After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 49

The night breeze sighed softly, and the moonlight was as clear as if it had been washed, casting a faint glow through the gaps in the forest.

“You have been of a steady character since childhood, knowing how to consider the greater good. Before our Master passed away, she said that one day you would attain the Great Dao. Your junior sisters in the sect all look up to you as a role model. But now, what exactly are you doing?”

“The Xuanqing Sect has been searching for her, yet you are helping her hide her tracks. She is a member of the Demonic Cult, a half-demon that everyone has the right to punish. Harboring her? Zhu Shengxi, I truly do not understand what you are thinking.”

Jiang Lixu looked at her, her brows filled with disappointment, her tone colder and more severe than ever before.

The person beside her remained silent, completely accepting every word of reproach. Seeing her like this, Ning Xu felt a pang of pain in her heart. She stepped forward and said, “Sect Leader Jiang, it is I who has been pestering her, refusing to leave.”

Jiang Lixu turned her gaze toward her and said crossly, “Naturally, it is you. Could it be that my junior sister is the one refusing to let you leave?”

Ning Xu pressed her lips together and took a step forward, shielding Zhu Shengxi behind her. Whether it was in the past or now, everything had started because of her. She only wished for Jiang Lixu to direct her anger toward her instead.

Sensing her silent gesture, Zhu Shengxi was slightly taken aback. Lifting her eyes, she saw the woman’s soft, dark hair and her steady back.

The clearing fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the faint rustling of leaves as the night wind swept through.

After a long while, Jiang Lixu calmed her emotions and said coldly, “Ning Xu, let’s talk.” Without waiting for a reaction, she turned and walked straight into the nearby woods.

Ning Xu raised her foot to follow, but before she could take more than a few steps, her sleeve was pulled.

She looked at the person beside her and asked softly, “What is it?”

Zhu Shengxi gazed at her, her thin lips moving, but in the end, she only managed to say: “You should leave now.”

Ning Xu, however, refused with a faint smile: “It’s alright.”

The grip on her sleeve gradually loosened. Ning Xu stared at her for a long moment before walking into the woods.

Under the dim sky, half of Jiang Lixu’s face was hidden in the darkness. Coupled with her stern expression, she exuded a faint, oppressive aura.

Ning Xu took a deep breath, waiting for her questions.

“Speak plainly. What is your purpose for staying by her side this time?”

“I have no purpose. I will not hurt her again.”

Jiang Lixu stared at her. “Tell the truth, and I might yet spare your life. Otherwise, do not dream of leaving this place unscathed today.”

Ning Xu smiled faintly, not taking the threat to heart at all. She answered, “Every word I say is the truth. I stay by her side simply because I love her. I have no other purpose.”

“Love?” Jiang Lixu couldn’t help but sneer, questioning her, “Is your ‘love’ using her trust to hurt her, or making things difficult for her?”

Ning Xu bit her lip hard. After a long pause, she said with a trembling voice, “I won’t let those things happen again.”

She had once been the Left Protector of the Demonic Cult, committing countless evils; lies came naturally to her. At this moment, her promise sounded extremely pale, devoid of any persuasiveness.

Jiang Lixu didn’t believe these words at all. She asked coldly, “Do you know she is about to form a Dao-Bonding Covenant with Ji Yanshu? At a time like this, you suddenly pop up saying you love her. You know exactly what kind of intentions you are harboring.”

Ning Xu met her icy gaze and said word by word, “Yes. I do not want her to bond with anyone else. I love her. I want to be with her.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but her tone was extremely firm and sincere. Jiang Lixu remained indifferent and mocked, “You don’t have the standing for that. You are full of lies and stained with a notorious past. If she bonds with Ji Yanshu, everyone will think they are a perfect match. But if it’s with you, can you guess what kind of condemnation she will face?”

“Ning Xu, do you want her reputation to be ruined? Is this your love?”

These words were like a sharp blade, suffocating the heart, yet they were the stark, undeniable truth.

Zhu Shengxi was originally the “Light of the Righteous Path” praised by all. If she were to be with a hated half-demon like her, Ning Xu didn’t dare imagine what kind of foul things people would say.

Ning Xu was used to it since childhood and could choose not to care, but she could not accept Zhu Shengxi being dragged into such malicious gossip.

Jiang Lixu was right. Zhu Shengxi could have been the respected North Hall Master and eventually attained the Great Dao. Why did she have to disturb her, to drag her down?

Furthermore, when she had asked about the bonding covenant a few days ago, Zhu Shengxi’s answer remained affirmative. Perhaps she had already made up her mind to bond with Ji Yanshu.

Ning Xu suddenly felt a chill all over her body. She looked down at her wrist; the Demon-Binding Rope had long been removed. Zhu Shengxi had told her she was free to stay or go—whether she left or not, that person didn’t seem to care at all.

Some things were like quicksand; the harder one tried to hold on, the faster they slipped away.

Seeing her look down in silence, Jiang Lixu left one final sentence: “If you don’t want to harm her, then never show your face again.”

The cold wind howled, taking away the last trace of warmth from her body. Ning Xu froze in place, her expression filled with confusion and pain.

After an unknown amount of time, the familiar figure finally appeared. Zhu Shengxi waited for her to approach and said softly, “Let’s go inside.”

She turned to walk a few steps, but the person behind her did not follow.

Zhu Shengxi paused and looked at her with a questioning gaze.

