Unseen Immortal of Three Hundred Years - Chap 33

When Sang Yu let that question out, the entire chamber, even the entire Sang Manor went quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

All those underlings of his turned their heads in unison, dozens of eyes landing unblinkingly on Wu Xingxue. At a time like this, even his “City Lord” identity couldn’t suppress their prying curiosity.

The only one who hadn’t visibly dared peep at all was Fang Chu at Wu Xingxue’s side.

“City Lord?” Sang Yu changed his posture to call him again. He was on his own turf, and was somewhat more impudent than he was outside, “It appears City Lord—”

Before he could finish, Wu Xingxue interrupted: “And what else did they tell you?”

Sang Yu was taken aback and didn’t react.

Wu Xingxue repeated: “And what else did those two little scamps explain?”

This time, he no longer spoke in a lilting tone. His voice was light as a feather, yet landed firm.

At last, Fang Chu couldn’t help but turn to look at his city lord. His lips stirred a few times, as though already getting nervous.

Sang Yu was also tense for a time, but came back around and calmed down. It was unclear whether it was a pretense, or if he indeed thought himself invulnerable after spending his calamity period glutted high on blood and qi.

“They said an awful lot.” Chuckling, he said, “It appears City Lord is rather struck… Oh, no, is extremely offended over this topic– And why? Ever since I heard those two pitiful ones explaining these matters, I kept thinking, why?

“As you know, this calamity period thing is none other than the resentful souls killed by our hands amassing and, from time to time, finding a way to make life unpleasant for us.” Sang Yu’s entire body was abounding with the languor that followed pleasure. “Although ordinary people aren’t very useful, they are easy to capture. And cultivation disciples, they’re a little harder to capture, but they are indeed quite useful to take against the resentful souls. As for Immortal Capital’s denizens, by rights they ought to be the finest of goods, just, there’s no way to get ahold of them whatsoever. And even were we to get ahold of one, it would be no use, for immortal energy simply cannot meld with our bodies brimming with sinister devilish energy. At the time, I thought…”

Sang Yu’s constant rambling paused, as though he’d momentarily forgotten what came next, but he then swiftly finished with a scoff: “In short, City Lord, I really had not a mote of malice; I was just thinking, what fine method might our City Lord have found?”

Sang Yu’s constant rambling paused, as though he’d momentarily forgotten what came next, but he then swiftly finished with a scoff: “In short, City Lord, I really had not a mote of malice; I was just thinking, what fine method might our City Lord have found? Raising his chin, he peered straight over from within his half-narrowed eyes: “And the Tianxiu Immortal wielding punishment no less, whom we Zhaoye City people shun for the life of us, the Tianxiu Immortal we instinctively avoid upon just hearing his name? What on earth is this fine method City Lord uses to avail himself of such a person?”

Sang Yu’s constant rambling paused, as though he’d momentarily forgotten what came next, but he then swiftly finished with a scoff: “In short, City Lord, I really had not a mote of malice; I was just thinking, what fine method might our City Lord have found? Raising his chin, he peered straight over from within his half-narrowed eyes: “And the Tianxiu Immortal wielding punishment no less, whom we Zhaoye City people shun for the life of us, the Tianxiu Immortal we instinctively avoid upon just hearing his name? What on earth is this fine method City Lord uses to avail himself of such a person?” Sizing up Wu Xingxue’s flimsy white clothing, he saw no sign of suffering under a somber chill about him, and said: “I see that City Lord must have already crossed through his calamity period. So, City Lord, as a fellow denizen of Zhaoye City, might you divulge a thing or two? Always capturing some immortal sect disciples truly gets boring; I’d like to try out a minor immortal or two.”

Devils’ calamity periods get worse each time. Capturing one or two commoners might be enough to muddle through for now, but the next time it’d be three to five, and the time after that even more.

Going on like this, there would come a time when they couldn’t suppress it anymore. Commonfolk weren’t enough, so they had to find cultivation sect disciples, but what of when immortal sect disciples were no use?

Sang Yu had nearly already cultivated the corpse path to its terminus, and had no more ways to move forward—this was one of the reasons for his calamity period. In Zhaoye City, the only one he could consult with was the City Lord. That he dispatched people to spy on him was a matter of course.

