After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 52

Wu Ruo chased to the bottom of the stairs, watching the figure swiftly head toward the second-floor corridor without stopping.

“Senior Martial Aunt Du, wait…”

A female cultivator in light green bamboo-patterned robes hurried after her. With a doll-like face and a childlike voice, she appeared quite innocent.

The woman ahead glanced back slightly her face veiled, her posture upright, and her stature tall, resembling the elegant straightness of bamboo.

Judging by age alone, she seemed not much older than the doll-faced girl, yet for some reason, she held the status of a senior martial aunt.

Her gaze seemed to sweep over Wu Ruo’s face before she quickly turned away. In the dim light of the stairwell, Wu Ruo couldn’t make out her features clearly.

“Has everyone been settled?” the Du-clan woman asked her junior martial niece.

The doll-faced girl replied, “All settled! Senior Martial Aunt, you’ll be in the southernmost room alone, and the others have been assigned accordingly, awaiting your instructions.”

“Mm, everyone may return now,” Senior Martial Aunt Du said. “We’ve all just arrived in the Five Continents. Today is for free exploration; tomorrow we’ll proceed to the mission site.”

“Yay!” The doll-faced girl jumped for joy, then cheerfully ran over to the other girls of the Apricot Grove Sect to share the good news. A wave of cheers erupted among them.

Only the Du-clan woman did not look back, striding purposefully toward the southernmost room on the second floor. She walked alone into a tranquility that felt like a world apart, distinctly separate from the sect’s jubilant atmosphere.

It was as if, from the depths of her heart, she had drawn a line between herself and her fellow sect members, maintaining the dignified demeanor of a senior without a hint of relaxation.

Wu Ruo watched her interact with her junior martial niece, standing alone at the corner of the first floor.

When the woman’s gaze had swept over her face, it seemed to pause for a moment. The expression behind the veil was obscure, yet it halted abruptly, leaving only a solitary figure in its wake.

This woman probably isn’t Chuncao, right?

Aside from the difference in height, the Chuncao she knew could never keep her mouth shut for a moment, how could she possibly distance herself from the clamor of the world and stride into solitude like a lone crane crossing a desolate plain?

If Chuncao were here, given her lively and outgoing nature, she would likely be among the chattering girls downstairs, making plans with new friends to explore the surroundings.

But, but…

Wu Ruo stared at the retreating figure for a long time, ignoring Jiang Qingbei’s call from downstairs, “Hey, let’s go! Where are you headed?” A sudden impulse broke through her restraint, and she dashed up the stairs to the second floor, peering down the corridor. “Is that you, Chuncao?”

No one responded.

The figure had already vanished from sight. The light green bamboo pattern became nothing more than a fleeting shadow, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“Hey, Wu Ruo! Did you forget something?”

Jiang Qingbei’s loud voice drifted up. Wu Ruo slapped her forehead and hurried back downstairs. She exchanged a glance with Jiang and Luo, then told the inn attendant, “We’d like to extend our stay for one more night.”

Back in the same room as the previous day, once the door was shut, Luo Qingyi spoke first, “I checked all the Apricot Grove Sect healers downstairs earlier. Chuncao wasn’t among them.”

“There’s one more,” Wu Ruo said, glancing toward the southernmost room on the second floor. “Their leader, the closed-door disciple of some elder, surnamed Du.”

“…”

Luo Qingyi fell silent. Her gaze drifted toward the familiar bedside table from yesterday, swept over the surrounding bedding, and she quietly sat down on the bamboo chair by the window.

“Elder Du is a solitary person. I am not very familiar with Elder Du. Let me ask their sect leader for news,” Luo Qingyi repeated softly, sighing under her breath.

It was Du Chuncao. She had already learned this from the Apricot Grove Sect’s leader but was unwilling to reveal the cruel truth to Wu Nuo.

Long ago, when she had gone to the Apricot Grove Sect to retrieve the Dao Bone, she had briefly crossed paths with her. But over a decade had passed, and the once lively, cheerful girl had become a medical cultivator more diligent than anyone else. Yet when they met, she showed no intention of recognizing Wu Nuo, treating her like a passing stranger.

She knew that when Miaojiang fell, Wu Nuo was at the Zhiyuan Immortal Sect. Chuncao had sent countless distress signals, each word dripping with blood, each cry filled with sorrow, but in the end, she never managed to see Wu Nuo.

If Lan Ting harbored such hatred for Wu Nuo… what would Chuncao’s attitude be like?

Wu Nuo had just faced rejection from Lan Ting and learned of Axiang’s recent situation. Her mental state was already fragile. If Chuncao added insult to injury, she feared.

Wu Nuo didn’t overthink it. “Alright, I’ll wait then. Ah, if only Jinhua had stayed one more day perhaps a medical cultivator could have helped her.”

“I’ll send a message to Xiao Yang and have her bring Jinhua back.”

“Don’t. Let her return to report first. After Jinhua goes back, who in the immortal sect can. Oh, right! Has Yue Qinglan returned?”

After so long, she had nearly forgotten about Yue Qinglan. Back when they were together, Yue Qinglan hadn’t made a wish, so after leaving the Red Temple, she couldn’t come to the Five Continents. Instead, she returned to the market near Miaojiang.

Who knew if Xiao Yue was now trekking across mountains and rivers to reach the Five Continents or had returned to the Zhiyuan Immortal Sect to deal with the mess on Falling Snow Peak and Long Wind Peak.

“She’s back,” Luo Qingyi said. “She sent me a message; she’s currently negotiating with the Peak Lord of Long Wind Peak. Previously, the fault in your leaving the sect lay with Xiao Chen. They have no grounds to stand on. Qinglan is the successor I’ve trained rest assured, she’ll be fine.”

