First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 2771 - Treating Others With Kindness and Cruelty
Chapter 2771 – Treating Others With Kindness and Cruelty
Lian Luo sighed, looking utterly ashamed. “Your subordinate came close to creating a disaster. No matter how you choose to punish me, I’m willing to accept it!”
Lu Hongpao waved her red sleeves. “Get up, then speak.”
Lian Luo rose, but he continued to bow at the waist and avert his gaze.
“I know you have your doubts, and I’m in a bad mood right now, so I’d actually love a bit of idle chatter to take my mind off things. I can answer a few questions,” said Lu Hongpao, her eyes behind the back of her head. She gazed into the heavens and paced in midair, a hint of melancholy on her face.
Lian Luo pondered briefly, then said, “Your subordinate’s doubts aren’t important. I’m to blame for my ineptitude, and I lament that I cannot share in your burdens.”
Lu Hongpao laughed coldly. “I typically enjoy flattery, but when I’m in a bad mood, it irritates me like nothing else. Got it?”
Lian Luo said hurriedly, “I understand!”
He pondered briefly, then asked the biggest question weighing on him. “Master, since you and His Excellency Su are good brothers, why not just give him Great Sorrow? Why make him come all the way to the Blue Peak Continent to claim it for himself?”
Everything, from the moment Su Yi was first chased into that inauspicious zone, all the way to his adventures in the Blue Peak Continent, had been part of Lu Hongpao’s arrangements. Others might not realize it, but Lian Luo naturally did. Furthermore, he’d been stirring up waves from behind the scenes this entire time!
Lu Hongpao took a step forward, then inclined her head. “It’s a good question. Su Yi is Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation. That’s already no secret.
“But I still don’t know how much Su Yi has changed, or how he’s different from the Jiang Wuchen I remember. Thus, I wanted to see if he was capable of undoing the Divine Hunt Edict and claiming Great Sorrow on his own.”
“Was this perhaps a test for His Excellency Su?” asked Lian Luo.
Lu Hongpao shook her head. “I wouldn’t call it that. Great Sorrow should have belonged to Jiang Wuchen in the first place. Even if its original master were still alive, they’d acknowledge that, too. Now… all I did was return it to its rightful owner.”
Lian Luo couldn’t help but find this surprising. The sword that destroyed an Eternal Throne during the End of the Devastation should have belonged to Jiang Wuchen? If word got out, who’d believe it?
“When the Devastation neared its end, Jiang Wuchen had yet to step into the Eternal Dao. His cultivation was low, but he had numerous unbelievable qualities nonetheless,” said Lu Hongpao, eyes shining with reminiscence. “When it comes to the blessings of fate, few in this world can compare. He was like the chosen son of fortune. He had numerous treasures so rare that even Heavenly Sovereigns would struggle to overcome the temptation to seize them.”
“Like that sword, Great Sorrow, and the Divine Hunt Edict. Both were originally his,” said Lu Hongpao, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “Back then, he was kindhearted and pure, a cultivated gentleman. His only flaw was that he thought too little of his good fortune and treasures. If he acknowledged you, no matter what you were lacking, so long as he had it, you wouldn’t even need to open your mouth to ask. He’d just give it to you.
“Every time, he’d say, ‘Be kind to others, the kinder the better.’ To ensure that his friends could accept his treasures without owing him a favor, he’d chatter on about how they’d be wasted in his hands, like radiant pearls buried in the mud. He’d say it was better that they go to someone who needed them more. The fool…” Lu Hongpao grumbled softly.
Her gaze was suddenly tender. “When it comes to sheer generosity, you could search the whole world and all of history without finding another comparable to my dear, stupid brother. Even long ago, he was a famed do-gooder. He gave away too many treasures to count, as if they were nothing.
“They say that those who do good deeds are sure to accrue karmic merit, but people just laughed at him and called him the ‘wealth-scattering child’ and ‘leaky moneybags.’ He was destined for suffering right from the start, because even if you delivered vast sums of money right to him, he’d give them all away in a flash. Even the title of ‘do-gooder’ was mockery, not praise. Everyone saw him as a joke.”
Lu Hongpao’s gaze silently frosted over. “He treated the world with kindness, only to receive cruelty in return. Was… that right?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. “It wasn’t!”
Lian Luo naturally understood Jiang Wuchen’s past. When he recalled rumors of the founder of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, Lian Luo couldn’t help but be rueful.
“The Malevolent Sword Venerate who now presides over the Heart-Tempering Sword House is the exact opposite of Jiang Wuchen. He’s always treated others with cruelty!” said Lu Hongpao, a complicated look on her face. “He’s wicked down to his very bones, lawless and unrepentant, but you know what’s funny? No one dares to hate him, resent him, or slander him for it. The vast majority of cultivators even view him with awe and reverence.
“When you treat others with kindness, they look down on you. When you treat others with cruelty, they respond with reverence. Don’t you find it absurd?”
Lu Hongpao fell briefly silent. “I can’t speak for other people, but in my eyes, that’s wrong! Jiang Wuchen shouldn’t have lost to his heart devil! Fortunately, he didn’t really die. Instead, he reincarnated, living numerous lifetimes before finally returning to the Eternal Heavens Domain. I’m naturally delighted, but…”
“But you’re worried that Su Yi isn’t the Jiang Wuchen you know, but rather, an evildoer like the Malevolent Sword Venerate?” asked Lian Luo.
