“Then you messaged Shen Mingzheng?”
“As if! I’m not close to her!” Guan Du shot back firmly.
“…So we’re just showing up unannounced?” Lu Mingyi suddenly questioned Guan Du’s reliability.
“Relax. With our family name, the Shen Family won’t make it hard. Plus, while we doubt it’s a real marriage push, others don’t—you see those two over there?”
Following Guan Du’s gesture, Lu Mingyi spotted two somewhat familiar figures, who also noticed them.
“G-Guan Senior Sister?! How are you here too?!” Their shock looked genuine.
One was the young mistress of the Jiangnan Chen Family, the other of the Qian Family—neither major clans, but respectable among aristocratic families. Both cultivated at Taiqing Sect, so they knew Guan Du.
Guan Du smiled at them. “Heard Junior Sister Shen was ill, so I came to check on her.”
The Chen and Qian girls exchanged glances; Lu Mingyi read their eyes clearly: Since when were you so close to Shen Mingzheng? Don’t tell us this is a proposal in disguise!
“See? Everyone else thinks the Shen Family’s seriously recruiting a spouse, so they’re all vying for the spot,” Guan Du transmitted to Lu Mingyi with a raised brow.
Lu Mingyi had clung to her view that Shen Pianchen wouldn’t force Shen Mingzheng into a match now.
But in the Reception Hall, seeing Shen Pianchen seated at the head, scrutinizing Guan Du and her group—probing their past interactions with Shen Mingzheng, then inviting them to stay and meet her once recovered—Lu Mingyi began to waver.
If there were other motives, why keep them in Yaoguang Ravine? Why make Shen Mingzheng meet them?
Lu Mingyi’s heart began to thump wildly: Could Shen Pianchen really be setting up a blind date for Shen Mingzheng?
“Miss Guan, please hold on a moment.”
After the other two had left, Shen Pianchen called out to Guan Du, and Lu Mingyi stayed behind as well.
She stood in the corner, subtly observing Shen Pianchen seated in the high position and Xia Huan at her side.
Shen Pianchen’s figure was a bit slimmer than it had been one hundred and eighty years ago, but her complexion looked fine. It seemed the Demon Sect’s sudden assault hadn’t affected her too much. Xia Huan remained as stoic as ever, her face slightly tense as she stood guard by Shen Pianchen’s side, exuding an air of utmost seriousness.
The faint guilt Lu Mingyi had carried in her heart over the events from a hundred years ago eased somewhat.
She heard Shen Pianchen say to Guan Du, “You’ve come to see A’Zheng?”
“Yes.” Guan Du cupped her fists in salute. “I heard that Junior Sister Shen had been afflicted with the Spirit-Devouring Gu. Remembering that we were all in the Jiangxia Secret Realm at the time, and I was one of the Taiqing Sect’s team leaders… Thinking of Junior Sister Shen’s ordeal, I felt I should come visit her.”
At the mention of the Spirit-Devouring Gu, Lu Mingyi’s sharp eyes caught Xia Huan’s lips tightening even further.
She was familiar with the Shen Family and knew that this subtle shift in expression meant Xia Huan’s mood had soured a bit.
But with Shen Mingzheng afflicted by the Spirit-Devouring Gu and only two months left, hadn’t Jiang Liuzhao informed the Shen Family about the antidote in this dire situation?
Lu Mingyi’s brows furrowed slightly. She sensed there was something deeper going on here.
“Good child, you’ve gone to great trouble.” Shen Pianchen’s gaze toward Guan Du softened further as she said, “I also know about the things you’ve done. For Sword Peak’s recovery from that chaos, you voluntarily severed ties with your family—truly a display of loyalty and righteousness.”
Guan Du’s brows twitched. At this critical juncture with the Shen Family’s marriage proposal, being praised like this by Shen Pianchen made her heart drum uneasily. She still cupped her fists and replied, “Shen… Shen Family Head, you flatter me. It was simply what I should do…”
“By the way, you and A’Zheng share a deep bond as fellow disciples. A’Zheng has been in low spirits ever since returning from Tianfu the other day. Why don’t you go see her directly?” After speaking, Shen Pianchen covered her mouth and coughed a few times.
Guan Du blinked, not expecting things to unfold this way.
Just moments ago, Shen Pianchen had said to wait until Shen Mingzheng felt better before letting them visit. How had she suddenly opened the back door for her?!
In front of these two Cavern Void Realm cultivators, Lu Mingyi and Guan Du couldn’t use spiritual sense transmission to communicate. Guan Du could only guess at Lu Mingyi’s intentions before steeling herself and saying, “Th-that would be wonderful, but… is Junior Sister Shen’s condition alright?”
“Her body is fine; she’s just a bit out of sorts.” As Shen Pianchen spoke, she summoned a household servant to lead the way for Guan Du. “Miss Guan, seeing you here to visit will surely make her very happy.”
Will it really?
Once they left the Shen Family’s Reception Hall, Guan Du frantically transmitted to Lu Mingyi: “What the hell is this? I was just being polite—I didn’t actually want to see Shen Mingzheng! My heavens, I’d rather face my ancestors than her!
