CHAPTER 380
The Trial
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In an inconspicuous cave within the Eastern Realm.
The genuine Su Cheng had just finished bandaging his wounds when he sensed an uninvited guest approaching.
With this glass spear in hand, everything within a twenty-mile radius lay under his suppression.
What he didn't know was that the locator anchor, true to its name, had placed his position under Xiao Ai's control the moment it was pulled out.
Originally designed as anchor points to mark spatial coordinates, they were merely augmented with spatial suppression techniques.
Even so, this power remained overwhelmingly formidable for ordinary cultivators of the Netherworld.
The uninvited guest was detected the instant he set foot on his territory. Yet he held his fire, choosing instead to observe what this intruder intended.
After all, he had already lost, fleeing in utter disarray.
Truth be told, he never imagined that Su Cheng would be so outrageous…
Had it not been for the positioning anchor point, he would likely have perished under that single strike.
That strike from the man called Danxue? Frankly, he hadn't even seen it coming. It was only thanks to the positioning anchor predicting the strike that he'd barely dodged the fatal blow and seized the chance to flee.
"You're that impostor's man. Did you come to kill me?"
It wasn't that Su Cheng had suddenly developed a conscience. He was severely injured, his meridians sealed by immortal arts. If he caused a scene now, he'd likely kill himself before anyone else could act.
"My name is Chu Youwei. I'm here to help you."
Su Cheng froze. What did that mean? A counter-espionage ploy? A beauty trap?
A spy within a spy?
Was that even necessary? While he did intend to seek revenge, shouldn't he at least recover from his injuries first?
Hearing this, Su Cheng realized she was well-prepared. As an underling of that impostor, she likely had a plan. If he dragged this out, he'd probably be the one at a disadvantage!
"Oh, so you're here to help…"
His words trailed off mid-sentence as the man vanished. Though he couldn't win a fight, with the positioning anchor's boost, escape was still possible.
Left behind was Chu Youwei, her face etched with helplessness as she stood alone, disheveled in the wind.
Truth be told, she'd even imagined her master fighting to the death, but she never expected him to run away…
Glancing at the Lingxian Hall jade pendant hanging at her waist, she found it somewhat laughable. Still, she decided to keep it for now—it might come in handy if she ever returned to settle the score.
No choice. She had to keep searching. Fortunately, the Jade Pendant could still summon the fake's magical artifact. Finding a living person wouldn't be too difficult.
Su Cheng's trusty tracking compass would do the trick.
When she found her master again, he had shifted to a new secluded paradise and was asleep. Chu Youwei didn't disturb his rest, choosing instead to sit by his "bed" and wait.
"Holy shit! What are you doing here?"
But it wasn't long before the master awoke.
"Master, please don't rush off. I'll explain everything slowly."
Unlike that imposter's grasp of concepts, it took Chu Youwei quite a while to clarify the current situation.
"So you're saying that imposter's disciple killed me, then killed you?"
"Yes, that's correct. Though I don't know why I came back to life and returned to before I became your disciple, I'm truly happy to have met you again, Master."
Whether it was because she'd already been through this once or something else, Chu Youwei wasn't actually that happy.
In her master's eyes, she was still invisible, always guarded.
To say Chu Youwei wasn't hurt would be a lie.
But she understood his reaction too.
To the Master before her, her words still needed verification. After all, such a story was far too fantastical.
Even if he believed her, he couldn't truly empathize—after all, it was merely a story.
Even Chu Youwei gradually came to realize this wasn't a do-over, but a new life altogether.
But even so, what good would empathy do? What was false remained false.
Yet before her true master, all that past seemed as illusory as ever. Even if she talked herself hoarse, in her master's eyes it remained nothing more than a story.
Youwei loved her master, but her master was dead.
"Will you help me kill that imposter?"
The man had asked thus, and Chu Youwei nodded without a moment's hesitation.
To ease her master's burdens was the very meaning of Youwei's existence.
Awake, I see only falsehood, yet falsehood holds no emptiness.
Only in drunkenness did she grasp truth, yet truth became emptiness.
Everything from the past seemed like a grand dream—a blade wrapped in honey, sweet yet piercing the heart with agony.
The master who only appeared in dreams had been found, and he treated her well—yet he was a counterfeit.
Finally, she found the real one. Yet even before he spoke, Chu Youwei understood this man's intentions.
He merely wanted her and Su Cheng to tear each other apart like dogs, indifferent to whose life was lost.
To say it didn't hurt would be a lie. She heard no more of the man's words, only gazed at the face that haunted her dreams.
After gazing for a long time, the man's face bore that signature smile, one that seemed capable of melting anyone.
But now, it seemed filled only with contempt and indifference.
"Master, is this some sort of test?"
Chu Youwei rarely wiped away tears, and she wouldn't now either. Truthfully, all her emotions had been vented the moment she saw the imposter.
"Yes."
It hurt.
Chu Youwei couldn't understand why this path had to be so difficult.
Just two words, yet they felt like a thousand arrows piercing her heart.
"Master, there's no need for you to do this. I have a more convenient way."
"You have a way to kill that imposter?"
Chu Youwei smiled faintly, slipping the dagger—still lodged in the imposter's waist—into the hands of the man before her.
Cradling his hand, which clutched the blade tightly, she pressed it against her own throat.
"What do you mean?"
Tears slid down her cheeks, but this time there was no emotion—only hurt.
If he could, he too wished to meet his true master—then he wouldn't have to endure suspicion of his motives.
But at this moment, Chu Youwei had no other choice. She was already crying from the pain.
"Youwei doesn't want to prove her heart in such a shameful way."
Hearing this, Su Cheng chuckled awkwardly and shoved the dagger back into Chu Youwei's hand.
"Ha! What's this for? How could your master not trust you? Why go to such lengths?"
"But you just said this was a test."
Often, words weren't needed to wound someone—a single glance could suffice.
Having spent a thousand years with her master, Chu Youwei could see through such a thing.
A girl who had died once—did she fear death?
Clearly not. Yet there was something she feared.
That was the fear of never finding home.
The person closest to her stood right before her eyes, yet Chu Youwei truly didn't know how to prove her heart to them. If she could, she would gladly rip her heart out and show it to her master.
She understood perfectly well, yet where did this sense of injustice stem from?
If it was resentment, shouldn't it stem from feeling she didn't deserve such treatment?
But her master hadn't done anything wrong. Who could possibly open their heart to an enemy's disciple?
Yet despite understanding this, when she met Su Cheng's gaze, the sense of injustice welled up again, and her tears flowed uncontrollably.
A test…
This alone was sickening enough for Chu Youwei.
"Master, please rest first. Youwei will come find you later."
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