“Er Sheng… Er Sheng?”
The familiar gentle call gradually became clear in her ears. She slowly opened her eyes to see Long Yuan’s face very close to her own.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Long Yuan wiped the sweat from her temple. “Why are you so frightened, breaking out in a cold sweat?”
In her daze, Er Sheng felt as if she had awakened from a dream spanning lifetimes. She stared at Long Yuan for a moment before suddenly asking, “Long Yuan, would you ever raise your hand against me in the future? Would you ever harm Master and Senior Sister?”
Long Yuan froze for a moment before shaking his head. “Never.” His response was decisive as if such a thing had never even crossed his mind.
“What if…” Er Sheng looked at her own hands. These ten fingers had been stained with the blood of hundreds just days ago. She could never forget that feeling of being unable to control her killing intent—screaming inside her mind to stop while simultaneously seeking more bloodshed, licking blood from her lips. At that moment, she had felt a twisted joy in tearing apart others’ bodies. It was precisely because of this that she felt even more tormented after regaining consciousness.
If things continued this way, sooner or later, she would become an enemy of the world, committing unforgivable acts until everyone sought her death.
“What if one day we stand on opposite sides? Would you still not raise your hand against me?”
Long Yuan ruffled her forehead hair. “I will always stand by your side.”
Er Sheng lowered her head, allowing Long Yuan to mess up her hair. She thought to herself that Long Yuan had always been clumsy with words, never saying anything particularly pleasing to the ear, but precisely because everything he said was true, such promises became all the more precious.
The atmosphere between these two left the other two people feeling somewhat awkward. Ji Ling turned to look at the ceiling, while Chen Zui stared unabashedly at Ji Ling for a moment before clearing his throat. “Little Ears, you’ve had your comfortable sleep while exhausting your master with climbing up and down looking for books. You ought to thank your master with some good wine later.”
“Oh right!” Er Sheng suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly looked at her chest, but the “Flow Wave Chronicles” was nowhere to be seen. Er Sheng jumped up in alarm, searching around her feet: “Where’s the book?”
“What book?” Long Yuan asked, confused.
“The ‘Flow Wave Chronicles’—it should have been in my arms! I fell asleep holding it.”
Long Yuan said, “I didn’t see any book in your hands earlier.”
“But… but it was there!” Er Sheng believed the book must truly have a spirit, not only taking her back through the Flow Wave’s past in her dreams but also disappearing on its own after she awoke. If she could find that book again and let it take her back to Long An’s last descent into demonic cultivation, or even earlier, she might be able to see how Long An escaped from the demonic path.
Seeing Er Sheng growing increasingly anxious, Long Yuan began to take the matter seriously. He stood up and searched around his feet in circles before pondering, “It seems the book has become a spiritual object, able to hide itself in such a short time.”
“We must find it,” Er Sheng said with blazing eyes. “The method to break demonic cultivation must be within that book!”
Ji Ling asked curiously, “How can you be so sure?”
Er Sheng scratched her head, unsure how to explain what she had seen in her dream. She could only say simply, “Just now… while I was sleeping, I dreamed of Flow Wave, Long An, and many, many stories. They were terrifyingly clear and real.”
Seeing Er Sheng’s expression turn somewhat melancholic, everyone fell silent. Legend had it that Long An had personally lit a karmic fire that burned down Flow Wave Immortal Mountain—his sect. He had completely erased the ancient immortal sect that had existed for nearly a thousand years from history.
The story from those years must have been far from lighthearted.
“Alright then,” Chen Zui waved his hand. “Now that we have a goal, we just need to find that ‘Flow Wave Chronicles.’ I reckon we won’t find anything right now. Little Ears, you’ve rushed back here through wind and dust without proper rest. Let your master help with the search here—you should all go back and rest.”
Er Sheng opened her mouth to object, but Long Yuan said, “You must rest.” Er Sheng pouted and sighed in agreement.
That night, under the bright moon, although Er Sheng was extremely tired from the past few days, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter how she tossed and turned in bed. After a long while, she finally grabbed her pillow and went out. She had intended to find Long Yuan, but thinking that he must also be exhausted from these past days, she changed direction and knocked on Ji Ling’s door instead.
Ji Ling had just finished meditation and was preparing to sleep. Er Sheng pushed open the door and stood awkwardly in the doorway. “Senior Sister, may I sleep with you?”
Ji Ling was startled but still nodded.
After the candles were extinguished, only the cool moonlight remained outside the window. Er Sheng closed her eyes for a moment before asking softly, “Senior Sister, are you afraid of me?” Ji Ling lay with her eyes closed without answering, and Er Sheng touched her brow before continuing, “I’m even afraid of myself now. I’m always worried that I’ll unconsciously become someone else while sleeping, and when I wake up and look down, my hands will be covered in blood.”
