novelraw Chapter 41 : I Insist on Forcing It
Chapter 41 : I Insist on Forcing It
Chapter 41: I Insist on Forcing It
Tonight, the moonlight was especially beautiful, illuminating the earth brightly.
Perhaps because it was autumn, the night was not hot, and instead, a cool breeze blew gently.
Not far from the inn stood a residence.
“Little Master brother, I did as you said and held that plaque at the village entrance, but the plaque suddenly disappeared.”
The speaker was a frail and thin little girl.
It was none other than Bitter Girl.
No, now she should be called Bai Wei—this was the new name Blood Smoke Rakshasa had given her.
Bai Wei—bitter in taste, with small, delicate blossoms of pale yellow.
From the darkness, a figure walked out.
She wore a crimson gown with a white jade belt at her waist, coughing blood as she spoke: “You did well. Thank you for your effort, Bai Wei.”
Blood Smoke Rakshasa suppressed the surging blood within his chest with difficulty and stroked Bai Wei’s head.
He and Elder Zhen had narrowly escaped with their lives from Su Youwan.
Elder Zhen had lost a leg, while he himself had sustained severe internal injuries.
On top of that, the Yin-Yang dual energies he cultivated had turned against him, devouring him from within.
Thus, it had taken Blood Smoke Rakshasa several days to bring Bai Wei to this town.
Bai Wei nodded.
“But Little Master brother, the plaque disappeared.”
“It’s fine. Come, help me back.”
The obedient girl quickly supported Blood Smoke Rakshasa back into the house.
“Ah!”
Bai Wei let out a startled cry—for at some point, another person had appeared inside the room.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa spoke calmly: “It’s alright, not an enemy.”
Only then did Bai Wei ease her heart.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, muttering, “Such a formidable fated Heavenly Dao...”
Bai Wei hurriedly picked up a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
The person in the shadows stepped forward.
Bai Wei cried out again and quickly covered her eyes.
“Oh, little sister, we’re both women, why so shy?”
The woman was wearing only a dudou on her upper body, most of her snow-white skin exposed under the moonlight.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa said coldly: “Stop flaunting yourself here, Xian Qingqiu.”
“You Yin-Yang freaks never appreciate a woman’s beauty. No sense of romance at all.”
Xian Qingqiu sighed.
“Blood Smoke Rakshasa, you say that Xia Lianxue lost all her cultivation? But the way I see it, she seems to have advanced instead.”
Blood Smoke Rakshasa’s eyes darkened.
“Han Yi has no need to lie to me. She indeed hated Hanshui, so the Xia Lianxue left behind by Hanshui—she would certainly want to eliminate her. That Xia Lianxue is probably... You should have seen the man by her side. He is extraordinary. Most likely, it was him who helped Xia Lianxue regain her Dao Realm. You’d best keep an eye on him.”
For some reason, Xian Qingqiu’s face suddenly turned cold.
“So the Jade Palace fairy is just as lowly as me—climbing into a man’s bed for the sake of cultivation.”
Blood Smoke Rakshasa said, “Tomorrow I’ll leave this place. Whatever happens here has nothing to do with me.”
Xian Qingqiu rolled her eyes charmingly.
“Suit yourself. Tomorrow, my sect members should arrive too. The Jade Palace’s delicacy—so tender and fragrant.”
She cast one last glance at Blood Smoke Rakshasa before leaving the residence.
Only after Xian Qingqiu had completely vanished did Bai Wei speak.
“Little Master brother, quickly lie down.”
Blood Smoke Rakshasa grunted in acknowledgment and returned to the bed.
“Little Master brother, is something about to happen?”
“Yes. But we won’t be involved. Tomorrow, I’ll take you back to the village, alright?”
Bai Wei nodded in delight—she missed her mother.
….
Ice and snow entered the dream.
Snow vast enough to bury the world stretched endlessly; wherever she looked, the world seemed nothing but ice and snow.
Cold?
Not too cold, only that nothing could be seen.
Xia Lianxue could not open her eyes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ceaseless crashing struck the ground, rhythmic and harsh.
Hoarse, mournful cries—inhuman sounds—rose and fell, sending chills to the bone.
