I Reborn on the Night I Divorced the Sword Deity, My Childhood Friend - Chapter 12

It was unknown how long it took before Yuan Muzhou finally regained his composure. He turned an incredibly dark and cold gaze toward the demonic cultivator.

After a long silence, he spoke, emphasizing every word. “Your concerns are justified, but as long as I am here, I will never allow such things to happen to Junyu.”

The demonic cultivator gave a contemptuous laugh. “And what is your promise even worth?”

At the sound of that mocking laughter, the string of restraint Yuan Muzhou had been holding finally snapped. Unable to endure it any longer, he drew his sword with a resounding clang.

The sword-light flashed like lightning, arriving with a brilliant glow. It surged toward the demonic cultivator with the momentum of a dragon swallowing the sea. Within the intent of the blade hid a killing intent that could not be concealed.

The demonic cultivator remained expressionless. His black hair danced wildly in the gale whipped up by the sword qi, yet he did not move an inch. Beneath the silver mask, a sharp glint flickered in his dark eyes. He held a wisp of eerily colored demonic energy in his left palm. As he slowly turned his hand to meet Yuan Muzhou’s world-shaking strike, a sudden event occurred.

With a thunderous roar, a golden longsword unsheathed itself through the air, violently blocking Yuan Muzhou’s incoming sword qi right in front of the demonic cultivator. The golden light flared up like a high wall, separating the two sides.

Amidst the billowing dust, Shen Junyu stood holding his sword, his sleeves fluttering. His cold eyes remained fixed on Yuan Muzhou, who stood opposite him with an expression of shock and disbelief.

“He only spoke the truth, yet you have become flyblown with rage? Yuan Muzhou, I did not realize your magnanimity was so small.”

Yuan Muzhou’s brow twitched violently. “Junyu, demonic cultivators are crafty. He is clearly spreading inflammatory lies to deceive the masses. Do not believe him.”

Shen Junyu replied, “I do not believe him. I only believe what I hear and see for myself.”

Another long silence followed.

Finally, Yuan Muzhou closed his eyes and spoke in a restrained voice tinged with gravity. “I know you bear a grudge against me because of Siyuan. But back then, weren’t you able to save him so recklessly because you are biological brothers, and blood is thicker than water? Just as I would certainly have done the same for you. No matter what, I will not let you go.”

Yuan Muzhou said these things solely in an attempt to salvage the situation. However, upon hearing this confession, Shen Junyu dazed for a moment. After a long while, he laughed as if realizing something.

He lowered his eyes and chuckled self-deprecatingly. “So that’s how it is.”

So that’s how it was. They were the same.

Yuan Muzhou was not as noble as he had originally thought. Everything had been a misunderstanding; they were all just mortals.

It was just as when he had blocked that arrow for Shen Siyuan. It wasn’t because he cared so deeply for brotherly affection, but because in that instant, he knew the person before him might die, so he acted on impulse.

Had he never regretted it? Of course he had.

That was why he had later been patient and silent; it was because he felt guilty. He felt that he wasn’t truly sincere about being a good person and didn’t deserve Yuan Muzhou’s treatment of him. But since the deed was done, he could only endure.

But looking at it now, everyone was truly the same. Yuan Muzhou entering the life-sharing Dao companion contract with him was also an impulse. Naturally, he would regret it later. After all, that is human nature.

How laughable that he understood this so late.

Shen Junyu smiled. If, before Yuan Muzhou spoke those words, he still felt Yuan Muzhou was just an unfaithful but not entirely heartless former partner, then at this moment, all those definitions vanished. The person standing before him was merely a human being.

A very ordinary person blocking his path.

Yuan Muzhou did not understand why his sincere confession had triggered such a realization in Shen Junyu. But seeing Shen Junyu’s subtle smile, a faint sense of foreboding rose in his heart. Before his various guesses could settle, Shen Junyu abruptly closed his eyes, completely gathering all the fluctuating emotions in his gaze.

