Chapter Eighty-One: Fate Beyond Choice

Chen Zaizhi was startled. “Separate? Senior Sister, you’re not coming with me—what are you planning to do?”

He pondered briefly and felt he had found the answer. He said anxiously, “Is it because of my aunt? It doesn’t matter—I won’t go to Nanping Island. The world is vast; we’ll find somewhere we can stay.”

Hong Jian offered a faint, weary smile. “I still have a younger brother. I can’t leave Fang Zheng alone in Danya Sect. Don’t worry, Jing Li and the others have already guessed you took the ancestral jade scroll. They won’t think of me, just an insignificant apprentice who hasn’t reached Foundation Establishment.”

Only then did Chen Zaizhi recall that when Hong Jian followed their Grandmaster out to sea, she was still at the Qi Refining stage. Few would pay attention to her. He knew well how much she cherished her brother Fang Zheng, so he hesitated before saying, “Then you must be careful. I can’t return to the sect with you—let’s set a place to meet. The enemy is powerful; my family and my aunt’s Nanping Island can’t afford to provoke Dai Mingchi. We shouldn’t implicate them either. Let’s find a safe place to lay low for now.”

Hong Jian agreed readily. “Alright, let’s do as you say. I’m leaving; you needn’t wait for me. Don’t forget the responsibility you carry.”

Chen Zaizhi was resolute. This place was not far from Danya Sect; lingering here any longer only increased the danger. He said, “Very well, Senior Sister. I’ll go to Central Province first.” The Central Province was far from the great sects, and it was where the most itinerant cultivators gathered. With two Foundation Establishment and one Qi Refining cultivator disguised among them, Dai Mingchi would have a hard time finding them.

Hong Jian smiled, then solemnly reminded him, “Be careful, and work hard. Someday, defeat Dai Mingchi and Xing Wuyai, restore the sect’s glory—it will all be up to you.”

Standing on the shore, she left the brocade-sailed flying boat to Chen Zaizhi. She oriented herself, then turned and walked south along the long beach. Only when Chen Zaizhi, left behind, became a tiny black dot did she wave her hand in farewell.

Hong Jian did not return directly to the sect. First, she detoured to the town at the foot of Danya Mountain, where cultivators gathered. News of the upheaval in Danya Sect had not spread, so Hong Jian wandered about and bought a bottle of spirit wine.

Next, she found a place selling weapons, choosing a dagger that could cut through iron like mud. Such a dagger would be deemed a divine weapon in the mundane world, but under Danya Sect’s shadow, it was not expensive, being purchased with spirit stones.

Hong Jian took the dagger in hand, her thumb brushing the blade lightly. Instantly, blood welled up. As the shopkeeper gasped, she put her thumb to her lips, licking the wound and tasting the salty tang of blood. Satisfied, she nodded and put the dagger away.

After nightfall, Hong Jian used “Fortune Border” to quietly return to Evening Tide Peak.

No one noticed her. Dai Mingchi and the others had long left Danya Sect, and there had been another incident at Evening Tide Peak earlier that day. During the period when the sect’s secret realm was opening, Wen Chuiyang, the Nascent Soul cultivator from Crimson Wheel Peak, had gone to visit Yan Changqing’s eldest disciple, Ding Chunxue. For reasons unknown, Ding Chunxue suddenly went mad, demonized, and attacked his uncle. Wen Chuiyang, completely unprepared, was wounded and hastily fought back. In the end, both perished together. It was said their deaths were tragic and terrifying.

Such incidents, where demon cultivators wreak havoc and mostly Nascent Soul experts die, happened every few days. Despite the new sect master, Mu Fengshan, striving to maintain order, anxiety pervaded Danya Sect. Especially Yan Changqing and the cultivators of Evening Tide Peak, all in turmoil. Many worried about Chen Zaizhi’s disappearance; as for a missing Qi Refining apprentice, who had time to care?

Hong Jian did not return to her quarters but went straight to Golden Ripple Court.

There, she found Fang Zheng waiting anxiously, and from the two sweeping disciples, learned of Ding Chunxue’s tragic fate.

Her senior brother had not waited for her return after all. Hong Jian felt deep sorrow. She had seen Wen Chuiyang’s corpse herself through “Flowing Water’s Tune”—it was indeed horrific. If her senior brother’s death was also gruesome, it must have been at the hands of the traitor Jing Li.

Hong Jian had lost all hope in Mu Fengshan. After all that had happened, was he simply ignorant, or did he only care that nothing touched his line of wood spiritual roots, letting water spiritual roots suffer as they might? It was a pity for her senior brother, who even in death bore the stigma of demon cultivation.

Hong Jian could barely contain her grief but forced herself to appear calm, thanking the two sweeping disciples who had helped her, fielding Fang Zheng’s questions, and taking him down the mountain in the night.

Fish-Dragon Town was an inconspicuous settlement at the foot of Danya Mountain. Once she found them lodging in the town, Hong Jian finally relaxed her tense nerves. At least Fang Zheng was safe, and she had no further worries.

Hong Jian called Fang Zheng over and fetched paper and brush. She wrote and rewrote, wasting several sheets, finally biting her pen in a daze.

