Chapter 2
He didn’t bother beating around the bush and asked bluntly, “Jiang Qisi, where exactly have you hidden the Sect Master’s Token and the Divine Book?”
Before he could continue questioning her, Jiang Qisi suddenly clutched her chest, her face contorting in pain as she collapsed.
The Third Elder stared at her in bewilderment for quite some time before asking suspiciously, “Jiang Qisi, what kind of trick are you playing?”
Jiang Qisi clutched her chest, drenched in cold sweat, her delicate face deathly pale. “My… my chest hurts.”
With that, her head lolled to one side, and she fainted on the spot.
The Third Elder: “…”
When Jiang Qisi slowly “regained consciousness” again, she caught sight of a petite figure crouching before her and immediately felt a wave of relief.
The four members of the protagonist group each had their own specialties. Wen Zhiyu was a sword cultivator, while Tang Xingyue was an alchemy cultivator responsible for healing the sick and saving lives.
She hadn’t been certain whether pretending to be ill would draw Tang Xingyue over, and she had already prepared herself to come up with another plan if this one failed. Fortunately, her luck seemed pretty good.
The corners of Jiang Qisi’s mouth curved upward ever so slightly as she carefully studied Tang Xingyue’s appearance.
The girl was rather petite, dressed in a neat outfit consisting of an upper garment and skirt. Her youthful face was as delicate as carved jade, and her bright almond-shaped eyes blinked rapidly as she regarded Jiang Qisi with undisguised curiosity and wariness.
Jiang Qisi’s first thought: Wen Zhiyu, you beast! She’s still a child!
Her second thought: Tang Xingyue definitely couldn’t be taller than 150 centimeters.
Her third thought: This little girl looks so soft and innocent. It would be a crime against herself not to try fooling her!
And so Jiang Qisi blinked and asked in a voice barely above a whisper, “…Are you a healer?”
In the original novel, the original owner had never met the other three members of the protagonist group before her trial, so it was perfectly reasonable for her to “not recognize” Tang Xingyue now.
Tang Xingyue pursed her lips and glanced at her without answering. Instead, she placed her fingers against Jiang Qisi’s wrist to check her pulse, her brows drawing together slightly.
Jiang Qisi struggled to sit upright and gave Tang Xingyue a weak smile. “Little Healer, how is my condition? Please, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
As if she didn’t already know what state her body was in! Having one’s cultivation crippled was an enormous blow to any cultivator. Even an ordinary person would feel some sympathy for her, let alone someone as kindhearted and innocent as Tang Xingyue.
Sure enough, a trace of pity flashed through Tang Xingyue’s bright, watery almond eyes. “Your injuries are very severe. I’m afraid you’ll never be able to walk the path of immortal cultivation again in this lifetime…”
An appropriately pained expression appeared on Jiang Qisi’s face, and she gave a bitter smile. “…That’s only right. It’s what I owe her.”
Tang Xingyue knew about the grievances between Jiang Qisi and Wen Zhiyu and couldn’t help saying, “If you knew things would turn out this way, why did you do those things in the first place? You…”
But when she saw the anguish on Jiang Qisi’s face, her voice gradually softened. “…I-I don’t really know what happened to you, but I think the most important thing right now is for you to take good care of your health…”
“Little Healer…” Jiang Qisi interrupted gently. “You’re a good person.”
Tang Xingyue immediately let out a startled “Ah?” A trace of confusion flashed through her bright almond eyes.
Jiang Qisi pressed a hand to her chest and drew a deep breath, pretending to endure terrible pain. “I’ve committed unforgivable sins and done so many terrible things in the past. A good person like you shouldn’t have come to save me. Just leave me to my fate and let me spend what little remains of my life in this prison…”
“Stop talking and get some rest.” Tang Xingyue’s expression was complicated. After a brief pause, she continued, “If the pain becomes unbearable, take a pain-relief pill. And especially when it rains or snows, make sure you don’t get cold. Otherwise, the joints throughout your body will hurt even more.”
Jiang Qisi’s performance came to an abrupt halt.
Wasn’t she supposed to have a heart condition? No, wait, wasn’t she just pretending to be sick? How had the diagnosis somehow turned into rheumatism?
Originally, Jiang Qisi hadn’t taken her injuries too seriously. So she couldn’t cultivate immortality anymore, and she had less than a hundred years left to live. Big deal. Before transmigrating, she couldn’t cultivate immortality either, and her lifespan had also been less than a hundred years. What was the difference?
