As usual, the paper kite dissipated.
The person sending her messages definitely hadn’t left; they were watching her the entire time.
Just thinking about it sent shivers down her spine.
Yue Jin took a breath. Pulling up her hem, she squatted and looked into the hole.
Stone steps extended downwards, one after another. She slowly descended until her toes touched the end of the staircase.
The dark, secluded passage was damp and sticky. There was nothing inside except for a large stone platform. Dripping water could faintly be heard falling onto it.
Yue Jin stepped forward and picked up the only item on the stone platform.
A knife shimmering with cold light.
The knife was exquisitely crafted and of exceptional quality. It was clearly not an ordinary weapon, but a special magic artifact.
“Why would Ji Peilan’s residence hide a weapon like this?” she murmured to herself. She looked around but found nothing else, only the knife.
Wu Bei had said that the Xuanzhuo Sect member and the Yaoguang Pavilion Elder were both killed by someone using a knife. Could Ji Peilan have done it?
Perhaps Wu Xi was killed because she discovered something.
Yue Jin sneered. Regardless, anyone who tried to pin this on the Demonic Sect was truly courting death. If her Qingyuan Palace Mistress did something, she owned it. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t allow anyone to slander Qingyuan Palace at its gates.
She climbed over the wall to leave the pavilion and secretly buried the knife under a locust tree.
She planned to tell Wu Bei after returning, so Wu Bei could retrieve it and find the knife’s owner.
Fu Lingyi didn’t often sleep. She meditated and cultivated all night, and went to knock on Yue Jin’s door when dawn broke and the sky turned white.
But there was no answer after a long while, so she pushed the door open directly. She saw the soft, sleeping figure on the bed at a glance.
Yue Jin was sleeping soundly. She had run around tirelessly all night. Half-asleep, she heard someone calling out but couldn’t open her eyes.
Until something ticklish scratched her ear.
“…Who is it?!”
Unable to stand the tickling, Yue Jin slapped the offending item with one hand and got up, her eyes half-closed.
What she held in her hand was none other than Fu Lingyi’s cool hand. The other woman was holding the end of Yue Jin’s hair, showing no sign of guilt despite being caught red-handed.
“Is this fun?” Yue Jin asked, her face dark.
Fu Lingyi blinked and waved her hand. “I’m just waking you up. Don’t be such a sleepyhead.”
“I’m not someone from your Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect. I don’t follow your rules.” Yue Jin let go of her hand, rolled onto her back, and yawned.
“But we’re going to see the Flowing Light Waterfall today.”
“Is Ye Yushuang going? If she is, I’m not.”
Fu Lingyi sat on the edge of her bed, full of patience. “Well, then, won’t you even drink the home-brewed wine? I heard they brew it here in Yaoguang Pavilion using mountain spiritual spring water; it has no bitterness at all.”
“And the Yaoguang Pavilion Master has ordered food prepared. I even asked them to make a few extra baskets of crab roe buns. Didn’t you say you love eating those? Hurry and get up.”
The person on the bed didn’t respond. She leaned closer to look and found that Yue Jin had fallen asleep again at some point.
She didn’t exert herself that much yesterday; she did most of the sword flying. How could she be so sleepy?
Fu Lingyi sat for a while longer, not calling Yue Jin again. She just pulled the corner of the blanket over her and gently moved the hair scattered across her face.
When this person is asleep, she looks quite well-behaved.
But she’s also very cute when she’s angry.
She got up and left, closing the door behind her.
“Why isn’t Fellow Daoist Yue coming? Did something I say yesterday offend her?” Ye Yushuang asked in surprise. In truth, she was quite happy, since she could go out alone with Fu Lingyi without that bothersome person disrupting them.
Fu Lingyi smiled in response. “Miss Ye, there’s no need to worry. Qingshu is probably just sleepy; she didn’t mean anything by it.”
Ye Yushuang didn’t care whether it was intentional or not; she just wanted that person to not be there.
Yaoguang Pavilion’s Flowing Light Waterfall truly lived up to its name as a divine wonder. Cascading down for a thousand miles, one could feel abundant spiritual energy just by watching from a distance.
“This is a cultivation treasure ground within the pavilion. The Pavilion Master and the elders like to cultivate here. If Sister Lingyi comes often, this place could also be your choice.” Ye Yushuang lowered her gaze. She was born beautiful, and her pink clothes made her skin appear even fairer than snow, making her lovely and charming. Her words were carefully chosen and subtle, making it hard not to feel the affection within them.
Fu Lingyi didn’t reply directly, only offering some praise. Her words clearly implied politeness and distance, but the other person didn’t seem to catch on.
The two walked and stopped, chatting a lot along the way, mostly exchanging pleasantries.
As time passed, Fu Lingyi started to feel truly bored.
She wondered what Yue Jin was doing right now.
She couldn’t still be sleeping, could she?
Ye Yushuang chattered endlessly, as if she wanted to introduce every single thing in Yaoguang Pavilion, from the wild birds flying overhead to the spiritual plants grown on the ground.
She particularly cherished this hard-won opportunity to be alone with Fu Lingyi.
While that person wasn’t here, she had to seize the chance to let Sister Lingyi feel her charm.
“Miss Ye…”
Fu Lingyi felt she couldn’t endure it any longer. She wanted to go back first; she had received too much information and felt a bit dizzy and overwhelmed.
