Chapter 46: Awakening and Pursuit

After drinking the medicine, Ji Wushuang showed no adverse reactions. His injuries were slowly healing, but he remained unconscious.

Although Shui Jingxuan was anxious, he could only repair the blood vessels and nerves within his muscles, not daring to heal his external wounds all at once.

If not for the High Priest taking his pulse every day and repeatedly assuring him that the Sect Master was not seriously injured and would definitely wake up, Shui Jingxuan would have long fallen ill from worry.

That day was the third day after the female Sect Master’s death, and it was finally time for her burial. Before dawn, under a gray sky drizzling with rain, the air was damp, cold, and sticky, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

Eight sect members carried the female Sect Master’s coffin along the muddy mountain path towards a cemetery that the heterodox faction had carved out in the valley.

Shui Jingxuan led dozens of upper-level demon sect personnel following behind, all solemnly dressed in white.

Arriving at the cemetery, Shui Jingxuan took the shovel from the sect members and personally dug Ji Wushuang’s grave. Half an hour later, the grave was formed.

His clothes were stained and soaked, his face pale and sorrowful, his eyes filled with deep guilt and regret.

The people nearby were stopped by him and dared not come forward to help, standing only in front of the female Sect Master’s coffin in mourning.

The blood-red painted coffin was slowly lowered into the grave by ropes and gradually covered with earth. A marble tombstone was erected, solemn and silent.

Shui Jingxuan led the clan members in kowtowing once, then burned some paper money before leaving with a sorrowful expression. Because of the crisis, the entire funeral was conducted very simply.

Soon after the female Ji Wushuang was buried, Ji Wushuang slowly opened his eyes and woke up from his coma.

He frowned, recalling the apostasy of Wolf Girl, recalling how he and his twin sister were ambushed by Zhuo Yihang and split apart from behind.

He felt that this memory was very subtle, as if something was missing. At the same time, he touched his chest, feeling that his heart was also missing a piece, and a very important piece.

While he was frowning in thought, the two servants tasked with watching over him began to talk outside the door.

The one with a slightly hoarse voice lamented, “Today is the day of the female Sect Master’s burial. It’s a pity we can’t go and offer her incense and see her off on her final journey.”

The servant with a somewhat shrill voice agreed, “Indeed!” He paused, then continued, “But the female Sect Master is gone, there’s still the Sect Master. The living are more important than the dead. We’d better focus on watching over the Sect Master.”

The hoarse voice hummed in acknowledgment, then spoke with a hint of worry and indignation, “Who knows when the Sect Master will wake up.

Getting into this state for that Wolf Girl is just not worth it! In my opinion, aside from her looks, that Wolf Girl is utterly worthless! She’s nothing but a harmful vixen, a traitor who bites the hand that feeds her!

And all the while, the Sect Master keeps calling out ‘disciple, disciple’ in his coma!”

The shrill voice replied in agreement,

“Isn’t that the truth! But the Sect Master has doted on Wolf Girl since she was a child. He made her a Grand Protector when she was just ten!

I reckon the Sect Master saw Wolf Girl as a child bride! Otherwise, why would he be so furious when she left? What man wouldn’t want to kill after being cuckolded? Only our Sect Master had the guts to wipe out Wudang’s entire sect!”

Ji Wushuang’s heart ached when he heard that his twin sister had passed away. He had always wanted to separate, but now that they were truly separated, with her gone forever, he wished they could stick together again.

When he heard the servant mention that he had been muttering ‘disciple’ in his coma, Ji Wushuang was suddenly stunned.

It was as if those two words carried lightning, striking heavily into his chest, causing his heartbeat to suddenly become chaotic.

“Disciple?” Ji Wushuang half-lowered his eyes, chewing over these two words. His head suddenly throbbed, as if something was about to split his skull open.

“Sss!” Even though he was used to pain, Ji Wushuang still clutched his head and gasped in a breath of cold air.

An internal energy larger than before surged wildly through his body, threatening to explode at any moment. Ji Wushuang dared not think further and quickly sat in meditation to circulate his energy.

Suppressing the internal energy that was twice as deep as before, Ji Wushuang was secretly alarmed. He thought, Could it be that when Zhuo Yihang attacked and split us, my twin sister’s internal energy spontaneously flowed into my body? Without inner energy to protect her heart meridian, no wonder she couldn’t hold on!

The Poison Demon Art was inherently sinister and mysterious, and only this explanation could account for his sudden surge in internal energy.

Thinking of this, Ji Wushuang pressed his lips together, his eyes showing only deep pain, no hint of joy. Having lost his lifelong twin sister, even if he were given a hundred years of internal energy and became the foremost person in the world, what good would it do?

After the pain subsided, memory stirred. Ji Wushuang’s eyes darkened, and without a second thought, he turned over, got out of bed, pushed open the door, and grabbed a servant, asking:

He remembered that in his life he had only taken one disciple, Wolf Girl.

