61. The Sea of ​​Hatred (Part Nine)

◎The truth?◎

Qianxue's gaze slowly moved to his fingertips. She did not look away, but simply watched, and then made a move that Lou Yunya never expected.

She raised her hand and gently touched his dangling fingers with her fingertips.

The soft, slightly cool touch felt like a snowflake falling on the skin—fleeting yet leaving a distinct shiver.

“I don’t know,” she said honestly, her eyes filled with pure inquiry, “but I… don’t hate being near you,” she pressed her other hand to her chest, “it… sometimes beats really fast here.”

Lou Yunya stood there stunned for a long time. All the deliberate seduction and probing crumbled in the face of her almost straightforward honesty.

*

The objects in the mirror froze at this moment. The spiritual energy in the Mirror of Past Lives seemed to have been over-consumed, and the scene began to become unstable. The surrounding scenery blurred like ink painting.

"It seems we don't have much time left." Ran Qinghe's face was pale, and she was already unsteady on her feet.

Lou Tinglan reached out to support her, intending to slowly channel his spiritual energy into her dantian, but she pulled away.

Ran Qinghe said in an unfriendly tone, "If you want to die here from exhaustion of your spiritual energy, I won't care about you."

Lou Tinglan had already consumed a lot of spiritual energy to restore her spirit, and then gave away a realm of spiritual energy. Now that she can stand here, she is probably only at the end of her strength.

Lou Tinglan was used to her being like this, speaking words of concern in a cold tone. He smiled slightly and hummed in response.

"Don't you find it strange?" Ran Qinghe suddenly realized something was off. "Qianzhong told you that he took action to strengthen Lou Yunya and Qianxue's Dao hearts."

"But now it seems that Qian Zhong is clearly wary of Lou Yunya. In fact, the sect elders have told Qian Xue that her alliance with Lou Yunya is a win-win situation for both Qingxiao and the Discipline Hall."

"If that's the case, Qianzhong should be happy to see it happen, so why secretly tamper with the divination and sow discord between the two?"

Lou Tinglan lowered his eyes. Qian Zhong's behavior was contradictory. Before he saw the truth with his own eyes, he still did not want to believe that his mother had died because of his maternal grandfather.

The objects in the Mirror of Past Lives began to shake again. Ran Qinghe summoned the Mirror of Past Lives and drew a rune in the air. The rune's light was somewhat dim, indicating that her spiritual power could not sustain it for much longer.

The greater the time span of the leaps in the Mirror of Past Life, the greater the consumption of spiritual energy.

"Have you thought it through? Perhaps you only have one chance." Her lips grew even paler.

Lou Tinglan nodded, her gaze complex, and then said in a low voice, "Let's go directly to the day before my mother died."

Facing the death of a loved one can become a lifelong inner demon for a cultivator. Ran Qinghe did not refuse, perhaps because she understood the urgency of the situation, or perhaps because she knew of his stubbornness.

The Mirror of Foreknowledge lit up again, and the surrounding scenery changed once more. Unlike the surging spiritual energy when I first entered the Mirror of Foreknowledge, the air was now mixed with some turbid energy from the lower realm.

The main hall of the Qingxiao Sect.

Qianxue, dressed in white, knelt on the cold stone steps in front of the hall, her hair disheveled and her eyelashes half-closed, seemingly utterly disappointed by everything before her.

Standing in front of her was Qian Zhong, whose face was solemn.

"Father," Qianxue's voice was weak and feeble, "I don't understand... why did you do that?"

Qian Zhong looked down at her, concealing the pang of heartache in his eyes, and said coldly, "Qian Xue, you should know that I have already decided that you will succeed as the sect leader. You will be the future leader of the Qingxiao Sect, so you and him... are simply impossible."

Qianxue raised her head with difficulty: "Then why did Father allow me to approach him back then, and even... form a pact with him?"

"Don't you understand? Lou Yunya has never truly cared about you. If he cared about you, he wouldn't have repeatedly opposed me and interfered in the internal affairs of the Five Sects."

"If he cares about you, he won't have any intention of soaring to the heavens."

Ran Qinghe and Lou Tinglan exchanged a glance, seemingly understanding the hidden meaning in Qianzhong's words.

He originally thought that Lou Yunya would comply with his wishes and merge the Discipline Hall into the Qingxiao Sect after forming a pact with Qianxue. However, for some unknown reason, Lou Yunya not only did not restrain himself, but became even more outrageous.

Seeing that Qianxue remained silent for a long time, Qianzhong's face regained some of his kindness, and he patiently said, "You have also seen the divination of Qianji, which says that Lou Yunya will eventually die because of you. Is this what you hoped for?"

Qianxue smiled bitterly, "Father should have his own conclusion about the divination. Father, perhaps I was wrong at the beginning... I thought you wanted to control the Discipline Hall for Qingxiao's sake, but it seems that your goal from the beginning was Louyun Cliff, right?"

Qian Zhong's pupils contracted slightly, and his hands, which were behind his back, clenched unconsciously: "Whatever my intentions may be, I ask myself, it is definitely not for my own selfish desires."

"The path to ascension is inherently uncertain. If staining the blood of one or two people can make the path smoother, then I am willing to be the villain..."

Qian Zhong's voice grew increasingly indistinct, but Ran Qinghe was even more confused by what he said.

She tried to understand what was happening in the mirror.

