"I... I know nothing," You Su held his head with both hands, shaking his head continuously, "I know nothing!"
Mr. Ling furrowed his brows in anger, seemingly surprised that this clever young man could be so stubbornly timid. But upon reflection, his anger subsided a bit.
Judging by the youth's struggles, it wasn't hard to guess that this apparition probably had a deep connection with him. Mr. Ling asked himself, if he were in You Su's position, could he be completely honest with himself?
'Human nature...'
Mr. Ling let out a heavy sigh, speaking softly:
"Young man, I know that apparition might have an unusual connection with you, and you and I are barely acquainted, but this isn't a reason to harbor the apparition. The Dream Master type apparition is extremely sensitive to Profound Qi, if I act rashly and it senses me, the consequences are unpredictable."
"Take this Exorcism Order. Inject your Profound Qi into the order, and if there's any apparition nearby, it will change color and temperature. Once you try it, you'll have your answer, tomorrow at the time of the Dragon hour I will wait for you here again, if you come to return the order I will regard you as a friend. If you don't, then you're an enemy!"
You Su dropped his hands, a few messy strands falling before his hollow eyes. This old man, who had just gone through the pain of losing someone dear, was patient enough with You Su.
You Su sensed that Mr. Ling had reached out a helping hand towards him, holding the exorcising Jade Pendant.
Mr. Ling looked into You Su's eyes, with a tangle of emotions almost spilling from the youth's dim pupils. He knew You Su still had conscience, standing hesitantly at the edge of the cliff, how could he bear to let this unpolished jade plunge into the abyss, he must lend him a hand!
"You Su, you're a pitiful child. But you need to know not seeing with your eyes isn't scary, it's when the heart cannot see that is truly terrifying. Those familiar to you might not be who they once were. I didn't manage to save my bewitched junior brother, but you still have the chance to save those trapped in delusion! So..."
Suddenly Mr. Ling tightened his grip on the Jade Pendant, thrusting the hand holding the pendant forward, "Take it!"
You Su looked at the Exorcism Order right in front of him, his scattered gaze seemed to find focus:
"Really... can it save them?"
"Everything depends on human effort!" Mr. Ling's voice rang sonorously.
Hearing this, You Su tidied the hair scattered over his face, revealing a sharp-featured face, the aura of bewilderment vanished, standing there, he was a sharp sword.
Mr. Ling observed the suddenly resolute youth, a look of approval in his eyes.
The immortals say self-redemption is challenging, isn't helping others just as difficult? Even not knowing if this path of banishing evil spirits would be smooth ahead, seeing the youth able to find his way back was already a joyous event.
You Su reached out and took the Jade Pendant.
"Tomorrow at the Dragon hour, I'll return the jade."
Mr. Ling watched the youth's retreating figure, finally squeezing out a bit of a smile.
To ensure nothing goes wrong, he needed to make other preparations.
…
The Mandarin Duck Sword Sect is located in the west of Chuyun City, as the west side needed reconstruction, this was considered the most desolate area in the city, the neighboring houses were all empty. Even if anyone lived here, they were just elderly unwilling to move to the main city.
You Su hurriedly walked, holding a cooling pastry in his left hand and an icy Jade Pendant in his right, his mind swirling with thoughts.
No wonder he felt something was off before, after Mr. Ling's appearance he realized: When Liu mentioned You Su being late today at the breakfast street, it wasn't just a casual tease.
Comparing to the time in his past life, he usually gets up at 6:45, finishes washing up and leaves before 7:00, with his walking pace, it takes around ten minutes to reach the breakfast street, but today he reached there past 7:30! An extra 20 minutes appeared!
The whole process of his junior sister celebrating his birthday probably just took over ten minutes, where did he lose the other ten minutes?
Thinking about it deeply scared You Su, those experiences with his monstrous junior sister and master weren't just a simple dream.
In shock, You Su had already reached the gate of the Sect's old house, suddenly stepping on something hard, he gathered his belongings and picked up a piece of wood.
The plaque had fallen again.
The plaque he customized, engraved with four big characters — Mandarin Duck Sword Sect.
His customizing this plaque wasn't just for show, but to cover the old, rotten plaque beneath it. This new plaque falls off from time to time, as if the old plaque below was protesting.
You Su gently touched the old plaque, several characters on it, each vigorous and strong. Although You Su couldn't see the characters, he knew what they were as his master read them to him:
Heaven and Earth Yin Yang Joyful Union Sword Sect.
You Su wanted to remove the old plaque when he was young, but his master didn't allow it, saying one shouldn't easily replace the legacy of the ancestors. You Su agreed, and after his master's departure, he ordered this new plaque overnight, subsequently checking often if it fell, especially more frequently after his junior sister came.
Perhaps she still thought Mandarin Duck Sword Sect was the full name.
You Su hammered the plaque more securely, pretentiously inspecting the Sect's surroundings. He recalled how he casually promised his master before he left, that he would protect the Sect well. It now seemed this wasn't a simple task.
"Why did you come back so late?"
You Su was taken aback by his junior sister suddenly appearing at the door. He secretly regretted not being vigilant, otherwise, this trip might not have been homeward, but a plunge toward the abyss.
"Why are you so startled?" Ji Lingruo pouted, "Where's my pastry?"
You Su took out the still warm pastry from his pocket, and Ji Lingruo's eyes lit up immediately, hurrying to receive her share, feeling the temperature in her hand, she then pouted indignantly, "Why are the pastries soggy? Explain! Where did you go?"
"I was delayed chatting with someone on the way," You Su said apologetically.
Ji Lingruo was full of disbelief, her beautiful eyes shifted, suddenly her brows furrowed, she raged, "Was it those people stopping you again? You can bully me so easily, but why do you always run from outsiders? Fight back! The more you hide, the more they'll act aggressively, you know!"
Ji Lingruo righteously indignant, as if she had gone through similar experiences herself, only hating her shallow power unable to help You Su vent.
"Then I'll run even faster next time." You Su chuckled.
"Incurable!" The girl stomped in anger, exasperated at iron that doesn't turn to steel, in an instant she became a bit remorseful, "You, didn't you have a cold? Why not rest, who asked you to buy pastries?"
"Just greedy, it's not a big deal."
You Su then remembered lying to his junior sister about having a cold that morning. His initial intent of buying pastries was to thank his junior sister for celebrating his birthday because her favorite was these oil pastries. But after the encounter with Mr. Ling, saying "It was specifically for you" couldn't leave his lips anymore.
"Couldn't you let me buy them?"
"Junior sister willing to go to the market?"
"Forget it, I nearly lost half my life yesterday going to the bookshop and ironworks for you, thinking about it is scary."
"Junior sister actually, could go out more often."
"No way! I... I'm so pretty, many bad people will have their eyes on me!" The girl fearfully clenched her pink fists.
"True," You Su outwardly agreed.
"Alright, I'm going back to my room, you rest soon." Ji Lingruo walked away with the pastries, suddenly turned and said, "Oh right! There's cold medicine I brewed for you on your table, drink it quickly, don't wait until it cools!"
"I'll drink it soon, thank you, junior sister."
You Su stared in the direction his junior sister left, unclenching the hand holding the Jade Pendant in his chest pocket.