No one answered him anymore.
But Shen Gurong clung desperately to his last hope, begging the stranger to save his master.
Li Nanyang loathed filth. Seeing Shen Gurong's bloodied hands leaving several bright red finger marks on his clothes, he frowned slightly but said nothing.
He raised his hand and felt his master's neck, saying, "He's dead."
If the body were damaged, Li Nanyang might be able to repair it and bring him back to life shortly after death, but he was powerless to help this man in blue.
His primordial core was shattered, leaving no chance of revival. The plague had spread to his face, and he was just a hair's breadth away from becoming a plague demon.
Shen Gurong stared blankly into the void, his lips trembling: "Dead?"
Dead.
They're all dead.
Shen Gurong's vision went black; he couldn't bear it any longer and collapsed, caught in Li Nanyang's arms.
Xi Guxing stared wide-eyed. He had never seen his master so tolerant of anyone, especially a mortal.
Ignoring the bloodstains, Li Nanyang held Shen Gurong in his arms, glanced at the ruins of the city, and sighed silently, saying, "Let's go."
Xi Guxing hurriedly followed, chattering, "Master, how did he survive? Isn't the 'Raising Plague Ghost' formation ancient? So many ancient books record it, yet I've never heard of anyone surviving..."
Before he could finish, Li Nanyang gave him a cold look.
Xi Guxing immediately fell silent.
The two left the still-raging Huitang City and arrived at the spirit boat a hundred miles away.
A young man in red sat at the top of the spirit boat, holding a willow leaf and playing a tuneless melody as if trying to summon souls.
Seeing Li Nanyang and Xi Guxing approach, he smiled brightly and leaped from the top. His red robes fluttered, revealing a handsome young man with a cheerful smile: "Master."
Li Nanyang nodded, silently carrying Shen Gurong onto the spirit boat. Xi Guxing strolled over, glancing at them casually, and asked suspiciously, "Senior Brother, why is your robe wet?"
Li Genglan paused for a moment before smiling, "I just saw a water ghost."
Xi Guxing: "Are you joking? The area around Huitang City is a desert for miles around; where would a water ghost come from?"
Li Genglan simply laughed.
Xi Guxing assumed he was joking; after all, Li Genglan's witty banter and nonsense were nothing new, so he didn't take it seriously.
Li Genglan and Xi Guxing boarded the spirit boat and activated the magic array to return to Liren Peak.
Shen Gurong slept for a whole day. When he awoke, he found himself in a completely new world.
No, it couldn't be called completely new, because the things in this world, the master had told him about through the words of the Chronicles of Strange Things.
Cultivators, demons, yuandan cultivators, spirit boats—an endless world.
Upon waking, before Shen Gurong could even figure out his surroundings, he discovered that the bamboo flute he had been clutching was gone.
He frantically searched his surroundings, but even after searching everywhere he could think of, he still couldn't find the bamboo flute.
The Record of the Capital was lost.
Shen Gurong, his face streaked with tears, slumped to the ground, his fingers trembling.
The master said… he would come back to find the Record of the Capital after reincarnation, but only a few days later, the Record of the Capital was lost in his hands.
Just then, someone laughed and said, “What are you looking for?”
Shen Gurong was terrified.
He had just lost his sight and hadn’t yet adjusted to the blurriness before him. He immediately screamed and desperately hid in a corner.
Then, Xi Guxing rushed in angrily: “Senior Brother, he just woke up, don’t scare him.”
Li Genglan innocently said, “I didn’t do anything.”
Xi Guxing glared at him before turning to Shen Gurong, who was practically hiding under the table, and said, “Don’t be afraid, this is Liren Peak, you’re safe now.”
Shen Gurong trembled, his lips moving slightly, but even Xi Guxing and Li Genglan, being cultivators, couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Li Genglan strode over, grabbed Shen Gurong's hand, and pulled him out from under the table. "What did you say? Speak louder."
Shen Gurong shuddered at the sudden touch, almost screaming.
Xi Guxing was anxious. "Senior brother, don't..."
"What are you afraid of?" Li Genglan raised an eyebrow. "Everyone who returned to Tang City is dead. He's the only one left alive. That's a blessing from heaven. Even if it's a reward from heaven, you should accept it properly. Be happy to be alive. Why put on this heartbroken look? So pretentious."
Xi Guxing was exasperated. "He's still a child."
Li Genglan chuckled, casually tossing Shen Gurong to Xi Guxing, who caught him in a flustered manner.
