In just a short while, the three of them arrived at the foot of Jade Candle Peak. Countless disciples coming and going couldn’t help but stop in their tracks to stare at the two peerless beauties walking side by side.
The black-haired girl on the left never smiled easily. Her jet-black pupils revealed nothing of what she was thinking. Her icy aura seemed to reject everyone a thousand miles away, but paired with her beautiful face and enviable figure, it somehow became another point of appeal.
The one on the right seemed exactly the opposite. She walked barefoot, yet the instant her foot touched the ground, blooming lotuses lightly supported the tip of her foot. Her pale blue hair was woven into a braid casually draped over her shoulder—a style both beautiful and dangerous. Her elegant adornments gave off a refined and gentle aura.
“It’s! It’s the two Senior Sisters from Jade Candle Peak!”
“Ah, to think I’d live to see those two! I can die without regrets now!”
“Senior Sister Situ! I want to be your dog!!”
“Shameful follower! Senior Sister Ye is the eternal goddess!!”
……
Behind the two, Meng Li clutched her small bundle, her face covered in black lines as she watched the surrounding crowd going crazy with infatuation. Then she looked at the two peerless beauties walking ahead.
“Senior Sisters, can we walk a bit faster?”
“Aiyo, Junior Sister, are you that eager to see Shizun already~”
“Uh, i-it’s not that I’m that eager. It’s just my first time being surrounded by so many people…”
As Meng Li spoke, she glanced at the ever-growing crowd. Situ Xue heard this and slightly turned her head to look at Meng Li clutching her bundle, the ahoge on her head trembling.
“These people are basically all here to see me and Senior Sister Ye. You don’t need to worry too much…”
“Even if that’s the case, I still…”
“Forget it. I don’t want to waste any more time here either…”
Situ Xue glanced at Ye Qinglian, who was still standing beside her. She had intended to stall long enough for Ye Qinglian to leave on her own, but who would have thought the other would actually follow them all this way? Normally, Ye Qinglian had the least interest in the weak.
“Aiyo, what’s wrong, Junior Sister Situ? Do you have something to say to me~”
“Hmph, nothing.”
【Spirit Art: Jade Concealment】
Just like that, the three of them instantly vanished from the crowd. Meng Li panicked at the sight of her body turning misty. But when the scene before her changed again, those noisy crowds had long since disappeared.
“I’d originally planned to show you around a bit more. But since you’re so eager to see Shizun, I’ll do as you wish…”
As Situ Xue spoke, she casually waved her hand and the surrounding mist disappeared. Meng Li looked at the towering cave abode before her. Deep, chilling air constantly seeped out from within. She recognized this place immediately—it was a hidden location from the game: the place where Ling Qingyue cultivated.
“Do I go in now? W-Would it be better if I changed clothes first? What if I make Shizun unhappy or something?!”
Meng Li, who moments ago had been thinking about what she should say when seeing Ling Qingyue, never expected that a single wave of Situ Xue’s hand would bring them directly outside Ling Qingyue’s cave abode.
“Just go in quickly. Shizun happens to have something to discuss with you…”
“Relax. Shizun, she’s a very gentle old-timer. Although she holds grudges… Junior Sister hasn’t done anything to wrong Shizun, right~”
Hearing the two’s encouragement, Meng Li—who originally thought she could skate by with some sweet talk—now found her legs trembling. The wound on her neck had started to ache again.
“I… I should… I should be fine…”
Meng Li stammered as she turned around, looking at the massive, glowing formation. She thought to herself—she really hadn’t done anything to wrong Ling Qingyue. She’d only defiled Ling Qingyue’s purity in the game, trampled her dignity over and over, and played some strange Part.
All that had been done by the in-game protagonist Meng Li. What did any of that have to do with the Meng Li who just crossed over? She wondered what she should say once inside to seem more convincing.
“Don’t overthink it. Right now, I’m just a little loli. That’s right, a harmless little loli…”
Even as Meng Li hypnotized herself this way, the moment she recalled their first meeting—the single word “Rebirth” above Ling Qingyue’s head, and the way Ling Qingyue had looked at her as if she were a corpse—she felt her legs go weak.
“Should I just push the door open…”
Thus, under the watchful eyes of the two, Meng Li placed her hand on the door panel and pushed lightly. The door that had seemed incredibly heavy swung open as if it weighed nothing. Meng Li was surprised that her slight body could push it so easily.
“It’s so light… Ah, no, no… Shizun, I’m coming in…”
Pushing the door open, Meng Li stared into the pitch-black cave abode. She lifted her foot and stepped inside, seeing no light anywhere around her. For a moment, she felt scared, afraid that a sword would come stabbing out from some unknown corner.
“Shi… Shizun, I’m here… Are you there?”
Meng Li hadn’t expected this cave abode to be even larger than it looked from outside. Turning her head to see the white light spilling from the entrance behind her, she suddenly felt the urge to run back.
“Sh-Shizun, if you aren’t here, I’ll just head out first!”
As soon as she said this, Meng Li turned and dashed for the exit. But she’d only taken one step back when a sharp sword aura sliced right past her face, so close she could hear the wind in its wake.
“Come in…”
“Uwaa… Shizun, don’t be like this…”
Meng Li was so scared she was near tears. Looking at that clean sword scar behind her, she knew that if she had taken one more step, that sword aura might have cleanly bisected her.
“Are you coming here, or shall I go there…”
“I-I’ll come! I’m coming! I’m coming already!”
Meng Li walked forward carefully until that familiar figure appeared before her. Seeing the silhouette sitting on the hovering ice bed that radiated chilly air, Meng Li couldn’t help spacing out for a moment. Ling Qingyue slowly opened her eyes, staring icily at the Meng Li standing not far away.
“Tch. Just being stared at by you like that fills me with utter disgust…”
“!!!”
The moment Meng Li heard those words, she was so terrified she fell to her knees, not even daring to raise her head. Yet all Ling Qingyue had experienced just now was Meng Li watching her for a brief moment.
Ling Qingyue remembered once again that unbearable memory from her past life. How that wretched disciple had kept her in a birdcage like a canary and toyed with her, with that look of admiring a plaything.
“It’s truly unpleasant. Why not just…”
As she thought this, she looked at the Meng Li on the ground, curled up in absolute terror. When she recalled the expression on her when she had betrayed her, Ling Qingyue’s eyes grew even colder. Clearly she had returned through rebirth. She should have drawn her sword without hesitation.
“A new life, and the first person to die under my sword… how I wish it could be you, my good disciple~”
“Huh?!”
Hearing this, Meng Li forgot her fear and looked up in shock at Ling Qingyue, who had already stopped right in front of her. Seeing that on Shizun’s icy face there appeared a hint of madness, Meng Li felt she was about to die.
“The sound of this sword piercing your body… would certainly be very pleasant, wouldn’t it…”
“Shi… Shizun, that’s a good joke… haha…”
Seeing Ling Qingyue already slowly drawing her longsword, Meng Li looked terrified and tried to change the subject. But when she saw the corner of Ling Qingyue’s lips curl up slightly…
“I-It’s a joke… right? R-Right…”
