Sensing Mu Xuanling’s nervousness, Nan Xuyue smiled and withdrew his hand. “If you don’t want me to tell anyone, I’ll keep your secret,” Nan Xuyue said gently.
Mu Xuanling looked at him in surprise and softly said, “Thank you…”
“No need to thank me,” Nan Xuyue lowered his eyes, his voice tinged with sadness and regret. “You helped me before, but when you needed me most, I wasn’t by your side.”
When he met her, it was during the darkest days of his life. He thought he had lost everything, but a little girl was leaning on his wheelchair, covered in wounds, yet still looking at him with bright eyes and a cheerful voice, saying, “Young Master Nan, you were born with everything. Now you’ve just lost a little bit, but you’re still better off than many others. Don’t be sad.”
He said, “My legs are broken. I can never walk like a normal person again.”
She pulled up her patched trousers, revealing thin ankles with tight, dark red bell anklets that seemed to be stained with blood, the iron rings almost cutting into the bone.
She said, “Young Master Nan, we’re the same. Walking hurts me a lot too, but I guess I’ve gotten used to it over time.”
He said he had lost all love.
She pouted and said, “Nobody loves me either, but I don’t like them anyway. I want to keep all my affection for myself. Hmm… how about I share some with you? I can like you a little, but would you dislike me for being a half-demon?”
She happily exclaimed, “Young Master Nan, you smiled! You look so handsome when you smile!”
Nan Xuyue thought that there was still someone in this world who could give him a little affection. Even just a little felt precious to him.
He said to his father, “Father… can we take that demon slave with us?”
Nan Wujiu impatiently shook off his hand, his brow furrowed with irritation. “Don’t waste my time with nonsense.”
In the end, Nan Xuyue couldn’t take her away. Many years later, when he finally had the power to do so, she was already gone.
Nan Xuyue looked at Mu Xuanling before him, with a different face but the same eyes, and sighed, “I’m already happy that you remember me.”
It’s just that the little girl who once said she would keep all her affection for herself had given her love and her life to someone else. Sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her hand for these few hours, he had been thinking for a long time. He thought that Xie Xuezhen must have done something he couldn’t do.
And he, he hadn’t done anything at all. He had only received her salvation when he was at his most painful, so what right did he have to ask for more from her?
So when he saw Mu Xuanling’s lost and bitter expression, he told her the truth – it was Xie Xuezhen who had carried her back from the snow.
Sure enough, she cheered up. What a simple girl.
“Young Master Nan, you’re so kind,” Mu Xuanling said gratefully.
Nan Xuyue smiled, “So you only have a little bit of affection for me, right?”
She laughed awkwardly. “But Young Master Nan, you now have the affection of many people.”
But I only want yours.
Nan Xuyue didn’t say it. He was considerate and wouldn’t put people in difficult positions, especially not someone he cared about.
So he said, “Yes, thank you for those words you once said to me.”
Xie Xuezhen, whether he was avoiding himself or Mu Xuanling, didn’t go back to see her. He stayed up all night and only learned from Nan Xuyue the next day that Mu Xuanling had woken up, but was still weak and needed some time to recover.
“That’s good,” Xie Xuezhen nodded slightly, then said, “I’ve summoned the members of the Immortal Alliance to the Hall of Righteousness for a council. You should come too.”
Nan Xuyue was slightly taken aback and said, “But I’m not a member of the Immortal Alliance.”
“Your insight into formations far surpasses others,” Xie Xuezhen said decisively. “Let’s go.”
Seeing that he had already turned to leave, Nan Xuyue followed.
Before reaching the Hall of Righteousness, they could already hear arguments from afar.
“Island Master He spends his days consorting with demons, perhaps he has forgotten his identity,” Su Ningzhen said coldly. “Among us, you’re the most likely to be in league with the demon clan.”
“Sect Leader Su, you’re attacking the person, not the issue. I don’t need to reason with you,” He Xianwo sneered. “If you can defeat me, let’s fight outside Yongxue City. If you can’t, see how many in this hall stand with you?”
Su Ningzhen said, “Do you all agree with what I’ve said?”
Fu Yuanting smiled wryly, “Without evidence, we shouldn’t fight among ourselves and hurt our unity.”
Su Ningzhen said, “Better to kill by mistake than to let a traitor go. He Xianwo’s desire to defect is too strong. In the war against the demon clan, he’s more harmful than helpful.”
He Xianwo: “Heh.”
Xie Xuezhen walked into the hall just as a great battle was about to erupt. A chill entered from outside, freezing the air.
Everyone bowed and said, “Sect Leader Xie.”
Xie Xuezhen walked past everyone without a glance, went to the main seat, and turned to face the various sect leaders and elders.
“What the demon clan hopes to see most is cultivators harboring ill thoughts, breeding demons in their hearts,” Xie Xuezhen coldly swept his gaze over those who had been arguing earlier. “Everyone here has practiced cultivation longer than I have. Surely there’s no need to explain this principle.”
Su Ningzhen frowned slightly and bowed, “Thank you for your guidance, Sect Leader.”
Xie Xuezhen didn’t look at her again and said seriously, “The person Fu Lansheng captured yesterday, I believe everyone has thoroughly investigated. He’s just an ordinary cultivator who has completely lost his memory. He doesn’t know why he came to Yongxue City. From various signs, he should have been possessed by a heart demon.”
Fu Yuanting said, “I heard from my son that he had an accomplice who escaped at the time, so at least two demons have infiltrated Yongxue City.”
Demons have no physical form but can possess others. However, they also have limitations. When possessing someone, they’re affected by yang energy and their demonic energy dissipates. Moreover, they can’t possess the same person for more than twelve hours, or that person will die from demonic energy attacking their heart. When Fu Lansheng bound that person with the spirit-binding lock, the heart demon possessing him had already slipped away, leaving behind only an unknowing shell.
“Have you examined the scene? Did you find anything suspicious?” Xie Xuezhen asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
Xie Xuezhen looked at Nan Xuyue again: “The reason I invited Manor Lord Nan today is because he’s most proficient in formations. Manor Lord Nan, can you see any clues from the formation?”
Nan Xuyue hesitated for a moment, then said cautiously, “Setting up a formation requires objects rich in spiritual energy. Formation symbols are written with cinnabar and placed in specific positions. Once the conditions are met, the formation naturally takes shape. A two-way transmission formation requires an enormous amount of spiritual power, but this person used seemingly ordinary spirit stones for the formation, and the cinnabar used for the symbols is common. However…”
“Please speak freely,” Xie Xuezhen gestured for him to continue.