The Immortal Lord of the Path of Ruthlessness Bends for Me - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Master Is Bathing, Do Not Come Down…

She fled in a panic, not seeing clearly until Sun Wang let out a sharp cry: “You idiot, come back and save me!” Only then did Qian Yu snap to her senses, but she covered her ears and kept running, shouting, “I can’t hear you!”

Sun Wang: “…”

Ling Shu stood atop Li Chang’s sword, while Li Chang remained below, her right hand raised as magic pulsed through her fingers, controlling the flight of her blade.

Sun Wang was tied around the waist and suspended from the tree; at a glance, it truly looked like a grim hanging. Sun Wang didn’t cry or cause a scene: “What else do you have? Come on, I’m not afraid. I, Sun Wang, dare to act and dare to face the consequences.”

Li Chang glared at her: “Why did you bully Ling Shu?”

Sun Wang spat back: “I couldn’t stand it! Why should a demon like her receive the favor of the Immortal?”

Li Chang argued back: “So what if she’s a demon? She’s a once-in-a-century genius with a Heaven-grade Lightning Spirit Root, and she’s Sect Leader Wang’s biological daughter. It’s perfectly normal for the Immortal to like her and take her as a disciple. A figure like the Immortal, standing at the peak of the mountain, wouldn’t take a disciple that’s just anyone—would she take a commoner with a double-spirit-root like you instead?”

Sun Wang roared: “Double-spirit-roots aren’t common!”

Li Chang snapped: “Compared to a Heaven-grade Spirit Root, what is a double-spirit-root worth?”

Sun Wang countered: “No matter how pure her spirit root is, she’s a demon! Humans and demons are irreconcilable! How can the number one sect of the Upper Clarity Realm allow a monster to enter and cultivate?”

Li Chang slapped her across the face: “Ling Shu is not a monster!”

Ling Shu stood to the side, looking aggrieved: “Are demons really that hated?”

Li Chang quickly comforted her: “No, you’re very likable.”

Sun Wang sneered coldly: “Demons are born lowly. No one likes you.”

Ling Shu burst into a loud “Waaah!” and Li Chang hurried over to soothe her.

In that moment, Sun Wang secretly gathered a ball of black magic in her palm, aiming it straight at Ling Shu’s dantian.

A dark shadow flashed before Ling Shu. Soon after, the shadow slumped to the ground, vomiting a large mouthful of blood.

Ling Shu’s crying stopped instantly. Li Chang turned to look just as a sphere of black magic was fired toward Ling Shu. Li Chang jumped in front of her, but the magic swerved, striking a nearby rock and shattering it into pieces.

Li Chang’s voice trembled: “E-evil… magic. You’re an evil cultivator…”

Sun Wang laughed wildly: “I’m not an evil cultivator. I just practice methods that are more ruthless than average.”

Though Sun Wang was hanging, her magic wasn’t bound. Li Chang’s rope was just a pet leash—it had no power to suppress spiritual energy.

Another black orb was fired. Zhao Chi scrambled up from the ground, blocked the damage, and then lunged forward to tackle Sun Wang. She yelled to Ling Shu and Li Chang: “Run! Quick!”

Sun Wang screamed: “Zhao Chi! You betray your master!”

Zhao Chi sneered: “Whoever saves me is my master.”

Li Chang didn’t move: “You can’t beat an evil cultivator!” Evil cultivators used vicious methods to progress rapidly; at the same level, a Foundation Establishment evil cultivator would be stronger than a regular one.

Ling Shu stood there like a wooden doll.

Zhao Chi shouted: “GO!”

Li Chang had no choice but to pull Ling Shu onto the sword and flee. Not long after they left, a massive explosion thundered behind them.

Zhao Chi was sent flying by the impact and went still. Sun Wang was shrouded in black mist as she snapped the ropes.

Black orbs of magic the size of watermelons chased them from behind. Li Chang swerved sharply, letting an orb explode against a tree trunk. Realizing this worked, she dodged five more orbs until the entrance to Qingxi Mountain appeared.

Li Chang breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to fly through. From a distance, she pushed Ling Shu into the Qingxi Mountain barrier and stayed outside herself. Dozens of black orbs closed in. Li Chang tried to cast a spell again, but not a drop of magic emerged from her palms.

