Chapter 18 Possession

When Sang Ying woke again, she had no idea how much time had passed. Faint daylight filtered through the bed curtains. She fluttered her lashes and opened her eyes to see the young man sitting at her bedside.

Noticing her movement, he turned to look at her. His expression was as calm and detached as ever, but his eyes were unusually dark.

Sang Ying tilted her head, subtly avoiding his gaze, and propped herself up against the headboard. Softly, she asked, “Little Martial Brother, how long have I been asleep?”

The young man remained silent for a few seconds. Instead of answering her question, he asked in return, “Why are you suddenly calling me Martial Brother, Martial Sister?”

Leaning against the pillow, her pale face slightly flushed as she coughed lightly. “It’s only proper, isn’t it? Haven’t you always addressed me that way? I was young and foolish before. I hope Martial Brother won’t take it to heart.”

A faint scent of blood lingered in the air. Sang Ying frowned slightly and glanced over the young man’s body, but found no traces of blood.

In her hazy state of consciousness, she vaguely remembered drinking something. Its taste was somewhat similar to the medicine she usually took, carrying that distinctive sweetness.

If the plot described in the book was correct, the source of that special sweetness was Xie Lingyu’s blood.

She had consumed quite a lot. If he had cut himself, the wound should not have healed yet.

Sang Ying pursed her lips. “Little Martial Brother, I’m very thirsty. Could you pour me a cup of tea?”

The young man stood up to fetch water, then returned, parted the bed curtains, and handed her the cup.

Sang Ying watched carefully. As she took the teacup, her pinky finger inadvertently brushed against his sleeve. In the slight movement of the fabric, she caught a glimpse of white gauze wrapped around his wrist.

In that moment, Sang Ying’s heart was filled with a tumult of emotions.

First, there was the guilt from confirming that it was all true. Second, there was frustration toward Xie Lingyu. Why was he so compliant? He had been bullied to this extent yet offered no resistance, enduring it all just to repay a life-saving favor from years ago.

The air grew still. The atmosphere between them unknowingly turned stiff and cold, with neither speaking.

In the end, it was Sang Ying who moved first. Clutching the teacup tightly, she bit her lip and raised her eyes to meet his dark gaze.

“Little Martial Brother, let’s… break up.”

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock at the door interrupted her words, followed by a gentle woman’s voice.

“Sword Lord Xie, the Immortal Alliance has something to discuss with you.”

The voice sounded familiar. Before Sang Ying could figure out who it was, the young man by her bedside had already risen to his feet, speaking a bit faster than usual. “Whatever it is, Martial Sister, let’s talk about it when I return.”

Without waiting for Sang Ying to respond, he pushed open the door and left the room.

Sang Ying was taken aback. She parted the bed curtains and looked toward the doorway. Just before the young man closed the door, she caught sight of a gentle, pure face—it was Shen Ying.

No wonder he couldn’t even wait to hear her out. He was in such a hurry to see his white moonlight.

A pang of pain shot through her heart. Sang Ying let the bed curtains fall back into place, lowered her lashes, and leaned back against the pillow to sleep. After a long while, finding herself unable to sleep, she took out the Glazed Mirror.

It turned out she had been asleep for several days. During this time, the case of missing and kidnapped female cultivators in the Cultivation World had been resolved. It was determined that the Yunshui Merchant Guild was not involved but had been exploited by criminals, thus clearing their name.

The matter involved the Demon Realm. Currently, the Demon Realm and the Immortal Alliance were still negotiating. The Demon Realm claimed it was the work of demonic cultivators and had nothing to do with demons, while the Immortal Alliance argued that the Demon Realm should bear partial responsibility and compensate for the losses. The two sides remained at an impasse.

Sang Ying had made arrangements beforehand. During the days she was unconscious, Lengmian and Jingxi, along with Laba from the branch, handled everything in an orderly manner. They promptly released a timeline of all events and a letter of apology, assuring buyers that there would be no such oversights in the future and promising to do better.

The two merchant guilds that had originally intended to trample Yunshui had just been cleared of suspicion and released by the Immortal Alliance. Before they could even rejoice, they were once again branded as opportunists who had framed a fellow merchant guild, leaving them in a miserable state.

Sang Ying only glanced at these matters before moving on. What truly concerned her was the only merchant guild among the four major ones that had not waded into this muddy water—Jinxiu.

…Could it be innocent and blameless?

Sang Ying rubbed her temples. Come to think of it, she always felt a sense of déjà vu about Jinxiu. Jinxiu was like a mirror image of Yunshui.

They both pioneered new sales methods on the Spirit Network, operated branches in various regions for convenient door-to-door delivery, and contracted with source suppliers for direct online sales… Whenever she thought of something new, Jinxiu always seemed to come up with similar ideas.

She had considered the possibility that someone close to her might have leaked information. After that, she kept every new sales model to herself, telling no one, existing only in her mind.

Yet, before the new model was launched, Jinxiu would still roll out something similar, often even better, addressing many loopholes she hadn’t considered.

When Yunshui first entered the market with its Spirit Network sales model, it captured half the market share in the second year. This gave Sang Ying great confidence, thinking she could dominate the entire market within three years, dismissing established guilds like Wantong and Xing Xiao.

But unexpectedly, in the third year, Jinxiu emerged out of nowhere, catching Sang Ying off guard.

Strangely, Jinxiu didn’t aim to monopolize the market. Instead, it intentionally supported these established guilds, fostering mutual benefits. Within just a year, it rose to become one of the four major merchant guilds.

