After Abandoning the Ruthless Dao Swordmaster

Wu Su usually avoids using spells if possible, since she is only able to obtain very small amounts of yin and yang energy.  Apart from the energy spent to maintain her human form, she was reluctant to use it the rest of the time.

So, when she was going out, she took the lantern from her room for light. This lantern is in the shape of a rabbit. With the white light glowing from inside, it looks fat and cute.

Of course, this rabbit lantern is not Wu Su’s own.

It is almost time for Yundu’s Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony, and the streets outside are decorated with various coloured lights to celebrate.

When people visit the Lantern Festival, they will buy lanterns of different shapes to carry around, and they will throw away the lanterns after a night of shopping.

Wu Su was lucky, and picked up one, but she was stingy, so she kept it for herself.

She hurried out from the back door of the yard. Her long hair was loosely tied, blowing in the night wind like ink spilling over her shoulders.

Wu Su was wearing the simplest white clothes, which were also issued by Prince Jing’s mansion for the servants in the household.

Seen from a distance, her whole body is only black and white, clean and pure.

The person who was about to die fell not far from Prince Jing’s mansion.

It was late at night, and there were not many people coming and going. Nearby the mansion, there was a big river running across Yundu.

There are often merchant ships passing by, and arch bridges have been built to facilitate travel through the city.

Because His Highness Prince Jing likes things to be quiet and peaceful, the area surrounding his mansion is not very lively.

In the distance, there were faintly dazzling lights and people passing by, but none of them had anything to do with the silence in front of Wu Su’s eyes.

There is an arch bridge nearby spanning the river. At this time, the moonlight is cold and quiet, and no one is walking on the bridge.

The water in the river was dark and eerily calm.

The current atmosphere is somewhat dangerous, but Wu Su was not aware of it. She is only concerned with the yin and yang energy that she needs to absorb.

Following the guidance of the faint dying aura, she arrived under the arch bridge, where she seemed to see a figure lying on its side.

Wu Su carried the rabbit lantern and walked closer.

In the darkness, there was an odd fluttering sound.

It seemed that a mass of black matter rushed into the water, revealing a bright red line of blood.

Wu Su glanced at the fleeing black aura, ignored it, and approached the injured person.

It was a girl, slightly older than Wu Su.

She has an ordinary appearance, with thin calluses on the hands hanging powerlessly by her side.

She was an embroiderer from a nearby cloth shop, relying on her skills for a living.

Wu Su stood in front of her, under the light of the rabbit lantern in her hand.

She saw a terrible wound on the girl’s chest. It looked like something the size of a bowl had torn her chest open from back to front.

Inside her bloody chest cavity,  the heart that should have been beating vigorously had disappeared.

The girl is still alive, but soon, she will die.

Wu Su squatted down. She didn’t think it was dirty, she just stretched out her hand to cover the girl’s bleeding heart.

She also has to communicate with her, so she wishes she could live a little longer.

Wu Su noticed that she was carrying a string of medicine bags by her side, and even if she was about to die, her bent fingers were tightly hooked to the strings on the medicine bags.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Su communicated with her through spiritual thoughts, she looked down at the girl and spoke softly.

“I… I don’t know, I was walking at night, and suddenly I felt a chill in my back, and then… It hurts… I have no strength, am I going to die?”

The girl’s head drooped weakly, and her weak aura flickered.

“Yes.” Wu Su said softly.

She lowered her head, hugged the girl, and asked softly: “What do you want to do? I can help you. In exchange, I need the energy you lose when you are dying… It’s not the power of your soul, you can reincarnate normally, and you won’t lose anything, and it’s not your life force…ah, your life force is almost dry.”

“Who are you?” asked the girl.

“I’m… I don’t know, my body is a cloud of chaos.” Wu Su said, hugging her.

“Girl, if possible, can you please help me take the medicine bag in my hand home? My home is on Donglan Street, West City, Yundu… My mother needs medicine. She is sick, and she needs medicine every month. Take the medicine, this month is the last month, I have only collected enough money to buy medicine for her, if I don’t take the medicine tonight, my mother…may also die.”

Wu Su thought, this is not a difficult job.

If she does this task, she can get a relatively large amount of yin and yang energy, and be able to rest for a long time.

“Okay.” Wu Su said.

The girl in her arms collapsed, and Wu Su’s hands could no longer block her injured chest.

Wu Su got up, her pure white dress was stained with blood, she wiped her hands carelessly on her skirt, and picked up the medicine bag.

She carried the rabbit lantern, cleaned up the traces of her passing by, and followed the girl’s directions to her home.

The scope of Wu Su’s ability to detect aura was limited. Not long after she left, the blue bird that she had been tempted to chase earlier that day flew awkwardly under the arch bridge.

Pei Jiuzhi came following that strange evil spirit. He saw a girl lying dripping blood under the arch bridge, her heart gone.

He flapped his wings and flew over immediately, and when the blue bird landed under the arch bridge, he had already revealed his human body.

Now, he has just attached his aura to the talisman paper, so he can’t do much.

Pei Jiuzhi knew that there was no hope to save the girl, and she was surrounded by evil energy, so her death was almost certainly the work of demons.

There hasn’t been a monster in Yundu for so many years…

Pei Jiuzhi planned to find out the girl’s identity first. He noticed the thin calluses on her hands and guessed her occupation.

