Half of Qiu Yingling’s face was covered in blood. One eye was narrowed, the corner of his mouth pressed into a straight line, while the other eye was slightly open, as if accustomed to curving into a smile.
He said, “Ah, Junior Brother Xie. You’re still here? Since you’ve already come out, why not go a little farther? Or did smashing those few vases sap all your strength, leaving you unable to walk?”
Seeing his half-smiling, half-mocking expression, Xie Xu shifted his gaze and noticed that Qiu Yingling was still carrying a chipped vase stained with blood.
He immediately thought of the person who had looked exactly like him, and of that panicked face.
“……”
Xie Xu fell silent and quietly pushed the sword he had drawn halfway back into its sheath.
After a moment, he said, “Senior Brother Qiu.”
“So I’m your senior brother.” Qiu Yingling formed a hand seal and cleaned the blood from his face. A vivid gash crossed his forehead as he smiled. “Since you didn’t leave, I’ll have to ask you, Junior Brother—what exactly was that about? Even if you didn’t agree, why resort to violence? Did you mistake my head for a gong and feel compelled to give it a few final whacks before you left?”
His tone was light, almost teasing, but Xie Xu could hear the gritted fury beneath it.
Xie Xu had no idea what had happened. He could only make out a vague outline of the situation: Mei Man had used some method to disguise herself as him, not only going to the appointment in his place but also smashing Qiu Yingling over the head with a vase.
As for what had happened while they were drinking tea, what Qiu Yingling’s “agree” referred to, why Mei Man had attacked him, or how far the conflict between them had escalated, he knew nothing.
While he was still thinking about how to respond, Qiu Yingling took his silence as an outright provocation.
She had struck him, run away, and then stopped just outside the room, standing brazenly in the corridor to wait for him without saying a word.
Qiu Yingling set down the vase and said unhurriedly, “If you have no intention of leaving this immortal manor, then return to the sect and we’ll discuss it there.”
“I was somewhat impulsive just now,” Xie Xu said. “As for what Senior Brother Qiu mentioned earlier, I still need to think it over before giving you an answer.”
Qiu Yingling let out a laugh. “Junior Brother Xie, do you take me for a fool you can toy with?”
“I had no intention of injuring you, Senior Brother. It’s just that…” Xie Xu paused, then spoke with some difficulty. “It’s just that my mind occasionally becomes unclear, and I’m prone to bouts of madness. It’s an old ailment.”
Qiu Yingling’s smile stiffened slightly.
Mei Man, who was peeking out from the doorway, nearly burst out laughing when she heard this.
What kind of excuse was that Xie fellow making? Surely he wasn’t planning to take advantage of the situation, pretend to be insane, and start another fight with Qiu Yingling.
She pressed her ear against the door, listening carefully to the sounds outside.
Qiu Yingling seemed to believe the explanation. He asked, “How long will Junior Brother Xie need to consider it?”
“Three days.”
“Fine. Three days, then.” Qiu Yingling straightened his clothes and turned back toward the room. His slanted eyes cast a sidelong glance at Xie Xu. “Junior Brother Xie, don’t pull a stunt like this again three days from now. I may have a good temper, but I’m not made of soft clay.”
“Mm.”
Qiu Yingling walked straight into the room. After all the commotion, the wounds on his body had split open again. Blood seeped through the bandages and stained even his robes red.
Yet he acted as though he didn’t notice. Sitting down, he poured himself some tea and said, “Why did Shizun have me stop him just now? He’s already a disciple of our sect. It’s not as though he can escape.”
“Yingling,” said the person behind the screen in a gentle voice, “was the person in the room just now truly Xie Xu?”
Qiu Yingling’s hand paused.
He narrowed his eyes, his smile disappearing. Then he suddenly remembered that Xie Xu had been wearing a sword at his waist when they spoke in the corridor.
But the person who had smashed him with the vase in the private room had not been carrying a sword.
The tea spilled over the rim of the cup. The faint trickle of liquid became the only sound in the room.
It was gentle and soothing, yet it wore away at his composure like a blunt knife.
A moment ago, his displeasure had been caused by “Xie Xu’s” insolence.
But only now did a true thread of anger surge within him—the fury of having been deceived and made a fool of.
Qiu Yingling set down his teacup and released a strand of spiritual energy.
With a bang, the door flew open. The corridor outside was already empty.
He still wore that smiling expression, but his spiritual energy spilled uncontrollably from his body, and the pressure surrounding him fluctuated wildly.
The person behind the screen coughed several times, weariness faintly apparent in his voice.
“Yingling, don’t be hasty,” he said slowly. “The person who transformed himself just now possesses an extraordinary disguise technique. Even I failed to notice at first.”
“You mean that person’s cultivation is above the Spirit Severing stage?” Perhaps he found the idea absurd, for Qiu Yingling gave a short, abrupt laugh. “Ha… There are only a handful of people in the world with that level of cultivation, yet Xie Xu has quite the connections—to hire someone so formidable. No hand seals, no formation, just a vase to the head. What a kind-hearted senior indeed.”
The person behind the screen chuckled softly. “Yingling, Yingling. You’re usually so clever. How have you lost your reason after being subjected to such a minor prank? If that person truly possessed such cultivation, why would he conceal himself and sneak around? A person’s appearance can be changed easily with spells or pills, can it not?”
Qiu Yingling’s expression sobered, and his smile vanished. In that instant, he suddenly remembered the news he had received yesterday—
Shen Shushi, who rarely accepted disciples, had suddenly taken Mei Man as his apprentice.
Qiu Yingling said nothing. During the long silence, blood once again seeped from the wound on his forehead, heavy enough to weigh down his eyelid.
He narrowed his one good eye. After a long while, he suddenly gave a soft laugh.
