Chapter 51 - A Fair and Open Business
"So, you're a ghost soul now?"
"That's right."
Inside a mountain cave within the back mountain's bamboo forest, firewood crackled.
Su Huanhuan leaned weakly against the rock wall, tilting her head to look at Luo He floating in mid-air.
Just now, she had heard from his own mouth everything he had experienced at the Immortal Ascension Assembly back then, as well as how exactly he had planned it and how he had executed it.
With him saying it himself like this, that previous series of actions of his, which had seemed to be shrouded in a mist, was finally explained clearly.
However…
Su Huanhuan's face showed none of the feeling of relief that comes from having a question answered.
Because what he said really couldn't be considered anything happy.
From his perspective, everyone had hoped for him to die; once he died, many problems would be solved along with that Heavenly Tribulation.
"You really are pitiful. Among the group of people surrounding you, I, from the Demonic Gates, was actually the only one hoping you would live, haha... cough..."
"Although, perhaps I can't be considered a disciple of the Demonic Gates anymore either..."
Her tone was her usual banter and teasing, but Luo He understood the meaning in her words.
He returned her a sincere smile and nodded seriously.
"Mm, thank you."
"You are indeed one of the few people who wished me well. This point, I've always remembered it quite clearly."
"...Don't say such mushy things. I only did it because I owed you a favor back then... Ah, stop looking at me like that!"
She's shy. So cute.
Luo He knew Su Huanhuan had always been a very cute person.
Glaring back at Luo He, Su Huanhuan's breathing also gradually stabilized.
In her eyes as she looked at Luo He, there was also a bit more barely perceptible gentleness and relief.
No one knew better than her, even if the one before her was merely a ghost soul, all of this for him... was so hard-won.
Although it was a bit of a pity she couldn't realize her original idea of keeping Luo He by her side, this could perhaps still be considered a good ending.
Of course, for certain people, it definitely wasn't.
"The feeling of regaining your freedom, how is it?"
Su Huanhuan, for once, asked Luo He in a gentle tone.
"It's great."
Luo He nodded in response.
"I am full of expectations for this world."
"Is that so..."
Su Huanhuan was for a moment entranced by Luo He's sincere expression.
Past hardships had not crushed his mind; when he returned to this world, he still retained the most primitive, most beautiful expectations and fantasies.
He really was…
A very clean, very clean person, like the new rain of early spring, like that small creek in the bamboo forest.
If she stayed with him for a little longer, would she herself also become a bit more transparently clear?
"......"
Forget it.
These weren't things Su Huanhuan should be considering.
This stupid fox truly had a way of bewitching people's hearts.
Su Huanhuan shook her head, determined not to let Luo He affect her.
She still had to be that cold and heartless Su Huanhuan with the unfeeling smile; no one could change her.
Hmph.
Because her state of mind had been disturbed by Luo He, Su Huanhuan decided to score a point back.
So she revealed her trademark fake smile and said to Luo He:
"By the way, do you happen to know the situation with the Tianchen Sword Sect, and your Young Master Luo and Senior Sister Gu?"
"......"
Haha, as expected.
Su Huanhuan captured the instant his eyes changed.
"I don't."
Luo He said, shaking his head.
"You're not interested?"
"I was a little interested the moment you mentioned it, but I'm not interested now."
"Hehe... then I might as well tell you. The Tianchen Sword Sect of today is in a situation where the position of Sect Master is unresolved, and two of the seven ancient swords are broken."
"Of course, one of them seems to be here with you; I noticed it just now."
"This can be said to be the gravest situation the Tianchen Sword Sect has faced since it took the number one position of the Righteous Path."
"That's reasonable."
Luo He nodded his head, quite in agreement.
"Gu Jing's whereabouts are unknown; Luo Hongyu locks herself away on Still Water Peak all day and sees no outsiders."
"In these few years, the people from the other peaks have caused no small amount of trouble. If this goes on, in a little while, the Tianchen Sword Sect might even split up."
"That's not necessarily a bad thing."
Luo He replied thoughtfully.
"Luo Hongyu isn't suited to be Sect Master either. If she doesn't have to bear this responsibility, it's actually a good thing."
"Can you give me some emotional value?"
"...What kind of emotional value do you think I should show?"
Luo He smiled faintly.
"From the moment I resolved to seek life through death, I decided to let go of these things, lest they interfere with my judgment in the future."
"For so many years, I have succeeded."
"......"