“Sister, I heard them whispering that all the deaths in the sect were caused by Master Sun colluding with demon cultivators, and they say the sect master and Elder Jin have already been killed.”

Fang Zheng was eighteen now, tall and sturdy. He wasn’t exactly clever, but no longer the clueless boy he once was. Hiding in Golden Ripple Court for three days, he’d witnessed the bloodshed in Danya Sect. The two sweeping disciples were terrified and did nothing but mutter in his ear all day. Sun Yougong was his sister’s grandmaster; he treated Hong Jian well, and Fang Zheng guessed she must be involved.

Hong Jian glanced at him, put down her pen, and said seriously, “Don’t believe their nonsense.”

She thought for a moment. She realized she’d been overprotective and should let him know the true nature of evil. Her tone softened. “It’s all Dai Mingchi and Futu Sect behind it, stirring up trouble. Grandmaster and senior brother had nothing to do with demon cultivators. That man Dai covered up the truth and framed them to silence gossip.”

Fang Zheng drew a sharp breath. “That’s a Soul Transformation cultivator... What do Master Mu and Master Ying say?”

Hong Jian sneered.

Fang Zheng exhaled, his whole body relaxing, his voice tinged with lingering fear. “At least we escaped.” He had not formally become a disciple, so he felt little attachment to Danya Sect and thought it was good to be far away with his sister.

Hong Jian couldn’t help but reach out to straighten his collar.

After his relief, Fang Zheng leaned against her and asked, “Sister, where are we going now?” Fish-Dragon Town was too close to Danya Sect; he knew she wouldn’t stay there long.

Hong Jian looked at her brother, her expression complicated. After all these years, their father’s face was a distant memory, but she felt Fang Zheng’s bold features must be inherited from him.

She hesitated, then finally said, “Zheng’er, from now on I won’t be able to stay with you. There’s something important I must do, and I have to return to Danya Sect. I’ll ask someone to look after you…”

Fang Zheng was shocked, gripping her hand tightly. “Why are you going back? Sister, let’s go together. Who did you find?” He was usually obedient, but this time he couldn’t help but plead.

He looked down and found she was writing a letter to someone he deeply disliked. The recipient was Jiang Yan of Xianyun Sect.

Why? Unless it was absolutely necessary, how could his sister entrust him to someone she barely knew, who had even bullied him? Fang Zheng felt disaster looming.

Hong Jian had not told Chen Zaizhi the truth, but she did not wish to deceive her brother. She even hoped that, if not now, someday Fang Zheng might understand her choice.

Hong Jian patted his hand, signaling him to let go. She carefully considered what Fang Zheng could accept. “Don’t worry too much. I’m making these arrangements just in case. As for you, I never imagined you’d have to travel alone one day. There’s so much I haven’t had time to teach you—always remember, never let your guard down. Your cultivation is barely above ordinary folk; if you encounter injustice, don’t act rashly.”

Fang Zheng fell silent, sulking.

Hong Jian picked up the brush and quickly finished the letter to Jiang Yan. “I still have the same impression of Jiang Yan as before. It’s been years; I don’t know if he’s changed. If he’s still the same, when you go to Xianyun Sect, he’ll take good care of you. There are wood spiritual root disciples in Xianyun Sect—Shi Qingxiang... I can’t write much in the letter. When you see Jiang Yan, tell him what you know about Shi Qingxiang.”

She explained how Shi Qingxiang and others had followed three Soul Transformation cultivators, how they were sent to the “Sky Curtain,” and even told Fang Zheng about Dai Mingchi’s words in the Hall of Splendor three days ago.

The more Fang Zheng heard, the more afraid he became. He had never imagined his sister knew such dangerous things. Why would she still return?

Hong Jian smiled at him, then took off her universe pouch.

She hadn’t accumulated much wealth over the years. She took out all her “Illusion Orchid,” carefully soaking it in the spirit wine she’d bought, then set aside the dagger and the artifact “Moon Surge,” and took out a few spirit stones.

The rest, all the odds and ends including the universe pouch, she gave to Fang Zheng, putting the letter inside. She explained the use of “Fortune Border” to him.

Seeing his sister settle everything so thoroughly, Fang Zheng felt disaster was imminent. He no longer dared to sulk and pleaded, “Sister, let’s go together. Don’t leave me. When Father and Mother return, they’ll be sad if they can’t find us both.”

Hong Jian sprang to her feet. She dared not let her brother see her reddened eyes, so she turned to the window.

The sky was hung with a crescent moon and stars, the night breeze carrying the scent of grass. Hong Jian thought, “What a tranquil night, a beautiful scene. Soon the grass will grow tall, the trees will flourish, but I probably won’t see it again.”

She took a deep breath, pushing down the ache in her heart. When she spoke, her voice sounded calm as water to the listening Fang Zheng. “Zheng’er, you must cultivate well and live well. If the day comes, fulfill your duty to Father and Mother on my behalf. We live in this world to contend with heaven and fate, but luck is not always with us, and we cannot always overcome destiny. Now that fate has forced me to this point, I won’t run from it.”

Hong Jian tilted her head upward, as if murmuring to someone invisible in the night sky. “Cultivating to Nascent Soul takes too long. I can’t wait. Senior Brother, can you wait?”