Chapter 26 - A Clear Conscience
"I say, are you two never going to be done with this?"
Su Huanhuan sat with her legs crossed on her little deerskin rocking chair, rocking back and forth, coldly looking at the two uninvited women before her.
"Last time, when Elder Sister Gu Jing came running here with her sword without any warning, I didn't even bother to pursue the matter. How come this time you even brought our Young Master Luo along?"
"What, do you take me for your good sister, to just drop by for a visit whenever you have nothing to do?"
Today, Su Huanhuan wasn't wearing her usual bright red clothes, but a practical suit of black martial attire. Clearly, she had been busy with quite a few secret errands recently.
She, who now had some initial clues, the more she looked at Luo Hongyu's dead-person face, the angrier she became; she wished she could take a broom and sweep this female jinx out.
Unfortunately, Su Huanhuan couldn't defeat her.
Facing Su Huanhuan's sarcastic and barbed teasing, Gu Jing said nothing, but merely asked Luo Hongyu for the red jade at her waist and showed it to Su Huanhuan for a glance.
"...Heh."
Su Huanhuan's eyes flickered slightly, but her face wore a cold sneer.
"Your family's sword attendant has a problem, and you don't find a solution yourselves; what's the meaning of coming to me?"
"And you, Young Master Luo, that night you said to my face that your righteous path immortals have no reason to get close to my Demonic Gates. Rushing over to my demon's nest now, what are you planning to do?"
"Last time, pointing you in a direction was already this young lady being kind-hearted. Could it be that you thought I, like that idiot Luo He, would be at your beck and call?"
Now the tables have turned; Su Huanhuan completely activated her full-power mode and threw three consecutive questions at Luo Hongyu who was standing to the side.
Satisfying! Su Huanhuan just loved to see her like this—wanting to speak yet hesitating, wanting to retort but unable to.
So what if she's the Sword Sect Young Master? Even the Sword Sect Young Master can't afford to make a scene here.
I can call myself 'this young lady'; can she?
Hmph...
"I came here today not to quarrel with you."
After Su Huanhuan had spoken to her heart's content, Luo Hongyu then slowly began to speak.
This was still the first time she had heard Luo Hongyu use such a soft tone; in the past, when would she ever say such softy-softy words like 'not wanting to'?
"Also, Shen Huai is dead."
"...Dead?"
Hearing Luo Hongyu's words, Su Huanhuan finally put away some of her venting thoughts and began to think seriously.
"When did he die?"
"Last night, died under my sword."
"Are you stupid? Why kill him?"
"He used my sword to commit suicide."
Luo Hongyu looked at Su Huanhuan, who was propping her chin in thought, and said calmly.
"Time is tight. Even if I contact the sword attendant elders of my sect, it's very likely too late."
"Who is Shen Huai, where is Luo He... I hope you can tell me."
"......”
This really is somewhat troublesome.
That Shen Huai died so decisively and resolutely; clearly he was prepared.
But...
Su Huanhuan shifted her position in the rocking chair, glanced at Luo Hongyu, and yawned.
Luo Hongyu said she didn't want to quarrel... But she, Su Huanhuan, certainly hadn't agreed to that.
Anyway, it wasn't her who was anxious now.
"Who Shen Huai is, I do indeed have some clues."
"But as for where Luo He is, heh..."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"......"
Since entering this teahouse, it was the first time Luo Hongyu had shown an expression of displeasure.
She frowned, looking at Su Huanhuan whose expression was languid and playful, and slowly said:
"That year in the Black Copper Gate, all your Embroidered Phoenix Pavilion guards under you died from the Bone Dragon's Corrupting Breath. If Luo He hadn't taken you..."
"Hahaha, now you remember to bring up old scores, Young Master Luo. What you say is truly laughable."
Su Huanhuan chuckled lightly; on her pretty and cute face was still her trademark, unfeeling smile that showed not a hint of warmth.
"I am someone from the Demonic Gates whom you, Young Master Luo, despise the most. Could it be that you, Young Master Luo, intend to speak of favors with me?"
"Besides..."
She sat up straight from the rocking chair.
"Luo He served you, old lady, diligently for so many years; it wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say he went through fire and water. If we're talking about favors, it should be you who owes him more."
"Not to mention this time, he, like a stupid dog, endured the pain without a sound and hid in some puddle, who knows where, so that your whole group couldn't find him."
