Chapter 67: “...I...see…” “...cannot see…”

"...I...see..." "...not..."

The master and disciple fell into a long silence. In the end, the old man was the first to turn his head, breaking the quiet.

"Alright, enough of this idle chatter."

"Tell me, just how big of a mess did you stir up in Fengtian City?"

Lu Yuan then recounted everything in detail: encountering the Life-Severing Wang Family, finding himself unable to handle it alone, and ultimately having no choice but to summon Gu Qingwan.

Of course, that included the shocking scene where that super-grade malevolent entity had its head casually slapped to pieces by Gu Qingwan.

After listening, the old man pinched his chin, a strange light shining in his turbid eyes.

"Tsk tsk..."

"So it seems, the aura swirling around her when she returned that day wasn't any kind of immortal energy..."

"It was merit?!"

Huh?

Lu Yuan stared at the old man with a stunned expression, not understanding this line of reasoning.

But the old man seemed to have discovered a new continent, his interest piqued. He took a big gulp of wine, his eyes gleaming as he spoke.

"Think about it, if she hadn't intervened, how many people in the entire Fengtian City would have died once a malevolent entity of that level went out of control?"

"A single leak of malevolent energy from that thing wouldn't even be comparable to the collapse of those dozen or so temporary Nurturing Malevolence Sites!"

Listening to the old man's analysis, Lu Yuan blinked.

That... seemed to make sense?

Hey!

What was he doing overthinking this here?

Why not just call the person involved out and ask her directly?

Lu Yuan turned around, raising his hand to knock on the coffin behind him, but before his hand could fall, the old man's voice stopped him.

"Don't call her."

"Today is the full moon. The soul returns to its body, the yin energy is at its peak. It's the best time to cleanse the evil curse."

"I just cast a Full Spirit Seal on her. She's 'asleep' right now. No matter how big the deal is, it has to wait until tomorrow."

With that, the old man wobbled to his feet, patted the dirt off his backside, and stretched lazily as he walked towards the door.

"Perfect timing. Since you're back, kid, you watch over her tonight."

With his back to Lu Yuan, the old man used one hand to rub his lower back with effort, whining softly.

"Ouch, my old bones..."

With a creak, the old man pushed the door open and left. In the side hall, only Lu Yuan and a coffin remained.

To be honest, Lu Yuan had been pretty exhausted these past few days.

That morning after demarcating the Nurturing Malevolence Sites with Shen Shulan, Lu Yuan collapsed and slept at Aunt Qiao'er's place.

He woke up in the mid-afternoon of the next day.

He went out with Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an to stroll around Fengtian City, buying some New Year's goods and such.

Early on the third day, the three of them hurried back.

They had only just returned to Zhenlong Temple.

Having been out in the cold wind all day, the warmth inside the hall now felt like a cozy embrace, and drowsiness washed over him like a tide.

He pushed two meditation cushions together and lay down to sleep right away.

When Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an returned tomorrow, they'd have to go suffer in those desolate, remote Nurturing Malevolence Sites again. He had to take advantage of now to rest properly.

As for fighting for the Celestial Master title for the old man...

Lu Yuan closed his eyes, but his thoughts were crystal clear.

This year, the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony and the Luotian Grand Offering were being held together.

But it was different from previous years. In the past, the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony was held first.

And the Luotian Grand Offering was held at the tail end.

That way, the newly selected seven Celestial Masters could just preside over that year's Luotian Grand Offering.

It was also a chance to show their faces before the entire Daoist community beyond the Great Wall.

But this year, the Luotian Grand Offering was first, and the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony was at the end.

Probably, it was Shen Shulan's father, Shen Jizhou, exerting influence behind the scenes.

Because placing the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony after the Luotian Grand Offering bought nearly another full month.

Letting Shen Shulan eliminate more of the Life-Severing Wang Family's Nurturing Malevolence Sites and accumulate more prestige.

This was good for Lu Yuan too.

Now Lu Yuan had close to two months, enough time to eliminate every single Nurturing Malevolence Site in the Fengtian City area without missing a single one!

Hey~

Looks like he was benefiting from Shen Shulan's influence again.

As for whether, based on this, he could get the old man made a Celestial Master at this Celestial Master Grand Ceremony...

Hmm...

The final question was whether this matter would be subject to behind-the-scenes manipulation, whether Lu Yuan could gain the people's support but fail to get the internal support of the Daoist community.

Then...

Then maybe such a Celestial Master title wasn't worth having?

Wrong!

If it really came to that, Lu Yuan would go find his two beautiful aunts for help!

