A Record of Heavenly Secrets [Transmigration Into A Book] - Chapter 5

Yan Qingli felt a slight weight settle on her shoulder. When she reached up to touch it, her fingers sank into soft, silky cat fur.

She wasn’t annoyed. Instead, she affectionately stroked the little furball, a smile tugging at her lips. “It’s you again, little thing.”

The kitten’s dark violet pupils narrowed into thin black slits. Its fur bristled, its body puffing up into a round, fluffy rice dumpling as it unsheathed the sharp claws hidden beneath its soft fur.

This foolish human actually dared to call it—a little thing?!

Never in this world had any cultivator dared show it such disrespect! It had clearly been too indulgent toward this little cultivator. It was time to teach her a lesson she wouldn’t forget.

Just as the kitten was about to deliver a warning swipe, Yan Qingli suddenly scooped it into her arms. Its entire face collided with her soft, fragrant chest, sinking so deeply into it that it could barely breathe. At the same time, her exceptionally nourishing spiritual energy flooded its nose and mouth, making it struggle and let out a series of muffled cries.

You big villain! Let go of me! Otherwise, I… I’ll make you regret it!

Yet before long, the kitten’s eyes narrowed in blissful intoxication. A few drops of blood even trickled unconsciously from its nose, and it obediently settled into the crook of Yan Qingli’s arm, no longer struggling.

Hiss—But she smells so good. This Venerable One feels absolutely wonderful breathing in her scent.

Yan Qingli held the kitten close to conceal the turmoil and nervousness in her heart. As she drew closer to the barrier, Yan Chixue’s appearance gradually became clearer.

Her dark hair was simply draped over her shoulders, yet it did nothing to diminish her ethereal beauty. Her snow-white robes were torn and tattered, stained with mud, while the hand holding the Mount Lao Release Writ was cracked and bleeding. She must have endured considerable hardship to obtain it.

In every lifetime Yan Qingli had experienced, regardless of how many times she had died and come back to life, her senior sister had always been like an untouchable flower atop a lofty mountain, an immortal banished to the mortal world. When had she ever appeared before others in such a miserable state?

Yan Qingli’s heart ached for her. Seeing the dust caught in Yan Chixue’s dark hair, she instinctively reached out to brush it away, only to be stopped by a sharp warning.

“Mount Lao’s barrier was established by Qingtian Dao Ancestor, the founding Sect Master of Qingtian Yan Sect, the foremost righteous sect of the present day. Its power is extraordinary. Any living creature that has come into contact with even the slightest trace of demonic energy may enter, but cannot leave.

“Until you’ve obtained a Mount Lao Release Writ, you must never extend your hand beyond the barrier.”

Yan Chixue pressed both hands against the outside of the barrier, her nose almost touching Yan Qingli’s face through the transparent boundary. Her voice was as clear and melodious as the first thaw of winter waters.

Just then, a red-headed, multicolored messenger bird happened to fly toward the outside of the barrier. Before even half its body could pass through the transparent boundary, a beam of white light descended from the highest floor of the towering stone palace.

The bird didn’t even have time to cry out before it was split into two charred, shriveled halves, giving off a pungent, corrosive stench.

The unfortunate bird had perfectly demonstrated the truth of Yan Chixue’s warning.

Still shaken, Yan Qingli hastily withdrew her hand. She had nearly lost an arm.

The kitten in her arms watched from the sidelines and gave a dismissive snort. What was the big deal? With it here, even if she extended her hand, Mount Lao’s punitive light wouldn’t be able to harm so much as a hair on her head.

“Junior Sister, ever since you left, my father has become a completely different person. Without even distinguishing right from wrong, he sent people to hunt you down. I don’t know what happened between you, but I believe you’re innocent.”

Yan Chixue slid the Mount Lao Release Writ along the ground, pushing the token through the transparent barrier until it reached Yan Qingli’s feet.

She lowered her voice and continued, “Senior Brother Bu and I went through countless hardships to obtain this token. As long as you carry it, Mount Lao’s punitive light won’t be able to hurt you. This isn’t a place where cultivators should remain. If you really enter Mount Lao’s prison palace, you may never be able to leave for the rest of your life.”

Bu Yunlou deliberately remained in the background, occasionally stealing glances at Yan Qingli.

The corner of Yan Qingli’s mouth curved upward in a mocking smile.

Not long ago, that man had wanted nothing more than to take her head. Only a fool would believe that this treacherous male lead had suddenly developed good intentions.

