Chapter 4: “Azure Sky’s Wish: Story Start.”
The ancient people once said that everything outside the imperial court was precisely the jianghu. This “hu1” referred to the Fallen Immortal Lake, where the Profound Sect was located, while the “jiang2” was the Rising Dragon River where the big righteous immortal sects gathered.
Since ancient times, cultivators have relied on these two places to grow. Gradually, they became a foreign community that wasn’t subjected to the restrictions of the imperial household. Nowadays, even though cultivation sects can now be found all over the world, the people have become accustomed to using the word “jianghu” to refer to the world of cultivators.
Back then, the Profound Sect was capable of relying on its own strength to support half of the entire jianghu. It could be seen that among cultivators, their status was overwhelming.
According to the records of the Unknown Sect, the teachings of the Profound Sect came from the founder of Dao. These teachings were the origin of every cultivation method under the sky. In fact, the ancestors of every single famous sect nowadays had all once studied at the Profound Sect.
Generation to generation, the Sect Leader of the Profound Sect were all martial masters. Everyone knew that as long as one became the Sect Leader, they would become the strongest person under the skies. And as long as the Sect Leader of the Profound Sect didn’t die, they would definitely ascend and become immortal.
A saying like this may seem extremely fantastical, but the Profound Sect genuinely made it happen. Last generation, three lords from the Profound Sect even ascended together. The golden light from their merits and virtues hung above Fallen Immortal Lake for an entire three days and three nights, practically blinding every cultivator’s eyes.
For other people, they may try their best for their entire life but wouldn’t even manage to enter the Post-Calamity realm. However, the Sect Leader of the Profound Sect was capable of bringing their entire family to ascend.
After this, cultivators finally admitted defeat to this saying, and even secretly gave the Sect Leader of the Profound Sect a nickname: the Son of Heavenly Law.
The seniors of the Profound Sect laid down an impressive foundation and martial prowess that awed the entire jianghu. Since every sect that opposed the Sect Leader of the Profound Sect didn’t have a good ending, following after the Son of Heavenly Law must work, right?
Thus, the moment Fu Hongye became the Sect Leader, every righteous sect took the initiative to make him the leader of the Heavenly Alliance as well. One after another, demonic cultivators also retreated and returned to seclusion.
Only You Jiang, the demonic leader who didn’t believe in superstitions, continued to meet Fu Hongye head-on. He wasn’t afraid of dying or losing. If he was defeated, he would continue to struggle again later on. You Jiang’s persistence practically made all the cultivators under the sky gasp in amazement.
These two people fought for nearly a hundred years. Starting from the first time they met, they would fight every time they encountered each other.
Nobody would have ever expected that today, old enemies like this could actually sit peacefully at the same table together.
When normal people qi deviated, they either went insane or became a demonic cultivator. But Fu Hongye was actually different from the masses. Other than regarding You Jiang as his sword, it didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with him.
However, it wasn’t very right either to say he just recognized his sword wrong. After all, a sword wasn’t capable of running around by itself.
When Fu Hongye saw You Jiang enter the city, he didn’t seem to be surprised. Instead, he only calmly followed him, his expression normal the entire way. As long as you didn’t talk to him, no one would be able to guess that he was a lunatic.
When the normally gentle and polite youth lost his smile, he actually appeared somewhat cold and detached. Despite being surrounded by the noisy city centre, it didn’t seem like anything could enter his world. As if he was a lively crane from the pine trees that flew into smoke, letting him become estranged from the mortal realm, never to tread into worldly affairs again.
Fu Hongye’s current appearance was just too eye-catching. If he was found by the righteous way, many troubles would be impossible to avoid.
Thus, after entering the city, You Jiang found a restaurant that was somewhat elegant and asked for a private booth. He planned to stay there until Cun Jie, who was investigating, returned.
Fu Hongye had qi deviated, so he required some medical attention. Thus, before Cun Jie arrived, You Jiang’s right Protector Du Huo—who was urgently called over by him—climbed in through the window.
This right Protector’s appearance was like a teenager’s, looking quite spirited and quick-witted. However, he wore green robes and carried a bottle gourd made out of jasper on his back. On his head, he wore a freshly picked lotus leaf to shield him from the sun.
From head to toe, Du Huo was dressed in vibrant green. With regards to his aesthetic taste, he appeared rather similar to You Jiang’s style.