Wu Xingxue hadn’t interrupted throughout, just kept listening to him. The more he talked, naturally, the more likely he was to let out how much he really knew.

After listening, he said: “There is actually one thing I still don’t understand.”

Sang Yu: “What’s that?”

Wu Xingxue said: “Why do you think that if you ask me, I would just tell you?”

Sang Yu began to smile: “Of course I know it wouldn’t be so easy to get an answer, otherwise how could City Lord have left us all in the dust to become our City Lord? Moreover, having just deeply offended City Lord like this, presumably he wouldn’t let others know about this method so rashly. But City Lord… of Zhaoye City people’s various temperaments, You ought to understand more than anyone. We don’t deign to form friendships, just look at these dogs I’ve raised—”

He swept over those underlings outside the door: “Which one isn’t looking for an opening to take a bite out of me? With so many people like this, it’s hard to sleep at night— If those who want to bite me are merely this lot, then, those who want to bite City Lord, I can only imagine.

“Given that, mightn’t there be others who’d also be aware of this secret method City Lord is pursuing?”

Wu Xingxue seemed utterly unperturbed. He just slightly nodded his head to say: “It appears those two little scamps of yours were indeed loose-lipped. So, in your opinion, how many people would they have had to talk to, to take effect on me?”

The bones of Sang Yu’s facial profile stirred, as though his jaw had momentarily tightened. But, he still continued to say: “In my opinion…”

It wasn’t that he was truly without fear; rather, he didn’t see an issue with talking. Zhaoye City’s people didn’t deign to form friendships, but they were even less likely to provoke one another—because, once the foul devils at their side all turned to hungry wolves, to tigers stalking prey, their masters truly wouldn’t be able to sleep well.

Sang Yu wasn’t unafraid of Wu Xingxue; rather, he still estimated that in comparison, the means for a smoothly passing calamity period versus luring a pack of testy wolves to circle him… however he worked it out, the former was the lesser risk.

“Cui Yin? Chang Gu? Old Daoist Hong Guang?” Sang Yu called out the names. All were figures few people in Zhaoye City would dare cross.

He reported a few, then suddenly paused, because he discovered that Wu Xingxue was listening intently.

This was the first time he started listening carefully since he entered.

Sang Yu’s face changed color.

“That’s seven. Anyone else?” Wu Xingxue said.

This time Sang Yu really frowned: ‘What is City Lord planning?”

Wu Xingxue replied: “Speak, that’s only seven, are there more? You all want my secret method, you must gather a stronger power than that, am I wrong?”

Sang Yu snatched a robe from the bedside, but his gaze didn’t dare stray from Wu Xingxue’s body. His complexion was getting worse by the moment.

Wu Xingxue abruptly lifted a foot to cross the threshold, hurriedly followed by Fang Chu.

At that moment, Sang Yu’s fingers that were gripping his clothes twitched, and almost immediately reported three more names.

“Ten, any more?” Wu Xingxue kept asking.

Sang Yu let out a scoff, his fingers already crooked. The fresh blood and qi he’d taken in gushed within his veins, his meridians faintly visible through his neck and face as he said: “Well that’s the Tianxiu Immortal, such a bizarre incident, you can imagine—”

The instant the last syllable landed, those pale figures stirred like ghastly creatures.

A blast of cold air whipped over from before him in just the blink of an eye. Upon coming back to himself, he saw that the Devil Lord was still standing in place, only his robe slightly swaying, while a longsword had appeared in his hand.

Sang Yu: “YOU!!!”

Wu Xingxue cocked his head to say: “Yes?”

The next moment, those underlings surrounding outside the door all let out a piercing scream.

The scream was rather unusual, cutting off halfway.

Afterward, a blood stench even thicker than that in the room emanated out. The sound of dozens of heavy objects hitting the floor, too, issued a stifled clunk—those underlings were already beheaded, their heads rolling over the floor.

They died too fast, their bodies still standing as their sliced necks spurted out blood.

Similarly, due to the swiftness, Wu Xingxue’s sword was only stained with a few droplets of the blood now spurting out.

With a light flick of his sword, those blood droplets disappeared without a trace, while hoary frost spread down along the hilt.

Rumor had it that Wu Xingxue never held a sword in his hands.

