“A trap?” 2333 asked. “What trap?”
“The female protagonist hasn’t appeared, so why would there be a trap?”
“No, if there’s a trap, why are you still going?”
Wen Qianshu: “Why do you have so many ‘whys’?”
2333: “Don’t you think your way of thinking is the strange one?”
“Knowing there’s a trap and still running towards it, what are you trying to do? Deliver your head on a platter? A grand gesture, but a foolish one?”
Wen Qianshu: “Fine. Because I want to go see what kind of trap it is.”
2333: “Huh?”
“Let me break it down for you—” Wen Qianshu followed Yun Cai to the edge of the cliff, watching her lean over to pick herbs from the steep rock face. “Yan Chengshuang, Yun Cai—one is the head disciple of the Canglan Courtyard’s leader, the other is the only daughter of the Yanyun Sky’s leader. Among the next generation of Five Spirits Mountain, they’re both considered privileged.”
“But the two of them still can’t enter the libraries of the other four sects, nor can they learn their core skills. Yun Cai can’t even enter the ordinary rear courtyard of Canglan Courtyard.”
“It’s clear how deep the defenses are between the five sects of Five Spirits Mountain.”
2333: “So? Is someone from the other four sects trying to harm Yan Chengshuang?”
“Not to that extent,” Wen Qianshu said. “I was just thinking, since each of these five sects is as impenetrable as an iron bucket, how is it that in the original book, only Yun Cai—someone from Yanyun Sky—discovered that the disciple of Canglan Courtyard’s second-in-command was a snake demon?”
2333 shuddered. “You mean?”
Wen Qianshu: “According to the original timeline, no one was covering for Yan Han at the beginning. With Yun Cai’s intelligence, it’s indeed possible she would have discovered something was off about Yan Han. But in the original book, Yan Han was taken in directly by Yan Qingxi because of this, becoming an inner disciple of Canglan Courtyard in one leap. Even if Yun Cai suspected her, how could she investigate? Moreover, how could she investigate by bypassing Canglan Courtyard?”
“Taking a step back, why would she need to bypass Canglan Courtyard to investigate in the first place? Who does she suspect?”
Wen Qianshu: “So there’s definitely a problem with Five Spirits Mountain.”
2333: “You already have a suspect?”
Wen Qianshu: “Either Yanyun Sky or Canglan Courtyard.”
“And their status must be quite high.”
2333: “How is that possible? If these people were all bought off, would the snake clan still need to plant the female protagonist inside?”
“Oh,” Wen Qianshu smiled. “You’ve gotten smarter.”
2333: “…”
Wen Qianshu: “Correct. That’s why I’m inclined to believe that in the original book, the snake clan was used. This person wasn’t bought off by the snake clan, but they discovered Yan Han’s identity earlier than Yun Cai and were secretly using this identity to achieve a certain goal.”
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
In the book, there’s love, hate, passion, and revenge; partings in life and death. In the end, it’s all just a game of chess played by someone behind the scenes.
“If it’s Yanyun Sky, it’s none other than Head Yun.” Wen Qianshu’s eyes were still on Yun Cai, but her words were terrifyingly cold. “He discovers that Yan Qingxi has taken a demon as a disciple. On one hand, he lets her infiltrate Five Spirits Mountain, and on the other, he guides his own daughter to investigate. In the end, he captures the snake demon, insists that Canglan Courtyard is colluding with demons, forces Yan Qingxi to his death, sidelines Yan Chengquan, and finally swallows up the entire Canglan Courtyard. Ah, and along the way, he can prop up his daughter as a hero and secure her position as the heir of Yanyun Sky.”
Wen Qianshu smiled. “If it were me, I’d do the same.”
If 2333 had hair, it would be standing on end. “This…”
Wen Qianshu: “As for Canglan Courtyard—”
2333: “But Yan Qingxi died in the end.”
Wen Qianshu smiled. “Isn’t there still Yan Chengquan? Besides, do you know if he truly died or just faked his death?”
“Do you remember how the book mentioned Yan Chengshuang?”
Without waiting for an answer, Wen Qianshu continued on her own, “While Yan Chengshuang was in seclusion, she suffered a qi deviation, and her soul scattered. The head of Canglan Courtyard, heartbroken over the loss of her beloved disciple, locked her doors and was rarely seen again.”
