After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 27.2

The Spirit Vein Pavilion was where the Zhiyuan Immortal Sect assigned missions to its disciples and where they could complete tasks in exchange for merit points. Each month, representatives from the four main peaks took turns on duty.

Being on duty not only meant stationing someone to oversee the pavilion day and night but also entailed handling any unclaimed mission requests.

“Senior Sister, unfortunately, last month, the Hundred Flowers Peak failed to complete a certain mission. The disciples who took it still haven’t returned by the deadline. Now it’s fallen into our hands, and I intend to accept this mission.”

“Very well,” Luo Qingyi nodded. “Qinglan, since the Hundred Flowers Peak couldn’t complete it, the mission must be fraught with danger and hidden perils. The task itself is secondary be cautious above all else.”

“What? What danger? Little Lanzi, you’re going out?”

The straw in the greenhouse suddenly scattered as a figure crawled out from the pile, several golden stalks still clinging to her. It was Jiang Qingbei, who had been dead drunk the night before.

The greenhouse was warm and comfortable, and the straw made for a decent enough bed for someone who didn’t care about living standards. But for the usually pampered young mistress to have actually slept there all night without waking up?

Wu Ruo stared at her in shock. Jiang Qingbei, still groggy, hadn’t fully processed what she’d just heard. Finally taking in her surroundings, she let out a shrill shriek: “Ah! How could I sleep in such a dump?!”

“I thought you’d wake up soon after getting drunk and go back to your own quarters,” Wu Ruo said sheepishly.

Alright, maybe she had gone a bit too far. But she’d been heavily intoxicated herself last night, and dragging the cleanliness-obsessed Jiang Qingbei into the greenhouse had already exhausted her.

“You!” Jiang Qingbei screeched. “No loyalty! Mean! Scoundrel! How dare you make me sleep in this dump! This isn’t a place for humans, it’s for animals! Ugh!”

Luo Qingyi shot her a glance. “Qingbei, quiet. Go inside and tidy yourself up, then come back out. We have business to discuss.”

Jiang Qingbei huffed, angrily smoothing her hair, which still had a few golden straw strands tangled in it. She stomped inside, her footsteps thudding loudly, and emerged a short while later. Aside from the disgusted look on her face as if she’d stepped in something foul she was otherwise presentable.

“What’s this mission about?”

Yue Qinglan unrolled a scroll. As it opened, glowing characters lifted into the air, forming a three-dimensional ink painting.

“A strange temple has appeared in the Five Provinces Continent, its red brick walls are mottled, its tiles haphazardly arranged. The client provided no further details, only requesting an investigation into the temple’s origins.”

“Red bricks?” Jiang Qingbei, still sulking, turned her face away when Wu Ruo glanced at her. “Who builds temples with red bricks these days? Ever since that incident with the demonic cultist, red bricks have been considered inauspicious.”

At this, she couldn’t resist turning back to gauge the others’ reactions. Seeing Wu Ruo’s stunned expression, she smirked smugly. “Hmph, never heard of it, have you? Look around our Zhiyuan Immortal Sect not a single building is made entirely of red bricks. Even the Hundred Flowers Peak, which loves red the most, uses pink dye for their walls. So ugly. Our Falling Snow Peak’s blue is much prettier.”

“Hmm, we do look the best, but now’s not the time to discuss that.” Yue Qinglan said seriously, steering the conversation back. “This temple is indeed eerie, but there haven’t been any particularly horrifying rumors about it. It’s as if it’s just an ordinary building with nothing unusual at all.”

Jiang Qingbei snorted. “Then why go? If nothing’s happened, why bother going there? Are you just looking for an excuse to slack off because you find Wu Ruo too dull to teach swordplay?”

“You!” Yue Qinglan rubbed her temples, resisting the urge to knock Jiang Qingbei on the head. The young mistress had a habit of lashing out when she couldn’t get her way, though her barbs were hardly lethal.

Wu Ruo didn’t seem to take it to heart, but Jiang Qingbei shouldn’t drag her into attacking Wu Ruo like this after all, Wu Ruo didn’t have a sect leader backing her up!

Jiang Qingbei, however, seemed rather pleased with herself. “Fine, go if you must. I won’t join you. Be careful on the road. I suppose I’ll stoop to take over your duties and act as Wu Ruo’s swordplay instructor for a while.”

“Alright, I’ll set off tomorrow. Then I’ll leave things in your hands during this time.” Yue Qinglan said. “Senior Sister, I’ll try to.”

“No.”

Luo Qingyi, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up, cutting Yue Qinglan off. Her tone was firm. “Qinglan, Qingbei. Both of you will stay at Luoxue Peak. I’ll take responsibility for this mission.”

“Huh?” Jiang Qingbei blinked. “Is this mission really that important? Senior Sister, even you’re getting involved?”

“If I go, it’ll be faster.” Luo Qingyi glanced at her and replied coolly. “Qinglan, I appreciate your hard work. Keep Qingbei out of trouble. I’ll return soon.”

“Understood.”

Wu Ruo had stayed quiet the whole time. The mission discussion was giving her a headache, the consequences of last night’s drinking were finally catching up to her. She tried to focus on what the others were saying, but her gaze unconsciously drifted to Luo Qingyi.

