Chapter 85: Chapter 85

“You didn’t catch Ning Hui?”

In the side hall of the Jade Clarity Sect’s main peak, the sect leader, Dao Xuan, who had been leaning on a couch reading a book, suddenly sat upright. His ordinary face showed clear surprise.

His junior brother had once been a cultivator who had nearly reached the Great Ascension Stage. Ning Hui, on the other hand, was merely a demon comparable to the Nascent Soul Stage. There was no way he could have escaped from Gu Shan.

In front of him, a multicolored illusory butterfly hovered in mid-air, its spirit energy-formed wings fluttering intermittently, conveying Gu Shan’s casual voice: “Nope, I lost him. This Ning Hui is utterly shameless. Every time I was about to catch him, he’d threaten me with the lives of innocent civilians…”

“…” The more Dao Xuan listened, the more unreliable it sounded. With a shift in his thoughts, he understood and interrupted, “You planted a divine sense on Ning Hui?”

The autumn night was quiet. After dinner, a few families had moved their bamboo chairs under the big tree at the entrance of the alley to chat.

Gu Shan’s figure blended perfectly with the shadows of the wall, gliding past the crowd, stepping from one street to another, his lips moving: “Heh, it’s been years, but Senior Brother Sect Leader still knows me so well.”

Dao Xuan couldn’t be bothered to engage with his junior brother. He placed the book on the nearby tea table and asked, “So, did you find anything?”

“The demons have a nest in Dingyang City too,” Gu Shan said, unusually serious. “I saw it, but I didn’t act rashly. Senior Brother, do we have anyone in Dingyang City? Have them keep an eye on it. If the demons don’t make any moves, we’ll leave them be for now. I’ll continue following Ning Hui and see if I can find their main lair. Then we can take them all down in one go.”

“We do have people there,” Dao Xuan stood up and walked toward the incense burner in the hall. After a moment of contemplation, he cautioned, “Junior Brother, the demons are cunning. Be careful they don’t use Ning Hui as bait to lure you into a trap.”

“Heh, I know what I’m doing,” Gu Shan replied. At the next corner, he suddenly stopped, crouched against the wall, and peeked out cautiously, lowering his voice, “By the way, Senior Brother, there’s one more thing…”

Thinking it was related to the demons, Dao Xuan’s expression turned serious. “What is it?”

Gu Shan, his back against the wall, scratched an itch, causing his robe to ride up slightly and revealing a pair of half-worn shoes: “There are five people blocking my door, demanding I repay my debt. I think I owe around two hundred taels? Not much, just twenty spirit stones. Senior Brother, could you front me some…”

Dao Xuan’s hand, which was adding incense, paused slightly: “Don’t you have a disciple?”

“That brat of mine has made something of himself. He hasn’t been around for years and already has a wife,” Gu Shan said, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking pitiful. “I’m hundreds of years old. I can’t burden two young kids, can I?”

Dao Xuan continued adding incense as if he hadn’t heard anything, muttering to himself, “I just remembered, there’s something I haven’t done yet.”

He looked up at the multicolored butterfly and said, “Junior Brother, I’ll arrange for someone to handle the Dingyang City matter. That’s it for now. I have work to do…”

Before Gu Shan could respond, Dao Xuan stroked his long beard, flicked his sleeve, and extinguished the multicolored butterfly.

Long ago, when Dao Xuan wasn’t yet the sect leader, Gu Shan had tricked the previous sect leader into advancing him a hundred years’ worth of salary, which he still hadn’t paid back.

Thinking he could get an advance now? Did Gu Shan think the sect leader was dead?

Gu Shan’s small courtyard was dilapidated. Upon entering, one first saw a narrow main room with a square table that had a broken leg, propped up by a brick to keep it steady.

Though simple, it was surprisingly tidy and didn’t smell bad.

To the right of the main room was a storage room, currently locked. Inside, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi sat facing each other.

In front of them was a pile of night pearls, agate eyes, and other jewels.

