The scene at this moment was quite comical.
Shi Luoyi's cheeks were puffed up from the oversized pill, and she felt a mix of anger and the urge to curse someone. Even if he wanted to poison her, couldn't he use a normal-sized pill?
In her mouth, apart from a horrifyingly large pill, she was also biting Bian Lingyu's long finger.
Those fingers were really slender and beautiful.
In this state, she could only bite down on the first joint of his finger.
She originally wanted to spit out the poison pill and curse angrily, thinking he was as bad as his sister, both wishing for her early death.
However, under the moonlight, with her face stuffed, when she opened her eyes, she saw a face that looked even closer to death than her own.
Bian Lingyu's complexion was deathly pale, carrying an endless desolation in his eyes.
The cold wind blew, lifting up the corners of his clothes. She saw a pair of hopeless, sorrowful eyes–in her two lifetimes, Shi Luoyi had never seen such a gaze before.
She also didn't know why, but infected by that moment of despair and sorrow, she not only could not curse out loud immediately, she stared blankly at those eyes, even momentarily forgetting to spit out the pill.
The pill melted in her mouth, and with a "gulp" she swallowed it down.
"......"
It's over. She immediately slapped Bian Lingyu's fingers away and bent over the side of the bed to vomit.
She swallowed too fast - up till now she hadn't even tasted what kind of poison it was. Can I still vomit it out? Can I still be rescued? Do I still have enough time to find Elder Han Shu now?
Shi Luoyi regretted it to the point of wanting to clasp at her throat. How could she have swallowed that huge poisonous pill? Did the heavens want her to live again just so Bian Lingyu could personally exact revenge?
Bian Lingyu also didn't expect Shi Luoyi to suddenly open her eyes.
Even more unexpected was that after she woke up, she accidentally swallowed the elixir in a twist of fate.
He witnessed the panic, fear, and despair filling Shi Luoyi's damp eyes. Eventually, her face turned ashen, and she abruptly sat up, she shot up and bent over the side of the bed, trying to vomit up the elixir.
Bian Lingyu silently watched for a moment, his gaze gradually turning cold.
Once he calmed down, he could immediately tell that Shi Luoyi was hale and hearty, far from having any association with the word "death." What did she think he was feeding her, poison?
"Don't bother trying," Bian Lingyu said with a frown as he watched her struggle, forcing herself to vomit, "It's useless."
Actually, the act of Shi Luoyi forcing herself to vomit in front of him didn't anger him. During the three years he spent on the mountain, opportunities for interaction with Shi Luoyi were few and far between.
Every time they met, she would look at him with a gaze of wariness and disgust, occasionally hurling insults as well.
Bian Lingyu knew that he had an unpleasant temperament, he had grown accustomed to Shi Luoyi's disgust. Even if she thought he was feeding her a poisoned pill, it could no longer sting his frozen heart.
Were it not for the events of three months ago, he probably would never have any intersection with her in his entire life.
As if sensing it through a spiritual connection, Shi Luoyi also thought about the same incident, and said amidst her coughing, "Bian Lingyu, give me the antidote first. I know I wronged you three months ago, and I regret it... cough, cough, cough."
"I regret it even more than you...cough cough...you can tell me the compensation you want, or the punishment you wish me to endure." She coughed until her face turned red, but was still unable to cough out the pill.
Bian Lingyu's expression darkened as he slowly repeated word by word: "You said you regret it?"
"Yes yes yes." Shi Luoyi spoke in despair. She didn't trust anyone now, and she didn't dare to tell her about her inner demons, so she could only explain vaguely, "There was a reason for what happened, it was my fault. If you want me to make up for it, I will do my best.”
Shi Luoyi waited for a long time but saw no movement from him. In her haste, she looked up and found Bian Lingyu staring at her impassively.
Shi Luoyi also didn't know what to do. She didn't want to die - if she died, what would happen to Elder Hanshu two months later? What about her father?
She heard that people may let go of hatred when they hear their enemy is more pitiful and more painful than themselves.
Shi Luoyi suppressed her embarrassment and added: "Um...at the time I was also in pain, I didn't feel anything except pain for doing that to you..."
"..."
Shi Luoyi saw a pair of completely cold eyes.
Her cheeks were once again pinched by someone's hand, and the two drew closer together. She was so close to Bian Lingyu that she could almost feel his slightly hurried breathing due to anger.
Shi Luoyi vaguely knew that Bian Lingyu was sickly, but now under the moonlight, the young man looked like the Yamraj (God of death) as he coldly smiled and said: "You want the antidote? There is no antidote, just wait to die."
She didn't know where this sudden anger came from. Her cheeks were pinched sore by Bian Lingyu, yet he suddenly released his grip and turned to leave.
Shi Luoyi covered her face and frowned. The demonic aura and cold anger she felt when she was a demonic cultivator surged to her heart, and she subconsciously raised her hand to condense the evil energy, trying to force Bian Lingyu to find the antidote.
