Chapter 14
The melodious sound of bells, which had appeared suddenly, grew more and more distinct. Lin Queli saw Qiansui half-kneel, his face contorted in pain, as if he were struggling to resist and not have his will taken away.
Seeing the opening in Qiansui’s defense, more cold arrows shot towards him.
Whoosh—
The next moment, Lin Queli saw frost suddenly appear beside Qiansui. The frost instantly and easily melted the arrows.
Frost and snowflakes fell around them. Lin Queli turned his head and saw that Helan Xue was still sitting in his original position, unmoving, but his entire body was filled with a murderous aura.
He could have stayed in the carriage, but perhaps he wanted to see what kind of people they were, so he got out.
Lin Queli didn’t dare to leave the carriage. He just quietly lifted the curtain of the window to peek.
He didn’t know until he looked, but when he did, he was shocked. The carriage was surrounded by low-level demons.
The Demon Clan was divided into three types. One was the low-level, unintelligent demons, which was what he was seeing now. Lin Queli understood them as the magical beasts or goblins in games.
One was the demons who had cultivated into human form, either through their ancestors or themselves, and had gained intelligence, like Elder Jin, Tingfeng, and Zhuiying. They usually had features like horns and tails.
One was the human demon cultivators who had cultivated into demons through evil thoughts, like the original owner. This was also why Elder Jin was able to incite a group of demons to fight against the Demon Lord, because the Demon Lord’s blood was actually not pure.
Lin Queli swallowed hard and saw a demon in the distance controlling a copper bell in his hand, commanding the demons to attack the carriage. But when he saw the frost, his face turned whiter than the frost itself.
Lin Queli could guess what he was thinking. He probably didn’t expect Helan Xue to come down the mountain personally before the grand competition.
When the demon saw Helan Xue come out, he was defeated without a fight. He was so scared that he immediately shook the bell and tried to escape.
With a raise of his hand, Helan Xue made ice appear under the demon’s feet, trapping him in place, unable to move. He frantically took out a talisman to teleport away, but found that he couldn’t cast any spells at all.
The sound of the bells was thus interrupted. Qiansui finally, in a daze, regained his senses and killed the demon that was about to rush to the side of the carriage with his sword.
Seeing Lin Queli curled up in the carriage, carefully peeking out, Qiansui said, “Young Master Lin, don’t come out…!”
Qiansui had perhaps just regained consciousness, and his movements were still a little unsteady. He swayed as he tried to stand up straight, his attention completely on the demon in front of him, not noticing another one quietly approaching him from behind.
Lin Queli saw it. He was worried that Helan Xue hadn’t noticed the situation here and was afraid that Qiansui would really get hurt. He quickly crawled out and pulled Qiansui into the carriage.
Thump!
The next moment, a demon’s machete appeared where Qiansui had been standing.
Qiansui looked at Lin Queli in surprise.
Lin Queli said anxiously, “Brother Qiansui, don’t stay outside. Hurry and come in to take shelter. Anyway, with a swoosh from Shizun, all the demons will be gone!”
Qiansui was about to say that he also wanted to contribute, when he saw a swoosh of cold wind and arrows outside, and then all the demons fell.
Qiansui: “…”
Qiansui looked at Lin Queli in surprise again.
And the demon controlling the copper bell, seeing that he had been caught by Helan Xue, directly detonated his inner core and committed suicide. The copper bell in his hand fell to the ground.
The surroundings returned to silence. Helan Xue picked up the copper bell and looked at it.
Qiansui first asked Lin Queli, “You… you’re actually not affected by the copper bell?”
First, he wasn’t affected by the copper bell, and now he’s so calm and collected, as if he could predict the future. Could it be that Lin Queli, who looks delicate and precious on the surface, is actually a high-level cultivator? That makes sense, otherwise why would Taxue Xianzun bring him along…
Qiansui was brainstorming.
Lin Queli came back to his senses. “No, no, I…”
Damn it, I was so busy pulling Qiansui just now that I forgot to pretend!
At the same time, Helan Xue walked over with the copper bell and asked Qiansui, “The strange phenomena in the village… is it this?”
He shook the copper bell in his hand.
Lin Queli thought to himself, I’ve got a chance!
He held his forehead and said in a weak tone, “Aiya, Shizun, don’t shake it… I’m so dizzy…”
Qiansui: “…”
Helan Xue: “…”
Lin Queli swallowed hard and quietly opened half an eye. “W-what’s wrong?”
