IVYSCP - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"Your... this body's condition is very similar to Qiu Feng's. But compared to her, this body's demonic traits are much lighter. If the demonic markings hadn't shown, I'm afraid no one would have discovered this body has half-demonic blood."

Pei Si fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly. "Ling Qingyue."

Just hearing her name called, Ling Qingyue felt a tremor run through the tip of her heart. She couldn't explain why.

She liked it when Pei Si called her like that.

"What is it?" Having soaked in the water for quite a while, Ling Qingyue felt her own voice had grown damp as well.

Pei Si's voice was very gentle, tender as she asked, "Have you ever thought about what happens if you can't leave this body? You've tried twice before, haven't you? Your soul can't leave."

The smile at the corner of Ling Qingyue's lips slowly faded. She lowered her head, letting her palm drift back and forth beneath the water's surface.

"My master and my senior sister will find a way. I won't stay a demon forever."

Pei Si pressed her lips together. She was still so dependent on her master and senior sister.

The surroundings grew quiet, only the faint sound of water remaining.

Ling Qingyue played for a while, then turned her head to look at Pei Si. She spoke as if in jest. "If I really can't leave this body, what will you do?"

Pei Si seemed to have already prepared her answer long ago. She moved their clasped hands, her fingertips slipping into the gaps between the other's fingers, interlocking them completely.

"Come back to Cangshan with me."

The immortal sects could not tolerate a demon. Cangshan could.

Ling Qingyue froze. She looked at Pei Si's earnest expression, and her heart was prodded again, aching and soft.

"Bringing a demon back to Cangshan? Will the others agree?" Ling Qingyue straightened her legs and accidentally bumped into Pei Si's ankle, then shrank aside a little.

"There are no others. Only the two of us." Pei Si sensed someone's foot quietly sneaking back over to press against her own. She didn't move away.

Ling Qingyue was somewhat surprised. "Then what about Pei Yin?"

Back at the storytelling in Linshui Town, Pei Yin had even become an Immortal Venerable. Oh, how impressive of her.

Pei Si gazed at her silently. "..."

That familiar expression, so hard to put into words. Ling Qingyue's eyes darted half a circle around.

Had she asked the wrong thing? Was the relationship between grandparent and grandchild not good?

Ling Qingyue heard Pei Si sigh, and then her own old accounts were brought up.

"You said before that you don't like Pei Yin. Why? I remember you two were schoolmates for a time up at Shangtianqiong. Where did she offend you?" Pei Si's expression was indifferent, as if she were only asking in passing.

Although that period was now a hundred years past, in Ling Qingyue's perception, it had only been a few months.

"I don't dislike her. She's clearly the one who dislikes me." Ling Qingyue swung her feet, feeling slightly wronged herself. "You should go ask Pei Yin what it was that I did to offend her."

Pei Si furrowed her brow in confusion. "She dislikes you?"

How could she possibly dislike you?

"Exactly." Ling Qingyue let out a humph. "From the first day she came to Shangtianqiong, I knew she couldn't stand me. She even mocked me!"

Pei Si: "..."

When had she ever mocked her?

The more Ling Qingyue thought about it, the angrier she got. She turned her head and fixed her gaze on her. "You said you could teach me formations. If I get trapped inside one when I'm learning and can't get out, will you laugh at me?"

Pei Si remembered now. She had indeed laughed at Ling Qingyue over this, but it wasn't the mockery she was describing. At the time, she had simply thought, how could someone get themselves so turned around?

She had thought Ling Qingyue was a little foolish, a little blank, and a little endearing.

"...I won't." Pei Si pressed her lips together and smiled slightly. "That's all it was?"

She realized now that there had been some misunderstandings between her and Ling Qingyue before.

"Of course not. I'm not that petty." Ling Qingyue muttered. "She never gave me a good face. Senior sister said she had a cold temperament and was the same to everyone, but I just felt that she had it out for me. You have no idea, every time she saw me it wasn't just a cold face, I felt like she wanted to throw hands and beat me up."

"She's an Immortal Venerable now, so impressive." Ling Qingyue suddenly thought of something and smiled again. She shook the hand of the person beside her. "You're definitely more powerful than her, right? Can you make a formation so she'll be stuck going in circles and can't get out too?"

