After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 39

As for why she had lost her memories, Wu Ruo could only speculate.

The inexplicable loss of a portion of her memories had always weighed heavily on her mind. Though she never spoke of it to anyone, deep down, she couldn’t help but feel a lingering unease.

In the fragments of her remaining memories, she was still in Miaojiang, still a carefree young girl. Yet, the rationality of her thoughts did not vanish with the erasure of her memories. Strange knowledge, abilities, and an innate composure that grew with the years would inexplicably surface in her mind.

Though she had no recollection of those years, once she caught even the slightest trace of the past, it would etch itself into her bones, impossible to shake off.

From Jiang Qingbei’s illusion, she knew she had not lived well. And as for the Forgetful Dust she had heard of it before and later saw its true form on Baishang Street.

A drug to erase painful memories. That identity as Luo Qingyi’s cultivation partner wasn’t that the very source of her suffering after arriving at Zhiyuan Immortal Sect?

She had only thrown out a casual bluff, but seeing Luo Qingyi’s expression instantly darken, she knew she had guessed right.

“Actually, I’m quite curious.”

Having reached this point, Wu Ruo’s mood suddenly improved. She was no longer in a hurry to leave or to urge Luo Qingyi to go.

She sat down on the larger bed in Xiao Yu’er’s room, leaning back on her hands with a lazy air. “Logically speaking, if we, well, didn’t have a good past, then clearly, separating would be the right thing to do. Since you’ve already fed me Forgetful Dust, you could’ve just sent me away pretend I never existed, continue being the revered Immortal Luo, known and admired by all.”

“And as for me, having forgotten everything about you, I could’ve lived freely somewhere else, the mortal realm seems nice. This little girl, Xiao Yu’er, is clever, and I could’ve enjoyed the pleasure of teaching. What a perfect win-win outcome, what a perfect direction right, Luo Qingyi?”

Wu Ruo raised an eyebrow. Currently seated on the bed, she had to look up at Luo Qingyi standing before her, which inexplicably irked her. She pointed to the smaller bed. “Sit.”

Luo Qingyi’s eyes flickered as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent and obediently sat down.

The smaller bed was lower than the larger one, and Wu Ruo now looked down at the top of Luo Qingyi’s snow-white hair. She recalled the portrait of the Peak Lord she had seen on Snowfall Peak back then, Luo Qingyi’s hair had still been black.

Black suited her better. The white hair was too much like drifting snow, giving Wu Ruo a synesthetic chill.

“So, Luo Qingyi, since things have come to this, why not think about how to resolve it? Baishang Street sells Forgetful Dust, and it’s quite cheap. Buy two pills, one for each of us and let bygones be bygones. How about it?”

At the word “resolve,” Luo Qingyi’s eyes brightened with something like hope. But upon hearing the final “let bygones be bygones,” her face paled in alarm. “No!”

“I’ll pay,” Wu Ruo said, patting the Qiankun pouch at her waist. She was quite wealthy now and could afford to throw money around with confidence.

She knew exactly what the other wanted to hear she just refused to say it.

“It’s not about the money, Ah Ruo, no! You can’t do this!” Luo Qingyi stood up urgently, trying to sit on the empty space of the large bed to be closer to her.

The moment Luo Qingyi sat beside her, Wu Ruo abruptly stood up. Under the other’s gaze, she shook off Luo Qingyi’s hand and moved to sit on the small bed where Luo Qingyi had been moments before.

“Then give me an explanation. Let me hear why you still want to find me, to make up for the love you failed to show me in the past?”

Recalling Jiang Qingbei’s dream, Wu Ruo couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I must have been bewitched back then, foolish to such an extent. You were clearly my Dao companion where were you when your junior sister humiliated me, when your fellow disciples bullied me, when the entire Zhiyuan Immortal Sect treated me like a thief to be guarded against?”

Her mind had long pieced together a perfectly logical story. She must have gone to some strange temple to make a wish, became the other’s Dao companion, and followed her back to her sect, only to suffer endless humiliation there before finally waking up and leaving. Then Luo Qingyi regretted it, fed her Forgetfulness Powder, and started treating her well again.

But it was too late.

“Are you feeling guilty? Guilty for never treating me well, guilty for all the harm your fellow disciples caused me.”

The black scorpion hidden in her sleeve had crawled out at some point, stinging her wrist fiercely, relying on her blood to survive. She stroked its pincers and tucked the little creature back inside.

