After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 2

“Wu—”

Countless sharp gazes fell like blades upon the two frail women. The little girl, utterly terrified, clutched tightly at Wu Ruo’s sleeve, her small face deathly pale.

Wu Ruo sighed inwardly, then calmly raised her head and adopted a different tone of voice. “Esteemed Immortal Lady, how may I serve you?”

Her ink-black hair, usually tied up with silver bell ornaments, now cascaded loosely over her shoulders, devoid of any silver adornments, revealing a simple, unadorned darkness.

Jiang Qingbei froze for a moment, then shot forward like a straight sword, only to halt abruptly in front of the woman. Frowning impatiently, she waved her hand.

A fierce gust of wind followed!

The jade-white veil fluttered in the wind, slipping from one ear before finally succumbing to the force, dissolving into a wisp of mist that drifted away.

A gaunt face was suddenly revealed to the crowd. The woman’s skin was pale not the jade-like fairness of noble birth, but the sickly pallor of frailty and blood deficiency. Even her lips were faintly colored, devoid of makeup, giving her the appearance of a fragile willow swaying in the wind.

Unfamiliar. Just a mortal woman.

“You!” The haughty young girl, finding the woman before her not the one she had expected, was momentarily at a loss for words.

Wu Ruo bowed her head, performing the customary mortal’s salute to cultivators, and said softly, ” Immortal Lady, may I ask what brings you here?”

Indeed, it had been less than a year since her rebirth after dying under Luo Qingyi’s sword, and she had long since vanished from the martial world. Those who once knew her must have already forgotten her face.

After reforging her body, her appearance had changed drastically. Jiang Qingbei shouldn’t recognize her now.

Then… if she were to encounter Luo Qingyi, the other woman would surely never believe that this frail, weak figure before her was the same former wife who had once been left battered and broken, her soul shattered under her blade.

That was for the best.

She no longer wished to have even the slightest contact with that person.

Meeting Luo Qingyi, falling in love with Luo Qingyi, it had been the gravest mistake of her past life.

Jiang Qingbei felt as though something was stuck in her throat, leaving her momentarily speechless, her expression darkening. The noble-born young lady had been so certain of her guess, only to be met with an unfamiliar face.

In a fit of temper, she petulantly flicked her sleeve. “Hmph, my mistake! Since your veil is gone, consider this my compensation! I’ve never used it!”

With that, she impatiently tossed a small object into Wu Ruo’s hands. The surrounding commoners merely watched with curiosity, but the cultivators erupted into an uproar.

“Wow, the generosity of the Immortal Lady from Zhiyuan Immortal Sect is truly unmatched!”

“A mere scrap of a veil in exchange for a spirit-silk handkerchief, this woman’s luck is unbelievable.”

The young immortal flicked her long ponytail and strode away without a backward glance, leaving Wu Ruo at the center of the crowd’s attention, surrounded by countless pairs of covetous eyes.

Even without her spiritual power, Wu Ruo could sense the ill-intent directed at her.

A handkerchief.

Once, when she had followed Luo Qingyi to Zhiyuan Immortal Sect, she had owned one just like it.

Back then, Luo Qingyi had exchanged her accumulated merit points in the inner disciples’ treasury for a spirit-silk handkerchief.

Back then, when I first left Miaojiang, everything was new and fascinating to me, and I was utterly dazzled by the splendor of the Central Plains in the cultivation world. Once, I happened to catch a glimpse of a handkerchief Jiang Qingbei had casually discarded, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy in my heart, unintentionally overheard by Luo Qingyi.

She didn’t say anything at the time, but months later, as if performing magic, she presented me with one and kissed my ear, whispering, “Anuo, you don’t need to envy others. Whatever you like, I’ll give it to you.”

Whatever I liked.

Indeed, Luo Qingyi kept her word.

Later, whether it was the radiant Huanming Pearl around my neck or the fox-fur mantle that enhanced cultivation, as long as I desired it, Luo Qingyi would move heaven and earth to obtain it for me.

