Chapter 16: Holding Hands
Luo Jinxiao touched her hand, a deep smile on her lips.
Chopping trees was truly difficult work, made even more challenging without the use of spiritual power. Luo Jinxiao held a large axe she had borrowed, striking it down on the trunk again and again. Several trees had already fallen behind her, but it was still far from the number she had been punished to chop.
Unconsciously, it was already noon. The round sun hung high overhead, and even the dense canopy of leaves provided little respite from the heat. Soon, sweat soaked through her clothes, and Luo Jinxiao was panting from exhaustion. She dropped the axe, squinted at the sky, and let out a breath.
“Damn this weather, why is it so hot?” She wiped her face with her sleeve, smearing dirt onto her originally fair skin.
“Sister!” A deliberately hushed voice called out. Luo Jinxiao looked towards the forest and saw Luo Ning emerge from the bushes, her head lowered, looking dusty and travel-worn.
“I’ll help you,” she whispered, padding over to Luo Jinxiao’s side and taking the axe from her hand.
Luo Jinxiao was still not used to having a younger sister and could only offer an awkward smile and a word of thanks.
Luo Ning, however, seemed accustomed to her attitude and didn’t mind in the slightest. A single word of thanks was enough to make her eyes curve into crescents. She patted her chest. “I can use my spiritual power. Don’t worry, no one will be watching you in this heat.”
With that, she excitedly raised her hand. The axe, under the control of her spiritual power, flew into the air and smashed into the trunk of a tree. With a loud crack, the tree that Luo Jinxiao had been chopping at for a long time finally fell.
Luo Jinxiao took a few steps back to avoid the dust and leaves, looking at Luo Ning with surprise. It seemed that while her own body was useless, her younger sister possessed considerable strength.
“I’ve been away for ten days. When I returned, I heard from Father and Mother about what happened to you. If I hadn’t gone out to train, I could have protected you,” Luo Ning said, her voice growing lower. Luo Jinxiao turned her head again and saw that Luo Ning was crying as she controlled the axe.
She seemed to have the temperament of a young girl, crying freely when upset. Tears streamed down her face like broken beads, but her hands never stopped moving, and soon another swathe of trees had fallen.
Seeing her cry, Luo Jinxiao felt strangely suffocated but didn’t know what to do. She scratched her head and finally managed to say, “I’m alright, don’t cry.”
Luo Ning turned back, smiling through her tears and quickly wiping them away, “Don’t worry, Sister. Now that you’re also a disciple of Wuhui Sect, our Luo family has two Wuhui Sect disciples. With me here to protect you, no one will dare bully you again!”
Hearing these words, Luo Jinxiao’s eyes softened. In just half a day, this was the second person who had said they would protect her.
Although she didn’t need it, her heart was warmed nonetheless.
She suddenly thought of the Demon Lord, and her heart stirred. Then, a touch of disappointment followed. That “I’ll protect you” was probably just a joke. Someone like her surely wouldn’t take such a promise to heart.
Meanwhile, on a hidden cliff several miles away, stood a woman in red.
She carried a red sword on her back, its color even deeper than her robes. It lent her an air of both grace and sharpness. From afar, with her delicate features and long, black hair that danced in the wind, she cut a figure as elegant as an immortal.
She stared intently at the flock of birds startled into flight in the distance, her expression unreadable.
“Hey, you’ve been watching for a long time. Don’t tell me you’re actually interested in that little brat?” The sword spirit perched on Qu Weiyin’s shoulder, bored out of its mind. “It’s just chopping wood, it’s not like she’ll die from it. What are you so worried about?”
“Don’t tell this me that you’ve taken a liking to…”
Before she could finish, Qu Weiyin grabbed her by the head and lifted her up, silencing her. The sword spirit could only kick her little legs in the air uselessly.
“You know she’s just a little brat, so stop talking nonsense.” Qu Weiyin’s expression remained unchanged.
“Mmmmph…mmmmph…” The sword spirit finally managed to wriggle free, shaking her crumpled red hair. “Then why don’t you go cultivate instead of watching her chop wood?”
“Perhaps… it’s empathy,” Qu Weiyin’s eyes flickered slightly, speaking softly, “No one else should suffer as I have.”
The sword spirit rarely saw such a vulnerable expression on Qu Weiyin’s face. It struggled for a moment longer, then fell silent, a hint of worry in its eyes.
But the vulnerability was fleeting. Qu Weiyin turned away, her usual composure settling back into place as she prepared to leave. Just then, a subtle movement caught her eye—a shadow flickering in the corner. She halted, eyes narrowing with anger. Her hand moved to the Crescent Star Sword on her back, killing intent radiating from her.
