Chapter 162
At midnight, a few muffled claps of thunder echoed in the distance, a sign that rain was imminent. A cold wind swept through the dense forest, swirling up fallen leaves. Lights flickered in the woods, appearing like stars from afar, but upon closer inspection, they were revealed to be paper lanterns.
"Xiao Qiu!"
"Senior Sister Yin!"
"Yin Qiu!"
...
Since the news of Yin Qiu's disappearance spread, Xie Yijun immediately ordered a search everywhere. They searched the palace but couldn't find her. The disciples then searched Xifeng Mountain for most of the night. By this time, they had almost become familiar with the terrain, but they still hadn't seen a trace of her.
Although Ye Zhilan's letter mentioned the summit of Xifeng Mountain, such a large mountain could be called a peak in any direction, so she didn't specify the exact location. The disciples could only search the entire mountain carefully. Ji Wanshu even led people to search Shangyuan City, but they found nothing.
Wen Chaoyu took off his robe and draped it over his arm. He was sweating profusely. He said, "Looking like this won't solve anything. If Ye Zhilan is determined to hide, she must be hiding in a very secluded place. I think we should stop wasting our time and go back to rest as soon as possible. It's more important to get our energy back. If we meet her as she said at noon tomorrow, we can decide what to do then."
Man Jiangxue's face was cold, and her whole body exuded a strong and terrifying aura. Apart from Wen Chaoyu and Ji Wanshu, no one else dared to linger in front of her or speak to her. Even Bai Ling kept her distance and only dared to search for Yin Qiu's whereabouts in silence, not daring to relax at all.
“We can lie in ambush around here beforehand and wait for her to show up with Yin Qiu,” Ji Wanshu said, her skirt covered in mud from running all night. She looked around and said, “Unless she’s not actually in Xifeng Mountain and is just using that letter to distract us, she might be hiding somewhere else.”
Wen Chaoyu said, "If you can think of these things, she can too. She's definitely not here, which is why I told you to stop looking. What's meant to come will come. Why waste your energy? Besides, she can't possibly come alone tomorrow. She'll definitely bring a large group of men. How can we fight her tomorrow if we don't save our energy?"
Her words made sense. Ji Wanshu pondered for a moment, then looked at Man Jiangxue and asked, "What do you think, Martial Aunt?"
Man Jiangxue looked up at the night sky, but did not reply.
Since learning that Yin Qiu had been taken away by Ye Zhilan, she has not uttered a single word and has remained silent, appearing quite sullen.
Thunder rumbled intermittently in the distant sky, and the wind at night was even more rapid and violent, relentless, making it impossible to ward off the chill no matter how many clothes one wore.
Seeing that Man Jiangxue remained silent, Wen Chaoyu sighed softly, patted her on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry too much. Ye Zhilan is after you. I believe Yin Qiu is safe now and won't suffer any hardship. There's always a way out. We will definitely be able to rescue Yin Qiu."
“Yes, Uncle-Master,” Ji Wanshu, who was never good at comforting people, racked his brains to reassure her at this moment, “The Sect Leader has already made arrangements. All the disciples in the palace with superb archery skills are on their way. As soon as Senior Sister Ye shows up, we will have a chance to kill her and make sure she doesn’t come back alive.”
"If Meng Wugui's little apprentice were here," Wen Chaoyu said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I think her name is Afu? She's a bit slow, but her archery skills are really accurate. If she were here, our chances of winning would be much greater."
Ji Wanshu glanced at her, and for the first time in days, she took the initiative to speak to Wen Chaoyu, asking, "Then where's your throwing knife?"
Wen Chaoyu stroked his chin and shook his head: "There's no comparison. Throwing knives rely entirely on arm strength and have limited range. Bows and arrows are different. I'm not afraid of Ye Zhilan in a one-on-one fight, but she has Yin Qiu as a hostage, so I dare not boast about how accurate I am."
Not to mention that she only mastered throwing knives in recent years, not when she first started learning martial arts. If she hadn't lost an arm, Wen Chaoyu would naturally be more agile with the broadsword.
