Mount Guyun was situated in a remote area, hidden deep within layers of rugged, seldom-trodden peaks. Whether it was Xie Jingci and Meng Xiaoting, who had grown up in Cloud Capital, or Mo Xiaoyang, who had only recently left the Ghost Realm, none of them knew anything about the mountain.
Although the group wished to uncover the truth quickly, they also understood that rashness was ill-advised.
That sinister aura possessed at least the power of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, a full major realm above these inexperienced novices. Furthermore, Mount Guyun was its home ground. Charging in recklessly would likely be fraught with peril.
Only the protagonists of storybooks loved to play the lone hero. Xie Jingci valued her life and decided to return home first to regroup. She would wait for Xie Shu and Yun Zhaoyan to return and then discuss their next steps in detail together.
Having inexplicably grabbed Pei Du's hand, and unable to withstand the relentless teasing from her two mischievous friends, she returned to the Xie residence in a daze.
After speaking with Meng Liangze, they could confirm that Meng Xiaoting's mother was definitely connected to that sinister aura. Yet, layer upon layer of mysteries emerged one after another, feeling as if veiled by a hazy, thin gauze, with no apparent connection between them—
The most perplexing point was why, after so many years, the sinister aura would bring a group of people who had disappeared long ago to Cloud Capital.
If it was for revenge, those grudges and grievances were all old, dusty matters from many years past. Upon careful consideration, their true purpose was likely something else. Taking revenge on the few individuals in Cloud Capital was probably just a convenient side task.
Moreover, according to Meng Liangze, Meng Xiaoting's mother was extremely afraid of nightmares. Could it be that even back then, she had already fallen victim to sinister arts, trapped within meticulously crafted dreams?
The connections between them remained unclear.
Considering the ending the system had previously hinted at, the worst possibility now was... that the reason those people came to Cloud Capital was Meng Xiaoting herself.
Recalling the various incidents of recent days, Xie Jingci couldn't stop worrying about her. She simply fetched a bottle of Peach Blossom Nectar and went to the courtyard where Meng Xiaoting was staying.
Meng Xiaoting had an outgoing personality, and the courtyard she chose naturally reflected that liveliness.
Although it was the heart of winter, the small courtyard was enveloped by warm spiritual energy. Snowflakes were completely isolated outside, dissipating in mid-air. Emerald ivy coiled along the walls, and the flowerbed in the corner was a riot of blossoms, a profusion of pink and white.
"Ooh, this is the Peach Blossom Nectar from Xunyue Workshop!"
Meng Xiaoting grinned from ear to ear: "And the specially made Green Vine Cakes—I've been wanting to try these! Love you so much, Cici!"
If one were to ask who among the four of them was most entangled in this matter, it was undoubtedly Meng Xiaoting.
Yet, in the end, the one who comforted the others and was always laughing cheerfully was also Meng Xiaoting.
Xie Jingci sat by the stone table in the courtyard, propping her chin on her hand, quietly listening to the girl beside her chatter away.
She listened intently, lulled into a daze by the sweet, honeyed peach blossom fragrance wafting from the table. It was only then that she suddenly realized Meng Xiaoting had always been like this.
No matter what happened, at any time, she was always smiling.
When they encountered danger in a secret realm, Meng Xiaoting would shake out her entire worldly possessions from her storage pouch, trembling yet dead serious as she applied medicine to Xie Jingci's wounds, then grinning proudly: "Don't worry, I'm here."
When they faced scornful remarks from others at the academy, even Xie Jingci was furious enough to draw her blade on the spot. But Meng Xiaoting would press down the weeping 'Ghost Cry' sword, squeeze her palm, and say: "It's fine, it's fine. I'm not angry, so don't you be angry either—remember? Getting angry gives you wrinkles."
Even on the day they happened to run into Meng Liangze, who stood beside Lin Yunrou and his legitimate son, ignoring her completely, Meng Xiaoting merely made a face at the man from afar. Then, as in countless ordinary conversations before, she told Xie Jingci in an utterly calm tone: "Ah, it's a bit chilly today."
Xie Jingci had never seen her sad.
Even in many situations where she was the one who should be saddest, Meng Xiaoting would always just grin and let it pass.
"If you feel sad... you can tell me."
Xie Jingci only knew how to kill people, not how to comfort them. Her words came out stiff and awkward, completely unlike her usual self.
The girl who had been chattering non-stop a moment ago froze in surprise.
"If you don't feel like smiling, that's okay too."
She felt terribly awkward, yet the words flowed uncontrollably from her mind, passing over her stiff tongue, swirling gently before dissipating into the suddenly still air around them: "No matter what, I'll be with you... so it's okay."
Meng Xiaoting didn't speak, nor did she continue to smile.
As expected, she had ruined the mood.
