Chapter 22
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—–It turned out to be Xu Shuangce.
But what is he planning to do in this eerie place?
Do people know that this is not some palace ground, but rather a prison?
As Gong Wei’s thoughts raced, Sheng Bo thought that this eccentric little junior brother, known for his lack of sense, had been scared silly. He frowned angrily and scolded, “Get up! You trespassed into forbidden grounds, and you’re not coming back with me to see the Sect Master at the Xuanji Hall?”
“…” Gong Wei dropped his hands and stared foolishly at him, then after a moment of confusion, he said, “Senior Brother Sheng, I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“Just now, I couldn’t catch your sword, so I dodged it, and the sword light broke the painting of The Ghost Crown Prince Welcomes His Bride painting hanging on the wall by the Sect Master.”
Sheng Bo: “…”
“Senior Brother’s swordsmanship is so powerful!” Gong Wei exclaimed with admiration, clapping vigorously. “The wall has been split open by Senior, leaving a huge crack!”
“……………”
Sheng Bo’s originally pale face was now ashen. His pupils trembled for a while, and finally, he grabbed Gong Wei’s hand tremblingly, forcing out a strained smile. “What sword light? What painting of The Ghost Crown Prince Welcomes His Bride painting? Junior Brother, you’re confused. You clearly didn’t even enter the hall, so how would you know what’s hanging on the wall inside?”
“But I—”
“Those who trespass the forbidden grounds shall die. How can I bear to see you being sentenced to death by the sect master? From now on, you must never mention this forbidden hall to anyone. I will also keep it a secret for you, understand?”
“But—”
Sheng Bo went crazy, shaking his shoulders. “There’s no ‘but’! Talking nonsense will get you killed! Just pretend like nothing happened today, got it?!”
Gong Wei blinked his black and white eyes, finally obediently saying, “Got it.”
Sheng Bo sighed in relief and quickly helped him up. “Hurry, let’s go. I’ll escort you down the mountain!”
Sheng Bo was extremely famous within the Xuanji sect, but even the most audacious star among them wouldn’t dare to enter the hall to see the damaged painting and wall. So, he nervously escorted Gong Wei across the bridge, back into the domain of the Xuanji Hall. After repeatedly warning him and forcing Gong Wei to swear never to speak of today’s events, Sheng Bo finally left, turning back multiple times before departing.
Gong Wei rubbed his reddened ear, avoiding Xu Shuangce’s main hall as he returned to his own dwelling in the side hall. Collapsing onto the bed, images of everything he had seen in the forbidden hall today kept swirling in his mind.
The oppressively sealed dome, the heavily locked door, the countless imprisoning seals, and the seemingly unreal veils and soft pillows in the room… all transformed into countless images swirling in his mind, eventually solidifying into the cheerful picture of the little fox playing the suona.
And the aged blood on the painting.
For some reason, Gong Wei felt that since his resurrection, Xu Shuangce seemed to be subtly different.
Beneath that dignified, aloof, and high-and-mighty face, there seemed to be hints of something fierce, like an undercurrent capable of tearing everything apart at the bottom of a deep pool.
But he didn’t know what it was.
Gong Wei racked his brain but couldn’t find a solution. This body couldn’t support his powerful primordial spirit, and his consciousness gradually became blurry. In a daze, he felt as though he had passed through that door, his soul drifting aimlessly in mid-air, until suddenly he arrived at a vast platform. Beneath his feet, the wide white jade bricks showed no signs of impurities, stretching endlessly. In the distance, amidst the mountains and rivers, stood a massive jade stele, engraved with three large characters in a flowing script: Ascension Immortal Platform.
Ascension Immortal Platform?
Gong Wei’s pupils contracted instantly, and he turned abruptly—
The next moment, a sharp pain pierced his left chest, a sword piercing through his heart!
“…” He tightly grasped the sword, trembling as he said, “Xu Shuangce…”
Xu Shuangce stood tall, the heavy shadows under his deep brow obscuring his expression, leaving only his straight thin lips visible.
“I… I like you,” Gong Wei heard his own breathless voice saying, “You… You can’t do this to me…”
—Why did the pain and despair feel so real?
Why did the illusion that he had already experienced through the mirror technique replay again?
Gong Wei couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He saw Xu Shuangce finally leaning down slightly, revealing those cold, deep black eyes, as he spoke slowly by his ear, “You don’t love me, Gong Wei. You’re just…”
A sudden gust of wind roared by, drowning out the rest of his sentence.
At the same time, Gong Wei’s gaze passed Xu Shuangce, and he saw the scene of devastation behind him in astonishment.
Dozens of Masters lay bathed in blood, turning the entire Ascension Immortal Platform into a h*ll of flesh and blood, with endless cries of agony echoing around. But more people laid motionless on the cracked ground, leaning against blood-stained golden pillars, their fates unknown.
Not far away, a figure struggled to stand with a sword, barely managing to rise. His abdomen pierced by a sharp weapon, blood soaking through the brown sword sect robe on his eagle-back, it was Sword Sect’s Yuchi Rui!