Her magic was exhausted, and she began to fall from the sky.

Suddenly, Ling Shu charged out from behind the barrier, leaped into the air, and firmly caught the falling Li Chang. She said one thing: “So stupid.”

Li Chang grabbed Ling Shu’s collar: “Why did you come out?! I worked so hard to save you—why would you come back out to die?!”

Ling Shu asked calmly: “Did I ever say I needed you to save me?”

Her tone was steady and cold, not at all like someone with the mind of a ten-year-old. Li Chang’s hand froze on her collar: “You… you didn’t lose your memory?”

As if wearing a mask, Ling Shu’s face instantly shifted into a silly, innocent smile. She said: “So much fun! Why did Sister Li Chang push me away?”

The black orbs were inches away. Li Chang had no time for talk and screamed: “Duck!”

Ling Shu didn’t duck. She landed, set Li Chang down, and continued walking forward. A massive arc-shield woven from lightning expanded before her. The black orbs struck it and were instantly dissolved by the electricity.

Sun Wang, hovering in the air, was aghast: “How… how is this possible! This is demon magic! Demon magic!”

Ling Shu acted as if nothing had happened: “I am a demon, Sister Sun! Do you want to play a game of ball with me?”

Li Chang watched her closely, trying to find any trace of a faked amnesia.

Then, Sun Wang drew an Emei Piercer artifact, wreathed in black magic.

Li Chang shook Ling Shu’s arm, panicked: “That’s a weapon forged from a Golden Core demon soul! It’ll kill us! Run, Ling Shu! We’re only in Foundation Establishment, we can’t win!”

Ling Shu stood still, a hint of madness in her smile. Her eyes lit up with excitement. She said: “That weapon is so pretty. I want it.”

Li Chang cried: “Are you insane?!”

Ling Shu reached out as if to choke someone. The magic connecting Sun Wang to the Emei Piercer snapped. Sun Wang clutched at the invisible force around her throat, her body rising higher and higher as her feet kicked the air and her face turned purple.

Ling Shu then leaped off a tree, snatched the Emei Piercer from the air, and landed steadily on the ground.

She tried to trigger the weapon, but it remained unresponsive. Ling Shu held it up to Li Chang. Li Chang leaned back to avoid it, then touched it briefly with her thumb and forefinger. When she felt the black energy, she immediately recoiled: “This artifact is soul-bound. it won’t recognize you.”

Ling Shu held the weapon up to Sun Wang with a mischievous, childish grin: “Make it recognize me!”

The pressure on Sun Wang’s throat loosened. She gasped for air: “It’s mine! Don’t even dream of it!”

A bolt of heavenly lightning suddenly tore through the Emei Piercer.

“What are you doing!” Sun Wang shrieked. “That was made from a Golden Core soul!”

The black glow vanished. The weapon was now devoid of any spiritual aura—it was destroyed.

Ling Shu asked Li Chang: “Can the cat play with this pokey thing?”

Li Chang quickly stopped her. This behavior… she really is an amnesiac child, she thought. Li Chang said: “Cats don’t play with these! It’s sharp, it’ll hurt the kitty!”

Ling Shu tossed it aside casually: “I don’t want it then.”

Li Chang: “Huh? You’re just… throwing it away?”

Sun Wang, overwhelmed by rage and defeat, fell from the sky and fainted. Ling Shu then asked Li Chang for a rope to tie her up.

After dealing with Sun Wang, Ling Shu went back into the woods to find Zhao Chi.

Zhao Chi was leaning against a tree, blood trailing from her chin to the ground and her neck covered in red. Her dark hair was tossed by the wind, adding to her look of shattered beauty. Li Chang burst into tears the moment she saw Zhao Chi’s closed eyes: “Zhao Chi! Zhao Chi is dead!”

“Not yet,” Zhao Chi whispered, opening her eyes weakly.

Ling Shu knelt down and handed her a silk handkerchief: “Why is Sister Zhao here?”

