Chapter 213: Taking Up the Responsibility of Exorcising Demons
Jingwei sat in quiet meditation, her breathing shallow and measured. She did not know exactly how long it would take for her immortal body to fully repair the damage it had sustained, but one thing was certain—it would not be a short process.
In times like these, if the Corrupted were allowed to run rampant and stir up chaos, the defenseless commoners of Shenzhou would be the ones to pay the price in blood.
Rovel stood before her, his posture relaxed but his gaze sharp. He was undoubtedly the most suitable person to serve as the carrier of her will. He never held back his blade against the Corrupted, and more, he carried no psychological burden when striking them down. He understood the necessity of the slaughter.
"Mm..." Jingwei pondered for a long moment, the silence stretching in the austere room before she finally gave a slow nod of agreement. "But regarding your senior and junior sisters..."
"I will keep the truth of your condition hidden from them, for your sake, Master," Rovel replied smoothly, anticipating her concern.
"..." Jingwei closed her eyes and nodded in silent approval.
Standing off to the side, Su Mei let out a soft, melodic chuckle. "In the future, I'm afraid Senior Brother's prestige will grow so vast that the Corrupted will scatter and flee at the mere mention of his name from a hundred miles away."
Rovel ignored Su Mei's lighthearted teasing. His expression shifted into something far more serious. "There is one more thing, Master. I have uncovered the identities of Jiang Wanxi and Jiang Wanru's biological parents. The implications of this discovery are significant, so I must ask you to decide how to proceed."
"Oh?" Jingwei opened her eyes, blinking in mild surprise. She didn't quite understand why he would bring such a matter to her first, rather than simply informing the Jiang sisters of their lineage.
"Their mother was Mei Qianqian, the younger sister of the current Sect Leader of the Lotus Sect, Mei Fu. She has already passed away," Rovel explained, his voice dropping an octave. He took a slow, deep breath before delivering the rest. "Their father... is the Cult Leader of the Holy Fire Cult, Yan Shiluo."
Su Mei's breath hitched. Her eyes widened drastically as the weight of that name crashed over her.
If their father was Yan Shiluo, then wouldn't Rovel's previous actions...
"Ten years ago, Yan Shiluo caused a massive disturbance at the Lotus Assembly," Rovel continued, his tone clinical and detached. "During the chaos, he unexpectedly caught the attention of Mei Qianqian. She eventually bore him two daughters. However, Mei Fu was terrified that her sister's illicit collusion with the demonic cult would be exposed to the martial world. To protect the sect's reputation, she abandoned the Jiang sisters in the freezing snowy plains while they were still wrapped in their swaddling clothes."
He paused, letting the cold reality of the past settle in the room. "When Mei Qianqian went out into the blizzard to search for them, she slipped and fell into a deep valley. Because her body had not yet recovered from childbirth, she succumbed to the elements and passed away."
"According to Sect Leader Mei Fu, Yan Shiluo already possessed the unnatural ability to manipulate flames ten years ago," Rovel added, his eyes locking onto Jingwei's. "I'm afraid he was already one of the Corrupted even back then."
"And the offspring of the Corrupted are highly likely to possess bodies that..."
Before Rovel could finish outlining the grim biological reality of Honkai corruption, Su Mei lunged forward, grabbing his sleeve.
"Senior Brother, say no more!" Su Mei hissed, her fingers digging into the fabric of his robes. She knew Jingwei's unyielding nature better than anyone. The Celestial's rule was absolute: The Corrupted must be executed. If the Jiang sisters were deemed a risk of falling into madness, Jingwei would show absolutely no mercy.
"I am aware of this matter," Jingwei said. Her voice was entirely devoid of emotion. She stood up, her pristine robes flowing around her, and walked toward the door. "If signs of corruption appear in them..."
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. Jingwei left the room, leaving behind a heavy, suffocating silence.
Su Mei slowly released Rovel's sleeve. She looked up at him, her brow furrowed in deep conflict. "Senior Brother... do you truly believe that 'the Corrupted must be executed' is the right path?"
It was a question that had been gnawing at her heart for a long time.
Rovel turned to face her, his expression unreadable. "If you think it's wrong, you can choose to spare them. You can sheathe your sword and walk away. But tell me, Su Mei—are you willing to bear the burden of the slaughter they will cause in the future when they lose their minds?"
Su Mei opened her mouth to speak, but the words died in her throat. "..."
"When a massive, starving tiger comes down from the mountains to hunt humans, you might have the martial prowess to drive it back into the forest without killing it," Rovel said, his voice cold and practical. "But most people in this world are just ordinary commoners. For them, that tiger is an unavoidable, lethal disaster waiting in the shadows."
He took a step closer, his gaze pinning her in place. "Do you dare to gamble? Will you gamble the lives of thousands on the hope that the beast can control itself when it's starving? Or gamble that it can somehow overcome its own violent, unnatural instincts?"
Su Mei looked away, her fists clenching at her sides.
"You can blame the Heavenly Dao for being heartless," Rovel said softly, turning toward the door. "But you cannot say that what Master does is wrong. She has walked this world for a thousand years. She has seen oceans of blood and mountains of corpses—far more than you or I could ever comprehend. If there truly were a better, kinder solution, do you really think she would willingly choose to let her hands be stained with so much blood?"
