked softly, and a bowl of medicine was handed to her. Ning Xu stared blankly at the person before her and asked, “Am I in your room?”

Zhu Shengxi did not answer the question, saying coldly:

“Drink the medicine.”

Ning Xu took the bowl, her hand trembling uncontrollably. Noticing the movement, Zhu Shengxi frowned and asked, “What is it?”

“No strength.” Ning Xu lowered her eyes, intentionally pausing her movements for a moment, but she received no further words from the woman in front of her.

Gleaning a glance from the corner of her eye, she found Zhu Shengxi’s expression cold and indifferent, showing no reaction to her words.

Seeing this, Ning Xu suppressed the hope that shouldn’t have been there and numbly drank the medicinal soup in one gulp.

“I sent your jade flute to be repaired, but even if it is fixed, it will only be an ordinary spiritual tool.”

Ning Xu nodded listlessly.

Her expression seemed somewhat dejected, likely due to the shattering of her natal spiritual weapon.

After all, it was to save me, Zhu Shengxi sighed inwardly, saying softly, “Rest well these next few days. Someone will come to look after you.”

Hearing this, Ning Xu stared at her, her tone strange: “You’re going to let someone else take care of me intimately?”

“Otherwise?” Zhu Shengxi countered.

With various emotions churning together, Ning Xu’s face darkened as she refused: “No need. Just send me back to my room.”

“The medical cultivator said you cannot leave the bed for a few days.”

“She was wrong,” Ning Xu said sharply. She moved to get off the bed, but in her weakened state, she couldn’t stand steadily. Her body tilted, and she fell directly onto the floor.

Even so, the person before her made no move to help.

Is she really so desperate to avoid me?

Coldness and an unprecedented bitterness welled up. Ning Xu propped herself up against a wooden chair and slowly stood.

Seeing the stubbornness on her face, Zhu Shengxi’s hands, hanging at her sides, tightened involuntarily.

Ning Xu didn’t look at her, seemingly determined to walk back to her own room like this.

Just as she took a step, a strong hand circled her waist and picked her up horizontally.

The distance between them vanished instantly. A faint fragrance lingered. Ning Xu looked at Zhu Shengxi in shock, about to speak, when she heard the woman say: “Is this another one of your ‘bitter meat’ traps?”

A surge of anger suddenly rose in her heart, quickly replacing the previous bitterness. Ning Xu couldn’t help but sneer:

“Yes, it’s all a bitter meat trap. Master Zhu had better keep her eyes open and not be so soft-hearted as to fall for it.”

After speaking, she turned her face away, unwilling to look at the other’s expression any longer.

Zhu Shengxi lowered her eyes and, without a word, placed her back onto the bed. The moment she touched the mattress, Ning Xu immediately rolled over, turning her back to Zhu Shengxi.

Seeing this, Zhu Shengxi was first stunned, then knit her brows slightly.

What, was I wrong? The bitter meat trap was always what this person was best at.

Feeling a sudden, unprompted irritation, Zhu Shengxi pressed down on her shoulder, forcing her to face her.

Ning Xu remained expressionless, allowing herself to be moved. Her eyes were dim, the former brightness and clarity no longer present.

Seeing her wooden appearance, a long-lost sting pricked Zhu Shengxi’s heart.

Why? In her memory, Ning Xu always liked to act shamelessly with a smile on her lips. In the past, such a comment from her would have had no effect; this person would have just thick-skinnedly leaned closer. But why did she show such a desolate expression now?

Looking at her like this, Zhu Shengxi suddenly felt at a loss. After a moment of silence, she turned and left.

“Daoist Zhu, what exactly happened last night?” Ji Yanshu approached to ask as she saw her come out.

Zhu Shengxi briefly explained the events. After listening, Ji Yanshu speculated, “Could Xie Funing be taking cultivators’ golden cores to maintain her appearance?”

Zhu Shengxi was noncommittal. “You mentioned last night that the Xuanqing Sect also sent people?”

Ji Yanshu nodded. “Yes, they are downstairs right now.”

“However, they aren’t here for the Xie family matter. One of Immortal Fengyu’s disciples has been missing for several months, and news finally came out recently saying she is here in Chaosheng City.”

Zhu Shengxi couldn’t help but ask, “Who did the Xuanqing Sect send?” As the two of them reached the first floor, Ji Yanshu gestured toward a certain spot:

“There, the Thousand Frost Sword Master, Li Yishuang.”

Zhu Shengxi followed her gaze. Sitting there was a woman slowly sipping tea, her every gesture exuding an air of refined warmth.

Li Yishuang also looked over, her lips curving into a polite smile.

Zhu Shengxi nodded slightly in response, as Ji Yanshu continued: “Daoist Li is here for her junior sister, Ye Liuxi. However, I just told her about Xie Funing, and she promised she would also lend a hand when the time comes.”

“Li Yishuang is already in the Void Refining Stage. With her help, we will surely be able to capture Xie Funing.” There was a hint of certainty in Ji Yanshu’s tone.

Zhu Shengxi remained noncommittal, instead pondering Ji Yanshu’s earlier words.

According to her, news had been leaked that the missing Ye Liuxi was here, which is why the Xuanqing Sect sent someone.

Zhu Shengxi had a bad premonition. There should be no connection between the Xie family and Ye Liuxi, yet they appeared in Chaosheng City at the same time—it was very strange.

At this moment, Li Yishuang took out a slip of paper and placed it on the table. Written on it was: “Ye Liuxi is in Chaosheng City. If you want her to live, let Li Yishuang come personally.”

The handwriting was crooked and scrawled, clearly intended to hide the writer’s identity.

“Could it be related to Xie Funing?”

