The wind of Five Spirits Mountain blew past, making the willow branches of Fuliu Boat rustle. Ripples appeared again, the sea and sky merging into one color.
Wen Qianshu’s previous flight practice hadn’t been in vain. At the very least, she had figured out a path that others didn’t often take, a path where “even if I fell, it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.”
Wen Qianshu made her way out of Canglan Courtyard and asked, “Is anyone following me?”
2333: “No, I’m watching. How many times have you asked? Aren’t you tired—”
It paused, then changed its tune: “Wait, now that you mention it, I think I really did scan someone.”
The person had clearly disguised themselves; 2333 couldn’t even scan their face for a moment to identify them. And this person was very far away, trailing distantly behind, seeming to follow, yet also seeming to just be passing by.
2333: “Who is this?”
Wen Qianshu: “How would I know?”
2333: “That’s true.”
“After all, if someone sent people to track you, they wouldn’t send someone you recognize.”
Wen Qianshu: “Don’t be so sure. There might actually be some naive little soul who would do that.”
2333: “?”
Wen Qianshu passed through Qiankun Earth, turned a corner, and walked into the dense branches of Fuliu Boat. Her pace didn’t stop, but she raised her hand, took the Moon Chaser from her hair, and sent it flying into the distance with a flick of her Endless Moon.
2333: “What?”
Wen Qianshu, however, stopped, took a few steps back, and waited deep within the branches.
After a moment, 2333 said: “He’s here.”
It happened in a flash.
Wen Qianshu abruptly reached out to her side, dragged the person from behind her, and pinned them against the tree trunk.
The hood slipped down, revealing the other person’s face—a pair of light-colored pupils, like a crescent moon hanging askew.
Wen Qianshu scoffed, raised her arm to press against her neck, and with her other hand, covered her lips from behind. She covered them so tightly that her fingertips almost dug into her jaw, causing some pain.
Wen Qianshu whispered, “Young Miss, this is going too far—”
“You called me ‘Senior Sister’ and ‘Sister’ for so long, and pretended to be a poor little thing for such a long time. I almost believed you.”
Yun Cai struggled, but Wen Qianshu pushed her down. “What, you suspect me this much, yet you still dare to follow me alone?”
Yun Cai sneered and opened her mouth to speak, but with her mouth pressed shut by Wen Qianshu, she could only let out a muffled “Mmm.” The warm breath hit her palm, tickling it before dissipating.
2333 was too shocked to speak, but it was still monitoring the surroundings for Wen Qianshu. It now spoke up: “Someone’s coming.”
Wen Qianshu pressed her hand down, covering Yun Cai’s mouth even more tightly, almost forcing her lips apart and pressing against her teeth and tongue. She lowered her gaze, pressing her body close to Yun Cai’s, hiding under the thick layers of Fuliu Boat’s branches.
Outside, cultivators walked past, chatting and laughing. Their figures blocked the daylight, and a faint shadow swept across the side of Wen Qianshu’s cheek before moving away.
Yun Cai suddenly lifted her leg. The arm Wen Qianshu had pressing against her throat loosened, chopped downwards to block the kick, and pinned her leg against the tree as well. Yun Cai opened her mouth to bite, but Wen Qianshu abruptly let go.
She watched as Yun Cai glared at her fiercely, her eyes filled with anger and frustration.
Wen Qianshu: “Can’t keep up the act anymore?”
Yun Cai said coldly, “You can’t keep up your act either.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Wen Qianshu laughed. “You could tell I was acting?”
Yun Cai gritted her teeth in hatred. “You!”
Her chest heaved up and down. She took a breath and lowered her voice, “For the sake of you saving me, I will definitely not tell my father. But no matter what else you do, if you intend to harm Five Spirits Mountain, I will definitely—”
After she stopped restraining her, Wen Qianshu leaned against the trunk of the Fuliu Boat tree, a half-smile in her eyes. “Definitely what?”
Yun Cai: “Definitely… definitely make you pay.”
Wen Qianshu glanced at her, her gaze moving slowly, unhurriedly, from her hair to her eyes. “Oh? And how will you make me pay?”
Even if Yun Cai were slow to react, she should have understood that Wen Qianshu was teasing her.
Besides, Yun Cai was not slow to react.
