Chapitre 24: Yi Yue
The young girl timidly laughed, adding to the lady cultivator's confusion. "Silly. My grandpa is not a demonic cultivator, he is the Grand Maester."
The lady cultivator forgot her situation and dropped her arms. "Huh?"
"My grandpa is the Grand Maester. You haven't heard of him? I was told he's quite famous... I guess some parts of the world haven't heard of him." Her eyes widened as she realized, "The world is so big and exciting!"
The young girl was lost in her thoughts and excitement, planning what she would do once she was free.
"Wait, your grandfather is the Grand Maester?" the lady cultivator asked, seeking confirmation.
"Yes, he is," the young girl replied.
The lady cultivator jumped off the bed and grabbed the young girl's arms, causing her pain.
"You have to tell him about the Snake Devouring Sect! It would be best if you do it now!" she urged with fierce determination in her eyes.
The young girl was taken aback by the intensity of the lady cultivator's gaze and gripped.
"Please, let go. You're hurting me," the young girl pleaded, trying to free herself from the lady cultivator's grip.
But the lady cultivator's hold was strong and unyielding.
"You must inform him immediately! The Snake Devouring Sect is ruthless, unscrupulous, and atrocious! They must be stopped as soon as possible!" she insisted.
"O-Ouch, please release me!" the young girl cried out as she struggled, feeling the lady cultivator's nails graze her delicate skin.
The lady cultivator stopped and seemed to realize her mistake.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I apologize," the lady cultivator said, stepping back and expressing regret for her actions.
The young girl took a handkerchief from her Hanfu and gently wiped away the tears looming in her eyes.
The lady cultivator, feeling remorse for her earlier actions, asked, "May I?"
Without waiting for a response, she tenderly held the young girl's arms where she had scratched her delicate skin. With a graceful motion, she emitted a golden light from her palm to heal the wound, but the young girl pulled away.
"It's just a scratch, no need to worry," she said, straightening her wrinkled Hanfu. "May I ask your name?" the young girl timidly inquired.
The lady cultivator smiled. "I'm Yu Yuria, a cultivator."
The young girl extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Yi Yue!"
Yu Yuria reached for Yi Yue's hand. "Now that my mind is clear, I can tell you're the one who saved me earlier, so thank you, and I apologize for my earlier behavior."
Yi Yue bashfully smiled and shook her head. "No need to apologize. Please, have a seat."
Even though Yi Yue was not used to having visitors except from time to time visit by her grandpa, she knows how to host a guest properly.
She clumsily put away the device and returned the book and flower pot to its original position on her tea table.
She brewed tea and put some snacks on the table as well.
Yu Yuria was just silent while watching Yi Yue diligently doing what a host should do if there were guests.
After the preparation, Yi Yue sat across from Yu Yuria.
"You're quite blessed and gifted. I heard that most cultivators don't have healing abilities," Yi Yue said.
Yu Yuria frowned slightly.
Yi Yue quickly corrected herself, "I mean, healing techniques. It's sporadic amongst cultivators."
Yu Yuria chuckled and nodded in understanding.
It's uncommon to hear a cultivator described as "gifted" and "blessed" - they are usually referred to as "talented" and "geniuses."
Having lived in Tower City for many years a long way back, she was familiar with the language of ordinary people who were raised in the city.
She had observed that the traditional culture of the ordinary people scattered around the continent was gradually being replaced by the influence of Tower City. The constant introduction of new words by the Tower was slowly but steadily impacting the traditional culture.
"I hope Yi Yue would keep it a secret."
Yi Yue was right. It's uncommon for cultivators to learn healing techniques not because they don't want to, but because the manuals for these techniques are very rare.
Yu Yuria, as a Sect Master, sometimes took on discreet assassination jobs, especially if the target was powerful. Often, her targets would offer a higher price to spare their lives during the execution of the job.
If the target was a demonic cultivator, she would ignore their pleas and complete the job. However, in rare cases where the target was innocent and framed, she would use her healing technique to remove the poison and spare their life.
In some cases, the innocent target would offer her money to spare their life, which she saw as a bonus.
Yu Yuria's heart was filled with sadness as she remembered her destroyed sect and the fleeing disciples and elders.
Yi Yie noticed the sadness on her face, so she moved the snack closer to Yu Yuria.
Yu Yuria noticed Yi Yue gesturing towards the snack and tea she had brought.
As a sign of respect and gratitude, even though she didn't usually eat ordinary food, she took a bite of the snack and sipped the tea.
Yu Yuria raised an eyebrow as she tasted the tea, sensing a hint of Spiritual Qi and a touch of insight.
Yi Yue smiled at her reaction and explained that the tea leaves had been fermented using Spirit Stones.
Yu Yuria thanked her and then asked about the liquid that had accelerated her healing, expressing both curiosity and concern about its similarity to the healing capability of the Snake Devouring Sect.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. My grandpa forbade me from sharing the information. But don't worry, it's safe to drink and doesn't contain any harmful substances," Yi Yue assured Yu Yuria.
Yu Yuria was still concerned. The liquid was sticky and tasted like blood, which was often used by demonic cultivators.
She inevitably recalled Jin Boqin's warning about the previous shady activity of the Tower.
"Grandpa? Do you mean the Grand Maester?" Yu Yuria asked.
Yi Yue nodded.
"About my favor earlier..." Yu Yuria started, but Yi Yue interrupted.
"I can't risk your well-being after helping you. Breaking the rules has severe punishment," Yi Yue explained.
Yu Yuria realized she had broken a rule by flying over Tower City.
