198: Chapter 67: The North Sea Cold Case 198: Chapter 67: The North Sea Cold Case The “warm and cozy” private time between master and disciple did not last long.
A moment later,
a pained whimper arose from a corner.
“Ooh…”
Jiang Huang, still in a state of unconsciousness for his divine soul, let out an instinctive moan of pain.
Only then did Xie Xuanyi remember there was another person in the courtyard.
He cleared his throat lightly and was about to speak when he was interrupted.
“Speaking of which,”
Zhao Chunyang glanced at Jiang Huang and spoke in a grave tone, “Boy, you really have some guts…
to bring a great demon with Phoenix Blood lineage into Da Sui Sword Palace isn’t that fearing the Law Enforcement might see her and chop her down with one strike?”
“Afraid, of course I’m afraid,”
With a soft sigh, Xie Xuanyi said, “But I didn’t have many choices…
Fortune favors the bold.”
Wanting to cure the Nine Death Forbidden,
In Xie Xuanyi’s view, the only way was through the “Sword Washing Pool” at Jade Screen Peak.
The Law Enforcement was indeed frightening,
but Jiang Huang had two divine souls, with the main soul dwelling within and not showing itself, so an accident shouldn’t occur.
“Well put, fortune favors the bold,”
Zhao Chunyang smiled and said, “You dared to bring her back, must have decided to return to the Sword Palace to see me, right?”
“…”
Xie Xuanyi gave an awkward smile.
The Sect Leader really did understand him.
Ten years had passed.
On the way back, almost every place was spreading rumors that Zhao Chunyang, the Sword Palace Master, had passed away…
But Xie Xuanyi didn’t believe them for a second.
He was convinced his master was very much alive and well.
The reality proved that both of them knew each other inside out.
“Back then during the Northern Hunt, I broke her legs and brought her back to the Imperial City,”
Xie Xuanyi said with a sigh, “Now at the Northern Border Jinli Mountain, we meet again… I wanted to save her life.”
“Tsk,”
Zhao Chunyang said with a smile, “My good disciple, truly a Samaritan well-known for miles around.”
“???”
That remark left Xie Xuanyi unsure whether it was praise or sarcasm.
“This young girl, quite a looker, tender and delicate,”
Zhao Chunyang stood up and walked over to the unconscious Jiang Huang.
He stretched out his hand and gently pinched the cheek of the passed-out girl, and immediately understood everything.
“Two strands of divine soul, one with demon essence, the other has developed humanity…”
The Sect Leader, Zhao Chunyang, said with a squinting smile, “Quite clever indeed, no wonder you were able to deceive your junior brother and bring her all the way here.
Didn’t Huang Su notice anything unusual?”
“She did not,”
Shaking his head, Xie Xuanyi said, “Not long ago on the banks of Carp Tide River, Tang Fengshu also detected nothing strange.”
“This strand of demon soul is well-concealed,”
Zhao Chunyang said indifferently, “But if that’s all there is to it, the moment she makes eye contact with a Yang God… she’d reveal her weakness immediately.”
The divine soul strength of a Yang God was far more formidable than that of a Yin God.
One glance,
is akin to enduring the scorch of the great sun.
How could ordinary demon spirits or ghostly entities withstand such pressure?
Zhao Chunyang had only lightly pinched Jiang Huang’s cheek, without showing any sign of exerting force, yet the strand of demon essence lodged deep within the Heart Lake trembled uncontrollably, looking as if it might collapse on its own at any moment.
“The ‘Nine Death Forbidden’ from the Dachu Imperial Family isn’t something that can be resolved so easily,”
Zhao Chunyang observed the young girl silently for a moment, then said softly, “These two strands of divine soul will eventually merge into one.
Thanks to the half drop of Undying Spring you gave her, the demon essence and humanity have already begun to mingle… I must say, once this little one has her souls merged, it’s uncertain whether her demon essence or humanity will be more dominant.”
Xie Xuanyi also stood in front of Jiang Huang.
He spoke softly, “If I remember correctly, behind Golden Turtle Peak, there resides a profoundly ferocious great demon.”
