Cocoon Butterfly touched the dried bloodstains on the stone, muttering, "So, in your eyes, he was someone who would be ruined by beauty?" Her body tilted to the side, plummeting straight down the cliff. This baseless accusation had to be borne by someone; everyone said it was her, so she accepted it. It was her last act for her second uncle. Only the sound of the wind lingered in her ears. She truly felt a weight lifted from her shoulders, a sense of lightness. Cocoon Butterfly smiled; the rights and wrongs of this world were no longer relevant to her. She closed her eyes, feeling truly like a butterfly, leaving everything behind. She felt the same way when her mother died—not afraid, because she knew someone was waiting for her.
Those on the mountaintop hadn't expected her to jump. Looking down from the cliff edge, it was too late; there was only a shallow pool of water below. She was certainly not going to survive. The prisoner had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the people who came to catch the murderer had no choice but to descend the mountain dejectedly. Xue Qing knelt on the cliff edge, looking down. The cliff was too high; she couldn't see the bottom at all. She knew perfectly well that jumping from here would mean certain death.
Xue Qing told Abbess Dingni that she wanted to pay respects to Dongchou. After the other sects left, she took Liuying down the mountain and circled around to the bottom of the cliff. A shallow pool of water surrounded the stone wall. The water was not clear and contained undissolved bright red blood streaks. Cocoon Butterfly was lying in the pool. Her bones were broken and more than half of her body was rotten. She was so beautiful when she was alive, but when she died, even her face was disfigured.
Xue Qing walked to the corpse, squatted down, and burst into uncontrollable sobs. What was this? Just because she was from the Desert Wasteland, she couldn't escape the accusation of assassination, and she wouldn't even have a chance to defend herself. In the eyes of the Central Plains people, the lives of those from the Desert Wasteland were never considered human lives. She wanted to fulfill Dong Chou's last wish, she wanted to realize Liu Ying's dream, but she never imagined that this path would be paved with the blood of the Cocoon Butterfly. Could she still walk down this path?
Liu Ying hugged Xue Qing from behind, holding her tightly in his arms. Even though he knew she wasn't the one, and even though there had been a rift between them, at this moment all reason gave way to tenderness. He no longer clung to the confusion in his heart. He just wanted to hold her instinctively. He didn't have the ability to bring the dead back to life, so he could only use his body heat to tell her that someone was still by her side.
Suddenly, Xue Qing wiped away her tears with her hands, stood up and said, "We should carry the body to the top of the mountain and bury it there. We can't leave it here."
The two carried Jian Die's body up the mountain. Without time to buy a coffin, they buried Jian Die and Dong Chou together in the same coffin. Jian Die's name was not added to the tombstone. Jian Die died as an enemy of the Central Plains, and collecting her body would be a stain. So they secretly buried her and Dong Chou together. Others only knew that this was the tomb of the hero Dong Chou. Who would have thought that two people were actually buried here?
"Are you... alright?" Liu Ying asked Xue Qing. He would be more at ease if she cried herself to death.
"What's wrong with that? It wasn't me who jumped off the cliff," Xue Qing said calmly. After glancing at Liu Ying, she added, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not crazy. Kunlun Palace wronged Jian Die; it was Kunlun Palace that killed her! I'm determined to hold onto my position in the Martial Alliance and will never let them have their way!"
"Whatever you want to do, I'll go with you," Liu Ying said calmly. A month ago, she learned to hate, and now she has learned to take revenge. He seemed to be watching a blank sheet of paper being stained with colorful paints.
"Let's go, to Bliss Peak right now! I'll show them I'm not someone to be trifled with!"
Author's Note: ╭(╯3╰)╮ Thank you mp, nata, and yun for the generous votes!
Thank you so much for the comments, ladies! I'm so touched, I'm almost embarrassed.
A clan of the snow mountain
Blissful Peak is located far to the north, and due to its extremely high altitude, it is covered in snow year-round from the halfway point. Xue Qing and Liu Ying left their carriage at an inn in town and carried the wine jars up the mountain. Both of them were wearing fluffy white fox fur cloaks, and from a distance, they looked like snow mountain monsters. After walking for a while, it started snowing again. The snow on Blissful Peak was much more brutal than elsewhere, with large snowflakes accompanied by sharp, razor-sharp winds. Xue Qing wrapped her head in the fox fur cloak, and the cold wind made it hard for her to open her eyes.
Liu Ying lifted the wine jar with one hand and took Xue Qing's hand with the other: "Close your eyes, I'll lead you away."
Xue Qing kept her head down, looking at the ground, letting the fireflies guide her. The two of them continued walking towards the mountaintop against the wind. The wind stung their cheeks, and their necks were already frozen. Only their palms were warm, and so was their hearts.
Upon reaching the summit, all they saw was a vast expanse of white snow, devoid of any sign of human habitation or even life. It was here that those who had hoped to meet the Linghu clan gave up. When they finally arrived at the summit full of hope, they were met with despair. Some even spread rumors that the Linghu clan had long since perished.
Xue Qing placed the wine jar on the snow at the top of the mountain, opened the lid, and let the aroma of the wine waft out. Xue Qing's nose had long been frozen and she couldn't smell anything. She wondered if Linghu Chenguang's nose was still working properly.