She picked up the token from the ground. Then, under Yan Chixue’s astonished gaze, she turned toward the crowd and tossed the hard-won Mount Lao Release Writ in their direction. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted, “Mount Lao Release Writ! First come, first served! Whoever wants it can pick it up, but you’ll have to bear the consequences yourselves!”

A flash of hurt crossed Yan Chixue’s eyes. She bit her pink lips tightly, her injured hands trembling slightly as her fingers clenched together. “Junior Sister Yan, what do you mean by this?”

Yan Qingli looked coldly at Bu Yunlou without saying a word. Having been abruptly put down again, the kitten sat beside her feet, looking rather dizzy.

“I got it! I got the Mount Lao Release Writ! I don’t have to go to that godforsaken place anymore!”

A human cultivator excitedly crawled out from the crowd scrambling for the token. Waving the token in his hand, he jumped about in delight before sprinting toward the outside of the barrier as though running a hundred-meter dash.

Splat—!

An identical beam of white light instantly pierced the cultivator’s body, splitting him in two along his spine. His body collapsed with a crash.

The entire crowd fell silent in terror. After a long while, everyone abandoned the idea of leaving the mountain. One by one, they obediently continued into the stone palace under the watchful eyes of the goat-headed, human-bodied monsters.

Yan Chixue stared in disbelief at the cultivator’s horribly mutilated corpse lying on the ground. Her lips trembled as she spoke. “How could the token be fake?”

She had almost gotten Qingli killed just now!

Yan Qingli looked expressionlessly at the blackened, shriveled, severed remains before turning her sharp gaze toward Bu Yunlou. She clicked her tongue. “That’s a question you should ask your dear Senior Brother Bu, Senior Sister Yan.”

Upon hearing this, Bu Yunlou hurriedly came up with an excuse before Yan Chixue could question him. His face looking utterly sickly, he promptly hopped onto his sword and fled.

Yan Qingli let out a derisive chuckle and turned to look for Xiaoming. Suddenly, something hard slid through the barrier and came to rest against the gap beside her shoe.

Yan Qingli lowered her head and picked up the sword tassel from the ground. A jade pendant was woven into it, and something appeared to be engraved on its surface.

She gently brushed away the dust with her fingertip, revealing a line of words.

“Half for my pursuit of the Dao, and half for you.”

She read the words softly, her gaze faltering slightly as she looked toward Yan Chixue.

“Senior Sister, is this for me?”

Yan Chixue answered with a soft “Mm,” a blush spreading across her face, which was as luminous as an autumn moon.

There was a trace of worry and nervousness in her eyes. Pressing close to the barrier, she continued, “I’m afraid I might never have another chance to give it to you in this lifetime. Qingli, you must take good care of yourself on Mount Lao. Sooner or later, I’ll find a way to bring you out.”

Yan Qingli had liked Yan Chixue in the beginning. After all, she was a lesbian, and the two of them had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, knowing each other exceptionally well.

But after being betrayed so many times, even she could no longer tell whether what she felt for her senior sister was love or some other emotion entirely.

Now that her one-sided affection had suddenly become mutual, she found herself bewildered and at a loss.

According to the plot, Yan Chixue was Bu Yunlou’s first love and the unattainable woman he cherished in his heart. After marrying Bu Yunlou, she would repeatedly be poisoned by people attempting to assassinate the male lead.

Mount Lao might imprison Yan Qingli for the rest of her life. They were both unfortunate souls trapped by fate. Without Yan Qingli, the medicinal cure intended for her, who knew whether her senior sister would even survive?

Yan Qingli attached the sword tassel to her spiritual sword, bit off a strand of blue thread from her hair tie, then used her sword to cut off a lock of her dark hair. She intertwined the two into a lovers’ knot and sent it flying into Yan Chixue’s hand with a palm strike infused with true qi.

“Senior Sister, one day, I’ll emerge from Mount Lao and let the world see the entire truth. And I’ll find a way to cure your Plum Blossom Cold Ailment, too.”

The lovers’ knot lay in Yan Chixue’s palm. She closed all five fingers tightly around it and looked at the woman before her, whose face was smudged with dust and whose clothes were in disarray. At that moment, her heart was thrown into turmoil.

Yan Qingli lifted her chin toward her and smiled tenderly. As that pure, radiant smile slowly blossomed across her dust-streaked face, the entire world seemed to brighten in an instant.

“Stay alive. Wait for me to come back and marry you.”

It was the only fragile thread of hope that still bound them together.