“Then why did you feed me Forgetfulness Powder? Probably because this fool finally woke up and left you, and you felt you owed me karma. You couldn’t ascend without resolving this heart tribulation, so you turned back to treat me well and make up for your past mistakes, right?”

Luo Qingyi had been wearing an expression of someone whose thoughts had been laid bare, but upon hearing the last sentence, she looked up again urgently. “No! That’s not it, Ah Ruo! I never once thought about ascension. If one day my cultivation breaks through to the upper realm, I will disperse my own power. I won’t leave this place!”

“You cultivate the Dao, yet you don’t want to ascend?” Wu Ruo scoffed, lingering on the words “cultivate the Dao.” “Don’t be like this, Immortal Luo. Your word is as good as gold, you can’t spout such nonsense just to placate me.”

“I don’t want to,” Luo Qingyi said firmly, resolute. “I don’t want to ascend. I don’t want to leave you.”

Wu Ruo rolled her eyes. “The cultivation world hasn’t seen anyone ascend in ages. You’re the sect’s greatest hope. They’ve invested so much in you, how can you abandon it all for selfish reasons?”

It had to be said, the disciplinary manuals she’d read in Luo Qingyi’s study really came in handy. Wielding this moral pressure against Luo Qingyi felt incredibly satisfying.

“I’ve already repaid them in full. We owe each other nothing now,” Luo Qingyi said earnestly. “And as for the disciples who bullied you in the past, I’ve compiled a full list. They’ve each been punished in kind for how they treated you. Ah Ruo, I was wrong in the past. I’m sorry.”

Punished in kind.

Yes, it seemed fair. Anyone standing here would think Luo Qingyi was the perfect Dao companion punishing those who had harmed her, someone worthy of reliance.

But does anyone care about the wounds in her heart? If a hundred people each kicked one person, leaving her battered and bruised, covered in wounds and bleeding from the head, would the punishment of each of those hundred people receiving a single kick equate to the same amount of harm?

The damage from one person might seem insignificant just a few hurtful words, the loss of a little money, or some superficial injuries. But when wound after wound accumulates, it can only bring bone-deep, heart-wrenching pain.

Luo Qingyi didn’t understand. Because she had never been the miserable victim.

“Luo Qingyi, you really are.” Wu Ruo curled her lips into a faint smile. “Quite naive.”

Luo Qingyi lowered her head, offering no further forced defense, a reaction Wu Ruo somewhat admired. If the other woman had launched into a lengthy explanation of her own hardships, Wu Ruo would have turned and walked away without a second thought, regardless of whether she was a Great Ascension cultivator, an immortal elder, or a peak master.

But instead, Luo Qingyi simply bowed her head slightly, her lashes trembling unconsciously as her gaze drifted away, settling on a patch of unevenly painted varnish on the floor.

The voice in Wu Ruo’s ears carried nothing but deep remorse and apology no excuses, no tiresome justifications.

She listened quietly.

“I’m sorry, Ah Ruo, I’m sorry. It was my fault. At that time, when you needed me most, I wasn’t there.”

This Luo Qingyi was entirely different from the one on Falling Snow Peak not long ago. That lofty, dignified Peak Master Luo, who seemed so invincible, so untouchable now stood before her, softly voicing an apology beyond Wu Ruo’s imagination, wearing an expression of such distraction, looking as dejected as a drenched kitten.

Reason told her she should leave now, cut the other woman off, hurl harsh words to make it clear that shattered mirrors could never be whole again.

But perhaps she was bewitched. As she listened to Luo Qingyi’s apology, the raging fury that had burned so fiercely in her heart moments ago was quietly buried, as if blanketed by falling snow.

Luo Qingyi’s voice grew quieter. Wu Ruo leisurely propped an arm against the bedside table and said, “Hm.”

Luo Qingyi spoke softly for a while, and when no response came, her disappointment became visibly apparent. But upon hearing that single syllable from Wu Ruo, she seemed to rally, straightening slightly as she said solemnly, “It was my mistake, I’m sorry. I’ll do anything just, don’t leave me.”

“Fine.”

Wu Ruo had meant to say, If you’ll do anything, then let’s part ways and communicate by message talismans from now on. But the words died on her lips as she took in Luo Qingyi’s earnest expression. A thought suddenly occurred to her.