Since the disciple made him so grief-stricken and enraged that he wiped out Wudang’s entire sect, and just thinking about her made his heart ache and hard to let go, there was no reason for him to give up.

Even if he had to go to the ends of the earth, he would chase her back.

The servant was terrified, stunned for a long moment before stammering, “R-Returning to the Sect Master, Wolf Girl is currently at Songshan’s Five Breast Peak.”

“Oh?” He pondered briefly, released the servant, and flew away at incredible speed.

The two servants stared at each other in dismay, then shouted in unison, “This is bad! Quickly report to the Left Protector!”

Ji Wushuang did not rush to find Wolf Girl. Instead, he headed to the cemetery in the valley. Perhaps fate was playing tricks.

His martial arts had reached perfection. As he swept over the valley, none of the dozens of first-rate experts led by Shui Jingxuan, who had turned back, noticed him at all.

Even though Ji Wushuang knew there were people below, his cold nature made him ignore them. Master and disciple thus passed by each other.

When he landed before his twin sister’s grave, all he saw were scattered paper money, no one in sight. White paper money was already wet from the rain, scattered around the fresh grave, with a few pieces stuck to the tombstone.

A cold, damp wind blew past, making the scene very desolate.

Ji Wushuang stepped forward two paces, knelt before his sister’s tombstone, and traced the bright red characters ‘Ji Wushuang’ on it. His expression was dark and unreadable.

After a long while, he took one last deep look at the tombstone, then left without looking back, heading out of the demon sect’s territory toward Songshan.

Shui Jingxuan and his group returned to the demon sect. Before they could even change out of their wet mourning clothes, they heard the news that the Sect Master had woken up and gone alone to pursue Wolf Girl.

“Left Protector, what do we do now? The Sect Master represents our clan. If he steps in to help Wolf Girl, we’ll be on her sinking ship! By then, she’ll run off alone, and the enemies we’ve made in this time will surely level our sect! The valley is tiny; our people won’t even have a place to hide!”

The elders were extremely anxious, inwardly complaining about the Sect Master’s impulsiveness. Although the Sect Master’s martial arts were superior, Wolf Girl had many enemies.

If they attacked en masse, how many clan members could he protect by himself?

Besides anxiety, Shui Jingxuan felt some surprise, some anger, and more than anything, an indescribable sense of loss and heartache. He forced down the tumultuous emotions surging within him and said hoarsely,

“Don’t panic. I will immediately take people along the way to find him and bring him back. For now, the seven sect disciples stationed outside the valley are gradually withdrawing, and our clan is no longer trapped. During my absence, Elder Mu and Elder Miao will jointly oversee sect affairs.”

After hastily giving instructions, Shui Jingxuan returned to his room, changed out of his wet clothes, grabbed some silver notes, and prepared to gather his men and set off.

Just as he was about to step out of the door, the High Priest arrived. Judging by his ashamed expression, he had definitely come to confess his fault.

“Subordinate was incompetent. Please forgive me, Left Protector,” the High Priest said, kneeling heavily when he saw the grim-faced Left Protector.

“Get up.” Shui Jingxuan did not stop walking, saying as he went, “It was my oversight. Master’s internal energy was profound; a small bottle of sleeping drug couldn’t hold him back! I didn’t think it through. It’s not your fault.”

If I had known this would happen, I would have poured two bottles down his throat! To hell with whether he could bear the headache!

At least he wouldn’t be turning around to torment me now! Shui Jingxuan gritted his molars and thought fiercely.

Ji Wushuang had never left the demon sect nor traveled alone. Approaching early winter, he wore only a thin dark blue robe and carried no silver with him.

Fortunately, his martial arts had reached perfection, allowing him to abstain from food for months and be impervious to cold and heat.

When tired, he would find a place to meditate for a while, then energetically scale mountains and cross ridges. His mind was empty, holding only the two weighty words: ‘disciple.’

Even though memories of his beloved had been stripped away, the once passionate feelings would not disappear, like a branding iron that had seared a mark on his heart and soul.

That was how it was for Ji Wushuang. His soul had long been branded by his beloved disciple with an indelible mark. Without memories, he relied on instinct to pursue. Though the journey was winding and arduous, his strong will would never give up.

Ji Wushuang originally had sixty years of internal energy. After absorbing his twin sister’s share, he had nearly a hundred and twenty years, making his martial arts unmatched in the world.

When he and his sister were conjoined, his esoteric lightness skill could already dominate the world. Now that they were separated, his movements were even faster.

With formidable internal energy and supreme lightness skill combined, even if Shui Jingxuan and his group traveled without rest, they could not match half his speed.

When Ji Wushuang reached Five Breast Peak, he had spent only a day and a half. At the same time, Shui Jingxuan was still hundreds of miles away from Songshan.

And Wolf Girl, whom Ji Wushuang had been thinking of constantly, was at that moment slaughtering the Lin monks at the foot of Five Breast Peak, completely unaware that her former esteemed master was approaching her.

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