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Capítulo 106

With heavy thoughts in her heart, Yue Ruzheng returned to Luzhou. In fact, she hadn't been away from Luzhou for very long, but the events and sudden changes she had experienced since the day she was injured while saving Danfeng made her feel as if she had been in another world.

The carriage arrived at the gate of Yinxi Xiaozhu. Lan Baichen, who was riding in front, dismounted first. He turned around to say a few words to his attendants when the gate slowly opened. Someone walked out from behind the gate and said with a sigh, "Brother Baichen, how have you been?"

Upon hearing the sound, Lan Baichen was overjoyed and quickly turned around. He saw a man standing in front of Yinxi Xiaozhu, wearing a turban and crane-feather cloak, with a refined and slender face. It was none other than Yu Hezhi, the Hermit of Longqiu.

At this moment, Jiang Shuying, inside the carriage, lifted the curtain with surprise and helped Yue Ruzheng out. Upon seeing Yu Hezhi, she anxiously asked, "Senior Brother! What has happened to you these past few days?! Why are the people of Bliss Valley searching for you everywhere? And what about Mo Li? Did he die at your hands?"

Yu Hezhi waved his hand, looked at Yue Ruzheng beside her, and asked, "Junior Sister, what's wrong with Ruzheng?"

"She suffered internal injuries." Jiang Shuying frowned. At this moment, Qian'er and the others rushed over. Seeing Yue Ruzheng like this, they were heartbroken and helped her inside.

Yue Ruzheng returned to the small building. Jiang Shuying repeatedly gave Qian'er instructions, while Yu Hezhi, who was also nearby, noticed that Yue Ruzheng's injuries were clearly serious and couldn't help but ask, "Who on earth injured Ruzheng like this?"

"I don't know who it is, but in my opinion, that person must have some connection with the Divine Firmament Palace." Jiang Shuying waved for Qian'er to leave. Yu Hezhi looked surprised and raised his eyebrows, saying, "The disciples of the Divine Firmament Palace are all Taoist practitioners who cultivate in seclusion. How could they have a conflict with Ruzheng?"

"Senior brother, you may not know this..." Jiang Shuying stood up and glanced at Yue Ruzheng. To avoid disturbing her rest, she went downstairs with Yu Hezhi. Lan Baichen was sitting in the courtyard waiting. As Yu Hezhi listened to Jiang Shuying recount Ruzheng's ordeal, he frowned repeatedly. After Jiang Shuying finished speaking, he sighed, "I was only focused on escaping Mo Li's pursuit all the way here, and I was unable to save Ruzheng. If I had been there, she wouldn't have suffered like this."

"He Zhi, why exactly is Mo Li chasing after you?" Lan Baichen stood up and asked.

Yu Hezhi glanced around and gestured for the two to follow him. Jiang Shuying and Lan Baichen followed him out of the courtyard where Yue Ruzheng lived, their hearts filled with doubt, remaining silent the entire way.

When he arrived at Yu Hezhi's temporary residence in Yinxi Xiaozhu, he turned around, closed the door tightly, pulled down the bamboo curtain, and then opened the bedside box, slowly taking out a silver box from it.

The box was intricately carved with patterns of floating clouds, the sun, and the moon. Upon seeing it, Jiang Shuying looked surprised and stepped forward to examine it closely, her voice trembling as she asked, "Senior brother, what is this?!"

Yu Hezhi smiled meaningfully, and gently tapped the lid of the box with two fingers. With a crisp "ding," the pure white lid flipped open, and the previously dark room was now filled with radiant light. Inside the silver box, a pure white and translucent bead quietly emitted wisps of cold light, like smoke and mist, lingering and never dissipating.

"The Youth-Preserving Pearl?!" In a moment of panic, Jiang Shuying grabbed his wrist. "How did it end up in your hands?!"

Lan Baichen, standing to the side, was also extremely surprised. Examining the gleaming, cold-smelling bead, he said, "He Zhi, wasn't this divine bead already taken by Mo Li? Could it be that you killed him and retrieved the divine bead?"

