After Refusing Marriage to the Dao of Slaughter Patriarch (3)

In an instant, the noisy crowd of little brats fell silent. The surroundings became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Children's eyes were naturally round and bright, and now they widened even further. Their faces were either blank from excessive shock or filled with bewilderment after being deeply shaken.

Jin Wu, who had been resting with his eyes closed due to his injured leg and was curled weakly in Ji Zhaixing's arms with a pale complexion, also opened his eyes in astonishment. Without realizing it, he tugged at a strand of Ji Zhaixing's black hair that had fallen over his shoulder.

Cool and soft.

These pampered young masters and young ladies, who had been clamoring earlier about teaching Ji Zhaixing a lesson, now that they had truly seen the "mastermind behind the scenes," each became sweet and obedient like little milk cakes, secretly peeking at Ji Zhaixing while wringing their hands.

It was no wonder the little brats were shocked. The Ji Zhaixing they had imagined was a petty villain skilled at manipulation and currying favor with the powerful. Someone of humble birth and shallow cultivation ought to look sneaky and unpleasant at first glance—how could he possibly have anything to do with the beautiful older brother before them?

For perhaps the first time, cracks even appeared in the children's instinctive trust toward their elders.

—Why did they lie to me?

Ji Zhaixing was clearly... such a very, very good person.

Seeing the children all at a loss, Ji Zhaixing stopped teasing them further. He simply brought everyone to the Healers' Courtyard, handed the injured Jin Wu over to the healer disciples, then arranged for a steady and reliable patrol guard to escort this group of delicate little troublemakers home.

By now, the night had already enveloped the entire Mingling Sword Sect. Watching Ji Zhaixing bustle around for their sake without the slightest trace of impatience on his face, the children inevitably began to feel a little guilty again.

This older brother didn't even look that much older than them.

Ji Zhaixing's moon-white robes had also inadvertently been stained by Jin Wu's blood, dirtying a patch of fabric.

He himself had not noticed.

But the children paid particular attention to it, especially Jin Wu, who felt embarrassed and upset that he had accidentally dirtied Ji Zhaixing's clothes.

The children thought they ought to thank him.

Or perhaps apologize first.

But for a moment, all of them awkwardly kept silent.

Once Ji Zhaixing finished arranging everything, he prepared to return to Chuyun Peak.

He guessed these children were probably at the age where they cared greatly about saving face and did not wish to speak with him, so he made no move to approach them. Only when leaving the Healers' Courtyard did he quietly say, "I'm going back now. Don't get lost again."

The children immediately panicked and crowded forward, stammering apologies.

They should not have spoken so badly about Ji Zhaixing.

The little girl in the pale blue mist-colored dress even rubbed at her reddened eyes and said with a warm nose tip, "Y-you... don't become Dao companions with Patriarch Yun Shu, okay?"

Her words were astonishingly bold.

"I like you too. When I grow up, I can become your Dao companion."

Ji Zhaixing, who had been about to leave, paused slightly. He turned back, lowering his gaze onto the little girl's soft hair whorl.

Ji Zhaixing thought she had probably heard his earlier self-mocking words and developed a soft-hearted sympathy for him. Still, he crouched down halfway and looked at the little girl.

"Thank you for liking me."

"Silly girl."

Long after the black-haired cultivator had departed, the little girl in blue still stood on tiptoe, staring in the direction where Ji Zhaixing had disappeared.

The other children all envied her a little, because she alone had monopolized a portion of Ji Zhaixing's gentleness.

Jin Wu's wound was not very deep, though he had indeed lost too much blood. Reclining halfway on the couch, he looked somewhat weak. Watching the obviously absent-minded little girl, he raised his brows slightly and said in a seemingly casual tone:

"You said so many bad things about him. He doesn't like you."

......

The Mingling Sword Sect would not rest tonight.

The Spirit-Locking Formation had been removed from the sect, allowing spiritual energy to spill outward and benefit passing cultivators. Phoenix birds circled overhead as auspicious signs appeared.

