Chapter 6
Chapter 6
It was Yunmiao’s panicked voice, crying out for help.
“Brother, save me.”
She spoke fast, urgent-yet every sentence was unbelievably clear:
“My junior sister and I ran into a high-level ghost monster. Its cultivation is at least a thousand years-Junior Sister’s been gravely injured, and I’m carrying her on my back as I run out. I… I just killed a little ghost monster, and I’ve already used up all my talismans. Now I’m almost out of strength too…”
By then, her voice already carried a sob she couldn’t hide.
“Brother, hurry-”
The voice cut off mid-sentence.
…She’d been caught.
“Before Yunmiao was seized, she shoved me off the cliff with everything she had.”
“When I came to and opened my eyes, I saw that Ghost Fiend had already clamped its teeth around her neck.”
“I wanted to summon my sword, but I couldn’t move no matter what I did.”
“All I could do was watch as she was swallowed whole by that enraged Ghost Fiend.”
Cen Yongmiao spoke every detail of Yunmiao’s death, word by word.
Crying, she clutched at him, apologizing again and again, drowning in guilt.
“Senior Brother, I’m useless. I couldn’t bring Yunmiao back!”
“If I were stronger, if…”
Pei Jinzhuo never moved.
He gripped the jade slip in a daze, squeezing until his fingertips went white.
Not until the sun sank completely did he finally stir.
He abruptly shoved the person in front of him aside, turned around without saying a word, and walked away.
One step.
Then another.
He returned to his sister’s room.
Like always, he lit every candle.
Yunmiao was afraid of the dark.
Whenever she waited for him to come home, she would make the room bright as day.
Then she would keep watch over a table of cooked dishes, leaning on the windowsill, eyes fixed on the direction he would appear from.
Suxue stood by the doorway.
Silent, it watched as its master went into the kitchen.
Then carried out dish after dish and set them on the table.
Crucian carp soup.
Wild herb pancakes.
Yunmiao’s two favorites.
Back in their village, they couldn’t afford meat. He would go wade into the water to catch fish; she would go dig up wild greens.
With a few handfuls of rice and flour the neighbors spared them, they barely managed to fill their stomachs.
Later, when he rose to fame in the cultivation world and had money, he took Yunmiao to taste every delicacy under the heavens.
Yet she still liked best the fish soup and herb pancakes he made with his own hands.
She’d always pester him, insisting he make them for her again.
He thought it was a hassle, so he kept brushing her off with, “Next time, for sure.”
This time, he really remembered.
He placed the soup in the center.
Pei Jinzhuo picked up the ladle and filled her own little earthenware bowl to the brim.
He even pinched the wild herb pancakes into the small flower shapes she liked.
But this time, even after the soup turned cold and the pancakes went soft…
No one came bouncing over to throw her arms around him and say, bright and proud:
“My brother really is the best to me!”
He lowered his gaze, only to realize belatedly that tears had already streamed down his face.
Drop by drop, they splashed into the bowl.
The world before his eyes fractured, blurring into pieces.
The young sword cultivator shut his eyes-and forcibly vomited a mouthful of blood.
He pressed hard against his aching heart, regret twisting him apart.
If…
If he had rushed over the moment she cried for help the first time.
If he hadn’t found it troublesome and had come home early to cook her a meal.
If, that day, he hadn’t pretended to be restrained-if he had taken the initiative and kissed the corner of her lips just once.
If he’d been more patient, spent more time with her…
Would he still be like this now-hurting so much he wanted to end his own life?
In a haze, Pei Jinzhuo gripped Suxue.
He’d killed plenty of monsters that had taken human form.
No one knew better than he did how to end them in one strike.
Like this.
Aim for the throat.
And then.
Stab-
“Senior Brother, don’t-!”
A surge of spiritual energy slammed into his wrist.
The sword tip twisted aside, the keen edge grazing past his neck by a hair.
He was forced down to the ground.
Pei Jinzhuo looked up blankly, eyes numb and empty.
Just a little closer.
And he could have gone with Yunmiao.
But the person beside him held him tight.
She covered his bleeding wound.
The way she cried, powerless and broken, was almost identical to Yunmiao back then.
“Senior Brother, you can’t die.”
She sobbed as she shouted, “That Ghost Fiend is still alive. He’s still bringing disaster to this world.”
“If you die, who will avenge Yunmiao?”
“Senior Brother, please-calm down.”
“I’ll go with you to find that Ghost Fiend.”
“Your sword shouldn’t be aimed at yourself.”
“You have to live. At least… for Miaomiao-”
Live.
At least for Miaomiao.
Cen Yongmiao’s final words hit Pei Jinzhuo’s muddled mind like a sledgehammer.
He stared dully at the rafters.
Then, he heard the Wind Chime Yunmiao had hung by the window ring under the night breeze.
Just once-brief and crisp.
As if his sister were agreeing.
…That’s right.
Yunmiao was the stingiest person alive.
If he didn’t avenge her…
Even in the heavens, she’d chase him down and raise hell.
Pei Jinzhuo closed his eyes.
Then he took up Suxue again.
He didn’t notice that, the instant he rose…
Cen Yongmiao, who had been weeping in grief, suddenly went still.
The corner of her lips lifted-so faint it was almost imperceptible.
“You recognize that Ghost Fiend?”
Pei Jinzhuo tightened his grip on Suxue. His fingers brushed the sword tassel as he spoke, voice hoarse.
“I’ll never forget him.”
Cen Yongmiao stared at him without blinking.
Then she said, slowly, word by word:
“Ghost King Chi Li.”
“He has plagued the mortal world for thousands of years.”
“He is vicious and brutal-he most loves to eat infants and women.”
“My family was killed by him as well.”
“Senior Brother.”
“You must-absolutely must-slay him with your own hands.”