The Ice-Cold Beauty Senior Sister Keeps Falling for Her Own Theories - Chapter 13

[Malice value approaching the maximum threshold. Task failure probability: 99.9% recurring…]

[Sixty-minute electric shock punishment begins.]

[Malice value: 90!]

One moment, Feng Jie was sobbing uncontrollably; the next, she was electrocuted into a daze, utterly disoriented.

From her trembling lips emerged not only charred black smoke but also a continuous, fragmented mutter: “Nine…ty… ninety…”

Only after the electric shock ended did Feng Jie belatedly recall that she had been inside this coffin all along. She had been trapped in an illusion, a vision where she was a member of the national women’s swimming team, having just won a gold medal and returned home to celebrate with her parents over a hot pot. She remembered grabbing a large bunch of blanched cilantro, only to lose it before it even reached her mouth…

Damn system…

But she truly couldn’t stay here any longer. She had to get out and find Gongsun Muhan!

She needed to cool down that malice value!!!

Otherwise, she was done for…

And so, with a “burning” heart for her senior sister, she began stabbing relentlessly inside the small, pitch-black coffin with a cold sword, using every ounce of her strength. She believed that if she could just pierce a hole in the coffin, she could escape.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Muhan was not as furious or miserable as Feng Jie had imagined, nor was she on the verge of death from being beaten.

Once she saw the vines successfully penetrate Lu Yishu’s body, she prepared to leave on her own.

First, she didn’t want to cause more trouble for the Wanyin Sect. Second, her personal vendetta against Ye Hu and Lu Yishu had been settled. The vines had been utilized to their fullest, within three days, demonic bees would surely come to devour their flesh and drink their blood. The venom carried by these bees would inflict unbearable agony before their deaths, ultimately reducing them to bare, white bones. There would be no exceptions.

But before she could turn to leave, an unexpected change occurred.

A barrier descended from the sky, encasing her.

A hundred meters away, a white figure shot toward Gongsun Muhan and the others like lightning.

Such speed, along with the ability to casually conjure a barrier, indicated a cultivation level of at least Blue Rank. Even those well-versed in spiritual energy manipulation and specializing in speed would need to be at Green Rank.

Yet, judging by his attire, he wore the ordinary outer disciple robes of the Bixia Sect.

Since when did the Bixia Sect have a disciple of such caliber?

Gongsun Muhan was deeply puzzled.

Nearby, Xuanyuan Lianyue stood motionless, equally unclear about the situation. However, Chang Yuru’s expression shifted abruptly as she stepped forward, pressing close to the barrier and positioning herself beside Gongsun Muhan.

In the blink of an eye, the figure arrived before them. Instead of immediately addressing the barrier or Gongsun Muhan, he pushed aside those supporting Lu Yishu and cradled him in his arms.

“Yishu, Yishu…” he called softly while checking his pulse. Lu Yishu remained unresponsive, completely unconscious.

Seeing this, he stopped calling and swiftly sealed several acupoints on Lu Yishu’s body. With a single palm pressed against his back, he channeled energy to expel the shattered vines from within Lu Yishu’s body, then infused him with a substantial amount of spiritual power.

Only after Lu Yishu’s pained expression eased slightly did he lift his head to gaze at Gongsun Muhan within the barrier.

“Wicked one, Gongsun Muhan! You have slain your elders, defied your master’s orders, brazenly escaped imprisonment, and murdered your fellow disciples. Each of these crimes is unforgivable. Today, I shall act on behalf of heaven and rid the world of your evil!”

His face was utterly unfamiliar, smooth-skinned, with a full forehead and dark hair tied high in a topknot. By all appearances, he seemed like a youth fresh to the world. Yet the gaze he directed at her was profoundly deep and seasoned, as if turbulent waves surged within.

He was certainly no ordinary outer sect disciple, Gongsun Muhan thought to herself.

Boom!

The residual shockwaves of spiritual power rippled outward as his translucent spiritual energy clashed with a cyan-blue force, neutralizing each other.

Chang Yuru had stepped in front of her.

The man remained unmoved, still holding Lu Yishu in one arm, while Chang Yuru was forced back several steps.

“Do you intend to defy orders?” A flicker of anger crossed his eyes, his already narrow, bead-like eyes narrowing further into slits as he questioned Chang Yuru.

“Junior Sister Chang, thank you. Please step aside.” Gongsun Muhan urged.

Chang Yuru did not turn to reply, unsure whether it was due to lingering guilt from the two previous times she had arrived too late or for some other reason. But this time, her resolve to protect Gongsun Muhan was unwavering. She stood her ground.

“Yes.”

Their eyes locked in a silent confrontation that lasted for a long moment.

Tan Feng could see she was threatening him. If he persisted, she might very well expose his identity as an elder.

Chang Yuru was indeed threatening him.

