Chapter 28

It was just as he had expected! Xie Zhefeng was not so easily fooled.

There were far too many suspicious points surrounding his time at the Cloud Sword Sect. Previously, when Xie Zhefeng had begun his interrogation, Qin Wei had arrived abruptly, causing the questioning to cease. On the journey back to Zhaoshui City, a heavy silence had hung between them. He had been uncertain of Xie Zhefeng’s true thoughts, but now that the man had finally asked, the stone that had been suspended in his heart finally dropped.

He knew all too well: had he truly been a mortal man who, by sheer coincidence, became the cultivation vessel for the Chu Han Immortal, he would have been overwhelmed with gratitude—even if he were a talented cultivator, let alone a mere mortal. And that was without considering how Xie Zhefeng was already three parts more lenient toward Su Xue than he was toward anyone else.

When Qin Wei had spoken those words earlier, given his status, he should have reacted with either surprise and confusion, or trembling, fearful silence. His lack of reaction was, in every sense, a reaction in itself. He knew full well what would have been the most prudent course of action to protect himself. To feign obedience and play the part of a mortal was not something he was incapable of learning.

But he was unwilling.

He would rather risk leaving behind a trail of suspicion than use this face—which bore a ninety-percent resemblance to his own in his previous life—to act out the role of someone swayed by Xie Zhefeng’s every word and action. After two lifetimes of life and death, his attainment in the cultivation of his Dao heart was, in the end, still lacking.

He stood before the door, eyes lowered. Instead of answering, he retorted, "What exactly is it that the Immortal suspects me of?"

Xie Zhefeng was taken aback. He had been waiting for An Wuxue to offer an explanation, never imagining that An Wuxue would calmly toss the question back at him.

What was he suspecting? If he suspected Su Xue of being compromised, a mere Foundation Establishment-stage vessel could simply be killed, or handed over to Qin Wei’s Law Enforcement Peak to be dealt with—would that not be the most foolproof method? If he had no suspicions, then what answer was he searching for?

He had already tested him with the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit. During the battle against the Cloud Boat, Su Xue had held the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit from start to finish, without displaying any abnormalities. What more could he expect?

Xie Zhefeng could find no answer. He stood there in silence, unable to act. An Wuxue waited for a long while, and seeing no response, he knew this move of his had been the correct one. Though he did not wish to admit it, he had to concede that no one in this world understood his junior brother better than he did.

He continued, "Since I was brought here by Yun Zhou, it is only natural for you to suspect me. But everything that occurred at the Cloud Sword Sect, you witnessed alongside me. Where I came from, and why Yun Zhou brought me to Luoyue Peak—all of this is clearly laid out in Yun Yao’s memories. As for the rest..."

"The world is vast, filled with countless souls, each distinct from the other. Are you telling me that if my words and actions do not align perfectly with what you expect, I must provide an explanation?"

"I said it before: if you truly suspect me, then simply search my soul. It’s not as if I could say anything otherwise." As he spoke, he found it somewhat amusing himself. "Or is it that you were hoping for some other answer?"

Xie Zhefeng remained silent. Deep within his main body, far away in the Burying Frost Sea, his inner demon continued to wreak havoc. Even though he had left his consciousness within this avatar, the voice of that demon could not be silenced or cast aside. Ever since the last trace of his senior brother’s lingering soul vanished at Thorny River, the inner demon that should have completely dissipated had quietly revived.

At the Cloud Sword Sect, he had watched with his own eyes as Yun Yao’s remnant soul faded away. The Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit had proven useless, and the hope he had clung to for hundreds of years had instantly vanished like a mirage. It was as if his inner demon had been nourished, becoming even more rampant within the sea of his consciousness. Countless voices echoed in his ears, unheard by anyone else; only he heard that word, repeated over and over: "Senior Brother."

His consciousness shook. For a brief moment, he was dazed. The figure before him overlapped with the one in his memories.

An Wuxue’s brows twitched—he felt the gaze resting upon him change. For once, he raised his eyes, looking straight into the man’s ink-dark, profound pupils. He took a step forward, until he was standing beside his junior brother’s ear.

"Who is it that the Immortal is looking at... through me?"

The few words acted like a sharp blade piercing Xie Zhefeng’s vital point. As if exposed, he immediately turned his head away.

"Since you have heard it clearly," he said, his voice strained, "why ask?"

An Wuxue let out a soft laugh. His goal now was to disturb Xie Zhefeng’s state of mind so that he would stop questioning him. He stood slightly on his tiptoes, leaning close to Xie Zhefeng’s ear, and whispered in a tone like that of an intimate lover: "But the Immortal will never see him again."

"No matter how much Su Xue resembles him, he is, in the end, not him."

Xie Zhefeng’s frame swayed. He was the one who had begun the interrogation, yet in the end, he was the one who had collapsed. Within his consciousness, the words of the inner demon poured down like a torrential rain.

"Senior... Brother..."

"You regret it. You are filled with remorse. You want to see him again. You even harbor the delusional hope that a Foundation Establishment-stage vessel from the mortal realm is your senior brother, who perished a thousand years ago."

"How are you any different from Yun Zhou? He deserved to die; why are you still alive?"

"...Are you trying to bring your senior brother back? You can’t! He is dead!!!"

"Stop deceiving yourself. Your senior brother’s remnant soul hid from you for a thousand years at Thorny River. Even if he were alive, he would not want to see you! How could he possibly stay by your side?"

Xie Zhefeng’s fists slowly tightened. His consciousness began to blur. Outside the inn, the bustle of Zhaoshui City continued, the noise filtering through layers of walls. Inside, the room was as silent as the grave.

