32 – Luo Qing"s Letter
It was early evening, the full moon hang high in the sky.
Sitting on the edge of the Snow-facing Abode, Xue Qilin took in the view.
Due to the cold moonlight, everything that entered her sight was covered with a layer of silvery white, and looked hazy.
Xue Qilin picked up a cup of wine and took a sip.
She wasn"t thinking about anything, just drinking.
“Hey, I"m clearly working hard dealing with Senior Disciple Sister Luo"s affairs, yet here you are drinking without a care in the world?” Qi Qiqi"s voice came from below.
When Xue Qilin was about to look in the direction of the voice, the other party has flitted across in front of her eyes and landed beside her.
“Is it so… do I look like I"m without care?” Seeing Qi Qiqi"s unhappy expression, Xue Qilin spoke angrily.
“… don"t be too sad.”
“If you want to comfort me, then don"t put on that sad expression…”
“Is… that how I look?” Qi Qiqi touched her face and asked nonplussed.
Seeing her action, Xue Qilin chuckled in spite herself. With her laughter, she seemed to step on Qi Qiqi"s toes, “What are you laughing about!”
Xue Qilin"s face stiffened, and she thought of Qi Qiqi"s fist.
Qi Qiqi suddenly giggled.
“What are you laughing at?” Gazing at the shallow dimples that appeared on Qi Qiqi"s face, Xue Qilin felt a little sulky.
“At you, of course.” Qi Qiqi pointed to Xue Qilin"s embroidered shoes placed next to her, “Move the shoes away.”
“What for?”
“I want to sit!”
“Oh.” Xue Qilin only now reacted and moved the shoes aside.
After pressing her clothes against her legs, Qi Qiqi sat down, and her legs extended beyond the edge of the roof.
A faint, pleasant fragrance a.s.sailed her nose. It should be Qi Qiqi"s natural odor. The fragrance was a little like jasmine and also a little like lavender, very unique. Xue Qilin couldn"t help but take in another whiff of it.
“You"re rather childish…” Seeing Qi Qiqi rocking her legs, Xue Qilin suddenly felt amused.
“None of your business!” Qi Qiqi fished out a wine cup from within her sleeve, “Pour me some wine.”
Xue Qilin stared distracted at the wine cup specially dedicated to the Palace Master for a while, and then filled her cup, an odd look on her face.
Qi Qiqi took a sip of wine, then fished out a letter from a fold in her clothing and handed it to Xue Qilin. On the envelope, there was written “Your Excellency Young Ancestor”.
“If you have something to say, do you have to write a letter?” Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Xue Qilin extended her hand to receive the letter.
“It was written by Senior Disciple Sister Luo.”
Her hand shook suddenly, but she still received the letter, and then stared at it silently.
“It was found in Senior Disciple Sister Luo"s quarters. We haven"t opened it. After all, it"s addressed to you.”
Xue Qilin nodded, and then opened the envelop and took out the letter.
“Your Excellency Young Ancestor,
By the time you read this letter, you should have found Senior Disciple Sister Li in my quarters, and I"m probably dead.
I killed Qin Chen, secretly contacted the Heavenly Sword Gate, and poisoned you,
…. the Merak Palace is in urgent need of a crisis, of a real crisis.
This crisis has an internal and an external component to it, which have to erupt in succession.
I used Qin Chen"s death to cause internal troubles, having the Merak Palace sink into internal suspicion. Then, I had you captured, Young Ancestor, causing external troubles and forcing everyone in the Merak Palace to make a choice – let go of your prejudices and cooperate with each other or lose you and wait for destruction.
I don"t know what choice the Palace Master and Uncle Teacher Ye will make in the end… If they can put their differences aside and come to Jinling to find me, then we will be able to rescue you safely, Young Ancestor; if not, then I"ll put all blame on Uncle Teacher Ye… If the Merak Palace is really doomed, then it"s better for it to be destroy at my hands than at the hands of other people…”
Tough love, that"s probably it.
“No matter the outcome, I don"t have the face to see you again, so I can only choose death.
Perhaps what I"m going to say next is too shameless, but Young Ancestor, would you listen to my last request?
…Please avenge me.”
“… the Merak Palace has given me everything I have now, so all my accomplishments are for the sake of the Merak Palace…?” Xue Qilin recalled Luo Qing"s words.
“There were clearly many other ways…” Qi Qiqi sounded angry.
She probably things that it all was unreasonable… But can human actions really be explained with reason? Besides…
“She just chose the quickest and most effective way.”
“But she didn"t have to die herself!”
“She not only died herself, but also consigned Hua Tianji to death. In one fell swoop, she solved the Merak Palace"s internal and external problems… you should understand it better than I do.”
Unable to responde, Qi Qiqi was silent for a while.
After a long moment of silence, Qi Qiqi asked, puzzled: “You want to kill Hua Tianji?”
Xue Qilin raised the corners of her mouth into a strange smile. Looking at the full moon in the sky, she asked meaningfully: “What do you think?”