The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 7

“Qiwu is not exactly in a position to visit Falling Star City right now. If you wish to see her, you may come directly to the Wenshen Sect.” Having been coaxed out of her initial ire, the Immortal granted Wei Xiheng permission to enter the sect at will—though the idea of her actually taking Wen Qiwu away remained strictly off the table.

“Oh, I see! Many thanks, Immortal.” Wei Xiheng was a simple soul; she hadn’t even noticed the invisible “blades and arrows” that had been flying through the air just moments ago.

However, now that Yun Heng was present, Wei Xiheng felt a bit stiff under her icy aura. The endless stream of words she’d had ready earlier died in her throat, and the conversation gradually fell into a quiet lull.

“Qiwu, you haven’t taken tonight’s medicine yet,” Yun Heng reminded her. It was getting late.

“Right, I almost forgot. If I don’t head back soon, Elder Lu will come looking for me. A-Heng, you can come find me at Wanya Mountain next time.”

“Got it! Taking your medicine is the priority. Hurry on back!”

Wen Qiwu bid farewell to Wei Xiheng and gave a polite nod to the other two before departing with her senior sister.

“That Immortal… she really lives up to the reputation. I could barely breathe just standing in front of her.” Lin Shuangyun let out a long breath of relief. Still, she felt a spark of excitement; as a fellow sword cultivator, who wouldn’t want a pointer or two from a True Immortal?

“To think A-Que is a disciple of the Wenshen Sect and a direct disciple of the previous Sect Leader, no less. It seems I can’t just snatch her away to Falling Star City.” Wei Xiheng rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought, apparently still unwilling to let go of her earlier idea.

“Is there any way to get A-Que to join the city legitimately?” she muttered.

“There is.” Zuo Lan was still thinking about the fact that Yun Heng had specifically come to fetch Wen Qiwu for her medicine. She realized that Wen Qiwu’s health might be even more fragile than she had initially suspected. Hearing Wei Xiheng’s mutterings, she reflexively added: “Just become her Dao companion and marry her into your family. Then it would be perfectly legitimate.”

“…” Zuo Lan suddenly realized she had said the wrong thing. Seeing the look of “enlightenment” spreading across Wei Xiheng’s face, she walked over and gave the girl’s head a sharp rap. “Forget it. Do you even know what a Dao companion means? The City Lord would break your legs.”

And before that, Zuo Lan thought, the Immortal’s sword would probably fall first.

Once they reached a secluded area, Yun Heng came to a halt.

“Sister?” Wen Qiwu could tell her sister had something on her mind.

Yun Heng looked into her junior sister’s innocent, clear eyes, and the certainty of her earlier suspicions began to waver.

“Qiwu…” She hesitated for a long moment before finally asking, “Have you known the Yuxi Saintess for a long time?”

The light in Wen Qiwu’s eyes flickered slightly. She sighed inwardly; there was no avoiding this. “Yes… we’ve actually known each other for quite a while.”

Yun Heng pursed her lips, her expression growing increasingly displeased.

“How long is ‘quite a while’?”

“Since I first broke through to the Core Formation stage.” Starting from Core Formation, every major breakthrough for a cultivator requires surviving both lightning tribulations and “Heart-Mirror” trials. In that first mental illusion, Wen Qiwu had seen a vision of her sister kissing her.

Though she had successfully broken through, that scene had left her restless for nights on end. It was then she realized her feelings had shifted into something strange. Later, by a stroke of fate, she began exchanging letters with Zuo Lan, and step by step, she finally managed to dissect and understand the nature of her own heart.

Wen Qiwu lowered her head, her fingers instinctively fidgeting with the fabric of her dress.

It was as if the Heavens themselves were holding a grudge; every time she reached a major breakthrough, the visions in her Heart-Mirror trials always involved her senior sister. And each time, the scenes became… more explicit. They say the Heart-Mirror reveals the deepest desires of a cultivator’s soul. Wen Qiwu stole a secret glance at the sister standing beside her, and those forbidden images immediately came flooding back.

“…” Wen Qiwu hurriedly banished the scandalous thoughts. If she dwelled on them any longer, she wouldn’t know how to look her sister in the eye!

Wen Qiwu didn’t realize that as she recalled those memories, she had taken on a bashful, blushing air—the textbook look of a young girl in love. Yun Heng’s expression darkened. This had been going on for decades? And yet, her sister had never mentioned it once.

Even the temperatures of the Icy Hells had never made Yun Heng feel cold, but now, a strange chill seemed to crawl up from her fingertips.

The last trace of warmth in the Immortal’s expression vanished completely. The irritation in her heart was stained with an unidentified streak of hostility. That Saintess must have bewitched her.

“Qiwu, did I not tell you to stay away from her?”

Hearing a cold, hard tone she had never heard from her sister before, Wen Qiwu’s fingers tightened on her dress, the faint sting of her nails against her palms grounding her. She looked up and saw the look of disappointment in Yun Heng’s eyes.

“Sister…” Wen Qiwu’s pale lips trembled. This was likely the first time in her life she had truly made her sister angry.

Other sisters might bicker and argue growing up, but they never had. Even as a mischievous child, if she did something wrong, her sister was always patient, gently teaching her how to fix it.