The sword spirit didn’t try to stop her. Instead, it leaped back into the sword, its body instantly glowing red.
Qu Weiyin vanished from the cliff. In the blink of an eye, she reappeared on the opposite cliff, standing before a man with a long beard that reached his belly.
Qu Chengzhou wasn’t surprised to see her. He merely smiled benevolently. “Weiyin, what brings you here?”
“What are you doing here?” Qu Weiyin’s eyes held unconcealed hatred, her grip tightening on her sword.
Qu Chengzhou glanced at her hand and laughed. “Are you threatening me, Junior Shishu?”
“It’s not a threat,” Qu Weiyin said, each word heavy with meaning.
“Don’t worry, my dear niece. I promised your father I wouldn’t kill you, and I always keep my word.” Qu Chengzhou’s smile was gentle as he stroked his beard.
“How dare you speak of my father!” Qu Weiyin’s hands trembled with suppressed rage, her eyes practically spitting fire. What she hated most was that even after she had succumbed to demonic cultivation in her past life and slaughtered all those who had wronged her, she had never laid a hand on Qu Chengzhou.
In this lifetime, she would personally make him pay, even if it cost her everything!
“You do not have the cultivation level to kill me yet,” Qu Chengzhou seemed indifferent to her fury. He stepped forward, his eyes appreciatingly on Luo Jinxiao, who was chopping wood in the distance.
“Luo Jinxiao, is it?” he asked.
“Don’t even think about touching her,” Qu Weiyin said coldly.
Qu Chengzhou looked at her in surprise, his beard quivering as he laughed. “What’s this? Are you protecting her?”
Qu Weiyin didn’t answer. She simply stood there, her divine sword humming softly. The air around them began to crackle with energy, startling birds into flight and sending beasts scurrying away.
Her red lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes gradually turning crimson with rage.
Meanwhile, Luo Jinxiao sensed something was wrong. She suddenly looked up, her gaze directed towards the distance.
“What’s happening over there?” she asked, frowning.
Luo Ning followed her gaze, puzzled. “It feels like a powerful surge of spiritual energy. Maybe it’s just some high-level cultivators sparring. Sister, why don’t we leave for now and come back tomorrow?”
Luo Ning stepped forward to pull her away, but Luo Jinxiao didn’t move. She felt something familiar about the brilliant light.
“I want to see what’s happening,” Luo Jinxiao hesitated, a nagging worry in her heart.
“But what if you get hurt? Sister, Junior Shishu Qu specifically said you shouldn’t use your spiritual power.” Luo Ning looked at her with concern.
“Can you take me to see, please?” Luo Jinxiao looked at Luo Ning, pleading in her eyes.
Luo Ning had never seen Luo Jinxiao like this before. She quickly caved, pouting slightly as she agreed. “Fine, but we’ll leave right after.”
“Okay,” Luo Jinxiao beamed at the response, grabbing Luo Ning’s hand and pulling her forward.
“Are you smitten with some young master? Why else would you be in such a hurry?” Luo Ning muttered under her breath as she stumbled along.
Luo Ning quickly led Luo Jinxiao up the cliff. Luo Jinxiao swiftly drew a talisman and cast a concealment spell, hiding their forms before they cautiously approached the source of the brilliant light.
“Sister, when did you learn to use talismans?” Luo Ning whispered, surprised.
“Shh, look, isn’t that Junior Shishu Qu?” Luo Jinxiao whispered back, frowning. She brushed aside some leaves, and a man and a woman came into view, locked in a tense standoff. The man appeared serene and sage-like, while the woman, clad in red, stood with her sword drawn. It was Qu Weiyin.
This isn’t good, Luo Jinxiao thought to herself. The Demon Lord, already susceptible to demonic cultivation due to the Gu in her body, now seemed to be agitated by something. The killing intent radiating from her was so thick it felt like it could freeze the air.
Without hesitation and before the confrontation could escalate into violence, she ran forward, grabbed Qu Weiyin’s hand, and pulled her back, shielding her with her own body.
Neither Qu Weiyin nor Qu Chengzhou expected this sudden intrusion. Both were momentarily stunned. Qu Weiyin stared in astonishment at Luo Jinxiao’s hand tightly clasped around hers. As her eyes gradually returned to their normal color, a tremor ran through her, and for a moment, she forgot to pull away.
And so, their hands remained intertwined, the lingering warmth of the sun still radiating from Luo Jinxiao’s palm.
