Chapter 27

The disciples of Wuliang Sect were just about to help Xie Bi An up when a nice voice rang out from overhead, "Let me do it."

Xie Bi An was embraced into a broad, warm embrace, and he looked up, "Brother Lan."

Lan Chui Han picked Xie Bi An up and looked at him worriedly.

"I'm not seriously hurt, but Wu She…”

"He will be fine. Don't say anything, I will take you back to Yunding."

Xie Bi An pressed himself against Lan Chui Han's chest and listened to the strong heartbeat before he could barely pull himself away from the fear of being threatened by that evil spirit.

When Xie Bi An returned to Yunding, he was already very weak. Li Bu Yu had sent an elder to treat his injuries and sent an immortal pill better than the true essence jade training pill to help him recover, but he kept hanging onto a tint of consciousness until he heard that Fan Wu She’s corpse poison had been brought under control, he then passed out.

---

When he woke up, a day and a night had already passed, and Xie Bi An was surrounded by the disciples of Wuliang Sect who kept watch.

"Little White Master, you have woken up." The disciple said joyfully, "Is there any discomfort?"

Xie Bi An rolled his eyes around and felt a dull ache around him. He let out a dry voice, "How is my junior brother?"

"Little Black Master is not awake yet, but we have all kinds of immortal pills and medical stones in Wuliang Sect, plus Elder Yuanqing is here, he will be fine."

Xie Bi An was still unsettled, "Please go and call my master to come here."

Shortly afterwards, Zhong Kui rolled in like a whirlwind and nervously checked Xie Bi An's pulse: "My good disciple, you're awake! Are you feeling better?"

Xie Bi An sat up, still a little weak, but he seemed to be fine, as his injuries were not serious: "Master, how is Wu She doing?"

"Don't worry, the poison has been cleared. His shoulder’s injury is bone-deep, thus the recovery is slower, but it will be fine."

When he heard Zhong Kui's reply, Xie Bi An was relieved and said, "Master, as a senior brother, I'm really ashamed of myself for taking him into danger and failing to protect him."

"It's not your fault. Who would have thought that you would encounter such a powerful evil spirit in Mount Shu." Zhong Kui said awkwardly, "If you want to say being ashamed, I am supposed to be ashamed of myself, after the banquet, I..."

Xie Bi An said helplessly, "You didn't enjoy yourself at the banquet, so you went for another drink, right?"

Zhong Kui dropped his eyebrows and whispered, "I am a master in vain, for I did not even notice the movement of the Qingfeng Sword in time."

"You have arrived in time, there is no need to blame yourself." When Xie Bi An remembered the scene, he was only afraid that if Zhong Kui had been a few moments later, would he and Fan Wu She have been eaten by that evil spirit?

He had been on his own since he was fourteen and had the Wuqiongbi as a magical treasure at his hand. Despite having encountered fierce and dangerous things, he has always been able to overcome them. Although he was not as proud as Fan Wu She, he was born with superior roots and is also Zhong Kui's disciple, so he was confident in his own abilities. Among his peers, only Lan Chui Han can compete with him. He could never have imagined that two of them would be almost killed by a wild ghost with no name, and he felt both guilty and frustrated.

Zhong Kui was also distraught: "This is really suspicious, Mount Shu is supposed to be the safest place in Jiuzhou, yet my disciples nearly died here. This matter must be investigated thoroughly. Bi An, think back carefully on what happened at that time and tell me exactly what happened."

"That evil spirit, that soul-binding formation, and Immortal Lord, were all odd." Xie Bi An recalled everything that happened in the cave, simply everything was unbelievable, even Fan Wu She surprised him. That heavenly book is so obscure and difficult to understand, why would a fifteen-year-old boy purposely remember that spell. And also, when the evil spirit was suppressed again, he actually asked him for help and said ...

Xie Bi An's heart stuttered and he stared blankly ahead.

"Bi An? What's wrong?" Zhong Kui said, "If you're not feeling well, there's no rush to think about it."

"Master, at that time, that evil spirit seemed to have regained a bit of sanity, and asked me for help."

"Asked you for help? What did he say?"

"I think he said ... ‘Child, save me'? I'm not quite sure about that 'child' in that phrase. His voice was raspy, maybe he was calling for something else."

"It's possible he thought of you as his son. Evil spirits usually only remember important people or things. But why did he ask you for help?"

