CH 121.2

The young woman seemed to be scared silly and sat on the ground dumbfounded. Her skirt was stained with the old man's blood and the stench was pungent, but she was oblivious to it. On the contrary, the pedestrians coming and going at the city gate recovered from their shock and screamed as the scene turned chaotic instantly.

“T-They must be from Greentown! Tell them to get lost!”

“Isn’t Greentown on lockdown?”

“Go away! Get lost!”

Many people shouted and cursed as they fled, and there was a panic in the city. Even the guards at the city gate dared not come forward and closed the gate tightly. Some people who didn't have time to return to the city frantically pounded on the city gate, but it remained motionless.

With a wave of Jing Yue's sleeve, the evil energy on the old man's body immediately dissipated. The young woman was also jolted and slowly woke up.

She looked at Jing Yue and the other two before she lowered her gaze. Tears fell and she cried bitterly, “Dad! Wake up! Wake…”

Halfway through the shout, her body swayed and she fainted.

The remaining people at the city gate were even more fearful, hiding far away. Some kind-hearted people even reminded Jing Yue and the others to hide quickly lest they be tainted with the curse.

The three looked at each other. With a roll of Jing Yue’s sleeve, he swept the young woman and old man up and disappeared with the other two amid the people’s shocked gazes.

…

In a ruined temple on the outskirts of Greentown, Su Xiaocui slowly woke up and saw the beams covered with cobwebs. She didn't know where she was for a while.

“Are you awake?”

Su Xiaocui was startled by the sudden voice. She turned her head and saw three unfamiliar youths sitting not far away, all looking at her at this time.

They had extraordinary appearances and were dressed as Daoists, making it difficult for Su Xiaocui to think that they were bad people. She was a little relieved, more than a little shy and nervous, but suddenly, many memories returned to her. Her expression changed in a flash as if she had applied several thick layers of white powder. Her body kept shaking and her tears couldn't stop falling.

The youths were of course Jing Yue and the others. They brought the young woman and the old man's corpse to the temple to find out what had happened in Greentown and why everyone in Moonflower City spoke of it in fear. But once the young woman woke up, she fell into grief, and obviously couldn’t talk properly.

They were a little helpless and could only wait aside in silence.

About a quarter of an hour later, Su Xiaocui finally raised her head. She looked around with tears in her eyes and said, “All… Daoists, where is my father?”

She finally recalled that at the city gate just now, only these three people did not show disgust and fear to her and her father.

Jing Yue, “Your father's body is outside the temple…”

Before he finished speaking, Su Xiaocui staggered to her feet and was about to rush outside.

Jing Yue, “Wait.”

Of course, Su Xiaocui was unwilling to listen, but she felt a force lift her and send her back to her original position.

Qin Yanzhi straightened his sleeve and said instead of Jing Yue, “Your father died due to exposure to evil energy. Although the evil energy has gone, it is not suitable for the living to make contact with it.”

Su Xiaocui hadn’t recovered her senses from the other party’s mysterious methods yet. She said in a daze, “Evil? I-Isn’t it a curse?” After she finished speaking, she realized that they were Daoist experts with magical powers, so she knelt and cried, “I beg the immortals to save the people of Greentown.”

It turned out that Su Xiaocui and her father were servants of Esquire Du’s family in Greentown. Several days ago, a series of strange events suddenly occurred in Greentown.

“Initially, the strange event happened in the Du household.” Su Xiaocui sobbed and said, “That morning, I went to the young madam's room to wake her up, and found water stains on the ground that spread to the bedside. I found it strange and quickly walked to the bed. Through the curtain, I vaguely saw the young madam, she…”

Su Xiaocui swallowed, her eyes filled with fear. “She was soaked to the skin as if she had just been fished out of the water. When I lifted the bed curtain and took a closer look, the young madam’s eyes were wide open, and blood was oozing from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. She was no longer breathing!”

From that day on, the Du family seemed to be under a curse, and people died one after another, exactly the same way as the young madam. Before the young madam’s funeral had been arranged, Esquire Du and his wife both passed away. Within two days, the only grandchild of the Du family had also died.

In the entire Du family, only Young Master Du remained.

However, this was not the end. The Du family suffered such a great change and the servants were naturally anxious to flee. But as soon as they left Greentown, they would die tragically.

“Wait,” Wei Zhentu interrupted Su Xiaocui. “You said that all members of the Du family will die tragically, so why are you okay?”

Su Xiaocui was stunned for a moment. “I-It’s the men of the Du family. From the beginning to the end, only the young madam and madam were the only women of the Du family who died.”

Wei Zhentu glanced at Jing Yue, and both of them had doubts in their eyes.

Su Xiaocui continued, “Not long after, the same thing happened to other families in Greentown, and the dead were all men. Their bodies seemed to have been soaked in water, bleeding to death from all seven orifices.”

Of course, this incident alarmed some nearby cultivators, but after several investigations, they found no clues. They only said that Greentown was under an unknown curse and must be temporarily closed to prevent the curse from spreading.

Thus, Greentown was only allowed entry but not exit, and the people in the town were left in despair.

“My father was out of town transporting goods before that and he was lucky enough to escape. He heard about it when he passed Moonflower City but he was worried about me, and he didn't believe in any curses, so he insisted on going back to Greentown to pick me up. We tried our best to escape, and we thought we were out of danger. I didn’t expect that before we reached Moonflower City…”

Su Xiaocui started to cry again, but she was facing two inconsiderate men, plus one man who could be but didn’t want to be considerate to a young woman. It was blue phoenix that took pity on her and handed a handkerchief to her with its beak.