The city is home to ordinary people, with a few strictly monitored cultivators. Breaking the rules results in severe punishment.
The Tower has a strong influence on the cultivators and can keep them in check and many powerful sects are also willing to support the Tower when needed.
"Can you tell me what happened with the Snake Devouring Sect?" Yi Yue asked.
Yu Yuri's face darkened as she recounted the events of the past twenty days.
Yi Yue was shocked by the end of her story.
"The Snake Devouring Sect was secretly evil? They destroyed your sect and your friend's? This is a serious issue! I need to warn my grandpa, but how do I explain where I got this information?"
Yi Yue paced back and forth in her chamber, lost in thought.
Yu Yuria was moved by the fact that the Grand Maester, known for being cold and ruthless towards lawbreakers, had a granddaughter with a gentle and kind personality.
"I have a plan. I'll sneak out and wait for you on the statue outside the Tower's gate. Then you can have proof that you learned the information from me,"
Yi Yue pouted.
Yu Yuria smiled and asked why she had a long face.
"Your plan is not foolproof. Grandpa forbade me from leaving the garden for my safety, so the knights were stationed nearby. That's also the reason why you cannot sneak outside. I'm afraid you and I will be together here until we find a solution to the problem," Yi Yue replied, puffing her cheeks.
"Wait, what? Really? What Tier was the Knight guarding you?" Yu Yuria asked seriously.
Just as cultivators varied in strength based on their realms, so did the Knights based on their Tier order introduced by the Tower.
Tier 4 Knights were the weakest, while Tier 1 Knights were the strongest.
"I have ten Tier 1 Knights guarding me around the clock. Luckily, you weren't discovered earlier."
Yu Yuria couldn't hide her shock at the response as she stared blankly at her. It felt like her world had been shattered.
"Exactly! That's the reaction! It's ridiculous to have the ten strongest knights in the Tier order guarding me around the clock. I just want to be able to play outside! Not everyone has bad intentions towards me!" Yi Yue exclaimed and began her tantrums.
Yu Yuria ignored Yi Yue's outburst.
Yes, it's absolutely absurd!
There is no clear distinction in prowess between Knights and Cultivators.
The Knights' abilities are so unpredictable when facing cultivators.
Despite their Tier order, a Tier 4 Knight can easily defeat ten Late Stage Foundation Realm cultivators.
On the other hand, a Golden Core Realm cultivator can easily overpower a Tier 3 Knight.
However, what was truly ridiculous was that Tier 2 Knights are on par with Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, regardless of their stages.
And the fact that Tier 1 Knights, who had not been seen before, were now guarding Yi Yue, was enough to make her feel like her soul had left her body.
Yu Yuria placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm her breathing.
She stood up and thanked Yi Yue for saving her, promising to repay the debt in the future.
However, Yi Yue was concerned when she saw the determination in Yu Yuria's eyes, knowing what she was planning. She warned Yu Yuria about the strictness of her grandfather's rules, citing examples of failed attempts by other cultivators.
Yi Yue warned her about the strict rules, but she was resolute.
"You'll die…" Yi Yue's voice cracked, prompting Yu Yuria to stare at her. Tears were looming in Yi Yue's eyelids.
"You are the first person I've talked to in a long time, aside from my grandpa and the knights guarding me. Though I know it's a short meeting, I am happy and I don't want you to die like them…"
Yu Yuria's heart ached to see Yi Yue's innocent face on the brink of crying. She kneeled and gently wiped the tears from Yi Yue's eyes.
"You're kind-hearted. I won't die. I'm at the peak of the Mid Stage Nascent Soul Realm. I am a formidable cultivator in the Earth Realm," she reassured her.
Her response caused Yi Yue to start crying, and Yu Yuria wryly smiled as she hugged the distraught young girl.
"I understand what you want from me. If the circumstances were different, I would stay with you. But I can't stay here. I have to avenge my Sect, my disciples, and the innocent people who died because of the Snake Devouring Sect," Yu Yuria gently explained as she released Yi Yue from her embrace.
"Do you believe that your Grandpa is a kind man who wanted to protect the innocent?" she asked Yi Yue, who nodded while sobbing.
"Then there's no need to cry. Your Grandpa and I are on the same side, fighting evil cultivators."
Yie Yue wiped her tears with a handkerchief as Yu Yuria stood up and tousled her hair.
Despite Yie Yue's efforts to dry her tears, Yu Yuria attempted to use her Spiritual Qi to help but frowned when it didn't work as she had hoped.
Yi Yue looked up at Yu Yuria and tilted her head in confusion.
"Is something wrong?" the young girl asked innocently.
Yu Yuria smiled and shook her head. "Nothing, your hair is messy. Do you have a comb?"
Yi Yue pulled a comb from Hanfu's pocket, and Yu Yuria gently removed Yi Yue's moonlit hair ornaments to comb her silky hair.
As she was about to put the hair ornaments back, she exclaimed, "Ah, it's been a long time since I manually put hair ornaments in my hair..."
Yi Yue giggled. "Silly."
The two laughed.
Meanwhile,
A man in a robe sits in a lotus position with his eyes closed in a well-lit, empty hall of a Gong Palace.
His left brow arches and slowly opens his eyes.
He snaps his fingers and a dreamy cloud of light materializes, allowing him to see everything that is happening.
The images in the cloud move quickly until he notices a beam of light turning into a dark abyss.
The man's eyes glint as he sees the abyss slowly forming in the apparition.
He reaches out to the dreamy cloud and caresses it, then grips it tightly, causing the cloud to disperse into smoke.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone