Ch41 - Pursuit

Qiu Chongyun soon disappeared from sight amidst the blue-tinted skies of the moon. All of shadow guards withdrew, many of them revealing awe towards Mu He despite their training. This person looks so much like the prince and possesses unique and superior skills. Could he be the legendary missing…

Xie Zhiwei gaped blankly at the mass of black clouds in mid-air as his heart half-chilled. Hero you loser, do you know how hard it is to pick up girls?! All you do is kill kill kill. After you slaughter them all, you’ll cry as a loner for the rest of your life!

If the plot-progressing Aunt Yun went offline, who was supposed to help the hero unify the Demonic Sect? Who would help the hero find Red Lotus? Who would papapa with the hero, ah! My heart is tired. What would be worth reading in this crappy plotline then?

Things were happening faster than the narrative could keep up. Abruptly, a crow gray figure circled past Mu He and sprinted towards the death qi-infused cloud of Black Lotus.

“Shizun!” Mu He’s eyes widened in shock at Xie Zhiwei’s unbelievable move.

Why is shizun going to save that Demonic Clan woman?! Although his master didn’t vie with the world, he was clear about good and evil. He found Ashen Cloud Sword Sect’s Ming Kong to be disgraceful, so why would he condone this woman again and again?

Has shizun truly been bewitched?

After all that effort, he finally found someone who sincerely treated him well. But there were constantly women trying to steal him away. First was the long-haired girl they met on the bridge, now came this one. It was hateful to have such inexhaustible flies all over the place!

The truth is, there’s not a single decent woman in this world besides my mother!

Xie Zhiwei wielded Qingping Sword to charge towards Qiu Chongyun, black clouds skimming past his sleeves like ten-thousand year ice to chill him to the bone. Thankfully, the hero was only at a third of his peak strength so Xie Zhiwei wasn’t frozen into an ice cube. When he got Red Lotus in the future, the dual powers of fire and ice would be nothing but pure awesome.

He could sense a pair of eyes fuming at him, but had no choice beyond bracing himself to keep going. If the hero knew he was saving his aunt and future wife, not claiming the woman for his own, he should forgive him…right?

Without time to focus his divine sense, Xie Zhiwei could only grope blindly in the black mists until he found something and dragged it out. The clouds were like a black hole, easy to enter but hard to exit. Xie Zhiwei swung wildly with Qingping Sword until he cut through the mass like cotton, sending wadding flying errantly into the air.

Your mother, hero, can we stop fooling around? Qiu Chongyun is so delicate, but you still have the nerve to attack her!

Mu He stood like a statue but finally moved his fingers. Although the cloud clouds wouldn’t hurt shizun, he still didn’t want him to use the Qingping Sword for the sake of an unrelated demoness. Immediately the solid mass parted like cotton candy and broke apart before Xie Zhiwei’s blade. Qiu Chongyun was revealed and coughed up a mouthful of blood before opening her eyes to see Xie Zhiwei holding her up with spiritual power. Her eyes rippled with laughter as she spoke.

“Daoist, see what nujia said? You don’t want to lose nujia.”

Xie Zhiwei was expressionless. Sister, you’re throwing up blood. Save it, I’m only reluctant for the hero’s sake. He intentionally moved Qiu Chongyun further away but it didn’t seem to work; the two of them were still very close. Mu He’s expression worsened as he grit his teeth in thought. Suddenly, he kicked against the ground and flew towards Xie Zhiwei.

Xie Zhiwei was debating whether to lock Qiu Chongyun up or just let her go with dignity when she fluttered her eyelashes and stretched out her painted fingernails, tapping lightly at the ground. “Daoist, your little disciple is so powerful.”

Xie Zhiwei looked over and instantly blanched. The hero had just entered the daoist sect and was too young to qualify for a sword of his own. Even his cultivation base wasn’t solid enough yet, but now he’d leapt empty-handed into the skies…is he playing bungee jumping?

Or does he want to take Qiu Chongyun out of my arms?

Mu He was quite persistent. He stopped about three zhang away before falling back down with a mournful shout of, “Shizun…”

Xie Zhiwei could hardly care about Qiu Chongyun now. He released the spiritual power holding her and dove down to catch him. Mu He’s helpless expression looked especially aggrieved.

Xie Zhiwei assumed he’d finally realized his feelings for Qiu Chongyun and secretly spat on him for failing his rescue, but still caught him happily and said in a warm voice, “Be careful.”

Mu He nodded docilely as all of his rage was wiped away. He looked towards Qiu Chongyun as his lips curled up in an imperceptible smugness.

Nobody should think of claiming shizun while I’m around.

Qiu Chongyun had to grab some branches to prevent herself from crashing down. She pouted and scolded, “Daoist, your heart is so cruel. Nujia will slowly calculate our debts the next time we meet.”

As she spoke, she leaped into the air just as a fiery red bird flew out from the peaks. She landed on its shoulder. The fowl had a pair of golden eyes and flew like a shooting star streaking through the sky.

This was the flame phoenix of the Demonic Sect owned by Qiu Chongyun.

It seemed she came prepared today. Xie Zhiwei didn’t land but directly used Qingping Sword in flight mode to give chase while securing Mu He’s wrists in his hands. The strand of willow wound around Mu He’s wrist sensed the familiar spiritual power and allowed it to glide over itself like a layer of water.

