29 - The Cannon Fodder is Prepared to Divorce

Not long after his moment of distraction, the sword's energy on the field gathered like a multitude of sharp blades, ultimately piercing through layers of sound waves and slashing across his opponent's face. The sword halted, and the sounds ceased. Luo Changhe had exhausted all his strength. Blood beads trickled down, caught by Luo Changhe's hand. Clasping his flute, he cupped his fists, "I lost." Regrets echoed from some of the Sanqing disciples in the audience, while others from Ming Yun's sect cheered in triumph. Yet, the young man's posture remained straight, resolute and dignified. His opponent, long sword in hand, maintained a graceful demeanor, "Thank you for letting me win." Victorious without arrogance, defeated without fear. Yue Bai watched them more closely, finding them both quite endearing. The two young men turned and left the stage, each greeted by many. But the flute-bearing youth turned around and walked directly towards Yue Bai. "Junior Sister Ye." Luo Changhe spoke, having already adjusted his breath from earlier, "So you're here too." Jiu Yi had previously given Yue Bai a "good luck" wish. Those nearby had already leaned in to murmur something, but Yue Bai pretended not to notice. "Senior Brother Luo," Yue Bai spoke softly, smiling gently, "That was an impressive match." The young man smiled, appearing quite carefree, "It's a pity I still lost." "Don't say that, Senior Brother Luo," Zhao Qi joined in, "You've already done amazingly well." Luo Changhe's opponent was naturally more skilled, so losing did not feel regretful. He didn't need much consolation from Zhao Qi and Yue Bai. Instead, he suggested that since the pressure of the competition was off, they should go down the mountain for a meal later in the evening. While they were chatting and moving away from the stage, someone suddenly called out to Luo Changhe. The three turned around to see a well-dressed figure in white robes with black patterns. "Senior Brother Qi!" Luo Changhe walked up to him, "You're back?" "Indeed," the newcomer smiled, "I thought it was about the time for the competition. I also heard about some issues earlier, so I returned." Zhao Qi also approached, “Senior Brother Qi, long time no see.” Seeing Ye Er somewhat puzzled, Luo Changhe introduced her, "Junior Sister Ye, this is Senior Brother Qi Feng from Ba Chi Peak. He descended for his journey after forming his golden core a few years ago, so you probably haven't met him before." "And this is...?" Qi Feng asked as well. "Senior Brother Qi," Zhao Qi pulled Ye Er closer, "This is Ye Er, the new disciple recently accepted by Senior Immortal Ji." Yue Bai absentmindedly bowed, "Greetings, Senior Brother Qi." "Senior Immortal Ji took on a disciple?" Qi Feng looked surprised, "That Senior Immortal Ji?" "Indeed," Zhao Qi didn’t seem surprised by Qi Feng’s reaction, "Senior Immortal Ji has settled down to train a disciple and hasn't caused any trouble recently. It’s been a long time since she last copied scriptures at Reflection Peak." Qi Feng's eyes widened. Yue Bai smiled faintly, feeling it wasn’t her place to join in on this critique of her master. "This is truly unexpected..." Qi Feng then noticed the sword in Yue Bai's hand, "Is this... also forged by Senior Immortal Ji?" Before Yue Bai could respond, Zhao Qi placed his hands on her shoulder, "Yes, Senior Immortal Ji really likes Ye Er. She started preparing the initiation gift even before the formal ceremony, spending a month forging this sword." "This truly is unexpected..." Qi Feng asked Yue Bai, "May I take a look?" "Your sword has been particularly popular lately..." Jiu Yi remarked dryly. Yue Bai handed over the sword without hesitation, "Please." As the sword was drawn, icy mist condensed around it. "It truly is..." Qi Feng swung it a few times single-handedly, producing an arc of cold light, "Her talent has always been extraordinary; I didn't expect her craftsmanship in forging to improve so much..." Yue Bai knew Feixing Rain was a fine sword. She also recalled other disciples mentioning that Ji