Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 242 - Wulei Platform (3)

The demon race and Yang Zanxing were like two completely unrelated lines. She had been willing to harm her own cultivation to let the shark demon possess her and fulfill his long-held wish to meet an old friend in Li’er Country. She had protected her junior brother Men Dong during the Jinhua Tiger’s attack in the secret realm. She had shielded him in Wufan City and, at the treasure trove, had actively taken up the Wuyou Sword to draw the sword spirit’s attention to save Meng Ying… She was afraid of corpses, the dead, and ghosts. Such a timid demon race member hardly seemed capable of committing any earth-shattering deeds.

After leaving the Li’er Country’s secret realm, he had worked with Shaoyang Zhenren to secretly investigate the matter of the Demon’s Curse. After Gui Diaotang’s death, the Demon Queen Bu Jiang was no longer in the mortal realm, and she had also disappeared years ago. The demon realm seemed to have experienced upheaval, and those behind the scenes might have used Zanxing as a pawn. The current outrage from the entire cultivation world might have played right into their hands.

“Gu Baiying,” Pu Tao’s words brought him back to the present. The girl spoke with some exasperation, “Are you pretending not to see all the evidence?”

“What you call evidence is merely an excuse forced upon her,” Gu Baiying said calmly. “If she were just an ordinary Taiyan Sect disciple without a demon identity, you wouldn’t be so certain she was the culprit today. It’s one thing to kill a demon, but to frame her with a crime just to justify your actions is rather despicable.”

Pu Tao said, “In the end, you just believe her and not us.”

The young man’s gaze was steady: “Isn’t that natural? I’ve been with her for a long time, while I’ve only met you a few times. Of course, I trust her over you. And after much thought, I simply couldn’t find any reason to doubt her.”

The shark demon case in Li’er Country had seen Princess Li Zhu personally kill the innocent and affectionate little mermaid, a regret that could never be remedied. Yin Li, due to being a demon, had never revealed his name to the princess before dying and had wandered alone in the tomb for many years.

He didn’t want Zanxing to become the second Yin Li, nor would he become the second Princess Li Zhu. He trusted Zanxing as he trusted himself, believing from the start and never doubting, no matter the outcome.

Pu Tao looked at him quietly. Under the night sky, the lightning on the Wulei Platform illuminated the young man’s face. He struggled to prop himself up, trying to make his spine straighter despite being pressed down by the heavenly lightning. His hair was damp with sweat, sticking to his face, making him appear quite disheveled, yet his gaze remained bright and resolute, just like before.

Suddenly, she felt a pang in her heart and asked softly, “Gu Baiying, do you like her?”

Gu Baiying did not respond.

Pu Tao repeated, “Back when we were at the Duluo Platform and I asked if you had someone you cared about, you later told me that you did. That person, is it Yang Zanxing?”

The young man’s feelings were clear-cut. His likes and dislikes were evident, making it difficult to deceive others. His usual impatience and arrogance melted into gentleness when he spoke of another person, evoking envy and a surge of bitterness in others.

He looked up, his eyelashes coated with a layer of mountain mist, and said, “Yes. I like Yang Zanxing.”

He loved Yang Zanxing.

The girl’s eyes reddened, and tears couldn’t help but fall. She quickly turned away to hide her emotions and whispered, “But… it’s useless.”

“Her life token is shattered. Yang Zanxing is already dead.”

*

In the small house on Mount Gufeng, a young boy paced back and forth inside.

His lotus flower hairpin was now askew, and he didn’t bother to fix it. His clothes, worn for two days, had become wrinkled, and he had no mood to change them. His usually lively face was now like a frostbitten eggplant, showing signs of dejection and sorrow, along with a hint of suppressed anxiety.

“Stop pacing, Men Dong,” Daoist Yueguang said, unable to restrain his irritation: “You’re making me anxious.”

“Master,” Men Dong ran to Moonlight Daoist’s side, looking up with concern, “Everyone has been locked up in their own rooms now, and Martial Uncle is still on the Wulei Platform. They say that even our ancestors couldn’t endure the heavenly lightning on the Wulei Platform to the end. Is that true? Will Martial Uncle be alright?”

On that day, Gu Baiying had charged into the battle to cover Yang Zanxing’s escape, facing the fury of disciples from various sects alone. In the end, he was outnumbered and imprisoned on the Wulei Platform.

As the most favored junior uncle of the Taiyan Sect and the son of Fairy Qinghua, in the past, he wouldn’t have cared about what others said. But now, with the demon extermination army not yet formed and the demon race lurking ominously, the Taiyan Sect could not afford to be the focus of everyone’s ire. Most importantly, Shaoyang Zhenren had not spoken up.

It seemed he had no intention of protecting Gu Baiying.

Meng Ying and Tian Fangfang, along with the others, were now confined to their respective courtyards and could not step outside. Daoist Lingxin had assigned people to watch over all of them, claiming that the demon race was cunning and might use their relationships with Yang Zanxing to harm the cultivation world. In truth, everyone knew that this was to prevent them from going to the Wulei Platform to find a way to rescue Gu Baiying.

Men Dong grumbled, “That old coot from the Chihua Sect is clearly holding a grudge for when Sister Meng and the others helped Yang Zanxing. Even after living so long, he’s still petty. This time, having Martial Uncle endure punishment on the Wulei Platform, he’s the one jumping the highest. He’s clearly seeking revenge, wishing Martial Uncle to die under the heavenly lightning. His heart is so vicious!”

Daoist Yueguang was troubled: “Don’t be biased. This matter also involves Seventh Junior Brother’s arrogance. Letting someone go is one thing, but then insisting on protecting Zanxing only added fuel to the fire in Linxin’s ears. It’s also our fault. Seventh Junior Brother is young and used to being indulged in the sect without learning the need for compromise and flexibility…”

“If Martial Uncle were willing to compromise, he wouldn’t be Martial Uncle,” Men Dong muttered, “Master, can Martial Uncle come out now?”

“Now that Zanxing’s life token is shattered, Daoist Linxin’s anger has subsided by sixty percent. If Seventh Junior Brother were to be killed, it would not be good for the Taiyan Sect or the Chihua Sect at this time. The Chi Hua Sect wouldn’t come out on top,” Daoist Yueguang sighed, “Actually, if Seventh Junior Brother would just admit to being misled by Zanxing and make a concession, it would give them a way to back down. The Chihua Sect would find it difficult to make things too final.”

But the difficulty lay in the fact that Gu Baiying was simply not the type to compromise. The harsher the punishment, the more stubborn he became. Shaoyang Zhenren wasn’t taking the initiative to speak, and Daoist Lingxin had no reason to extinguish his own authority. However, if this continued to stalemate, Gu Baiying would be the one suffering. In the end, he might even be reduced to ashes.

“Yes, Zanxing’s life token is shattered…” Men Dong suddenly stopped, as if recalling something unpleasant, and fell silent.

The life token of Zanxing had shattered into two halves shortly after she escaped the Ten Thousand Killing Formation. A shattered life token meant that the disciple had disappeared from the world and had died.

Even if they were reluctant to believe the news, they had to accept the reality.

The wind on Mount Gufeng blew through the gaps in the window, causing the child to sneeze involuntarily. He wiped his nose with his sleeve, also brushing away the tears that had secretly fallen.

Daoist Yueguang patted his disciple’s head and sighed.

The mountain weather was unpredictable, what had been a cool night breeze the day before had turned into a desolate chill today.

Autumn had indeed arrived.