After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 41

Is this her private quarters?

Ning Xu was momentarily stunned, subconsciously taking a few more glances at the surrounding furnishings. Unable to fathom the other woman’s intentions, she was just about to ask when she heard the explanation:

“Bringing you here makes it easier for me to keep watch personally.”

So that’s it… Ning Xu lowered her eyes, feeling the tea in her hands gradually grow cold.

“If Li Yishuang and the others realize I’m missing, they will surely search everywhere. If she comes to the Guyun Sect, you…”

Zhu Shengxi’s expression remained indifferent, her tone devoid of hesitation: “When that time comes, I will naturally hand you over to them.”

Ning Xu took a sip of tea in silence. As the chilled liquid entered her stomach, it felt as though her entire body had turned cold along with it.

Under the weight of those unhesitating words, the tiny flicker of expectation in her heart became utterly laughable.

Feeling listless, she leaned back, but happened to strike the injury on her back. A sharp pang of pain shot through her, and Ning Xu knit her brows involuntarily.

Zhu Shengxi’s gaze landed on those furrowed brows, waiting for her next words.

Normally, Ning Xu would have spoken up proactively, but this time, after a long wait, she remained silent, acting as if nothing had happened.

Surprised, Zhu Shengxi had no choice but to take the initiative:

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing.” Two simple words—hardly fitting for this woman’s personality.

Ning Xu kept her head down, assuming Zhu Shengxi wouldn’t press further. To her surprise, in the next moment, the woman walked over to her side.

Ning Xu instinctively tried to retreat, but behind her was a cold wall. With nowhere to go, she could only press her back against the stones and whisper, “It really is nothing.”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi became even more certain she was hiding something. She asked tentatively, “Are you injured?”

Ning Xu kept her eyelashes lowered, intentionally saying, “It’s no hindrance, just a minor wound. It’s only that it’s on my back, making it inconvenient to apply medicine.”

She didn’t look like she was lying. Zhu Shengxi fell silent for a moment, then formed a hand seal to undo the Demon-Binding Rope before handing the medicine bottle to her.

“Untying my hands is useless; the wound is on my back, I can’t see it.” Ning Xu didn’t take the bottle; instead, uttering those words with near-shamelessness.

Zhu Shengxi frowned. “Do you actually expect me to apply it for you?”

Ning Xu looked up at her and smiled. “If Fellow Daoist Zhu is unwilling, you could also find another disciple to help me.”

Zhu Shengxi’s face remained expressionless, her voice cold: “You want to find someone else to apply your medicine? Ning Xu, a prisoner, should have the self-awareness of a prisoner. Apply it yourself.”

With that, Zhu Shengxi released her and tossed the bottle directly in front of her.

Ning Xu truly hadn’t expected such a reaction. After a brief pause, she silently picked up the bottle.

Zhu Shengxi turned her back to her. The room was silent save for the rustle of fabric, until halfway through, a muffled groan of pain escaped the woman.

“Now what?” Zhu Shengxi couldn’t help but ask.

Receiving no answer for a long while, Zhu Shengxi felt something was wrong. She turned her head slightly, only to see that on that fair, slender back, there were rows of shocking scars.

She slowly walked closer to see more clearly. Those scars were a pale pink, likely left over from old wounds. Aside from those, there was a large bruise on her back that looked starkly out of place against her white skin.

Sensing her approach, Ning Xu shrank back unnaturally. “What are you doing coming over here?”

Zhu Shengxi lowered her eyes and took the bottle from her hand. She poured the icy liquid into her palm and gently pressed it against the bruise, asking, “Is this where it hurts?”

The sudden contact of the cold medicine made Ning Xu’s body tremble; her brows knitted tightly. “Yes.”

The fingertips of the woman behind her also carried a chill, but it was a sensation entirely different from the medicine. Every touch of those fingers caused her to tremble uncontrollably.

Ning Xu closed her eyes. Her attention was no longer on the injury; she knew very well this was just a common application of medicine, yet the longing hidden deep in her heart couldn’t help but surface. She craved every touch, yet found it so agonizing she wanted to call it off.

Zhu Shengxi didn’t notice her abnormality. She gathered spiritual energy in her palm, dissolving the bruise.

“How did these scars get here?”

“Old injuries.”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi frowned. She hadn’t seen those scars the last time she saw her back. Had she been injured during these past five years?

“I gave you scar-removing medicine before. Why didn’t you use it?” Zhu Shengxi withdrew her hand, suddenly thinking of another possibility. “Don’t tell me you threw it away long ago?”

“I didn’t.” Ning Xu turned her head, hurriedly denying it. Only then did Zhu Shengxi realize that her face was flushed red and her gaze was restless.

Ning Xu turned back around, busying herself with straightening her clothes, unaware that the faint blush on her face had already betrayed her thoughts.

It was just a simple application of medicine; what is she overthinking now?

Zhu Shengxi shot her a glance. Once she had tidied her clothes, Zhu Shengxi flicked her fingers to cast a spell, and the Demon-Binding Rope once again cinched around her wrists.

Ning Xu looked down at her wrists; the blood marks where they had been chafed were even more obvious now. She held her hands out to Zhu Shengxi, her tone tinged with a hint of grievance: “It hurts.”

Zhu Shengxi looked at her coldly and said only: “Endure it.”

This person was already this restless while bound; if the rope were removed, she would likely stir up even more trouble.

Her attitude was too cold; Ning Xu could only temporarily drop the idea.