Sang Yu had heard of it, but because he was also a devil, they hadn’t crossed paths, so he’d never witnessed it for himself. Until now…

He rapidly shot a glance at Fang Chu, seeing that the sheath at Fang Chu’s waist was empty.

BANG—!!

The door behind Wu Xingxue slammed heavily shut, not even leaving a crack.

The lofty inner chamber’s lanterns and candles abruptly went out. All of a sudden, the room descended into pitch-blackness.

It wasn’t until that moment that Sang Yu realized he seemed to have miscalculated something. He no longer dragged out with courtesy speaking and instead just yelled, “I JUST WANTED A SECRET METHOD—”

Just a secret method?! What nerve had he struck, that it had come to this?

He had no time to think it over, and ignited ten golden talismans on the spot.

At once, hundreds of black coffins throughout Sang Manor suddenly rose. With the talismans’ simultaneous mobilization, the coffin lids burst open. Coffin nails sprang everywhere as yin corpses roared out, making straight for their master’s chamber.

But it was for naught.

He’d once thought that he was only a step away from Zhaoye City’s lord, and only a finger-width away from Wu Xingxue. So long as he picked the right day, that finger-width would not be enough for him to be completely overpowered.

Today had come to this, because he really thought it was a pretty good day.

Because those two underlings who’d lost their lives had already reported to him, Wu Xingxue didn’t seem to be at his prime today.

From the devil’s perspective, an even better guess would be—none other than the result of the collision of immortal energy with devilish energy.

But would Zhaoye City’s lord do anything he wasn’t confident in?

Of course not.

Since the Tianxiu Immortal had gone to his No Sparrow’s Landing, the method of melding immortal and devil was certainly something he held. Just, complete melding would take time, and before complete integration, he wouldn’t be at full power.

Looking at it like this, the small difference separating them would be rendered null.

Of this, Sang Yu was assured.

But it wasn’t until he was held against the ice-cold wall and held by his neck by Wu Xingxue, the entire chamber suffused with the unspeakable smell of yin corpses that had exploded post-mortem, that he realized, he’d again miscalculated a bit.

His eyes bulged out, he said with great difficulty: “How could it be… why is there not the slightest trace of immortal energy on your body?”

Since he’d passed his calamity period, regardless of how he’d melded the energies, Wu Xingxue’s body must have been stained with the Tianxiu Immortal’s immortal energy. Previously, the musty air in this chamber had been too heavy, he hadn’t been able to probe. Now that they were this dose, he discovered that he truly couldn’t smell a whiff of Tianxiu’s immortal energy.

“You…” Sang Yu’s eyes bled under the pressure.

But Wu Xingxue, however, would not answer his words, just said lightly: “Apart from those ten, who else was there?”

Mouth foaming blood, Sang Yu gritted out: “One tells ten… ten tell a hundred… how can City Lord suppress it? Wait till it spreads around Zhaoye City, spreads to the mortal realm… and, then spreads to Immortal Capital… how’ll City Lord stop it then?”

Wu Xingxue cocked his head, his fingers clenching through the air.

Those coffin nails wedged inside the yin corpses’ flesh all fell into his hands.

Each coffin nail bore incantations and was stained in bloody tissues, several inches long.

Looking at him, Wu Xingxue said: “Can’t spread it if they’re dead.”

Sang Yu’s pupils instantly contracted. As a devil, this was the first time he felt a full-body shiver such as this. It was not furious killing intent, but rather like the calamity period’s chill, a fear that spurted out bit by bit from the cracks in his bones and flowed throughout his body.

“How… will City Lord… go and kill them… one by one?” Sang Yu said.

“Can’t I kill them?” Wu Xingxue asked in a lilting tone as though he were seriously asking, yet his face was entirely wooden.

Sang Yu at last realized, he really did appear to have crossed Wu Xingxue’s bottom line. The funny thing was, before this, he hadn’t even thought Wu Xingxue had a bottom line. He was even less able to understand which statement had actually set him off.

Wu Xingxue silently watched Sang Yu. For a moment, he revealed a slight pallor, but quite rapidly let out a chuckle.

Without replying to Sang Yu’s words, he just said: “Then just watch me.”

—

At that moment, even Fang Chu looked at Wu Xingxue with a dubious expression, not understanding this statement.