Gong Wei felt as though he had fallen into a vortex of nightmares. He didn’t have time to think about who had injured his friend like this. He only saw Yuchi Rui grit his teeth, pulling out his sword with all his strength, and with the force of a mountain crashing down, a mighty strike came—
Clang!
Without turning his head, Xu Shuangce raised his hand to block.
The sword edge crashed against his arm guard, stopped in mid-air by sheer force!
The resounding clash echoed endlessly, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from Yuchi Rui’s throat, splattering on Xu Shuangce’s slowly falling sleeve. At the same time, Yuchi Rui exhausted his last strength and knelt down in despair, “No… can’t…”
Gong Wei gasped for breath on the brink of death, seeing Yuchi Rui look past Xu Shuangce towards him, every word filled with despair:
“Can’t… let him…”
Can’t let him what?
What exactly happened on that Ascension Immortal Platform?!
Gong Wei’s head throbbed painfully. Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, sitting up from the bed, nearly colliding with the nose of someone in front of him: “Ah!”
The dream faded away abruptly, revealing the moonlight outside the window, peach blossom petals drifting through the night sky. A summoning array, intersecting in all directions, appeared in mid-air, with a person who shouldn’t be there at this moment at its center.
Gong Wei rubbed his aching forehead: “Yuchi Xiao?”
Yuchi Xiao stiffened by the bedside, probably caught off guard by his failed escape. His handsome face showed a mixture of green and red, and after a moment’s decisive decision, he said, “Why did you dream and call out Sect Master Xu’s name?”
“…” Gong Wei countered, “Why are you here in my room in the middle of the night?”
“What did you dream about just now?”
“Are you specifically sneaking into my room to watch me sleep?”
“I didn’t!” Yuchi Xiao became angry and embarrassed, even his ears turning red, “I just suddenly remembered something and came to ask about it. I happened to see something under your pillow out of curiosity!”
Gong Wei lowered his head and saw the corner of a blue-sealed book pressed under the jade pillow. He reached out and pulled it out, taking a closer look.
“Undying Love in the Yellow Springs.”
The cover depicted a man in white robes and a golden crown, holding a sword, facing a pale and handsome youth. Both of them looked deeply into each other’s eyes, full of sorrow and despair, perfectly depicting the scene.
An indescribable silence enveloped the entire room.
Gong Wei casually stuffed the strange book back under his pillow and calmly said, “I brought it back from Linjiang City, just haven’t found the opportunity to get rid of it yet.”
“…” Yuchi Xiao asked seriously, “Do you know that if this book is discovered, Sect Master Xu will personally tear you apart and feed you to the dogs?”
Gong Wei retorted, “Do you know that if it’s discovered that you sneak into the rooms of disciples from Cangyang Sect to watch them sleep in the middle of the night, you’ll also be torn apart and fed to the dogs?”
“I told you, I didn’t!”
“So you came here to peek at this book!”
“That’s a slander!” Yuchi Xiao almost lost control of his volume, quickly lowering his voice through gritted teeth, speaking so only the two of them could hear, “I just suddenly remembered something and came over to ask about it!”
“What thing?”
Yuchi Xiao’s expression seemed like he wanted to storm out, but some long-standing doubt forced him to stop and, after a moment of struggle, he awkwardly said, “You said last time.”
“?”
“You said that peeping at me is not as convenient as peeping at Sect Master Xu.”
“…”
Yuchi Xiao rebuked sharply, “Although you always behave so improperly and have questionable conduct, whenever you see someone with a decent appearance, you can’t help but to follow them around—but the outer disciples’ residence of the Cangyang Sect is far from the Xuanji Hall. What do you mean by convenient for peeping? Have you moved somewhere else? Why?”
In the dead of night, with silence around them, Gong Wei gazed at Yuchi Xiao with a completely new look in his eyes, as if meeting him for the first time today. After a long while, he said slowly:
“Your concern is truly admirable, Young Hero Yuchi.”
“I don’t have any! Yungei said that Sect Master Xu has long held a deep grudge against Grand Elder Gong. He’s afraid that after returning to Cangyang Sect, Sect Master Xu will vent his anger on you as well. You’re just a disposable pawn, and he asked me to occasionally check if you’re still alive or not!”
Now, this was truly a slander. The phrase “disposable pawn” was something that would never come out of Meng Yunfei’s mouth, a man known for his dignified demeanor.
With a prolonged “Oh,” Gong Wei smiled and said, “You’re overthinking it, Young Hero. This Grand… person from the ‘pawn shop’ is well-loved and widely admired. There’s no way anyone would hold a grudge against me. Moreover, after coming out of Linjiang City, Sect Master Xu recognized my talent and not only immediately moved me into the Xuanji Hall but also personally taught me the secret scriptures of Cangyang Sect. He even promised to take me as his disciple in the future—unexpected, right?”
Now it was Yuchi Xiao’s turn to stare at Gong Wei with a completely new look, as if meeting him for the first time. After a while, he said:
“Stop playing around and be serious.”