However, looking at the young man's back against the snowy wind, and recalling the despairing look in his eyes when she first opened her eyes, Shi Luoyi lowered her raised hand, and the golden light of spell also dissipated in her palm.
She sighed, giving birth to a few untimely moments of helplessness.
This was the downside of being in the wrong - no matter what, she couldn't and didn't want to lay a hand on Bian Lingyu.
Oh well, he only acted like this after being humiliated. If she were in his shoes, she probably wouldn't be more merciful. She could only comfort herself that the poison of a mortal like him might not instantly kill a cultivator.
She resignedly crawled out of bed, bearing a deathly pale face. Without waiting for Huixiang to return, she rushed towards Elder Han Shu's room in the middle of the night.
Her figure was light and nimble, she disappeared in the moonlight in an instant, like a butterfly hidden among clouds.
Meanwhile, Ding Bai first saw Bian Lingyu coming out with a cold expression, then a wisp of light gauze floated by in the air.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong, but that cloud-like gauze soon disappeared.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have been mistaken, but the mist-like veil quickly disappeared.
"What was that?"
Bian Lingyu said, "Let's go"
"Young Master, did you see..."
"No."
Alright, but he hadn't even asked what he saw.
When Bian Lingyu came, he needed Ding Bai to push him, but now he didn't want anyone to touch him and went down the mountain on his own.
As the two walked along the same path, Ding Bai, whose tears and snot was flowing profusely, was frozen to the point of losing all five senses. Yet the same fragrance from dusk began drifting in the air again.
Ding Bai sniffed.
"Young Master, can you smell the aroma?"
Bian Lingyu fell into silence for a moment before saying, "Perhaps it's poison."
Ding Bai closed his mouth, realizing that speaking to him was a mistake. How could such a fragrant thing be poisonous! He sensed the irritation and sulking in Bian Lingyu's tone and dared not ask further. Luckily, his nose was soon numbed by the cold, and Ding Bai couldn't smell anything anymore.
It was almost dawn when the two of them returned to the courtyard of the outer disciples.
In the faint light, Ding Bai was horrified to see red seeping from the cold and aloof Bian Lingyu's chest.
"You...you..."
Bian Lingyu tightened his grip on his clothes to cover the wound, frowning as he said solemnly, "Keep quiet."
The moon had long disappeared into the pale sky. Bian Lingyu gripped the armrest tightly to endure that piercing pain.
Han Shu withdrew the spiritual power probing Shi Luoyi's body, pondering.
"What happened to me?"
Han Shu said, "I see no abnormalities. As an immortal, ordinary poisons shouldn't affect you. You said someone fed you a poisonous pill - who was it?"
Shi Luoyi lowered her gaze: "Well...since there's nothing wrong, there's no need to pursue who it was. He didn't mean it. I disturbed Elder Han Shu by coming here in the middle of the night, so I'll take my leave now."
Seeing that she did not want to complain, Han Shu did not press her further. But she added coldly: "If any discomfort arises later, send someone to find me at any time."
Shi Luoyi nodded. As she approached the door, Han Shu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Before your father wakes up, you need to protect yourself wisely. Place no absolute trust in anyone."
Han Shu knew that the Buye (Perpetual bliss) was the most mysterious immortal mountain in the world. Its master, Shi Huan Daojun, became famous at a young age, accumulating countless treasures and techniques in his palace. Daojun rarely accepted disciples and planted countless ice lotuses on the Buye Immortal Mountain for his beloved wife so usually other people were not allowed to enter the mountain.
The world coveted and longed for such a place. Ever since Daojun fell into slumber, Han Shu vaguely sensed that Shi Luoyi's situation was not good, but she had never been in a position to advise or warn her.
Shi Luoyi had never liked her, and Han Shu understood that. After all... she had indeed admired her father for nearly a thousand years.
However, recently, Shi Luoyi had shown an unusual closeness to her unlike before so Han Shu couldn't help but remind her.
Mingyou Mountain was far from being as simple as it seems on the surface. Han Shu knew that this little fairy of the Shi family, who now had no father or mother, was a good child. Without Daojun's protection, how could she, who had only just grown up, survive in the midst of lurking wolves and jackals?
Han Shu mentioned it in passing, but then vaguely regretted it, fearing that Shi Luoyi might think she was meddling too much.
However, in the faint dawn light, as Shi Luoyi turned around, her eyes appeared clear and soft: "Elder Han Shu, you're so nice!"
Han Shu: "..." Hmm.
The mortal realm in December.
This time, Wei Changyuan was chasing a demon causing havoc in the mortal realm. It was a bear demon that had cultivated for more than five hundred years.
The bear demon was immensely destructive. After losing its cub, it was tainted with demonic energy and began to eat people frequently.
Sensing danger, the bear demon burrowed with all its might into the rock cave it was most familiar with. Wei Changyuan brought several disciples and pursued it for several days, finally beheading it at noon and took out its inner elixir.
As the group neared the sect, the tassel on Wei Changyuan's sword suddenly fell off.