Even if it meant being punished by her sect, stripped of her position as the master of Luoxue Peak, she would still take my hand without hesitation, standing before me to shield me from all the scorn and accusations.

But in the end, this happiness was something I forcibly seized through what the world called demonic heresy.

I should atone with my life, returning all that was once beautiful.

Back to the peerless genius of the Emotionless Sword Path, Luo Qingyi, pure and untainted.

The memories of the past nearly overwhelmed her thoughts, her eyes glazing over for a moment before she refocused. Holding the handkerchief Jiang Qingbei had casually given as compensation, she pondered briefly before reaching a decision.

Before Jiang Qingbei could walk too far, she lowered her gaze, adopting the demeanor of an ignorant mortal woman, and said in a trembling voice, “Esteemed Immortals. This humble girl is but a mortal. Keeping an immortal’s possession serves no purpose. Might any kind-hearted immortal be willing to trade it for some useful healing medicine?”

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, any attempt at deceit would be swiftly exposed. Soon, a medical cultivator made an offer, and the exchange was quickly settled.

A single handkerchief for ten low-grade restorative pills by the standards of the cultivation world, it was a loss. But for a defenseless commoner, it was the best deal possible.

The little girl had been petrified from the start. Now, dazed, she mechanically swallowed a pill fed to her by Wu Nuo, her pale face instantly gaining a rosy hue.

“Big sister, does this mean we have money now?”

“Yes, it does.” Wu Nuo smiled in relief, then negotiated further, persuading the cultivator buyer to escort them out of Hundred Merchants Street.

Walking along the mortal path, the little girl kept her head down and whispered, “I was worried earlier that if you sold that scary sister’s gift, she might come back to scold you.”

“Don’t worry. Cultivators rarely care about material possessions, and she’s a direct disciple of a major sect, she keeps her word and won’t fuss over it. If we hadn’t sold it right away, we’d have invited far greater trouble.”

After all, “a guilty man needs no accuser”, in the cultivation world, murder for treasure was all too common. She couldn’t afford to let such a liability linger.

As for exchanging it for pills that cultivators saw as commonplace, it was more than enough to cure the little girl’s family of their ailments and allow them to work with dignity in their village.

The little girl nodded blankly, then couldn’t resist asking, “Big sister, why did that lady earlier lift your veil?”

“Perhaps she mistook me for someone else,” Wu Nuo replied. “It’s nothing.”

“You!” The little girl blinked, her braids swaying with each step. She wanted to ask her sister if she knew that person but held back.

When the two of them were scolded by Jiang Qingbei, she could clearly feel her sister’s hand suddenly tense up, as if all strength had drained away, trembling unconsciously.

Her sister and that person must have known each other before.

But she knew her sister was a very mysterious person. A year ago, she had inexplicably arrived in their village, saving her from nearly being harmed by bandits, then stayed long-term in their home. Since then, they had lived as one family, their days filled with warmth and happiness.

Her sister’s past was like a fog, but in her eyes, her sister was the towering figure in her world. She adored her sister the most!

The little girl’s world was black and white. Lost in thought, her last words slipped out without thinking.

Wu Ruo couldn’t help but smile, ruffling the girl’s thick, dark hair.

She knew what the girl wanted to ask. Or rather, she had always had the ability to read subtle expressions. Faced with a child as transparent as a blank sheet of paper, she understood the question but couldn’t bring herself to answer truthfully.

Her days in the mortal world were quiet and beautiful. Living with a mother and daughter, she was free from the responsibilities of being the Holy Maiden of Miaojiang, from the infamy and hostile gazes she once endured in the Zhiyuan Immortal Sect.

And there was no Luo Qingyi.

It was as if she had returned to her days in the Miaojiang village, before she inherited the role of Holy Maiden, just a carefree girl.

“I like Xiao Yu’er the most too,” Wu Ruo said.

Xiao Yu’er reminded her of the little sister from her neighbor’s family in Miaojiang, who used to cling to her all the time.

But now, all of that had become a thing of the past. The former Holy Maiden had left her tribe for love, and after the vicissitudes of life, she longed to return home but didn’t dare.