Gong Wei propped his chin with one hand, and cunningly blinked his eyes, “Who’s playing with you? Even a little fox’s life is a life. Anyone who wrongs a little fox will eventually pay the price.”
His words often carried this mix of truth and falsehood, like a mischievous child. But for some reason, when Yuchi Xiao heard this sentence, he couldn’t help but feel a slight unease deep down.
It happened too quickly; he hadn’t even had time to discern if it was a misconception. He just heard Gong Wei smoothly change the subject, smiling mischievously as he asked, “By the way, Young Hero.”
“What is it?”
“I remember you said last time that to activate the summoning array, you must first call out the name of the one being summoned, and then state the relationship between the two of you…”
Yuchi Xiao suddenly froze.
“So, what did you call me just now?”
“…”
The air seemed to freeze, with Gong Wei’s face teasing and Yuchi Xiao’s expression frozen.
After a while, he stammered, “I-I just… I just…”
Knock! Knock!
Suddenly, there were two heavy knocks on the door, conveniently interrupting Yuchi Xiao’s unfinished sentence, followed by someone rudely pushing the door open.
Gong Wei and Yuchi Xiao both turned to look, and then both their hearts skipped a beat. They saw the visitor entering with wide sleeves and flowing robes, his handsome and cold face illuminated by the moonlight—it was Xu Shuangce!
“At this hour, what’s all this noise about?”
Gong Wei stumbled off the bed, while Yuchi Xiao quickly bowed, “Greetings, Sect Master!” “Junior pays respect to Sect Master!”
Their only thought at the moment was: He could hear that??
Xu Shuangce stopped in his tracks, no one could see where his gaze fell, as he didn’t give Yuchi Xiao on the other side a single glance. But after a moment, he slowly spoke, though his words weren’t directed at Gong Wei: “Young Master Yuchi.”
“Yes.”
“Coming here in the middle of the night, is there something urgent?”
Yuchi Xiao hesitated for a moment before replying, “Reporting to Sect Master, this junior and your sect disciple, Xiang Xiaoyuan, have a long-standing friendship. Since parting ways in Linjiang City, we haven’t been in touch for almost half a month, so…”
His words abruptly stopped as Xu Shuangce made a move.
Xu Shuangce leaned down to inspect Gong Wei’s waist, where the young man’s sleeping robes were adorned with a blood-red jade pendant. With a slight tug, he snapped the silk cord.
“The Qilin Pendant,” Xu Shuangce said lightly.
The jade pendant emitted a faint light under the moonlight, responding to the summoning array. Xu Shuangce’s expression remained indifferent, absentmindedly stroking it for a moment before finally turning to Yuchi Xiao.
“Young disciple is immature and lacks sincerity, unworthy of Yejinmen Sword Sect.”
Yuchi Xiao’s expression changed.
“I think we should call off this engagement,” Xu Shuangce said.
Yuchi Xiao suddenly froze, then blurted out, “Why call it off just like that?!”
A month ago, he had climbed Mount Cangyang, adamantly declaring his withdrawal from the marriage and publicly exposing Xiang Xiaoyuan as a demon. He was just as furious then. Now that his wish was granted, there was no joy, only waves of embarrassment surging uncontrollably to his head. He spoke without restraint, “Sect Master Xu, this decision seems too arbitrary. The matter of our engagement has already been reported to the Immortal Alliance. Even if it needs to be terminated, it shouldn’t be decided so rashly by you—”
“Can’t I?” Xu Shuangce countered.
Yuchi Xiao was momentarily speechless, then abruptly looked at Gong Wei.
Gong Wei was kneeling on the ground behind Xu Shuangce, cold sweat streaming down his temples but dared not wipe it. He gestured to Yuchi Xiao to “shut up and leave” and “get help” urgently.
Yuchi Xiao: ?
“Go, go back and call for reinforcements!” Gong Wei’s gestures were almost audible, “Find your uncle for help! Hurry!”
The next moment, Xu Shuangce’s gaze swept over, and Gong Wei instantly froze on the ground, only to hear him ask lightly, “What about my beloved disciple’s opinion?”
Gong Wei meekly replied, “I defer to Master’s decision.”
Yuchi Xiao’s expression changed immediately. “Sect Master Xu, please don’t joke. When did you take on a disciple? Even Wen Xiuyang—”
Before he could finish, Xu Shuangce nodded, “Very well.”
Then he flicked his thumb on the Qilin Pendant.
The faint light on the jade pendant extinguished instantly, and at the same time, the summoning array in the air dissipated. Yuchi Xiao hadn’t even finished his sentence before he turned into countless dots of light and disappeared completely with a swooshing sound!
The spacious side hall returned to darkness, the stagnant air pressing heavily on their heads, with only the moonlight casting two shadows on the ground—one standing, one kneeling.
Gong Wei lowered his head, and after a moment, he felt a cold, powerful hand lift his chin, speaking slowly and deliberately: “Law Flower Immortal.”
Gong Wei’s mind buzzed, his heart climbing up to his throat.
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