When Yue Jin woke up, she found she wasn’t leaning to one side, but lying in bed, covered by a blanket. The person who had been in the bed was long gone.
She got up, a little confused. On the table was a bowl of fresh meat porridge, still steaming hot, likely just made and brought out.
Fu Lingyi didn’t seem sick after all; she still had the strength to cook for herself.
Then there was no need to go down the mountain to fetch a healing cultivator.
Yue Jin didn’t realize she was truly happy deep down. She called out twice, but didn’t hear Fu Lingyi answer.
Where did she go?
Could she have not finished her three days and three nights in the disciplinary hall this time, and gone to the sect leader for punishment again?
Just as she was thinking, the courtyard door creaked open.
“You’re awake,” a ray of sunlight streamed through the open door crack. Fu Lingyi stood by the door, her back to the light, her face obscured. Her voice was soft. “Get up, the meal is ready.”
Yue Jin jumped off the bed and rushed anxiously to her side, grabbing her shoulders and patting her up and down. “Are you alright? You fainted yesterday. How are you? Does your head hurt? Are the red marks on your neck better? Let me see…”
Fu Lingyi grabbed her two restless hands and placed them by her sides, her gaze lowered. “…I’m fine.”
“I’m fine. This level isn’t anything.”
“No way, how can this be ‘nothing’!” She got excited and blurted out, “Let me check, are you still feverish? What kind of magic artifact was that glowing ball? I’ve never seen it before. That strong electrical force, it won’t cause any irreversible damage to your body, will it?”
“I’m really fine,” Fu Lingyi still held her wrists. They faced each other, their noses close. “That was just a storage magic artifact for attacks. Its spiritual energy isn’t high. It only hurts, it doesn’t damage cultivation.”
Yue Jin finally relaxed. She asked, “It won’t leave scars like before?”
“No.”
She nodded. A slightly embarrassed expression suddenly appeared on her face as she looked at the person opposite her. “I saved you, but your punishment wasn’t finished. Will the sect leader punish you again?”
“She’s in seclusion.”
Fu Lingyi finished speaking, released her hand, went inside, and sat on a chair to drink tea.
Her expression was even more indifferent than usual, without much emotional fluctuation. It was like talking about a trivial matter with someone she wasn’t close to.
Yue Jin kept feeling the atmosphere was a little different this time, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong.
She stood by for a moment, lingering and unwilling to sit down, when she heard Fu Lingyi call out to her, “Eat quickly, or it will get cold.”
Yue Jin quickly sat beside her, picked up the spoon, and put a mouthful into her mouth. The fresh meat porridge was cooked thick and melted upon entry. It was delicious.
She ate mouthful after mouthful, occasionally glancing at Fu Lingyi, wanting to say something to break the ice. “How could your sect leader be so excessive? How can a magic artifact like the Binding Immortal Rope be used on disciples who make mistakes? If it were me, I’d just leave. The world is vast, there are plenty of other places to go.”
The person drinking tea shook her head, using her cup to shield half her face. “Chongxiang Sword Sect is my home. I have nowhere else to go. Moreover, my mother sacrificed herself for it back then. I must guard this place even more; I cannot leave.”
“Your mother… was she the previous sect leader of Chongxiang Sword Sect ?” Yue Jin was still thinking about Ah Ling. Hearing about Fu Qingxian suddenly piqued her interest, and she started probing indirectly.
“Yes, she was a very straightforward and kind person. The current sect leader was once her personal disciple.”
When her mother was mentioned, her expression softened. Yue Jin seized the opportunity to ask, “Then do you have any sisters? The kind who were raised outside from a young age and didn’t interact with outsiders.”
“Sisters? I don’t have any sisters.”
Yue Jin was disappointed, but then she thought, if Ah Ling was an illegitimate daughter, Fu Lingyi wouldn’t know either.
The two sat opposite each other for a while. The other person just watched her eat, having nothing to say. Unable to bear the boredom, she started looking for something to talk about. “When you entered the disciplinary hall before, was it always this kind of punishment?”
Fu Lingyi turned her face to look at her, her gaze sweeping over her. “Do you care?”
“Of course!”
“Concerned about the punishment, or concerned about me?”
What does that mean?
Yue Jin didn’t hear the hidden meaning in her words and just focused on saying, “Of course, I’m concerned about the punishment! This kind of punishment should be abolished. How can it be allowed to exist? Where I come from, everyone…”
As she was speaking, she nearly let something slip. She quickly lowered her head and used the food to stop herself from saying more.
But luckily, Fu Lingyi seemed not to have heard, and didn’t pay attention to her unfinished thoughts.
She put down her teacup, her gaze fixed on Yue Jin. “Naturally, I received it before as well. If the sect leader hadn’t come out of seclusion, and master gave me the whipping punishment, it would have ended there. But since she came out, I had to go to the disciplinary hall.”
“Have you been in many times?” Yue Jin asked cautiously.
“However many times the Demon Lord has come, I have to go in that many times.”
These words made her pause. Fu Lingyi slowly leaned closer, her eyes fixed on her. Her voice seemed to linger by her ear. “I… can’t quite count anymore.”
