Xue Qing stood at the door, hesitant to go in. Liu Ying had already confirmed that she was not the original Xue Qing, so she was inevitably a little unsure of herself. She paced back and forth outside the door for a long time, until Liu Ying's voice came from inside the house: "If you don't come in, I'll think it's an enemy attack."
Standing outside the door would get her beaten, so Xue Qing pushed the door open and went in. Liu Ying's room was very clean and simple, so simple that it looked like no one lived there unless he was there. Xue Qing always felt that this was a good thing about Liu Ying, as he would have more space to store her junk, since he wouldn't take up much space anyway.
"Uncle-Master, it's you." Liu Ying was a little surprised that Xue Qing had come to find him.
"You even call me 'Uncle-Master,' how sweet." Xue Qing said, finding a chair and sitting down without any hesitation.
Liu Ying smiled faintly. He had his own plans, but he didn't want her to cause trouble.
Xue Qing felt more confident now that she had the antidote in her hands, and said, "My senior brother is gone, what about the Martial Alliance...?"
"Didn't I hand it over to the two of us?" Liu Ying said casually, as if she were talking about the quality of the tea.
Xue Qing frowned: "Hey, I'm serious, I'm getting really annoyed."
"What's bothering you? Tell me." Liu Ying poured tea for Xue Qing, waiting to listen like a therapist.
"I just want to live in peaceful times, with an acre of land, three rooms, a husband, and three children. I can grow vegetables and flowers occasionally. I don't want to get involved in the conflicts of the martial arts world." Xue Qing lowered her head and rubbed her fingers. She wanted to say that she wanted a portable space, but thankfully she didn't say it.
"You want three children?" Firefly asked.
"...Two are fine too...that's not the point!"
Seeing Xue Qing's embarrassed and angry expression, Liu Ying smiled and said, "Don't you have a lot of private money? You could buy land anywhere you want."
Xue Qing subconsciously clutched her purse. He had noticed that. The money was enough for her to eat meat for the rest of her life, but she couldn't bring herself to run away like that. Cocoon Butterfly's words weren't a lie. She was the only one left in the Lingyu Sect who could fulfill Dong Chou's last wish. She was used to being carefree and lazy, and it was inevitable that she would feel lost when suddenly asked to shoulder something.
"Do you know what the biggest difference is between you and your martial uncle?" Liu Ying asked Xue Qing.
"Oh? I'm all ears," Xue Qing said, no longer trying to hide anything.
“You know how to protect yourself better than she does. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t care about sacrificing herself or others once she has a goal. You care about both yourself and others, so you always sacrifice your goals,” Liu Ying said.
"Ha, since you know me so well, I'd like to ask you what you think. If it were you, what would you do?" Xue Qing countered.
“If you had seen the desert fifteen years ago, you would know what I want to do,” Liu Ying said earnestly, looking into Xue Qing’s eyes.
Fifteen years ago, the desert was a place littered with corpses. Xue Qing had never seen it with her own eyes; she had only read about it in books. The place where one has nowhere to live is the Jianghu (江湖, a world of martial arts and chivalry), and the place where one dies without a complete corpse is the desert. Xue Qing realized that she had never truly understood Liu Ying's heart. All along, he had accompanied her wherever she wanted to go or do whatever she wanted. He was no longer just a follower. Feelings are reciprocal, and how could she bear to let him continue to be a pitiful wretch who only gave until he was completely broken? It was time for someone to fulfill his wishes.
"I'm going to find the Cocoon Butterfly!" Xue Qing suddenly said and ran out.
After asking many disciples, it was finally discovered that Jian Die was in the mourning hall. Dong Chou's coffin was temporarily placed in the middle of the hall. Curtains were hung in the hall to block out the sunlight, and only two candles were lit on the offering table. Jian Die was sitting on Dong Chou's coffin, lost in thought.
"Cocoon Butterfly," Xue Qing called softly.
The butterfly looked up, smiled sweetly, jumped off the coffin, and ran to Xue Qing's side: "Auntie."
"I've agreed to take over Second Senior Brother's position. Tell me if he has any other instructions," Xue Qing said.
“Okay, let’s go back to the room to talk. My second uncle hates it when I talk while he’s sleeping.” Cocoon Butterfly made a shushing gesture and pulled Xue Qing back to the room.
Xue Qing glanced at Dong Chou's dark coffin and was pulled away by Jian Die. Watching Jian Die's still-girlish back, she thought of many things. Her concern for Dong Chou was perhaps too much. When you like someone, you care a lot about what they care about, and even what they don't care about will make you feel restricted. But no one can know what kind of feelings Jian Die had for Dong Chou. One end of the red thread was broken. Whether it was a slipknot or a dead knot, there was no way to know now.
When they arrived at Cocoon Butterfly's room, Cocoon Butterfly pulled Xue Qing to sit on the bed with her. Cocoon Butterfly sat opposite Xue Qing, head down, and did not speak.
"What are you doing?" Xue Qing couldn't help but ask.
