Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 45 Before Parting
The Qinghe Sword Sect was too far from Cui County. When Su Chun returned to Cui County, he saw the whole city in mourning, with white banners everywhere he looked.

Every household was dressed in mourning; the scene was as if a battle had just taken place in Cui County.

Su Chunyi was shocked. Could it be that the boy and girl she had become had already met with misfortune?
But as Su Chunyi hovered in mid-air, he carefully sensed the situation and found that there were few crying families in the city, and not much sorrow. On the contrary, many pedestrians on the road had happy expressions, but they dared not show it and could only lower their heads and smile secretly.

Such a bizarre situation left Su Chunyi utterly astonished.

The whole city is dressed in mourning, so why is everyone smiling?
Su Chunyi was puzzled when she pressed down on her sword, which landed in the city. Due to the illusion, no one noticed a fairy descending from the sky.

After walking several dozen steps, Su Chunyi arrived in front of the teahouse.

Baiye Teahouse looks much the same as it used to be, but once you step inside, the bustling atmosphere is gone. There are only two customers in the large space, one of whom is Chen Ye.

Upon seeing Chen Ye, Su Chunyi felt a sense of relief for some reason.

No matter what unexpected thing happened in Cui County, with Chen Ye around, at least he had someone to talk to.

Su Chunyi sat down next to Chen Ye without any hesitation, not even noticing the little girl with her head down next to Chen Ye.

Chen Ye picked up the teapot, poured a cup for Su Chunyi, and said, "Miss Su, you're finally back. Have some tea and rest for a bit."

Su Chun took a sip and said in surprise, "It tastes better than the tea last time."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Of course, this time it's really good tea, not just leftover tea leaves."

Su Chunyi took only a small sip, then asked somewhat anxiously, "Has the matter of the virgin boys and girls been resolved?"

Chen Ye nodded.

"Most of the children have been sent home, but not all of them. These days I've had Little Stone help me track them down to make sure the surviving children have been settled."

Although the children were well taken care of, some parents were unwilling when the children were forcibly conscripted. The magistrate of Cui County was not a soft-hearted person, and in the end, some people were killed.

Upon hearing Chen Ye's words, Su Chun looked at the silent girl and sincerely said, "This was something I should have resolved, but I ended up just standing by and watching. Thank you both for your help."

Lan Shi looked up at Su Chunyi, nodded silently, and remained silent.

Su Chunyi could tell that the girl was in a bad mood, but she was too embarrassed to ask further questions, so she continued to inquire about the details of Chen Ye's incident.

Chen Ye didn't hide anything and simply explained the whole story: "I still used the same method I used to deal with the monk Ku'e... Although the princess was not entirely without fault, in the end she perished together with that old devil, which can be considered as atonement..."

Su Chun listened carefully, her expression constantly showing surprise.

She never imagined the story could take such a dramatic turn; the evil old man Tianwu had secretly manipulated the imperial court and committed this horrific atrocity.

"So the whole of Cui County is dressed in mourning because of the princess's death?"

In Su Chunyi's view, only royalty and nobility could command the entire city to wear mourning clothes.

Chen Ye said, "The princess didn't even leave behind her body, so who can know she's dead? We'll just treat her as missing for now. The reason the whole of Cui County is dressed in mourning is because I killed the magistrate of Cui County. Besides that corrupt official, there were also officials and thugs who aided and abetted him, and I've dealt with them according to their confessions. It's a pity I couldn't find Jiang Shiyue, and I don't know if he ran away or is hiding."

Chen Ye's original target was Jiang Shiyue, that little devil, but he was too good at hiding. He searched for several days in Cui County with his spiritual eyes but couldn't find him, so he simply killed the county magistrate.

Who would have thought that the magistrate's family would be so arrogant, demanding that everyone in the city wear mourning clothes for the magistrate? But upon learning that the magistrate had died, almost everyone in Cui County wanted to burst into laughter, which led to the bizarre scene of every family wearing mourning clothes and everyone smiling.

Chen Ye watched them court death.

Princess Hongyu disappeared in Cui County. Unable to find this precious daughter of the family, they instead held a lavish funeral for the county magistrate. The consequences were predictable. The magistrate's family was accustomed to arrogance and domineering behavior; not a single member of them was intelligent.

Su Chun didn't care about Chen Ye killing the official. She already knew about Magistrate Cui's crimes, and she knew that the corrupt official deserved to be torn to pieces if she had just inquired.

However, the Qinghe Sword Sect has strict rules, and Su Chunyi cannot casually attack ordinary people.

Chen Ye was not a disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect, so he had no scruples.

Su Chunyi felt a little regretful: "If I had known this would happen, perhaps I could have saved this princess."

Looking at the heartbroken Lan Shi, Su Chunyi couldn't help but say, "If she hadn't been facing such a desperate situation, she wouldn't have needed to use the name of the Qinghe Sword Sect. She hoped the Qinghe Sword Sect could save her life. If I had noticed sooner and acted more carefully, she might have survived, and you wouldn't have had to take such a risk..."

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "Miss Su, why take the blame for the demon's mistake? The princess is determined to die; even a god couldn't save her."

