Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

"My dear Master, wake up! Do you recognize the person I brought back?"

Chu Mingkong opened the door politely but unceremoniously, and Zuo Donglu followed him into Zuo Qiuchi's room.

"Are you Donglu?" Zuo Qiuchi felt a headache coming on, even though she already knew the answer in her heart.

“Yes.” The gray-haired woman nodded.

Noticing something strange about the commotion, Feng Ying and the others gradually approached to see how Chu Mingkong had unexpectedly brought another girl back.

Upon seeing Zuo Donglu's face, Feng Ying smiled and said:

"I thought Mingkong had taken advantage of our inattention to bring a girl back again, but it turns out she's Qiuchi's relative?"

Chu Mingkong actually had a lot of questions to ask, but the fact that he rushed into the Abyss and pulled people out was something he himself found amazing.

Right now, he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for the girls' questions and exclamations!

Zuo Qiuchi stared at Donglu for a long time, pondering:

“This matter really seems strange... Mingkong, you can tell her about the annulment of the engagement now.”

Chu Mingkong's upturned lips froze, and he asked blankly:

"What do you mean?"

Chapter Twelve: Winter Dew's Inauspicious Fate

Although Chu Mingkong didn't know the answer when asked, a certain possibility suddenly popped into his mind...

Surely not?

He turned to look at Zuo Donglu, who remained as calm as ever, showing no signs of being the person involved.

"Master, do you mean this girl is my fiancée whom I've never met?"

"Yes, although according to the rules it's not really appropriate for her to decide, she is, after all, the other party to the engagement, so there's no harm in talking to her first..."

Zuo Qiuchi's voice grew softer and softer.

There was nothing I could do about it; I felt guilty!

No matter how you try to explain it, she did steal her sister's boyfriend, but it feels like it was this traitorous disciple Chu Mingkong who took the initiative to do it, right?

Zuo Donglu sat there, listening blankly for a long time before she finally understood what was going on and managed to keep up with the conversation between the master and disciple.

This isn't her fault. Normally, shouldn't we be talking about... what happened in the Sword Emperor Dynasty, how she was saved, and things like that?

The sudden shift to some old, long-standing marriage arrangements is indeed a bit awkward.

"Qiu Chi, I vaguely remember that marriage agreement. Was it because of this that you left the Sword Dynasty and traveled to the Heavenly Extreme Empire?"

“This can’t just be something you vaguely remember; it’s closely related to you,” Zuo Qiuchi sighed.

This marriage was arranged by the Empress of the Sword Dynasty, but that was indeed several generations ago, and it's unknown what the elders were thinking back then.

If you want to strengthen your bond, then intermarry for several generations. Why did you plan to wait several generations before having intermarry?

Later, the Empress entrusted this important task to the Zuo family.

Perhaps because so much time has passed, the engagement is no longer taken very seriously, especially since the first empress of the Sword Dynasty has passed away.

But it was the will left by our ancestors, and the Zuo family's ancestors also claimed to have taken on this matter on behalf of the Empress, so it cannot be disregarded.

Zuo Donglu's thoughts drifted away...

In her memory, her grandfather had told her about this when she was a child.

As a member of the Zuo family, Zuo Qiuchi was summoned to deliver messages long ago. The journey was long and there was no news for many years. Many years have passed in the blink of an eye until today.

"Qiu Chi, did Young Master Chu travel all this way to the Sword Dynasty just to discuss annulmenting the engagement?"

Zuo Qiuchi wiped away her sweat. Even someone as thick-skinned as her could have embarrassing and difficult situations.

Two women with similar appearances sat together. Neither of them wore makeup, yet they were more beautiful than those with heavy makeup, each possessing their own unique charm.

"Yes, but Donglu, don't feel sad or anything like that. He doesn't mean he thinks there's anything wrong with you..."

Zuo Donglu interrupted her, shook her head, and said softly:

"It's alright. It was just a very casual agreement anyway. Besides, I don't think I'm suitable. Now that I've joined Wufeng Cliff, it's like I've become a monk, so it's difficult for me to keep my promise."

In addition... my destiny is not suited to being a spouse; I am better suited to being alone...

The gray-haired woman spoke these words calmly.

Once she confirmed that the situation had stabilized, she took out the hairpins she had previously stored away, re-pinned her hair up, and slowly combed through the loose strands, re-pinning them neatly and securing the hairpins.

Before coming here, Chu Mingkong had rehearsed the scenario of annulment countless times in his mind, but he never expected things to go so smoothly and simply.

I've only ever heard of families who agree to a marriage when they've been betrothed since childhood, but I've never heard of two families who are breaking off an engagement agreeing to do so as well, wishing each other a smooth collaboration.

"Fate, what's going on?" he asked Zuo Qiuchi in a low voice.

It wasn't a good idea to say such things, but Zuo Qiuchi knew that Donglu wouldn't care about such things.

Since we're saying we're parting ways, let's part ways amicably.

