The Cold, Aloof Senior Sister Deserves To Be Paired With A Peerless Beauty - Chapter 28

Is she going to save someone today?

The deep, dark bottom of the well was illuminated by talisman fire, making the bone-chilling water seem to carry a hint of warmth.

The warm glow reflected on that cold, indifferent face, like a halo bestowed upon a merciful Buddha sacred, inviolable, and instinctively commanding submission.

Chi Li’s voice was like a warm breeze piercing through extreme cold, every word carried her inherent pride, yet offered a salvation that others could only look up to.

Deep within those profound, beautiful eyes, the flickering firelight was reflected. After a long while, Huang Jin finally caught a glimpse of herself within them, a monster fallen into the mire, trapped in the abyss.

Falling into such eyes made her feel utterly out of place; sorrow instantly surged in her heart.

Huang Jin lowered her gaze, hiding her terror.

Noticing the fear of the person before her, Chi Li narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke after a moment of contemplation.

“Are you afraid of me?”

Huang Jin shook her head blankly, her gaze falling once more on the jade talisman in Chi Li’s hand. Though she had never seen it before, she knew the jade talismans of the Cangqing Sect could not be faked.

“I do not fear the Immortal Master, it is just…”

Huang Jin’s voice trailed off, still not daring to look directly at her own reflection in the other’s eyes.

As if seeing through her thoughts, Chi Li spoke calmly.

“Huang Jin.”

Chi Li’s voice carried a chill, neither loud nor soft but it made the person before her tremble.

Hearing Chi Li call her name, Huang Jin’s lowered hands instinctively clenched. She didn’t respond, merely waiting in silence for Chi Li to continue.

“Your appearance is not by your will, nor by your doing. The source of everything is not your fault. I will not feel disgust because of your current strangeness; you need not fear my gaze.”

“You are the lord of a city, beloved by ten thousand citizens. If you insist on abandoning yourself, the people of your city will only be left in danger.”

Each of Chi Li’s words was like a stone cast into a still lake, sending ripples through the water.

Behind her, the vines became restless, but Huang Jin suddenly looked up, meeting Chi Li’s scrutinizing gaze. She no longer tried to avoid it. Thinking of the safety of her citizens, her expression filled with grief. Her throat felt dry, and though her voice was hoarse, her words were earnest and pleading.

“Huang Jin only begs the Immortal Master to save the people of my city, so they are no longer harmed by villains.”

The moment her voice fell, fragmented memories flashed through her mind.

A black shadow stood before her, and someone stepped out from behind it. While her consciousness was blurred, the black robe fell from that person, revealing a face without features. After fumbling for a moment and looking up again, a face identical to hers appeared on that person.

She could not struggle, her heart was filled only with horror and shock.

The uncontrollable emotions were sensed by the vines behind her. Huang Jin tried desperately to stop them, but it was in vain. The clawing vines were like skeleton hands, clamoring to crush the person in front of her.

Huang Jin’s face turned deathly pale as she spoke anxiously.

“Immortal Master, I…”

Before she could finish, Chi Li’s expression sharpened. She suddenly drew closer, an overwhelming pressure descending that made the clamoring, waving vines become “obedient and quiet” as if they had lost their spirit.

Seeing the person so close and cold, Huang Jin instinctively wanted to retreat, but then she heard Chi Li speak, words that made her body stiffen.

“I can save them, but I must have that flower.”

The goal was clear, making it even more evident to Huang Jin that Chi Li’s sole purpose for doing all this was for that flower.

As a disciple of an immortal sect, Chi Li’s actions would surely be criticized by the world, but there was nothing inherently wrong with doing something for a purpose.

Although Huang Jin had heard of Chi Li, she knew she had no standing to criticize her actions. She should even be grateful that she possessed something the other party wanted as a bargaining chip.

At this thought, Huang Jin’s eyes dimmed slightly, but she dared not keep Chi Li waiting. After recovering her senses, she immediately nodded in agreement.

“As long as the Immortal Master can save my citizens, I will offer whatever you desire with both hands.”

In every word, she laid down her pride, carrying respect for Chi Li and deep concern for her people.

As for herself…

Huang Jin caught a glimpse of the clawing vines behind her, bearing a vibrant green of rebirth, with strangely colored buds growing between them, adding a touch of the macabre.

Withdrawing her gaze, Huang Jin gave a bitter smile and reached out to pluck the bud that had absorbed her own flesh and blood.

However, at that moment, a hand grabbed her wrist, the pitiless force stopping her movement.

As Huang Jin looked blankly from the hand to its owner, she heard the other person speak in a freezing tone.

“You must not.”

The voice carried an unquestionable sharpness, making Huang Jin’s body tremble involuntarily, she dared not break free, nor dared she continue.

“Does the Immortal Master not want it?”

Huang Jin frowned, seemingly unable to understand. Chi Li was the one who wanted it, yet Chi Li was also the one who stopped her.

Chi Li didn’t speak, lost in thought.

Years ago, Chi Li had sought to obtain that bud, but after learning this was the true Lord of Huang City, she had no intention of killing her.

However, the moment she removed the bud, the other’s already shattered soul dissipated.

Because of that, Huang Jin never had the chance to clear her name.

At this thought, the coldness in Chi Li’s eyes deepened; the flickering firelight was not enough to melt the frost within.

“If you remove it recklessly, you will die.”

With that, Chi Li released the other’s wrist and reached out to touch the bud that would never bloom. The petals looked delicate, yet they were as sharp as blades.

Just before the skin was cut, Chi Li withdrew her hand. The emotions in her eyes were complex and hard to decipher, but they quickly returned to her usual coldness.

