Read Novel Full Chapter 318 - Qixi (1)
Rong Chun followed.
This boy had killed the evil cultivators who harmed her family and saved her. He did not speak to Rong Chun or show any intention of taking care of her. Enveloped in a terrifying black mist, his golden eyes were clearly not those of an ordinary mortal. She had grown up in a small town, timid and frail, and should have avoided danger without hesitation. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Rong Chun followed Gui Yansheng as if guided by fate.
She had no other place to go. Her parents were gone, and as an orphaned girl, she was like drifting duckweed, her fate uncertain.
Gui Yansheng did not drive Rong Chun away.
Rong Chun spoke little and did not inquire about Gui Yansheng. He allowed her to follow him, seemingly tacitly approving of her presence. Occasionally, he would give her some tasks to do. When Gui Yansheng first spoke to Rong Chun, she felt secretly pleased for a long time, thinking that she was needed by this boy.
She had also witnessed Gui Yansheng killing people, in Duzhou, at the sect, and in Heishi City. When he killed, a faint, indifferent smile always lingered at the corners of his mouth. His beautiful eyes often concealed a kind of mad disdain for the world. His methods of killing were also very brutal, sparing no one, whether they were good or evil.
At first, Rong Chun would have nightmares, but gradually, she became accustomed to it.
The boy was moody and would kill on a whim. Even his subordinates, who were laughing and talking one moment, could be killed without hesitation the next. Everyone feared him, thinking he was a madman, but Rong Chun felt that Gui Yansheng was not mad—he was simply weary of the world.
The demons who followed Gui Yansheng did not understand why he kept a mortal by his side, especially one who was not particularly striking. Over the years, everyone around Gui Yansheng had been killed, yet Rong Chun remained, and he had never turned against her. Others thought he might have feelings for her.
But Rong Chun knew he was thinking of another person.
Whenever it rained, Gui Yansheng would sit at the cave entrance with his paper umbrella, watching the droplets fall from the sky and disappear into the mud below, until they vanished without a trace. One day, Rong Chun heard him softly whisper a name: Xiao Chun.
At that moment, Rong Chun came to know that the person in his heart was named Xiao Chun.
She suddenly understood.
No wonder, back in the Asura Ghost Path, when he was about to leave, he had suddenly stopped to ask her name. It was because her mother had called her “Xiao Chun”.
A single name had saved her life.
Sometimes, Rong Chun couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person that Xiao Chun, whom Gui Yansheng cared about, was. But she had never seen Xiao Chun’s true face and assumed that the woman was no longer in the world.
Rong Chun felt pity for Gui Yansheng.
His cultivation method was different from that of the righteous sects, seemingly involving suffering that consumed the heart and burned the body, often causing unbearable pain. The more people he killed, the stronger his cultivation became, and the heavier the backlash. Thus, he never allowed the demons to approach him during his seclusion. He distrusted everyone and feared that someone might take advantage of his weakness to end his life. He practiced desperately, striving to break through, growing stronger each day. He killed in sects and slaughtered at will in the mortal realm, as if determined to become a demon feared by the world, leaving behind a stench for eternity.
Yet, Rong Chun often felt that his heart was empty. He seemed to be desperately trying to grasp something, but he could not hold onto anything. Like a petulant child, doing these things to be seen by someone, but those who could see him were already gone.
It was both tragic and laughable.
The black mist in the cave grew thicker, wrapping around the people inside like massive, dark clouds. Muffled howls of oppression emanated from it, as if someone was desperately enduring heart-wrenching pain, just as countless times before.
Rong Chun lowered her gaze and adjusted her clothes.
She didn’t know why she stayed here. She could have left long ago, abandoned this place, and Gui Yansheng along with it. She could have returned to a simple, peaceful life as before, rather than facing the harsh future and uncertainty alongside a demon feared and hated by the world.
Perhaps, it wasn’t only Gui Yansheng who had lost his mind.
She was a madwoman too.
*
The rain that had plagued Heishi City for days finally stopped.
On the third day of Gu Baiying and his group’s arrival in Heishi City, it was the Qixi Festival
1 in Duzhou.
By nightfall, the entire city of Heishi came alive.
The demons had different habits from humans and were somewhat similar to nocturnal hawks. During the day, they either slept in caves or cultivated, but at night, everyone came out.
The sky in Heishi City turned dark early anyway, and by evening, the city’s lights were already glowing.
Xiao Shuang came to deliver clothes to Zanxing and happened to run into Gu Baiying and his group looking for Zanxing on their way back. Men Dong stared at Xiao Shuang for a while, tugged at Gu Baiying’s sleeve, and whispered, “Martial Uncle, is he also one of Zanxing’s lovers?”
It seemed that some demons had vaguely hinted at this when they were at Yue Mountain.
Gu Baiying: “Be quiet.”
Xiao Shuang looked at them with a smiling expression, neither confirming nor denying the question. He gently replied, “The Young Princess has finished dressing and will be out soon.” After saying that, he gave a nod to everyone and floated away.
Tian Fangfang rubbed his chin and remarked, “He looks so gentle and refined, not like a demon at all.” Seeing Gu Baiying’s glance, he quickly added, “Of course, he’s still not as good as Martial Uncle.”
Gu Baiying snorted but said nothing.
While they were speaking, Zanxing had already emerged from the hall.
Her hair had been styled into a trendy swallow-tailed bun
2 popular among human women, with the ends cascading over her shoulders. She had also changed into a dress embroidered with wisteria in emerald green, with a slim waist and narrow sleeves. She looked playful and light, resembling an unmarried young woman from the human world.
As soon as she appeared, everyone was momentarily stunned. Previously, at Gufeng Mountain, Zanxing had been hidden under a scar. When they last saw her at Yue Mountain, she was dressed in grand, cold attire. Now, dressed in a common gown, standing before the hall, she looked elegant and enchanting in the night breeze.
Tian Fangfang sincerely praised, “Junior Sister, standing next to Senior Sister Meng, our Taiyan Sect looks much more distinguished. Isn’t that right, Martial Uncle?”
Gu Baiying raised his chin with a proud look, “Of course, just look at who taught her.”
Mu Cengxiao cleared his throat and said quietly, “Then doesn’t the credit go to Master
3?”
Gu Baiying emphasized, “I taught her illusion techniques.”
Zanxing: “…”
“Alright, alright,” Tian Fangfang intervened to mediate, “Junior Sister looks so good, thanks to the Demon Queen’s guidance. It’s getting late, let’s go.”
***
Author’s note
Novel with Rong Chun as MC: I Became the Substitute for the Villain’s White Moonlight
Footnotes
The Qixi Festival is a Chinese festival, also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day, celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. It’s a romantic festival where lovers are said to be separated by the Milky Way but are allowed to meet once a year on this night via a bridge made of magpies.
燕尾 (yanwei) hairstyle resembles the tail of a swallow, with the hair styled into a bun at the back of the head and the ends fanning out or tapering downwards, mimicking the graceful curve of a swallow’s tail.
He means Xuan Lingzi, the sixth senior uncle of Taiyan Sect