Could these two help?

They absolutely could help!

One was Aunt Qiao'er, the head of the White Deer Chamber of Commerce, the top chamber of commerce beyond the Great Wall.

And the other was Aunt Qin, whose younger brother was the commander of the Fengtian City Security Regiment!

With help from these two, Lu Yuan wouldn't dare say he could definitely get it, but there would definitely be hope!

Even if the process was filled with darkness, they could tear open a crack leading to hope.

Otherwise, Lu Yuan wouldn't have spoken so confidently earlier!

The prerequisite for man overcoming heaven is that you must first do everything within your power to the absolute best of your ability.

Not that you can overcome heaven by half a move just by lying down!

Alright, enough of this bullshit talk!

Sleep!

...

Morning.

Consciousness slowly rose from the deep sea of slumber.

Lu Yuan felt icy fingertips gently poking his cheek.

He opened his eyes.

The candles and oil lamps in the hall had burned to their ends, leaving only bean-sized flames flickering in the gloom.

Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to show a sliver of fish-belly white. Faint light filtered through the window lattice, casting a dim, yellowish outline over everything in the hall.

A figure in scarlet red was sitting quietly beside him in a cute "seiza" sitting position.

It was Gu Qingwan.

She was just sitting there, head tilted, motionlessly "looking" at him.

Lu Yuan instantly became alert, sitting up sharply.

He looked left and right. The old man hadn't returned.

Now fully awake, Lu Yuan asked with a mix of excitement and curiosity.

"I heard from the old man that when you returned that day, you had merit on you?"

Gu Qingwan tilted her exquisite yet icy, expressionless, stunning face. She didn't make a sound.

Lu Yuan had seen this gesture many times. It meant—she didn't know.

Lu Yuan leaned in closer and continued asking.

"Then when you returned that day, did you feel any different in any way?"

Gu Qingwan shook her head expressionlessly again.

Uh...

This conversation hit a dead end.

Suddenly, Lu Yuan thought of something. As he rummaged through his cloth satchel, his face lit up with joy.

"The evil curse on your head is mostly gone!"

"At this rate, by New Year's, it will definitely be completely gone!"

"Then we can start working on removing the evil curse from your body, and we can even get you a change of clothes~"

This red wedding dress... Lu Yuan found it more and more displeasing the more he looked at it, more and more unsettling, infuriating.

This wedding dress wasn't auspicious.

It was a curse, a shackle, a venom, a nauseating insult.

Just like when the Qing demons entered the pass, forcing the Han people to shave their heads and change their clothes, to wear those hideously ugly garments, to shave into those utterly disgusting pigtails!

"Look, this is a fashion catalog I brought back from Fengtian City. They're all the most stylish and beautiful clothes~"

Lu Yuan excitedly held a catalog in front of her, his eyes sparkling with bright laughter.

As he spoke, he pulled another book from his satchel.

"These are Western-style dresses, styles from the West. You're so beautiful, you'd look good in anything!"

"Take a look, see which ones you like. When New Year comes, I'll buy them and have someone bring them back, then have the old man burn them for you to wear!"

Lu Yuan, you traitor!

Saying the Qing demon clothes are ugly, not letting her wear them, but now you're letting Gu Qingwan wear Western clothes, right?!

Westerners' clothes are beautiful, right?!

Wrong!

The heinous crime of the Qing demons wasn't just that they forced you to shave your head and change clothes, but that they forced you to only shave your head and change clothes!

They gave you no choice at all.

Shackling your body!

Shackling your mind!

But people are free.

So is Gu Qingwan.

However, Gu Qingwan just sat there quietly, without any reaction.

The catalog remained right in front of her eyes, but she made not the slightest move.

"..."

"...I...see..."

"...not..."

An ethereal, fragmented voice, like dandelion fluff scattered by the wind, softly sounded.

Huh?

The smile on Lu Yuan's face instantly froze.

Can't see?

How is that possible...

Suddenly, Lu Yuan understood.

Gu Qingwan probably had something similar to a Daoist's spiritual sense.

She could perceive everything around her, but she couldn't see.

For a moment, Lu Yuan's hand holding the catalog stiffened, and his heart felt unbearably heavy.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the surging emotions, forcing a smile uglier than crying.

"It's...it's okay, I'll buy them all for you!"

"When your eyes recover one day, you'll be able to see them right away, put them on right away!"

Gu Qingwan remained silent for a long, long time.

In the entire side hall, only the faint crackling sound of the candle burning remained.

"...I...want"

"to...see..."

"you..."