Chapter 53: You Guys Go Ahead And Do It
His words left the youngsters bewildered and even a bit helpless.
What troubles might they encounter on this trip?
Their opponents were merely a group of defenseless mortals, yet these mortals showed them the dirtiest, most unbearable side of this world.
“Sect Master, can we act against mortals?”
Fei Changxiu raised his head and asked.
Cultivators are not allowed to bully the weak and attack mortals.
This was the first rule they learned when they stepped onto the path of cultivation, and it was also an unwritten iron law of the entire cultivation world.
Yet now, they felt a deep sense of wavering regarding it.
“Of course you can,”
Qin Du said with a smile, “If mortals commit evil, as cultivators, we must uphold justice.”
“You cultivators, have you been bullied by a group of mortals? You can fight back, but if they don’t go too far, if they don’t cross the line, don’t be too heavy-handed. Just teach them a lesson.”
Qin Du said to everyone with a smile, guiding them patiently.
“Zhaoshuang, tell me, what did you encounter?”
“Mhm.”
Ming Zhaoshuang responded, speaking with almost no emotion, “After we reached the Lingxiao Sect’s territory, we intended to rest for a night in Qian City, but we found it very strange…”
They had already heard Qin Zhi’s experience, and hearing it again at this moment still couldn’t stop their anger.
As for Qin Du, he had already slumped onto his seat, his head hanging low, veins bulging on his fingers as he crushed the armrest made of spirit jade into powder.
Perhaps it was the collective daze, but two strands of white hair seemed to have suddenly appeared at the temples of Qin Du’s head.
Mid-story, Fei Changxiu stopped Ming Zhaoshuang, saying:
“Just gloss over these matters, there’s no need to recount them all again.”
He didn’t want Qin Du to know anything about Qin Zhi.
It was too painful for him.
Qin Du insisted on knowing: “It’s fine, Shuang’er, you continue. I… I want to know how much suffering Zhi Zhi endured outside all these years.”
He wanted to know the result he hadn’t found in thirty years, the ending he hadn’t waited for in thirty years, what it looked like, how much he owed Qin Zhi.
Qin Zhi, his most doted-upon sister, his most proud sister.
His most spirited and dashing sister.
He wanted to know what she had experienced.
“Finally, we rescued Aunt Qin Zhi from the north, but her condition was not optimistic.”
Ming Zhaoshuang cleared a path, allowing Qin Du to see Qin Zhi’s appearance through the communication talisman:
“Due to years of abuse, she has no possibility of recovering her cultivation, and her lifespan is only sixty years left. But the worst part is, when we arrived, Aunt Qin Zhi’s left arm had already been eaten by wolf beasts, leaving nothing but bone. Aunt Qin Zhi… is crippled…”
As the last two words fell, crystalline liquid also traced the corners of Qin Du’s eyes, appearing particularly glaring in the small communication talisman.
Ming Zhaoshuang thought she could control her emotions well, but she discovered that as she spoke towards the end, her voice couldn’t help but tremble.
It was as if she was sad for Qin Zhi, sad for the countless women trapped in the great mountains.
She continued, “Uncle Qin, I want to take them to destroy that village, rescue those women, and rescue the millions of women trapped in Qian City. Please grant your consent.”
Although they had already decided to do this, it was still a matter between two sects, and she had to ask Qin Feilong’s opinion – after all, although she was the eldest young lady of the Ming family, she was now working for the Ao Tian Sect, and they would be held accountable.
“Go ahead and do it.”
Qin Du looked up, his bloodshot eyes showing no hesitation, and said fiercely, “It doesn’t matter how it turns out, even if we completely fall out with the Lingxiao Sect, I will still get revenge for Zhi Zhi!”
“Leave that man named Zhang Yaozong alive, I’ll personally handle him.”
The youthful passion surged back, and Qin Du gritted his teeth.
Zhang Yaozong tortured his sister for thirty years; he would make Zhang Yaozong wish he were dead for three hundred years.
With Qin Du’s words, everyone felt more at ease. Just as they were letting out a sigh of relief, they suddenly heard a soft call from behind them.
“Bro, brother…”
Qin Zhi sat on the grass, staring blankly at the illusion of Qin Du projected in the communication talisman.
Seeing that Qin Zhi had woken up, the youngsters immediately surrounded her, asking about her condition. But Qin Zhi seemed unresponsive, her dazed eyes fixed on Qin Du, not even blinking.
Qin Du also stared motionlessly at Qin Zhi.
It was a long time before he reacted, smiling and replying, “Yes, brother is here! Be good, Zhi Zhi, brother will come to see you in a few days.”
As he smiled, Qin Du cried again.
“You’re lying! You never came to see me! You didn’t come to see me!”
Suddenly, Qin Zhi’s face changed drastically. She crawled towards Qin Du’s direction, her pupils wide open, her face as pale as a vengeful spirit, and she roared at Qin Du:
“I waited for so long! You still didn’t come! I always thought you would come! You didn’t come! Why didn’t you come!”
Why didn’t he come?
Why didn’t he come!
Because of the Ao Tian Sect’s trivial matters, because he believed in her ability, because he searched many places where she might have disappeared, but he didn’t find her.
He searched year after year, month after month, day after day, but ultimately, he never found her.
Qin Du didn’t know how to answer Qin Zhi.
He just looked at her, feeling as helpless and unsure of what to do as when he first took that tiny infant from his parents’ hands and held her.
Suddenly, Qin Zhi started laughing again. She cackled, with two lines of blood tears left in her eyes.
The scarlet liquid traced her cheeks.
Fei Changxiu reached out, wanting to grab Qin Zhi, but before his hand could reach her, he heard her scream and stumble away.
Her remaining hand waved towards Fei Changxiu:
“Scram! Get away! Get away from me!”
Ming Zhaoshuang noticed that the way she swung her hand was precisely the stance for using a spirit sword in the Ao Tian Sect.
But soon, she acted like an ordinary woman again, covering her head with her hands, crying helplessly.
“Please, please stay away from me… far away…”
After crying like this for a while, she suddenly widened her eyes and said righteously to Fei Changxiu:
“I’m telling you, I am the daughter of the Ao Tian Sect’s Sect Master. If you dare treat me like this, the Ao Tian Sect will not let you go!”
…..
The youngsters watched Qin Zhi cry, then laugh, then scream loudly, then weep softly.
She was like a clown performing a one-woman show that no one watched.
They felt a mixture of emotions, unsure of what to do.
Even Qin Du, a thousand miles away, closed his eyes, unable to bear witness.
Ming Zhaoshuang said softly, “My senior brothers should maintain at least half a zhang distance from Aunt Qin Zhi in the future.”
Fei Changxiu lowered his head, like a naughty child who had made a mistake, “It was my fault for provoking Martial Uncle Qin Zhi.”
Just as everyone was thinking about how to help Qin Zhi regain her sanity, she suddenly looked towards the depths of the mountain, her mouth agape, as if about to cry:
“My child! Where is my child!”
“I know! Child! Child! I know where you are now! My child!”
Saying this, Qin Zhi scrambled and crawled towards the depths of the mountain forest. The hand that had not been bitten away touched her chest, as if sensing something, and she stubbornly walked in another direction.