Because she no longer had a home.

All she wanted was to stay in a quiet village in the mortal world, dragging her body that had lost all its cultivation, living out the rest of her life as an ordinary person.

The two walked along the country path. Before they even entered the house, they heard a voice calling from inside, “Wu Niu, Xiao Yu’er, you’re back?”

Wu Niu was Wu Ruo. Unable to use her real name, she had casually made up a local alias, drawing no suspicion from anyone.

Wu Ruo greeted Xiao Yu’er’s mother with a smile, helping her sit up. She placed the fortifying pill she had unexpectedly obtained today into the woman’s mouth and softly recounted the day’s events.

“Mom! Sister was amazing! That immortal lady was so fierce, she rushed over and tore off her veil. I was so scared, but Sister wasn’t afraid at all!”

“That immortal lady is a good person too,” Wu Ruo said with a smile. “Many immortals are unreasonable, but this time, she was willing to compensate me with a handkerchief, that’s quite rare.”

As Luo Qingyi’s junior sister, taught by her personally, Jiang Qingbei was not inherently bad.

But still…

She sat quietly by the bed, watching Xiao Yu’er and her mother enjoying their time together, when a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

Why had Jiang Qingbei reacted so strongly upon seeing someone who resembled her?

By all accounts, she had been dead for eight years. The cultivation world should have long forgotten her. And Luo Qingyi remained as radiant as ever, flawless like the bright moon, untainted by any blemish.

Back then, she had truly believed she was dead.

Yet just a year ago, she had inexplicably crawled out from a demonic flower blooming in the depths of the demon realm, her body fully reconstructed, though with slight differences in appearance.

It was a desolate and silent wasteland, devoid of any living beings for miles around. Her rebirth was nothing more than an accidental interlude.

And no one possessed any evidence that she had returned to life.

Jiang Qingbei, couldn’t possibly know. And it was even less likely that Luo Qingyi had sent her to find.

Perhaps it was just a fleeting moment of confusion upon facing someone from her past. It meant nothing.

The corner of her lips curled into a bitter, self-deprecating smile, even as she desperately tried to suppress her own thoughts.

Stop dwelling on it. Stop thinking about it.

How could an insignificant, ordinary existence like hers ever dare to yearn for the radiant moon in the sky?

Night had fallen. After settling Yu’er and her mother, she pulled the blanket over herself, yet she lay awake for a long time, staring at the bright moon outside her window.

The moon was serene, its jade-like disk smooth and gentle.

Its faint glow enveloped the soft clouds, like a string of prayer beads just out of reach compassionate and impartial, offering solace to every hesitant soul in both the mortal world and the realm of cultivation.

This was a moon shared by both worlds.

As the moonlight deepened, its shadow flowed from the mortal realm into the ethereal world of cultivation. And atop the towering peak of Zhiyuan Immortal Sect, a woman sat suspended in meditation, her ancient and tranquil gaze fixed upon the distant moon.

“Senior Sister, today I met a woman.”

Jiang Qingbei stood beneath a snow-capped tree, looking up at the figure whose robes fluttered in the wind, her wide sleeves billowing like sails in the mountain gale. Once again, admiration swelled in her heart.

Senior Sister truly was the most powerful woman in the world, save for one unresolved matter.

“Hm.” The woman responded softly. “I know.”

Her hair cascaded like endless snowfall, her features as exquisite as a painting, breathtakingly beautiful. Yet her eyes remained still, like an ancient well without a single ripple.

Her voice carried both longing and sorrow.

“Have you awakened?”

After Jiang Qingbei left, her gaze shattered in an instant, as though countless tangled crimson threads had slithered through thick, viscous, and laced with an imperceptible obsession.

Clutched in her hand was a wisp of light, thin as thread, a tracking artifact Jiang Qingbei had left on the table. The soft glow quickly seeped into her skin, merging with the snow-white fairness of her wrist.

“Ah Nuo so, you’re here.”

She laughed softly, the complexity in her eyes vanishing in an instant, too subtle to detect.

Support After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign