Chapter 68: Buying Time

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Buying Time

That discovery quickly led them back to the present.

The moment their plan to lure this person out succeeded, Yizhou made the first move. His sword flashed through the air, the sharp blade cutting toward Shi Yan with terrifying speed.

Shi Yan reacted quickly, twisting her body to evade the strike. The sword passed dangerously close to her before she retreated several steps.

Taking advantage of the opening, Sui Sui finally spoke.

Shi Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Sui Sui, yet the trace of haughtiness in her gaze remained. Rather than showing any sign of panic, she seemed almost amused by the accusation. She did not interrupt, simply standing there in silence as she waited for Sui Sui to continue.

"You wanted to use her identity to get close to City Lord Xu," Sui Sui continued. "You already tried to take her back then at the Yaomei Pavilion, but you underestimated her and didn’t expect her to have a life-saving artifact and several people protecting her. When you realized you couldn’t get another opportunity, you settled for the next best thing."

Sui Sui’s voice remained calm, but his gaze grew increasingly sharp. Every word was spoken with the certainty of someone who had already pieced together the truth.

"You took the identity of her personal maid, Shi Yan, and stayed by her side, waiting for another chance to make your move. Unfortunately for you, after the incident at the Yaomei Pavilion, the City Lord increased the protection around her. With so many people watching her, you couldn’t find another opening."

Shi Yan listened without showing much reaction. Then, slowly, a smile appeared on her face. Rather than looking angry at having her plan exposed, she seemed almost proud of her own achievement.

"Well done. You guessed correctly." Shi Yan brought her hands together and gave a few slow, unhurried claps, the gesture carrying more mockery than genuine praise, as though she were indulging a child’s impressive performance.

"I’ll give you that." Her smile deepened as she tilted her head slightly, her gaze carrying a hint of condescension. "However, there is something I’m curious about."

Her gaze swept across the group before settling on Yizhou. From what she could see, it was clear that he was the one who had pieced everything together.

"I am just a bit surious, what made you so certain that I had failed to take over Shan Shuqin in the first place?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of curiosity entering her voice. "And why did you eventually choose to suspect the little old me by her side?"

This time, Yizhou was the one to answer, responding to her obvious provocation. "Your actions gave you away."

His cold voice had barely fallen when he moved again. His sword swept forward in a sharp arc, forcing Shi Yan to retreat. She immediately raised her hand, spiritual energy surging from her palm before bursting toward him in a powerful wave.

Sui Sui quickly moved out of the way as the two forces collided.

The bridal chamber was instantly thrown into chaos.

Yizhou did not give Shi Yan any opportunity to catch her breath. His sword continued to press forward, each strike faster and more precise than the last. Shi Yan parried and evaded easily, her figure repeatedly flickering across the room as she countered with streams of sword spiritual intents.

In the blink of an eye, the battle area had already changed to outside.

The two figures exchanged blows across the courtyard, their movements so fast that ordinary eyes could barely follow them. Sword light flashed through the night, colliding with bursts of spiritual energy and sending waves of force sweeping through the surrounding area.

Amidst the fierce exchange, Shi Yan still found the time to speak. Her movements remained fluid as she narrowly avoided another sword strike.

"Oh? Then what exactly did I do that aroused your suspicion?" She raised an eyebrow, seemingly more curious than concerned.

Yizhou’s sword continued forward without slowing. "It’s because you are too normal, specifically too healthy and too enthusiastic." Yizhou said, His gaze remained cold and focused as the blade swept toward her.

Shi Yan’s expression changed slightly into one of curiosity, clearly she herself was a good actress, so where exactly had she gone wrong that aroused their suspiscion.

Yizhou pressed his advantage, forcing her back several more steps.

"Shan Shuqin suffered a devastating blow and sustained serious injuries, not only to her body but also to her soul. After what happened to her, how could a mere mortal like Shi Yan possibly survive?"

His eyes narrowed. "Unless... she never survived in the first place."

Hearing Yizhou’s words, Sui Sui suddenly remembered the conversation they had shared a few days ago while they were putting the pieces of information they have together.

Yizhou had told him that he had already begun to suspect Shi Yan back when they first met her.

At the time, Shi Yan had repeatedly brought up how Shan Shuqin’s temperament had changed after the attack. She insisted that the young miss had become more irritable, sickly, and paranoid, very unlike the gentle and cheerful person she had supposedly been before.

On the surface, Shi Yan’s words made her appear to be nothing more than a concerned maid worried about her master’s sudden change. Her concern had seemed genuine, and there had been nothing particularly strange about mentioning it.

But Yizhou had focused on something else.

Rather than becoming more suspicious of Shan Shuqin, he had become more interested in Shi Yan herself.

Back then he had asked her a seemingly simple question—had Shan Shuqin only begun displaying these symptoms after the attack?

Shi Yan had immediately confirmed that it was indeed the case.

