Chapter 115: Misfortunes Never Come Singly

Queyunzi and Bufeng exchanged glances and smiled softly. “To be honest, I’m ashamed to say we don’t know each other. But one thing is certain: the person who came is neither from Siyou nor from Zhuchan Heaven.”

“That woman with the pockmarked face, do you recognize her?” Bufeng asked.

Su He’s heart sank. He found himself slightly avoiding their gazes. At this moment, whether it was Zhuchan Heaven or Siyou, there was no one familiar to him.

There was only one person—Baili Wushuang.

If anyone besides Baili could save him, Su He thought, it would be only one person.

Bufeng noticed the change in his expression. “What’s the matter? Is there a problem?”

Su He shook his head, gathering his scattered thoughts. “I don’t know her, but I have some idea.”

After a pause, he looked at Bufeng. “Senior, what is the current situation in the Desire Sea Heaven?”

Bufeng knew Su He was hiding something, but it was his private matter; it was not appropriate to pry.

The Baili clan’s influence was deep-rooted, well-known to anyone in the First Layer Heaven.

He lifted his teacup, took a small sip, and began to speak gently. “You know the Three Evils escaped from Bafeng Island.”

“Mm.”

“But there’s something I didn’t mention in my last letter: one of the Seven Layers of the Kala Seal is damaged, the future isn’t optimistic.”

“Also, taking advantage of the sects’ focus on the emergence of evildoers, Huxi River gathered forces to form the Four Righteous Alliance. They claim to be the righteous path and have launched attacks against the Demon Realm.”

“The tens of thousands of years of peace between the Demon Realm and Desire Sea Heaven are now as fragile as paper, ready to be torn at any moment.”

“Has it come to this?” Su He’s expression suddenly changed, growing heavy with worry.

He had expected things to be bleak but hadn’t imagined multiple crises erupting simultaneously, internal and external chaos mingled.

Bufeng sighed, savoring the lingering fragrance of the tea. “Don’t overthink it for now. You need to recover from your injuries first.”

“If Desire Sea Heaven descends into chaos, you will be needed.”

“Me?” Su He was taken aback. He had always traveled alone; being among others was already his limit.

Moreover, as far as his abilities went, he was hardly suited for such a heavy responsibility. He feared he could never live up to Bufeng’s expectations.

How could the fate of an entire realm be placed upon him?

Bufeng saw through his thoughts. “You’re a cultivator—are there still things you don’t understand?”

“The moment you set foot in Desire Sea Heaven, peace was impossible.”

“Coming here is fate, being drawn into it is inescapable destiny.”

“Perhaps you don’t feel it, but it’s the truth.”

Su He opened his mouth but found the words caught in his throat.

Indeed, since arriving at Desire Sea Heaven, he sensed an invisible hand pushing everything from the shadows.

The power of Desire Sea Heaven rivaled that of the Baili clan, and he found himself sinking deeper into this whirlpool.

“Have you come to understand?” Bufeng asked.

“Yes,” Su He replied. “Though not fully, if you assign me a task, I will do my best.”

“Good. I haven’t misjudged you,” Bufeng nodded with satisfaction. “Don’t worry too much—the Way of Heaven will work itself out. We just need to follow its course.”

“By the way, where is Wulei?”

After talking for a while, Bufeng realized something was missing. He looked towards the window but saw no sign of the boy practicing.

He frowned slightly, thinking the child hadn’t kept up his training for even a few days and was now slacking off.

He urged, “Mingyi, go see what your junior brother is doing. How is Bai Zhi attending to him?”

“If he doesn’t get up to practice soon, double his training this afternoon.”

“Yes.” Mingyi bowed at the door and went to Wulei’s room.

Yiqingchen felt uneasy, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “Senior Uncle.”

“Little Chen’er? What’s wrong with you?” Bufeng looked back, puzzled.

He had only been scolding Wulei for being careless—had he accidentally upset her?