At this moment, he was taking Fu Hongye’s pulse. Afterwards, he casually picked off his lotus leaf hat to fan himself before he shook his head. “There’s no traces of poisoning, and he hadn’t been cursed either. His current confusion is because he failed his calamity. He must wake up from his tribulation himself, so no one can save him.”
The demonic way’s current left and right Protectors—one specialized in poison and the other in medicine—were all experts in the jianghu. Although Du Huo’s cultivation level was slightly inferior, with regards to his medical skill, he was one of the world’s finest. You Jiang believed he wouldn’t make a mistake while diagnosing Fu Hongye.
You Jiang had originally wanted to find clues from Fu Hongye’s body, but he hadn’t expected that the person who harmed him hadn’t left any traces. The youth even managed to lose his sword.
You Jiang had no idea how this brat managed to defeat him in the past.
But if Fu Hongye was rubbish, wouldn’t the demonic leader who never won against him be worse than rubbish? You Jiang definitely wouldn’t accept this kind of humiliation!
Unfortunately, the white-robed youth didn’t have any self-awareness. He completely ignored them as he leisurely ate his buns.
Seeing this, You Jiang became even more angry. He couldn’t help but sneer at him, “What ‘Son of Heavenly Law’? You became like this after being cheated just once. If you hadn’t worshipped the Sword Saint, you would have been swindled to death the moment you entered the jianghu.”
Huh? So it turned out that it wasn’t because of you, leader, that he became like this?
These words actually shocked Du Huo. He originally thought that his leader had called himself over to check whether or not his tricks on Fu Hongye had left any traces. Du Huo hadn’t thought that things would be this complicated.
However, even if he couldn’t figure out what these two people were playing at, Du Huo still pointed out the truth honestly, “Leader, he fell into your hands but still hasn’t died yet.”
Qi deviating before accidently encountering his sworn enemy. If Fu Hongye didn’t even die after this, then he truly had an unbreakable fate3 incomparable to normal people.
After all, Fu Hongye was still sitting there completely unharmed, safe and sound. He was even happily eating a meat bun paid for by the demonic way’s leader. This cruel reality truly made one choke.
You Jiang gave Fu Hongye a fierce glare before coldly saying, “That’s because this lord wants him to live a life worse than death.”
Unfortunately, the personality of demonic cultivators always invited beatings. Du Huo was also a demonic cultivator raised by You Jiang. He completely didn’t try finding a way for his leader to get rid of the embarrassing situation.
Instead, Du Huo replied with doubt, “But Leader, you only ordered two buns today. You even gave the meat bun to him, not leaving any for yourself!”
Only then did You Jiang suddenly realize that he actually bought food for his captive. This kind of behaviour was truly the disgrace of all demonic cultivators.
However, asking for a refund and returning the buns now would be even more shameful. You Jiang could only force himself to calmly say, “Can’t this lord be a vegetarian?”
This wasn’t a lie; You Jiang was truly a vegetarian. Du Huo, who had grown up with You Jiang and only ate his first chicken drumstick when he was out training at 18, could only sigh mournfully, “After counting all the heroes in this world, this subordinate wants to report to the Leader: other than you, there’s definitely no other demonic cultivator who’s a vegetarian!”
“That’s why Leader is extremely unique and beyond compare! He’s our demonic way’s saint who will save our world, a person difficult to find in thousands of years.”
Just when You Jiang began pondering whether he should follow the demonic cultivator’s tradition of not recognizing one’s relatives and directly send the right Protector to heaven, the left Protector who was extremely devoted to the demonic way’s great cause finally arrived. Then, he very genuinely bragged about the Leader to save You Jiang’s face.
In comparison to Du Huo, Cun Jie must be the most perfect subordinate in this world. Looking at him, You Jiang immediately felt his mood improve greatly.
He unhappily spoke to the right Protector who was in need of a spanking, “Did you see that? This is what a qualified demonic Protector should be like.”
Unfortunately, demonic cultivators have always been arrogant and stubborn. Moreover, Du Huo was a very qualified demonic cultivator. He only rolled his eyes before saying, “He was picked up by the former major Protector. I was picked up by you, Leader. Not teaching a child well is the father’s wrong, Leader ought to reflect on himself.”
Yes, this guy dared to be this cheeky precisely because he was You Jiang’s adopted son. From childhood, he had been raised by the demonic way’s leader. Naturally, Du Huo wasn’t afraid of heaven or earth, and he even inherited You Jiang’s mystical aesthetics.
When all was said and done, the child he had raised himself was worth trusting. Although You Jiang often wanted to give this rotten brat a beating until he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed for three days, he still regarded Du Huo as his right-hand man.
