I Need To Purify My Eyes

"My fiancée, you're finally here. It took you long enough." A hoarse voice travelled through the garden, causing everyone from the table to turn around.

Now all eyes were on the black-robed youth.

Yu Xuelan stared at the man confusedly in silence, attempting to process what she had just heard, but no matter how many times she replayed the man's words, he indeed said 'fiancée'.

That word. She didn't know why, but it spiked a strange discomfort within her. Almost so discomforting that she wanted to burst out laughing.

"I apologize for my lateness," she replied with a shallow bow.

She walked towards the table before settling after a few steps. She blinked and stared at Master Xiao from head to toe in silence, keeping an unchanging expression.

Her 'fiancé' who she thought had a muscular build, was certainly not muscle, but fat. His entire body was double the size of the cultivator in front of him and patches of his scalp could be seen because of his excess loss of hair.

The moment Master Xiao and Yu Xuelan locked eyes with one another, she offered a cheerful smile and continued walking towards the table.

Master Xiao, "...."

There was a young boy in green cultivation robes which Yu Xuelan knew very well, that these green robes belonged to the Zheng Long Sect. They were one of the prominent sects that were involved with the Four Autumn Alliance.

She sat herself down opposite of the woman, to which the woman responded to Yu Xuelan's presence with a shy smile.

The lady was draped in a red coat made of silk brocade embroidered with golden threads of phoenix patterns. Not to mention, the excessive amount of accessories. A golden necklace that had patterns of butterflies that seemed to weigh at least a bucket of water sat around her neck.

The commandment note in Yu Xuelan's sleeves fluttered slightly in her sleeves and she started coughing vigorously.

She thought, "What? That was a bit too fast, don't you think??"

"Sorry for interrupting your day like this, Lady Lin." The young cultivator lowered his head as his low ponytail that hung on his left shoulder swayed along with his movement.

He spoke in a bright tone, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Long Rei from Zheng Long Sect. It is a pleasure to meet you once again."

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Long Rei," Yu Xuelan responded by returning the bow. Hearing the girl speak in such a strange manner confused them. The red-clad woman waved her hand and the maid hurriedly walked towards Yu Xuelan, pouring the fresh tea into her cup.

Long Rei cleared his throat and continued, "As I was saying, I am sure Master Xiao and Lady Lin have been aware of the unusual amount of demonic energy roaming around in Yang forest a week ago."

Yu Xuelan lifted her teacup, lightly blowing on it to cool the heat down.

"But didn't your sect already dispel all of that energy a week ago? So what is the problem this time?" Master Xiao questioned.

"Yes, our cultivators have sealed off the demonic realm gate that opened there but... as you know, we have put a spiritual barrier around the portal after sealing it, but it seems like someone has destroyed the formation," Long Rei said.

"What? How can that be!" Master Xiao exclaimed.

While Yu Xuelan was minding her own business, she sensed a piercing stare in front of her and looked forwards, noticing it was from the well-dressed woman. The woman immediately averted her gaze and turned her head back around.

"Does it mean the demons will come back?" The woman asked, her hands lightly trembling while attempting to hold her cup still.

"Don't worry, Luo Ran, they definitely will not come back!" Master Xiao fumed as he slammed down his cup onto the table, forcing droplets of his tea to spill onto the table. "Why can't you just strengthen it again?"

"We have recreated the barrier, but we are uncertain if any demons have escaped. It is highly unlikely for an escapee, but I apologize in advance, Master Xiao. I cannot guarantee that your village will be fully at peace as of the current situation, but I can guarantee that we will do everything we can to dispel the demons once again if one appears."

Master Xiao tightly gripped his cup as he looked down at the table and yelled in frustration. "Don't you know that the demons nearly destroyed our entire village last time?! Why can't you guys just do your job properly?!"

After staying silent for a while, Yu Xuelan shook her head in disappointment at the man's tone of voice. Maybe it was because she had just woken up, but she thought her ears were going to bleed if he spoke anymore.

Yu Xuelan spoke up to ease the atmosphere, "What about closing the gate?"

All their eyes were now on her, as they were both shocked by her words and because she spoke at all.

Yu Xuelan blinked confusedly, but her expression remained impassive. She noticed Luo Ran looking at her in slight bewilderment when she mentioned the closing of the gate and continued.

The black-clad girl cleared her throat awkwardly and proceeded, "Sealing a demonic realm gate and dispelling the demonic energy is a way to stop the demons from breaking in, but hints of demonic energy will continue to spread during the periods that the gate is still there which lures in other demons. So closing it would be the best option."

Yu Xuelan's suggestion intrigued Long Rei, as he had never heard about someone closing the gate before.

"The most common method would just be waiting and allowing time to close the gate since it is not something that can usually be forced," Long Rei replied.

Yu Xuelan knew this. Only a few cultivators knew it was possible to close a gate since it was such a dangerous procedure. It required an immense amount of spiritual energy to fully shut a gate and they said that cultivators who'd tried to perform this ended up undergoing Qi deviation. Ultimately leading to a vicious death.

The only people who had successfully closed a gate would be the past and current Sect Master of the ShenMing Wu Sect, which barely anyone knew about. Instead, she just wanted to see a certain person's reaction.

Luo Ran.

However, when she thought about ShenMing Wu, traces of sadness polluted her heart. Was it sadness? But sadness about what? What was she sad about? To what? For what? And for whom? She instantly dismissed these strange thoughts and brought her mind back to the table.

Yu Xuelan circled around the edge of the cup with her index finger and continued, "I apologize for my rash suggestion, but please find who it is that's trying to open the gate. Tampering and meddling with spiritual devices under the orders of your senior is a criminal offence, especially since this incident has caused many lives to be lost."

She glanced up at Luo Ran, whose body had stiffened by Yu Xuelan's comment.

Yu Xuelan gazed back down at her teacup and chuckled, "Ran-dajie? Are you alright? You're sweating a lot. It makes it seem like you're the one that's guilty."

Luo Ran flinched as her face grew significantly pale, almost as if she saw a ghost or she was a ghost herself.

"Lin Yuhe, watch your tongue," Master Xiao scolded, "Luo Ran, ignore her words."

Yu Xuelan chuckled, displaying a loving smile while intertwining her fingers and rested her chin on them. "Sorry, sorry. I apologize for my imprudent behaviour. Will you forgive me Ran-dajie?"

Indeed, the more the Luo Ran carefully examined Yu Xuelan's enigmatic smile, the more she felt an indescribable, unspeakable horror creeping over her. Even though Yu Xuelan had been calling her with such affectionate tones, there was an inexplicable hint of horror behind it.

"Mn, It's fine. Lady Lin was just trying to lighten up the mood," Luo Ran said.

Yu Xuelan grinned happily as she rested her chin with one hand and grabbed her teacup with the other, swaying it in a consistent motion.

Long Rei explained to Master Xiao about the procedure they would take to handle the situation of the leaked demons. He instructed all villagers to remain at home while they scout the area.

As bad as it may sound, Yu Xuelan knew it would make her life much easier if demons raided the village so she could cancel her list of suspects. Seeing the situation now, she would assume that Lin Yuhe had lived in this village for quite some time, so the people who she wanted dead should probably be in this village too.

As her motto goes, "Work smart, not hard!"

While she indulged in her train of happy thoughts, Luo Ran let out a loud cry and flung her body onto Master Xiao.