My Senior Sister Says She Will Marry No One But Me - Chapter 45

Qin Shanshan’s words struck like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, instantly dispelling the fog that had clouded Du Yunge’s mind. Those fragmented, dreamlike memories and the half-understood events from her past life were like scattered pearls being threaded together one by one, gradually forming a complete and coherent strand in her thoughts:

The saintess of the Wuzaka tribe was Xue Shuyan’s blood relative this was something Xue Shuyan had admitted before her spirit tablet in her past life. And in this life, Xue Shuyan had also mentioned having a cousin who loved to compete with her for everything. Judging by Qin Shanshan’s demeanor, it was clear she was that very person.

Back when the Wuzaka tribe was in turmoil, Xue Shuyan and Qin Shanshan fled in panic and, in their desperation, sought help from the Miaoyin Sect. Initially, the sect had no intention of meddling in the affairs of the Hu people they didn’t even want to deal with the messes of the Central Plains people. However, Xue Shuyan was stubborn and principled, making her easy to manipulate. Moreover, since she had saved Du Yunge’s life, the Four Great Protectors of the sect decided to keep her and appointed her as the senior disciple, Xue Shuyan. They made her swear an oath to the gods of the nine heavens and ten earths, which explained why Xue Shuyan had remained by her side all these years, protecting and caring for her tirelessly. Although the Hu people generally left a poor impression on the Central Plains people, their unwavering commitment to keeping their promises was something to be admired.

With this, everything fell into place. Du Yunge thought to herself:

No wonder her senior sister, even after losing her mind in her past life, insisted on bringing her spirit tablet back to her homeland. It was because her senior sister had made a promise long ago. Whether out of the bond they had shared over the years or her adherence to that oath, she could never abandon her.

But why, after piecing everything together, did she suddenly feel so unsettled?

Qin Shanshan was an astute person. From a young age, she knew how to leverage her advantages to win favor with her elders. Compared to Xue Shuyan, who was already at a disadvantage due to her mixed heritage, Qin Shanshan was noble-born, understanding, and sweet-tongued, placing her far ahead from the start. The two shared close blood ties and had similar tastes and preferences, but most things came in limited quantities. When two people desired the same thing, Qin Shanshan, with her exceptional skill in winning people over, always emerged victorious in her long-standing rivalry with Xue Shuyan. As a result, Xue Shuyan, despite being the nominal older cousin, never succeeded in claiming anything for herself.

Qin Shanshan immediately noticed Du Yunge’s unease. Delighted, she coaxed her, saying:

“Look, your Senior Sister Xue is just a mixed-blood of Hu and Han descent. How could she compare to me? I come from a noble background, have a gentle temperament, and have held you in my thoughts all these years. Isn’t my devotion far more sincere?”

“Moreover, Young Mistress, try putting yourself in your Senior Sister Xue’s position. If you had mastered martial arts to the point where no one dared to look down on you, yet for years you were bound by an old vow to care for someone who falls short in every way wouldn’t you feel stifled? Wouldn’t you seize this chance to shake them off?”

“Young Mistress, since your senior sister has abandoned you, why not come with me beyond the Great Wall? Someone as lovely as you, I would surely cherish and honor. Whatever you desire, just speak it, even if it’s stars from the sky or the moon amid the clouds, I’d pluck them all for you!”

These words were at once subtle and blunt, each sentence barbed, each character piercing straight to the heart, ruthlessly steering Du Yunge’s previously troubled thoughts in a new direction. Yet, having witnessed Xue Shuyan’s willingness to ride through the night without rest to confront He Zhenzhen in a life-or-death battle, not to mention her past-life self, Du Yunge would never believe it:

Xue Shuyan, despite her stern expression, cold demeanor, and clumsy words, was someone who always kept her promises, honored her vows, and shouldered her responsibilities without fail. How could there be any notion of her “abandoning” Du Yunge?

Just as Qin Shanshan, feeling she had offered enough sweet persuasion, was about to sit beside Du Yunge, take her hand, and warmly describe the splendors beyond the Great Wall, Du Yunge suddenly lifted her gaze. Her clear, radiant eyes held a frosty chill reminiscent of Xue Shuyan’s, fixed directly on Qin Shanshan. For a moment, even the unblinking saintess of Wuzhaka, who had just been spinning lies effortlessly, felt a twinge of guilt:

“You’re lying. My senior sister would never abandon me.”

Qin Shanshan didn’t genuinely adore Du Yunge the way her cousin did, who would live or die for her alone.

She simply had a fondness for beautiful things.

But compared to those who struggled for survival and had nothing, someone like her, who had been indulged since childhood, showed utter disregard for the treasures around her.

Thus, whether it was priceless gold, silver, pearls, coral, jade, rare silks and satins, fine wines, or famed steeds, or even beauties drawn to her status and wealth, she accepted them all without hesitation. Once the novelty faded, she would cast aside what she had once cherished as if it were worthless trash.

No matter how the elders of the Wuzhaka tribe advised her, or how the stunning beauties suddenly discarded and plunged from heaven to hell pleaded through tears, nothing could alter Qin Shanshan’s mindset of “loving everything, but never for long.”

