328: Chapter 328 Luo Xiaojiu

However, the sight of this smile made goosebumps erupt across Xiao Jiu's back.

It was as if she were being stared at by a Vicious Beast that had been dormant for eons; with a casual sweep of those eyes, she felt as though she had been seen through from the outside in, from skin to bone, leaving even the deepest secrets in her heart with nowhere to hide.

"Xiao Jiu."

Chu Changsheng called her "name," his voice remaining calm, but to Xiao Jiu, it struck her heart like a muffled hammer, shaking her very Soul.

"Do you know what I, as your Revered Master, dislike the most? It is lies."

Alarm bells blared in Xiao Jiu's heart—not just one or two, but hundreds of them sounding off at once, their shrill shrieks nearly tearing her mind apart.

She opened her mouth, intending to concoct another seamless lie to muddle through—but before the words could reach her lips, she saw Chu Changsheng slowly extend a finger.

There was light at his fingertip.

It was not a sharp Spell, nor did it carry any pressure; it was merely a wisp of Spiritual Qi so pure it was nearly transparent, glowing white like jade, with a soft halo circulating around it, like the first ray of morning light piercing through the mist.

It was so clean that it made one's heart palpitate.

"Since you have called me Revered Master, I shall teach you your first lesson."

His fingertip lightly tapped her forehead.

A cool, refreshing sensation instantly surged in, exploding from the center of her forehead like a basin of ice water poured over her head, and like a thunderclap echoing in her Sea of Consciousness—yet it did not hurt at all. Instead, it felt like a clear spring flowing over parched land, instantly soothing the anxiety and panic in her heart.

"Distinguish truth from falsehood, observe the heart and perceive one's true nature."

This was not some profound immortal art, but merely a wisp of extremely pure Divine Thought carrying an air of comfort and guidance.

Yet, that tiny wisp of energy—

Xiao Jiu felt her brain go "buzz," as if someone had washed it inside and out eight hundred times with clear water.

All those messy schemes, carefully woven lies, and rehearsed excuses were washed away completely, leaving not even a trace.

Immediately after, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.

She realized that before those calm, deep eyes, she was like someone standing naked in a snowy landscape—all her little thoughts, schemes, and lies were completely exposed, without even a shred of covering.

She opened her mouth, wanting to continue fabricating that fictitious uncle.

But her throat felt as if it were being gripped by someone.

The lies that she could normally spout at will now seemed to take root, firmly stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered no matter how hard she tried.

It was not forced by any external power, nor was it fear of being exposed.

It was an indescribable sense of shame.

Under the illumination of that pure light, her clumsy lies appeared particularly ridiculous and unbearable.

Even she herself felt too ashamed to face anyone; she wanted to find a crack in the ground and bury herself in it.

Chu Changsheng retracted his finger, stood with his hands behind his back, and watched her with composure.

His gaze was as calm as a stagnant pool, yet Xiao Jiu always felt that in his eyes, she was an open book, with every punctuation mark clearly seen.

"Now, can you tell me, your Revered Master, who you truly are? Where is your home? Why do you resort to deception?"

Xiao Jiu wilted.

Completely wilted.

Like an eggplant hit by a hard frost, she no longer had her previous wit and audacity.

Her head hung low, her shoulders slumped, and she looked like a ball that had been drained of air.

She stared at her oil-stained skirt hem, her fingertips unconsciously picking at the fabric, her toes kicking at the small stones on the ground, making faint, crisp sounds.

After a long while, she spoke in a muffled voice, with a sense of resignation, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum:

"I... I don't have a home."

"And I don't know what my name is. 'Xiao Jiu' was a random choice, because when I was little, I found a wine gourd, and that character was carved on it..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, and her head drooped lower and lower, almost burying itself into her chest.

"I'm just by myself... running around everywhere. When I'm hungry... I just find ways to get something to eat."

"Um... it was wrong to deceive you. I just saw you wearing such nice clothes, and you were generous, seeming very wealthy, and you also... seemed like a person who was easy to talk to..."

She peeked up timidly, glancing at Chu Changsheng, her eyelashes trembling like the wings of a startled butterfly.

Seeing that his expression remained unchanged, her courage grew slightly, and her voice carried a hint of hesitation, along with a trace of unnoticeable guilt:

"Revered Master... are you really not angry? Those Spirit Stones... there were so many... enough for me to buy so, so many roasted chickens..."

Chu Changsheng looked at the dirty little girl before him.

He looked at her eyes, which were covered in dust yet remained lively and bright—like stars covered in dust, grey and dull, yet unable to hide the stubbornness beneath.

He looked at her cautious appearance, terrified of displeasing him, her fingers still unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned white.

The slight gloom of being "scammed" in his heart had long since vanished.

In its place was a more complex emotion, like a stone thrown into the center of a lake, sending ripples spreading out in circles.

Wandering alone, surviving by deception.

These eight characters sounded light, but each word was written in blood.

Hiding how many days and nights of starvation, how many grievances of being driven away, and how much desolation of being homeless.

Beneath her witty and audacious exterior, what was hidden was not naughtiness, but a survival instinct far beyond her age—and a loneliness that went deep into her marrow, understood by no one.

"Spirit Stones are merely external possessions to me."

Chu Changsheng's voice remained calm, like the wind brushing over the thousand-year-old snow on a mountain peak, without a single ripple.

