The warm spring water felt wonderful against her exposed skin. She closed her eyes, giggled softly, and submerged herself in the water.
When she surfaced and opened her eyes, she found a man standing on the snow in front of her.
With jet-black hair and a handsome appearance, he was a good-looking man.
He knelt on the edge of the hot spring, his deep, pool-like eyes filled with a smile as he gazed intently at her.
She was shocked and furious. Forgetting her embarrassment, she reached out to grab her clothes on the ground, but the man grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the water.
She sensed something was wrong and attacked the man, but he subdued her in no time and pulled her into his arms.
The man chuckled softly, picked her up, and ran for a while until they entered the snow valley cave. He then put her down on the ground, sat cross-legged in a corner of the cave, and leisurely looked her up and down.
He asked her if she was afraid, and she naturally knew what he meant. She was terrified, but she still stubbornly bit her lip and refused to answer.
Unexpectedly, the man smiled, tossed the clothes to her, and said those words to her...
Ruan Ziya smiled and said softly, "Many years ago, I first met Mozhu in this snow valley. At that time, I did not know his identity. Seeing his superb martial arts skills and his unrestrained and carefree personality, I couldn't help but yearn for the carefree and unrestrained life he described."
Li Feiqing thought silently: Senior Sister acts willfully, Ying Shan Sect has many rules, and Master usually disciplines his disciples strictly. It's no wonder that she would admire a free and unrestrained person like Young Master Mozhu.
She suddenly remembered what Mu Linlang and Yi Feng had said during their argument that day, and asked, "Was Senior Brother also in the Snow Valley that day?"
Ruan Ziya said, "Yes, I secretly ran away from my senior brother that day. Later, when he found out that I was missing, he went to Snow Valley to look for me."
She still remembered her senior brother searching everywhere in the valley, calling her name softly again and again. She hesitated for a moment, but Mo Zhu suddenly leaned forward and kissed her...
Ruan Ziya blushed and whispered, "He told me he had important business to attend to and would come to Ying Mountain to find me in half a month. He told me to wait for him on the mountain, and then he secretly left, avoiding my senior brother. When I went out to see my senior brother, I lied and said that I was hiding from him because I wanted to make him anxious, and he didn't suspect anything. Later, when I returned to Ying Mountain, I didn't tell anyone about seeing Mo Zhu, but I longed to see him again even more. I thought he would secretly come up the mountain to pick me up in half a month, but I never expected..."
That day, as she calculated that the half-month period had arrived, she was restless and anxiously waiting when a servant from the mountain suddenly came to report that a master of the Demonic Sect had suddenly attacked and was fighting with the sect leader. Thinking that the Demonic Sect had launched a full-scale invasion, she hurriedly grabbed her sword and rushed over, only to find that only one person had come, none other than Mo Zhu, whom she had been longing for day and night.
Ruan Ziya lowered her eyes and said, "That day, he ventured into Shadow Mountain alone. After seeing me, he wanted to take me away, but Father naturally refused. I had already made up my mind, so I told Father that I was determined to follow him and wander the world, asking him to pretend that he had never given birth to a daughter like me. Father's expression changed drastically at that moment. He said that if I wanted to betray my sect, he would have to die immediately. Then he thrust his sword at my chest. When Mozhu saw that I did not dodge, he struck out with his palm, sending Father flying several feet away. He fell to the ground and vomited blood."
Li Feiqing felt sad as she listened to her recount the harrowing chaos that had occurred on Shadow Mountain. She looked at Murong Wuhen and thought to herself: Murong Wuhen must have known about the past between Senior Sister and Mozhu long ago, given what he did on Shadow Mountain.
Murong Wuhen listened quietly from the side, his eyes thoughtful, but it was unclear what he was thinking.
Ruan Ziya paused for a moment before continuing, "I rushed over to help my father up and saw that he was seriously injured, but he still looked at me with disappointment. I was filled with bitterness and said to him, 'Then I might as well die,' so I grabbed the tip of the sword next to his hand and plunged it into my chest."
Li Feiqing's heart was pounding. Even though Ruan Ziya was alive and well in front of her, she couldn't help but ask, "What happened next? You didn't die, right?"