But now that she had somehow ended up with rheumatism for no apparent reason, Jiang Qisi couldn’t find it in herself to laugh anymore.
However, Tang Xingyue was still sitting right in front of her. What else could she do? Keep acting, of course!
Jiang Qisi smiled. “…I don’t mind.”
There was a hint of resilience in her smile, a touch of disappointment, and a measure of acceptance. Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing her slender figure in a soft, clear glow, lending her an inexplicable air of holiness and detachment from worldly concerns.
Tang Xingyue stared at her blankly, opening and closing her mouth several times before finally blurting out, “You’re very different from what the rumors say.”
Jiang Qisi lowered her eyelashes, silently lamenting her newly discovered illness. Yet the resilient smile remained on her face. “So you’ve heard of me…”
Tang Xingyue’s delicate face immediately flushed red. She lowered her head and stammered, “I-I only heard some things… Anyway, I have to go back now. You should get some rest.”
Everything that had happened in the dungeon was reported to Wen Zhiyu in meticulous detail.
Wen Zhiyu sat in a spacious armchair, draped in her fox-fur cloak. Although the room was equipped with an array that maintained a comfortable temperature, she still habitually held a hand warmer while flipping through account books submitted from various departments with her other hand. The sect’s miscellaneous affairs were handled by its elders and stewards, but she had only recently returned to take over as Sect Master. Obviously, she couldn’t simply wash her hands of all responsibility from the very beginning.
When her subordinate delivered the report, Wen Zhiyu had just finished reviewing an account book.
Her slender, pale fingers paused slightly as they held the edge of a page.
Wen Zhiyu turned her head and asked casually, “You’re saying that Xingyue went to the dungeon?”
“Sect Master, should we ask Perfected Tang to return?”
After all, Tang Xingyue’s innocence was practically legendary, and the dungeon was currently holding an exceptionally vicious criminal.
Wen Zhiyu fell silent for a moment before shaking her head. “Forget it. There’s no danger within Taiyan Sect, and Xingyue has a lively personality. There’s no need to restrict her.”
Despite saying this, she couldn’t stop Jiang Qisi’s beautiful yet haggard face from surfacing in her mind. Recalling all those things the woman had kept saying, she couldn’t help letting out a cold laugh.
She wanted to see just what kind of trouble Jiang Qisi could still stir up after falling into such a miserable state.
“S-Sect Master?”
Hearing the startled voice of her subordinate, Wen Zhiyu suddenly snapped back to her senses. Only then did she realize that she had somehow set the account book in her hand on fire.
She fell silent.
Meanwhile, after examining Jiang Qisi, Tang Xingyue returned to Alchemy Peak. She hesitated for a moment before setting aside her alchemy cauldron and going to see Wen Zhiyu. Although compassion was a healer’s duty, Jiang Qisi and Wen Zhiyu were enemies. Since she had treated Jiang Qisi, she naturally ought to inform Wen Zhiyu about it.
After hearing her explanation, Wen Zhiyu raised no objections and merely nodded indifferently.
Seeing this, Tang Xingyue thought of Jiang Qisi’s condition and couldn’t help saying, “Sister Wen, Miss Jiang is seriously injured. The dungeon isn’t a suitable place for her to recover. Why don’t you let her…”
Before she could finish, Wen Zhiyu interrupted her. “Xingyue, this is a matter between her and me. I hope you won’t interfere.”
Although Wen Zhiyu’s voice remained gentle, her expression was cold. Tang Xingyue stammered helplessly for a while before finally lowering her head in dejection and pushing the door open to leave.
The night was bitterly cold, its darkness spreading like spilled ink. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, leaving the dungeon shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Jiang Qisi lay on the pile of dry straw, listening to the faint rustling of insects. Her eyes stared lifelessly at the dark wall as she wrapped her arms around herself, her face utterly blank.
She was still so young. How on earth had she ended up with rheumatism?
What did the mistakes committed by that “Jiang Qisi” have to do with her, Jiang Qisi? Why should she be the one to suffer from rheumatism?
Overwhelmed by sorrow, Jiang Qisi almost felt like shedding a crocodile tear. However, the sound of the profound iron door opening interrupted her self-pity.
She warily turned around and looked toward the entrance with a grave expression. Then, out of the darkness, a slender, tall figure approached.