With those final words hanging in the air, Rovel stepped out of the room. He had a promise to keep; he needed to take Cheng Lingshuang to practice the Sword Form of the Taixu Sword Qi.
Su Mei stood alone in the quiet room, staring at the empty doorway for a long, long time.
In a certain, terrifying sense, Rovel and Jingwei were exactly alike.
"Master's cultivation has reached a bottleneck, so she needs to stay secluded on the mountain for a while?"
Lin Chaoyu blinked, her usually composed face showing clear traces of disbelief. She stared at Rovel as if he had just spoken in tongues. In her mind, Jingwei was a supreme, peerless existence. Could there possibly be anyone or anything in this entire world that could stall her Master's cultivation?
"Yes," Rovel lied smoothly, his expression a mask of calm sincerity. "So, Senior Sister Chaoyu, I'll have to trouble you to take absolute care of Master while she remains on the mountain."
"Eh?" Lin Chaoyu looked a bit dazed, her fingers nervously brushing against the hilt of her sword. "Junior Brother Rovel, what are you... going to do?"
"I have discussed it with Master at length. I will temporarily take her place and descend the mountain to continue exorcising demons across Shenzhou," Rovel explained.
Lin Chaoyu froze. Her lips parted slightly, and when she finally spoke, her voice was low and tight. "Master... she actually entrusted such an important, sacred duty to you?"
Her expression twisted into a complex knot of emotions. There was genuine concern for Rovel's safety, but beneath that lay a heavy, unexplainable dejection. Her shoulders slumped by a fraction of an inch. The fact that the person entrusted with this heavy responsibility wasn't her left a bitter, stinging sadness in her chest.
Rovel looked at Lin Chaoyu and fought the urge to sigh. He felt entirely helpless when dealing with her insecurities.
"Senior Sister, you really need to change your temperament," Rovel said gently. "The reason Master is letting me go out instead of you is twofold. First, she worries that your current strength is insufficient for the dangers lurking below, and she doesn't want you to get hurt. Second, and more, she hopes you can stay by her side. She trusts you to protect her."
"Junior Brother, you should stop making wild guesses about Master's intentions." Lin Chaoyu shook her head, a self-deprecating smile touching her lips. She had served by Jingwei's side for decades. She knew perfectly well that her stoic Master would never say something so sentimental.
"...In short, Senior Sister, just don't overthink it." Rovel pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a familiar headache pulsing at his temples. He had dealt with this exact scenario countless times over the past few years.
Lin Chaoyu's personality was a massive headache. Was it an absolute rule that if Jingwei didn't literally spell out 'I care about you' to her face, it meant she didn't care at all? What happened to the people of Shenzhou who supposedly spent their entire lives mastering the art of reading subtext? How did that cultural trait completely bypass Lin Chaoyu?
Word traveled fast. Soon, the news spread throughout the entirety of Mount Taixu. Every disciple knew that Rovel was preparing to act as their Master's proxy for the demon exorcism tasks.
Three days later, Rovel stood at the mountain gates, his supplies packed and his sword secured at his waist. He was ready to descend.
"Lingshuang, you're coming down the mountain with me."
For his very first trip, Rovel specifically called out Cheng Lingshuang to accompany him.
The announcement left the other disciples utterly stunned. Cheng Lingshuang was only four years old. She stood there in her small robes, her face a blank, emotionless mask, looking more like a porcelain doll than a martial artist.
Was Rovel actually serious about dragging a toddler into the blood-soaked reality of hunting the Corrupted?
Although Cheng Lingshuang's talent was monstrous and her martial strength was progressing at a terrifying, rapid pace, it couldn't cover up the glaring issue of her age. Was it really appropriate to expose a child to such cruel, visceral violence?
Even Lin Chaoyu, who rarely questioned Rovel's decisions, hurried over to the gates to intervene. She pleaded with him to take Su Mei instead, or even the Jiang sisters—anyone but the youngest disciple.
"Senior Sister, listen to me," Rovel said, his voice cutting through her frantic protests. He looked down at the tiny, expressionless girl standing quietly beside his leg. "Lingshuang came to Mount Taixu when she was two years old. Before that, she was a completely blank sheet of paper."
He met Lin Chaoyu's worried gaze. "And after two years of living on Mount Taixu, she is still a completely blank sheet of paper."
Lin Chaoyu frowned, not quite grasping his point.
"She isn't like Su Mei," Rovel explained patiently. "Su Mei is sharp, clever, and constantly finds ways to learn about the outside world. She isn't like the Jiang sisters either; at the very least, they have experienced the bitter hardships of the real world. She isn't even like Ma Yanqing. Yanqing is a normal boy who loves children's toys and can't put down the picture books you bring back from the villages."
Rovel placed a gentle hand on Cheng Lingshuang's head. The little girl didn't react, merely staring blankly ahead.
"But... Lingshuang is different. She has never truly entered the mortal world. Everything she knows, everything she thinks, and everything she feels is entirely trapped within the cold, isolated peaks of Mount Taixu."
Rovel's eyes hardened with resolve. "Unless you plan to let her rot up here for her entire life, she needs to leave. Because if she remains isolated for ten or twenty years, and then finally walks into the world... she will never be able to live as a normal human being. She will just be a sword."
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