Firmament Sword

”Senior Brother, I am a married woman. Please conduct yourself with dignity.” Luo Xinlan took a few steps back, putting some distance between herself and He Fang Hall. Then, without looking at him, she said faintly, ”There are many girls in Luoshui Nunnery who admire you, Senior Brother. Why must you be so obstinate, pestering a middle-aged woman like me who already has a husband and child?”

”You are not a middle-aged woman! I’ll settle the score with anyone who dares say that!” He Fang Hall said with some agitation. He then took two steps forward, about to grab Luo Xinlan’s hand. ”All these years, you’re the only one who’s been in my heart, Junior Sister!”

With a light shift of her feet, Luo Xinlan’s body suddenly appeared more than ten meters away. She looked at He Fang Hall with a stern expression. ”Senior Brother, please stop forcing me, alright? You and I are absolutely impossible!”

A flash of cold displeasure flickered through He Fang Hall’s eyes. ’What’s with the act?’ he cursed inwardly. ’Of all the senior and junior sisters back then, you’re the only one I haven’t slept with! You’ve become my Heart Demon. No matter what, I will have you. Once you’ve seen what I’m capable of, you’ll never be able to leave me!’

However, He Fang Hall concealed his emotions extremely well. An ordinary person would have found it difficult to notice the lustful wickedness deep in his eyes.

He smiled and said, ”Alright, I won’t force you. I just want you to understand my heart. By the way, Junior Sister, your strength has improved very quickly these past two years. What do you think? The precious medicines I found for you weren’t too bad, were they?”

”What? Those medicines… you found them? Not the abbot…” Luo Xinlan looked at He Fang Hall in astonishment.

”Hehe, I had my aunt give them to you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have accepted them, would you?” He Fang Hall’s tone carried a hint of disappointment, and a self-deprecating smile hung on his face. ”You should have understood my intentions. My feelings for you…”

”Don’t say another word…” Luo Xinlan cut He Fang Hall off sternly, her expression grave. ”I will repay you for those precious medicines in the future. I’ll say this one last time: I am a married woman. I will never do anything to betray my family!”

”Junior Sister, why must you make things so difficult for yourself?” He Fang Hall finally dropped his smile, looking at Luo Xinlan with a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes as he spoke flatly.

”You… How could you say something like that? You’ve gone too far!” Luo Xinlan’s face flushed red with anger as she glared at He Fang Hall.

”We’re all adults here. Why pretend? Let me be honest with you, Junior Sister. I gave you two years to change your attitude, but you’ve stayed the same. It’s you… who has completely worn out all my patience.” As He Fang Hall spoke, his expression grew cold, and he began to walk toward Luo Xinlan.

”What are you doing?” Luo Xinlan snapped. ”This is Luoshui Nunnery, a place of peace! Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”

”Hahaha, divine retribution? You’re too naive. Back then, all our senior and junior sisters were my women. Only you… only you, Luo Xinlan, left Luoshui Island, returned to the mortal world, and married some vulgar commoner. I want you. I want you to be my woman!”

A savage look appeared on He Fang Hall’s face as he sneered, ”If you obey me and submit, not only will I give you great benefits and cause your strength to skyrocket to a realm you could never dream of, but I can also promise you a Nine-Turn Foundation Establishment Pill for that useless son of yours!”

”Did you hear me? Nine-Turn! Now *that* is a true treasure! A Seven-Turn Foundation Establishment Pill… is nothing but trash in my eyes!” He Fang Hall said with a look of cold arrogance as he closed in on Luo Xinlan.

”Stay back!” Luo Xinlan shouted coldly. ”If you push me any further, I’ll jump from here!”

”Hehe, then jump!” He Fang Hall completely revealed his true colors, his once-handsome face now a savage mask. ”You can try. Try and see if you can kill yourself by jumping off this cliff in front of me. If I don’t want you to die, you won’t be able to!”

SHIING!