Man Jiangxue remained silent for a long time. After exchanging a few words, the two fell silent. In another hour or so, it would be dawn. It seemed that finding Yin Qiu was almost impossible. Although the disciples were all aware of this, none of them rashly stopped searching. They all carried lanterns and ran around, but as the sky gradually brightened, there was still no sign of Yin Qiu.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, and the rumbling thunder throughout the night failed to bring rain. By dawn, the disciples, carrying bows, had all concealed themselves in the forest. Xie Yijun had been sitting in the Mingguang Hall all night, and seeing that Man Jiangxue and the others had not returned, she could no longer contain her anxiety and personally went to Xifeng Mountain.
"How did it go?" Xie Yijun asked hurriedly as soon as the group met. "Did you find him?"
Man Jiangxue leaned against the tree trunk, closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, still showing no intention of speaking. Ji Wanshu shook her head and said, "Not yet. For now, we can only wait."
Xie Yijun said worriedly, "What should we do? Yin Qiu's injuries haven't healed, and she's also poisoned by Gu. She definitely can't escape on her own. With her as a hostage, we can't easily harm Zhilan. What should we do..."
“I just don’t know what Ye Zhilan means now,” Wen Chaoyu said. “Since she asked us to meet, she must want to settle things once and for all, but we really can’t guess how she wants to settle things.”
"What's so hard to guess?" Xie Yijun chimed in. "She can't beat Jiang Xue, and she can't kill her either. It's easy to imagine that she'd have to confront Yin Qiu in front of Jiang Xue—"
"...Ahem!" Seeing that she was speaking recklessly, Wen Chaoyu quickly cleared her throat and said, "With so many of us, are we afraid of a short-lived ghost like her? Yin Qiu can definitely be saved!"
Xie Yijun paused, glanced hastily at Man Jiangxue, and quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Yes, yes, yes... she can definitely be saved. Don't worry, don't worry, we can't panic..."
The group fell silent as if by unspoken agreement, giving Man Jiangxue a peaceful atmosphere. The wind still swirled around them, refusing to go away, and the dark clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, so gloomy that they looked like they were about to crash down at any moment. The disciples who were lying in wait in the cold winter were sweating profusely, and they were all focused on their surroundings, even breathing very lightly.
However, even as noon approached, no one came to the summit of West Phoenix Mountain.
As they waited, everyone grew increasingly anxious and heavy-hearted, their hearts pounding and their bodies pounding with unease. Bai Ling, following Xie Yijun's orders, leaped into the air and quickly searched the hilltop, but still couldn't find Ye Zhilan and Yin Qiu. Xie Yijun, growing increasingly frustrated, said, "If we wait any longer, it'll almost be past noon. When will they finally arrive?"
"Just shut up," Wen Chaoyu, who had always been the most composed among them, couldn't help but get a little restless. "They'll come sooner or later, just wait patiently!"
Xie Yijun paced back and forth, unable to relax at all. She looked at Man Jiangxue and said, "Jiangxue, don't keep quiet. Quickly think about where they might be. What if Zhilan didn't intend to come to see us at all, but took Yinqiu to another place, or even left Shangyuan City? Then we need to make plans as soon as possible!"
Man Jiangxue slowly opened her eyes, her expression surprisingly calm. She seemed to have the urge to speak, but she couldn't utter a sound for a long time.
Seeing this, Wen Chaoyu said irritably, "Can you please stop bothering her? She's not some kind of prophetic deity, how could she possibly know where Ye Zhilan is going?"
"I'm just so anxious!" Xie Yijun said. "I watched that child grow up, and he's practically my apprentice. Now that something like this has happened, I can't calm down at all. Don't just stand there, think of something!"
She had barely finished speaking when Bai Ling, who was standing to the side, suddenly gasped and exclaimed, "That, that's... Look at the other side!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present turned around abruptly and looked towards the opposite bank of the river.
