The Ice-Cold Beauty Senior Sister Keeps Falling for Her Own Theories - Chapter 8

A single sentence drifted past like the morning breeze…

Feng Jie was shoved away once more, losing her balance and tumbling onto the bank. The outer side of her arm scraped against the sharp edge of a nearby rock, drawing blood. A single drop fell onto the stone.

Gongsun Muhan’s throat was parched, and she forced out the words with great difficulty.

“Why did you save me?”

Hearing her hoarse voice, Feng Jie was momentarily stunned, taking a long moment to process the question.

“Because you’re my senior sister.”

“Of course I had to save you!”

“I had to!”

Gongsun Muhan lifted her gaze to meet Feng Jie’s. Her scrutinizing eyes were like a loaded gun aimed straight at Feng Jie’s heart, striking its mark in an instant.

In that moment, Feng Jie suddenly realized,

She didn’t believe her.

She didn’t trust her.

A wave of sorrow washed over Feng Jie. It seemed all her previous efforts had been in vain. Gongsun Muhan couldn’t see her sincerity, that bright, unmistakable desire to save her.

They faced each other in silence.

Slowly, Gongsun Muhan felt a chill, damp and clinging, both sobering and suffocating.

“Before, you…”

The unfinished words lingered on the tip of her tongue before she swallowed them back, changing her question.

“Why have you changed so suddenly?”

The words swept through like a morning breeze, causing Feng Jie’s tears to fall like dewdrops, one after another.

Feng Jie’s hand unconsciously brushed the water’s surface, sending ripples across it. In an unnoticed corner, the earlier bloodstain dissolved upon contact with the water, a faint red trail extending downward into the depths of the pond.

“Why?”

“Then, Senior Sister, why do you keep asking about the past? Why cling to what happened before?”

How she wished she could just say it outright, that it wasn’t her before, not the cheerful, lively Feng Jie, nor the Feng Jie who wanted to be good to her… But she couldn’t.

Because the first page of the mission manual’s system rules stated clearly: if she revealed her identity before completing the task, it would be considered a failure…

“Why… why can’t you look at who I am now?”

“Clearly, the me now…”

“Just wants to be good to you.”

The air grew still once more.

Gongsun Muhan watched as the tear tracks on Feng Jie’s cheeks deepened.

Feng Jie could have just let her drown, allowed her to sink to the bottom of the pond and become a pile of bones.

Yet the lingering red marks on her waist, the residual warmth on her lips, and those clear, innocent eyes reminded her, Feng Jie had been so close, close enough to let her die, but she hadn’t taken that chance. Instead, she had chosen to lift her up…

But hadn’t she always thought Gongsun Muhan was… disgusting?

She…

After what felt like an eternity, Feng Jie heard Gongsun Muhan’s reply.

“Alright.”

Her lips parted slightly, the words almost ethereal, but Feng Jie caught them.

Tears still streaming, Feng Jie hurriedly spoke, “Senior Sister, you…” her voice trembling with caution and disbelief, “you believe me?”

Gongsun Muhan didn’t answer. Instead, she gently removed Feng Jie’s hand, which had been clutching her in agitation.

In that moment, Feng Jie knew, the icy barrier between her and Gongsun Muhan had finally cracked.

Wiping her tears, Feng Jie broke into a radiant smile.

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Suddenly, a cacophony of sounds erupted, music intertwined with the clashing of weapons and bursts of spiritual energy.

People were heading their way, and quite a few of them.

Exchanging a glance, they both understood: with the situation unclear, it was best to lay low for now.

“Senior Sister, can you go into the water?”

“Mm.”

Feng Jie noticed Gongsun Muhan’s clenched fists, and a flicker of heartache, unnoticed even by herself, passed through her eyes.

But the surroundings were filled with dense miasma, like an airtight, windowless room, and only this pool offered a temporary refuge.

Gongsun Muhan slowly approached the water, her body visibly trembling, her lower lip bitten until it was drained of color.

Her gaze began to blur, and in her daze, she was transported back to her fifth birthday…

She was bound at her limbs, curled up in a corner of a sealed iron cage. Her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were filled with thick white wax. A strong sense of weightlessness washed over her as she hopelessly felt the icy river water slowly submerging her, just like now, first coiling around her legs…

Feng Jie pulled Gongsun Muhan back abruptly.

“Eldest Senior Sister, I’ll go lure them away. Wait for me here.”

Feng Jie turned to leave but was suddenly stopped by Gongsun Muhan’s outstretched hand.

“I can do it.”

Gongsun Muhan seemed to have suddenly raised all her defenses, her three words spoken with resolute determination.

Feng Jie understood, if it were her, she too would want to hide her own vulnerability.

She respected Gongsun Muhan’s choice.

“Alright.”

Feng Jie responded softly.

She walked over to Gongsun Muhan’s side, stumbled as she lost her footing, and nearly fell.

Seizing the opportunity, she tightly grasped Gongsun Muhan’s hand, offering an ingratiating smile as she said, “I haven’t been resting well lately, and I’m feeling a bit dizzy. Eldest Senior Sister, please look out for me, won’t you?”

