IVYSCP - Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Yu Liuli stared in bewilderment at the person outside the barrier, the one gazing back at her with reddened eyes, and then heard the question she was asked: Liuli, how have you been?
Yu Liuli's breath caught. "You're…"
This person addressed her so intimately, calling her "Liuli," and even asked if she was well. The joy in her eyes was unmistakably the look of an old friend reunited.
Yu Liuli's gaze traced her features one by one, yet she could find no trace of past familiarity. She had never seen this person before, but her concerned expression was so genuine, so stirring.
Yu Liuli pursed her lips, looked at her with some apology, and said, "You are?"
She thought perhaps they had met once but she simply didn't remember.
Ling Qingyue blinked, holding back the sting, and brought out a flaky pastry. Softly she said, "The year you and Ying Ying came to Shangtianqiong, you hadn't reached Foundation Establishment yet and couldn't abstain from food. At night, hungry, you went out looking for something to eat and came across two people. They shared a flaky pastry with you. You said it was the best flaky pastry you'd ever eaten."
The pupils of Yu Liuli's eyes trembled. She stared at the person outside and the pastry in her hand, her throat tightening. "You, you're…"
She had a suspicion, but dared not acknowledge it.
Ling Qingyue broke off a piece of pastry, popped it into her mouth, and continued, "You often stayed alone in the corners by yourself. Those two people could always find you. Even when you were in your own room, they would climb in through the window and drag you out. You got so fed up with their antics you learned to curse them out loud, but you would still go with them, even when it wasn't for anything proper, just lying on the grass sunbathing and sleeping."
Tears welled up in Yu Liuli's eyes.
These things sounded so far away now, so distant it seemed like a past life.
"But one of them died, and the other, with crippled meridians, has little time left. And I'm trapped here in the Great Wilderness. I'll never see them again."
A teardrop fell onto the pastry, soaking into the crisp surface and blooming into a darker spot.
Ling Qingyue managed a smile as she looked at her. "You're seeing her now."
Yu Liuli fixed her gaze on her but still did not dare believe it.
Ling Qingyue could tell Yu Liuli was hesitating. Her appearance had changed, she had no way to separate a wisp of her soul, and Jiuge wasn't at hand. How was she supposed to prove her identity?
While she was still thinking, a faint ripple of spiritual energy stirred beside her. She turned her head and saw that Pei Yin had dropped her disguise.
Yu Liuli saw it too. Her eyes flew wide in disbelief. "Pei Yin?!"
Pei Yin gave a nod in acknowledgment, then took the hand of the person beside her. "Yu Liuli, she is Ling Qingyue."
Yu Liuli's gaze dropped to their clasped hands, then rose again to Ling Qingyue's half-demonic face. Her mouth opened. It took a long moment before she finally spoke. "…Qingyue?"
She suddenly laughed, and as she laughed, tears fell.
Ling Qingyue heard her call her name and felt elation mixed with confusion. She turned to look at Pei Yin.
How was it that the moment Pei Yin revealed herself and said who she was, Yu Liuli just believed her?
Yu Liuli cast a hand seal, and an opening split through the barrier. Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin entered the courtyard without hindrance.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Ling Qingyue's vision swam as someone threw both arms around her in a solid embrace. Yu Liuli buried her face against her shoulder and sobbed. "Qingyue, it's really you. You look awful like this. If you're going to come back from the dead, you could at least pick a prettier look."
Ling Qingyue was speechless.
That mouth really was…
The words were a little harsh, but the tears were sincere. Ling Qingyue could feel the dampness spreading across her shoulder.
Ling Qingyue patted her gently on the back and returned the favor. "You're an ugly crier too."
Yu Liuli's weeping hitched. Then, without the slightest hesitation, she lifted a hand and punched her.
They drew apart, and Ling Qingyue took the chance to collapse back into Pei Yin's arms. She knit her brows in feigned pain and even let out a couple of moans.
Yu Liuli wiped her tears and called her out mercilessly. "Stop faking. Trying to tattle?"
Ling Qingyue opened her mouth and shut it again.
