Chapter Fifty-One: Finding the Male Companion (Part One)

The location of the heretical sect shifted constantly, sometimes leaving no trace at all. Bai Shengyun had been traveling for a long while when he finally stopped before a river of blood, his brows knitting in a faint frown.

Here, the auras of Huo Tianqing and Xie Yingying vanished without a trace.

His expression darkened, hands clasped behind his back as he stood motionless, eyes fixed on the scarlet river where white skeletons floated and struggled, his mood growing foul.

Slow footsteps sounded behind him. Without turning, he recognized who it was, his face becoming even more unsightly, tinged with a hint of anger.

Ning Qingqing had walked straight here, coinciding with the moment Bai Shengyun’s concealment talisman wore off, and the figure in white entered her sight. Her face lit up with joy.

“Your Eminence, why didn’t you wait for me?” she said, aggrieved.

“Wait for you? What a waste of time.” Bai Shengyun sneered.

“I…” Ning Qingqing’s eyes reddened. “Your Eminence, I know I’m slow and lack cultivation, but I’ll try my best to keep up with you in the future!”

Bai Shengyun seemed not to hear her. He drew another concealment talisman, preparing to stick it on himself again.

Seeing this, Ning Qingqing rushed forward and grabbed the hem of his sleeve, choking back sobs. “Your Eminence, could you please take me with you…”

He whipped around, brows tightly drawn, his voice icy as a frozen pool. “Let go.”

“Your Eminence…” Ning Qingqing looked about to cry, dropping to her knees. Her voice quivered as she pleaded, “Alone here, I’ll surely die.”

Bai Shengyun clicked his tongue in irritation and reluctantly agreed to bring her along.

He headed left, seeking a way around the raging river of blood, and Ning Qingqing hurried after him.

They walked in silence for a long time. An inexplicable bitterness welled up in Ning Qingqing’s heart as she thought of Xie Yingying’s purple-gold bell. She kept a close eye on Bai Shengyun’s expression, and when she saw it soften somewhat, she gently ventured, “Your Eminence, Xie Yingying’s behavior towards you is truly unfair!”

At her words, a surge of annoyance rose in Bai Shengyun’s heart, and he didn’t deign to reply.

“Your Eminence?” Ning Qingqing called out in confusion.

He frowned, halted, and in the blink of an eye his figure vanished. The next moment, Ning Qingqing felt a sudden tightness at her neck.

Bai Shengyun tightened his grip, his tone brimming with impatience and coldness. “What she does is no business of yours. Don’t be as tactless as Shen Ruru!”

This obvious favoritism made the bitterness in Ning Qingqing’s heart swell painfully, jealousy flaring and a murderous glint flickering in her eyes.

The ghosts drifting above the blood river noticed this killing intent, covering their mouths and laughing softly, their eyes full of scorn.

“Another soul driven mad by love. Better come join our sect, hone your filthy ambitions, and then fight the Celestial Sect with us—how about it?”

Ning Qingqing grew flustered, and seeing that Bai Shengyun showed no reaction, she guessed he must not have noticed. She glared fiercely at the nearest faceless specter.

“Oh, angry now?” The specter circled above the river, its shrill laughter echoing near and far. “Someone like you should join our sect sooner rather than later! Ha…”

As it spoke, the specter vanished at once, leaving Ning Qingqing unable to strike back even if she wanted. Her face turned pale, tears gathering in her eyes as she pleaded in a trembling voice, “Your Eminence, I was wrong… please have mercy…”

“Hmph.” His scoff was ambiguous. “You do seem to value your life.”

After walking some distance more, Ning Qingqing timidly asked again, her voice cautious, “Your Eminence, that purple-gold bell is so beautiful. Could you give me one, too?”

“There’s only one.”

The moment he finished speaking, his steps suddenly halted, and his expression softened considerably, as if a raging fire had met a gentle rain.

Ning Qingqing was bewildered by this sudden change, her confusion growing.

“You just mentioned the purple-gold bell?” Bai Shengyun raised an eyebrow.

“Yes…”

Meanwhile, Xie Yingying’s wound throbbed with pain, and when she sprinkled medicinal powder on it, it felt as if fire scorched her flesh. As time passed, the agony worsened, rivaling the torment brought by primal energy.

She secretly loosened the bandage to take a look and saw her flesh pale as if it had been seared.

Now Xie Yingying truly felt she’d been played for a fool.

She wanted to reapply the medicine, but out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of azure robes.

Puzzled, she looked over, but saw nothing there.

If not for her keen senses as a cultivator, inheriting both the former host’s skills and martial prowess, she’d have thought her eyes deceived her.

She stepped toward that spot. Inside, someone realized there was no escaping notice, silently cursing their exposed position.

Just as he was about to step out, a forceful shove from behind sent him stumbling almost into Xie Yingying.

She found him oddly familiar, and searching her memory, she recalled seeing him once at the sect’s main gate—among the crowd of male companions.

A sly glint flashed in her eyes as she broke into a wicked grin. “At last, I’ve found one of the courtesans!”

The man in azure swallowed hard, bewildered, and instinctively wanted to glare at the gang of scoundrels who had set him up. But, remembering their plan, he forced a laugh and pretended nothing was amiss.

“Where are the others?” Xie Yingying asked coldly, her eyes sharp.

“I don’t know.”

Her expression turned frigid. “Truly?”

“Truly!” the man in azure replied earnestly.

Xie Yingying circled him a few times, then stopped in front of him, arms crossed. “Where are the others?”

“I really don’t know,” the man wailed. “I was hiding alone.”

Xie Yingying nodded, a meaningful “hmm,” and then walked slowly toward the spot where he’d appeared.

It was a little alley seldom trodden by anyone. Peering in, she saw several people pressed against the wall, looking at her in helpless resignation.

She beckoned to them with an impassive face. “Come out.”

They exchanged glances and obediently emerged, hoping to plead with her not to drive them away.

But Xie Yingying pulled out a few slips of paper from her sleeve and pressed them into their hands, bowing slightly. “May you all fare well.”

With that, she turned to leave, only to be surrounded by them.

The man in azure was the first to speak, eyes brimming with tears. “Yingying, why?”

She sighed and turned to them, her gaze earnest and helpless. “You remain by my side either for my looks or because dual cultivation with me strengthens you. What I want is someone who truly loves me, and whom I love in return.”

All but the man in azure stared in stunned silence, then bowed their heads in shame.

But he still refused to leave. “I really do love you.”

Xie Yingying felt a headache coming on and rubbed her temples. “But I don’t love you. Love is not a one-sided affair, is it?”

His eyes dropped, the tip of his nose reddening.

Seeing him fall silent, Xie Yingying decided to give him some space. With a gentle nod, she turned and walked away.