"We want to lure him back into the formation and reseal him."

Zhong Kui frowned, "Master has never taught you this demon-binding formation. Could it be that it is Wu She?"

"Yes, junior brother said he remembered the spell, but in the end, the formation only temporarily trapped the evil creature and was not set up."

Zhong Kui said in a deep voice, "First there was the Zongxuan Sword Technique, and then there was the Big Dipper Zhengji Demon Binding Formation. Who was this kid's former master, and what did he teach him?"

The unusual nature of Fan Wu She's body was nothing compared to the treacherous nature of the whole thing. Xie Bi An said, "Master, were there any clues left by that corpse?" 

"His golden core was dug out." Zhong Kui's sword brows knitted together.

Xie Bi An's body went cold. Another core digging?!　

From Meng Ke Fei to that evil spirit, it seemed that all this time, they had been shrouded in the cloud of suspicion of a demonic cultivator who had stolen the core, and everything smelled like a lingering conspiracy.

"Other than that, there are no clues for now, and everyone is waiting for you to wake up."

Xie Bi An gathered his emotions and told Zhong Kui everything that had happened in the cave.

Zhong Kui was astonished: "Chunyang Sect? Are you sure?"

"To regenerate a severed limb, as far as this disciple knows, only the Yuanyang technique can do it, right? With that evil spirit's cultivation level, he is at least an elder level cultivator. Most elders of Chunyang Sect live a long life and rarely die, so it shouldn't be difficult to investigate."

"If the sect can be identified, then the identity of this person should soon come to light." Zhong Kui said gruffly, "Just why would a cultivator from Chunyang Sect be trapped in Wuliang Sect by the Demon Binding Formation?"

"Yes, what worries and puzzles this disciple the most is Alliance Master Li. Master, don't you think that Alliance Master Li looks like he is..."

"Like he's hiding something." Zhong Kui said it for him, "Using the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant to beat an evil spirit is simply killing a chicken with a bull's knife. Unless his purpose from the beginning was to beat that evil spirit to death and it had to be done in one blow, otherwise I would have blocked him, so he could only use a magical treasure."

"So, it's likely that Alliance Master Li knows the identity of that evil spirit, and even knows the secret in the cave."

"It's highly likely, but he won't admit it, and no one dares to question him to his face."

"Master, I feel that this matter is of great importance, especially since that person has also had his golden core dug out. Alliance Master Li said that he wanted to prevent problems before they occur and eliminate all possibility of demonic cultivators returning, yet he said nothing about a Chunyang Sect patriarch-level cultivator having his golden core dug out and being suppressed in Mount Shu."

Zhong Kui narrowed his eyes, "You are right. I will definitely investigate this matter clearly. That evil spirit nearly killed you all. Li Bu Yu must give me an explanation."

"Right Master, did you find Red King last time? Is Meng Ke Fei with him?"

"Meng Ke Fei has long since reincarnated. You really can't believe half of what that ghost says."　 

Xie Bi An was a little disappointed, "Master, I want to go and see my junior brother."

"Can you get out of bed?"

"I'm fine." Xie Bi An endured the pain and got off the ground, draped himself in clothes and headed for Fan Wu She's room.

Fan Wu She was still unconscious, his shoulder was wrapped in layer after layer of gauze, oozing a dark red bloodstain.　

The heavier the grievance and the longer the time after death, the stronger the poison. If a corpse has been dead for hundreds of years, the grass will not grow on the road it walks on. Looking at the formation in the cave alone, the evil spirit had been sealed for at least a few decades, so Fan Wu She was really in danger this time.

If he hadn't been in Wuliang Sect, and if he hadn't had a top-notch healer like Elder Yuanqing, even if he could save his life, I'm afraid he would have suffered irreversible damage.　

Xie Bi An sat gently on the edge of the bed, reached out and rubbed Fan Wu She's hair. Looking at that boyish, handsome and beautiful face, his heart became more and more uncomfortable.

He was the one who was headstrong and didn't take Wuqiongbi's extraordinary movement to heart. If he had gone to Master in the first place, they wouldn't have been injured and the evil spirit wouldn't have been silenced by Li Bu Yu.

He thought it was just an ordinary mission and wanted to take his junior brother to see what was going on, but he nearly got killed. He had admonished his junior brother several times to be self-effacing and cautious, but in the turn of events, he himself had been defeated by his arrogance, and had caused his junior brother to be injured as well.

