Xue Mingzhao quietly looked at Su Ye and began to communicate with her eyes.
She pouted her lips toward Nan Mingzi's back and then subtly pointed to the south.
Her meaning was: I just used the 'Nan' in Master's name to drop you a hint. How could you still blurt out Dongcang Heavenly Capital?
Su Ye's pupils shrank.
Junior Sister's meaning is... she wants me to trick Master into going south first, and then find an isolated place to finish him off?
Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Xue Mingzhao extended two fingers and made a kneeling and bowing motion on the deck.
Her meaning was: Once we arrive, where are we going to find a grave to pay respects to?
Su Ye gasped, his face turning pale.
Before finishing him off, we have to make Master kneel?
Even killing someone shouldn't involve such humiliation.
Why does Junior Sister have to humiliate him like this?
Seeing that he still had no reaction, Xue Mingzhao anxiously used her spiritual energy to condense a stream of water, drawing a grave on the deck.
Her meaning couldn't be any clearer: When the time comes, we'll just find a random spot to dig a fake grave and fool him!
Su Ye stared at the drawing of the grave mound, his entire face twisting.
She's even planned out where Master will be buried!
Junior Sister is simply too ruthless!
Xue Mingzhao cast an inquiring look at him: Do you understand?
Su Ye shook his head with great difficulty.
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
Xue Mingzhao grew anxious and kicked him.
It's just digging a fake grave. What's there to hesitate about?
Su Ye's face contorted in pain from the kick.
Junior Sister is forcing him to take a stand!
After agonizing for a long time, he looked up and saw Xue Mingzhao's urging gaze. Finally, he closed his eyes and nodded heavily.
He would agree for now.
Once they reached Nanli City, he would find a way to stop his junior sister.
Seeing him agree, Xue Mingzhao finally felt relieved.
Making up a grave for a living person was indeed a bit of a jinx.
Since Senior Brother's parents were still alive and well, it was only natural for him to feel uncomfortable.
The two of them happily concluded this silent exchange.
The spirit boat traveled for an hour.
Standing at the bow, Nan Mingzi suddenly spoke.
“Yue'er, Yi'er.”
Both of them looked up at the same time.
“Master?”
Nan Mingzi stood at the bow, looking out at the churning sea of clouds in the distance.
“A teacher for a day, a father for a lifetime.”
“No matter how much hardship you suffered in the past, your master cannot erase it for you.”
“But from now on, no matter what happens, you can always tell me.”
“I will never let you live those days of being abandoned, unloved, and uncared for again.”
He turned around and looked at them with a smile.
“The Heavenly Origin Sect will be your home from now on.”
“And I, along with your senior brothers and sisters, will be your family.”
Nan Mingzi took out two storage bags and placed them into their hands.
“There are ten thousand spirit stones in each of these.”
“Once we arrive in Nanli City, buy plenty of offerings.”
“Let your mother know that you two siblings now have a master who cares for you and fellow disciples who protect you. You won't suffer anymore in the future.”
Xue Mingzhao held the storage bag, remaining silent for a long while.
She gave Nan Mingzi a deep look and quickly turned her head away.
“Okay.”
Her voice was very soft.
Su Ye, on the other hand, lowered his head and held the bag of spirit stones, feeling like he was about to shatter.
Master not only was personally escorting them back to their hometown, but he was even giving them spirit stones to pay respects to their parents.
Yet, they were standing right behind him, plotting how to make him kneel, dig a hole, and bury him.
We are absolute beasts!
The more Su Ye thought about it, the more agonized he became.
No.
I absolutely cannot let Junior Sister lay a hand on Master.
If all else fails, I'll just drug Nan Mingzi once we reach Nanli City.
And slip away while he's asleep.
In any case, murdering Master and burying his corpse is something I won't do even if it kills me!
As for Xue Mingzhao—
She from beginning to end, only wanted to find a place to dig a fake grave.
...
Nanli City.
As soon as the spirit boat landed, Xue Mingzhao used the excuse of being “exhausted from the long journey, so we will pay our respects tomorrow” to coax and persuade Nan Mingzi into an inn.
Su Ye remained silent the entire way since entering the city.
Nan Mingzi assumed he was feeling down after returning to his hometown and being touched by the familiar surroundings.
