The Third Elder was startled and cried out in shock, “You saw Feng Qing?! We couldn't find you just now—you went to see Feng Qing?”
Song Yao nodded. “Yes, yes! Am I amazing or what?”
The Third Elder felt his vision go dark.
She really caused trouble the moment he looked away.
Xie Zhou's face darkened slightly. He grabbed her wrist directly to check her pulse and asked, “Did you fight?”
“Not really. No blood was shed.”
Song Yao tried to pull her hand back but failed. Looking up at his dark, somber face, she suddenly sensed a hint of danger and tried to comfort him, saying, “She's heavily injured and poisoned by the parasite. She hasn't recovered yet, so she didn't pose any threat to me.”
The grip on her wrist tightened slightly. Xie Zhou looked down at her, his voice slightly raspy. “Song Yao, what did you promise me before?”
The Third Elder had a bellyful of words to say as well, but hearing the name "Song Yao" caught him off guard. His expression grew flustered, and he looked around, stepping back to pretend he wasn't there.
Yet Song Yao pouted and cried out, “Third Elder, help! Fourth Junior Brother is going to kill me!”
Crying out like this with a face so cold, aloof, and completely different from before was truly jarring.
Having nowhere to hide, the Third Elder didn't really want to intervene. He gave a couple of dry laughs. “How could that be? Your Fourth Senior Brother isn't that kind of person. Why don't I step out first and let you two siblings resolve your differences?”
Without giving Song Yao a chance to object, he made a clean escape, closing the palace doors behind him.
After stepping out, he felt a bit of regret.
If he didn't help Song Yao now, what if she held a grudge and doubled her torment of him in the future?
But Fourth Junior Brother cared so much about her; he wouldn't actually do anything to her. At most, they would just bicker a little.
In that case, shouldn't he just go back and guard his Artifact Refining Hall?
He paced around a couple of times, hesitated for a moment, and suddenly pushed the door open to head back inside.
Just as he stepped inside and was trying to find the right words to advise them, he saw Xie Zhou squatting in front of Song Yao. With his eyelashes lowered, he looked incredibly pitiful. “Senior Sister, I was just afraid something would happen to you.”
The Third Elder: “...”
Tsk.
He was completely redundant here.
He silently backed out again. The moment the palace doors closed, Xie Zhou spoke again in that gentle, slightly aggrieved voice, “I don't want to lock you up, Senior Sister. Be good.”
...
Half a cup of tea's time later, Song Yao walked out dejectedly and sat on the steps next to the Third Elder. “I'm not gonna lie, I feel like all the personal disciples of the Nine Saints Hall have some issues.”
The Third Elder felt a bit amused.
This kid actually dared to talk about others.
The personal disciple with the biggest issues was her.
He shook his head helplessly and went along with her question. “What issues?”
Song Yao: “They're just a bit inexplicable.”
The Third Elder glanced at Xie Zhou, who had followed her out. “How so?”
Song Yao thought hard for a moment before reaching a conclusion, “It must be because they suffered qi deviation before.”
She had heard that once someone experienced qi deviation, their mind and thoughts would be affected, making them somewhat radical and extreme.
This was true for several of the personal disciples; only Zhu Zhao was slightly better off.
And yet, the person who had caused them to suffer qi deviation in the first place was her.
It seemed only natural that they behaved a bit strangely toward her now.
Song Yao sighed at the karmic retribution.
The Third Elder hesitated before saying, “Don't blame your Fourth Senior Brother for being angry. We just learned from Sect Master Chen that on her way back, Feng Qing forced a forbidden technique to absorb the essence and cultivation of Senior Feng He to survive, which is why Senior Feng He didn't make it back alive.”
“Feng He was her mother, yet she could commit such a cruel act, let alone against you.”
“If you had also been...”
Song Yao was startled.
No wonder she couldn't find any trace of Feng He in the Beiyao Sect and had assumed she was hidden somewhere. It turned out she was dead.
It seemed Ye Chongguang had been incredibly ruthless back then, reducing two experts of the Deity Transformation Realm to such a half-dead state.
She glanced at Xie Zhou, who had stopped beside her.
Her Fourth Junior Brother's expression was slightly cold; he was clearly still in a bad mood.
She reached out to grab his hem and tugged it, tilting her head up to coax him. “Alright, it really was my fault this time. I should have told you before going. Don't be mad anymore.”
As she tugged, the silver token at his waist clinked softly. Her innocent eyes blinked twice, causing one's heart to flutter in disarray.
Xie Zhou let out a soft grunt of agreement.
Song Yao retracted her hand contentedly. “But I have my own considerations. Even if something like this happens again in the future, you don't need to worry too much. I won't die that easily.”
Xie Zhou: “...”
The Third Elder: “...”
Won't die that easily.
And yet she had died in the Earth Realm.
Who knew what her actual considerations were.
The atmosphere suddenly fell into silence again.
Song Yao simply changed the subject and asked them, “So, do you want to hear what Feng Qing and I talked about?”
The Third Elder: “Go ahead.”
Song Yao: “I asked her about Frost City. The demons in Frost City aren't ordinary demons. Ye Chongguang had her break a small gap in the Tianshu Realm's barrier to let them in from the outside. Ye Chongguang calls these demons 'Immortal Venerables'.”
“Immortal Venerables?!”
The Third Elder gasped. “When Ye Chongguang lost to the former Hall Master back then, didn't he beg some Immortal Venerable for help? His cultivation skyrocketed because of that Immortal Venerable as well. Could this Immortal Venerable actually be a demon?”
Song Yao shook her head. “Hard to say.”
The Third Elder suddenly recalled something and exchanged a glance with Xie Zhou. Both of their expressions grew even more solemn.
The Third Elder said seriously, “How about you return to the sect right now?”
So suddenly?
Song Yao was puzzled. “Why?”
The Third Elder found it a bit hard to say. “Uh... it's too dangerous outside.”
Xie Zhou explained calmly, “When Ye Chongguang took over the Nine Saints Hall, the very first thing he did was look for any trace of you, Song Yao. At that time, we suspected that the Immortal Venerable behind him was the one searching for you.”
The Third Elder nodded, bracing himself. “Indeed. According to this theory, if the demon occupying Frost City is that Immortal Venerable, then it is likely... likely coming for you.”
“And based on our previous investigations, Yong'an Tower and the person behind Ye Chongguang likely have countless connections. Right now, many people already know your identity. If the people from Yong'an Tower find out, it would be far too dangerous for you.”
“The safest way is for you to return to the Nine Saints Hall, to Mingjing Peak, and not come out until we investigate everything thoroughly.”
That made perfect sense.
Song Yao looked thoughtfully at the Third Elder. “My identity? What is my identity?”
The Third Elder: “...”
No.
What kind of time was this?
Did she really have to torture him like this?
Avoiding the question, he asked, “What... what exactly happened to you in the Earth Realm back then? Do you know why that Immortal Venerable is looking for you?”
Naturally, Song Yao didn't know.
But she had a faint suspicion.
There were only two entities she had truly fought in the Earth Realm.
One was the Great Demon of Qianhuang whom she had actively provoked, and the other was the one who had ambushed her.
She couldn't think of anyone else besides those two.
But hadn't she already been blown into a bloody mist back then? Wasn't that enough?
What kind of deep grudge did they have to pursue her all the way into the Tianshu Realm to kill her?
Rate on N.U.
