After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 128

Following closely behind Zhou Zhixue, Qin Qingyi familiar with the route, entered Hidden Snow Peak.

It was quite a coincidence that Yan Li had previously applied for a long-term pass to Hidden Snow Peak so that she could contact Qin Qingyi more easily, which now benefited Qin Qingyi.

However, just as she passed the Hidden Snow Peak barrier, a sword was placed across her neck.

“Outer disciple, why are you sneaking around behind me?”

The voice sounded familiar.

Qin Qingyi looked down and saw the sword tassel on the sword, and couldn’t help but curve her lips slightly.

Seeing her remain silent, the blade moved closer to her carotid artery. The sharp sword aura brought a sting to her neck almost immediately.

“Speak! What is your intention in coming to Hidden Snow Peak?!”

This brat is really heartless.

Qin Qingyi secretly gritted her teeth, but put on a facade of innocence and fear. She looked up, timidly gazing at Zhou Zhixue: “Zhou Zhixue, have you forgotten me? I am Yan Li, who was saved by Senior Sister Qin before…”

Before she could think of what to say next, Zhou Zhixue coldly interrupted her: “I know who you are. I’m asking why you came to Hidden Snow Peak.”

Zhou Zhixue’s eyes were indifferent, devoid of emotion, and her words were chillingly cold.

Qin Qingyi was surprised and momentarily speechless.

To be honest, she hadn’t thought of an excuse yet.

But then, a brilliant idea struck her.

Qin Qingyi feigned sadness and said hesitantly: “Junior Sister received a great favor from Senior Sister Qin, so I specially came to mourn Senior Sister Qin…”

Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhixue’s expression grew even colder upon hearing this, the tangible chill almost freezing Qin Qingyi.

Which sentence did I say that provoked this little lunatic again?

“The departed has passed, there’s no need for excessive mourning. You don’t need to come again in the future. With this time, you’d better focus on your cultivation.”

After a long pause, Zhou Zhixue finally uttered these words, then she put away the Chang Le sword and turned to leave.

Her gaze was distant and indifferent, refusing to even spare another glance for Qin Qingyi.

Seeing this, Qin Qingyi quickly grabbed her. She couldn’t let her leave; she had just been given a notice to leave before even getting inside. How could that be allowed?

But Zhou Zhixue’s movement was too fast, and she only managed to catch a section of her sleeve.

“Zhou… Senior Sister Zhou…” Qin Qingyi pretended to be pitiful.

Yan Li was brought in by her and arranged into the outer sect. She had also met the Junior Sister before, so calling Zhou Zhixue “Senior Sister” was not wrong. However, since she wasn’t the real Yan Li, calling her own Junior Sister “Senior Sister” still felt somewhat psychologically awkward.

Zhou Zhixue’s attempt to leave was interrupted by the pull. She frowned and asked coldly, “What else?”

Qin Qingyi remained hesitant. In Zhou Zhixue’s eyes, this meant she had no reason but was trying to cling to her. Wasting such precious time not cultivating, but coming to Hidden Snow Peak, indicated impure intentions.

Consequently, the disgust in her eyes intensified, and her voice was icy: “If there’s nothing, you’d better go to class soon. Elder Cui is on duty today. If you skip her class, be careful you won’t pass the disciple assessment.”

Qin Qingyi cursed the intrusive brat in her heart, but still spoke softly on the surface: “In the past, the Eldest Senior Sister lent a sword manual to this disciple for understanding. This disciple has comprehended ninety percent of the manual, and now whenever I flip through it, it always evokes painful memories that are hard to suppress…” As she said this, Qin Qingyi carefully watched Zhou Zhixue’s expression, hoping to see a hint of sorrow on her face.

But unfortunately, she saw nothing, because Zhou Zhixue remained expressionless and cold.

She’s driving me mad!

This brat isn’t sad at all!

I raised her for nothing!

And she said so much, yet the brat didn’t respond even once, making her sing a solo!

Helplessly, Qin Qingyi could only force herself to continue:

“…So I came today to return this sword manual.” Saying this, Qin Qingyi took out a sword manual from her Universe Sleeve.