Recalling how Yue Qinglan had once complained about not wanting to return, Wu Nuo silently apologized. It wasn’t intentional, but that Chen fellow had provoked the conflict and ended up dead, forcing Yue Qinglan to handle a diplomatic dilemma. She truly felt guilty.

“She must have a wish she really wants to fulfill too.”

She remembered a saying from the Wishing Temple: Those without obsessions in their hearts cannot see the Red Temple. Only those burdened by deep desires can receive the temple’s blessing.

Yue Qinglan seemed like a model disciple, wholly devoted to the Dao, how could she also have such an obsessive wish?

“Yes, everyone has them. In a person’s life, unfulfilled desires greed, anger, ignorance, hatred, love, aversion, and lust are all part of human nature. When desires go unfulfilled, they become obsessions.” 【1】

As she spoke these words, Luo Qingyi’s expression grew distant, her eyes drifting toward the intangible world outside the window. Her expression was less one of reflection and more as if she were squeezing each word out slowly, from the depths of her heart, from her very lungs, from her dantian.

“Everyone has them,” she said with a helpless smile, looking at Wu Nuo. “When desires are fulfilled, one finds a moment of peace. When they remain unfulfilled, the three souls are lost, and the mind descends into madness.”

The other person’s expression was clearly relaxed, as if casually voicing a sentiment, yet Wu Ruo had an inexplicable illusion as though each word struck her body, heavy and suffocating.

“…” And what about you? Have you obtained it?

She didn’t voice the question.

The aura around the other person was tranquil and enduring, their demeanor steady, breathing natural. She felt as if she could already hear their answer.

Luo Qingyi didn’t linger on this issue for long. Closing her eyes and then reopening them, she spoke: “At the Red Temple, there is an extremely intense fluctuation of spiritual power, as if.”

“Moving a mountain,” she said slowly.

“Moving a mountain?” Wu Ruo was shocked. “Wait a moment, let’s sort through the information Jiang Qingbei just obtained.”

“First, that person said the Red Temple belongs to the Venerable One, the Demon Lord. It might be true, especially since Jin Ruyun’s wish led to the descent of the demon clan, so the Red Temple likely has some connection to the demon realm.”

“Second, that person mentioned using spatial teleportation to move the Red Temple to the main sect. Perhaps what the demonic cultivators are doing now is exactly that.”

If the demonic cultivators were moving the mountain and the Red Temple disappeared, then the Apricot Grove Sect’s investigation mission would fail. That Elder Du from the Apricot Grove Sect must have sensed something as well, so…

Wu Ruo stood up. “I’m going to find Elder Du’s closed-door disciple.”

“I’ll go with you!”

“No need.” Wu Ruo glanced at Luo Qingyi’s instantly alert expression and the immediate rise to her feet, feeling an answer surging within her.

She walked to the door, turned back, and gave a light smile. “You know, don’t you?”

Luo Qingyi abruptly halted, as if in slow motion, her entire demeanor deflating like a punctured ball, instantly defeated.

“Yes.”

“You’ve seen Chuncao before, haven’t you?” Wu Ruo stated firmly. “Has she changed a lot, like Lanting?”

Luo Qingyi sat back down, and under Wu Ruo’s gaze, she smiled bitterly for a moment before revealing the truth: “Yes, she’s very different now. She didn’t acknowledge me either. I was worried she might reject you, just like Lanting did.”

So it was true.

If she hadn’t asked, Luo Qingyi wouldn’t have spoken. When would Luo Qingyi ever break this old habit of hiding things from her?

Did the other person think it was for her own good?

“So, you planned to keep hiding it, waiting for me to go to the Apricot Grove Sect full of hope, find Chuncao, and get rejected all over again, right?”

“No! I was just worried about your current state. If we waited a while, you might handle it better.”

Better, my foot.

Luo Qingyi was always like this using “for her own good” as an excuse, hiding everything, bottling everything up, never treating her like a mature individual.

“Then you really don’t need to come. This is between her and me. This time, I hope you won’t follow.”

“Ah Ruo!”

“Stay in the room, don’t go anywhere. If you can’t do that, then please stop clinging to me from now on.”

Wu Ruo’s tone was harsh, carrying a mix of old and new grievances. She glared fiercely at Luo Qingyi, pushed the door open, and walked out.

As she reached the stairs, she couldn’t help but glance back. The door was open, but Luo Qingyi hadn’t stepped out.

One last time giving her one last chance.

She didn’t want to have to say it one last time again.

She admitted that Luo Qingyi treated her very well companionship, the status of a Mahayana cultivator, even a willingness to give her all his worldly possessions. Everything a lover should do, he did flawlessly, leaving nothing to be desired.

Except for this one thing: respect.

When would Luo Qingyi stop treating her like a fragile existence in need of meticulous, all-around care? She wasn’t a helpless three-year-old child!

Was his self-righteous protection truly helping her?

She went downstairs and couldn’t resist glancing back. The corridor was empty, and the door to the room had been closed by Luo Qingyi.

Good.

This time, she hoped Luo Qingyi wouldn’t use the excuse of acting in her best interest to eavesdrop or interfere in every aspect of her life.

She straightened her clothes and walked along the second-floor corridor, all the way to the southernmost room. Her heartbeat thumped so loudly it felt as if it might leap out of her chest.

Chuncao now, she should be Du Chuncao.

She took a few deep breaths, gathering her thoughts and rehearsing her words in her mind. Knock, knock, knock.

No one answered.

Refusing to give up, she knocked again, straining her ears to listen.

There seemed to be some movement inside, the sound of footsteps approaching, and then…

A squeak, the sound of a window opening.

Chuncao had she jumped out the window and run away?

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