Volume 2 Chapter 77 / Chapter 165: Golden Hair, A Flash of White Shadow
A few days later—
Sunlight bathed the rooftops of the buildings, making them shine vividly, creating a lively scene.
The streets of the city were bustling with people, filled with the sounds of vendors calling out:
“Freshly made Gathering Spirit Pills~~~”
“Roast chicken!! Roast chicken!! Special sauce, secret recipe—”
…
Yun Xi strolled down the street, holding an elegant umbrella, dressed in an expensive long dress embroidered with gold threads. Her junior brother, who had come with her from the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, was looking around warily, as if guarding against suspicious cultivators who might approach them, while also observing the now revitalized Chi Dragon Mansion.
“Young Mistress, how long do you think Young Mistress Li can hold out? It’s been so long without any word from her. Could it be that she’s already been overtaken by the Profound Star Sect?” he asked.
Yun Xi glanced at him, frowning slightly with some disdain, and replied, “The Chi Dragon Mansion is her father’s legacy. She’s not some naive little girl. She knows that agreeing to our request is akin to handing over most of her family’s business to the Shadowmoon Sword Sect. She won’t easily agree, especially with Junior Sister Xiao helping her now.”
“Young Mistress Xiao can’t stay in the Chi Dragon Mansion forever, can she?”
The junior brother raised his eyebrows and shook his head, adding, “Shouldn’t we go and talk to her again? If we can settle this, the Sect Master wouldn’t be harsh on you for the senior brothers and sisters who fell.”
“Mm…”
Yun Xi’s frown deepened, recalling the events of a few days ago, feeling inexplicably irritable.
She had heard that Li Feng had taken out the Heaven Splitter Sword as the top prize for the Chi Dragon Conference, and the Shadowmoon Sword Sect happened to be in talks with Li Feng for some trade cooperation, so she took the initiative to handle it and brought people over.
However, the night before she was supposed to talk to Li Feng, there was an incident involving Crimson Snow and demonic cultivators.
Of the twelve disciples from the Shadowmoon Sword Sect who had come with her, eleven had died, leaving only the one now following behind her.
Although the life and death of cultivators are determined by fate, she had to take responsibility for the loss of those eleven fellow disciples.
“In any case, I won’t take it by force. If Junior Sister Li refuses, we’ll leave. I won’t use someone else’s most precious item to make up for my own mistakes. Even if she agrees, I’ll have to take care of her. The girl is indeed all alone…”
“That’s all well and good,” the junior brother shook his head, “but Young Mistress, you still need to be more ruthless. If you go back empty-handed, the eldest and second young mistresses will most likely—”
“I know!!”
Yun Xi interrupted loudly, indicating she didn’t want to discuss the topic further, clicked her tongue forcefully, and cursed, “Damn it, why did that old man have so many children? If he had married fewer wives, would I have to live so miserably?! Look at Junior Sister Xiao, born as the Moon Dan Master only daughter, she’s cherished by everyone in the sect. How carefree is that? And look at me?”
“…”
“When I was born, those two foolish sisters poisoned the rice porridge they gave me. When I was four, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom, and there were two fire talismans stuck underneath it. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and used a body-protecting Magical Tool to block the talismans, but the Magical Tool can defend against spells, not against shit. At that time, I was covered in filth for three days, and had a high fever for a week, nearly kicking the bucket. Do you want to hear more? I can talk about this for a day without repeating myself.”
“This…” The junior brother looked embarrassed and said, “Didn’t the Sect Master establish rules back then—”
“Yes, he set the rules when I was six, but after that, those two bitches just weren’t so blatant. The hidden attacks were even harder to guard against, damn it!”
“…”
“Ugh—My mother should have castrated that old man! Ptooey—”
Yun Xi spat into the gutter beside the street, venting some of her frustration, then sighed helplessly, “Ah—forget it, no use complaining.”
Who let her be born into this family?
Who let her mother be deceived by her father’s lies?
There was no way to regret it now. All she could do was accept it and work to overturn everything.
Yun Xi shook her head, breathed in some fresh air, and suddenly saw a white-haired girl running out of a gambling house ahead, clutching the back of her head.
Following her out were two benches and four or five eggs.
The white-haired girl deftly dodged them, pointing back at the gambling house and cursing:
“You people running the gambling house, can’t you honor your bets?! Can’t you have a little decency? Just because I never lose, you throw me out? I didn’t do anything wrong—”
Her voice drew a lot of attention from the surrounding cultivators, sparking discussions among them.
However, several bouncers immediately rushed out of the gambling house, wielding iron rods and swords, attacking her from all sides.
Seeing this, she ducked her head, recalling how Xiao Yunluo had warned her that if she got caught by the city guards again, she wouldn’t come to rescue her. So, she pulled out a sword sheath from her storage bag.
With a flash of light from the sheath, the bouncers were sent flying back into the gambling house.
She slung the sword sheath over her back, pulled down her lower eyelid, and stuck her tongue out at the gambling house:
“Nyah~~”
Then, she turned and dashed off through the crowd, disappearing from sight.
Yun Xi frowned, a look of slight surprise crossing her face:
“That girl’s sword technique…”
“Hmm?” The junior brother tilted his head. “Didn’t she just swing once? Did you see something, Young Mistress?”
“…”
Yun Xi shook her head slightly. With her years of experience observing sword techniques, she could usually discern the fundamentals of a technique from a single swing—how the person exerted force, how they channeled spiritual energy, how they accumulated power, how they maneuvered the sword…
After all, the essence of all techniques is interconnected, and the sword techniques of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect are a compilation of the finest techniques, created by the founder, Immortal Yun Jian.
Most sword techniques can be categorized into twelve styles, but she couldn’t determine which school or style the white-haired girl’s technique belonged to.
Maybe if she saw it a few more times, she could figure it out. It had indeed been too fast just now.
Yun Xi shrugged slightly, then looked at the sky. Seeing that it was already afternoon, she led her junior brother towards the inner mansion, intending to talk to Li Qianjin about their cooperation again and inquire if they had found her younger siblings.
After explaining their purpose and showing their identification at the gate of the inner mansion, she and her junior brother were smoothly led to the main hall.
A maid with a cheerful smile turned around, bowed, and said:
“Please wait here, seniors. I will inform the young mistress.”
“Mm…”
Yun Xi nodded hesitantly. After the maid went inside, her junior brother suddenly leaned in and whispered:
“Young Mistress, don’t you feel something is off? I keep feeling that the maids and guards of the Chi Dragon Mansion are all smiles. Last time we came, they all looked worried.”
“I’m not blind,” Yun Xi replied tersely.