Wuning intended to gift her a sword tempered by snow and ice. She asked, "Senior Brother Qi, did my master forge swords before?" "Yes..." Qi Feng held Feixing Rain aloft, the blade glinting with cold light, seeming somewhat lost in thought, "She has exceptional talent in many areas. Even in sword-forging, she’s far beyond the ordinary..." "Back then, shortly after she started learning, she dared to use half of her life’s blood to temper a sword named 'Xifeng.'" Qi Feng smiled faintly, his mind seeming to wander, "Had the sect leader not suppressed the matter for some unknown reason, she’d probably be far more renowned by now..." Though spoken softly, all three heard him. "Whoa... half of her life’s blood..." Jiu Yi clapped, "Turns out she’s an even more extreme self-destructive maniac than you." Yue Bai remained silent, already sensing the looks from Zhao Qi and Luo Changhe, reading "Like master, like disciple." Returning the sword to its sheath, Qi Feng handed Feixing Rain back, eyes filled with deeper meaning. Yue Bai took it, faintly sensing the residual aura. Unexpectedly, it was effortlessly obtained. Without betraying her emotions, she scanned with her spirit, telling Jiu Yi in her mind, "It's him. The spy." Luo Changhe chatted with Qi Feng a bit more and then invited him to join them down the mountain later. Qi Feng, having recently returned from the foot of the mountain, declined the invitation. After he left, Yue Bai also declined to go down with them, citing Ji Wuning needing her that evening. “Didn’t expect Senior Immortal Ji to monitor you so closely…” Zhao Qi couldn’t help but comment. "Master is also concerned about my health." Ye Er's frail body was always an unfailing excuse. “Since the tiger paws incident, he’s been overly worried,” Yue Bai added, “Though I can’t go tonight, you can come by Qinglin Hall anytime, and I’ll prepare a special meal for you.” This promise was more enticing than dining out, and Luo Changhe accepted. Soon after, he and Zhao Qi also departed. On her way back to Qinglin Hall, Jiu Yi informed Yue Bai that the mission had been updated. The next step was to expose the spy publicly before the competition ended. "This is meant to alert the various sects that demonic energy can be concealed," Yue Bai pondered the mission's significance, feeling a headache, "If everyone knows, Senior Immortal Ji’s demonic aura would be harder to hide... does she really want this?" Jiu Yi couldn’t quite understand either. In theory, the missions should align with Ji Wuning's wishes, but this indeed seemed contradictory. "You..." Jiu Yi hesitated, "Why not just ask Ji Wuning directly?" This notion had never crossed Yue Bai's mind, as she felt it wasn’t feasible. Also, from Qi Feng's knowledge, Yue Bai knew his target was Liu Li. Since Liu Li was showing signs of demonic possession, the demonic sect must be aware. Qi Feng was merely someone who, driven by jealousy towards his sect’s genius, was recruited by demonic cultivators during his journey. Now, he was sent back to investigate Liu Li’s demonic aura. To win him over, the demonic cultivators even provided him with demonic energy that could cloak one's presence. "This demonic aura is hard to detect," the one recruiting him had said, "Even a deity would find it indistinguishable. Using this, you can lure those you despise into demonic paths, much to the disgrace of the righteous sects. Isn’t that delightful?" Whether the demonic energy attached to Feixing Rain was meant to corrupt Ye Er or her close associate Ji Wuning was unknown. "See, standing out invites envy," Yue Bai remarked to Jiu Yi, "and inevitably draws jealousy." "..." Jiu Yi refused to argue, "You should figure out how to handle this. If necessary, just ignore Ji Wuning’s wishes; at worst, you’ll end up doing extra work..." “If this leads to Ji Wuning's demonic aura being discovered,” Yue Bai mused, “wouldn’t that be even worse?” A small-scale exposure was fine, but a public disclosure would necessitate silencing all who knew. Jiu Yi also found it troubling. “Forget it,” Yue Bai devised a plan, “I’ll let her choose.”