The Cold, Aloof Senior Sister Deserves To Be Paired With A Peerless Beauty - Chapter 29

Will she believe her today?

The fire talisman glowed faintly, like a ghost fire submerged underwater. Its warm light seemed drenched by the icy depths, emitting a chill that illuminated a tall figure with sharp, cold features that commanded respect.

Long, elegant hands formed a spell seal without hesitation. Her lips parted, chanting an unknown incantation as a heavy pressure descended.

A moment later, the flame flickered violently with the churning water. Amidst the pulsing light, a powerful surge of spiritual energy struck overwhelming and vast, like a tide threatening to drown everything.

The light suddenly died out, plunging the surroundings back into a darkness as deep as an abyss.

Feeling the oppressive spiritual energy close at hand, Huang Jin’s body trembled uncontrollably, yet she did not retreat a single step. In the darkness, a pair of terrifying crimson eyes welled with malice, staring fixedly from the bottom of the black well at the person before them.

Vines crept forward tentative, then arrogant.

A sliver of clear, frost-like sword light reflected off a sharp blade, mirroring a pair of cold eyes. The sword pointed directly forward, its icy qi forcing the encroaching vines back. Sensing danger, the vines tried to retract, but they were instantly covered in frost until they turned rigid.

As the blade pressed closer, petals trembled and the frost shattered. The frantic vines lunged again. A flash of cold light followed before anyone could react, the vines were severed and left floating in the water.

Because the root system was connected to her meridians, a violent pain instantly spread through Huang Jin’s limbs. The agony was indescribable, causing her emaciated frame to shudder. As her consciousness began to fade, a detached voice pierced through the icy well water, reaching her ears.

“Huang Jin.”

Chi Li’s voice snapped Huang Jin back to awareness. The sword was already pressed against the base of the flower bud. Moving even half an inch closer brought another wave of excruciating pain. Though she instinctively wanted to shrink away, Huang Jin knew she couldn’t give up now.

Knowing Chi Li couldn’t see her in the dark, Huang Jin forced a faint smile and spoke hoarsely.

“Immortal Master, I am fine.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, they were replaced by a grimace of agony. She bit her lower lip hard, refusing to let out a sound that might distract Chi Li.

Chi Li’s sword was extremely cold, and its chill helped numb the pain. Though Huang Jin couldn’t see the woman, she could see the faint outline of the sword. The blade drew closer until it stopped just at her neck. Behind her, the snake-like vines curled and stretched but never touched the person in front of her.

“Almost there,” Chi Li said, her voice carrying a hint of reassurance.

The Severing

The final root connecting the bud to the flesh was cut. The flower bud slid onto the tip of the sword. Though Chi Li felt a faint resistance as if the world itself was hesitating, she ignored it. Once the bud was in her hand, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She would obtain it. It was written clearly in those “scripts,” and even the Heavenly Dao (Way of Heaven) found it hard to defy.

The fire talisman flared up again, reflecting in Huang Jin’s dull, lifeless eyes. Behind her, the vines withered and died. In her haze, Huang Jin saw the warm glow, it felt like a hallucination appearing at the moment of death.

Suddenly, Chi Li’s voice came again, sounding distant yet carrying an undeniable authority.

“Huang Jin, stay conscious.”

The hand that had gone limp suddenly found strength, clutching a warm, jade-like bead. A gentle radiance emitted from it, slowly piecing back together her shattered soul.

After an unknown amount of time, Huang Jin struggled to open her eyes. A shadow fell over her. When she recognized Chi Li, she tried to smile to show she was okay. She saw Chi Li’s white fingertips brushing the withered vines, her eyes looking down at the weak soul with a hint of mercy revealed by the firelight.

Suddenly, a pain more intense than before struck. It felt like countless blades carving flesh from bone. Her soul felt buried in a glacier numb, yet acutely aware of every sting.

A warm palm covered her eyes, which were bulging from the pain. It was like a ray of sun hitting the icy wind.

“It is over.”

The voice was faint, but it pulled Huang Jin back from the brink of death.

The Confrontation with Fate

When she looked up again, Huang Jin saw Chi Li holding the flower bud. A faint glow pulsed, and the bud shrank until it looked like an ordinary flower. Chi Li placed it carefully into an exquisite sachet, her cold expression softening as if she were preparing a precious gift.

Huang Jin was so surprised she momentarily forgot her pain. She started to speak, but her sense of etiquette stopped her. Still, she made a small sound.

Chi Li turned, her face returning to its usual coldness. Seeing Huang Jin looking upward, she assumed she wanted to leave. Chi Li hesitated, then reached out her hand.

“I will take you out.”

However, a roar like thunder filled Huang Jin’s ears. Chi Li’s words became muffled, she could only catch the final phrase: “…take you out.”

At that thought, a sharp pain hit Huang Jin’s head.

“You won’t leave?” Chi Li asked, hearing Huang Jin’s murmur.

Huang Jin looked up, her thoughts racing. Despite her crushed, dry throat, she answered firmly: “I will… leave.”

Chi Li narrowed her eyes, sensing the interference. She realized who was at work. Her gaze grew deep and fierce, her spiritual energy churning the water in a display of defiance.

“No, I don’t believe it,” Chi Li said, her voice laced with a localized hatred.

Huang Jin realized Chi Li wasn’t talking to her. Chi Li stood there, back turned, looking like a forsaken deity filled with resentment. When Chi Li looked back at her, she said simply: “Go.”

But as Chi Li tried to move toward her, it was as if her feet were weighted with lead. An invisible, omnipresent gaze fixed upon her, preventing her from defying the “script.”

“Is someone… stopping me from leaving?” Huang Jin asked, her voice trembling.

“It is not a ‘someone’,” Chi Li replied harshly.

“Is it… God?”

Chi Li’s silence was the answer. Huang Jin had always thought it was people keeping her trapped, she never imagined it was the “Heavens.”

Chi Li reached out her hand again, but it was trembling not from fear, but from the physical strain of defying fate. Huang Jin realized that if she took that hand, Chi Li would suffer unimaginable consequences.

Huang Jin withdrew her hand.

“You don’t trust me?” Chi Li’s voice went cold.

“No. On the contrary, I believe in you completely,” Huang Jin said, stepping back. Her weakness vanished, replaced by the dignity of a City Lord. “If you are injured saving me, I would never forgive myself. You have done enough.”

Chi Li’s lips thinned. “What I want to do, even the Heavenly Dao cannot stop.”

Huang Jin gave a bitter smile. “But you can’t do it right now, can you?”

Chi Li froze. She couldn’t refute it. Even if she forced Huang Jin out now, the Heavenly Dao would find a thousand ways to drag her back to finish the “story.”

“Besides,” Huang Jin looked at her skeletal hands, “what good am I if I go out like this?”

After a long silence, Chi Li spoke with conviction: “You are right, you cannot leave like this yet. But there is no rule saying a person must be ‘useful.’ Living for yourself is the most useful thing you can do.”

These words overturned everything Huang Jin had been taught as an heir. She had been raised to value the citizens above her own life.

Chi Li looked at her and added, almost like a joke: “In your current state, you don’t need money or food. You’re free from many human troubles. When you do get out, I will reconstruct a body for you.”

Huang Jin actually laughed at the stiff attempt at comfort. “Then what is your plan, Immortal Master?”

Chi Li sighed. “I cannot bypass ‘It’ to take you now. But I will return. And when I do, ‘It’ will not be able to stop me.”

“I believe you,” Huang Jin said. In this hellish well, Chi Li was the only thing left to believe in.

“Three months,” Chi Li promised. “I will return in three months.”

“Path accepted.”