Ruan Ziya smiled slightly and said, "After I woke up, I learned that my senior brother had secretly saved me. The sword missed by half an inch and did not pierce my heart. After I recovered from my injury, I begged him for help, and he finally agreed to let me leave. Junior sister, I am the same kind of person as Mozhu. I will not be willing to be bound by the stinking rules of those prestigious sects. Even without Mozhu, I would not stay in Ying Mountain for long. I believe my senior brother already understands this. As for rejoining the sect, please do not mention it again."
Knowing it was impossible to persuade him any further, Li Feiqing sighed sadly. Suddenly, she remembered something and said, "Senior Sister, there is something I must make clear to you. Young Master Mozhu did not die at the hands of Gu Qingyun. The two of them fought to a draw at the summit of Kunlun Mountain and even agreed to fight again next year. Later, rumors spread throughout the martial arts world that Young Master Mozhu was seriously injured and died. Gu Qingyun has been racking his brains trying to figure out the reason for this."
Ruan Ziya's eyes flashed, and he hesitated without answering.
Li Feiqing said urgently, "Believe me, I'm not lying to you."
Murong Wuhen, who had been listening in, suddenly spoke up: "The little girl wasn't lying. Mo Zhu wasn't injured by Gu Qingyun. He died from poisoning."
Ruan Ziya's expression changed drastically. She struggled to get up, but Li Feiqing quickly supported her. Ruan Ziya stared intently at Murong Wuhen and asked in a trembling voice, "He died of poisoning? How do you know so clearly?"
Murong Wuhen slowly said, "When he had Elder He hand over the Ink Bamboo Token to me, he wrote a secret letter that detailed the matter. I have always been enemies with Gu Qingyun, so I would never lie to you for him."
Ruan Ziya was stunned for a moment. She thought about how she had been plotting day and night for the past four years to kill Gu Qingyun and avenge Mozhu. But in the end, she realized that she had been looking for the wrong enemy all along.
She suddenly looked up at Murong Wuhen and asked, "And who are you? Why does Mozhu trust you so much?"
Murong Wuhen smiled slightly and said calmly, "Before entering the martial world, Young Master Mozhu's name was Murong Zhu, and he is my biological brother."
Snow Valley and Ice Peaks (Part 5)
Long after Li Feiqing left, Ruan Ziya remained sitting against the stone wall, lost in thought.
As Murong Wuhen's acupoints were gradually released, he immediately stood up, walked to Ruan Ziya, squatted down, and looked at her, saying, "Do you have something to ask me?"
Ruan Ziya said in a low voice, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Murong Wuhen's eyes flickered, but he did not answer for a moment.
Ruan Ziya chuckled softly and said slowly, "Of course you wouldn't dare, because you've always suspected that I poisoned Mo Zhu. Even Mo Zhu herself probably has the same suspicion."
Recalling everything that had happened before, she suddenly understood and said, "So he first had me take over as the sect leader, but secretly sent someone to you, instructing you to take the Ink Bamboo Token back to the Black Robe Sect and take over?"
Murong Wuhen remained silent for a moment, then said, "Mo Zhu only instructed me to secretly investigate the truth. If it really is you, then I can use the Mo Zhu token to command the followers, but I..."
Ruan Ziya raised her eyebrows and said, "But you also want to sit in this position of sect leader, and you've already convinced yourself that I was the one who poisoned you."
Murong Wuhen said, "That's right. The last time I met Mozhu was after he met you in Snow Valley. I heard him mention that he wanted to go to Shadow Mountain to find a woman named Mu Qingqing. Five years later, when I learned of his death, I realized that the woman by his side had always been you, so I became suspicious."
Ruan Ziya asked, "Didn't Mozhu specify my identity in the letter?"
Murong Wuhen shook his head and said, "He never said that. It's just that since I suspected you were Mu Qingqing, I took advantage of Lan Lang and plotted against Li Feiqing. Later, when I saw that you had indeed gone to Ying Mountain and even helped Mu Linlang detoxify, I became even more suspicious. Mu Linlang said that you looked similar to Li Feiqing. On that isolated island, I removed the mask from your face to see your true face, but I didn't know that you had already taken a disguise pill."
