How did he know she wanted to hold hands? Wasn’t he completely clueless last time? How did he learn so fast—
—Hua Yan had already reached out.
Before she could think it through, her hand reacted faster than her brain.
Lu Chengsha’s palm was still slightly cool, but the center was a bit damp, likely from nervous sweat. Hua Yan also felt a bit nervous, but beyond that, she was elated.
So, she held onto Lu Chengsha’s hand even tighter.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hua Yan saw Lu Chengsha’s tightly pressed lips and his eyes staring straight ahead, not daring to move. This made her feel even more ecstatic.
She realized, very clearly, that this was the person she liked.
After walking for a short while, Hua Yan saw a somewhat familiar figure—it was the senior sister she had asked for directions when she first entered the valley.
This gentle and kind senior sister was squatting down, talking to a young girl, “Don’t worry, your mother’s illness will definitely get better. Don’t always look so sad… how about a smile?”
The young girl, with her eyes swollen and red from crying, sniffled and whispered, “But they said my mother can’t be cured. They were just lying to me… they even said the Valley Master is a bad person…”
The senior sister paused, then gently patted the girl’s head and said, “Don’t listen to them. We will cure your mother. Believe in this sister.”
She continued to coax the girl softly. The young girl looked into her eyes and finally smiled through her tears. She wiped her eyes, waved goodbye to the senior sister, and said, “Thank you, sister. I’ll go back to accompany my mother.”
The senior sister watched the girl run off into the distance, then slowly turned her gaze.
Hua Yan felt a pang of guilt and, like being caught, she and Lu Chengsha let go of each other’s hands.
Seeing Hua Yan, the senior sister clearly remembered her and smiled, “If you want to join Cixin Valley this year, it might not be so difficult.”
Hua Yan noticed her sadness, “Don’t worry! The bad guys will definitely be caught, and your Valley Master will be vindicated!”
The senior sister’s eyes suddenly reddened, and tears welled up but did not fall. Hua Yan didn’t understand why. The senior sister rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and said, “Thank you… but I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” However, she quickly smiled again, “But I will stay in the valley. If you need anything in the future, you can come find me.”
When Hua Yan returned to the courtyard where the disciples of other sects were staying, she realized that rumors were already spreading.
The disciples here came from various sects, making it a mixed group with complex sources of information. Not only were there discussions about the deaths of the two farm women from the morning, but also old cases involving the Yin family were being brought up again, and lastly, there were rumors about Nian Yi himself.
Someone whispered, “Do you know why Nian Yi hasn’t married or had children despite his age? It’s said that he abandoned his wife and child and married someone else…”
“Is that true? Why would he marry someone else?”
“Of course, it’s because he coveted a young, beautiful girl from a powerful family… Otherwise, how could such a large Cixin Valley be built by him alone?”
“Then where is his wife now?”
“She was killed by him.”
The sensational rumor spread convincingly among the chatting crowd. Hua Yan walked straight over, grabbed the collar of the person speaking, and with a cheerful smile, asked, “Who did you hear that from?”
The disciple, immediately panicking as Hua Yan lifted his collar, turned even paler upon seeing Lu Chengsha standing beside her. Stammering, he said, “I-I just heard it from someone else…”
The surrounding disciples, knowing better than to provoke her, quickly dispersed.
Still smiling, Hua Yan said, “Who told you that? Take me to them.”
The disciple had no choice but to lead Hua Yan to another disciple, who also turned pale and claimed to have heard it from someone else. Hua Yan crossed her arms and, with a piercing gaze, said, “Then let’s go find out who you heard it from.”
Lu Chengsha followed beside Hua Yan, observing her aggressive demeanor. Although he didn’t know what she intended to do, he found no fault with it.
Hua Yan continued to trace the rumor step by step. When she reached the fourth person, he was visibly startled. Although he tried to remain calm, his legs were trembling violently. “I just overheard it during lunch. If you ask me to find out who said it, I really don’t know…”
“You don’t know who said it, yet you dare to spread it around?” Hua Yan felt something was off with this person. She took out her silk fan and inserted it into the table, the handle sinking in halfway with ease. “Maybe you should think harder?”
With her inner strength, she was becoming more audacious.
Initially, she had worried about how Lu Chengsha would react—yet, as Xie Yingxian had predicted, he showed no reaction at all.
The fourth person continued to shake his head vigorously. If that didn’t work, Hua Yan would have to use her enchanting voice to coax the truth out of him.
But with Great Hero Lu right beside her, it wasn’t the most convenient time.
