“I have never doubted you from the very beginning, Junior Sister,” Jinglian said. “I called you here because I want you to help me keep an eye on Biluo Peak. Senior Brother's people often enter and leave Biluo Peak's territory under the guise of visiting friends, passing messages and bribing hands.”
“You have been on Biluo Peak for many years; nothing that happens in your territory can be hidden from you.”
Liu Ruyin remained silent for a long time before she grumbled, “Since you knew all along that it had nothing to do with me, Senior Sister, why didn't you just say so from the start?”
“Did you have to wait for me to bare my heart completely, just to see me embarrassed?”
Jinglian shook her head. “I had no such intention.”
“I simply wanted you to say it yourself.” Her voice softened slightly. “The resentment you've harbored for so many years needs an outlet. If I had excused you right from the start, the frustration pent up in your heart wouldn't have dissipated.”
Liu Ruyin turned her head, her gaze falling upon the sword manual on the table.
“You have actually learned how to be considerate of others, Senior Sister.” Her tone was hard to read, somewhere between teasing and sighing. “In the past, Jinglian was taciturn and cold, finding even half a sentence too troublesome, let alone caring about anyone's feelings.”
“People change.”
Liu Ruyin withdrew her gaze. The gloom on her face vanished instantly, replaced once more by her usual lazy demeanor.
She curled her long legs, revealing a sliver of her snow-white ankle, and casually adjusted her sitting posture.
“Very well, I can guess your plans, Senior Sister. You want to seize the position of Sect Master, correct?”
“But your Dao foundation still carries that old injury; pushing your spiritual energy to its limit will trigger a backlash. Sect Master Senior Brother has cultivated for many years and has a solid foundation; if it truly comes to blows, even if you win, you will still be severely injured. If word of fellow disciples slaughtering each other gets out, the entire cultivation world will laugh at the Azure Cloud Sect.”
Jinglian did not argue. Instead, she changed the subject. “But his schemes fell flat this time.”
Liu Ruyin raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”
“Qingci accompanied A-Yuan the entire way. The eight Golden Core evil cultivators at Blood Thorn Ridge were all slain by A-Yuan, and the Nascent Soul cultivator hiding in the shadows was dealt with by Qingci's personal secret guard.”
“The trap Senior Brother went to such great lengths to set by altering the intelligence ended up failing because of the bond between two juniors.”
Liu Ruyin was stunned for a moment, then burst into a low laugh. “He has spent his whole life scheming, yet he ended up tripping over two young girls? In his eyes, everyone is a chess piece; he probably never imagined that there could be genuine sincerity in this world that disregards self-interest.”
She stopped laughing and stared thoughtfully at Jinglian for a long while. When she spoke again, the teasing tone was gone, replaced by a layer of loneliness that others would find hard to discern.
“Are you pushing yourself to the limit to seize this position just to settle old scores with the Sect Master, or simply to protect Chi Yuan?”
“Could it be that you plan to leverage the influence of the Shen Family, that hidden great clan? You know the rules set by our founder best—it is a grave taboo for great families to interfere in sect affairs.”
“Qingci's heart is pure; she has never had any thoughts of interfering in sect disputes,” Jinglian said calmly. “Besides, the Shen Family has a profound heritage; they look down on the mess that is the Azure Cloud Sect.”
She curled her lips in self-deprecation.
“It was I who was too soft-hearted in the past, always remembering that Senior Brother is a descendant of the founder, thinking he would at least have some moral baseline.”
“A few months ago, I used the matter of the disciple recruitment tuition gift to test him. He merely used a casual, joking tone to suggest sending his own grandchild to my lineage.”
“I should have been alert back then. What Senior Brother coveted was never just A-Yuan.”
“After all these years, his greedy and arrogant nature hasn't changed in the slightest, believing that anything can be obtained through scheming. Fortunately, for now, he doesn't dare to easily provoke Qingci; once he angers a powerhouse of the Shen Family, the entire Azure Cloud Sect won't be able to bear the consequences.”
A trace of coldness flashed in Jinglian's eyes. “Rather than waiting for him to make another move, it is better to plan ahead. When the Grand Supreme Elders emerge from seclusion in the future, they will naturally understand my intentions.”
