IVYSCP - Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Shi Yanchun sprawled across the table watching her sister handle matters of state.
Both were princesses, yet her sister Shi Du excelled in both scholarship and martial arts and had been groomed as heir by their mother since childhood. She knew, though, that in her heart her sister had no desire for it. But because of their mother's expectations, their subjects' hopes, and that sense of duty, she had no choice but to ascend to that high seat and do what brought her no joy.
Her sister loved soaring mountains and far-flung waters. She yearned for the unreachable Immortal Realm. She had seen her sister, late at night, secretly reading books about the strange tales and marvels of the Immortal Realm. In those moments, anticipation and longing shone in her sister's eyes, but that light soon splintered into fragments. Her sister hid those books away, deep and out of sight, and buried her own preferences just as deeply.
Shi Yanchun suddenly circled around the desk and squeezed in beside her sister. "I want to look too."
Shi Du laughed and tousled her hair, her voice gentle. "Be good. Go play in the courtyard. Your sister still has work."
Shi Yanchun, ordinarily so sensible and obedient, protested, "I'm Mother's daughter too. Why can't I look at these? I can help Mother share her burdens. I insist on looking!"
Shi Du paused, slightly taken aback, and did not shoo her away again. She shifted the memorial in her hands to the side so they could read it together.
Shi Yanchun studied it with great seriousness, occasionally asking Shi Du simple, obvious questions. Shi Du answered every one with patience.
Shi Du doted on her little sister. She had no idea what had gotten into her today and figured it was just a passing whim.
Who could have guessed that for the next month and more, Shi Yanchun would shadow Shi Du everywhere, watching whatever she did and learning it. Music, chess, calligraphy, painting, statecraft, governance, she picked up every one with remarkable aptitude. Only pursuits like horseback riding and archery, anything requiring vigorous use of arms and legs, eluded her completely.
Once again her palm was rubbed raw. Shi Yanchun was in so much pain that tears fell, yet she forced them back and stooped to pick up the spear that had fallen to the ground.
A slender, strong hand retrieved it before she could. Shi Du set the long spear aside, took Shi Yanchun's hands in her own, and saw that the last tender patch of her palm had scraped open, blood seeping through. A pained frown creased her brow and she blew on it gently, then immediately summoned the imperial physician.
Shi Yanchun wept in silence. Assuming it was the pain, Shi Du asked softly, "Does it hurt too much?"
Shi Yanchun bit her lip and shook her head, sniffling through her sobs. "Wh-when will I ever be as formidable as my sister?"
At those words, Shi Du understood at once what all this following around had been about. She raised a hand, ruffled the girl's hair, and smiled. "You have your sister here. Yanchun doesn't need to—"
She never finished. Her obedient, well-behaved little sister lifted her head. Her tear-filled eyes were red-rimmed, yet her gaze was utterly resolute, stubbornly fixed. "I will become as formidable as my sister. I have to."
The imperial physician arrived. Shi Du said nothing more, but for a fleeting moment a thought crossed her mind: her little sister seemed to have grown up.
Afterward, when they went back to the training grounds, Shi Du replaced the heavy iron spear with a wooden one, and the iron sword with a wooden sword as well.
One day, Shi Yanchun, for once, did not cling to Shi Du. Shi Du felt oddly unsettled by it, but before she could adjust to that unease, Shi Yanchun came sneaking in with a bundle clutched in her arms and dismissed all the palace attendants around them.
Watching her shut the doors and windows, Shi Du could not help her curiosity. "Yanchun, what are you doing?"
Shi Yanchun carried the bundle over to her, then set it down with great care and opened it. For an instant, Shi Du thought she saw a flash of iridescent light. Startled, she looked again and only once the cloth was fully opened did she see clearly: Shi Yanchun had brought a glowing stone.
But how could a stone glow? Unless it inherently contained spiritual energy.
This stone was an object from the Immortal Realm!
Shi Du could not contain the surge of emotion inside her. She shot to her feet.
Shi Yanchun could not help smiling either. She had known her sister would recognize it the moment she saw it. But the smile flickered and faded just as quickly.
Shi Du drew a deep breath, then sat back down and refused to look at the stone any longer. Her tone was indifferent. "Where did you get this? It's rather pretty."