Although Luo He spoke so invulnerably, Su Huanhuan always felt he was lying, but she had no proof.
Tsk, one day she would see him lose his composure…
Su Huanhuan set this goal in her heart.
"I'm done talking. Now I want to hear your story.”
Seeing that Su Huanhuan was no longer getting entangled in this point, Luo He took over the conversation and asked her.
"What kind of trouble have you gotten into these past few years?"
...
"That is to say, you returned to the Demonic Sect back then because of this pool of blood."
"And then because of this pool of blood, the Demonic Sarira* in your body was coveted. In the end, you crippled the person who wanted to snatch your Demonic Sarira and then
escaped?"
[TL/N: Sarira(Śarīra) is a Sanskrit term. In Buddhism, Sarira are relics, typically pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects, found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters, including the Buddha.]
"That's right."
At this moment, the flames in the stone cave were no longer as fierce as they were at the beginning; two more layers of ash had accumulated beside the fire.
Luo He once again entered Su Huanhuan's body, examining that boiling blood pool within her.
And Su Huanhuan's voice also came from the spiritual platform.
"Speaking of which, it's also because I was too stupid back then... I clearly knew it would be very troublesome if the Demonic Sarira you gave me was exposed, but I still couldn't keep it a secret."
Su Huanhuan, for once, said with a trace of weariness in her tone.
According to what she said, this pool of blood within her body was named Sorrowful River, an inheritance that had existed in the Remnant Moon Sect since ancient times.
Legend had it that this Sorrowful River was the resentful blood shed when the Remnant Moon Sect's founder, Mo You, wounded a Saintly Beast. It was collected by him and refined for his own use, possessing the characteristic of being inexhaustible.
It could greatly enhance the power of Remnant Moon blood arts, providing its wielder with a nearly inexhaustible source of blood qi.
Besides this, the cultivation benefits for the wielder herself were also too numerous to count.
Of course, the premise for all this was that you had the aptitude of a Remnant Moon Sect Master, as well as the ability to refine its resentment qi.
And the previous wielder of the Sorrowful River inheritance was the already deceased Old Demonic Lord.
The current Young Sect Master of the Remnant Moon Sect, Si Yu, was one of the countless in the sect's history who had the aptitude of a Sect Master but was unable to refine the resentment qi of the Sorrowful River.
But, as luck would have it, they discovered the precious legacy of the former Sorrowful River wielder, the Old Demonic Lord, on Su Huanhuan.
And so, what would happen next went without saying.
But the result was that Su Huanhuan, while enduring, seized the initiative from her opponent.
She directly crippled all of Young Sect Master Si Yu's cultivation, and even forcibly snatched his Sorrowful River inheritance, completing a beautiful counter-kill under the circumstances of being an enemy to the entire sect.
Although Su Huanhuan herself described this lightly and brushed it aside, Luo He could still sense the peril inadvertently revealed in her words.
It was no wonder then that the current Sect Master of the Remnant Moon Sect had pursued and tried to kill her so relentlessly for three years, forcing her into this state.
"In these three years, not only has my cultivation not advanced a step, it has, on the contrary, shown faint signs of regressing."
"The private soldiers I painstakingly managed before were also all lost, and in the future, I must continue to flee until who knows when."
"This is my, Su Huanhuan's, current situation, like a homeless cur. How about it?"
Her tone was filled with self-mockery, yet not a single note of dejection or surrender could be heard.
However, Luo He did not answer her immediately. He was silent for a moment, then came out of Su Huanhuan's body and looked directly at her.
"My helping you repel that group of people today, does that count as repaying a favor to you?"
"It counts."
"Then are we even on favors now?"
"Heh... of course we are.”
Su Huanhuan impassively lowered her gaze.
This was also a reasonable decision; he was free now, so naturally, he wouldn't be willing to get involved in these bullshit messy matters anymore.
What's more, he had already helped her a lot; all of this now could only be blamed on her own bad fate.
Although Su Huanhuan herself didn't want to admit it, she had actually always wanted to find a chance to repay all of this; that whole "he owed her a favor" thing was just a joke, after all.
Now that the two of them were even, she was still the one who had gotten the better end of the deal.
There was nothing... for her to be unhappy about.
"Since the favors are all cleared up, then things are easy to say."
"Su Huanhuan, I want to discuss a fair and just long-term business deal with you."
Su Huanhuan raised her head and met Luo He's eyes, which held a hint of a smile.