Hua Yan pondered for a moment and said, “Great Hero Lu, could you step out for a moment? I need to ask him some questions alone.”
Lu Chengsha didn’t leave. Instead, he looked at her.
“What do you want to ask?”
Hua Yan suddenly felt inexplicably guilty under his gaze. “I want to ask who told him, or who asked him to spread it…”
Lu Chengsha took one step forward, and with that single step, the air around them grew cold and filled with murderous intent. Hua Yan, accustomed to it, felt nothing unusual, but the disciple immediately collapsed to the ground, his legs scrambling backward. Lu Chengsha took another step, his hand resting on his sword’s hilt. The disciple, now with his back against the wall, began to sweat profusely and stammered, “No, please, no…”
The Wuren sword slowly emerged from Lu Chengsha’s scabbard.
Terrified out of his wits, the disciple’s survival instinct forced him to speak, “I-I’ll tell you…”
The bladeless sword was sheathed once more.
Watching from the side, Hua Yan had always thought of Great Hero Lu as upright and imposing. Now, her heart pounded wildly, almost making her want to cover her face.
He’s so fierce!
But she liked it.
The disciple felt completely different. When Lu Chengsha sheathed his sword, the disciple felt slightly better. Shaking, he said, “It… it was someone who asked me to say it.”
Hua Yan asked, “Who?”
“I don’t know him well, he…” The disciple’s words were cut off abruptly as an arrow pierced his neck. His eyes rolled back, and though he seemed to struggle, he died within moments.
Hua Yan immediately chased after the assailant, but Lu Chengsha was even faster, shooting out the window like an arrow.
Outside, a masked man in black stood on the roof with a crossbow in hand. He turned to flee, but Lu Chengsha’s long sword was already upon him, piercing his chest and pinning him to the roof. Lu Chengsha had avoided the vital spots, leaving the man with some breath. Hua Yan pulled off his mask, revealing an unfamiliar face. Just as she was about to question him, the black-clad man smiled at her, his lips moving in a sinister manner.
Hua Yan was momentarily stunned, and Lu Chengsha pulled out his sword.
Blood gushed out, and the black-clad man died on the spot.
***
“Do you recognize this person?”
“No…”
“Never seen him…”
No one knew the black-clad man. The old doctor examined the body and said, “This seems to be a disciple of the Demonic Sect… There are traces of Gu worms on his body, some residual but non-lethal poisons, to prevent common poisons. There are also marks of highly toxic substances for suicide hidden at the root of his teeth, and needle marks here and here…”
He analyzed meticulously, but the surrounding people had little interest in listening.
They only knew that a Demonic Sect disciple had indeed infiltrated and killed someone. This confirmed that the killer of the two farm women was among them. That night, a thorough re-check of all unfamiliar faces began.
Hua Yan had no time to think about it. The Demonic Sect disciple had mouthed a few words to her before dying—“Holy Maiden, be careful.”
She felt a wave of panic and instinctively looked at Lu Chengsha.
Fortunately, Lu Chengsha seemed unaware of what the man had said. He simply sheathed his sword and looked at Hua Yan, saying, “Don’t be afraid.”
But she was very scared!
Xie Yingxian and Nian Yi were working together, so there was no reason for them to spread malicious rumors about him. It must have been Yu Ye’s doing again. The final scene, whether Yu Ye had instructed it or the man acted on his own, was clearly a warning.
Xie Yingxian was right: if she continued to hide things, she would only be giving Yu Ye more leverage against her.
But would revealing everything lead to a good outcome?
Hua Yan felt downhearted and a bit afraid.
Lu Chengsha, seeing her like this, assumed she was frightened by the Demonic Sect disciple earlier that night. He walked up to her, a bit awkwardly, and said, “I will protect you.”
Hua Yan felt a bit moved, but she couldn’t muster any enthusiasm. She just nodded and said, “Mm.”
Then she heard Lu Chengsha say, “I will protect you and kill all the Demonic Sect members.”
Hua Yan: “…”
He spoke with such seriousness, his gaze focused and resolute.
Ignoring the target of his words, Hua Yan would indeed be very moved!
But… she could only try to look touched and said, “…Thank you.”
You don’t have to kill them all!
Lu Chengsha was puzzled; he couldn’t read Hua Yan’s emotions or understand her expression—he only knew that she was not just happy. He softly asked, “…Are you very scared?”
Hua Yan was about to nod but quickly shook her head.
“No.” She forced a smile. “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry.”
Lu Chengsha seemed at a loss, pacing around her a couple of times, and said, “I’ll go kill the Demonic Sect members.” With that, he walked away.
