novelraw Chapter 114 - 99: Ever Touched
Chapter 114 - 99: Ever Touched
Since You Su awakened from his slumber to today, three days have passed.
The thick fog in Chuyun City had long dissipated, and this small city, surrounded on three sides by mountains, was now bathed in golden sunlight, sweeping away the gloom from those in the city who had undergone drastic changes.
The changes in Chuyun City were not obvious; the rooftops were continuous, eaves soared skyward, and everything remained the same as before, except for sporadic places with ruins due to battles. The casualties among ordinary people were similar, with only a few immersed in the sorrow of losing loved ones.
For most people, returning to normal life was not difficult. But the fear would not dissipate with the odd fog; it remained deeply buried in people’s hearts.
On the long street, the patrolling cultivators and scattered pedestrians intertwined, yet everyone remained silent, the atmosphere heavy.
You Su walked among them, pondering where Ji Lingruo, who rarely left home, might have gone. He was also touched by the sorrowful atmosphere, dulling the joy of surviving the calamity.
"You Su!" someone suddenly called out to him.
This person was none other than Zhou Li, looking pleasantly surprised, followed by a group of cultivators. It was worth mentioning that these passerby cultivators, who previously ignored You Su, now looked at him with passionate eyes.
"Zhou Li," You Su replied.
"Are you fully recovered from your injuries?" Zhou Li took two steps to close the distance to You Su.
"Injured?" You Su was puzzled, thinking no one should know about the serious injuries inflicted on him by Mr. Liou.
"Yes, your Master said you were injured and needed to rest, declining all our visits. You’re the great hero of Chuyun City; we were all worried about you!"
"Me? A great hero?" You Su was confused about the meaning.
"Indeed! The people from the Exorcism Bureau have taken control of the City Lord’s mansion and have told us the truth!" Zhou Li was excited to expose You Su’s low profile, saying, "It turns out this was all a conspiracy by that Mr. Liou! The Lucky Cave was a devil’s den! Thankfully, a masked Fairy saved us from the Lucky Cave that day; many of us saw it was you who slew Mr. Liou and saved everyone!"
Previously facing You Su, the head of the Immortal Ascension Conference, Zhou Li couldn’t hide a trace of jealousy, but after witnessing You Su slicing through the city’s fog with a single sword, he only felt admiration.
When a mountain is so high that you can only look up to it, how can you bear any jealousy towards it?
The surrounding cultivators, whose names You Su couldn’t call out, regardless of gender or age, echoed Zhou Li’s words with gratitude and amazement. No one expected this usually reclusive blind man to be the hero who saved them all.
Hearing this, You Su felt slightly embarrassed, believing he didn’t deserve the title of "great hero." At that time, he wanted to kill Mr. Liou only because Mr. Liou wanted to kill him; he seemingly never had the goal of saving the entire city’s populace from the beginning to end.
"I’m unworthy of such praise; I just wanted to protect myself. It was all a coincidence," You Su explained.
"If you’re unworthy, then who is? A gentleman judges actions, not intentions. You saved everyone, and that’s a fact," Zhou Li patted You Su on the shoulder.
The force from the shoulder and the gratitude in the words both conveyed to You Su’s heart, reminding him of the falling consciousness’s voice—"You are the source of all sin, and only you can cut off all the sins of the world."
You Su couldn’t help but re-examine this heavy responsibility in the words, silently shaking his head, unwilling to be troubled by this matter. At this moment, nothing was more important than finding his junior sister.
"Mr. Zhou, you overpraise me. I am indeed unworthy. Please treat me as usual," You Su clasped his hands together and continued, "May I ask, has anyone seen my junior sister?"
"Is your junior sister perhaps wearing a blue dress and extraordinarily beautiful?" a young female cultivator in the crowd asked.
"Exactly, exactly!"
The young female cultivator touched her chin, recalled, "Earlier, I saw her at the Cloud-Picking Clothing Store."
"Thank you!" You Su was overjoyed and said to Zhou Li, "I have important matters; Mr. Zhou, let’s talk next time."
As soon as he finished speaking, regardless of Zhou Li’s attempts to persuade him to stay, he had already taken several steps away, leaving Zhou Li with no choice but to shake his head helplessly.
"Mr. Zhou, what’s the relationship between You Su and his junior sister?" the young female cultivator who provided the clue asked, puckering her lips.
"What do you think?" Zhou Li responded with a question.
"Huh? Then don’t we all have no chance?" another female cultivator asked.
"People should know their place."
Zhou Li smiled and then continued leading the group to investigate hidden dangers.
...
The road to the Cloud-Picking Clothing Store was already damaged, so You Su had to take a detour.
On the road, he encountered a procession of mourners; hearing the wails of the leading elder, he discovered it was Wu Cheng’s grandfather.
You Su had just learned that the Wu Family suffered significant devastation from this incident, with the patriarch, matriarch, Wu Ping, and the family’s future hope, Wu Cheng, all losing their lives. This inevitably filled You Su’s heart with a sense of melancholy.