At some moment—
Xia Lianxue finally felt the crushing weight on her eyelids lift.
She opened her eyes to see mountains upon mountains of Snow Demons, their grotesque forms kowtowing before her.
The creatures of the snowy mountains instinctively worshipped power.
They kowtowed to power itself, mistaking Xia Lianxue as their new queen.
As they kowtowed, Snow Demons perished, and as if their time was devoured, they quickly turned into stone statues, eternally kneeling before her.
The deaths of their kin did not stop the others.
Instead, they kowtowed with even greater frenzy.
I don’t want to be here.
I want to go back.
The thought surged within Xia Lianxue.
She stretched out her hand—only to see a small, white, chubby baby’s hand.
She was an infant?
This was her swaddled form.
“Finally found you.”
A voice echoed from afar.
Xia Lianxue widened her eyes, trying to see who it was, and why they sought her in this frozen land.
The figure approached.
Xia Lianxue could hardly believe it.
“True Person Hanshui!?”
But when the words reached her lips, they turned into infant babbling.
True Person Hanshui cleaved apart the Snow Demons with a single sword, then lifted her into his arms.
“Time to return to the palace.”
Everything began to fade, twisting into indistinct, invisible fragments.
As if the beginning of chaos itself, everything lost its color.
Suddenly, a shadow engulfed her.
It was a vast shadow.
She said: “I want to go out—someone is still waiting for me.”
Xia Lianxue pressed her hand to her chest.
A sense of familiarity struck her.
She knew that unless she could comprehend the Dao, she could not leave.
But where was she?
Had she not already comprehended the Dao?
The scenery around her spread like ink on paper—blotting, smearing, fading.
Then, as if old, worn paintings, until finally they rewound and collapsed back into primal ink.
And then, into a small village.
Someone said: “Him? He died of illness months ago. His grave? Can’t be found anymore.”
Before her appeared a small burial mound.
Panic, helplessness, terror—all emotions spilled like overturned jars of colored spices, red and green mixing chaotically, choking her breath.
Xia Lianxue heard a voice.
“Heaven’s punishment, then let it be Heaven’s punishment!”
“I insist on this path!”
Tall bamboo shrank inch by inch, until they were shoots, then vanished into the soil.
Xia Lianxue felt as though drowning, unable to breathe.
Water swallowed her whole, suffocating pressure closing in.
She flailed her hands in desperation.
“Even a fairy sleeps in?”
The words were like a rope, hauling her out.
Xia Lianxue’s eyes snapped open.
She awoke to Lu Changyuan’s warm smile.
The crushing weight of the nightmare vanished before that smile, leaving Xia Lianxue’s heart calm as still water.
Xia Lianxue sat up, her eyes still hazy with sleep.
“Young Master?”
Lu Changyuan smiled.
“The sun is already high, Fairy Lianxue.”
Xia Lianxue’s face flushed red.
She nodded.
“That Fairy Xian?”
Lu Changyuan teased: “She said the people of Canglan Sect had already arrived, so she didn’t wait for us and went up the mountain with her sect members.”
Only then did Xia Lianxue rise and look outside.
The sun hung high in the sky, already shifted westward.
She had slept far too long.
“Young Master, why didn’t you wake me!?”
Lu Changyuan concealed the flicker in his eyes and waved his hand.
“I saw that while you slept, Dao qi surrounded you—it seemed like you were comprehending Dao in your dream. So I didn’t wake you.”
In truth, there was more.
Lu Changyuan had even tried to awaken her using the Supreme Pure-Spirit Forget-Immortal Technique, yet it was useless, as though Xia Lianxue truly had only been immersed in Dao realization.
Xia Lianxue grew anxious.
“But climbing the mountain...”
“No rush. Let’s go tomorrow instead. Today, I’ll teach you Autumn Sword.”
“Young Master?”
Lu Changyuan beckoned her.
“Once you have the Autumn Sword, I’ll feel more at ease.”
Xia Lianxue’s earlobes flushed crimson.
Compared to climbing the mountain, of course, learning the sword was more important.
Yes—learning swordsmanship with Young Master was most important.