Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 22

After Jia Yu left, Lou Jing stood motionless where she was.

Some part of her had been avoiding everything that happened at the inn, refusing to touch those memories. Yet someone kept forcing her to recall them again and again, openly and covertly insisting that she was the murderer, that she had committed an unforgivable crime.

Their words attacked the defenses of her heart like iron awls and steel hammers, like a violent storm.

Lou Jing closed her eyes.

Even the tiniest details from that day gradually became clear—the pine needles swept up by the fierce wind, their deep green tips darkened with withered yellow.

It felt as though those needles were falling inside her head, filling her mind with dense, piercing pain.

If Jia Yu continued interrogating her this way, she would eventually go mad.

Was Jia Yu merely taking advantage of her misfortune to settle a personal grudge, or had Elder Li instructed him to do this?

Did Wu Qingtian know?

How much did Yu Jingqiu know?

Lou Jing had no way to obtain information and knew nothing about what was happening outside.

She could not even tell whether the sky was clear or rainy except by looking through the small stone window in the wall.

She had not seen Wu Qingtian or Li Changhong for several days.

Yun Yao had not returned since her last visit.

As for Yu Jingqiu, Di Hou, and Lang Ye, she had not seen any of them since the moment she was imprisoned.

What were they doing?

Were they unwilling to see her, or were they unable to come?

Did they believe in their hearts that she was innocent?

The prison cell was narrow, and with each passing day, it seemed to squeeze Lou Jing’s heart into an equally confined space.

Her expression grew increasingly gloomy, while her suspicions deepened.

It felt as though an enormous shadow had fallen over the entire world.

She could not stop her imagination from running wild. Even the smallest matter caused her to become suspicious.

Late one night, she lay upon the bed, half asleep and half awake, when she sensed a shadow pressing over her bedside.

She abruptly opened her eyes.

The lamps outside the cell flickered. A figure stood before her bed with the light behind him.

When he saw that she had awakened, he raised a finger to his lips.

“Quiet. I have come to rescue you.”

“Rescue me?”

Lou Jing silently studied him.

His face was exceedingly ordinary—the sort of face that would disappear immediately within a crowd. She could not remember ever seeing him before.

“Who are you?”

Instead of answering, he said, “If you remain here, you will lose your life.”

“How do you know my life is in danger?”

“Someone inside the Qianyuan Sect wants you dead. This incident has given them an excellent excuse.

“Even though the crime is not yours, it will eventually be made yours.”

Lou Jing remained silent for a long while.

Because a final trace of warmth remained inside her heart, she said unwillingly, “If I escape, will that not confirm my guilt?

“The crime is not mine. I refuse to believe that everyone in the sect has been blinded by grease, had their hearts deceived, and become incapable of distinguishing black from white.”

“If you escape, you will at least have the opportunity to investigate the truth. If you remain here, you can only wait for death.”

Lou Jing suddenly raised her eyes and stared coldly at him.

Suspicion arose again.

Now, it seemed to her that everyone was concealing something.

Naturally, she was even more suspicious of a mysterious man who entered her prison in the middle of the night and offered to help her escape.

“Did Shen Zhongyin send you?”

The man did not answer.

Lou Jing narrowed her eyes, her gaze dark and profound.

“Or did someone in the sect send you to test me?”

Their eyes met.

Lou Jing suddenly opened her mouth to call for the guards, but before any sound emerged, the man struck her muting acupoint with one finger.

“Wu Qingtian went out to search for evidence. He will return tomorrow. Wait and see.”

He channeled true qi into her body and released the seal upon her inner force.

Before Lou Jing could make a move, he departed like a gust of night wind.

His movements were ghostlike and did not resemble the martial arts of the Qianyuan Sect.

They were somewhat similar to Shen Zhongyin’s footwork.

But even if Shen Zhongyin truly had sent him, Lou Jing would not trust him.

She sat cross-legged upon the bed, pressed her thumbs together, and sank her qi into her dantian.

She began circulating her inner force, awakening the body that had been sealed for so many days and had nearly rusted into uselessness.

When she opened her eyes again, dawn had arrived.

Her inner force had completed a full circuit, leaving her body comfortable in a way she had not experienced for a long time.

At noon, disorderly footsteps sounded outside the prison.