When Shen Junyu opened his eyes again, they were as cold as ice and void of anything. In the next second, he drew his sword and pointed it directly at Yuan Muzhou.

“Yuan Muzhou, if you truly still care for even a shred of what you call ‘past affection,’ you should step aside. Otherwise, today, either you die or I live.”

On the Fengling Sword, golden light flowed with incredible sharpness. Dressed in white and bathed in that golden glow, Shen Junyu looked like a grand immortal, transcendent and extraordinary. His glazed eyes, now completely devoid of desire or emotion, gave him a touch of divinity.

Meeting those eyes, Yuan Muzhou’s heart shook violently. He felt an inexplicable pain. For some reason, he truly felt at this moment that he was about to lose Shen Junyu forever. This feeling made his heart heavy.

Yuan Muzhou opened his mouth, wanting to explain further, but Shen Junyu no longer wanted to hear his nonsense. With a flick of his wrist, the longsword in his hand turned into a flowing rainbow. The sharp blade struck out once more, aiming straight for his face!

Yuan Muzhou was stunned. Finally, he could only draw his sword. At this point, after seeing Shen Junyu’s gaze, Yuan Muzhou knew he absolutely could not let Shen Junyu leave! Even if he had to injure Shen Junyu, he had to take him back. As for the internal strife within the Shen family, he would ask for a clear explanation upon their return. He would never let Shen Junyu suffer another grievance.

However, Yuan Muzhou was thinking too simply. When Shen Junyu’s sword-light arrived, Yuan Muzhou realized that the strike was incredibly sophisticated. It was aimed perfectly at the flaws in his own cultivation techniques and moves!

How could this be? How did Shen Junyu know these things? The secret sword techniques of the Yuan family had never been shown to outsiders. How could Shen Junyu know the weaknesses of his swordplay so clearly? Wait… Shen Siyuan!

In that instant, an unbelievable guess flashed through Yuan Muzhou’s mind. He faltered for a second.

And in that single second of distraction, Shen Junyu’s sword-light arrived. Caught off guard, the longsword in Yuan Muzhou’s hand was knocked away, and he was sent flying back! He didn’t regain his senses until he desperately plunged his sword into the ground to stabilize himself, barely preventing himself from crashing into the mountain behind him.

Light blossomed in front of him. After a moment of daze, Yuan Muzhou looked up abruptly. The teleportation array had lit up, and Shen Junyu was standing side-by-side with the demonic cultivator within it.

Yuan Muzhou had no time to ask his many questions. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and shouted harshly, “Junyu!”

The light flowed, and the roar of the formation echoed. No one looked back. By the time Yuan Muzhou lunged toward the array, it was completely too late. The teleportation array had limited energy and could only be activated once every half hour.

He was too late. Yuan Muzhou leaned on his sword and slowly dropped to one knee. He lowered his eyes helplessly as the metallic taste of blood rose in his throat again.

Inside the secret realm, there was a dead silence. The crowd watched the scene and maintained a tactical silence. However, the looks everyone cast toward Yuan Muzhou were now filled with an indescribable nuance. After all, they had heard the conversation between Yuan Muzhou and Shen Junyu. At this moment, they didn’t have much sympathy for him. They only felt that if he had known it would come to this, he shouldn’t have acted that way in the beginning.

Outside the secret realm.

After leaving the realm, Shen Junyu did not say a word. He immediately mounted his sword and flew toward the East Sea with the speed of a meteor. He knew that once Yuan Muzhou left the secret realm, he would surely mobilize all forces in the Central State to find him. If he didn’t leave early, he wouldn’t be able to escape. Even if Yuan Muzhou truly regretted it and didn’t intend to use him as a remedy for Shen Siyuan, he no longer cared for it.

Half an hour later, Shen Junyu’s brow rose slightly as he stopped in mid-air. After a moment, he turned and scanned a dense forest beside him, his gaze sharp and bright. “Come out.”