She was likely just an ordinary citizen who came to Yundu to work, and most of those ordinary people lived in the Donglan Street area of ​​Xicheng.

Pei Jiuzhi turned into the blue bird again, and went in the direction he guessed.

Wu Su knew that the dead girl was named Fang Xiuzhi. She soon arrived at her house and knocked on the door.

She held a rabbit lantern in one hand and a medicine bag in her arms.

Fang Xiuzhi’s mother was lying on the bed, unable to get up. Wu Su knocked on the door for a while, but when no one answered, she pushed the door open and walked into the courtyard.

Xiuzhi’s mother was indeed very sick, and she almost felt the yin and yang energy of her dying.

Wu Su’s footsteps were very light, and her black and white figure drifted through the house.

Mother called her from the house: “Is it Xiuzhi?”

Wu Su replied, “I am.”

“Mother, I brought the medicine back.” Her voice was calm and soft, like a gentle night wind blowing by.

Xiuzhi’s mother is too ill, not only is she unable to hear Xiuzhi’s voice, but she also can’t recognize her appearance.

She leaned on the bed, her cloudy eyes drooping.

Wu Su is used to working in Prince Jing’s mansion, and she does things very quickly.

She opened the medicine package, and soon she had arranged the medicine to simmer on the stove, according to the prescription written by the doctor.

A faint medicinal fragrance wafted around the small room.

Wu Su went to Fang Xiuzhi’s room to clean herself, using a little magic to wash away the blood stains on her clothes.

She felt that Fang Xiuzhi had given her a lot of yin and yang energy, so she was very attentive in completing her task.

Wu Su first tidied up Fang Xiuzhi’s yard, then she cleaned up the house, and finally attended to Fang Xiuzhi’s mother.

In order to make money, Fang Xiuzhi usually didn’t have much time to take care of her mother. The old woman lay on the bed, looking embarrassed, with messy hair.

While the medicine was still stewing, Wu Su picked up Xiuzhi’s mother, changed her bedding, and dressed her in clean clothes.

When Wu Su was doing these things, she was very silent. She was not distressed by the messy environment here, and every detail of her work was done properly and perfectly.

“Xiuzhi, aren’t you tired today?” Fang Xuizhi’s mother asked her.

“I’m not tired.”

Wu Su glanced at the bubbling medicine pot.

“Mother, the medicine will be ready soon, I’ll cool it down for you before you drink it.”

Wu Su put Xiuzhi’s mother on the clean bed, took the wooden comb on the table, and combed her messy and brittle hair.

She lowered her eyes, looked at the deep wrinkles on the old woman’s face, and remained silent.

“Xiuzhi hasn’t combed my hair for a long time.” Xuizhi’s mother sighed.  “I still remember that when you were young, you liked those complicated buns, and pestered me to comb them for you. I tried for a long time to learn, but then you already like new styles…”

“You used to obediently let me comb, and now I obediently let you comb.” Xuizhi’s mother smiled.

Wu Su stared at her, wrapping the old woman’s hair neatly into a bun.

“Xiuzhi hates me. If it wasn’t for me, Xiuzhi wouldn’t be so bitter.”

Xuizhi’s mother continued speaking. “You brought me with you to Yundu, where everyone says the doctors are very good, and they can definitely cure my illness.”

“Those medicines are expensive, right? Xiuzhi loves beautiful things, but you haven’t worn new clothes for a long time.” Xuizhi’s mother’s cloudy eyes flickered.

Wu Su opened her lips, and she responded bluntly, “It’s very expensive.”

She tidied up the collar of Xiuzhi’s mother’s clothes.

The medicine was ready. She took a bowl, put it near her lips, and blew it gently.

“Mother, drink it when it has cooled down.”

“Okay.” The old woman sighed for a long time.

After the temperature of the medicine cooled, Wu Su helped to feed her the medicine.

She looked around to make sure everything was in order.

Wu Su opened the door. Fang Xiuzhi’s wish had been fulfilled, and she was leaving.

Her mother shouted anxiously from the house: “Xiuzhi, where are you going?”

Wu Su didn’t answer her, simply leaving.  As she walked away, she remembered that the rabbit lantern she brought out for light had been left at Fang Xiuzhi’s house.

She didn’t go back. The mother called out so urgently, but Xiuzhi was dead.

Not long after, Pei Jiuzhi also found Fang Xiuzhi’s house. He opened the door and saw the neat and tidy courtyard.

In the room, there was still a bitter medicinal fragrance. An old woman was lying on the bed helplessly, looking well taken care of.

Pei Jiuzhi touched the medicine pot on the stove. It was still hot, and Fang Xiuzhi had already died under the arched bridge.

He noticed that on the window sill of this room, there was a cute rabbit lantern.

The next day, Wu Su, who had returned to Prince Jing’s mansion, woke up lazily.

She heard Wei Li and Li Meng outside discussing the terrible things that happened in Yundu last night.

“She died under the arch bridge not far from Prince Jing’s mansion, with blood flowing all over the ground. It’s really terrible!” Wei Li shuddered.

“I heard that it was a blue bird that led the soldiers of the City Guard to find the corpse…” Li Meng talked about the rumour.

Wu Su was listening, and raised her head vigilantly, a blue bird…

Could it be the Little Highness?