Last night, Fu Lingyi hadn’t actually fainted.
Her cultivation wasn’t low. She had just choked on water at first and couldn’t speak for a moment. Her consciousness was also hazy. With her eyes closed, she felt someone gently pick her up.
Was it Yue Jin…?
Was she coming to help me…?
As soon as that person spoke, she confirmed their identity. But Yue Jin seemed not to be talking to her.
But with someone else present.
She wanted to speak out, to interrupt, to make her shift all her attention, all her care, onto her.
But, Yue Jin mentioned “followers”.
She had lost her memory, so how could she say something related to the demonic path?
Fu Lingyi didn’t make a sound, enduring it all along, pretending to be unconscious. She even endured when those hands roamed over her.
Fortunately, just when she was about to endure no longer, Feng Ruiyan’s call gave her a respite.
The entire night, her mind was a mess of thoughts.
Yue Jin regained her memory?
But all along, her outward behavior hadn’t been very obvious.
Fu Lingyi was full of doubts, recalling the incident at Yaoguang Pavilion where she had obtained the murder weapon.
If she had regained her memory, this matter wasn’t impossible to do.
She used to trust her very much, but now, she was a little unsure.
She wanted to test Yue Jin, to see if she had truly regained her memory and was just deceiving her.
Or perhaps, it was possible she had never lost it from the start.
If that were truly the case…
Fu Lingyi’s heart tightened. She didn’t want to get such a result.
Yue Jin raised her gaze to look at her.
“That kind of place is inhumane. No matter how many times you’ve been there before, I won’t let you go in again in the future.”
Her eyes were bright, and her words were incredibly sincere. “Never again.”
Fu Lingyi was stunned. Her face instantly flushed red, and she flinched back slightly, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. She looked very flustered. “Don’t talk nonsense. The sect leader’s words cannot be ignored. It’s not something you alone can change.”
“Why not?” Yue Jin put down her spoon, her expression very stubborn. “I even cut the Binding Immortal Rope! If worst comes to worst, I’ll just burn down that disciplinary hall right now.”
Fu Lingyi grabbed the person who was about to walk out, pressed her onto the chair, and forced her to calm down.
Sitting on the chair, Yue Jin pouted unwillingly. Once Wu Bei returned and found clues about the knife, she would definitely be able to expose Baili Xianrong’s true face.
If she could regain her cultivation, it would be even better. With her having learned the Ninth Heavenly Layer, no one in this world would be her opponent.
“Yue Qingshu.”
Fu Lingyi suddenly called Yue Jin by her full name. She turned her head, only to see that person leaning closer and closer.
“…Wh- what are you doing…”
That person’s hair fell down, her eyes like water. She bit her lower lip. “Are you hiding something from me?”
Fu Lingyi didn’t believe that the peace and obedience during this period were all acted out. She hoped Yue Jin had only regained her memory midway and didn’t dare to tell her.
Yue Jin’s mind raced. There were many things she was hiding. Which one was she referring to?
The two looked at each other in silence. Yue Jin broke the silence, laughing awkwardly. “You’re still dwelling on that? I already said, I picked up the knife. I really don’t know.”
“So, you’re hiding absolutely nothing from me? Not even a single bit?”
Fu Lingyi’s eyes were deep, and the words she asked were also ambiguous.
Yue Jin’s gaze flickered away. Her acting was nonexistent. She was terribly nervous, unsure if it was because the distance was too close or because there were too many lies.
She suddenly lowered her head and stuffed all the food into her mouth, saying as she ate, “Of course! I don’t have any secrets.”
It was too fake.
Fu Lingyi didn’t say much more. If someone wants to lie to you, there’s no way they’ll tell you honestly.
But her heart turned cold.
Her tone was gentle, just as falsely as before. “Eat slowly. I haven’t been to the main peak these past few days. There’s a pile of official business there, so I might have to stay there for a few days to finish things. I’ll trouble you to go to the mess hall first.”
“You won’t be coming back these next few days?”
“I won’t.”
Fu Lingyi’s voice was still as usual, but ever since a moment ago, Yue Jin had felt something wasn’t quite right between them.
This feeling was probably called estrangement.
“I…”
“I should be very busy. Take care of yourself.” Fu Lingyi stood up and walked towards the door. The dazzling sunlight shone into the room and then retreated, like her, not lingering at all.
Leaving Yue Jin holding the bowl, looking dazed.
She really hated this strange feeling.
When Yun Lingyue received the message from the Red Spirit Jade, she was busy debunking rumors everywhere and searching for the origin of the cultivation tabloids.
The result was that she woke up from a nap and saw that message.
“What? Xiao Bei is missing?” She had gone down the mountain early and didn’t know Fu Lingyi had gone to the disciplinary hall. She quickly sent several inquiries, but they all vanished like stones sinking into the sea; no one replied.
She didn’t know that the Red Spirit Jade was on Yue Jin at that moment.
On one side was her senior sister’s reputation, and on the other, the whereabouts of her beloved junior sister.
Both were difficult to give up.
Yun Lingyue gritted her teeth and decided to go find Wu Bei first.
Good work 👏