Pei Si: "..."

She seemed to have roughly guessed who Ling Qingyue had mistaken her for.

Seeing her not answer, Ling Qingyue shook her hand again. "You can't?"

Her trailing tone was drawn out, like she was acting coquettish.

Pei Si looked at her and smiled. "I can."

Ling Qingyue's smile was so wide her eyes narrowed to slits, like someone about to do something mischievous.

Pei Yin, just you wait.

They soaked a while longer, their hands remaining interlocked the whole time, except that someone's hands and feet were not very well-behaved, fingers every now and then scratching the back of Pei Si's hand, feet every now and then touching Pei Si's leg.

"Let's go. You can't soak too long; you still have wounds on your back."

Ling Qingyue suddenly remembered. She still hadn't checked whether Pei Si had any injuries.

As Pei Si rose and began walking toward the shore, Ling Qingyue reached out from behind and placed her hand on her shoulder.

Pei Si turned her head. "What is it?"

Ling Qingyue said quietly, "I haven't checked yet if you're injured."

Hadn't they undressed and come down just to check for injuries?

"Alright, look." Pei Si stopped moving.

Pei Si's hair was very long and even blacker, falling loose below her waist like silk and satin, veiling that alluring curve.

Ling Qingyue reached out and gathered her hair. It was cool and smooth to the touch, the texture exceptionally pleasant. She slowly swept the hair aside, revealing the gracefully sculpted line of her shoulders and neck. The thin muscles of her back outlined a silhouette that was lean but not frail, her cold-white skin even more crystalline and translucent beneath the interplay of light reflecting off the water's surface.

Ling Qingyue felt herself being seduced again. This time the fragrance given off by the lotus-flower yao was impossible to resist.

Her hand moved downward from the lotus yao's shoulder, the pads of her fingers brushing her shoulder blades and finally settling on one side of her lower back. The lotus yao dipped her head slightly and seemed to tremble.

Ripples spread across the water's surface, and the reflections of their two figures blurred.

Ling Qingyue came back to herself abruptly and saw her palm pressed without any barrier against the woman's waist. The skin that had been cool to the touch suddenly turned scalding hot, burning until her face flushed with heat.

A sudden movement shattered the stillness. Pei Si swept her hair behind her and asked quietly, "Finished looking? Any injuries?"

Ling Qingyue rubbed her fingertips together. "No. None at all."

Not a single scar.

Pei Si stepped ashore. Pale-gold spiritual energy swirled around her body, and her robes were in an instant fitted neatly upon her, all moisture evaporating cleanly away. Her loose long hair was already pinned up with that single peach-wood hairpin, and in the blink of an eye she had recovered her usual unadorned elegance and properness.

Ling Qingyue noticed that the robes she wore now were somewhat more refined than the set from earlier. At the hems and sleeves, faint pale-gold hidden patterns were faintly visible, making her look even more like a person from the immortal realm.

Pei Si had her back to her and did not turn around. Her hanging fingertips glowed with a faint golden light. "Come up."

Ling Qingyue came out of the water. The moment she stepped ashore, warmth enveloped her body, and she was dressed in robes similar to Pei Si's. However, the ones she wore were not so white, carrying some hints of blue within the white and gold, a style that suited her tastes.

"You wore this before?" Ling Qingyue touched them. Ice-cold, carrying Pei Si's faint fragrance.

"Never got the chance to wear them." Pei Si turned around and smiled as she looked at her. "They suit you very well."

These robes had originally been prepared to give to Ling Qingyue back then. The robes bore a formation she had placed on them, so that once Ling Qingyue went with her to Cangshan, everyone at Cangshan would know Ling Qingyue's relationship with her was far from ordinary and would not bully the people under her care.

"Shall I put your hair up?" Pei Si glanced at her hair draped over her right shoulder.

In the past, Ling Qingyue had always liked to tie her hair up high, the ribbon and the ends of her hair flying freely in the wind together, very unrestrained, and it had suited her well.

Ling Qingyue raised her hand and touched her own hair, then shook her head. "This way is fine. Not tiring."

