Chapter 88: What Should You Call Me?

She doesn’t want me to save her.

And when I do save her, she turns around and harms me.

So if I don’t save her... then nothing happens, right?

This is what you call letting go of the savior complex—and respecting someone’s fate.

Good.

"You’re just going to stand by and watch her spiral deeper into disaster?"

Lu Ye didn’t respond. He just looked at Sun Ruowei, calm and expressionless.

And in this moment, silence was the best answer of all.

"You really can’t help her?"

"I cannot."

Two words—sharp and final. No room for negotiation.

Sun Ruowei took two steps back.

"Alright. I understand. Then I won’t disturb you any longer."

"Take care, Aunt-Master. I won’t see you off."

Sun Ruowei left under Lu Ye’s faint, courteous gaze. It wasn’t until her figure completely disappeared from sight that Lu Ye finally shut the door again.

"So polite, so warm... why does someone like that..."

Ah, damn it. Slipped into gossip mode again—now’s not the time for melon-eating.

What now?

"Ding! A kindred spirit, a kindred spirit! I must see what my fellow gossip-lover will do next!"

Lu Ye: ...

A light screen floated silently into view before Lu Ye—even though he hadn’t given any permission.

Lu Ye: ...

Damn it. This system knew him too well now.

If the system had asked if he wanted to watch, he probably would’ve brushed it off. But showing it without asking? Well, now he couldn’t really ignore it, could he? Not like he could punch the damn system, right?

Ahem. Besides, sorting through loot wasn’t all that hard.

Watching a bit wouldn’t hurt.

Lu Ye suddenly felt like he was back in his childhood on Earth, when he was sent to an orphanage. One day, the orphanage got a huge batch of raw cotton still inside the bolls.

The director gathered all the kids to pick cotton—and to motivate them, they played an outdoor movie.

Picking cotton while watching a movie—that had been one of Lu Ye’s rare happy memories.

This... kind of had the same vibe.

Back at Bai Qiulan’s place, Sun Ruowei returned. Bai Qiulan’s face was still deathly pale.

"How did it go?"

Seeing Lu Ye wasn’t with her, Yue Hongling’s expression instantly darkened.

"He said Qiulan made it explicitly clear she didn’t want him to help her."

Of course. Of course it would be that.

Bai Qiulan’s body trembled slightly.

It felt like she was dreaming—trapped in a deep pit of icy water. Not just freezing cold, but with the terrifying sensation of drowning.

She tried to struggle, to break free from the pit.

But the more she fought, the deeper she sank.

Before, in times like this, a pair of strong, warm hands would always reach out and grab hers. And then that blazing presence would hold her tight in his arms.

Those strong arms would pull her upward, rising with her out of the ice. All the cold, all the fear of drowning—it would vanish far behind them.

But this time, no matter how far she sank, no matter how much she struggled—

That presence never came.

"Husband... husband... save me..."

Yue Hongling and Sun Ruowei both turned to Bai Qiulan, frozen still as they listened to the words she mumbled in her sleep.

That was her subconscious.

What she truly wanted—was for Lu Ye to save her.

Nobody wants to die.

"This won’t do. I refuse to believe only Lu Ye can save her. I’m going to the Sect Leader. There are so many great experts in Grand Dao Sect—someone must be able to help!" Sun Ruowei couldn’t take it anymore. She wasn’t going to accept this fate.

Yue Hongling’s eyes were filled with sorrow.

"It’s no use. It’s no use. Across the vast heavens, beneath all the gods and Buddhas—only Senior Brother can save Master. Only Senior Brother can."

"Then I’ll have the Sect Leader command Lu Ye to save her!"

Sun Ruowei stormed off, heading straight for Dao Peak.

Soon, she stood before Liu Changfeng.

"Sect Leader, Bai Qiulan is gravely injured and unconscious. It appears she’s been poisoned—and according to her disciple, Yue Hongling, only Lu Ye can save her. I’ve come to request an official decree from the Sect Leader. Please issue an order—command Lu Ye to save his master."

Hearing this, Liu Changfeng’s heart clenched at once. The simp-brain kicked in before anything else.

"How could Junior Sister Bai be poisoned? I’ll go to her right away!"

"Changming! Immediately summon the Supreme Elders of the Medical Peak and Pill Peak to head to Qiulan Peak!"

But Sun Ruowei quickly cut in. "Sect Leader, going yourself won’t help. Nor will the elders of Medical or Pill Peak. Only Lu Ye has the method to save her. Even I, who specialize in healing, have no way. What we need is your decree—just have Lu Ye go and everything will fall into place."

That finally made Liu Changfeng pause. He remembered—Sun Ruowei herself was one of the most skilled healers in the sect.

But as soon as the matter involved Lu Ye, the love-struck brain yielded the throne to his Sect Leader mindset.

He calmed down.

"Junior Sister Bai is Lu Ye’s master. Why wouldn’t he save her?" Liu Changfeng asked.

Sun Ruowei’s expression froze.

How could she explain it?

Say that in order for Lu Ye to save her, he’d have to become a disciple who violated his master?

And even if Bai Qiulan survived, how could she continue living with that kind of shame?

Sun Ruowei knew Bai Qiulan well—she was traditional to the bone, firmly bound by etiquette and decorum.

There was no way she’d ever allow herself to cross that line with a disciple.

"Lu Ye... does have his difficulties. But this matter won’t bring him any harm. As long as you give the order, everything will resolve itself naturally!"

In Sun Ruowei’s view, Bai Qiulan clearly had feelings for Lu Ye—but because of their identities, both of them had been stuck behind that line they couldn’t cross.

But a command from the Sect Leader? That would be a third party stepping in—forcing the situation to move forward.

Liu Changfeng understood.

He didn’t know exactly why Lu Ye had refused to help, but if even Lu Ye had said no, then even as the Sect Leader, he couldn’t force someone to save another.

If he issued the command, Lu Ye might comply—for the sake of the sect’s recent assistance in the battlefield.

But once he did... Lu Ye might leave the sect altogether. That would be the end of it—no more ties, no more loyalty.

But this was Bai Qiulan...

On one side was the sect’s future—the prodigy they’d gone all in on.

On the other side... was the woman he had loved for years.

Liu Changfeng’s expression turned grave.

He took his seat atop the Sect Leader’s throne.

Looking at Sun Ruowei, he spoke.

"Junior Sister Bai has been poisoned. It is the duty of the Medical Peak and Pill Peak elders to treat her. Lu Ye is but a mere cultivator—he is not trained in medicine or healing. What could he possibly do?"

"Changming, hurry and summon the Supreme Elders of Pill and Medical Peak!"

Vice Sect Leader Ji Changming immediately responded with a loud yes, then quickly ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) departed.

"Liu Changfeng, you—!"

Sun Ruowei’s eyes filled with disbelief, then quickly turned to deep disappointment.

She couldn’t believe it. Liu Changfeng—who had adored Bai Qiulan for so long—was now, in this moment, abandoning her without hesitation.

Liu Changfeng’s expression remained solemn.

He looked down at Sun Ruowei, voice cold and firm.

"Junior Sister. Outside of Dao Peak, you may call me Liu Changfeng, or Senior Brother Liu—I won’t argue. But here, in the Dao Peak’s Inquiry Hall, what should you address me as?"

Sun Ruowei looked up at Liu Changfeng, seated high on the Sect Leader’s throne.

In this moment, he appeared towering and distant. His face stern and emotionless, like a divine figure devoid of all sentiment.

Sun Ruowei trembled in her heart as she stared at him.

Her voice shook slightly as she answered.

"Se—Sect Leader..."