Qiansui said, “Without demonic energy to catalyze it, the sound from the copper bell is just an ordinary bell sound.”
“Oh.” Lin Queli sat up straight as if nothing had happened and coughed dryly. “You guys continue.”
Helan Xue frowned slightly.
And Qiansui, thinking that Lin Queli was hiding his true strength, didn’t dwell on it and just answered Helan Xue’s question. “Yes, and no. It’s a long story. I was originally planning to explain it to Grandmaster in detail when we got to the village, but…”
Qiansui looked at the remains of the demons around them and the corpse of the demon not far away, frowned, and began to speak.
First, every bride-to-be would mysteriously disappear. Either the sedan chair would be empty on the way, or they would disappear from their rooms on the eve of their wedding. Later, when there were no more brides, even the young girls in the village began to suffer. Then, a villager accidentally caught a glimpse of a long-haired female ghost in a wedding dress. If the girl was average-looking, the female ghost would eat her directly. If she was beautiful, the female ghost would take her away, for what purpose, no one knew. This was why they had asked the Myriad Sword Sect for help.
Qiansui and the others investigated and found that this female ghost was the vengeful spirit of a bride who had been betrayed by her lover and had hanged herself in a mountain temple. She had been wandering in the deep mountains, but was lured over by the Demon Clan with the copper bell to kill people.
The copper bell could not only weaken a cultivator’s divine sense, but also control demons and ghosts without divine sense.
With the involvement of the Demon Clan, this was not a simple haunting.
The more Qiansui spoke, the angrier he became. “This is a common trick of the Demon Clan. They manipulate these demons and ghosts to do evil and kill people, thinking they can cover up their purpose!”
Lin Queli’s heart trembled as he listened, but fortunately…
“They are so afraid of our arrival and want to drive us away with the copper bell. And according to what you said, this female ghost is still causing trouble, which means they haven’t found the Demon Sword fragment yet?”
Then there’s still a chance!
“Indeed…”
Lin Queli was more anxious than anyone present. “Then can’t we just purify the female ghost, drive away the Demon Clan, and have someone guard this area so they can’t activate the Demon Sword fragment?”
“Exactly.” Qiansui clapped his hands. “Ah, no, not drive away the Demon Clan, but kill those demons!”
“…Ah.” Lin Queli looked away. “Then how do we catch this female ghost?”
Qiansui rubbed his chin. “A few days ago, I discussed a plan with the village chief and the villagers, but we couldn’t find a suitable person…”
“Hmm?!” Lin Queli walked to Helan Xue’s side and presented him as if he were on display. “Your Xue is here! What’s suitable or not suitable? Your Xue is omnipotent!”
Helan Xue: “…Impertinent.”
Qiansui’s face turned pale. “Aiya, not suitable! Really not suitable!”
“Our plan is… to find someone to disguise themselves as a bride to lure out the female ghost. After all, if it’s just a young girl, there are too many of them, and we don’t know where the female ghost will appear. But the female ghost will definitely not miss a bride. As soon as the female ghost appears, with Grandmaster here, we can definitely subdue her and the Demon Clan.”
Lin Queli: “…Ah.”
That was indeed not suitable. It would be too terrifying for Helan Xue to disguise himself as a bride. If he sat there, the female ghost would probably hide.
Qiansui carefully glanced at Helan Xue. Seeing that he didn’t say anything, he continued, “Unfortunately, the cultivators stationed here and I are all tall and burly, with rough features. We can’t fool her…”
Qiansui’s gaze burned as he looked at Lin Queli. “But now, I seem to see the perfect candidate…”
Lin Queli: “…?”
It can’t be…
Qiansui slapped Lin Queli’s shoulder hard. “Young Master Lin! You are so beautiful… ah, ptooey, handsome and dashing, and so pitiful… ah, what I mean is, if it’s you, you can definitely pass for the real thing. There’s no one else but you!”
In fact, what Qiansui wanted to say was that he had never seen anyone so good-looking. It was one thing to be good-looking, but he also had a just-right pitifulness that made one’s heart ache. Perhaps his sunny and bright temperament neutralized that delicate and fragile quality, so it didn’t feel like he was putting on an act, but rather sincere and cute.
Of course, this was not important to the female ghost. What was important was that with Lin Queli’s figure, appearance, and skin, he could definitely pass for a woman.