He smiled and looked at Ruan Ziya, saying, "I had already assumed that you were the one who poisoned me, but after spending time with you, I always felt that it didn't seem like it. Until the day I was injured by Gu Qingyun, you didn't take the opportunity to kill me, but instead helped me recover my strength. That's when I realized that I had guessed wrong before."
Ruan Ziya remained silent for a long while before saying in a hoarse voice, "It's understandable that you have this guess, but he actually..."
Murong Wuhen advised, "You can't blame Mo Zhu for this. He was extremely skilled in martial arts and very vigilant. How many people in the world could get close to him and poison someone without being detected? He only had some suspicions in his heart and did not immediately assume it was you. The various arrangements he made before his death showed that he still cared about protecting you."
Ruan Ziya was stunned for a moment, then whispered, "Mo Zhu, he has probably been poisoned by an ancient remedy."
She recalled that in the months before Mo Zhu died, he would avoid her whenever she went to visit him. However, she once accidentally found a crumpled piece of paper in his room with the words "ancient remedy" repeatedly written on it. Mo Zhu must have realized that he was poisoned at that time and had become suspicious of her.
Ruan Ziya bit her lip and smiled bitterly. At the time, she thought he had been poisoned by an ancient remedy by a righteous person. Later, she attacked Zhan Family Fort and kidnapped Zhan Hengye and others, hoping to get some clues from them. She never expected that the person Mo Zhu suspected was herself.
Murong Wuhen saw that her lips trembled slightly, indicating that she was extremely sad. He was worried that her injuries would relapse, so he reached out and hugged her, saying in a low voice, "Leave the matter of avenging Mozhu to me. You should focus on recovering from your injuries first."
Ruan Ziya felt lost and stopped speaking. She leaned against his chest and slowly closed her eyes.
※※※※
Several days later, the true energy in Ruan Ziya's body, guided by Li Feiqing and Murong Wuhen, gradually dispersed into the eight extraordinary meridians and no longer intertwined.
She has regained full mobility, and with another day, she will be able to integrate the two internal energies into one, eliminating any worry about the backlash from the true energy.
Ruan Ziya showed no sign of joy, and Murong Wuhen, knowing her inner turmoil, kept silent about the matter of Mozhu.
That afternoon, Murong Wuhen sat cross-legged in the stone cave, circulating his inner energy throughout his body for a full cycle. He felt his internal energy moving freely and flowing unimpeded throughout his body, and he knew that his cultivation of the Qianhan Gong had advanced to another level, which made him secretly happy.
When he opened his eyes, he found that Ruan Ziya was no longer in the cave.
Murong Wuhen was startled and quickly left the stone cave. He ran around the snow valley but could not find any trace of Ruan Ziya.
He thought to himself: Could it be that she went to find Li Feiqing? He immediately flew towards the cave where Li Feiqing lived.
Upon entering the cave, they saw Gu Qingyun sitting cross-legged in the center, with white mist rising from his head, as if he were at a crucial moment in cultivating his internal energy. Li Feiqing, with a solemn expression, was watching with concern. When Murong Wuhen suddenly barged in, her face immediately showed alertness.
Murong Wuhen was taken aback, thinking to himself: Gu Qingyun has recovered from her injuries so quickly? Seeing that Ruan Ziya was not there, he had no time to think further and immediately turned and left.
He frowned the whole way, racking his brains to figure out where Ruan Ziya had gone, when suddenly a thought flashed through his mind: the stone cave was narrow and deep, could she still be in the cave?
Thinking of this, he hurriedly ran back to the cave. Before even entering the cave, he couldn't help but call out inside, "Ziya?"
A soft voice responded from inside, and Murong Wuhen breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped into the cave and asked, "Just now, you went..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly stopped, staring ahead in disbelief.
Inside the cave, a woman stood gracefully, with fair skin and a beautiful face, her charm captivating. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with a captivating light. When she saw his gaze fixed on her, she blushed slightly and smiled sweetly at him.
Murong Wuhen stammered, "You, you..."
Ruan Ziya blushed slightly and whispered, "He really is a lecherous brat."
Murong Wuhen cleared his throat and said seriously, "I was just surprised to see how much you look like that little girl Li Feiqing, and I didn't realize it at first."
