novelraw Chapter 73 : Are You Him
Chapter 73 : Are You Him
Chapter 73: Are You Him
Qiu Yuehan descended the mountain under the cover of night.
The moon mirrored the starlit sky, illuminating the darkness below.
Among the Nine Sects and Twelve Palaces, the White Domain Dao Sect was the strongest sect of them all—yet, ironically, also the smallest.
Most great sects, like the Jade Palace, possessed subsidiary branches beneath them, but the White Domain Dao Sect had none.
Not only so—it had few members as well.
The sect owned merely three mountain peaks, including the Heavenly Mountain.
Protective arrays were laid atop the peaks to separate the mortal and immortal realms, while at the foot of the mountains lay a mortal dynasty.
Many times, disciples of the White Domain Dao Sect would conceal their identities and descend into the mortal world to experience life among the red dust.
This was in accordance with the decree of the current sect master—
“Those of the Dao Sect must never regard themselves as immortals, nor must they forget that they are human.”
At first glance, such a decree seemed meant to protect mortals and uphold the boundary between the immortal and mortal realms.
But in truth, it was far from that simple.
Without stepping into the Jade Radiance Realm and igniting the stars, a cultivator would forever remain under the threat of the Desire Demon.
However, if cultivators regularly humbled themselves, lived among mortals, experienced birth, aging, illness, and death, and saw through worldly attachments, then the likelihood of being tainted by the Desire Demon would decrease greatly.
Thus, it could be seen that the Dao Sect’s method of releasing desire followed the path of the Red Dust.
Qiu Yuehan passed easily through the grand array of the Dao Sect and soon reached the mountain’s base.
Following the guidance of the demon mark, she found an inn.
Light shone within the room.
Breathing in and out, Qiu Yuehan suppressed the surge of emotion within her and prepared to push the door open.
The door… wasn’t closed?
“Let me take a good look at you. Don’t move.”
Qiu Yuehan froze mid-action and peeked through the crack of the door.
Inside stood a silver-haired girl with her back toward the entrance, before an old monster who bent down, both hands placed upon the girl’s soft shoulders—was he… kissing her?
Not good!
After the Junior Sister, even the little ancestor of Cihang Palace was about to fall victim to his wicked hands!
Qiu Yuehan’s heart pounded wildly in her chest.
She had long heard that the little ancestor of Cihang Palace was one who cultivated the Supreme Pure-Spirit Forget-Immortal Technique, one utterly devoid of emotion—was even such a transcendent Bodhisattva about to be trained into an obedient puppet now?
“That’s not quite right. Were you born like this?”
Lu Changyuan released the girl’s shoulders.
Su Youwan picked up a white cloth again, covering her eyes as she spoke softly, “No. It was around the time I decided to cultivate the ordained Heaven’s Dao that I became like this.”
They were speaking about the girl’s eyes.
Red pupils were never a good omen, especially in the cultivation world.
Most of the time, crimson eyes signified corruption by the Desire Demon.
Back when Xia Lianxue was invaded by the Desire Demon, her eyes too had turned scarlet.
Yet the silver-haired girl before him bore no trace of demonic taint.
Lu Changyuan had not sensed even the slightest aura of the Desire Demon upon Su Youwan before either.
How strange.
“So that’s why Youwan usually keeps her eyes covered with a white cloth—otherwise, she’d frighten others. Young Master Lu, can you not discern what’s wrong either?”
Everyone in Cihang Palace had already examined her, but none could find an answer.
Lu Changyuan shook his head, then narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had truly never encountered such a case before.
“Could it be,” he said, “that your blood and qi surged upward into your eyes, causing them to appear red? Just a simple physiological effect, perhaps?”
Since there was no answer from the perspective of cultivation, he might as well consider it from a mortal standpoint.
Su Youwan replied, “The palace once invited someone from the Elixir Sect to examine me. They said there was nothing wrong.”
Lu Changyuan nodded decisively.
“Then best leave it be. Don’t treat what isn’t broken.”
If one could move and live normally, better not to meddle—what if the treatment cured the ‘eyes’ but ruined the ‘life’?
