After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 81

In the disciples’ sleeping quarters of Hong Fei Pavilion.

Ning Songwu lay lifelessly on the bed. The wide bed frame only emphasized her body’s smallness. Her long-lashed eyes were tightly shut, appearing to have even stopped blinking. Her skin was terribly pale, like an exquisite cloth doll, her quiet stillness slightly terrifying.

Qing Muzai, the physician from the Elixir Workshop, meticulously took Ning Songwu’s pulse, then flipped her eyelids and examined the gruesome rod injuries on her body, his expression grave.

Cen Ran was frantic nearby, desperate enough to pull on Qing Muzai’s beard: “How is she? What exactly is wrong with her?!”

“She has internal injuries, with accumulated blood in her chest. The external injuries are even more severe; there are a total of eleven rod wounds on her body, each potentially fatal. This situation is tricky, and it’s too early to say. If not for the Flowing Jade worn on her chest—which contains someone’s vital essence and blood—she would have succumbed long ago. Her last thread of life is sustained solely by this jade.”

Cen Ran said: “No matter what, she must live! She absolutely must live! …If anything happens to Ning Songwu, and Shifu finds out…”

Luo Sheng stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his face exceptionally dark: “Why waste words? Take Ning Songwu back to Rong Ku Pavilion immediately. Is this how Hong Fei Pavilion cares for my Junior Sister?!”

Qing Muzai shook his head: “She cannot be moved carelessly right now. Furthermore, the Venerable One has not yet returned, and she cannot leave Hong Fei Pavilion without authorization.”

“Then, is she conscious now?” Cen Ran asked.

“Perhaps so, it is unknown. We can only wait for her to wake up. Once she wakes, everything will be much easier,” Qing Muzai slowly stroked his beard.

Qing Muzai blinked and looked closely at Ning Songwu, as if recalling something: “Isn’t this child… three years ago, I treated her for severed tendons in her hand… Yes, it is her, she has a red mole between her brows.”

Qing Muzai pondered, then picked up Ning Songwu’s right wrist for a detailed examination.

“Tsk, this is strange. The average person who has severed tendons never fully recovers their dexterity. Over the years, Venerable Ran Fanyin has frequently obtained precious medicines from the Elixir Workshop to treat this child’s hand, yet the results were never significant. This old man couldn’t find the reason before, but now, this wrist has recovered by eight or nine-tenths.”

After painting for so long, how could it not heal?

He Lan Mianmian stood very quietly nearby, sighing softly.

In Luo City, within Yu Shui Pass.

Ran Fanyin sat alone in her sleeping quarters, holding the wooden bird given to her by Lin Yuxue, slightly lost in thought.

Since that day, Lin Yuxue had traveled with them to Luo City. They had interacted many times along the way, and over time, she had grown familiar with Lin Yuxue.

They had now reached Luo City. To be precise, they had been there for five or six days.

The situation in Luo City was very strange. Before Bei Fa and Luan Hua Valley arrived, Fen Tian Sect had already attacked Luo City but had not yet occupied all key areas. Reinforcements sent by the imperial court had been waiting for a long time. Cheng Yunhuan and Lin Yuxue led the Wu Jiang reinforcements and the disciples of Bei Fa and Luan Hua to take the opportunity to enter Luo City, but they had not completely forced out all of Fen Tian Sect’s Raging Fire Banners.

There was a wide street, several hundred feet across, in the city of Luo, called the Yin Yang Path, which sliced Luo City directly into two halves. The Raging Fire Banner of Fen Tian Sect was forced into the eastern half. Relying on the artillery platforms in the city, they made Cheng Yunhuan wary and hesitant to cross the border. Bei Fa and Luan Hua were stationed in the western half, facing the Raging Fire Banner in the east from a distance. Both sides were restless and itching for action.

The door was suddenly pushed open with a creak. Ran Fanyin turned her head to see Lin Yuxue walking in.

“Aren’t you eating? It’s almost dark. I think you skipped lunch, too, didn’t you?” Lin Yuxue quite naturally sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of tea.

