Estranged Chapter 145

Published at 24th of April 2023 02:58:44 PM

Few people could injure Yun Weisi now, but it did not mean that no one could.

After he and Changming had parted ways, he went to the Zhengrong Mountain Villa together with Yao Wangnian without delay, yet they were still not as quick as Luomei.

Yun Weisi found a chance to disguise himself as a servant that attended to the guests who resided in the Zhen Buildings and used a technique to make the steward believe that he was a new hire. The steward sent him to serve one of the elders of the Wanjian Immortal Clan, who was surnamed Feng. The elder was a nitpicker and always had many demands of Yun Weisi. In one moment, he would ask for hot water, but in the next, he might want ice. Sometimes, he complained about the dishes being too bland, while at other times, he wanted to eat sweets. These constant errands made Yun Weisi tired, but he also happened to listen in on a lot while running from one place to another.

“When I was fetching vegetables from the kitchen, I overheard someone asking Elder Feng, 'concerning that person, have you'.”

“'Have you'? Is it an unfinished sentence?”

Yun Weisi was even talking slower than usual. Changming took his wrist in his hand and transferred some spiritual power to him, letting Yun Weisi rest while leaning on Changming's shoulder.

“Yes. He saw me and did not finish talking.”

Yun Weisi could thus stay there no longer, as it would have been too suspicious. Elder Feng waved his hand at him, and Yun Weisi left. As soon as he closed the door, they put a soundproof barrier on the room, so Yun Weisi only heard the last sentence indistinctly.

Elder Feng asked, Do you want to go against the clan master?

The people Jiang Li met during his travels called him 'Clan Master Jiang' respectfully, but in truth, he was merely the current clan master, while the true master of the clan was Immortal Luomei. As long as Luomei did not pass away or held a formal ceremony to transfer the title to Jiang Li, his rightful title was the clan master.

The clan master whom Elder Feng mentioned was most likely Luomei.

These two unfinished sentences concealed several separate pieces of information.

But he could not discuss that with Yao Wangnian. Given the latter's temperament, he would have rushed off to find Luomei immediately.

After Elder Feng's visitor had left, he had stayed in the room alone. Yun Weisi waited for him outside patiently, and by nightfall, Elder Feng finally opened the door. He did not look for Luomei, but did not stroll around aimlessly either. Instead, he moved behind the Zhen Buildings and went up along a rarely used mountain path.

Yun Weisi followed, keeping a great distance between the two of them. The further along they went, the more inaccessible the path became, but it was not a problem for either of them. Strangely, they met no disciples of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa while on the road, only a couple of arrays. Elder Feng broke through them easily, as if he was following an all too familiar path—if Yun Weisi had not known better, he would have thought that Elder Feng was one of the people of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa.

By memorizing Elder Feng's actions, Yun Weisi passed through the arrays and followed him.

“This could have been a trap.”

Jiufang Changming said after listening to this part of Yun Weisi's recount.

“I knew, but I had no other choice.”

If he went, he could learn Jiang Li's whereabouts. On the other hand, if he did not go, they would have no starting point and would have had to wait for a long time for another chance. Knowing Luomei, the more they hesitated, the more danger Jiang Li was in.

So, when Yun Weisi reached the gates of a mountain monastery, withwisteria twining around them, he chose to proceed further.

Yun Weisi had to break through all kinds of restrictions, formations and traps to finally see Jiang Li. His hair was disheveled, and he was shackled with iron chains under water and could not move. It was unknown whether he was even alive at this point.

At this moment, someone quietly approached them.

“Daoyou, you knew that this was a trap, yet you still came. It seems that you are persistent and loyal to your friends. This venerable one did not expect him to find such a dedicated friend during his short trip, and this venerable one is eminently satisfied indeed.”

That was the same voice as the one that he had heard in Hongluo, but this time, the man's head was not covered with a hood. He was wearing long robes, had his hair tied up high on his head, and looked awe-inspiring and enlightened. Had it not been for Yun Weisi's past and current life and everything he had been through with this man, he would have never seen past his mask.

“Luomei. Long time no see.”

Yun Weisi was not as frustrated as Luomei expected him to be. On the contrary, he was looking Luomei up and down with a pensive expression.

