The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 60

“The true reason she was sent to the Cliff of Reflection.”

Thinking back, though they hadn’t officially defined their relationship beyond that of senior and junior sisters, they had shared kisses like this more than once, some in dreams, some in reality.

But back then, they were green and restrained, never as bold as this. Wen Qiwu felt breathless as Yun Heng’s scent, laced with the faint bitterness of medicine, enveloped her, causing her senses to blur in a dizzying haze.

Senior Sister used to be such a total prude. Since when did she become so… provocative?

It wasn’t until Wen Qiwu felt her lips grow slightly swollen that Yun Heng allowed her a moment to catch her breath. But Yun Heng seemed addicted to the sensation; while Wen Qiwu was still dazed, she was pulled back into another series of soft, lingering kisses.

“Senior Sister…” Her protests were muffled and swallowed between their lips.

Wen Qiwu felt as though everything happening was uncannily similar to what she had experienced in her Trial of the Heart. She wondered for a moment if she had fallen into another illusion or was simply dreaming.

Sensing her distraction, Yun Heng gave her a playful, light nip.

It didn’t hurt, but when Wen Qiwu opened her eyes with a look of slight grievance, she froze. In the depths of her Senior Sister’s eyes, amidst the overflowing affection, was a faint, unsettling flicker of red.

A chill gripped Wen Qiwu’s heart. She gave Yun Heng a light push, but the action only caused the Empress to hold her tighter.

Lately, aside from her physical and spiritual wounds, Yun Heng had shown almost no signs of being influenced by her inner demons. Wen Qiwu had nearly forgotten how severe that affliction truly was.

Thump.

In a sudden reversal, Yun Heng found herself pinned beneath Wen Qiwu. Her ink-black hair spilled across the bed in a messy silk tangle. She panted softly, her red-tinged eyes filled with a mix of confusion and startled alarm.

Wen Qiwu noticed that after her accidental push, Yun Heng’s body had begun to tremble slightly. She had only meant to check on her, but Yun Heng refused to let go, and in the struggle, she ended up pinning her Senior Sister down.

The air between them grew thick with a heavy, lingering tension. Wen Qiwu’s ears turned a shade of red so deep they looked ready to bleed.

She leaned down, embracing Yun Heng and whispering soothingly, “Senior Sister, did the inner demon say something to you?”

Yun Heng shivered. Wen Qiwu had hit the mark. This wasn’t the first time her Junior Sister had pushed her away since her return. The long-dormant inner demon had seized the moment of her emotional instability to whisper gloatingly in her ear: [Look, Ah Que has rejected you again.]

[You’ve already missed your chance. Do you really think she wants you? Why not let me take over? I can make sure she stays by your side forever.]

“It said… You don’t want me anymore.” Yun Heng’s voice broke with the fragile helplessness of someone tormented. Wen Qiwu felt a surge of heartache. She pulled her sister into a tight hug and, after a moment’s hesitation, pressed a kiss as light as a feather to Yun Heng’s cheek.

Back then, her Senior Sister’s rejection had been so final that Wen Qiwu feared Yun Heng might regret these actions once she recovered. Thus, she kept the kiss to the cheek—an act of comfort that didn’t cross too many lines.

“The inner demon is a liar. Don’t believe a single word it says.”

Receiving no immediate response, Wen Qiwu pressed, “Do you believe it, or do you believe me?”

“I believe you, of course,” Yun Heng replied instantly, finally seeming to snap back to her senses.

“Then no matter what it tells you in the future, you have to tell me, okay?” Wen Qiwu brushed a stray lock of hair from Yun Heng’s forehead. Her Senior Sister’s eyes were misty and soft. When had this powerful woman ever been so vulnerable? Every time she saw her like this, Wen Qiwu found it impossible to settle old scores.

Yun Heng gave a soft “mm.” She lowered her eyes, her knitted brows painting a picture of sorrow. “It said… You pushed me away because you loathe me.”

“Nonsense!” Wen Qiwu countered immediately. That demon was truly despicable, twisting every possible moment to drive a wedge between them. “I was just… I didn’t react in time.”

The moment the words left her mouth, her lips were met with a warm, soft touch again. This time, Yun Heng pulled away quickly, giving Wen Qiwu no chance to object.

“It also said you’d find this… disgusting…” Yun Heng continued, adding a fair amount of her own “embellishment” to the demon’s words.

[Despicable!] The inner demon actually surfaced in Yun Heng’s mind to curse. [I never said that! You’re pinning your own lies on me!]

Cradled in Wen Qiwu’s arms, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flickered in Yun Heng’s eyes before vanishing.

“Don’t listen to its lies,” Wen Qiwu whispered. How could she find it disgusting? She was more happy than anything else. Being thin-skinned, she couldn’t bring herself to say that out loud, but her expression and tone betrayed her true feelings.

Yun Heng kissed her again. This time, Wen Qiwu didn’t pull away; after a heartbeat of hesitation, she responded.

They were lost in each other’s presence. The bitter taste of medicine in Yun Heng’s mouth was long gone, replaced by sweetness. If being close to my sister every day is like this, then the bitter medicine is a true blessing, Yun Heng thought. I should thank the Medical Immortal.

Wen Qiwu’s face was flushed, and a bit of color had finally returned to Yun Heng’s pale complexion. But unlike Yun Heng’s satisfaction, a shadow of melancholy lingered in Wen Qiwu’s eyes.

“Senior Sister.”

