Chapter 3 - Brothers, This Round, I'm Done For
"No, you're done for?"
"Hey, consider it, ah. I think my terms are still very good."
Su Huanhuan floated beside Luo He, chattering non-stop as she followed him all the way into his small hut.
She seemed to dislike walking on the ground, usually keeping her feet off the ground, swaying as she floated in the air.
At this moment, one moment she'd circle in front of Luo He, the next she'd place both hands on his back shoulders, like an adorably cute red scarf wrapped around him.
She somewhat didn't understand why this person before her was actually so unmoved by her proposal, seeming only surprised for a moment, and then there was no follow-up.
Su Huanhuan was clear about how hard his days were; she already considered herself a person of tenacious temperament and unyielding will, but if she were to switch places with Luo He, she didn't think she could remain as unperturbed as he was now.
One must know, she, Su Huanhuan, by relying on her unremarkable comprehension and cultivation talent, had climbed all the way from a bottom-tier handyman disciple to the height of a Demonic Sect True Disciple, also paying an effort unimaginable to ordinary people...
Logically speaking, she should be the hero who rescues a prisoner about to be beheaded from the execution ground; Luo He should at least be a little interested in her.
But as it turned out, this person with a knife to his neck seemed to care more about whether the blade was sharp or not?
He naturally couldn't be someone seeking death; if he had that thought, he would have acted on it long ago... or perhaps, he really is that emotionless, desireless, unfeeling person... no...
If that were truly the case, he wouldn't have done those things to me inside the Black Copper Gate before, and I wouldn't be thinking of taking this person, who is bound to die, back to my side...
Could, could it be...
Su Huanhuan's expression turned strange, and she asked tentatively:
"You... it couldn't be because of that Luo Hongyu, right?"
Luo He, who was meditating on the spot to regulate his breath, opened his eyes and looked at Su Huanhuan.
Could she have guessed?
It was indeed related to Luo Hongyu.
Luo He nodded his head.
!!
Su Huanhuan incredulously floated back two steps, her eyes filled with utter shock.
No way, that woman is an enemy you could skin and pull out the tendons of, yet you're unwilling to break free and escape because of her?!
Was she your mother in a past life or what?
Seeing Su Huanhuan's exaggerated expression, Luo He knew she had probably misunderstood.
However, he couldn't speak to explain either, so he simply began to mobilize his internal energy again, starting to suppress the malevolent qi that was gradually overflowing within his body.
He naturally wasn't seeking a premature end or anything else; it was just that he didn't need Su Huanhuan's help.
In the nine years from when he first opened his eyes in this body to when he could freely read the secret manuals in the Tianchen Sword Sect's library pavilion.
He first spent three years pulling his consciousness out from the pain of the lost po and the malevolent resentment, starting to gain the ability to think deeply while enduring excruciating pain.
Afterwards, he spent another three years clarifying his own situation and investigating the reasons why he had become like this.
In the final three years, he began to search for a way to break free.
The good news is, he found it.
After his Shuang po was dug out by the Sha She Art and given to Luo Hongyu, her deficient Shuang po was also placed within his soul.
The existence of that red jade, although it cut off the sensations transmitted from Luo He, preventing Luo Hongyu from feeling Luo He's pain and thoughts, it did not cut off the path from Luo Hongyu to Luo He.
Therefore, Luo He could very faintly sense Luo Hongyu's thoughts and emotional fluctuations, and more importantly, he found a fragmented memory within this po of Luo Hongyu's.
In that memory, a female immortal dressed in cyan, whose face could not be seen clearly, said this to Luo Wenshui, who at that time had not yet become gaunt and emaciated:
"Your esteemed daughter is detested by the heavens and not tolerated by the mortal world; I fear it will be difficult for her to live past ten years... Even if her soul is forcibly connected and her life extended, she will still be investigated by the Heavenly Dao, and before she condenses her divine embryo, a lightning tribulation will descend, unavoidable."
Condensing the divine embryo is the mark of stepping into the Nascent Soul stage.
And the moment she is detected by the Heavenly Dao... there is no better opportunity than this Immortal Ascension Assembly, where one can personally communicate with the High Immortals.
And the current Luo Hongyu is at the peak of the Golden Core stage, one step away from Nascent Soul; that one step is the Immortal Ascension Assembly.
As for why these words are the key to Luo He's escape... it is naturally because of that lightning tribulation.
For heavenly lightning destroys the physical body but tempers the soul; therefore, that lightning tribulation must descend before Luo Hongyu condenses her divine embryo and solidifies her soul, otherwise it might not be possible to truly kill Luo Hongyu.
And he, Luo He, was himself a soul wandering between heaven and earth; it was just that the Sha She Art had forcibly stuffed him into this possessed body.
What needed to be done was very obvious.
Just as Su Huanhuan had said, if he couldn't live, then he wouldn't live.
It's fine to restart in soul form.
Of course, the premise of everything is that his soul can withstand the might of Luo Hongyu's heavenly tribulation.
For this reason, all his time afterwards was spent cultivating all sorts of soul techniques; by today, though he couldn't say he had absolute certainty, he at least had some confidence.
Currently, his cultivation on paper is late Golden Core stage, but solely in terms of soul strength, perhaps even some Nascent Soul grand cultivators cannot compare to him.
The Sha She Art, a technique of seizing po and detaining hún, the key to the art is that body used as a container.
The power of heavenly lightning can break the vital point of the evil art, but whether he can survive under the heavenly lightning is his own problem.
