After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 103

The people around them grew more numerous, and Qin Qingyi saw clearly that these people had gathered because they discovered Feng Ying was here.

It seemed as though there was some kind of spectacle about Feng Ying that they absolutely had to see.

“So this is Feng Ying? She looks fragile and easily bullied, how could she possibly be…”

“Hush, shut up, can a person’s nature be judged by their appearance?”

“Before that person was exposed, wasn’t she also a model senior sister in the sect, dedicated to eliminating demons? Who would have thought that she was…”

The sounds of ceaseless whispering discussions filled the air. Qin Qingyi, being gawked at like a monkey for the first time, felt extremely uncomfortable. Even though most of the gazes directed at her were merely probing and curious, being watched by these eyes made her frown, feeling as though thousands of thorns were pricking her body, making her want to quickly escape the place.

In contrast, Feng Ying seemed to be accustomed to these stares. Even though most of the eyes looking at her carried dislike and wariness, she acted as if nothing was happening, only focusing on holding onto Qin Qingyi, refusing to let her leave.

Thinking of Feng Ying’s true identity, Qin Qingyi couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander. Was she so composed because her body wasn’t a fragile, mortal body born of flesh and blood?

With this thought, the look in Qin Qingyi’s eyes as she gazed at Feng Ying became a little subtle.

But regardless of the reason, it shouldn’t be a justification for lingering and entanglement here. She still had a pile of her own matters to deal with and couldn’t waste time with Feng Ying here.

Qin Qingyi looked at Feng Ying again, opening her mouth to persuade her with a sigh, “Since you won’t tell me, and won’t let me go, what do you intend to do?”

Feng Ying looked at her, but still only had one line: “Please, save her.”

Save whom? Save Feng Ning.

Except for the clear identity of the person to be saved, everything else—like what happened to Feng Ning, what incident occurred, where she was now, and how to save her—

Qin Qingyi was completely unaware.

But whenever she asked about anything else, Feng Ying would fall silent again.

Just when Qin Qingyi was contemplating whether to break free from Feng Ying and leave, or stay here and continue this entanglement, someone among the onlookers finally couldn’t hold back.

A female disciple, seeing Qin Qingyi and Feng Ying standing so close, looked at Feng Ying with wariness before calling out to Qin Qingyi from a distance:

“Senior Sister Qin, you should quickly get away from her. She’s a relative of a demon-possessed person, who knows when she might stab us in the back.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding area was no longer eerily silent. Instead, people began to whisper amongst themselves, their gazes towards Feng Ying becoming even more direct during their conversations.

Direct disgust and vigilance.

Facing the surrounding gazes, Feng Ying maintained her silence.

Qin Qingyi’s brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this, her confusion and unease growing stronger.

Demon-possessed person? Relative of a demon-possessed person?

She looked at Feng Ying, but Feng Ying evaded her gaze, unwilling to look directly into her eyes.

Seeing that she couldn’t get an explanation from Feng Ying, Qin Qingyi sighed, and could only look back at the female disciple who had just spoken, opening her mouth with a gentle smile: “This Junior Sister, I’ve been away for some time and am not aware of what has recently happened at the Sword Sect. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to tell me a little?”

Hearing her say this, the disciples who were initially confused as to why she dared to stand so close to Feng Ying all showed an “I see” expression.

So Senior Sister didn’t know about the events from a while ago? No wonder.

“Senior Sister Qin didn’t know what happened a while ago, and she was friends with the Feng sisters before, so that explains it.”

“It’s just, I wonder if Senior Sister Qin will still be so close to her after learning about what the elder Feng sister committed?”

Although these words were whispered very softly, they did not escape Qin Qingyi’s sharp ears.

In the Sword Sect, the only person related to Feng Ying by blood was Feng Ning.

They must be talking about Feng Ning’s matter, but judging by the sound of it, it didn’t seem like anything good.

As Qin Qingyi pondered, the disciple whom she had questioned finally spoke up.

She first cautiously glanced at Feng Ying, and seeing that she made no movement, she took a few steps towards Qin Qingyi, explaining the background to her.

“Senior Sister Qin, you are unaware that a while ago, demonic energy suddenly surged at the Summit of the Sword-Wielder. When the disciples went to investigate, they found that the demonic energy was emanating from the residence of the Feng sisters. When the disciples ventured inside, they saw Feng Ning—”

Upon saying Feng Ning’s name, the companion beside this disciple tugged at her sleeve. She paused, realizing she had spoken Feng Ning’s name, and suddenly changed her words.