But very soon they both understood—

Because Wu Xingxue didn’t just straight-up kill Sang Yu; he used Sang Yu’s own coffin nails carved with incantations to drive him into the wall, nail by nail.

And then, he really did follow up on all the names Sang Yu had reported. Through the thick of Zhaoye City’s deep night, he killed them one by one.

Each one, he’d ask just one thing: “Any more?” Anyone else it’s spread to?”

There was an ever-present cold mist in the dream, shrouding all of Zhaoye City, as though it never dispersed all year. Wu Xingxue was in fact unable to distinctly sense his actual frame of mind in the dream.

When he left the last person’s manor, there was a faint light in the sky piercing through the cold fog. He lifted his head to look and half-narrowed his eyes.

He handed that sword back to Fang Chu: “What time is it?”

Fang Chu had followed him the entire night. The moment the sword was handed over, his pupils contracted slightly, subconsciously feeling a slight fear.

“About 6 in the morning.” Fang Chu hoarsely answered. Upon taking back the sword, he lowered his head to insert it into its sheath.

A brocade sachet at his waist jingled. Inside were special things gotten from each of the devils killed over the course of the night.

Wu Xingxue took Fang Chu back to the first place they’d gone, Sang Yu’s manor, and stood in front of the nailed-down Sang Yu. Fang Chu untied his sachet and poured out those things, each one extremely recognizable.

Sang Yu’s eyeballs darted back and forth. As he looked them over one by one, his nailed hands and feet trembled.

Many people had once said, of Zhaoye City’s denizens, the one who looked least like a devil was the City Lord himself. It wasn’t until now that he discovered, when the other party really got down to it, his means of torture were indeed worthy of the title “Devil Lord.”

But this would be the last thing he’d discover in this life.

Dozens of coffin nails fell to the floor in an endless clinking. Dead, Sang Yu also slammed heavily onto the floor, issuing a thump and splattering a few drops of blood.

Wu Xingxue lowered his eyes to look at him. After a beat, he tilted his head to say to Fang Chu, “Time to go back.”

When they returned to No Sparrow’s Landing, Ning Huaishan had just happened to return from his errands.

He was just getting on his calamity period, not too cold quite yet, just rubbing his hands and stamping his feet. He asked Fang Chu, “How are you and city lord just getting back, what were you out doing?”

Glancing at Wu Xingxue, Fang Chu shook his head over and over, saying, “Nothing, don’t ask.”

Ning Huaishan let out an “Oh.” While hopping around to warm up, he followed Wu Xingxue into a chamber.

“City Lord, I’m gonna have to shut myself in for a few more days,” Ning Huaishan said nasally.

Xingxue removed his gauzy outer robe. Lifting it up to look it over, he let out an “Mm,” without lifting his head. “I know, Fang Chu told me.”

The bloodstains at the hems of his outer robe had already dried up and could actually be removed through a little clothing-cleaning method without any leftover stains at all. But Wu Xingxue still handed the robe to Fang Chu and said: “Burn it.’

Fang Chu and Ning Huaishan weren’t the least bit surprised. After all, their city lord’s pickiness wasn’t just a recent phenomenon, especially when it came to things like bloodstains.

Sometimes they even suspected that Wu Xingxue couldn’t stand the sight of blood.

But more often, they felt this line of thought was downright foolish. If he really couldn’t stand the sight of blood, then he wouldn’t just kill people like that.

Fang Chu went out to the blood pool with the outer robe. Flicking a bit of fire between his fingertips, he burned the bloodstained robe. Just in case, he also wiped down the drops of blood on his sheath before going to another side chamber to pick out a clean robe.

He first picked out one just like the first, pale gray and gauzy.

Carrying the robe, he walked all the way into the chamber before hastily going back out.

Wu Xingxue turned his head to ask him: “What is it?”

Fang Chu sputtered out: “City Lord wait a moment please, I chose wrong.”

When Fang Chu returned to the side chamber, Ning Huaishan also followed him in. Folding his arms, he said: “Why’re you dawdling picking out an outer robe?”

Fang Chu shot him a look: “You don’t understand shit.”

Ning Huaishan retorted: “What don’t I understand, as if I never chose the City Lord’s clothing before?”

Fang Chu picked out a fox fur overcoat from the many articles of clothing.

