Lin Rou led Yan Qingge into the main hall of Yao Furnace Peak.
As the heavy hall doors slowly closed behind them, Lin Rou waved her hand and dismissed all the disciples.
Only the two of them remained inside the hall.
Yan Qingge anxiously spoke up.
“The girl with the eye disease just now, who was she?”
“She is called Xiao Tao. She is the personal maidservant taking care of Immortal Lord Bai,” Lin Rou replied gently.
“I see…”
Sure enough, it matched her intuition.
Yet the thought that another woman was by Bai Qingran’s side made Yan Qingge feel a trace of discomfort.
She furrowed her brows and asked again, “Peak Master Lin, what exactly is this matter concerning Brother Qingran?”
Yan Qingge’s face was filled with impatience, but Lin Rou did not rush to answer.
Brother Qingran?
Hmph.
How intimately she calls him.
Lin Rou suppressed the anger in her heart.
She slowly tapped the tabletop with her fingertip.
Hidden within her narrowed eyes was careful observation and scrutiny toward Yan Qingge.
“True Disciple Yan, I do have the intention to help you, but first you must tell me something. Are you so persistent about Immortal Lord Bai because you wish to repay a life-saving favor, or…”
Her words were ambiguous, laced with Lin Rou’s dark and sticky manipulation.
Yan Qingge had no mind to carefully analyze the deeper meaning in Lin Rou’s words.
She poured out everything that had happened in the hallucination in one breath.
“I see…”
Lin Rou lowered her head and murmured softly.
She tucked her hands into her sleeves.
Her fingernails dug deeply into her palms.
Only Lin Rou herself knew how those lingering affections, those sacrifices and madness, those pure and burning emotions had transformed into jealousy inside her heart.
How loving they are…
At this moment, Lin Rou wished she could vent the jealousy that was about to burn through her reason right in front of Yan Qingge, directly on Bai Qingran’s body.
She wanted to see whether this affection could still remain clean and intact inside the grinding machine called malice.
Yet the information she had just obtained was extremely useful.
Lin Rou, who had originally planned to find a way to push Yan Qingge out of the picture, changed her mind.
She would use Yan Qingge to achieve her own goals.
Lin Rou forcefully swallowed the bitter, thorny feeling in her throat.
The discomfort she felt now, she would measure it inch by inch on Bai Qingran’s body with her own flesh.
She raised her head, her face once again filled with kindness and gentleness.
“Haha.”
Lin Rou let out a light laugh, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
“Everyone says True Disciple Yan is fond of beautiful women. I never expected that after meeting Immortal Lord Bai, you would actually change your heart.”
The teasing was extremely natural, like casual chatter from an elder.
Yan Qingge’s face instantly flushed red.
She awkwardly turned her head to the side, her hands restlessly clutching at her clothes.
“That… that was because I didn’t know any better before. Peak Master Lin, can you tell me now?”
Lin Rou’s smile faded.
She pressed her lips tightly together, her brows slightly furrowed, her face showing a pained and troubled expression.
“True Disciple Yan must not know this yet. Senior Sister Chu… she has been imprisoned by Sect Master Nalan.”
“What!?” Yan Qingge let out a startled cry, her pupils suddenly widening.
“But what does this have to do with Brother Qingran?”
“Alas…” Lin Rou shook her head and let out a pained sigh.
“It’s my fault. After you were healed by Immortal Lord Bai, when I reported to the Sect Master, I did not hide his identity. But who could have known that Chu Mo would be so bold as to hide Immortal Lord Bai on Lingxiao Peak and… day and night…”
Her words stopped dryly.
Lin Rou’s cheeks turned bright red, as if she was deeply ashamed to speak of those filthy things.
Watching Yan Qingge’s expression grow darker and darker, Lin Rou smiled with satisfaction in her heart.
She lowered her voice and continued, “The Sect Master… discovered Immortal Lord Bai on Lingxiao Peak…”
“Then how is Brother Qingran now?!” Yan Qingge suddenly stood up, almost shouting.
“Immortal Lord Bai is fine. He has only been moved to another location by the Sect Master. I admire his medical skills, so I am one of the very few people in this sect who can still come into contact with him,” Lin Rou reassured her.
