CHAPTER 5

Madame Shangguan frowned upon hearing the question. "I had no idea who they were. I've never met the person who taught Laozu the Gong method, but all I know is that he was of very high cultivation level and that Laozu was terrified of him. I did meet that woman. She was dressed in a purple robe, but I didn't get a good look at her face. She was holding a child and spoke in a voice that sounded like she was in her fifties, as if she were very old."

"Was it an old woman?"

"No," Madame Shangguan shook her head, "that's the weird part. She seemed to be in her early twenties based on her appearance."

This surprised Fu Changling a bit, and Qin Yan also cast a subconscious glance at him. Seeing Fu Changling's bewildered expression, Qin Yan turned his head and inquired, "And what else?"

"Nothing else," Madame Shangguan led them down the long corridor, saying somewhat wearily, "I ran into her on my way back to the mansion, and she warned me that it was going to rain heavily and advised me to rest before returning home. So I listened to her, and then she went off on her own. When I returned to the mansion, the Shangguan Clan was in total chaos, and I knew it had to be this woman based on the descriptions of the others."

"So you were responsible for these people going missing in Baishui Town?" Qin Yan changed course when he figured there was nothing else he could ask.

"Yes," replied Madame Shangguan, her voice quivering, "it was our doing. I tried to advise Laoye, but he refused to listen. He asserted that we'd even put our daughters in harm's way, so who are these people? Laozu will soon reach YuanYing, and once he passes through YuanYing, Laozu will reshape his Spiritual Roots in the heavenly tribulation, and we won't have to do these things anymore."

"In that case," Qin Yan looked at Madame Shangguan with some scepticism in his tone, "what do you regret?"

"I've seen Yuehua," said Madame Shangguan quickly. "I dreamed of her two years ago. She questioned why I didn't save her. Laoye told me it was all a dream, and that Yuehua had died a long time ago and had gone to reincarnate."

"People started to die in the estate after that. I thought these people had been sent to Laoye at first, until last night. Last night, Yuemin died too," Madame Shangguan's voice trembled.

"You knew from the start that she wasn't killed by Fu Gongzi?"

"I know," Madame Shangguan's breathing was a little agitated, "Yue Mingsi came to see Laoye last night, and I overheard them talking. They said that Yuemin had died and that Yue Mingsi intended to use the incident to frame Fu Gongzi, after which the Yue Clan would award a hundred thousand spirit stones and also recommend three disciples above the Lianqi level to enter the Taoist Sect, so that the Shangguan Clan's disciples would have a secure future."

"They also said that Yuemin might have been killed by Yuehua," Madame Shangguan said, tears slowly streaming down her cheeks.

"They said Yuehua is not dead, that her body is still in the formation, and that Laozu is still waiting for her soul to return to the formation, but her soul is causing havoc here and there, and she was the one who killed Yuemin—and later, she will also kill everyone in the Shangguan family, including my children, her younger brothers."

"She hasn't been reincarnated. Using humans to practise formation... Being the formation's eye isn't something that ends with death! She has to remain in that formation for all eternity! There is no reincarnation!"

Madame Shangguan tightened her grip on the lantern, her tone gradually rising, "They traded one of my daughters' lives for the glory of their clan, and they want to trade my other daughter's life for a hundred thousand spirit stones and a bright future. On what justification... on what justification?!"

Madame Shangguan's body suddenly erupted with dark Qi, and the black mist outside the barrier's perimeter appeared to have been summoned by something and started desperately hitting the barrier. Shangguan Yuan, who was gagged, kept "umph-umphing". Fu Changling yanked the handkerchief from Shangguan Yuan's mouth, and Shangguan Yuan yelled, "Hurry to the rockery ahead! Quickly!"

The barrier disintegrated as soon as the words were spoken, and a torrent of black mist rushed. Qin Yan slashed his long sword towards the rockery, creating a path for Fu Changling and Shangguan Yuan through the black mist. At the same time, Fu Changling raised his hand and swung it fiercely, slamming Shangguan Yuan towards the rockery before sprinting towards it.

Qin Yan cast a glance over the corridor at Madame Shangguan, only to see that Madame Shangguan's eyes had turned crimson and her entire body was emitting dark Qi, standing on the corridor with a lantern, completely merging with the black mist.

