Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 129 Zhang Lexuan!

Life in the inner courtyard was uneventful. In the mornings, Zhu Ziyang would learn how to rule the world from Mu En, and in the afternoons, he would spend his time in various activities. He would either exchange combat techniques with the senior brothers and sisters in the inner courtyard or play with Xingcai in the academy. As for the evenings, he would use them to cultivate necromancy and soul power. His time was full and tight.

One morning, after finishing his cultivation session, Zhu Ziyang went to report to Mu En as usual to check on his progress.

"Teacher, what is your relationship with Beibei?" After finishing his report, Zhu Ziyang didn't rush to leave but asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time.

"Hehe, why are you suddenly asking this?" Moon said with a smile on his old face.

"I'm just curious," Zhu Ziyang readily admitted. "I always felt that Sister Lexuan and his relationship was unusual."

"Oh, I see." A hint of regret flashed in Mu En's old eyes as he said, "You should know that Bei Bei and I are both descendants of Yu Xiaogang, so he should call me Xuanzu. As for Le Xuan, I'm the one who wronged her. When I first met her, she was immersed in the hatred of losing her family. She was only eleven or twelve years old then, but she was exceptionally resilient, kneeling and begging me to help her avenge her family. I was grieving at the time, so I agreed, but I needed her to agree to one condition."

"What are the conditions?" Zhu Ziyang had a vague feeling that what was about to happen might involve Mu En's dark history, but he still couldn't help but ask.

"Sigh! It was a moment of folly on my part." A hint of shame flashed across Moon's face as he said, "I told her that I could not only help her take revenge, but also ensure that Shrek Academy would do its best to nurture her. However, in exchange for it, she would have to protect Shrek Academy for life and become Beibei's child bride!"

"A child bride!" Upon hearing this, Zhu Ziyang was stunned and stared at Mu En in disbelief. He really didn't expect that Mu En would do something like this, taking advantage of someone's kindness. Sure enough, everyone has a dark side that no one knows about!

"Hehe~ Do you think what the teacher did was despicable?" Mu En looked at Zhu Ziyang's reaction and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Le Xuan is a really sensible girl. After I avenged her, she stayed at Shrek Academy and took on the responsibility of raising Bei Bei until Bei Bei was ten years old and was taken back to Tian Dou City by her family."

I deeply regret letting Lexuan agree to that condition. That child has suffered so much because of me. I want her to break her promise, but I don't know how to bring it up, so it's been dragging on until now. I originally planned to let things slide and have Beibei and Lexuan marry after Beibei comes of age, but I never expected that Beibei would actually get together with that little girl from the Tang Clan, and Lexuan seems to have truly fallen for Beibei too. Sigh... what a tragedy!

"Teacher, does Beibei know about this?" Zhu Ziyang didn't know how to comment on this matter. He thought of Beibei and Tang Ya, and then he thought of Zhang Lexuan. He felt that this matter was really outrageous. He thought for a moment and asked.

"He doesn't know," Mu En shook his head and said, "Besides me and Le Xuan, only you know about this right now. I don't want to break up Bei Bei and Tang Ya, but I also feel sorry for Le Xuan. This matter is weighing heavily on my mind and I can't shake it off."

"So, teacher, what are you planning to do?" Zhu Ziyang asked.

"The best way now is to persuade Le Xuan to give up that vow. Fortunately, she is still young and a genius of Shrek Academy. She has a long future ahead of her and doesn't need to live with this damn vow on her shoulders," Mu En said, unusually using a swear word.

"Only you can talk to Sister Lexuan about this." Zhu Ziyang had a bad feeling, as if he was asking for trouble.

As expected, Mu En's next words confirmed Zhu Ziyang's premonition. He said, "Of course, I need to deal with the mistakes I made. But, Ziyang, you also need to help persuade Le Xuan. She's stubborn, and it might not be easy to change her mind."

"Uh~" Zhu Ziyang smiled wryly upon hearing this and said, "Teacher, I'll try my best."

He's really making trouble for himself!

-

Three days after talking with Mu En, Zhang Lexuan was summoned into the Sea God Pavilion by Mu En, while Zhu Ziyang stood outside the door, waiting for Zhang Lexuan to appear. He felt that Zhang Lexuan would most likely come out looking dejected, after all, that vow was, to some extent, the driving force that had supported her to this day.

Zhu Ziyang leaned against the wall idly, his gaze passing through the branches of the golden ancient tree to the distant stars in the night sky. A shooting star streaked across the sky, and he heard the sound of a door opening beside him.

He immediately looked over and saw Zhang Lexuan walk out expressionlessly. However, her slightly trembling fingers and the gloom in her eyes told Zhu Ziyang that Zhang Lexuan was not as calm as she appeared.