From the tone of Yun Weisi's speech, Luomei could guess that Yun Weisi knew him quite well. However, there was no chance that they had met before the commotion in Hongluo. As such, it made no sense for Yun Weisi to say that they had not seen each other for a long time.

Luomei knew nothing of his background and subconsciously did not appreciate the feeling of losing control.

“Do you know this one?” he asked.

“You could say so.”

“I've looked through the sea of Jiang Li's consciousness and I know that your name is Yun Weisi and you are a rogue cultivator, a friend of Jiufang Changming, right? Why did you come here? Which one of my old friends sent you?”

“What if I say that I came from the Sacred Mountain Wan?”

“Impossible…”

Luomei abruptly stopped talking, realizing that he had almost fallen for Yun Weisi's words.

This man cannot be left like this, Luomei thought. Although he did not know how they had learned his secret, as soon as Yun Weisi mentioned the Sacred Mountain Wan, he had already crossed the line.

“This disciple of mine was led astray by demons. His mind is currently in turmoil, and he behaves irrationally, so I was forced to lock him here in hope that the waters of the Eternal Ice would be able to quench his demonic heart.”

He was talking unhurriedly with inspiring righteousness. His words rang out with the concern of a stern teacher.

“Ever since he was little, Jiang Li has been obedient, but the elders of our sect have spoiled him, so he has been unable to tell wrong from right. This time, he cast aside his responsibilities as the sect master and descended the mountains, which, in turn, fueled discontent with the entire sect. I invested all my effort into pacifying the unrest—yet he, in addition to abdicating his duties, was enticed by demons. If the news of this matter spreads, the whole Wanjian Immortal Clan, alongside its legacy spanning centuries, will be destroyed in a moment.”

Immortal Luomei slowly raised his sleeves, and something flashed in his hands. It was the Guyue Sword, the one that Jiang Li used to carry around.

Jiang Li's sword had not only been taken away, but the sea of his consciousness was no longer under his control either. Obviously, Jiang Li's situation was not good.

But Yun Weisi knew that Luomei would not kill his disciple here, in the lands of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa, because this disciple of his was still of use to Luomei.

“Tell this venerable one where you came from and what you want, and this venerable one will consider letting you go.” Luomei stared at him. The sword in his hand was quivering, ready to attack Yun Weisi at any moment.

The overwhelming energy of Luomei's presence rushed forward, as imposing as a mountain.

Had it been a common person, they would have probably been unable to breathe and would have fallen to their knees in front of Luomei. But Yun Weisi did not move at all, and it even seemed that he had the strength to resist.

The realization that Yun Weisi's cultivation was now even stronger compared to when he was at Hongluo solidified Luomei's intention to kill him. Without a moment of hesitation or any inclination to ask Yun Weisi of his companion's whereabouts, Luomei turned the Guyue Sword into thousands of blades. A bright light lit up the entire cave, and it was now as bright as if it were day, almost blindingly so.

For a moment, even Yun Weisi was forced to close his eyes.

And in this very moment, the net created by the sword qi reached Yun Weisi!

Even though Changming had not been there to witness the scene, from Yun Weisi's brief description, he could imagine how dangerous it was. It was not an exaggeration to call this a mortal danger.

“Then you fought?”

“Yes.”

“You shouldn't have gone there.”

“At least I gave Luomei an impression that we are at the end of our rope and are desperate enough to make a reckless move. He will definitely lower his guard. This also allowed me to learn something else, even though the news is not pleasing—Luomei's real strength: he might be stronger than us in the future.”

It was not simply 'not pleasing', but outright terrible.

Changming felt a chill, and even his expression wavered.

“Are you sure?”

Yun Weisi hummed and said: “When I fought with him, I felt like his cultivation was at its peak. Hardly anyone in this world is his opponent. However, this kind of strength feels like a fully drawn bow that can rebound against its source in a moment of carelessness, which will probably prevent him from ascending and force him to occupy Jiang Li's body.”

They had become stronger, but Luomei was stronger still.

Yun Weisi had originally thought that running away was an easy solution, but he did not know whether the Jiang Li whom he had found was real or otherwise, so he decided to attack and try to rescue Jiang Li, but ended up dancing to Luomei's tune. After a fierce battle, Yun Weisi learned that this Jiang Li was a fake, while he was wounded and had to retreat.

