After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 46

The moon’s shadow dipped westward as veils of clouds drifted across its glow. The pure, radiant moonlight illuminated the descending mountain path, where the elongated shadows of the two figures stretched slowly before vanishing as the moonlight was obscured.

“Luo Qingyi.” Wu Ruo called out to her. “What was your wish?”

Luo Qingyi turned around, her thin lips pressing together slightly. Her eyes trembled faintly, but the moment they met Wu Ruo’s gaze, she averted them again. “…”

“Tell me.”

“I’m sorry.”

Wu Ruo watched as Luo Qingyi’s eyes flickered away first to the moon, then to the distant red temple, and finally to the pebbles lining the narrow mountain path. In the end, all she offered was an apology, with no further explanation.

The moonlight seemed to emerge once more from behind the clouds, spilling evenly over the two of them. Strands of Luo Qingyi’s hair caught the luminous glow, making her snow-white tresses appear ethereal and serene.

Suddenly, Wu Ruo remembered in Jiang Qingbei’s dream, in the timeline where she had first met Luo Qingyi, the other woman’s hair had been a deep, dark black, as profound and mysterious as the color of her eyes.

She smiled bitterly, offering an out: “Luo Qingyi, did you forget, or do you not want to say?”

The gesture wasn’t entirely deliberate. A fragment of an ancient tale had flashed through her mind she wasn’t sure where she’d read it, but now, with the moonlight cascading like flowing water over Luo Qingyi’s hair, she couldn’t help but recall it.

Once, a great immortal of the Mahayana tradition, the first to undergo tribulation, had turned white-haired overnight upon reaching the highest realm of cultivation, earning fame throughout the world. Many had since emulated this, viewing white hair as a mark of profound cultivation.

Yet, before his spiritual power dissipated, that very immortal had confessed in his autobiography that his sudden whitening had been a sign of his dwindling lifespan his remaining years nothing more than a fleeting whisper.

Nowadays, many powerful cultivators deliberately used spiritual energy to lighten their hair, adopting silver-white locks to project an aura of transcendent wisdom and dominance. But Luo Qingyi was not one to care for such superficial displays, so.

Luo Qingyi didn’t take the offered escape. Instead, as if steeling herself, she said earnestly, “I promised you I wouldn’t lie to you. So, I don’t want to deceive you but I can’t tell you.”

“Alright.” Wu Ruo sighed. “Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed?”

“…Mn.” Luo Qingyi nodded. “In the future, I’ll tell you everything without reservation.”

Not far away, Jin Hua finally managed to catch the pristine paper crane, dancing with joy. She flicked its edges, only to lose her grip, sending the little crane fluttering away in a panic.

Exasperated, she ran back to tug at Wu Ruo’s sleeve. “Sister! I can’t catch it, help me!”

Before Wu Ruo could respond, Luo Qingyi gave her a cool glance. With a mere thought, the paper crane, as if tethered by an invisible string, swiftly returned to Jin Hua’s palm.

“Go play by yourself,” Luo Qingyi said.

Distracted by Jin Hua’s interruption, Wu Ruo lost the mood to press Luo Qingyi further. She disliked being kept in the dark, but she hated deception even more. Luo Qingyi had at least made some progress, she could let it go for now.

Still…

She lowered her hand slightly, using her sleeve to conceal a tiny spider crawling onto her wrist. The clothes she wore were still from the mortal world, quite different in style from those of the cultivation realm. Accustomed to loose robes with wide sleeves, she found the narrow cuffs of her current attire somewhat uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Qingyi asked keenly.

“Nothing’s wrong.” She rubbed her wrist, shooing the little spider up to her elbow. The tiny creature had bitten her, and she quietly absorbed the message it conveyed.

This was the unique communication method of the Miao people’s gu poison, using gu insects as a medium, feeding them with essence and blood, and receiving messages through another’s blood.

Through her sleeve, she gently stroked the red spider’s tiny head, seamlessly changing the subject without anyone noticing: “Let’s go find a place to settle Jinhua. Time to head back.”