Beneath the grape trellis in the courtyard there was a table. The three of them sat down, and Yu Liuli picked several bunches of grapes to bring over.
Feeling the abundant spiritual qi saturating the little courtyard, Ling Qingyue couldn't help but sigh with feeling. "Qiu Feng treats you so well."
Here in the Great Wilderness, where spiritual qi was so barren, Qiu Feng had created a courtyard for her with a concentration even richer than the outside world. The care that took was obvious.
Yu Liuli smiled, a bit bashful, and ducked her head to murmur, "She does. She's always treated me very well."
After speaking, Yu Liuli lifted her eyes to Ling Qingyue and blinked. "Qingyue, weren't your soul lamps all extinguished? How did you suddenly come back to life?"
Ling Qingyue lowered her gaze, her expression tightening slightly.
Qiu Feng knew how she had come back, but Yu Liuli did not. That was why Qiu Feng had kept it from her all this time.
Ling Qingyue thought for a moment, then answered with a smile. "Someone wanted me to do something for them, so they brought me back."
Yu Liuli nodded as she listened. "Then that person must be very kind. Right, what did she want you to do?"
Ling Qingyue was quiet for a while before she spoke, her voice soft. "She wanted me to kill Lou Wudu."
Yu Liuli's expression froze. It took her a long moment before an "Ah" escaped her lips. "Senior Sister Lou?! She wants you to kill Senior Sister Lou?! Who is this person? Can't be anyone good."
Yu Liuli didn't know about Lou Wudu's matters either.
Ling Qingyue drew a breath, about to say something, when Yu Liuli spoke again. "You agreed?"
"I…" Ling Qingyue nodded. "I agreed."
"Why? Why would you?" Yu Liuli's voice grew softer. She knew how much Ling Qingyue adored and trusted her senior fellow disciple. For her to agree to something like this, there had to be a reason rooted deep.
Ling Qingyue's smile turned a little bitter. "I don't know if you remember Liu Qingtang of Piaomiao Sect."
Yu Liuli thought for a moment, then gave a small nod. "I remember a little. Her blade technique was very good, and her talent was high. Once at the Ranking Tournament she almost beat you."
Ling Qingyue looked down. A perfectly round grape rested between her fingers. She kneaded it gently as she spoke. "She was plotted against and lost all her divine consciousness, reduced to a puppet. She was stationed in a mortal place called Linshui Town, guarding the souls of disciples from every immortal sect. After we rescued Liu Qingtang, every townsperson in Linshui was killed by Soul Searching, and the whole town was burned away by spiritual fire. And Liuyun Immortal Sect, the one that was annihilated by the Demon Race all those years ago, was actually wiped out by a single person…"
"And also…" Ling Qingyue's voice dropped low and hoarse. "And also Sister Yue. Her death… was connected to a single person too."
Yu Liuli already knew the answer in her heart. "Was it Senior Sister Lou?"
Ling Qingyue nodded. "It was."
Yu Liuli found it hard to believe that all these things were connected to Lou Wudu. In her eyes, after all, Lou Wudu was the Senior Disciple of Shangtianqiong. Even before she came to Shangtianqiong she had heard of this person. Later, after arriving at Shangtianqiong, Ling Qingyue often brought her along to have fun, so she had many opportunities to interact with this fabled Senior Disciple. She found her truly as the rumors said: peerless in talent, calm and dignified, the most outstanding senior disciple across all the immortal sects. At the same time, she had also seen another side of Lou Wudu: her respectful courtesy toward her masters and seniors, her tender care for her junior sisters in the sect, and her sincere love for her partner.
"Was it the person who brought you back who told you?"
Ling Qingyue had worked the grape into a wrinkled mess. She sniffled. "No. We investigated it bit by bit ourselves."
Yu Liuli fell silent for a time. After a long pause she murmured, "How could Senior Sister Lou have done such things?"
She still couldn't quite believe it, but Ling Qingyue was the one telling her. Ling Qingyue would never tell a lie like this.
