71 – A Better Friend

A week had passed. Qianxue looked down at the still-unconscious but otherwise healthy Hanmei. There was no longer any trace of the cursed poison, nor even a scar on her fully recovered arm. The only reason Hanmei had yet to wake was that her damaged meridians were still mending. The healer had assured them there would be no lasting harm, thanks to how quickly the poison had been removed and the blessing from the Xuan. All that remained now was for Hanmei to wake up… and ruin everything.

Qianxue rolled her eyes in extreme irritation. The plan she had devised had been perfect. She only needed Jiying to lightly brush Ningguang’s already unstable sealing bracelet with a trace of Ice Qi, causing it to break while concealing her own involvement amid the resulting chaotic surge. In exchange, she would obtain a City Lord’s permit to leave the city. She had been quite confident she could seduce one of the many young masters from the surrounding clans in exchange for a single night or even less. She had never been a prude, and she possessed a dual cultivation art that allowed her to extract far more than she gave.

But that bitch Hanmei had ruined everything by overhearing the entire plan. It had forced Qianxue to use the Blood Cross Poison she had carefully kept for so long, just to kill someone else and deflect attention from herself. She had gone through great lengths and dealt with more than a few questionable people to obtain that poison… only to waste it on her own fellow disciple.

And now here she sat beside Hanmei’s bed, watching her recover nicely. Not only had her plan to kill Ningguang without implicating herself failed, she had also failed to eliminate the one person who had overheard everything. Years spent acquiring the poison had been completely wasted. She could no longer kill Hanmei quickly without arousing suspicion, and she doubted her previous excuses would hold any longer. Even Jiying had refused to help further. In his words, she had failed to kill Hanmei and still did not possess a permit to pass through the city’s array.

“Sister Qianxue,” one of her sect disciples entered the room. “It’s my turn to keep watch.”

“Of course.” Qianxue replied and left the room.

Ever since Hanmei had been attacked, Qianxue and the rest of the Jiushuang disciples had taken turns watching over and caring for the unconscious girl. Those not on duty rotated to assist the city guards in the search for the attacker. After all, one of their own had been harmed, and the city guards could not easily refuse their help.

Qianxue allowed her group to continue this routine. It served as a useful front to dispel suspicion, particularly suspicion directed at her. More importantly, it finally gave her the time she needed to find someone she could seduce for a permit. She had long sensed that the Xuan and his companions never fully trusted them, and that they suspected her specifically.

That was part of the reason she could not simply kill Hanmei right away. She had plenty of methods that could end the girl’s life without pointing suspicion at herself. Yet the lack of contact since their last visit, when the Xuan had come to notify them, left her with the lingering feeling that a trap had been laid. In fact, the Xuan and his companions seemed to be doing nothing at all regarding Hanmei’s situation, fully occupied with whatever task the City Lord had assigned them. This uncertainty left Qianxue pacing back and forth in her mind, whether to kill Hanmei now, or whether she was simply being paranoid.

Fortunately, she found a suitable target almost as soon as she left the inn. A rather young cultivator from a recently risen family. Even the elder accompanying him was only at the very first stage of Golden Core. The youth carried the usual haughty and domineering attitude toward anyone of lower status, a typical Qi Refining fool.

Qianxue approached him with a soft smile and a carefully measured glance. “Young Master, you seem quite distinguished. Might this one have the honor of knowing your name?”

The young master lifted his chin with open pride. “You have good eyes. I am the second son of the noble Ye Family. Few in this city can match my talent or my status,” he answered in the typical manner of a self-important young master.

A few carefully placed suggestions and well-timed praises regarding his rather meagre accomplishments were all it took. That night, the two of them retired to a separate, discreet inn. Qianxue used every technique she knew, both conventional and dual cultivation, to leave the young master thoroughly satisfied and far more agreeable than when they had first met.

As dawn approached, she finally asked, “Young Master, I am in dire need of help. Would you assist this poor Qianxue?”

“What is it? If it is within my power, I will do it,” Young Master Ye immediately replied, eager to please.

“My poor junior sister was attacked and poisoned. May I borrow your permit to leave the city? I only need to depart in the morning to gather a certain spiritual herb and return by nightfall,” Qianxue requested.

She did not know the full details, but Jiying had insisted that whatever he stole could help him regrow his limbs. He had refused to tell her exactly what the item was, only that using it now would draw too much attention and that he needed a second person to help guide the process.

“Of course you can. But, uh…” The young master answered quickly before suddenly faltering.

“What is it?”

“The permit can only be used after the tournament ends… so only in two weeks,” he finished.

“What!?” Qianxue immediately sat up in bed. She had spent the entire night with a complete fool for nothing. Without another word, she rose and began dressing herself. “I’m sorry for the haste, but I must help my sister as quickly as possible.”

“So soon!?” The young master also scrambled up. “I mean… I heard there is another type of permit that allows one to leave immediately. But I already accepted the ordinary one. I could try requesting another, though I would need a proper reason.”

“Thank you for the offer.” Qianxue swallowed her humiliation and offered a brief bow of thanks. “But I cannot wait through such a lengthy process.”

She then slipped quickly out through the window.

That settled it. She would kill Hanmei as soon as possible. The upcoming Qi Refining tournament had completely slipped her mind until now. Various sect delegations would inevitably arrive to observe and recruit talent, and the Jiushuang Sect would almost certainly send their own representatives. She needed to eliminate Hanmei before any further interruptions could arrive.

