Chapter 41
Chu Xianyue asked the local earth god what he knew, and the earth god said he was not familiar with the ghost temple master. The earth god only knew that more than ten years ago, on a night of the Ghost Festival, a master and servant came to the earth god temple in the south of the city. One prayed for the other's peace and health, while the other seemed to have no desires. The first time they came, they did not ask for anything.
The local deity felt a connection with the woman and gave her another chance, telling her to come back next time she had a request.
The Earth God knew at first glance that Mei Tingshan would not live more than six months. Looking at the master and servant who seemed to understand each other so well, he knew that this woman, who now had no desires, would definitely come again.
Sure enough, six months later, Ying Yue returned to the Earth God Temple, this time with a request. However, what she asked for was something the Earth God could not grant. Mei Shanting had been frail and sickly since childhood, destined to live only to the age of eighteen; this was his fate.
Even the Earth God cannot defy fate or change the life and death of mortals.
The Earth God refused Yingyue's prayer, but seeing her sincerity, he gave her something: a Rewinding Pearl.
This bead can only take a person back to a crucial, life-or-death moment in their life.
Yingyue was unaware that she could not choose this so-called important moment. So, when she later recalled this magical artifact and tried to activate it, the Rewind Bead forcibly took her back to the Lantern Festival when she was sixteen years old, when she pleaded for the Golden Banquet at Meishan Court.
It's not without reason that the Backsinking Pearl chose this day as the most important turning point in Yingyue's life. Since the Backsinking Pearl made such a choice, it means that Yingyue's life began to turn around from here, taking a sharp turn for the worse, and that she was destined to suffer endless consequences for making this decision.
But if given the chance, Ying Yue would still choose to do the same thing. She would choose to plead for Mei Shanting's Jin Yan.
Because if she didn't do that, he would really die.
Chu Xianyue now realized that the two rewinds during the golden banquet in the illusion were not actually due to a problem with the illusion itself.
The illusion was merely a repetition of the past, day after day—and those were all real. Because Ying Yue had traveled back in time, the incident with Jin Yan was something that had repeated twice in her life. Even knowing that stepping onto this path would lead to an inescapable hell, she still resolutely chose him again.
But why was the Golden Banquet a turning point for Ying Yue? Yet, in the illusion, Chu Xianyue saw Ying Yue perfectly fine afterward. Why then did Ying Yue suffer and die? And who was responsible for the fire at the Mei family residence?
These questions remain unanswered.
Chu Xianyue temporarily placed the remnant soul of the Earth God in a cloud-shaped container and let it rest here for the time being.
After all that commotion late into the night, they should head back to the inn to rest.
Back at the inn, Xie Wen stared at Xie Yichun and Pei Xuan. The matter with the Earth God was over; it was time to settle things with these two.
Shouldn't Xie Yichun and Pei Xuan be at the Sword Sect training and practicing right now? Why are they here?
Facing Xie Wen, Xie Yichun felt ashamed, like she had been caught red-handed by her elders while out having fun. But she really hadn't gone out to have fun! She was innocent! Xie Yichun said truthfully, "Wen, listen to me first. Pei Xuan and I were just chosen to represent the outer disciples and go out to train."
During my training, I received a prayer from Huangqi Palace in Leling City for exorcising evil, so I rushed over to investigate. That's how I ended up at this local earth god temple. Later, when I went inside again, I was misled by it, and what happened next is what you see now.”
Facing Xie Wen's serious and stern face, Xie Yichun took the initiative to lean in and said in a coquettish tone, "Awen, Awen~ you're the best. I'm perfectly fine, nothing's wrong with me, so don't be upset."
Xie Wen was angry, but not at Xie Yichun. He just felt that the Tianyan Sword Sect was such a large sect with so many powerful cultivators, yet it sent a few new outer disciples down the mountain to exorcise evil spirits. This was simply too inappropriate.
Xie Wen was righteous, but Chu Xianyue said, "Xie Wen, this matter was just a coincidence."
Xie Wen looked at Chu Xianyue, blinked, and stopped complaining.
Pei Xuan and Yun Yan had gone back to their rooms to sleep, leaving only the three of them. Pei Xuan, whenever Chu Xianyue was around, would cower and remain silent. Sure enough, perhaps because of Chu Xianyue, Pei Xuan went straight to his room as soon as he arrived at the inn.
Chu Xianyue asked Xie Yichun, "When did you arrive in Leling?"
Xie Yichun replied truthfully, "Three days ago."
Chu Xianyue then asked, "When did you come down the mountain?"
Xie Yichun thought for a moment, "It seems to be March 4th."
Chu Xianyue nodded and said, "I understand. I will definitely give you an explanation when I get back."
Xie Yichun said gratefully, "No need, Immortal Venerable Qingheng. Training is our own business as disciples. Going down the mountain for training has given us a great opportunity to improve. It is inevitable that we will encounter dangers during the training."
Chu Xianyue had no patience to listen to Xie Yichun's polite words. He had said he would give an explanation, which meant he had already made up his mind, and he didn't say anything more.
