Pei Yunqing woke up.
Although his life had been saved, that one slash of his had injured his own Spirit Core.
This meant that the upper limit of his future cultivation path had ultimately been destroyed by his own blade.
Compared to the various damages to his body and cultivation, Pei Yunqing’s current mental state was frighteningly poor.
What was visible to the naked eye was not merely the decadence of someone who had become half a cripple, but something even more terrifying—emptiness and numbness.
It was as if a person who had sought death had been forcibly revived.
He felt not the slightest joy at being alive.
He had already sunk too deeply into the spiral of death.
His soul could no longer escape.
Perhaps, when Pei Ruanyan had forced him to drive that blade into his own body, death had actually been the best release for Pei Yunqing.
“Immortal Lord Pei, how are you feeling now?”
Upon hearing Lin Rou’s voice, Pei Yunqing’s head turned stiffly and awkwardly.
There was not a trace of spirit in his eyes.
His pale lips parted slightly, yet he could only produce a few slurred syllables.
“Immortal Lord Pei, do not do something as absurd as attempting suicide for love again in the future. This time you were lucky. You almost could not have been saved.”
As she spoke, Lin Rou used her spiritual power to examine Pei Yunqing’s current condition.
Attempting suicide for love… Pei Yunqing slowly chewed on these four words in his heart.
A wave of bitterness rose from within them.
The first time he met Chu Mo—or rather, even before that—this true disciple of Xuan Phoenix Sacred Sect, who possessed such a resounding reputation, had been the dream lover of countless boys.
He had been no exception.
When Chu Mo had taken the initiative to speak to him that day, that heart-pounding, spring-like flutter, Pei Yunqing still remembered it.
However, afterward, he had followed Pei Ruanyan’s arrangements.
Even though he had openly stood by Chu Mo’s side, everything had changed in flavor.
A love mixed with calculation and deception was ultimately nothing more than a dream filled with beautiful illusions.
And dreams always had the moment when one woke up.
What was fake would never become real.
“Lin… Peak Master Lin… Chu… Chu Mo… she…” His voice was hoarse and unclear, yet one could hear the suppressed, complicated emotions within it.
Pei Yunqing’s lips trembled violently. His eyes were tightly narrowed.
The muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably under the pain in his heart.
The loss of emotional control in these words might have been Pei Yunqing grieving for a love that had died, or it might have been guilt over deceiving Chu Mo.
Or perhaps he was simply terrified of the miserable end that awaited him if he failed to complete Pei Ruanyan’s scheme.
“Sigh.” Lin Rou let out a sigh.
The pity and sympathy in her eyes were extremely well disguised.
She said helplessly, “Immortal Lord Pei, your body is what matters most. Senior Sister Chu is currently not in Xuan Phoenix Sacred Sect. Do not think too much.”
Watching Pei Yunqing’s collapsed appearance, Lin Rou smiled with satisfaction in her heart.
When a person’s emotions were stirred to this extent, all of his defenses were at their easiest to break.
“Immortal Lord Pei, let us not talk about Chu Mo. Why don’t you tell me about your own matters instead?”
Amidst sobs and choking, Pei Yunqing haltingly recounted his story from childhood to the present.
Lin Rou was an extremely patient hunter.
She would always, at the most appropriate moments, display the most suitable emotions—either sympathy or sorrow.
Under this kind of disorienting guidance, Pei Yunqing never realized that he had already stepped into the trap Lin Rou had woven.
“So that is how it is. Immortal Lord Pei, did Pavilion Master Pei already know this medical skill before she met Pavilion Master Xiao, or did she learn it after joining Mistveil Pavilion?”
Lin Rou’s tone was casual, as if it were a perfectly normal question during a conversation.
“To be honest, these medical skills are truly profound and mysterious, so I am very curious.”
Pei Yunqing looked at the ceiling and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “Mother already knew this medical skill before she met Father. Mistveil Pavilion is not particularly known for medical skills. After Mother arrived, she became the person with the best medical skills in Mistveil Pavilion.”
Lin Rou nodded.
The smile on her face was especially gentle.
“Then Pavilion Master Pei should have only passed this medical skill down to you, correct? Did she ever tell you about the origin of these medical skills?”
Following this, Lin Rou once again heard from Pei Yunqing the same story about some great medical expert. Her eyes darkened for an instant.
This Pei Ruanyan truly hid things deeply enough.
“Then… Immortal Lord Pei, do you think there might be others who know this medical skill?”
Upon hearing this question, Pei Yunqing pressed his lips together slightly.
He remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.
“Mother’s medical skill remnant scroll is a handwritten copy. It is hard to say about others… There might be people who know it. There might even be someone who possesses the original version. However, Mother was very confident in her medical skills. She once said that for some illnesses that even Medicine King Valley might find troublesome, she had ways to treat them using the medical skill remnant scroll.”