The next day marked the beginning of the Qianlin Assembly. Even though the relationship between the Zhengrong Mountain Villa and Luomei was good, they would not raise a clamor and turn the sect upside down just to find a person, thus messing up the grand occasion. So, Yun Weisi hid here and there until he met Jiufang Changming.

“When he had just arrived, a disciple of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa told us that Jiang Li started a massacre in broad daylight. That must also be a lie.”

“Yes, this must be Luomei's doing. If I'm not mistaken, he wants to first accuse Jiang Li of colluding with demons, and next give up on him for a perfectly justified reason and make him disappear.”

“And Yao Wangnian?”

“We've parted ways. He refused to act together.”

“I think that Luomei wants to use Jiang Li to lure Yao Wangnian out to eradicate all sources of trouble.”

By this point, the two disciples would have fallen under Luomei's control, while the real culprit would be praised as a man who was willing to punish even his own family for the sake of justice, which would only make everyone admire him even more.

He would flawlessly turn the facts on their heads and make everything seem the opposite of reality.

“Judging by his current powers, there is little chance you'll be able to force him to make an appearance tomorrow.”

Even before this, Jiufang Changming knew for sure that he would have to overcome all kinds of difficulties to make his way to this battle, but there was always a possibility that he would lose nevertheless.

But at least that was the last battle.

No matter how difficult it was, he could not avoid it.

“It's fine. Even if I lose, I'll just die once again.”

Hearing him say this, Yun Weisi smiled.

If Jiufang Changming died, Yun Weisi would obviously not survive alone. At least, if they worked together, they would be able to inflict serious damage on Luomei.

The most painful thing in the world was not to die together, but for one of them to suffer in the hellish Yellow Springs, while the other one would have to roam the realm of the living, separated by powers that could not be opposed. After going through this once, he never wanted to repeat it.

And now, no matter whether they died or lived, they would be together.

At this moment, they were surrounded by dangers, and both sides were ready to strike. However, the both of them stood shoulder to shoulder, together, and no other words needed to be said.

The sound of footsteps broke this rare moment of tranquility.

They heard someone knocking on the door.

Not only on their door—several rooms in the corridor were visited by disciples of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa.

Angry voices came from the doors as the guests opened their doors with gloomy expressions.

“A demon has infiltrated the sect and someone was wounded. To ensure everyone's safety, our master asked us to check all the rooms to make sure if everyone's okay. Daoyous, I hope you will excuse us, please let us check inside.”

This place was not some inn that could be searched through by government forces at any moment—it was a place where cultivators resided. If they barged into their rooms like this in the middle of the night, obviously, they would not be greeted with happy faces.

“What do you mean? You think there's a demon in our rooms, or do you suspect that one of us is?”

“And you call this the hospitality of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa?! Do you think you can pick on us because of our backgrounds and not face retaliation?”

Among the voices of the disciples, there was also Lin Wenyu's.

Some of them were more compliant and let the disciples of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa in, but some stood at the doors and refused to let them enter.

“We are very sorry, we didn't want to disturb you at midnight as well. However, you've probably heard of the massacre caused by Clan Master Jiang of the Wanjian Immortal Clan, who was enticed by demons. These demons appear out of nowhere and disappear, leaving no traces, and it's impossible to stop them. We, the Zhengrong Mountain Villa, are concerned with our guests' safety. This time, we were honored to host the assembly, but had no idea that would cause such a commotion.”

The disciples explained good-naturedly, and even those who tried to pick a quarrel with them were forced to furiously step away.

When time came for Jiufang Changming, he opened the door with neither delay nor hurry. He seemed as unhappy as the rest of the guests, but did not stop the disciples of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa, only uttering one strange sentence.

“You can search my room, but don't search my bed.”

Tn:

There is a problem with my laptop that started a couple of weeks ago, and now it was taken from me for good ;;

Sorry for the slow updates, but it really is a torture…

On a side note, I've been wondering how polls work, so here's a question:

Instead of “I” Luomei uses “本座”, commonly translated as “this venerable one”.

Chapter end