The leaves in the forest rustled, but there was no other movement. Shen Junyu’s eyes shifted slightly. “Since you won’t come out, I’m leaving.”

Finally, a wisp of black-red demonic energy floated from a branch and condensed in front of Shen Junyu, taking the form of the demonic cultivator. Shen Junyu looked at him without showing any impatience. He simply asked, “Didn’t we agree earlier that we would go our separate ways once we left the secret realm? Have you changed your mind? Or is there something you wanted that you didn’t get?”

The demonic cultivator was quiet for a moment. He smiled subtly and shook his head. “Do I have to have an ulterior motive to follow you?”

Shen Junyu was confused. “Then why are you following me?”

Shen Junyu frowned, truly not understanding. Seeing the clear, puzzled look in Shen Junyu’s eyes, the demonic cultivator couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. After the confrontation with Yuan Muzhou, he completely realized that he had misinterpreted some of Shen Junyu’s previous actions. However, he was a demon, and he never hid his intentions.

Thus, he smiled and looked at Shen Junyu candidly. “I am worried about you. I’m afraid something might happen.”

A flash of surprise crossed Shen Junyu’s glazed eyes. After a brief silence, although no extra emotion appeared on his face, the demonic cultivator could tell that Shen Junyu felt a bit ashamed and embarrassed about his own earlier suspicions.

How interesting. A person who was so unrestrained and cold toward Yuan Muzhou could also feel embarrassed now.

After a slight pause, and without waiting for Shen Junyu to say anything else, the demonic cultivator curled his lips and said with feigned indifference, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to leave so easily. Consider this another time you saved me. I don’t like owing people favors.”

As expected, after the demonic cultivator spoke, Shen Junyu’s expression relaxed slightly. Observing this, the demonic cultivator added, “I came because I think that fiancé of yours is quite clingy. He will likely come looking for you again for that Golden Core. Having an extra pair of hands makes it safer at least, don’t you think?”

Shen Junyu pondered for a moment. “I recall you saying you had other business to attend to?”

The demonic cultivator was speechless. He hadn’t expected Shen Junyu to remember that. His brow twitched violently as he prepared to make up an excuse, but Shen Junyu suddenly gave a faint smile. Then, looking at the embarrassed demonic cultivator with a gaze that seemed to see through everything, Shen Junyu spoke slowly. “But it just so happens that I also plan to go to the Demon Realm. Since we are going the same way, it doesn’t matter.”

The demonic cultivator was surprised. Amidst the unexpected joy, he felt a bit of nuance. Shen Junyu’s original direction wasn’t toward the Demon Realm; it seemed more like the East Sea. Had he changed his mind for him?

However, the demonic cultivator had learned his lesson. He understood it in his heart but didn’t mention it. He only said, “In that case, let me lead the way. You aren’t familiar with the path to the Demon Realm, and it’s easy to get lost.”

“Alright,” Shen Junyu replied.

And so, a sword-light and a streak of black-red demonic energy soared into the sky together. Shen Junyu followed closely beside the demonic cultivator. The wind swept through the black hair at his ears, and the sunlight made his eyes as clear as a mirror.

Previously, Shen Junyu wanted to go to the East Sea because of the sea markets there. There were many demon race rogue cultivators, and he could buy demon cultivation techniques. He also loved the scenery of the East Sea.

But suddenly, the demonic cultivator appeared and woke him up with a single sentence. Since he already had a demon cultivation technique, why search far and wide? Although the technique currently seemed rejected by the mark, switching to a demon race technique might present the same problem. Furthermore, he was never one to back down from a challenge.

Of course, the most important thing was that one sentence: “I am worried about you.”

In his previous life, he had parents and brothers. He had many friends and even a Dao companion with whom his life was linked. But everyone felt he was a genius, strong enough, reliable enough, and that he would always be everyone’s support. Therefore, no one had ever said those words to him not even once.

In this life, someone had finally said it to him with true sincerity. Even if it was a demonic cultivator, so what?