Chapter 72

It was Jun Zishu's wish that Qian Xing could find happiness. Thus, when she heard Qian Xing's words, she patted Qian Xing on the shoulder like they were best pals and began planning how she should get revenge on her bullies.

Jun Zishu was never one to accept a beating lying down. Anyone who dared to bully her would have to taste the consequences.

Thus, while Shen Zheyan was walking down memory lane, she heard the news of the Autumn Water Palace's disciples getting beaten up to the point where they dared not leave their sect.

Though, to everyone's surprise, the Autumn Water Palace did not incur any deaths. The sect's members simply got beaten to the point where their faces became unrecognizable.

Out of the Autumn Water Palace's many members, the Palace Lord had it worst as unknown people would attack him in his room every night. It didn't matter how much he fortified his room. His assailants would find him and beat him up even when he moved to a new room.

Others never liked the Autumn Water Palace, to begin with. So, after the Autumn Water Palace met with this misfortune, the sect quickly became a laughingstock in the world of martial artists.

Meanwhile, with nobody dying in these assaults, the Autumn Water Palace couldn't instigate a war even if it wanted to. The sect could only stomach its grievances and admit that it was inferior to the Demon Cult.

After the Autumn Water Sect, the several sects that participated in Jun Zishu's bullying were also met with misfortune. However, as they weren't the primary cause of Jun Zishu's identity getting exposed, they only had some of their treasures stolen.

In the case of the Sword Mountain Sect, the old sect leader woke up one day and found himself staring at his precious Coldwater Blade. The blade hung right above his head with only a thin thread holding it in place. The old sect leader got so frightened that it took him many days before he fully recovered.

Jun Zishu's non-extreme form of revenge was like child's play for martial artists who frequently saw bloodshed. Thus, even though it was aggravating, the targets of her revenge could do nothing but keep their heads low.

Meanwhile, when Shen Zheyan heard about Jun Zishu's antics, she inadvertently thought of Jun Zishu's cheeky smile.

In that instant, an unprecedented feeling of longing flooded Shen Zheyan's mind. Then, after that wave of longing passed by, she began eagerly awaiting the day she reunited with the cheeky little girl. She had a hunch that this day wasn't very far off.

Sure enough, Shen Zheyan's hunch was on the mark.

…

After traveling down memory lane, Shen Zheyan arrived at the place where she first reunited with Jun Zishu—Jinling City.

Jinling City was still as lively as always. In the visible parts of the city, joy and prosperity could be seen all around like usual. In the hidden parts of the city, people were also struggling to survive like usual.

As Shen Zheyan walked through Jinling City's red-light district in her usual white robe, she heard a soft voice calling out to her, "You look beautiful, Miss Warrior. Are you interested in experiencing a wonderful spring with me?"

The person speaking was a girl in a red dress. The girl leaned against the railing of a brothel's first-floor balcony as she looked down at Shen Zheyan, her face half-hidden by the round fan she held.

"How is one spring enough? How about a lifetime?"

"Good idea."

Jun Zishu nodded. Then, she passed her fan to the person beside her and jumped off the balcony.

Shen Zheyan firmly caught Jun Zishu in her arms and watched as Jun Zishu wrapped her arms around her neck.

"I missed you."

"Me too."

Joy arrived too suddenly, so these were the only words Shen Zheyan could think of saying.

By the time Shen Zheyan recovered from her joy, she had already arrived at an inn with Jun Zishu, the girl looking up at her with an ambiguous smile.

"Don't you think you're forgetting to tell me about something?" Shen Zheyan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hm? What is it?" Jun Zishu's eyes wandered about as she put on a pondering expression.

"You little liar. A flower thief, huh?"

Shen Zheyan pinched the bridge of Jun Zishu's nose. There was no way she'd let the little vixen off the hook so easily. She was going to squeeze the truth out of Jun Zishu one way or another today.

Meanwhile, at the mention of the words "flower thief," Shen Zheyan couldn't help but find the situation both infuriating and funny. Back then, she had really thought that Jun Zishu had gone down this path. Yet, it turned out that Jun Zishu didn't actually become a flower thief. Instead, she had gone down an even naughtier path.

However, that wasn't the crucial point. The key point was that Jun Zishu had constantly been thinking of visiting brothels despite not being a flower thief.