These were items they had scavenged from the entire dark hall, some of which belonged to the demon minions like Dark Granny.

They had tied them up and handed them over to the Plum Courtyard for custody, while also ransacking their homes.

Dozens of night pearls illuminated the small storage room as if it were daytime. The room was filled with empty wine jars, and the air carried a faint scent of alcohol.

Shen Jizhi slowly pulled out fish teeth from his storage pouch, his gaze fixed on the pile of items in front of him as he quickly calculated in his mind.

The most valuable item from this trip to the dark hall was naturally the fish tail, which was worth about the same as a Ground Fruit—around a hundred thousand.

The fish teeth weren’t as valuable, totaling around twenty thousand.

The jewels looked plentiful, but they were only a small portion. They could be pawned for a few thousand taels, which would convert to about three hundred spirit stones.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Ghost Fish King had made a pact with the demons, turning its demon core into a demonic core, which they had destroyed on the spot, the haul would have been even greater.

In any case, the total value now was around a hundred and twenty thousand.

That meant sixty thousand each. Adding the twenty-one thousand he was about to get, he’d have eighty-one thousand.

It’s… a bit tight.

Shen Jizhi placed the last tooth down, pursed his lips, and glanced at Jian Huan, his eyes filled with contemplation.

Dividing the spoils wasn’t something they were doing for the first time. Following the principle of splitting things equally, they quickly divided the items.

Jian Huan reached for the fish tail: “A complete fish tail sells for a higher price. I’ll keep it for now, and we’ll split the proceeds after it’s sold. No objections, right?”

Just as Shen Jizhi was about to shake his head, a slightly lewd voice suddenly rang out: “Disciples, dividing the loot, are we?”

“…”

Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi turned their heads sharply, only to see a small, mustached old Taoist appearing out of thin air in mid-air.

Gu Shan tugged at his robe, lowered his head, and patted his own head like he was testing a watermelon: “It’s worth at least one tooth, right?”

…

The wooden door creaked open as Jian Huan and the other two stepped out, heading toward the bedroom on the left.

Gu Shan tossed the fish tooth in his hand, leisurely and content.

With this, not only could he clear the debt under the alias “Liu Hu,” but he could also afford wine for a while.

Behind him, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi followed side by side.

She glanced at Gu Shan ahead, her expression odd: “Hey, just one tooth was enough to satisfy your master?”

She had thought they’d have to split it three ways. After all, this trip to the dark hall was largely thanks to Shen Jizhi’s master.

If she were Gu Shan, she definitely wouldn’t have been satisfied with just one tooth.

Shen Jizhi replied, “I heard that in the past, when my master went to hunt demons in secret realms, he only hunted demons.”

Jian Huan’s eyes widened: “Only hunted?”

“Yes,” Shen Jizhi nodded. “He didn’t loot the corpses. He left everything for his teammates.”

Jian Huan couldn’t understand: “Why?”

Shen Jizhi paused for a moment before answering, “Though I never asked, and he never said, I suspect…” He hesitated slightly, “His sword body was forged through being beaten up like that.”

Not repaying debts really does make one prone to getting beaten.

Jian Huan muttered softly, “I feel bad for those creditors.”

Hearing this, Shen Jizhi turned his head, his gaze calm as he looked at her, his tone flat: “What about me?”

At least for now, his master’s debts were all cleared.

Jian Huan: “…”

On the wooden bed in the bedroom, Mei Yi opened her eyes.

Her head throbbed as if pierced by needles. She propped herself up halfway, only to meet three pairs of eyes staring back at her.

Mei Yi was startled. When she caught sight of Shen Jizhi’s face, which bore a striking resemblance to someone from her past, her slender body trembled slightly. She quickly averted her gaze, but when her eyes fell on Liu Lu and the musician in the corner, she gasped: “Liu Lu…”

“They’re just unconscious,” Gu Shan waved his hand, and a stool from the main room appeared behind him. He sat down, crossing his legs, his hole-ridden shoes swaying back and forth. “You told my disciples that it was…”

Gu Shan chuckled: “A Celestial Origin Stone?”