All because one of the cultivation world's most revered and exceedingly rare Soul Splitting Realm cultivators was getting married.

All the spiritual wine brewed this year at Liquan had been gathered by the sword sect to entertain guests. Spiritual fruits so ripe they dripped rich juice, thousand-year demon beast meat expertly roasted and seasoned—rare treasures that normally required fighting over were distributed by the Mingling Sword Sect as casually as ordinary food.

As a result, the smiles of the visiting cultivators became all the more sincere.

Some cultivators were even more enthusiastic about debating Dao techniques with fellow cultivators or respectfully seeking guidance from mighty patriarchs they normally never had the chance to meet.

Even the most arrogant cultivators would not pick fights today.

The auspicious hour divined for the ceremony was Xu hour tonight, still two hours away.

Yet before dawn had even broken, someone had already delivered the wedding robes to Ji Zhaixing.

Cultivators were free-spirited by nature, so a Dao companion ceremony was naturally not as cumbersome as mortal marriage customs. Only the attire and grooming were handled with greater care.

But the female cultivators helping Ji Zhaixing dress were seeing this beauty hidden away on Chuyun Peak for the first time, and all of them were dazzled.

No wonder Patriarch Yun Shu was willing to become Dao companions with him. If it were them instead...

For a moment, they did not know whether to envy Ji Zhaixing for climbing so high by attaching himself to a mighty cultivator, or resent Yun Shu for plucking such a beauty for himself.

Ji Zhaixing truly looked too beautiful.

The female cultivators even felt that applying lip color or powder to him was unnecessary. In the end, they simply tied his black hair with a crimson ribbon and let the ends fall naturally before reminding him to change into the wedding robes.

The inner robe of the wedding attire was a white-gold cross-collared robe, covered by a vivid red outer garment. When Ji Zhaixing lifted his sleeves, peach blossom patterns woven subtly into the satin could faintly be seen layered upon each other, so vivid it almost seemed as though one could smell their fragrance.

The cultivator had black hair, pale skin, and striking robes over his tall figure.

Ji Zhaixing's complexion was a cold white, yet paired with such rich and brilliant clothing, it was as though peach blossoms had fallen into his brows and eyes, making his entire person appear... dazzlingly beautiful.

Enough to steal one's soul.

He obediently allowed the female cultivators to finish dressing him before receiving a message from Yun Shu, summoning him to the main hall.

The female cultivators thought that Patriarch Yun truly could not wait even a moment longer.

Then again, if they had hidden away such a beauty, they too would have wanted to treasure him in their palms and never let go.

According to tradition, Dao companions were not supposed to meet before the ceremony, or else their future together would supposedly be fraught with hardship. But Yun Shu's cultivation was simply too high. For countless years he had acted entirely as he pleased, never constrained by rules or customs—why would he care about such formalities?

Moreover, theirs was not a marriage born of mutual affection, so there was no need to worry about whether their future together would be loving or harmonious.

As for why Yun Shu had summoned Ji Zhaixing over, no one knew.

The Soul Splitting Realm patriarch sat upright in the main hall, not yet dressed in wedding robes, still wearing the white robes he wore every day, making him appear especially cold and stern.

Because Yun Shu had just finished cultivating, the hall itself was even colder than the frost-filled corridors outside.

After Ji Zhaixing saluted him, his gaze fell upon the sheathless long saber hanging on the weapon rack behind Yun Shu.

After only one extra glance, Ji Zhaixing withdrew his gaze, composed and calm. There was not the slightest joy visible on the face of someone about to marry, nor any sign that the person he was marrying was one of the world's rare Soul Splitting Realm experts.

Just as he had been on the first day he entered the Mingling Sword Sect.

Yun Shu did not realize how unlike a normal pair of Dao companions the atmosphere between them was.

Or perhaps he did realize and simply did not care.

Suddenly, he raised his hand. True essence condensed into an icy blade and shot toward Ji Zhaixing's slender neck.

Ji Zhaixing reacted just as quickly. Rising to his feet, he condensed true essence into a palm strike to block it, though his complexion turned slightly pale.