Yu Hezhi carefully placed the silver box on the table, gestured for the two to sit down, and then sat down himself, saying, "Ever since Mo Li coerced us into handing over the Divine Pearl three years ago, I have always felt it was a disgrace to our Yinxi Xiaozhu. However, if we were to fight against the Bliss Valley head-on, we feared it would harm our disciples. Therefore, I have been secretly monitoring Mo Li's condition. After obtaining the Divine Pearl, he first used it with herbs from the valley to treat his chronic illness, and in less than half a year, it proved to be very effective."

"No wonder his skills increased so much in the past two years, and he defeated several masters in succession," Lan Baichen said. "Although I have lived in Hengshan for a long time, I have heard that the Bliss Valley seems to have the intention of gradually encroaching on other sects, but after this rumor spread, it gradually disappeared."

"Baichen, do you know why?" Yu Hezhi asked calmly.

Lan Baichen shook his head. Jiang Shuying frowned and thought for a moment, "Could it be that Mo Li practiced too hastily, suffered a qi deviation, and injured himself?"

Yu Hezhi nodded and smiled: "He only knows that the Face-Fixing Divine Pearl is a rare object, but he doesn't know that this divine pearl was made by the Venerable Hai Qiongzi by condensing the essence of the ice and snow of Tianshan Mountain. Without the assistance of the Divine Firmament Palace's Thunder Heart Method, blindly practicing it will only lead to the cold air penetrating into the heart and lungs."

"I see..." Lan Baichen nodded. "A few days ago, he came here looking for you. Shuying and I fought him together, and at that time I felt that he seemed to be injured."

Although Jiang Shuying saw the Divine Pearl return to Yinxi Xiaozhu, the doubt between her brows remained. After pondering it repeatedly, she couldn't help but ask, "Senior brother, does this mean that Mo Li really died at your hands?"

Yu Hezhi frowned and shook his head, saying, "That's not it. I sneaked into the Valley of Bliss last month and took the Divine Pearl while Mo Li was healing. Because his internal energy was unstable, he couldn't stop me at the time, but I was also poisoned by the miasma in the valley. After that, he led his men to pursue me, and to avoid implicating Yinxi Xiaozhu, I haven't come to Luzhou these past few days. It wasn't until a few days ago when I heard he had reached the vicinity of Chaohu Lake that I rushed back to Yinxi Xiaozhu, intending to entrust the Divine Pearl to you for safekeeping... Unexpectedly, he died. It's extremely strange!"

Jiang Shuying and Lan Baichen had never imagined the whole story. Jiang Shuying sighed, "Senior brother, I never thought you would be willing to risk going to Bliss Valley alone... Why didn't you discuss this with me? Were you afraid I would stop your plan?"

Yu Hezhi smiled slightly, reached for the silver box, examined it carefully, and handed it to Jiang Shuying. "I know this matter has always been a thorn in your side, but you don't want Shao Yang and Ru Zheng to be involved in the conflict again. Our Yinxi Xiaozhu lineage is sparsely populated; besides me, who else can go?"

Lan Baichen patted Yu Hezhi on the shoulder, stroked his beard, and said, "Brother, you are truly a chivalrous and righteous man. Even when I first met you, I knew you were a man of deep feeling!"

After a few words of humility, Yu Hezhi looked at Jiang Shuying and said, "Now that Mo Li is dead, the people of Bliss Valley are temporarily leaderless and shouldn't come after us immediately. This divine pearl has finally been returned to its rightful owner. Junior Sister, you must take good care of it."

Jiang Shuying picked up the silver box from the table, her fingertips touching the divine pearl, a cool sensation seeping in without leaving a trace. She suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked, "With this, can you heal Ruzheng's injuries?"

"Although we still lack the Thunderclap Heart Sutra, the Divine Pearl itself condenses the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so it should also be of some use," Yu Hezhi pondered.

That night, Jiang Shuying went to Yue Ruzheng's room and took out the small silver box from her sleeve.

Yue Ruzheng was utterly astonished as she watched as the woman slowly opened the box. A bead, as bright as the moon and as cold as ice and snow, shone faintly in the candlelight.