Xi Guxing had disappeared somewhere, carrying a faint scent of sandalwood. Shen Gurong bumped into him and was about to struggle when he smelled the sandalwood scent, seemingly emanating from his teacher. He froze, stopping his struggle.
Li Genglan said, "Go and comfort the child, I'm going to find Bugui to play."
He said, and strolled away.
Xi Guxing was at his wits' end. Feeling Shen Gurong trembling in his arms, he felt a pang of pity. He stiffly patted Shen Gurong's back and stammered, "Are you alright?"
Shen Gurong clutched his clothes tightly and whispered, "Flute..."
His voice was too soft for Xi Guxing to hear clearly: "What?"
Shen Gurong mustered his courage, looked up blankly, and said with a sob in his voice, "My flute... is gone, have you seen it?"
A sixteen-year-old boy is at the prime of his life. Everyone in Huitang City had watched Shen Gurong grow up, and few people would care about praising his appearance.
But to the stranger Xi Guxing, the boy before him, though a man, seemed to possess a face that could captivate the soul. Even with reddened eyes and tear-streaked face, he still evoked an irresistible urge to protect him.
Xi Guxing paused for a moment, then awkwardly turned his head, his ears turning red, and said, "I didn't notice, Master brought you back."
Shen Gurong quickly pressed, "Then where is Master?"
Xi Guxing: "..."
Xi Guxing looked at him strangely: "Master isn't someone you can just call anyone."
Shen Gurong looked completely bewildered; his mind was filled with Record of the Capital, and he had no idea what he had said wrong.
Seeing him barefoot on the cold ground, Xi Guxing frowned, stiffly helped Shen Gurong to the couch, coughed, and said, "You wait here, I'll go ask Master."
Shen Gurong nodded hurriedly, grabbed his sleeve, and stammered, "Thank you... thank you."
Xi Guxing ran out, his face flushed.
A moment later, Xi Guxing returned and said, "Master said the bamboo flute is in your hand." Shen Gurong froze. He raised his hand for Xi Guxing to see, opened his palm, and scratched his fingers, dazed. "Huh? But I can't see it. You…you help me see if I have the bamboo flute."
Xi Guxing: "…"
This boy is handsome, but his mind doesn't seem to work very well.
But he's clearly suffered a huge shock. If it were a massacre, anyone else would have collapsed long ago, but the boy seems to still retain a sliver of consciousness, struggling to stay awake.
"Sigh," Xi Guxing said casually, "It's alright, it's just a bamboo flute. Losing it is losing it. I'll make you another one."
As soon as Xi Guxing finished speaking, two lines of tears instantly streamed down Shen Gurong's face.
Xi Guxing: "!!!"
Xi Guxing was so frightened he almost jumped up, stammering, "You...you don't cry, don't cry, I...what did I say wrong?"
Shen Gurong quietly shed tears, his face as pale as paper.
Xi Guxing tried to comfort him for a long time to no avail, and could only stand there awkwardly.
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Gurong's long eyelashes trembled, and he stammered, "Thank you."
He was always thanking him. Xi Guxing was stunned for a moment, realizing he hadn't been helpful, and awkwardly said, "It's nothing, you..."
Shen Gurong lightly interrupted him: "Could you please kill me?"
Xi Guxing was stunned: "What?"
He had never seen anyone say "kill me" so casually. For a moment, Xi Guxing even wondered if he had misheard.
Shen Gurong's voice was soft and sweet, with lingering sobs, sounding like he was pleading.
“Kill me,” Shen Gurong whispered. “Thank you.” Without Record of the Capital, he didn’t know how to face his teacher.
Without Record of the Capital, his teacher… wouldn’t come looking for him anymore.
Xi Guxing’s face turned pale.
Just then, Li Genglan strode in, grinning, and shoved a bamboo flute into Shen Gurong’s hand, saying, “Here, is this yours?”
Shen Gurong froze, then immediately grasped at the bamboo flute as if it were a lifeline, stroking it inch by inch.
He didn’t remember what the bamboo flute looked like, but it wasn’t too different.
Shen Gurong began to weep quietly again, but this time, he didn’t contemplate suicide. It was as if his earlier, coquettish plea for death was just a momentary lapse of reason.
As long as he had a sliver of hope, even if that hope was a hundred or a thousand years in the future, he could force himself to hold on and live.
Xi Guxing glared at Li Genglan and transmitted his voice, "What are you doing with someone else's bamboo flute?"
Li Genglan smiled but didn't speak. The real Record of the Capital, hidden in his sleeve, gleamed faintly, but he forcibly suppressed it with his cultivation.
Xi Guxing ignored him. Once Shen Gurong had calmed down, he softly asked, "What's your name?"