Her words were almost seamless.

As expected, Zhou Zhixue frowned upon hearing this, said nothing more, and simply threw a phrase at her: “Come in. Follow me and don’t wander off.”

With that, she walked ahead to lead the way.

Qin Qingyi followed behind her, finally having time to observe the Junior Sister she hadn’t seen for over three years.

She was thinner than before; the small amount of weight Qin Qingyi had helped her gain was now gone.

Has the food at Hidden Snow Peak gotten worse?

Thinking this, Qin Qingyi shook her head. What am I thinking? Junior Sister has already achieved ‘Bigu’ (abstaining from grains), why would she still need mortal food?

There must be another reason for her being so thin. Yan Li said she was close to death, and now it seemed not far from the truth.

They walked in silence. Qin Qingyi followed behind Zhou Zhixue, meticulously observing every plant and tree on Hidden Snow Peak.

Since their Master had ascended to the upper realm early, Hidden Snow Peak was left with only the four of them. With her “death,” the already quiet peak became even lonelier.

It seemed that after her “death,” the remaining three Senior and Junior siblings hadn’t managed Hidden Snow Peak properly. Otherwise, why would the ground be covered in fallen leaves with no one to clear them?

She sighed, which Zhou Zhixue caught from the front: “Why are you sighing?”

Qin Qingyi’s gaze swept over the scattered peach blossoms on the ground, then she looked up and met Zhou Zhixue’s eyes, responding in a low voice: “This disciple was simply moved by a sudden feeling.”

She concocted a half-truth: “In the past, when I came to seek guidance from the Eldest Senior Sister, the peach blossoms here were always blooming profusely. You could see Hidden Snow Peak from afar, but now…”

But now the ground is covered in fallen flowers with no one to clear them!!

The beautiful scenery is completely ruined!!!

I’m going to beat these lazy bums to death!!!

Qin Qingyi was fuming inwardly. When she was here, she would often spread some spiritual power in this peach orchard to keep the peach blossoms in perpetual bloom. Not only could they enjoy the flowers, but they could also pick some peaches to eat.

Now that she was gone, no one was taking care of this place.

It was important to know that these peach trees were the origin of Hidden Snow Peak’s name. Although Hidden Snow Peak was high in altitude, it never snowed. Only the vast peach orchard on the peak, where the pink and white blossoms in full bloom looked like snow.

Hidden Snow Peak had no snow. Instead, the surrounding peaks would have snow every winter. Master always joked that perhaps an immortal once cultivated on Hidden Snow Peak, and the lingering spiritual energy on the peak shielded it from the snow. Only the very top of the broken cliff had a hint of chill and fluttering snow.

Zhou Zhixue fell silent upon hearing her words.

Her eyes similarly swept over the flower petals covering the ground. She pursed her lips before speaking again: “I only returned to the sect today. I will clean it up later.”

It sounded like an explanation, and Qin Qingyi nodded in satisfaction inwardly. She’s teachable.

The rest of the way, Zhou Zhixue wasn’t so silent. As she walked towards Qin Qingyi’s former residence, she casually asked the “Yan Li” behind her: “It seems I haven’t seen you for a while. Were you not in the sect?”

Qin Qingyi, following behind, hadn’t expected her to ask so suddenly, but she wasn’t at a loss for an answer. After all, every time Yan Li left, she would first accept a sect mission that required her to go down the mountain, and then use the excuse of doing the mission to go looking for Qin Qingyi.

This time must be the same. When she decided to return to the Sword Sect using Yan Li’s identity, she had received everything from Yan Li, including the details of this sect mission.

“This disciple accepted a sect mission and was away for over half a month. I only returned today.”

This was not wrong. She had indeed returned today, and she did have a sect mission. If Zhou Zhixue had doubts and checked, she would find it to be true.

“We’ve arrived.”

The clear voice rang out again. Qin Qingyi looked up. Indeed, they had arrived.

This was her former cave dwelling, except—

It looked as if someone was living here.

Logically, since she had been “dead” for over three years, this place should be deserted.

Zhou Zhixue looked away unnaturally under Qin Qingyi’s surprised gaze.