Lanting dismissed her demonic subordinates and circled the desolate mountain where the Red Temple stood before returning to the front of the temple gates. With an air of elegance, she pulled a folding chair from her demon-storage pouch, set it beneath a large tree, and leisurely took a seat.

She had long known those idle good-for-nothings wouldn’t take their tasks seriously. Now that she’d ordered the demonic cultivators down the mountain, they had likely scattered like a swarm, off to wreak havoc across the Five Continents. She couldn’t be bothered to care.

“Wu Ruo, you received it, didn’t you?”

Bored, she extended a hand, toying with her crimson nails, admiring them under the moonlight for a while before tucking them away and repeating the process with her other hand.

Earlier, she had distinctly sensed the aura of another Miao gu sorcery practitioner hereso potent that even the snakes and insects in the vicinity had been drawn out, peeking from beneath bricks or soil.

Aside from the terrified Jin Ruyun and the dim-witted Jinhua, only one person came to mind Wu Ruo.

Only Wu Ruo possessed such skill. Only Wu Ruo her former teacher, the saintess she had once aspired to emulate, the savior she had desperately begged in her darkest hour, only for her to cowardly flee.

How spineless. What was Wu Ruo planning? Could it be she intended to wield her saintess authority to punish the traitor of Miaojiang? Ha, as if Miaojiang even existed anymore. Was she putting on airs now?

She had executed Jin Ruyun and, with some inexplicable reluctance, spared Jinhua before dismissing her subordinates. Outwardly, she had left with them, but in truth, she had circled back and sure enough, she spotted a familiar figure.

Indeed, it was someone etched into her memory Wu Ruo, the woman she had loathed with every fiber of her being for thirteen long years!

She had always known this coward, Wu Ruo, was still alive, sheltered under the protection of that Immortal Luo from Zhiyuan Sect. A mere love gu, and she had managed to secure such a powerful backer. Wu Ruo truly had no other talents, just damn good luck.

“Go.” Watching the retreating figures of Wu Ruo and the other two, she mercilessly plucked the red spider from her fingernail and flicked it deep into the forest. “Find Wu Ruo. And don’t let Luo Qingyi notice.”

Back then, she had even joined Chuncao in calling Luo Qingyi “shiniang” How laughable. The saintess was a coward, prioritizing self-preservation over her clan’s crisis, unwilling to even show up. And that Luo Qingyi was a fool, oblivious to the love gu planted on her. Years ago, she had even heard Luo had killed that demonic cultivator to prove her Dao she had applauded the news. But now, the woman was once again bewitched, playing lapdog to another.

A match made in heaven, two despicable women, perfect for each other.

Lan Ting waited idly, then suddenly covered her mouth, her entire body burning with intense heat. She had no choice but to pull out a warm red wine cup and place it in front of herself, slowly pouring a deep crimson liquid into it.

After a few sips, she returned to normal, then idly touched up her nails again, took out a mirror to comb her hair for a long while, and finally reapplied a bold red lipstick.

“Still not here yet…”

She bent down to retrieve her red spider, received a message from the other party, then pursed her lips in annoyance and abruptly stood up. “She left first? Does Wu Ruo really think she’s some high-and-holy saintess who gets everything she wants, making me wait here for days?”

Furious, she snatched up her delicate folding chair and packed away all the items she had laid out, her movements clattering loudly. Still seething, she turned her head and saw the grand red doors of the temple. Frowning, she strode forward without hesitation.

“That Luo woman earlier said this wishing temple is essentially about exchange. But what do I even have left worth trading? A worthless life, already no different from those monsters. If I could just see Chuncao and the others again, even if it cost me my life, it’d still be a bargain…”

Lan Ting let out a self-deprecating laugh, muttering to herself. Just as she was about to push the door open, a voice called out from afar: “Lan Ting, don’t go in!”

The voice sounded rushed, breathless, yet still brimming with concern and urgency. As if the speaker was still that warm-hearted saintess from the Miaojiang tribe, still caring for and loving every clansman equally.

