In The Cultivation World, Are There Only Demonesses Left?

Chapter 2: The Sensible Fairy

Lu Changyuan’s home was in the village at the foot of the mountain.

He was actually quite well-liked in the nearby towns and villages.

Many farmers’ daughters wanted to win him over.

This was because, ever since the old physician who had adopted him passed away five or six years ago, Lu Changyuan had become the only young physician within a radius of ten miles.

Whenever villagers suffered from headaches, fevers, or other small ailments, they would come to the village entrance to have Lu Changyuan take their pulse.

After he finished checking the pulse and prescribing a decoction, most of the village’s illnesses would be cured.

So the villagers, and even the big yellow dog in the village, held Lu Changyuan in high regard.

After the rain, the sky looked especially bright, with a clear white streak drawn across it.

Lu Changyuan opened the door to his house, placed Qiu Yuehan onto his bed, then sat by the window and poured himself a cup of tea.

A faint female voice rose from the bed: “I need to send a message to my sect to come and take me back. By then, you just need to return with me.”

Lu Changyuan turned his head and saw a pair of delicate, white-and-rosy feet.

On her exquisite ankle was a jade-green bracelet, making her feet appear even more dainty and refined.

Tracing his gaze upward along her well-proportioned legs, what followed was a graceful figure and a flawless face.

Earlier, the night had been too dark, and while carrying Qiu Yuehan back, he had been lost in thought.

Lu Changyuan had not really taken a good look at this true disciple of the Immortal Palace, a woman second only to the sect master yet above ten thousand others.

Her skin was tender and fair, her plain garments light and gauzy, with a red floral mark between her brows.

Her aura was ethereal, like pure snow atop a mountain peak.

But now, this snow was frail—her pale face lacking any healthy flush, loose strands of hair falling across her cheek, giving her a pitiful air.

“At that time, I will say it was you who saved me. The Jade Palace will acknowledge your favor. Even if your aptitude is terribly poor, you can still become an outer disciple, rather than a menial servant.”

Qiu Yuehan’s voice was as melodious as a spring: “I am very grateful you saved me. So, once back at the Palace, you may seek me out if anything happens.”

Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes.

He thought to himself.

It had only been two short hours, yet she had already calmed down, accepted the reality of being captured by a mere mortal, and quickly found her proper stance.

She did not even mention the demon mark on her body anymore.

Truly worthy of being a true disciple of a great sect.

How boring.

Lu Changyuan had expected there would be the entertaining scene of a fairy swearing to resist to the death, ending in humiliation and tears.

Fairies this sensible were rare.

For her to die like this would be quite a pity.

So Lu Changyuan said: “Go ahead and send your message. I will decoct medicine for you. While it won’t completely heal your wounds, it can at least regulate your blood and qi somewhat.”

Qiu Yuehan did not utter a word, her eyes lowered.

Only after Lu Changyuan closed the door behind him did she finally let out a breath.

The man before her seemed to have little interest in her body, his mind occupied entirely with cultivation… That was indeed a relief.

But perhaps there were many such people.

In this world, for the sake of cultivation, it was normal to have no interest in women, or to cultivate in a way that drew interest toward men, or even toward beings not human at all.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but touch the demon mark on her shoulder, gritting her teeth as a chill slowly spread from her shoulder toward her heart.

Her shattered heart meridians were actually beginning to mend!?

Strange.

This was clearly supposed to be a fatal demon mark.

This made Qiu Yuehan, who had been preparing to attempt to break through the mark, hesitate for a moment.

“Forget it. So be it.”

The fairy softly murmured, her tightly knitted brows relaxing slightly as she leaned against the bed and gently closed her eyes.

After all, even if Lu Changyuan harbored ill intentions toward her right now—such as reaching out to twist her slender neck—she seemed to have no ability to resist.

Amid the crackling of the fire, Lu Changyuan sat upon the woodpile.

Exhaling slowly with the aid of the firelight, he set down the palm fan.

He slowly turned his head.

The blue sky suddenly rippled.

Accompanied by a crisp whistling of the wind, two streaks of light swiftly shot away from his home, tearing through the clouds and soaring straight toward the horizon.

They almost overshadowed the brilliance of that white streak in the sky.

This must have been Qiu Yuehan’s method of contacting the Jade Palace.

“Continue, tell me—what’s the story with Xia Lianxue?”  

The firelight reflected in Lu Changyuan’s eyes, soon projecting blood-red characters.

【The Jade Palace has two true disciples, one is Qiu Yuehan, the other is Xia Lianxue. But Xia Lianxue has never once defeated Qiu Yuehan】  

Lu Changyuan paused for a moment but was not particularly surprised.

“So it really is the cultivation world I know.”  

Right on point.

The cultivation world was precisely such a vile place.

There could only be one young palace master, so in the end, only one person would smile.

More words appeared in his vision.

【Xia Lianxue, out of jealousy toward her senior sister Qiu Yuehan, has already been tainted by a Desire Demon】  

Interesting.

He had not expected to encounter such a thing again so soon.

In Immortal Path of Severed Emotions, there was a terrifying setting: taint of the Desire Demon.

Cultivators—whether righteous or demonic—if their state of mind was flawed and they sank into desire, they would be tainted by the Desire Demon, turning into neither human nor ghost, ultimately dying miserably in calamity.

