Chapter 9#
Chapter 9#
As soon as Wen Jin stepped off the stage, he went straight to Yu Lin. The proud and spirited look in his raised eyebrows was a stark contrast to Yu Ling’s.
Yu Lin watched him with a smile, glanced at Yu Ling, and asked, “What did you do?”
Wen Jin flicked his wide sleeves, and a small porcelain bottle appeared in his hand. He held the small bottle between two fingers and showed it to him, saying smugly, “Wherever it lands, it will itch incessantly. If he doesn’t resolve it in time, he’ll be disfigured.”
Yu Lin laughed heartily, “Treating his darling like this, aren’t you afraid Immortal Lord Chong Wu will come looking for you?”
Wen Jin shrugged indifferently, “If he comes to me for the antidote, I’ll give it to him. Even for this short while, it’s enough for him to suffer.”
“How come I never knew you had this ability? Although Yu Ling was built up with spiritual medicine, he’s still a solid Stage Three cultivator of Water and Earth,” Yu Lin leaned in closer.
“There’s a lot you don’t know.”
Wen Jin didn’t want to explain further. After speaking, he looked towards the Spiritual Medicine Valley.
He had been too far from the caster, and the totem on his arm was now slightly hot.
Yu Lin followed his gaze and asked casually, “You’ve made a name for yourself in the Sword Fighting Tournament, which will surely attract the attention of other sects. Won’t your sect be wary?”
Wen Jin let out a scoff, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness. He casually swung his hand, and his voice lowered, “Wary… the tricks they use are a thousand times dirtier than mine, there’s nothing to be wary of.”
“As for the other sects…”
“Let everyone interfere. Let the world be turned upside down.”
As he was speaking, a voice laced with a hint of anger was heard. Immortal Lord Chong Wu walked up to them, his eyes narrowed, his gaze dangerous, “Wen Jin.”
“What is it, Immortal Lord?” Wen Jin knew he was here for Yu Ling, so he feigned ignorance and asked knowingly.
Immortal Lord Chong Wu looked down at him, as if expecting him to confess, and said slowly, “You used to be a good child. Do I have to spell it out for you?”
Good child, again.
As if for the sake of being good, he could disregard all feelings.
Yu Lin looked at his proud demeanor, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness, but he smiled and interjected, “Master, do you like good children that much?”
Immortal Lord Chong Wu was caught off guard and narrowed his eyes, inexplicably angry, “Yu Lin, is that what you think?”
Just as Yu Lin was about to speak, he saw Wen Jin stand up, preventing the two from arguing.
He placed the porcelain bottle containing the antidote in Immortal Lord Chong Wu’s hand, interrupting Yu Lin’s unspoken words.
Wen Jin lowered his gaze and said, “This medicine should be sprinkled on the wound in small, frequent doses, three times a day.”
Immortal Lord Chong Wu grunted. He glanced at Yu Lin, said nothing, and turned to leave with the antidote.
Unexpectedly, a furious voice came from behind, “Yu Lin, why do you let him bully people like this?”
Yu Lin turned his head and saw Yu Ming looking at him in a rage, as if questioning him. He asked with amusement, “What do you mean, ‘I let him bully people like this’?”
“Yu Ling is still unconscious and hasn’t woken up. He’s always been frail, and you frightened him badly just now. And you let Wen Jin poison him?”
“Do you have to be so malicious?”
Listening to Yu Ming’s accusations, Yu Lin’s smile faded. “What do you mean I let him poison Yu Ling? And how can you be so sure it was me?”
“Didn’t he do it to vent your anger? Otherwise, why would he harm Yu Ling when they have no grudges?”
“Yu Ming!” Immortal Lord Chong Wu roared at him.
His golden eyes were as cold as ice. Yu Ming was intimidated by his gaze, but he still stammered in rebuttal,
“Master! Ah Ling is like this now. Can we ignore the reasons and let him suffer for nothing?”
“What a ‘Ah Ling’,” Yu Lin’s eyes were indifferent, and he felt the figure before him slowly overlap with his past life. “To prevent him from suffering for nothing, you can blame me, Yu Ming?”
“I…” Yu Ming opened his mouth to retort, but then he heard a swish. Yu Lin glanced at his hand indifferently, raised his injured hand, and fiercely tore off the bandage.
Blood instantly seeped from the wound, startlingly bright.
Yu Lin continued, “Do you want to see how badly he injured me? He’s frail, but is my body any better?”
He stared intently at Yu Ming but didn’t notice Immortal Lord Chong Wu’s subconscious movement to pull him back when he tore off the bandage, only to retract his hand.
Yu Ming fell silent after seeing his wound, seemingly somewhat reluctant. His imposing manner weakened, and he seemed to be weighing the pros and cons.
Wen Jin’s heart tightened. He couldn’t help but grab Yu Lin’s sleeve, stepped forward to shield him, and said to Yu Ming,
“Yu Lin respects you, and I also call you ‘Senior Brother’. I don’t understand what your basis is. This matter is indeed unrelated to Xiao Lin. Aren’t you afraid of hurting Xiao Lin’s heart by making such a judgment?”
Yu Ming glared at him fiercely, gritting his teeth and saying fiercely, “Having injured my junior brother to this extent, I naturally have to find you. Just a good-for-nothing from Spiritual Medicine Valley, rushing to deliver himself?”
Wen Jin looked at him with an unfazed expression and scoffed, not taking his words to heart.
