The Frost Beneath Her Veil - Chapter 4

The glance Fu Qing cast toward Shen Cangli naturally appeared tender and affectionate in Yin Jiuruo’s eyes.

She responded with a vague “okay,” only belatedly realizing that Fu Qing had said something astonishing again.

Seeing Yin Jiuruo’s acknowledgment, Fu Qing lightly flicked her sleeves and leisurely departed with Shen Cangli.

Sui Ge twirled a delicate silk handkerchief between her fingers and let out a coquettish laugh. “The esteemed Daoist Changfan of the Canglan Sect truly lives up to her legendary, otherworldly demeanor.”

Suppressing her chaotic thoughts, Yin Jiuruo asked, “Sui Ge, do you know Fu Qing?”

Sui Ge shot Yin Jiuruo a reproachful glance, her voice dripping with sorrow. “You finally come to visit, yet all you care about is someone else. How heartbreaking for me. And you even call her ‘Fu Qing’, how intimate.”

“What I meant was, do you know Daoist Changfan?” Yin Jiuruo frowned. “Don’t twist my words. We’re just friends.”

“Look how flustered you are, so eager to distance yourself from me. Come inside, I’ve prepared fine wine and delicacies for you,” Sui Ge said, her eyes brimming with exaggerated sorrow.

Behind an intricately carved jade screen, a table laden with food and wine awaited them, clearly arranged by Sui Ge’s orders.

No sooner had they sat down than Sui Ge took the initiative to ask, “What’s going on between you and Daoist Changfan?”

“To put it simply, first there was a demon lord wreaking havoc, and then the Daoist came to save the world,” Feng Qi chimed in cheerfully between bites.

“So, to repay her for saving your life, you offered yourself to her,” Sui Ge concluded bluntly. “But that young master of the Ruyi Sect is engaged to Daoist Changfan. Isn’t it improper for you to interfere, Jiuruo?”

Yin Jiuruo weakly shook her head. “You’re overthinking it.”

How could a mere mortal dare to entertain such presumptuous thoughts?

“Then why would she agree to dual cultivation with you?”

“How would I know her reasons?” Yin Jiuruo smiled bitterly. In such a short time, a desolate feeling had already taken root in her heart.

“Tsk, perhaps you have unfinished business from a past life, destined to reconnect in this one,” Sui Ge said, her tone laced with unmistakable jealousy.

The thought of her own blank slate of a life weighed heavily on Yin Jiuruo’s expression.

“Sui Ge, the reason Jiuruo and I came to see you is to ask if you’d like to leave Feilengxuan,” Feng Qi interjected. “Because we won’t be staying here for a while.”

“And who are you to me? Just because you’re leaving, I have to follow?” Sui Ge retorted haughtily. “Besides, the madam won’t let me go, she’d demand a fortune.”

“Don’t worry about the money. Jiuruo and I—”

Feng Qi’s words were cut off as Sui Ge rose to pour tea, signaling their dismissal. “You’ve already done enough for me. Now that Jiuruo has such a close relationship with the Canglan Sect’s Daoist, there’s no need to worry about me.”

Her words were thick with jealousy, yet her actions made it clear the conversation was over.

“Sui Ge!”

“Save your breath. I still have things to do here.”

Exchanging a glance, Feng Qi and Yin Jiuruo knew better than to argue with Sui Ge’s stubbornness and could only leave reluctantly.

Outside Feilengxuan, the night market of the small town buzzed with lively clamor. Feng Qi asked,

“Are we still leaving? That Daoist Changfan is probably enjoying a romantic evening with her fiancée right now.”

“Let’s just go home. I’m exhausted,” Yin Jiuruo murmured, her eyes downcast.

“Why would someone of her status, with a fiancée no less, chase after you? And you just shut up,” Yin Jiuruo weakly snapped.

She desperately tried to purge the strange emotions Fu Qing stirred within her. She was a blank slate her spiritual meridians, essential for cultivation, were not only sealed but also shrouded in dark energy.

