Chapter 99
From the moment she entered Hehuan City, Sheng Ningyu wanted to enter the City Lord's Mansion.
Deep down, she felt that something could only be resolved within the city lord's mansion.
She has unfinished business.
Therefore, even knowing that Ning Jiao harbored ulterior motives and that there might be a trap in the city lord's mansion, Sheng Ningyu still jumped in without hesitation.
However, after entering the city lord's mansion, Ning Jiao only placed her in a side hall. Although this did not restrict her whereabouts or whereabouts, Sheng Ningyu was always surrounded by a group of people wherever she went.
It feels weird.
There was another point that surprised Sheng Ningyu even more.
She didn't consider herself very familiar with Ning Jiao, her senior sister, but the other woman seemed to know her very well. Not only was the accommodation and food to her liking, but even the clothes and jewelry she received were very well prepared for her.
So meticulous that even Sheng Ningyu began to doubt herself.
Is she really that easy to see through?
There is only one point.
Sheng Ningyu looked around and met the puppet's standard smile, her lips twitching slightly.
The silent puppet attendants standing in the courtyard resembled one tombstone after another.
It's really creepy.
Sheng Ningyu said to Rong Que, who was walking slowly towards her, "I don't think I've ever heard of such a common practice of using puppet servants in the City Lord's Mansion before."
Rong Que walked to her side, his gaze also falling on the puppet, his tone as gentle as ever: "You've only been down the mountain for a few days, how can you say you've 'heard of it before'?"
Sheng Ningyu was speechless for a moment, and Rong Que smiled slightly and took over her words: "But you are right. The City Lord's Mansion did not use puppets much in the past. The current arrangement was all done by your senior sister."
The flower branch that Sheng Ningyu was casually fiddling with suddenly trembled. She raised her eyes: "Where did you learn this technique, Senior Sister?"
"It was I who taught it," Rong Que replied calmly.
Before she could finish speaking, Rong Que had already taken a half-step forward and gently removed the flower branch from her fingers. He shook his head, his voice slow but leaving no room for negotiation: "You mustn't learn this."
Sheng Ningyu knew that the other party had seen through her vicious trick of using flower branches as swords, but she was still unconvinced.
To prevent her from secretly practicing swordsmanship, Ning Jiao prepared all the clothes for her without any sharp weapons or hair ornaments.
From beginning to end, Sheng Ningyu's hair was tied up with a strip of cloth.
Logically speaking, she should have gotten used to it, but for some reason, ever since she met Xie Qianjing that day, Sheng Ningyu felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Her hair was tied up more and more perfunctorily, and now it had loosened a lot due to her movements.
Rong Que walked to her side and raised his hand to comb her hair, but Sheng Ningyu snorted coldly and turned her head away.
His raised hand froze in mid-air. Rong Que lowered his gaze to the head of black hair, his tone turning somber: "Junior Sister..."
"What do you want?"
Sheng Ningyu rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and said without any politeness, "I can't learn swordsmanship, I can't learn puppetry, and now they won't even let me tie my own hair? Then Second Senior Brother, why don't you tell me what else I can learn? Are you trying to make me a cripple for the rest of my life?"
"Nonsense." Rong Que frowned slightly, disagreeing. "How does that make him a 'cripple'?"
Seeing that Sheng Ningyu seemed to ignore him, but then turned her head slightly, holding a candied fruit in her mouth and pricked up her ears, Rong Que found it somewhat amusing.
Rong Que paused, but Sheng Ningyu pressed on, "Also what?"
Rong Que looked at her and slowly said, "It is also not entirely in line with your path."
The second senior brother did not tell the truth.
The second senior brother... was wary of her.
Sheng Ningyu frowned slightly, still not understanding Rong Que's words even after he left.
She was not surprised by Rong Que's refusal.
In fact, as soon as she asked the question, a voice in Sheng Ningyu's heart told her that her second senior brother would not teach her the art of puppetry.
But why?
