Chapter 2 - Su Huanhuan
『 Translator – Divinity 』
"Hey, little mute, catch."
Not long after Luo He returned to his own dwelling, a red figure dropped down from the house, tossing him a small brocade pouch.
Luo He was not surprised that she would follow him.
After confirming that Luo Hongyu would not listen to her, he had left directly precisely to lure this little demoness over, lest she say something more in front of Luo Hongyu.
He opened the brocade pouch and glanced inside; it contained medicinal pills for healing wounds.
However, every one of them had a dense aura of blood qi, clearly not items refined through proper means.
"What, you find them unclean? Haha, you yourself are clearly a demonic and heretical path."
Su Huanhuan sat lightly in front of Luo He; she had taken off her boots while on the rooftop earlier.
At this moment, she dangled her tender, white, and warm little feet, looking surprisingly somewhat alluringly cute.
"Even in the Demonic Sect, there's no shortage of people who cultivate techniques that ravage their own bodies, but to take a sword strike from Luo Hongyu like you did and still not make a sound is rare. Tell me, do you even count as a person?"
Luo He blinked his eyes and tossed the brocade pouch back to her. She was first taken aback, then smiled sweetly at him.
"You really find them disgusting, huh?"
This body of his was originally man-made; its recovery speed was extraordinary.
A bloody hole looked frightening, but in reality, it would completely recover in no time. As for whether he counted as a person, he didn't know either.
Although he really wanted to explain this to Su Huanhuan, there was no way; who made him a little mute whose spiritual intelligence hadn't been opened?
Faced with Luo He's gaze, Su Huanhuan held her expression for a moment, meeting his stare, then waved her hand as if admitting defeat.
"You little mute, your origins are clearly shady, and you don't even look like a human figure, yet you were born with such a pair of beautiful eyes. What a waste."
Although she said this, she still walked over, and with a flick of her finger, a stream of spiritual energy entered his body.
Luo He did not stop Su Huanhuan from examining him. He knew Su Huanhuan knew far more than she currently showed; there was no need for concealment.
And her spiritual energy, after regulating the surging qi and blood within his body, performed no unnecessary actions and directly returned to her own body.
"The malevolent qi has actually already broken through your dantian and is eroding towards your five viscera and six bowels... Hey, I say, do you truly not feel pain?"
The pain of malevolent qi devouring the body was not a kind of suffering that could be endured.
Even some methods of nurturing demons with humans, which were considered evil arts even within the Remnant Moon Sect, could not compare to the torment brought by the malevolent qi.
It was like a sharp knife that grew with age, pressed against one from below; with every bit of growth, it pierced a little further upwards.
Bit by bit, it dissected a person, making them witness the parts eroded by the malevolent qi lose their vitality, leaving oneself in a half-dead, half-alive state.
This was also an extreme torment to one's mental state; a person would go mad, and then die.
The Yin Master's malevolent qi is a symbol of being detested by the Heavenly Dao – this statement was truly not wrong.
He, however, acted as if there was nothing wrong...
If she hadn't probed today, she wouldn't have imagined it had actually reached such a state; in her heart, she actually felt a measure of admiration and surprise towards Luo He.
What kind of soul was hidden within this filthy and decaying shell?
However, Luo He, when asked by Su Huanhuan, merely tilted his head and did not answer.
"Forget it. Anyway, you yourself must be clearer about it than I am. You don't have many days left to live, understand?"
Luo He nodded his head, considered as a response. Paired with the white fox mask he wore, Su Huanhuan looked at him and actually felt he was somewhat endearingly silly...
Pah, pah, pah, I came to find him to talk about serious matters.
Since he knew his life was short, then it would be easier, saving her from wasting so much breath explaining for ages.
Thus, Su Huanhuan revealed a triumphant expression, bent down wanting to discern Luo He's expression beneath the mask, and said slowly:
"Do you know who it is you have to thank for your missing po, your defect of being unable to speak, your ferocious and terrifying appearance, the malevolent qi in your body that is about to claim your life, and all the censure and speculation about you in the world?"
Her tone was very light, yet carried a hint of seduction, as if she were speaking some intimate and heartwarming words.
Hearing Su Huanhuan's words, Luo He's eyes remained unmoved, though he was indeed slightly surprised.
He knew Su Huanhuan had been inquiring about his affairs from the demonic sect, but he hadn't expected her to actually uncover something, considering Luo Wenshui had covered his tracks very cleanly.
As if intending to thoroughly appreciate the subsequent change in Luo He's eyes, Su Huanhuan leaned in with a dangerous smile, stared into his eyes, and said word by word.
"All the pain, all the hatred you are suffering now, it's not from anyone else, it was all thrown to you by that Luo Hongyu whom you serve."