Yu Liuli wanted to ask more, but then her gaze drifted and she saw a figure standing at the courtyard gate, looking at her with a smile. Meeting those eyes, Yu Liuli couldn't help but curve her own.
She raised a hand and waved. "Qiu Feng! Come here, quick!"
Qiu Feng walked over. Her eyes met the other two, but neither side spoke first.
Yu Liuli took the lead in making introductions. "Qiu Feng, this is the close friend I always talk about, Ling Qingyue, and this is Pei Yin."
After saying this, she turned to introduce Qiu Feng to Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin, completely forgetting that this was the Demon Palace, and that entering required the Demon Lord's permission.
Qiu Feng nodded and greeted them as if meeting for the first time. "Hello."
Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin, with unspoken consensus, did not mention that they had already met and simply nodded in return.
The four of them sat back down. Yu Liuli did not detect the subtle undercurrent between the other three.
She leaned habitually against Qiu Feng, and Qiu Feng smiled as she fed her a grape.
Seeing this, Ling Qingyue nudged Pei Yin with the tip of her foot under the table and cast her a look.
The meaning Ling Qingyue meant to convey was: Qiu Feng truly does treat Yu Liuli well, but buried beneath all that kindness are many deceptions.
Who knew that after Pei Yin met her gaze and sat in silence for two breaths, she would pick up a grape from the table and lift it to Ling Qingyue's lips.
Ling Qingyue went rigid.
Across from them, Yu Liuli and Qiu Feng both looked over. Ling Qingyue's face burned bright red. As she bit down on the grape, she stomped hard on Pei Yin's foot.
Yu Liuli's eyes were practically glowing as she watched them. She fought down the smile threatening her lips, and when she could barely hold it in any longer, she squeezed Qiu Feng's hand tightly.
Qiu Feng looked down at her, the reflection of Yu Liuli's bright, joyful expression mirrored in her eyes, yet hidden deep within her gaze was an aching reluctance and sorrow.
"Right, Qingyue." Yu Liuli asked, "Why did you come to the Great Wilderness?"
Ling Qingyue glanced at Qiu Feng and saw her meticulously peeling a grape for Yu Liuli. Then, half-disclosing, she answered, "This body of mine is half-demon. There are some problems with it. The Great Wilderness holds the means to resolve them."
Yu Liuli perked up immediately. "That works out perfectly! Qiu Feng is a half-demon too. You can ask her."
She tugged Qiu Feng's arm and shook it. "Right?"
Qiu Feng nodded with a smile and fed her another grape. "Of course. I'll certainly help."
Ling Qingyue went along with it. "We heard the Demon Lord of Wuding City was a half-demon, so we came seeking a solution."
At that, Yu Liuli suddenly glared at her. "Oh, so you didn't come here specifically to see me."
The familiar Yu Liuli hadn't changed one bit. Ling Qingyue's lips curved. "When I heard there was a half-demon in the Great Wilderness, I immediately thought of you and Qiu Feng. Coming here was also to confirm what I suspected."
Yu Liuli gave a huff and decided not to hold it against her. "That's more like it."
They talked more about the old days after that. The sky gradually darkened. The nights in the Great Wilderness were especially cold and biting. Usually by this time Yu Liuli would already be turning in to rest, but today she was still full of excitement, tugging at Ling Qingyue and talking without end.
Qiu Feng endured it two or three times, and finally she raised her eyes and shot Pei Yin a look.
Leave. Now.
Pei Yin averted her gaze, utterly indifferent, and calmly continued to listen to the conversation beside her.
Qiu Feng couldn't take it anymore. She tugged at Yu Liuli's sleeve and murmured, "Liuli, it's very late. You can have them come back tomorrow."
Yu Liuli stopped talking, then looked at Qiu Feng with pitiful eyes. "Can Qingyue stay with me tonight? You know, we haven't seen each other for so long. Before this, I thought we would never see each other again."
Qiu Feng, flustered, blurted out, "And what about me?"
On the other side, Pei Yin also turned her gaze toward Ling Qingyue, silently asking that same question.
What about me?
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