Chapter 12: Water Ghosts, Curses, and a Question

                               

As Xie Wushuang went to see Shen Xiuwen, Hua Xiangwan glanced at the carriage, then walked alone to the riverside, looking down at the water's dark surface.

The water trickled under the moonlight, and water ghosts hid beneath the surface, tangled like algae, greedily watching Hua Xiangwan as she stood by the shore.

Though she had no spiritual power to draw upon, these water ghosts couldn't harm her. She lowered her head, watching the ghosts writhe underwater in their eternal dance of torment.

She found the entanglement of these ghosts intriguing, and crouched down, intending to reach out and touch them. But just as her fingers extended, a sword aura swept past from behind, sending the ghosts screaming and vanishing into the depths.

Xie Wushuang's voice echoed from behind, his tone chilling. "Ghosts can bewitch the mind. Young Master, please return."

Upon hearing this, Hua Xiangwan turned and saw Xie Wushuang looking at her with calm detachment.

Hua Xiangwan nodded. "Thank you, Daojun."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Xie Wushuang's wound. The curse on him showed no signs of improvement; the black energy had even grown thicker, noticeably more severe than the one cast on Shen Xiuwen. Hua Xiangwan couldn't help but frown.

With such a severe curse, who on earth had Xie Wushuang encountered in the valley?

Xie Changji held her gaze for a moment, but seeing she didn't move, he turned and went to sit under a tree. He settled cross-legged, placing his sword across his knees. He touched his thumbs and middle fingers together, then turned his palms upward and placed them on his knees, entering a state of meditation.

Seeing his complete disregard for his injuries, Hua Xiangwan hesitated for a moment before walking over to Xie Changji and half-crouching beside him.

"Xie Daojun, the curse doesn't hurt, does it?"

Hua Xiangwan propped her chin up, sizing up Xie Wushuang with calculating eyes. "However, let me propose a trade. Tell me the purpose of your visit, and I'll help you heal."

The expected silence didn't surprise Hua Xiangwan, so she changed her offer. "Then tell me who hurt you?"

Still no answer.

Hua Xiangwan felt a wave of frustration. They were both disciples of the younger generation, but Xie Wushuang was far more formidable than Shen Xiuwen.

She reconsidered. Xie Wushuang didn't speak, but his wound could speak volumes. She would know who cast the curse once she examined it.

Thinking of this, she suddenly reached out to pull Xie Wushuang's clothes open, but he was faster. The moment her hand touched the fabric, he grabbed her wrist and said calmly, "I don't want to negotiate conditions."

"Then let's not talk."

Hua Xiangwan smiled. "I'll check your wound."

"It's the Yin-Yang Saint Son of the Yin-Yang Sect," Xie Wushuang grasped her hand and looked up at her. "If you still want to help me check my wound, then check it now."

Knowing who had done it, there was no point in examining the wound again.

Xie Wushuang seemed to have guessed her thoughts thoroughly, which made her feel inexplicably angry.

She was silent for a moment, then she opened Xie Wushuang's hand and pulled his clothes open in a fit of irritation, revealing the wound on his body.

His wounds, already lacerated and bleeding from the curse, showed no trace of pain on his face. Hua Xiangwan cursed him inwardly for his stubbornness, then thrust a silver needle into the wound on Xie Wushuang's chest. She said coldly, "Few in Yunlai can break the Western Territory curses. If I don't help you tonight, you'll be carried to the Realm of Life and Death to find your master the day after tomorrow."

"Why do you want to find my master?" Xie Wushuang asked calmly, his voice betraying nothing.

She nearly blurted out, "He's the only one in Yunlai who can break this Myriad Curses," but stopped herself before she could utter a word.

Xie Changji had been taught all the ways to break the Western Territory curses by her.

The Myriad Curses of the Yin-Yang Saint were rare in the Western Territory, let alone those who could break them. Few in the Western Territory could dispel them. If Xie Changji hadn't met her and been struck by them for her sake, Yunlai probably wouldn't have even seen them.

But she couldn't share such a secret. It was best if she maintained no connection to Xie Changji.

So she swallowed her words and simply said, "Isn't Lord Qingheng the strongest in your Tianjian Sect? Besides him, who else could handle this top-level spell?"

Xie Wushuang didn't respond. Hua Xiangwan vaguely felt that he seemed to smile, but when she looked closely, she saw that he still wore that cold expression, no different from usual.