“Passing by,” Zhao Chi replied as she took the cloth and wiped the blood. The robes Zhuang Jinfu had given her were strange; they didn’t stain. She had realized during the fight with the Fire Sparrow that these clothes could block magic damage, which was why she had dared to throw herself into the explosion.

Ling Shu reasoned: “That makes sense. This road leads to Master’s home.”

Zhao Chi used the tree to stand up. “Take Sun Wang back to the Punishment Hall elders. Don’t let Qian Yu or Zhou Qi off either. Ling Shu’s ‘ten-year-old’ mind won’t make for a strong testimony, so Li Chang, you’ll need to give the statement. Just… don’t mention me.”

“Okay.”

“Where is Zhou Qi?” Zhao Chi asked.

Just then, Zhou Qi climbed out of the beast trap, swearing. She locked eyes with the three of them. Zhou Qi let go and fell back into the pit. The three leaned over the edge. Zhou Qi said sheepishly: “Uh… good afternoon, fellow students.”

Ling Shu threw a magical punch into the pit. Zhou Qi’s eyes rolled back and she fainted. Zhao Chi packed them all up and even retrieved the broken artifact. Li Chang took a moment to recover her energy, then led the way on her sword as Ling Shu dragged the bullies toward the Punishment Hall.

The next day, Qian Yu was also caught.

Because Sun Wang practiced evil arts, she was sentenced to thirty strikes of heavenly lightning. During the execution, a sudden storm broke out—each strike was five times stronger than normal. Sun Wang could not survive it and died on the platform.

Qian Yu and Zhou Qi were imprisoned for five years. However, on their fifth day in jail, they both died suddenly.

Ling Shu sat on the veranda playing with the cat. Auntie Hai had sewn two little fish toys for Ruixue, who proudly shared them with Ling Shu.

As Auntie Hai passed by, Ling Shu asked: “Where is my Master?”

“She went to the Water-Moon Hot Springs to bathe.” She was carrying a tray of clothes. Ling Shu intercepted her: “Are those for her?”

“Yes, she took the wrong set. I’m bringing her fresh ones.”

Ling Shu snatched the tray, trying to be helpful: “I’ll do it! Auntie Hai, you’ve worked so hard all day. Let Ling Bao handle this small thing!”

Auntie Hai laughed and let her go.

Inside the hot springs, the air was thick with mist. Zhuang Jinfu scooped water over her shoulders, the droplets sliding down her pale skin.

Someone entered from behind and set the tray down. Then, they reached into the spring to test the water temperature.

“Leave them and go,” Zhuang Jinfu commanded.

“Master.”

That single word made Zhuang Jinfu’s relaxed senses snap to attention.

“I want to soak too.”

Zhuang Jinfu turned her head to see a pair of pure, innocent eyes. Ling Shu’s hand was still in the water: “The water feels so comfortable.”

“Wait until I am out, then you—”

“I want to be with Master.”

A faint blush colored Zhuang Jinfu’s face because she wasn’t wearing a single thing beneath the water. “No.”

“Why not? We are both women. Mother told me women can be close. I used to bathe with her. Mother is a woman, you are a woman. We are both women, we can bathe together.”

As Ling Shu spoke, she began to unfasten her robes. Zhuang Jinfu turned her face away, not daring to look.

“Master is bathing… do not come down…”

Splash!

Ling Shu dove in. She stayed under for a long time. Fearing she had drowned, Zhuang Jinfu called out, “Ling Shu? Ling Shu!”

Wrapping herself in a towel, Zhuang Jinfu moved toward where the girl had submerged. Suddenly, a head popped up right in front of her chest. Those innocent eyes stared up at her. Ling Shu smiled brilliantly: “Master, you’re so beautiful.”

Zhuang Jinfu’s eyelashes fluttered. “It’s good that you’re okay.”

Ling Shu had stripped down to a thin inner garment. The wet fabric clung to her, making her silhouette startlingly clear. Zhuang Jinfu’s gaze darted away.

The Immortal turned to leave, but suddenly froze.

A soft body pressed against her back, radiating heat. Ling Shu wrapped her arms around her waist from behind. Zhuang Jinfu went rigid, afraid to breathe.

Beneath the water, Ling Shu’s foot hooked around her leg, gently rubbing against it.

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