Wen Qianshu: “The book mentions Yan Chengshuang very little, and the information you gave me only says this person is devoid of the seven emotions and six desires, aloof from worldly affairs, and devoted to cultivation. So I’m very curious, for a person like this, what could her inner demon be?”
“But I’ve searched the entire book and never seen anyone mention it. This is also very strange. Wouldn’t Yan Qingxi and Yan Chengquan investigate it, so that their future disciples could avoid this inner demon?”
“I suspect that either he knew Yan Han was a snake demon and didn’t care if she would suffer from an inner demon, or he knew what Yan Chengshuang’s inner demon was, and this inner demon wasn’t simple, something an ordinary person wouldn’t encounter.”
“And Yan Chengshuang was by Yan Chengquan’s side all year round. If she saw something she shouldn’t have, perhaps it’s because Yan Chengquan had something in her possession.”
“For these two, it would be far too easy to cover for Yan Han. But—if it was Yan Qingxi, then why did he kill himself? If it was Yan Chengquan, what benefit would she gain from destroying Canglan Courtyard?”
“It’s just, I don’t know what role Yun Cai plays in all this.” Wen Qianshu touched the Moon Chaser in her hair and said, “And I don’t know if there’s anything strange about this flower.”
A long wind blew through her sleeves, sending a chill through her entire body.
2333 watched Wen Qianshu looking at Yun Cai and said abruptly, “Host.”
Wen Qianshu: “Hm?”
2333: “You—”
It couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you like Yun Cai?”
Wen Qianshu smiled and asked, “What conflict is there between me liking her and me suspecting her?”
“You, on the other hand,” Wen Qianshu said nonchalantly, “why the sudden interest in my love life?”
Wen Qianshu wore a faint, unreadable smile and said nothing.
2333 suddenly felt something was wrong. Just as it was about to say something to brush it off, she added slowly, “Are you jealous?”
If 2333 could breathe, it would want to suffocate.
It wished it could dissect Wen Qianshu to study what on earth was going on inside this human’s brain.
“Senior Sister!” Yun Cai ran over and asked, “I’m ready. Shall we go?”
Wen Qianshu: “Yes.”
One after the other, they took flight.
Seeing they were about to reach Myriad Marshes Cliff, Wen Qianshu said to 2333, “This trap is very important, so in a moment, I need you to record the entire trap, every step we encounter.”
2333 snorted coldly, “Oh.”
If the trap was set by Head Yun, it would definitely take Yun Cai into consideration; conversely, if it was set by the Yan siblings, it would be more concerned with Yan Chengshuang.
Wen Qianshu: “You can always see something in the details.”
2333: “But what if there’s no trap at all?”
Wen Qianshu: “Then they designed a mission for nothing. What a waste.”
2333 couldn’t help but retort, “Maybe it’s just a coincidence? You’re just overthinking it.”
Wen Qianshu: “Then we’ll have picked extra Fire Irises. It’s not a loss.”
The two finally arrived at Myriad Marshes Cliff. Leaning over to look, they saw a continuous stretch of marsh below, with a fire-like iris blooming right in the center.
Wen Qianshu: “Stay close.”
Yun Cai nodded.
Wen Qianshu thought for a moment, then took a step forward and put her arm around Yun Cai’s shoulder. “Never mind, I’m not at ease.”
Yun Cai was taken aback and turned her head to look at her. Yan Chengshuang’s face was like frost and snow, her long lashes slightly lowered. Her dark hair was tied up, with the Moon Chaser half-fallen, hanging between her hair and behind her ear. As if sensing her gaze, the other’s dark pupils moved, glancing over slightly. “Hm?”
That sound was neither light nor heavy. It was close to her ear, sinking into her auricle. It seemed as if the word itself had become a Fire Iris, blooming, then brushing warmly and damply against her cheek before dissipating.
The Young Miss abruptly averted her gaze, then moved it back. “It’s nothing.”
Wen Qianshu sighed deeply.
“What’s wrong?” 2333 asked nervously. “Did you find something amiss?”
Wen Qianshu: “She’s so cute.”
2333: “…”
2333: “I’m begging you, be serious!”
