Zanxing

Chapter 39 - Gu Baiying (1)

Zanxing stared at the person in front of her.

She knew that there were seven uncles in the Taiyan Sect. However, it seemed that there was no such character in the original work. With a name and face like that, if she had seen him, she definitely would have remembered.

Seeing her lost in thought, Zi Luo quietly tugged at Zanxing's sleeve and whispered, "Junior Sister."

Zanxing came back to her senses.

"Yang Zanxing, Hua Yue." Xuan Ling looked sternly at the two of them: "Who allowed you to fight here?"

Hua Yue said innocently, "Uncle, it wasn't me who instigated this. I had just gotten up when I saw Junior Sister Yang coming at me aggressively to fight. All the other disciples can attest to this."

The other disciples nodded in agreement: "That's right, I swear, it was indeed Yang Zanxing who made the first move."

"Hua Yue did nothing."

Xuan Ling turned to Yang Zanxing: "Yang Zanxing, why did you attack a fellow disciple?"

Zanxing glanced at Hua Yue: "Yesterday, I entered the mountain with my fellow disciples, and while I was looking for night vine branches, Hua Yue ambushed me with the intention to harm me. Is this what you call brotherhood?"

"Impossible." The one who spoke was Xuan Ling. He said, "To prevent any harm to fellow disciples, I placed a Heart-Linking Spell on each of you before entering the mountain. If anyone harms a fellow disciple, the spell will activate, and that person will bear a mark on their forehead. Hua Yue's forehead is clean and bears no mark."

"That's right," Hua Yue said with righteous indignation, "Junior Sister Yang, don't slander me out of personal grievances."

Zanxing frowned and quickly figured it out. Hua Yue indeed hadn't attacked her, as none of the sword strikes landed on her. He merely forced her to grab the night vine branch, which ended up breaking. In a sense, Hua Yue wasn't really the mastermind behind it.

However... seeing the smugness in his eyes, Zanxing felt frustrated. Hua Yue must have known about the existence of the Heart-Linking Spell from the very beginning and took advantage of the situation.

Was this a test from the original work?

"Sixth Uncle," Zi Luo said with a smile, "Junior Sister Zanxing may be a bit confused after spending a night in the mountains. Just look at her dirty clothes. Whatever the issue is, let's wait until she changes and rests before discussing it."

Only then did Xuan Ling notice the stylish robe Zanxing was wearing, causing his face to flush. He waved his hand: "Hurry up, go clean yourself up. After you're done, come find me in the hall."

Zi Luo quickly pulled Zanxing away.

After they left, the other disciples outside the wooden building dispersed, and Hua Yue returned to his room. Xuan Ling and Gu Bai Ying walked toward the hall together.

"Junior Brother, I'm really sorry," Xuan Ling said with embarrassment. "To come back and have you witness this farce. These youngsters are so impulsive; they just fight at the drop of a hat. I don't know who they take after."

"Well, it's definitely not you," Gu Bai Ying said casually with a smile. "But that guy just now couldn't even see through an illusion. The inner sect disciples we've recruited this time don't seem to have much talent."

"Don't say that. Didn't Yang Zanxing just return from Gu Feng Mountain?" Xuan Ling said, shaking his head in admiration. "To stay overnight on Gu Feng Mountain and come out unscathed is a first since Tai Yan established its sect. For that alone, she must be extraordinary."

Gu Bai Ying continued walking up the stone steps, unconcerned. "Maybe she encountered some opportunity in the mountains and miraculously survived. Just one lucky incident doesn't count for anything special."

After walking a few steps, he noticed that Xuan Ling had stopped behind him, seemingly lost in thought.

"What's wrong?"

"Junior Brother," Xuan Ling looked up, his expression hesitant. After a moment, he stammered, "There's something I didn't get to tell you."

Gu Bai Ying raised an eyebrow: "What is it?"

"The reason I say Yang Zanxing is special is that she found the 'Qing E Nian Hua Staff' in the Martial Arts Library."

The youth's expression suddenly froze: "What did you say?"

"Your mother... the cultivation technique written by the Fairy Qing Hua has been found by Yang Zanxing," Xuan Ling said.

...

In the small wooden building, Zanxing sat comfortably in a wooden tub, enjoying a hot bath.

As Zi Luo brought in a clean robe, she said, "Later, I'll have someone bring over some spiritual herbs. You spent a night in the mountains, and it looks like your vitality has been depleted. You need to replenish yourself these next few days."

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Zan Xing leaned on the edge of the tub. The Xiao Yuan Pearl seemed to have nourished her vitality after last night; it was no longer active, and Zanxing decided to rest for a few days. However, despite falling into the Black Marsh, she had no injuries from the miasma, and apart from feeling a bit tired, she had no discomfort, which was truly a stroke of luck.

But this time, she had completely fallen out with Hua Yue. Now that Hua Yue was certain she had a treasure, he would undoubtedly return with more schemes after failing once. Thinking of this, Zanxing couldn't help but sigh.

Zi Luo thought Zanxing was worried about how to explain things to Xuan Ling and comforted her, "Junior Sister, don't worry. Sixth Uncle is usually very easy to talk to. When you go to see him later, just make yourself sound pitiful, and he won't hold it against you. In a fight with fellow disciples, the worst punishment is to make you clean the outer courtyard."

Zanxing paused and suddenly remembered something else. She asked, "Senior Sister, that Seventh Uncle who appeared today, is his age-reducing technique really that good? He looks about the same age as us. Why don't they learn from him?"

Zi Luo chuckled at this: "What age-reducing technique? Seventh Uncle is young; he's not even twenty yet."

"Nineteen?" Zan Xing was puzzled. "If he's so young, how can he be an uncle?"

Xuan Ling looked to be in his fifties, old enough to be Gu Bai Ying's father, yet he was a brother. Although this was a fantasy novel, where logic need not be considered, this setup seemed a bit too casual.

"Seventh Uncle is young, but his cultivation is high. Besides, his mother is Fairy Qing Hua, the master's junior sister. By seniority, he naturally stands alongside the uncles."

Zanxing's heart stirred: "Fairy Qing Hua?"

She remembered this name. If the founder and master of the sect, Yu Shan, was the only successful cultivator in the Duzhou region who ascended, thus becoming the living emblem of the Tai Yan Sect, then Fairy Qing Hua, was the enduring representative of the Taiyan Sect over the years.

In the original work, although Fairy Qing Hua was only briefly mentioned, a few lines painted a picture of a goddess with profound cultivation, a cold temperament, and unparalleled beauty.

However, it only described the goddess and never mentioned that she had a son.

Ziluo glanced at Zanxing, smoothed the last fold on her gauze robe, and said: "The 'Qing E Nian Hua Staff' you found in the Martial Arts Library was written by Seventh Uncle's mother, Fairy Qing Hua."