Chapter 127: 103. Here it comes! (3.0K words - please subscribe)
Jingzhe day, snakes and insects emerge together, the earth rejuvenates.
This day draws nearer.
And there are fewer and fewer disciples on Red Leaf Island.
Under the guidance of Elder Kuye and Granny Meng, Song Yan’s alchemy experience grew richer, and he became increasingly adept at treating the ailments of foundational cultivators.
The treatment of these ailments was nothing more than using some decoctions to calm the mind, dispel poisons and evil qi, and cleanse wounds...
Elder Kuye also attempted to introduce this disciple to a Dao companion, as it was generally agreed among cultivators that "lone yin does not grow, lone yang does not survive, only dual cultivation is sustainable"... unless you keep using furnaces like the Demon Sect. Otherwise, having a long-term Dao companion of mutual interests is very necessary.
But Song Yan always refused.
He was always ready to run away, and a Dao companion would be nothing but a burden.
If he truly desired companionship, even visiting a brothel would be better than finding a Dao companion, unless... this Dao companion provided food and shelter and a safe place for him, like Lady Ling did before.
Elder Kuye could only sigh, seeing his repeated refusals, and gave up, not mentioning it again.
As Jingzhe day approached, Elder Kuye and Granny Meng also began to frequently leave the bamboo house, sometimes for two or three days at a time...
The bamboo house naturally was left to Song Yan.
Sometimes, injured disciples hurriedly came seeking Elder Kuye for healing, yet Song Yan handled these cases with no difference in outcome. Elder Kuye secretly watched twice and then completely let go.
...
...
That night, late at night...
Song Yan lay on his side on the couch, as usual.
Tonight, Elder Kuye did not return again.
Once again, he watched over the bamboo house.
Outside the window, mist lingered, and the shallow waves of Misty Sea slapped gently; inside, the faint scent of herbs still lingered...
Suddenly, the pattering sound of falling rain first came from the roof ridge, followed by ripples of intersecting sounds originating from flowers, grass, wood, leaves, water, and stones.
Though he was merely maintaining a false identity, his days on Red Leaf Island were far more peaceful than those on South Bamboo Peak.
The old pride of Elder Kuye could never appear in the Puppet Sect...
Su Yao’s cold, foolish temperament was also unique to the Righteous Dao...
And those disciples who acted with a generous willingness to die on the front lines couldn’t be found in the Puppet Sect either...
Song Yan turned over, closing his eyes to sleep.
He had just closed his eyes for the time it takes for one incense stick to burn when hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
Song Yan opened his eyes, quickly dressed, and went to open the door.
With a creak, the door opened...
Outside the courtyard came the urgent voice of a female cultivator: "Sword Master, Sword Master, please save my senior sister, I beg you!"
Song Yan found the voice somewhat familiar, looked closely, and saw that the female cultivator was Little Jiu Junior Sister, the one he met at the Wang Family, who scolded him most harshly without mercy.
Little Jiu Junior Sister looked up and saw Song Yan, her anxious expression instantly freezing in the rain.
Her hair was short, not particularly pretty, and now her entire body was not only soaked with rain but also blood, her small boots standing in muddy ground, filthy with grime.
She carried a female sword cultivator on her back, and that sword cultivator was already on the brink of death, while Little Jiu Junior Sister herself... was clearly injured as well.
Song Yan sniffed and detected a pungent, foul smell of blood, known to him if not others... it was the scent of evil qi.
"Come in quickly."
Song Yan said, "The teacher is not here; this place is under my care."
Little Jiu Junior Sister finally reacted, hurriedly "Oh" and then carried the female sword cultivator inside, placing her on a sickbed as per Song Yan’s directions.
Song Yan asked a few quick questions, then swiftly administered pre-prepared poison-dispelling and evil qi purification elixirs to the two. Little Jiu Junior Sister sat by the side, while he quickly treated the female sword cultivator’s wounds.
Some wounds were around the chest and abdomen, but he avoided any inappropriate contact, without the slightest intention of taking advantage.
After a lot of busy work, the female sword cultivator’s breathing became even, her complexion slightly better. Little Jiu Junior Sister, though weak, leaned against the bamboo house wall, looking at Song Yan who had paused, and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Bai."
After thanking him, she turned her head slightly, not wanting to say more.
Even though Bai Xiuhu had become stronger and was relied upon, in her heart... strength and excellence could not offset past sins.
Sister Yutang and those senior brothers who died because of Bai Xiuhu’s cowardice would never come back.
She was very grateful for Senior Brother Bai’s healing, and she could stand up for him, but... forgiveness was impossible.
But then again, who would care about the forgiveness of a trivial, precarious little sword cultivator?
"I’ll... go wait outside."
Little Jiu Junior Sister supported herself to stand, then gritted her teeth, walked outside, and found a dry spot under the eaves, sat down, leaned against the wall, and looked up at the spring rain sliding down the tightly packed new leaves, pressing down the wild grass at the foot of the bamboo fence.
But after sitting for a while, the door opened again, and Little Jiu Junior Sister sensed a shadow emerging, the shadow sitting beside her.
She instinctively turned her head to look and saw it was Bai Xiuhu, words forming on her lips but ultimately kept to herself.
