Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Curse
Lu Sangjiu snorted and said bluntly, "Seeing you strutting like a peacock, do you even need to ask?"
’If he hadn’t caught them, he’d probably be too embarrassed to even mention it.’
Xie Ningyuan tsked. "Couldn’t you be a little more polite about it?"
Though his words were a complaint, he didn’t seem the least bit reproachful, as if he was already used to Lu Sangjiu being like this.
And it was the same for Lu Sangjiu. She was great at putting on an act in front of others, but she couldn’t keep it up for even a moment in front of Xie Ningyuan.
’Perhaps it was because he had seen right through her long ago, and she felt that even a disguise couldn’t fool him. Or maybe... she was just throwing caution to the wind?’
When someone understands you completely and holds your life in their hands, you either beg for mercy or throw caution to the wind.
Lu Sangjiu was clearly incapable of the former, so she could only embrace the latter to the fullest.
Taking another sip of wine from her cup, Lu Sangjiu finally spoke. "Let’s cut the pleasantries. Since you came looking for me and brought this up yourself, I assume you have some useful information for me?"
At the mention of this, Xie Ningyuan’s expression grew a little more serious.
"I had originally just planned on taking care of a little trouble for you, but I found that those people are more troublesome than I imagined, and they’re well worth investigating."
Xie Ningyuan had gone after the two people who lured Lu Sangjiu into the woods.
Strictly speaking, they probably couldn’t be considered their accomplices, as they had just been temporarily bought off.
After catching up to them, Xie Ningyuan got the whole story. But just as he was about to press for more details, the two of them suddenly dropped dead.
He examined their corpses and found that they had died from a type of curse.
Curses were a mysterious phenomenon, even to Cultivators.
They had rarely appeared in the past, but every appearance was accompanied by a massive number of deaths.
Furthermore, all who had used curses were Evil Cultivators. They were either so mysterious and powerful that no one could find them, or they died cleanly, leaving not a single clue behind.
Therefore, Cultivators’ understanding of curses remained superficial, limited to the faint clues left on the cursed and some theoretical analysis.
Curses themselves were mysterious and powerful, so it went without saying that those who could wield them were even more formidable.
This was why Xie Ningyuan had said those people were more troublesome than he’d imagined and all the more worthy of a deep investigation.
After discovering that the two had died from a curse, Xie Ningyuan used a Secret Technique to trace the residual aura on their bodies and immediately located the perpetrator’s accomplices still in Muxian Town.
The enemy was alert and retreated preemptively. Xie Ningyuan gave chase and briefly engaged them, but they ultimately escaped.
"The leader of that group was a Late-stage Golden Core expert, even more powerful than the one who attacked you."
"And he had a High-level Earth Escape Talisman, so I couldn’t stop him from getting away."
After hearing Xie Ningyuan’s account, Lu Sangjiu’s brows knitted together. This Qilin Sect was becoming more mysterious and strange.
But what made her more curious was this: "You mean you couldn’t even stop a Late-stage Golden Core?"
Xie Ningyuan was struck speechless for a moment before retorting irritably, "What’s with that tone? You’re only in the Foundation Establishment Stage. Why do you make a Late-stage Golden Core sound like they’re a dime a dozen, as if it makes me a weakling for not being able to stop him?"
"Give me a break, I’m just a poor little Late-stage Golden Core myself, you know?"
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
’Yeah, right!’
’She discreetly shot him a glance, wondering if this had to do with that old ailment of his.’
’Back in the Secret Realm, his old ailment had flared up after he’d used an overly powerful ability. Maybe he was being restricted by it now, too?’
However, Lu Sangjiu didn’t press the matter, instead changing the subject. "So, are you interested in those people now?"
The moment she opened her mouth, Xie Ningyuan guessed her intention. "What, thinking of using me as free labor to help you track down those people?"
Lu Sangjiu looked at him, a pure and innocent smile spreading across her face. "They say that Buddhist Practitioners possess a great love for saving the world and its people. One look at those people tells you they’re no good. Don’t you want to investigate them, just a little?"
Xie Ningyuan raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like the kind of Buddhist Practitioner who possesses that ’great love’?"
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
She fell silent, then decided to try a different approach to convince him.
"Those people... they might be connected to Gu Huang."
As expected, that one sentence immediately made Xie Ningyuan’s attitude shift.
He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Lu Sangjiu’s expression. "What do you mean?"
Lu Sangjiu then recounted what had happened with the Great Elder in the underground palace of the Secret Realm.
Although Xie Ningyuan had been following Lu Sangjiu the whole time, he had lost his bearings during a sandstorm.
By the time he found Lu Sangjiu in the underground palace, she was already being pulled into the altar, so he truly didn’t know this part of the story.
After finishing her retelling of the Great Elder’s words, she said, "I suspect he was connected to Gu Huang’s death all those years ago. Since you want to find Gu Huang, why not investigate this matter? Perhaps you’ll make a discovery?"
’Lu Sangjiu felt a little bad for using herself as bait, but those people had their eyes on her, and she currently didn’t have the power to do anything to them. So, with Xie Ningyuan as free labor, it would be a waste not to use him, right?’
Xie Ningyuan was silent for a long moment before he spoke again. "So, did she teach you Immortal Demon Dual Cultivation? Are you... her disciple?"
Lu Sangjiu froze, wondering why Xie Ningyuan had circled back to this topic.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell a small lie. "Yes."
She thought Xie Ningyuan would surely press her for proof, but to her surprise, after listening, he simply smiled silently and nodded. "Alright."
Lu Sangjiu was taken aback. "Alright what?"
"You asked me to help investigate those people, didn’t you? I’ve agreed."
Lu Sangjiu was stunned again, finding Xie Ningyuan’s thoughts increasingly inscrutable. "Why exactly are you so determined to find her?"
This wasn’t the first time Lu Sangjiu had asked this question, but whereas Xie Ningyuan had always evaded it in the past, this time he gave a relatively direct answer.
He said, "This is something I wish to say to her in person... rather than through an intermediary."
Lu Sangjiu realized that Xie Ningyuan was tacitly assuming she had a way to contact Gu Huang.
’From a certain point of view, he wasn’t wrong.’
So she didn’t refute it, her silence serving as an admission.
Xie Ningyuan smiled again. "It’s alright. I’ve waited over a hundred years. I can keep waiting until you’re willing to trust me."
He raised his cup to her. "Rest assured, I will not reveal your secret to anyone... I swear on my life."
Lu Sangjiu was surprised and couldn’t help but feel moved.
’Maybe... she could try trusting him a little?’
So she raised her wine cup and clinked it against his. "Alright. I’ll believe what you’ve said today."
"I hope... we will never be enemies."
In that moment, Lu Sangjiu made a silent decision: one day, when she had the power to protect herself, he would be the first person she told her identity to.
And at that time, regardless of whether the outcome was good or bad, she would have the strength to bear the consequences.