The Dachu Dynasty had no tolerance for demons,
yet across the world, it’s common to see so-called “demon hybrids.”
For example, not long ago, when the Princely Heir of Jiangning ascended to the temple gate, his carriage was pulled by “Dragon Horses”…
those Dragon Horses were demon hybrids with a trace of Dragon Blood.
Beyond that,
the Dachu Imperial Family also enslaved many demon hybrids!
“That was a foolish move by your junior brother,”
Zhao Chunyang raised an eyebrow, smilingly said, “But if you want to take this young girl in as the protector demon of Lotus Peak…
I wholeheartedly approve.”
Jiang Huang’s bloodline was extraordinarily pure,
Possibly a rare pure-blooded Phoenix Descendant in a hundred years.
One day, if she attains Dao through cultivation, she completely has the chance to reach the status of a Great Venerate in the Demon Country!
That is the equivalent of a Yang God in the world of humans!
“As for the consequences of my actions, I haven’t thought that far,”
Xie Xuanyi laughed and extended his hand, gently pressing it where the heart was beating.
Many of the things he did… were guided by intuition.
Saving Jiang Huang was just like that.
“At this stage, your identity cannot be exposed, and Jiang Huang’s identity is even more dangerous,”
Zhao Chunyang said casually, “Back then, countless members of the Dachu Imperial Family coveted the Phoenix Blood in this little one… If they find out that the pure-blooded phoenix you hunted is still alive, they will become desperate to seize her.
Furthermore, they will trace the vine to find the melon, investigating your origins.”
“That much…
I am well aware of,”
Xie Xuanyi exhaled.
“Therefore, even if this little one is saved, she can only stay in the Sword Palace,”
Zhao Chunyang said calmly, “She’ll have to wait a long time until you have enough power that no one dares to defy you.
Only then can you truly give her freedom.
But until that day comes…
she must not leave the Sword Palace, not even one step.
What do you think?”
Xie Xuanyi remained silent.
He knew that these words weren’t just meant for him.
Jiang Huang, who had regained consciousness from her coma, pretended to still be sleeping, with her eyelids twitching slightly.
The young girl planned to continue her act.
Zhao Chunyang extended two fingers and curved them, making a gesture as though lightly knocking.
“I’m willing!
I’m willing!”
Jiang Huang hurriedly opened her eyes wide and responded loudly.
The main divine soul had intended to hide in the deepest part of the Heart Lake.
But with just a sweep of Zhao Chunyang’s Divine Thought, the main divine soul was forced to take over the body; now it was trembling with fear, its entire form shaking.
This kind of pressure, she had only seen once in her lifetime.
She couldn’t imagine, how it would be if this finger gently tapped her forehead?
Would she directly turn into ash and smoke?
Or…
something even more tragic?
“Good.”
Zhao Chunyang looked at the little girl curled up and trembling in front of him, and said warmly, “For Xuanyi’s sake, I’ll make an exception and save your life…
But there is one thing you must remember, unless Xie Xuanyi personally takes you out of the Sword Palace, you shall not leave of your own accord, nor reveal your demon body.
If you understand, nod your head.”
“…”
Although Zhao Chunyang had already retracted his pressure.
But the main Divine Soul was still so suppressed that it could not move.
This was the terror brought by a top-level Yang God.
Jiang Huang looked over with a complex expression at Xie Xuanyi.
She had been curious before…
how Xie Xuanyi would be able to get her to accept the “Sword Washing Pool” baptism after bringing her to the Sword Palace.
At that time.
She had vague inklings.
If the Sect Leader was willing to come forward.
Then…
the baptism in the Sword Washing Pool was a minor matter.
However.
The paths of humanity and demonkind were different.
Being a Phoenix Blood Descendant herself, would the Pure Yang Sect Leader of Da Sui Sword Palace truly be willing to accept her?
At this moment.
Jiang Huang took a deep breath, knelt on the ground, and knocked her head heavily, “I am sincerely grateful, sir.
Jiang Huang is willing to stay in Da Sui Sword Palace.”
