Chapter 63 Part 2

The four Shadow Crows all turned to Li Ruoshui, silent for breaths. The white-tufted one even transformed into a girl with a yin-yang head, glaring ferociously.

Li Ruoshui wasn’t fazed by the glare, smiling faintly. “No denial? Looks like the previous Feather Sovereign paid quite a price to protect your Shadow Crows’ already shaky reputation.”

The Shadow Crow raised her voice. “Who the hell are you?”

“Me?” Li Ruoshui pointed at herself boldly. “Heaven’s proud daughter of the Nine Provinces human race, friend of the merfolk, honored guest of the Feather Sovereign, bearer of heavenly mandate, and great foe of the Return to Ruins.”

The barrage of titles left the Shadow Crow dizzy and stunned. Without thinking, she blurted, “You’re lying.”

Truth be told, boasting like this before Lian Rusu made Li Ruoshui a bit embarrassed. But the Shadow Crow’s retort banished her slight bashfulness with irritation. Where was the lie? It was truer than gold! For uncooperative little birds, Li Ruoshui favored soul-searching, but with Lian Rusu present, she couldn’t show that ruthless side.

Li Ruoshui eyed the Shadow Crow. “What do I gain by lying to you? What’s there about you Shadow Crows worth scheming for?” They couldn’t even pay for damaging tools—born paupers.

The Shadow Crow’s face hardened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Li Ruoshui was confident in her judgment, especially with the Shadow Crow’s attitude betraying anomalies. “If you want to repay the Feather Sovereign, you shouldn’t hide it—facing dark history bravely is courage too.” She stared at the Shadow Crow, pausing a moment with a faint smile. “Unless your Shadow Crow clan wants to follow in the Thunder Spine Shark Clan’s footsteps.”

The Origin Sea Thunder Spine Shark Clan’s erosion by Ruin Spirits was big news—which demon clan didn’t know? The Shadow Crow’s face grew uglier; frowning, she snapped, “Don’t slander us!”

“Then why won’t you speak?” Li Ruoshui crossed her arms, intrigued. “Whether yes or no, give an answer. Aside from guilt, I can’t think of another reason.”

The Shadow Crow asked, “Are you really the Feather Sovereign’s honored guest?”

Li Ruoshui nodded. Although she had not yet met the Feather Sovereign, she would in the future, so what harm was there in saying so ahead of time? After all, the future her was still her.

The Shadow Crow remained vigilant and shifted its gaze to Lian Rusu. “And who might this be?” Though both were at the Golden Core Realm, this one had almost no presence and made it feel even more uneasy. Back in the Incessant Wind, it had been her who severed the restraints binding the Golden Eagle. She had not feared the Incessant Wind at all—in fact, she had even utilized it.

Lian Rusu lowered her gaze and said indifferently, “Chen Buyan.”

A glint of recognition burst from the Shadow Crow’s eyes—it had clearly heard of Chen Buyan’s reputation. “Truly?” Its gaze completely ignored Li Ruoshui now, focusing solely on Lian Rusu.

With a flip of her wrist, Lian Rusu produced the Tianyan Mirror to verify her identity seal.

The Shadow Crow exhaled heavily. “I knew it.”

Li Ruoshui: “…”

What was with these birds and their attitudes!

The Shadow Crow continued, “That rift did indeed appear in the dao abode of one of our Shadow Crow predecessors. We don’t know exactly what happened, but that senior has gone mad.”

Lian Rusu frowned. “Eroded by Ruin Spirits?”

The Shadow Crow shook its head. “These years, we’ve been searching for that senior’s old possessions. The Shadow Crow Clan can’t possibly have only one hiding place.”

Li Ruoshui asked, “Any findings?”

The Shadow Crow replied, “We found a box, but we can’t open it. We don’t know what’s inside.”

Li Ruoshui let out a surprised “Eh?” and then asked, “Why not send it to the Feather Sovereign?”

“We only found it recently,” the Shadow Crow said softly, its expression dimming slightly. “Besides, the Feather Kingdom’s palace isn’t somewhere the Shadow Crows can approach.”

The previous Feather Sovereign had protected the Shadow Crow Clan and kept quiet about their deranged senior, but no walls were truly airtight. Rumors gradually spread through the Feather Kingdom Market. The Feather Kingdom’s people adored their Sovereign—even mere rumors were enough to breed hatred for the Shadow Crows, especially given the clan’s past misdeeds.

Li Ruoshui asked again, “Where’s the box?”

The Shadow Crow said, “Outside.” Seeing Li Ruoshui frown, it added, “No one but us can find it.”

Li Ruoshui rubbed her temples. “So I have to pay you ten thousand Spirit Jade Pills, huh?”

The Shadow Crow corrected her, “Ninety-three thousand two hundred.”

Lian Rusu lowered her eyes and said gently, “I have Spirit Jade Pills.”

Li Ruoshui shot her a glance. Of course she knew Lian Rusu had them—this woman could casually toss out a million to a stranger, which meant she was among the wealthiest in the Nine Provinces. Li Ruoshui had ten thousand herself now. But damn it, was spending on others the same? Her heart ached as she gritted her teeth. “No need for you to pay, Senior Sister.”

She would rather spend her own than let Lian Rusu foot the bill.

Lian Rusu smiled. “No difference.”

