After Breaking Off the Engagement, I Started Pursuing My Master-Chapter 157 - Choice

Chapter 157: Choice

Jiang Huai turned and looked back.

He had previously severed the blood threads connecting everyone, and they were gradually waking up.

Those who woke up later were still looking around in confusion, not understanding what had happened.

Those who woke up earlier and had witnessed the entire process were now staring with their eyes wide open, unable to utter a single word.

After all, they were all Foundation Establishment cultivators and the battle at the Void Refining realm was too far removed for them, hence the shock.

Miss Fang Wu and Miss Fang Liu were among those who woke up particularly early. Their eyes were bright, and although their bodies were somewhat weak, they couldn’t help but want to approach Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai looked at the approaching girl, puzzled.

“How did you kill him?!” Miss Fang Wu’s voice was still full of disbelief.

“I borrowed some power from the seniors in the Daoji Ancestral Land and relied on a bit of luck to barely kill him,” Jiang Huai responded softly.

He began to introspect his qi sea, which was almost extinguished.

The sparks of fire once again surged out of Jiang Huai’s body, and his spiritual energy returned to the first level of Qi cultivation. The phantoms of the three True Persons now appeared in midair. They could no longer speak but showed Jiang Huai a gratified smile.

Jiang Huai bowed in salute, and the remnants of the three True Persons completely dissipated between heaven and earth.

He turned his gaze to Wen Wanwan, whose eyes and brows now bore an undeniable weariness. Her few sword strikes against the Refining Yin Demon Gu had been particularly crucial, sharing much of the pressure with Jiang Huai.

Jiang Huai gently grabbed her hand, “Shall we go?”

Wen Wanwan, however, looked towards Mo Wanqiu, who was now sitting on a tree, dazed and motionless. With the death of the Refining Yin Demon Gu, the Hehuan Gu in her body naturally died as well. Only now did she finally recall what she had done while under the control of the Refining Yin Demon Gu.

The cultivators who had regained their senses were now gathering around, quickly surrounding Mo Wanqiu. She sat on the ground in panic, her face pale.

“Don’t... don’t come any closer...”

But the eyes of the cultivators were filled with raging anger. If it weren’t for her releasing the Thundercloud Cauldron and creating a thunder pool, perhaps some could have escaped. Now, of the more than two hundred cultivators who entered the Daoji Ancestral Land, only a little over a hundred remained, nearly half were lost.

“As the holy maiden of Tingyu Sect, you abetted an evil cultivator. This blood debt... I will personally claim from you!”

A grey-clothed swordsman stood up from the crowd, his eyes bloodshot, holding a spirit sword.

Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment but eventually took a step forward.

“She was also compelled by the Hehuan Gu... I know you have hatred in your heart, but... let’s wait until we leave the Daoji Ancestral Land. Let her confess everything that happened, then make a decision, okay?”

The grey-clothed swordsman turned to look at Jiang Huai, his sword-holding hand trembling uncontrollably. Mo Wanqiu, like grasping at a lifeline, crawled to Jiang Huai’s feet and clung tightly to his leg.

“You... save me... I didn’t want this... The taste of being possessed by the Hehuan Gu... you don’t understand... none of you understand... I didn’t want this... it was him who forced me into this... I couldn’t even seek death when under the Hehuan Gu...”

Mo Wanqiu’s face was streaked with tears, crying pitifully. Jiang Huai sighed softly.

The grey-clothed swordsman looked up, his gaze fixed on Jiang Huai.

“My dao companion... died at the hands of that evil cultivator. If she hadn’t released the thunder pool with the Thundercloud Cauldron, perhaps my dao companion... could have survived.”

“My point is just... let’s make a decision after we leave the secret realm.”

Jiang Huai’s voice was very gentle, but the grey-clothed swordsman’s voice trembled even more.

“She is the holy maiden of Tingyu Sect, and her father is the sect master of Tingyu Sect... Once we leave this secret realm, she may be protected by Tingyu Sect, and then it may not be possible to seek revenge... I am grateful to you for saving us, but if you intend to protect her, then please kill me as well.”

Not just the grey-clothed swordsman.

Several other cultivators now stood beside the grey-clothed swordsman. Perhaps among them, there were also friends and relatives who died at the hands of Mo Dan. Now that Mo Dan was dead, Mo Wanqiu, who had abetted him, was still alive.

“Count me in!”

“Me too!” Several cultivators spoke almost in unison.

Mo Wanqiu’s face gradually paled. She still clung tightly to Jiang Huai’s leg, her cheeks tear-streaked, but her forehead was already knocking on the ground.

“I didn’t want this... I didn’t want it to be like this... You won’t understand the feeling of being possessed by the Hehuan Gu... I didn’t want this... I wasn’t like this before... I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I want to live... I’m sorry... I thought about dying... but he always stopped me... I couldn’t even seek death after being infected with the Hehuan Gu...”

Jiang Huai stood still, silent.

In the previous system task prompt, he knew that Mo Wanqiu’s change in temperament and becoming Mo Dan’s accomplice was due to being controlled by the Hehuan Gu.

He didn’t pity Mo Wanqiu; he was just thinking... if someone is coerced into doing bad things, should they still pay with their life?

