Chapter 55
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Chapter 55: Title
Suiyin snapped back to attention. The recipe remained mostly smooth except for one crumpled corner nowhere near the writing.
She glanced at Xia Shi, noticing the woman’s unusually good mood – enough to tease her twice.
"What did the healer tell you?"
"Nothing worth mentioning." Xia Shi tugged the formula away, reducing it to dust with a flick.
"Hey!" Suiyin protested. "You said there’s only one copy!"
"Three ingredients. You memorized them." Xia Shi sighed with faint exasperation.
Why was she acting so dim-witted all of a sudden?
Suiyin blinked. Though unfamiliar, the medicinal components had indeed imprinted in her memory.
The healer’s words resurfaced: Xia Shi resisted detoxification. Why refuse when the cure existed?
She swallowed her questions but resolved to gather the ingredients regardless.
…
Their flying boat halted at Yunze’s barrier.
Lu Ciyou returned grim-faced after inspection.
"What’s wrong?" Yan Li asked.
Yunze bordered Canghai – the only passage to the immortal sea.
"Canghai’s sealed." Lu Ciyou told Jiang Xinian. "No sect disciples allowed."
"After those Immortal Sect Conference rumors, everyone would investigate Canghai first!" Suiyin frowned. "Sealing it just confirms suspicions. Is Jiang Feng truly this incompetent?"
Xia Shi’s cool voice cut through: "This goes deeper than it appears."
They disembarked, observing the barrier-shrouded Canghai. The supposed immortal sea’s mist hung like stormclouds, oppressive and lingering.
Lu Ciyou glanced around before withdrawing her gaze, rubbing her arms as she murmured, "This place looks freezing."
Warmth seeped through her back. She turned to find A Li’s slender hand on her shoulder.
The young lady smiled, gripping Lu Ciyou’s wrist to pull her backward. Their bodies pressed together abruptly. Yan Li froze, hand lingering on the other’s shoulder. "A Ci…?"
"Warmer this way, no need to waste spiritual power," Lu Ciyou declared boldly, shooting Suiyin a sidelong glance that clearly said Watch and learn.
Suiyin turned away with a disdainful sniff, putting distance between herself and the pair. Her eyes settled on Xia Shi.
The silver-haired woman cleared her throat delicately. "This place looks really cold," she announced.
Xia Shi: "……"
Lu Ciyou: "……"
Fake. So fake.
After a beat of silence, Xia Shi deadpanned, "Wear thicker clothes then."
Since when did Nascent Soul cultivators fear cold? Ridiculous.
"Since we can’t proceed, Yunze’s our best option. Closest to Canghai – might find reliable leads there."
The group agreed. Lu Ciyou steered the flying boat toward Yunze’s mist-cloaked marshes.
Jiang Xinian stood at Yunze’s border, injuries nearly healed thanks to the healer’s arts. Restored Canghai disciples flanked him, their captive Jiang Jin bound with glowing ropes. "Jiang Ying hunts me still," he said, bowing to the party. "A large group draws eyes, even beyond Canghai’s borders. I’ll repay this debt when circumstances allow."
"But you’d be safer with us," Lu Ciyou protested.
"Young Master Lu." Jiang Xinian’s voice thickened. "This is Canghai’s burden. We’ll trouble you no further." His disciples mirrored the deep bow.
"Very well." Lu Ciyou nodded. "Safe travels."
As the group departed westward, Suiyin observed, "He’s hiding things."
Yan Li watched their retreating figures. "Canghai’s troubles likely hold secrets not meant for outsiders."
"My A Li always understands!" Lu Ciyou linked arms with her companion.
Suiyin rolled her eyes. "……Right."
Yunze’s streets teemed with anxious sect cultivators. Lu Ciyou’s bloodied golden robes and gleaming Soaring Dragon silver gun drew stares instantly. Within moments, a woman approached – dark blue robes swirling with constellations, hair secured by plain jade.
"Young Master Lu."
"Do I know you?" Lu Ciyou frowned at the unfamiliar face.
“Cultivator Li Xun from Qingyun City. Three years ago, the young master saved my life.” Excitement flashed across Li Xun’s face as she looked at Lu Ciyou, though she quickly restrained herself to maintain proper decorum.
Suiyin sidled up to Yan Li and whispered, “Someone’s trying to steal your savior.”
Yan Li blinked. “What?”
“Li Xun? Ah, I recall you—Xuanchen’s disciple, the second-ranked of Qingyun City.” Lu Ciyou clasped her hands in greeting. “An honor.”
She tilted her head. “Aren’t Qingyun disciples stationed at the Sixteen Peaks of the Dark Domain? Why is Senior Sister Li Xun here?”
A smile warmed Li Xun’s gaze. “My Senior Sister manages the Peaks. I’m investigating disturbances in Canghai under Master’s orders. When I spotted you in the teahouse, ignoring you would’ve been discourteous.”