The sky had darkened. Along the mountain path, scattered points of phosphorescence floated on both sides. The spiritual energy flowing through the mountain mist could also be seen. Compared to the back mountain at Linshui Town, the mountainsides of the immortal realm were far more colorful and dreamlike.

"It's like a dream," Ling Qingyue said with feeling.

Pei Si turned her head to look at her.

In her heart, she silently agreed. Yes, it was like a dream. When her heart demon first emerged, she had often seen Ling Qingyue in nightmares. Later, when she switched to cultivating the Supreme Detachment Path, she no longer dreamed, no longer dreamed of Ling Qingyue. And now Ling Qingyue was right beside her, staying close and talking to her, like a dream.

Back at Water Cloud Dwelling, a food box sat on the table. Inside were some spirit fruits and pastries.

Pei Si took out her jade token and saw a voice transmission from Lu Yao.

"I nearly forgot. Although the two seniors have already reached inedia, the sect leader said the requisite refreshments must not be omitted. The flavor may not be as rich as that of Linshui Town, but it is still quite good. The two seniors may have a taste."

Ling Qingyue rubbed her stomach. "It does seem I'm a little hungry."

Pei Si had reached inedia. She was not yet there.

There were only fruits and pastries, looking quite plain and flavorless. Ling Qingyue sat down, took one bite, looked at Pei Si once, then ate slower and slower. Finally, she collapsed onto the table and stopped eating.

"Not good."

Pei Si knew what she was thinking. The corner of her lips curved faintly. "Shall I cook for you?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ling Qingyue had been waiting for that. In her delight, she forgot the wounds on her back, and the pain sent her collapsing back down onto the table.

With the pain, she remembered that Pei Si was also injured.

"Never mind, I'll eat this for a few days. You can cook once your injuries are better."

Seeing that even her sweat had been pained out, Pei Si reached out to wipe the corner of her forehead. "Don't move around carelessly these next few days."

Ling Qingyue closed her eyes and leaned her face forward for her to wipe.

Pei Si pursed her lips in a smile, her hands moving with slow gentleness.

After eating a few fruits, Ling Qingyue began to feel drowsy.

Pei Si waited until she was asleep, then used her jade token to send a letter to her master, Chu Qianshan.

"Master, your disciple used the Emotion Transference technique. Return to Cangshan at once."

---

Early the next morning, Nie Wenxiao sent word that the disciple sent to Linshui Town had returned. The situation was not good.

Ling Qingyue and Pei Si were led by Lu Yao to the main hall of Piaomiao Sect's council chamber.

Upon entering, Ling Qingyue immediately saw Lin Zhao and Xue Zizai lying on the floor. Lin Zhao was in comparatively better condition. Apart from a pale and haggard complexion, she had no external injuries. Xue Zizai, on the other hand, was covered in blood, and her breathing was already extremely faint.

"What happened?!" Ling Qingyue looked up at Nie Wenxiao.

Nie Wenxiao raised a hand and gestured to a sect disciple beside her.

That disciple produced an image-recording pearl. After injecting spiritual energy, the pearl displayed a landscape of scorched earth, within which only a single small courtyard remained completely intact.

Ling Qingyue recognized it. That was Linshui Town. Yet barely a day and a night had passed. How had it become like this?

"When we arrived, only those two were in the courtyard. The other people of the town all..."

Seeing the disciple's voice trembling so much she could not continue, Nie Wenxiao raised her hand again and dismissed her.

"Before they set out for Linshui Town, the Heavenly Gate had no records of any cultivators going to the Mortal Realm. But what happened at Linshui Town absolutely cannot be unconnected to people from the immortal realm." Nie Wenxiao pointed to Xue Zizai on the floor. She seemed to be forcibly suppressing rage as she said in a deep voice, "Someone performed Soul Searching on this child by force."

"Soul Searching?" Ling Qingyue was incredulous.

Ordinary cultivators could not even endure Soul Searching, and those people had directly used it against mortals.

"Why would the Heavenly Gate have no record?"

The joints of Ling Qingyue's fingers cracked as she interlaced them. "There's someone from the Immortal Alliance among them."

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next