She came to the city lord's mansion because of an unfinished matter that she had a lingering feeling about. And what about her second senior brother?
What were those unfinished words of his?
Sheng Ningyu sat alone under the lamp, pondering that sentence for a long time, but still couldn't find an answer.
A night breeze stirred, and a figure stepped into the moonlight.
Xie Qianjing arrived without a sound, like a snowflake in the depths of winter, silently drifting into the night.
Dressed in white, with a simple and elegant appearance, her bones as white as snow.
Standing in the dim light, his brows and eyes were cold and aloof, like those covered in frost and snow.
However, perhaps because the candlelight inside was gentle, the dim, warm light softened the chill as he pursed his lips.
Xie Qianjing took out a honey flower cake from somewhere, untied the string on the oil paper wrapping, and the warm, sweet aroma of the honey flower cake wafted out.
"I just made it on a whim today." His tone was calm, and his voice was not loud, like a night breeze brushing against a windowpane, light and understated.
"This time, the timing is perfect."
The sweet aroma of honey flower cake wafted through the air, completely melting away her previous annoyance.
Sheng Ningyu picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. Instantly, a rich sweetness filled her mouth.
Sheng Ningyu looked up and met Xie Qianjing's gaze, which was quietly fixed on her.
Meeting her gaze, he finally spoke, asking softly.
"Is it good?"
"It's delicious." Sheng Ningyu answered crisply, swallowing the sweet taste, but a sly glint flashed in her eyes, and she deliberately didn't say anything more.
As expected, Xie Qianjing pursed his lips, but this time he lowered his voice even further.
"Is it the best-tasting one?"
His candle was placed very low, almost drowned out by the crackling sound of the candlelight.
The flickering candlelight scorched his earlobes red.
He resembled a porcelain figure made of snow and jade, and his fragility only made him more endearing.
She turned her head as she spoke, the ribbon in her black hair had long since come loose and was hanging loosely behind her head.
Xie Qianjing looked at the rare childlike innocence in Sheng Ningyu's eyes, and instead of being annoyed by being teased, he merely gave a very slight twitch of the corner of his mouth as a response.
He turned to look at the flickering lamp wick on the table and changed the subject: "When I came here, I explored the southwest corner of the city lord's mansion. There is an underground prison there."
As he finished speaking, the lights crackled softly.
The smile on Sheng Ningyu's face vanished instantly, and she lost all interest in playing around. Her expression turned serious: "The dungeon... is it a place where demons and ghosts are imprisoned?"
Xie Qianjing's gaze lingered for a moment on the plate where only one piece had been eaten before he continued, "Not only that. There are quite a few people imprisoned inside, mostly mortal women, their auras weak, as if they were bound by some kind of curse. Judging from the scale of their imprisonment, it doesn't seem like ordinary imprisonment, but rather... like they are being refined."
"Refine?" Sheng Ningyu's heart sank. "Refine into what?"
Xie Qianjing did not answer immediately.
He walked behind Sheng Ningyu, raised his hand, and gently ran his fingertips through her slightly disheveled long hair, slowly combing it with a tenderness that was somewhat awkward.
Strangely, Sheng Ningyu didn't like being touched by strangers, but when Xie Qianjing combed her hair, Sheng Ningyu not only didn't feel the intrusion into her territory, but instead relaxed completely and became extremely...enjoyed.
Sheng Ningyu discovered that she couldn't be wary of Xie Qianjing at all.
Therefore, she simply closed her eyes slightly, showing no intention of stopping Xie Qianjing.
This leniency clearly pleased Xie Qianjing somewhat, and his voice became much softer when it rang in her ears.
But the words he uttered were chilling.
"Demon Seed".
Sheng Ningyu suddenly opened her eyes, and just as she was about to turn around, Xie Qianjing straightened her head.
She looked into the bronze mirror. The white-robed fairy lord lowered his eyes and continued to gently comb her hair, but the words he spoke were terrifying.