Yiqingchen glanced shyly at Su He. “Last night, when Su He woke, I went to the small kitchen to prepare some food. Wulei happened to get up at the same time.”

“I invited him to eat together. I think he ate too much then and was uncomfortable, so he forgot to get up early to practice.”

“Please, Senior Uncle, don’t blame Wulei.”

Bufeng suddenly froze.

Everyone else glanced sideways, wondering if Bufeng might be too harsh on little Wulei. Children get hungry and greedy; isn’t that natural?

Queyunzi nudged him playfully. “Let it go, it’s not a big deal.”

“He overslept—just wake him next time. Look how you scared Yiqingchen.”

Bufeng came back to himself and smiled gently. “Ha, you’re right.”

“Little Chen’er, did Senior Uncle just frighten you?”

His kindness was as always, but with a subtle difference.

Yiqingchen breathed a sigh of relief, smiled gently, and shook her head. “No, Senior Uncle cares for me deeply.”

“Ha ha ha, indeed.” Bufeng slapped his thigh and laughed loudly. “Our little Chen’er is a young lady now. Calling you ‘little Chen’er’ no longer fits.”

“How about from now on, Senior Uncle calls you ‘Qingchen’?”

“As you command, Senior Uncle.” Yiqingchen looked up at Bufeng and agreed happily.

“Good, very good.” Bufeng repeated the words thrice, but a hint of unspoken sorrow lingered, leaving everyone puzzled.

He noticed his own lapse and wiped away the moisture at the corner of his eye with his sleeve, speaking sentimentally. “Excuse me, I was suddenly reminded of Brother Daishan and felt a bit sad.”

“It’s nothing, nothing.”

Queyunzi caught the sadness beneath his words and sighed deeply.

“Who would have thought the Starry Pavilion would suffer such a catastrophe?”

“Even figures like Yiqingchen and Daishan didn’t escape it.”

“Only a few in Desire Sea Heaven have stepped into the demigod realm; given his cultivation, it should have been rare for anyone to harm him.”

“But who would have thought...” Life is unpredictable!

Suddenly, Queyunzi’s eyes brightened as he stared at Yiqingchen. “Girl, has your family ever offended anyone?”

“Someone like the person beside you here? If it’s someone from there, everything would make sense.”

Su He was surprised by this suspicion.

Queyunzi’s doubt was not unfounded. If it wasn’t someone from Desire Sea Heaven, then perhaps from outside?

Especially from Siyou, where those who could come and go freely must be at the divine realm.

Although beyond that exist countless other realms, the divine realm was a watershed — to leap beyond it was to walk the path to the heavens; to fail was to remain at the bottom.

If it was someone from within, that could explain the past.

But there was one crucial point.

Queyunzi did not know this, but Su He did.

If it were their doing, even the likes of Dishui Ling or Baili Xiaojing could not replicate Minshu’s aura.

Other things could be faked, but not Minshu.

If it had been them, the Minshu sword marks left on the bodies at the Starry Pavilion scene would be unexplainable.

To this day, he still did not understand why.

Yiqingchen, hearing this, sat down by the bed’s edge and said solemnly, “No.”

“The Starry Pavilion has been secluded for a long time. My father, grandfather, and others are all known for their kindness and generosity.”

“There have been acts of grace, but no enemies.”

“Moreover, the highest cultivators in the Starry Pavilion’s history, besides Uncle Qi, have been my father. He never left Desire Sea Heaven, so how could he have enemies beyond it?”

“That would be absurd.”

“Could it be that great kindness breeds great enmity, and someone harbors ill intent?”

“That... probably not,” Yiqingchen hesitated. “If there were such powerful people in Desire Sea Heaven, would they hide it from Senior Que and Senior Uncle?”

“Besides, with such cultivation, why not enter Siyou to seek glory?”

“That’s true.” Queyunzi frowned, unhappy with how things had turned out. “Then who destroyed the Starry Pavilion?”

