I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 714 [Side Story: Sworn Sisters (Part 5)]

Ayu was tied to a tree, soaked to the bone, with rainwater streaming down her disheveled hair, looking utterly miserable.

Hearing Danxi say that she was her older sister, Ayu was shocked. She instinctively wanted to retort sharply, but her gaze involuntarily fell on Danxi's face.

The rain blurred my vision, but the bright and dignified face before me gradually dispelled the fog in my memory.

The chubby girl who hid the steamed bun behind her back, screamed as her mother pounded her with an iron spoon, was terrified in the snow, and was stuffed into a dog hole by her mother?

Luo Danqing!
Fifteen years have sculpted that chubby little girl into the tall, radiant female cultivator before us, but the essence of her being remains unchanged.

That seemingly innate radiance, that vibrant life force like the sun, that self-assured confidence, and even that reckless stubbornness and impulsiveness, were all deeply imprinted on Ayu like a brand.

That was someone Ayu had once deeply admired. In the snowy mountains of Xuan Ying Sword Sect, she dreamt of her family countless times in the dead of night, always modeled after Luo Danqing.

If her parents were still alive, would she be like Luo Danqing, sitting carefree on the doorstep eating steamed buns?

But every time she woke up from her dream, Ayu would fiercely despise herself, despise her own cowardice, and then turn all her envy and disappointment into motivation to move forward. She would practice swordsmanship fiercely until she was exhausted and would no longer dream.

Ayu thought she was strong enough, but when she met Luo Danqing again, looking at her bright and spirited eyes, and at her vibrant energy that couldn't be hidden even when she was covered in mud, she still couldn't help but feel...inferior.

Luo Danqing must have been doing very well these years. She is the center of attention in the sect, recognized, accepted and liked by everyone. Otherwise, how could she be so unrestrained and flamboyant, so recklessly open and fearless?

Looking back on her own fifteen years at the Xuan Ying Sword Sect, she was cautious and diligent in her cultivation, single-mindedly focused on fulfilling her benefactor's dying wish.

However, her coldness and stubbornness made her unpopular within the sect. Her fellow disciples kept their distance from her, feeling that she was too sharp and difficult to approach.

Even her own master... thought she was troublesome, so he found an excuse to send her out for training, out of sight, out of mind, right?
This stark contrast left Ayu with an indescribable bitterness after the initial shock of their reunion had subsided.

Ayu opened her mouth, her throat dry, "I don't have an older sister."

Boom——

A bolt of lightning struck Danxi's head, and she froze on the spot as if petrified. Then she looked the person she had hung on the tree up and down and from all sides.

Finally, he awkwardly laughed and said, "Ha, hahaha, this is really a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll put you down right now."

Danxi quickly untied Ayu herself, picked up the sword from the ground, wiped it clean on Xuanhui, who was like a cloud next to her, and handed it to Ayu with both hands.

"Haha, it's been so many years, you're still as...as amazing as ever!"

With a sullen face, Ayu took back her sword, said nothing, turned and left in the direction that Lu Niang and the girl had fled.

Seeing this, Danxi shouted sharply, "Stop right there!"

Ayu paused for a moment, then ignored Danxi and flew away on her sword.

Danxi chased after them, cursing, "Do you really have to kill them all?"

Ayu kept her eyes straight ahead, saying, "I was entrusted by that girl's parents to take her back."

“I’m telling you, Ayu, this isn’t how you should do things. I didn’t intend to get involved in their affairs, but since we’ve reunited and even fought tonight because of it, it’s as if I’ve become involved and have a karmic connection to this. Listen to me, when we find them, don’t act impulsively. Let’s find out the situation before we decide what to do.”

Ayu silently sped up, with Danxi in hot pursuit.

"If you keep ignoring my advice, I'll tie you up again, you believe me?" Ayu continued to speed up.

"I'll tie you up and hang you up at the entrance of the Xuan Ying Sword Sect!"

Ayu's speed faltered for a moment, and Danxi caught up again.

"That's a good boy~ I'm just afraid that your heart will be clouded in the future. If you still think that the demon should be killed and want to take that girl away after we find out the truth, I will not stop you."

"........."

"Did you notice just now that when you attacked with your sword energy, that demon actively stood in front of the girl? If she wanted to harm that girl, would she risk her life? Also, summer thunderstorms are the weather most feared by most demons. If they are struck by lightning, they are likely to be annihilated. Yet, at this time of year, that demon risked her life to protect the girl as she escaped. Was she really trying to kill her?"

"The girl was completely dry, while the demon was soaked. It was clear that she had been seriously injured the whole way, and was using her remaining demonic power to protect the girl. I don't believe you didn't see these details."

Ayu's escape speed slowed down a bit, and she remained silent.

Danxi continued, "You said that girl couldn't distinguish right from wrong, but you were only seven years old back then, and you were already able to save my life, advise me not to act impulsively, and seize the opportunity to reveal your identity when you encountered cultivators, successfully joining the Xuan Ying Sword Sect. Was that girl really stupid? Did she not trust her parents who raised her for many years, but insisted on trusting a demon?"

"There's clearly something fishy going on here. Could it be that the girl's parents lied to you or are hiding something from you? You can't just believe everything you hear. You also need to hear what the girl and the demon have to say before making your own judgment. By the way, did you become an apprentice at the Xuan Ying Sword Sect? Has no one taught you these things before?"

Ayu frowned. She had a master, but her master... well, let's not talk about him!
Danxi tilted her head to look at Ayu and muttered, "It feels like so many years have passed, but you still look the same as when you were a child. You haven't grown up at all. Ayu, we can't just be as stubborn as the Xuan Ying stubborn ones!"

Ayu suddenly stopped in mid-air, turned her head and stared at Danxi, saying, "I now take my master's surname and am called Jiang Yurong."

Danxi's features scrunched up in a frown. "Jade Face? What a lousy name! Who gave you that?"

"I dare not refuse such a gift from an elder," Jiang Yurong said casually.

"Do you know what my Daoist name is? Danxi, isn't it nice? My master spent several days searching through books in the library to give me this name..."

Danxi kept nagging, but Jiang Yurong didn't want to listen anymore and just kept her head down and continued on her way.

As dawn broke and the heavy rain stopped, the two found the deer girl and the young woman at the edge of the forest.

As before, Lu Niang immediately shielded the girl behind her, but the girl rushed out regardless, kowtowing and wailing at Jiang Yurong and Danxi.

"Please, two immortal masters, spare us! Deer Girl is a good demon; she has never harmed anyone, never!"

Danxi kept rambling on and on, and Jiang Yurong listened to some of it. She also noticed the details Danxi mentioned and belatedly realized the inappropriateness of the parents who had asked her to find their daughter.

This time, Jiang Yurong stood there without moving or drawing her sword. Danxi patted Jiang Yurong's shoulder with satisfaction, "Good girl~"

Jiang Yurong turned her head away with a cold expression.

Danxi helped the girl up. Lu Niang no longer had the strength to struggle and couldn't do much to be on guard.

"Tell me what's going on."

　See you tomorrow!

　　(End of this chapter)