The location Chen Qingqiu had given her was outside the wall behind the main hall.
Song Yao did a brief scout and found that the Beiyao Sect's defenses tonight were layered and dense. Directly flying over on her sword would surely be detected, so the safest option was to make a detour on foot.
Using the excuse of returning to the spirit vessel to change her clothes, she slipped out through the main gate, pulled out a deep black cloak to wrap around herself, pulled the wide brim of the hood down to cover most of her face, and hurried along according to the map.
The front half of the Beiyao Sect's palaces was located within the city, constructed entirely from warm white jade. After nightfall, strings of palace lanterns hung from the upturned eaves, their shifting lights exuding an air of elegance and luxury everywhere.
The back half of the sect sprawled along the mountain. The deeper she went, the scarcer the signs of human life became. Wild grass tangled around the stone steps, and the forest grew so quiet that only the sound of the night wind rustling through the leaves remained.
Song Yao walked slowly, looking down to compare her position with the markings on the map. Just as she was starting to feel a bit sleepy, she suddenly caught a faint rustle nearby.
Her eyes flickered. She whipped her head around, locking her gaze directly onto the dark, dense forest to her side.
Someone was there.
Stopping in her tracks, she cautiously extended her divine sense. When she saw the scene on the other side, she was slightly surprised.
Fourth Junior Brother and... Second Senior Sister?
And several masked cultivators with unfamiliar auras.
What were they doing there?
She immediately hid behind a tree, further concealing her aura. Extending her divine sense once more, she heard Zhu Zhao's voice: “Have you found Wen Tang?”
Dry leaves rustled as they fell to the ground. Xie Zhou stood with a straight back, his usually aloof and indifferent voice carrying a hint of weakness that was hard to conceal. He sounded injured as he gave a faint, “Yes.”
Zhu Zhao pressed, “Where is she? How did you find her?”
A masked cultivator beside him quickly lowered his voice to reply, “We followed the trail of dark poison and finally cornered the perpetrators. We found that their divine senses were fragmented; they had likely been forcibly refined into Yin soldier puppets. However, they seem to have lost control and escaped. They only attacked people because they were provoked, not out of malice.”
“We followed them for several days, and eventually tracked one of the Yin soldiers to Black Cloud Mountain. We suspect Wen Tang is there.”
“Black Cloud Mountain?” Alarm flashed across Zhu Zhao's face, her tone suddenly darkening. “How could Wen Tang be hiding in Black Cloud Mountain?”
The cultivator replied, “We cannot be one hundred percent certain. The entrance to Black Cloud Mountain has been changed, and we cannot enter for the time being. However, based on all the current clues, this place is the most suspicious.”
Zhu Zhao was slightly angered, her expression turning grim. “Has the Taiqing Pavilion gone mad? To think they would cooperate with Black Cloud Mountain and even send Wen Tang there.”
Song Yao could not help but frown as well.
What kind of place was Black Cloud Mountain? It was a gathering ground for evil, dark, and demonic cultivators. The sect master of Black Cloud Mountain was already skilled in refining puppets. Now, with the addition of Wen Tang, who possessed a unique constitution that could control Yin soldiers, things were truly going to turn upside down.
Zhu Zhao asked again, “How did you get injured?”
“We don't know if they were from Taiqing Pavilion or Black Cloud Mountain, but they seemed to be purging these escaped puppets. We accidentally ran straight into them...”
The cultivator said with a hint of apology, “They fought dirty, used poison, and outnumbered us. The Villa Master was injured trying to protect us.”
Xie Zhou: “I wasn't poisoned. It's fine.”
As he spoke, his gaze suddenly cut through the layers of branches, looking straight toward where Song Yao was hiding. His voice was slightly cool. “Have you heard enough?”
Song Yao: “...”
She hated top-tier mental strength.
She slowly took half a step out, offering them a harmless smile. “Second Senior Sister, Fourth Senior Brother, what a coincidence to meet you here. However, I still have things to do, so I shall take my leave first.”
With a hasty cupped-hand salute, she turned and left, her steps hurried.