Now that this kid was being disobedient to his father, You Jiang only gave him a glare before sneering, “Back then, this lord should have named you Rhubarb. Only then would it match your stinky mouth.”
Hearing this name that would let one be single for his entire life, Du Huo only rolled his eyes even harder. He said naughtily, “Thanks to the good name Leader did give me, ever since I was young, the sect’s disciples wouldn’t dare to team up with me when doing missions. They all said I seem like a guy with an unbreakable fate that would cause my entire team’s death4.”
Of course this guy had an unbreakable fate. His entire sect was massacred and only he, a child who didn’t cry or make noise, had lived. In the jianghu, how many people could be this fortunate?
But You Jiang had no intention of continuing this topic with Du Huo further. Since Cun Jie finally arrived, he started proper business, “Stop talking nonsense. This lord ordered you to guard Mobei. These days, has anything happened within the sect?”
Demonic cultivators never possessed any so-called loyalty. Since this was the case, You Jiang naturally wouldn’t leave the demonic sect unattended without making any preparations. Du Huo was precisely the spy he left to monitor the demonic cultivators.
The people who hated Fu Hongye the most in this world were all demonic cultivators. You Jiang hadn’t had the time to make a move this time, but that didn’t mean other demonic cultivators were the same.
However, Du Huo’s reply dispelled all his doubts. He said, “When Leader wasn’t there, the three Elders sent a letter to the former major Protector every two hours, telling him to take advantage of the situation to seize your position. I don’t think they had the time to pay attention to the righteous way. Even if they did want to set up a trap, it would be against you.”
In the past, the three Elders were all influential people in the demonic way. These years, You Jiang had both explicitly and implicitly restrained their authority. Nowadays, the only thing they could do was argue noisily about overthrowing the Leader to anger him.
While You Jiang knew they didn’t have this strength, his face still darkened when he heard Du Huo’s words. “When this lord returns, he’ll cut up those three old cucumbers.”
In the past hundred years, the Heavenly Alliance’s power flourished while major demonic sects were wiped out in succession. Nowadays, most demonic cultivators retreated from the world and hid in Mobei, behind the demonic way. There ought to be no one who had the power to attack Fu Hongye.
In that case, the problem probably originated from within the righteous way.
You Jiang wasn’t the only one thinking this. After entering the city, Cun Jie had made some discreet inquiries. Now, he reported all the information he found.
“Leader, I asked the spies within the city. Fu Hongye entered the city ten days ago. On the way, he hadn’t stopped anywhere and made a beeline to Azure Sky Mansion. Afterwards, there was no more news about his whereabouts. The Profound Sect disciples who hurried there seven days ago didn’t find any traces of him either. Right now, they’re waiting at Azure Sky Mansion for further news.”
This time, Fu Hongye made the trip to Mingchuan City precisely to clean up Azure Sky Mansion’s mess. His disappearance must be related to that place. Hearing this, You Jiang glanced at Fu Hongye.
After his qi deviation, Fu Hongye lived in his own world. Other than his sword Fengzhi, there was nothing else in his eyes.
Seeing how the youth still looked serene, not reacting to their words at all, You Jiang secretly withdrew his gaze. He pinched his fan and thoughtfully said, “Azure Sky Mansion’s Master, Qiu Yuebai. He’s the world famous benevolent Samaritan.”
Cun Jie never believed in the righteousness people prattled about. He curled his lips and said, “How could there be a Samaritan in this world? I think they’re all hypocrites who just fish for compliments.”
The people who loved to point out faults the most in this world were precisely righteous cultivators. For every enemy they suppressed and captured, these cultivators were capable of listing a few books worth of sins for them.
In contrast, demonic cultivators hated admitting good deeds. They could point out faults in any person they see.
Thus, the true saints are the righteous cultivators who even demonic cultivators can’t find faults. An example would be Fu Hongye, who You Jiang cursed out numerous times but never once called a hypocrite.
Letting a demonic cultivator dig out the secrets a righteous cultivator was hiding couldn’t be more fitting for their profession. Looking into the distance, You Jiang caught a glimpse of the sky blue roof tiles of the Azure Sky Mansion.
He instructed Cun Jie, “Then go to Azure Sky Mansion, and take a good look at just how hypocritical this Samaritan Qiu really is.”
Ciao Ciao says:
Thanks for the update!
Sakhyu says:
Thanks for all the wonderful comments! 😭😭