After a pause, Lu Changyuan waved his hand, and the door swung open.
Qiu Yuehan stumbled inside.
“Why didn’t you knock?”
A shiver ran down Qiu Yuehan’s spine.
After a moment’s hesitation, she blurted out, “Master.”
She had just thought of something—
Would she be safe as long as she gave Lu Changyuan a touch of moral restraint?
Before Lu Changyuan could respond, the Third Princess turned around, giving Qiu Yuehan a cold once-over.
Then, in a flat tone, she said, “You two… like this kind of roleplay? Last time it was raising a daughter with Miss Xia, now it’s raising a disciple…”
“Go, go, go—off you go.”
Lu Changyuan cut her off.
Su Youwan curved her lips into a faint smile and lifted her birdcage.
“I’ll rest in the next room. Young Master Lu, do not let Youwan hear anything improper. Youwan is a woman of the temple and must cultivate.”
The silver-haired girl smiled lightly as she walked out.
Only then did Lu Changyuan turn his gaze to Qiu Yuehan.
The fairy in white stood straight and tall before him.
She hadn’t tied her hair, so her smooth, dark locks cascaded down her back to her slender waist.
Her long legs, faintly aglow beneath the candlelight, were sharp as blades—lethal to look upon.
Qiu Yuehan spoke first.
“Your Junior Sister was worried about you.”
Lu Changyuan replied indifferently, “Why are you calling me ‘Master’ all of a sudden?”
“The Dao Sect Master said I’m the Junior Sister.”
Qiu Yuehan gritted her teeth.
“I’ve also received your inheritance—calling you Master shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, I have… the demon mark… on my shoulder!”
Lu Changyuan smiled faintly.
“Without kowtowing, it doesn’t count as formal discipleship. At most, you’re a registered disciple. By the way, do you really not want me to erase that mark for you? You’ve already entered the cultivation method; you can continue on your own.”
“No!”
A rebellious impulse suddenly flared in Qiu Yuehan’s heart.
She truly couldn’t resist the benefits the mark brought her.
Think about it—she had gained a cultivation technique, a sword art, and comprehension of the Red Dust Intent.
How could she possibly give up such a stroke of fortune?
Qiu Yuehan admitted her own greed.
At worst, once she achieved success in cultivation, she would become the most obedient sword in Lu Changyuan’s hand.
Would that not be repayment enough?
A voice came from behind her.
“To face your own desire directly—you’re stronger than I was back then.”
The Moon Fairy turned around, only to see a figure in red standing at the doorway.
Qiu Yuehan froze, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.
Jiang Jiayi merely said, “Surprised? If I hadn’t followed you, how could you have left the mountain so easily? Do you truly think one can come and go from the Dao Sect freely?”
Lu Changyuan handed a letter to Qiu Yuehan.
“Deliver this to your Junior Sister for me. I won’t be entering the Dao Sect for now.”
Going in there meant courting death.
He wouldn’t dare.
Jiang Jiayi stepped before Lu Changyuan, asking softly, “Are you the Sect Master?”
Five hundred years after Daoist Chang’an entered Jade Radiance, that is, a thousand years ago from now, he held a grand disciple-recruiting ceremony.
Jiang Jiayi and the current Dao Sect Master had both entered the sect during that ceremony.
By then, Daoist Chang’an had already lost his own face and emotions, wearing a platinum mask day and night.
Few in the world knew his true appearance.
Even Jiang Jiayi had seen his true face only once—it was a visage covered in knife scars, terrifying to behold.
Yet that very face had stayed in her memory for many years.
She now looked at Lu Changyuan, thinking—if those scars were gone, and the man were a little younger, he would look almost exactly like this.
“I want a clear answer,” she said quietly.
“Are you him?”
Jiang Jiayi recalled many things.
During that disciple ceremony, one’s heart and temperament were what truly mattered.
She had the best talent, born with a Sword Body, and by all rights should have become Daoist Chang’an’s sole True Disciple.
Unfortunately, she had lost to the current Sect Master and ended up apprenticing under another Peak Master instead.