"If we are to bring up this old score, Young Master Luo, do you think you have the face to say these things to me?"
"Or perhaps, you think that idiot Luo He deserved all of this? Hehe, actually, that's exactly what I think."
"......"
"Luo Hongyu, if you ask me, you're the one who's..."
"Say no more."
Gu Jing stood between the two, interrupting Su Huanhuan's words.
She looked at Su Huanhuan, who had an indifferent expression, and lowered her gaze.
"If we are to haggle over these things, then it is all my fault."
"Those things you want to say, just say them to me."
"...Heh."
Su Huanhuan indifferently swept her gaze over Gu Jing and let out a sneer.
"What you said isn't wrong either, Esteemed Autumn Maiden Sword."
After Gu Jing interfered like this, Su Huanhuan also lost the interest to continue her derision and sarcasm.
Mainly, she knew Gu Jing and Luo Hongyu were not the same; on her (Gu Jing), apart from that perpetual self-pity and inexplicably sorrowful dead-person air, no other reaction could be seen.
And with that look of hers as if she couldn't wait to be scolded... Su Huanhuan was afraid that scolding her would actually be rewarding her.
She sighed, her enthusiasm waning, and once again leaned back sideways, half-reclining in the rocking chair.
"That Shen Huai is not human; he's a ghost creature."
"...Ghost creature?"
"Mm."
Su Huanhuan glanced at Luo Hongyu who had responded and continued to speak faintly.
"To put it more bluntly, he's a ghost cultivator, a thing that cultivates in the form of a ghost soul..."
"Although they are allowed to cultivate and survive under the rules of the Heavenly Dao, they are at the same time an alien existence not welcomed by either the righteous or demonic paths."
"Some ghost cultivators with a certain level of cultivation will use ghost arts to mold a physical body for themselves and act in the mortal world under the identity of a living person. This Shen Huai is one of that ghost cultivator's identities."
"But Shen Huai was already a famous sword cultivator several decades ago..."
"Yes, ah, doesn't this just prove that ghost cultivator's background is extraordinary? With a casual grab, she gets a skin-sack that has been managed for several decades."
Speaking of this, Su Huanhuan couldn't help but knit her brows and thought to herself how that damn mute Luo He had managed to provoke such a troublesome thing.
"That ghost cultivator's title is Huoxin, a Tribulation Passing Realm expert, corresponding to a Great Fierce Ghost of our Incarnation Realm."
"As far as I know, she ought to have owed some people from the Demonic Gates a favor, which is why she would help them make a move against you... Heh, you actually have quite some standing."
"If a Spirit Transformation Realm expert merely wanted to kill me, there'd be no need to be so secretive."
"Ghost cultivators have three precepts. One of them is that they cannot directly attack and kill living cultivators whose cultivation is lower than their own."
"So, you'd better look out for yourself."
Looking at Su Huanhuan, who seemed to be greatly anticipating her (Luo Hongyu's) subsequent fate, Luo Hongyu pondered for a moment, then asked her:
"You are also a disciple of the Demonic Gates. Telling me these things, will it have any repercussions for you?"
"What, are you concerned about me?"
"It's not that I'm concerned about you; I only wish to have a clear conscience... Towards Luo He as well."
"...Is that so."
For some reason, when she said this sentence, Luo Hongyu always felt that in Su Huanhuan's captivating red pupils, she caught a gaze intertwined with mockery and sympathy.
"Then I also wish you... a clear conscience, esteemed Young Master Luo, and esteemed Autumn Maiden Sword."
"What I know, and what I can say, amounts to only this much. Regarding specific information about ghost cultivators, your Sword Sect surely has plenty of materials; I suppose there's no need for me to tell you."
"Whatever you do afterwards has nothing to do with me. Don't come looking for me again. You two, take care on your way out; I won't see you off."
Luo Hongyu and Gu Jing left. Su Huanhuan still lay on the rocking chair, which emitted a slight creaking sound.
Suddenly, she spoke to an empty spot beside her:
"Did you hear that, stupid fox? She said she wants to have a clear conscience towards you, eh."
"Do you know how much effort I used back then to hold back my laughter?"
Luo He walked out from the shadows of the room like a shadow and met Su Huanhuan's smile, which was full of mischievous humor.
"Speak, I've helped you again."
"How do you plan to repay me, huh?”