Li Xiaoyao Could Not Sit Still

Tang Xuejian and Lin Yueru were girls after all. Upon hearing talk of love and romance, Granny Ma quickly carried their thoughts away.

Before long, both of their eyes had turned red, and they kept wiping at the corners.

Li Xiaoyao rolled his eyes speechlessly. "It’s not like you’re the ones suffering. What are you crying for?"

The two turned around together and shot him vicious glares.

Li Xiaoyao wanted to say more, but Jing Tian pulled him aside and spent quite some time persuading him before finally getting him to shut up.

Chu Yang cupped his hands and interrupted Granny Ma, asking, "May I ask, shopkeeper, did a young woman in purple come here yesterday?"

Granny Ma, who had just been all smiles, suddenly darkened. She glanced coldly at Chu Yang and shook her head. "There’s no young woman in purple here!"

"This inn gets no guests all year round. Forget young women—even ghosts are nowhere to be seen. If you aren’t staying the night, then forgive this old woman for not keeping you company."

Chu Yang said loudly, "Shu Mountain disciple Chu Yang requests an audience with the Descendant of Nüwa. My senior brother’s life is at stake. I hope the young lady will forgive my presumptuousness."

Granny Ma grew anxious and cursed, "You insolent junior! I already said there is no—"

Before she could finish, a clear, ethereal voice came from the innermost room on the second floor, jolting everyone awake.

"Granny Ma, it’s all right. They’re friends."

The door opened, and a fragrant breeze swept over them. Its unique scent drew everyone’s attention.

The fragrance carried the scents of countless flowers—lavender, lilies, jasmine, and more. It was a complex blend, yet strangely harmonious.

Even Chu Yang could not help becoming slightly distracted when he caught the scent.

While everyone was lost in thought, a woman in flowing purple gauze emerged from the room. The instant Li Xiaoyao saw her, his pupils contracted sharply.

The woman before him looked seventy to eighty percent like Zhao Ling’er. No one would believe they were unrelated!

"Li, this woman looks way too much like Ling’er! Could she be her long-lost older sister?"

"No, she has white hair at her temples. Maybe she’s an aunt or something?"

Lin Yueru whispered into Li Xiaoyao’s ear.

Li Xiaoyao suddenly looked toward Chu Yang. He had just heard Chu Yang mention a "Descendant of Nüwa," which proved that this woman was indeed Zhao Ling’er’s relative.

"I’ll explain the full story later. Confirming my senior brother’s condition comes first."

Chu Yang headed toward the second floor of the inn. At that moment, Zi Xuan was looking at Li Xiaoyao with a complicated expression.

"Senior Zi Xuan, how is my senior brother?"

"Come in with me. You’ll see for yourselves."

Zi Xuan led Chu Yang and the others into the room. Following her gesture, Chu Yang saw Xu Changqing lying on the bed.

Xu Changqing was unconscious. Peaceful golden light radiated from his body, but a mass of black energy lingered over his face. One righteous and one evil force continuously battled within him.

The black energy had formed from evil thoughts. There was no need to think twice—it had to be Evil Sword Immortal’s handiwork.

But what was the golden light on Xu Changqing’s body?

Li Xiaoyao stepped forward, wanting to touch Xu Changqing, but Zi Xuan stopped him and shook her head. "His condition isn’t good. Don’t touch him."

Li Xiaoyao asked anxiously, "What exactly happened to Brother Xu?"

Hearing Li Xiaoyao call Xu Changqing "brother," Zi Xuan unconsciously frowned. Only after several breaths did her expression return to normal.

She did not immediately answer Li Xiaoyao’s question. Instead, she turned to Chu Yang and asked, "How did you know Xu Changqing was here? And how did you learn my identity?"

Chu Yang answered, "Senior Brother and I descended the mountain together to cultivate in the mortal world. Before we left, the Sect Leader warned me that he might encounter a love trial difficult to overcome, so he told me about Senior Brother’s love across three lifetimes."

Zi Xuan fell silent for a long while, then sighed. "I never expected Daoist Qingwei to trust you so much."

Chu Yang glanced at the unconscious Xu Changqing and could not help shaking his head. "Senior, you settled in Fengdu in order to search for my senior brother’s reincarnations through the Demon Realm. Such persistence is admirable, but also pitiful. You gave up too much for it."

"Pitiful…" Zi Xuan seemed distracted, bitterness flashing through her eyes.

Tang Xuejian was getting a headache from their cryptic conversation. She jumped out impatiently and shouted, "Can you say something people can understand? What exactly happened to Daoist Xu?"

Interrupted by her, Zi Xuan’s expression returned to normal. She calmed herself and explained, "I encountered Xu Changqing near Lei Zhou. At the time, he was fighting an evil thought that called itself Evil Sword Immortal."

"Evil Sword Immortal is very powerful. It is only one step away from transforming into an Extraterrestrial Demon and transcending the Six Realms. Xu Changqing was no match for it, and neither was I. I could only use the Sacred Relic Pearl to temporarily drive that evil thought back."