Her mind feeling muddled, Sang Ying put away the Glazed Mirror, stopped overthinking, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.

…

Xie Lingyu walked out of the room, but his mind was filled with the image of the young woman from earlier. Her serious expression made it clear she was prepared to discuss something important with him.

Yet, for the first time in his life, he instinctively chose to avoid it.

“Sword Lord Xie, how is your wife’s condition?”

An unknown female cultivator beside him spoke up.

Xie Lingyu didn’t respond and continued walking toward the Immortal Alliance’s temporary outpost in the Demon Realm. The female cultivator spoke again, “Sword Lord Xie, my Yaochi specializes in healing and purification techniques. Demonic energy invading the body can cause harm, and leaving behind any lingering issues would be unfortunate. Why not let me take a look at your wife?”

This time, Xie Lingyu reacted. He glanced at the female cultivator, noticing the emblem of the Yaochi Saintess on her, and finally replied, “Very well, I’ll trouble you then, Immortal Maiden.”

Shen Ying smiled. “I heard that after your wife fell unconscious, you stayed by her side, refusing to let anyone visit. What a loving Dao Companion pair.”

Xie Lingyu didn’t respond, his eyelashes lowering slightly, concealing the emotions in his eyes.

…

When Sang Ying woke again, it was already night. She turned her head and didn’t see Xie Lingyu, but noticed someone else sitting by the bed.

—Shen Ying.

Sang Ying was taken aback.

Seeing her awake, Shen Ying smiled. “Miss Sang, you’re awake. Do you remember me? We met once two years ago.”

Sang Ying certainly remembered, but she didn’t understand why Shen Ying was here.

She came before her, wanting to say something again? Could it be to assert her claim and urge her to divorce Xie Lingyu? But she had already planned to do so; there was no need for such haste.

While her muddled mind wandered with wild thoughts, Shen Ying spoke up, smiling gently, “It’s quite normal not to remember. Miss Sang, I’m here to examine your condition. If demonic energy has invaded your body, it would be troublesome if any residual energy remained hidden in your meridians.”

Shen Ying took her hand, their palms meeting, and guided her softly, “Miss Sang, try to channel a trace of spiritual power through your meridians.”

…So she was here to examine her. Sang Ying immediately felt a twinge of shame and lowered her gaze slightly, doing as she was told.

A soft glow emanated from their joined palms. Sang Ying felt a gentle stream of spiritual power flowing through her meridians, like a breeze lightly brushing past, warm and soft.

After a moment, Shen Ying withdrew her spiritual power and released her hand. Sang Ying felt her weary body lighten considerably, and her pale face regained some color. The healing power of Yaochi was truly remarkable.

Sang Ying lowered her head and whispered, “Thank you.”

“It was just a small effort. There’s no need for thanks, Miss Sang.”

Sang Ying pursed her lips, wanting to ask about her relationship with Xie Lingyu. But when she raised her eyes and met Shen Ying’s gentle gaze, she suddenly froze.

A familiar sensation surged into her mind, resonating with her soul and sending shivers down her spine. Sang Ying murmured in a daze, “Have I… met you somewhere before?”

Shen Ying smiled, “Has Miss Sang remembered? We met outside that ancient secret realm two years ago. You were even younger back then…”

“Alright, you might feel drowsy after the healing. Rest now, Miss Sang.”

Sang Ying rubbed her sleepy head, “Mm.”

…

Shen Ying left the room, closed the door, and turned to look at the aloof young man leaning against the pillar in the corridor.

“The Sword Lord clearly cares so much about Miss Sang. Why stand outside instead of going in?”

The young man didn’t respond, only speaking calmly, “Thank you, Immortal. Luo Qing.”

The Luo Qing Sword, carrying a pouch of Spirit Stones, flew to Shen Ying.

Shen Ying glanced at it and, without hesitation, took the pouch, weighing it in her hand with a smile. “The Sword Lord is quite generous. But this must be your private savings, right?”

The Luoqing Sword Spirit stiffened, “Shh, shh!”

“Keep it down! My boss has a reason for hiding his private savings! Think about it—without money, how can he buy medicinal soups, elixirs, and supplements for his wife? And during festivals, he has to secretly buy gifts for her, pretending they were bought by the household maids. It’s not easy, you know!”

Shen Ying chuckled, “That does sound difficult.”

She looked up at the cold young man meditating nearby. “Sword Lord Xie, could you let your little sword spirit, Luo Yu… Luo Qing, take a break for a moment?”

Luo Qing protested, “Huh? What is it that I can’t—”

Xie Lingyu lifted his eyes calmly, “Speak.”

Shen Ying: “I examined Miss Sang’s body and found no hidden residual demonic energy. However, I did make another discovery.”

“Miss Sang has been drinking a medicine with dragon blood as the medicinal catalyst for years. Her body has been nourished by the dragon blood, and she has indeed improved significantly. But this practice is not without drawbacks. Dragon blood can become addictive, like a Gu that cannot be broken.”

“She is now… unable to live without it.”

…

Because of Xie Lingyu’s words about waiting for him to return, Sang Ying kept waiting, fighting off sleepiness and refusing to rest.

But the young man did not return until late at night. Unable to hold on any longer, she hugged her pillow and fell into a deep sleep.

After she fell asleep, the bedroom door opened.

The pillow in her arms was pulled away and mercilessly tossed to the corner of the bed.

The young man embraced the girl, enveloping her completely in his own aura. He looked down as she unconsciously nuzzled against his chest in her sleep, like a naive little animal.

The Dragon Tail slowly tightened around her, wrapping tighter and tighter in a posture of complete possession.