The Wicked Disciple Has Fallen Into Demonic Possession, And The Master Can No Longer Withstand It! - chapter 12

The youth withdrew his gaze and looked at the toasted cake in his hand. He then caught sight of the brand new clothing on Yan Jue’s body. A strange look flashed through his eyes as he asked, “Who is he? Did he give these to you?”

Yan Jue had not expected the youth to ask such a question. Had the boy not always stayed out of his business? Seeing Yan Jue’s hesitant expression, the youth’s face darkened, and his tone turned cold. “What did you give him in return?”

Even if Yan Jue had been slow to react, he would have understood the questioning tone. It made him feel uncomfortable. What kind of person did the boy think he was?

“A-Ye, what are you saying?” Yan Jue asked.

Lu Wu, who was being stared at with such blatant malice for the first time in his life, found the situation baffling. He turned to Yan Jue and asked, “Who is this?”

“This is my… his name is A-Ye. He is my friend.” When he mentioned the word friend, Yan Jue specifically looked back at the youth, only to see that the boy was still glaring at Lu Wu with a hostile expression.

“A-Ye, what is wrong with you? Why are you being so strange today?” Yan Jue asked. After a long silence, A-Ye slowly shifted his gaze away. Beneath the mask, his deep pupils remained dark and unreadable.

Yan Jue continued, “A-Ye, are you upset because I have not visited you for a few days? I…”

A-Ye interrupted him with a voice full of detachment. “There is no need to explain. That is your business.”

Yan Jue heard a different meaning behind those words. A-Ye was angry. He silently lowered his head and sighed, a trace of disappointment hidden in his eyes. “That is fine then. I am going on a long journey soon. You must take good care of yourself.”

As he spoke, he pulled the silver pieces he had just received from his pocket and handed them to A-Ye without hesitation. “Take the rest of this. Go into the city and buy some food when you are hungry.”

Hearing that he was leaving, A-Ye looked back abruptly. He did not take the silver but instead stared at Yan Jue with a complex expression. “Where are you going? Are you leaving with him?”

Yan Jue felt the boy was overthinking things, but since it was hard to explain the full truth, he told him everything except for Lu Wu’s real identity and his own.

“You are going to the Moshan Sect?” A-Ye’s voice rose significantly. “I am going with you.”

“No,” Yan Jue said while waving his hands. Thinking the boy was acting on impulse, he added, “It is very dangerous.” He knew that while A-Ye appeared indifferent on the surface, he actually cared about him. However, this journey was truly unsuitable for a mortal with no cultivation.

A-Ye asked, “If you know it is dangerous, why are you going?” Yan Jue glanced at Lu Wu, and A-Ye followed his gaze. “Is he threatening you?” He raised his fist and began walking toward Lu Wu. Lu Wu sensed the killing intent and took a disgusted half step back.

Yan Jue quickly pressed a hand onto A-Ye’s lean shoulder. He could feel the muscles tensed tight beneath the coarse fabric. “No, it is not like that. It is my own choice to go.”

“Then I am going as well,” A-Ye said firmly. He gave Yan Jue no chance to refuse, speaking with a tone that suggested he would find a way to follow even if they did not take him.

Left with no choice, Yan Jue looked back at his own dilapidated divine statue on the altar. He asked A-Ye, “What about this place? Will you not stay to guard it?”

The answer that followed was both heartbreaking and heartwarming for Yan Jue. A-Ye replied, “He is not as important as you.”

Yan Jue did not know how to describe his current feelings. Behind him, Lu Wu nearly failed to suppress a laugh, only to be poked twice in the ribs by Yan Jue’s elbow at the critical moment. Beneath his mask, A-Ye watched the two of them engage in small, private gestures. His brow furrowed, and even his dissatisfaction was difficult to express.

Once the matter was settled, Yan Jue turned to Lu Wu for a formal opinion. “Is that okay with you?”

Lu Wu shrugged with an air of total indifference. “As you wish. However, I will only protect your safety. I am not responsible for any other irrelevant people.”

As soon as he finished, he received a freezing glare. A-Ye replied, “I do not need you to be responsible for me.”