…It was Wu Ruo. The very person she hated most, the one she had loathed with every fiber of her being for over a decade.

“Wu Ruo.”

Lan Ting wasn’t sure what she was feeling only that hearing the other’s voice after so long sent a ripple of excitement through her soul, as if something had settled, yet echoes of turbulence remained.

A flush of agitation colored her cheeks as she stood with one foot already past the temple’s threshold. She managed to turn halfway toward Wu Ruo and sneered, “Oh, it’s the former saintess. Finally gracing your wayward clansman with your presence?”

Wu Ruo leapt down from the sword she had barely warmed up, having flown here in haste. She ignored the sarcasm in Lan Ting’s words, didn’t even bother with pleasantries, and simply grabbed the demonic cultivator’s hand. “Lan Ting, you can’t go in.”

Lan Ting yanked her hand away, stepping back out of the temple, and snapped, “Don’t touch me!”

Wu Ruo released her and spoke solemnly, “Lan Ting, you summoned me here. What is it you need?”

Lan Ting scoffed. “After all this time, you have nothing to say to me?”

Wu Ruo replied bluntly, “I do. Lan Ting, I’ve lost a portion of my memories everything from after I became the saintess or earlier, back when everything was still good, before I ever met Luo Qingyi. When I woke up, everything felt unfamiliar. If you’re willing, could you tell me what happened during that time?”

Lan Ting furrowed her brows, scrutinizing the other woman.

She had expected Wu Ruo to be remorseful upon seeing her, to break down in tears and play the emotional card, or reminisce about their past in a nostalgic tone, or even scold her like a mentor for consorting with demons.

For each possible scenario, she had already devised the perfect counter to mock back. But the Wu Ruo before her now had clear, sincere eyes, devoid of any trace of ulterior motives.

“Wu Ruo.” She steeled herself and snapped angrily, “Do you really think pretending like this will work? To shirk responsibility, you’ve even abandoned all shame, how dare you feign amnesia? When the Miaojiang was in crisis, Chuncao sent you dozens of messages, and we waited desperately for your return!”

“Ah…” Wu Ruo froze, her voice trembling. “Back then, I wasn’t in Miaojiang? Then where was I?”

“Still acting? Weren’t you following your beloved Dao companion to Zhiyuan Immortal Sect back then? How laughable falling for someone you barely knew, then groveling in love like a fool! That Immortal Luo was the foremost master of the Heartless Dao in centuries. You were lucky enough to rescue her when she was gravely injured, and you even dared to dream of being with her. Yet after months by her side, you couldn’t warm her heart, what a joke!”

“Wait, explain in more detail. I saved the injured Luo Qingyi, but she didn’t like me?”

Wu Ruo’s eyes widened. The information she was hearing didn’t match what she knew. She recalled the version Luo Qingyi had told her that they had been in love.

But she clearly realized that Lan Ting before her was too emotionally agitated to be faking it. There was no way she was lying, what she said must be the truth.

“Of course, she couldn’t like you! She was a lofty Peak Master, an immortal-like figure, the successor of the Heartless Dao. Didn’t you know she couldn’t feel love? Falling in love would shatter her Dao. She’d have to be utterly delusional to love you.”

Lan Ting watched the turmoil on Wu Ruo’s face, her mood improving further. She had never been able to let go of the past, and seeing Wu Ruo’s pained, struggling expression now soothed her agitated heart.

With a cold smirk, she continued to twist the knife, pouring salt into Wu Ruo’s wounds with the sharpest words.

“And how did you become her Dao companion? By using underhanded methods! To keep her, you secretly planted a love gu in her forcing her to love you, a despicable, shameless wretch! That’s why her Heartless Dao shattered, her cultivation plummeted, and she had to return to her sect for treatment. And yet, you still clung to her like a leech!”

She delivered the final blow, watching Wu Ruo’s face turn deathly pale, her lips drained of color, and declared with finality:

” You truly are the most laughable person in this world.”

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