Luo Xinlan suddenly drew a shortsword that glinted coldly and held it to her own neck. Gazing coldly at He Fang Hall, she said, ”You can also try and see if you can stop me from killing myself before you get me under control!”

”Hahahaha, look at you! What are you doing? I was just playing a little joke on you. You didn’t actually take it seriously, did you?” He Fang Hall’s expression suddenly changed. He looked at Luo Xinlan happily, like a child who had succeeded in a prank.

”You…” Luo Xinlan was so angry she nearly coughed up blood. She knew perfectly well that He Fang Hall had not been joking at all. Furthermore, she wasn’t completely ignorant of his past dalliances; she just didn’t care to pay them any mind since they had nothing to do with her.

”Hehe, training all day on this isolated island, one could go mad from boredom. You have to find some fun, right?” He Fang Hall looked at Luo Xinlan with a grin. ”Alright, Junior Sister, I really was just joking with you. Of course, I do like you.”

After speaking, He Fang Hall flashed Luo Xinlan a toothy grin. ”See you later. I have some things to take care of.”

Watching He Fang Hall’s retreating back, Luo Xinlan slowly lowered the sharp shortsword in her hand. She felt as weak as if she had just recovered from a serious illness, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

She pressed her lips together tightly and murmured, ”My son, you must make me proud. Otherwise, all the grievances I’ve endured will have been for nothing!”

...

”Come on, Giant Eagle, fly faster,” Xu Luo urged.

”I’m already going very fast. Why don’t you try flying yourself?” the Giant Eagle’s crisp voice replied, laced with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Feeling the wind whistling past his ears, Xu Luo reached up and rubbed his forehead, which stung a little from the wind. ”Is this really your top speed?” he asked.

”What more do you want?” the Giant Eagle said, displeased. ”This speed of Sister Ying’s is already nearly unmatched in this world!”

Just as she said that, a large white bird shot past them in the distant sky with a WHOOSH, as fast as lightning, and vanished into the air ahead of them in an instant.

”What was that? So fast!” Xu Luo was a little startled. Although he had been urging the Giant Eagle to go faster, her speed was actually incredible, like a meteor chasing the moon. He never expected there was a creature that could be even faster… and not just by a little bit!

”A Lightning Bird!” the Giant Eagle exclaimed in excitement, then immediately accelerated, chasing in the direction the bird had gone.

The whistling wind rushed past his ears, and only then did Xu Luo realize the Giant Eagle hadn’t been going all out before. This current speed was her true capability!

Unfortunately, even by the time the massive island came into view, they never caught sight of the white Lightning Bird again. It was simply too fast; they couldn’t even eat its dust.

After choosing a secluded spot to land, the Giant Eagle looked dejected and unhappy.

Xu Luo said with a smile, ”Your speed is already very fast. Don’t compare your weaknesses to its strengths. Just think, if that thing dared to appear in front of you, you could snatch it out of the air and crush it with a single claw.”

The Giant Eagle thought about it, decided Xu Luo made a lot of sense, and finally cheered up.

”Can you shrink yourself down like Master Mao? Otherwise, you’ll have to hide on your own,” Xu Luo said to the Giant Eagle.

”No problem!” the Giant Eagle said. Her body then rapidly shrank until she was the size of a sparrowhawk. She perched on Xu Luo’s shoulder and said smugly, ”How’s that? Sister Ying is pretty amazing, right!”

”…” Xu Luo rolled his eyes. ’This eagle is a real goofball,’ he thought.

They had finally reached Luoshui Island. He would be able to see his mother soon. Xu Luo felt a surge of excitement. However, Master Mao’s advice was to sneak in quietly, find his mother, Luo Xinlan, and have the Giant Eagle carry them away directly. There was no need to waste words with the sect on this island.

But Xu Luo felt it wouldn’t be right to just take his mother away. The reason was simple: Luo Xinlan wasn’t being held here as a prisoner. If he spirited her away without a word, it would truly and thoroughly offend the sect.

Therefore, Xu Luo decided to sneak in first, find his mother, and then decide what to do.