If Chu Xianning were here now, how would she choose?

Would she choose to save Mo Wanqiu, wait until they left the Daoji Ancestral Land to make a decision, or ignore her and let Mo Wanqiu fend for herself?

Behind the grey-clothed swordsman, seven or eight cultivators had already drawn their swords.

Mo Wanqiu continued to kowtow and cry, and Jiang Huai was somewhat annoyed.

“What do you think I should do, Wanwan?”

Jiang Huai turned his eyes to Wen Wanwan.

Wen Wanwan’s eyes were gentle and calm, “Whatever Senior Brother Jiang Huai decides to do, Wanwan will support Senior Brother Jiang Huai.”

She stood beside Jiang Huai, with the Qingxuan Sword floating beside her. If anyone dared to take a step forward before Jiang Huai made a decision, she would decapitate him.

She couldn’t give Jiang Huai any advice, but she was willing to be his sword.

The grey-clothed swordsman’s gaze was intense. Jiang Huai suddenly didn’t know how to look at him directly, but when he lowered his head, he found that Mo Wanqiu, who had been clinging to his leg, had slowly let go.

She stopped kowtowing, and her trembling shoulders gradually ceased. Jiang Huai saw her slowly stand up, her eyes looking at the crowd in front of her, then turning to Jiang Huai, her voice hoarse.

“Thank you... for speaking up for me.”

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and took out a dagger from her storage ring.

“Also, thank you for killing Mo Dan... you’re a good person... you don’t have to be troubled...”

Mo Wanqiu held the dagger’s blade at her heart. She slowly turned around, looking at the grey-clothed swordsman.

“I’m willing to pay with my life... but please... can you not tell... what I did in the secret realm... I don’t want to shame my father...”

The grey-clothed swordsman looked into Mo Wanqiu’s pleading eyes and was speechless for a moment.

In the next instant, Mo Wanqiu was already kneeling, the tip of the dagger piercing an inch into her chest. Blood flowed down her torso, and she looked at the crowd in front of her.

“Please...”

Her face was as pale as paper, and her disheveled hair fluttered at the corner of her mouth.

“All the mistakes... are my fault... If you still feel hatred, even if you grind my bones to dust now... I will have no complaints... but please... don’t tell my father about my deeds...”

The crowd remained silent, just coldly watching the blood drip from Mo Wanqiu’s chest.

Mo Wanqiu’s hand trembled non-stop. She pulled out the dagger’s blade, but in that instant, she plunged it deeply into her abdomen. Jiang Huai watched as she slowly cut open her belly, the gushing blood spraying onto her snow-white thighs.

“Please...”

Jiang Huai sighed softly and reached out to gently place his hand on Mo Wanqiu’s shoulder. He still had a healing pill in his hand.

Mo Wanqiu slowly raised her head, sweat beads rolling down her forehead to her chin and dripping onto her collarbone. Her eyes looked up at Jiang Huai humbly. Jiang Huai softened his voice a few degrees.

“I don’t know how to choose... so I’ll leave the choice to you. I can protect you and ensure you safely leave the Daoji Ancestral Land alive, but everything that happened inside must be spoken truthfully, giving the world an explanation. Or, after your death... I will tell the outside world that you just died at the hands of the evil cultivator. Whichever you choose, I will make it happen.”

Jiang Huai then looked at the crowd and asked softly.

“Regarding the second condition, she was controlled by the Hehuan Gu, and the Thundercloud Cauldron she released indeed was a means to block your escape. But Mo Dan already had the strength of Void Refining first-level, so no one could have really escaped by luck. To put it bluntly, if I hadn’t killed Mo Dan, each of you would have died... So, I’m asking with a bit of selfishness, hoping you can give her a chance to fulfill her wish.”

“Thank you... Jiang Huai... for saying that... thank you... for understanding me... I’ve done so many wrong things... I shouldn’t hope for too much...”

Mo Wanqiu ultimately didn’t wait for a response from the crowd. The light in her eyes was already fading, but she still tried hard to look at Jiang Huai, saying softly with a faint pale smile.

“Thank you... really.”

“If possible... please let Xu Qing... convey a message to my father... tell him... your daughter is unfilial, failing to live up to many years of nurturing...”

Gradually, her head drooped, and she lost all signs of life.

Jiang Huai had given her two choices, but in the end, she chose neither. Her body had turned into a rigid sculpture, with only the blood still slowly flowing, soaking the grass.

The grey-clothed swordsman lowered his head. Mo Wanqiu was already dead, and his anger had nowhere to vent. freёnovelkiss.com

The several cultivators behind him also fell silent.

...

Jiang Huai brought Xu Qing out of the inheritance secret realm.

Now he, Wen Wanwan, and Xu Qing sat by the stream. There was a newly dug pit beside the stream where Mo Wanqiu’s body was buried. Xu Qing took out a spirit flower seed from her storage ring and gently buried it in the pit. A lush green spirit plant soon grew from the pit.

Jiang Huai had told Xu Qing everything that happened. His expression was complicated as he glanced at Xu Qing.

“If it were you, what would you choose?”

Xu Qing fell silent. She didn’t know how to answer.