"Cough, cough, cough... I can explain this..."

"Mhm."

Shen Zheyan kept her eyes on Jun Zishu, waiting for the girl's explanation.

"I had deliberately come to Jinling City to wait for you. Initially, I wanted to use another identity to catch your attention, such as hiring someone to be a damsel in distress in front of you. Then, when you move in to save the other person, I would move in to join you. However, you arrived much sooner than I anticipated, and I didn't have any time to find the necessary actor.

"So, my only other options at the time were to either force a reunion with you or come up with another plan. But if I forced a reunion, it'd look too coincidental, and I'd have to come up with a bunch of stories to make the coincidence sound convincing. It was too much of a hassle, so I went with the latter option. As it so happens, the Demon Cult owns a brothel in your path, so I decided to go there. What happened next was basically what you saw."

In reality, what Jun Zishu just said was also a lie. Her goal was to seduce Shen Zheyan, so she had chosen to pretend to be a flower thief from the very onset. Her decision to set their reunification venue outside a brothel was also deliberate. That way, she could take advantage of the ambiguous atmosphere surrounding the red light district and have her way with Shen Zheyan in a righteous manner.

"Continue."

Shen Zheyan rapped her finger against the table as she listened to Jun Zishu retell her plan to trick her.

"Actually, my goal from the very beginning wasn't to steal that swordsmanship of yours," Jun Zishu explained.

In response, Shen Zheyan nodded and asked, "What was your goal, then?"

"Your heart, of course," Jun Zishu said in a righteous manner, her behavior causing fireworks to go off in Shen Zheyan's heart.

In the end, the little vixen still succeeded in breaking into the mighty warrior's heart, causing the mighty warrior to inextricably fall for her.

"How did you get into the Demon Cult?"

Shen Zheyan was very curious about this question. She also wanted to know what kinds of hardship Jun Zishu had experienced in the Demon Cult.

"I got knocked unconscious and taken away."

Jun Zishu roughly explained the process of kidnapping, and Shen Zheyan frowned throughout the entire explanation. After all, the Demon Cult's actions were truly cruel and excessive. It also thoroughly showed how cruel and inhumane the Demon Cult was.

"I didn't suffer much, honestly. Only the trial at the very beginning hurt like hell. The girls that were taken with me all failed to endure the pain and died," Jun Zishu said as she recalled the Red Spring's trial. At this point, her memory of that trial had already grown vague, and the only thing she remembered was the excruciating pain.

Meanwhile, Shen Zheyan couldn't help but grow afraid when she listened to Jun Zishu's story. Had Jun Zishu failed to endure through the trial, there might not be a little liar in front of her now.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not some fragile porcelain doll. By the way, Big Sister Zheyan, don't you have something to say to me?" Jun Zishu asked as she placed a finger under her lips and looked at Shen Zheyan expectantly.

Shen Zheyan's brain became stuck for a moment. However, when she saw Jun Zishu's expectant gaze, realization immediately dawned upon her. Then, with a gentle smile on her face, she said, "I love you." [1]

Jun Zishu smiled when she heard these words. Then, she threw herself into Shen Zheyan's embrace and said, "It is very dangerous to like someone from the Demon Cult, Mighty Warrior Shen. I will kill you if you dare betray me."

Jun Zishu glared at Shen Zheyan, looking to be super ferocious.

However, Shen Zheyan simply smiled and stroked Jun Zishu's hair as she nodded.

"What if you betray me, then?"

"Impossible. How can I betray you? I like you the most," Jun Zishu said before kissing Shen Zheyan's lips.

"You little liar."

Shen Zheyan touched foreheads with Jun Zishu before she held Jun Zishu's lips with her own.

In the past, Shen Zheyan felt both love and hate for Jun Zishu's lips. Now, though, there was only love in her heart.

The happiest thing that could happen in this world was to have the person one liked reciprocate one's feelings.

Jun Zishu had completed her mission with perfection. However, she still needed to remain in this world as Shen Zheyan's lifelong companion.

The body Jun Zishu inhabited belonged to someone who should've long since been dead. As soon as she left, this body would die immediately, and the consequences of that happening would be severe.

At that time, rather than helping Shen Zheyan, Jun Zishu would be ruining Shen Zheyan's life instead.