Under this strange, flowing light, Yue Ruzheng was speechless for a moment. She gazed at the divine pearl that had brought her so much torment and bitterness, as if she had returned to that night that had brought about a huge turning point in her life, as if she could see again the deep moonlight of the Forgetful Pavilion and the lonely figure with his back to her.

Jiang Shuying removed Yue Ruzheng's outer garment and sat opposite her. Concentrating her energy, she channeled her inner force into the divine pearl, which, stirred by her true energy, slowly rose to Yue Ruzheng's brow. Jiang Shuying touched the pearl with her fingertip, infusing it with her own internal energy. The originally translucent pearl gradually developed five-colored brilliance, rising and falling, fleeting in an instant. Yue Ruzheng felt a cool sensation spreading from her brow; though slightly cold, it was different from the chilling cold she had felt before.

After the treatment was completed, Jiang Shuying briefly recounted what He Zhi had said and told Yue Ruzheng, "This treasure has finally been returned to its rightful owner, it's just a pity that the Junlei Heart Sutra has not yet been found... But in any case, you should rest well for now, I will handle the rest."

"Other things?" Despite the chilly night, Yue Ruzheng's forehead was still covered in cold sweat.

"Don't you want to know who attacked you? Also, I have a feeling that this person must have practiced the Thunderclap Heart Technique... Nowadays, apart from the disciples of Shenxiao Palace, only the people of Seven Star Island know the Thunderclap Heart Technique..." Jiang Shuying said, glancing at Yue Ruzheng.

Yue Ruzheng was taken aback: "Seven Star Island?! How come it's again...?"

"Back then, the Divine Pearl of Youth was stolen by Lian Haichao. By the time I found my senior brother, he had already committed suicide," Jiang Shuying said in a low voice. "My father valued him the most, so he entrusted him with the cultivation manual. However, the manual was not found among my senior brother's belongings. Therefore, He Zhi and I guessed that Lian Haichao must have taken the manual as well and kept it on Seven Star Island."

As she said this, she looked at Yue Ruzheng again and asked, "Back then, did you see the Thunderclap Heart Sutra in the Forgetfulness Pavilion on Seven Star Island?"

Yue Ruzheng's face paled, and she whispered, "Master, I haven't seen it, and I've never heard of them possessing the Divine Firmament Palace's cultivation techniques."

As she spoke, her thoughts raced, as if old debts from many years ago were still impossible to settle. Seeing that she was still weak, Jiang Shuying didn't say anything more, gave her some instructions, and then got up and went downstairs.

However, these words only added to Yue Ruzheng's worries. Lying alone in bed, she couldn't imagine who else on Seven Star Island could have such profound internal strength, and she wondered if her master would resent the Lian family even more because of this.

Suddenly, she thought of Lian Junchu, and of him in mourning clothes under the moonlight that night, appearing like a fleeting glimpse of a beautiful woman, then vanishing without a trace. Yue Ruzheng even wondered if she was dreaming because of excessive longing.

Chapter Sixty-Eight

A biting north wind swept through the air as Wei Heng, on his light cavalry, galloped southward from Luzhou, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Before even reaching Huangshan, he encountered a group of men guarding the roadside. The young man at the head of the group eagerly awaited him; it was none other than his subordinate, Qi Yun. Upon seeing Wei Heng carrying his pack, Qi Yun hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Master, are you really going to Luofu Mountain?"

"You're well-informed!" Wei Heng chuckled, sized him up, and said, "What are you doing with so many people? Are you coming with me?"

Qi Yun hurriedly pointed to the crowd behind him: "They can all inquire about Senior Hai Qiongzi's whereabouts for the Master. If he happens to be traveling nearby, wouldn't that save the Master a lot of time?"

Wei Heng pondered for a moment and said, "Master Hai Qiongzi's whereabouts are indeed uncertain. Qi Yun, you take them and inquire for me. I will first head south to Huizhou. If you have any results, then come and let me know."

Qi Yun agreed and led his men toward the city.