Chen Zui was lazy by nature and didn’t like teaching disciples. Over these three years, most of Er Sheng’s training in magical arts had been guided by Ji Ling. She was a cold and serious person, usually more strict than gentle with Er Sheng, while Er Sheng loved to make excuses and mess around, rarely showing weakness in front of others. So when Er Sheng spoke like this today, Ji Ling didn’t know how to comfort her.
“I shouldn’t sleep with you after all.” Er Sheng suddenly sat up, looking very serious. “What if I accidentally kill you in the middle of the night?”
Ji Ling was startled by Er Sheng’s movement, then sighed softly and said, “Silly girl.” She pulled Er Sheng back down to lie properly. “You can’t yet kill me. If you keep thinking and saying such nonsense, I’ll kick you out.”
“Senior Sister…”
“Mm, I’m your senior sister. Have you ever seen any sister who fears her own younger sister?”
Er Sheng thought for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Ji Ling, hugging her: “Senior Sister, I’ve always forgotten to tell you, you’re actually not flat-chested, there are curves, like rolling hills. Don’t listen to what those juniors say behind your back.”
Ji Ling’s whole body stiffened, a vein throbbing on her forehead: “Who said that?”
“Those junior disciples who fought with me earlier this year. I’ve already helped you punish them severely.” Er Sheng’s voice grew softer, as if sleepiness was overtaking her. “If I ever find out who first said you were flat-chested, I definitely won’t let them off easily.” Er Sheng’s head burrowed into Ji Ling’s chest, nuzzling against it comfortably as she fell asleep.
The first person who said it… was you, you little brat!
Ji Ling’s expression darkened, and just as she was about to pull Er Sheng out of her embrace, she heard Er Sheng’s breathing becoming increasingly steady, having fallen into deep sleep in just that short time.
She must have been extremely tired these past few days.
Ji Ling coldly humphed: “Only shallow people care about chest size.” After speaking, she pinched Er Sheng’s chest. Er Sheng unconsciously let out a soft whimper.
The room fell silent for a moment before Ji Ling shut her eyes tightly: “Big-chested brainless girl.”
In the courtyard, Long Yuan bathed in moonlight. He stretched out his hand, looking at his palm, then suddenly curled his fingers, grabbing at the air.
He murmured to himself: “It must be very soft.”
Over the next half month, the four of them spent almost every day on the top floor of the library, nearly tearing the roof off, but still couldn’t find the “Flow Wave Chronicles” again. It was as if its appearance had only been to show Er Sheng that glimpse of the past, giving her hope and expectation, only to let her gradually lose hope in the search.
However, what no one expected was that at such a time, an unexpected visitor would come to Wu Fang.
An Imperial Envoy.
Er Sheng had thought she would never have to deal with such useless officials in her life, but unexpectedly, this person arrived at Wu Fang carrying a yellow imperial edict, leading a group of extraordinary individuals, arrogantly demanding her and Long Yuan.
The charges were harming pillars of the state, massacring imperial troops, and endangering national stability. They were to go to the capital to face the emperor for judgment.
The Immortal Lord had never cared for such worldly affairs and only instructed Ji Wu and several senior disciples to deal with these people who had come from the capital.
Those familiar with the Immortal Lord knew that although he appeared cold, he was extremely protective of his own. Though Er Sheng had fallen into demonic cultivation, he had promised her two more months, meaning that during these two months, she was still a Wu Fang disciple. And he would never allow his Wu Fang disciples to be bullied by others under his watch, not even by the imperial court.
This put Ji Wu and the others in a difficult position.
The Immortal Lord had almost comprehended the Dao of Heaven and was perhaps only one step away from ascension. Looking across the world, he naturally had nothing to fear, but the Wu Fang disciples were different. They were still people of the mortal world and had to follow mortal rules. Offending the imperial court would not be good for Wu Fang.
The Immortal Lord wanted to protect his people, while the imperial court wanted to take them. Ji Wu truly didn’t know how to choose, so he simply told Chen Zui—since it was his disciple who had caused trouble, naturally it should be handled by him as the master. Chen Zui scratched his head and thought for a while before telling everything to Er Sheng.
Er Sheng looked at Long Yuan and pondered for a while before saying, “I killed those people, I should atone for my mistakes. Besides, I can’t implicate Wu Fang. If everyone can’t even eat roast chicken in peace after dealing with demons in the future, they’ll blame me.”
Long Yuan just stroked her head and said, “I’ll go with you.”
Ji Ling frowned disapprovingly: “But what about the book? Half a month of the two months the Immortal Lord granted has already passed. If Er Sheng hasn’t found a way to break the demonic cultivation in the remaining time… the Immortal Lord will take action, and that will be much more troublesome than these messy people.”
Er Sheng thought for a moment and said, “Master, Senior Sister, please help me continue searching. If you find it, come find me in the capital.” Er Sheng smiled helplessly. “Now we can only take it one step at a time.”