Mei Yi lowered her head, silent, her hands instinctively gripping the red floral-patterned quilt.

Gu Shan shook his head, looking at the woman before him, her thoughts heavy. He couldn’t help but recall the shy, transparent girl from years ago.

How unpredictable life could be.

His voice carried a hint of regret, and his gaze at Mei Yi was complex: “You should explain it to them yourself.”

Beside them, Jian Huan was already burning with curiosity.

She quickly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, asking, “Sister Mei, so the thing inside Shen Jizhi isn’t a Celestial Origin Stone? What is it?”

Mei Yi took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, then opened them, looking up at Shen Jizhi.

Shen Jizhi leaned against the window, seemingly detached from the conversation about his own body, his expression cool and indifferent.

“It’s a Demon Origin Stone,” Mei Yi said softly. Her gaze drifted from Shen Jizhi’s face upward, through the simple window, and settled on the crescent moon above, murmuring again, “Not a Celestial Origin Stone, but a Demon Origin Stone.”

The moonlight was bright and clear, and Mei Yi gazed at it, her lips curving into a faint smile. "Most of what I said to Shen Jizhi earlier was true. I only replaced the word 'demon' with 'immortal.' The Demon Origin Stone within you carries the cultivation legacy of Hua Dihai, the Demon God from a thousand years ago, as well as a trace of his lingering will. It was his way of leaving a path for himself. If you break through the Demon Origin Stone, you—"

Mei Yi's gaze suddenly shifted to Shen Jizhi, turning icy cold. "—will fall into demonhood!"

Jian Huan glanced sideways at Shen Jizhi, who remained silent, his expression unreadable. A dark fire burned in her heart as she bit her tongue lightly, asking Mei Yi word by word, "Why would you do this?"

"Why would I do this?" Mei Yi laughed, tears streaming down her face as she did. "Because I wanted to escape!"

She clutched at her collar, her face twisted in anguish. "Because I wanted to escape! I didn’t want to stay in the Dark Hall anymore, didn’t want to feign affection for a man I loathe, didn’t want to look at that false sky! I didn’t want to spend my entire life trapped in the Dark Hall, never seeing the light of day!"

"I’ve been waiting for you for so long, so very long..." Mei Yi wept bitterly, her voice breaking. "Ten years ago, I happened to cross paths with Ning Hui, and he took a liking to me. He locked me in the Dark Hall, and my master died trying to save me. I tried—" Mei Yi clenched her fists, the veins on her delicate hands bulging. "I couldn’t kill Ning Hui, and I couldn’t escape the Dark Hall. The maids around me advised me to bide my time, saying that as long as I lived, there would eventually be a chance to get out. So I waited and waited, afraid that Ning Hui would grow tired of me and kill me like he did with other women. I secretly applied an addictive floral ointment to my body. And so I waited, for ten years, but no one ever came..."

Her voice gradually softened, as gentle as the night.

"Why?!" Mei Yi suddenly screamed, her eyes filled with hatred as she turned to Gu Shan, a faint trace of black energy flickering in her gaze. "Elder Gu, you were my master’s close friend. When my master died, why didn’t you investigate?!"

Gu Shan, who had been sitting with his legs crossed, fell silent.

At his age, even close friends were seen only once every few years, and they rarely kept in touch unless something happened.

A few years ago, on a whim, he had gone to Ningzhang City to drink with Mei Yi’s master, only to find out upon arrival that his old friend had already passed away.

Mei Yi’s master was highly skilled in medicine but had limited cultivation. People said he had been killed by a demonic beast while gathering spiritual herbs.

In his seven hundred years of life, Gu Shan had seen too many acquaintances die at the hands of demonic beasts. When he heard the news, he didn’t doubt it, only felt a deep sense of loss.

And so, he sealed his own cultivation and stayed in Ningzhang City.