Chapter 48: A Sister’s Grief, A Prophet’s Warning

Su Qinghan was roused from sleep by a throbbing ache. A dull, persistent pain resonated from her forehead, leaving her feeling groggy, as if she’d been struck by a blunt object.

Opening her eyes, she found the night had fully descended, with only the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the window.

‘What happened?’

Her memories slowly resurfaced. She had been leaning against Lu Hongzhuang’s lap, teaching her the introductory cultivation method of the Heavenly Master Dao, and then… then, overcome by exhaustion, she had drifted off to sleep.

‘Wait a minute!’

Su Qinghan abruptly sat upright, clenching her right hand into a fist and striking her left palm with a resounding thud!

‘I get it!’

‘It must have been that girl, Lu Hongzhuang! She must have bumped my head on the table when she got up!’

‘You rotten Lu Hongzhuang!’

‘Not only did you take my wheelchair, but you also made me hit my head!’

Su Qinghan gritted her back teeth. ‘Just you wait until you get back; I’ll make sure you regret this!’

Just then, a faint rustle of footsteps echoed from outside the room.

‘She’s here!’

Su Qinghan’s eyes lit up. She tried to roll off the bed, eager to confront her, but in her haste, she forgot her current frail state and nearly tumbled headfirst onto the floor.

Scrambling to regain her balance, she stealthily retrieved a talisman she had drawn that afternoon from her sleeve and concealed it within her palm.

‘Hmph, the moment she steps in, I’ll use an Immobilization Talisman to freeze her, then pounce, pin her to the ground, and tickle her until she begs for mercy! Let’s see if she dares to be so careless again!’

‘Plan successful!’

Su Qinghan crouched low, hugging the edge of the bed, poised to launch a lightning-fast attack the instant the door opened.

“Creak—”

The door slowly swung open.

A figure stepped inside, trailing the heavy chill of night dew, and… a faint, almost imperceptible scent of blood.

Su Qinghan was about to make her move, but she froze instantly.

‘Something’s wrong.’

‘The atmosphere is all wrong.’

Lu Hongzhuang, who had just entered, looked utterly distraught, as if her soul had been ripped from her body. She stood dejectedly by the doorway, her vibrant red robe now stained with dust and dark smudges.

She remained there, motionless, like a lifeless statue.

Silently, Su Qinghan tucked away the talisman in her hand, sat upright from the edge of the bed, and cleared her throat.

“Ahem, you went out for a bit, but why do you look so down?”

As if she hadn’t heard, Lu Hongzhuang drifted toward the bed, her steps faltering and agonizingly slow.

Reaching the bedside, she sat down in silence, her gaze fixed intently on Su Qinghan.

Then, she suddenly reached out, seizing Su Qinghan’s arm and pulling with unexpected force.

Caught entirely off guard, Su Qinghan stumbled and fell backward, her head landing on something soft and yielding.

It was Lu Hongzhuang’s lap.

“…”

Su Qinghan was utterly bewildered.

‘Are you out of your mind?’

‘In the middle of the night, what on earth are you doing?’

Just as she was about to struggle, a warm hand gently settled on her forehead, precisely where she had bumped it.

The hand, trembling almost imperceptibly, began to rub the spot with delicate care.

“Does it still hurt?”

Lu Hongzhuang’s voice was low, hoarse, as if forced from deep within her throat.

Seeing Lu Hongzhuang in such a profoundly distressed state, Su Qinghan’s earlier irritation vanished instantly.

“It doesn’t hurt much anymore,” she offered, trying to comfort her. “What… what exactly happened to you? Were you fired from the Demon Exorcism Division?”

The three words, “Demon Exorcism Division,” acted like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of Lu Hongzhuang’s emotions.

The hand that had been rubbing Su Qinghan’s forehead paused.

“Senior Brother Wang… he died.”

“And Senior Brother Zhang, he died too.”

Her voice was thick with a heavy nasal tone, sorrow practically overflowing from her words.

“This morning, it was Senior Brother Wang and the others who personally handed me my sixth-rank waist token. They congratulated me, saying I was the youngest sixth-rank member in the Demon Exorcism Division… but by tonight, they are gone, separated from this world.”

Su Qinghan fell silent.

She could feel Lu Hongzhuang’s body trembling slightly.