"...I'm wondering what my second uncle said to me," Cocoon Butterfly replied after a long pause.
"..." Xue Qing was dumbfounded. Please, don't play this on her! She was about to finish one quest, and then she could just take on another and continue leveling up! NPC, have you forgotten the quest details?! This is a bug! This is the legendary bug!
“Ah! I remember now, my second uncle told me a story about a sword,” said Cocoon Butterfly. “That sword is called ‘Ling Shu’. My second uncle said that in terms of martial arts alone, Shaolin has always been the undisputed leader. Later, a bewitching divine skill appeared in the Desert Wilderness, which even made Shaolin Temple’s Yi Jin Jing pale in comparison. The former Lord of the Underworld was so skilled that he severely injured and killed the former Emei Sect Leader when he reached the third level. If someone were to reach the fifth level or higher, there would be no one in the world who could rival him.”
Xue Qing had always known that the Evil Charm Divine Skill was powerful, but she didn't expect it to be this powerful. The male lead's martial arts skills were so powerful that he would be embarrassed to show them if he could lose.
"My second uncle said that the current lord of the Underworld has already mastered the Evil Charm Divine Art to the fourth level. He is exceptionally talented and may break through to the fifth level. At that time, no one in the Central Plains will be his match."
Xue Qing never doubted Yan Ming's martial arts skills. Humans couldn't stop the male protagonist. It was only a matter of time before he broke through to the fifth level. Perhaps she should start researching gunpowder and then blow him up with a submachine gun.
“Aunt, your second uncle said that you shouldn’t be discouraged when you hear this. The Evil Charm Divine Skill is a unique martial art created by the first leader of the Underworld. Back then, that leader used this skill to establish the Underworld and was very powerful. However, that leader was very afraid of his wife. His wife came from Broken Sword Manor. She forged a sword specifically to control the Evil Charm Divine Skill. That sword is ‘Ling Shu’.”
Xue Qing's eyelids twitched. Was the future of the Central Plains going to rest on a henpecked cult leader? The weakness of the Evil Charm Divine Skill was that its creator was afraid of his wife? Xue Qing suddenly felt sorry for the Evil Charm Divine Skill. It had been so domineering for so long, and now it was leaking its power for such a reason!
"Where is the Ling Shu Sword? Is it with Second Senior Brother?" Xue Qing asked.
"After the death of that sect leader's wife, the Ling Shu Sword passed through several owners before disappearing without a trace. Rumors circulated that it was taken back by the Broken Sword Manor, but this rumor is false. My second uncle said that if you want to find the Ling Shu Sword, it's best to visit someone else."
"who?"
"Linghu Chenguang".
What's most important when navigating the martial world? Weapons. Broken Sword Manor is famous for its sword-making, and another clan is equally renowned. That clan not only forges swords, but also hammers, daggers, spears—anything requiring forging can be mastered by them. That clan is the Linghu Clan. However, this clan differs from Broken Sword Manor. While Broken Sword Manor breaks swords for renowned heroes, the Linghu Clan doesn't care about such distinctions. As long as they catch their eye, regardless of whether they are heroes or bandits, their martial arts skills, or whether they have committed murder or arson, everything is taken into consideration. This clan also avoids contact with people in the martial world, residing on the steep and difficult-to-climb Bliss Peak, making them extremely rare to meet. In fact, it's been several years since we've heard from them, and there are even rumors that the Linghu Clan has died out.
"Are you sure Second Senior Brother said that name? He might have said Liu Chenguang, Ling Chenguang, Hu Chenguang or something. You must have misheard!" Xue Qing definitely didn't want to hear the surname Linghu.
Cocoon Butterfly ignored her emotions and nodded firmly: "I didn't mishear. Second Uncle said Linghu Chenguang. He even wrote the name down for me to see."
Heaven's sins can be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable. Legend has it that Mount Bliss is so high that it only snows all year round. What's so bad about climbing twenty floors when the elevator is broken?
Author's Note: **You bastard, why don't you give me back the 200 comments you removed from my blog!**
I'm going out now, I'll write the short story when I get back. Thank you to Helu and Zuo Xixi for the free tickets, **if you draw another one, may it never have a sex life!**
Yi Chun's Qin
Cocoon Butterfly escorted Dongchou's body back to Goulou Mountain. After a heavy snowfall, the mountain road was difficult to travel. Fang Yun offered to send a few disciples to accompany her, but she politely declined. Dongchou was good at building relationships with people, but he actually disliked having too many people around.
Now that the decision was made, Xue Qing was determined to get to work. A transmigrated heroine like her was sure to be effective; she knew a thing or two about the Linghu clan. This clan lived like penguins on the perpetually snow-capped peak of Bliss. Aside from the grueling height of Bliss, even the most ambitious and determined heroes who climbed to the top never saw a member of their clan. The Linghu clan was eccentric and disliked seeing people. However, there was a way to meet them: bring a gift—wine. Of course, it couldn't be ordinary wine; it had to be good wine!