Though Wu Cheng occasionally clashed with him for various reasons, at his core, he was still a principled genius. His untimely death was indeed regrettable. As for Wu Ping, his death was truly not deserving of pity. Not only did he devour his own brother, but he also colluded with evil spirits and even caused the death of his own mother. Such a person was far more terrifying than the spirits themselves.
You Su could only sigh deeply, bowing from afar to the funeral procession, wishing that Wu Cheng would never encounter such a brother again in his next life.
You Su didn’t linger any longer. Along the way, many people recognized him and greeted him warmly, but he concealed himself and quietly slipped away to avoid being swamped by the crowd.
Before long, the Cloud-Picking Clothing Store came into view.
As the largest clothing store in the city, it was currently quiet and deserted inside. Not even a maid was present to help organize the merchandise. Only the still-charming proprietress stood at the entrance, calling out in a deliberately sweet voice:
"Don’t miss it as you pass by! Cloud-Picking Clothing Store is having a big sale!"
Her enthusiasm received no response, yet she remained tireless in her efforts. Her eyes were so vacant that she didn’t realize when You Su approached her side.
"Madam," You Su spoke to remind her.
The proprietress was startled by You Su’s sudden appearance but quickly regained her composure, parting her lips slightly:
"You Su?!"
"It’s me. Why is Madam here selling alone?" You Su asked softly. This entire street was filled with clothing stores and tailor shops, but only the Cloud-Picking Clothing Store was open.
"Sigh..." The proprietress sighed, lowering her head as if talking to herself, "The people of this city have suffered this calamity; it’s unknown how long it will take to restore its former state. Some want to lie down, some want to flee, and some want to die. The entire city is filled with grief. I consider myself lucky: neither my family nor my business has been affected. So I thought I’d come out and shout, hoping to sell clothes that people wouldn’t ordinarily buy at a discount to make everyone happy and bring some vitality to this city."
You Su understood her sentiments and recalled her somewhat dazed manner earlier. He was moved by her perseverance. Although kindness isn’t always reciprocated, it was still worthy of respect.
"Alright, enough about that. Has our Chuyun City’s hero come here to buy clothes? You can choose whatever you like at the Cloud-Picking Clothing Store, and I won’t charge you a cent!"
With that, the proprietress tried to take You Su’s sturdy arm to lead him inside.
"Madam, you flatter me," You Su quickly dodged. "I’m really not some great hero. I came here not to buy clothes but to find my junior sister. Has my junior sister been here?"
The proprietress looked somewhat disappointed upon realizing You Su wasn’t here to buy clothes. But upon hearing he came to find his junior sister, she instantly perked up:
"Of course, she has. Today, my store’s only customer was your stunning junior sister."
"Madam, do you remember when she came? Where did she go?"
"It wasn’t too long ago." The proprietress looked up at the sky and then turned a playful gaze toward You Su, "As for where she went, I do know, but you’ll have to answer a question for me first."
You Su was puzzled, eager to find Ji Lingruo quickly, so he said, "Please ask, Madam."
The proprietress covered her mouth with a laugh, moving a bit closer to You Su, asking softly, "Did you touch the little clothes I sent for you?"
Seeing You Su raise a brow without speaking, she added, "If you lie to me, I won’t tell you either."
Her certainty in judging You Su’s honesty came from earlier that morning:
That extraordinarily beautiful young lady had come to buy clothes. Noticing how her demeanor was much less innocent than when seen in the cave, and her walk awkward, as an experienced woman, she could easily guess why. Initially, she merely lamented that not even cultivators could escape the pain of losing innocence. Then, recalling You Su was also a cultivator, bound to be vigorous and extraordinary, it seemed reasonable for him to have affected his junior sister this way.
The proprietress wiped the drool unknowingly dripping from her mouth. Seeing You Su’s scholarly and virtuous appearance, she rubbed her thighs together and smiled seductively, determined to tease this aloof young man.
You Su, aware of these women’s irresistible curiosity, didn’t feel embarrassed and coughed twice, saying:
"My junior sister and I share mutual affection. Madam already has the answer, so why ask me?"
"Tsk tsk, so do you like it?"
"I’ve answered your question, Madam. Please tell me where my junior sister went." You Su’s words carried a tone of urgency.
"Alright, alright, she went eastward, saying she was going to buy breakfast. You better hurry and find her."
The proprietress’s tone was teasing, her mind crafting a scene where awkwardness from an unexpected breakthrough in their relationship led the junior sister to run away, and the senior brother frantically pursued.
Watching You Su’s disappearing figure, the proprietress licked her lips and murmured to herself:
"Dislike it yet won’t admit it? If you didn’t like it, why did your junior sister come to buy so many new pieces this morning? But this junior sister of yours, with a face like a temptress, is quite something. She seems timid, but she’s bolder than anyone else. Tsk tsk, she even dared to buy those kinds of styles..."