“Thank you for your concern,” Ran Fanyin simply replied indifferently.

Lin Yuxue caught sight of the wooden bird in Ran Fanyin’s hand and smiled: “I gave this to you days ago. Have you figured out how to use this mechanical bird yet?”

Ran Fanyin looked at the wooden bird in her hand and shook her head.

“To put it simply, it’s a messenger tool. The groove in its chest can hold a message slip. Unlike ordinary living birds, it is not easily interfered with by external factors, nor can it be shot down by others.”

“Mhm.”

“Guess what other special features it has?” Lin Yuxue smiled at Ran Fanyin, Tsk tsk, the lines of that profile were truly cool and indifferent.

“The things you use are certainly extraordinary. How could I guess?”

“Heh, you’re right about that. This particular one of mine is different from the wooden birds used by the other people in Luan Hua Valley. Inside, I placed a sound-storage stone. What do you think it’s used for? …It can record the message-sender’s words. Not a written note, but your spoken words, which can be transmitted word for word.”

Lin Yuxue took the wooden bird from Ran Fanyin’s hand, pressed the top of the bird’s head, and suddenly looked up and smiled at Ran Fanyin, speaking into it: “Revered Lord Ran Fanyin, it is time for dinner.”

Ran Fanyin quietly watched Lin Yuxue tinkering with it.

Lin Yuxue handed the wooden bird back to Ran Fanyin and said, “Feel its belly. There is a small protrusion there.”

Ran Fanyin felt the button, and with a gentle flick—

Lin Yuxue’s voice suddenly came out of the wooden bird: “Revered Lord Ran Fanyin, it is time for dinner.”

The tone was exactly the same.

Ran Fanyin looked at the wooden bird in surprise: “This…”

“To our Luan Hua Valley, this kind of mechanism is nothing much. It’s just that sound-storage stones are indeed rare. Keep it well. It would take me a long time to carve another wooden bird this intricate.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Young Valley Master,” Ran Fanyin nodded slightly.

Lin Yuxue stared at Ran Fanyin for a long while. Ran Fanyin did not speak and allowed herself to be looked at openly.

“Are you this distant with everyone? I’ve observed you speak the same way even to Venerable Cheng Yunhuan.”

“It is my nature. I hope the Young Valley Master will excuse me.”

“I thought that we were friends, at least, but you are still so cool and aloof. It is truly boring.”

Ran Fanyin remained expressionless, calmly looking at Lin Yuxue, awaiting her next words.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Lin Yuxue’s lips: “See? I say something like that, and you don’t even get angry. You are a little too cold. How can it be good to chill the people around you?”

The door creaked open again.

This time it was Cheng Yunhuan, who walked straight in with a tray of food. He placed the dishes on the table and said to Lin Yuxue: “It took you quite a long time to ask her to eat. The food is getting cold.”

Ran Fanyin slightly lowered her head: “Senior Brother, thank you for the trouble. There was no need to…”

“If he didn’t bring it in for you, when would you ever eat? We pleaded for so long at noon, and still couldn’t get this Venerable Buddha to leave. Eat quickly,” Lin Yuxue teased Ran Fanyin.

Ran Fanyin ignored Lin Yuxue and picked up her bowl and chopsticks.

After a moment, Lin Yuxue asked Cheng Yunhuan again: “All these days, I have had one question in my heart.”

“Please speak, Young Valley Master.”

“Why did Bei Fa send two Venerable Lords on this trip? Logically speaking, Bei Fa should have washed its hands of this affair. How is it more concerned than even my Luan Hua Valley?”

Cheng Yunhuan pondered for a moment: “It’s harmless to tell you, and your father is also aware. Bei Fa has always had ties to the imperial family. Whenever there is a threat to the imperial power, Bei Fa will intervene.”

“I see…” Lin Yuxue looked thoughtful and then said: “I have one more thing I don’t understand. Why does the imperial family always target Fen Tian Sect? …No, it should be, why does the Emperor always target the Sky Falcon Cult and Fen Tian Sect?”

