After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 32.2

Yue Qinglan had no particular plans, and Wu Ruo’s thoughts were too tangled to decide how to face Luo Qingyi when they found him. So, they both agreed to Jiang Qingbei’s suggestion, following the young mistress to book three of the most expensive rooms, delighting the innkeeper to no end.

“Wu Ruo, how did you figure out there was a Miao among the demonic cultivators back then? Do you all have some instinct to sense each other’s presence?”

Jiang Qingbei sprawled across Wu Ruo’s bed, brimming with curiosity. Yue Qinglan, unwilling to stay alone, had insisted on joining them, and now the three of them lounged together, chatting idly.

“No,” Wu Ruo replied, “My snake seems to have been poisoned. It ate a spider and then vomited. It usually has a good appetite, and aside from Miao Gu poison, I can’t think of anything else that could cause this.”

She omitted the fact that her blood could attract the arrival of Miao Gu insects, simply stroking the small snake on her hand. “It’s so pitiful now it won’t eat anything I offer.”

“Ah?” Jiang Qingbei naturally leaned in to look, hesitating before asking, “Then can it still eat meat?”

Yue Qinglan scoffed in disdain, “You should eat less meat and more walnuts.”

“Fine, fine. It’s been a while since I had any, I’ll go buy some.” Jiang Qingbei didn’t catch the sarcasm and promptly left, returning shortly after.

“Wu Ruo, Xiao Lanzi,” she gasped, out of breath from running but brimming with excitement, “I didn’t notice earlier when we checked in, but there’s a temple right next to us!”

“What kind of temple could make you this happy?” Wu Ruo teased.

Yue Qinglan remained serious. “I remember Senior Sister Luo’s mission was also to investigate a temple, located in the Five Continents, far from our current Jiangshui Village. What was the description again? Oh, right temples built entirely of red bricks are considered an ominous sign.”

“Exactly! I remember the mission mentioned red-brick temples!” Jiang Qingbei exclaimed. “Just now, as the sun was setting, though it was dark, there was still some light. I saw the temple behind our inn, its bricks were red!”

What?

Wu Ruo and Yue Qinglan both widened their eyes in shock. The latter even took out her positioning artifact again to double-check their location on the map, only to reluctantly conclude that this temple was not the one Luo Qingyi had gone to investigate.

“Even if it’s not the location of Senior Sister’s mission, don’t you find it strange? In the cultivation world, red-brick temples are seen as ill omens, yet here’s such a large one, how could no one care about it? Maybe there’s a teleportation array at its entrance! If we go in, we might even reunite with Senior Sister!”

Jiang Qingbei was still buzzing with excitement, while Yue Qinglan remained cautious, unwilling to invite unnecessary trouble and refusing the idea of exploration. Wu Ruo pondered for a moment before speaking solemnly, “Hmm, there’s another possibility.”

“What?”

“I suspect the temple’s color might only be visible to us. Otherwise, why would no one in such a bustling market have mentioned it when we arrived?”

Jiang Qingbei’s brain occasionally worked at the right moments. “Or maybe it’s been here for a long time. Wait, no, if it had been here for long, word would’ve spread far and wide. It wouldn’t be so unknown here.”

“Exactly,” Wu Ruo agreed. “I think it might be because we’re all from Luoxue Peak, and since Luo Qingyi hasn’t completed her investigation yet, the temple recognizes us as her companions and reveals itself to us this way.”

“Not necessarily,” Yue Qinglan countered. “I think it might be a trap. Since our goal is to find Senior Sister, we shouldn’t complicate things. Reuniting with her should be our priority.”

“Yue Qinglan,” Wu Ruo smiled faintly, “have you managed to contact Luo Qingyi?”

At her words, Yue Qinglan froze, then pulled out a paper crane from her Qiankun pouch still blank, without a single word written on it.

Impossible. The paper crane is a message talisman, and an entire day has passed there’s no way Luo Qingyi wouldn’t have replied unless…

“Let’s go take a look,” Wu Ruo said. “Coincidentally, I’ve lost eighteen years’ worth of memories and forgotten many important things. It’s severely affecting my life.”

She smiled faintly. “I have a feeling I might uncover something about my past in this red-brick temple.”

“R-really? We have to go at night?”

The one who asked wasn’t the naturally delicate Jiang Qingbei, but Yue Qinglan, who usually appeared mature beyond her years. Gazing at the moonlit night in the dead of night, she clung to Wu Ruo’s arm, trembling slightly.

So the reason she had been trying to stop them earlier was because she was afraid.

Wu Ruo recalled how, back on Snowfall Peak, Yue Qinglan would always return to her quarters early before dusk fell each day. And then there was the previous night when Wu Ruo had left the Zhiyuan Immortal Sect, Yue Qinglan, accompanied by Jiang Qingbei, had chased after her without hesitation, braving the pitch-black darkness.

A warmth spread through Wu Ruo’s heart, followed by a pang of guilt over her earlier actions. But the feeling quickly passed, and soon the three of them arrived at the entrance of the red temple.

It felt so familiar.

As if a temple like this had once existed in her memories.

Her eyes remained fixed on the vermilion bricks and tiles of the temple, now blending into the night, their colors indistinct. The peeling, mottled walls looked like sparse tree shadows cast upon them.

The temple doors were shut, hiding everything inside from view.

“Wu Ruo, why’d you stop? Are you scared too?”

Jiang Qingbei spoke carelessly as she circled the temple entrance, failing to notice anything unusual. Her fearless nature took over in an instant, and with a muttered “What’s so strange about it?” she pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold.

The moment she entered, the temple doors creaked shut again. Wu Ruo didn’t even have time to catch a glimpse of what lay inside before the two vermilion doors closed coldly in her face.

This was getting stranger by the minute.

“She just went in! She, she…” Yue Qinglan wrung her hands anxiously, staring at the tightly shut doors, her legs trembling slightly. “Should we wait for her to come out and ask what’s inside? No, she’s not the brightest, what if there’s danger? I should go in and save her.”

The usually unflappable girl stamped her foot, gritted her teeth, and grabbed Wu Ruo’s hand. “Let’s go in together. If there’s no clue, we’ll come right back. Something about this feels off.”

“Alright,” Wu Ruo agreed, tightening her grip on Yue Qinglan’s hand. Together, they pushed open the temple doors and stepped over the threshold.

Thud.

Wu Ruo’s head collided hard with a thick wooden panel, rebounding with a loud thump. Beside her, Yue Qinglan, who had been about to enter with her, had vanished without a trace.

The temple doors slowly closed, leaving only a glaring expanse of red lacquer. But against that crimson backdrop, Wu Ruo stared at the thickly painted surface under the moonlight and faintly discerned words appearing.

It wasn’t an illusion.

She watched as the red lacquer rippled, and a sentence gradually emerged:

“Those whose wishes have been granted may not enter again.”

Support