“Could it be that the Shen Family really is holding a marriage selection? And they leaked the news as a test to see who’s after their power and who’s truly fond of Shen Mingzheng? Then haven’t I just backfired spectacularly?!”
Lu Mingyi looked at Guan Du’s terrified expression and asked, “Where did you get all that from?”
“From storybooks! There are tons of them in Taiqing City!”
“…”
“Don’t worry. Leaving aside whether Aunt Shen even intends that, even if it is a real marriage selection, Shen Mingzheng probably won’t agree. She likes gentle, accommodating types.” Lu Mingyi soothed her warmly.
Guan Du’s look of terror faded for a moment. She glanced at Lu Mingyi, her lips twitching as if she nearly blurted out, How do you know that?
But Lu Mingyi knowing seemed perfectly normal too.
Unaware of what she’d just let slip in her last sentence, Lu Mingyi continued via transmission: “Whether it’s a marriage selection or not is still uncertain, but Aunt Shen definitely has other plans. And her letting you see Shen Mingzheng is likely because of the Spirit-Devouring Gu incident. You were in the Jiangxia Secret Realm, and you were in the southwest region too—she might think you know how Shen Mingzheng got infected with it.”
“How did Shen Mingzheng get it? Obviously from Demonic Cultivators planting it!” Guan Du replied, puzzled. “What’s there to ask about that?”
The key is, Shen Mingzheng didn’t get the Spirit-Devouring Gu from Demonic Cultivators—it was transferred from me.
And as a master Pill Cultivator, Shen Pianchen probably detected this subtle difference while examining her daughter’s body. So she wants to know for whom her daughter took on this gu that could steal her cultivation and life.
Shen Mingzheng would absolutely never reveal the name “Lu Mingyi”—someone who’d been dead for one hundred and eighty years.
The marriage selection is a smokescreen; finding ‘Lu Mingyi’ is the real goal.
Lu Mingyi let out a soft sigh and transmitted, “Anyway, just act like a caring senior sister visiting her junior. That’s all.”
“…I’ll do my best.” Guan Du pursed her lips.
Shen Mingzheng’s residence was at the very heart of Yaoguang Ravine, the area with the densest spiritual energy and the most opulent architecture—a place called Phoenix Platform.
It was an intricate three-story palace. Aside from the glazed tiles on the roof, the walls were coated in vermilion, giving it a grand and imposing appearance from afar—perfectly matching Shen Mingzheng’s flamboyant style.
This time, as soon as the servant led Lu Mingyi and Guan Du into Phoenix Platform’s grounds, they heard a crisp sword cry.
“Who goes there?!”
With a sharp rebuke, a vibrant and lithe figure landed before them.
In the past few days since returning home, Shen Mingzheng had shed the dishevelment from her time in Peach Blossom Source. Her dark hair was tied back with a red cord, her brows fierce like flames, her features bold and striking. A resplendent golden immortal sword was slung across her back, radiating haughty pride.
Upon seeing Guan Du, her willow brows furrowed slightly, and her red lips parted: “Guan Du? What are you doing here?”
“I heard Junior Sister Shen was ill, so I came specifically to visit.” Guan Du arched a brow, holding her ground without yielding an inch to Shen Mingzheng.
At Guan Du’s mention of her “illness,” a shadow flickered in Shen Mingzheng’s glassy eyes, but she still gave her face: “Then thank you, Senior Sister Guan.”
Guan Du smiled in acknowledgment and presented the gift Lu Mingyi had bought for Shen Mingzheng. “This is a small token; I hope Junior Sister will accept my humble gesture.”
“Got it.” Shen Mingzheng had a servant take the gift without bothering to look, merely saying politely, “Senior Sister Guan, would you like to come inside Phoenix Platform for a seat?”
“No need. Seeing Junior Sister in such good spirits puts my mind at ease.” Guan Du had zero desire to linger with Shen Mingzheng and moved to bid farewell.
But as the words reached her lips, she suddenly noticed that the sword on Shen Mingzheng’s back had changed—
It was Gu Li, Lu Mingyi’s former sword.
And Shen Mingzheng had her own sword.
Guan Du had no such reservations with Shen Mingzheng as Lu Mingyi did, so she asked outright: “Junior Sister Shen, it’s only been a few days, and you’ve even changed your sword?”
Shen Mingzheng’s body stiffened abruptly. Her previously calm expression took on a dangerous edge as she narrowed her eyes. “Senior Sister Guan, what does this have to do with you?”
“Junior Sister Shen, I was just making conversation— no need to get so tense.” Guan Du smiled. “After all, your previous sword ‘Jinling’ was also a one-of-a-kind heavenly-grade immortal sword. It’d be a shame to stop using it.”
Lu Mingyi, who had been quietly minimizing her presence nearby, felt her pupils contract slightly at their exchange.
Jinling.
Shen Mingzheng’s natal immortal sword was actually named Jinling?