“Oh, right! Sister Lingyi, if you stay at Yaoguang Pavilion, then this expanse of red mountain flowers…” Ye Yushuang was full of excitement and still speaking when she was interrupted by a rushing disciple.
“Senior Sister Ye!”
The disciple was panting, seemingly having run very quickly.
Ye Yushuang was slightly displeased but maintained her usual composure in front of Fu Lingyi. “What is it?”
The disciple glanced up, then leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “Senior Sister Ye, Elder Ji hopes you can come over now.”
“Ji Peilan? What could be so urgent for her? Tell her to wait.”
“It’s about that matter…”
Seeing outsiders present, the disciple didn’t dare elaborate, but Ye Yushuang seemed to understand and pursed her lips.
Immediately, she turned to Fu Lingyi with an apologetic look. “Forgive me, Sister Lingyi, I can’t accompany you any longer.”
“It’s fine. Go take care of it.”
Fu Lingyi smiled gently, appearing completely understanding. However, once the two had left, her expression returned to its usual neutral state.
This spoiled young lady from Yaoguang Pavilion was too self-centered, making her hard to deal with.
It was a good thing she left.
If they had stayed any longer, she didn’t know if she could have controlled her inner irritation.
Fu Lingyi relaxed a little and headed towards the dining hall, thinking Yue Jin had probably just woken up and she should bring her some food.
Yue Jin hadn’t slept at all.
She just didn’t want to go out with Ye Yushuang.
As soon as Fu Lingyi left, she lay on the bed with her eyes open, playing dead. After a while, she heard her stomach rumbling with hunger and finally got out of bed to find something to eat.
She had just finished drinking a cup of tea when the paper kite appeared again.
Yue Jin stared at it. It quietly floated onto the table and remained still.
Yue Jin: “…”
“Back again?”
The paper kite didn’t respond, simply waiting.
“Are you treating me like a magic artifact, telling me where to go and what to do? I’ve already got the knife. What else do you have to say?”
The paper kite moved slightly, fluttering its wings. Like last time, it unfolded its message.
“Don’t you want to know how Wu Xi died?”
Yue Jin didn’t fall for it. She was very cautious. “What exactly is your goal?”
The paper kite immediately self-destructed, but Yue Jin knew the person was listening and continued speaking. “Since you mentioned Wu Xi, the paper kite on Zhongxiang Mountain must have been from you. I assume you’re not from Qingyuan Palace. Perhaps you don’t know, but every Qingyuan kite has a mark, and the one you used belonged to Wu Xi.”
She spoke calmly, but she was actually probing.
Qingyuan kites had no marks at all; she was just trying to bluff the person.
“Either you killed her, or you saw her body and took her valuables. If it’s the former, you’ve been leading me all along, wanting me to help you cover up your crime. If it’s the latter… then you just happened to learn my identity and want to use me to get rid of the killer.”
No new paper kite appeared. The surroundings were silent, with only her voice remaining.
Yue Jin didn’t stop; she knew she might have guessed correctly. “And your biggest mistake, your absolute gravest error, was sending me a Qingyuan kite inside Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect. You know how many restrictions are placed on Zhongxiang Mountain; outsiders can’t get in. So you’re not an outsider; you’re someone from Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect. Is there anything wrong with what I said?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a new paper kite flew in from outside the window. This time, it eagerly unfolded, wanting to show its message.
“You are very sharp.”
Another one followed right behind.
“I am a disciple of Xuanzhuo Sect. I was the only one in the sect who survived this calamity. I know it wasn’t your doing, Demon Lord. Someone else committed the murders.”
“How can I believe you?” Yue Jin raised an eyebrow.
“Because I saw the killer’s back. She was wearing dark purple-blue patterned robes and held a long knife dripping with blood. She killed Wu Xi.”
Wu Xi was really dead.
Yue Jin felt something hard to describe. That girl had been recruited into Qingyuan Palace under her command. She was always so cheerful, as if she had no worries, and besides being a little timid, she had a great personality and loved making people laugh.
“Why?”
“Wu Xi’s information network was too vast. She followed the clues and found hints about the killer. Along with her twenty-one followers, none of them survived.”
The paper kites came one after another, and the person became more talkative. Yue Jin, annoyed by the dust the kites were making, told them to show themselves and speak.
“I am injured and disfigured. I don’t wish to be seen.”
“I still can’t believe you,” Yue Jin said. Her mind was sharp, and she wouldn’t let any detail slip. “You still haven’t clearly explained how you were able to enter Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect.”
“Because the small path Yu Xia discovered was one I cleared from the foot of the mountain and pointed out to her.”
“I originally intended for her to let you go down the mountain to investigate this matter, but I didn’t expect Fu Lingyi to arrive so quickly.”
Yue Jin sneered. She understood even less now. “If you have such great ability, you could investigate this yourself. Why bother using me? Don’t you know my cultivation base is completely gone?”
The paper kite paused for a while, as if the person was hesitating.
After a moment, it flew back in:
“Your cultivation base, I can restore it for you.”
Yue Jin’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly pressed the question. “You have a way to restore my cultivation base?”
“Qingshu.”
A faint voice came from behind her. The paper kite that had been in front of her fell to the ground, turning into pale dust.
Fu Lingyi remained in the posture of pushing the door open, facing Yue Jin, who slowly turned around, her face full of doubt.
“Who were you talking to?”
Nice chapter