Chapter Seventy-Three: Persuasion Through Deeds, Enlightenment Through Emotion

“Boss Wu, should we find a place to rest first? It’s pitch dark out here,” Hou Baiyu said, his face full of flattery.

The wilderness marked on the map was only two hundred miles, but walking it step by step, they found it endless. Moonlight shimmered faintly on Hou Baiyu, who was now ragged and tattered, his hair, eyebrows, and beard all gone, carrying Wu Yue on his back.

“Boss Wu? Boss Wu.” Hou Baiyu called several times.

“Walk properly. Or I’ll kill you!” Red Sleeve’s face showed a flicker of concern, but her voice remained cold, the Thunder Staff gripped in her hand, tiny bolts of lightning still crackling at its tip.

“Sister Red Sleeve, you overestimate me. I’ve been struck by lightning so badly, my meridians are severely damaged. How could I dare to use spiritual energy to run away? If I ran, I’d fear the wolves would eat me instead.”

Far off, the wolves howled, strongly confirming Hou Baiyu’s present loyalty.

“Do you think Boss Wu—” Hou Baiyu stammered.

“Still so talkative while injured?” Red Sleeve remained icy.

Hou Baiyu, always resigned to being at the mercy of others, paid her no mind.

“We should at least figure out which way to go. Where are we heading?”

“Who’s ‘we’? Don’t lump yourself with me.”

“So, we’ll part ways once we leave the wilderness?” Hou Baiyu’s face brightened with surprise.

A faint flash of lightning left Hou Baiyu numb, frothing at the mouth. Even Wu Yue on his back jolted suddenly.

Both looked at Red Sleeve with resentment; Red Sleeve seemed a bit embarrassed and muttered, “I was just teaching him a lesson.”

Wu Yue sighed deeply. “The intention is good, but let me tell you: lightning conducts. You could simply slap him, or hit him with your Thunder Staff, or if all else fails, slice off a piece of him.”

Hou Baiyu complained, “Big brother, I’ve carried you the whole way.”

“You could always go lie down with your comrades,” Red Sleeve replied coldly. She never understood why Wu Yue spared Hou Baiyu; many years later, Wu Yue finally said, “Honestly, I couldn’t control the Thunder Staff at the time.”

“Heh heh, let’s not talk about that,” Hou Baiyu forced a laugh. “But we need a destination. As the saying goes, it’s not the long journey that scares us, but the lack of an endpoint. Sister, am I right?”

“Fine. Find a safe place. Otherwise, I’ll drag you to die with me,” Wu Yue’s head lolled, uncertain whether he’d fainted or fallen asleep.

Hou Baiyu was filled with grief and indignation—why him? If someone must be buried, shouldn’t it be a beauty? Perhaps the one beside him, though not so pretty now, but once she was.

“By the way,” Hou Baiyu’s eyes lit up, “Miss Red Sleeve, you’ve been cursed with the Crimson Blood Curse. It’s extremely vicious—it will spread through your body, and when it’s everywhere, your blood will boil and you’ll die. No one can save you!”

“You know how to break the curse?” Red Sleeve’s voice carried a subtle excitement. What woman doesn’t yearn for beauty?

“Uh, I don’t know how,” Hou Baiyu replied awkwardly.

“Then how do you know so much? Secret arts are never passed on,” Red Sleeve’s grip tightened on the Thunder Staff, faint sparks appearing.

“Wait, wait, don’t use that lightning rod! I’ll explain—I swear. Your Crimson Blood Curse was cast by my big brother.”

“Not my real brother! We swore brotherhood on the way to Black Cloud Fortress.”

“Why do you want to hit me again?” Hou Baiyu trembled all over, not daring to put Wu Yue down.

“To see whether sword energy or thunder works better,” Red Sleeve replied calmly.

“Guess,” Hou Baiyu muttered through clenched teeth.

“You’re dissatisfied with me?” Red Sleeve raised an eyebrow.

“Guess again,” Hou Baiyu replied coldly.

Red Sleeve laughed softly.

“Stop! Let me finish speaking before you act!”

“Then speak.”

“Let me put him down first, let’s rest a bit.” Seeing Red Sleeve didn’t object, Hou Baiyu’s eyes brightened.

He carefully laid Wu Yue on the grass. Then he said loudly, “Miss Red Sleeve, honestly, let’s talk about your master’s death—isn’t that Black Cloud Fortress’s fault? Fine, even if it is, what’s that to do with me? I wasn’t there. Besides, weren’t you the one who attacked me first? And it was always fatal! What did I do to provoke you? Tell me, tell me!” Tears glimmered in his eyes; he looked genuinely aggrieved.

“Everyone from Black Cloud Fortress deserves to die!” Red Sleeve said without hesitation, sentencing them all.

“I’m quitting right now!”

Red Sleeve looked at Hou Baiyu with pity, but he failed to notice it.

“Rest, then we move.”

“Once I’ve rested, I’ll send him on his way!” Hou Baiyu, fierce as a tiger, lunged at Wu Yue with a ferocious face. This moment deserved a close-up.

Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao? Holding the emperor hostage to command the lords? Something like that.

Red Sleeve was suddenly startled, raising her Thunder Staff.

Hou Baiyu’s fists glowed.

Then a purple shield appeared around Wu Yue, runes swirling on its surface, bouncing Hou Baiyu away.

On Wu Yue’s chest was a round orb—origin unknown, of royal lineage. Its main purpose: automatic defense against spiritual attacks.

Red Sleeve, still shaken, raised her Thunder Staff and struck Hou Baiyu with several bolts of lightning, filling the air with the scent of roasted meat.

“Stop it,” Hou Baiyu gasped, barely alive.

“Still breathing?” Red Sleeve’s murderous intent was undisguised.

“Don’t kill him yet. Interrogate him—he’s suspiciously tough for a Core Formation cultivator.”

“I’ll talk, I’ll tell everything. I cultivated the Eternal Armored Dragon Method. My master is Evil Turtle Daoist. He picked me up as a child, and we lived on Spirit Turtle Island for over thirty years. He thought I talked too much and sent me to the mainland to travel.”

“So you joined Black Cloud Fortress?” Red Sleeve sneered.

“I just wanted to find a big tree to shelter under,” Hou Baiyu chuckled dryly.

“Help me up.”

“I’ll do it.” Hou Baiyu quickly flipped up and hurried to Wu Yue, stopping short and poking forward cautiously.

“Tough indeed,” Red Sleeve remarked, adding a quick jab.

“Kid, do you know who I am?”

Hou Baiyu paused. Ah, so this man likes flattery—should I oblige him? That’s shameless.

Wu Yue continued, “The item your Black Cloud Fortress desperately wants is in my hands. They killed my family for it. So your whole fortress was wiped out. Recently, a batch of Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators died at my hands.”

“What do you think of that feud?”

“Unforgivable,” Hou Baiyu answered instinctively.

“Smart. But you’ve carried me all day, and your spies must have seen it. What do you think will happen?”

“I was coerced!”

“But they don’t know that. For someone like you—who gets his brothers killed, clings to life, betrays his sect, and sides with the enemy—how does Black Cloud Fortress usually deal with you?”

“No corpse left, soul utterly destroyed,” Hou Baiyu murmured, his eyes vacant. “I was forced. Really. Please believe me…”