Lu Hongpao inclined her head. “That’s right. That’s why I wanted to take this opportunity to watch and see what he’d do. I have to say, he hasn’t disappointed me. On the contrary, he’s surprised me on numerous occasions. In that inauspicious zone, he managed to save his disciple, even after he became an inauspicious spirit, and in the Huaihuang Empire, he never attacked a mortal unprovoked.
“He might not be a do-gooder or a cultivated, amiable gentleman like Jiang Wuchen, but he has his own extraordinary spirit and majesty.” Lu Hongpao shook her head. “But that’s far from enough. If he cannot acquire the Edict in the Nine Luminaries Battlefield within three years’ time, I’ll no longer consider him worthy of competing with the Malevolent Sword Venerate. I’ll still consider him my good brother, but only that and nothing more!”
Lian Luo instantly understood. This really is a test. Its outcome will determine Master’s perception of Su Yi and attitude towards him!
Lu Hongpao looked at Lian Luo. “Next, I’d like you to do something for me. Whether you can make amends for your mistakes will depend on your performance!”
Lian Luo’s heart shook. He clasped his fist. “Please command me, Master!”
Moments later, Lian Luo set off with Mu Qing, Yu Guangjun, and Yang Lingxiao in tow. From beginning to end, the three of them had no idea what was going on. Their senses had been severed from the moment Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan arrived on scene. They got no answers, not even when Lian Luo led them away. All they were told was that Su Xuanjun and Pu Xuan had left.
Lian Luo didn’t tell them where they’d gone. In his eyes, neither Mu Qing nor the two juniors were in any way important. If not for Lu Hongpao’s orders, he would never have bothered leading them away personally.
It wasn’t exactly disdain; he just wouldn’t have wanted to.
Lu Hongpao, meanwhile, led Pu Xuan away.
“Distinguished nephew, what do you think of your foster father?” Lu Hongpao asked with a laugh.
Pu Xuan didn’t even pause to think. “I am unfit to comment on my foster father’s conduct. All I know is that I’d willingly die for him!”
Lu Hongpao snickered. “When it comes to bootlicking, you could stand to learn a thing or two from Lian Luo.”
Pu Xuan shook his head and said solemnly, “You’re mistaken, Senior. I’m a man of my word, and I speak from the heart. I’ve always disdained to lick boots!”
He paused, then changed tacks. “Of course, if you like, I wouldn’t mind sharing admiration and compliments with you—but it certainly wouldn’t be bootlicking!”
Lu Hongpao burst into laughter. Jiang Wuchen’s third disciple is quite something.
As they conversed, she called him her “distinguished nephew,” while he called Su Yi his “foster father,” but neither found the situation at all strange.
“Ku Xuan, what do you think of my distinguished nephew?” Lu Hongpao suddenly gazed into the distance.
Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan silently appeared out of nowhere and said disdainfully, “A kiss-ass. He’s no better than that shameless Lian Luo.”
Pu Xuan was stunned. The old devil still hasn’t left?
But when he looked at Lu Hongpao, he felt reassured. He laughed coldly. “You’re a Heavenly Sovereign, but earlier, you were shameless enough to beg my foster father to put in a good word on your behalf. Who are you to criticize me?”
Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan glowered.
Lu Hongpao burst into laughter, then clapped Pu Xuan on the shoulder. “You know how to borrow another’s prestige! Excellent! Lian Luo cannot compete with you in this regard!”
“Lu Hongpao, now that that Su guy is gone, isn’t it time you relaxed?” Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan said gravely.
Earlier, he’d been told to wait out of sight until Su Yi had left the Blue Peak Continent. He found this incredibly frustrating, but if he wanted that madwoman Lu Hongpao to leave him alone, he had no choice but to hold his nose and endure.
“Word of what happened today is sure to spread,” said Lu Hongpao. “Take the blame for it, and I’ll consider us even.”
Ku Xuan froze, then sputtered, “You want me to take the blame for this? You’re sure making yourself right at home!”
Lu Hongpao laughed. “Very well. How about I follow you back to the Taiwu Sect? We can have ourselves a nice chat there.”
Ku Xuan growled, “Fine! I’ll do it!”
In the end, he had no choice but to agree to let everyone think he’d taken Great Sorrow.
“Righteous!” Lu Hongpao gave him a big thumbs up. “You really are the greatest Demonist of the Eternal Heavens Domain! No one else can compare!”
Ku Xuan laughed coldly. “If the upper beams are crooked, the lower beams will be crooked, too. I finally understand where Lian Luo learned his bad habits.”
Lu Hongpao didn’t mind the insult in the slightest. On the contrary, she laughed. “I’m going to take that as a compliment!”
Ku Xuan turned to leave, only for something to occur to him. “Was that Su person the one from the God Domain?”
Lu Hongpao’s pupils silently constricted. “You’re quite perceptive! I just knew I wouldn’t be able to hide it from the esteemed founder of the Taiwu Sect, His Excellency Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan!”
After a moment’s silence, Ku Xuan said, “Lu Hongpao, you owe me an enormous favor this time!”
With that, he left.
Lu Hongpao waved goodbye. “Thank you!”
She finally dared to say with certainty that Ku Xuan, the eccentric Demonist Heavenly Sovereign, wouldn’t meddle in Su Yi’s affairs any further.