—

Meanwhile, within the City Lord’s mansion, Ningguang watched as Danxing handed a permit token to Wanxia.

“I managed to request this. It’s an express permit. If Ningguang’s condition suddenly worsens, you are to take her to the Jiushuang Sect immediately,” Danxing said as Wanxia stored the token away.

Once again, Ningguang was given preferential treatment. In the past she had never paid much attention to it. Most of her time had been spent simply cultivating and trying to stay alive. But looking back over this past month, it was clear she had been thoroughly unprepared for anything else. The realization filled her with quiet shame. Yes, she had wanted to live, but only for the sake of surviving. Now, she wanted to live so that she could live properly. To read whatever books she wished, to enjoy whatever she desired, and to be ready for anything… just like Danxing, Huiran, and Wendao.

She did not know how Wanxia or the rest of her sisters on Bìlián Peak truly felt, but the way these three men lived so unrestrained and so prepared for life made her both jealous and hungry for more. In the past week alone she had read more books unrelated to cultivation or the treatment of her condition than ever before. The alchemy texts particularly interested her, as her master had prepared so many pills for her over the years. Even though she was poorly suited to practice alchemy herself as it favors Fire spiritual roots,  she still recognized many of the pills she had used before. Most were specialized Qi Recovery pills designed for cultivators with Fire roots. They contained denser Fire Qi than ordinary Pure Qi pills so they could be absorbed more efficiently and used again quickly. For her, however, those same pills had always served to help restrain her Ice and Yin Qi. She recognized several other pills with similar properties, though more than half of what she had used over the years was not covered in these books. If the situation ever allowed it, she wondered whether she might one day create her own pills for unexpected emergencies.

Ningguang forced her mind back to the present and asked about something that had been bothering her. “Is that the reason for the terrifying surge of Qi and the earth-shaking from the City Lord’s office?”

She was referring to the incident from about fifteen minutes earlier. It had been quite frightening, everyone in the mansion had sensed it, as if someone had suddenly and thoroughly enraged the City Lord.

Danxing turned toward her, then glanced at Huiran and Wendao with a hint of panic. “Oh, that? Just a misunderstanding. Haha. Nothing to worry about.”

“It was smoothed over. Don’t worry. Ahem.” He projected a rectangular paper bag, placed it over his deer-skull mouth, and began breathing into it to calm himself. Huiran and Wendao handled the aftermath in their own ways. The former murmuring names of various women under his breath, while the latter simply gripped his sword a little tighter.

The sight was rather amusing to Ningguang. The trio had always given the impression of being powerful and nearly unstoppable. Of course, she tried not to let any of that amusement show on her face. She did not know if her expression control was as good as Wanxia claimed, but she hoped she was not making a face that could be taken as mockery.

“Regardless,” Danxing continued once he had calmed down, “you can inform the Jiushuang Sect disciples about this. Traveling in a larger group will be safer, and it will also allow them to take Hanmei back to recover properly.”

Wanxia nodded but remained quiet. Another realization struck Ningguang, she did not know Wanxia well enough to help with her current state. Ever since Danxing had called the two of them mere “passengers,” Wanxia had grown noticeably quieter. Her usual active personality seemed smothered. Despite Ningguang always considering Wanxia a friend, it was becoming clear that only the latter had truly acted as one. Wanxia had always been ready to cater to her needs. Ningguang did not want to call it a master-and-servant relationship, even if it sometimes looked that way, now that she could see it clearly. She still held Wanxia as a friend in her heart. What she needed now was to become better for her.

“Wanxia,” Ningguang began, “would you like to notify our sisters from the Jiushuang Sect about this? And perhaps treat yourself to something nice as well?” She tried to help in the only way she currently knew, by giving Wanxia a little free time that was not entirely occupied with her own needs and thoughts.

“I see. I’ll do that.” Wanxia nodded and turned to leave.

“Hmmm.” Danxing hummed quietly. Ningguang looked at him. His deer-skull head was covered by the veil, so she could not see his expression, yet she still felt a faint hint of disapproval in that sound.

“What should I do?” she immediately asked, wanting to improve.

“It would be better if you were the one treating her to something nice,” Danxing answered. “Try to listen and observe. Don’t make it seem as though she is being forced to like whatever you give her.”

Ningguang nodded and quickly turned to catch up.

“One more thing.” Danxing’s voice stopped her. He then took the veil from his own head and carefully wrapped it around her face. It covered her features without restricting her vision.

“This might help reduce the attention from your new notoriety. Go on now… and bless you.” He lightly tapped her shoulder. Ningguang immediately ran after Wanxia.

Behind her, the trio watched as the two women left the mansion.

“Now then, shall we continue?” Danxing was already walking toward the mansion’s massive central platform that would serve as the tournament grounds, intending to continue their lesson on the arrays embedded in the platform and how to operate them.

“I will say it again, I do not like this plan,” Wendao said with a heavy frown.

“Well, this is the surest way to obtain everything we need,” Huiran tried to justify the necessity.

“Perhaps we can have a little faith. The two of them share a bond. What happens next will test it. Afterward, we can apologize properly.”

“Trouble!” Xuehai suddenly shouted as he ran toward the three of them.

“The examination! Someone has stolen and spread all the questions along with their answers!”

~ Valarion