His nonchalant attitude enraged Yu Ming. Regardless of whether Immortal Lord Chong Wu was still present, he took out his anger on both Yu Lin and Wen Jin,
“Aren’t you doing well now? With so many people fawning over you, what else do you lack? You’ve gained so much, why can’t you share some with him?”
Perhaps it was a word that struck a chord in Yu Lin’s heart, and he suddenly raised his voice, “Why should I share some with him?!”
“He has parents, a mother, and people who love him. He was brought to Floating Life Sect by his brother and naturally became an inner disciple of the Sect Master. What does he lack? Must he come and snatch from me?!”
“I was abandoned by my parents when I was young. When I was almost dying in the ice and snow, why didn’t anyone tell me I could share some with me?”
Looking at Yu Ming’s disgusted expression, Yu Lin’s mind conjured images of the darkness in the chambers of his past life, contrasted with the joyous laughter outside.
At that time, he seemed like someone who had nothing, abandoned in a corner of the world, unable to live or die.
His chest heaved, and his voice trembled.
“Yu Ming, what kind of bewitchment has he cast on you?”
By the end, Yu Lin felt utterly exhausted. The act of tearing open his wound and showing it to people felt childish and ridiculous.
He felt it was not worth it to compete for favor with such a person.
He turned his head away and said powerlessly, “You can go. The antidote has already been given.”
…
“Yu Lin.” After they left, Wen Jin called him softly, but received no response.
Yu Lin lowered his head, hiding his face in the shadows. His ink-black hair hung down, obscuring his expression. After a moment, his breathing gradually calmed, and he suddenly asked, “Are they gone?”
“…Gone.”
“That’s good.”
Yu Lin raised his head, putting on a nonchalant air, and casually rewrapped the bandage.
However, his eyes clearly held a trace of vulnerability, and he was clearly forcing a smile.
Wen Jin stared at his eyes intently, lowered his gaze, and pressed down on his hand as he rewrapped the bandage, “I’ll re-treat it for you, or it will become inflamed.”
Without waiting for his reply, Wen Jin placed his hand aside, turned around, took out his tools, and silently began to treat him.
Yu Lin had lost a lot of weight and was very thin. His wrists were so slender they could be easily grasped. Wen Jin sighed softly and whispered, “You’ve suffered.”
Wen Jin’s tone was different from usual, too sincere and earnest, as if he empathized with him from his perspective.
Yu Lin was startled, blinked slowly, and smiled at him with relief, but did not refute anything.
…
More and more people were coming and going, all heading towards the same venue.
“What happened?”
Wen Jin shook his head, indicating he didn’t know, and suggested they go take a look together.
It was now the quarter-finals, and those with poor skills had already been eliminated, reducing the number of participants by half.
Many people, both eliminated and yet to compete, were gathered in front of Arena Number Three. Yu Lin pulled Wen Jin along and barely managed to squeeze in.
“The senior disciple of Flying Sword Sect is indeed something else, that presence…”
“Don’t say it, this cultivator from Floating Life Sect isn’t bad either.”
“After all, he’s under Immortal Lord Chong Wu…”
Yu Lin heard Immortal Lord Chong Wu’s name, leaned in to listen, and then stood on tiptoe to look at the stage.
The fighters were Ling Guangyi, the senior disciple of Flying Sword Sect, and Yu Xuan.
Flying Sword Sect was the number one sect in swordsmanship, and Ling Guangyi was universally recognized as a master swordsman. In terms of swordsmanship comprehension, he was among the best of his generation.
Yu Xuan was usually low-key, but his foundational skills were the most solid. He was now a Stage Three cultivator of Wood and Heaven.
In Floating Life Sect, Immortal Lord Chong Wu was renowned for his strength, and his reputation as the foremost righteous path cultivator was too dazzling, causing his disciples to be rarely mentioned.
Now, Yu Xuan could be considered to be emerging.
He looked at the stage and saw the gentle breeze blowing, fluttering Yu Xuan’s robes.
The match had already progressed to a heated stage. Ling Guangyi lunged forward, swinging his sword, and thrust it at Yu Xuan!
Yu Xuan reacted extremely quickly and immediately dodged the sword by moving sideways in the opposite direction.
Then he infused spiritual power into his sword. In an instant, a rich, pale green light enveloped the entire sword body!
Yu Xuan swung his sword forward, and the pale green light split into two clusters, surging forward.
It transformed into a phantom vine, entangling Ling Guangyi’s sword-holding hand!
Ling Guangyi’s eyes narrowed. He reacted swiftly, tossing his sword to his other hand before the vine could entangle him. He then chopped the vine with the backhand, and with another starting stance!
The sword swayed left and right in his hand, creating afterimages. He cut the vine into pieces and blocked forward with the momentum.
The tangible sword intent, following his movement, gathered the vine pieces together and sent them flying towards Yu Xuan!
Yu Xuan sensed the approaching sword intent, steadied himself, bowed down, and took a step back. He moved to the left, causing the vine pieces to fall empty, one after another, onto the ground.
After dodging the vines, he swung his sword with the bowing motion. The pale green light slashed towards where Ling Guangyi was standing.
Unexpectedly, Ling Guangyi had already sensed his intention. He leaped forward in advance, his body light and agile as he soared into the air, dodging his move. He then formed a sword seal, transforming the sword intent into a flying dragon in mid-air!
The flying dragon let out a roar and charged towards Yu Xuan!