Yun Shu was testing the state of Ji Zhaixing's cultivation foundation.

Peak Golden Core stage.

Thus, he offered rare praise.

"Very good."

The higher the host's cultivation, the easier it was to extract a Transformation Dao Bone intact. Anything below the Golden Core realm could not be fully extracted.

And Yun Shu had already planned to personally remove Ji Zhaixing's Dao Bone tonight.

Even though the Soul Splitting Realm expert had already held back so much that the attack resembled little more than playful teasing, Ji Zhaixing still found it difficult to handle. A trace of bloodiness rose in his mouth. Ji Zhaixing lightly licked away the crimson at his lips.

At Yun Shu's praise, he raised his eyes. His gaze shone like morning stars, and within those eyes was reflected only the silver-haired man before him.

"You praise me too highly, Senior Yun," Ji Zhaixing said with a faint smile. Suddenly, as though recalling the past, he added, "When Senior first appeared at the Yushui Sect, it was also with this same move that you slew the Locust Tree Demon."

The Yushui Sect had once been Ji Zhaixing's sect. In that barren small world, it had already counted as the leader of the cultivation world.

Spiritual energy there had withered. Qi Condensation cultivators were called "immortals" and "masters," while someone half a step into Foundation Establishment counted as a mighty expert.

Yet despite such poor conditions, that harsh land had somehow nurtured a Locust Tree Demon nearly at the Nascent Soul stage. It devoured living beings freely and seized control of the Yushui Sect, while the small cultivators there were powerless against it.

But before the demon could even undergo heavenly tribulation, Yun Shu—who had descended into the lower world to slay demons and accumulate fortune—killed it with a casual strike. In doing so, he not only saved the Yushui Sect, but also prevented that small world from collapsing into the Upper Three Thousand Great Worlds.

Whenever Ji Zhaixing mentioned these past events, his face was filled with tenderness. In an especially gentle voice, he said:

"I dare not forget Senior's kindness."

Ji Zhaixing had said such words many times before.

There were also many others grateful to Yun Shu in the same way, after all, he often personally descended into lower worlds to slay demons.

Yun Shu had long grown accustomed to hearing it.

He merely responded indifferently before saying, "You may leave."

Ji Zhaixing still wore a smile as he flicked his sleeves and took his leave. But just before departing, his gaze once again landed on the weapon rack behind Yun Shu.

On that saber shining like flowing moonlight, its edge bright as snow.

"Senior Yun," Ji Zhaixing asked, "could you gift this saber to me?"

Strangely enough, despite staying by Yun Shu's side for so long and receiving no shortage of resources, Ji Zhaixing had never once proactively asked for anything.

This was his first request.

"That is a Demonic Saber," Yun Shu said coldly as he looked at him. "You cannot suppress it."

Though he said this, Yun Shu paused, then changed his mind.

"I will find a suitable sheath for it."

That was agreement enough.

Ji Zhaixing smiled again, every feature of his face softened with warmth.

"Many thanks, Senior."

When a beauty smiled, Ji Zhaixing's already exceptional appearance became even more captivating by several degrees. Even immortals cast from heaven would lose themselves in such beauty.

Yet when Yun Shu saw that smile, he only paused briefly.

A strangely subtle emotion suddenly arose within him.

......

The fragrance of Liquan wine permeated the entire Jiyu Sect.

No one had expected that Yun Shu Patriarch's Dao companion ceremony would attract another Soul Splitting Realm cultivator out of seclusion.

Xie Chimeng had always acted however he pleased. He casually chose a seat and did not need the Mingling Sword Sect to specially entertain him. Instead, he focused entirely on teasing the man sitting opposite him.

"Ah Liu," Xie Chimeng said with a grin, "look at your master. Something as important as taking a Dao companion, and he didn't even ask for your opinion. I'm afraid once he has a Dao companion, he'll forget all about his disciple."

The handsome pale man before him revealed a helpless expression.

"If Master wishes to find me a martial mother, why would he need my opinion?"