Lu Yun was being unusually forceful in this moment.
His peer from the Lu clan had attempted to kill him many times, finally taking Wanfeng and throwing her onto the altar as an offering in the end. Each time, Lu Yun’s response had been muted out of wariness of the Lu Clan.
But this time, the governor would no longer back down. Considering the companions he’d gathered, and the circumstances of the province, he finally had the confidence to hold his head high and stand his ground.
Gathered along the riverbank were major Dusk factions and those who bore specific ill-intent toward Lu Yun. Killing Lu Yuanhou served as a warning, just like killing a chicken in front of the monkeys to intimidate them.
The Nephrite court had stipulated that there was to be a reselection of governor in five months, and Lu Yun would naturally abide by imperial intentions. If anyone dared to pull a trick on him during this time, however, he wouldn’t show them any mercy.
Diexi had thrown herself under Lu Yun’s banner. There was no shortage of powerful cultivators in the world who could see through her true nature, and a zombie king had no place in the world of immortals. Even if she hid in Dusk Province, people of unusual might would find and kill her.
Only Lu Yun considered her alive and her own person. Diexi had given the Yin Formation Orb to Feinie precisely because she’d wanted his protection.
As the Dusk governor, Lu Yun was a member of the Nephrite court with jurisdiction over an entire province. Diexi, on the other hand, was the strongest being in the region. Joining Lu Yun’s camp made her part of the imperial court. Together, they could gain a foothold here and survive.
With Diexi and the nine bloodcorpses, Lu Yun had nothing to fear, locally. It was also reassuring that the province’s restriction hadn’t made a move against the zombie king or the bloodcorpses. It seemed that they were allowed to stay.
……
Such was the end of the farce.
Cultivators and immortals filed away from the riverbank, many of whom were casting looks of frustration and dread at Lu Yun. The immortals from the Lu Clan having been slaughtered, Feng Li slunk away with his people.
Li Youcai gave up on striking a conversation with Lun Yun and took his leave when Mo Yi refused to even look at him. As Situ Yun and Qin Xianhuo readied to depart as well, Lu Yun remarked faintly, “Isn’t there something the two of you should do?”
They hesitated. “We...”
“I promised to take you out with us, but I didn’t agree to let you go.” Lu Yun stared at Qin Xianhuo seriously. “You saw too many of my secrets in the abyss.”
“I know what to do.” Qin Xianhuo set his jaw and reached deep into his mind, extracting his memory of what had happened in the abyss and destroying it.
Back when Yuying had first left Wayfarer, she too had erased her memories of him.
Situ Yun hesitated when he saw Qin Xianhuo’s actions. However, Diexi’s threatening gaze pushed him into doing the same as well. Their eyes clouded over momentarily, and only then did Lu Yun let them go.
“Should I do that too?” Mo Yi suddenly asked seriously.
Lu Yun looked at her in surprise. “Why should you?”
“Aren’t you worried that I’ll reveal your secrets?” She wasn’t joking at all.
Lu Yun shrugged. “We’re friends. I trust you.”
Mo Yi blinked, then smiled. It was a smile that reached her eyes. It felt good to be trusted; the new feeling was a luxurious one.
“Come on, come on. Let’s go back to your manor and take a good nap. I haven’t been able to relax for the past fifteen days.” Lu Yun subconsciously glanced at Wayfarer, recalling the man sealed on the altar in the burial mound and the flickering image of a pair of eyes.
Was that Wayfarer really this man’s eyes?
Wayfarer shook his head. “Don’t look at me, I don’t know either.”
Xuanxi had told him about the other Wayfarer, but he had no idea how to explain things.
“You really don’t remember anything about your past?” Lu Yun asked as they slowly strolled their way back.
“I don’t.” Wayfarer shook his head. “I don’t even know if I’m human.”
“Huh?” Lu Yun paused, along with the others. “You don’t know if you’re human?”
“I don’t have the basic five senses.” Wayfarer’s expression was very stiff. “I know I’m in the outside world, but this place feels no different to me than the abyss. I can’t see, hear, smell, or taste anything. I don’t even feel pain,” he murmured. “All living beings have five senses, but I have none. Perhaps I am dead.”
Lu Yun shuddered. Qing Han and Mo Yi goggled at each other in shock. Didn’t people live to satisfy the desires brought about by the five senses? Those, in turn, gave rise to all human emotions—greed, love, fear, and hatred and so on. Without the ability to perceive the world, what was there to live for?
“Then you...” Qing Han asked dumbly.
“My consciousness allows me to understand your conversation,” explained Wayfarer.
It was a sixth sense for cultivators and immortals, one that could perceive the environment in the place of eyes and ears. However, it wasn’t a true replacement. It couldn’t hear sounds or see colors.
“I’m used to it.” Sensing their shock, Wayfarer lifted a corner of his lips. “It’s been like this for me ever since I gained consciousness. I’m used to the feeling.”
“You will recover!” Lu Yun piped up, a possibility dawning on him. The other Wayfarer, his bright gaze, and… that pair of crimson eyes.
“Perhaps,” whispered Wayfarer. “What is the purpose of my life?”
“To recover what you’ve lost, of course!” the Dusk governor chuckled. “To recover your sight, your hearing, and your senses of smell, taste, and touch!”
Wayfarer paused. It seemed there was some purpose to his life after all.
“Also, you should study the divine obsession in your gourd and see what it is.”
……
Lu Yun slept for three days straight. He was simply too tired. Back at the Water Altar, he’d spent a full day setting up the feng shui layout to block the altar’s power. If he hadn’t been a golden core cultivator, he wouldn’t have been able to maintain such a high level of concentration for so long.
“You’re awake, sir!”
Lu Yun awoke to Wanfeng’s worried expression. Yawning, he sat up and made a thorough stretch.
“Are you alright, Wanfeng?” he rubbed her delicate nose and asked smilingly.
Wanfeng lowered her head, her face flushed. “This servant is well.”
She didn’t know what had happened. She remembered being kidnapped by the head of House Ge, but now she was back to this manor. Her master must have saved her. There were a thousand things she wanted to say, but she didn’t know how to say them at all.
“Um, sir, Senior Wayfarer wants to take me as his disciple...” Wanfeng said with some hesitance. “This servant doesn’t dare say yes without consulting you.”
“You should!” Lu Yun bounced up from the bed. “What are you waiting for? He’s a wickedly powerful immortal!”
Wayfarer had captured the terrifying divine obsession under the abyss simply by tapping on his gourd. There was no telling the depths of his cultivation. Not even Diexi, an arcane immortal, could sense it.
Moreover, Wayfarer had managed to survive in the abyss, untouched by any of the powerful dark creatures. That alone was proof of his strength.
It would be Wanfeng’s greatest fortune of several lifetimes to have Wayfarer as her master.
“Come on, let’s go greet your new master!” Lu Yun jumped off the bed.