"It is an extremely evil thing forged from the resentment and fear of the living, and the spirit and soul of the living. The 'purification array' you heard about that day was not for cleansing resentment. Or perhaps, it was the exact opposite."
Sheng Ningyu: "You mean, they deliberately brought demons and ghosts into the city that day?"
"She was the chosen one."
Sheng Ningyu's back stiffened slightly, and she felt a chill rise from the bottom of her heart.
"How did you find out about these things?"
Sheng Ningyu caught Xie Qianjing's hand before she could retract it. She turned her face to the side, no longer hiding her sharp gaze.
"You're making it sound like you're one of their accomplices?"
Its sharp edge was fully revealed.
Xie Qianjing showed no sign of nervousness. He lowered his eyes to meet Sheng Ningyu's gaze and suddenly smiled slightly.
"Perhaps, I've been through it too?"
Sheng Ningyu was slightly taken aback.
This smile was unlike the innocent, ethereal white-robed immortal lord of the past; it was more like that of a great immortal lord who had been immersed in the mortal world for a long time.
Sheng Ningyu lowered her hand, leaned back, and slumped onto the soft couch as if she had no bones.
"Making a mystery out of nothing."
Xie Qianjing tilted his head and corrected him good-naturedly: "I didn't."
He didn't know why those words just came out of his mouth.
It's back to normal now.
Sheng Ningyu shook her head, pointed at Xie Qianjing in the air, drew a large circle in the air, and said in an exaggerated tone: "Xie Qianjing, you just aged a hundred years."
Xie Qianjing frowned slightly, and the curve of his lips flattened a little: "You don't like it anymore?"
The question was strange, but Sheng Ningyu didn't care, as if she was already used to Xie Qianjing's occasional odd questions.
Xie Qianjing tilted his head slightly and said indifferently, "Sweet talk."
Sheng Ningyu lifted her eyelids, turned her head away, and ignored him.
What's wrong with sweet talk?
She thought he was just saying one thing and meaning another.
He clearly likes it very much.
"Your injuries have not yet healed; you should not travel alone."
Xie Qianjing finally smoothed her long hair, walked around to her, squatted down, and sighed softly: "Those who want to make a move are not just you and me. One hour from now, at midnight, go to the Xuandu Hall on the west side of the mansion, under the third pear tree on the right. I will be waiting for you there."
The dim light cast a soft glow on Xie Qianjing's cold features, revealing only his tender eyes as he looked up at her, the candlelight shimmering like clear water.
Sheng Ningyu suddenly smiled.
It turns out that the legendary "demons" that can bewitch people's hearts are actually here.
After Xie Qianjing finished speaking, he left quietly.
Sheng Ningyu, of course, believed him.
However, she encountered an uninvited guest on her journey.
"Junior sister."
Sheng Ningyu turned her head away.
Rong Que arrived, dressed in blue and white robes, bathed in moonlight.
His gaze swept over Sheng Ningyu, finally settling on her hair bun.
Neat and beautifully combed, but definitely not her handiwork.
Rong Que withdrew his gaze, his tone cold and almost sharp: "Does Junior Sister like him?"
What?
Sheng Ningyu was now truly perplexed.
She was prepared for her second senior brother to ask her where she was going late at night, and she was also prepared for the secret in her hair to be discovered. But her second senior brother didn't say a word, and asked the most inexplicable question.
Who do you like?
“Junior sister cannot like him.” Meeting Sheng Ningyu’s confused gaze, Rong Que calmed down, his voice still gentle, yet carrying an undeniable authority, “Don’t forget your path.”
Rong Que simply smiled and said nothing more.
He turned around, just as he had come, with an elegant and graceful posture, his robes swirling in the air.
Only a sigh reached Sheng Ningyu's ears on the evening breeze.
"Junior sister...don't repeat the same mistake."
-----------------------
Author's Note: [Sunglasses][Sunglasses][Sunglasses]
Next chapter: Breaking the Formation
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com