“I’ll find out the truth. Shizun, since nothing came of today’s discussion, there’s no point staying here any longer. I’ll return to the sect first.”
“Very well.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the spiritual presence behind the screen vanished without a trace.
Qiu Yingling did not move.
He remained perfectly still, his smiling eyes fixed on the empty corridor.
Only after a long while did he finally rise.
—
A quarter of an hour earlier.
Mei Man was leaning against the door, listening to the sounds outside.
Suddenly, the door was opened from the other side.
Fortunately, she managed to brace herself against the wall in time and did not fall out into the corridor.
She lifted her head and found herself looking directly at Xie Xu.
“Oh my, who are you? What a coincidence—we look quite alike. If I weren’t in a hurry, I’d suggest we become sworn brothers.” Mei Man pretended nothing had happened, rose, and started walking past him.
Xie Xu grabbed her and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind them.
He held her by the wrist. His stiff, expressionless face revealed nothing as he called, “Manman.”
Now that he had seen through her disguise, Mei Man stopped pretending. She abruptly pulled her hand free and said, “So what if it’s me? You said you weren’t coming. Why are you here now?”
As she spoke, the effects of the disguise pill gradually faded.
Mei Man clearly felt every bone in her body creaking and popping. Before long, she had returned to her original appearance.
“It was only something I said in a moment of anger. Since you had already sent word to Qiu Yingling, how were you going to explain yourself if I didn’t come?” Xie Xu remembered Qiu Yingling’s blood-covered appearance and paused. “Why was he looking for you—looking for me? What did he do to offend you that you had to smash him into that state?”
The moment he brought it up, sour resentment began bubbling in Mei Man’s heart again.
She was seething, her teeth practically itching. Even though she kept telling herself to stay calm, she couldn’t stop herself from speaking in that sharp, sarcastic tone. “What could possibly be the matter? If you wanted to know, why didn’t you hurry over? Xie Xu, you really are blessed, aren’t you? Your spiritual root is damaged, and someone is already worrying over you, practically begging to rebuild it for you. You haven’t done a thing—just chopped some wood in the outer sect courtyard, and you’ve already won someone’s favor. Tell me, what hour were you born? I’ll make sure to be born at the same time in my next life.”
“Manman.”
“What?”
“Don’t say such spiteful things.”
“None of your business!”
Xie Xu wiped a bit of dust from her face with his knuckle—the dust she had just rubbed onto herself against the door. Then he suddenly asked, “What did he offer this time?”
Mei Man knew there was no point hiding it from him. Yingling would definitely come looking for him again, so she bluntly confessed, her voice stiff. “He has pills that can repair your spiritual root, and the Sword Sovereign has also said he’ll take you as his disciple. Are you satisfied now? Hurry over while he’s still here! All you have to do is nod. That way, you won’t turn around later and say I’m an ungrateful wretch who stood in the way of your bright future.”
She blurted it all out in one breath, leaving her head dizzy and heavy.
Thinking of how cunning Yingling was, she worried that he might suspect her. She wished she could return to the sect immediately—at the very least, she had to get back before him.
But she couldn’t move. Not even a single step.
Her ears remained pricked, desperate to hear an answer from Xie Xu.
To know whether he would accept the benefits Yingling had offered him, or refuse them.
Xie Xu’s expression barely changed, as though he had no idea how tempting Yingling’s offer was.
But Mei Man knew that he had always wanted to restore his cultivation.
She lowered her head, her face taut as she waited for him to leave.
She hated the feelings surging through her heart at this moment, yet she had no way to suppress them.
They burned away her reason and destroyed her judgment, making her miserable and tormented—yet she still couldn’t stop herself from sinking into them.
She couldn’t take it.
She truly couldn’t take it.
She wished—she wished everything around her would simply disappear!
“You want to abandon me again.” Xie Xu spoke suddenly.
Mei Man’s brow twitched, and she abruptly came back to herself.
She stared at him. “What did you say?”
Xie Xu repeated, “You want to abandon me again.”
“When have I ever—”
“That Immortal Lord Shen took you as his disciple. You successfully obtained a token allowing you to enter the inner sect, and then went straight to his cave abode. All these days—so many days—did you think of me even once?”
Mei Man thought to herself: Who are you? Why should I be thinking about you?
Xie Xu continued, “When I’m useful, you keep me by your side. The moment you get a chance to climb higher, you won’t even spare me a glance.”
Mei Man forcibly swallowed the bitterness in her heart. “So what? Are you planning to take that pill, become the Immortal Venerable’s disciple, and get revenge on me?”
“Manman, what exactly do you take me for? You call me a worthless dog a few times, and you really think I have no feelings? You think I’m a dog you can tease whenever you’re bored, then kick aside the moment you don’t want me anymore—as if I’ll only bark a few times before quietly waiting for you?” Xie Xu took a step forward and bent down beside her ear, his voice softening to a whisper. “Manman, Manman—woof, woof, woof. Is this fun?”
He even deliberately imitated a dog barking twice, as though he were trying to amuse someone.
Mei Man stared at him in disbelief. What was he even talking about?!
She took a step back, but he caught her by the arm. With a light tug, he pulled her back to where she had been.
Mei Man’s brow gave another violent twitch, and she looked up.
He was smiling, but the smile was laced with restrained mockery. His dark, hollow eyes stared straight at her, utterly devoid of amusement.
Instinctively, she pressed herself against the door behind her.
The lock hadn’t been fastened properly. It seemed as though the door might be slammed open at any moment.
Only one wall separated them.
“Oh my, Immortal Master! Your face—how did it get so badly injured?” the shop attendant exclaimed.
“It’s nothing.” Yingling’s voice came from just behind her, so close it was almost at her ear. With a smile, he asked, “Has the cultivator who came to the private room just now already left?”
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