Chapter 153: I Have Lost My Memory

Upon hearing that members of the Demon Clan had broken onto the mountain, the very first image that flashed through Shan Hongxing's mind was the elderly demon who had previously dealt him a humiliating defeat. Gripping his sword, he rushed out of the door first.

By the time Lu Feiyu and Lan Yezhou stepped outside, Huo Yongfei was sitting in the courtyard, sipping tea. "Don't go sticking your noses into this mess. I couldn't talk your master out of it, but surely the two of you will listen to me!"

"First Senior Uncle, as our master's disciples, there is no reason for us to back down!" Lu Feiyu protested indignantly.

"Senior Sister," Lan Yezhou said, stepping in front of her, "if anyone goes, it should be me. You still need to practice your swordsmanship properly, Senior Sister."

"Are you itching for a beating today?" Lu Feiyu thought to herself that she had praised this junior brother of hers only that afternoon, yet by evening, he was already pushing his luck.

"Well, as it happens, why don't you spar with me, Senior Sister?"

With that, Lan Yezhou drew his sword.

Seeing the two disciples starting to squabble, Huo Yongfei gave up any intention of remaining seated. He pushed open the door and slipped away silently.

Outside, things were bound to be in chaos.

It would already be difficult enough for Wen Jinge to protect those few disciples of hers, and if these two went out as well, the future of the XuanYun Sect would likely be ruined.

"Senior Sister, don't you want to go take a look?" Catching sight of the departing figure, Lan Yezhou immediately withdrew the sword intent radiating from him.

"I don't!" Lu Feiyu glared at him irritably. "You didn't want to go earlier, and now you're insisting on sneaking around. If you want to go, go yourself! I won't be a part of this."

"Then I'll go by myself?"

"Go on, then! Drop dead out there for all I care," Lu Feiyu snapped.

"You are not allowed to go out." Just as Lan Yezhou pushed the door open, a voice rang out.

He stared at the shadowy figure by the door. "Who are you? Are you trying to scare me to death?"

"Come with me!" The owner of the voice brooked no argument.

"Who on earth are you? Why should I go with you?" Although reluctant, Lan Yezhou still followed behind him. "Tell me, can't you take off that cloak? Walking around in all black in the middle of the night—are you afraid people won't recognize you? This is Qinghe Mountain, and we have plenty of ways to deal with your kind—"

"Shut up!" The figure suddenly spun around.

Caught off guard, Lan Yezhou crashed straight into his back. "A mouth is meant for talking, you know."

"Wen Jinge has returned," the man said.

"I know that, or else I wouldn't be following you."

The figure slowly turned around, letting out an indefinable sigh, seemingly displeased. "You don't recognize me?"

"Does whether I recognize you or not prevent the two of us from talking?"

"......It doesn't."

"Oh, well, if nothing else is the matter, I'll be off. I still need to go check on what's happening at the mountain gate."

"You don't seem surprised at all to see me?" The man grabbed him by the collar to keep him from leaving.

"Some things have changed." Looking at the dark figure, Lan Yezhou suddenly lunged forward and threw his arms around him in a hug. "I know you are a demon, and I know you've probably returned with hatred in your heart. But since things have changed, shouldn't we see whether it's for better or worse before you make a move?"

"You guessed it?" The figure smiled with a sense of release, yet appeared slightly flustered, as if he hadn't anticipated this outcome.

"Mhm." Lan Yezhou rested his hand on the man's shoulder and reached out with a slight smile to touch his head. "Are you still as short as me now?"

"..." The dark figure took a deep breath, as though exercising extreme restraint. "Take care of Senior Sister."

"Rest assured!" Lan Yezhou waved goodbye to his retreating back, then returned to the courtyard with a heavy heart.

"Why did you come back?"

"Senior Sister." Lan Yezhou sat in the courtyard, hugging his sword. Ever since meeting that dark figure, he had remained thoroughly out of spirits.

