Chapter 154: Some Truths Are Better Left Unspoken

“Girl, don’t you think the burden on me is a bit too heavy?”

Early that morning, the old man lay sprawled across Yun Jiao’s desk like a dead dog, having finally understood what the mark on his forehead truly meant.

“Not at all!” Yun Jiao replied, her face perfectly serious.

The old man’s heart grew even heavier. “I already have to lecture Class Three for two hours a day, practice for another three, make one exam paper every three days, and get beaten by the Grandmaster once every seven days for the monthly test. I’ve gotten used to all that! But now you expect me to manage the underworld too?!”

There should be limits to how much one can bully the elderly!

“You’re the one the Yama Decree chose,” Yun Jiao answered naturally. “Just deal with it. Once Han Shu recovers, he’ll take it back.”

“And when will that be?” he asked reflexively.

“Hmm…” She thought for a moment before saying, “According to Uncle Wen, just a few… decades! It’ll be soon!”

The old man: “…” Are you kidding me?!

“No way. I’m old and can’t handle this anymore.” He even coughed pitifully for effect. “Either cancel my exam papers, or cancel the Grandmaster’s tests. Otherwise… otherwise…” After a moment’s thought, he slammed the desk dramatically. “Believe it or not, I’ll leave Qingyang and join another sect right now!”

Yun Jiao blinked, then reminded him gently, “Did you forget—you’re the sect leader.”

The old man froze but stubbornly pressed on, “I don’t care! Tell the Grandmaster—if he doesn’t agree, I’m leaving!” He even stood up, pretending to storm out.

“Oh.” Yun Jiao didn’t even look up, calmly adding, “You think the Grandmaster would stop you?”

“…”

That sentence stabbed him right in the heart.

Some truths are better left unsaid!

('」∠)

The old man deflated like a punctured ball, nearly in tears. “Girl, you can’t do this just because Uncle Wen paid tuition but didn’t attend class, and you don’t want to refund him, so you sell me instead! Even if the Grandmaster doesn’t care about me, you shouldn’t follow his example! I’m old now! Even if I have the Yama Decree and can temporarily replace Senior Brother Han, the underworld isn’t exactly a safe neighborhood! Those underworld guards and ghost judges—how could they possibly listen to a weak little cultivator like me?”

“That’s nothing to worry about,” Yun Jiao replied seriously. “Ji Qi said he’d handle the arrangements in advance. Besides, Erha—cough, Senior Brother Xi Teng—has already gone to the Youling Domain. With him coordinating on that end, nothing will go wrong. You don’t even need to go to the underworld yourself.”

“Senior Brother Xi?” the old man blinked. Remembering his long-lost buddy, his spirits lifted a bit. “Really? I don’t have to go to the underworld?”

“Mm.” Yun Jiao nodded. “The underworld’s too dangerous anyway. Just have the ghost judges of Youling report to you every once in a while about the situation there. That’s enough.”

Han Shu hadn’t lied about them taking over the Youling Domain, but there was no way they were being given full authority. Obviously, the underworld wouldn’t hand everything over to outsiders—many ghosts wouldn’t accept it anyway. This was just a convenient excuse to divert attention and let them investigate who was actually behind the scenes.

The old man finally relaxed. His eyes rolled, and he rubbed his hands together before adding slyly, “Girl, this whole thing sounds risky. Just in case… maybe ask the Grandmaster for a few protective talismans?”

“Sure!” Yun Jiao agreed unexpectedly, then looked past him. “Perfect timing. You can ask him yourself.”

“Girl…” He nearly choked. “If I could ask him myself, would I be begging you instead? You know what his temper is like—he’s—”

“How about what?”

Before he could finish, that all-too-familiar voice rang out. A white figure stepped calmly into the room, holding a brown jar. His cold gaze swept over Bai Yu.

“…”

Bai Yu felt a chill run straight through his chest. The words in his throat twisted midair. “The best! The strongest! The greatest! Heh heh… Grandmaster, what brings you here?”

Night Abyss finally withdrew his gaze, handed the jar to Yun Jiao, and said in a deep voice, “This is yours.”

Sure enough, the label read: For My Little Disciple – Cotton Candy.

“…” Yun Jiao sighed softly and accepted it. “Thank you, Grandmaster.”

“Hmm.” Night Abyss nodded, satisfied. “What were you two discussing? And why haven’t you gone to the kitchen yet?”

He’d finished making snacks already—breakfast still wasn’t ready.

The old man flinched, but Yun Jiao explained, “He’s been struggling to understand something, so I was explaining it to him.”

Night Abyss frowned slightly. “What is it?”

Bai Yu froze. Was… the Grandmaster showing concern for him?

His eyes lit up instantly — this was the first time the Grandmaster had ever asked about his affairs! Overwhelmed with emotion, he blurted, “It’s nothing, really, just…”

He hurriedly explained everything about the Yama Decree.

Night Abyss listened silently, then said, “Hmm. The underworld may be troublesome, but since you’re already involved, avoiding it won’t help. It’s better to investigate thoroughly. The Yama Decree may be an underworld artifact, but it won’t harm you. In fact, it might even aid your cultivation. Since it has chosen you, accept it.”

Bai Yu nodded eagerly. The Grandmaster finally remembered he was a Qingyang disciple too! He was so touched!

“Thank you, Grandmaster!”

“Hmm.”

“Grandmaster…” Bai Yu, moved almost to tears, suddenly recalled his earlier argument with Yun Jiao. Unable to stop himself, he blurted, “If I were to leave the Qingyang Sect, would you—” keep me?

“When?” Night Abyss interrupted sharply, sounding unusually… eager.

Bai Yu: “…”

Yun Jiao: “…”

---

“Injecting life force?” Night Abyss handed over his empty bowl.

“Yes.” Yun Jiao nodded, refilling it as she spoke. “At the Celestial Master Hall, we met someone with a special ability—he could directly infuse life force into another person’s body. That ability came from a seal mark on him, but it later vanished.”

She described in detail everything that had happened at the hall before asking, “Grandmaster, do you know what kind of spell that might be?”

Night Abyss finished his second bowl of rice before answering in a deep tone, “There are many spells to restore life force, but to fully recover it within half a minute? Impossible.”

“Could it be transferred from somewhere else?” she asked. “Like those bottles in the underworld that absorb life force?”

“Did you see any life-force threads?” he asked suddenly.

“Ah?”

“Whenever life force is drawn, it leaves a trace.”

Yun Jiao froze. She suddenly remembered the glowing threads connecting those afflicted by the Shaohua Curse. Then it struck her. “No! There were no threads on him when he healed people.”

“In that case,” Night Abyss said quietly, “the life force within those patients wasn’t transferred from anyone else.”

Yun Jiao’s eyes widened in shock. “Grandmaster, you mean—”

“The one who placed that seal…” Night Abyss’s gaze darkened. “…wasn’t transferring life force. They were creating it.”

“…”

(End of this chapter)