The Little Peacock Raises a Snake (GL) Chapter 68

Qu Linyan said that since they were family, anything could be discussed. In truth, once she made a decision, she absolutely would not change it.
She would definitely save Chu Yuebai.
She did not dare think too much about anything else. At the very least, she had to free Chu Yuebai from Chi Heng’s puppet strings and stop her from being a marionette.
Three hundred years ago, Qu Linyan had indeed saved Chu Yuebai’s life. But Chu Yuebai had also damaged her own cultivation to save Qu Linyan.
From that moment on, they no longer owed each other anything. What remained between them was only the first promise: from then on, the flood dragon clan would have the devil realm behind them and would no longer have to fear the heavenly realm.
Chu Yuebai had done it, and she had done more than that.
Qu Linyan never mentioned it and rarely thought about it, but she knew that back then she had lost the will to live.
If Chu Yuebai had not deceived her with a half-true, half-false lie, she might have stopped eating and drinking long ago and quietly died on the broken cliff of Soul-Wounding Valley.
And the thing in that lie that made her willing to believe it was the secret Chu Yuebai should have protected for a lifetime.
They had only traveled together in the human world and had three parts friendship, yet someone had given eight or nine parts sincerity.
Now that such a friend was in trouble, Qu Linyan naturally could not abandon her.
Facing Qu Linyan’s determination, Ciyin frowned tightly. Her ten fingers fought each other back and forth on the table, and her face was covered with the word tangled.
“Qu Linyan, in the heavenly realm’s eyes, Susu is already dead. You also no longer need to worry about the flood dragon clan. As long as you hide your names and never stir up trouble again, you two can live the rest of your lives in peace.” Ciyin shook her head. “All of this was not easy to get. Why insist on stepping into the devil realm’s muddy water?”
“If not for Chu Yuebai, I would not have lived until now, much less reunited with Xiaoba.” As Qu Linyan spoke, she turned and gazed deeply at Yun Su. Her tone was firm. “I believe Xiaoba can understand. I am also certain that if I selfishly choose to run away, I will never live with peace of mind for the rest of my life.”
Yun Su and Qu Linyan looked at each other and smiled. Their eyes were full of understanding and support.
Yun Su turned to Fu Zhuochen and Ciyin. “The Miss Chu Little Black speaks of is also my friend. Now Chi Heng has stripped away her self-awareness and turned her into a puppet on strings. If I stop Little Black, I will also never have peace in my conscience.”
Qu Linyan nodded. “Chu Yuebai’s identity is special. Chi Heng needs her power, so he will never kill her. But I know very little about puppet technique. I do not know whether it will corrode the mind of the person controlled and make them lose themselves completely… I have been anxious this whole time, not knowing how much time I have left to regulate my breathing and heal.”
Fu Zhuochen said, “Puppet technique is a human evil art. It can refine a living person for one’s own use. If I remember correctly, with full-speed refinement, it can erase a person’s mind completely in half a year at most.”
“Completely erase?” Ciyin widened her eyes in disbelief.
Fu Zhuochen closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes. If fully refined, even if she breaks free of control, she will be no more than a walking corpse.”
“I do not know exactly how long she has been controlled. But even counting from the day I fled Yuntian City, more than three months have already passed…” Qu Linyan thought for a moment. “The fastest path from here to Yuntian City still takes half a month. And along the way, we must avoid the devil clan’s eyes and ears. With hiding and detours, it will take at least a month.”
With her current injuries, even with Ciyin growing immortal herbs that replenished spiritual power and repaired internal and external wounds, it would probably take a year or more for Qu Linyan to fully recover.
Fu Zhuochen said, “In the remaining time, you can recover at most fifty percent of your strength. There are many experts in the devil realm. If you break into Yuntian City alone like this, it is no different from throwing an egg at a rock.”
Yun Su obediently raised her hand from the side. “There is still me!”
Fu Zhuochen said wordlessly, “You took most of a heavenly tribulation for someone else. How well can you be?”
Yun Su was briefly speechless. Fu Zhuochen was right. She was not lightly injured either. At most, she was a little better off than Qu Linyan.
“Even adding Brother Fu will not be enough!” Ciyin muttered softly from the side. “Right now, everyone in this room is more injured than the last. If we truly compare, I am the least injured. But my true body is in the heavenly realm. The spiritual power this body carries can only grow some herbs for you… How are we supposed to break into the devil realm?”
A group of injured people gathered together, planning to break into the devil capital and rescue a puppet controlled by the devil crown prince.
No matter how one thought about it, it seemed impossible.
“Who said we have to break in by force? We have to use our heads.” Qu Linyan propped up her chin and began thinking.
Three hundred years ago, she had only known how to use her fists, not her brain.
Because she had once done everything too recklessly, she and Yun Su had been separated for so long. This time, she would not be impulsive.
Once Qu Linyan fell silent, the small room sank into a long silence.
Ciyin held back at the side for a long while. She looked here, then there. In the end, she could not stop herself from breaking the silence.
She slapped both hands on the table, making the candlestick shake twice. “So did you think of anything?”
Qu Linyan lifted her eyes to Ciyin and said regretfully, “No.”
“Then hurry and think!” Ciyin urged.
“Am I not thinking right now?” Qu Linyan said.
“When Brother Fu and I left the devil realm before, Yuntian City’s defenses had already been strengthened several times over.” Ciyin said dejectedly, “Chi Heng’s position is not proper, so now he is cautious everywhere. Let alone you being on his must-kill list, even if you were not, it would still be very hard to break into Yuntian City again and save someone.”
Yun Su blinked innocently from the side. She was not deliberately slacking off. She truly had tried hard to think about a so-called rescue plan, but no matter how she thought, her mind was still empty.