But as his tone shifted, there was a touch of indisputable solemnity in his clear, cool voice:

"But you harbored deception in your heart, which is ultimately wrong."

Xiao Jiu's shoulders slumped suddenly, her head dropped even lower, her chin almost touching her chest, her fine, soft hair covering her brows and eyes.

Her voice was wilted, wrapped in an inseparable dejection: "Oh... Revered Master, I know I was wrong."

"How about... I pay you back for the roasted chicken? Although I don't have a single Spirit Stone now, I can... pay you back later when I earn some!"

She peeked up, her dark, glossy eyes rolling beneath her eyelashes like twinkling stars in the dark night, reigniting a faint glimmer of hope.

Her voice was so light, as if she were afraid of disturbing something: "Then... then Revered Master, are you still willing to take me back to the sect?"

Chu Changsheng did not answer immediately.

The wind in the alley swept through with withered leaves, picking up a few gnawed chicken bones from the ground, creating a faint rustling sound, mixed with the distant, faint bustle of the marketplace.

It only made this dilapidated alley seem more desolate, and the little girl before him seem all the more pitiful.

His gaze was as calm as a deep pool, sweeping over her thin shoulders that were trembling slightly from tension, and finally settling on her neck—

There, a faint, glowing light was half-hidden by filth and messy hair, appearing completely out of place in this area full of grease and dust, like a piece of broken jade hidden in the mud.

This was definitely not something an ordinary child could possess.

Chu Changsheng took a step forward.

Without using any Spiritual Qi, he simply extended his long, clean fingers, gently brushing aside the tangled hair at her collar, his fingertips carrying a coolness like jade, meticulously brushing away the grease and dust from it.

A warm, white jade pendant was suddenly revealed.

It was loosely tied with a coarse hemp rope, resting against her thin collarbone.

Due to years of being worn and rubbed, the edges were already smooth and delicate, glowing with a soft patina.

The jade pendant was of extraordinary quality; even covered in a thin layer of dust, it could not hide the restrained spiritual aura flowing within.

On the front was engraved a Seal script character with elegant brushstrokes that penetrated through the jade—

"Luo."

Chu Changsheng's fingertip rested on the jade pendant for a brief moment.

The touch was warm and mellow, with a trace of an extremely faint yet incredibly pure Spiritual Qi lingering around it.

Deep within the Spiritual Qi, there was also a trace of a Seal, buried layer upon layer by time, as fine as a spider web—if not for his profound cultivation and meticulous Divine Thought, it would have been almost impossible to detect.

This was definitely not something an ordinary street urchin could possess.

Xiao Jiu was startled by his sudden movement, her body instinctively shrinking back like a frightened little beast.

But then she suddenly remembered her current status as a "Disciple" and forced herself to freeze in place.

His cool fingertips grazed the delicate skin of her neck, bringing a shiver of numbness.

Her heartbeat instantly sounded like a drum, thumping so hard it made her eardrums ache, and she even forgot to breathe.

It's over, it's over, it's over.

This jade pendant was the only "possession" she had worn since she had memories, and it was her only connection to this world.

Could it be that this unfathomable Revered Master wanted to confiscate even this?

Or... did he recognize the origin of this jade pendant and realize that she was not some sect Disciple at all, but just a little beggar who cheated to get food?

Xiao Jiu's heart instantly jumped into her throat; she didn't even dare to breathe, only peeking at his movements from the corner of her eye.

"Where did this jade pendant come from?"

Chu Changsheng finally spoke, his voice remaining calm and waveless, revealing no emotion.

Yet it carried a power that reached directly into the Soul, allowing for not a shred of concealment.

"I... I don't know."

Xiao Jiu answered honestly this time, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness, not looking like she was lying.

"I've been wearing it since I can remember. Maybe... maybe it was left by my parents?"

Her tone was filled with deep uncertainty, and even when she said the words "parents," it seemed exceptionally unfamiliar and awkward, as if those were two distant and strange words that had nothing to do with her.

Chu Changsheng gazed at the "Luo" character on the jade pendant, his eyes becoming increasingly deep, like a cold pool that had frozen for a thousand years, bottomless.

He looked up again at the dirty little girl before him—

Her face was still stained with grease from the roasted chicken, sauce was still uncleaned on her chin, her hair was disheveled like a bird's nest, and her clothes were so tattered that even a beggar would dislike them.

Yet those eyes were startlingly bright, as if they hid a sky full of stars, clean and unstained by a single speck of Impurities.

The spiritual aura of the jade pendant was clear and pure, carrying the elegance of a noble family, completely incompatible with her mortal body that possessed no cultivation.

Yet it faintly revealed an indescribable connection, as if in the dark, an invisible thread had tightly tied this jade pendant, this little girl, and some distant past together.

Was it a coincidence?

Or was it Karma that had been deliberately hidden?

After a moment, Chu Changsheng slowly released his hand, his fingertips gently moving away from the jade pendant, and he stood up straight again.

His movements were calm and indifferent, as if he had only confirmed a trivial matter.

He looked down at her, a faint smile rippling on his lips, his voice as clear as a spring, falling into the wind, yet exceptionally clear:

"Since you do not know your name, and you wear the Luo jade—"

"Then I shall call you 'Luo Xiaojiu'."