An Wuxue could not hear the raging storms within Xie Zhefeng’s mind, nor did he see the sudden, haunted darkness in his eyes. He turned away coldly. Just as he reached for the door, the man behind him suddenly grabbed him and pulled him toward a corner.

"Immortal—!"

The man’s movements were fueled by an involuntary surge of spiritual power. An Wuxue was powerless to break free, and in the blink of an eye, he was trapped in a small space. He was shocked.

"You—" He paused.

Xie Zhefeng gripped his shoulders, head bowed, saying nothing. His eyes looked vacant and muddled, showing no sign of reason. The man stared at him fixedly, his grip immense, digging into shoulders that were already injured, leaving An Wuxue in pain and fear. What was Xie Zhefeng doing?

He struggled with all his might, but the man held him fast. He cried out urgently, "Xie Zhefeng!"

This was the first time he had called the man by his name. Xie Zhefeng’s eyes seemed to tremble, and his eye sockets turned red. The man opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "Senior Brother..."

"I already told you, I am not—"

Before An Wuxue could finish, he saw the spiritual energy around the man fluctuate. His pupils grew even deeper, and a lotus sword mark slowly appeared between his brows. The mark was connected to his true body, with only a faint layer visible on this avatar. Wisps of black energy flickered around it, completely unlike the pure, spotless image in his memory.

This was...

He forgot the pain in his shoulders, staring blankly at the face so close to his own, and murmured, "An inner demon...?"

This was the sign of an inner demon manifesting. In an instant, the oddities of Xie Zhefeng’s behavior while using this avatar, his refusal to use his spiritual sense in battle, the things Yun Wan had said, the "wounds" Qin Wei had mentioned... all the strange occurrences of the past few days connected.

Xie Zhefeng had developed an inner demon!?! When did this happen? Since when? And why?

As he was lost in thought, a look of ferocity flashed across Xie Zhefeng’s face, only to be forcibly suppressed. The man would close his eyes, then open them, his gaze filled with killing intent; then, with another blink, he would look like a lonely, wronged little beast, his eyes looking at him with pained, watery exhaustion.

With his inner demon in control, his mind was lost. Xie Zhefeng did not know what he was doing. If he succeeded in suppressing the demon, he would remember nothing of this moment when he awoke. If even his avatar could be pushed to such a state, one could only imagine the condition of his true body. He must have been suppressing it since they were at the Cloud Sword Sect, until it finally erupted just now.

The area was filled with mortals, and Xie Zhefeng’s avatar possessed the cultivation of the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence stage; if he lost control...

Just as his heart rose into his throat, Xie Zhefeng suddenly stepped back, his expression dazed as he formed a hand seal—using his final shred of reason to seal his own spiritual power!

An Wuxue let out a breath of relief, but a fire of anger ignited in his heart. The man’s last shred of reason was used to seal his own power to prevent the inner demon from causing chaos, but how, then, had he allowed the inner demon to grow in the first place?

Those plagued by inner demons—not to mention those who had entered the path of ruthlessness—could never ascend to immortality, even if they followed the path of the floating world. Since Xie Zhefeng had ascended, this inner demon could not have existed before he fell.

After he had fallen, this man had become the world’s only eternal immortal, the Chu Han Sword Immortal who ruled both realms. Whatever he sought or hoped for was within his grasp; all living things were his to command. How could he have broken his path of ruthlessness, allowing an inner demon to grow so severe that it restricted even his true body!?

Back then, he had told Yun Wan with such certainty that while millions in this world might fall into demonic paths, Xie Zhefeng would be the only one who never could.

"Are you insane, Xie Zhefeng?" he said heavily. "Do you know what the consequences will be if someone with ill intent discovers your inner demon? What more could you possibly be dissatisfied with?"

The four seas and the two realms had finally achieved such peace. In his previous life, before Nan He fell, he had left behind his final words: Xie Zhefeng was the greatest genius of the sword that Luoyue Peak had ever seen. After the immortal catastrophe ended, only Xie Zhefeng had the hope of ascending to cleanse the heavens and earth. Though he himself was born with a golden body and jade bones, his Dao heart and sword cultivation were indeed inferior to Xie Zhefeng’s.

Because of this, he had exhausted every effort, preferring to swallow every bitter fruit himself rather than let his own presence affect Xie Zhefeng’s path of ruthlessness in the slightest. After the incident at the Nether Sea, since Xie Zhefeng had resolutely chosen his own path, he had felt disappointed, but also relieved. Even at the moment when the Chu Han sword light pierced his heart, he had felt no true resentment. As an Immortal, Xie Zhefeng’s actions were beyond reproach; he had simply viewed it as the path he had chosen and the cause he had sown.

But now...

He raised his eyes to meet the man’s gaze, which, under the influence of the inner demon, looked anxious and uncertain.

"…Is it because of me?" he mocked himself. "Then why didn't you—"

He heard his own voice hitching with a trace of a sob and quickly stopped. His junior brother looked even more aggrieved than he was, his eyes wet and shimmering, devoid of that cold, sword-clutching expression he usually wore. He looked like an abandoned spirit beast, left behind, bewildered and helpless, pitiful to behold.

With his mind clouded, he lost all reason and restraint. Treating "Su Xue" as An Wuxue, he muttered in a daze, "Senior Brother... I’m sorry. I... I—"

His face twisted in pain as he slowly leaned his head against An Wuxue’s other, uninjured shoulder. "I was wrong. I miss you so much..."

An Wuxue stiffened completely.