No demons in all realms

Chapter 25 An Extraordinary Identity

The twilight was heavy and gray on the broken bridge.

The river flowed gurglingly, and the robber lay motionless on the bank like a dead dog.

Su Yang stood there leaning on his bamboo cane, his chest heaving violently, his whole body trembling. It wasn't fear, but rather the overwhelming surge of righteous energy that his body couldn't withstand.

He felt his hands trembling violently.

It wasn't because he was nervous, but because the force of his righteous energy was too overwhelming, like a scarlet beast just released from its cage, rampaging through his body. He had to use a lot of effort to suppress it.

Ye Qing ran up from behind and grabbed his arm.

"Little blind boy! Are you alright?"

Su Yang shook his head and didn't say anything.

He can't speak now, but the moment he opens his mouth, a surge of righteous indignation bursts forth.

Ye Qing looked him up and down and saw several tears in his clothes, with blood seeping out and staining the cloth red.

"You're injured!" Ye Qing's voice was urgent. "Didn't you dodge them all just now? How did you still get hurt?"

"Blade Wind." Su Yang managed to squeeze out two words from the corner of his mouth.

The wind from the blade is so sharp that even if it misses, the wind alone can cut through the flesh.

Without saying a word, Ye Qing tore off a few strips of cloth from her own clothes, squatted down, and bandaged Su Yang. Her hands trembled a little, but her movements were very gentle. She was careful when wrapping the cloth, afraid of hurting him.

Su Yang stood there, letting her bandage him.

"Those words you just said," Ye Qing said, her head bowed as she wrapped her hands in cloth, her voice muffled, "gives me goosebumps all over."

"Um?"

"It's just... I can't quite put my finger on it." Ye Qing looked up at him. "Every word you say feels incredibly heavy, like a huge rock hitting the ground, making me feel uneasy."

Su Yang paused for a moment, then said, "That is righteous spirit."

"Righteous spirit?" Ye Qing blinked. "Is that what they call cultivating one's righteous spirit, as described in books?"

"You even know that?"

"I told you I've been secretly reading a lot of books." Ye Qing tied the strip of cloth, stood up, and clapped her hands. "But I always thought it was a lie. I didn't expect it to actually exist."

Su Yang did not explain.

He himself stumbled upon the basics by accident, and still doesn't fully understand what righteousness is all about.

Ye Qing suddenly fell silent.

She stood in front of Su Yang, looking at him for a long time as he was covered in blood and his face was weathered.

"Little blind man."

"Um."

Why didn't you move aside?

Su Yang shook his head, indicating that he did not understand.

"Why didn't you leave when that robber told you to get lost?" Ye Qing's voice was soft. "You're blind and penniless. He never intended to do anything to you. If you had left, none of this would have happened."

Su Yang thought about it.

"I can't leave."

Why?

"Because you're here."

Ye Qing opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"I told you," Su Yang said calmly, leaning on his bamboo cane and facing the river. "Following me might be dangerous; I can't protect you."

"But what you just did..."

"I was just lucky," Su Yang interrupted her. "That robber was about the same level as me, so I could handle him. If someone stronger than me had come, I'd be lying on the ground by now."

Ye Qing looked at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something but didn't.

Su Yang didn't notice her expression. He used his bamboo cane to probe the way and took two steps toward the river.

"Let's rest here tonight. We'll find a way to cross the river tomorrow."

He found a flat rock to sit on, leaned his bamboo cane against his side, and closed his eyes.

Ye Qing sat down next to him, and the two sat side by side, with the rushing river in front of them and a sky full of stars above them.

"Little blind man," Ye Qing suddenly spoke.

"Um."

"Thank you!"

Su Yang was silent for a moment before saying, "No need to thank me, I promised to protect you."

After Su Yang finished speaking, he paused for a moment and then added a sentence.

"But if we really encounter danger, I can't protect you."

"So you'll protect him even if you can't?"

Su Yang thought for a moment and nodded.

"I have to protect him even if I can't." After saying that, he felt like a fool. He was blind, his meridians were all broken, and his cultivation was completely ruined. He had even beaten a Core Formation Realm bandit to a pulp. What was he talking about protecting him?

Ye Qing did not speak.

She stared at Su Yang's profile for a long time.

The moonlight shone on his face and on his bandaged eyes. In fact, Su Yang was very handsome, with fair and delicate features. The only thing that didn't suit him was his blindfold.

When he said that, his expression was still the same, calm and indifferent, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

But as Ye Qing listened, her heart felt like it had been clenched by something.

After a while, Ye Qing took a water bag out of his bundle and handed it to him.

"Have some water."

Su Yang took it, took a sip, and then handed it back.

Ye Qing put away the water pouch and moved closer to Su Yang.

"Little blind man."

"Um."

"You said you used to work at Wanjian Manor."

Su Yang paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Do you know Chen Luoluo, who's quite famous now?"

Su Yang gripped the bamboo cane tightly.

"How could I not know the renowned swordsman of the mortal realm?" He laughed self-deprecatingly.

Ye Qing naturally sensed the disdain and self-deprecation in Su Yang's words and asked, quite puzzled, "Do you have a grudge against him?"

Su Yang had truly become attached to appearances, and reverted to his original indifference: "No!"

Ye Qing complained somewhat unhappily, "Little blind girl, I've noticed you're really good at pretending. You were clearly in pain and unhappy just now, so why did you hide your emotions?"

"I've always been like this; if I can't figure something out, I don't think about it."

"Then tell me what happened?"

Su Yang shook his head. "It's nothing. I just saved the Great Sword Immortal's life. The Great Sword Immortal's fiancé poisoned me, but unfortunately I didn't die."

"Huh?! So you're saying that her fiancé poisoned you back then?" Ye Qing asked incredulously.

"Didn't Chen Luoluo stop her fiancé?"

"I have no idea."

"Outrageous! They will pay the price. Don't you want revenge?"

"No, I've said goodbye to the past. Now I just want to be myself."

"You're so kind, unlike all the hypocritical people I've met. Don't worry, if you protect me this once, I'll help you get revenge."

"No need!" Su Yang waved his hand. "They are all from major cultivation sects. We rogue cultivators can't compete with them, and I don't want to."

"Don't worry, our family is also a family of reclusive cultivators. Not to mention killing one person for you, even destroying an entire sect is no problem."

"Alright, you're keeping it a secret. But your family is a family of cultivators, so why aren't you cultivating?"

"Hehe, because I'm lazy, I haven't practiced cultivation."

"You're really amazing!"