Wen Qianshu: “Alright, I’m jumping.”
With that said, before 2333 could react, she leaped.
A cold wind rushed to meet her, and a foul smell filled her nose.
The Fire Iris truly lived up to its reputation as a “useful” famous flower, a thousand times more violent than the Frost Under the Moon that had allowed itself to be picked obediently. It seemed to sense Wen Qianshu’s approach. The firelight on its petals flared, thick smoke billowed from its stamen, and countless vines shot out from the surrounding marsh, lashing towards them.
Fire erupted from the tip of Yun Cai’s spear. The long spear swept out, creating a line of flames that severed countless vines. The severed sections fell into the marsh, only to be followed by even more vines surging out.
Wen Qianshu: “My turn.”
With one arm around Yun Cai, she curled the fingers of her other hand and grasped. The Endless Moon shattered, transforming into countless ice blades that spun and pulverized the vines. A shrill roar came from the marsh, and the thick smoke ahead billowed even more intensely.
Wen Qianshu brought her fingers together and pointed down. The ice blades chopped down in unison, hacking into the marsh and freezing it solid.
“Bang, bang” sounds echoed, as if a behemoth was ramming the ice from below.
Wen Qianshu controlled the Endless Moon to flatten the ice surface and patted Yun Cai’s shoulder with her other hand. The other girl understood immediately, gripped her long spear with both hands, and used the momentum to leap through the thick smoke, thrusting towards the Fire Iris.
The flames surged, a fierce wind blew, and the turbulent currents made their sleeves flap loudly, but it all quickly dissipated, returning to calm.
Wen Qianshu flicked her sleeve and landed, but the Endless Moon remained suppressing the marsh. “Done?”
Yun Cai: “Yes.”
Yun Cai used the tip of her spear to part the stamen, seeing that the flames had already dissipated, turning into golden-red runes that faded into the petals. But just as she was about to take out a jade box and cut the petals, Yun Cai’s expression changed. She pulled Wen Qianshu back abruptly and said, “Something’s wrong! The flower is still alive!”
Before her voice faded, countless sharp spikes suddenly shot up from the ground. A moment later and they would have been impaled. Countless runes emerged, glowing faintly with an exceptionally bewitching firelight. The Fire Iris’s petals moved, and it actually spoke in a human voice: “Courting death.”
With that, the flower’s body swelled, and its petals curled downwards to envelop them.
Yun Cai: “How can its age be so different?”
They had been told that this Fire Iris had no fierce beast companion and was just over a hundred years old. But looking at it now, it had clearly gained sentience and was nearly ten thousand years old! How could the two of them possibly deal with it?
Yun Cai acted decisively, crushing a communication talisman to call for help from the sect. But the few flashes of talisman light were swept away by a vine, which shattered the ice layer and knocked them into the marsh.
2333: “It’s over, the communication talismans can’t get through?”
The flower demon snorted coldly. Before it could speak, it suddenly saw countless streams of light surge up and fly far away in all directions, clearly also communication talismans.
Flower demon: “What?”
2333: “Huh?”
Wen Qianshu: “Just now, when the Endless Moon turned into ice blades, I froze the communication talismans inside them. When they melt, they’ll send out a call for help.”
2333: “But wasn’t everything going smoothly then?”
Wen Qianshu: “We already knew there might be a trap. No matter how smoothly things go, you have to send them out in advance.”
2333: “Then why did you send so many at once?”
It was an overwhelming amount, looking like a meteor shower at first glance.
Wen Qianshu: “I had no choice. If these people want to stir up trouble, they’ll definitely be targeting someone at Yan Chengshuang’s level. As for me—what future is there in a crash course for cultivation? I’m about to die from over-practicing and I’m still punished with copying texts every day. I was afraid I’d send them off-course, so I specifically brought all sorts of communication talismans from various sects.”
Wen Qianshu added, “I’m also wearing several layers of treasure armor. All my worldly possessions are on me. Even if it had stabbed me just now, I would have been fine.”
2333 gritted its teeth. “You really are—cowardly but clever.”
Wen Qianshu: “Of course.”
2333: “I’m not complimenting you!”
Author’s Notes:
OOC Skit:
Wen Qianshu: I’m just voicing my suspicions, I’m still going to wear the flower.
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