Pulling Together a Villain Reformation Strategy

Chapter 89

Chapter 89 – Sissy

Yun Xie felt extremely uneasy towards Du Li, and he was worried that there would be more lousy issues keeping them there after they solved the problem. Unexpectedly, Du Li did not intend to make them stay, instead happily escorting them out of town.

However, after leaving the city, it was time for Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi to part with each other.

Yu Hong had already headed back to Hidden Spirit Mountain to report to Jiang Molou. Meanwhile, Jiang Xunyi heard that ever since he was absolved of any crimes a while ago, many of the disciples from the western faction of the Hidden Spirit sect felt bad for wrongfully mistrusting him. As a result, they left one after another, and Western Hidden Spirit sect’s reputation had greatly worsened. At the same time, Wanderer Zihui had become seriously ill without a reason. Some sects such as the Chan Buddhism sect took advantage of their misfortune and came to provoke them. From the looks of it, the Western Hidden Spirit faction should be alone now.

On one hand, Wanderer Zihui still had several magical instruments handed down from the sect ancestors, and these could not be left in the hands of others. On the other hand, Jiang Xunyi still had hard-to-dispel misgivings towards her, and he was afraid that she would be killed before he could ask her anything, so he planned to go to visit the Western Hidden Spirit sect first.

At the same time, with the Sword Testing Conference nearing, Yun Xie had to return to the Solar Envy sect.

However, he was neither at ease nor was he willing. “A’Xun, it’s not safe to go by yourself. Why don’t I go with you?”

“You’re way too careful. I can handle such a small group of people. If you keep escorting me, you’ll reach the gate of the sect mountain.”

He patted Yun Xie’s shoulder and saw that the other’s brows were slightly wrinkled. He knew that the other was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow because of the past, so he slowly assured, “Don’t worry, we’re just separating for a few days. You and I will both be present at the upcoming Sword Testing Conference, and we will meet at that time. Yu Hong has already returned to Hidden Spirit Mountain to bring news, and there will be no problem on my side. However, it is too careless for a sect master to be away from a sect for so long. It’s better for you to go back and take a look.”

For once, Jiang Xunyi said so much to coax him, and Yun Xie reluctantly closed his eyes and chuckled, shaking his head as he said, “I really have no way to hold onto you.”

He took a step forwards and placed a hand on Jiang Xunyi’s shoulder. With his eyes half-closed, he leaned forwards to kissed his forehead lightly. Jiang Xunyi remained motionless until Yun Xie straightened, then he adjusted his sword sheath, his movements confident. With his clothes like flowing clouds, he smiled lightly and said, “I’m leaving.”

Yun Xie looked at him, feeling in his heart that the other’s appearance and expression was beautiful. The tenderness in his heart was almost overflowing, and he couldn’t help but kiss him again.

“Hey, are you done yet.”

Yun Xie chuckled, tilted his head, and whispered in his ear, “I would turn my heart into willow twigs to retain the breeze of spring.”[1]

Jiang Xunyi was taken aback for a moment, then pursed his lips. With a smile, he replied, “Flowers will bloom again; the moon will wax and wane, and our hearts will stay the same.”[1]

Yun Xie was overwhelmed by the words, and only reacted after a moment. Just as he began to look cheerful, Jiang Xunyi quickly followed with, “Don’t think you are the only cultured one. I can also recite this poem.”

After saying that, he turned to leave. Yun Xie hurriedly shouted after him, “Hey! Wait a minute, come back – were you only reciting or were those your true feelings?”

Jiang Xunyi had already gone far and seemed to not hear his words, but where Yun Xie couldn’t see, the corner of his lips slowly quirked up into a smile.

The road before him took a long time to cross when they dawdled together, but alone, Jiang Xunyi was almost at the foot of the mountain within a day.

The Western Hidden Spirit sect left Hidden Spirit Mountain under the leadership of Wanderer Zihui and built the Huihe Temple as a residence. This area is very close to the Hidden Spirit mountain. To avoid disturbances, there was a spell in place that didn’t allow anyone to fly in on their sword, so Jiang Xunyi landed and sheathed his sword. At the sight of the long streth ahead, he immediately began to feel pain in his legs.

There was no other way but to walk obediently, but just as Jiang Xunyi walked a few steps forwards, and a person suddenly leapt out from behind a big tree in front of him, silently blocking in front of him.

Jiang Xunyi was taken aback, hand reflexively jumping to the hilt of his sword. He looked up and said in surprise, “Molou, why are you here?”

Jiang Molou walked over leading two horses, and he held one of the reins up to Jiang Xunyi. “Heard Yu Hong’s report, came to pick you up.”

Jiang Xunyi couldn’t help laughing, swatting away the arm that Jiang Molou had stretched out to support him. He raised his hand and pressed down on the saddle before leaping up.

First, Yun Xie escorts him for a kilometer, then Jiang Molou immediately meets him like this. The two people were practically seamless in their connection.

“Do you two take me as paper? I’m not that fragile. But this horse was delivered at a good time. Molou, why are you in a daze? Get on the horse, let’s go.”

Jiang Molou also jumped on the horse. “You don’t take anything seriously, who knows when you will be stabbed again — who are you talking about when you say you two?”

Jiang Xunyi touched his nose. “Your Brother Yun.”

Jiang Molou frowned unhappily. “Don’t compare me to him.”

“Hey, we haven’t seen each other in so long. Why do you throw a tantrum right as we meet again?”