“My cave dwelling collapsed. Recently… I’ve been borrowing this place to stay.”

So that’s it? Qin Qingyi was clearly unconvinced by this excuse, but with her current identity, it was not appropriate to expose such a clumsy lie.

It was just borrowing her cave dwelling. They had even had intimate skin contact before, so she wouldn’t care about such trivial matters.

So Qin Qingyi kindly refrained from asking how her cave dwelling had collapsed, and simply pretended to believe her words.

“Come in. The bookshelf is on the left side upon entering.” Zhou Zhixue walked in first and motioned to her, pointing to the bookshelf on the left.

“I need to wash up. Please make yourself at home.” Zhou Zhixue said, picking up clean clothes and heading to the courtyard’s bathing pool.

Qin Qingyi agreed, trying her best to ignore the traces in the cave dwelling that didn’t belong to her. She quickly placed the sword manual used to deceive Zhou Zhixue onto the bookshelf, then tactfully retreated to the courtyard.

It wouldn’t be right to pry into her Junior Sister’s privacy, would it?

Qin Qingyi rubbed her nose, considering herself a gentleman.

She looked up at the sky. Seeing that it was still early, Qin Qingyi casually wiped the steps and simply squatted by the wall.

Her gaze casually swept over the courtyard. The outside hadn’t changed much and was the same as when she left, until she saw a flower near the corner of the wall that was almost withered. Qin Qingyi casually spread a bit of spiritual power over it, bringing it back to life.

When Zhou Zhixue finished washing and changed into a set of clothes, this is what she saw:

Qin Qingyi was lowering her head, talking to a weakly blooming flower: “You must bloom well in the future, protect yourself, and work hard to fight for nutrients with your other companions.”

Zhou Zhixue: ?

This Junior Sister seems a little crazy.

Seeing her come out, Qin Qingyi also stood up, patted the non-existent dust off her body, and approached Zhou Zhixue: “Senior Sister, are you ready?”

Zhou Zhixue let out a faint “Mm”: “Follow me.”

Qin Qingyi nodded obediently and followed Zhou Zhixue as they walked out.

Before bathing, Zhou Zhixue had said she would take her to mourn herself.

Mentioning this, Qin Qingyi couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation in her heart.

This strangeness reached its peak when she saw her own tombstone.

She actually had a tombstone?

Qin Qingyi looked at the tombstone engraved with her name, and couldn’t stop her mouth from twitching.

Deep in the peach forest, a very clean tomb, with a tombstone erected at the very front, bearing Qin Qingyi’s full name.

Zhou Zhixue had already lit three incense sticks and was bowing towards the tombstone.

Qin Qingyi followed suit, lit three incense sticks, and stood beside Zhou Zhixue, bowing down as well.

But at the same time, she muttered in her heart:

Mourning myself, just thinking about it is weird.

After the mourning, she placed the burning incense sticks into the incense burner. Looking at her own tombstone, Qin Qingyi was moved and asked softly:

“Is Senior Sister Qin buried here?”

Zhou Zhixue was silent for a moment, then said: “This is just a tomb of clothes and hat.”

Qin Qingyi: “Huh?”

She was momentarily stunned.

Tomb of clothes and hat? Didn’t I use my tail to create a clone?

Not buried?

Why wasn’t I buried? What are they keeping my body for?! What kind of evil things are they going to do?!

Qin Qingyi suddenly had a bad feeling. She cautiously asked: “Then why didn’t you bury Senior Sister? And why erect this tomb of clothes and hat? Is there a profound meaning?”

By the end of her sentence, Qin Qingyi’s voice began to tremble.

She spoke a little softly, and she didn’t know if Zhou Zhixue had heard her.

Zhou Zhixue didn’t raise her head, still staring at the tombstone, her fingers affectionately stroking the name on it.

Qin, Qing, Yi.

Senior Sister.

Her Senior Sister.

“Senior Sister… One day I will bring your soul back. By then, you will open your eyes and look at me, and you will only see me.”