Xie Zhiwei’s actions were a bit like holding a girl hostage against her will, but he was too fixated on Qiu Chongyun to notice. Mu He was left at a loss as he felt Xie Zhiwei’s body temperature encasing him on all sides. It was as if his entire body was starting to heat up. He quickly realized though, that Xie Zhiwei was doing this to prevent him from making a move against Qiu Chongyun.

As Xie Zhiwei continued his pursuit, he also told Mu He with great enthusiasm, “Disciple, did you give it your all to save that maiden just then?”

Mu He could hear Xie Zhiwei’s obvious gratification. If this was the past, he’d accommodate his master’s smile even against his will, but now it was intolerable. He looked up and said, “No, shizun. I was trying to eliminate her.”

“….” said Xie Zhwei. Hero, can’t you blacken normally? And then flirt normally with your flowers?!

I didn’t do anything deliberate to cultivate his three views, but why is he going down the route of a good righteous child.

Mu He saw his silence and promptly “understood.” Anxiously he asked, “Why is shizun still chasing her and not giving up? Do you like her?”

Aish, for real? The hero really misunderstood. Can you stop sounding so nervous? Master knows I’m very attractive, but I wouldn’t dare to steal a single one of your women.

Xie Zhiwei aptly revealed some shock before righteously proclaiming, “How could that be possible? Master is chasing her now because I have some questions—questions related to you.”

Mu He felt slightly relieved but grew doubtful. “To this disciple?” He looked towards the flame phoenix. “If that’s the case, disciple can help shizun stop her.”

The flame phoenix was a spirit beast of the air and extremely fast. If they dragged this on, it’d take until daylight to catch up to Qiu Chongyun.

Xie Zhiwei was on edge after witnessing girls go offline one after the other. He trembled and said, “Make sure you don’t hurt her.”

Mu He narrowed his eyes in Qiu Chongyun’s direction. “Don’t worry, shizun.” If this woman really had any secrets about him, then he’d drop it. Otherwise…

Xie Zhiwei’s soft voice suddenly spoke. “Remember, master won’t be biased just because someone’s related to the Demonic Sect. Master only looks at their innate character.”

Your innate character is the hero so I treat you well, no problem there.

Mu He once again understood it differently as his eyes flashed with ice. If shizun has no interest in that Demonic Sect woman, why take the pains to explain all this?

Dozens of white streams of light shot out like arrows past the flame phoenix to condense into a high wall blocking the mountain range. Because the bird was flying quickly, it crashed straight into the barrier. Luckily, the wall was like a soft net that simply caught the duo before wrapping them up. Qiu Chongyun was kneaded into its layers like a dumpling. After falling into the waist-high grass, she cast a smile at the two figures before her. “You two are really persistent. Looks like nujia can’t escape this time. So…who will be fist?”

As she spoke, she sat up with difficulty and began to untie her robes. Soon enough, a white and tender neck was revealed. Xie Zhiwei could only gape. Sister, can you stop courting death?! At least let me catch a breath first!

Xie Zhiwei rushed to speak before Mu He’s mood shifted by waving his sleeves to seal Qiu Chongyun’s acupoints. Then he asked severely, “I expect this maiden is here to report the whereabouts of Black Lotus to Chi Yan this time?”

Mu He gave a start. “Shizun means to say…”

Xie Zhiwei sighed. “When you made your move, she fulfilled her mission.”

The original novel had Qiu Chongyun approach Mu He for the sake of Black and White Lotus. The Demonic Sect had been searching for the long-lost Black Lotus for a long time. But Ashen Cloud Sword Sect guarded themselves tightly and neither side had gained an advantage after multiple scuffles. Later, Nie Ting died and a new demon lord took the throne to resume the seach for clues. But by the time he rushed to Ashen Cloud Mountain, he only found an empty husk of a sect. They were forced to search every person who had ever gone to Ashen Cloud Mountain, making the mission akin to finding a needle in the sea.

Perhaps even Qiu Chongyun hadn’t expected to track down the whereabouts of Black Lotus so soon. Nor could she have predicted falling to the hands of a little disciple who wasn’t good at anything beyond his looks.

Mu He immediately understood. So shizun didn’t want me to act because of that? “If she came for Black Lotus, does this mean in the future…even more people, for the sake of Black Lotus…”

“Now we need to include White Lotus as well,” Xie Zhiwei said leisurely.

Mu He was ashamed. So shizun was trying to protect me this whole time for fear of Black and White Lotus attracting disaster. But I misunderstood shizun and even questioned his motives.

Although Qiu Chongyun couldn’t speak with her acupoints sealed, her lips quirked up after being exposed of her secrets.

Mu He stepped forward. “If that’s the case, we can’t leave her alive.”

“Hold it.”

Mu He’s sense of insecurity flared up again. He couldn’t help raising his voice, “Why, ah, shizun?!”

Xie Zhiwei coughed once. “Because she’s your aunt.”

—

The author has something to say: Every one of Teacher Xie’s complaints is a shining flag.

Translator’s Note: Help autocorrect keeps changing nujia to ninja which, you know what Qiu Chongyun is wearing black and spying in stealth mode here, so I guess it fits…