This made her feel strangely uneasy. She turned her eyes away from him, quickly performed the acupuncture, and coldly ordered, "Give me your hand. Give me some spiritual power."

Xie Changji obediently raised his uninjured hand, and Hua Xiangwan's palm fell into his. Spiritual power flowed through her palm into Hua Xiangwan's body. With the spiritual power coursing through her, Hua Xiangwan began to rapidly draw talismans on the wound, and Xie Wushuang's wound began to tremble violently.

Cold sweat fell from Hua Xiangwan's forehead. She hurriedly said, "Hurry up and give me more spiritual power..."

Before she could finish her words, "Xie Wushuang's" spiritual power had already forced its way to the wound and suddenly burst forth.

Black energy erupted from Xie Wushuang's wound as if breaking free from its shackles, and it opened a maw to bite Hua Xiangwan. However, Xie Wushuang was faster, grabbing Hua Xiangwan and pulling her aside. He raised his sword and slashed the black energy away with a single stroke. He then turned to look at Hua Xiangwan, who was panting behind him, and after confirming that she was unharmed, sheathed his sword.

"You're quite quick-witted," Hua Xiangwan observed his movements, smiled, and straightened up, leaning against the tree. "You knew what I meant before I even finished speaking."

"Yeah."

"Xie Wushuang" replied, and Hua Xiangwan was unsure of what he meant by that single syllable.

She looked at the calm young man and leaned in closer to him. "You seem to know me very well?"

Xie Wushuang didn't move, neither dodging nor avoiding. He simply said, "More than you think."

"For example?"

Hua Xiangwan raised an eyebrow provocatively. Xie Changji heard this and turned his head, staring at her quietly through the white silk covering his eyes.

Hua Xiangwan couldn't meet his eyes directly, but she could still sense he had much to say. After a long moment, he turned away and whispered, "Go to sleep."

He stood up and made room for her, saying, "I'll keep watch."

From his expression, Hua Xiangwan knew she wouldn't be able to extract any more conversation from him tonight.

She pouted, lying on the grass with her back to Xie Wushuang, and began to reflect on the day's events.

Qin Yunshang from Mingluan Palace had arrived, and now the Yin-Yang Saint Son of the Yin-Yang Sect had arrived, too. The Five Poison Sect was also involved...

So many people from the Western Territory couldn't have come simply to disrupt her marriage to the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Xie Wushuang was a descendant of the Heart-Searching Sword, and with his skill, he was likely the Sword's next successor.

What could have brought out all the core disciples of the Heart-Searching Sword and the masters of the Western Territory simultaneously?

Hua Xiangwan pondered, her gaze slowly cooling with realization.

In the past two hundred years, she had only seen one thing with such allure.

That was the ghost spirit that she had sealed with her own hands two hundred years ago, but which was eventually split into two halves and scattered.

As far as she knew, half of the Qi Ling had disappeared without trace, and the other half had fallen into the Lingxu Secret Realm.

Was the Lingxu Secret Realm about to open?

If it was truly for the Qi Ling, then the Tianjian Sect had only sent Xie Wushuang, which seemed rather stingy.

If the Realm of Life and Death didn't need the Sword of Questioning Heart to guard it, perhaps Xie Changji himself would have come.

The moment this thought occurred to Hua Xiangwan, her body stiffened. Shen Xiuwen's words suddenly flashed through her mind: "Lord Qingheng, however, went against the grain, entering the realm alone and nearly annihilating the entire realm..."

If Xie Changji truly annihilated the entire realm, and the other realms were unable to commit the same offense again, would he still be needed to guard the Realm of Life and Death?

"Xie Wushuang," Hua Xiangwan thought, her temper growing restless. She couldn't help but ask, "Does the Realm of Life and Death still need your master?"

Xie Wushuang didn't reply immediately. Hua Xiangwan felt her question was a bit abrupt, so she quickly explained, "What I mean is..."

"He won't come," Xie Wushuang said calmly, as if he knew exactly what she was going to ask. "He can't leave the Realm of Life and Death."

This reassured Hua Xiangwan considerably. She said nothing more, covering herself with the quilt and closing her eyes, deciding to digest this good news and go to sleep. Now that she had a rough idea of what was happening, she wasn't panicking anymore.

Xie Changji, sensing that she seemed to have fallen asleep, glanced over.

He stared for a long moment, then thought for a moment, his lips quietly curling up in a faint, bittersweet curve.

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