Jing Yue frowned. The evil energy just now was so strong that even a Qi Refining cultivator could detect it, so why did those people say it was a curse?

It was not until he followed the young woman back to town that he finally understood the reason.

There was not a shred of evil energy in the entire town, but rather peaceful with a spirit of righteousness. But the townspeople were neither peaceful nor harmonious, all of them looking lifeless. Especially the men, all of them seemed to be seriously ill. They looked at Jing Yue and his party with hostility and hatred, with a touch of urgency.

It was not the urgency of hope for salvation but hope that these outsiders would be subjected to the same curse they were.

They didn't feel very comfortable, and without much delay, they went directly to Esquire Du's house.

However, from the gate, they saw another Daoist outside the Du house.

“Why are you here?” Wei Zhentu suddenly exclaimed, his expression a little ugly. “Didn’t I tell you not to pester me?”

“Who?” Jing Yue didn’t recognize the Daoist and asked casually.

Qin Yanzhi, “Ruan-daoyou.”

“Ruan…” Jing Yue sized up the Daoist. The other party was not tall and his face was youthful. From his appearance alone, he looked like a cute boy of 15 or 16.

But… boy?

“Is Ruan-daoyou a male?”

Qin Yanzhi, “Did you think it was a female?”

Jing Yue suddenly understood Wei Zhentu at this moment. “Is the Scattered Star Villa happy to see this happen with a man?”

Qin Yanzhi, “Why not? Dao cultivators follow the will of heaven but go against it as well. There's no need to pay any heed to the fusion of yin and yang. Even if dual cultivation, what’s the difference between male-male and female-female?”

Jing Yue, “…Are all cultivators so open-minded now?” Only 10,000 years had passed…

Qin Yanzhi suddenly transmitted his voice to Jing Yue. “Although you have been reborn for more than 100 years, many of your concepts are still stuck in 10,000 years ago. The World of Seven Continents is no longer the Bipolar World, and today's cultivation world is not exactly what you used to know.”

Jing Yue was startled as if a leaf had fallen into the lake of his heart. It wasn’t heavy but still touched him.

After Qin Yanzhi’s reminder, he realized that from his rebirth to this moment, he still had a sense of detachment from this world. He always used to compare the past with today, always subconsciously thinking that the people today were inferior to the former. He even had contempt and emotionless feelings of a bystander that he didn't even notice, and he was less in awe of the changes that took place during the 10,000 years.

However, he was in this world now, and this world had changed with the heavenly Dao. If he couldn’t integrate fully, sooner or later, he would encounter obstacles that couldn’t be resolved.

The leaf suddenly became heavy, and as the vortex swept into his heart, Jing Yue turned around and said solemnly to Qin Yanzhi, “Thanks for the reminder, Qin-zhenjun. It was my negligence.”

Qin Yanzhi smiled and said profoundly, “The person in front of you is also no longer the one he used to be.”

Jing Yue, “What do you mean?”

Qin Yanzhi, “Daozu is so smart. You should comprehend it by yourself.”

Jing Yue's eyes flickered slightly. At this moment, there was a burst of crying not far away.

He turned his head and saw that Wei Zhentu had walked to the entrance of Du house with his back to him. As for fellow Daoist Ruan, his eyes were red and his shoulders shook. “I, I’m not pestering you. My Shizun told me to conduct an investigation here.”

Wei Zhentu's tone was very impatient. “That’s enough. Everything is about your Shizun. Did your Shizun also tell you to stay in Scattered Star Villa for 30 years without leaving?”

“I… I was injured.”

“Your injury healed 800 years ago!”

“I didn't know you 800 years ago. And you just said 30 years…”

Seeing that Ruan-daoyou's voice was getting smaller and smaller, and his head was about to drop to his chest, Jing Yue couldn't help but ask, “Is he… really an Amethyst Abode cultivator?” He doubted his eyes.

Qin Yanzhi paused. “Ruan-daoyou grew up in the Genesis Sect since he was a child as the disciple of Hong Luan-laozu. Hong Luan-laozu has always pampered him. Perhaps… he’s more innocent.”

Blue phoenix couldn't help complaining, “Raised under the hands of a woman. Hmph!”

Jing Yue, “What’s wrong with that? For instance, Fu Xuan under Liu Feng…”

Blue phoenix thought about the terrifying and unsmiling Heavenly Grotto elder and couldn't help its chicken feathers from shaking.

When Jing Yue saw that Ruan-daoyou was better at crying than Su Xiaocui, his eyes, nose, and lips were all red from crying, he took pity and stepped in. “Wei-daoyou, this is…?”

Wei Zhentu's body froze, and it seemed that he remembered that there were other people there. He turned around and forced a smile. “His name is Ruan Jiu from Genesis Sect.” He pointed at Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi and said unwillingly, “Jing Yue-laozu of Frostcloud Sect and Qin Yanzhi of Sword Inscription Sect.”

Ruan Jiu glanced at Wei Zhentu, then looked at Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi cautiously, before wiping the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, and smiled in embarrassment. “I know. Jing-laozu, Qin-zhenjun, I’m sorry about this.” After thinking about it, he shyly added, “You can call me Xiaojiu.”

Jing Yue couldn't help laughing, and asked, “Why did you come to Du's house?”

Ruan Jiu peeked at Wei Zhentu again but could only see the other party's indifferent face. He said aggrievedly, “Shizun really told me to come here. Ten days ago, Shizun sensed a Yao near Moonflower City.”

Author’s Notes:

Rouge: I like…

Jing-jing: Oh, you’re too young. I’m over 10,000 years old.

Rouge: … (A series of big gaps no matter what)