Thus, the righteous path cultivated methods of extinguishing desire, while the demonic path cultivated methods of releasing desire—all as ways to resist “desire.”  

Clearly, Qiu Yuehan’s junior sister had failed to resist her own desire.

Lu Changyuan rubbed his eyes, and the words quickly dissipated.

Even now, he had not figured out what those characters were, nor what triggered them.

It was as if a strange-tempered cat lived inside his eyes, occasionally jumping out to meow when it wanted to remind him of something.

Well, that worked too.

A wisp of spiritual energy slowly drifted into Lu Changyuan’s body, only to be expelled with the next breath.

This body still did not possess the conditions for cultivation, and was even worse than his previous one.

“Talent, ah, talent—this really is something to reminisce about.”

Lu Changyuan smiled helplessly.

He hadn’t expected that he would once again face a hell-difficulty beginning.

Back when he was Daoist Chang’an, Lu Changyuan had chosen the most difficult path, shaping his own spiritual roots into something utterly mediocre.

So, it wasn’t until the age of fifty that Daoist Chang’an barely managed to step onto the path of cultivation.

Of course, the bloodbath he unleashed upon the cultivation world after turning fifty didn’t count.

That first time, he cultivated the ruthless killing path, ignorant and reckless, doing it just for fun.

Suddenly, shouting came from outside the house.

“Doctor! Is Doctor Lu at home?”

The voice sounded rather tender, as though it belonged to a young girl.

Lu Changyuan seemed to have known she would come.

He took a small cloth bundle from a cabinet not far away, then walked outside.

At the door stood a thin, frail little girl.

Dark and skinny, she looked more like a boy.

Because of last night’s heavy rain, even though the sun had come out this morning, the muddy ground had not yet dried.

The girl’s shoes were still caked with wet earth.

She was panting hard, clearly having rushed over: “Doctor Lu, you said I should come this morning to fetch the medicine you prepared.”

The girl was called Ku Niu.

Her father, a hunter, had been devoured by a tiger a few years ago while hunting in the mountains.

Since then, Ku Niu had been left to live with her gravely ill mother.

Lu Changyuan handed her the cloth bundle in his hand: “Boil and drink it as usual.”

Ku Niu nodded vigorously, then rubbed her hands hard against her own clothes before respectfully receiving the bundle: “Thank you, Doctor Lu. In a few days I’ll bring you some eggs.”

Mountain folk had little money, so they still relied on bartering.

Lu Changyuan only waved his hand with a smile: “Enough, go on back. Best not to go out these next few days—things may not be peaceful.”

Ku Niu blinked in surprise: “Doctor, is something going to happen?”

“Yesterday on the mountain, I heard a tiger’s roar. I fear a tiger may descend to prey on people. Best stay inside these days.”

Hearing him say so, Ku Niu nodded firmly: “I’ll make sure to tell the villagers as well.”

She carefully wrapped the cloth bundle inside her clothes and ran off toward her home.

She had already planned it all out.

Run home, brew the medicine for her mother first, then prepare lunch, and after that hurry over to her family’s plot of land.

As long as she moved fast enough, today’s farm work shouldn’t take too long.

She should be able to return before sunset.

Bang.

With her right hand holding tightly to her bulging clothes, Ku Niu reached with her left hand to rub her forehead.

She had bumped into someone.

“Sorry.”

She had been taught manners since young, and her apology came out instinctively.

“No harm done.”

The voice that replied was cold.

Though it was midsummer, it made Ku Niu shiver.

She raised her head along the shadow cast by the figure.

It was two black-robed men, both deathly pale.

Ku Niu stepped back in fright and fell onto the ground, yet her right hand still clutched the medicine bundle tightly.

She asked timidly, “M-may I ask… who are you?”

To her surprise, the two gaunt men in black actually smiled at her.

One of them reached out to help her up, speaking in a hoarse voice: “Don’t be afraid of us. We’re just traveling peddlers passing through the village.”

That was clearly a lie.

What kind of peddler didn’t carry a load?

Ku Niu didn’t believe it, but she still nodded obediently, only praying that these two weren’t here to steal her medicine.

“Little girl, have you seen any strangers enter the village today?”

The village was small.

A stranger would be spotted at a glance.

Ku Niu shook her head: “N-no… I haven’t.”

As though afraid they wouldn’t believe her, she added again: “I truly haven’t seen anyone.”

At dawn, Lu Changyuan had hidden Qiu Yuehan inside his house.

Other than the big yellow dog in the village, truly no one had seen Qiu Yuehan.

Thus, the black-robed men nodded: “Then go on with your business.”

They stepped aside.

Ku Niu hesitated for a moment, then scrambled to her feet and ran off at full speed.

She thought to herself.

Doctor Lu was indeed right.

Ku Niu grew smaller and smaller under the sun until she finally vanished among the scattered village houses.

A long while later—

One of the black-robed men spoke: “Who would have thought, in such a poor mountain village, we’d come across one with the Fate of Bitter Blood.”

“When our task is done, take her back. The young master will surely be delighted.”

“I’ve already left a mark on her.”

A raspy laugh slowly drifted out.

“First, let’s kill that Jade Palace’s True Disciple. Tsk. These so-called righteous fairies of the Nine Heavens… in the end, they’re all just venomous snakes and scorpions.”

“They’ve always been like that. What’s there to be surprised about?”

The two slowly disappeared into the shadows of the houses, their figures fading from sight.