At the time, Yizhou had not said much about it. But now, with everything that had been revealed, Sui Sui finally understood why that small detail had caught his attention.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been normal to suspect Shan Shuqin.

Her sudden change in temperament, worsening health, and increasing paranoia were all strange enough to make anyone wonder what had happened to her after the attack. This was probably what Shi Yan wanted them to think just in case they do figure some things out, it was so no one would suspect her

However, to Yizhou, those changes were not particularly surprising, It was because he knew something that Shi Yan did not expect, he already knew about the Soul Bell.

For someone to suffer a direct attack from a soul-type artifact like the Soul Bell and still survive was already a miracle. Shan Shuqin’s survival could be explained by her slight Yang affinity and life-saving artifact that she mentions, these two things would allow her to preserve a sliver of her life force despite the attack. However althought she survived she would naturally sustain damage to her soul that would also affect her health and temperament, that one was a normal occurrence.

In comparison, the other person in the scene was far more suspicious.

Shi Yan was an ordinary mortal with no certain Yang affinity, no cultivation, and no life-saving artifact. Yet despite supposedly suffering the same type of attack, she remained healthy and energetic, showing none of the effects that Shan Shuqin had suffered.

How could that be?

If Shan Shuqin, who possessed Yang affinity and a life-saving artifact, had still been left weakened by the Soul Bell, how could an ordinary mortal like Shi Yan emerge completely unharmed?

It was simply impossible.

At first, it had only been a suspicion.

Then, the discovery at the temple had confirmed it.

Among the bodies left behind was that of a woman. Her body had already shriveled to little more than skin and bones, as though the blood and nutrients within her had been completely drained away. From its condition, it was obvious that she had already been partially refined into a corpse.

At first, Luo Qingya and Luo Qingxue had no idea who the woman was. Her appearance had been altered beyond recognition, leaving them with no way to identify her.

It was only after examining the corpse more carefully that Luo Qingxue noticed a faint mark on the right side of her arm.

It was the crest of the Shan family.

In Xuánshuāng City, servants and attendants of prominent families often bore their family’s crest as a form of identification. It was not a slave mark, nor did it signify ownership. Rather, it showed that the person served or was affiliated with a particular family, allowing others to recognize their identity and affiliation at a glance and making them less likely to be deliberately offended.

Seeing the crest, Luo Qingya and Luo Qingxue immediately realized that the woman had some connection to the Shan family, but if they remembered correctly, aside from the young miss, there was no other person from there who was also attacked or recently died.

They brought the matter to Sui Sui and Yizhou. After examining the mark and discussing what they had found, the four turned their attention to the information booklet recovered from the place.

They began flipping through the records of the people who had been brought here, carefully searching through the names and their corresponding birth charts.

After some time, they finally found a record that matched.

Her name was accompanied by her birth chart, confirming the identity of the woman lying before them.

The shriveled corpse was indeed Shi Yan.

That discovery left only one question.

If the real Shi Yan was already dead...

Then who was the woman with Shan Shuqin all this time?

"I really didn’t expect you to figure it out." Shi Yan’s lips curved into a faint, disdainful smile, her eyes carrying a trace of amusement as she looked down at them.

"You have some potential, kid. It’s just a shame you’ll have to die here." At first, there was still a trace of amusement in Shi Yan’s voice. But after hearing Yizhou’s explanation, the smile on her lips gradually faded. She finally realized that they knew far more than she had initially thought. If they had already uncovered this much, there was a good chance they had also discovered the existence of the Soul Bell, which was somwthing she could not allow.

Her gaze turned cold as she spoke in a low voice, only enough for herself to hear "After all, you know too much now. I cannot allow you to interfere with My Lord’s plans."

The moment her words fell, the spiritual energy surrounding her suddenly surged, her oppressive aura sweeping outward with overwhelming force.

Her previous restraint vanished completely as she launched herself toward Yizhou, her attacks becoming far more aggressive. With a flick of her wrist, a long whip suddenly appeared in her hand, its tip cutting through the air with a sharp crack.

Yizhou raised his sword to meet her attack.

The whip and sword collided, and the two figures immediately became locked in a fierce battle.

Shi Yan and Yizhou continued to battle, their figures moving rapidly across the courtyard as sword strikes and bursts of spiritual energy repeatedly collided.

Sui Sui could only retreat to the side and watch.

He knew his strength was nowhere near enough to interfere in a battle of this level. Rather than becoming a burden to Yizhou, he wisely kept himself out of their range, watching the battle carefully from a safe distance.

Plus, His job of distracting Shi Yan was already done and there was still something else that he needed to do.

Sui Sui turned and made his way toward the others gathered nearby. Luo Qingya and her younger sister were there, along with the City Lord and several other cultivators who were lying in wait

Amidst the fierce exchange, Shi Yan remained completely focused on the fight before her. She failed to notice that, little by little, figures had begun appearing around the outskirts of the courtyard.

One by one, cultivators silently took their positions, surrounding the area from all sides.

And she remained completely unaware.