Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 202 - 201: Bei Lingyin Decides to Sever the Bond Between Yueqiu and Her Master

The great war between the righteous and demonic paths had begun. Master went to the battlefield, and it was difficult for him to return even once every two months.

After living with Pei Yuhang for several years, Little Yueqiu had realized that her master had become an inseparable part of her life. After he left, the vast mansion left Little Yueqiu feeling more alone than ever before.

She wished upon the stars, hoping her master would return soon to continue teaching her the sword.

Every day, she would stand before the gates of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, gazing into the distance, hoping to see that white-robed figure return via Sword Control.

Then, one day, she finally received the joyous news that her master was coming back.

Overjoyed, Little Yueqiu slung her sword over her shoulder, headed to the back mountain, and caught the fattest deer she could find, dragging it back to the mansion.

She was going to butcher this deer and make a meat broth for her master.

As for the butchering process...

'Master isn't here anyway, so there's no need to pretend to be a prim and proper lady. I'll just do it however I find most satisfying.'

Little Yueqiu swung her sword, lopping off the deer's head. She paid no mind as hot deer blood sprayed from the severed artery onto her face, then gutted it with another stroke.

The deer's innards tumbled out onto the ground.

And from behind Little Yueqiu came the sound of retching.

"BLECH—"

Pei Yuhang stared at the silver-haired girl with her blood-splattered face and the steaming deer entrails all over the ground, his expression filled with revulsion as he steadied himself against a wall.

CLANG—

The sword fell from Little Yueqiu's hand. Only a single thought remained in her mind.

'It's over. Master discovered my most disgusting quirk, my obsession with bathing in blood... He's going to kick me out.'

'Master's going to be disgusted with me!'

"Ma... Master, why are you back so suddenly?"

Little Yueqiu's voice trembled. Seeing the look of revulsion on Pei Yuhang's face, her heart clenched with a pain she had never felt before.

She even felt that if her master found her disgusting, she might as well be dead. She couldn't imagine how she would go on living after being driven out of the Sect and away from him.

At this thought, two streams of tears traced paths down Little Yueqiu's cheeks.

Just then, a large hand rested on the girl's head. He ignored the filthy deer blood splattered on her face and pulled her into his embrace, gently stroking her silver hair.

"Why are you suddenly crying, Little Yueqiu? Are you that moved to see me?"

"N-no... I just thought... Master was disgusted by me..."

Pei Yuhang was a little confused by her words. He looked at the blood staining her face, and as if realizing something, he gave a relieved smile.

"How could I ever be disgusted by my own disciple? I just came from the battlefield... It was filled with the corpses of my sect brothers. I have an instinctive revulsion to blood and organs right now, and I didn't react well when I saw this deer..."

"I'm sorry, Yueqiu. You were preparing dinner for me, but I repaid your kindness by hurting your feelings."

Pei Yuhang's apologetic voice made Qing Yueqiu realize something. Her master hadn't discovered her perverse craving for blood; he just thought she was butchering the deer normally...

An infinite sense of relief washed over her. The small hand clutching Pei Yuhang's robes relaxed, its palm now slick with sweat.

"Master, is blood a terrible thing?"

"Mm... It is terrible. To see blood is to see a life lost. On the battlefield, blood pools into rivers, and within those Blood Rivers drown countless departed souls. Many of them were my friends..."

Pei Yuhang recalled the cruelty of the war, his eyes downcast and shimmering with sorrow.

Little Yueqiu couldn't comprehend such profound grief, but she was still affected by her master's emotions. She looked at the stain on his white robes, dirtied by the blood on her face, and for the first time, a look of revulsion for blood appeared in her eyes.

"If Master hates it, then Yueqiu hates it too!"

Hearing this, Pei Yuhang just smiled and ruffled her hair. He took out a handkerchief, wet it with the snowmelt from an overhanging branch, and carefully wiped the blood from his disciple's still-cherubic face.

Little Yueqiu closed her eyes, nestled like a kitten in her master's warm, strong embrace, feeling his affection for her.

At that moment, she truly wished it could last forever.

...

...

"Sister Yueqiu, you should understand now, shouldn't you? Your own craving for blood."

Bei Lingyin retracted her Heart Eye Divine Abilities, confident that she had successfully made Qing Yueqiu examine her true desires.

'No matter how stubborn someone is, they can't lie to themselves under the scrutiny of the Heart Eye Divine Abilities.'

'You're a bloodthirsty Rakshasa, stop suppressing it!'

'Hurry up and come back to the proper path with your big sister!'

Qing Yueqiu opened her eyes and looked up at Bei Lingyin again.

"Sister Lingyin, thank you for making me re-examine myself."

"I now understand my true desire. I am willing to accept your training."

Bei Lingyin was ecstatic. She patted Qing Yueqiu's shoulder in gratification and said, "Child, your sister is so happy that you are willing to inherit the mantle of the Rakshasa Race's legacy of slaughter."

But Qing Yueqiu shook her head, her pink lips parting slightly. "This has nothing to do with the Rakshasa Race. I only have eyes for my master."

"I want to become stronger—strong enough to shield Master from everything."

"Since Master does not wish to stain his hands with blood, then I will ensure his hands remain forever clean. I will handle all the bloodshed. I will become his sharpest, most peerless sword."

The joy on Bei Lingyin's face gradually faded, replaced by astonishment.

'Wait, sister... how did you become even more lovesick?'

'That detestable Pei Yuhang! What have you done to my adorable junior clanswoman? To think you've brainwashed her to this extent, where even the Heart Eye Divine Abilities are useless!'

Bei Lingyin clenched her delicate fists, a flash of unwillingness in her eyes.

The mark Pei Yuhang had left on Qing Yueqiu's heart was too deep. It had reached the point where it was obstructing her pursuit of the Dao.

'And Qing Yueqiu cultivates the Forgetfulness Sword Dao, of all things. If this twisted affection is allowed to fester and grow, she'll never be able to pass her Divinity Transformation Celestial Tribulation!'

Bei Lingyin had gone to great lengths to find a fellow clanswoman with such outstanding talent and a heart as pure and clear as a diamond. She couldn't let Pei Yuhang ruin her!

'This morbid, twisted bond... I must be the one to sever it!'

As an assassin from Yama Hall who walked in the world of darkness and could peer into the ugliness of the human heart, Bei Lingyin knew that the more perfect someone appeared on the surface, the more unbearable they were in private.

'This Cold Sun Sword Immortal, Pei Yuhang, is definitely not as perfect as Yueqiu claims...'

She had to find Pei Yuhang's unsightly side—and then reveal it, raw and exposed, before Qing Yueqiu's very eyes.

'At that time, Sister Yueqiu will surely see Pei Yuhang's hypocrisy for what it is.'

'She might even be able to use this opportunity to sever the seed of affection that has become her Heart Demon, break through her delusions, comprehend the Forgetfulness Dao, and step through the gate to Divinity Transformation in one fell swoop.'

'No matter what, it's far better than letting Pei Yuhang continue to hold her back!'

Bei Lingyin silently made a resolution. She absolutely had to rescue Qing Yueqiu from the vortex named "Pei Yuhang"!