As for what to do if he doesn't survive?
Isn't that simple? Just the word 'death,' and it would also serve to put a hasty full stop to this utterly terrible transmigration journey.
He hadn't considered Su Huanhuan's proposal, not because he distrusted her abilities, but because she said she wanted to keep Luo He by her side as a mere ghost... for him, that was no different from his current situation.
He no longer cared about physical pain, but whenever Luo He saw that red jade on Luo Hongyu's waist, which tethered him like a dog leash...
He yearned immensely for the freedom to go wherever he wanted.
"Don't be like this, ah! Think about it, even if she knows nothing, she's still the beneficiary... There's no reason to value her so much, ah! You can't really treat her as your master, right!"
"If you want to acknowledge a master, I can do it too, ah! I understand your experiences so well, I'll definitely treat you a thousand times, ten thousand times better than her!"
Su Huanhuan clearly had no intention of giving up her plan, immediately starting to float around Luo He, trying to persuade him, while Luo He suddenly felt a stir in his soul and silently sighed.
It's truly right to say one shouldn't mention someone's name in their heart; look, the person immediately came looking.
"What did you say about a thousand times, ten thousand times?"
An extremely cold voice suddenly rang out in the courtyard. Su Huanhuan squinted and saw Luo Hongyu, not wearing her sword, standing outside with the boundless night sky as her backdrop, her eyes like a flowing river of stars, as if she had replaced the moon, staring at Su Huanhuan.
One in red, one in white, confronting each other once again.
"Sister Hongyu, what brings you to this remote courtyard tonight? Could it be that after finishing sword practice, you still need to practice something else?"
"If you call me 'sister' one more time, I will take it as you wanting to have a match with me."
As Luo Hongyu spoke, she glanced at Luo He, who had stood up at some unknown point, and at Su Huanhuan, who was still clinging to his side.
"What are you doing in his courtyard, and what did you say to him?"
"Aiya, that's truly embarrassing, it's all things that are not good to mention to Hongyu... younger sister."
“......”
"Don't be in a hurry to summon your Lu Lan sword, I'll just tell you."
Su Huanhuan raised her hand and pressed, her fingertip pushing Luo He a step back; Luo He glanced at her but didn't react.
"Actually, ah, I've always found this little mute of yours to have a kind face. Young Master Luo, your way of not knowing how to cherish a beautiful person is truly a pity, so I was thinking, why don't you just sell him to me? It would count as making the best use of things."
Su Huanhuan said with a smile.
"How about I buy him from you for one hundred spirit stones?"
"...Kind-looking face, beautiful person?"
Hearing these words, which were almost tantamount to provocation, Luo Hongyu, however, did not immediately flare up, but instead revealed an extremely cold smile.
"If you were to see his appearance beneath that mask, I wonder if you'd still be able to say such words."
"Young Master Luo is actually someone who judges others by appearance?"
"Cut the nonsense. Leave. The fight we didn't finish at the Black Copper Gate back then, I'll seek your guidance again at the Immortal Ascension Trial tomorrow."
"Alas, how boring..."
However, after this was said, Su Huanhuan then remembered that she actually hadn't seen what Luo He's true appearance was like.
Next time... I'll think of a way to snatch off his mask and see, hmph hmph.
While Su Huanhuan was thinking this, she put on a sighing expression, and then tossed Luo He another small bottle.
Inside was wound medicine; it was pure wound medicine, without that messy blood qi.
"Catch, little mute. Look carefully, I'm not like certain people who poke holes in others at the drop of a hat."
"Throw it away, Luo He."
"Hey, on what grounds!"
Luo Hongyu did not answer her, but merely stared intently at Luo He's eyes.
"You were born in Tianchen Sword Sect, raised in Tianchen Sword Sect. Su Huanhuan is of the demonic path like this; you have no reason to be close to her."
"Luo He himself hasn't even spoken, what are you saying on his behalf?"
Holding the small bottle, a fresh medicinal fragrance wafted from within.
Luo He pondered for a moment, put the medicine bottle into his bosom, and once again stepped into his own small hut.
"Hmph hmph~ See? He can naturally distinguish who is good to him and who is bad to him. Young Master Luo, he's just a sword servant, a mere slave, so what if you give him to me?"
Although Su Huanhuan's triumphant expression at this moment greatly annoyed Luo Hongyu, she merely watched Luo He's retreating figure.
She had seen his back many times, whether when he was young, or now as a young man.
But the one she saw this time was somewhat different.
This was the first time he had so clearly refused her.
Ka…
The small box she had been holding in her hand quietly shattered; inside was a prescription medicine from within Tianchen Sword Sect, extremely effective for treating sword qi injuries.
Hurting him at that time was not her intention. Although she didn't think she had any obligation to apologize to him, and she indeed disliked him, but... no matter what, he was a person of Tianchen Sword Sect, and she was the Young Master of Tianchen Sword Sect.
Now it seemed she had overthought things.
There was nothing about him worth pitying.
"Tomorrow is the Immortal Ascension Trial; after the Immortal Ascension Trial is the Immortal Ascension Assembly."
"You, look out for yourself."
After tossing out these words, Luo Hongyu didn't care whether Su Huanhuan would continue to stay there and directly left Luo He's courtyard.
She had once always hoped that Luo He wouldn't be like a dead person, showing not the slightest reaction to her.
And now, he had reacted to her, yet she found that she wasn't happy either.