What a shame.

Xie Bi An sighed with dejection as he wrapped his fingertips around Fan Wu She's hair and whispered, "Wu She, wake up soon."

There was a soft knock on the door. Xie Bi An lowered his voice and asked, "Who is it?"

"Bi An, it's me."

"Brother Lan? Please come in."

Lan Chui Han walked in with a tray, "I brought you ginseng soup before I realized you had come to see your junior brother."

Xie Bi An said with embarrassment, "How can I bother you to bring the soup yourself."

"It's nothing." Lan Chui Han placed the soup by the bedside and he reached out to check Fan Wu She's pulse, "His pulse is steady and there is color in his face. Don't worry, he is fine."

Xie Bi An sighed, "Master said he hurt his bones. That corpse poison seeped into the bone marrow and is extremely difficult to clean out. How painful it would be if he woke up."

Lan Chui Han squeezed Xie Bi An's shoulder: "Wu She is not an ordinary person, he will be fine."

Xie Bi An said in a low voice, "I'm just too useless."

"That evil spirit didn't even succumb to the Qingfeng Sword, so it must have been extremely powerful when it was alive. Even if heaven master encountered it, he would also be in trouble. It's already great that you and Wu She were able to stay alive." Xie Bi An looked up at Lan Chui Han, "Brother Lan, that evil spirit is from Chunyang Sect."

Lan Chui Han said in surprise, "How do you know? Are you sure?"

"Wu She chopped off one of his arms and he grew a new one in no time, this can only be done by practicing the Yuanyang technique, right?"

Lan Chui Han thought about it and nodded, "If that's true, we should soon know who this evil spirit is."

"Yeah, Master has already gone to find out." Xie Bi An asked, "Brother Lan, have you looked at the corpse?"

"I've looked. Apart from the fact that his core had been dug up and the fact that he was approximately a strong man, I really couldn't see much." Lan Chui Han frowned, "But..."

"What?"

"You know that I used to practice in Chunyang Sect when I was a child, right?"

"Yes, you told me before that when you were weak and sick as a child, the pavilion master sent you to cultivate the Yuanyang technique to improve your physique."

"Well, although I only cultivated for a few years and went home after my physique became better, I know about the Chunyang Sect cultivators more than the outside world and I have seen their bodies. As you know, the Chunyang Sect’s people are very conservative, and it is impossible for outsiders to see them without clothes." Lan Chui Han pondered, "If they were lower-ranked cultivators, they would not be very different from ordinary people, but once they are promoted to higher-ranked cultivators, their physique, bones, skin and muscles, will gradually become different from normal people. The Yuanyang technique will make their physical bodies more and more perfect, until they are indestructible, so the higher-ranked cultivators of Chunyang Sect, no matter what they used to look like, will become taller and more handsome day by day. Even…”

Xie Bi An looked at Lan Chui Han seriously, waiting for him to continue.

Lan Chui Han hooked his lips and spoke with a flirtatious tone, "Even that place is bigger than normal."

Xie Bi An froze for a moment and immediately reacted, his eyes lit up, "I've heard of this before, but is it true? I thought it was just a wild story written in the wild."

Lan Chui Han laughed: "It is true. Unfortunately it’s totally useless."

Xie Bi An blinked: "Then you… you watched that evil spirit’s…”

Lan Chui Han knocked Xie Bi An’s head: "I'm not that perverted. I only saw his musculoskeletal system and didn't think he had anything to do with Chunyang Sect at all, but you said he could regenerate broken limbs, which is indeed something only a high-ranking cultivator of Chunyang Sect can do. I'll have to go back and check it out again."

Xie Bi An was puzzled, "He doesn't have a physique like a Chunyang Sect’s cultivator, yet he has the ability of the Yuanyang technique, what's going on?"

"Perhaps he has been dead for too long and his body has shrivelled and deformed. I didn't look closely at that time. Since Heaven Master wants to investigate it. He must send someone to Chunyang Sect, so let's invite an elder of Chunyang Sect to see more accurately."

As the two of them were talking, Fan Wu She on the bed suddenly let out a murmur, and his eyelashes fluttered lightly.

"Junior brother!" Xie Bi An was delighted.

Fan Wu She slowly opened his eyes.

----

Edited on 19 Mar. 21 (Emzie)

 

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