As she spoke, Zhou Zhixue lowered her head, and the scattered hair around her forehead blurred her face slightly. To Qin Qingyi, she looked like a malicious ghost that had just crawled out of hell, extremely gloomy.

Qin Qingyi was completely dumbfounded.

She wants to bring my soul back?

Has Junior Sister gone mad to this extent?

She’s crazy, she must be crazy to be like this.

Why hasn’t anyone managed her?

What are Xie Su and Hu Yu doing?

Are they dead?

They’re not even managing their own Junior Sister and just letting her go crazy like this?

Qin Qingyi recalled what Yan Li had told her before, that Zhou Zhixue made trip after trip to Yishan Cliff, and even went to the Nether Ghost Realm several times, always returning with injuries.

Could it be that she wasn’t actually going to eliminate demons to vent her anger, but to retrieve her soul?

The moment this possibility occurred to her, Qin Qingyi felt a chill run down her spine.

If Junior Sister discovered that I was still alive, and even standing in front of her right now, would I be stabbed to death immediately?

Qin Qingyi quietly swallowed, and subtly took two steps back.

She needed to stay away from her Junior Sister.

How did Junior Sister become so terrifying after three years?

Fortunately, Zhou Zhixue was completely immersed in her own emotions and didn’t notice anything unusual about her.

When the mourning was over, Zhou Zhixue led her out again.

Although Qin Qingyi was very familiar with the path here, in order not to expose her identity, she quietly followed behind Zhou Zhixue.

What a joke. If she were exposed, given her Junior Sister’s current mentality, she would probably be finely chopped into mincemeat.

Or perhaps not that big.

Qin Qingyi thought bitterly for some morbid fun.

They walked in silence until they reached the edge of the peach forest, where they saw a person waiting outside the forest in the distance.

Zhou Zhixue paused slightly, quickly recognized the person, and continued walking out.

Qin Qingyi also saw him. The figure was very familiar. Who else could it be but her Second Senior Brother Xie Su, who didn’t talk much but was full of cunning?

Tsk, this kid’s schemes are getting deeper the older he gets. She didn’t like it.

He’s even more like a real fox than me, truly unlikeable.

Xie Su, however, was unaware of Qin Qingyi’s thoughts. He looked at the two people walking out from the depths of the peach forest, nodded slightly to Qin Qingyi, and then said to Zhou Zhixue: “Junior Sister, are you free?”

Zhou Zhixue frowned and replied: “What is it, Senior Brother?”

Xie Su responded gently: “You are injured, so Senior Brother thought of bringing you some tonics.”

Injured?

Qin Qingyi narrowed her eyes and couldn’t help but observe Zhou Zhixue again. Her complexion was a bit pale, but her spiritual energy fluctuation was steady. Even if she was injured, it shouldn’t be serious.

Regarding Yan Li’s claim that Zhou Zhixue was close to death, after this interaction, she really hadn’t sensed much of it.

However, she should say goodbye now. After all, they were the Senior and Junior siblings now. What was she?

Qin Qingyi couldn’t help but feel a little sour.

She said goodbye to Zhou Zhixue: “I’ve troubled Senior Sister today. Mourning the Eldest Senior Sister… the departed has passed, the living should live well. If there’s nothing else, this disciple will take her leave.”

Xie Su didn’t ask Qin Qingyi why she was in such a hurry to leave, only smiling and saying: “You haven’t collected the prize for the first place in the training arena. Remember to go and get it.”

Qin Qingyi responded and ran away like a rabbit.

After she had walked far away, Xie Su still stood there watching her departure direction, and the smile on his face faded.

He murmured distractedly: “Why does she look familiar?”

But before he could think further, Zhou Zhixue interrupted him: “Senior Brother, didn’t you say you had medicine for me?”

She looked at Xie Su, seemingly only for the purpose of asking for the medicine.

Xie Su was slightly startled and replied with a smile: “Alright, but I came in a hurry, and the medicine is still in my room. I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble Junior Sister to come with me.”

Zhou Zhixue kept a cold, snowy face, and nodded expressionlessly: “Then let’s go now.”

Xie Su smiled: “Of course, Junior Sister, follow me.”