RPDPHW Chapter 15

“What do you know?”

After closing the door, Gu Qingyin finally let go of Liu Sanniang and asked coldly.

“No way… That really was Zhong Shujin?”

Liu Sanniang’s face was full of shock.

Gu Qingyin crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “And what if it is?”

Having known Gu Qingyin for so long—practically watching her grow up—Liu Sanniang immediately understood that this was an admission.

“Listen, little Gu! Do you even know who Zhong Shujin is? And yet you dare to keep her here?”

“I heard she’s some kind of demoness. Why? Am I not allowed to keep her?”

“You know and you still let her stay?! She’s the leader of the Bloodflame Cult! If she stays here too long, you’re bound to get dragged into trouble. This is a bad idea!” Liu Sanniang recalled Zhong Shujin’s oddly obedient demeanor earlier and suddenly had a suspicion. “Wait a minute, something’s off… Xiao Gu, did you poison her or something? Why does she look so dumb and docile now? She even helped you hang up laundry?! I heard the leader of the Bloodflame Cult is supposed to be an aloof and untouchable beauty! How did she turn into such a clueless fool under your roof? Don’t tell me you drugged her because you were lusting after her!”

Gu Qingyin shot Liu Sanniang a sideways glance and said irritably, “Do I look like that kind of person? She lost her memory, okay? As for the trouble you’re worried about, it’s already passed. People from Qingyang Sect came looking for her, but I managed to fool them. Now that she’s staying here, there shouldn’t be any more issues.”

“Memory loss? My goodness, so this was Qingyang Sect’s doing!”

After a brief pause, Liu Sanniang quickly shook her head. “No, no, you still can’t keep her here. Her people already came looking for her at my place! You better let her go as soon as possible!”

Gu Qingyin’s face had already turned cold. “No.”

Liu Sanniang shivered at the chill in her voice. She immediately put on a smile and grabbed Gu Qingyin’s arm, swaying it gently as she coaxed, “Xiao Gu, be a dear and do me a favor, won’t you? Just return her, so I can repay this debt and be done with it!”

Gu Qingyin pulled her hand back and nudged Liu Sanniang aside.

“Your debt has nothing to do with me.”

“Can’t you just give me some face? I helped raise you, you know!”

“Oh, cut it out. My master raised me, not you.” Gu Qingyin rolled her eyes before asking, “Who asked you to find her? Since when did Boss Liu become the type to meddle in other people’s business?”

“Someone from the Bloodflame Cult.” Liu Sanniang’s eyes held a complicated emotion that Gu Qingyin couldn’t quite decipher. “If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have bothered. But this is an old acquaintance of mine… I once did something to betray her. So now that she’s come to me for help, I have no choice but to do everything I can to find their leader.”

Very quickly, Liu Sanniang suppressed the complicated emotions in her eyes and spoke seriously, “Xiao Gu, really, just help me this once. I’ve already sent people to look for Zhong Shujin for days, but we couldn’t find her. Who would’ve thought I’d run into her here at your place? If you’re just after her beauty, I can send you more beauties another day—any type you want! But Zhong Shujin… she’s not someone who belongs in your world. Don’t force her to stay, just return her.”

Not from the same world?

Hearing that, Gu Qingyin furrowed her brows slightly.

She didn’t respond to Liu Sanniang right away. Instead, she walked over to the window and gazed outside at the busy figure.

Picking up clothes, fetching water, soaking the garments.

Nothing about her looked like the aloof and untouchable leader of a great cult.

Liu Sanniang didn’t break the heavy silence. She simply stood beside Gu Qingyin, also watching the person outside.

She knew that Xiao Gu was carefully considering her words. After all, Xiao Gu, like her master, only wanted a peaceful life. There was no way she would let an outsider disrupt her world so easily.

As if sensing the gaze on her, Zhong Shujin suddenly stopped what she was doing and turned toward the study window.

Meeting Gu Qingyin’s eyes, she grinned brightly and lifted the garment she was scrubbing, shaking it in Gu Qingyin’s direction with a proud look. “Qingqing, look! I’ve almost finished washing all the clothes!”