Judging from their varying weight—some steady, others light—Lou Jing knew they did not belong to Jia Yu and his companions.

Even so, her heart did not relax.

She remembered what the mysterious man had said the previous night.

By the time the group stopped outside her cell, she already sensed that something was wrong.

Her heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

Wu Qingtian, whom she had not seen for days, stood outside. Li Changhong was on his left.

To Lou Jing’s surprise, Lang Ye, who had never once visited her, stood behind Wu Qingtian.

When she could not see him, she had been filled with suspicion.

Now that he was present, she found his gaze too intense and involuntarily lowered her head, overwhelmed by shame and discomfort.

Lang Ye frowned.

“Ah-Jing, why is your complexion so poor? Have your injuries still not healed?”

Li Changhong interrupted, “There will be time for idle conversation later. First, allow the witness to identify her.”

A witness?

Lou Jing raised her head in astonishment.

An elderly man in brown robes, his temples streaked with white, stepped from the group.

Lou Jing recognized him.

He was the innkeeper.

Wu Qingtian pointed toward Lou Jing.

“Innkeeper, look carefully. Is this the young woman?”

The old man examined Lou Jing twice.

His eyes flickered, and he timidly retreated behind the others.

“It is her. It is her.”

Lang Ye asked urgently, “Sir, are you certain? Please look again.”

The innkeeper shook his head.

“The two of them stayed at this humble man’s inn for six or seven days. They hardly left. And—and…”

Li Changhong pressed, “And what?”

“That man killed an entire group of riders upon the road the moment he attacked. He looked like an evil ghost or a murderous rakshasa.

“He even frightened my waiter into fleeing during the night. How could this humble man mistake such guests for anyone else?”

“Innkeeper, recount everything you witnessed exactly as it happened,” Wu Qingtian said. “You need not be afraid. Once you have entered the Qianyuan Sect, no villain will be permitted to harm you.”

The innkeeper continued, “That man and this young lady stayed at my inn. They appeared to be waiting for someone…”

Li Changhong asked, “What did they do while they were waiting?”

“The man taught this young lady martial arts in the courtyard. He also spoke about something called the Blazing Core and the Qihai. This humble man did not understand it very well.”

At these words, the expressions of everyone present changed.

Li Changhong turned toward Lou Jing.

“You claim Shen Zhongyin held you captive. Yet where beneath the heavens has there ever been a kidnapper who hands his blade to his hostage?

“The Blazing Core Palm is Shen Zhongyin’s exclusive art, yet he willingly taught it to you.

“Who would believe that your relationship was merely that of captor and hostage?”

Lou Jing became so angry that sweat appeared across her body.

“Shen Zhongyin’s temperament is unpredictable. What is he incapable of doing?

“He decided to teach me his palm art. Was I supposed to enter his head and wrench the thought out of his mind?”

Li Changhong again addressed the innkeeper.

“Innkeeper, how did this young woman and that man usually behave toward one another? Were they constantly at each other’s throats?”

The innkeeper shook his head.

“The atmosphere between them was peaceful. To my eyes, they resembled a father and daughter.”

Wu Qingtian’s mouth tightened.

“Innkeeper, where were you on the day fighting broke out at the inn?”

Li Changhong added, “Tell us carefully everything you saw and heard that day.”

The innkeeper searched his memory.

“That day, the inn had run out of supplies. My waiter had already fled, so this humble man personally went into the city to purchase more goods.

“When I returned, a tremendous wind was blowing. It had nearly torn the roof from my inn.

“I hurried inside, intending to close and lock the doors and windows, but the wind suddenly stopped.

“I faintly heard voices coming from the rear courtyard.

“Out of curiosity, I looked through a crack in the door.”

The innkeeper glanced at Lou Jing again.

“This young lady was holding a sword. With a single stroke, she cut the throat of a man wearing dark robes and a jade crown.

“Bright red blood poured everywhere.

“This humble man was terrified out of his wits. Afraid that the disaster would reach me as well, I hurried into the cellar and hid there.

“I remained hidden for an entire day and night before daring to emerge.”

It was as though a thunderbolt had exploded upon level ground.

Lou Jing’s eyes widened in horror, and her face turned deathly pale.

“You invented that! You are framing me!”