Ning Huaishan was visibly perplexed: “What’re you doing? Are you stupid? The robe city lord just had you burn was thin as a cicada’s wing, and now you’re picking out a fox fur overcoat, are you trying to overheat city lord to death…? If you’re asking for a death wish, do it on your own, I’m out, you give it to City Lord yourself.”

Fang Chu: “……”

“You.” Fang Chu started but stopped. At the end of his patience, he picked him up like a little chick and dragged him over: “No, if I die, we die together, don’t even think about getting away.”

After a moment’s hesitation, he still told Ning Huaishan about the incident that night. The two of them had always been terrified of Wu Xingxue; they’d never be crazy enough to go after City Lord “secret method,” and presumably wouldn’t touch his bottom line and provoke his anger.

Ning Huaishan finished listening and let out a silent shiver, whispering: “So Sang Yu seriously said that City Lord wasn’t stained with any of Tianxiu’s immortal energy?”

Fang Chu nodded: “Right, if he crossed past his calamity period, there ought to have been some.”

Ning Huaishan finally understood why Fang Chu had replaced the thin clothing with fox fur: “So, City Lord’s still cold right now.”

Moreover, he must have still been suffering the somber chill.

But he followed it up with confusion: “If city lord was really cold, then why had he still been wearing light clothing? To put down Sang Yu and the others?”

Fang Chu shook his head to say: “Can’t be. If it were really for putting Sang Yu down, then he would have put it on while leaving. But he’d already been wearing it.”

Ning Huaishan puzzled it out: “In his own manor, why would he force himself to wear such light clothing…? Whose eyes were he willing himself for?”

Just as Fang Chu was thinking he had no idea, he came up with a sudden clever idea.

Grasping Ning Huaishan, he said: “Could it be… the Tianxiu Immortal?”

Ning Huaishan was also struck by this answer. After a long pause, he said: “So then maybe… if the Tianxiu Immortal was really here, and it wasn’t like Sang Yu and the others had guessed, then he really couldn’t have shown weakness, or else…”

But he swiftly grew even more confused: “No wayyy, for the Tianxiu Immortal to have come to No Sparrow’s Landing, if it wasn’t like Sang Yu and them guessed, then there would have been a clash between immortal and devil, right? Wouldn’t the clash have injured one of them and wrecked half of our No Sparrow’s Landing? Would it be in this intact state right now?”

The more Fang Chu thought, the more stumped he became as well.

They no longer continued their whisperings and began to ponder. All of a sudden, they felt something was off.

They weren’t alone… Someone else’s aura was present…

In alarm, Ning Huaishan and Fang Chu turned around to see Wu Xingxue reclining in the doorway, his deep, ink-black eyes having been calmly watching them for who knew how long.

The past night he’d killed scores of people, costing him a significant amount of internal energy. He only relaxed down after he’d returned to No Sparrow’s Landing.

Due to his weakened internal energy, certain things that were originally concealed now revealed themselves a little…

This was the reason Fang Chu and Ning Huaishan were able to sense a whiff of an aura that didn’t belong to their City Lord.

They gaped for a beat, finally realizing that what was slowly revealing itself on Wu Xingxue’s body was… Tianxiu’s immortal energy.

It was also at that moment that Fang Chu had a sudden revelation: perhaps the nerve that Sang Yu and the others had struck was no such to obtain “a secret method,” but rather, to spread the news that “Tianxiu Immortal came over to No Sparrow’s Landing.”

The instant this revelation crossed his mind, the Wu Xingxue who’d previously been leaning against the door had already flashed before them.

Fang Chu blurted out in terror: “City Lord I won’t talk!”

The hand Wu Xingxue lifted paused.

Fang Chu tugged on Ning Huaishan, promptly saying: “The thing about the calamity period, we won’t let a word of it get out!”

But Wu Xingxue’s hand still came down.

Before dosing their eyes, they faintly heard the sound of a bell.

***

Wu Xingxue woke up to the damp sound of rain outside the horse carriage, along with another light jolt of the carriage passing through a prohibition.

The last scene he’d seen in the dream was his fingers hooked around the dream bell, set toward Ning Huaishan and Fang Chu. The last statement lingering at his ears was Fang Chu’s exclamation: “The thing about the calamity period, we won’t let a word of it get out!”