Taking advantage of the lull, Xie Wen said, "Anyway, sister, please don't try to exorcise evil spirits on your own next time. No matter what, you should at least ask me to help. If we hadn't been there this time, who knows..."
Xie Wen stopped there, knowing it would be too sentimental. She urged Xie Yichun to go back to her room to rest, as she was also very sleepy. She chuckled and went into Chu Xianyue's room instead.
Xie Wen closed the doors and windows tightly before walking towards Chu Xianyue.
Chu Xianyue's sudden interruption of Xie Wen and Xie Yichun's conversation just now was unlike him. Xie Wen knew that if he said "this is just a coincidence," then it definitely wasn't a coincidence.
He must know something.
Xie Wen leisurely sat down at the coffee table and poured himself a cup of tea. Chu Xianyue looked at Xie Wen with a complicated expression, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Xie Wen ignored what he was thinking and, sipping his tea, said, "Master, do you suspect that Pei Xuan was involved in the assassination attempt on us at Huangqi Palace that day?"
As Xie Wen spoke, he also poured Chu Xianyue a cup of tea. This man had been fighting with the local earth god until the middle of the night without even drinking a sip of water. Xie Wen had a smug little expression on his face, thinking to himself: See, it's still your eldest disciple who cares about your master.
Chu Xianyue seemed to click his tongue, took the teacup, and took a sip, instantly wetting his lips. Xie Wen's eyes lit up as he looked at Chu Xianyue, unaware that he was staring intently at Chu Xianyue's moist lips. Xie Wen was determined to let Chu Xianyue know who the "most caring disciple" was, while Chu Xianyue felt somewhat uncomfortable under Xie Wen's gaze.
He subconsciously turned his gaze to her lips. In the dead of night, alone with her, he couldn't help but recall the scene at the Earth God Temple.
In the dim light, he took her soft lips into his mouth, explored them, stirred them, their saliva mingling, their lips and teeth colliding.
Because countless voices inside him told him that if he wanted something, he should get it. So he did it, but then he felt he shouldn't do it, so he regretfully regarded that kiss as the last moment of his life.
A voice inside Chu Xianyue asked: Is tomorrow the end of the world?
Then another voice said: "If you don't want to live, then you don't want to live. One kiss is enough."
Another voice asked: After this kiss, how will you face Xie Wen?
Another voice immediately drowned out the first: face it as it comes, and take responsibility where necessary.
...
At that moment, countless such voices swirled in the depths of Chu Xianyue's heart, and often one questioning voice was immediately drowned out by another firm and resolute voice.
Now, those two voices no longer exist in his heart.
He made all the decisions.
Chu Xianyue lowered his eyes, put down his teacup, and looked at Xie Wen again, saying, "Do you remember the day Huangqi Palace was assassinated? The two groups of faceless men ran in different directions, and you and I chased after them separately. When I chased after them, I noticed that the tracking spell I had placed on that man in black at Little Mirror Lake had responded. This means that man was also among those assassinated."
As Chu Xianyue spoke, seemingly afraid of being overheard, he leaned even closer to Xie Wen and lowered his voice. Xie Wen, being quite sensible, also leaned closer, his hot breath spraying against Xie Wen's ear in rhythm with his speech, making Xie Wen feel an irresistible itch.
"This coincides perfectly with the time when Pei Xuan descended the mountain. Pei Xuan was one of the faceless men. Moreover, I suspect that these faceless men were divided into two groups, from two different sects. One group was led by Pei Xuan, while the other group is unknown; perhaps they were from the Wuxiang Temple."
But in the end, during our investigation, the faceless people were all hiding among the people of Wuxiang Temple, pretending to have just arrived at Huangqi Palace. Furthermore, the people of Wuxiang Temple are always solitary and secretive, never even showing their true faces. So naturally, no one suspected anything.”
Xie Wen asked, "Have we ever had any grudges against Wuxiang Temple? Why are they targeting us?"
Chu Xianyue shook his head. "Wuxiang Temple has always been elusive, operating independently of the other three sects. No one has ever seen the true appearance of the sect leader of Wuxiang Temple."
Xie Wen blinked. So mysterious? She was genuinely curious about what the sect leader of Wuxiang Temple looked like. Could it be that he was so ugly that he dared not show his true face?
The night was quiet. After analyzing the incident in detail, the two suddenly didn't know what to do next.
Xie Wen looked at Chu Xianyue, and Chu Xianyue looked back at Xie Wen.
The candlelight in the room was almost gone, illuminating the two people's features. Xie Wen felt that Chu Xianyue's features were as gentle as the candlelight, almost melting away.
In the silence, the unusual sight of the blood beads hanging around Xie Wen's neck was particularly noticeable.
The red light was dazzling, and the blood droplets trembled.
Xie Wen retrieved the artifact, held it in his palm, and asked Chu Xianyue, "By the way, what's wrong with this blood bead? It's been glowing and pulsating frequently lately. Is it some kind of omen?"
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