Aside from comforting Pei Du in the Ghost Realm, Xie Jingci had never said such things to anyone, especially not to a friend she'd known for years who was always so cheerful and laughing.
...Such words really did sound strange and overly sentimental. Meng Xiaoting's situation was already bad enough; having it laid bare so bluntly now probably just made her feel awkward.
Feeling awkward herself, Xie Jingci kept her head down, not looking at the other's expression. In the overwhelming silence, her spirit suddenly deflated: "I'm... not very good with words, am I?"
She had overheard the servants' gossip before, saying she was far from 'approachable,' at best a cold-blooded blade-drawing maniac. It seemed her personality really was terrible, unlikable. Even when comforting someone, she often missed the mark.
Xie Jingci scratched her head in distress.
"...Then I won't smile."
A crisp, bell-like voice fell upon her dejected ears.
Xie Jingci looked up abruptly, meeting Meng Xiaoting's round, almond-shaped eyes.
Actually, she was still smiling. A faint light shimmered in her grape-like eyes. The smile was like a gentle sea tide, softly brushing over the shore before slowly receding.
It was a smile completely different from her usual ones—very light, very faint, carrying a gentle, indulgent quality.
Xie Jingci saw her suddenly raise her right hand.
Whether it came from the scent of the Peach Blossom Nectar or the brocade-like expanse of flowers in the courtyard, when Meng Xiaoting's palm landed on her head, it brought with it an endless, subtle stream of delicate sweetness.
"Who says you're not good with words?"
Meng Xiaoting loved to ruffle her head. The touch was light, her palm gently circling as if petting a cat, making Xie Jingci squint slightly: "You're much better than anyone else."
As she spoke, the laughter was gone from her tone.
Xie Jingci's head wobbled from the sudden motion, then she heard her continue: "Actually, sometimes I think you're a bit like my mother."
This was the first time Meng Xiaoting had voluntarily brought up her mother.
Having inexplicably gained a 'daughter,' Xie Jingci seriously pondered for a moment where exactly she was radiating this maternal aura. While lost in thought, she stared back blankly.
"My mother didn't understand many things. Just as Meng Liangze said, she must have been confined in the same isolated place for a long time. Later, when we lived in a small village on the outskirts of Cloud Capital, even after getting used to it for a long while, she still caused quite a few amusing misunderstandings."
A shallow smile spilled into Meng Xiaoting's eyes. Mirroring Xie Jingci's pose, she propped her cheek on her hand, turned her face sideways, and gazed steadily into her eyes.
"Interpersonal relationships were the same. She hardly knew how to interact with outsiders, so for a very long time, our family seemed cut off from the outside world."
Her eyes lowered as she spoke, her tone gradually softening and drifting into a distant quality: "But even so, she would still do her utmost to be good to me, to make me laugh. Back then, I asked her why she was always smiling, as if she never cried. Mother told me that if she saw her shed tears, I would also feel sad, and she didn't want me to be sad."
Truth be told, Jiang Qingyi had lived a rather pitiful life.
Timid, impoverished, clueless about many things, she shut herself away in that small, cold house because she dared not speak with outsiders.
But as a mother, in front of her only daughter, she was always smiling.
And so, gradually, after arriving in the capital of Yun, Meng Xiaoting also began to learn to smile like her, though the meaning behind the smile was ultimately different from Jiang Qingyi's.
One must not trouble others with one's own sadness.
One must not show fear when bullied, or else it would invite even more unrestrained targeting.
Nor could one feel hurt by Meng Liangze's indifference and annoyance, because she was living under someone else's roof, her position awkward, without the right to be unhappy about it.
She didn't even have that right left.
Poor Jiang Qingyi, forcing smiles for so many years, never once meeting someone who would tell her that if she was sad, it was okay not to smile.
Meng Xiaoting looked down at the peach blossom water in her cup, a faint light swirling dimly in her pupils.
And how fortunate she was, to hear someone say to her personally, I will be with you.
"So you see, you're a lot like my mother."
She said this, her eyes curving into crescents, her right hand rubbing vigorously again, her voice crisp: "—Both a bit silly, always needing me to take care of you from the side, so tiring."
Xie Jingci's eyes suddenly went perfectly round, making Meng Xiaoting burst into laughter again.
"You're teasing me again."
The hand on her head was finally moved away by Meng Xiaoting. Xie Jingci touched the spot where it had been, feeling a lingering warmth.
The atmosphere eased considerably with Meng Xiaoting's laughter. She habitually poked the girl's slightly chubby cheek: "When my parents return tomorrow, we'll go to Lonely Cloud Mountain—all those people wearing masks reappeared suddenly after being missing for years. Your mother might be like them, still trapped in that mountain."
Just as her words fell, within the courtyard enveloped by spiritual energy, a sudden, bitingly cold breeze swept through.
This wind was elusive, faint as if it were nothing, yet the chill it carried penetrated to the bone, making Xie Jingci shiver involuntarily.