She was certain he would not, and could not, take that risk. This expedition was meant to be a trial for the younger generation of various immortal sects, and the rules explicitly stated that elders from any sect were forbidden to enter, as were disciples over 300 years of age. If he were exposed, regardless of the reason, it would signify that the Bixia Sect had acted out of selfish motives and would provoke collective condemnation from the other sects.

She knew he couldn’t afford to gamble.

Truly the standout of Bixia’s younger generation, such audacity! Tan Feng gritted his teeth in frustration but could do nothing.

Moreover, the sect leader had given him only one mission: to find and rescue Feng Jie.

If he were delayed by this matter and Chang Yuru reported it to the sect leader, he would undoubtedly face punishment.

Thus, he had no choice but to reluctantly withdraw the barrier.

However, his purpose in coming here wasn’t solely for the sect leader’s mission, he had his own agenda. Once he obtained the Bixin Sword, he would make sure Chang Yuru paid for her actions today!

Seeing him actually retract the barrier, Gongsun Muhan was slightly surprised. She gazed with mixed emotions at Chang Yuru’s back. “Actually… you didn’t have to do this. You’ve long since repaid the kindness from back then.”

After a moment of silence, she added, “This time, I owe you one.”

At these words, Chang Yuru’s body seemed to stiffen slightly. When she turned around, she found that Gongsun Muhan had already turned away and walked up to Xuanyuan Lianyue.

She couldn’t help but inwardly sigh. Eldest Senior Sister is still like this, always so clear-cut, never waiting for me…

“What you wish to know… if we meet again, I will tell you.”

“Alright.” Xuanyuan Lianyue replied without attempting to stop her.

Before leaving, Gongsun Muhan glanced once more at that oppressive, gloomy stare that had been fixed on her, the one that felt so unsettling.

As she stared back, it suddenly came back to her.

That gaze, she had witnessed it from the sidelines and experienced it firsthand. She remembered clearly: whenever someone was punished in the Discipline Hall, Tan Feng, the hall master seated imposingly at the front, would look exactly like this.

But why had he come to Lixin Cliff, hiding his identity among the outer disciples?

Was it because of the Bixin Sword? Or something else?

…

Gongsun Muhan headed deeper into Lixin Cliff alone, with Chang Yuru closely following.

At the deepest part of Lixin Cliff stood an underground palace.

Though it was an underground palace, its entrance was above ground.

In all eight directions, east, south, west, north, and the diagonals, stood massive stone monoliths, each with an identical door behind it.

Yet these identical doors were divided into the Gate of Life and the Gate of Death.

Carved onto the towering stones was a Qiankun Formation, a shifting Gate of Life. Only by deciphering the formation could one open the correct door to enter the underground palace.

A mistake in deciphering would open the Gate of Death, and anyone who entered would inevitably perish.

Those who walked in upright were reduced to dismembered limbs and shattered remains, flung out in pieces.

Severed hands, brains, intestines, eyeballs…

Gongsun Muhan stared at the blood-soaked ground before each stone, the piles of mutilated limbs nearly mountain-high, confirming her suspicions once more.

Expressionless, she turned and decisively moved toward the next door.

When she reached the fifth one, the southeastern gate, she could no longer suppress the churning in her stomach. She retched violently, vomiting up sour fluid.

Seeing her like this, Chang Yuru seized the opportunity to approach again, offering her a handkerchief.

“Senior Sister, are you alright?”

At the same time, Huahua’s voice echoed in her mind.

“Sister Su Meng, are you okay? I sense the aura of the Bixin Sword, she’s in the underground palace below! She seems agitated, possibly on the verge of awakening!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Gongsun Muhan noticed the offered handkerchief but didn’t look up, preoccupied with the butterfly’s message. She waved a hand dismissively at Chang Yuru, signaling it wasn’t needed.

She also transmitted a reply to Huahua: “Alright, I understand.”

Rejected, Chang Yuru’s hand instinctively tightened, creasing the silk handkerchief with a harsh fold. Seeing that Gongsun Muhan had already turned her attention to the stone door engraved with the Qiankun Formation, she had no choice but to relent.

Without looking back, Gongsun Muhan didn’t see the delicate handkerchief dissolve into an invisible wisp of white smoke in Chang Yuru’s hand, vanishing without a trace in the wind.

“Senior Sister, you? actually, now is the perfect opportunity. They’re busy with their training and won’t pay any attention to you. You can leave as you wish.”

“Hmm.”

“Then, why hasn’t Senior Sister left?”

Chang Yuru asked cautiously, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she worried her senior sister might think she was overstepping or questioning her. Flustered, she hastily added, “If… if Senior Sister is worried they might pursue you, I-I can escort you away!”

Gongsun Muhan frowned slightly, pausing mid-step to glance back at Chang Yuru.

“I do intend to leave, but not now.”

“Are you worried I’ll die here and you won’t get the Tianya Grass?”

“That’s not it.”