“I want Jiang Qingbei’s Qiankun Pouch,” Wu Ruo joked.

“Alright.” Luo Qingyi didn’t seem to realize it was a joke. Instead, she considered it seriously before replying, “She has many rare treasures there. Hmm, If I exchange this and that she might agree.”

“Never mind, forget it. I have plenty of money now anyway.” Wu Ruo dismissed the idea, then pondered what other outrageous demand she could make. Petulantly, she added, “The token for the Black Tortoise puppet in Longfeng Peak, I want the one in your possession.”

She had overheard some gossip at the mountain gates each peak master held command tokens for the Four Divine Beasts, and judging by the exaggerated reactions of those junior disciples, these tokens were extremely precious, never to be shared lightly.

If she were a peak master, she certainly wouldn’t give something like that away so casually.

“The White Tiger Command Token? Here you go.” Luo Qingyi reached into her Qiankun pouch and pulled out a square jade token, handing it to Wu Ruo. “The White Tiger puppet is the most unique, it’s actually the embodiment of the Snowfall Peak’s mountain range. If you activate it, you must first evacuate all disciples from the peak before summoning it.”

“…”

This time, it was Wu Ruo who was left speechless. Unwilling to concede, she pressed further, “I want to become the sect leader of Zhiyuan Immortal Sect.” Surely this would be impossible.

“That would be rather difficult. But if that’s what you wish, I’ll discuss it with Sect Leader Jiang and try to secure the support of the elder council. I can also extract some of my Dao Bones and transfer my cultivation to you. Once your cultivation reaches the Mahayana stage, you should be able to succeed him. By then, you can also punish those disciples who have violated the sect’s rules.”

Seeing Luo Qingyi seriously contemplating the matter, even beginning to circulate her qi to decide which Dao Bone to remove for her, Wu Ruo let out a bitter laugh and finally interrupted.

Losing a Dao Bone would disrupt one’s meridians, potentially leading to qi deviation, self-destruction, or even death. The fact that Luo Qingyi could remove one without suffering such consequences was already a stroke of luck, one in ten thousand. How could Wu Ruo selfishly push her toward such a fate?

It had just been a poorly conceived joke, a sudden whim to test the limits of Luo Qingyi’s claim that she would do “anything” for her.

And now she knew those limits were boundless.

So boundless that when she looked into Luo Qingyi’s eyes, she could see her own reflection, clear and unmistakable.

“Luo Qingyi,” she called out. “Everything I just said was a lie. I don’t need any of it.”

She stood up, grabbed the silver serpent sword hanging on the wall, and twirled it effortlessly in her hand. It felt unexpectedly familiar she knew it had once been her own sword. Without hesitation, she tucked it into her Qiankun pouch and turned back to Luo Qingyi.

“First, is there an antidote for Forgetful Dust?” She glanced at Luo Qingyi, who shook her head slightly. Wu Ruo wasn’t surprised. “I don’t care how you do it, but I want to know what happened in the past. I need the truth.”

“Second, my home is gone. There was a Miao tribeswoman’s presence among the demons. I need to meet with her and, if possible, rebuild my home. This won’t be easy, so I’ll need your help.”

“Also, from now on, I never want you to lie to me. If you do, then to me, you’ll always be a liar.”

“Finally, if you can fulfill all of the above then I suppose having you as a cultivation partner might be useful. But wherever I go in the future, don’t interfere. If you ever need me for something, we’ll see how you behave and how I feel about it.”

Wu Ruo smirked and pushed open the door to Xiao Yu’er’s room. The little girl wasn’t home probably visiting friends.

She placed a few freshly purchased restorative pills on the table. These would be immensely beneficial for a mortal. By the next time she saw the girl, she might even be able to start channeling qi on her own.

She counted out a few and set them in the most visible spot. When she turned around, Luo Qingyi was still standing behind her, looking like she had something to say.

Had she not been clear enough?

“I’m going back to Hundred Merchants Street to keep browsing,” Wu Ruo hinted. “As for you, you can go back to your investigation.”

Luo Qingyi didn’t leave.

Wu Ruo raised an eyebrow. “Why are you still here? Is there something else you want to say?”

Luo Qingyi replied, “I’d like to invite you to the Red Temple.”

“Is there a reason I must go?”

“Yes,” Luo Qingyi nodded. “I saw your kin there.”

Support