Murim's Weakest Princess

He should run after the ninth successor. He really should. Yet, his body betrayed him, and Elder Shen guiltily blamed his broken body for not going after the real villain. It was far from the truth, but nobody else would call him out on it even if they knew.

"Ming-er!" the old man sobbed, unable to shed tears.

The hole in his chest was barely closed, and while Elder Shen was not a medical expert, even a child could tell this was bad news. The bleeding was slowed, but without an expert like Anji or Senior Researcher Mo to close the gaping hole, there was zero chance of survival even for an Enlightened Core cultivator like Pu Jianming.

Initially, Elder Shen had many questions. He wanted to know why the disciple he raised like a son would betray the sect. Where did he go wrong?

Yet, not a single word left his lips apart from calling out this unfortunate child’s name as he gurgled, choking on his own blood. Even as he was dying, Pu Jianming’s eyes shone as brightly as the first day he greeted Elder Shen as his shifu.

"Shifu..." Pu Jianming fumbled. It was somewhere in his sleeve, but he could no longer feel his fingers or see clearly.

Assisting Pu Jianming, Elder Shen found a pouch with a sub-space spell. However, without the array, it no longer worked.

"Yes, my silly child?" Elder Shen scolded, but there was no bite. There were so many things he wanted to say, so much more to teach. However, there was no time left.

"The research, please help this unfilial disciple to finish it..."

Research? Suddenly, the weight of the pouch in his hand felt heavier. Elder Shen had many things to say, but he could only nod his head and clutch that cold hand tighter.

"Mm! Leave it to shifu. Rest well, Ming-er."

If there was a next life, Elder Shen swore to raise Pu Jianming as his real son. It was not Pu Jianming who failed. The boy was the same as the day he pledged to become Elder Shen’s only disciple. It was he who had wronged this child. He should have kept him under his wing longer and delayed his departure from the Mystical Qilin Sect. Like Elder Shen, Pu Jianming had a curious nature. He learned everything there was to learn in the archives, and it was Elder Shen who signed Pu Jianming’s leave from the sect, thinking his child would thrive in the bigger world as the cage had grown too small for him.

It was the biggest regret of his life.

"This no-good disciple... will leave first. Shifu, take care. Sorry, and thank you..."

Until the very last moment, the light in Pu Jianming’s eyes never wavered. He was the exact same person Elder Shen knew up until his last breath. In the same way he foolishly chose to sacrifice himself to save wild animals, he had chosen to save Elder Shen, too.

When Pu Jianming was younger, he often got scolded for bringing back strange things. His curiosity was second to none, a mark of a true researcher. His tenacity to keep going even when things were bad was the reason Elder Shen finally accepted a disciple. A child this pure with kindness and resilience under his guidance would never abuse knowledge.

Pu Jianming’s body had already turned cold for a few minutes now. However, Elder Shen remained in the same spot, cradling his broken frame. Although Pu Jianming could no longer hear him, he reminisced about the times they spent together in the Mystical Qilin Sect.

"Ming-er, do you remember the time when you accidentally broke an ancient crystal? I punished you harshly, didn’t I? Even though I knew that it was not you. You were such a kind child, and you were clearly covering for a new librarian who made the mistake. Yet, you never uttered a single word of complaint. You thanked me and even wrote an apology essay during the three-day confinement without food. The first thing you did after the punishment was to see me and ask if I was well."

Sneezing once, Elder Shen finally noticed his surroundings. The area was now brightly lit in flames, and smoke tickled his lungs.

"This teacher had wronged you many times. I’m the undeserving one," he hugged the corpse in his arms gently and closed the open eyes that no longer held light in them. "Thank you and sorry. Rest well, Ming-er. Shifu will handle the rest. You did great."

Ideally, he would have found a way to store and bring back the corpse. However, Elder Shen had to race against time now. The dead should not come back to life. If they did, they would roam like mindless killing machines the same way these undead walked the Crystal Lake Town.

The mysterious man in black robes and red spider lily embroidered sleeves must have set this place on fire to get rid of the evidence. However, Elder Shen would not let the blood, sweat and tears of his beloved disciple end here. Even without a guide, he used the coordinates of the pouch spell and located Jianming’s study.

Thankfully, the study was full of spells unlinked to the array. Pu Jianming’s room was almost identical to the one he used back in the Mystical Qilin Sect. Elder Shen immediately knew where those precious research materials were.

As the black smoke got thicker, the elderly man could only snatch the research notes. He would like to grab the tomes, journals and artefact prototype as they would help speed up understanding what he had been doing in the last few decades. Yet, there was only so much Elder Shen could carry with his injured body.

The fire had spread nearby, and staying any longer would quickly become dangerous. Yet, Elder Shen allowed himself a few seconds of luxury. He took one last sweeping glance of the room where Pu Jianming had spent the last years of his life and took with him a brush before escaping the burning town.

It was one that he clearly remembered gifting right before Pu Jianming left the sect. Now, the gift had returned to the gifter. What a cruel reunion.

And the tragedy? Elder Shen could not even charge a blood debt to the man who murdered his unofficial son. The friend looked equally hurt and shocked at the murder, mirroring Pu Jianming so perfectly that Elder Shen wondered who he really was.

Perhaps it was that moment of mistake that made Elder Shen truly believe he would not harm or hurt Anji. Whichever the case, with Pu Jianming’s death, the blood debt ends here. The real battle of wits has only begun, and Elder Shen stole a nearby horse. He had to get the research notes to Yan Ping as soon as possible. They had a successor to save and a war to end.

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