Inside Qianchao City, vendors bustled and called out, selling all kinds of goods. This area belonged to the jurisdiction of Yaoguang Pavilion, a prosperous and thriving place where shops filled the main streets and small alleys.
The common people lived peacefully and contentedly, enjoying comfortable lives. Most were generous with their spending; there were no beggars or troublesome travelers.
Except for two people…
These two women were outsiders. One stood with hands on her hips; her first reaction upon seeing someone was a wide grin, but then she immediately straightened her face, bared her teeth, and raised her beautiful peach blossom eyes to make a terrifying grimace, scaring the children by the roadside to tears.
The other was naturally disinclined to smile. No matter who looked over, she would give a cold side glance. If someone stared for too long, they would receive a sharp glare.
Any more, and the magic artifact at her waist would start to jingle ominously.
Yet, despite their behavior, both women possessed outstanding appearances and remarkable presence. Pedestrians passing by couldn’t help but steal glances.
The woman who always wore a smile bounced into a restaurant. She leaned over the counter and winked her right eye: “Shopkeeper, what are your signature dishes? Bring one of each, and two pots of wine as well.”
“Alright!” The shopkeeper was utterly flustered by the flirtatious wink. She quickly told the waitress to serve the wine and dishes, while he himself gazed after the two women in a daze.
“I don’t drink alcohol,” the indifferent woman said as she sat down, her tone utterly cold. “Drinking distracts me.”
“These two pots are all mine. My apologies, I completely forgot someone like you existed.”
The smiling woman settled leisurely across from her, propping an elbow on the table. She appeared relaxed and carefree, but her tone was far from friendly.
If you were to say their relationship was bad, they were still acting together. If you were to say it was good, they didn’t exchange a single word during the entire meal, eating in silence until the end.
Not until the waitress approached them with the bill, asking for payment, did the two finally stir.
“Money? I don’t have any money.” The smiling woman’s eyes curved into crescents. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to cause a stir throughout the entire restaurant.
“But…” The waitress was visibly troubled. She stood to the side, looking pleadingly at the shopkeeper for help.
The shopkeeper stepped forward, her face darkening. “Guests, your clothing and demeanor suggest you are wealthy. How can you possibly…”
Before she could finish, a gust of wind swept past, and a chill touched her temple.
Trembling, she turned her head. A dagger had sliced past her face and embedded itself several inches deep into the wooden wall.
“Consider yourself lucky today. In the past, anyone who dared argue with us would surely have died a very ugly death.”
The woman who had been smiling erased her smile. She stood up calmly, tossed her light hair, and walked towards the door.
Leaving the shopkeeper and the restaurant patrons frozen in fear.
The usually silent cold woman spoke up this time: “Let’s go, Evil Envoy. Wu Bei is on her way.”
The woman called Evil Envoy was full of reluctance. She snorted: “What’s the rush? It’s not the Venerable One. There’s no benefit in greeting her.”
“If it were the Venerable One, I would have come myself. Why would I bring you along?”
“Benevolent Envoy, you dare!”
Evil Envoy was fuming. She didn’t want to spend much time with Benevolent Envoy, but unfortunately, their missions always overlapped. This time was no exception. With the extended time and inability to return to Qingyuan Palace, resentment had been building between them for a long time.
Without Wu Ju watching over them on their journey through Qianchao City, the two had caused who knows how much trouble.
Now, rumors were spreading throughout the city that two figures like the Black and White Impermanence were roaming within its walls. If you encountered them, you should immediately lower your head, and they might spare your life.
Otherwise, they would surely turn everything upside down.
Wu Bei traveled for a day and a night before finally arriving in Qianchao City. She was just looking for an opportunity to inquire about the whereabouts of Wu Ju, Benevolent Envoy, and Evil Envoy when she heard a shout in the distance:
“It’s the Black and White Impermanence!”
The crowds in the street scattered instantly. Vendors who had just been selling in the middle pushed their carts and ran, ignoring the vegetables that rolled onto the ground, with no intention of turning back to pick them up.
Wu Bei was astonished. She grabbed a fleeing passerby and asked, “Don’t go! What are you all running from? What is the Black and White Impermanence?”
“Don’t you know? Are you from out of town?” The frightened passerby wanted to leave but couldn’t match her strength, so they said helplessly, “They’re a new pair of terrors who appeared in Qianchao City. One looks like a fierce green-faced god, the other is like a smiling Buddha. If you just make eye contact with them, you’ll, you’ll…”
“Ah! They’re here!”
The person turned their head, let out a loud cry, struggled free from Wu Bei’s grasp, and scrambled away, practically rolling.
Wu Bei followed their gaze and looked ahead.
“What are you looking at?”
From a distance, a woman’s voice drifted over, her tone rising, carrying a hint of amusement.
“Staring carelessly means having your eyeballs dug out. Do you want to keep your left eye, or your right eye?”
“Evil Envoy, stop scaring her. Let her choose for herself: should it be her left leg or her right leg?”
Wu Bei saw the two familiar figures and quickly rushed over. She ushered the little girl trembling between them away and blocked their path. “That’s enough! How far are you going to take this? The moment Wu Ju is gone, you two run wild! Has this Qianchao City become your personal playground? You’ve scared everyone away!”
Benevolent Envoy and Evil Envoy saw her and simultaneously tilted their heads, one to the left, the other to the right.
Benevolent Envoy: “Evil Envoy, do you know this person? All white hair, is she weak and sickly?”
Evil Envoy: “You don’t even remember this? Go dunk your head in water and scrub that brain of yours. Isn’t she… Wu, Wu, Wu… what was it? Useless?”
Wu Bei rolled her eyes hard. “Normally, you two don’t seem close at all, but when it comes to trading insults, you’re perfectly in sync. Where’s Wu Ju? Why isn’t she with you?”