Accompanying the cold wind was a sigh-like laugh.
The Xie Manor did not indulge in extravagance, unlike other great families who hired Nascent Soul stage cultivators to lay down layers of defense around their estates—
After all, in the once-prosperous capital of Yun, under the deterrence of the current Sword Venerable, almost no one dared to cause trouble here.
However, today Xie Shu and Yun Zhaoyan were not at home, and Meng Xiaoting's guest room was located in a remote corner, with no one else around.
Everything changed in an instant.
This ambush came without warning. Xie Jingci did not have a blade ready in hand. To search for one in her storage pouch would definitely be too slow to resist. She could only barely muster her spiritual energy to barely withstand the first strike.
The sinister energy that seized the opening was like a blade's edge, the pain seeping layer by layer into her bones. The swift wind beside her condensed once more, clearly about to launch a second attack. Xie Jingci focused, gritting her teeth. The moment her fingertips touched the storage pouch, a beam of golden light, fine as silk thread, abruptly burst into her field of vision.
—Meng Xiaoting, as a body cultivator, specialized in defense. In just a moment of distraction, she had already shielded Xie Jingci, her right hand swiftly forming a seal.
The suddenly invading sinister aura was unstoppable, like a raging storm crashing down, colliding with the golden light around her and producing a deep, resonant sound like that of a bell or chime.
Amidst a cluster of plum trees, Xie Jingci saw that mass of black energy that had once hovered above Yin Su's head.
This time, it hadn't distributed its power among its subordinates but had condensed into a single mass alone, like a black hole swallowing all light. Layers of black mist swirled like a spreading vortex, stretching and spreading under the sunlight.
The sinister energy had gathered its strength; its cultivation level was certainly not something Meng Xiaoting could match.
The golden light enveloping her soon cracked in lines. She struggled to hold on, suddenly coughing up a mouthful of blood, struck in the chest by the black mass.
Xie Jingci, quick-eyed and swift-handed, swiftly caught her.
"That useless Yin Su, more of a hindrance than a help, his head full of nothing but revenge, completely forgetting the true purpose of coming to the capital of Yun this time."
The mass of sinister energy actually spoke.
Its voice was neither male nor female, less like a cultivator and more like a malfunctioning, hoarse machine. Coupled with its unfriendly tone and incessant, wheezing noises like a broken bellows, it made Xie Jingci frown with considerable displeasure.
Their true purpose.
Her heart gave a violent thud.
...Meng Xiaoting.
Years ago, they had taken Meng Xiaoting's mother without a word of explanation.
Yin Su, with a group of masked people, had trapped them in an illusion—among the four, Meng Xiaoting was also there.
And now it had come personally, specifically attacking the two of them—
The intense pain spreading from her back continuously gnawed at her consciousness. Xie Jingci heard the laugh spilling from the sinister energy again.
Eerie, slow, easily capable of making one's scalp tingle.
She had to draw her blade, but her consciousness grew heavier and heavier. In her gradually blurring vision, she saw black mist, shaped like vines, coming from all directions.
Within the black mist, being slowly swallowed... was Meng Xiaoting.
It was going to take her away.
Just like it took Jiang Qingyi away many years ago.
"This girl, I'll be taking her."
The sinister energy laughed lowly, its volume weak, each word turning into sharp needles, forcibly piercing her eardrums: "As for you... don't worry. Before long, Miss Xie's two friends will be joining you underground."
"Farewell."
The hoarse laugh invaded all her senses.
In her dwindling consciousness, Xie Jingci saw the black energy spreading out like a spider's web. The shadow was so dense it seemed solid; even sunlight was instantly concealed. Killing intent dispersed, surging forth in its entirety.
A moment of stagnation and dead silence.
—Then what arrived abruptly was actually a clear, icy white light.
Xie Jingci bit her lower lip until it bled, forcing herself not to fall into a daze. Amidst the faint, spreading scent of blood, she caught sight of a familiar figure.
All around was hazy black mist, silently tightening around the entire courtyard. That figure was tall and slender, carrying a moment of jade-like, glowing white light. As it drew closer, it was like a blade suddenly unsheathed, shattering the dark tide.
A name broke through her chaotic consciousness, leaping onto her heart.
Pei Du at this moment had shed all his usual gentleness. He came treading on the wind, his white robes fluttering, surrounded by countless waves of unrestrained killing intent.
He seemed to be angered. The smile in his dark eyes vanished, leaving only a severe, cold sharpness. The long sword in his hand hummed incessantly, cleaving through the flickering dark radiance.
Xie Jingci smelled the increasingly close scent of trees.
Then she collapsed weakly, falling into a stiff yet warm embrace.
"Pei Du."
The sinister energy gnawed incessantly at her nerves. She was terribly drowsy, using the last shred of clear consciousness to tell him: "Meng Xiaoting..."