Shen Gurong was stunned for a long time before murmuring, "Feng Xue."
Xi Guxing: "Hmm?"
Shen Gurong raised his head, his eyes unfocused, staring blankly into the void, and whispered, "Shen Feng Xue."
From then on, Li Nanyang took him as his disciple, but did not teach him anything. After all, everyone knew that it was extremely difficult for a mortal to enter the Dao; it wasn't something that could be solved by shedding one or two layers of skin.
Shen Gurong had delicate skin and was clearly raised in a pampered environment; how could he possibly endure such inhuman pain?
Shen Gurong didn't mention it, and Nan Yangjun didn't force him.
Whether at Li Nanyang's behest or not, everyone on Liren Peak treated Shen Gurong very well. Lin Shuhe had researched for several years and specially made him a piece of ice silk to aid his vision. Even the proud and arrogant Chao Jiuxiao often came from the Wind and Rain Pool to see him.
Because Li Genglan had retrieved his bamboo flute, Shen Gurong treated Li Genglan very specially, showing no repulsion whatsoever. After regaining his sight, he followed Li Genglan around all day.
Li Genglan seemed to find it very amusing, taking him everywhere and promising to help him find the mastermind behind the "plague-raising demons."
Because of this, Shen Gurong became even more dependent on him.
On the day of Shen Gurong's coming-of-age ceremony, Nan Yangjun, who had been in seclusion for a long time, finally emerged and gave Shen Gurong a sealed sword—Lin Xia Chun.
Shen Gurong didn't like swords, but since it was a gift from his master, he had no choice but to pretend to be happy and accept it.
During the four years at Liren Peak, Shen Gurong's personality hadn't changed much; he just often found himself lost in thought, holding a bamboo flute.
Nan Yangjun knew from seeing him that the child hadn't recovered from the night of the massacre, but seeing that he always disguised himself with a flamboyant facade, he didn't expose him.
After his coming-of-age ceremony, Shen Gurong returned to Fanjiang Residence with the sword.
That was the mustard seed hut that Nan Yangjun found in Huitang City. Knowing it was the relic of the one who protected Shen Gurong, he forcibly tore the mustard seed apart, connecting it to the present world, and placed it on Jiuchun Mountain.
When Shen Gurong was alone, he was always expressionless, without the slightest emotional fluctuation, as if he had removed the mask of his youthful spirit, making him appear lifeless.
He placed Lin Xia Chun in a box with a wooden face, feeling that he would probably never need this sword in his life.
He would live to old age at Liren Peak, perhaps in his old age he would ask Nan Yangjun for a longevity elixir, allowing him to live until his master's reincarnation, until his master came to find him, or perhaps he himself would find his master.
As long as he could hand over the Record of the Capital intact to his master, he could die without regrets.
As for the plague demon that massacred the city, the mastermind behind it must have extraordinary abilities, possibly reaching a level of cultivation that Shen Gurong could not attain in several lifetimes. Shen Gurong did not want to humiliate himself, so he simply gave up on revenge.
The master once said that hatred is an endless cycle.
His life was so short; he didn't want to waste it on something impossible.
He lived only to deliver the Record of the Capital to the master.
Shen Gurong closed the box and was about to turn and get into bed when he heard a soft chuckle beside his ear.
"Eleventh."
Shen Gurong turned around, a smile suddenly appearing on his expressionless face: "Senior Brother."
Li Genglan, dressed in red, sat smiling on the window sill, propping his chin up with his hand.
"Master is so good to you," Li Genglan said with a smile. "He's never been this good to me."
Shen Gurong paused, thinking Li Genglan was envious of Lin Xia Chun, and asked hesitantly, "Senior Brother wants that sword?"
Li Genglan smiled and said, "No, what I seek is not what he gives me."
He sat on the window sill, lazily swinging his legs, the moonlight casting shadows on half his face.
"When my master found me decades ago, it was in the wasteland of Youzhou. I was nearly burned to death by a fire spirit beast."
For some reason, Li Genglan suddenly brought this up, his tone rising as if reciting a storybook, his attitude relaxed and leisurely.
"Back then, my master descended like a god, rescuing me from the jaws of the ferocious beast."
Shen Gurong thought for a moment and said, "Yes, master was very good."
But Li Genglan clearly wasn't saying this to hear Shen Gurong praise Nan Yangjun. He curled his lips, but the smile in his eyes grew increasingly cold.
"I was born a demonic cultivator. Becoming Nan Yangjun's first disciple, I should have enjoyed boundless glory..." He twirled a lock of hair that fell over his shoulder, speaking softly, "But because of my demonic nature, my master decreed that I could never ascend to sainthood."