But what had the Saintess actually done wrong? She had simply done what Wen Qiwu herself lacked the courage to do. Wen Qiwu felt a wave of gloom, but she forced herself to explain that Zuo Lan wasn’t the monster the rumors claimed she was. She vouched for Zuo Lan’s character, explaining that their connection was just a few letters and nothing more…

She thought her explanation—that she wasn’t being “corrupted” would calm Yun Heng down. However, for the first time, she had completely misread her sister’s mind.

The more she spoke in defense of Zuo Lan, the angrier Yun Heng seemed to become.

Yun Heng looked away, afraid the coldness in her eyes would frighten her sister.

Even if the world was wrong about the Saintess, should she allow Qiwu to associate with her? No… who was to say the woman wasn’t just putting on an act? Junior Sister Zhao from Wanya Mountain had been just as certain before she came home crying.

At this moment, Yun Heng didn’t yet understand that she simply didn’t want anyone else touching her sister. Any other “reason” was just an excuse she used to convince herself.

It was as if only by keeping Qiwu isolated could she fill the hollow ache in her own chest.

There was no shouting match. Her sister’s words hadn’t even reached the level of a scolding. Yet, on the walk back, Wen Qiwu couldn’t find a way to start a conversation. That very night, the teams from the various sects departed for the Solar Eclipse Realm. Wen Qiwu saw the birdcage hanging on her door—her sister had visited, but she hadn’t said goodbye.

The Saintess had also been taken to the secret realm. Word had it she hadn’t planned on going, but the Immortal had paid a visit to the Yuxi Sect Master, after which the Master had happily bound her disciple and dragged her along.

“Little Bird? I’m going to have to start calling you my Little Ancestor! Be good and take your medicine.” Lu Qiaoyi saw Wen Qiwu’s gloomy expression and coaxed her into finishing the brew before asking, “What’s wrong? Who upset you?”

“I’m the one who upset my sister,” Wen Qiwu said, her voice small.

“You? Making your sister angry?” Lu Qiaoyi thought her ears were playing tricks on her, until she saw the deepening sadness on Wen Qiwu’s face.

“Don’t worry about it. Your sister could never truly be mad at you. She just has a natural ice-block face; she looks annoyed at everyone. When she gets back, I’ll give her a piece of my mind!” Though they were both her juniors, Lu Qiaoyi had a clear soft spot for the obedient Wen Qiwu.

“It really was my fault this time. Elder, please don’t scold her.” Wen Qiwu sat up and grabbed her hand the moment she heard Lu Qiaoyi was going to nag Yun Heng.

“Alright, alright. Lie back down. I won’t say a word to her.” Lu Qiaoyi pressed her back into the pillows.

Only a few days had passed since the expedition left, but Wen Qiwu’s face had become significantly paler.

On the third day after Yun Heng’s departure, Wen Qiwu suddenly felt a terrifying shift in her soul. Normally, her illness just made her feel weak and lethargic. But that morning, she felt as if her soul were being roasted over an open flame. The sensation of being slowly consumed by fire began to choke the life out of her.

“How are you feeling today? Has the pain subsided at all?” Lu Qiaoyi channeled her power into the girl’s body for an inspection. Again, she felt that swamp-like lack of resistance—the hallmark of Spirit Dissipation.

“I don’t know. I just feel like my soul is burning,” Wen Qiwu whispered, her head rolling weakly to the side.

Lu Qiaoyi bit her lip until it turned white. She realized this was the onset of a major crisis, and the reaction was more violent than anything they had seen before.

“Little Bird…” Lu Qiaoyi sat by the bed, watching the girl’s consciousness begin to slip. In the depths of her eyes was a complex emotion that no one else could read.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll find a way to keep you alive.”

After those few words with the Elder, Wen Qiwu lost track of time. She drifted in and out of a haze of searing pain. In her delirium, she felt her spirit falling into a pit of fire; pale, ghostly flames wrapped around her, draining her awareness and her strength.

Later, she vaguely heard Elder Lu speaking again. She was fed something—some kind of special medicine, she assumed—but instead of dampening the fire, the medicine seemed to feed the ghostly flames!

She heard frantic voices around her, people speaking in hushed, anxious tones. Eventually, even those faded away.

Her consciousness was on the verge of losing the battle to the flames. Fortunately, at the most critical moment, a wave of icy, immortal power surged through her body. Sister…

She couldn’t die yet. She didn’t want to die!

As her mind cleared slightly, she felt someone holding her. The person’s body was cool, and they carried that familiar, wonderful scent of snow and plum blossoms. Her sister was back!

“A-Que! Wake up, don’t sleep…” If you sleep now, you’ll never wake up again.

Sleep.

Do not resist.

Strange whispers echoed from within the pale flames, wrapping around her consciousness and trying to drag her soul toward some unknown abyss.

“A-Que…”

The voice by her ear sounded choked with a sob. Was she making her sister cry?

Come back.

No… I have to wake up.

If you don’t return now…

Get lost!

The flames wrapping around her flinched. Wen Qiwu finally found the opening she needed to break free. As the fire vanished, her body felt incredibly light. She finally found the strength to open her eyes. Her vision was blurred, but she could see her sister’s red-rimmed eyes. She wanted to reach out, but she didn’t have the strength to lift her hand.

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