Over a hundred years ago, the Discipline Hall was not as independent of the Five Sects as it is now, nor did it enforce the rules on their behalf. Therefore, Qian Zhong tacitly approved of Qian Xue and Lou Yunya's alliance, but unexpectedly, Lou Yunya did not join the Qingxiao Sect as he had expected.

Qianxue's resistance must be Qianzhong's attack on the Discipline Hall or Lou Yunya, but what does all this have to do with the grand and noble path to ascension?

According to historical records, no one in the cultivation world has ever been able to attain immortality and ascend to heaven...

She looked at Lou Tinglan, whose gaze remained fixed on the image in the mirror, as if he were confirming something.

At that moment, the Mirror of Past Lives also began to shake violently, abruptly interrupting Qian Zhong's last unfinished words.

Ran Qinghe struggled to maintain the incantation, swallowing the blood in her mouth, trying to see the final truth completely.

The scene blurred again, then barely coalesced.

For some reason, Qianxue's white clothes were now covered in snow, her hair was disheveled, and she held a jade pendant that emitted a soft glow in her hand.

Lou Tinglan focused his mind and pulled a broken jade pendant from his sleeve. It was a gift from Lou Shuang, and the water ripple pattern on it was exactly the same as the one in Qianxue's hand.

She pressed the jade pendant tightly to her heart, as if it were her last solace: "I will not give it to you... Father... You should stop."

"Stubborn fool!" Qian Zhong shouted angrily, and suddenly made a move to snatch it. He unleashed a surge of powerful spiritual energy, but Qian Xue ignored it and did not dodge or evade. She simply poured all the remaining spiritual energy in her body into the jade tablet. The two spiritual energies collided, causing the jade tablet to crack.

Qianxue's body, along with the jade pendant, fell gently down like a kite with a broken string.

The mirror instantly darkened, all the images came to an abrupt halt, shattered into tiny specks of light, and vanished without a trace.

The two returned to Qianzhong's residence on Luoxue Peak. Exhausted, Ran Qinghe collapsed backward, but Lou Tinglan caught her. Her spiritual energy was depleted, her face ashen, and she lacked even the strength to stand.

Lou Tinglan stood frozen in place, her arm supporting Ran Qinghe trembling slightly, unable to recover for a long time.

He seemed to understand why Lou Shuang wanted to change the ending again and again. No one could stand idly by and watch their loved ones die.

Sitting on the couch, Qianzhong's expression seemed to have regained its composure.

"Well? Now that you've seen it, you should give up?"

Lou Tinglan pulled Ran Qinghe into his arms with one hand, and with the other, he drew the Tranquil Heart Sword, its cold light gleaming as it pointed directly at Qian Zhong's throat.

Why did you lie to me?

He keeps talking about sacrificing his mother for the greater good, yet he did so. "Why do you say my mother committed suicide?"

He had lost his usual composure and indifference; his voice was hoarse as he spoke, word by word: "Answer me."

Qian Zhong stood up and easily gripped the tip of the Tranquil Heart Sword: "Ting Lan... I taught you when you were young that you should not draw your sword lightly if you are not absolutely certain of success."

A complex emotion flickered in his cloudy eyes: "I have never lied to you. Your mother did indeed die by destroying her own spiritual veins. If she hadn't resolutely poured all her spiritual power into the jade tablet, it wouldn't have come to this."

Lou Tinglan's sword tip trembled slightly, and the last scene in the mirror reappeared before his eyes: "If you hadn't forced her, why would she have done this?"

Qian Zhong squeezed his eyes shut, seemingly unable to maintain his composure. His grandson, who had always adored him, suddenly pointed his sword at him. He gave a soft scoff.

"I did this for you, for all of you."

The Tranquil Sword emitted a faint ringing sound from Qian Zhong's fingertips. "For me? You were willing to force your mother to her death?"

Qian Zhong's tone suddenly turned stern, and the pressure around him instantly surged: "It was she... who chose to die for her cause, to die for the cause she believed in, and for Lou Yunya's vague ambition."

"And you, Tinglan, you have half of Qingxiao's blood in your veins. You and your mother are the people in this world who should understand me the most."

Qian Zhong waved his hand, deflecting the blade of the Tranquil Heart Sword. His voice suddenly sounded much older. "When you have the strength to contend with me, then come and argue with me about right and wrong."

"And now, I'm going to keep her here..."

He moved with lightning speed, grabbing Ran Qinghe's drooping wrist with one hand, as if to take her away, but Lou Tinglan held on tightly.

"Sect Leader Qian."

Lou Guanqing's clear voice rang out from outside the door at just the right moment, her eyes filled with a gentle smile, "It's already time for the morning classes at Yunya Academy. Headmaster Qian has already missed one, so we can't let him miss it again this time."

"As for Ran Qinghe, she is a disciple of my Yunya Academy. I know that the sect leader cherishes talent, but we must wait at least a year."

"When the academy competition ends, if Ran Qinghe is willing to become a disciple of Master Qian, Yunya Academy will naturally have no objections."

Qian Zhong's gaze swept over Lou Tinglan with a deep look. Upon hearing this, he finally withdrew his hand slowly and flicked his wide sleeves. "Alright, then it will be as you say. After one year, Ran Qinghe will have no further connection with your Yunya Academy."

Lou Tinglan's tense back relaxed slightly as she looked down at the unconscious Ran Qinghe in her arms, her eyes filled with an unfathomable darkness.

In the distance, the morning bell of Yunya Academy rang out, its melodious sound penetrating the wind, as if tolling the prelude to a new chapter.