Li Ruoshui said solemnly and earnestly, “There is.” She would rather spend ten thousand than have a flock of Shadow Crows trailing Lian Rusu with endless “Big Sister this” and “Big Sister that.”

Lian Rusu’s brows furrowed slightly. Did they really need to draw such lines between them? Back at Taiyi Sect, what she had said to Junior Sister Shangshan… had she not listened at all? She had mentioned past events, but skipped their pact entirely—was it because it felt too sudden, or because she was unwilling deep down? Lian Rusu felt a twinge of displeasure again, but she never let her emotions show, her expression unchanged as always.

The Shadow Crow eyed Li Ruoshui’s face and promised, “I’ll repay you later.”

Li Ruoshui lifted an eyelid. She hadn’t counted on getting the pills back anyway—smoothly obtaining the box would be victory enough.

The Golden Eagles had no objections to Li Ruoshui taking the Shadow Crow, as long as they were compensated for the damaged artifacts. Who paid the Spirit Jade Pills didn’t matter. The Golden Eagles enthusiastically invited Li Ruoshui and the others to stay in their territory as guests, but Li Ruoshui politely declined due to the Return to Ruins rift matter. Before leaving, the Golden Eagles gifted her many rare fruits from the Feather Kingdom as thanks for saving one of their own.

As they left the Golden Eagles’ nest, Li Ruoshui spotted two familiar faces. A closer look confirmed they were the daoist who managed the Golden Eagles in Lower Tiandu earlier—and the crane. Why weren’t they fighting anymore? They were all lovey-dovey now, disgustingly sticky.

“It’s Jin Liu and Crane Three,” the Shadow Crow said, a strange light flickering in its eyes. “Those two split up every time they fight—more breakups and makeups than my age in years.”

Li Ruoshui flicked the Shadow Crow’s forehead. “Find some proper work. If not, contribute your strength at the Return to Ruins Gap.” Combining Yan Xun’s words, this nest of Shadow Crows… weren’t they the immortal world’s dog… bird paparazzi? Truly no good.

Having taken her aid, the Shadow Crow didn’t dare retort and quietly tried to put some distance from Li Ruoshui, aiming to sidle up to Lian Rusu instead. But as soon as they moved, Li Ruoshui stepped forward too. The cloth strip dangling from the Emperor Sword on her back caught the wind and whipped out, shoving the Shadow Crow several feet away.

The Shadow Crow: “…”

It immediately realized this creditor was exceptionally petty.

Its vision darkened, so it veered away from Li Ruoshui, keeping distance and silently leading the way.

The Shadow Crow’s cultivation path trended toward darkness; its hiding place was no sunny meadow of fresh grass.

The swamp in the woods resembled a lurking beast, waiting to devour any creature off guard. Bones littered the surroundings, while carrion birds circled overhead, emitting sharp cries now and then.

A small swamp posed no threat to cultivators, but the stench from bursting bubbles was hard to bear. Li Ruoshui almost thought she’d stepped into the Specter Path, that so-called kingdom of undead spirits. The Shadow Crow having no friends probably had a tiny bit to do with this. If she knew her friends lived in a hellhole like this, she’d really struggle to visit.

“Almost there,” the Shadow Crow said quietly, glancing at Lian Rusu. It felt a bit embarrassed too, its laugh awkward.

After crossing the swamp into a bleak burial ground shrouded in eerie winds, the Shadow Crow finally stopped. That tuft of white feathers shifted back to humanoid form and precisely located a grave mound, bending down to dig.

Li Ruoshui: “…” Incredulously, she said, “You specifically hide things in other people’s graves?”

She thought she was bad enough, but there were always stronger hands.

The Shadow Crow defended itself righteously, “Not others’—our own family’s.”

Li Ruoshui was speechless. What could she say? These Shadow Crows were filial in the extreme.

The Shadow Crow dug out a box and offered it to Lian Rusu. “That senior was at the Nascent Soul Realm. We found this box in one of his other abodes. The highest cultivation among us Shadow Crows is only Golden Core—we can’t open it.”

Li Ruoshui’s expression changed abruptly. Muttering that it wasn’t an urn of ashes, was it?, she stepped in front of Lian Rusu and took the heavy, sealed thing herself. She cast several Cleansing Dust Charms in a breath, but still felt it was filthy.

“Fellow Daoist, can you open it?” the Shadow Crow asked again.

Li Ruoshui glanced at it askance, pulled out a useless Universe Pouch, and tossed the box inside. “Even if we’re opening it, we need preparations first.” What if some evil entity burst out? That would be suicide.

The Shadow Crow asked, “Will Fellow Daoist send it to the Feather Kingdom’s palace?”

Li Ruoshui pondered briefly, then shook her head.

What if it wasn’t that bad—just that mad bird’s diary? No need for the Feather Sovereign then.

Li Ruoshui turned to Lian Rusu, awaiting her decision.

” Heavenly Craft Workshop,” Lian Rusu said.

Li Ruoshui’s eyes lit up. “Perfect.”

The Tianyan Sect’s Heavenly Craft Workshop had branches everywhere. Their sect excelled not only in artifact forging but also in formations—many great arrays related to the Return to Ruins came from their Array Charts.

For something possibly tied to the Return to Ruins, having the Heavenly Craft Workshop donate some tools made sense, right?

It wouldn’t cost her Spirit Jade Pills too, would it?!