Chapter 61: Alive, He is My Person; Dead, He is My Ghost
“Yunxiao, are you alright?” After Ning Ke left, Gao Ze helped Lou Yunxiao up.
But he saw a trace of bewilderment in the youth’s expression.
—I am probably, a body cultivator.
The words his older sister once said in the Demon Abyss echoed in his mind.
And Ning Ke’s sentence—Did no one tell you I’m actually a body cultivator?
Bafflingly overlapped together.
And that sliver of divine sense that rushed into his sea of consciousness…
It didn’t hurt him, but instead helped him.
The little sand rat said the person who gave him the fire was a yao…
And Ning Ke’s origin fire was Fox Fire…
Impossible!
It must be his illusion!
Ning Ke absolutely couldn’t be his sister!
His sister wouldn’t carry mockery in every sentence, wouldn’t be as wildly arrogant and supercilious as Ning Ke!
Even less would she hurt him to this extent!
Ning Ke had no motive to help him!
The bewilderment in Lou Yunxiao’s eyes dissipated, and hatred accumulated.
He absolutely could not waver in his determination for revenge.
He had to kill Ning Ke, to avenge his parents and fellow disciples!
“I’m fine.” Lou Yunxiao used the blade of his sword to support his body, stood up straight, and answered Gao Ze: “Master, I apologize for just now. I was impulsive.”
After regaining his reason, Lou Yunxiao clearly understood the gap between himself and Ning Ke.
His blind provocation would only put himself in danger.
In the future, without enough certainty, he had to try his best to avoid Ning Ke.
Wait until he had enough strength, then catch Ning Ke, and definitely not let the other party off.
“It’s good that you know.” Gao Ze patted his shoulder as a comfort.
He didn’t say much else.
…
By the time Lou Yunxiao returned to Ning Family Village, Ning Xiaoxiao was leading the village people, along with the python, to bury the deceased villagers.
The little sand rat nestled on top of her head, stroking the little girl’s hair, comforting her in a low voice: “Xiaoxiao, don’t be sad.”
“The path of cultivating immortality is long. These relatives of yours would leave you sooner or later; it’s just that it happened a bit earlier now.”
The little sand rat and the python had spent some time with Ning Xiaoxiao in the secret realm and had grown fond of this little girl, so they followed her out of the secret realm.
Just now, upon seeing Ning Ke’s true form, neither the little sand rat nor the python dared to show their heads, deeply afraid of exposing Ning Ke’s identity.
“En, I know.” Ning Xiaoxiao stood in front of her adoptive father’s grave. The Jinglan Sword left its sheath, carving her adoptive father’s name on the tombstone.
She sprinkled a jar of wine in front of the grave.
She said, “Father, you named me Ning Xiaoxiao. The ‘Ning’ of ‘寧為玉碎不為瓦全’ (rather be a shattered piece of jade than an intact tile), the ‘Xiao’ of ‘別人笑我太瘋癫我笑他人看不穿’ (others laugh at me for being too crazy, I laugh at others for not seeing through it).”
“From now on, I will definitely carry out the meaning of this name to the end.”
The enmity with the demons is irreconcilable.
From now on, Ning Xiaoxiao would risk her life, seeking only to thoroughly annihilate the demons.
Lou Yunxiao walked over from a distance and also offered a stick of incense to Father Ning.
“Junior Sister, my condolences.”
“En.”
Ever since A-Ke’s death, the communication between the two had become extremely scarce.
Cold silences had already become the norm.
Ning Xiaoxiao looked at him, slightly lowering her eyes, and finally couldn’t help asking: “Senior Brother, do you feel… that Ning Ke looks a bit like my brother?”
Lou Yunxiao’s expression sank.
The hand by his side tightened, and he said in a cold voice.
“He is not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as A-Ke.”
Hearing these words, a complex emotion flashed through the little sand rat’s small eyes.
He had already learned from Ning Xiaoxiao about the blood feud between Lou Yunxiao and Ning Ke.
Therefore, he couldn’t figure out what that Nine-Tailed Fox Lord was trying to do.
Clearly having killed the other party’s entire family, why did he transform into A-Ke, stay by Lou Yunxiao’s side to help him, and even lose a tail for it?
And just now, he had witnessed the entire process of Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao fighting.