“They saw that demon-possessed person, who bore an eight-tenths resemblance to Feng Ning, suddenly rush out of the room. The disciples couldn’t defeat her, so they could only back away. She rushed out of the Sword Sect and disappeared without a trace. When the disciples entered the room to investigate, they found the unconscious Feng Ying, and the injured Sect Leader.”

As she spoke, the female disciple’s tone carried unconcealed disgust.

“Later, we learned from the Sect Leader that the demon-possessed person had been hiding here, taking possession of Feng Ning. Then, taking advantage of the Sect Leader’s unpreparedness, she attacked her and fled, never to be seen again.”

After saying this, the other party saw that Qin Qingyi was still undefended against Feng Ying and couldn’t help but remind her, “Senior Sister Qin, you should stay far away from her.”

“She was in daily contact with Feng Ning, who was possessed by the demon. It’s possible she was also targeted by the demon long ago. Whether she is human or demon is still unknown, Senior Sister, you must be careful.”

After speaking, the other party looked at Feng Ying again, and seeing that she still showed no expression, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and retreated back into the crowd.

Feng Ning was possessed by a demon?!

Qin Qingyi’s mind was greatly shaken.

But what followed was a sense of realization.

No wonder, no wonder!

No wonder when faced with her conjecture, her Senior Aunt emphatically stressed that it was a “demon” that wounded her.

No wonder her Senior Aunt urgently summoned her back to the sect, intending to give her the position of Sect Leader… and no wonder Feng Ying was waiting for her here.

The feeling of oddness in her heart was finally aligned with her suspicions at this moment.

When she saw Shangguan Yu’s injuries at the time, she began to wonder who could have hurt her, but after much thought, she never suspected Feng Ning.

Firstly, as Senior Aunt’s only disciple, Feng Ning would never harm her own master, no matter what.

Secondly, Feng Ning had already injured her dantian and meridians during the last demon-slaying operation, and since then could no longer cultivate. Even if she wanted to injure someone, she didn’t have the capability.

She had never considered Feng Ning.

But precisely…

Precisely!!!

It had to be her!

The one person who was the first to be excluded from all her suspects!

No wonder she hadn’t seen Feng Ning or heard any news about her since returning.

When she arrived, she was already puzzled. The Sect Leader Senior Aunt’s injuries were bizarre, and the entire Sword Sect seemed to show an attitude that her injury was not serious, as if the Sword Sect disciples were unaware that Shangguan Yu was gravely injured and on the brink of death.

But regardless of the situation, as the Sect Leader’s disciple, Feng Ning should have at least paid a visit or two.

But no, from beginning to end, she had been in Shangguan Yu’s room for a long time, had never seen Feng Ning, nor had she heard Senior Aunt mention Feng Ning.

Senior Aunt wanted to pass on her position to her, but she should have made some arrangement for her own disciple. However, she hadn’t heard Shangguan Yu say anything about Feng Ning.

Instead, everyone only believed she had sustained some injuries, but nothing serious.

The whole Sword Sect was so consistent, so it could only be that Senior Aunt deliberately sealed off the news, not letting her true injuries be revealed to the public.

This was why there were not many people guarding the Sect Leader’s courtyard, with only Bai Lan, the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley, inside.

When she went, she didn’t see many disciples from the Summit of the Sword-Wielder. The outwardly relaxed but inwardly tight security didn’t raise any suspicion, and Shangguan Yu’s residence looked calm on the surface, but internally, she was suffering from injuries deep to the bone, with demonic energy surging.

Who would have thought that she was already at the end of her rope?

The disciples not far away were still worried about Qin Qingyi, advising her in turns to distance herself from Feng Ying.

Before she could figure out how to respond, another clear and cold voice rang out from outside the crowd.

“Gathering here, don’t you have your own proper business to attend to?”

The previously restless crowd immediately became silent upon hearing these words.

Qin Qingyi recognized the voice as Zhou Zhixue’s.

A path opened up in the middle of the crowd, at the end of which stood Zhou Zhixue.

Zhou Zhixue hurried along, her temples still carrying the wind and snow from Cliff Mountain. She rushed to the Sword Sect immediately after learning of her Senior Sister’s return, afraid of being even a moment late.

She held her sword, the blade still stained with the dark red blood of the demon race, and so was the hem of her clothes, carrying an unshakeable killing intent as she walked over.

“Are you that idle? If you have nothing to do, go practice more in the martial arts arena. Other disciples are fighting bloody battles against the demon race for the Sword Sect, and what are you doing? Badmouthing fellow disciples, will doing this help you advance your cultivation realm?”

Zhou Zhixue’s eyes were clouded with anger. She was born with a face sculpted from ice and frost, and normally didn’t like to smile. Now, with such sharp eyes and brows, she looked even more unapproachable.