Behind her, Zhu Zhao raised a hand to stop Xie Zhou, advising, “You are all injured. Staying within the Beiyao Sect's territory is too dangerous. Return immediately to heal. We will discuss the rest of the matters in detail later.”
Xie Zhou's dark gaze remained locked on Song Yao's retreating figure. Only after a moment did he look away. “Let's go.”
Song Yao had only walked a few meters in her cloak when she heard footsteps following behind her.
She didn't dare look back, only tightening her grip on the map, secretly annoyed.
If she had known, she wouldn't have stopped to listen to the gossip.
The further she walked, the slower her steps became.
Further ahead was the place she had agreed to meet Chen Qingqiu. She couldn't bring Zhu Zhao there.
Given Zhu Zhao's personality, she might not necessarily help her.
She paused and turned around.
Zhu Zhao stood ten meters away. Her plain Daoist robe fluttered in the night wind, and her long, narrow eyes, usually filled with coldness, held an indescribable emotion as she quietly stared at her.
This look made her feel vaguely uneasy.
Song Yao couldn't read her, so she could only continue to play dumb. “Second Senior Sister, I really didn't hear anything just now. Even if I did, I won't tell anyone. It's already this late, aren't you going to the front hall to attend the wedding ceremony? I just came out for some fresh air and will head back in a bit. Please stop following me...”
In the next second, Zhu Zhao interrupted her: “Song Yao.”
Song Yao: “...”
It had been so long since anyone called her by that name that she felt a brief moment of daze when she heard it.
Her mouth moved faster than her brain, and she denied it instantly: “I am not.”
The corner of Zhu Zhao's mouth twitched without a hint of a smile. Stepping on the dry twigs covering the ground, she walked forward slowly, closing the distance inch by inch.
Song Yao's face crumpled under her hood. Her first instinct was to reach for her sword.
In her past life, whenever Zhu Zhao wore this expression, it usually meant they were about to fight to the death. But in this life, she would likely just be pinned down and beaten by Zhu Zhao.
She backed away silently until her back suddenly slammed against the high wall of the Beiyao Sect, leaving her with nowhere left to retreat.
Zhu Zhao's figure was close at hand. A faint, cold fragrance drifted over, blocking out the already dim moonlight and casting her into shadow.
Song Yao looked up, meeting her cold eyes, and forced herself to snap, “I am not Song Yao. I am Lin Mu. If you lay a hand on me, you will be harming a fellow disciple of your sect for no reason. The entire Nine Saints Hall will condemn you!”
Zhu Zhao looked down at her.
It was a face completely different from the one in her earliest memories.
Her features were delicate and elegant, her pale skin highlighting her clear eyes, which always seemed shrouded in mist. Her jawline still held a trace of lingering childishness. With her brows knitted together and her lips pale, she looked quite pretty even as she pouted and tried to look fierce.
After disappearing for so long, after being dead for so long, she hadn't made any progress upon her return except learning how to act spoiled.
She sneered, “The fearless Song Yao is now hiding her head and tail, not even daring to acknowledge her own identity?”
Song Yao blinked her eyes. “I don't understand what you're saying.”
As long as she played dumb enough, someone like Zhu Zhao, who was righteous to a fault, probably wouldn't make a move on her.
Yet, Zhu Zhao refused to play by the rules. In the next instant, she leaned in close, her warm breath brushing past Song Yao's ear.
Then, Song Yao's wrist was tightly gripped, and the beast-skin map was easily snatched away.
Zhu Zhao unfolded the map, her gaze sweeping over the secret passages and rendezvous points circled on the outer wall. The coldness in her eyes deepened. “You don't understand? Then what on earth do you plan to do, lurking here with a map of the Beiyao Sect's back mountain?”
Song Yao still remained silent, her head drooping, acting like a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water.
Whatever.
Let's see if Zhu Zhao had the guts to kill her right here.
Just then, a chaotic clamor of shouting suddenly erupted from within the high wall behind them. A figure dressed in a bright red wedding gown stumbled and tumbled down from the top of the wall.
Rate on N.U.