Chang Yuru froze in place, her outstretched foot hovering uncertainly. Her heart tightened painfully, as if she couldn’t breathe, and moisture welled in the corners of her eyes.

“Senior Sister has always looked at her this way… ‘The hills have trees, oh, trees have branches; I adore you, oh, but you know not of my heart.'”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then why are you following me?”

“I… I…”

“I just wanted to see you leave with my own eyes-”

The latter half of the sentence, confirming your safety and well-being, was left unspoken as Gongsun Muhan interrupted.

“I will leave after saving Feng Jie. There’s no need for you to be like this.”

“Save Feng Jie?!”

Chang Yuru’s face was filled with disbelief. Unable to control herself, she reached out and blocked Gongsun Muhan’s path, her eyes blazing with anger.

“Hasn’t she harmed you enough? You still want to save her? Are you stupid? Have you forgotten how she treated you? Have you forgotten how arrogant, domineering, and malicious she was…?”

“Step aside!”

“I won’t!”

With that, Chang Yuru grabbed Gongsun Muhan’s hand, trying to pull her away.

“Come with me!”

“Let go.”

Gongsun Muhan’s gaze was icy, devoid of any warmth.

Chang Yuru hardened her heart. “If you keep going, you might lose your life. For the sake of my Tianya Grass, you must leave!”

Gongsun Muhan abruptly shook off her hand, stepped around her, and walked forward without looking back. “I won’t die. You won’t lose a single blade of your Tianya Grass.”

Chang Yuru watched her retreating figure, listening to her distant and cold words. Each syllable felt like a sharp dagger piercing her heart. The resentment and bitterness she had held back could no longer be contained.

“Is it because she once saved you that you’re acting so shamelessly? Even after she humiliated you, framed you, and tried to kill you, you still crawl back to her like a dog? Are you throwing your life away?”

“And what about me? Just because I wasn’t the one who met you first, just because I wasn’t the one who saved you, does that mean all my goodwill toward you is fake? Just a transaction?”

“What right does Feng Jie have? What right? She doesn’t deserve it! She should just die! Why do all of you protect her? She’s nothing but a spoiled, useless brat! Are you blind?”

“She…”

Gongsun Muhan couldn’t explain why either. She only felt that she shouldn’t owe Feng Jie anything, or perhaps she simply wanted to rid herself of that faint, unfamiliar burning sensation in her heart.

She had to save her.

But Chang Yuru wasn’t wrong, she owed her too…

Deep down, Gongsun Muhan knew that Feng Jie was a complicated, tangled presence in her life.

She couldn’t unravel it, couldn’t explain it, and didn’t want to. Perhaps there was just too much love and hate intertwined…

Gongsun Muhan pulled her wandering thoughts back. She still had to save her.

After Chang Yuru finished her tearful outburst, she noticed Gongsun Muhan’s slightly dazed expression and thought she had frightened her. Suddenly realizing she had lost control, she took several deep breaths to calm herself.

“I’m sorry. I lost my composure.”

“Go. No matter what, I have to save her.”

Chang Yuru bit her lip, regained her calm, and continued walking beside her.

“You must have noticed the strange behavior of that outer sect disciple earlier. He is actually Elder Tan Feng.”

Gongsun Muhan didn’t respond, silently listening as she finished.

“He appeared here on the sect leader’s secret mission to rescue Feng Jie.”

At this point, Chang Yuru glanced at Gongsun Muhan, but seeing no reaction from her, she continued, unsure what had crossed her mind.

“Although I don’t know why the sect leader values Feng Jie so much, you must have noticed that the entire Lixin Cliff is filled with young disciples from various immortal sects here for training. This is because news of the Bixin Sword’s presence here has leaked, and the major sects have come to demand an explanation. After collective discussions, it was decided that the younger generation of each sect would compete for the divine artifact under the guise of training, relying on their own abilities.”

“To ensure fairness, the sects even jointly signed a pact, one clause of which strictly forbids any sect from showing favoritism or sending elders to assist. The sect leader is well aware of the risks and consequences, yet he still sent Elder Tan to rescue Feng Jie.”

“I don’t believe you haven’t considered this, if the sect leader places such importance on her, then Feng Jie is unlikely to come to any harm. Why risk your life by going there again, only to be discovered?”

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Muhan was inwardly astonished. She truly hadn’t realized that Tan Feng’s presence here was because of Feng Jie!

“Senior Sister, please stop. The underground palace ahead is the battleground for the Bixin Sword. Why take such a great risk? It would be a pointless sacrifice!”

“Moreover-”

“Moreover what?”

“From what I know, the sect leader gave Elder Tan a tracking artifact capable of locating Feng Jie and monitoring her physical condition. Earlier, when I saw Elder Tan, he wasn’t heading this way, so Feng Jie likely isn’t here. If you go deeper, you might run into people from the Bixia Sect again!”

“I know she isn’t here.”

The first to react to this statement was Huahua, who silently sneezed, as if sensing something.