If Fu Qing ever found out, would she see her as some evil spirit and eliminate her? She had witnessed Fu Qing annihilate legions of demons without even unsheathing her sword.

At this moment, the dark red patterns on her face seemed to come alive with her worries, faintly pulsing like flowing blood, a terrifying sight.

“I think our lives will definitely get better and better,” Feng Qi continued without pause.

“How so?” Scattered moonlight illuminated Yin Jiuruo’s face.

“After tonight’s stroll through the market, everyone will know we have intricate ties with the Revered Chang Fan of the Cang Lan Sect.”

Hearing this, Yin Jiuruo nodded solemnly. “Once she leaves, we can flaunt our connection as friends of the Cang Lan Sect’s revered one. No one would dare bully us then.”

Feng Qi smiled without a word, thinking how brilliantly clever she and Jiuruo were.

As midnight approached, they returned to their dilapidated little courtyard, washed up, and retired to their respective rooms.

Yin Jiuruo had just stepped into her room when she looked up to see a woman in white standing by the simple, unadorned window, hands clasped behind her back. Her robes were immaculate, her posture as elegant as jade.

The pitch-black night was suddenly suffused with a cleansing aura, as if the heavens and earth had been purified. Even in this shabby hut, Fu Qing exuded an unyielding sense of discipline, her noble bearing innate.

“You, why aren’t you with your fiancée?” Yin Jiuruo asked awkwardly, immediately regretting her nosiness.

“She has matters to attend to.”

Yin Jiuruo nodded. Fu Qing’s words were brief, as if unwilling to elaborate.

Of course, they were a match made in heaven. What business did a mere mortal like her have prying?

“I’ve renewed the spirit stones for the peacock, panda, and penguin you adopted at the Spirit Pet Garden,” Fu Qing said, her gaze sweeping over Yin Jiuruo’s tattered clothes, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Yin Jiuruo’s fair cheeks flushed with warmth. She understood Fu Qing’s puzzlement, why would someone who spent fortunes adopting ordinary, non-spiritual animals live in such ragged conditions?

“And this firefly spirit, nearing the end of its lifespan, I brought it out,” Fu Qing extended her hand, her palm like cold jade, a tiny flicker of light dancing within. “It has consumed the immortal dew I refined, gaining five hundred more years of life. Though born flawed and unable to fly, if you like it, treat it well from now on.”

A mix of emotions swirled in Yin Jiuruo’s heart. She couldn’t comprehend why Fu Qing, a woman betrothed to another, would treat her so kindly.

Or was it that cultivators paid no heed to trivial matters?

She had encountered this firefly spirit in a fighting insect den. At the time, it was on the verge of death, forced by humans to battle. She had set the den ablaze and rescued it.

Feng Qi had called it an excess of sympathy, a meaningless pity for the weak.

Perhaps it was. Traversing into this world, constantly losing memories, unable to cultivate perhaps it was all punishment for the seed of mischief buried deep in her heart.

“Thank you, thank you for saving Xiao Huo,” Yin Jiuruo murmured.

The world favored spiritual pets and beasts with power, slaughtering ordinary animals without a second thought. Unable to bear it, and seeing herself in their plight, she did what little she could.

Could it be that the aloof Revered Chang Fan also shared her love for small creatures? The thought filled her with inexplicable joy.

Fu Qing placed Xiao Huo into her hands, her cool fingers brushing past, sending a shiver of lingering tremors.

The white-robed revered one’s gaze was clear and penetrating when she suddenly asked, “Are you and that woman very close?”

For some reason, Yin Jiuruo detected a tone of accusation in those words. She remained silent for a few breaths, and as the firefly Xiao Huo crawled onto her shoulder, she answered honestly:

“Sui Ge and I are friends.”

“Very well.”

While Yin Jiuruo was still pondering the implications behind Fu Qing’s “very well,” she heard the Daoist master’s icy and unyielding voice once more.

“Come here. Take off your clothes.”

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