Bufeng fell silent for a long moment. “Qingchen, is your descent mountain trip related to this matter?”

Startled by the question, Yiqingchen’s heart skipped a beat. She lowered her head. “Yes.”

“Not just that, part of it is for someone.”

Bufeng paid no mind, closing the teacup with a clink that drew everyone’s attention.

“Your father has always cherished you. Don’t let him down.”

“No matter where you go, whoever it is, you must find the culprit.”

With that, a fierce killing aura pierced the hearts of all present like a razor.

Queyunzi hurriedly slapped Bufeng, scolding, “What are you doing? Don’t you see there are two injured here?”

“If you go all out, who will treat them?”

With a wave of his sleeve, the discomfort in the room eased.

He shot Bufeng a fierce glare, trembling slightly. The man had barely pulled Su He back from the brink of death, and now he wanted to risk it again with the Undying Ash?

Yiqingchen also urged anxiously, “Senior Uncle, rest assured, this grudge will be avenged.”

Though she felt sorry for Su He’s suffering, seeing Bufeng’s fury, she dared not show it too openly.

For some reason, she felt Bufeng’s gaze upon her was different, yet she couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong.

She decided to put it aside for now, to think about it later when there was time.

Her heart was in her throat, fearing Bufeng’s temper might flare and he would refuse to listen to reason.

After all, she had heard stories of his fiery temper in earlier years.

Bufeng suddenly sighed deeply, releasing all the killing intent, becoming once again the serene immortal.

“Sigh...”

“Don’t bother too much. Some things are better left for the younger generation to handle.”

“Our old bones still have plenty of hard battles ahead.”

“If you have time to worry about these things, why not talk about the seals on the Demon Realm?”

“If old man were here, he’d know that to form a strong alliance like Huxi River’s Four Righteous Alliance, the Demon Realm must be exerting considerable force.”

“They neither withdraw nor advance, just waiting for the right moment to tear everything open.”

“Exactly.” Bufeng set down his teacup, his expression heavy with worry.

He glanced at Queyunzi. “Back then, Xing Yanzong and I wrote to the Realm Lord to ask for reinforcement of the seals, but to this day, no reply has come.”

“No reply is the best reply.”

“The Demon Realm’s position is now clear.”

At first, he did not understand.

Later, when Queyunzi mentioned that Lin Mao’s backers were demonic, and Yinshan Lake was a hiding place for evildoers, everything became clear.

Within the Demon Realm, there must already be treachery.

Queyunzi was stunned, then nodded at his tousled hair. “Understood.”

He was a lone man. If the world was to fall into chaos, so be it. But he finally understood why Huxi River started the war under the righteous banner, while the various sects of Desire Sea Heaven only restrained their disciples and did nothing to stop it.

Better to let Huxi River and others hold off the Demon Realm and bring the situation into the open.

Then everyone could focus on rooting out the hidden evildoers.

But as easy as it sounds, it’s hard to do. Evildoers are elusive, their traces nowhere to be found.

If they want to hide, how easy is it to find them?

Only if they reveal themselves.

Bufeng patted his hand. “Don’t think too much. At this point, the enemy is hidden and we are aware.”

“We can only take it step by step, respond to attacks as they come.”

Su He leaned against the soft pillow, listening to Bufeng and Queyunzi’s discussion, his heart churning.

During the chaos in Desire Sea Heaven long ago, he was still young and inexperienced, hiding in Siyou, treating it as mere gossip.

At that time, the servants talked about how useless the cultivators of Desire Sea Heaven were, deserving to be wiped out.

He had even scolded them then.

Yet it only deepened his curiosity about Desire Sea Heaven and he begged Fengting to take him out.

But Fengting refused, promising only after peace was restored.

Thinking of this, he smiled wryly.

Time passes so quickly, so fast that he has forgotten how long he has been away.

So fast, he almost forgets who was once by his side.