He picked up the tassel, feeling a bit heavy-hearted for some unknown reason.
Fellow disciple Jiang Qi smiled and said: "Everyone praises young master Wei for his peerless looks and outstanding demeanor, now it seems he's also quite sentimental. That tassel on his sword is quite old and he is still using it, clinging to the past."
Wei Changyuan said indifferently, "Senior brother is joking."
He gazed at the sword tassel in his palm, he rarely remembered some old events.
Wei Changyuan was a sword cultivator, and for sword cultivators, their swords can sometimes be their second life. Born with innate sword aptitude, he caused a sensation in both worlds when he was born. He was destined to be a Sword Immortal, so his family forged the best immortal sword in the world for him, naming it Qinghong, based on ancient sword technique. [qīnghóng: as light and easy as a goose]
Cultivating the sword path was arduous, so most sword cultivators had cold, aloof personalities. The old and childish yellow sword tassel in his palm was something that all sword cultivators were ashamed to hand on their swords, yet he hung it for years without changing it.
Perhaps because he had hung it for so long, that he gradually became accustomed to it and eventually forgot about it.
The tassel was a gift from Shi Luoyi during his coming-of-age ceremony.
For his coming-of-age ceremony, Shi Luoyi personally wove the sword tassel for him, and asked him to hang it on the Qinghong Sword. At that time, he took the not-so-pleasant-looking tassel and promised her to never take it off with his own hands.
Now, as the sword tassel was broken, it felt like an ominous premonition, making him silent for a long time.
Coincidentally, at this time, Bian Qingxuan led a few disciples down the mountain to welcome them.
Meeting Wei Changyuan and Jiang Qi, they cupped their hands and said, "Senior brother Wei, you're finally back. Who is this?"
Bian Qingxuan also looked at Wei Changyuan.
Wei Changyuan introduced him: "Jiang Qi, my senior brother."
Only then did Bian Qingxuan get to know that this was the first disciple accepted by the Sect Master, the renowned senior brother Jiang Qi.
It was said that Jiang Qi had ventured alone into the mortal realm twenty years ago and had not returned since. This was the first time Bian Qingxuan and the other new disciples had seen him. She hurriedly greeted him, "Hello senior brother Jiang."
Jiang Qi smiled gently and nodded, his gaze sweeping past Bian Qingxuan.
With teary eyes, Bian Qingxuan said to Wei Changyuan, "Senior brother Changyuan, since that day we brought senior sister Luoyi back, her condition hasn't improved. A few days ago, I heard that she is in critical condition. It's all my fault. If it weren't for the conflict between us that day, she wouldn't have gone down the mountain alone and been injured. Senior brother Changyuan, now that you're back, hurry up and go to see senior sister."
When Wei Changyuan heard the words "critical condition", his expression went blank for a moment. He clenched the broken sword tassel tightly, subconsciously wanting to leave and go up the mountain.
However, after taking a few steps, he remembered something and turned back.
At the mountain entrance stood a girl in crimson robes, with her disciple robe fluttering in the wind. Bian Qingxuan's face was pale, with unshed tears in her eyes.
Seeing him looking at her, she forced a smile and waved at him: "Senior brother, go quickly."
Wei Changyuan pursed his lips, and turned to leave.
Seeing him still leaving, a faint chill appeared in Bian Qingxuan's eyes.
The remaining disciples felt heartbroken by Bian Qingxuan's appearance.
"How can this be blamed on Junior Sister? It was clearly Shi Luoyi who made the first move. It was also her who ran down the mountain on her own!"
"How can senior brother Changyuan be like this? Junior Sister has been waiting for him here since early morning, and he didn't even bother to ask a single question."
"Who knows if something has really happened to her. The disciples who had begun to sympathize with Shi Luoyi began to doubt and speculate, "Could it be another attempt to frame Junior Sister!"
Bian Qingxuan hurriedly shook her head, "Senior sister Luoyi is not that kind of person."
Jiang Qi stood by the side, playing with his own sword. He squinted slightly as he looked at Bian Qingxuan. After a while, an intriguing smile of genuine interest appeared at the corner of his lips.
Though Jiang Qi had been experiencing the mortal realm, he had raised quite a few flying cranes used for transmitting messages. Over the years, there had been constant rumors about Shi Luoyi in the sect. Most of them were filled with malicious words, saying she was not as peerless as her immortal parents in both appearance and character. It was said that she was ugly, narrow-minded, and used to bully her fellow disciples.
In contrast, the one who rose to fame was this junior sister Bian Qingxuan in front of him, who had been in the sect for just three years.
When Jiang Qi returned to the sect from his training this time, he was quite curious about these two young girls.
What kind of fate would lead a princess to fall into the dust, and a sparrow to fly onto the tree branch.
Now, he seemed to have some understanding. He curled his lips, it's really impressive.
As long as Shi Luoyi doesn't really die, the situation will be very unfavorable for her. Will the little fairy of the Buye Immortal Mountain eat such a big loss?