Shi Yanchun hurried to her side and whispered close to her ear: "I got it from a merchant. She said this thing can test a person's cultivation aptitude."
In an instant, Shi Du's gaze fell back upon the stone.
"Sister, do you want to try? I just tried, and the stone didn't react at all. I suspect she lied to me. You try too, and if there's still no reaction, I'll go confront her!" Shi Yanchun declared huffily.
Shi Du clenched her hands and forced her gaze away. Her voice came out stiff. "What's there to test? Intangible, illusory nonsense. It's obviously a scam. Take it back."
"She scammed me! I'm going after her right now!" Shi Yanchun turned to leave, stone left behind.
Shi Du called her back. At this moment, Shi Yanchun was still in a fit of anger. "If it's a fake, then it's just a worthless rock. Sister, throw it away for me."
The door shut behind her. Shi Du was alone in the room.
She could no longer focus her attention on the memorial in her hands. Slowly, her eyes lifted to the faintly glowing stone at her side. After a long while, her hand moved as if of its own accord, her palm already about to press against the cold stone surface—
"Don't touch it!"
Lou Wudu jolted awake. A stinging pain came from her palm. She looked down. It was already a bloody mess.
"Plagued by nightmares. If this goes on, sooner or later you'll—"
"I won't." Lou Wudu looked coldly at Cui Heng. "I won't let myself fall into a nightmare. I can control it."
Cui Heng looked at her eyes, already threaded with bloodshot veins, and suddenly asked, "You hate the Demon Race to the marrow. Then if one day you become a demon yourself, what will you do?"
Lou Wudu answered without a shred of hesitation: "I won't."
Cui Heng smiled faintly and said nothing more. She brought over a scroll. "These are the newly admitted cultivators. Many are descendants of immortal families. We don't have many to choose from."
Lou Wudu swept her eyes across it. Her gaze settled on one person. She tapped with a finger. "Her."
What the scroll displayed was the very final stage of the Shangtianqiong Sect's entrance trial at this moment. A group of young people were beside themselves with joy. That they had passed through trial after trial and stood here meant they had already passed Shangtianqiong's selection.
Most of these people were scions of various immortal families in the Immortal Realm. Though somewhat bedraggled, after taking medicinal pills and receiving cleansing arts, they had recovered their respectable appearances. Only one among them was covered head to toe in blood and grime, a pair of swords strapped to her back. Her eyes blazed as she gazed at the grand gates of Shangtianqiong. After a long moment, she bared her lips in a grin that revealed clean white teeth.
Cui Heng watched her, finding her interesting, and tapped a finger on the scroll. Information about the person immediately materialized in midair, but there was only a name.
"Meng Qi."
"What are you here for now? You think you can undo this formation?" Chu Qianshan said irritably to the head poking in from the doorway.
Ling Qingyue shuffled her way inside. "I came to see Liu Qingtang. We used to be friends too, you know."
The day before, she had assured Chu Qianshan again and again that she truly liked Pei Yin, that she had liked her since before she knew Pei Yin's identity, and that it had nothing to do with Pei Yin's identity or cultivation level. Chu Qianshan had then circled back and implied that did she mean she had disliked Pei Yin before. Ling Qingyue had been thoroughly tangled up by the roundabout questioning.
Pei Yin could not stand watching any longer and wanted to speak up for Ling Qingyue, only to be harshly scolded by Chu Qianshan and punished by copying the Little Cangshan Sect Rules one hundred times by hand. The rules had been drawn up by Chu Qianshan right there on the spot. The very first rule was: Do not let Ling Qingyue muddle your head. She had rattled off over a hundred rules in a torrent, the majority of them containing the three characters of Ling Qingyue's name.
She had listed them right in front of Ling Qingyue. Ling Qingyue understood perfectly: these sect rules were directed solely at Pei Yin alone.
Seeing Pei Yin still copying the rules, a thick stack already piled up beside her hand, Ling Qingyue furtively edged closer.
Chu Qianshan shot a sideways glance. Seeing the two about to gravitate toward each other again, she narrowed her eyes and barked, "What are you doing?"
Ling Qingyue's hand twitched. She veered off course and came to Chu Qianshan's side, offering a smile. "Your tea's gone cold, Senior. Allow me to pour you a fresh cup."