Lu Feiyu was boiling water. Since Huo Yongfei had fled, some tea had been left behind on the table. Finding it a waste to throw out and having nothing better to do by herself, Lu Feiyu had decided to brew the tea.

"Didn't you go to watch the commotion? Why did you come right back? What's going on over there?"

"I didn't go." Lan Yezhou forced a strained smile at her, tilting his head to watch her for a moment until it finally started to creep Lu Feiyu out, prompting her to reward him with a sharp rap on the head.

What are you staring at me for? Are you possessed?"

"Senior Sister, why do you always put on airs in front of others just like Master does? You're still just a child, after all!"

"I'm older than you, what kind of child am I?"

"Junior Brother Yuan is nearly seventy now, yet isn't he still treated like a child in Senior Uncle Wen's eyes?"

"That's them, not us." Lu Feiyu glared at him. "You've been letting your imagination run wild all evening. If you're not sleepy, go practice your forms."

"Senior Sister, one last question." He straightened up and gestured with his finger. "Do you like Junior Brother Qiao Yu?"

Lu Feiyu's hand holding the purple clay teapot jerked, spilling scalding tea everywhere. Before Lan Yezhou could react, she slashed horizontally with her sword. A large patch of Lan Yezhou's hand was instantly scalded red, and before he could dodge, he was blasted backward by the fifth-grade sword qi she had condensed.

"Senior Sister..." Lan Yezhou coughed twice, propping himself up on the wood shavings scattered across the ground. "Congratulations, Senior Sister, on breaking through your realm."

"Lan Yezhou!" Lu Feiyu was truly enraged this time, calling out his name with full lung power. "What on earth are you hiding from me and doing behind my back?"

"Senior Sister, my hand hurts." Lan Yezhou held out his hand with a pitiful expression. "Your sword qi isn't completely stable yet, do you need help?"

"Go deal with your hand." Lu Feiyu shot him a cold look, ignoring his injury as she snatched up her sword and retreated into her room.

Watching the door close, Lan Yezhou turned to the distant corner of the wall and murmured, "You can rest easy now! She won't step foot out of this courtyard tonight. As long as she doesn't go out, nothing will happen to her."

The dark shadow slowly dissipated, vanishing completely this time.

Meanwhile, in a courtyard on the outer mountain, Wen Jinge sat casually in her spirit-carriage, crossing her legs and shelling roasted peanuts. "Didn't they say you don't need to eat after reaching the Inedia stage? How come there's so much food on your mountain?"

"Eat it or leave it!" Qu Xiu let out a cold snort, hugging his knees as he pulled up a random chair to sit on. "I thought you'd arrive together with Shan Hongxing."

"We didn't cross paths."

"He said you were dead."

"I am someone who has died before."

"Huh?" Qu Xiu furrowed his brow. "Haven't the two of you been living in peace all these years? Why would you end up fighting?"

"Weren't you just trying to pick a fight with me a moment ago?"

"I couldn't beat you! Besides, I was forced by circumstances just now. Who knew you'd change your temper and even remember to spare my face?"

Qu Xiu let out a depressed huff, tossing a peanut into the air and catching it with his mouth while casting a sidelong glance at the two coffins on the carriage. "Hasn't the Demon Lord not even emerged yet? One of these coffins is prepared for you, but whose is the other one?"

"There's someone lying in that one. Didn't you see?" Wen Jinge let out a disdainful scoff, highly suspecting that he must be blind.

"Who's in there?" Qu Xiu knocked against the crystal coffin, thoughtfully eyeing the dark iron casket. "This coffin looks like the one your master brought back from the Pingchuan Valley ages ago? And where did this crystal coffin come from?"

"Pingchuan Valley?" Wen Jinge leaned forward as well, having always assumed the coffin belonged to the XuanYun Sect. "Are you talking about the Pingchuan Valley here on our Qinghe Mountain?"

"That's right! This coffin is a cursed vessel, don't you remember? The two of us fought all the way down there back then, if it hadn't been for—"

"I have amnesia."