Ning Xu raised her eyes from the ground and asked softly, “Have you already decided to bond with Ji Yanshu?”

She had asked this more than once during this period. After a moment of silence, Zhu Shengxi confirmed, “Yes.”

Hearing the response, the last shred of fantasy in her heart shattered. Ning Xu looked down with a bitter smile.

She had desperately wanted to know why before, but perhaps it wasn’t that complicated at all. It was simply the gap in status and the opposition of their factions.

In this moment, many “what ifs” surfaced in her mind.

If she had learned righteous techniques as a child, if the Xu family had sent her to an immortal sect, if she had agreed to return to the sect with Zhu Shengxi five years ago to gain the identity of a Guiyun Sect disciple… would things be different now?

Observing her expression, Zhu Shengxi felt something was wrong and asked, “You…”

But then she saw Ning Xu take out that jade hairpin and hold it out.

Zhu Shengxi hadn’t accepted this hairpin the last time, and Ning Xu had tactfully taken it back later. Now she was bringing it out again, and it was unclear what she was trying to prove.

Zhu Shengxi glanced at it and, as before, did not take it.

“What do you mean by this?”

With the silent rejection right before her eyes, Ning Xu fell into doubt again, asking softly, “In your heart… is there still a place for me?”

As expected, Zhu Shengxi did not give a definitive answer. Ning Xu’s heart turned cold, and she changed the question:

“You once said I was free to stay or go. Whether I am by your side or not—to you, it doesn’t matter at all, does it?”

Ning Xu stared unblinkingly at the person in front of her, desperately hoping for a denial. But what she heard next was:

“I removed the Demon-Binding Rope long ago, and I also told you that on the day of the bonding ceremony, it would be inconvenient for you to remain here.”

It was a request for her to leave. Ning Xu’s eyes dimmed. It was true—she was the one who insisted on following from the very beginning. Zhu Shengxi had never intended to be with her.

Thinking of this, Ning Xu silently lowered her hand. The jade hairpin carried a trace of coolness. She remembered how lucky she felt when she first found an identical one.

But at this moment, it felt utterly ridiculous.

Even if she found one the same, it wasn’t the original one, and they could never go back to how things were.

Zhu Shengxi looked at the hairpin clutched tightly in her hand. After a moment, she silently looked away, remaining quiet.

It was late, and she didn’t want to remain in this deadlock. Just as she was about to tell her to go inside, Ning Xu suddenly tucked the hairpin away. With an expressionless face, she grabbed Zhu Shengxi’s wrist and led her into the house.

As soon as the wooden door closed, the person before her pressed her lightly against the door. Warm lips followed immediately. Zhu Shengxi was stunned for a moment and tried to push her away, but the other woman only held her tighter.

It was a gentle kiss, the air filled with the scent of the person before her. Yet, Ning Xu felt it wasn’t enough. She stared at Zhu Shengxi without blinking, the pain in her eyes gradually replaced by tenderness and longing.

“Sheng Sheng,” she whispered uncontrollably.

The lingering, gentle kiss made one want to drown in it. Zhu Shengxi unconsciously hugged her back.

The person before her was usually a woman of few words, mostly wearing a cold expression. But now her face was flushed, and the passion in her eyes was evident. Ning Xu lightly stroked her cheek and led her toward the bed.

Zhu Shengxi’s consciousness began to drift, and the kiss sparked a strange restlessness in her heart.

But in the next heartbeat, the soft lips suddenly pulled away. Zhu Shengxi slowly opened her eyes, her usually calm gaze now slightly hazy.

Ning Xu leaned down, their foreheads touching. She didn’t do anything else, merely whispering in the other’s ear: “Your Senior Sister was right. Logic also reminds me that I shouldn’t pester you, shouldn’t have appeared again to disturb you.”

“But, Sheng Sheng, I am always fantasizing that one day we can reconcile. I don’t know what I should do. Why… why do you seem to be getting further and further away from me?”

At this point, Ning Xu closed her eyes again, suppressing the tremor in her voice.

“Don’t worry. On the day of the ceremony, I won’t appear, and I won’t cause trouble. Just don’t make me leave, don’t drive me away, alright?”

The plea in her voice was so obvious that Zhu Shengxi felt a pang of pain in her heart. After a moment of silence, she said:

“You don’t have to be like this.”

“I am doing this willingly.”

Zhu Shengxi gazed at her. After a long silence, she reached out and gently pushed her away, saying softly, “Rest now.”

Ning Xu refused to let go, still embracing her, clutching onto the last shred of hope. She asked softly, “When you ask me to leave, is it because you don’t want to see me again, or because you don’t want me to get caught?”

In truth, deep down, she felt that if it were the former, Zhu Shengxi would never have agreed to bring her to the Guiyun Sect. But the other’s hot-and-cold attitude made her uncontrollably second-guess everything. She desperately needed a clear answer.

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi frowned slightly. She hadn’t realized before that Ning Xu had been harboring so many wild thoughts in secret.

If she didn’t explain clearly, the misunderstandings between them would only multiply.

She gave a light sigh and said, “Senior Sister already said I am harboring you. Do you think it could still be the former?”

Ning Xu froze. Having it stated so plainly, she realized she had been so disheartened that she had automatically assumed the worst possible outcome.

After a long silence, Zhu Shengxi thought she wouldn’t speak again, but the subsequent murmur made her heart skip a beat.

“I have brought you so much trouble. I’m sorry.”