Chapter 1133 - 1135: Xuan Jizi Commits Suicide_1
Elder Xuan Jizi’s face changed dramatically upon seeing Xiaosi being captured. His already spiritless eyes conveyed a sense of despair, rendering them even more lifeless.
Suddenly, he resembled a mere aging mortal, having entirely lost the immortal bearing of a Huashan Sect elder. This made Xiaosi, not far opposite him, panic and anxiously ask, "Master, how are you? Are the injuries severe?"
However, Elder Xuan Jizi ignored Xiaosi and instead addressed the ghost-faced antagonist, "I never formally took him as my disciple, nor is he my most cherished pupil. Please, let him go."
The ghost-faced figure laughed weirdly, shaking all over as if he were a sieve, "Do you think I’m a gullible child?"
"Why bother, it was my fault back then, but why should an innocent child suffer for it?" Elder Xuan Jizi’s expression suddenly changed drastically, his listless eyes filled with anger, "Whatever you have, bring it to me instead!"
But the ghost-faced figure grasped his chin instead, staring into his eyes, and said, "How is it, now you know pain, huh? The more you suffer, the happier I am."
Xiaosi glared at the ghost-faced figure, shouting angrily, "Let go of my master, you fucking freak!"
The ghost-faced figure let go of Xuan Jizi’s chin and, with a sinister laugh, walked towards Xiaosi. He reached out with a hand that looked like dried-up tree branches, exceptionally eerie. Despite the gaunt fingers, the nails were lustrously full, with long tips tinted in a scarlet that seemed dyed with fresh blood—a hue matching the red drawn on the corners of his mask, enhancing his resemblance to a bloodthirsty demon.
With a sudden slash of his nail, Xiaosi let out a muffled grunt as a trace of blood appeared on his cheek. Though not deep, it bled quite a bit, and the blood was tinged with black.
Elder Xuan Jizi’s face went pale, "Ghost Face, enough, he’s just an innocent child. I’ll disassociate him from our master-disciple relationship right now; our grievances have nothing to do with him!"
Ghost Face, suddenly seeming crazed, flashed to Elder Xuan Jizi’s front. One hand shot out and gripped Xuan Jizi’s throat, "Now you speak of innocence? Was Yan Bin not innocent? He was even younger than this little disciple when he died."
Elder Xuan Jizi’s face fell, tears streaming unrestrainedly, "Yan Bin... it is I who failed Yan Bin..."
Xiaosi watched Elder Xuan Jizi breaking down, stunned and at a loss for words. Who was Yan Bin? What kind of grudge did his master have with this ghost-faced figure?
Ghost Face let out a crazed howl and laughed maniacally; suddenly, the room was swept by inner strength. Xiaosi painfully covered his ears, and the black-clad figure restraining him loosened their grip due to the agony, causing Xiaosi to fall to the ground, vomiting a mouthful of black blood.
"Ze Qing, get out of here, this has nothing to do with you." Elder Xuan Jizi struggled to his feet and pushed Xiaosi out of the room, blocking the Main Gate with his body.
Ghost Face roared and charged at Elder Xuan Jizi, his fingers clawing madly as he attacked, screaming, "Just for your own disciple, you could kill Yan Bin, I won’t let you and your disciple have a good end!"
"Enough, he’s not Chang Feng, stop your madness!" Elder Xuan Jizi bellowed.
"I’m already neither human nor ghost, what more does going mad count for?" Ghost Face suddenly bypassed Elder Xuan Jizi, who was blocking the Main Gate, and leaped out the window. With a ghostly pull, Xiaosi, who had just fallen outside, was sucked back in an instant, suspended by the neck in mid-air the very next second.
"Ghost Face, let him go!" Elder Xuan Jizi, in a fit of rage, kicked the door flying open and rushed out, his complexion deathly white.
The Ghost-faced man laughed maniacally, gripping Xiaosi’s hand even tighter. Xiaosi felt like he could hardly breathe and glared at him fiercely, but his eyes, filled with hatred, soon rolled upwards.
Just then, a figure rushed into the courtyard; it was none other than Niu Cuicui, who had deceived Xiaosi. She fell to her knees with a thud, crying, "My lord, you promised to take Ze Qing as your disciple. Those people won’t teach him properly, only you can keep us mother and child together. Are you going to go back on your word?"
The Ghost-faced man sneered, "You believe in ghost stories? Still so naive at your age?"
Niu Cuicui looked at the Ghost-faced man in shock, "You...you’ve been deceiving me? What are you going to do to my son? You...you can’t kill him!" She scrambled to her feet and lunged at the Ghost-faced man, but before she could get close, she was sent flying by a flick of his sleeve and collapsed to the side, unable to get up for a long time.
"Fine, fine, if you’ve not forgotten after so many years, then let’s trade our lives for it," Elder Xuan Jizi with blood-red eyes raised his hand, summoning all his strength to strike at his own Heavenly Cover.
"No!" The Ghost-faced man threw Xiaosi aside and rushed towards Elder Xuan Jizi like a madman.
...
Bai Ruozhu arrived on horseback outside the Astrology Tower and said to the little page standing guard, "Page boy, please convey a message that Bai Family seeks an audience with the National Master, asking him to save a life."
The page, probably accustomed to the formalities of the Astrology Tower, adopted an adult-like demeanor and shook his head, "The National Master is in seclusion and not receiving visitors; please return, madam."
"Please pass on a message to the National Master," Bai Ruozhu said urgently, "I just need to break an Array and find out the whereabouts of the Huashan Sect elder and his disciple. I implore the National Master to help."
The page’s face remained stern as he said, "Madam, please leave. Don’t disrupt the Master’s rules."
Bai Ruozhu was growing desperate and about to charge inside when Jiang Yichun arrived, dismounted quickly, and pulled her back, whispering in her ear, "We can’t be reckless, the rules of the Astrology Tower cannot be broken, and there are protections that could be lethal."
Bai Ruozhu then calmed down, realizing she had been frantic with worry. Remembering Ning Yu, she quickly said to the page, "Then we seek an audience with Ning Yu; tell him that Bai Family seeks him, he owes me a favor and will not refuse to meet."
Ning Yu had nearly captured her soul that day and had said he would help her if she needed it in the future.
The page nodded in agreement and turned to enter the Astrology Tower, soon reappearing with Ning Yu following behind.
Ning Yu bowed politely to them, "I’m not very skilled; I’ve only learned a bit from my master, but I will go with you and try to find a solution."
With no other choice, Bai Ruozhu thanked Ning Yu and led him on horseback to where Xiaosi had vanished.
They quickly arrived at the site where Ning Yu, upon observing the Array, displayed a solemn expression and asked, "Who exactly have you provoked? This Qimen Dunjia Technique is quite unique, it seems to be authentic Taoist, but modified slightly by himself."
Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "I don’t know who my brother’s master had a grudge against. He disappeared suddenly, only telling my brother to flee quickly, without leaving any other information."