This is Xifeng Mountain, opposite which lies Yunhua Mountain, where Yunhua Palace is located. The two mountains are separated by the Fengkou River, which is wide, at least a mile across. There, on the cliff edge atop the mountain peak, hangs a person from a tree trunk extending into the air. As everyone looks closer, a dazzling white light shoots straight into the sky and explodes, instantly creating a clearly visible display of fireworks beneath the dark clouds.
Wen Chaoyu's expression immediately changed, and she cursed, "Damn it! She really wasn't here!"
The moment the words left her lips, Man Jiangxue leaped into the woods and sped down the mountain, disappearing from sight in an instant.
"Let's get going!"
Xie Yijun immediately ordered her disciples to follow, and the others did not dare to delay and immediately chased after Man Jiangxue in the direction she had left.
·
Before noon, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky, and thunder returned, hidden behind heavy dark clouds. The cold wind, mixed with the cold rain, quickly soaked Yin Qiu's clothes.
Ye Zhilan bound her tightly with hemp rope and put a chain around her ankles. At the end of the chain was a heavy iron ball, which Ye Zhilan could barely lift with both hands.
Yin Qiu was still wearing the robe Ye Zhilan had given her, but even so, the cold wind at the cliff edge chilled her to the bone, making it difficult for her to even open her eyes. Having not slept all night, her eyes were still red. She looked around blankly and asked, "Isn't this Yunhua Mountain?"
Ye Zhilan was panting heavily and coughing incessantly. As she helped Yin Qiu up, she replied, "If I go to Xifeng Mountain, I'll be throwing my life away. This is called taking them by surprise."
Seeing her actions, Yin Qiu had a pretty good idea of what she was planning to do, and could only sigh and say, "You said you picked a good place, so that's what it was all about."
A thick, crooked pine tree grew on the edge of the cliff. Ye Zhilan threw the rope she had left over towards the trunk, then grabbed the end that swung back. She didn't rush to hoist Yin Qiu up, but stood on the edge of the cliff and glanced at the rushing river below, saying, "This is indeed a good place for you. There's a river below; you might not die if you fall in. You might even drift downstream and be rescued by fishermen nearby. I've given you a chance to survive, so you don't need to thank me too much."
After a night of self-adjustment, Yin Qiu's mindset has returned to peace. She can't persuade Ye Zhilan, and Ye Zhilan won't suddenly change her mind. In any case, everything is set in stone. Whether Yin Qiu is desperate or cries and makes a fuss, it's all in vain and meaningless. Now, she can only face it calmly.
“If you really want to give me a way out,” Yin Qiu said, looking at Ye Zhilan, “you should take this iron ball off. With this thing hanging on me and you tied me up, how can I go downstream? I’ll definitely fall into the river and sink to the bottom quickly, and drown soon after.”
Ye Zhilan laughed upon hearing this, and stood with her hands behind her back, saying, "Are you scared?"
Yin Qiu said, "I'm scared."
“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Ye Zhilan said. “The arrow is already on the string and has to be released. After you die, you can become a vengeful ghost to come and take my life, but whether I can live or not is still uncertain.”
"Then I'll have to seek revenge on you on my way to the underworld," Yin Qiu said.
“That works too.” Ye Zhilan squatted down, and somehow produced a rope, which she tied around her ankle. Her loose skirt hung down, completely concealing the rope.
Yin Qiu glanced at it and noticed that the rope was clinging to the cliff face all the way down, with no end in sight. She couldn't help but ask, "Is this your escape route?"
Ye Zhilan hummed in agreement and explained, "After hearing about the Star Gazing Platform, I was prepared. There's no need for Man Jiangxue and the others to do anything. I'll jump down myself. The rope is embedded in the mountainside, leading straight to the mountainside. There are some old plank roads there. Although I don't know who built them or when they were built, they're fine for stepping on. As long as Man Jiangxue and the others don't notice anything amiss, I can survive."
Yin Qiu sighed again: "You've put a lot of thought into this."