Seeing her like this, the group of people who had been hostile toward Feng Ying instantly cowered like quails, not daring to utter another word.

Seeing that they still hadn’t left, their feet seemingly rooted to the ground, Zhou Zhixue became even more annoyed.

“What are you still standing here for? Waiting for me to arrange a banquet for you?”

With her reprimand, everyone scattered like birds, fleeing quickly.

Only when the irrelevant people had left did Zhou Zhixue finally look at Qin Qingyi, and Feng Ying beside her.

Seeing Feng Ying continuously tugging at Qin Qingyi’s sleeve, Zhou Zhixue frowned, but ultimately said nothing more.

She knew that Feng Ying was guarding the foot of Hidden Snow Peak. Ever since Feng Ning was possessed by a demon and left the Sword Sect, Feng Ying had been utterly listless every day, guarding the foot of Hidden Snow Peak, muttering that only the eldest Senior Sister could save Feng Ning.

Naturally, others didn’t believe her words, but this person couldn’t be driven away. She insisted on waiting for Qin Qingyi’s return. Zhou Zhixue had tried to persuade her, but couldn’t convince her, and realizing that nothing she said worked, she stopped wasting her effort and let her be.

At least she was just standing here and hadn’t caused any other trouble.

No one knew where Senior Sister had gone. She had asked her Senior Aunt, but Senior Aunt refused to tell her.

Where exactly did Senior Sister go? What did she do? Why was she missing for so long?

She had too many questions she wanted to ask.

Zhou Zhixue kept a straight face, preparing to go over and demand an explanation.

She hadn’t told her anything, only saying she was going out for a few days, and it had been many “few days” now.

She quickly walked towards Qin Qingyi, but paused a few steps away, first casting a cleansing spell on herself. After the bloodstains on her body and sword disappeared, she dispersed the killing intent surrounding her, sheathed her Chang Le sword, and then walked up to Qin Qingyi.

A stray lock of slightly messy long hair escaped from her hair clasp and brushed against Zhou Zhixue’s cheek.

Qin Qingyi watched her, reached out, and tucked that strand of hair behind her ear, then said with a smile, “Junior Sister, your hair is messy.”

Recalling how Zhou Zhixue had just reprimanded the other disciples, Qin Qingyi’s eyes curved in amusement: “The person molded from ice and snow also has a temper now? Reprimanding them like that, aren’t you afraid they’ll complain about you behind your back?”

Zhou Zhixue was slightly embarrassed by Qin Qingyi’s sudden intimacy. She was originally feeling a bit ashamed, but after hearing what Qin Qingyi said, her brow furrowed again: “Why care about them? I conduct myself properly, let them say what they will.”

Qin Qingyi found it amusing.

However, she also knew that her Junior Sister had this kind of temperament, so she wasn’t surprised by her answer. She reached out and smoothed Zhou Zhixue’s furrowed brow, advising, “Alright, don’t always frown. When such a beautiful person as you frowns, others will think I’ve somehow made you unhappy again. You should smile more, you promised me.”

Zhou Zhixue relaxed her brows, clearly very happy to see Qin Qingyi. She even gripped Qin Qingyi’s hand that was resting on her cheek, a little possessively, and lowered her eyes: “Senior Sister.”

She called out softly, sounding a little like a complaint, her eyes lingering: “You were gone for a long time. It was much longer than the ‘few days’ mentioned in your letter… Senior Sister, you broke your promise.”

Qin Qingyi suddenly remembered that she had left a letter for her Junior Sister when she left, saying she would be back in a few days.

But after returning to her clan, she was tied up with various matters. Her mother’s ascension, and her subsequent succession, meant she had more things to deal with.

In this way, days turned into more days, dragging on for more than twenty days.

“It’s Senior Sister’s fault. How about I make amends to you another day?” Qin Qingyi had no choice but to beg for forgiveness.

Fortunately, Zhou Zhixue was only complaining a little. Seeing her so agreeable, she raised an eyebrow, in a good mood: “There’s no need to make amends. When the battle with the demon race is over, it’ll be enough for Senior Sister to accompany Junior Sister for a drink.”

With that matter settled, Zhou Zhixue finally diverted some of her attention. She looked at Feng Ying, who was standing stiffly like a block of wood, and sighed softly.

“Now that my Senior Sister is back, whatever you want to say, you should tell her. Why have you been unwilling to speak?”

Hearing her question, Feng Ying, whose eyes had been dull, looked up again. She looked at the two people in front of her, her voice hoarse:

“She is dying.”

“I am the one who harmed her.”