Yet, Du Yunge was precisely the one thing Qin Shanshan had yearned for over the years but never obtained. As the saying goes, “What you can’t have is always the best,” and this holds true everywhere. Thus, in her long-standing frustration of unfulfilled desires, Qin Shanshan had turned “bringing Du Yunge back beyond the Great Wall” into an obsession akin to an inner demon.

Having believed that this time she would surely succeed in winning Du Yunge over, only to suffer a major miscalculation, Qin Shanshan was baffled: ??? Since when has the young sect leader become so sharp-witted???

She swiftly seized Du Yunge’s shoulders, forcing her to look up and meet her gaze:

“How does the young sect leader know for certain that I must be lying? Could it be that spending too much time with your Senior Sister Xue has made you forget that the divide between the Hu and Han peoples is insurmountable? Isn’t there a rule among the Han that says, ‘Hu and Han shall never interact’? It truly breaks my heart. I’ve never spoken such heartfelt words to anyone else before.”

Qin Shanshan’s words were a mix of truth and falsehood and only such half-truths represent the pinnacle of deception. To weave a flawless lie, one must first convince oneself. By believing the truthful half, deceiving others becomes twice as effective and unstoppable.

The chasm between the Hu and Han peoples is indeed unbridgeable. Throughout history, how many conflicts between brothers, separations of lovers, and rifts between teachers and students have arisen from this very divide? The Han look down upon the Hu, viewing them as crude, cold-blooded, and brutal. Conversely, the Hu scorn the Han, seeing them as nothing more than cowardly scholars hiding behind the Great Wall, clinging to the fertile lands of the Central Plains, too timid to step beyond their borders. Given the chance, the Hu believe they could easily seize control of the heartland!

This led to the subsequent chaos of the Five Barbarians, the unwritten rule of “Hu and Han shall never interact” that persisted for centuries, and the tragic fate of those who, despite loving deeply, could never speak their feelings aloud.

This was perhaps the only credible part of the nonsense she had just spouted.

Du Yunge’s thoughts remained entirely unswayed. Unaccustomed to being so close to anyone other than Xue Shuyan, she struggled to break free but found Qin Shanshan’s grip unexpectedly strong. Unable to escape, she lowered her eyes and said:

“If ‘Hu and Han shall never interact,’ then the Holy Maiden should not be trying to force me to go beyond the Great Wall.”

Only then did Qin Shanshan realize that the young sect leader she remembered, the one who unquestioningly believed whatever others said was gone. In her place stood a young woman, still somewhat inexperienced, yet already embodying the bearing of a sect leader.

How truly intriguing.

She scrutinized Du Yunge from head to toe with a fresh perspective, as if meeting for the first time this legendary beauty renowned even beyond the Great Wall, and laughed: “So it seems I’ve trapped myself with my own words?”

Du Yunge thought to herself, Well, obviously. It seems you truly hold absolute authority in your tribe, where no one ever contradicts you. Look at the consequences, you’ve started digging your own grave. But since she was currently in someone else’s territory, speaking such blunt truths would be no different from shouting, “I don’t want to live anymore, just kill me!” So she lowered her head and gave a faint smile.

“Of course not.”

Being beautiful often came with its advantages. Just moments ago, Qin Shanshan had been wondering, Why has the young sect leader suddenly become so clever? But upon witnessing such breathtaking beauty, it was as if she had seen a budding water lily nodding gently in the cool breeze of a summer evening, its touch rippling across the water’s surface so serene and graceful. She found every aspect of the person before her utterly captivating, and in her dazed state, she inadvertently forgot what she had intended to pursue.

Unable to resist, Qin Shanshan reached out, murmuring as if to touch Du Yunge’s cheek:

“Young Sect Leader, you truly are incredibly beautiful.”

Her gesture held no ulterior motive, but it startled Du Yunge so much that she jolted violently, even if it meant throwing herself backward and risking a hard fall, just to avoid that outstretched hand.

In both this life and the last, Du Yunge had never allowed anyone except Xue Shuyan to get so close to her not even He Zhenzhen, with whom she had once feigned a marital relationship. It was only after being reborn that Du Yunge realized how much deception had likely shrouded her previous life’s wedding night.

Haunted by the shadows of her past death, Du Yunge had come to view certain things as perilous, avoiding them like the plague. Her sudden backward tilt successfully evaded Qin Shanshan’s hand, but just as she had anticipated, she tumbled straight off the low stool. It was as if she had summoned every ounce of her martial arts training in that split second so swiftly that Qin Shanshan couldn’t catch her in time. Startled, Qin Shanshan hurriedly rose to help Du Yunge up, urgently calling for bruise-relief ointment and exclaiming:

“Young Sect Leader, what are you doing?! Even if you dislike being touched, you could’ve just told me. I never trouble beauties, why put yourself through this?”

Du Yunge was in too much pain to speak, feeling as if the world were spinning around her. A persistent buzzing filled her ears, her vision flickered between light and dark, and even Qin Shanshan’s figure sitting before her grew blurry.

Amidst this agony, a vague thought managed to form in her mind:

If it were Xue Shuyan here Xue Shuyan would never have let me fall.

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