Although Jun Zishu prioritized her missions above all else, the kindness she showed to her mission targets was also sincere.

Subsequently, clothes fell, and a night of passion ensued.

…

A few days later, Jun Zishu traveled south together with Shen Zheyan, intending to pay the Heavenly Spirit Sect a visit.

"What are the members of your sect like, Big Sister Zheyan? Do they detest the Demon Cult? What do they like? What if I don't get along with them?" Shen Zheyan nervously asked a bunch of questions, causing Shen Zheyan to chuckle.

"Don't worry. My master, senior brothers, and senior sisters have carefree personalities. There aren't many people in our sect. Including myself, there are only seven disciples. They will like whoever I like. They won't interfere in my matters, either. As for the Demon Cult…I can't really say. We won't be staying in the sect for long, anyway. I will just take you away if they don't like you," Shen Zheyan calmly said.

"Mhm, mhm."

Facts later proved that Shen Zheyan was right. Everyone in the Heavenly Spirit Sect had a carefree personality. Although they were a little shocked when they first found out about Jun Zishu's identity, they quickly accepted it.

The atmosphere in the sect was excellent, and everyone was happy.

However, Shen Zheyan didn't remain in the sect for long before resuming her travels with Jun Zishu.

After visiting Shen Zheyan's sect, Jun Zishu naturally had to take Shen Zheyan to the Demon Cult for a visit as well.

The Demon Cult's main headquarters was located in an incredibly secretive location. There were also plenty of camouflages set up to mislead people. So, outsiders would have an incredibly difficult time reaching the headquarters.

There were a few reasons why the righteous faction had never launched a full-blown war against the Demon Cult. Apart from being equally strong, another reason for this was because the righteous faction had never managed to locate the Demon Cult's main headquarters.

Hence, when Qian Xing saw Shen Zheyan appearing in the cult's headquarters, he couldn't help but be surprised.

"How could you bring her back? What if she has ill intentions?" Qian Xing said without sugarcoating his words. He didn't even care that Shen Zheyan was present.

"She won't. I'll take her to my courtyard, and we'll leave tomorrow. I might not return often in the future, so call me if something important comes up," Jun Zishu said.

Shen Zheyan still remembered Qian Xing. Although Qian Xing had matured a lot, she still vividly remembered that he was the youth who had hugged Jun Zishu back then.

Qian Xing did not like Shen Zheyan's presence, so he never showed a hospitable expression from start to end.

Shen Zheyan didn't care about Qian Xing's thoughts, either. She wasn't here to see the Demon Cult's cult leader, anyway. She was only here to see what kind of place Jun Zishu had lived in before they reunited. The fact that Jun Zishu was willing to bring her here was also a show of trust.

Jun Zishu's living quarters were much better than Shen Zheyan expected. It was spacious and beautiful, fitting of a Saintess.

Meanwhile, like Jun Zishu promised, she bade goodbye to Qian Xing the next day and continued traveling around the world of martial artists with Shen Zheyan.

The next time Jun Zishu returned to the Demon Cult was on Qian Xing's wedding day. The bride was a prideful woman with a sharp tongue. She was capable of spitting harsh criticisms with a calm face. She was practically a perfect match for Qian Xing.

Ying Rushi had also gotten together with his masked companion, the two of them passing their days comfortably playing cat and mouse.

As for Ying Rushi, she remained in Hangzhou City, working as a doctor and never leaving the city.

Afterward, when Jun Zishu and Shen Zheyan grew tired of traveling, they decided to settle down in Hangzhou City as well and live the rest of their days in peace. Like so, a lifetime went by in the blink of an eye.

"Do you know of Shen Zheyan? I'm talking about Heavenly Spirit's One Sword, Shen Zheyan. She only needs one strike to kill her enemies. Amazing, right?"

"Hah? Shen Zheyan? I'm much greater than her! Do you know who I am? I'm her sweetheart!"

[End of Dungeon]

———

TL Notes:

[1]I love you: This part is basically a summary of the raws. In the raws, the author references a small segment of a poem to express Shen Zheyan's love for Jun Zishu and talks about how the word "love" doesn't exist in this ancient era.

I'm not saying that it's impossible to translate the poem segment, but I don't have that kind of ability, sorry, so you'll have to settle for a simple "I love you." :x