In this world, the lives of martial artists were as fleeting as blades of grass.

The room plunged into a deathly silence, broken only by Lu Hongzhuang’s suppressed, faint sobs.

After a long while, she spoke again, her voice imbued with confusion and pain.

Her hand unconsciously stroked Su Qinghan’s soft, long hair.

“Qinghan,” she murmured, “Tell me… why must demons kill people?”

The question struck Su Qinghan as somewhat perplexing.

“Because there are bad demons. If they want to kill people, they do.”

“But the court’s approach is to eradicate all demons, regardless of good or evil, right or wrong, to eliminate evil completely. This has already become a war of races.”

Su Qinghan shifted into a more comfortable position, nestling her head deeper into Lu Hongzhuang’s lap.

“Since it’s a war, demons might do anything. You can’t expect me to hit you and then forbid you from hitting back, can you?”

“But…” Lu Hongzhuang’s voice held a trace of indignation, “They’re killing defenseless villagers!”

“Precisely.”

Su Qinghan’s voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable, chilling calm.

“Therefore, only when you are strong enough—strong enough to dictate the rules, strong enough to command everyone’s obedience—do you earn the right to concern yourself with such matters.”

“Only then will you be qualified to discern good from evil, to protect those you wish to shield, and to punish those you deem deserving of death.”

“Right now, you can’t even protect yourself. What good is dwelling on these thoughts?”

“What you need to do is live each day to the fullest, then strive with all your might to become stronger. Don’t let yourself die confused and senselessly, just like your senior brothers.”

These words were stark, cold, and yet possessed a power that struck deep into the heart.

Lu Hongzhuang fell silent once more.

She simply sat there quietly, and the room descended into silence again.

Just as Su Qinghan thought she would remain seated until dawn, Lu Hongzhuang suddenly stirred.

Maintaining the position with Su Qinghan’s head still resting on her lap, she slowly, gradually, lowered herself onto the bed.

Furthermore, she extended both hands, gently cupping Su Qinghan’s head to keep it securely nestled on her lap, preventing her from slipping away.

Su Qinghan: “…”

‘I’m utterly numb.’

‘Seriously, sis, do you even realize your behavior right now can’t just be called strange? It’s downright bizarre, almost unsettlingly abstract!’

‘Are you treating me like a body pillow? And a strange one at that; who only hugs the head of a pillow?’

Su Qinghan stared blankly at the ceiling, about to voice her exasperation, when she heard the steady, prolonged sound of breathing beside her ear.

‘That girl… she actually just fell asleep like that.’

‘How exhausted must she be?’

Su Qinghan sighed, feeling as though she had sighed more today than in her entire previous life combined.

‘I really give up on you.’

Cautiously, inch by painstaking inch, she extricated her head from Lu Hongzhuang’s “restraint,” terrified of waking the utterly exhausted girl.

Having finally regained her freedom, Su Qinghan stretched her somewhat stiff neck.

She observed Lu Hongzhuang, sleeping defenselessly on the bed, her brow furrowed, clothes disheveled, and even her shoes still on.

“Sigh.”

Ultimately, with a resigned sigh, she bent down. Awkwardly, she helped Lu Hongzhuang remove her shoes and socks, then with some effort, unfastened her outer robe so she could sleep more comfortably. Finally, she pulled the blanket up, covering her snugly.

Just as she finished all this and prepared to straighten up.

Suddenly, her right eyelid began to twitch uncontrollably, without any warning.

Again and again, the incessant twitching filled her with a sense of unease.

Su Qinghan’s brow furrowed. She immediately extended her left hand and began a quick divination.

Her fingertips rapidly tapped across several knuckles, and her expression gradually grew grave.

‘An omen of great misfortune.’

‘A calamity of bloodshed.’

‘Moreover, the divination was chaotic, its source unclear. All it revealed was an overwhelming, inescapable force approaching.’

“This is truly sinister…” Su Qinghan muttered to herself. ‘What kind of treacherous den of dragons and tigers is this world, anyway? Every single day, it’s nothing but trouble. Can’t everyone just sit down, play some Go, and drink tea?’

Just then, Jiu Li’s irritatingly loli-like voice echoed softly in her mind.

“Hey, idiot.”

“She’s taken your bed. Where are you going to sleep?”

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