“Brother.” Jiang Molou noticed that his own tone was a bit aggressive, and quickly added on, “I-I’m not throwing a tantrum.”

I’m just worried about you.

He couldn’t say this line even if he was killed.

Jiang Xunyi made a “tch” sound and stopped teasing him. He waved the reins as he said, “You are the leader of a sect now. Why are you so sincere? I am embarrassed to make jokes with you. Let’s go and take a look at what the hell Zihui is doing. The woman was still alive and kicking not long ago, how could she be sick? Anyways, I don’t believe she is really bedridden.”

A smile flashed across Jiang Molou’s eyes, and with an “en” sound, he urged the horse to follow Jiang Xunyi.

Jiang Xunyi was right. The so-called “so severely ill that it was an inconvenience to meet guests” was indeed an excuse. The reason why she did not see guests was because at this moment, she was no longer in Huihe temple.

The Hidden Spirit Sect was a great cultivating sect that has been prosperous for hundreds of years. The separation into an East and West faction was something that the public knew little about, and many even worried that the relationship between the two sides was not as bad as it seemed. Naturally, they did not dare to act rashly. After Jiang Xunyi’s incident, everyone understood that Jiang Molou, the head of the Eastern Hidden Spirit sect, has always been a faithful representative of Jiang Xunyi and will never help the Western Hidden Spirit sect. In addition, with Wanderer Zihui’s reputation plummeting, and many people covertly or overtly began to make plans against the sect. There was no way for Zihui to escape, so she could only pretend to be sick in order to grab her things and escape.

However, her horoscopes must be terrible, because just as she reached the foot of the mountain, she was surrounded by a group of people from the Tianxuan sect.

Although Wanderer Zihui had only brought about twenty people, they were all Western Hidden Spirit Sect’s top-notch disciples. In addition, the inability to use swords in this place further hindered the other cultivators from finding them. Because they were familiar with the terrain, they used the lush forests as shelter, smoothly escaping from the back mountain. Just as freedom was in sight, there was a loud bang behind them.

A series of huge wooden stakes appeared out of thin air, smashing down around the group. Earth flew up all around them, forming a huge blockade in the blink of an eye, enclosing everyone in it.

Seeing that there is no way to avoid this, Wanderer Zihui had no choice but to draw her swords and turn to said to the man who led the chase, “Master Cao, our two factions have never had any grievances nor enmity. You first send people to encircle my mountain gate, which I avoided. Then you even pursue us aggressively until here. What does this mean?”

Cao Lei, the master of the Tianxuan sect, held a long black whip in his hand. He smiled faintly. “Wanderer Zihui, the situation has already gotten to this point. What’s the point of such pompous words? Hand over the Marrow-Washing Jade, and I might still leave you alive.”

Zihui was startled, then couldn’t help but stammer, “What, what are you talking about! How could a thing like the Marrow-Washing Jade end up here?”

Cao Lei continued. “You don’t have to pretend. My people have already investigated very clearly that when Immortal Master Ti Ming died, his state of death was exactly the same as a person who had died due to the Marrow-Washing Jade before. The only ones who have interacted with the jade and survived are you, Jiang Xunyi, and Jiang Molou. Jiang Xunyi is arrogant and Jiang Molou is cold. If the Marrow-Washing Jade falls into their hands, there is no reason for them to keep this from the knowledge of the public. As for people who would keep everything for themselves, there is no one else except you. How about it, do you still want to deny it?”

With all of this, there was indeed nothing else for Zihui to say. Under great duress, she instead calmed down and pushed her sword back into its scabbard with a smile. “Master Cao, the jade is a well-known thing of evil. What do you want to do with it? How about this, I still have a few magical weapons on hand…”

Before she finished her words, a man behind Cao Lei had already shouted, “What is with all the chirping, woman? We asked you to give us the Marrow-Washing Jade, why are there so many words!”

Wanderer Zihui was born noble, and her temper was extremely hot. She has never been the type to swallow her anger. After hearing the other’s rude words, she couldn’t help but change her colors suddenly. “I’ve been speaking so politely. What kind of attitude is this? Don’t push me too far!”

Cao Lei leisurely laughed. “Wanderer Zihui, let me tell you the truth. If Jiang Xunyi was standing here today, I really don’t dare to have such an attitude. But you? You don’t even deserve to talk to us.”

The disciples of Tianxuan who have met Jiang Xunyi in person immediately laughed. “The master is right. Zihui, as a female cultivator, your swordsmanship is not as good as your nephew, but neither is your appearance. Hahahaha, how could anyone stay courteous!”

The three words “Jiang Xunyi” prodded her vulnerable point. There is no other man in the world who looked down on her more, and yet everyone says the man is better looking than you. Wanderer Zihui was so livid, her face became ashen. Brandishing her sword, she shouted, “If we cannot talk it through, then fight! I’m afraid you are not capable enough!”

Cao Lei sneered. “Good, this is what I wanted to hear. If you said this eariler, we would be finished by now.”

With a flip of his palm, a wooden fish-shaped magical tool appeared in his hand. He knocked it three times, and the surrounding trees and weeds suddenly went crazy, attacking the Hidden Spirit sect disciples. Wanderer Zihui was startled for a moment, then she quickly leaned forward to avoid a branch that pierced forwards diagonally. She swung her sword to cut the branch off, but suddenly heard a scream from the side. When she looked back, she saw a disciple of the Hidden Spirit sect had been unexpectedly caught. A slender weed plunged through his heart, and he fell to the ground, head.

[1] Zhang Xian’s 《诉衷情·花前月下》