She picked up the teapot and poured. Once done, Ling Qingyue placed the cup respectfully by Chu Qianshan's hand.
Chu Qianshan glanced at it and said nothing.
After that, Ling Qingyue stayed obediently by Chu Qianshan to meditate and regulate her qi. The three of them each tended to their own tasks.
That was until Nie Wenxiao came in bearing a gift list. "People from Shangtianqiong came by just now. They've already delivered everything listed here."
As she spoke, Nie Wenxiao could not resist glancing at Ling Qingyue.
She had really demanded fiercely. And Lou Wudu had actually given in.
Chu Qianshan's brows arched. A gift list, eh? She was all too familiar with those.
"Let me see."
Nie Wenxiao handed the list over.
Chu Qianshan gave it a cursory scan and scoffed. "This pittance. Who are they trying to insult?"
Ling Qingyue reacted with remarkable speed this time, roughly guessing the reason for the displeasure in Chu Qianshan's tone. She hurried to say, "This is what I demanded for Piaomiao Sect. What I give Pei Yin will be counted separately. It absolutely won't be shoddy!"
Chu Qianshan felt somewhat more mollified. She gave Ling Qingyue a lukewarm look and returned the list.
She had just looked it over. The items here included the precious spiritual herbs needed for reforging Pei Yin's meridians and various tonics for recuperating her body. Ling Qingyue could be considered to have kept the person close to heart after all.
Across the room, Pei Yin, still copying, lifted her head. When her eyes met Ling Qingyue's, a faint smile curved her lips.
But when her gaze shifted, her master was already glaring at her.
Pei Yin: "..."
Just then, Liu Qingtang, trapped within the formation, suddenly began gasping for air in great heaving breaths. The commotion startled all four inside.
Nie Wenxiao was the first to react. She rushed to the edge of the formation, calling her name in desperation. "Qingtang! Qingtang!"
Liu Qingtang was like a drowning person reaching the shore, gulping air down greedily. But then tears streamed from her eyes. A struggling, agonized expression contorted her features, and she began ramming her head against the ground over and over.
"Qingtang!" Nie Wenxiao's heart ached unbearably at the sight.
Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin gathered around as well.
Liu Qingtang seemed to hear that familiar call, and yet she could not lift her head. Her upper and lower teeth chattered uncontrollably, clacking together. From deep in her throat came a garbled, sobbing moan: "Senior Sister, s-save me."
Nie Wenxiao's eyes reddened instantly.
"No, I, I deserve to die." Liu Qingtang wailed, voice choked and indistinct. "I deserve death."
"Qingtang! It wasn't your fault. No one blames you." Though Nie Wenxiao still did not know what had happened to Liu Qingtang in the past, she was certain her junior sister would never willingly commit evil. Someone had controlled her. Someone had forced her!
Liu Qingtang's consciousness was a chaotic blur. As she spoke, slurred and incoherent, repeating the same words, she also uttered the name of an immortal sect.
"Liuyun Immortal Sect?"
Ling Qingyue said in surprise, "Isn't that the sect that was annihilated by the Demon Race a century ago?"
Pei Yin nodded.
Chu Qianshan recollected, "Speaking of which, wasn't that what triggered the Immortal-Demon War back then?"
The demons had acted with such arrogance in committing that massacre. At the time, the Shangtianqiong Sect Leader, Wang Changming, had established the Immortal Alliance, uniting the strength of the hundred sects to resist the Demon Race together.
"What does Qingtang mean by bringing this up?" Nie Wenxiao could not help wondering. She looked at the tormented person on the ground and turned her head aside, lifting a hand to wipe the wetness at the corner of her eye.
For Liu Qingtang to have such an intense reaction, Liuyun Immortal Sect had to have something fishy going on!
"Does the Liuyun Immortal Sect's ruins still exist?" Ling Qingyue suddenly asked.
Guessing blindly would get them nowhere. She wanted to go take a look.
Pei Yin was about to nod again when she heard Chu Qianshan's voice cut in, icy and cutting: "Before your meridians are reforged, if you dare go running around..."
She paused, pointed a finger at Ling Qingyue. "I'll break her legs."
Ling Qingyue cocked her head. "?"
She's the one running around, and you're breaking my legs?
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