Chapter 32: The Beginning (V) If Only We Were All Mortals…
Chi Wanyin lowered her eyes to look at the magic weapon on the table. Lu Qingyi sat opposite her, still in the same position as when they met last time.
"Master has now passed the Tracing Ceremony to me." When Lu Qingyi mentioned this, her eyes dimmed slightly.
She still remembered what Mingyue Zhenren had said to her on Miaoshan Mountain. "I sustained a hidden injury during my confrontation with that female demon cultivator. Recovering will take a long time. Besides, now that you've reached the Nascent Soul stage, it's time for you to take my place as the head of the Taichu Sect."
Upon hearing this news, Lu Qingyi's heart was not filled with joy. She simply said, "Master, becoming the headmaster is not what I want."
Seeing her stubbornness, Master Mingyue couldn't help but sigh, just like when they were children. He stroked her head and said, "Qingyi, you must know that from the day I accepted you as my disciple, this day would eventually come."
"I understand." Lu Qingyi nodded after a moment. "But Master, I have already promised my friend to lend her the Su Ming Yi. Besides, she has saved me several times, and I cannot repay her kindness enough."
Master Mingyue was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Alright, if that's the case, take the Su Ming Yi and go with her to Yantian Sect. Qingyi, this may be the last time you leave Taichu Sect."
"Thank you, Master." Lu Qingyi bowed to her before turning around and leaving.
Chi Wanyin looked at the Su Mingyi on the table and said, "Fellow Daoist Lu, thank you very much."
"I can use this Tracing Instrument, but have you considered the price I have to pay to save people?" Lu Qingyi looked at her.
Chi Wanyin looked calm, "I've made up my mind."
"That's good, but you don't have much time left." Lu Qingyi let out an inaudible sigh.
The two of them stood up and left the pavilion together. Xu Yunting, who was not far away and was making a snowman, saw that the two had finished talking and hurried forward and said, "Senior Sister Wanyin, are we going back?"
"Yeah." Chi Wanyin nodded slowly.
When Xu Yunting heard that she had returned to the sect, her expression was still gloomy. Chi Wanyin naturally knew what she was talking about, but now was not the time to bring up the matter.
The three of them left the small building together. Perhaps because Lu Qingyi had not explicitly stated that she was the head of the sect, most people already knew about it, and the three of them left Taichu Sect on their swords without any trouble.
Chi Wanyin still looked a little dazed until she stepped into the teleportation formation of Taichu Sect's city.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the end of the teleportation formation. The disciple guarding the place saw her return and couldn't help but say, "Senior Sister Wanyin, you are finally back. Senior Sister..."
Before the disciple could finish speaking, Chi Wanyin left the formation and headed straight for Mingluan Terrace without caring about anything else. Outside Mingluan Terrace, the immortal servants who used to serve him stood outside the door, their faces full of indescribable worry.
It seemed that Senior Sister's condition was not optimistic. When she entered the room, Ye Tinghe was standing in front of the couch. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her return, "My friend, you are finally back."
"Elder Ye, you have worked hard for many days. You should go and rest first." Chi Wanyin's voice sounded extremely calm at this moment, but the hand hidden in the sleeve was trembling slightly.
Ye Tinghe was too tired to think too much about it because of the past few days of fatigue. "Okay." Then she left.
Lu Qingyi also arrived shortly afterwards. She looked at Song Qingtang, who was still unconscious on the couch, and said, "I'll let Fellow Daoist Xu go back first."
Chi Wanyin looked at her and nodded slightly, "Let's get started."
The time that Lu Qingyi used the Tracing Instrument seemed extremely long to Chi Wanyin. She could feel the vitality in her body slipping away, but as long as she could save her senior sister, she didn't care.
She knew that it was approaching the time of her death in her previous life. Even if she hadn't used up all that time, she wouldn't have lived much longer.
Since that was the case, she might as well resolve her regrets before she died. After an unknown amount of time, she saw the person on the couch through blurry eyes and murmured inaudibly, "Senior Sister, live for me."
*
Song Qingtang opened her eyes, and she seemed to have had a very long dream. In the dream, there was no Yantian Sect, no junior sister, only endless wind and snow invading her body.
She lowered her eyes and saw the leisurely Lu Qingyi and her junior sister who was now unconscious.
She left the bed and gently carried Chi Wanyin to the couch. Then she asked Lu Qingyi, "Daoyou Lu, was it you and your junior sister who saved me?"
Lu Qingyi shook her head. "I merely activated the Su Ming Yi, but it was your Junior Sister, Fellow Daoist Chi, who suffered heavy losses."
Song Qingtang couldn't help but frown when he heard this, "It's because I'm useless that I need her to sacrifice herself like this."
"You should cherish the last time you spend with her." Lu Qingyi advised her.
"What do you mean?" Song Qingtang couldn't help but frown even tighter. "Is there something wrong with this magic? If you need any help, just tell me."
Lu Qingyi looked at her and noticed that she seemed to no longer be as calm as before, but she still told her the truth, "Her death is approaching, and before that, she chose to save you. Death is unavoidable, and this will only make her extremely weak."
"Friend Lu, this is not a joke." Song Qingtang said in a serious tone. She has always been gentle to others and rarely speaks in such a tone.
"I'm telling the truth." Lu Qingyi's tone was tinged with helplessness. "I swear on my honor."
Having fulfilled her promise to Chi Wanyin, and with Song Qingtang having regained consciousness, she stood up and was about to leave when she heard Song Qingtang say, "Daoist Lu, I've heard that the Taichu Sect is well versed in Taoism. Is there no way to avert this fatal calamity?"