“You said you were scared, but I didn’t see it,” Ye Zhilan said, looking at Yin Qiu. “Most people would be crying and begging me to spare their lives in this situation. How come you are so calm?”
Yin Qiu said, "If I beg you, will you let me go?"
Ye Zhilan said, "Of course not."
Yin Qiu said, "Then there's no need for me to ask you for help."
Ye Zhilan looked at her and suddenly sighed with an ambiguous meaning, saying, "It's just that you can't use your true energy yet. Otherwise, with your usual skill, it wouldn't be difficult for you to break free from this rope. So it's not that I want to harm you, it's just that even God is afraid that you will die."
“Then I’ll just accept my bad luck,” Yin Qiu said expressionlessly. “Stop talking nonsense. I don’t want to chat with you anymore. If I’m destined to die here today, then I can only leave it to fate.”
Ye Zhilan laughed: "If you saw Man Jiangxue, could you still remain this calm?"
Yin Qiu said, "Just knock me out. I don't want to see my martial uncle worrying about me."
“Don’t worry, I will knock you out later,” Ye Zhilan said, turning Yin Qiu around. “But before I do, I can let you see Man Jiangxue one last time.”
Yin Qiu followed her gaze to the opposite bank, where several familiar figures stood.
When her gaze fell upon one of the snow-white figures, Yin Qiu's calm emotions finally stirred.
She gazed at the snow-covered river from afar, then lowered her eyelashes after a moment and said in a low voice, "That's enough."
Ye Zhilan raised her hand and asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Yin Qiu looked up to meet her gaze and asked, "And you?"
“I didn’t,” Ye Zhilan said. “Even if I manage to escape this time, I don’t have many years left to live. I’ve already told you most of what I wanted to say last night.”
Yin Qiu said, "Then you can do it."
"Don't you want to leave a few last words?" Ye Zhilan said. "I can pass them on to Man Jiangxue for you."
Yin Qiu thought for a moment and said softly, "Then tell her that if there is an afterlife, I still want to be with her."
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhilan's face showed a hint of surprise: "What you're saying... doesn't sound quite right."
Yin Qiu closed her eyes.
Ye Zhilan scrutinized her for a moment, then asked, "Don't you have anything else to say?"
Yin Qiu said helplessly, "What do you want to hear me say?" She opened her eyes again, looked down at the bottomless abyss below, and after a long while said, "If I have to say something, then I only hope that you can realize your mistake as soon as possible, not make the same mistake again, and not hurt others anymore. In your next life, may you be reborn into an ordinary good family." After saying this, she paused again, "My uncle and I are the same."
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhilan frowned, seemingly momentarily stunned: "You don't hate me?"
“I have hated you,” Yin Qiu said. “My hatred is temporary. I won’t hold onto hatred forever like you do. That would only hurt me. I don’t want to hate anyone, especially not like you. But that doesn’t stop me from still wanting to kill you to avenge all the innocent people who died unjustly. It’s just that I’m in your hands now, so I can’t do it yet.”
Ye Zhilan paused for a moment, then took out a bracelet from her sleeve and put it on Yin Qiu's wrist.
“This is a birthday gift for you,” Ye Zhilan said. “Wear it, and don’t lose it.”
Yin Qiu closed her eyes again.
Ye Zhilan didn't say anything more. With a swift movement, Yin Qiu quickly lost consciousness and collapsed limply into her arms.
Looking at that face that was a blend of Shen Mandong's and Yin Xuan's features, Ye Zhilan suddenly felt a strange, indescribable feeling. She looked at Yin Qiu indifferently for a while, then got up and pulled the rope to hoist her up to the top of the cliff, tying the end to her own waist.
After doing all this, she faced West Phoenix Mountain, took a piece of the messenger flag from her bosom, and pulled the fuse.
A blinding white light roared into the sky, fireworks exploded, briefly illuminating the dark clouds.
The people standing on the opposite mountain peak were quickly drawn to the scene and turned away at the same time. Ye Zhilan gazed at the other side, letting out a silent, cold laugh, but her face remained expressionless.
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