Her nostrils flared. Before she could speak, she heard Wen Qianshu sigh and say, “We’ve both been played.”
Yun Cai was taken aback.
Wen Qianshu sneered, “Played for absolute fools.”
Wen Qianshu stood up straight, beckoned with her finger, and called back the Endless Moon. The Moon Chaser was entwined around it, still as beautiful as frost flying under the moon.
Wen Qianshu: “You didn’t bring your weapon? Do you suspect it’s been tampered with?”
Yun Cai didn’t speak. Wen Qianshu continued on her own, “What did you add to the Moon Chaser that allows you to track me?”
Yun Cai still said nothing, just stared at her. Wen Qianshu chuckled and said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t have changed weapons. What’s the point? You’d just be letting the others know they’ve been discovered.”
Yun Cai: “You haven’t cleared your name yet.”
Wen Qianshu: “If you still suspect me, you should rush out right now and have the people of Fuliu Boat capture me.”
“Or if you dawdle a bit longer, whatever you left behind in Yanyun Sky will naturally report to Head Yun that I’m trying to harm you.”
Yun Cai frowned.
But Wen Qianshu smiled. Yes, this was her style. Unlike Wen Qianshu’s spontaneity, doing whatever came to mind, she was accustomed to making thorough preparations and proceeding steadily.
It was just that the current Wen Qianshu had picked up some of her style, while the current her was a bit more naive and hadn’t thought things through.
Wen Qianshu: “Stop thinking about it. They want me to suspect you, and you to suspect me. It would be best for them if we fought and stirred Yanyun Sky and Canglan Courtyard into a muddy mess.”
They fell for it.
The things she said when she first met Yan Han ultimately had flaws, which Yun Cai discovered.
Moreover, the person behind the scenes actually knew that Yun Cai suspected Canglan Courtyard. He pushed Yan Chengshuang out as a target, as cover. If Yun Cai suspected Yan Chengshuang, then naturally Yan Chengshuang would also sense something was wrong, and they would turn on each other and wear each other down.
Fishing in troubled waters, fishing in troubled waters.
The murkier the water, the easier it is to catch fish.
Wen Qianshu rubbed the space between her eyebrows, thinking to herself that she still needed to go ask Yan Yan.
She was about to leave when she glanced at Yun Cai. Wen Qianshu picked up the Moon Chaser, tied it in her hair, and said, “Are you reassured now?”
Yun Cai: “How do I know you won’t take it off?”
Wen Qianshu: “Then let’s go together.”
With that, she flew off. Yun Cai hesitated for a moment, but still followed.
The academy of Five Spirits Mountain was on Fuliu Boat. It was currently break time, and students were gathered in twos and threes, chatting and playing.
Wen Qianshu stood on a treetop and quickly spotted Yan Yan—she was talking to a little girl, smiling so much her eyes crinkled, looking quite cute.
Wen Qianshu: “Can you go down for me and call someone out?”
Yun Cai: “It’s not convenient for me to show my face in Fuliu Boat right now either.”
Wen Qianshu: “Oh?”
“Why? Isn’t your family and the head of Fuliu Boat—”
Yun Cai turned her head away. Wen Qianshu closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, “The Fire Iris, was that a scheme by both Fuliu Boat and Yanyun Sky?”
Yun Cai: “No.”
Wen Qianshu smiled. “Who said it was? Before this flower demon, you two set a trap for me, but it was ruined by the flower demon, wasn’t it?”
“Head Yun suspects the flower demon was sent by Fuliu Boat, suspects they broke the agreement and made a move, wanting to take both our lives?”
Yun Cai was silent for a moment, then said, “Yes.”
Wen Qianshu: “Then who on earth sent the flower demon?”
Yun Cai shook her head. “It’s hard to say.”
“But I can guarantee it wasn’t my father.”
Wen Qianshu: “Then who did you suspect?”
Yun Cai: “Anyone is possible.”
She frowned and suddenly said, “Head Yun, has he never told you?”
Wen Qianshu didn’t speak, so Yun Cai said, “That’s right. Canglan Courtyard has always kept to itself, after all. In Five Spirits Mountain, Fire and Wood have always been one faction, and Metal and Earth another. Water doesn’t get involved in disputes. Fire overcomes Metal, Metal overcomes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, and Earth produces Metal.”
