Under the moonlight, the sword's shadow revealed its sharpness.
Since that night in the library, Mo Xiaoyu has become increasingly cautious. During the day, she still does heavy work in the laundry room, her hands becoming increasingly red and swollen from being soaked in cold water. Only when it is late at night and all is quiet will she take out that notebook and study it repeatedly by the dim candlelight.
"...The Dream-Tracing Jade is an ancient divine artifact, obtainable only by those with the right destiny. Forcibly activating it requires unwavering devotion as a catalyst and the use of one's life essence as a medium..."
She had read those words countless times, and her unease grew with each passing day. The short sword that Su Qingqing had concealed in her sleeve that night, gleaming with a blue light, often flashed in her dreams.
That day, while she was hanging out the laundry, she suddenly overheard two outer disciples chatting.
"Why haven't we seen Junior Sister Lin these past few days?"
"I heard she talked back to Senior Sister Su the other day and was punished by being sent to the back mountain to reflect on her actions."
Mo Xiaoyu nearly dropped the clothes in her hands. Junior Sister Lin? The follower who was always by Su Qingqing's side? She recalled Junior Sister Lin's arrogant and domineering manner in the laundry room that day, a stark contrast to her current situation of being punished and sent to the back mountain.
That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Moonlight streamed through the window paper, casting a soft glow on the floor in front of her bed. She decided to get up and tiptoe out of the servants' quarters.
The night on the back mountain was exceptionally quiet, save for the chirping of insects. Using the moonlight, Mo Xiaoyu cautiously made her way towards the cave facing the wall. She didn't know why she had come, but her intuition told her that Lin Shimei's sudden disappearance might be related to what happened at the Scripture Pavilion that night.
Just as she was about to reach the Cave of Facing the Wall, she suddenly heard suppressed sobbing coming from ahead. She hid behind a rock and quietly looked over.
Under the moonlight, Junior Sister Lin knelt on the ground, her clothes disheveled and her hair loose, completely different from the spoiled girl she usually was.
"I know I was wrong, Senior Sister Su... please forgive me..." Her voice was hoarse from crying. "That night in the Sutra Pavilion, I saw nothing, and I can't say anything..."
Su Qingqing stood before her, her white robes gleaming coldly in the moonlight. She gently lifted Lin Shimei's chin, her voice chillingly gentle: "Really didn't see anything? Then why were you secretly following me?"
"I...I was just curious..."
"Curious?" Su Qingqing chuckled. "Do you know that the more you know about certain things, the faster you die?"
Mo Xiaoyu covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound. She saw a flash of cold light from Su Qingqing's sleeve, and the short sword with a blue glow was already drawn.
Just then, a gust of sword wind suddenly struck, hitting the short sword precisely and producing a crisp ringing sound.
"stop."
Xie Yunzhi emerged from the depths of the woods, moonlight streaming across his blue robe. His gaze swept over the trembling Junior Sister Lin kneeling on the ground, finally settling on Su Qingqing.
"It really was you." His voice was soft, but it carried a chilling coldness.
Su Qingqing's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure: "Yun Zhi, you've misunderstood. I was just disciplining a disciple who didn't follow the rules."
"Using a poisoned dagger to teach them a lesson?" Xie Yunzhi sneered. "Or are you trying to silence them?"
Lin, as if grasping at a straw, hurriedly scrambled to Xie Yunzhi's feet: "Senior Brother Xie, save me! That night in the Scripture Pavilion, I saw Senior Sister Su with my own eyes... she was looking for a notebook about the Dream-Tracing Jade!"
Su Qingqing's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and a white silk ribbon shot out from her sleeve like a venomous snake, aiming straight for Junior Sister Lin's throat!
Xie Yunzhi parried with his sword, the blade flashing like moonlight, severing the white silk ribbon completely. He stood protectively in front of his junior sister Lin, his gaze cold and stern: "From the first sharp pain in my sea of consciousness, I felt something was amiss. Your Su family is paying far too much attention to this jade pendant."