Gongsun Muhan glanced at her but neither agreed nor shook off her hand.

Because she knew very well that she needed this hand right now.

The two of them submerged face-to-face in the water. Gongsun Muhan couldn’t quite figure out when her other hand had also ended up holding Feng Jie’s, and eventually, their fingers even interlaced.

Just then, faint voices from the shore caught their attention.

“Senior Sister, do you think we can really obtain the Bixin Sword? Could that old man from Bixia Sect be deceiving us?”

The woman leading the group carried an ancient zither, its body entirely emerald green. Dressed in white robes, her waist-length hair was simply tied up with a jade hairpin.

Hearing this, she frowned and turned back. “Xiaoyou, no matter the circumstances, you must not be disrespectful. Sect Leader Dao is an elder.”

“Understood… Senior Sister.” Jiang Xiaoyou pouted and replied reluctantly.

As her senior sister turned away, she tugged at the ends of her braids and made an exaggerated face at her back, continuing to complain, “This is supposed to be a place where a divine artifact is sealed, yet not only is there poisonous miasma that restricts cultivators’ spiritual power, but all we’ve encountered along the way are demonic beasts! Logically, the pure and powerful aura of a divine artifact should keep demonic beasts from approaching within a hundred miles.”

After a pause, she declared with certainty, “So, I think there’s definitely no divine artifact here! Sect Leader Dao must be trying to trick us into clearing out the demonic beasts! Besides, if there really were a divine artifact, the Bixia Sect would have claimed it long ago. How could it possibly be our turn? Senior Sisters, don’t you think Xiaoyou makes a lot of sense?”

Everyone laughed upon hearing this. The leader, Xuanyuan Lianyue, shook her head helplessly, Xiaoyou was still so childlike.

“Sect Leader Dao might deceive you, but would our master and the Wanyin Sect ever do such a thing?”

“The location of the divine artifact isn’t just the Bixia Sect’s claim. It’s information shared by the Seven Immortal Sects, including our Wanyin Sect. It’s unlikely to be false.”

“As for whether we can obtain the Bixin Sword, this trial was decided after a full day of discussion in the Qixian Sect’s council hall. Only the younger generation of Qixian Sect disciples are allowed to enter the Lixin Cliff. To ensure fairness, all the elders and the sect leader of Qixian Sect signed a contract and are bound by restrictions, unable to intervene. Moreover, over the years, there has been no sign of a divine weapon recognizing a master. It’s likely that what Sect Leader Dao said is true, the divine weapon is in the Lixin Cliff but its exact location is unknown. Since finding the Bixin Sword here depends on our own abilities, we naturally have a chance.”

“Alright.”

“Senior Sister, how long do we have to search in this desolate place? If we get the divine weapon, can we sneak down the mountain first and return later? Xiaoyou really wants to eat osmanthus cakes!”

Someone nearby couldn’t resist teasing, “Hey, how did our master end up taking in such a greedy little cat like you?”

“Xiaoyou, the Wanyin Sect strictly forbids leaving the mountain without permission. The sect rules cannot be disregarded. As for how long we’ll stay at the bottom of this cliff, our master instructed before we left that there is a barrier here, one day here equals a month outside. If we still can’t find it after a week, we’ll return. Cultivation emphasizes fate and fortune, and divine weapons also seek their destined masters.”

Suddenly, Jiang Xiaoyou’s attention was drawn to a peculiar vine nearby. She found it utterly fascinating.

“Senior Sister, Senior Sister, look at this beautiful purple vine! It’s covered with moon-white trumpet flowers still in bud.”

A flicker of vigilance passed through Xuanyuan Lianyue’s eyes. The ancient zither on her back instantly flew to her front as she raised her voice, “Everyone, be careful! There’s something strange about this vine!”

Hearing this, the group quickly drew their weapons, forming a tight circle back-to-back, ready for battle.

Vines as thick as arms shot toward them from all directions. When they were just a few meters away, the vines suddenly slowed, encircling them in a ring.

Meanwhile, Feng Jie and Gongsun Muhan in the pond also sensed something amiss.

Their surroundings grew increasingly dark, shrouded in shadows. Upon closer inspection, vines emerged from all corners of the water, weaving a cocoon around them as if intending to trap and strangle them.

Gongsun Muhan, suffering from the backlash of the Memory Retention Pearl, had no spiritual power left. Though Feng Jie still retained some spiritual energy, her cultivation level was too low to contend with these eerie vines, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Seeing the vines nearly sealing the top completely, Gongsun Muhan’s hand groped for the soft sword hidden against her thigh. She made a deep cut, and as a large amount of blood dispersed downward, she signaled Feng Jie with her eyes to strike upward with all her might.

Feng Jie gathered the spiritual energy from her dantian into her palm and struck fiercely at the vines above.

At the same time, Gongsun Muhan wrapped an arm around Feng Jie’s waist and leaped upward, bringing both of them to the surface.

While holding Feng Jie, Gongsun Muhan used the blood from her palm to repel the pursuing vines.