Before entering his room, he made a special point to pat Su Ye on the shoulder.
“If you want to cry, just cry. There's no need to hold it in.”
Su Ye's eyes turned red on the spot.
He wasn't missing his mother.
He was feeling sad for his master, who was about to be buried.
Hour of the Snake.
Xue Mingzhao stood outside Su Ye's door, knocking for a long time without receiving a response.
“Senior Brother?”
It was completely quiet inside.
She knocked a few more times.
“If you don't come out, I'm going by myself.”
The moment she finished speaking, the door slid open silently.
Su Ye stood behind the door, his face pale. “Junior Sister, I... I was lost in thought just now and didn't hear you.”
Busy with the plan to dig a fake grave, Xue Mingzhao didn't pay attention to his awful complexion. She grabbed his sleeve.
“Stop thinking and let's go.”
“While Master is still resting, let's get this over with quickly.”
Su Ye's steps faltered.
Get this over with quickly...
Is Junior Sister already in such a hurry?
The two of them quietly left the inn, boarded the Azure Ripple Leaf, and flew out of Nanli City.
To avoid detection, they deliberately made several loops before finally finding an abandoned, desolate graveyard a hundred li away.
Looking around, there were grave mounds of all sizes scattered everywhere.
The tombstones were tilted and askew, and scraps of joss paper hung from withered branches, rustling softly in the wind.
Just as the Azure Ripple Leaf landed, a thin layer of frost suddenly condensed on Xue Mingzhao's fingertips.
The Cold-Awakening Dew was warning her.
Her expression faltered slightly, and she immediately released her divine sense to scan the surroundings thoroughly.
There were no living creatures.
No spiritual energy fluctuations.
Xue Mingzhao quickly relaxed.
It was perfectly normal for a graveyard to have some yin energy.
If a place filled with graves was overflowing with yang energy, that would be the real reason to run.
She walked around the graveyard a few times and soon took a liking to an empty plot of land.
“Senior Brother, look here.”
“It's surrounded by graves, with only this large empty space in the middle. Let's dig right here!”
Su Ye stared at the empty plot and spoke with great difficulty:
“Junior Sister, this grave... must we dig it?”
“Of course.”
Xue Mingzhao answered resolutely.
“If we don't dig a grave, what are we going to show Master tomorrow when we pay our respects?”
Su Ye's heart sank.
As expected, it really is prepared for Master.
He still held onto a final sliver of hope.
“Maybe there's another way.”
“No.”
Xue Mingzhao took a shovel out of her storage bag and shoved it into his hand.
“Let's do it here.”
“You start digging first, Senior Brother. I'll go look around for a suitable stone to use as a tombstone.”
Su Ye held the shovel, feeling completely broken.
Junior Sister is absolutely determined to lay Master to rest!
Xue Mingzhao searched around and actually found a green stone of a suitable size.
By the time she dragged the green stone back, Su Ye was still standing in the same spot.
He held the shovel with both hands, scraping the ground half-heartedly.
The movement was so light it didn't look like he was digging a grave at all.
It looked more like he was giving the ground a light scratch.
Xue Mingzhao stood behind him and watched for a while, finally unable to resist speaking up.
“Senior Brother.”
Su Ye stiffened all over and slowly turned around.
“What is it?”
“Why haven't you started digging yet?”
Su Ye looked down.
He had dragged his feet for a whole incense stick's time, yet the ground's surface wasn't even broken, leaving only a few faint white marks that were barely visible.
“I... I am digging,” he said, his tone lacking confidence.
Xue Mingzhao sighed.
Making Senior Brother dig a grave for his living parents was indeed a bit unlucky.
It seemed he just couldn't overcome this psychological barrier.
“Forget it, I'll do it.”
Xue Mingzhao took the shovel and swung it down.
Clang!
A crisp metallic ring echoed.
The shovel bounced high from the recoil, leaving Xue Mingzhao's hand completely numb.
The ground remained completely unscathed.
She froze for a moment, then struck several times in quick succession.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Not even a speck of dirt fell from the ground.
“What did the soil in Nanli City eat to grow this hard?”
Su Ye immediately tried to persuade her: “Junior Sister, perhaps it's heaven's will that we don't dig.”
“What heaven's will? I only believe in strength.”
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