"Fifteen years ago, Luo Wenshui went to Tianyuan Mountain and sought an evil art from the wandering immortal Qi Bai."
"At that time, the one congenitally missing a po was her, the one unable to speak and with an ugly face was her, the one with malevolent qi entering her body, destined for a short life, was also her."
"And you, little mute, you are just a pitiful person who took on all of this for her and yet still has to humble yourself to serve her."
This news, enough to shock the immortal world, was thus spoken from her mouth, neither rushed nor slow.
It was no secret that Luo Wenshui had in his earlier years sought help from mountains and rivers for his beloved daughter, but few people clearly knew what specifically had happened.
And three years ago, when Su Huanhuan first saw Luo He by Luo Hongyu's side, her special constitution allowed her to sense the hidden aura of an evil art on Luo He, and she immediately connected it to that incident from back then.
After three years of digging to the root of the matter, Su Huanhuan finally unearthed fragments of the truth, piecing together the general outline of the event.
These Sword Immortals of Tianchen Sword Sect, not all of them are as clean as snow, huh.
However, Su Huanhuan, who was just about to appreciate the various expressions in Luo He's eyes, waited for a good while and frowned.
She discovered that Luo He, standing before her, had listened to all of this quietly and actually showed no reaction at all!
Be it shock, be it pain, be it anger, be it doubt.
Or even disbelief, unwilling to believe her—in that pair of calm eyes, no emotion could be reflected.
What does this mean!
"Are you thinking that I'm lying to you?"
Luo He silently shook his head.
"You..."
Su Huanhuan looked at Luo He with an even more fervent expression, as if she had seen something extremely interesting.
"Or could it be, you yourself already knew?"
Luo He nodded his head.
"Haha, I knew I wasn't mistaken about you, little mute, you truly are very interesting."
If Luo He were just an idiot who didn't even know his heart and lungs had been dug out by someone, then Su Huanhuan wouldn't have any other ideas.
She would only plan to use him to properly scheme against that proud and beautiful female fairy a bit, to gain some benefits for herself.
But he actually managed to figure all this out on his own... then he couldn't be treated so simply.
Su Huanhuan suddenly smiled with ample charm, but deep within that smile, only wisps of coldness could be seen.
The apricot blossom mark on her forehead also became more vivid with her emotions, and the demonic qi around her surged greatly.
Paired with her bright red clothes, she looked like a blooming blood-colored demonic lotus.
"That pitiful stupid woman, still thinking you're some silent fool, it truly makes me laugh to death."
"I really want to see what kind of expression she'll have when she finds out all this, when all her pride is utterly destroyed by this matter. That must be the most wonderful sight in this world, don't you think?"
Her words carried a hint of demonic nature, trying to stir his emotions, but seeing him unmoved, Su Huanhuan naturally retracted her probing intent and continued to speak:
"That evil art binding you is called the Sha She Art, imprisoning the soul within the bones. I know that once this shell of yours is destroyed, your soul will also turn to ash and scatter. Luo Hongyu has that jade pendant, holding your life gate.”
"But what if I told you... I can help you break free from the influence of this evil art?"
Luo He's eyes showed a slight flicker.
Noticing this change, Su Huanhuan's smile curved, exuding a bone-chilling coldness.
"Not only that, I can also help you publicly and openly announce this matter afterwards, letting everyone know whose blood Luo Hongyu has been sucking, whose flesh she has been eating all these years, and what a filthy and sordid appearance this world's most noble and prestigious great clan truly has."
"And you, having shed your mortal shell, will serve by my side as a ghost I keep, how about it? Rest assured, I will naturally treat you with much more human warmth than that Luo Hongyu does."
In Su Huanhuan's eyes, these were conditions he absolutely could not refuse.
The more she investigated, the more clearly she understood what kind of treatment the person standing silently before her had truly endured.
Ordinary people, if robbed of a po, would mostly become truly idiotic and senseless fools, but he, peculiarly, retained his consciousness.
And this clarity would make him thoroughly and completely savor the pain of a deficient soul and his body being devoured by malevolent qi, while also having to stay by the side of the person who had taken everything from him, enduring her cold glares and beatings.
Such a person, how could he not hate? How could he not think of liberation? Yet, as fate would have it, he couldn't even seek death.
And she, Su Huanhuan, could help him break free from all this; even if he didn't believe her in the slightest, he would absolutely cling to her desperately like a drowning person clutching at a straw.
His soul's resilience, to be able to calmly handle such immense pain and injustice, was definitely not ordinary; he would be very useful to her.
Keeping him by her side as a mere ghost would be very suitable.
After a long silence, Luo He raised his head again to look at Su Huanhuan, without uttering a word.
"...Are you sure?”