That Nine-Tailed Fox Lord was indifferent, powerful, and cynical.
Contempt for Lou Yunxiao was written all over his face.
It was simply a world of difference from A-Ke.
No wonder Lou Yunxiao couldn’t connect the two of them…
Ning Xiaoxiao was silent, but didn’t refute.
Turning to look at the tombstone in front of her, she thought of something.
She suggested: “Senior Brother, now that we have also come out of the secret realm, once we return to the sect, let my brother be laid to rest.”
When they were in the secret realm, Ning Xiaoxiao had noticed it.
Lou Yunxiao showed a bizarre obsession with her brother’s corpse.
As if he had experienced qi deviation.
Keeping company with the ice coffin every day.
Such a state was truly not normal.
In Ning Xiaoxiao’s view, the deceased ought to be laid to rest in the earth.
Even if there was ten thousand times the reluctance to part, one shouldn’t disturb that corpse anymore.
Who knew Lou Yunxiao would say: “You don’t need to concern yourself with this matter.”
Ning Xiaoxiao frowned: “Senior Brother, I don’t understand what the meaning is behind you monopolizing my brother’s corpse?”
“My brother is already dead, and the dead cannot come back to life. The body enters the earth, the soul returns to heaven; we should let him rest in peace…”
“I said you don’t need to concern yourself with it, can’t you understand?”
Lou Yunxiao interrupted Ning Xiaoxiao’s words, his voice laced with anger: “Moreover, there are so many secret arts in this world; perhaps by a lucky coincidence, a spell of resurrection can be found. If he is laid to rest in the earth, how can I resurrect him later?!”
Ning Xiaoxiao was stunned.
It was her first time seeing Lou Yunxiao lose his temper at her.
But immediately after, anger also rose in her heart.
She said: “Senior Brother, how much longer are you going to deceive yourself? All four Sect Masters said there is absolutely no spell to bring the dead back to life! Sect Master Hong Yao also said that not even a trace of a soul remains in my brother’s corpse! That means there can be no more ways to save him!”
“When my brother was alive, you never accepted his feelings. Now that he’s dead, you’re suddenly willing to express your emotions towards him, willing to admit you like him! But it’s long been too late!”
“The only thing you can do for him now is to cherish this life of yours, and then bury him properly with dignity. Stop playing around with his corpse!”
Ning Xiaoxiao had held these words back for a long time.
Back outside the underground palace, she didn’t blame Lou Yunxiao.
But ultimately, there was still resentment in her heart.
Resenting her own incompetence, while also resenting Lou Yunxiao for making her lose her brother.
It was just that she held it in normally.
Now, hearing that Lou Yunxiao still wasn’t willing to let Ning Ke be laid to rest, it uncontrollably burst out all at once.
“…”
The atmosphere stagnated.
Lou Yunxiao’s nails dug into his palms, seeping blood, but he completely didn’t care.
He didn’t try to refute Ning Xiaoxiao’s words either. Instead, he turned around and emphasized: “No matter what you say, A-Ke is mine.”
“Alive, he is my person; dead, he is my ghost.”
“When I said I was taking him home, I didn’t mean taking him back to his home at the Sword Sect, but back to the home he wants to return to.”
“If I can’t find that home, I won’t let him sink into the ground, keeping company with mud and darkness.”
“I want him to stay cleanly by my side forever.”
A-Ke loved beauty.
That pitch-black underground wasn’t suitable for him.
After speaking, Lou Yunxiao walked away on his own.
Leaving Ning Xiaoxiao frozen in place.
After a long time, she finally reached out and wiped away the tears that had soaked her cheeks at some point, saying hoarsely: “Crazy.”
She looked up at the empty air and said: “Brother, did you see that?”
“Lou Yunxiao is really crazy.”
Translator’s Note:
- “Rather be a shattered piece of jade than an intact tile” (寧為玉碎不為瓦全): A famous Chinese idiom meaning it is better to die with honor than live in disgrace.
- “Alive, he is my person; dead, he is my ghost” (生是我的人，死是我的鬼): A very intense Chinese declaration of absolute possession and loyalty over someone, often used by overbearing lovers. Lou Yunxiao is going full yandere mode!
- Qi Deviation (走火入魔): A state where a cultivator’s internal energy goes out of control, often resulting in madness, serious injury, or death.
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