Is Everyone Else's Eldest Disciple Like This? | Chapter 89 | A Home No More | Novela.app

Ming Zhu felt a buzzing in his ears, as if he had misheard. The dazed look on his face deepened. *A monster?* *Is she... talking about me?* With a trembling arm, Ming Zhu reached out toward Ming Fuhua, his voice shaking. "Fuhua, I... I am your brother..." Ming Fuhua looked at him with pure hatred. Ming Zhu felt as though he had been plunged into an ice cellar. His voice choked with emotion. "Do you not recognize me? Fuhua..." "Don't call my name!" Ming Fuhua snapped. "My brother is not a monster like you!" Ming Zhu let out a sob. His legs trembled as he took a few steps down the stairs, his voice rasping. "I... I am your brother. I'm not a monster. It’s just that at Biri Cliff..." Before he could finish, Ming Fuhua struck out with her palm without even blinking. A vast surge of spiritual power hit him squarely in the chest, driving the arrow that had pierced his heart even deeper. Ming Zhu felt an agonizing pain. He stared intently at Ming Fuhua, his eyes filled with pleading. "Fuhua, look at me..." Ming Fuhua said with cold impatience, "You are not my brother." The light in Ming Zhu's eyes faded slowly, inch by inch, like a guttering candle leaving behind nothing but a pile of ash. *Why won't she recognize me?* Ming Zhu thought blankly. *I crawled out of hell and lived a shameful existence for so many years... why won't she recognize me?* Ming Zhu murmured, "I... I am Ming Zhu. I’ve come back alive..." Ming Fuhua looked at him coldly. Hearing this, she let out a chilling laugh. "Yi Fuju said your dantian was destroyed and you fell from a ten-thousand-foot abyss. Tell me, how did you survive?" Ming Zhu’s body began to tremble violently, though whether from the cold or from fear, it was impossible to tell. His frame swayed precariously, but then he was suddenly pulled into a firm embrace. The scent of pear blossoms enveloped him, lingering and pervasive. Zhou Fuxue had rushed over, catching the teetering Ming Zhu in his arms. When his gaze fell upon the gruesome wounds on Ming Zhu’s body, he nearly lost his mind. He roared, "Ming Fuhua! Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!" Ming Fuhua replied coldly, "I know exactly what I’m doing." "He is your brother!" Zhou Fuxue shouted in disbelief. Ming Fuhua sneered. "Years ago, everyone told me that Ming Zhu had fallen off Biri Cliff and that not even his corpse remained. I believed that for all these years. His Longevity Lamp went out; there is no reason for a dead man to return to life. He is either a monster or an evil spirit. He cannot possibly be Ming Zhu." She looked at the teeth-gritting Zhou Fuxue and said in a detached voice, "Zhou Fuxue, the Yao cultivator Na Lian has emerged from Biri Cliff. Our Rizhao Mountain will be dragged into this conflict sooner or later. If you were smart, you would kill this person with your own hands to avoid endless trouble. If you can't bring yourself to do it, come find me. I will gladly do it for you." With that, she cast a mocking glance at the shivering Ming Zhu and quickly departed. Looking at Ming Zhu’s wounds, Zhou Fuxue’s eyes reddened with heartache. With trembling hands, he used his spiritual power to pull out the nearly fatal arrows, then slowly began to heal the wounds. Fortunately, Ming Zhu’s cultivation had reached its peak, or he would have died on the spot. While the healing was underway, Ming Zhu huddled motionless in his arms. His eyes were hollow and void, as if he had lost his soul. The more Zhou Fuxue looked at him, the more sorrowful he felt. He gently touched Ming Zhu’s pale face and whispered, "Senior Brother, are you alright?" Ming Zhu shuddered and finally pulled away from Zhou Fuxue. He looked back at Rizhao Mountain for a long time before rasping, "When can I see Master?" Zhou Fuxue’s face turned pale. For a moment, he didn't know how to speak. But Ming Zhu was far too clever. Seeing his expression, he knew exactly what Master Gui Ning’s attitude was. He let out a soft "Oh" and said, "Master also thinks I am a monster or an evil spirit, doesn't he?" Zhou Fuxue remained silent, but his silence was an admission. Ming Zhu stood frozen for a long time before murmuring blankly, "Then... is Rizhao no longer my home?" Seeing his dazed and lonely expression, Zhou Fuxue instinctively wanted to pull him into his arms and tell him that no matter what he became, he would always treat him the same. But when he saw Ming Zhu’s emotionless, detached eyes, the hand he wanted to raise froze in mid-air, unable to move. "I have no home..." Ming Zhu looked at the vast Rizhao Mountain. After a moment, as if remembering something, he pulled up his sleeve and began to unwrap the green cloth band tied around his forearm, loop by loop. This was the band with the Rizhao Mountain crest that every disciple received during the Sect Competition. Ming Zhu had actually kept it all this time. The cloth was worn beyond recognition. He handed it to Zhou Fuxue and said, "Then take this. Help me return it to Master." Zhou Fuxue looked at his pale face, his heart racing with panic. He took the band and croaked, "Senior Brother..." Ming Zhu interrupted him, his voice airy and light. "I’m leaving." Zhou Fuxue asked anxiously, "Leaving? Where will you go?" Ming Zhu tilted his head. "Shou'an City." "You can't!" Zhou Fuxue cried. "Shou'an City has been occupied by Na Lian. Going there is no different from jumping into a fire. Even though your cultivation is at the peak, you are no match for Na Lian once you face him." Ming Zhu explained, "I’m just going to look for Yan Feng and Xue Yu. The fact that their Longevity Lamps went out doesn't necessarily mean they are dead. They might have been captured by Na