After a moment of silence, Ning Xu suddenly asked, “The remaining three pieces of the Broken Jade—have you found them?”

Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Zhu Shengxi’s eyes. She hadn’t expected Ning Xu to still remember the matter of the Broken Jade. However, she had been in seclusion for five years, and since leaving the sect, she had been busy investigating the Xie family; she had no time to search for the jade.

Seeing her expression, Ning Xu guessed as much. Just as she was about to say something, she heard the cold tone of the woman before her:

“My business is none of your concern.”

Ning Xu looked at her and couldn’t help but say, “Yes, I indeed have no right to question your affairs. But, have you told your two senior sisters about the Broken Jade?”

Seeing her remain silent, Ning Xu’s heart ached. “Why must you bear it alone? Using the power of the Guyun Sect would make it much easier to find the jade.”

She was worried and had said so much, yet Zhu Shengxi only gave her a cold look and shook her head:

“You don’t understand.”

Hearing those words, a bit of irritation rose in Ning Xu’s heart. She sneered, “I indeed don’t understand your so-called ‘righteousness.’ But if I were you, I would use every possible means to find that jade.”

Zhu Shengxi lowered her brows. “The Guyun Sect has already been implicated once because of me. I cannot allow the entire sect to be dragged down again.”

At this, Ning Xu frowned, looking at her in confusion. “Implicated?”

“The matter of the scrolls is a secret within the sect.” That single sentence struck Ning Xu like a heavy blow.

Ignoring her stunned appearance, Zhu Shengxi continued, “If I hadn’t been possessed by a moment of madness and trusted the wrong person, the scrolls would not have been revealed to the Demonic Sect, and the Guyun Sect would not have been targeted by them.”

The person she spoke of, the one she had “wrongly trusted,” was exactly herself…

Ning Xu’s lips moved, but she couldn’t say a word. She could imagine how much self-reproach Zhu Shengxi must have felt at the time, and how much she must have hated her for the deception.

Ning Xu gazed at her. Though they shared the same room and were physically close, the distance between their two hearts seemed to be growing further and further apart.

In a certain mountain cave.

Li Yishuang slowly opened her eyes. Beneath her was the cold stone wall. She felt around; the Qianshuang Sword was not by her side.

Her last memory was the strike delivered by Xie Funing. She had no recollection of how she had arrived in this cave.

Li Yishuang propped herself up, her internal organs aching dully. The intense pain caused her to pitch forward involuntarily, but a pair of hands reached out just in time to support her.

Li Yishuang looked up at the owner of those hands. The young girl was pale, a hint of worry hidden in her pitch-black eyes.

She forcefully shook off the hands and asked coldly:

“Where is my sword?”

Ling Zhuo didn’t care about her hostile attitude. She took the Qianshuang Sword out of her storage bag.

“I’ve wiped the bloodstains off of it.”

Li Yishuang took the sword expressionlessly and placed it in her storage bag, then leaned against the stone wall to walk forward.

Ling Zhuo looked troubled and blocked her path. “You are seriously injured; it’s best if you don’t move around.”

“Why am I here?”

“I saved you from Xie Funing’s hands and brought you here.”

Li Yishuang stared at her, her voice icy: “You saved me? Where is my Master?”

Hearing this, Ling Zhuo couldn’t help but sneer. “Feng Yu? She didn’t care about your life or death at all; she went straight after Xie Funing.”

Having obtained the information she wanted, Li Yishuang ignored her interference and insisted on leaving.

Seeing this, Ling Zhuo stopped trying to block her. She knew she couldn’t stop Li Yishuang, and that this person would never stay for her.

Li Yishuang took a few steps when she suddenly heard the person behind her ask, “The tassel I gave you… Did you throw it away?”

She remained silent, secretly quickening her pace to leave. Ling Zhuo, refusing to give up, chased after her and stood in her way.

“The wisp of residual consciousness on the jade plaque—have you seen it?”

“Senior Sister Shuang.”

Hearing the familiar address, Li Yishuang finally stopped.

“Ye Liuxi said that you told her you only ever had one junior sister.”

Li Yishuang looked at her and confirmed that statement: “Correct.”

Her attitude was laid bare; there was no way to keep deceiving herself. Ling Zhuo stared at her intently, her eyes staining with resentment. “You used to say the same thing to me.”

Li Yishuang felt a dull ache in her heart. Looking at the person before her, she couldn’t avoid the memories of the past. Her tone softened slightly as she urged, “Stop committing evil. Come back with me.”

The tone of those words bore a trace of the gentleness that had once belonged solely to her.

Ling Zhuo smiled bitterly. “Senior Sister, you know very well that I can’t go back.”

“Then we have nothing left to say.”

Hearing her cold and decisive tone, Ling Zhuo clenched her hands, stepped forward to grab her, and asked hatefully:

“Why can’t you choose me?”

“Wouldn’t it be good to leave that hypocritical Xuanqing Sect and stay with me?”

The strength of the person before her was so great that she was momentarily unable to break free. Li Yishuang said coldly, “Let go of me.”

Ling Zhuo’s gaze, however, grew increasingly obsessive. “I will ask you one last time: choose me, or the Xuanqing Sect?”

Sensing her struggle, Ling Zhuo understood the answer and silently let go of her.

Actually, for a moment just now, she had wanted to imprison Li Yishuang by her side.

Ultimately, it was that wisp of residual consciousness in the jade plaque that woke her up.

The simplest, most ordinary wish she had made back then was merely to follow her Senior Sister. She couldn’t drag Li Yishuang into the abyss with her.