Song Yan took the initiative to ask, "Has Jianshui Capital been attacked on a large scale again?"
Little Sister Xiao Jiu, hearing him mention this, started talking, "Yes, Senior Brother Bai killed quite a few Demon Sect cultivators that time, and they quieted down for a while. But a few days ago, for some unknown reason, a large group of Demon Sect cultivators appeared in Jianshui Capital.
The winds kicked up, sending sand and stones flying, along with numerous monsters wrapped in shadow puppets, brimming with evil qi. Our fellow disciples suffered heavy casualties... Every healing place on the islands was occupied, so I carried Senior Sister here to seek Sword Master Kuye."
Song Yan joked, "Didn’t expect to meet an annoying person like me, right?"
This was exactly what Little Sister Xiao Jiu was thinking, but she was startled and quickly waved her hands, saying, "No, no, Senior Brother Bai... Senior Brother Bai..."
It was very hard for her to say the words "not annoying" against her will.
As they were talking, hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, accompanied by anxious cries of "Sword Master, Sword Master."
Song Yan quickly got up, calling out, "Here! The teacher is not here today, I’m in charge."
Soon, a male and female sword cultivator appeared carrying a stretcher, a bloodied senior cultivator lying upon it.
Song Yan promptly brought them inside and carefully treated them.
He was busy with this until dawn.
Song Yan chatted idly with these unfamiliar "fellow disciples."
A sword cultivator said coldly, "Those demon cultivators must be creating a fuss in preparation for the battle at Konglan Mountain, so they attacked from many fronts!"
Another sword cultivator said, "Those little demon pests are the craftiest, they want to distract Uncle Elder Chang! Unfortunately, they’re playing away games. Although they’ve hurt many of our fellow disciples, they haven’t fared any better! I personally cut down a little pup controlling paper puppets, it was exhilarating, truly exhilarating!"
Yet another sword cultivator added, "Trying to distract Uncle Elder Chang? They’re delusional! Uncle Elder Chang will definitely win!"
Little Sister Xiao Jiu’s voice came from outside, "That’s right, evil never prevails over good since ancient times!"
Listening to Little Sister Xiao Jiu’s enthusiastic and fervent voice, Song Yan felt a bit speechless.
She was just half dead, and now she’s all fired up talking about this, right?
But immediately after, he narrowed his eyes slightly, falling into contemplation.
He was inherently a person extremely sensitive to information.
In the Puppet Sect, if he weren’t sensitive to information, he would have died countless times already.
Noticing the subtle signals before the coming change, adapting instinctively, these are all daily practices...
Amid the passionate talk among the hot-blooded sword cultivators, Song Yan couldn’t help but recall.
Recently, he had treated many injured Sword Sect disciples, and the situations were very similar, all severely wounded by attacks from Demon Sect disciples.
Sword cultivators are different from demon cultivators.
Sword cultivators rely mainly on themselves and the sword they hold.
But demon cultivators are complex, with various types of puppets and despicable methods, impossible to guard against.
In a direct confrontation, demon cultivators would definitely be at a disadvantage.
But in these alley fights, ambushes, sword cultivators might fight all day only to destroy the demon cultivators’ puppets.
No one understands this better than Song Yan...
After all, back then, it was Grandma Fox who destroyed his puppet, brought it into the treasure vault, and then it led to a series of bloody events.
This is why he knows the nature of "Demon Sect disciples" extremely well.
While ambush is possible, tasks like "kill a thousand enemies, lose eight hundred comrades" are impossible for Demon Sect disciples to undertake.
In this kind of high-casualty magical battle, demon cultivators would definitely break down faster than sword cultivators.
With so many vacancies in the bamboo huts of Red Leaf Island, Song Yan firmly believes... If a sword cultivator died on the Southern Wu’s territory, a demon cultivator would also have to die.
With such high fatality rates, they still come to risk their lives.
For what?
In the dimness of dawn, Song Yan seemed to doze off for a moment, but his expression turned slightly grim...
By calculation, demon cultivators can’t possibly rely on "faith" to fight. This kind of "high-casualty" chaotic scene is sufficient for them to act as only token participants, showing up without committing, only a fool would truly risk their life.
But since they did indeed risk their lives, then there’s a big problem.
Song Yan squinted his eyes increasingly, suddenly recalling that Granny Zhu had already made a deal with the "Two-headed Bilanshijin tribe" the year before last, and then sought him out.
This meant that, even if the incident of "Grandma Fox stealing Changwang Tiger Blood" wasn’t completely exposed, it had become a priority target of attention, and the fact that "Grandma Fox was frantically searching for him" had put him on the hit list of at least the Fox, Wolf, and Bilanshijin tribes.
This incident occurred the year before last.
It has been almost two years...
The Fox and Wolf races, haven’t they taken any action?
If they did..... then, is the Puppet Sect still an independent sect today?
Of course, soul searches won’t reveal much, unless... you search the divine souls of people like Gu Huangzi, then you might uncover the truth.
Song Yan closed his eyes, using this condition as a hypothesis, conducted a deduction, and discovered... the Demon Sect disciples’ uncharacteristic fervor could be explained.
All of a sudden, he could feel his heart beat faster.
On the day of Jingzhe, the battle at Konglan Mountain was about to happen... perhaps, there are greater depths to this than he imagined.