Zhu Shengxi disagreed: “Daoist Li is in the Void Refining Stage. Drawing such a powerful cultivator here would be of no benefit to Xie Funing.”

Li Yishuang turned her teacup and said, “You said that Xie Funing has no features on the left half of her face?”

“Correct.”

She thought for a moment. “I have read of an evil technique in ancient texts. Someone who is born weak and near the end of their life can use this technique to regain a normal physique and begin cultivating. The price is a physical deformity.”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi recalled Xie Funing’s deathly pale complexion and said solemnly, “She does look weak, yet she uses a heavy sword.”

Li Yishuang narrowed her eyes. “It is highly likely she has mastered this evil technique. Since Xie Funing can now kill silently, I suspect that in addition to taking golden cores, she has secretly absorbed a large amount of resentment and yin energy.”

There are many types of evil cultivators, but the most terrifying are those who turn resentment into their own power. The more resentment they absorb, the stronger they become. Humans have seven emotions and six desires; resentment is inexhaustible, which is equivalent to having a continuous source of cultivation resources.

“If that is truly the case, it will be troublesome,” Ji Yanshu sighed.

Everyone fell into silence. If Xie Funing had mastered the evil technique while also cultivating with resentment, it was feared that within a month, no one would be able to deal with her.

Inside the room.

Ning Xu had already composed her emotions and spoke to the empty space: “What did you find out?”

The figure of a young girl gradually appeared. “Miss Zhu and Ji Yanshu only met because of the Xie family matter. Before this, they had no contact.”

Hearing this, Ning Xu’s expression didn’t soften much. She said calmly, “I see.”

Chongying felt her unstable aura and only then noticed how abnormally pale her face was. She asked in surprise:

“How did you receive such a heavy injury?”

Ning Xu was unwilling to say much, simply stating, “It’s nothing. You may leave.”

Chongying frowned and did not leave as instructed. Instead, she continued, “You left the Demon Sect and finally found some peace. Why must you come here to seek such unhappiness?”

She didn’t understand Ning Xu’s persistence, but she could see that Ning Xu had been in a bad mood for several days.

Hearing this, Ning Xu gave a bitter smile. It was true; she could have lived in peace and ignored the disputes, yet she insisted on coming here to suffer.

Recalling the other woman’s unconcealed suspicion, emotions of grievance and anger welled up. In the past, she had indeed been manipulative, so being suspected was one thing. But last night, she had genuinely wanted to save Zhu Shengxi, and the result was being severely injured, only to have it misinterpreted as a “bitter meat trap.”

Ning Xu felt a mixture of complex feelings. The coldness she’d faced over the past few days left her feeling lost for the first time, and she subconsciously murmured, “Just what… should I do?”

Chongying blinked and suddenly suggested an idea: “If you want to know Miss Zhu’s heart, why not try being intimate with another woman in front of her to see how she reacts?”

Ning Xu fell into deep thought for a moment, seemingly considering the feasibility of this method.

Just then, the door sounded. Chongying reacted instantly and vanished. Ning Xu looked toward the door and saw Zhu Shengxi holding an oil-paper package.

She was all too familiar with such packages; all the snacks in the city were wrapped this way.

Ning Xu looked away, pretending not to care, while her heart raced with speculation:

Zhu Shengxi doesn’t like these things. So, did someone else buy them for her?

If that were the case, she had to observe if Zhu Shengxi would eat them.

As she was thinking, Ning Xu suddenly saw her walking toward her with the package.

Another guess emerged: Could it be that Zhu Shengxi bought it for me?

After their reunion, the woman’s cold distance had made Ning Xu almost afraid to have such thoughts. But at this moment, she clearly saw Zhu Shengxi coming her way.

Ning Xu stared at her without blinking, a faint sense of expectation suddenly washing away the heartache of the past few days.

Zhu Shengxi’s expression was indifferent as she placed the oil-paper package beside her.

Ning Xu suppressed her joy and asked softly:

“You bought this for me?”

“Ji Yanshu bought them. Everyone has one.” These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head. The joy that hadn’t even had time to fully form was instantly extinguished.

Just moments ago, Ning Xu had been staring intently at the package; now, she didn’t want to look at it at all.

Zhu Shengxi noticed her suddenly cold expression. Not understanding why, her next question was even more confusing:

“Then did you eat the one she bought for you?”

“I tried a piece. It was quite good.”

Hearing this, Ning Xu laughed out of pure anger. “Since it’s so delicious, you can have my portion too.”

Back then, when she had offered this woman a candied hawthorn, the woman had hesitated before reluctantly saying it was “good.” Apparently, the food Ji Yanshu bought was something special.

The quiet joy from moments ago felt like a joke. It turned out it was all unrequited passion. Ning Xu had never felt so embarrassed, and she couldn’t stop the anger rising in her heart.

She restrained herself with great effort from sweeping the package onto the floor, only dropping two cold words:

“Take it away.”

Zhu Shengxi glanced at her, picked up the package, and turned to leave, only to hear another “Wait” from behind.

What does she want now?

Zhu Shengxi looked at her coldly. Ning Xu remained expressionless and said, “Just give me one piece.”

Ning Xu reached out and took a piece. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she seemed to remember something and suddenly stopped.

“You can go out now.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t bother to scrutinize her strange behavior and turned to leave.

After a while, Ning Xu called out Chongying: “Try this pastry and see what it tastes like, then go find out which shop in the city sells it.”

Chongying took a bite as told, scrunched her nose, and replied, “Hiss, it’s too sweet.”

Hearing this, Ning Xu couldn’t help but wonder: Does Zhu Shengxi like sweet things now?

She didn’t think too much of it and instructed: “Once you know which shop it is, just tell me.”

Whatever Zhu Shengxi liked to eat, she would remember every single thing.