More importantly, Lin Queli was not affected by the copper bell. If something unexpected happened, he wouldn’t be in danger. After all, a low-level female ghost formed from resentment was not enough to threaten them. What they were afraid of was the Demon Clan or a high-level demon who was ambushing them for the Demon Sword fragment. Although they hadn’t shown themselves yet, Qiansui and the others had sensed the dense demonic energy in the area.
Lin Queli pointed at himself. “Me…?”
“Yes, don’t worry. After you disguise yourself as a bride, Grandmaster and all the disciples will protect you from the dark.”
Qiansui turned to look at Helan Xue. “Does Grandmaster think it’s appropriate?”
Lin Queli also subconsciously looked at Helan Xue.
Helan Xue frowned.
He looked back at Lin Queli. The person before him was standing obediently, wearing a goose-yellow robe, his dark hair tied in a high ponytail, his features delicate and cute, looking every bit like a young boy.
He wondered what the boy would look like in a woman’s wedding dress.
Seeing that Helan Xue didn’t speak, Qiansui said nervously, “Does Grandmaster think it’s inappropriate?”
After all, asking Lin Queli to wear women’s clothing was a rather… special method.
Helan Xue shook his head. “…It’s fine.”
Lin Queli scratched his head. “Okay, it’s good to be able to contribute to everyone…”
If I can’t be a fighter, being a support item isn’t bad either.
…
After cleaning up the mess, Qiansui continued to drive the carriage and brought the two to the village.
Jingyang Village was not large. The villagers were very enthusiastic to see the cultivators who had come to save them, and the disciples of Shouyang who were stationed here also came out to greet them. Now that they were not in the Myriad Sword Sect, the disciples didn’t need to perform a grand salute, just a simple bow to Helan Xue.
And when the few of them saw Lin Queli, their eyes lit up. “Senior martial brother Qiansui, is this the cultivator you found to disguise himself as a bride? He’s so beautiful…”
“That’s right, not only is his figure suitable, but he’s also not affected by the copper bell! This powerful cultivator is Lin Luo of the Changming Clan. He is now learning by Grandmaster’s side and may enter the Myriad Sword Sect in the future!”
Lin Queli held out his hand in a “stop” gesture. “No, no, I’m not powerful, I…”
“Aiya, that’s great!”
“Greetings, Brother Lin!”
Lin Queli: “Ah, no, I…”
“To be able to enter the tutelage of Taxue Xianzun, Shizun is so amazing…!”
Lin Queli wanted to cry but had no tears. Sure enough, away from the Myriad Sword Sect, the young disciples following Shouyang were so lively…
Then Qiansui took the two to their lodgings. The house was in the village chief’s courtyard. It was said that the village chief and his wife had given up their room and had it cleaned for them.
It’s just…
Qiansui scratched his head. “I initially received news that only Grandmaster was coming, so I told the village chief to prepare only one room. Now they are still cleaning Brother Lin’s room, so it might take a while.”
Lin Queli’s eyes lit up. “It’s okay! It’s totally okay!”
He unilaterally declared Qiansui his savior!
Lin Queli said with a grin, “Brother Qiansui, look, this room is so—big. And…”
He walked to the side and pointed at the soft couch. “Tonight, Shizun can sleep on the bed, and I can sleep on the soft couch, right?”
Qiansui: “Ah… oh?”
Qiansui looked at Helan Xue with some confusion. Didn’t his master say that this Taxue Xianzun never got close to anyone?
Helan Xue frowned. Lin Queli quickly said pleadingly before he could speak, “And I have to disguise myself as a bride. I’ll feel more at ease staying with Shizun. What if, by some chance, the female ghost floats in and grabs me! This is all for the mission!”
Helan Xue raised an eyebrow.
Qiansui nodded. “Young Master Lin is right! Then Grandmaster and Young Master Lin, please rest well. I’ll go and ask the village chief’s daughter to bring the wedding dress over later…”
After Qiansui left, Lin Queli didn’t dare to look at Helan Xue at all. He just sat on the soft couch guiltily, swinging his legs and looking away. “Shizun, I…”
Helan Xue said coldly, “Fine. You stay in the room and cultivate with This Venerable.”
Lin Queli swallowed hard.
No way, we’re already down the mountain on a mission, and we still have to cultivate?
Helan Xue sat in meditation on the bed and said, “Come here.”
Lin Queli: “…”
No warm-up, no buffer, it’s starting just like that?
Good news: Shizun was calling him to bed.
Bad news: to cultivate together, the real kind of cultivation.