Qin Yan no longer hesitated, and with a tap of his toes, he went after Fu Changling.

Fu Changling ran so fast that he immediately caught up to Shangguan Yuan, who had been thrown in mid-air, and gave him another kick straight onto the rockery when he was about to land.

As the rockery collapsed with a bang, Fu Changling dragged Shangguan Yuan to his feet, disregarding the Fu Clan's rules, and asked urgently, "Where is the entrance?!"

Shangguan Yuan was flabbergasted as Fu Changling raised his hand and slapped him twice, "The entrance!"

These two slaps brought Shangguan Yuan to his senses, and he quickly said, "To your right, it's buried under the stones."

Qin Yan had also arrived at this moment. Hearing Shangguan Yuan's words, he raised his hand and cleared Fu Changling's right hand side with a single sword stroke. After being briefly dispersed by Qin Yan, the black mist reassembled, and this time it returned even more aggressively. While Qin Yan fought off the black mist, Fu Changling took the lead by rushing forward, pulling open the basement lid, and jumping down, knowing he was no match for the opponent. He was still in mid-air when Shangguan Yuan was thrown in, followed by Qin Yan, who jumped in and slammed the lid shut just moments before the dark Qi rushed into the basement. Immediately afterwards, all they could hear was the "bang-bang-bang" of the lid, which caused them to panic.

The lid had a talisman on it, and it swayed with the sound of the impact. Fu Changling hurriedly pressed the talisman and raised his hand to write a dozen more on the lid to secure it.

This greatly stabilised the lid, and the three of them were finally able to breathe. After the three exchanged glances, Shangguan Yuan shrank back a few steps and stared at Fu Changling, gulping and saying, "Don't kill me. I'm working for someone else too."

Fu Changling curled his lips and smiled mockingly at his demeanour. He cut the rope that was tying Shangguan Yuan with his fan, stood up, turned around, and walked forward, tapping his shoulder with his Qinggu fan and saying, "Alright, let's go."

"You can talk," Qin Yan said from behind him; his voice was rather cold. Fu Changling turned back, his hand cautiously squeezing the fan, and raised an eyebrow at Qin Yan, saying, "What, is it in your way?"

Qin Yan was silent as he stared at him. After a while, he slowly curled the corners of his lips and smiled mockingly, "Good acting."

These words astounded Fu Changling. He'd never seen Qin Yan looking like this before. Qin Yan, who always drew his sword when he said he would, spoke in such a sinister tone that it made Fu Changling panic.

He was about to open his mouth to explain when the outside lid was slammed. Shangguan Yuan was so terrified that he rushed forward and anxiously said, "The two of you stop arguing for a moment. Let's get going."

"Where is this?" Fu Changling's attention was drawn to Shangguan Yuan, and he turned his head to look at him, who quickly moved forward, saying, "This is Laozu's secret chamber, with a passage to the outside. Let's run out and find someone. Go to the Fu Clan; go to the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace. There is always someone who can help us!"

Fu Changling and Qin Yan exchanged glances. Despite the fact that neither said anything, they both understood the decision in the other's eyes. Shangguan Yuan led the way as the two of them walked forward together. This secret chamber was filled with mechanisms. These mechanisms weren't a big deal for Fu Changling and Qin Yan, but Shangguan Yuan conscientiously kept unlocking them in the front to avoid slowing down the group.

Fu Changling crossed his arms and lightly tapped his shoulder with his fan. After a while, he heard Qin Yan ask, "Why did the Wushi Luo suddenly become stronger?"

They calculated that Qin Yan's barrier shouldn't have broken down so quickly. Fu Changling was surprised that Qin Yan would ask such a question to someone at the Zhuji level like himself. After a moment of hesitation, he finally said, "One possibility is that she had devoured Yue Mingsi."

These evil spirits had the tactic of devouring a Jindan cultivator and instantly boosting their strength.

But if she was capable of silently devouring a Jindan cultivator like this, then this Wushi Luo's strength was indeed somewhat beyond their imagination.

Fu Changling's heart sank, but Qin Yan beside him appeared unconcerned, as if the strength or weakness of this Wushi Luo didn't matter to him.

He asked a different question this time, "Why did you pretend to be unable to speak?"