Liu Sanniang’s mouth twitched slightly.

Cold and aloof?

Proud and untouchable?

Was Leng Shaoying joking with her?

That childish little fool—could she really be the same high-and-mighty, untouchable cult leader that Leng Shaoying had described?

Before she could snap out of her shock, she saw Gu Qingyin—who had been all frost and ice just moments ago—suddenly curve her lips into a smile. She nodded toward Zhong Shujin outside, then shut the window and turned back to say, “Sanniang, I will not send her back.”

Before Liu Sanniang could speak, Gu Qingyin frowned slightly, her voice carrying a rare seriousness.

“She… might be my sister. So, I will never abandon this lost and innocent version of her.”

“Your sister?”

Liu Sanniang couldn’t hold back anymore. She clutched her stomach and burst into laughter right in front of Gu Qingyin.

“Hahahaha! Xiao Guzi, have you poisoned yourself silly? How could Zhong Shujin possibly be your sister?! Hahahaha! Stop joking! This is the funniest thing I’ve heard all day!”

Gu Qingyin’s face darkened instantly.

“I can’t take it! You two are going to be the death of me!”

Liu Sanniang laughed for a long while. But when she noticed that Gu Qingyin’s expression had turned increasingly sour, she finally wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and asked, “Your sister? Do you even know who Zhong Shujin is before claiming something like that?”

Gu Qingyin’s face remained cold. “You said it yourself—she’s the leader of the Bloodflame Cult.”

Liu Sanniang: “…”

Fine. That was indeed what she had said. But that wasn’t the point!

She pressed Gu Qingyin down onto the chair by the table, unusually patient as she explained, “Alright, you’ve been living in the mountains for years, clueless about the world. I get it! I won’t blame you for your ignorance. But let me enlighten you about Zhong Shujin, so you don’t embarrass yourself!”

Liu Sanniang sat beside her and continued, “Zhong Shujin only took over as the Bloodflame Cult leader two years ago. Before that, she was merely the disciple of the previous leader, Ji Zhe, and not very well-known. Hardly anyone in the martial world had heard of her. But from what I know, even though she was just his disciple, that former leader spoiled her to the heavens!”

“Get to the point!”

Gu Qingyin interrupted coldly.

Liu Sanniang rubbed her nose and chuckled awkwardly. “Alright, alright! I’ll get straight to the point! This Zhong Shujin was spoiled by Ji Zhe for a reason—because she is the daughter of none other than Yu Xiurong, the former number one beauty of the martial world and a member of the Bloodflame Cult!”

“Yu Meiren was Ji Zhe’s sworn sister. Before she passed away, she personally entrusted her infant daughter, Zhong Shujin, to him. So, Ji Zhe practically raised her as his own. Now, I’ve been in the martial world for years, but I’ve never heard that Yu Meiren had a child as old as you!”

At this, Liu Sanniang couldn’t help but burst into laughter again. “Xiao Guzi, if you’re going to randomly claim people as your mother, have you ever considered how your real mother might feel?”

“I don’t even know who my real mother is. How am I supposed to consider her feelings?” Gu Qingyin replied impatiently, not noticing how Liu Sanniang’s laughter suddenly froze. “What if we’re half-sisters—same father, different mothers?”

“Pfft—hahahaha! That’s even more impossible!” Liu Sanniang slapped her thigh, laughing so hard she could barely speak. “Zhong Shujin’s father was none other than the famous young master of the esteemed Zhong clan. He was a refined gentleman, known for his integrity and self-restraint. Back then, he and Yu Meiren fell in love at first sight—he swore he would marry no one but her, and she vowed she would wed no other. The Zhong family, being a prestigious noble household, found it disgraceful and cast him out.”

“But they didn’t stop there. Even after disowning him, they continued to make things difficult for the couple behind the scenes. Not long after they were married, Zhong Shujin’s father met an untimely death under suspicious circumstances. Yu Meiren, heartbroken, soon followed him to the grave. So you see, there’s no way those two could be your parents! Besides—”

Liu Sanniang suddenly stopped short, realizing she had nearly let something slip. She shot a cautious glance at Gu Qingyin.