Chi Li’s gaze fell on Huang Jin, a chilling stare that made one feel helpless. She spoke in a deep voice.

“Its stem is already connected to your meridians. Once removed recklessly, you will die too.”

Hearing Chi Li’s final sentence, Huang Jin’s eyelashes merely trembled. The shadows cast over her eyes hid the fear beneath. After suppressing it with great effort, she forced a pale smile and spoke.

“Immortal Master, it doesn’t matter.”

In any case, she was no different from a dead person now.

“It does.”

Chi Li spoke, just two words but with a tone so serious and certain that the listener suddenly looked up at her, eyes flashing with something unknown.

Regarding her current half-human, half-ghost form, being tortured day and night and knowing she might eventually lose control and hurt people, Huang Jin felt it would be better to die.

But Chi Li’s sudden words, even before hearing the reason, left her stunned for a long time.

Huang Jin opened her mouth, finding her throat tight.

“It does…?”

Chi Li’s eyes were indifferent, as if covered in frost, revealing little emotion. But the words she spoke next still contained a trace of indiscernible disgust.

“You should know, if you truly die, the person replacing you outside can say whatever they want, and all the crimes will fall solely on your shoulders.”

Hearing this, Huang Jin’s expression changed. She wanted to continue saying she didn’t care, but her clenched hands turned a terrifying white, completely betraying her emotions.

How could she truly not care, watching while filth was thrown at her name while she was powerless to stop it?

Chi Li watched her, taking in her emotions, and curled her lips into a mocking smile.

“I don’t like being a scapegoat, and I don’t like others being scapegoats either.”

Her icy voice was unquestionable.

“A scapegoat?”

Huang Jin’s voice trembled, and the look in her eyes became complex.

Though the other person didn’t mention helping her in every sentence, every sentence was helping her.

A sharpness climbed into Chi Li’s features as she spoke.

“I don’t want that person to pity your imposter. A fake is a fake after all; only the real one deserves to live in the light.”

“Who?”

Huang Jin could see that Chi Li was cold by nature and would usually not reveal her emotions. The trace of disgust now was genuine, as if she loathed the person she mentioned to the extreme.

For someone like Chi Li to hate a person to this extent, that person surely wasn’t good.

“A waste,” Chi Li said, giving a merciless evaluation as if speaking one more word about them was an insult to herself.

Huang Jin heard the wrongness in Chi Li’s tone and wisely did not ask further.

“I need you alive.”

Chi Li’s eyes held emotions that were hard to read, but that one sentence made Huang Jin’s ears ring. She vaguely heard Chi Li’s next words.

“You don’t want to be slandered either. Then live well, take back your position in the future, and kick him out.”

“Live?”

Huang Jin repeated the word to herself. For her, it was a word of luxury, something hard to imagine now.

But on that consistently cold face, she found a sense of conviction that made her instinctively believe the other person and believe the words she spoke.

As for what the last sentence meant, it didn’t matter. She would naturally not keep anyone Chi Li disliked.

A moment later, the dejected look vanished completely, replaced by total trust in Chi Li. She nodded and said:

“Immortal Master, I understand. Please tell me what to do.”

Seeing her like this, a hint of satisfaction appeared in Chi Li’s eyes. She then spoke:

“Discard your physical body.”

Upon hearing this, Huang Jin nodded without hesitation, her voice firm.

“Okay.”

Only after obtaining her consent did a hint of admiration for her appear in the depths of Chi Li’s eyes.

Even if she was already half-human, half-ghost, it was still her own body. As long as it existed, it gave hope that one could return to how things were. It was difficult for an ordinary person to discard everything so resolutely.

At this moment, although Chi Li’s expression remained distant, it was not as cold as before.

Chi Li reached out and produced a pearl the size of half a palm from somewhere.

The pearl didn’t look like jade, but it was as flawless as jade, emitting a warm, soft luster.

Chi Li’s gaze fell on the pearl as she spoke.

“This is the Soul-Gathering Pearl. The moment the Ghost-Blood Vine bud is removed, the vine that sucked your flesh and blood will rot instantly, and your body will turn into blood. But your soul can be gathered by this…”

Speaking to this point, Chi Li paused. She frowned and glanced at the vines, then continued seriously:

“However, it is connected to your bloodline. Once it withers, the person outside will also notice.”

Hearing the hesitation in Chi Li’s voice, Huang Jin could only force a smile and say:

“It’s okay, Immortal Master. I’m not afraid. Whatever you need to do, just do it.”

Chi Li’s appearance was already the greatest luck in her misfortune. Since the other party wanted to help her, she had no reason to shrink back.

Her hand tightened around the pearl. Chi Li spoke indifferent, yet with a hint of reluctance.

“I need to plant it in your soul.”

The instinctive resistance in the other’s eyes did not escape Chi Li. She spoke again.

“But you will no longer be under any control. It’s just that the process will be a hundred times more painful.”

Huang Jin naturally resisted when she thought she couldn’t escape the vines, but Chi Li’s next words made a dark light flash in her eyes. She asked tentatively:

“I will no longer have to follow any of their orders?”

“Correct.”

Having confirmed what she wanted most, Huang Jin breathed a sigh of relief. A heavy stone that had been pressing on her heart finally fell. She would no longer fear or hesitate.

“Thank you.”

Her voice wouldn’t stop trembling as she spoke, but this time it wasn’t out of fear, but gratitude.

She was grateful for Chi Li’s arrival, grateful that she wouldn’t become a killing tool like a monster.

Chi Li looked at the person before her. Previously, she was only concerned with taking the flower and hadn’t had time to look at her properly.

The real Huang Jin was not as gloomy as the fake one, she was gentle and kind. Even in death, she didn’t want the people of her city to suffer.