The newcomer wore the familiar black robes and fox-fur cloak, with a cinnabar mark between her brows. Her skin was as white as snow, her hair as black as ink. Despite her appearance being composed entirely of cool, icy tones, she somehow gave the impression that the entire dungeon had suddenly become brilliantly illuminated.
Jiang Qisi raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. Wen Zhiyu was even less capable of keeping her composure than she had imagined.
Tang Xingyue had merely come to visit her once, yet Wen Zhiyu couldn’t resist rushing over herself. But the more Wen Zhiyu cared, the greater Jiang Qisi’s chances of success, right?
Her eyes flickered, and she tugged slightly at the corner of her mouth, murmuring, “Little Junior Sister… Why have you come?”
Wen Zhiyu didn’t answer. She walked unhurriedly toward her, holding a small hand warmer. After looking down at her for a while, she finally spoke. “It seems I’ve underestimated you…” She paused, a cold sneer curling her lips as she continued mockingly, “Even while imprisoned, Sect Master Jiang still possesses such an impressive talent for manipulating people’s hearts—”
Her long, pale fingers seized Jiang Qisi’s delicate chin. With a slight exertion of force, she compelled the other woman to raise her head. She stroked the smooth skin of Jiang Qisi’s chin, her voice low and intimate, like a lover whispering sweet nothings.
“Did you think that if you deceived Tang Xingyue, I would spare you for her sake?”
Jiang Qisi’s pupils abruptly contracted, but her face betrayed nothing. Her long eyelashes lowered, concealing the emotions in her eyes. “Little Junior Sister, I know that after everything that’s happened, you won’t believe anything I say anymore.”
As she spoke, she put on an expression of someone recalling a memory, her face showing sudden realization mixed with a hint of relief. “So that little healer who came during the day was Tang Xingyue?”
“She really is so innocent and kindhearted. She’s nothing like anyone else.”
But seriously, if she wanted to talk, why did she have to grab someone by the chin? Didn’t she realize how exhausting it was for her senior sister to keep looking up at her like this?
Just as Jiang Qisi was thinking this, the grip on her chin suddenly disappeared. That slender, beautiful hand moved to her neck instead, wrapping around it loosely.
The heart Jiang Qisi had only just managed to settle instantly leaped into her throat again.
Surely Wen Zhiyu wouldn’t… Had she seen through Jiang Qisi’s obvious scheme and decided to kill her outright to settle everything once and for all? The corners of Jiang Qisi’s mouth twitched, and she nearly broke character and shouted for mercy.
She composed her expression and gave a bitter smile. “Little Junior Sister, have you come here tonight to kill me?”
When her eyes met Wen Zhiyu’s dark, unfathomable gaze, she froze for a moment. Then she closed her eyes and bared her neck, ready to accept her execution.
“Perhaps that’s for the best. Although I wasn’t the one who killed Master, his death was still because of me. If I can die by Little Junior Sister’s hand, then Eldest Senior Sister can finally rest in peace.”
The hand around her neck remained motionless for a long time, merely resting there with a loose grip.
With her eyes closed, Jiang Qisi found that her sense of smell had grown sharper. Suddenly, she caught the faintest trace of a milk-candy fragrance. The scent wasn’t cloying at all. On the contrary, it was rather pleasant. Wen Zhiyu might be a little fierce, but she certainly had good taste.
She was idly amusing herself with these thoughts when Wen Zhiyu suddenly let out a cold laugh.
“Die?”
Her low voice was like the howling of a bitter winter wind, chilling Jiang Qisi to the bone.
Her tone was merciless. “Death would actually be a release for you. I won’t let you off that easily…
“I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
The dark clouds dispersed, allowing moonlight as cold as frost and snow to spill into the dungeon. It illuminated Wen Zhiyu’s sinister expression and the blood-red cinnabar mark between her brows. She looked like a vengeful spirit that had crawled out of hell, surrounded by a chilling, ghostly aura, yet breathtakingly beautiful.
Jiang Qisi’s eyes flew open in surprise, and she immediately went still, stunned.
Only after Wen Zhiyu had left did Jiang Qisi gradually recover her senses. She couldn’t help letting out a long sigh.
One piece of good news: Wen Zhiyu wasn’t going to kill her for the time being.
One piece of bad news: An enemy who held tremendous power and could decide whether she lived or died had just declared her intention to make her suffer to the bitter end.
So what exactly did she mean by making her wish she were dead? Could Wen Zhiyu seriously be planning to keep her locked up for the rest of her life?
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!