"They probably have that in the Heavenly Empire too, something like a cursed star or a lone star. When Donglu was little, she said that she was prone to causing the sword intent of those around her to go astray, resulting in evil light and bloodshed."

This is actually quite... well, you know, on the Sword Dynasty side...

Zuo Qiuchi couldn't bear to continue, but Zuo Donglu took over the conversation herself.

"They say that my grandfather was the one who caused the trouble for me, and that my master took me in to become a monk. He also passed away early... I am not suitable to accept this marriage proposal, as it would harm you, Young Master Chu."

To discern a person's destiny, one needs to reach a certain level of cultivation. At that time, the elder of the Zuo family arranged for Donglu to fulfill this marriage agreement, but he did not expect things to turn out this way. Otherwise, it would have been equivalent to sending Chu Mingkong a jinx who would bring misfortune to her husband.

After Chu Mingkong realized this, he finally understood what the feeling he had been catching from Zuo Donglu was.

That is loneliness, the loneliness of being utterly alone and isolated.

Like a solitary shadow cast by a dim lamp in the dead of night.

Zuo Donglu has an elegant temperament with a touch of detachment, but her calmness stems from this loneliness, making her appear somewhat wooden and dull.

Chu Mingkong felt a pang of guilt; it made it seem as if he had broken off the engagement to avoid a jinx, and he felt a bit choked up.

He decided to postpone this matter and discuss it privately with his master.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. We might have to consult with our elders and see what they think. Um... could you tell me what happened to you, Donglu?"

Zuo Qiuchi was unwilling to elaborate on his sister's fate and experiences, and casually echoed:

"That's right! Wasn't the Sword Dynasty completely sealed off inside and out? How did you manage to meet Mingkong?"

"Young Master Chu walked from the Abyss to the vicinity of Wufeng Cliff and rescued me," Zuo Donglu summarized simply.

That was indeed the whole story, but Zuo Qiuchi was completely bewildered.

"What is this? And Donglu, you don't need to call him Young Master, just call him Mingkong. He's your junior too, should he call you Aunt or Auntie?"

Chu Mingkong smiled; his master's darling's dilemma was exactly the same as his own.

"Okay, let me explain what happened..."

After listening to Chu Mingkong's story, Zuo Qiuchi had no time to pay attention to the strange thing that Chu Mingkong had done: "running from the Abyss to the Sword Dynasty".

She said with some self-reproach:

"It's my fault. Donglu has run into such a big problem. I even steered the conversation so far off topic at the beginning."

However, when Chu Mingkong and Zuo Donglu returned, they were so calm that she thought it was just a chance encounter. She never expected that Zuo Donglu had been ambushed.

She asked again:

"What is the current situation of the Sword Dynasty? Why did they open the Sword Domain? And why are you being hunted down?"

Zuo Donglu shook her head, showing no emotional change despite her experience, and offered a high-quality response:

“I don’t know. Since my master passed away, I have been cultivating alone on Wuya Peak all year round, and only come down the mountain occasionally. I have never heard of any major events.”

Chu Mingkong said slowly:

"Alright, since they're after Aunt Donglu, they'll probably keep the news under wraps and not let her know."

Hearing the change in how this rebellious disciple addressed him, Zuo Qiuchi chuckled in annoyance:

"You're really good at getting close to people, aren't you?"

Chapter Thirteen Acceptance

Sword Dynasty, Zhengjian Peak.

The mountain peak resembles a straight, long sword, standing tall and soaring into the clouds.

The longsword, specifically a three-foot-long sword, is a major area of ​​study for sword cultivators worldwide. It can be considered the mainstream of sword cultivation, and countless poems praise the longsword.

Sword cultivators constantly come and go among the sword peaks.

A group of sword cultivators rushed into the main hall of the mountain gate to report the situation to the peak master.

The voices of those below trembled, while those above were filled with rage and horror.

"...When we arrived, we saw a giant python from the abyss rush out and devour Elder Fu. His subordinates seemed to have already perished in the snake's mouth, and the woman Zuo Donglu was nowhere to be found."

"They probably... probably perished in the snake's jaws... We risked going in to search afterward, but found nothing else! We didn't see any trace of that giant black python either!"

Several sword cultivators who had witnessed the Abyss Python devouring people reported the details they knew to the peak master, Li Tairan.

According to the rules, in this kind of situation, one person should collect the testimonies, summarize the information, and then convey it to Li Tairan in a logical and organized manner.

However, the incident was so horrifying that only a few eyewitnesses could take turns recounting what they saw, and no one dared to take responsibility for the false report.

Qunliu Sanba Sanling Liusi Ninth Phase

After listening to the conversation, Li Tairan's movements as he played with the walnuts became faster and faster, until they gradually started to smoke, and finally, with a "bang!" he crushed them.

"Zuo Donglu was taken away like this? Could it really be fate? The Two Elements Chaotic Soul Sword is hopeless, the late emperor's will is hopeless, are those treacherous villains going to succeed?!"

The hall was silent; no one dared to speak.

The silence, like the smell of rotten eggs, slowly spread.