Amidst that echo, he opened his eyes to see Xiao Fuxuan’s side face cast in the dusky lantern light.

It wasn’t a filth-warding lantern, nor was it harsh to the eyes, just flickered a few times with the carriage’s slight movement. The warm yellow light fell upon the other party’s browbone and high, straight nose bridge, down to the line of his lips.

Wu Xingxue hadn’t yet recovered from his daze, and peered out through his cracked eyes awhile when he suddenly pursed his lips.

Xiao Fuxuan seemed to sense it somewhat, and turned his eyes to look over at that very moment.

After a moment’s silence, he suddenly recalled that “Tianxiu Immortal” was mentioned by so many people’s lips in his dream. After returning to his senses, he hastily withdrew his line of sight from the spot below Xiao Fuxuan’s nose.

“City Lord’s awake?”

“City Lord.”

Ning Huaishan and Fang Chu’s voices sounded, nearly continuing off from the dream’s lingering sound.

Wu Xingxue was startled for a moment, until he recalled that they were currently in a horse carriage headed for Luohua Terrace.

Xiao Fuxuan’s line of sight remained on his body, as he could see from the side of his eye. He straightened himself up, then carelessly picked out something to ask the three people across from him: “Still not there yet?”

Who would have guessed that before Ning Huaishan and Fang Chu could open their mouths, Xiao Fuxuan’s light voice have already replied, “We’ve arrived.”

Wu Xingxue was at a loss, “We’ve arrived?”

It wasn’t until now that he realized that after that light jolt from his half-dreaming half-awake state, the carriage no longer made any movement, as though they had indeed arrived.

Wu Xingxue straightened his posture in bewilderment, his gaze still on the table before him: “How come no one woke me up?”

The Tianxiu Immortal’s deep voice supplemented: “Those two didn’t dare to.”

Wu Xingxue: “……”

Just ask and you’ll answer.

Normally he’d go half the day without words, yet now he supplied sentence after sentence.

Xiao Fuxuan had made two whole statements. Were he to keep his eyes fixed on those three people across him, it’d truly be unreasonable. Hence, he…

He lowered his head to glance at his own body. When he’d first gone to sleep, he’d still only been wearing simple clothes and clasping a handwarmer. Now that he opened his eyes, he was inexplicably covered in a thick woolen blanket.

The moment he straightened up, the blanket slipped down a little, and the chill slipped in through the crack. Wu Xingxue subconsciously grasped the blanket and drew it back up: “This blanket…”

This time Ning Huaishan and Fang Chu still wanted to speak but hesitated, and it was Yi Wusheng who answered quickest: “Before, it could be seen… that the joints of young master’s fingers were going blue, likely because you’re a bit cold.”

Wu Xingxue thought to himself, way more than just a bit.

Just as he was about to nod to Yi Wusheng and thank him, he heard the other party continuing, “So immortal conferred a blanket upon you.”

Wu Xingxue: “……”

He finally had to look at Xiao Fuxuan.

Of all goddamn times, it so happened that Ning Huaishan chose now to run his mouth, “City Lord, You might not remember it. We devils have a special condition, and every so often we’ll get a sort of—”

Perhaps he wanted to say something like “resentful spirit backlash,” but the moment he mouthed “resentful” he glanced to Xiao Fuxuan and silently swallowed it back: “A sort of situation…”

Fang Chu also supplemented to the side: “Every so often it’ll bring an unbearable chill to our bodies. The more powerful the person, the harder it is to bear, uhh…”

Hindered by the presence of an immortal, they couldn’t be too transparent with their words. But they were also afraid of Wu Xingxue not remembering anything and running into a situation he couldn’t bear. The two of them were so anxious they were nearly pulling their hair out.

Wu Xingxue snuggled into the blanket, staring wooden-facedly at them and thinking to himself: Stop talking, I so happen to know this one, stop with your monkey business and get the hell out of the carriage.

As those two idiots stood up to dismount, they kept gesticulating: “Anyways, it’s just that sometimes there’ll be an, umm—”

After they “umm”ed a few times, the Tianxiu Immortal’s deep voice resounded, helping them finish their sentence: “Calamity period.”

Wu Xingxue’s eyelashes trembled. He nearly covered his face with the blanket in his hands.