As expected, relying on her brain to survive in this world was too hard for her. Aside from staring into space and sleeping, she was still most suited to reading other people’s expressions and following along.
Outside, the wind and snow slowly stopped. Inside, silence remained.
After a long time, Qu Linyan lifted her head and stared at Fu Zhuochen thoughtfully for quite a while, as if wanting to speak but stopping herself.
Fu Zhuochen felt uncomfortable under her stare and frowned. “If you have something to say, say it.”
Qu Linyan closed her eyes, rubbed her temples, and said weakly, “Nothing. I suddenly have a headache and want to rest…”
Fu Zhuochen was speechless for a moment, then stood and left.
Once the only man was gone, Qu Linyan turned her gaze to Ciyin.
But Ciyin had no intention of leaving at all. She sat very steadily before the table.
Qu Linyan could not help asking, “Little Flower God, are you not resting?”
“I am.” As Ciyin spoke, she turned into a spiritual flower and hung herself on a flower branch in the vase by the window.
Qu Linyan froze and turned to Yun Su. “She, she sleeps here lately?”
“Where else? Could she sleep in the same room as my brother?” Yun Su asked back.
This bamboo courtyard had originally been Fu Zhuochen’s home alone. Housing four people inevitably made it crowded.
Besides, the kitchen here was half outdoors, the cellar had no air, and the only rooms left were a bedroom and a study.
Men and women should keep proper distance. Ciyin truly had no other choice.
“What is wrong? I do not take up space!” the little white flower in the vase muttered softly.
She did not take up space, but she got in the way!
Qu Linyan suddenly felt that nights like this were terribly awkward.
When she thought that this awkwardness would last quite a while, sorrow nearly swallowed her.
*
Qu Linyan said the matter of going to Yuntian City to save someone needed long planning.
Nearly two months passed in a flash. In the human world, spring had warmed and flowers were blooming.
Life in the small bamboo courtyard was plain and calm, not much different from an ordinary household.
The half-year limit was approaching. Saving Chu Yuebai was urgent, yet Qu Linyan only regulated her breathing and healed each day. She never spoke even a little about a rescue plan.
Fu Zhuochen and Ciyin had no friendship with Chu Yuebai. They had not even met her. Naturally, they wished Qu Linyan would forget the whole matter and live peacefully with Yun Su from then on.
Because of this, if Qu Linyan was not anxious, then only Yun Su was left worrying alone.
Just when it seemed they would run out of time if they did not act, Qu Linyan finally made a rich dinner and announced she was ready to set out.
Ciyin asked blankly, “Are we really breaking in by force?”
“I do not want to die yet.” As Qu Linyan spoke, she glanced at Fu Zhuochen and smiled. “Even if I wanted to die, someone would not allow me to take Xiaoba with me.”
Yun Su asked, “Little Black, did you think of a method?”
Qu Linyan curved her brows and smiled. “Actually, I thought of it long ago. I was only too embarrassed to say it…”
She spoke only halfway, then spun the chopsticks in her hand as if trying to drive people mad.
Yun Su snatched the bamboo chopsticks from Qu Linyan’s hand. “Stop playing. Say it. What is the plan? How do we cooperate? How much chance do we have?”
“In the devil realm, Chu Yuebai has power almost second only to one and above ten thousand. The Devil Venerable gave her that power. As long as the Devil Venerable is not dead, it still counts,” Qu Linyan said. “Only now, Chi Heng controls her, and she has lost self-awareness. If we can make her regain awareness, then we will not be fighting alone.”
“I have met that Chi Heng. Since childhood, he pretended to be useless so his elder brother would lower his guard. But a person’s cultivation is not something they can hide. Because of this, he neglected devil clan techniques, and his own cultivation is not high. If no one protects him from the side…” Qu Linyan tapped her finger on the table and continued, “Then the only thing we need to fear is his puppet technique.”
“So?” Ciyin asked curiously.
“A puppet master, if no one protects him and there are no puppets by his side, is nothing to fear.” Qu Linyan said, “If we can seize a chance to cut off Chi Heng’s hand, then the puppet strings tied to Chu Yuebai will naturally break… At that time, as long as someone is by Chu Yuebai’s side, uses magic to wake her, and brings her out of the place where Chi Heng has confined her, she will handle what comes next better than anyone.”
As Qu Linyan spoke, she looked toward Yun Su and Fu Zhuochen. “At that time, only you two will be able to move.”
Fu Zhuochen said nothing and only listened quietly.
Yun Su nodded seriously, then asked blankly, “The task is very clear. But how exactly do we get close to Chi Heng?”
“Use what he likes!” Qu Linyan said.
Ciyin tilted her head. “What does that person like?”
“Beauty!” Qu Linyan said seriously.
Fu Zhuochen frowned and said angrily, “If someone must go, go yourself. Xiaoba cannot!”
Yun Su froze and instinctively looked at Fu Zhuochen. Seeing anger suddenly rise in his eyes, she did not dare speak.
Ciyin slapped the table hard, making all the dishes shake.
“Qu Linyan! Are you asking Susu to use beauty to serve someone?”
Ciyin stood through gritted teeth with both hands on her hips. “No! I absolutely will not allow Susu to risk herself alone. What if something goes wrong? What if that person does something to her… to her…”
Qu Linyan waved her hand and quickly explained, “Little Flower God, you misunderstood!”
“What did I misunderstand?” Ciyin shouted angrily.
“Little Flower God may not know, but Chi Heng likes men. Even if Xiaoba went, he would not be interested…” Qu Linyan laughed awkwardly twice, then turned her gaze toward Fu Zhuochen. “So, Brother…”
Fu Zhuochen froze.
When he came back to himself, he saw three pairs of eyes, each with a different expression, looking toward him.