Before leaving, Lu Qingyi still shook her head and said, "There is no solution. You should spend more time with her during these last few days." After saying that, she left without caring about Song Qingtang who was standing there in a daze.
*
Liu Qianhe sat alone in front of the alchemy furnace, with several detoxification pills scattered on the ground in front of her. Her eyes were full of dejection, "Failure again."
She wanted to refine an antidote pill that could cure the poison Song Qingtang was infected with, but she never succeeded.
Liu Qianhe was about to continue trying when there was a knock on the gate. Liu Qianhe first cast a spell to cleanse himself before going to open the gate.
As soon as the courtyard door opened, Xu Yunting's furry head appeared, "Senior Sister Liu, I'm back."
"You're back. Where's Junior Sister Wanyin?" Liu Qianhe welcomed them into the courtyard with a puzzled tone. She only knew that the two of them had hurried out to find a way to save Song Qingtang, but she didn't know what method it was.
Xu Yunting felt a sense of relief when he saw the familiar furnishings in the courtyard. "Senior Sister Wanyin naturally came back with me, but she went to Mingluan Terrace as soon as she came back."
"Oh, and Fellow Daoist Lu from Taichu Sect who came with us." Xu Yunting added belatedly.
Liu Qianhe silently repeated the three words "Taichu Sect" in her heart. After a moment, she frowned as if she remembered something, "What exactly did you go to Taichu Sect to ask for?"
Xu Yunting recalled, "It's a magical instrument, I think it's called... the Suming Instrument."
Liu Qianhe was shocked, "Why would he go to get that magic weapon?" She had also gone to the Sutra Library to read the classics. Although this magic weapon could go back in time, it required a person with a deep bond with the other party, and this person would also have to spend a corresponding amount of time.
Xu Yunting could naturally notice that her expression was not right, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous, "Senior Sister Qianhe, is there something wrong with Su Mingyi?" At that time in the Sutra Library, she was determined to save the senior sister together with Chi Wanyin. Liu Qianhe's expression seemed to indicate that she had overlooked something.
Liu Qianhe shook his head. "Nothing. I'll go to Mingluantai first."
Liu Qianhe quickly left Chuyun Peak on the flying shuttle and flew all the way to Mingluan Terrace. The immortal servants waiting outside no longer had worried expressions on their faces. Liu Qianhe was also a frequent visitor here. When a brave immortal servant saw her, he immediately said, "Master Liu, the master has awakened."
Looking at the joyful immortal servants, Liu Qianhe felt an increasingly uneasy feeling in his heart.
She pushed open the door and went straight into the room. Song Qingtang was sitting on a chair at the moment, and it seemed that he had indeed been detoxified, but Chi Wanyin was lying on the bed beside him. Liu Qianhe always felt that something was not right.
She was about to ask Song Qingtang, but after thinking about it, she decided to send a telepathic message to her instead, "Junior Sister Wanyin, what did you sacrifice to allow you to detoxify this poison?"
Song Qingtang's gaze lingered on the sleeping Chi Wanyin for a long time, "Time, but she doesn't have much time left."
Liu Qianhe was horrified when she heard this. She didn't care about anything else and immediately took Chi Wanyin's pulse. However, her pulse was calm and normal, and there was no sign of premature death.
"When junior sister wakes up, I will take her to the mortal realm for a while." This was the only sentence Song Qingtang said. He spoke in a very soft voice, as if to avoid waking up the person sleeping on the couch.
Liu Qianhe suddenly felt that Song Qingtang like this made her feel very unfamiliar, "Then, what about Yantian Sect?"
"Even without me, we still have the elders. Qianhe, the sect will not be able to survive without one person." Song Qingtang's gaze was still on Chi Wanyin.
Liu Qianhe looked at Chi Wanyin lying on the bed again. Song Qingtang couldn't be lying, but even a mortal at this age still had a lot of life left. Why would such a good junior sister in front of him be like this?
She was about to say something else, but Song Qingtang said, "Alright, Qianhe, you can go back and tell Elder Ye that my poison has been cured."
Things have come to this point, seeing that she seems to have made up her mind, Liu Qianhe knew that he could not persuade her anymore, so he had to leave Mingluantai.
After she left, Song Qingtang remained at the bedside, earnestly guarding her. She took her hands, gently and earnestly whispering to Chi Wanyin, "Junior Sister, it would be so much better if we were just mortals. That way, I wouldn't have to shoulder the burden of the sect and Master's expectations, and we could just live an ordinary and peaceful life."
*
After leaving Mingluan Terrace, Ye Tinghe did not rush back to Zhilan Pavilion, but instead came to the courtyard where Master Huaiyu lived.
The pear tree that once flourished in the courtyard is now reduced to dead branches, with no more flowers growing on its branches.
Master Huaiyu sat on the stone table with a calm expression as if he had expected her to come.
"Senior Sister," Ye Tinghe called out, "The longevity pills I sent over don't work, do they?"
Master Huaiyu personally poured her tea, his movements very gently. "Nine is already the maximum number, how can we add more? Besides, you should be more open-minded. After I leave, the only thing I am worried about is my two disciples."
"Don't worry, senior sister. The elders and I will take care of this huge sect until Qingtang and Wanyin grow up." Ye Tinghe's face was rarely filled with worry.
Although, when she knew that Master Huaiyu had chosen not to ascend, she had already known that this day would come, but when the time came, how could she give up the friendship of hundreds of years?
"In that case, I'm relieved." Master Huaiyu poured himself a cup of tea. "Junior Sister, we should always look forward, don't you think?"
When Ye Tinghe left the courtyard, she was still filled with sorrow.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