In her early years, she had been used as a test subject for medicinal experiments, consuming all kinds of immortal and demonic poisons. Through countless instances of using poison to counteract poison, she had become immune to all toxins, and even her blood had turned into the deadliest poison in the world.

As expected, the vines did not pursue them further, and the two successfully climbed ashore.

Hearing the commotion by the pond, the Wanyin Sect disciples only had time to glance briefly. The moon-white trumpet flowers on the writhing vines before them suddenly swelled, stopping only when they reached three or four meters in height.

The previously closed buds abruptly opened, gaping like bloodthirsty maws as they lunged toward the group.

“Form the array!”

“Peaceful music births destruction, rippling across a thousand miles.”

“Play!”

In an instant, the shadows of plucked strings flickered, drumbeats fell like dense rain, and bursts of spiritual power erupted one after another, forcing the man-eating trumpet flowers into a steady retreat.

Many of the carnivorous flowers shifted their targets, lunging toward Feng Jie and Gongsun Muhan on the shore.

Seeing this, Feng Jie yanked Gongsun Muhan behind her, shielding her with her own body. “Eldest Senior Sister, you have no spiritual power, be careful.”

But the moment she stood up, toxic miasma rushed into her lungs, making her dizzy and her head feel as heavy as a thousand-pound weight.

Biting her tongue hard for a moment of clarity, she raised her hand to strike, yet the miasma suppressed her spiritual energy, her attack was barely more than a tickle to the trumpet flowers.

Pulled behind Feng Jie, Gongsun Muhan froze briefly, surprised that Feng Jie’s first instinct in danger was to protect her.

Does she truly want to shield me, to be good to me?

But before…

Seeing Feng Jie struggling, she quickly shook off her thoughts, steadied Feng Jie’s back, and stepped forward to stand side by side with her.

“Let me handle this.”

“With blood as the medium, I offer my lifespan to ignite…”

Gongsun Muhan chanted the incantation rapidly, tracing symbols in the air with her left hand. Blood from the wound on her palm was drawn out, forming a crimson talisman in midair.

“Offering!”

The blood talisman shot straight toward several trumpet flowers ahead, instantly reducing both blossoms and vines to dissipating smoke.

Gongsun Muhan coughed violently, her face drained of color, her entire body weak and unsteady.

If Feng Jie had seen her like this, she would surely have fretted and urged her to stop for a long while.

But Feng Jie could barely stand herself, not only was her spiritual power depleted and her head spinning from the miasma, but the sight of blood also churned her stomach violently.

She weakly tugged at Gongsun Muhan’s sleeve. “No blood… don’t bleed…”

She wanted to explain that it was because she was hemophobic, but she couldn’t hold on any longer, she collapsed backward.

Gongsun Muhan instinctively reached out to catch her, managing to hold her but stumbling and falling with her onto the shore, both losing consciousness.

Meanwhile, seeing the flowers retreat but not flee, Xuanyuan Lianyue plucked her zither strings, rising into the air. Her spiritual power transformed into threads that twisted toward the flower bases connecting the trumpet blossoms and vines.

In moments, moon-white petal fragments filled the sky, and the once-vigorous vines rapidly withered, lying limp on the ground.

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and approach Feng Jie and Gongsun Muhan.

“Senior Sister, they’re wearing Bixia Sect disciple robes, they’re from Bixia Sect.”

“Hmm.”

Xuanyuan Lianyue stepped forward, knelt, and checked their pulses.

“They seem to have just fainted. This fellow cultivator appears to have exhausted her spiritual power and been poisoned by the miasma.”

When she checked Gongsun Muhan, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. “She must have taken an Chaos Origin Pill, her already damaged dantian is now completely ruined.”

Her gaze fell upon Gongsun Muhan’s bloodied hand, and a flicker of doubt crossed Xuanyuan Lianyue’s mind. If she hadn’t been mistaken, the blood talisman technique this fellow cultivator used was a forbidden art of the immortal sects… If others found out, she would be condemned by all.

Though she preferred not to meddle, hadn’t that forbidden technique been destroyed and lost to time? If she knew the blood talisman forbidden art, did she also know the Heart Refining forbidden technique…

“Xiaoyou, find some healing pills and antidotes for miasma to give them.”

“Mm, got it.”

Just as Xuanyuan Lianyue finished bandaging Gongsun Muhan’s wounds, Gongsun Muhan woke up.

“We are disciples of the Wanyin Sect. I am Xuanyuan Lianyue. We found the two of you unconscious by the shore and took the liberty of offering assistance.”

Gongsun Muhan first glanced at Feng Jie to confirm she was also unharmed before responding.

“Gongsun Muhan.”

“Earlier, I noticed the technique you used to repel that flower was quite novel. I wonder…”

Gongsun Muhan knew she had recognized it as a forbidden technique. She shifted slightly to sit upright, a flicker of vigilance passing through her dark blue eyes.

“What do you intend to do?”

“Fellow cultivator Gongsun, I mean no harm. I merely wished to ask-”

Before she could finish speaking, an unexpected turn of events occurred.