"...Are you sure he'll come if you do this?" Liu Ying asked, this method was somewhat similar to the one used when catching wild boars.
"Probably," Xue Qing said, looking around. There was still no sign of anyone, which was making her anxious. Liu Ying's eyes were fixed on her, and she said uncomfortably, "...Why are you looking at me like that?"
“You seem to know a lot of strange things,” Firefly said.
"The more books you read, the more you'll know. I've told you long ago that you need to study hard; you'll regret not having enough knowledge when you need it," Xue Qing said haphazardly.
Liu Ying's gaze drifted in another direction: "Someone's coming."
A woman walked through the swirling snow. She was tall and slender, dressed in a heavy, luxurious fur coat. Her lips were heavily made up with rouge, and her high, straight nose and long, narrow eyes were alluring thanks to her thick eyelashes. Linghu Chenguang should be a man, so why was it a woman?
Xue Qing stood up from the ground and watched the woman walk to the wine jar, bend down and sniff it.
"The 'Drunken Yearning for Spring' from the 'Qing Ping Yue' melody," the woman said.
Xue Qing nodded: "This wine is for Mr. Linghu. And you are...?"
“Linghu Zhencai, Linghu Chenguang’s younger sister,” the woman replied.
The Linghu family are all born wine lovers. Linghu Zhencai was very satisfied with the Zui Huai Chun that Xue Qing brought. The Linghu family tradition is to recognize wine, not people. If you have good wine, you are a guest and can bring it home to entertain guests.
"Please follow me, gentlemen," Linghu Zhencai said, carrying the wine jar on the ground in one arm.
Xue Qing couldn't help but marvel. Although the wine jar wasn't as big as a wine vat, it was still quite heavy when filled with wine. It was as if the woman who worked as a blacksmith all day had developed incredible strength in her arms. The Linghu clan lived in a secluded place on the mountaintop; without a guide, outsiders would never find them.
The Linghu clan lived in a more modest dwelling than they had imagined. They were all craftsmen, yet the Broken Sword Manor lived so comfortably. Linghu Zhencai gestured for Xue Qing and Liu Ying to sit in the main hall: "My brother drank a pot of Guanyin wine yesterday and hasn't woken up yet. If you two are looking for him, wait here." With that, she carried Zui Huaichun into the house.
Xue Qing guessed that Guanyin Brew was a kind of wine. She was still not sober from the wine she drank yesterday. Xue Qing became more and more suspicious that Ling Shu was really here. It sounded more believable that he was at Duanjian Manor. At least Duanjian Manor would never abandon its guests!
"If he's still not sober today, we might have to sit here and sleep all night," Xue Qing said helplessly to Liu Ying.
“It might not have been just one night. I know that Master once got drunk for seven days and seven nights,” Liu Ying said.
"No, I hope this wine isn't too strong." Isn't this a trap? Will Ling Shu really end up in the hands of someone like this? If he gets drunk and dies one day, won't Ling Shu's whereabouts become an eternal mystery?
Xue Qing and Liu Ying sat in the main hall, unnoticed. The rumors of the Linghu clan's extinction weren't entirely unfounded; it was quite possible that only the brother and sister remained. Xue Qing's biggest worry now was how to get the Spirit Pivot back. They wouldn't give it away easily; she had to be prepared to steal it.
Just as Xue Qing was preparing to sit up and sleep, Linghu Chenguang woke up. Xue Qing knew someone was coming from afar. The overwhelming smell of alcohol grew stronger with each step he took. Dong Chou just liked to numb himself with alcohol. He was like someone who had been soaking in alcohol. When he opened the door and entered the house, Xue Qing felt like she was soaking in alcohol.
Linghu Chenguang looked to be in his thirties, the complete opposite of Linghu Zhencai. He was dressed very thinly and in a messy manner, revealing his thick arm muscles. He didn't look like someone who knew martial arts; those muscles must have been forged from iron. This put Xue Qing at ease, as it seemed he hadn't neglected the skills passed down from his ancestors.
“You two are Dongchou’s junior sister and disciple,” Linghu Chenguang said after yawning and sitting down.
Xue Qing and Liu Ying nodded together.
"Ha, Mu Lan is incredibly stingy. How could an ordinary person possibly get wine from him?" Linghu Chenguang said with a laugh.
"Since you know who we are, do you also know why we are here?" Xue Qing got straight to the point.
Linghu Chenguang yawned again: "Ten out of ten people who come to Bliss Peak are here to ask for things. Tong Chou loved to plunder my house when he was alive, and even after he died, he instructed others to come and ask me for things."
"What I need this time is related to the future of the martial arts world. Please, senior, hand over the Spirit Pivot to me," Xue Qing said, clasping her hands in a fist salute.
"Has your senior brother ever told you that I never care about the future of the martial arts world?" Linghu Chenguang smiled.
Xue Qing's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, this guy is definitely no good. He'll definitely take this opportunity to make unreasonable demands.
"What are you concerned about, senior? Please feel free to ask," Liu Ying asked.
Linghu Chenguang's gaze lingered on Liuying's sword. He straightened up and asked, "Did he pass the sword to you?"