The Immortal Lord of the Path of Ruthlessness Bends for Me - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: No One Had Ever Dared to Love Her So Firmly

“If I say it was cold, will Master feel sorry for me?”

“Will Master regret punishing me by making me kneel in the snow?”

Ling Shu continued to press her questions.

Zhuang Jinfu remained silent for a long while before speaking: “I will not make you kneel in the snow again.”

Ling Shu stepped out of Zhuang Jinfu’s embrace. She pulled her robes tight around her, her sparkling gaze fixed on the Immortal. “But you will always get angry. If it isn’t the snow, you will surely find another way to punish me.”

“Ling Shu, if you offend others, they are bound to be angry.” Zhuang Jinfu stood up. She tapped a white jade pendant carved with lotus patterns to call for Auntie Hai, instructing her to bring another set of clothes.

Ling Shu didn’t get up. She remained kneeling on the damp ground. She wanted to see if Zhuang Jinfu would truly feel enough pity to tell her to rise; she was testing the Immortal’s bottom line. She put on an innocent face and asked, “What if I can’t help myself?”

“Then you must learn restraint.”

“That is too difficult for Ling Bao.”

“Ling Shu,” Zhuang Jinfu felt she needed to have a proper talk with her—to guide her, to reject her clearly, and to prevent her from falling deeper into this obsession. “Feelings are not something that can be forced by one side alone. You are not a child anymore; it’s time to be sensible.”

“I am sixteen. I’m still young.”

“No. You are nineteen. You are an adult now.”

“Huh? How did I become nineteen…”

“Even a sixteen-year-old can understand what I am saying.” Zhuang Jinfu looked at the puddles on the floor and then at the girl sitting in them. She pulled Ling Shu up and used her magic to dry the girl’s clothes once more. “I practice the Path of Emotionlessness,” she said seriously.

“I will not touch love in this lifetime. I know where your heart is directed, but feelings must be mutual. Treasure your own heart; do not fall for someone based on their appearance alone. Before choosing a Dao companion, consider if they are worthy of your company and if they can return your feelings. Do not give your heart away easily.”

“But Master, I just like you.”

Auntie Hai knocked on the door and brought in a set of clothes. Zhuang Jinfu took them. Before disappearing into the small changing room, she left her with one sentence: “A disciple cannot like her Master.”

“Why!”

Zhuang Jinfu closed the door. Standing behind it, she said, “You cannot defy the world. You have already suffered enough condemnation. So, do not love me.”

Ling Shu shouted at the door: “The world says humans and demons cannot love. I am the only demon in this world—does that mean I lose the right to love?”

“Is Ling Bao destined to grow old alone?”

“There is nothing wrong with growing old alone.”

As Zhuang Jinfu uttered those words, she felt her strength drain away. Her chest felt stiflingly tight. She tried to manifest a cluster of ice crystals in her palm; the icy blue shards formed, but then immediately began to dissolve from their sharp edges. She hadn’t cast any spell to retract them.

Her Heart of the Dao was unstable.

She didn’t know when it had started. But she knew it couldn’t continue.

“Even if you reject me a hundred times, a thousand times, I will still say I like you.”

Ling Shu spoke those words toward the closed door with an extraordinary firmness. Even if the weight of Mount Tai pressed down on her to stop loving Zhuang Jinfu, her heart remained unyielding.

Why love her?

Because Zhuang Jinfu was the first person who, in a situation where everyone wanted to destroy her, firmly insisted that she live.

Zhuang Jinfu was her salvation in a hopeless world.

If the Immortal could defy the world to keep her alive, then she would firmly cross the boundaries of the world to love her.

There was no sound from the other side of the door—not even the rustle of changing clothes. Ling Shu waited, hoping for a response, but none came.

Behind the door, the hand holding the dissolving ice crystals was trembling. No one had ever dared to love her so firmly. From being loathed by thousands to being revered by thousands, she had walked her path alone for a very long time.

Only when the footsteps outside finally faded did Zhuang Jinfu change and emerge. She stared blankly at the spot where Ling Shu had stood.

“Master.”

That familiar voice called to her again. She felt a sensation like an electric shock paralyze her entire body. She turned around—and saw Ling Shu standing there with that same determined face.

Zhuang Jinfu’s lips trembled, and her throat tightened. Then, Ling Shu’s figure vanished.

It was an illusion.

Ling Shu wasn’t there; she had already left. If the girl had stayed just a moment longer, she would have seen the cold and dignified Immortal looking completely lost.

Ling Shu left the hot springs and headed toward the Golden Thread Hall. In the courtyard, she saw Zhao Chi, dressed in black, waiting for her.

“Sister Zhao, what are you doing here?” Ling Shu asked, putting on her innocent act again.

“Are you faking it?” Zhao Chi’s sharp eyes scanned her, as if trying to see through everything. “The demon core in Fire Sparrow’s artifact came from your own kind. It contains a trace of the demon’s will. One of the instincts of demons is to protect the young.

You are the granddaughter of the Demon King; the seniors would protect you. Even if they followed their owner’s command to hurt you, they would have lessened the damage because you are a demon. It wouldn’t be enough to damage your memory.”

“Did that mean person Fire Sparrow kill many of my clansmen?” Ling Shu’s eyes filled with tears. she wiped them with her sleeve, looking mournful.

