After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 6

The figure stood against the light, her longsword slightly raised, its tip aimed at the demonic cultivator’s heart. The swordswoman’s silhouette melted into the glow of the setting sun, her outline blurred yet still radiant.

“Scram.”

Her expression was one of disdain, as if looking down upon the world. Her icy, transcendent gaze swept across the scene like a bone-chilling blade, cutting straight toward the demonic cultivator with the severed arm.

So cool!

Wu Ruo’s eyes widened as she stared dazedly at the woman just a few steps away. The other’s gaze was frigid, as if she were an unfeeling stone devoid of warmth or emotion in this world. Yet Wu Ruo still admired her deeply, her heart inexplicably burning with fervor.

She watched as blood dripped from the woman’s sword, a pitch-black hue unique to demonic cultivators. Amidst the thick, foul-smelling black blood, the gleam of the blade only seemed to shine brighter.

Like the moon, like the stars.

And like a naive, ignorant girl, her heart ringing with clarity, carrying the thunderous drums of a thousand charging steeds.

Perhaps Wu Ruo’s reaction was too dazed, her expression too stunned, but the swordswoman’s moonlit gaze unexpectedly turned toward her, coolly resting upon her, though she said nothing.

“Heh heh heh! Luo, It’s you!”

The demonic cultivator had already dissipated into nothingness the moment his arm was severed, carefully concealing his true form. Yet he hadn’t fled instead, he had gathered an even more formidable power!

“Watch out!”

Facing the swordswoman, Wu Ruo saw it all clearly. She spotted a dense black mist forming behind the woman. The moment she screamed out a warning, she could only watch helplessly as the black mist.

No, not mist, but a grotesque mass of mangled limbs stitched together, as if sprouting thousands of monstrous arms. Each limb bulged with veins, the muscles gaunt and twisted, like some monstrous flesh abomination bred for slaughter!

The woman didn’t even turn around. She merely raised a bored eyebrow, her silver sword flashing. A sharp flourish of her blade sent several streaks of light arcing through the air, forming the shape of the Big Dipper.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The next instant, the blackened mass of flesh exploded midair, sliced into countless bloody fragments by the icy blade. They rained down in a gruesome shower, instantly rotting the lush vegetation beneath and leaving the soil barren.

Wu Ruo sucked in a sharp breath. Only then did she realize she had forgotten to breathe in those fleeting seconds.

“It…”

The woman paid her no mind. Silently, she sheathed her sword and turned to leave.

Wu Ruo struggled to stand, only to collapse back onto the ground. Earlier, when the demonic cultivator had choked her, she had been left badly shaken. A vivid red handprint still marked her neck, a stark and horrifying sight.

“Cough! Sister!” She mustered strength from who-knows-where, lunging forward in an attempt to grab hold of her savior. But her body had yet to recover, and she ended up tripping over herself, thud!

She didn’t fall.

The taciturn swordswoman flickered into motion, appearing before her in an instant. A slender hand reached out, pressing lightly against Wu Ruo’s forehead to steady her.

“Be more careful in the future,” the woman said.

“Mm-hmm!” Wu Ruo wanted to say something, but the sight of that flawless, divine face left her utterly dazzled. Her mind went blank, leaving only the memory of the woman’s heroic, demon-slaying swordplay.

So cool, so cool. If only she could.

A cool sensation touched her neck. She tilted her head slightly under the other’s guidance before realizing that the person was actually examining her injury.

“It’s nothing serious.”

The other produced an ointment from somewhere, their icy fingertips lightly dabbing the cool salve onto the wounded side of her neck. “Apply this for three days, and it’ll heal.”

With that, the person stood up. Their pristine white robe remained immaculate, untouched by dust, and the ivory veil draped over their high bun was as ethereal and pure as ever, clear and flawless.

As if they had never been in a battle or saved a little girl who had fled from the mountains.

“Sister, don’t go!”

Wu Ruo watched as the other turned away again and finally remembered why she had come down the mountain in the first place. She hurriedly called out, “Sister, are you an immortal? Two of my friends were taken by demonic cultivators. Could you?”

The woman paused, as if weighing her time, but eventually turned back. “Direction.”

“It’s um.” Wu Ruo didn’t know either. Frantically, she gestured into the air. “Maybe southward? I have a way to contact them.”

She pulled out a small glass vial from her pocket, inside of which was a golden beetle. This was a sound-transmitting gu she and A-Xiang had raised together, it allowed them to hear sounds from each other’s location.

The swordswoman’s gaze fell upon the vial, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, but she said nothing.

Wu Ruo didn’t notice the subtle reaction. She poured the insect onto her palm and pressed it to her ear, urgently calling, “A-Xiang!”

But there was no response.

That couldn’t be, A-Xiang had promised to keep the sound-transmitting gu with her at all times. Even if they were far apart, she should still hear something. If there was no answer, then…

Wu Ruo grew increasingly anxious. Just as she was about to prick her finger to drip blood onto the gu to stimulate it, her wrist was suddenly caught.

“Understood,” the woman said. “Let’s go.”

With that, the swordswoman grabbed Wu Ruo, and a long sword materialized before them. It wasn’t the icy blade she had used to slay demons earlier but a heavy sword that carried the scent of rust.

The woman nodded at her, signaling her to step onto the sword, then stood behind her. “We’re leaving.”

“Sister!”

This was Wu Ruo’s first time standing on a swordswoman’s blade. The wind howled past her ears as they soared through the sky. Her fear of heights made her uneasy, and her words came out hesitant.

“Close your eyes,” the swordswoman instructed.