Mo Xiaoyu hid behind the rock, her heart pounding like a drum. She saw Xie Yunzhi's hands trembling slightly, and fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead—clearly, forcibly circulating his internal energy had once again impacted his consciousness.
Su Qingqing suddenly laughed, the sound echoing through the silent valley, tinged with a hint of desolation: "Pay attention? Xie Yunzhi, do you know that this jade pendant originally belonged to the Su family? Three hundred years ago, it was your Xie family ancestor who plotted to steal it!"
She stepped forward, the moonlight illuminating her beautiful face, but revealing a pair of crazed eyes: "For years, the Su family has been searching for a way to retrieve the Divine Jade. Until you appeared... You are the only member of the Xie family in a hundred years who can awaken the Dream-Tracing Jade."
Xie Yunzhi tightened his grip on the sword: "So you pretended to approach me, hoping to get it through me?"
"Pretending?" Su Qingqing's smile suddenly turned bitter. "If only it were truly pretending..."
In that instant, Mo Xiaoyu saw a flicker of genuine pain in her eyes. But that emotion was quickly replaced by madness: "Since you know everything, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Several talismans flew out from her sleeve, transforming into a rain of fire in the air! At the same time, the poisoned short sword silently attacked Xie Yunzhi's back!
"careful!"
Without thinking, Mo Xiaoyu rushed out from behind the rock, intending to push Xie Yunzhi away. However, someone was faster than her—
Suddenly, Junior Sister Lin leaped up and used her body to block the short sword!
The poisoned blade pierced her chest, and blood instantly stained the moonlight. She glanced back at Mo Xiaoyu, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she simply collapsed helplessly.
"Foolish!" Su Qingqing snorted coldly, her hand seals changing once more. The fire rain grew even denser, illuminating the entire valley as bright as day.
Xie Yunzhi endured the excruciating pain in his sea of consciousness, and his swordplay suddenly became fierce. The moonlight-like sword light wove an impenetrable net, blocking all the fire rain. Every strike was incredibly precise, but Mo Xiaoyu noticed that his face was growing paler and paler.
"Go!" he shouted at Mo Xiaoyu, his voice filled with suppressed pain.
Mo Xiaoyu knew that staying would only distract him, so she gritted her teeth and turned to leave. However, in that instant, she saw a jet-black jade talisman slide out of Su Qingqing's sleeve—
That's the "Soul-Locking Talisman" recorded in the notes! Once struck, the soul will be imprisoned forever!
Almost instinctively, she lunged at Xie Yunzhi, wanting to shield him from the attack.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
She saw Xie Yunzhi's shocked expression, saw Su Qingqing's sinister smile, and saw the jade talisman flying towards her with an aura of death...
Then, a gentle force pushed her away.
Xie Yunzhi stood in front of her.
The moment the jade talisman struck him, the Dream-Tracing Jade suddenly erupted with dazzling light. Countless fragments of memories surged forth like a tidal wave, engulfing the three of them simultaneously—
A raging flood, a crumbling palace, and that figure tightly embracing another in the floodwaters...
"Yunxi..."
Mo Xiaoyu heard herself unconsciously uttering that name.
When the light faded, Su Qingqing had vanished without a trace. Xie Yunzhi knelt on one knee, the Su Meng Jade emitting a faint glow on his chest. He raised his head, his gaze towards Mo Xiaoyu complex and unfathomable.
"You..." He opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.
The moonlight remained cold and clear, illuminating the scene of devastation. Lin Shimei's body lay silently in the pool of blood, a stark reminder that everything that had happened tonight was not a dream.
Mo Xiaoyu stood there, suddenly feeling a bone-chilling cold.
This conflict surrounding the Dream Jade has only just begun. Both she and Xie Yunzhi are already deeply entangled in it, with no turning back.
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