“This time, a rift has formed between Fire and Wood, and Water is dissatisfied with both. My father suspects that it was Qiankun Earth or Mingfeng Terrace who made a move, wanting to split the remaining three sects, swallow one of them, and completely seize control of Five Spirits Mountain.”
Wen Qianshu: “…”
2333: “…”
Wen Qianshu also felt a headache coming on.
In the end, Wen Qianshu had no choice but to call Yan Yan out herself. When the little girl saw her, joy flashed in her eyes. She rushed forward, and just as she was about to throw herself into her arms, she stopped and said timidly, “Senior Sister, why are you here?”
Wen Qianshu asked her a few questions, like if she was getting used to things and if her studies were going well. Yan Yan was much more lively, nodding vigorously while smiling. Then she remembered her health, stopped smiling, and asked if she had recovered.
Wen Qianshu: “It’s nothing serious.”
So the little girl started smiling again and chattered on, talking about nothing more than meeting many people, reading many books, and learning many spells. Every third sentence was a “thank you,” and every fifth was “Senior Sister.” It took a great effort for her to talk about something else, but it was all just trivial matters.
Finally, she mentioned, “If only I were a bit more powerful, like Yan Han.”
Wen Qianshu: “Why do you want to be like Yan Han?”
Yan Yan smiled, looking completely innocent. “That way, I could become Elder Yan’s disciple and cultivate with Senior Sister every day.”
Yan Han still became Yan Qingxi’s disciple?
2333 felt as if it had been struck by lightning. Wen Qianshu also paused. Thinking of Yun Cai standing behind her, she continued calmly, “What, if you want to be with me, shouldn’t you become my direct junior sister?”
Yan Yan smiled, a little shyly. “Of course I want to, but after Senior Sister disappeared, the Head said she would never—”
The rest of her words gradually became irrelevant. Wen Qianshu spoke a few more sentences with her and was about to leave when she suddenly saw her book box—a box identical to Yan Chengshuang’s, with the character “Yan” carved on it.
Wen Qianshu: “The book box is very pretty.”
Yan Yan smiled again. “The academy gave it to us. It is very nice.”
Wen Qianshu asked, “Does everyone have one?”
Yan Yan: “Yes, everyone has one. But if you have a master, the character is carved by the master.”
Wen Qianshu: “Alright, go back to your studies.”
“I just came to see if you were getting used to the academy.”
Yan Yan nodded.
After she left, Wen Qianshu walked and thought—that would make sense. The character on Yan Chengshuang’s book box was carved by Yan Chengquan, and since Yan Chengshuang had always practiced calligraphy with her, it was natural that their writing looked similar.
But she still felt that something was strange.
Wen Qianshu walked away from the academy and under the branches of Fuliu Boat, where she saw Yun Cai standing with her arms crossed. The sunlight was sliced by the willow branches, reflecting in her light-colored pupils.
Yun Cai: “You say such nice things, but you’re actually just trying to get information out of people.”
“What, have you sunk so low as to question a child?”
Wen Qianshu smiled and said, “I can’t help it. Who told ‘Yan Chengshuang’ to be the senior disciple for so many years and only focus on cultivation? Now that I’ve discovered something is wrong, I don’t know who to ask.”
Yun Cai hit the nail on the head: “Why don’t you ask your master?”
Wen Qianshu: “Good question. Let me think about how to make up a lie to fool you right now.”
Yun Cai frowned. She also knew she had overstepped with that question. “No need.”
Wen Qianshu: “Good, because I don’t want to lie to you.”
Yun Cai turned to leave, but stopped when she heard this. She turned halfway, lowered her eyes, her long lashes covering her light pupils, her expression unreadable. “Liar.”
Wen Qianshu: “But that was the truth.”
Yun Cai: “The Moon Chaser was sprinkled with pollen from one wing of a Biyi Butterfly. If you infuse it with spiritual power, you can sense where the pollen from the other wing is.”
Wen Qianshu raised her hand, her fingertips brushing past the Moon Chaser by her hair. In the unseen world, it was as if a thread connected forward, winding its way up to Yun Cai’s hair, like a stream, like a river, flowing into her fiery red hair ribbon.
“From now on, if you want to know something, use this to ask me.”
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