Chapter 20 - You Ambushed Me!
What exactly was Luo He to her?
This question, Luo Hongyu herself couldn't quite answer.
Luo Hongyu couldn't clearly remember what had happened before she was three years old. But from the time she began to understand things, she remembered that image of the black robe and fox mask.
At that time, she rarely had the chance to leave the Sect Master Peak; she naively believed that he was her only friend.
Later, as she grew older, she saw too much strangeness, too much abnormality in Luo He.
And after too many secrets were kept hidden from her... that innocent childhood affection perhaps had already begun to deteriorate.
Until that day, when she personally took off his mask... It was like making a final judgment on everything.
Her mother had passed away early; she didn't think there was any problem with her father having another son outside.
But the iron rule of keeping silent, combined with an origin that was already highly controversial... Luo Hongyu then guessed that Luo He carried some unsightly and shameful secret.
A secret that was strictly guarded against her, that rejected her.
Yet such a person like him still insisted on staying by her side; whether scolded, or beaten and cursed, he couldn't be driven away.
Luo Hongyu disliked this very much.
But as things stood now, so many years had already passed.
Luo Hongyu no longer dwelled on this, insisting that he separate from her; she planned to accept him as her shadow, an existence like a companion dark side.
But...
Senior Sister Gu's reaction that day had linked this red jade at her waist with Luo He.
Father said this red jade was a relic left to her by her mother, so she had never let it leave her person for a moment.
Then why would Luo He have a connection with this red jade?
Luo Hongyu faintly sensed that this great door guarding Luo He's secret, which she had originally planned to give up on, had suddenly been pried open a corner before her.
Luo Hongyu faintly sensed that what might exist inside this secret door was not something she wanted to know.
But...
She couldn't refuse it; she couldn't help but be attracted by it, couldn't help but care.
Because this was the greatest obsession in her life so far.
Who on earth was he?
"Young Master Luo can get distracted even while standing on the stage at this moment; it seems you truly don't put us in your eyes."
A strange male voice pulled Luo Hongyu back from her deep thoughts. She put down the lusterless red jade in her hand, looked at the man facing her, and frowned slightly.
Without Luo He to block them, the challenges directed at her in the Immortal Ascension Trial, she naturally could only accept them herself now.
And worldly geniuses, to her, were like carps crossing a river; in so many years, no one had been able to make her remember their name, and this one before her was no exception.
Seeing his expression of being secure in his backing and fearless, even faintly expectant, it seemed he had prepared some means to deal with her.
Very well, just use them then.
She was also very curious who it was that actually dared to plot against her.
"I am third on the Jade Ní Ranking, named...!"
Before the person opposite could finish speaking, Luo Hongyu's sword was already drawn and thrusting towards him.
"This madwoman..."
He barely dodged. Looking at the platform beside him, which had been gashed by sword qi, he stared at the expressionless Luo Hongyu, his spirit still unsettled from the shock.
Seeing him make no move for a long time, Luo Hongyu said coldly:
"Are you going to fight or not?"
"Hehe... Fight, of course I'll fight..."
He gave a sinister laugh twice, spiritual energy once again condensed in his hands, and he attacked forward.
"......"
This so-called third on the Jade Ní Ranking, to Luo Hongyu, was merely like chopping melons and slicing vegetables.
She often heard busybodies refer to her and two others she didn't know as the Three Sons of the Righteous Path. But in her impression, apart from Luo He, no one could be mentioned in the same breath as her.
At this moment, the tip of Luo Hongyu's sword was already pressed against the throat of the challenger, who was half-kneeling on the ground, stained with blood.
She looked down at him, but found his face carried a hint of frenzied fanaticism.
"Cough, cough... Truly worthy of being Young Master Luo, Luo Hongyu, unprecedented and unrepeatable."
"I'm somewhat curious, did you previously know the name of Xiao Yang of Shangxuan Palace, who, like you, is one of the Three Sons of the Righteous Path?"
"Don't know."