“Is that so? Alright, Immortal Lord Pei. Rest well. I will not disturb you any longer.”
Lin Rou smiled and stood up.
However, the moment she turned her back to Pei Yunqing, the gentleness on her face instantly collapsed and was replaced by a bone-chilling coldness.
A woman who relied on Xiao Qinghuan to rise to power.
Before this, she had no reputation and did not come from any powerful sect or family. How could she have obtained such excellent medical skills?
Lin Rou’s narrowed eyes were filled with icy contemplation.
Although the information was not much, she now had a direction for investigation.
As long as she sent people to properly look into Pei Ruanyan’s experiences before she met Xiao Qinghuan, she would probably be able to figure out what this secret was.
After stepping out the door, Lin Rou turned her head and immediately ran into a gloomy-faced Pei Ruanyan and an anxious-looking Xiao Qinghuan.
These two had been waiting here for a long time.
“Pavilion Master Pei, Pavilion Master Xiao, Immortal Lord Pei’s body is no longer in serious danger, but he still needs to recuperate for a period of time. It is just that his Spirit Core…”
The moment these words left her mouth, the tears in Xiao Qinghuan’s eyes could no longer be controlled.
She did not even bother to greet Lin Rou and stumbled toward the room.
“Peak Master Lin, the time you spent examining Qing’er was truly not short. Did you chat about something inside?”
Pei Ruanyan’s tone was respectful, yet the look in her eyes toward Lin Rou could not be called friendly.
“Pavilion Master Pei, chatting with a patient for a few sentences is very normal, is it not? However… Pavilion Master Pei, Immortal Lord Pei cannot withstand any stimulation right now. Do not forget what I told you earlier.”
Lin Rou’s narrowed eyes opened slightly. She extended her scarlet tongue and licked her lips.
The aura of the Yao Furnace Peak Master instantly erupted and firmly locked onto Pei Ruanyan.
“Pavilion Master Pei, some things cannot be hidden just because you want to hide them.”
These words carried an unmistakable determination to obtain them. After speaking, Lin Rou gave a cold snort and flicked her sleeve as she left.
Outside the door, Pei Ruanyan took several deep breaths and forcibly suppressed the unwilling humiliation in her heart.
She entered the room with a frighteningly dark expression.
Watching Xiao Qinghuan crying like a pear blossom in the rain at the bedside, the fire in her heart burned even fiercer.
She suddenly struck out and roughly pushed her nominal husband away.
This Pavilion Master Xiao, who also had some reputation outside, was now like a broken rag doll as he was violently smashed into the wooden cabinet beside him.
With a loud bang, Xiao Qinghuan collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
A trace of resentment that was not easily detected flashed through his eyes.
He suddenly thought of his mother, the former Pavilion Master of Mistveil Pavilion, who had strongly opposed his marriage to Pei Ruanyan.
However, after his mother passed away, Xiao Qinghuan had been blinded by love and had brought this wolf named Pei Ruanyan into their home.
As a result, he was now not only a Pavilion Master in name only, but also a useless person who could not even protect his own son.
The room instantly fell into dead silence.
The air became stagnant in that moment.
A silent tension quietly spread.
Pei Ruanyan looked down from above at Pei Yunqing.
Her hands were clasped behind her back.
Her thumb and index finger unconsciously rubbed against each other.
Her eyes were terrifyingly sinister.
“It seems that even with you personally speaking, you still could not make Chu Mo show herself?”
Pei Yunqing lay on the bed as if he had seen a demon.
His chest heaved violently, as if he were a drowning person struggling to breathe.
His throat was filled with fear.
Only after using all his strength did he manage to force out a single word.
“Yes…”
“Heh. Forget it. What did Lin Rou just say to you?”
As the trembling syllables rang out in the room, Pei Ruanyan’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
Only after Pei Yunqing had finished speaking did she slowly let out a breath.
“Lin Rou… asked if there were others who knew this medical skill?”
This low murmur violently dragged Pei Ruanyan back to that question that had driven her into madness and loss of composure.
Who exactly was the mysterious healer who had cured Yan Qingge?
The deep meaning in Lin Rou’s words could not have been clearer.
The medical skills used by that healer were actually the same as her own?!
The moment this thought emerged, Pei Ruanyan’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
Her heartbeat and breathing suddenly quickened. Fine beads of cold sweat crawled up her back.
No. Impossible. That person—she had sent people to investigate.
He was clearly already dead! Then why?!
The feeling of having a corner of her secret forcibly exposed made Pei Ruanyan’s scalp go numb. She swallowed with difficulty.
This lost and terrified appearance frightened the other two people in the room into trembling as well.
A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Pei Ruanyan’s eyes.
She absolutely could not allow the situation to continue developing like this.
She had to take action.