"While Evil Sword Immortal was distracted, I took Xu Changqing and fled. We hid all the way here. Only after settling down did I discover that part of that evil thought had parasitized his body, and he had nearly fallen into the demonic path."

"Those evil thoughts are very unusual. Ordinary exorcism spells are completely useless against them. I could only use the Sacred Relic Pearl to suppress the evil thoughts within him and keep him in his current state."

Zi Xuan’s account was much the same as Chu Yang’s earlier guess. Sure enough, Evil Sword Immortal had caused all this.

Chu Yang smiled. "Senior Zi Xuan, you can withdraw the Sacred Relic Pearl now. Leave the rest to me."

Zi Xuan did not comply immediately. Instead, she solemnly emphasized, "I already said that ordinary exorcism spells are useless. Even if you use some secret Shu Mountain technique, it will be the same. Those evil thoughts originated from Daoist Qingwei and the others. Shu Mountain spells cannot affect them."

Chu Yang replied calmly, "I know what I’m doing. Please do as I say."

Zi Xuan gave Chu Yang a deep look, then silently withdrew the Sacred Relic Pearl from Xu Changqing’s body.

The black energy on Xu Changqing’s face rapidly spread across his entire body. An indescribable malice filled him. Simply standing in the same room made people uncomfortable.

Zi Xuan said urgently, "Whatever method you have, use it quickly! If you wait any longer, even my Sacred Relic Pearl won’t be able to suppress the evil thoughts in Xu Changqing’s body. He’ll fall into the demonic path!"

The moment her words fell, Xu Changqing abruptly sat up. His hair came undone, making him look like a savage evil ghost. His blood-red eyes swept across everyone present, and the icy killing intent in them made their scalps tingle.

"Pretty cool look, but unfortunately, it’s not Senior Brother’s type. It’d suit me better."

Chu Yang joked with a smile. Xu Changqing, on the verge of becoming a demon, suddenly lunged at him, bloodthirsty light blooming in his pupils.

Amid everyone’s screams, Fengdu suddenly appeared before Chu Yang. Yomi Water surged forth, forming a cage that trapped Xu Changqing as he let out miserable howls.

The origins of evil thoughts and curses were conceptually very similar. Since Yomi Water could destroy curses, it could naturally affect evil thoughts as well.

As Yomi Water enclosed him, Xu Changqing’s cries became increasingly miserable. More accurately, it was the black energy within his body screaming, as though it possessed life.

Hiss—hiss—hiss—

Like a red-hot branding iron plunged into snow, the evil thoughts melted away completely within the Yomi Water.

Xu Changqing returned to normal, but more than half the Sacred Relic Pearl’s power had also been consumed. When it returned to Zi Xuan’s hand, its light had dimmed, as though it might go out at any moment.

Yet seeing Xu Changqing improve, Zi Xuan showed no emotion besides joy. To her, the Sacred Relic Pearl was nothing compared to Xu Changqing’s life.

"Brother Chu’s sword seems to restrain that filthy thing. Next time we meet it, we must destroy it."

"The evil thoughts in Senior Brother’s body were part of Evil Sword Immortal. When I destroyed them, he likely sensed what happened here. For a while, he should find a way to stay far away from me."

"What a pity…"

"There’s nothing to regret. Our goal was never Evil Sword Immortal in the first place, but repairing the Demon Imprisonment Tower. As long as he doesn’t interfere with us, that’s the best outcome."

Xu Changqing’s complexion gradually improved, but Zi Xuan’s became extremely poor. More white hairs appeared at a visible rate.

Chu Yang stepped forward and transferred some life force into her, sighing. "As a member of the Nüwa Clan, after giving birth to your daughter, you should have lost your demigod body and aged like an ordinary person. But you used the Sacred Relic Pearl to change all that."

"Now that the Sacred Relic Pearl’s power has greatly diminished, it will be difficult for it to preserve your youth. You will gradually regress into a mortal body."

"Senior Zi Xuan, do you regret it?"

Zi Xuan smiled upon hearing this. "As long as it was for him, I would never regret anything I did."

Chu Yang said helplessly, "Senior, I have rarely seen someone with such deep obsession. I truly admire it. But isn’t sacrificing your own daughter because of it a little too much?"

Zi Xuan’s face suddenly went deathly pale. She hurriedly shook her head. "It wasn’t like that. Back then, I stayed in Fengdu City waiting for him. I had no idea what had happened in the Nanzhao Kingdom. By the time I rushed back, it was already too late."

"Qing’er turned into a stone statue to suppress the Water Demon Beast. I wanted to fight Moon Worshipper to the death, but the previous Holy Aunt stopped me. She knocked me unconscious and sent me out of the Nanzhao Kingdom."

"She said that since I had chosen to abandon the duties of a Descendant of Nüwa, I no longer had the right to interfere in the Nüwa Clan’s affairs, nor did I have the right to return to the Nanzhao Kingdom."

"I never wanted things to turn out this way. I wronged Qing’er. Not only did I use Puppet Soup to seal her away for decades, I also took the Sacred Relic Pearl from her. If she had had the Sacred Relic Pearl with her, the ending might have been different…"

At that, Zi Xuan covered her face and burst into tears.