Shen Gurong paused, then stammered, "Senior brother, I... I didn't know anything about cultivators."
"You should know," Li Genglan said, still smiling at him. "It's common knowledge throughout the Three Realms that only those who cultivate the Dao can be recognized by the Heavenly Dao and ascend to sainthood. Being born a demonic cultivator, I was destined to only reach the Great Ascension stage in this lifetime."
Shen Gurong didn't know why, but suddenly felt that his usually gentle senior brother had become somewhat dangerous.
“But I’m not reconciled.”
Li Genglan said, “I’m not reconciled to being condemned by Master to be an inability to ascend as a demonic cultivator before I’ve even tried.”
He stared intently at Shen Gurong, a strange smile playing on his lips. “I will not only ascend as a demonic cultivator, but I will also show him that even a filthy plague demon can ascend to sainthood.”
Shen Gurong was stunned, vaguely realizing something, but unable to believe it for a moment.
After Li Genglan finished speaking, the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He looked at Shen Gurong coldly and said, “Do you know how disgusted I’ve felt all these years with someone like you?”
Shen Gurong stared blankly at him: “Senior…Brother?”
Li Genglan was backlit by the moonlight, his face hidden in darkness. He said coldly, “Cowardly, weak, foolish mortal, what right do you have to gain the approval of the Record of the Capital, and what right do you have to receive Master’s love?”
Shen Gurong took a half step back, staring at him in utter astonishment.
"You..." Li Genglan emanated a malice Shen Gurong had never seen before. He stared at Shen Gurong with a ferocious glint in his eyes, like a vengeful ghost, as if he wanted to tear him to shreds.
"The entire city was slaughtered by those thirteen plague demons, so why are you the only one left?"
Li Genglan leaped from the window, approaching Shen Gurong step by step, his voice carrying the seductive and sinister tone of a demonic cultivator: "Why did you survive? Why couldn't you become a plague demon and ascend to sainthood, so that the so-called righteous cultivators of the Three Realms could see that even a plague demon, hated by everyone, could be easily trampled underfoot?"
Shen Gurong was forced against the wall, with nowhere to retreat. He looked at Li Genglan in terror: "Those thirteen plague demons, were they you..."
"It was me." Li Genglan had tested Shen Gurong for four years, finally confirming that he was indeed a mortal, not some plague demon who had ascended to sainthood and was now a human in disguise.
Everything he had four years ago was destroyed.
He was furious and resentful. Why, after expending so much energy and successfully creating the "Plague Demon" formation, had he failed to raise the plague demon, leaving only a useless piece of trash?
Li Genglan was a master of disguise, even fooling Li Nanyang. Now, he no longer wanted to play the brotherly role with Shen Gurong. He would cruelly reveal the truth to him on Shen Gurong's coming-of-age day.
Li Genglan stared intently at Shen Gurong, his eyes filled with bloodthirsty excitement.
He eagerly anticipated seeing this small, fragile human weep and despair before him. That would make his four years of playing the perfect senior brother role worthwhile.
Shen Gurong was indeed on the verge of tears. Li Genglan moved even closer, his words filled with cruelty.
"If you live, then the people of that city..."
"Wouldn't they have died in vain?" Shen Gurong trembled, his eyelashes fluttering, almost letting a tear fall.
For some reason, looking at Shen Gurong's face, the disgust Li Genglan had felt over the past four years suddenly vanished. An indescribable desire welled up within him, spreading like vines through his heart.
This face, this physical form…
How had he never noticed before how alluring this mortal's figure was?
He raised his hand and grabbed Shen Gurong's chin, forcing him to look at him.
"If only you were a cultivator. A mortal body is too fragile." Li Genglan's breathing quickened, his demonic eyes blazing with intense desire. "If you were a cultivator, I would risk half my life to abduct you and use you as a furnace. What a waste of such a beautiful body."
Shen Gurong asked blankly, "Are you lying to me?"
Li Genglan, seeing his tearful expression, breathed heavily. A smile played on his lips as he stroked Shen Gurong's face, saying calmly, "Can't you see? Tsk, what a waste of four years. If I had known you were so alluring, I should have ignored my master's warnings and taken you to my bed..."
Before he could finish, the sound of a sharp blade piercing through flesh rang in their ears.
Li Genglan looked down and saw Shen Gurong holding the Lin Xia Chun sword, which had appeared out of nowhere. The sword's aura was completely concealed; even Li Genglan, with his Golden Core cultivation, hadn't noticed it.