Lian. Although humans aren't allowed into Shou'an City, I..." He pursed his lips and said in a small voice, "I am a monster... so I will be fine." Zhou Fuxue said urgently, "Senior Brother! No, even if you must go, wait for me, okay? I’ll go with you." Just then, a disciple waved to Zhou Fuxue from a distance and called out, "Thirteenth Senior Brother! Master is looking for you to discuss urgent matters. He wants you to go to the Rizhao Main Hall immediately." Zhou Fuxue’s face turned white with anger. He looked back and shouted, "Wait for a moment!" "But Master said you must come right now." Zhou Fuxue clenched his teeth and turned to urge Ming Zhu, "Senior Brother, stay right here. I’ll come find you as soon as I’ve seen Master, and we’ll go to Shou'an City together." Ming Zhu didn't say yes, nor did he say no. He just watched him quietly. The disciple kept rushing him. Finally, Zhou Fuxue gave Ming Zhu a tight, desperate hug before turning and running away. Ming Zhu stared at his receding back. He stood there for a moment, then turned around and began to walk down the Three Thousand Steps without looking back. He had arrived with such joy, but he left with such desolation. Zhou Fuxue arrived at the Rizhao Main Hall with a grim expression. When he pushed the door open, he found Lu Qingkong and Ming Fuhua were also there. The moment he saw Ming Fuhua, he remembered the expression on Ming Zhu’s face—covered in blood and looking utterly lost. His expression darkened further. Master Gui Ning glanced at him and said, "Fuxue, you and Qingkong must head to Shuoyu City immediately. You must find the Seven-Apertured Exquisite Jade." Zhou Fuxue frowned. "What about Fifth Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother?" Gui Ning said, "Fuhua and I will go investigate." Zhou Fuxue was still thinking of Ming Zhu waiting outside. He said directly, "I don't want to go to Shuoyu City. I want to go to Shou'an City." Gui Ning said flatly, "You don't have the right to choose. Either go to Shuoyu City, or stay here at Rizhao." Zhou Fuxue clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms. Lu Qingkong stood to the side, as quiet as a cicada in winter, not daring to speak for fear of angering Gui Ning. At that moment, the jade token in his sleeve suddenly grew hot. Before he could even check it with his divine sense, a phantom sheet of paper shot out from his sleeve. Ink-black words formed in the air, flashing slowly. Everyone frowned. This was a communication jade token used by Wenfeng Tower only when disseminating extremely critical information. Several lines of text appeared: [Shou'an has fallen. Shuoyu City is in peril.] Master Gui Ning’s eyes instantly turned cold. Standing beside him, Gui He whispered, "Is Na Lian planning to fight to the bitter end?" Gui Ning said coldly, "He has always been the type to choose death over compromise. Moreover, he has a Yao cultivator by his side whose cultivation is even higher than his own. Even if all the masters of the Five Continents gathered, they might not be his match. What does he have to fear?" Gui He pondered. "You mean that white-haired Yao cultivator, Buhui?" "His origins are unknown. There was no such person among the Guifang back then," Gui Ning said. "Na Lian hasn't engaged in indiscriminate slaughter, but I worry he has other motives." He seemed to have a headache and waved his hand slightly. "Dismissed. We depart in half an hour." Without even performing a formal salute, Zhou Fuxue turned and flew out. *** Rain trickled through the gaps in the lush forest onto the Three Thousand Steps. The scene was vibrant with green, distant and serene. Ming Zhu walked down the Three Thousand Steps one pace at a time. The path that usually took only a moment to traverse felt like it had tens of thousands of layers this time. It took Ming Zhu a full hour, and he still hadn't reached the bottom. Ming Zhu had a tall, elegant figure. His snow-white robes followed his movements, the hem falling onto the stone steps like swaying pear blossoms, dazzling and brilliant. He walked down with a hollow expression. The rain fell on him, quickly soaking him until he looked like a man made of water. As he walked away from Rizhao Mountain, his ankle-length black hair began to turn pale, bit by bit, like ink being washed away by water droplets. A faint, almost imperceptible light flowed through the strands. More than an hour later, he finally reached the last step of Rizhao Mountain. His black hair had completely transformed into an eerie silver-white. He was covered in fallen petals and rainwater. The small red mark on his exquisite face seemed to come alive, crawling aggressively toward the center of his brow and coiling into the shape of a sigil. Ming Zhu stood expressionless on the final step, looking at the brilliant peach blossom forest nearby. Suddenly, as if he had finally let out a long-held breath, he stumbled and sat down on the steps, letting his long hair sprawl across the wet stone. "Past suffering vanishes in an instant; the clamor of the mortal world has only just begun." Ming Zhu murmured these two lines. Then, a smile slowly rippled through his glass-like eyes, though it gave off a sense of profound loneliness and desolation. He was soaked, yet he did not look pathetic. His white clothes and white hair only made him look more monstrously beautiful and intimidating. Ming Zhu raised his hand and took out the jade token from his robes. He brushed his thumb lightly over the pattern. Soon, a black phantom figure appeared. The man was handsome and bewitching. He seemed to be sitting in a chair handling affairs. Once their divine senses connected, he looked up slightly, his brow furrowing. "Buhui, how did you get yourself into such a state?" ***