riginal and most updated translations are from volare. If read elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.
Teaser:
Cang Qiuzi was going to leave after saying his piece, but Long Feiye was still blocking his way. Han Yunxi wasn’t the only one unpleased with this turn of results! He couldn’t swallow it, either Han Yunxi was still striving to remember the past to break through his words when Long Feiye already spoke up.
“Martial Uncle Cang, since Duanmu Yao and that servant girl are both on Celestial Mountain, why not call for them to come down and answer the questions clearly in front of of the other three elders?”
“What, does Feiye doubt martial uncle’s words?” Cang Qiuzi gave an icy laugh H had prepared his words ahead of time, along with the servant girl. He didn’t fear Long Feiye’s prying. There were only so many witnesses at Lost Void Lake. Since the City of Daughters’ Leng Clan had been decimated by Long Feiye himself, they wouldn’t be in a rush to act on the man’s side.
“Since master is in closed door cultivation, there’s no need to bother him with such matters. Today Grann You, Second Martial Uncle, and Third Martial Uncle are all present. How about calling down all witnesses to get to the bottom of this? If Martial Uncle Cang really wasn’t an accomplice, then that’s that. Your lords.h.i.+p won’t look for your part in this matter.” Long Feiye’s tong was polite despite his lack of tact in word choice!
Cang Qiuzi was full of confidence. Since things were already such a big deal, he really should call down the main culprits to clear his own guilt. Otherwise, the disciples present were capable of spreading all sorts of rumors. If he seized this chance to prove his innocence, he’d have more right to speak up when Long Feiye and Duanmu Yao’s started contending against each other later.
“Heheh, this old man wanted those two to come down as well and testify in person. But you know Yao Yao’s personality. It’s uncertain whether she’d really come. How about you invite her down personally as her senior brother?”
Faced with Cang Qiuzi’s strength, Duanmu Yao had long turned utterly obedient. He was simply putting on a realistic show for the ma.s.ses, that’s all. With such a big fuss and disciples from all four senior factions present, Duanmu Yao would definitely know what was going on. In fact, she had long started observing the situation from a distance while various junior sisters from Lockheart Courtyard relayed her the latest news. Han Yunxi’s doubts and Long Feiye’s att.i.tude seem to indicate they’d latched onto Cang Qiuzi’s weak point. Although she couldn’t figure out what that was, she believed that Long Feiye wouldn’t fight a war he couldn’t win. Without a word, she simply waited.
Naturally, Long Feiye wouldn’t go to personally pick her up, but sent someone else in his stead. Before that person ever reached the peak, Duanmu Yao was already flying down with a servant girl dressed in dark robes. Having understood the situation at hand, she was all too eager to come down at Cang Qiuzi’s word. Mistress and servant descended, one dressed in white robes, the other in black. They were like a pair of fairy maidens alighting from the nine realms of Heaven, catching the eyes of the onlookers below. Many men grew dazed at the sight.
Duanmu Yao was a well-known beauty possessing looks detached from the mortal realm. Just like a divine fairy, her aura was ethereal and thus quite attractive to mortal men. It was hard for disciples to even catch a glimpse of her on Celestial Mountain itself. Everyone knew it had been ages since she returned, but none of them had caught sight of her yet.
Now they could!
But the reality soon disappointed all the men. Duanmu Yao had come wearing a face mask–silvery white–that covered all of her features. Only her eyes and mouth were showing. As soon as she landed, it was to look at Han Yunxi with eyes of loathing, the type of deepset hatred that seeped to her very bones! Because Han Yunxi’s One Night Like One Year had turned her face full of wrinkles and age spots, making it so ugly that she was afraid to look in a mirror, much less show herself without a mask.
Han Yunxi openly disregarded Duanmu Yao’s vicious glare. I won’t offend those who don’t offend me, but destroy from the roots of those who do! She only lamented the fact that her poison needles had been too slow to kill Duanmu Yao outright, thus leaving them to deal with so much baggage here on the mountain.
Hidden within the crowd, Cang Xiaoying glanced between the two women before sensing that Duanmu Yao’s mask had to be Han Yunxi’s fault. Duanmu Yao was Celestial Mountain’s number one beauty, while she was its ugliest girl. Since youth, Duanmu Yao had been Long Feiye’s junior sister, making her the destined foe of Cang Xiaoying. She didn’t harbor any good feelings towards her at all and only wished to unmask the woman to the reality beneath!
Of course, with her father here, she didn’t dare to do a thing.
Cang Qiuzi summarized the events to Duanmu Yao before saying sincerely, “Yao Yao, martial uncle can’t judge the matters between you and your senior brother. Once your master’s out of isolation, he’ll deal with both of you. Today your senior brother is suspecting martial uncle’s involvement, so you must testify for my sake!”
Duanmu Yao looked at Long Feiye and felt as if a knife had pierced her heart. Grievances, unwillingness, regret, hopelessness, misery, and pain churned within her chest as her eyes grew damp. But Long Feiye had always been a heartless man to everyone except Han Yunxi. His gaze didn’t change from its icy hue.
“You’re going to testify?” he asked coldly.
“Yes!” Duanmu Yao replied without hesitation. She had already ruined herself, so she didn’t care about the man in front of her now. She wanted total destruction of good and bad alike!
Long Feiye, if you won’t love me, then hate me! Remember me forever by detesting me forever!