Cheng Yunhuan paused: “That’s not the case. It’s just that both the Sky Falcon Cult and Fen Tian Sect pose a threat to imperial power.”

“Is that so? That doesn’t convince me. There are countless powerful sects and factions in the martial world. Besides the former Sky Falcon Cult in the Central Plains, there are also the Tang Family Fortress in Ba Shu and Ming Xiu Palace in Nan Ling. If the Emperor were to deal with them merely because they are powerful, wouldn’t the first one the Emperor would eliminate be your Bei Fa Palace?”

Cheng Yunhuan said plainly: “So?”

“I think the Emperor has a vendetta against the Sky Falcon Cult and Fen Tian Sect. Then, if we scrutinize this, the common core figure of the Sky Falcon Cult and Fen Tian Sect is Wen Jinglei. The Emperor is targeting Wen Jinglei.” Lin Yuxue spoke slowly while carefully observing Cheng Yunhuan’s expression.

Cheng Yunhuan was silent, then let out a dispassionate laugh: “The Young Valley Master’s thinking is very interesting. But many aspects still cannot be explained. It’s best not to mention imperial family affairs.”

Ran Fanyin’s gaze remained fixed on her bowl; she did not utter a word.

A wooden bird suddenly appeared at the window. It flapped its wings a few times, flew in, and landed steadily on Lin Yuxue’s shoulder like a live bird.

Lin Yuxue took down the wooden bird, removed the message slip from the groove in its chest, and upon reading it, her expression instantly grew serious.

“There’s an unusual movement in the southwest corner. The situation is urgent. Let’s go and check it out immediately.”

Cheng Yunhuan and Ran Fanyin did not speak another word. They followed Lin Yuxue and leaped directly out of the window, heading for the southwest corner.

On the way, Lin Yuxue did not forget to tease Ran Fanyin: “See? I told you to eat quickly. Now you’ve only managed a few grains of rice before you have business to attend to again.”

Ran Fanyin finally frowned: “You truly talk too much.”

Lin Yuxue heard this but was not angry, nor did she immediately retort. She simply smiled gently.

When they arrived, they saw a circle of reinforcements and a few scattered Bei Fa disciples surrounding something. Inside were about twenty people from the Fen Tian Raging Fire Banner, including the Vice Hall Master, Mo Shi, who appeared to have sustained some injuries.

Several corpses lay scattered across the ground, belonging to the Raging Fire Banner, the reinforcements, and two Luan Hua disciples.

A Bei Fa disciple, whose face was covered in scratches, sighed with relief upon seeing the three: Cheng Yunhuan, Ran Fanyin, and Lin Yuxue: “Venerable Lords! You’ve finally come. We were just thinking that if that wooden bird didn’t make it, we would perish together with them.”

Mo Shi saw Cheng Yunhuan, Ran Fanyin, and Lin Yuxue and smiled sinisterly: “Heh, you came quickly indeed. But what good does it do? Heh heh heh heh heh…”

“The Raging Fire Banner resorts to sneak attacks now! Didn’t expect that you wouldn’t steal the chicken but lose the rice, and you yourself will be sacrificed here!” The Bei Fa disciple spat forcefully.

Lin Yuxue turned her head and said in Cheng Yunhuan’s ear: “Eighteen from the Raging Fire Banner, twenty-two reinforcements, three Bei Fa disciples, and you, me, and Ran Fanyin.”

“More than enough. No need for any formation. Let’s engage directly. You and Ran Fanyin will deal with Mo Shi.”

Lin Yuxue nodded, her gaze sharpening as she looked at Mo Shi.

A bearded man in his thirties or forties, slightly overweight, with an injured arm. She alone would be enough to deal with him.

Ran Fanyin drew her personal sword, Luo Shuang (Falling Frost). Its icy-blue blade was as thin as a cicada’s wing, famous in the martial world. It rarely left its sheath.

Ran Fanyin swung her sword and advanced. Her white robes fluttered, and those few movements were as graceful as a celestial crane.