Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 265 263: Bei Lingyin's Letter and the Secret of Shang Miaoyan

Qing Yueqiu, her fair skin flushed pink and still dewy with steam, slowly walked out of the bathroom. The dim candlelight in the room spilled over her, outlining a slender and lonely silhouette.

Her long, silver hair was sopping wet, draped over her shoulders with the ends still dripping. The faint light caught the moisture, making it seem as if her hair were studded with tiny stars. Stray droplets slid down her fair skin and fell to the floor, making a soft "DRIP" sound in the silent room.

The young woman's small, jade-like feet carefully picked their way across a floor littered with crumpled balls of paper, pressing against the cold ground and leaving a wet footprint with every step.

After retrieving a set of clean clothes, she turned to survey the utter mess of the room. Her crimson eyes were downcast, her long lashes casting faint shadows beneath them, and her gaze flickered with a hint of disgust for her own pathetic state.

"So dirty..."

Qing Yueqiu murmured, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible, laced with an inexplicable exhaustion and self-reproach.

'If Master were to enter my chambers right now and see this unspeakable mess, what would he think?'

'No, I can never let Master see me in such a shameful state.'

'No one else can be allowed in here.'

Qing Yueqiu's fingers curled slightly, a damp sensation still lingering on their tips.

It was as if the paper balls scattered across the floor served as a silent reminder of something.

She took a deep breath. The air was filled with a faint, exotic scent mixed with the metallic tang of blood. The combination was foul.

'I should clean this up. At the very least, I should become a clean person, just as Master taught me.'

Qing Yueqiu channeled a wind spell, first gathering all the trash on the floor—especially the wads of paper—into a swirling vortex, compressing it into a single ball. She then prepared to toss it into the courtyard to "destroy the evidence."

'The paper balls I used... I absolutely cannot allow them to remain in this world!'

TAP TAP TAP—

Just as Qing Yueqiu was about to dispose of the trash, a soft sound came from the window.

A flash of vigilance crossed the young woman's crimson eyes. The Glazed Treasure Sword hanging on the wall hummed faintly, seemingly ready to leap from its scabbard at a moment's notice.

With a flick of her finger, Qing Yueqiu sent a gust of wind to push open the window. A paper crane, folded from black paper, drifted in unsteadily.

A single strand of silver hair tied to the paper crane caught Qing Yueqiu's eye.

'In the Xuanyuan Dao Sect, besides herself, the only other woman with silver hair is Bei Lingyin.'

'Did something happen to Sister Lingyin?'

A worried expression crossed Qing Yueqiu's face. She had been planning to find Bei Lingyin tonight to ask about the link between the Rakshasa Race and the Asura Race, and why the Empress of the Asura Race was able to connect with her—a Rakshasa—through her bloodline.

'And the Power of Killing Momentum hidden in my blood... could it also be an inheritance from the ancient Asura Race?'

Ever since leaving the Kunlun Mountain Secret Realm, Qing Yueqiu had been brimming with questions for Bei Lingyin. But from the looks of things now, she feared...

A sense of foreboding washed over the young woman. She unfolded the paper crane. The first line of elegant, small script that met her eyes made her sigh inwardly. 'Just as I thought... something's happened.'

_Yueqiu, by the time you read this, I will have already left the Xuanyuan Dao Sect... I assume you've read the previous letter I gave you. In that letter, I confessed my true identity: an assassin from Yama Hall._

_As an assassin, or a spy, I naturally had a special mission while infiltrating the Dao Sect: to sabotage the alliance between your sect and the Yin Yang Sacred Land... Unfortunately, I underestimated Shang Miaoyan's methods. I never expected her to be so capable._

_Now that the mission has failed, I'm on the run from Shang Miaoyan. Consider this letter my farewell to you. In the future, if I haven't been caught and executed by her, my promise still stands. If you want to leave the Dao Sect, come to the small town next to Broken Wind Mountain..._

"..."

Qing Yueqiu's eyes fell. 'Even with this curse, I would never leave Master,' she thought. 'I should find a chance to convince Sister Lingyin to give up on this idea.'

Her gaze shifted down, continuing to read.

_Finally, I want to tell you a secret about the Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land._

Several words in this sentence had been crossed out and rewritten, as if Bei Lingyin had hesitated to continue.

But clearly, she had chosen to reveal the information to Qing Yueqiu in the end.

_According to reliable sources, a hundred years ago, the Sect Leader of the Yin Yang Sacred Land abducted a young man from the Mortal World who possessed the Giant Sun Saint Body. He was given to Shang Miaoyan as a Cauldron Slave._

_Of course, that Cauldron Slave isn't important. He was just a nobody, and all news of him vanished soon after. According to the Yin Yang Sacred Land's tradition of cultivating a Heartless Dao Heart in their Yin Yang Dao Cultivators, he was likely executed personally by Shang Miaoyan after she drained his foundation dry..._

_What's important is the fiancée that Cauldron Slave had back in the Mortal World... Her name is Lin Qianyan. She has since transformed from a village sparrow into a Sacred Land phoenix. She is now the Saintess of the Jade Pool Sacred Land and, not long ago, she ascended to the Void Refining Realm!_

_Ever since she made her formal debut before the Major Sects at Kunlun Mountain, this Lin Qianyan has been searching for one person... the very same Cauldron Slave who was drained dry and executed by Shang Miaoyan~_

'Lin Qianyan...'

Qing Yueqiu's eyes widened. She remembered the elegant Fairy who had personally healed her after Pei Xiaohan carried her out of the Secret Realm.

That Fairy was Pei Xiaohan's Master. According to Xiaohan, her Master's name was Lin Qianyan. And while she hadn't explicitly stated that her Master was the Saintess, the fact that they were both from the Jade Pool Sacred Land and shared the same name meant there was virtually no chance of mistaken identity.

'So that gentle Fairy... has she been living a lonely life searching for her husband all this time? To go from a mortal to a Great Cultivator of the Void Refining Realm, for a hundred years to pass in the blink of an eye, and to still not have forgotten him... that's almost too pure...'

Qing Yueqiu swallowed hard, her heart filling with boundless admiration for Fairy Lin.

'She couldn't imagine if she could maintain such deep love for her own Master if they were separated for a hundred years, without even knowing if he were alive or dead.'

At the same time, Qing Yueqiu grew apprehensive about what Bei Lingyin would say next. 'Sister Lingyin wouldn't reveal such a monumental secret so casually,' she thought.

_Everything I've told you so far, my Little Yueqiu, is exclusive information pieced together by my Yama Hall. And all of this... the Hall Master ordered me to tell you._

_I'm sorry... I never wanted to drag you into this, Little Yueqiu. But Shang Miaoyan has already uprooted all of Yama Hall's agents within the Dao Sect. And soon, Lin Qianyan will visit the Dao Sect as a representative of the Jade Pool Sacred Land. According to the Hall Master, this is a golden opportunity to incite conflict between the Yin Yang Sacred Land and the Jade Pool Sacred Land._

_The Hall Master wants to ask you to handle this matter. He says that if you succeed... he will resolve one of the curses on you._

"..."

Qing Yueqiu's fingertips trembled, and she dropped the letter. The moment it hit the ground, it burst into flames, rapidly turning to ash.

The young woman stared at the ashes of the letter, and even deeper questions rose in her heart.

'Who is this Yama Hall Master? And how does he know?'