Chapter 176: All to My Credit

Outside Qingzhou, Yushan Prefecture.

Moonlight flowed like water.

On the quiet long street, a burly man in a short jacket, drunk and reeking, let out a satisfied burp.

He shook his head, then suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

In a daze, he looked up at the sky.

He saw, some ten-odd zhang up in the air, a longsword hovering at some unknown moment, watching him with the indifference of an eagle or falcon.

The next instant, sword light, thicker than the moonlight, came pouring down.

Puchi—

The burly man's body was instantly dismembered; chunks of flesh thudded to the ground, transforming into a massive furry limb and a fierce beast's head with eyes wide open, filled with utter bewilderment.

Blood spread unstoppably, staining the bluestone tiles a dark crimson.

The longsword wheeled about and shot off toward Qingzhou city.

It swept past the city walls, flew into the Zhen Mo Si government office, and finally landed on the stone table of a quiet courtyard, its clean blade bearing not the slightest stain of blood.

Jiang Yuanhua opened his eyes, a hint of weariness on his face.

A Yin God could leave the flesh and drift through the four directions, but patrolling city after city was truly exhausting work.

Bai Ziming handed over the restorative spirit tea he had prepared long ago: "Master, please have some tea."

"Only you still have some filial piety. As for the others…"

Jiang Yuanhua took the tea cup and, expression calm, moistened his throat.

Bai Ziming coughed: "Jiang Shijie and the others have already returned."

"Of those others, Qiulan still has some sense." Jiang Yuanhua set down the tea cup and looked toward the courtyard entrance.

It had only been a little over a month—how could they already be back?

Even if the young lord had issues, he likely wouldn't dare show them in front of his mother, the Wang Fei.

Qiulan was cold by nature and rarely lost her temper with anyone.

Two people like that getting along would inevitably be polite and courteous; nothing could go wrong. In Lady Yushan's eyes, she'd probably think the young people were gradually warming to each other and things were improving.

Once she felt reassured, she shouldn't stint on sending a Hunyuan master from the Xuanguang Grotto to Qingzhou.

Once the Howling Moon Demon King was dealt with, there'd be no need to keep humoring that sour old woman.

"Go invite your senior sister over. I have questions for her."

Thinking this far, Jiang Yuanhua gave a slight nod.

Bai Ziming was just about to step off to fetch her when he saw a figure in a dark robe walk in slowly.

"How did it go?" Jiang Yuanhua's face broke into a smile.

Jiang Qiulan gazed steadily at her master: "I've offended Lady Yushan. She asked me to pass a message to you."

At those words, the smile on Jiang Yuanhua's face froze slightly, but he still kept his patience: "What message?"

"She said, when your Yin God is cut away by the Howling Moon Demon King, you must remember—every bit of it is my doing."

Jiang Qiulan finished speaking and turned to leave.

Hearing that calm tone, Bai Ziming instinctively looked away and took two steps to the side.

Truly worthy of being senior sister—those words from her lips carried not the slightest sense of incongruity.

Jiang Yuanhua's smile vanished. He watched his disciple walk away with an expressionless face, until her figure disappeared into the night.

He looked again at the longsword on the table.

His eyes were like an ancient well, without a ripple.

"Master, you're not thinking of laying a hand on senior sister, are you?" Bai Ziming suddenly felt a twinge of nervousness.

But his master only glanced at him, as if looking at an idiot.

Jiang Yuanhua rubbed his brow. He had no intention of calling Jiang Qiulan back. From that single sentence alone, he could tell the road to seeking aid from the Wang Fei was utterly severed.

As for what had happened in between, it no longer mattered. His disciple had only come to inform him of the fact.

Chen Qiankun's warning echoed unbidden in his ears.

Betrayed by all, forsaken by kin…

With a sigh, he lowered his hand. After a long silence, he said: "Your Senior Brother You once explained to Qiulan on my behalf that I only passed martial arts to that golden-silk macaque, gave it a treasured blade, and sent it out to travel and train. I never meant it harm."

"So senior sister misunderstood?" Bai Ziming said softly.

"No misunderstanding." Jiang Yuanhua looked toward the wine jars lined up neatly beneath a distant tree and said lightly: "I could see at a glance what it meant to do. I deliberately sent it to its death, and I have never regretted it."

Hearing that, Bai Ziming said nothing more.

If there's no regret, why bring it up again?

"When I was still a deputy general in Tanzhou, I once saw what a fallen provincial capital looked like. I don't wish to see it a second time."

"For that, I would not care about anything."

Jiang Yuanhua reached for the treasured sword, exhaled a breath of stale air, and a cold gleam rose once more in his eyes.

The faint trace of regret that had stirred in his heart moments ago was wiped away in an instant.

Really not caring? …Bai Ziming quietly rolled his eyes. Clearly, compared with failing to secure aid, it was the way senior sister had delivered that line so casually that had shaken his master's heart more.

So much so that he needed to find someone to unburden himself to, just to ease the gloom in his chest.

Yet Jiang Shijie Jiang, a disciple he had raised with his own hands—no matter how dazzling she now appeared—still could not earn her master's trust.

With a relationship like this, how could they ever enjoy a normal bond between master and disciple?

"Has Aunt Aqian gone back?" Jiang Yuanhua's composure had returned.

"Mm. The location of the Howling Moon Demon King has already been sent back." Bai Ziming took out a document case and opened it.

His master merely glanced at it briefly, then closed his eyes again. His whole person became a statue once more, and the treasured sword shot across the long sky!

After all these long years, the standoff had become routine between this Wu Xian and the Demon King.

This time would likely be another few months of silent vigil.

……

In a side courtyard of Zhen Mo Si.

Shen Yi sat quietly on the edge of the bed, sinking into inner vision, a few hints of puzzlement crossing his expression.

He saw that within his qi sea, at some unknown time, many faint strands of white radiance had appeared, and quite a number of them at that.

The Heaven-Swallowing Inner Core swiftly absorbed them in, looking like a jade pellet filled with white mist.

What was this thing?

Just then, a soft knock sounded at the door.

He opened his eyes again: "Please come in."

Jiang Qiulan pushed the door and entered, not bringing up the matter of the Regional Commander. She knew the other party would have no interest in it, nor would they care about the Regional Commander's thoughts.

"I'm returning to Lady Yushan Commandery."

She sat down beside the table. She had long been accustomed to coming and going alone, but today she suddenly thought to bid him farewell: "If there's any problem…"

"I want to know what kind of aura would actively surge toward me."

Shen Yi was certain this was not the effect of any demon or martial art, so he did not conceal it and asked outright.

Hearing this, Jiang Qiulan paused slightly: "Incense and willing faith… but you're only temporarily acting as General, you shouldn't be encountering this kind of situation."

She thought for a moment before saying: "Could it be that you set up a temple in Outside Qingzhou?"

Ever since the imperial court established Zhen Mo Si, there had been no cases of demons brazenly setting up temples. Even if there were, at most it would be due to special circumstances, confined to a very small area.

"……" Shen Yi shook his head. Where would he find the leisure to have himself made into a statue and placed in a temple — just thinking about it was unbearably awkward.

(End of chapter)