Li Changhong rebuked her.

“He has neither grievance nor enmity with you. Why would he falsely accuse you?”

The final trace of warmth within Lou Jing’s heart disappeared.

It felt as though icy seawater had engulfed her entire body.

Her eyes turned red as she glared at Li Changhong.

“Someone instructed him to do this!”

Li Changhong said, “This witness was found and brought back jointly by your senior brother and Elder Wu.

“Who could have instructed him? Your senior brother? Or Elder Wu?

“Lou Jing, now that matters have reached this point, let us see how you continue denying your guilt!”

Lou Jing suddenly seized the bars of the cell door.

Filled with countless grievances and overwhelming unwillingness, she furiously questioned the innkeeper.

“I never harmed you. Why are you harming me?”

She shouted sharply, “Why are you harming me?”

The innkeeper appeared frightened.

He staggered backward, trembling, and suddenly fainted.

The disciples beside him hurriedly lifted him and carried him upon one of their backs.

Wu Qingtian said, “Quickly take him to the main peak and have Elder Yu examine him.”

This was an extremely important witness.

Wu Qingtian and Lang Ye were deeply concerned and followed them out.

Lou Jing fell to her knees in despair and released a bleak, broken laugh.

The prison became silent once more.

Time seemed frozen within that place.

The cell was damp and cold, nurturing shadows in every corner.

Lou Jing stared at the flickering lamplight as resentment gradually grew inside her, threatening to burn her alive.

When night arrived, a soft rustling sounded in the passageway outside.

It was the sound of robes moving with the wind.

Someone approached, their footsteps almost impossible to hear.

Lou Jing remembered the mysterious man who had released her acupoints.

When she raised her head, however, she saw another ordinary face she had never encountered.

Yet Lou Jing recognized the person’s presence.

The man outside wore plain robes and carried a long sword.

He threw the weapon through the gap in the cell door.

“They have finished gathering witnesses, physical evidence, and a motive proving that you murdered Lou Xuanzhi.

“Even if you leaped into the Yellow River, you could never wash away this accusation.

“The Qianyuan Sect has already decided your punishment.

“Lou Xuanzhi will be buried tomorrow. Before his grave, they will execute you.”

Lou Jing found his voice extremely familiar.

It was the same man who had unsealed her acupoints the previous night. He had merely changed his appearance through disguise.

“If you refuse to escape, you will die regardless.

“Why not imitate your mother and use this sword to cut your throat, proving your innocence?”

Lou Jing looked at the sword without speaking.

When she raised her head again, the man was already gone.

She picked up the weapon and drew it.

Snow-white sword light entered her eyes.

Lou Jing possessed a proud and untamed temperament.

She thought that if she had suffered such a terrible injustice and could not escape execution, she would rather take her own life than allow others to humiliate her.

She placed the sword across her neck and prepared to end everything.

Then she abruptly stopped.

If she died this way, it would appear that she had killed herself out of guilt.

She walked to the stone wall, intending to leave behind an account of all her grievances.

Yet she felt that even the entire wall would not be large enough to contain everything she wanted to say.

In the end, only eight words remained in her heart:

The human heart is unfathomable; even ghosts and gods fear it.

Lou Jing stood before the wall for a long time.

The candle behind her cast her silhouette upon the stone.

She approached the flame and stretched out her hand.

The shadow of her palm covered the entire wall.

Lou Jing returned the sword to its sheath and shook her head.

“No. I will not be as foolish as my mother!”

If she took her own life, would that not merely cause pain to those who cared for her and delight her enemies?

The crime was not hers.

Why should she be the one to suffer for it?

Someone was stirring up storms within the sect.

Whether Heaven itself had gone blind or someone had covered Heaven’s eyes with a single hand, Lou Jing would not surrender.

She would fight for this one breath of pride.

Even if it killed her, she would continue fighting for it.

She would never accept this stain upon her name.

Inside the prison, she could accomplish nothing.

She could not even preserve her own life.

She would have to depend upon others to prove her innocence and rescue her.

In the past, perhaps she would have waited.

But now, she trusted no one.

Holding the sword, Lou Jing walked to the cell door.

Her gaze became as sharp as that of a hawk as she looked toward the end of the passage.

It was better to rely upon herself than upon anyone else.