"The Fu Clan cannot speak at a level below Jindan. Isn't this something that is known to everyone in Yunze?"

Fu Changling gave him a slack, sidelong glance, but Qin Yan was unsatisfied with his response.

"There is a Mute Spell."

"Right."

"How come you don't have it?"

"I undid it," said Fu Changling, spreading his hands. "Is it a surprise that I was able to undo the spell early thanks to my God-given talent?"

"You're merely a Zhuji," Qin Yan pointed out, and Fu Changling choked. He suddenly felt that Yun Yu's idea was a good one. So he sighed, flicked his hair back, and lamented, "Qin Daoyou, I won't keep anything from you. I'm actually very intelligent, even though I'm merely a Zhuji. It's just that I have a special status—an illegitimate son, you know? It's tough to be an illegitimate son. I have to be wary of my stepmother and younger brother, lest they become envious of my talents. Qin Daoyou, such a complicated family relationship, I'm sure someone like you wouldn't understand."

Qin Yan remained silent. After a while, Fu Changling thought for a moment before talking in riddles, "Speaking of which, you're the weird one, aren't you? My Fu Clan has nothing to do with your Hongmeng Heavenly Palace, and you're kind enough to save someone's life?"

"Not to save you," Qin Yan said flatly. When Fu Changling found that he had confronted this question head-on, he couldn't help but hasten to perk up his ears, and then he heard Qin Yan say, "Just to overcome myself."

"Overcome yourself?" Fu Changling was a little perplexed. "What self is there to overcome?"

Qin Yan stopped talking, and Fu Changling realised that this person was an enigma. Nobody could force him to talk if he didn't want to, just like when he refused to give more information when pressed by the Immortal Alliance. He could even explode his own sea of consciousness while being soul-probed.

When Qin Yan remained silent, Fu Changling remained silent as well. In fact, he was a chatterbox. If it had been anyone else, he would have been talking nonstop.

But this was Qin Yan.

Qin Yan, who killed his entire clan back then.

Ruminating on the past, Fu Changling secretly sneaked a scrutinising glance at the person next to him from the corner of his eye.

The seventeen-year-old Qin Yan appeared to be much gentler than he remembered.

In his previous life, they first met face-to-face when he was twenty, at the Fu Clan.

That day, in the pouring rain and chilly wind, the corpses of the entire Fu clansmen lay scattered around him. Qin Yan approached him slowly; his white tunic's lower hem corners were stained with mud, and his pale face displayed a morbid thinness. There was a horrifying coldness to him from his gaze to his sword as he stared at him in silence.

Fu Changling had the impression that Qin Yan was without warmth at the time.

At least he was without the warmth of being human.

He couldn't help but ask, "Qin Yan, do your current deeds live up to your Shifu and sect?"

Qin Yan had no words as he gazed at him quietly; neither sorrow nor joy could be seen in his bloodshot eyes. After a moment, he squatted down, untied a jade pendant from his waist, and placed it in his palm.

The jade pendant was an old piece that had been caressed for some time, and it felt smooth and lustrous in the hand, but the colour had long since faded.

He said, "Fu Changling, a person is like jade. Only after enduring a hundred agonies of life and death can one come to know their true self."

Fu Changling was unable to grasp these words. He let out low gasps, and there, in his line of sight, was the bloodstained jade pendant, cold in his palm.

It was at that exact moment that Qin Yan ****** his sword into his chest. The sword was firm and cold, just like him, someone who seemed to be devoid of emotions both in his previous life and this one.

He was merciless when it came to killing him, and later, when he destroyed himself, he was equally ruthless.

Fu Changling's heart quivered slightly. Not daring to give it much thought, he curled the corners of his lips and lowered his eyes, holding his fan against his lips to conceal his tumultuous emotions.

These emotions were inappropriate for the current situation. One's sanity could easily be lost if their mind was disturbed.

Others might not find it a problem, but after decades of bloodshed, Fu Changling had come to understand clearly that losing one's sense of propriety of mind was the equivalent of hanging their life off a cliff, with luck determining whether or not they survived.

Seventeen-year-old Fu Changling might still entrust someone else with his life.

But now he was no longer seventeen.

...❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❦❧❦...

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