“The reason I came to find you today is because I saw you waiting bitterly at the foot of Lingxiao Peak for so long. I truly could not bear it.”
Thud.
Yan Qingge collapsed back into her seat.
She let out a long breath, and her heartbeat steadied somewhat.
But just as the thought of taking Bai Qingran away surfaced in her mind, she saw Lin Rou shake her head at her.
“Immortal Lord Bai is currently imprisoned. This is the Sect Master’s decision. True Disciple Yan, you must not fantasize about impossible things.”
Bitter unwillingness instantly soaked through Yan Qingge.
She lowered her head, her hands clenched into tight fists.
In the hallucination, there had been poison blocking her path.
Back in reality, there was still Chu Mo standing in the way.
Now that Chu Mo was gone, Nalan Qingjue had appeared instead!
Why did it feel like she and Bai Qingran were separated by ten thousand mountains?
Why was she so powerless?
Why could she not cross these peaks and bring Bai Qingran back?!
Footsteps sounded.
Lin Rou walked up to Yan Qingge and gently patted her shoulder.
“True Disciple Yan, let us first find a way for you to meet Immortal Lord Bai. We can think about what comes after.”
She truly wore the thick-skinned posture of a good elder, every word spoken as if she was thinking only of Yan Qingge.
Yan Qingge looked up at Lin Rou, her eyes filled with confusion and hesitation.
“Peak Master Lin, why are you helping me again this time?”
The hall fell into dead silence.
Lin Rou took a few steps back.
She turned her back to Yan Qingge, her gaze passing through the carved openings on the door, looking toward the incomplete scenery in the distance.
“Why Immortal Lord Bai was captured by Chu Mo, I believe True Disciple Yan already has the answer. But what True Disciple Yan does not know is…”
Lin Rou’s expression was filled with lonely sorrow.
She took a deep breath and slowly said, “Immortal Lord Bai’s Demon Core… was carved out by Chu Mo.”
This information exploded inside Yan Qingge’s mind like a nuclear bomb.
Her reason was instantly evaporated.
Boom!
The spiritual power that violently erupted from Yan Qingge turned the table beside her into powder.
Phoenix flames howled forth, sparking dazzling points of fire in the air!
The light she had longed for and missed for so long had actually been bullied by someone else like this!
Her golden pupils were dyed with frenzied black.
Brother… Sure enough… Brother needs me.
He needs my love.
He needs me to protect him!
Even if I have to lock him up, it would still be better than letting him encounter those women outside who are as insane and cruel as Chu Mo!
This almost solidifying rage excited Lin Rou.
She would complete her final performance within the flames—the performance of a kind and benevolent healer.
“Alas…” A heavy, sticky sigh fell.
The air inside the hall was suddenly pressed down several degrees.
Lin Rou’s entire body trembled in pain.
“True Disciple Yan, I know the outside world says I am heavy-hearted and scheming. But a healer’s heart is benevolent… In a sense, I am not helping you. I want to… compensate Immortal Lord Bai. I have already been working hard to treat his body, but Immortal Lord Bai no longer has his Demon Core… The abuse he has suffered, I truly…”
As if her emotions were surging so violently that she could no longer continue speaking, Lin Rou choked and sobbed.
She quietly turned her head to the side and wiped away the tears that had fallen.
“Immortal Lord Bai’s experiences have made him distrust me. But after hearing your words today, I believe he must trust you. True Disciple Yan, I will request permission from the Sect Master for the two of you to reunite as siblings. But please, you must treat Immortal Lord Bai well. He… he is truly pitiful…”
The flawless performance of guilt and kindness finally moved Yan Qingge.
Although this true disciple of the Red Sun Phoenix Heaven Sect possessed high talent, when it came to playing with people’s hearts, she was as laughable as a child in front of Lin Rou.
At this moment, she even felt guilty for her previous resistance toward Lin Rou.
However, in the place Yan Qingge could not see, Lin Rou’s face was twisted with triumphant, arrogant, and frenzied laughter.
Bai Qingran, if even your good little sister tells you that I, Lin Rou, am a good person…
If she tells you that this rare sibling reunion was all thanks to me, Lin Rou…
How much of your suspicion toward me will remain?