Liu Ruyin understood.
Suddenly, she asked a completely unrelated question.
“Senior Sister, if the one injured back then had been me, would you have damaged your foundation for my sake as well?”
This question came out of nowhere.
Jinglian raised her eyes and met Liu Ruyin's longing gaze.
Those eyes, which usually held a hint of coquettishness, were now staring at her quietly, waiting for an answer that had trapped her for many years.
“Yes.”
Liu Ruyin turned her face away, forcing back the tears at the corners of her eyes. When she turned back, she had put on that casual mask once more.
“You've actually learned how to coax people now, Senior Sister. If you had been willing to say even half a soft word back then, why would I have hated that person for so many years?”
“However, her daughter is truly...” In the end, Liu Ruyin swallowed the rest of her harsh words.
“Forget it, I will keep a close eye on Biluo Peak. But for the next century, it would be best if we don't meet again.”
“I don't want to see you; after all, even now... you still harbor intentions of using me, Senior Sister.”
She stood up and walked to the entrance of the hall, her steps pausing.
“Junior Sister Liu~”
Liu Ruyin's figure stiffened.
“Thank you!”
Liu Ruyin did not respond.
Pushing open the door, the night wind rushed in, blowing back the stray hairs at her temples. The moonlight fell upon her face, illuminating the tear stain at the corner of her eye that she hadn't had time to hide.
She stepped out, her figure disappearing at the end of the stone steps.
The hall doors remained wide open as Jinglian sat quietly for a long while.
She spread out the sword manual on the desk once more. Dipping her brush in ink, her sword intent pierced through the paper as she wrote, each character sharp and fierce.
Senior Brother thought that since the Grand Supreme Elders were in death seclusion, no one could keep him in check. He thought that because her foundation was damaged, she was nothing to fear.
He believed that with his status as the descendant of the founder, the Grand Supreme Elders would feel indebted to him and that he could use this as a protective talisman!
Arrogant.
Fool.
...
Wanjian Peak, Yunqi Cave.
Qinghe stood outside the cave dwelling holding a stack of soft cushions. She quietly poked her head in to steal a glance before quickly pulling back.
She nudged Wancui next to her with her elbow and urged in a low, hushed voice, “You go in first.”
Wancui, holding a complete set of spiritual porcelain teaware with both hands, rolled her eyes. “Why do I have to go first?”
“You entered the sect before me.”
“Tsk, just eight months earlier, what kind of seniority is that?” Though she grumbled, Wancui had already stepped inside the cave.
The main room had originally been extremely minimalist, with only a stone table and stone benches, and a few rows of empty bookshelves lining the walls.
Now, quite a few items had been added here and there, making it look much livelier.
A thick, plush carpet from the Northern Region covered most of the floor, seven or eight gold-woven cushions were stacked together, a brand-new set of spiritual porcelain teaware sat on a display shelf, and several wind chimes capable of calming the mind hung from the window sill.
Shen Qingci stood in the center, comparing positions on the wall back and forth. “We'll hang the Snow Peak Landscape Painting on this empty wall, and place the hundred-year evergreen potted plant in that corner...”
Hearing the sound, she turned her head. Seeing Qinghe and Wancui waiting at the entrance, she immediately smiled and waved. “Come on in. Put the cushions on the jade couch by the window, and place the teaware on the small table next to the display shelf.”
Wancui set down the teaware as told, and Qinghe neatly stacked the cushions. Just as the two were about to bow and withdraw, Shen Qingci's voice rang out again.
“Don't leave just yet. Qinghe, move those potted spiritual plants next to the spiritual spring; make sure the sunlight doesn't hit their roots directly. Wancui, put the sword box on the table away in the side room, tucking it into the third shelf of the cabinet against the wall.”
Qinghe complied, picking up the potted plants and walking toward the back of the cave dwelling.
Wancui picked up the sword box, her eyes unable to resist stealing glances at Chi Yuan, who was sitting quietly nearby.
She was utterly shocked in her heart.
【Heavens! Senior Sister Chi and Senior Sister Shen are living together?】
【Oh no, could they have gone mad from cultivation???】
Rate on N.U.