Yan Jue suddenly realized that A-Ye’s current behavior reminded him of someone, but he could not remember who it was, so he let the thought go. The three of them reached a consensus and set off immediately for the Moshan Sect.

Although Lu Wu was a god, he was not permitted to cast spells in front of mortals, and there were limits on how many times he could use his powers. Therefore, the three of them had to travel on foot. Before leaving, Yan Jue used the remaining silver to prepare a large bag of toasted cakes for the road.

“I just calculated the dates,” Lu Wu said. “If we leave now, the journey will take seven days. We will likely arrive on the day of the Great Immortal Sect Assembly.”

Yan Jue tilted his head. “Will that have an impact?”

“Not a big one. I was just mentioning it,” Lu Wu replied. He looked sideways at Yan Jue with a serious expression that was actually quite irritating. Lu Wu was blessed with good looks, but he was unfortunately born with a very sharp tongue.

“You,” Yan Jue started to speak but decided to give Lu Wu some face in front of A-Ye.

A-Ye, who had been silent for a long time, hit the nail on the head. “There will be many people that day. It will be chaotic and troublesome.”

Both of the others nodded. Yan Jue looked at him with surprise. “A-Ye, you know about such things?” His surprise was not about the information itself, but the person who said it. He had always thought A-Ye was just an ignorant youth. He had never heard him speak of such things before, and today was the most A-Ye had ever spoken.

A-Ye lowered his head slightly. “I am just guessing.”

“You are right,” Lu Wu added. “There will be many people and it will be chaotic, but perhaps that is a good thing. On such an important day, could Master Yanxiu possibly fail to show up? We only need to wait and see.”

“Exactly, Fuchen. We still have that same spiritual connection,” Lu Wu laughed. Just as he had done in the heavens, he reached out to rest his arm on Yan Jue’s shoulder. But before his hand could land, he felt a sudden chill from behind. An icy gaze shot through the bronze mask, staring directly at him.

Lu Wu pursed his lips, but he did not pull his hand back. “Exactly,” he said. His slender hand came to rest on Yan Jue’s slightly small, rounded shoulder. Yan Jue felt the weight and looked up into Lu Wu’s beaming eyes. He shook his shoulder in annoyance. “Just talk. There is no need to be so touchy.”

As he spoke, Lu Wu led him forward two steps. Lu Wu leaned down to Yan Jue’s ear and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “What is the deal with this kid?”

Yan Jue did not understand and thought Lu Wu was just looking for trouble. He shot him a look. “What is wrong? Do you not have divine eyes? Can you not see for yourself?”

Lu Wu narrowed his eyes as if in thought. “The strange thing is that I cannot see anything at all.”

Yan Jue stopped walking and offered Lu Wu four words of advice: “Practice more, you’re weak.”

“You,” Lu Wu was speechless. The youth named A-Ye caught up to them. As he passed Lu Wu, he shot him a cold, subtle glance. It was the look one gives to an obstacle.

Lu Wu vaguely felt that someone was insulting him. As a divine beast, his spiritual senses were usually accurate. But they were surrounded by forest, and with no one else around besides the three of them, it seemed someone was very unwelcome to him. Lu Wu chuckled and quickened his pace to catch up with the other two.

The three traveled west, crossing forests and rivers, nearly losing their way at times. Yan Jue stood at a mountain peak where he could still see the faint outline of the Danyang Sect in the distance. This departure felt like a final goodbye. Although the male disciples of the Danyang Sect were not friendly to him, many of the female disciples were very kind, and he felt a trace of reluctance to leave.

Secondly, there was Qi Yelan. That man had given him three months. Three months was enough time to flee to the ends of the earth. Did he truly have no fear that Yan Jue would escape? Regardless, he was free now. The sky was high and the birds were free to fly. He hoped this ill-fated master and disciple relationship was truly over.

As the sun began to set, the three had not yet made it out of the mountains. A thick miasma began to rise, and there were no inns nearby. A-Ye gathered firewood and piled it in an open space behind a stone wall to prepare a campfire. Yan Jue did not mind. He had spent many years with very little, so sleeping in the wild was nothing new. As long as A-Ye was there, he felt at peace.

However, the great Master Lu standing nearby clearly did not share that sentiment.