“Still acting?” Zhao Chi frowned, clearly annoyed. She finally sighed. “Fine.”

“I just came to give you a piece of advice.” Zhao Chi looked toward the hot springs. The Immortal’s feelings were one thing, but Ling Shu’s intentions were obvious. “You cannot love her.”

“Who I like is none of your business!” Ling Shu said, pouting.

“Being with her defies the will of Heaven. It is destined to end badly,” Zhao Chi said. “I apologize for being blunt, but I don’t want to see you hurt. Heartbreak is the hardest wound to heal. I want to stop you before you fall too deep.”

“I’m not listening! I’m not listening!” Ling Shu covered her ears, glaring at her. “You’re a bad person. I don’t listen to bad people.”

Zhao Chi was anxious; she knew she was meddling. “It was wrong of me to deceive you in the past, but what I’m saying now is from the bottom of my heart. I want what’s best for you.”

“I don’t believe you.” Ling Shu turned to walk away.

Zhao Chi followed. “Someone like the Immortal cannot be loved. She is cold-hearted; she only cares for the world. She is a block of ancient ice, an emotionless freak. Ling Shu, don’t go. Believe me just this once—she truly cannot be loved.”

“Is that how you all see her?” Ling Shu’s peach-blossom eyes narrowed, her teeth clenched. “I won’t let you talk about her like that! She has feelings! Her ’emotionlessness’ is the ‘Great Path of No Emotion,’ not a lack of feelings!”

“Regardless, she is the Guardian Immortal of the Upper Clarity Realm. If her Path of Emotionlessness is broken, how will she protect this world?”

Ling Shu’s footsteps stopped.

“It’s good that you’re listening,” Zhao Chi said. “She won’t give up the millions of lives out there for just one person. That is her duty.”

“Ling Shu?”

Ling Shu stood still. Zhao Chi didn’t dare walk past her, so she waited for her to turn around. After a long time, she heard Ling Shu ask in a low voice:

“Why does she have to be the one sacrificed?”

“What?” Zhao Chi was confused.

“For your peace, her happiness must be sacrificed?” Ling Shu didn’t turn back. Her hands hung at her sides, but her heart was overflowing with bitterness.

“She chose the Path of Emotionlessness herself. She chose to ascend. Who else is there to blame?” Zhao Chi said blankly. “Besides, these are matters of destiny that we don’t fully understand. She is the one chosen by Heaven to protect the realm.”

“No! She was driven to a dead end! She chose this path because she had no other choice. If she had a choice, she might not have picked this one.” Ling Shu turned around suddenly. Her eyes were fiercely determined, though shimmering with tears.

“How do you know she was driven to a dead end?” Zhao Chi didn’t want the girl’s passion to end in tragedy.

“My mother told me!”

Zhao Chi realized it wasn’t strange for Ling Shu to know the Immortal’s past. After all, Wen Ji and Wang Lifu were once closer than anyone. “But she is the Guardian Immortal now,” Zhao Chi said. “Her fate is tied to the realm. That is a fact.”

Ling Shu snapped: “The realm! The realm! I hate you hypocrites who always bring up ‘all living beings.’ Why should she be sacrificed for a bunch of strangers! She is a person, too! She has the right to love!”

Zhao Chi lost her temper as well: “Ling Shu, do you want her to become the criminal of the entire Upper Clarity Realm?! Do you want the whole world to curse you as a ‘femme fatale’ who brought ruin?!” Her voice choked up with pain. “Haven’t you suffered enough insults? Why do you want to carry an eternal infamy because of her?”

“I am not afraid of infamy!” Ling Shu looked at the world around her, a fierce resolve rising within her. “Is the Upper Clarity Realm really that important? Perhaps I should just overturn this world and start everything over. That way, she won’t have to carry this unfair responsibility anymore.”

Zhao Chi’s heart skipped a beat. She finally understood why Wang Lifu insisted on killing Ling Shu. With a thousand years of demon power and a Heaven-grade Lightning Spirit Root, if she went astray, the world would fall into chaos. Better to kill the danger in its cradle. But how could Wang Lifu bring herself to do it? This was her own daughter…

Zhao Chi spoke cruelly: “Ling Shu, to be honest, one person cannot overturn a world.” Then she paused. “But if you really want to try… I am willing to be a rebel with you. My power is small, but it is something.”

Zhao Chi was just a homeless fugitive anyway. What did the fate of the realm matter to her? She only cared if she’d be alive to eat tomorrow.

Ling Shu arched an eyebrow, disbelieving. “One moment you’re defending the realm, the next you’re talking about rebellion?”

“Dropping the act?” Zhao Chi smirked.

Ling Shu huffed. “What’s the point of acting with you?”

Zhao Chi crossed her arms, looking like a clever negotiator. “So, what’s the plan?”

Ling Shu’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “First, we find the person pulling the strings from the shadows.”

“And then?” Zhao Chi asked playfully.

Ling Shu’s expression shifted. Her eyes sparkled with a pure, innocent light, like a child who would be sad if they didn’t get their candy. She leaned close to Zhao Chi’s ear and whispered:

“And then, we kill them.”

A dark light flashed in Zhao Chi’s eyes. She smirked. “Good.”

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