“Besides, I am neither your junior nor an ignorant child. I am a cultivator, though my cultivation level is lower, but we are equals. My life and death are in my own hands, not Miss Su’s fault.” Su Chunyi pondered for a moment, then asked doubtfully, “What you say makes sense, sir, but my master taught me that cultivators must uphold justice and speak out for the suffering people of the world. They must not act recklessly to bully the weak, nor act rashly to implicate the innocent. Mortals are weak and suffering; if cultivators are not careful, it could lead to the deaths of millions.”

"Since I asked you to investigate the case for me, your safety is naturally related to me."

Chen Ye was completely bewildered. Was this the rule of the Qinghe Sword Sect?

Is it going too far, even bordering on the wicked?

Logically, Chen Ye should agree with Su Chunyi and accept this favor. If he were to be even more modest, he would ensure that the young lady Su felt guilty, and he would naturally reap many benefits.

But Chen Ye said, "Miss Su, the Qinghe Sword Sect has the world in their hearts, which is naturally worthy of respect. The rules of the Qinghe Sword Sect are like this, and I, as an outsider, have no right to question them. But in my opinion, one should understand the cause and effect before acting chivalrously. I could have left, but I chose to risk dealing with that possessing demon."

"In that case, the cause lies with me and has nothing to do with you. Even if I was harmed by that demon, I can only blame myself for being reckless, not you."

After this experience, Chen Ye became even more focused on cause and effect.

Clarifying cause and effect can make many complex things simple and clear. Su Chunyi cannot distinguish between "I am willing" and "I should". If this continues, she may easily develop inner demons.

However, Chen Ye could only stop there, since Su Chunyi's cultivation was much higher than his, and saying anything more would seem too arrogant.

Su Chunyi listened attentively to Chen Ye's words, then nodded and said, "Thank you for clearing up my doubts, sir. Meeting you on this training trip is the greatest blessing in my life."

Chen Ye felt a little embarrassed by these words, since he was the one who actually benefited.

After a few words of modesty, they both fell silent, both understanding that it was time to talk about the topic neither of them wanted to discuss.

Finally, Su Chunyi spoke first: "Now that the matter of Cui County is settled, what are your plans for the future, sir?"

Yes, the two of them had worked together to resolve the issue of the forced conscription of young boys and girls in Cui County. Now that it was resolved, it was time to part ways.

Chen Ye was somewhat reluctant, but still said, "I'm just a rogue cultivator, what plans could I possibly have? Now that my Qi Sea is condensing, the next step is naturally to strengthen it and enter the Gang Sha Realm as soon as possible."

Unfortunately, no elixirs are effective at this level; the key is the cultivation technique.

High-ranking sects all possess secret techniques to accelerate the growth of the Qi Sea, but these are treasures that are never passed on to outsiders. Chen Ye can only rely on his own exploration to see if he can create his own cultivation method. In addition, he needs to collect items tainted with Qi and evil energy in advance to prepare for body tempering.

This means that Chen Ye needs to leave the mortal world and enter those truly dangerous places.

Su Chunyi knew this was the right thing to do, but she still felt a little reluctant and couldn't help but ask, "If you are interested, perhaps I can recommend you to the sect leader to join the Qinghe Sword Sect. The sect leader also speaks highly of you and has ordered me to pass on a message that the secret technique you passed on is of great importance, and the Qinghe Sword Sect is willing to offer a magic treasure as a token of gratitude."

"Has your sect leader heard about my matter?"

Chen Ye gasped. The fact that his name had reached the ears of the world's number one was truly frightening.

If an ordinary rogue cultivator heard about this, he would be happy to gain a few more years of lifespan, but Chen Ye was terrified.

His own background wasn't exactly clean. He might be able to fool a naive young girl like Su Chunyi, but this number one person in the world had killed countless demons. Trying to fool him was just asking for trouble.

As for the Qinghe Sword Sect's gift of gratitude, Chen Ye was not particularly interested.

He couldn't even use the sword box Su Chunyi gave him properly; his cultivation level was the biggest problem. Even if he were given a flying sword, he wouldn't be able to use it. He would rather exchange it for some pills to improve his cultivation level as soon as possible.

However, this matter is not urgent and can be discussed slowly.

“Miss Su’s kindness is undeserved. It’s just a pity that I can’t abide by the rules of the Qinghe Sword Sect. In my eyes, eliminating demons and protecting the righteous is just a side thing. What I really seek is immortality. I’m afraid I’ll be expelled from the sect in a few days.”

Su Chunyi was slightly disappointed, but she also understood that the sect's rules were strict and few cultivators in the world could endure them; otherwise, the Qinghe Sword Sect would not have so few disciples.

But after today's parting, I fear we may never meet again.

As if sensing what Su Chunyi was thinking, Chen Ye said to her, "However, before we part, I have one more request for Miss Su."

Su Chun's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Please speak, sir."

“That little devil named Jiang Shiyue has escaped. He has committed many evil deeds. As the saying goes, evil must be eradicated completely. I would like to ask Miss Su to help me find this devil. Only by killing him can the matter in Cui County be perfectly resolved.”

Su Chun smiled and said to Chen Ye, "What you say makes sense, sir. This time, I will not let you risk your life alone again."

(End of this chapter)