"Sister Lexuan," Zhu Ziyang called out after a moment's hesitation.

"Huh?" Zhang Lexuan responded unconsciously, then looked at Zhu Ziyang with a half-crying smile and said, "It's Ziyang, what are you doing here?"

"Sister Lexuan, I know you're feeling really bad right now. If you want to cry, just cry. It'll make you feel better," Zhu Ziyang said.

"Can you walk with me for a bit?" Zhang Lexuan asked, without crying. Then, without waiting for Zhu Ziyang's reply, she walked outside first.

Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang had no choice but to follow.

Zhang Lexuan remained silent the entire way, and Zhu Ziyang didn't know what to say either, because this was a reaction to an extreme person meeting someone who had been provoked. Both sides were responsible, but Mu En was more at fault and Zhang Lexuan was less at fault.

They arrived at the shore of Poseidon Lake. Zhang Lexuan sat down, dipped her feet into the lake water, and stared blankly at the moon's reflection on the lake. Her expression was complex, sometimes smiling, sometimes angry, sometimes sad, and sometimes sorrowful.

"Sister Lexuan!"

Zhu Ziyang wanted to speak, but he was interrupted by Zhang Lexuan as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Ziyang, why does Elder Mu want me to break my oath? Did I do something wrong?" Zhang Lexuan said, her voice as gentle as ever, but there was a hint of despair hidden in that gentleness.

"Sister Lexuan, you did nothing wrong," Zhu Ziyang said, taking a deep breath. "The teacher is the one who's wrong."

"Waaaaah~" Zhang Lexuan suddenly burst into tears, sobbing, "He made me make that vow back then, how could he just back out like that? I don't understand, I don't understand!"

Zhu Ziyang didn't know how to comfort Zhang Lexuan, so he could only watch silently. This was a knot in her heart, and only she could untie it herself.

"Waaaaah~ I kept my vow for ten years, and it's all worthless?" Zhang Lexuan sobbed, her voice filled with heartbreaking grievance. "My heart is already with Beibei, and now he's asking me to give up. Has he even considered how I feel?"

Zhang Lexuan continued to cry, but her voice grew softer and softer until she could only shed silent tears without making a sound.

"Sister Lexuan, is your feeling for Beibei really love?" Zhu Ziyang knew it was time for him to make his move. While Zhang Lexuan was hesitating, he wanted to help her fully accept the truth and stop clinging to that meaningless vow.

"Huh?" Zhang Lexuan raised her head when she heard Zhu Ziyang's question. She looked at Zhu Ziyang and found that he had released his martial spirit at some point. He held the World-Soothing Scythe and the ultimate light was revealed for the first time. The majestic and holy light shone on Zhang Lexuan's face and looked so beautiful.

"Sister Lexuan, your feelings for Beibei are nothing more than a distorted form of kinship. You're just too stubborn!" Zhu Ziyang's voice was like a resounding bell, striking Zhang Lexuan's already unstable mind and causing her eyes to immediately become unfocused.

"Was it me who was too stubborn?" Zhang Lexuan said, bewildered.

"Yes, you've been too stubborn!" Zhu Ziyang said happily, continuing, "You deserve your own life and your own future! The shackles Old Master Mu placed on you have been removed! You should let them go!"

"Yes, I was too stubborn! I should let go!" Zhang Lexuan's eyes went from dazed to firm as she murmured repeatedly, the ultimate wisdom shining brightly on the shadows in her heart.

She gradually fell asleep.

Seeing Zhang Lexuan fall asleep, Zhu Ziyang slumped down, unable to sustain his martial spirit any longer, and the Jing Shi Xiu Ming Scythe vanished instantly. What he had just used was the ultimate release of his supreme talent, the Light of Righteousness, a state of perfect light. The fully released Light of Righteousness has the power to extinguish a person's faith and obsessions, freeing them from their fixation on certain things—perfect for Zhang Lexuan's stubborn personality.

Of course, with his strength, he couldn't directly eliminate Zhang Lexuan's obsession. So, when she was mentally unstable, he could only use the Light of Righteousness to amplify her most important emotions and devour the emotions he wanted to eliminate. Fortunately, Zhang Lexuan's feelings for Beibei at this time were more familial than romantic, which was within his control.

The fundamental contradiction in this matter lies in Zhang Lexuan's status as a child bride. As long as Zhang Lexuan's feelings for Beibei are purely familial, then all the problems will fall apart.

"Is this the ultimate talent of ultimate light? It's truly extraordinary!" Mu En appeared beside the two of them at some point, his aged face filled with amazement.

"Teacher, everything should be alright now," Zhu Ziyang said.

(End of this chapter)