Wu Ruo’s legs trembled, but since she was standing on the swordswoman’s blade and asking for help, she didn’t dare complain despite her fear. Just as she was silently praying to the Witch God for protection, she suddenly felt warmth settle on her shoulder.

It was the other’s hand, resting lightly there.

That hand was still cold, the same temperature as when it had touched her neck earlier, sending a chill through her. Yet, inexplicably, warmth bloomed in Wu Ruo’s heart.

The other seemed unskilled in social interactions and sparing with explanations or comfort. But…

They made up for it entirely with action.

The wind in her ears seemed to grow fiercer likely because the flying sword was descending rapidly. The turbulent currents whipped their disheveled hair and fluttered their robes wildly.

Wu Ruo kept her eyes closed, feeling the warmth on her shoulder remain steady. Softly, she murmured, “Thank you, sister.”

The other person didn’t speak, but she seemed to hear a short, soft “Mm.”

Like a ripple rising from a clear stream in a village, it gently brushed against her heart.

And with that faint, fleeting response, something within her heart seemed to surge forth completely.

The heavy sword beneath her feet trembled slightly, and then, the sound of wind in her ears vanished in an instant everything became calm and still.

“Done,” the sword cultivator said.

Wu Ruo opened her eyes. The scene before her was completely different from what she remembered when she had last descended the mountain.

In her memory, this had been a tranquil mortal realm forest, a place mortals called Black Mountain, a small hill with wheel-rutted dirt paths, covered in lush spruce trees.

But now, the hill looked as though it had been ransacked by bandits and set ablaze, leaving only charred black tree stumps and scattered traces of charcoal.

A desolate sight stretched as far as the eye could see.

“…”

Wu Ruo took a step forward.

Her heart began to convulse abruptly, and a terrible thought slowly formed in her mind. But she didn’t dare test it, not even a little. She only staggered forward weakly.

Her toe bumped against something, and there was a crisp crack, the sound of a small bottle shattering.

It was half of a broken porcelain vial, its surface adorned with the familiar pattern of lily-of-the-valley. It was the same milky-white vial that A-Xiang had always carried with her, never letting it leave her hand.

But now, the little bottle lay quietly on the ground, cracked, its fragments unevenly scattered in the dirt and ash.

“A-Xiang.”

She dropped to her knees helplessly, reaching out to pick up the shattered pieces, as if trying to restore it but there was no way to bring back what it once was.

The swordswoman said nothing, standing silently behind Wu Ruo. The heavy sword she had been riding vanished in an instant, stowed away into her storage pouch.

She observed coldly for a while, not disturbing Wu Ruo’s grief. Instead, she frowned as she scanned the surroundings, then slowly flicked the longsword in her hand.

“Shijie! So you’re here!”

A bright, cheerful girl’s voice suddenly rang out beside her, followed by a gust of wind as the speaker appeared boldly at the swordswoman’s side.

“How was the mission?” the swordswoman asked.

Wu Ruo turned her head. What greeted her was a radiant, sunny girl with a high ponytail tied with a vivid red ribbon. She was adorned with jingling accessories silk ribbons, earrings her lively, beauty-loving nature evident at a glance.

“Ah, Shijie, I lost track of them by accident.” The girl in red stuck out her tongue carelessly, pressing herself against the swordswoman to whine. “That demonic cultivator was too sneaky, it’s not my fault.”

“Don’t let it happen again,” the swordswoman said. “Any traces of demonic cultivators within ten miles?”

“None!” The girl in red swept her gaze around, only then noticing Wu Ruo crouched on the ground, lost in thought. “Shijie, who’s this?”

She plopped down beside Wu Ruo without hesitation, then blinked when she saw the silver bracelet on her wrist. “Hey, that’s pretty nice. Wanna sell it?”

Wu Ruo’s hand was grabbed. She inhaled softly, quietly pulling her wrist free, then reached into her pocket and took out another silver bracelet. “Here, you can have this one.”

“That won’t do! I don’t take things for free!” The girl in red reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, springing to her feet in an instant. “Jiang Qingbei has never taken anything from others without payment! I’ve got plenty of money, name your price!”

“No need.” Wu Ruo rubbed her sore legs, finally managing to stand up after being crouched for so long that her limbs had gone slightly numb from poor circulation. “Your senior sister just saved me. It’s only right that I give this to you.”

“Hmph, my senior sister is my senior sister, and I am me.” Jiang Qingbei snorted stubbornly, though she couldn’t entirely dismiss the logic. “Do you even know who my senior sister is? For her to save you, you’ve stumbled upon incredible luck.”

The sword cultivator approached, retrieving a talisman from her qiankun pouch. With a light snap of her fingers, it silently attached itself to Jiang Qingbei’s back.

“She’s from our most, mmph!”

The girl’s words were abruptly cut off by a silencing spell. She shot a smug glance at her senior sister, then happily shook her new bracelet, tilting her chin up at Wu Ruo with a bright, triumphant grin.

“You go back and face punishment.” The sword cultivator stood before Wu Ruo, though her words were directed at Jiang Qingbei. “First time down the mountain, and you already lost track of me. Reflect on your mistakes in seclusion.”

Still unable to speak, Jiang Qingbei puffed out her cheeks and nodded vigorously like a pecking chick, yet she lingered, craning her neck to see what her senior sister would do next.

The sword cultivator turned back, this time addressing Wu Ruo with the stern yet gentle tone of a mentor instructing a disciple: “Be more careful when traveling in the future. This area is teeming with demonic cultivators, stay safe.”

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