“Yes?” Yun Heng looked at her, her arm still around Wen Qiwu’s waist.

“If you regret this later… please don’t be angry with me,” Wen Qiwu murmured.

Yun Heng’s body stiffened. Her sister was still haunted by the past, still afraid. It was Yun Heng’s fault; she had sown the seeds of this fear. Now, her sister had her own “inner demon” the inability to believe if Yun Heng’s feelings were genuine love or mere obsession born of guilt.

“Ah Que, I was wrong. Back then, I was too cowardly to face my feelings. I ran away because I didn’t know what I truly wanted. Later, the Saintess of the Yuxi Sect wrote many letters scolding me… I have to thank her. If not for her reminders, I might have kept lying to myself for even longer.”

But she had realized it too late. Thinking of those dark days made Yun Heng feel a phantom chill.

“I had planned to talk to you about us once you were able to leave the Cliff of Reflection, but…” Yun Heng’s voice choked up.

Thankfully, Ah Que was back. Thankfully, she still had a chance.

Wen Qiwu sighed internally. If she hadn’t been “resurrected” and brought back by that bird-child on a whim, she would never have lived to hear those words.

Wait!

Wen Qiwu suddenly caught a discrepancy in her sister’s words. What did she mean by “once you were able to leave”? Was she not allowed to leave back then? Her Senior Sister had sent her there to reflect, yet she was saying she couldn’t let her leave?

Her intuition told her there was a hidden layer to the story she didn’t know. “Senior Sister… could I not leave the Cliff of Reflection back then?”

Yun Heng looked confused, as if she didn’t understand why Wen Qiwu was asking something so obvious. “Of course you couldn’t. The essence of the Life-Exchange Art is to pluck you from the perception of the Heavenly Dao, weaving a false fate to die in your place. The area beneath the Cliff of Reflection is a Spirit-Severing Land. I used that as the focal point with that person to set up the Heaven-Veiling Array.”

Yun Heng’s plan had been as bold as it was dangerous. The Life-Exchange Art was only the first step. Once Wen Qiwu had bypassed the death-calamity written in her fate, Yun Heng had planned to address her soul issues.

“Within the range of that array, even the Heavenly Dao cannot find you. As long as you stayed there, you could escape the calamity. You were supposed to come out once the danger had passed.”

Yun Heng explained her plan in detail, only omitting the immense risks she had taken upon herself as the caster.

But the more she explained, the more bewildered Wen Qiwu looked, as if she were hearing a foreign language.

“Ah Que… you didn’t know?” Yun Heng’s grip tightened on the bedsheets. A ridiculous, horrifying realization began to dawn on her.

Wen Qiwu shook her head blankly. “I didn’t know. I always thought… You were angry with me, so you punished me by locking me away… and that you never wanted to see me again for the rest of my life.”

“That person… that demon seed said he had explained it to you…” Yun Heng’s voice stopped abruptly. Right. How could she have trusted a malicious demon seed to actually help her?

“I never heard a single word about a Life-Exchange Art or a Heaven-Veiling Array.” Wen Qiwu finally seemed to snap out of her shock, her mind racing through her memories. She was certain she had never heard of it.

So… Ah Que spent all those years thinking I had discarded her? The realization sent a surge of blood to Yun Heng’s throat; the sheer fury caused a sharp pain in her wounded heart.

No wonder. No wonder Wen Qiwu had acted like a startled bird whenever she tried to get close. To her, a person who had imprisoned her for years had suddenly appeared and declared their love. Who would believe that?

Yun Heng clutched her chest, the pain there agonizing. How did Ah Que endure those years in a place like the Cliff of Reflection, thinking she was hated?

“Senior Sister!” Wen Qiwu hurriedly supported the weakening Yun Heng. “Don’t be angry. The Medical Immortal said you need to keep your heart calm.”

If that demon seed weren’t already ash and dust, Yun Heng would have hunted it down to grind its soul to powder. But it had occupied Elder Lu’s body; even if she found the remains, she couldn’t bring herself to strike. Yun Heng bit her lip, realized her sister had suffered far more injustice than she had ever imagined.

Drip. A teardrop fell onto Wen Qiwu’s hand.

She reached up to wipe away her Senior Sister’s tears, but Yun Heng grabbed her hand, explaining desperately, “Ah Que, you were so ill then. I would never, under any circumstances, punish you by sending you to the Cliff of Reflection for something like that. I can swear it—if I ever had such a thought, I.”

Wen Qiwu covered her mouth.

“You don’t need to swear. I believe you.” Wen Qiwu withdrew her hand. Her mind was still a whirl of confusion, but she instinctively chose to trust Yun Heng. So… I misunderstood her all these years?

She didn’t… she didn’t actually loathe me? Wen Qiwu’s heart was suddenly full of a complex, overwhelming mix of bitterness and sweetness.

“Ah Que, if you don’t believe my feelings, I can swear to the Heavenly Dao.” Yun Heng’s next attempt at an oath was cut off by the remaining half-bowl of bitter medicine.

The soul-shaking bitterness of the brew stopped her mid-sentence. Wen Qiwu flicked her wrist, opening a nearby window. A bird flew in, carrying a small porcelain vial of spirit flower nectar.

Yun Heng swallowed the bitter medicine numbly. The bitterness of the herbs couldn’t compare to the ache in her heart. But then, her sister leaned in and kissed her again. The sweetness of the flower nectar mingled between them, slowly soothing the scars of the past.

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