ETERNAL MARTIAL EMPEROR, VOLUME 8 - Human Nature

Before long, Su Zimo and Liu Ping arrived at Yang Ruoxu’s cave abode.

Not far away, a red light sped over—it was Princess Scarlet Rainbow.

“Zimo, I heard that you’re out of seclusion so I came over right away. Indeed, you’re here.” Princess Scarlet Rainbow came forward and said.

With a heavy heart, Su Zimo merely nodded slightly as a form of greeting.

The three of them turned and looked at a cave abode not far away.

In just a few days, the cave abode became dilapidated and cold. There were no immortal servants or Dao children waiting nearby.

The medicinal field in the vicinity was trampled—probably by a spirit beast or immortal pet—but no one took care of it.

Inner sect disciples could choose a hundred immortal servants or Dao children to help them deal with trivial matters.

However, Su Zimo did not see a single Dao child of Yang Ruoxu along the way.

Su Zimo pushed the door open and entered.

The moment he entered the cave abode, he smelled a strong medicinal scent mixed with a hint of blood.

The cave abode was dark and no one even lit any candles.

Su Zimo’s expression darkened as he continued forward.

“Is someone here?”

Right then, a question sounded from ahead with a weak aura.

The moment the sentence was said, a violent cough could be heard.

“Young Master, don’t get up. I’ll go take a look.”

Right on the heels of that was a flurry of sounds.

Before long, a Dao child ran out. His hair was disheveled and he was covered in blood. He looked exhausted and must not have slept for a few days.

“You guys are…”

The Dao child spoke.

“I’m Su Zimo. I’m here to visit Senior Brother Yang.”

Su Zimo said in a deep voice.

“Ah!”

The Dao child was stunned for a moment before reacting.

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He seemed to have heard of the name Su Zimo before as he bowed to the three of them hurriedly. “Greetings, Exalted Immortals. Please follow me.”

The Dao child could not be considered as a disciple of the academy and was merely an immortal servant. When he saw disciples of the academy, he had to address them respectfully as Exalted Immortals.

Su Zimo and the other two followed the Dao child. After dozens of feet, they saw a jade bed in front of them with a man lying on it. His face was withered and yellow, and his lifeforce was weak—it was Yang Ruoxu.

“Young Master, you’ve got visitors!”

The Dao child ran to Yang Ruoxu’s bed and knelt down, crying softly with a choked voice.

Apart from Su Zimo and the other two, no one else had visited Yang Ruoxu in the past few days. Nobody even bothered to put on a pretense of friendliness.

That was the reason why the Dao child felt a sense of sadness when he said that.

“I heard them.”

Yang Ruoxu smiled. “Help me up.”

The Dao child stood up and supported Yang Ruoxu. He sat up and leaned against the head of the bed.

“Where are the other immortal servants?”

With a dark expression, Su Zimo asked with a frown, “Why are you the only one?”

“Hmph!”

When he heard that, the Dao child suddenly became agitated and said angrily, “They abandoned our Young Master and left to look for other backers!”

“Don’t say that.”

Yang Ruoxu smiled faintly. “I was the one who dismissed them. It’s difficult for me to recover from my serious injuries and I don’t have long to live. If they follow me, it’ll only be a burden to them.”

“However, you’re in difficult times right now, Young Master. How can they abandon you and leave just like that?!”

“Young Master, you treat us so well usually! You give us your Spirit Pills and Essence Spirit Stones and let us cultivate with you.”

“You even explain and impart the Dao to us, never once looking down on us because of our backgrounds…”

At that point, the Dao child was already sobbing. He pursed his lips and tried his best to hold back his tears.

“I came from a bad background and was mocked by many people.”

Yang Ruoxu said, “I know that it doesn’t feel good. Since that’s the case, why would I look down on and mock you guys?”

At that point, Princess Scarlet Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat. She turned her head and her eyes reddened as she sighed internally. Human nature had many facades, both warm and cold.

Yang Ruoxu was an upright person and did not like to form cliques. Coupled with the fact that he was from the lower worlds, he was isolated in the academy and did not have many friends.

Due to Sword Immortal Yue Hua, other cultivators were not willing to get too close to him over the years.

Now that Yang Ruoxu was in trouble, no one would come to visit him.

However, the immortal servants and Dao children that followed Yang Ruoxu benefited the most from him usually. The fact that they had now left him was heart-wrenching.

Yang Ruoxu reached out and wiped away the tears on the Dao child’s face gently, saying softly, “Don’t cry. You’re still with me and haven’t left.”

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“Alright!”

The Dao child nodded vigorously. “Don’t worry, Young Master. As long as I’m not dead, I’ll always guard you!”

Su Zimo walked forward and caressed the Dao child’s forehead gently.

The Dao child’s eyelids felt heavy and he fell asleep in a daze.

Su Zimo noticed that the Dao child had not slept for many days and was extremely exhausted. That was the reason why he released a Dharmic art to let him rest.

“Thank you.”

Yang Ruoxu nodded slightly.

“Junior Brother Su…”

Just as Yang Ruoxu spoke, he seemed to have thought of something. “You’ve already been accepted as an in-name disciple by the Sect Master. I should address you as Senior Brother Su.”

“There’s no need for that between us.”

Su Zimo said, “Brother Yang, if you don’t mind, we can just address each other as brothers!”

Yang Ruoxu hesitated for a moment before smiling. “Alright, I don’t have long to live anyway. As such, I won’t cause too much trouble for you.”

“What’s going on?”

Su Zimo asked in a deep voice.

Yang Ruoxu was silent for a long time before shaking his head. “Forget it, there’s no need to mention the past.”

“I heard someone from the Pang Clan attacked. Was it because of Pang Yu’s death?” Su Zimo asked.

“No.”

Yang Ruoxu said, “It was just a conflict that happened by chance and I was weaker than them. There’s no one to blame.”

Yang Ruoxu knew that if he told the truth, Su Zimo would definitely step in for him. At that time, the latter would definitely attract trouble.

Although Su Zimo was an in-name disciple of the Sect Master, he had just joined the academy and his cultivation realm was not high—he could not defeat those people from the academy.

“Were people from the academy involved?”

When Su Zimo saw that Yang Ruoxu was unwilling to say more, he vaguely guessed something and asked again.

Yang Ruoxu remained silent.

Pausing for a moment, Yang Ruoxu suddenly changed the topic. “Right, there’s something else that’s a little strange.”

“At that time, those people could have taken my life. However, they did not kill me and merely injured my Essence Spirit severely before leaving.”

Liu Ping turned his head slightly and analyzed, “Senior Brother Yang is an inner sect disciple of the academy after all. The people who attacked must have been wary and did not dare to go overboard.”

“It’s possible.”

Yang Ruoxu said in a low voice, “However, I still feel that something is amiss, but I can’t pinpoint the exact reason.”

“Brother Su, it’s best if you don’t leave the academy for the time being and cultivate in seclusion for a period of time.”

Yang Ruoxu reminded again.

Su Zimo did not comment and chatted with Yang Ruoxu for a while more. When he saw the latter’s exhausted expression, he bid farewell together with Liu Ping and Princess Scarlet Rainbow.