Hua Yan was dumbfounded.
Where are you going to kill them?
She had no idea that Lu Chengsha would join the effort like a guardian deity, helping to check the identities of disciples in the valley. Originally, they were verifying the sect names and seeing if there were any unrelated individuals mixed in. With Lu Chengsha accompanying them, everyone felt immense pressure, breaking out in cold sweat, as if he would start killing at the first sign of something wrong. Even during questioning, they were trembling with fear.
Knowing that Ming Qi had interacted with Lu Chengsha before, the other disciples quickly pushed him to deal with this formidable figure.
Ming Qi almost wanted to curse; having interacted with him didn’t mean he wasn’t scared!
But with no other choice, and since the others were unwilling, he had to brace himself. Ming Qi shuffled over to Lu Chengsha’s side, his voice trembling, “What… brings you here…”
Unexpectedly, Lu Chengsha recognized him, and a hesitant look appeared in his eyes, as if he had many questions to ask.
A quarter of an hour later, Ming Qi figured it out.
“When a woman says something like that, it means she wants you to comfort her!” Realizing he sounded too pompous, Ming Qi quickly coughed, “…Cough, cough, cough. Why did you just leave…”
Lu Chengsha looked puzzled. “How do I comfort her?”
Indeed, he might not know.
But honestly, neither did Ming Qi! The only experience he had was comforting an angry senior sister!
Thinking this, Ming Qi still had to answer, “Basically, you say nice things to make her happy, or give her something she might like…”
Lu Chengsha asked, “What counts as nice things?”
At this point, Ming Qi covered his mouth with the back of his hand and whispered, “Did you read those two books I gave you earlier…”
Although one was confiscated, Lu Chengsha didn’t want to mention that and simply said, “I did.”
He kept a straight face, which Ming Qi admired. When he had skimmed through the books himself, he had blushed and almost reacted. Perhaps Lu Chengsha didn’t understand them at all.
Ming Qi asked, “How much did you comprehend…”
Lu Chengsha hesitated and didn’t respond.
Ming Qi instantly understood.
He really didn’t get it.
Alright then.
Determined to help to the end, Ming Qi explained, “It means praising a woman’s beauty and expressing your fondness for her with words…”
Lu Chengsha tilted his head and said, “Fondness?”
Ming Qi: “…”
He couldn’t possibly be clueless about this too!
***
Hua Yan tossed and turned in her room, even going to the roadside to pick a small flower, plucking its petals while muttering, “Tell him, don’t tell him, tell him, don’t tell him…” Before she could finish plucking the petals, she felt it was too silly!
As soon as she closed her eyes, the image of Lu Chengsha killing the Demonic Sect disciple appeared in her mind. What had initially been a heart-throbbing moment now felt like a heart attack.
Eventually, rolling around, Hua Yan fell asleep.
In her dream, Lu Chengsha looked at her with eyes devoid of any warmth, colder than the first time they met, as if he were looking at an ant or a mosquito, or a dead person.
Hua Yan wanted to explain that she never intended to deceive him, that her feelings and words were sincere, that she truly liked him, but she couldn’t get the words out. She looked at him anxiously…
I’m not, I don’t want to, I didn’t…
But Lu Chengsha couldn’t hear her, or perhaps he simply didn’t want to.
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her chest.
She looked down to see his sword, the dark, Wuren sword buried in her chest, blood quickly spreading out. Her mind stopped for a moment. Lu Chengsha pulled out the sword without hesitation, bringing out a large spray of blood just as he had done every time he killed a Demonic Sect member.
She had felt his killing intent many times before, but this was the first time she felt such fear.
It was the fear that only death could bring.
Her mind blanked as she fell backward.
Lu Chengsha sheathed his sword and turned to leave.
“No—”
Then Hua Yan woke up.
She barely had time to feel relieved before she realized her cheeks were cold, and the lingering icy sensation in her mind made her heart ache with fear.
Hua Yan gasped for breath, still shaken, as the door opened.
Against the light, she saw Lu Chengsha standing at the doorway, evidently having come in response to her cries. He was completely different from the cold Lu Chengsha in her dream. His dark eyes were warm, and his voice was tense with worry, “What’s wrong?”
It was her Great Hero Lu.
The stark contrast brought a profound sense of safety.
Throwing off her thin blanket, Hua Yan stumbled out of bed, not even bothering to put on her shoes. She rushed into Lu Chengsha’s arms, wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest, and cried, “Waaaah! I was so scared!”
Lu Chengsha stiffened instantly like a wooden stake, his mind going completely blank.