"Hahaha, it doesn't matter, you'll remember this name very soon..."
Xiao Yang suddenly erupted, but he created distance; then, coughing blood, he assumed a strange stance.
This was the secret signal he had arranged beforehand with that ghost creature. As soon as he did this, she would immediately activate the Demonic Seed within Luo Hongyu's body.
At that time, the whole world could see this untainted Young Master Luo with her Sword Heart Clarity being eroded by demonic qi, the wonderful scene of her entire cultivation and mental state being completely polluted and shattered.
Ah... just thinking about it is exciting.
He, Xiao Yang, having lived to this day, had been suppressed by Luo Hongyu every single day, every single second, serving as her foil for comparison. But the other party, she didn't even remember his name.
If she truly was some innate cultivation genius... then overcome this Demonic Seed too and show him!
Come on! Let everyone see you fall from a genius back to a mortal, revealing your true, fragile appearance...?
But after waiting for a good while, Luo Hongyu's expression hadn't changed. The look on her face as she watched him was like watching some unfunny, third-rate silent play.
He hurriedly turned around to lock onto a figure below the stage. He found it.
Shen Huai, hidden deep within the crowd, seemed to sense Xiao Yang's gaze. After giving him an extremely indifferent look, she left the scene.
What's the situation?
Why did she leave? Why wasn't Luo Hongyu affected at all?
Could it be that Luo Hongyu hadn't fallen for the trap at all from the beginning, and that ghost creature also deceived me?!
Damn it, damn it!
"Is the performance over?"
But before he could come back to his senses, an extremely powerful spirit sword pressure had already pressed him deep into the ground, making it difficult for him even to raise his head.
Previously, Luo Hongyu had held back; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to find out how these people were planning to deal with her.
"Speak."
Luo Hongyu used her sword to lift his head.
This so-called person who was on par with Luo Hongyu couldn't even manage the slightest resistance in front of her now.
Among this younger generation, Luo Hongyu was strong on a whole different level.
Many people below the stage had never seen Luo Hongyu make a move and mostly thought it was an exaggeration.
But now, this scene on the stage—no one present would have that thought anymore.
"How did you originally plan to plot against me, and what were you planning to do next?"
Luo Hongyu asked softly.
Her tone wasn't like an interrogation, just like a simple inquiry.
But falling on Xiao Yang's ears, it was full of ridicule and mockery towards him; her casualness was his unattainable reach.
"I... I really don't understand, Luo Hongyu, I really don't understand, why you, on what grounds, were born having monopolized all the advantages."
Xiao Yang, under the pressure of Luo Hongyu's sword qi, said venomously, word by word.
"Cultivation talent second to none, a spirit sword acknowledging you as master, Sword Heart Clarity—things in this world that others strive for but cannot reach are like eating and drinking to you."
"Even I, in front of you, am like a tied-up dog, unable to even bark twice, haha... cough..."
The tip of the Lu Lan Sword pressed a little deeper. Clearly, she had little patience to listen to this person spout other irrelevant nonsense.
"Do you know, you were supposed to be defeated here today, defeated at my hands."
"In an incomparably fallen, incomparably filthy, incomparably weak state."
"But you're just that lucky, Luo Hongyu. That thing you were supposed to swallow, the tribulation you were supposed to endure, you also unknowingly dodged it."
"What thing, what tribulation, speak clearly."
Luo Hongyu's heart trembled. Indeed, this group of people had been acting secretly. But what was that thing she was supposed to swallow, the tribulation she was supposed to endure?
Gu Jing's wanting to speak yet hesitating, the red jade's abnormality, Luo He's disappearance...
A bad conjecture appeared in her mind.
"Heh, you want to know?"
"I..."
Just as Xiao Yang was about to speak again, he suddenly sensed an abnormality within his own body.
A ghostly, enchanting chuckle flashed past his ear; he felt a sharp pain suddenly come from within his body.
This evil-natured ghostly qi...
Shen Huai! You ambushed me!