Evil Envoy’s eyes crinkled with a smile. She spun the artifact in her hand, seemingly in a good mood. “She said she’d infiltrate Yaoguang Pavilion first to be ready to support us later. She also calculated that you would definitely show up, so she told us to find you.”
Wu Bei was speechless. Wu Ju had calculated everything, even knowing clearly that she was heading to Yaoguang Pavilion.
“Where is the Venerable One?” Benevolent Envoy asked somewhat eagerly, revealing a side of her that wasn’t cold.
Evil Envoy was naturally also concerned about this question. She dropped her smile, waiting for the answer.
“Yue Jin is fine, doing well at Chongxiang Sword Sect ,” Wu Bei waved a hand dismissively. “However, if she knew you two were out here causing trouble, she would definitely be angry.”
“Heaven knows we didn’t do anything bad! We just scared them!” Evil Envoy quickly protested. She certainly didn’t want Yue Jin to misunderstand her.
Benevolent Envoy also agreed: “I can vouch for that.”
“We ate without paying, hit anyone who stared at us, and kicked anyone we didn’t like. Aside from that, we didn’t do a single bad thing!”
Benevolent Envoy agreed again, this time nodding repeatedly. “That’s right. Everyone’s still alive, nobody’s missing any arms or legs.”
“Should I give you two a medal then?” Wu Bei furrowed her brows, utterly speechless.
“Elder Wu Bei,” Evil Envoy, whose peach blossom eyes were charming and captivating, leaned closer and acted spoiled towards Wu Bei. “We really didn’t do anything bad, honest! We’re much more restrained compared to how we used to be. You absolutely must not tell the Venerable One, or she’ll ignore us.”
Benevolent Envoy, usually so indifferent, even copied Evil Envoy’s behavior for Yue Jin’s sake, reaching out and tugging at Wu Bei’s sleeve. “Please, don’t say anything.”
The two women sandwiched Wu Bei between them, one on her left, one on her right. Anyone who didn’t know them would think the woman in the middle was being held hostage.
Just as Wu Bei was about to tell them to let go, she saw the pitiful girl she had ushered away earlier suddenly return. Pointing at them, the girl shouted, “Immortal! It’s them! They’re the ones causing trouble all over Qianchao City!”
Immortal?
Wu Bei raised her gaze. Before she could even see the face clearly, she saw a long sword drawn from its sheath, rushing straight towards the three of them.
Benevolent Envoy and Evil Envoy reacted quickly, simultaneously flipping backward and retreating. One drew a bow without nocking an arrow, launching a golden light “Cloud Chasing Arrow.” The other shook the Soul Guarding Bell at her waist, emitting a soul-stirring sound.
Only Wu Bei stumbled and fell to the ground clumsily.
“Who are you?” Evil Envoy’s face held not a trace of a smile; her lips were tightly pursed.
“I didn’t expect that after the Demonic Sect was destroyed, there would still be two little fish who slipped through the net.” The sword changed direction, returning to its sheath. Wu Bei raised her gaze. She looked at the newcomer, her eyes wide with shock.
Yun Lingyue!
How could she be in Qianchao City?
Evil Envoy held the Soul Guarding Bell and shook it, letting out a jingle. She laughed condescendingly: “Destroyed? Tell me properly, or I can’t promise to leave you a whole body.”
Hearing this, Wu Bei was secretly alarmed. Did they not know that Qingyuan Palace had been burned down? Could it be that Wu Ju hadn’t told them at all?
“Evil Envoy, stop wasting words with her.”
“Heh, what? You still don’t know? Let me tell you… Xiao Bei! What are you doing here?”
Yun Lingyue looked down and only then saw Wu Bei lying on the ground. She quickly went over, helped her up, and pulled her into a tender embrace, stroking her hair.
Wu Bei’s eye twitched. She turned her head and saw the other two women looking at her in confusion. She wanted nothing more than to cover her face and disappear into a crack in the ground.
“…Xiao Bei?”
“You know each other?”
How was she supposed to explain this?
Yun Lingyue closed her eyes for a moment, then stared at the two women with fury. “Someone told me you were in Qianchao City. At first, I didn’t believe it, but now I realize it must be these two demonic cultivators who captured you, wanting to repeat the past and turn you into their cultivation furnace.”
“Ah?” Evil Envoy bristled. “Stop spouting nonsense! Our Qingyuan Palace is honorable and never does anything like making cultivation furnaces! That was her own…”
“Sister!”
Seeing that her identity was about to be exposed, Wu Bei let out a long, heart-wrenching cry. She collapsed into Yun Lingyue’s arms and began sobbing uncontrollably.
“I was originally in Lin’an City. But as soon as it got dark, these two demonic cultivators suddenly appeared and said if I didn’t go with them, they would, they would kill everyone in Lin’an City!”
“What! Wu Bei, are you insane?”
“Yes, I’m insane! This head of white hair is proof of the illness you left me!” She continued to wail and sob, absolutely determined not to expose herself. “Sister, I thought I would never see you again…”
Even Benevolent Envoy couldn’t watch anymore and asked, “Is this a new trick you came up with to win over the beauty?”
Of everyone present, only Yun Lingyue remained silent. Wu Bei’s heart pounded like a drum, worried she had messed things up.
She raised her head, her eyes meeting the other woman’s gaze.
Yun Lingyue’s eyes were slightly red, as if tears were gathering. She abruptly hugged the person in her arms tightly, her slender fingertips threading through her hair as she wrapped her arms around her neck.
“I promised you I would never let followers of the Demonic Sect trouble you again, and never let you live in fear again.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t watch over you well; I broke my promise.”
“I’m sorry.”
Nice chapter