Ruan Ziya chuckled and turned her head, saying, "You've long harbored ill intentions towards my junior sister, but unfortunately, you've repeatedly tried to win her over without success. Now that you see my appearance, are you reminded of this regretful matter and feeling heartbroken?"
Murong Wuhen laughed and said, "No, in my eyes and heart there is only you, so why are you so suspicious and jealous?"
Ruan Ziya blushed, spat, and ignored him.
Murong Wuhen stepped forward with a smile, looked at her and said, "So you're finally willing to let me see your true colors?"
Ruan Ziya blushed again when she saw him approach.
Murong Wuhen saw the blush appear on her alabaster face and was filled with delight. He chuckled and said, "So you blush so easily. From now on, you're not allowed to wear that damn human skin mask when you're with me."
Ruan Ziya said angrily, "You..."
Murong Wuhen took a step forward and lowered his head to kiss her. Ruan Ziya reached out and punched his back, but felt him pull her closer and his lips and tongue became more and more unrestrained. Thinking that Murong Wuhen had been restrained for several days and had endured until now, she chuckled, hooked her arms around his neck, and closed her eyes to meet his kiss.
Just as the two were feeling aroused, they suddenly heard a soft gasp beside them. They turned their heads at the same time and saw Li Feiqing standing at the entrance of the cave, covering her mouth with her hand, her face flushed red.
Seeing their gazes directed at her, Li Feiqing felt even more embarrassed and said angrily, "You...you..." She stomped her foot and quickly turned and ran away.
Murong Wuhen said in a hoarse voice, "Ignore her." He lowered his head to continue, but Ruan Ziya broke free from his embrace and said breathlessly with a flushed face, "Junior Sister must have something to ask me when she comes here now."
Gu Qingyun stood outside the stone cave and saw Li Feiqing return in a short while, so she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Li Feiqing blushed and complained, "They actually did it in broad daylight..." As soon as she finished speaking, she remembered that she and Gu Qingyun had done even more intense things in broad daylight, probably more than once. She coughed a few times and stopped talking in a muffled voice.
Gu Qingyun understood, smiled, and said, "Then let's come again tomorrow."
Li Feiqing nodded, then suddenly asked in doubt, "Huh? Was I seeing things just now? Why does Senior Sister look so different?"
Before Gu Qingyun could speak, Ruan Ziya chuckled softly, "Junior Sister, you were looking for me?"
The two turned around and were stunned into silence when they saw Ruan Ziya's face. After a long while, Li Feiqing finally spoke up in a daze: "Senior sister, I didn't know you were so beautiful!"
Ruan Ziya chuckled and said to Gu Qingyun, "Master Gu, did you not expect that my junior sister and I would look so alike?"
Gu Qingyun smiled slightly. Although the two women looked similar, Li Feiqing was delicate and Ruan Ziya was stunning, making them easy to distinguish. In his heart, he naturally felt that Li Feiqing was much more beautiful.
Li Feiqing took Ruan Ziya's hand and, recalling the past, sighed, "Senior Sister, no wonder I felt an instant connection with you the first time I saw you, it turns out..."
Ruan Ziya smiled and nodded, saying, "When I first saw you, I was also taken aback. Later, when I saw that you carried the Juying Sword, I knew that you were a disciple of Yingshan, and I regarded you as my younger sister."
Li Feiqing recalled her several encounters with Ruan Ziya, and how Ruan Ziya's words and actions had indeed shown her a great deal of protection. Feeling a warmth in her heart, she called out, "Senior Sister."
She and Ruan Ziya exchanged a smile when suddenly Murong Wuhen emerged from the stone cave and lazily said to her, "You brat, you've ruined my plans again. Tell me, what brings you here all of a sudden?"
Li Feiqing blushed, glared at him, and said to Ruan Ziya, "Senior Sister, you will recover your strength tomorrow, and Gu Qingyun has also recovered from her injuries. We came to discuss with you what good plan we have for leaving the valley."
Ruan Ziya smiled at Gu Qingyun and said, "Master Gu, I was just about to discuss this matter with you. I do have a way to get out of the valley, but what will you offer me in exchange this time?"
The three of them were shocked by her words. Li Feiqing stammered, "Senior sister, you... how could you..."
Ruan Ziya blinked, smiled slyly, and said, "I came up with the idea myself. Why would I tell him if there's no benefit to it?"