Chapter 46: The Flower within the Corpse Part 2

Feng Yun’ai felt a jolt in her chest from that sudden poke. These were words she had never heard before. A momentary throb of emotion rose, though she didn’t know where it came from or where it was going.

Looking back, Feng Rong had only ever said one thing: “Practice your sword, and everything will naturally be resolved.”

But now, the puzzle remained unsolved.

Sang Chencao withdrew her hand and counted the time on her fingers. “In fifteen minutes, the knockout incense will lose its effect completely. We need to hurry.”

“Hurry and do what?” Feng Yun’ai’s mind was a mess. Originally, she had wanted to take Feng Rong’s body away. Now that she thought about it, no place outside seemed safer for Feng Rong than this room.

Sang Chencao lit another fire striker and ran her hand along the cold walls of the secret chamber, pacing slowly. “Rumor has it that Sui Jianxue has a habit. Every place she visits, she leaves a mark. After all, her eyesight is poor; she sometimes finds it difficult to get her bearings.”

Feng Yun’ai began searching around the stone bed. Her fingertips accidentally brushed over a notch. She suddenly moved back. “It’s shaped like a maple leaf, but with more jagged edges,” she said coldly.

“Correct. That is exactly what Sui Jianxue leaves behind. It’s a plant grown in Qiushui Pavilion called the Eight-Pointed Red Maple. When autumn arrives, it turns as red as blood. It’s strikingly beautiful.” Sang Chencao turned and placed her hand exactly where Feng Yun’ai had touched. Even the spot she had touched seemed to become burning hot.

Feng Yun’ai was caught off guard by the heat. When she pulled her hand away, she realized in a daze that this woman truly didn’t seem to feel the heat; her palm, which had brushed against the back of her hand, was even dry.

She pursed her lips and whispered, “I thought you weren’t very familiar with places outside of Yellow Sand Cliff.”

“Wen Lanxin didn’t imprison me. She simply used a thousand Snake Parasites to bind me,” Sang Chencao said. “I often endured the pain to wander around. I’ve been to Qiushui Pavilion before.”

A thousand Snake Parasites…

Feng Yun’ai froze. How far was Yellow Sand Cliff from the Central Plains? How much pain must Sang Chencao have been in? She had survived a hundred, but a thousand?

“Why would Wen Lanxin do that to you?” Feng Yun’ai felt her skin crawl.

“With a thousand Snake Parasites inside me, she knew that no matter where I went, I would eventually return to Yellow Sand Cliff. Because I didn’t want to die,” Sang Chencao said softly.

“Then you now…” Feng Yun’ai’s pupils trembled. She couldn’t see a hint of pain on this woman’s face.

Sang Chencao replied nonchalantly, “The day Wen Lanxin left, the thousand parasites in my body died. She set me free.”

Feng Yun’ai was stunned again.

Sang Chencao scoffed. “Shall we go back to talking about Qiushui Pavilion?”

“You actually dared to break into Qiushui Pavilion,” Feng Yun’ai said, snapping back to reality.

Sang Chencao said calmly, “It’s not like it’s some forbidden zone. Wen Lanxin was always thinking of Feng Rong. Feng Rong was extremely hard to see, but she was close with Sui Jianxue of Qiushui Pavilion. So, I took a detour and targeted Qiushui Pavilion instead.”

“You…” Although this wasn’t the first time Feng Yun’ai had heard such words, she was still shocked and confused. “You loathed Wen Lanxin to such an extent that you wouldn’t even overlook the people she cared about?”

Sang Chencao admitted frankly, “I would burn the things she loved to the ground. The people she loved, I also wanted to destroy.”

Feng Yun’ai fell silent.

Sang Chencao gave a light laugh, sounding cheerful and relaxed. “It was just the arrogance of youth. Later, I realized that Feng Rong wasn’t someone I could just kill whenever I felt like it.”

Now, Feng Rong lay on the stone bed, a cold corpse.

The secret room was silent. Sang Chencao added, “I don’t hate Wen Lanxin that much anymore. Besides, I have no grievance with Feng Rong. I didn’t kill her. Don’t take what I just said as a confession.”

“I am not so dull-witted,” Feng Yun’ai frowned, her face cold.

Sang Chencao smiled. “Xiuxiu is so understanding.”

Feng Yun’ai didn’t want the compliment.

Sang Chencao changed the subject. “However, one thing is certain now. Whether it’s all of Qiushui Pavilion or just Sui Jianxue, they are definitely not on the same side as Feng Rong’s killers.”

“My master’s body…” Feng Yun’ai was conflicted.

Leaving the body here was indeed the safest option, but Listening Goose Peak had already been seized. She couldn’t force her way in every time. When she returned, she didn’t know if Feng Rong would still look the same.

Feng Yun’ai was loath to leave, especially with the fragrance so thick—much like the branches rooted in Feng Rong’s body, growing incessantly.

This pale flesh would surely be consumed by leaves. Perhaps her chest and abdomen would even be burst open by the new shoots, eventually losing all human resemblance.

A wave of hot breath approached without warning, making Feng Yun’ai catch her breath.

“I have a plan. Do you want to hear it?” Sang Chencao whispered in Feng Yun’ai’s ear in that hauntingly enchanting tone.

Feng Yun’ai stiffened. “What is it?”

“I see a flower bud,” Sang Chencao said for no apparent reason.

Feng Yun’ai asked again, “What?”

Sang Chencao took her hand and guided it toward the base of Feng Rong’s ear.

A soft branch had wrapped behind the ear, and at its tip was a tiny, pointed flower bud. It was very delicate, as if it would break with a single pinch.

No one would have expected that a branch growing out of a corpse could actually produce a bud.

Feng Yun’ai leaned down. By the light of the fire striker, she saw the bud, which was about the size of a fingernail. It was a vivid red, but there was no telling what it would look like once it bloomed.

Sang Chencao also leaned down, pressing against Feng Yun’ai’s back. “I want to hide Feng Rong’s body. Isn’t the goal of the Hero Recruitment Meet to ‘Pluck the Blossom’? What do you think their faces will look like if we swap the flower for this one on that day?”

Without even turning around, Feng Yun’ai could guess how bright and eerie the woman’s eyes were.

“They want to destroy the evidence; we will bring Feng Rong before the people of the world,” Sang Chencao said slowly. “Let the martial artists from all corners see how Feng Rong was murdered. After all, a mere needle to the skin could never produce a flower like this.”

“Even so, everyone will still suspect Wen Lanxin. And the intentions behind my master’s founding of the Hantian Alliance will still be questioned,” Feng Yun’ai said coldly.

“Smart Xiuxiu,” Sang Chencao said, her eyes curving. “That is why we still need to perform an infiltration of the New Alliance—to find the source of this plant.”