Chu Yang did not know how to comfort her. Since ancient times, the Heavenly Serpent Cane, Sacred Relic Pearl, and Sacred Relic Cape had been treasures passed down through generations of the Nüwa Clan.

Among them, the Sacred Relic Pearl was the supreme treasure nurtured by every generation of Descendants of Nüwa.

As Zi Xuan had said, if the Witch Queen had possessed her full set of equipment back then, she might not have needed to turn into a stone statue to suppress the Water Demon Beast.

One could imagine how guilty she must have felt as a mother. How could she not regret it? She was merely deceiving herself.

Li Xiaoyao also learned Zi Xuan’s identity from her confession. At that moment, it felt as though thunder had crashed through his mind, leaving him completely numb.

Ling’er’s mother’s mother?

Wasn’t that her grandmother?

Then Brother Xu…

Wasn’t he Ling’er’s grandfather?

Holy shit!

Li Xiaoyao’s legs went weak. Along the way, he had called Ling’er’s grandfather his brother more than once.

"What are you thinking about!"

Chu Yang smacked the back of Li Xiaoyao’s head several times and said irritably, "When we met the Demon Lord, I told you to let bygones be bygones! You didn’t take a single word to heart!"

"No matter what the future holds, Xu Changqing will only be Xu Changqing. He will not be anyone else."

"I’m saying this to Xiaoyao, and to you as well, Senior Zi Xuan."

Zi Xuan looked toward Chu Yang through tear-filled eyes.

"If you can accept that Xu Changqing is only Xu Changqing and still wish to love him, then I wholeheartedly support the two of you being together. But if you only see him as a substitute for Gu Liufang and Lin Yeping, then there is no need to torment yourself like this."

"Let him go, and let yourself go too. While Ling’er is still here, there is still time to make amends. If you failed as a mother, then at least be a proper elder and fulfill your last bit of responsibility."

Zi Xuan stood there blankly.

While she was lost in thought, Lin Yueru and Tang Xuejian quietly came to Chu Yang’s side. The two had been completely confused by what they heard, so they asked Chu Yang to explain everything from the beginning.

So Chu Yang told them Xu Changqing and Zi Xuan’s love story across three lifetimes in full, from Gu Liufang to Lin Yeping, and then to the present Xu Changqing.

When they learned the relationship between Zi Xuan, Qing’er, and Ling’er, their expressions of disbelief were nearly identical to Li Xiaoyao’s earlier reaction.

"From now on, you’d better behave yourself around Daoist Xu. Don’t sling your arm around his shoulders and call him brother. There’s a whole generation between you!"

Lin Yueru solemnly reminded Li Xiaoyao, but he could see the gloating smile on her face.

Damn evil woman!

This was so annoying!

What hurt most was that he could not even refute her.

After a while.

Xu Changqing slowly woke. Images of his battle with Evil Sword Immortal flashed through his mind, and his expression suddenly tightened. Then, the instant he saw Chu Yang, he relaxed.

"Junior Brother, did you save me?"

"Not me. It was Miss Zi Xuan here."

"Miss Zi Xuan?"

Xu Changqing seemed to recall more details. He struggled up from the bed and cupped his hands toward Zi Xuan. "Thank you for saving my life, Miss. Xu Changqing will never forget this kindness. May I ask, Miss…"

Their gazes met, and his voice abruptly stopped.

Xu Changqing had seen the tear tracks on Zi Xuan’s face. In that moment, an inexplicable emotion began spreading through his heart.

This young lady felt so familiar. It was as though he had seen her somewhere before.

The more Xu Changqing thought about it, the stronger the palpitations in his heart became.

Tang Xuejian and Lin Yueru, watching from the side, were so tense their toes curled. They hoped Xu Changqing could remember something, so Zi Xuan’s perseverance and waiting would not go unanswered.

But on second thought, perhaps it would not be a bad choice for the two of them to give up. Love spanning three lifetimes had, after being steeped in time, become something like a curse.

"There is no need for thanks, Daoist. I merely happened to pass by. The person who truly saved you was your junior brother. In the end, it was simply because Daoist has deep fortune."

Zi Xuan wore a gentle smile, concealing even the traces of tears.

"Regardless, Changqing must still thank Miss Zi Xuan."

Xu Changqing did not seem to remember anything. He remained as polite as ever, his courtesy measured and proper.

Tang Xuejian and Lin Yueru were somewhat disappointed. The two walked out of the room with their heads lowered.

Li Xiaoyao had been as uncomfortable as though sitting on needles from the very beginning, so he hurried after the two girls.

"Changqing still has important matters to attend to. I can only repay Miss Zi Xuan’s kindness once they are resolved. I hope Miss will not take offense."

"You jest, Daoist. Zi Xuan did nothing. There is no need for you to repay anything."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Xu Changqing, Chu Yang, and Jing Tian left the inn.

They had not gone far when Xu Changqing abruptly stopped and said softly, "Junior Brother is learned and talented. You should know how to repair her Sacred Relic Pearl and restore her demigod body."

Jing Tian, walking behind them, wore a look of utter shock.

Xu Changqing remembered everything!