Something hovered in mid-air. After a moment's hesitation, it settled over the black hair scattered at the nape of her neck.
His voice was deep, resonating through his chest with a faint tremor as he spoke: "Mm."
"A natural-born Sword Bone."
The sinister aura on the other side let out a strange, cackling laugh, not launching an immediate attack: "I have long sought such a constitution, and to stumble upon it here... fascinating, truly fascinating."
It paused, as if examining Pei Du carefully for a moment, then continued slowly, "Young man, you would be of great use to me. How about we make a deal? I shall be merciful and spare your life. Once I've dealt with this girl and the other swordsman, you shall come with me and serve as my subordinate."
Hearing the latter part of its words, the killing intent in Pei Du's eyes deepened.
"Don't be so quick to refuse. See those cultivators toiling willingly for me?"
Anticipating his reaction, it showed no anger but instead chuckled softly, "I offer them a brand new world, a world where every desire is fulfilled—there, all wishes come true. Whether it's enemies, Sword Venerables, Dharma Saints, or women of all kinds, they would all willingly prostrate themselves at your feet without complaint. Don't you want that?"
The "brand new world" it spoke of was likely the dream realm.
Scattered clues gradually came together.
The sinister aura meticulously weaves wish-fulfilling illusions for cultivators with no way out, exchanging them for the latter's absolute, wholehearted submission.
That was why they appeared frail, had long neglected their cultivation, had almost vanished from the world without a trace, their whereabouts unknown.
All these years, Yin Su and the others had been drowning in these delusions, no longer caring about the reality of their situation.
It was truly pitiful.
"I've long heard that you were cast out of the Pei Manor, subjected to endless humiliation and suffering. Don't you wish to crush those people effortlessly beneath your feet? Moreover—"
That peculiar voice grew even hoarser, as if silt were slowly accumulating, mixed with gravel, scraping roughly against the eardrum.
The sinister aura trembled with laughter, its words laced with mocking pity, "She holds no affection for you... You know this deep down, don't you?"
Pei Du's right hand, gripping his sword, stiffened abruptly.
"What use is it for you to wait so bitterly by her side? Better to submit to me and enter that boundless dream realm."
Noticing that momentary hesitation, its smile widened, "Everyone has obtained everything they desired—wealth, status, women... Wouldn't you wish to see her, completely devoted and infinitely enamored with you?"
A Miss Xie who was utterly obedient and infinitely devoted.
The girl in his arms had gradually fallen asleep. Pei Du's gaze darkened slightly, a self-mocking smile curling at the corner of his lips.
How laughable. Even if he was unwilling to admit it, a Miss Xie willing to be infinitely devoted to him... would undoubtedly be a mere illusion, not to be taken as real.
Many years ago, he had already secretly made a resolution.
Miss Xie's radiance was too distant, too brilliant, like the unreachable sun atop the dome of heaven. Born in the dust and mud, it had taken him most of his life just to inch closer to her.
Pei Du would never allow anyone to make her fall.
What did it matter if he achieved his wishes in an illusion? If the real Xie Jingchu came to harm, everything would lose all meaning.
He cared only for her, and wanted only her.
The radiant sun should forever hang carefree in the sky.
Even if he could only ever gaze up at it from afar, in secret.
Tucking a strand of her black hair clumsily behind her ear, Pei Du finally couldn't resist, gently stroking the curve of her earlobe with his thumb.
Amidst the burgeoning killing intent, this touch of soft tenderness seemed almost imperceptible.
"You may bid her a proper farewell."
Sensing the receding killing intent, the sinister aura laughed heartily, "Return with me, and you'll see her again soon."
The black mist surged once more. Amidst the wild, raspy laughter, the young swordsman bent slightly, carefully settling the girl in his arms onto a stone stool.
The oppressive aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator weighed heavily downward. As he lowered his head and parted his lips, his gentle, clear voice flowed from his throat. Even though mostly swallowed by the noise, it remained distinctly audible.
"Miss Xie."
His thin lips drew close to her lustrous, fair earlobe.
When the two soft surfaces connected for a fleeting instant, like a dragonfly skimming water, it left only a thrilling, electric tingle.
His breath lingered against her neck, stirring a faint warmth.
Just a touch like this was enough to make his entire heart tremble uncontrollably.
Gripping his longsword tightly, Pei Du told her, intimately close, "...Don't be afraid. I'm here."
In the blink of an eye, sword light erupted.
The moment Pei Du turned, a shower of blossoms scattered through the air, instantly pulverized by the lethal edge of his blade. Sword energy swift as a gale condensed into a dazzling white arc. Cold radiance cleaved through the dark void; frost and snow seemed to shatter the air, accompanied by a sharp, piercing cry—
The garden's full killing intent surged entirely toward the sinister aura!