The main Divine Soul was not foolish.
She was very clear about the identity of the elderly man standing in front of her now.
He could be said to be one of the “Saints” who ranked among the very top throughout the Dachu Dynasty.
Let alone her current critical injuries, even at the peak of her years, arriving here would require kneeling all the same.
“Good.”
Zhao Chunyang laughed, a very happy laugh.
The two fingers hovering over Jiang Huang’s forehead gently emitted a wisp of Sword Intent.
This wisp of Sword Intent was not bone-piercing; once inside her body, it immediately spread, turning into a warm stream like a spring.
“Cultivate well and don’t learn from that silly bird on Golden Turtle Peak…
That guy might not be able to leave Da Sui even after another hundred years,” Zhao Chunyang said softly.
“You have a good eye, my disciple is kind-hearted and treats people very well.
Following him, you will not be at a loss.”
Every word sank into her heart.
Jiang Huang stood there, feeling the warm current flowing through her viscera, eventually heading towards the “lower limbs” that she had long lost sensation in.
“Alright, stand up,” Zhao Chunyang said gently.
Stand up.
To Jiang Huang, these words…
seemed utterly fanciful.
Crack.
She tried to relax her palms, and her calves slowly exerted strength.
Her thin and small body, swaying unstably, without relying on any Primordial Power, demon energy…
A moment later.
Jiang Huang stood up, although still somewhat unsteady, but she had finally straightened her spine.
Her expression was one of complex shock as she looked at the elderly man before her, unsure of what to say.
“The seed sown bears fruit; the seeds my disciple has planted have now become my fruit…
I have healed these legs for Xuanyi,” Zhao Chunyang said.
“The Sword Qi from years past has been completely removed.
However, it’s a difficult illness to recover from, and you’ll need some time for quiet recuperation.
Your time living in the Sword Palace is both for cultivation and for recuperation.”
“…Thank you, Sect Leader, for remolding me!”
Jiang Huang’s main Divine Soul was moved.
She had never thought that there was a chance to heal this old wound.
The Sword Intent of Xie Xuanyi had long entered deep into her marrow.
She saw no glimmer of hope for recovery.
“Thank me for what?”
Zhao Chunyang waved his hand dismissively.
Jiang Huang paused, then turned her gaze towards Xie Xuanyi.
Those eyes that used to be full of murderous intent, now carried several strands of complex feelings.
Finally, Jiang Huang said in a deep voice, “Thank…
thank you.”
These legs had been broken by Xie Xuanyi.
She had been brooding over it all these years.
But in fact…
In that fierce battle from the past, a fair fight with all cards on the table, she was the one who lost by a fraction.
Life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are in the hands of heaven.
The victor becomes king, the defeated a bandit.
The world of the Demon Race is even more ruthless than this.
Now, Xie Xuanyi had saved her life, and this broken leg…
had also been healed.
Looking at it this way.
Does she owe him in return?
Xie Xuanyi simply shook his head, saying nothing more.
“Master, there’s another matter…”
He sat in front of the stone table, quietly watching his reflection in the teacup, and said softly, “Disciple had been reviewing the case files from ten years ago, before the Da Sui Sword Palace was sealed.”
“Hmm?”
Zhao Chunyang raised his eyebrows slightly.
“About the case from the North Sea that year…”
Xie Xuanyi had thought for a long time, and finally said, “Some details, actually, don’t quite add up.”
“…”
Zhao Chunyang fell silent.
He guessed what Xie Xuanyi was about to say.
“After so many years, I thought I couldn’t let go, but the moment I knew the truth, I realized…”
Xie Xuanyi smiled, “It turns out I had already let go long ago.”
“It’s just that, some things should come to an ‘end’…
It would be better for me, and better for her as well.”
Xie Xuanyi looked into his master’s eyes, “What do you think?”
“So…”
Zhao Chunyang sighed and asked, “You don’t want anyone else to know about this.”
“Yes.”
Xie Xuanyi performed a salute and said softly, “Would Master please make a move and take me to Jade Screen Peak?”