At first, Luo Qingyi’s expression had been indifferent, merely assessing Yue Qinglan’s suitability for the task. But the moment the red-brick temple was mentioned, Luo Qingyi’s eyes seemed to snap open.

Wu Ruo hadn’t imagined it in that instant, Luo Qingyi’s expression had shifted.

It was a look of disbelief, almost nostalgic, before she quickly schooled her features back into neutrality, pretending nothing had happened.

Wu Ruo had no intention of prying into Luo Qingyi’s past, but the enigma surrounding her weighed on her mind. Luo Qingyi was her Dao companion, yet she knew nothing about her. Was that reasonable?

But Luo Qingyi was the master of a peak, an immortal revered across the Three Realms. It was only natural she had her own history.

The others continued their discussion. After giving Yue Qinglan her instructions, Luo Qingyi swiftly rolled up the mission scroll, preparing to depart immediately.

Watching Luo Qingyi’s efficient movements decisive and unwavering Wu Ruo felt an inexplicable lump in her throat.

Jiang Qingbei was still bickering over Wu Ruo’s training rights, insisting Yue Qinglan take a break while she took charge of Wu Ruo’s swordplay lessons. Luo Qingyi merely smiled and told her to quit the nonsense before dropping the subject.

Wu Ruo suddenly realized that, in all this time, Luo Qingyi had never been in such a hurry to do anything.

She watched gloomily as Luo Qingyi infused the scroll with spiritual energy to pinpoint the mission’s location, as Jiang and Yue bickered while bidding Luo Qingyi farewell. She pursed her lips, muttered a quiet “safe travels,” and turned to head back to her room.

Just as she was about to enter the room, her wrist was grasped.

Luo Qingyi tucked the scroll into her personal spatial storage and, with a thought, gently closed the inner room’s door, blocking Jiang Qingbei’s prying eyes from outside.

“A’Ruo, I’m going out for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

Luo Qingyi’s gaze was soft as it lingered on Wu Ruo, and she couldn’t help but smile.

The aloof and unapproachable Immortal Luo, who rarely showed emotion in the eyes of outsiders, now revealed such a tender, spring-like warmth in her presence.

“Wait for me to come back.”

Gentle words whispered into her ears, the fragrance of falling snow embraced her. Wu Ruo smiled and lightly wrapped her arms around the other’s shoulders, just like the warm, spring-like hug she had given Luo Qingyi yesterday when the latter was under the influence of alcohol.

“Alright, I’ll wait for you,” she said. “When you return, tell me more about how strange that temple really is. I want to hear it too.”

She saw Luo Qingyi off alongside Jiang and Yue. Once Luo Qingyi had left, only Jiang Qingbei’s booming voice remained, loud enough to shake the heavens.

Yue Qinglan tried to mediate, but Jiang Qingbei, indignant, dragged Wu Ruo outside, declaring that now that their senior sister was gone, she wanted to roll around in the warm shed with Wu Ruo only then would she forgive Wu Ruo for yesterday’s behavior.

Wu Ruo simply lay down on the straw, resting her arms beneath her head. The soft straw beneath her carried no unpleasant odor, only a faint herbal fragrance. She closed her eyes, utterly content.

Seeing her like this, Yue Qinglan couldn’t resist lying down on the straw as well, pulling Jiang Qingbei down with her.

The young mistress naturally resisted, bristling again this time directing her ire at Yue Qinglan. She shrieked as she and Yue Qinglan playfully piled straw on each other, their heads soon covered in golden straw bits, looking utterly ridiculous.

“Wu Ruo, how long do you think Senior Sister will take to return?”

Once the two had tired themselves out, they lay side by side with Wu Ruo in the warm shed, watching as the snow outside grew heavier, silently blanketing the peak of Falling Snow Mountain like scattered white straw, a world of silver.

“Three to five days?” Wu Ruo guessed. “She told me she’d be back soon.”

But Yue Qinglan said, “I’d say ten days to half a month. She rarely takes on missions voluntarily unless she’s worried about our safety. That’s the only time she’d protect us like this.”

Jiang Qingbei grumbled as she kneaded the straw, seemingly having finally grown accustomed to the nest she’d slept in overnight. Suddenly, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Hey! What was that thing my mom asked me to bring last time? Wu Ruo, did you see it?”

“Not yet. Why?”

“That thing was weird. Like it was supposed to be a big jar, but there seemed to be sounds coming from inside. Really strange could it have been a spirit mouse?”

Jiang Qingbei muttered a few more words, successfully piquing Wu Ruo’s curiosity before abruptly changing the subject to chatter about how all the spirit mice she’d raised had died those little things were just so hard to keep alive.

The conversation drifted elsewhere, but Wu Ruo’s thoughts lingered. Delving slightly deeper into her memories was like tossing a small pebble into an abyss instantly stirring up towering waves.

She remembered.

Before Luo Qingyi left, after their embrace, the other woman had seemingly walked toward an inner room and only emerged moments later to bid them farewell before heading to her mission location.

And when Luo Qingyi had left that inner room, she had glanced at Wu Ruo.

There was a hint of worry and hesitation in that gaze. At the time, she didn’t pay it much mind, simply assuming it was the reluctant look of someone facing separation. But upon closer reflection, it wasn’t that at all.

So then, what exactly was it that Sect Leader Jiang had brought for Luo Qingyi?

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