“Martial Uncle Cang was not my accomplice. I did the deed myself. I was the one who bought off Lady Leng Yue to kidnap Grand Concubine Yi! Martial Uncle Cang tried to dissuade me, but I didn’t listen.” Duanmu Yao’s lips rose in a mocking smile. “Even now, I don’t regret it. I didn’t really kidnap Grand Concubine Yi for senior brother’s Profound Frost Sword. I can’t even control the power of that blade. I only wanted to lure senior brother out to help treat my wounds, that’s all…but I never expected senior brother to be so cruel and merciless and ruin my martial arts, then even try to kill me. If not for Martial Uncle Cang’s timely rescue, my meager life might have…”
“Princess Yao really had no intentions to hurt Grand Concubine Yi. Princess Yao was suffering from a serious internal injury and had asked multiple times for His Highness Duke of Qin’s a.s.sistance. But he not only refused to recognize ties of secthood and help, he even exchanged heated words with her. Princess Yao, in a moment of impulse, hired a mercenary to do the kidnapping. She was in the wrong first, but…” the servant girl had been thoroughly trained, so she burst into tears at this moment. “But who knew His Highness Duke of Qin would be so cruel! Thank goodness Martial Uncle Cang went to look for Princess Yao, or else…or else this servant would’ve never seen her again!”
A bunch of jackals! Han Yunxi cursed internally.
“You personally witnessed your lords.h.i.+p injure her?” Long Feiye’s cold eyes settled on the servant girl, who gave a start and avoided his gaze. Even her legs began to tremble.
“N…no, this servant…didn’t. It was Martial Uncle Cang who rescued Princess Yao, this servant saw that much.”
“Did you tell Martial Uncle Cang that Duanmu Yao went to Lost Void Lake? That’s when he chased after her?” Long Feiye asked next.
“Yes!” the servant girl grit her teeth to muster up her courage.
“Martial Uncle Cang chased you all the way to Lost Void Lake and just happened to catch your lords.h.i.+p about to kill you?” Long Feiye looked at Duanmu Yao next.
“Yes!” Compared to her servant girl, Duanmu Yao was even more certain.
Long Feiye next turned towards Cang Qiuzi. “Martial Uncle Cang couldn’t stop Duanmu Yao yourself, so you interrogated the servant girl before running to Lost Void Lake?”
His repeated questions left Cang Qiuzi uneasy, but he had pondered deeply over his excuse and didn’t find any weaknesses. After some hesitation, he declared with confidence, “Yes!”
He, Duanmu Yao and the servant girl all agreed on the same story. Unless they found an external eyewitness, Long Feiye would find it impossible to do anything against them.
“Feiye, do you believe it now?” Cang Qiuzi asked seriously.
But Long Feiye only enunciated, word for word, “I, Do, Not!”
“Hmph, that’s what happened. This old man has done all I can. It’s up to you whether you believe it or not! This old man has no guilty conscience!” Cang Qiuzi grew stern. “Even if you don’t trust me, this old man won’t regret savin–”
“Then may I ask why martial uncle wasn’t poisoned?” Long Feiye interrupted.
Poisoned?
Cang Qiuzi gave a start as he hazily recalled something important. Meanwhile, han Yunxi immediately understood Long Feiye’s intentions!
That’s right!
How could she have forgotten? Poison was the greatest weak point to this case! As Cang Qiuzi knitted his brows in bewilderment, Han Yunxi moved her Pear Blossom Teardrop Rain bracelet until she shot out a single poison needle in the direction of Cang Qiuzi. Because it happened so suddenly, he didn’t get to react until the needle hit.
“Han Yunxi, you have some nerve!” As soon as he spoke, he felt his stomach began to hurt.
“Han Yunxi, you…you actually dared to poison this old man! Someone come, ah!” Cang Qiuzi clutched his stomach to try and stop the pains, but poison was poison in the end. He had no way to fight it off and collapsed onto the ground. As the crowd watched on in shock, all of the Lockheart Courtyard disciples rushed forward to surround their master. Cang Xiaoying quickly went over to help support Cang Qiuzi.
“Father, what’s wrong?”
“Han Yunxi, you have some hall to commit physical a.s.sault on Celestial Mountain grounds!”
“This is completely reversed! Someone come, hurry and apprehend her for this old man!”
Both Second and Third Elder were incensed, while Granny You was stunned. “Feiye, what’s the meaning of this?”
Long Feiye pulled Han Yunxi protectively behind him and said coldly, “Yunxi only wanted to prove the truth of the matter. Everyone, please stop making a racket.”
By now, Cang Qiuzi had discovered the flaw in his lies! Lady Leng Yue’s hidden a.s.sa.s.sins had all been struck with this stomach poison back then, which left them unable to ambush Long Feiye. Right now, he was suffering from the exact sam poison! Too alarmed to bother with the pain, he rushed to stop Han Yunxi and Long Feiye from revealing the truth. Otherwise, he and Duanmu Yao would be hard pressed to explain themselves!
Almost screaming, he cried, “Someone come, capture them both! Quick!”
All of the Lockheart Courtyard disciples unsheathed their swords in that instant and waved it at Long Feiye and Han Yunxi.
“Senior brother, let Feiye explain himself first! There’s no rus.h.!.+” Granny You said.
But neither Cang Qiuzi nor the Lockheart Courtyard disciples paid her any attention. Even Cang Xiaoying had discovered something off about her father’s tone and was pointing her weapon at the pair.
“Han Yunxi, you dared to hurt my father. I’ll fight you to the death!”
Granny You couldn’t stop them, while Second and Third Elder had retreated from the fray. As the swords prepared for imminent battle and Long Feiye prepared to draw his own weapon, Han Yunxi suddenly held him back.
“Cang Qiuzi,” she said coldly, “Immediately call off your people. Otherwise, this w.a.n.gfei promises that no one will be able to treat your poison. Try me if you don’t believe it!”
Cang Qiuzi grew stunned, but it was then that a somber voice rose from behind the couple. “Where did such a hoyden come from? You dare to behave so atrociously before this honorable senior?”