Gu Qingyin seemed not to have noticed Liu Sanniang’s last remark. Instead, she muttered to herself, “So… we’re not sisters after all?”

If they weren’t sisters, then what was the meaning behind that jade pendant? Gu Qingyin couldn’t figure it out.

Seeing her lost in thought, Liu Sanniang quickly changed the subject. “Tsk, tsk, tsk! You’ve never seen her, have you? That Yu Meiren was truly a breathtaking beauty—so stunning she could bring down a kingdom! Back in the day, she was like an unattainable goddess in the hearts of countless men in the martial world! Righteous or villainous, many were willing to lay down their lives for her. But, alas! She just had to fall for a nobleman from a prestigious family. Sigh!”

“I was lucky enough to see her once. She really was something special—an extraordinary woman! Compared to that little fool outside…”

Noticing Gu Qingyin shoot her a cold glare, Liu Sanniang quickly grinned and corrected herself. “Alright, alright! There’s no point comparing them. They’re mother and daughter, after all. They do share a few similarities! That little fool might still grow into her looks one day.

“Anyway, all I’m trying to say is—you and Zhong Shujin have nothing to do with each other! There’s no connection at all, so stop overthinking it. Now, be good and let me take her back, will you?”

Liu Sanniang had thought that after saying so much, Gu Qingyin would surely agree to let her take Zhong Shujin away.

But to her surprise, Gu Qingyin merely smiled, stood up, and said, “Since she’s not my sister, that makes it even more impossible for me to let her go.”

Liu Sanniang was dumbfounded. “And why is that?”

Gu Qingyin looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “As you said—because I’m coveting her beauty.”

“…That was a joke!” Liu Sanniang exclaimed.

“Mm.” Gu Qingyin’s smile was full of hidden meaning. “So was mine.”

With that, she opened the door to the study.

Liu Sanniang quickly followed, intending to persuade her further.

But before she could take a few steps, a sudden sharp pain twisted through her stomach, making her face go pale.

She immediately grabbed onto the table for support, gritting her teeth through the pain, before looking up at Gu Qingyin—who stood at the doorway with an innocent smile.

She didn’t even have to ask to know whose doing this was.

“You… what did you do to me?”

Gu Qingyin smoothed out the sleeve of her robe, her tone light and unhurried. “Just a little trick, nothing serious. Don’t worry, San Niang—you won’t die from it.”

Then, with a casual smile, she added, “But, you know… my apothecary is still full of poisons I haven’t tested yet.”

Threats! Barefaced threats!

Liu Sanniang gritted her teeth as she glared at the devious woman before her, who was smiling ever so casually.

This heartless little thing! After all these years of caring for her, how dare she lay a hand on me?! Just for that little fool outside, she was willing to turn against her like this?!

Liu Sanniang really wanted to yell these thoughts out loud, but the words that actually left her mouth were:

“Oh, come on, Little Gu! Why so serious? It’s just a sect leader! Just an old acquaintance! Why ruin our years of solid friendship over them? How about this—give me the antidote, and I’ll get lost right away! Aside from you and me, no one will ever know that little fool is here!”

A true hero knows when to yield!

Gu Qingyin chuckled lightly, then pulled the antidote from her sleeve and tossed it to Liu Sanniang before striding off toward the courtyard.

“Qingqing, you’re out! I’m all done washing! Look, they’re so clean!”

The childish girl outside beamed with pride, eagerly showing off her work.

Looking at her, Gu Qingyin couldn’t help but smile with rare tenderness. She reached out and ruffled Zhong Shujin’s hair, not holding back her praise.

“Mm, A-Jin is amazing.”

The moment she realized they weren’t sisters, that sudden rush of joy still hadn’t faded.

Especially now, seeing Zhong Shujin smiling with a hint of shyness, that joy only grew stronger—so much so that even the corners of her lips curled up even sweeter.

After swallowing the antidote, Liu Sanniang watched this scene unfold and let out a helpless sigh before making a swift retreat.

As she fled, she left behind one final remark:

“I’ll come back for my medicine in a few days! Don’t forget again!”

Ah, beauty truly is a dangerous thing… A dangerous, dangerous thing!