Half of the sword was embedded in his abdomen, blood instantly staining both their clothes.
The vulnerability on Shen Gurong's face vanished completely. He said expressionlessly, "I should have killed you long ago."
The tragic deaths of his family and his teacher's suicide before his eyes—Shen Gurong, having experienced such things, was no longer the boy who could easily crumble at the slightest betrayal. He genuinely relied on Li Genglan, but that reliance was something he could easily discard.
On the night of the Lantern Festival in Tangcheng, he had completely learned how to perfectly control his emotions and his body.
Li Genglan was nothing to him; he could afford to lose him.
Li Genglan, stabbed, felt no pain; instead, his excitement intensified. He gripped Shen Gurong's chin tightly, forcing him to look at him, laughing maniacally, saying, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have thought you were cowardly and foolish. How could someone who witnessed the massacre of an entire city be a pure and innocent little white rabbit? I misjudged you."
He completely ignored the wound on his abdomen, pressing Shen Gurong against the wall, forcibly prying his wrist from Lin Xia Chun's grasp, pulling it high above his head, and tightly binding it to the wall with vines.
“But you’re still too soft-hearted. If you want to kill, you should stab him in the chest with a sword, Little Eleven.”
Shen Gurong kicked him expressionlessly. “If I don’t kill me today, I will tear you to pieces in the future.”
“I won’t kill you.” Li Genglan hastily stopped the bleeding from his abdomen, casually tossed Lin Xia Chun aside, stroked Shen Gurong’s face, and smiled. “If you can survive tonight under me, I’ll willingly let you kill me.”
Shen Gurong vaguely understood his meaning, and felt so disgusted he almost vomited.
However, after so many years on Liren Peak, he had only managed to recover his depleted body; he had no cultivation whatsoever. How could he possibly defeat Li Genglan, who was already a Golden Core cultivator?
If Li Genglan wanted to kill him, he could vanish into dust with a flick of his finger, leaving not a trace.
In an instant, Shen Gurong suddenly felt an uncontrollable urge to enter the Dao.
If he could attain enlightenment, he could personally avenge his enemies, instead of being humiliated and trapped against the wall, unable even to struggle.
Li Genglan pinched his chin and said calmly, "Cry, cry for me, and I'll be gentler with you."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong kicked Li Genglan in his injured abdomen, but the kick was immediately met with Li Genglan's grasp on his slender ankle.
Shen Gurong instinctively struggled for a moment, but quickly quieted down.
Li Genglan thought he had given in and was about to attack when he felt a chill on his back. Lin Xia Chun stabbed him from behind.
This time, it pierced his heart.
Li Genglan's body stiffened. Due to the dissipation of his spiritual energy, the vines on Shen Gurong's hands withered instantly. He collapsed to the ground, slowly rising while leaning against the wall.
Li Genglan's eyes hardened: "You have no spiritual power, so how did you control Lin Xia Chun?"
Shen Gurong stared coldly at him, gently raising his hand. Despite having no spiritual power whatsoever, Lin Xia Chun, still bearing bloodstains, flew into his hand.
"Master may not have told you," Shen Gurong knew that Li Genglan cared most about Li Nanyang's evaluation; otherwise, he wouldn't have committed such a heinous massacre based solely on a single sentence from his master. Therefore, every word was a stab to Li Genglan's heart.
"The reason Lin Xia Chun is the most ferocious sword in the Three Realms is that once it recognizes a master, even a mortal can control it."
Li Genglan scoffed: "You think you can make it recognize a master?"
Shen Gurong held Lin Xia Chun, indifferently saying: "As you can see."
Li Genglan, having lost too much blood, swayed precariously.
“Thanks to you, Senior Brother.” Shen Gurong walked over, sword in hand, and pressed the tip against Li Genglan’s neck. “Lin Xia Chun recognized the killing intent, but my killing intent towards you is enough to suppress Lin Xia Chun.”
The seal on the murderous sword Lin Xia Chun was completely broken, and Shen Gurong controlled it, using the terrifying killing intent within the sword to suppress Li Genglan, who was temporarily unable to even move his spiritual power.
Li Genglan, defeated in this way, became even more crazed. He laughed, as if in defiance: “Do you dare kill me? If you kill me, Master will surely expel you from Liren Peak. Can you, a mere mortal, survive in this Three Realms full of tigers and wolves?”
Shen Gurong remained unmoved: “That’s none of your concern.”
He slowly traced the tip of his sword across Li Genglan’s neck, mimicking Li Genglan’s earlier words, and said indifferently: “Cry, cry for me, and I’ll be gentler with you.”
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