“You’re too kind, Senior Sister.” Lu Ciyou’s eyes brightened. “How long have you been in Yunze?”
This unexpected encounter demanded questions.
“Three days.”
Lu Ciyou nodded—Canghai’s borders had sealed three days prior, then.
Li Xun gestured toward the inn. “Since you’re here about Canghai, let’s discuss it properly over tea.”
“Excellent!” Lu Ciyou strode forward eagerly.
After two steps, she whirled around, remembering her companions. “Coming?” she chirped to the three lingering behind.
“See that grin?” Suiyin nudged Yan Li. “Your hero’s getting snatched away.”
Yan Li said nothing, watching the two chatting figures ahead. Her footsteps quickened.
“Xia Shi, let’s—” Suiyin’s hand closed on empty air.
Xia Shi had vanished. A distant silhouette retreated down a side street.
“Xia Shi!”
No response. Suiyin sprinted after her.
Xia Shi pursued the shadow into a cramped alley reeking of damp stone. The dead-end trapped them both.
“Why follow me, Fellow Immortal?”
“You invited me,” Xia Shi countered. The stranger had hovered conspicuously before revealing their intent through this deliberate path.
The figure turned. Milky-white eyes stared blindly as he raised a turtle shell. “A fortune?”
Xia Shi’s brow furrowed. All this for divination?
When she didn’t answer, the fortune-teller chuckled. “Not seeking life-and-death readings this time?”
Shadows veiled half her face. “Outcomes don’t sway me. I act regardless of hexagrams.”
“No reading needed.”
After saying this, the Fortune-teller suddenly added, "No need to calculate. Someone’s willing to."
His white pupils shifted, looking past Xia Shi toward the alley entrance. "Coming out?"
Xia Shi turned to see red fabric fluttering.
Suiyin.
"Why are you here?"
Suiyin approached and whispered, "You got your fortune read earlier? Was she any good?"
Xia Shi stayed silent.
She tugged at Suiyin’s sleeve but couldn’t budge her.
The girl clearly wanted this.
The Fortune-teller smiled at Suiyin. "Want a reading?"
"Yes!" Suiyin’s eyes sparkled as she dragged Xia Shi closer. "Stay with me."
Xia Shi sighed but remained rooted beside her.
The Fortune-teller shook his Turtle shell and Copper coins. "What shall we divine?"
"Life and death!" Suiyin declared.
The Fortune-teller froze.
Were these women trying to ruin him? Two death-related queries in a row.
Xia Shi’s eyes narrowed as she studied Suiyin.
"Can’t you read that?" Suiyin asked when he hesitated.
"…I can."
Refusing would harm his business.
The coins clattered into familiar patterns. Despite different hexagrams forming, the Fortune-teller gave identical readings: "Fortune and misfortune come together."
Xia Shi dragged her friend away, muttering "Scammer!"
Sunlight stabbed their eyes at the alley’s exit. Suiyin shielded her face.
"Why rush off? She hadn’t finished!"
"What more?" Xia Shi recited bitterly: "Fortune and misfortune come together. Gains and losses don’t matter. An opportunity exists that could solve everything."
"But that sounds pretty wise," Suiyin protested.
"Know how I guessed?" Xia Shi stared at her.
Suiyin gasped. "You can read hexagrams too!"
Xia Shi sighed deeply. "Because she gave us the exact same reading."
Different life-and-death hexagrams sharing identical interpretations? Impossible.
Suiyin’s shock turned to outrage. "Scammer!"
The two walked side by side when Xia Shi suddenly asked, "Why do you want to divine life and death?"
With her Divine Bone, the path to immortality should have been bright and unobstructed. There was no reason for such concerns unless… had something happened?
"When life slips from your control, you cling tighter to its threads," Suiyin inhaled deeply, pushing down her emotions as she countered with a smile, "Why do you calculate life and death? Don’t evade me – I heard everything earlier."
"Because back then…" Xia Shi’s voice drifted like mist, barely audible, "Death refused me, leaving only debts."
Debts to the Heartless Sword. To her Master and sect. To friends. To the wronged cultivators of the Nine Realms…
She hadn’t known then about the abnormal tribulation in Qinghu Region. Had shouldered all blame, even claimed responsibility for the Thirteen Ghost Domains’ atrocities.
Seeing sorrow pool in Xia Shi’s gaze, Suiyin’s chest constricted. Without thinking, she grasped the cold hand, warming it between her palms. "And now?" she whispered.
The words made Suiyin’s eyes burn with shared grief, as if she’d been transported to that bleak past herself.
The Fortune-teller claimed Xia Shi no longer calculated life and death. Did that mean she’d escaped those dark chains? But the healer said she refused antidotes despite the vicious poison – did that mean…
"Now…"
Xia Shi froze mid-sentence, startled by the tear-streaked face before her.
Why this sudden weeping?
Sobs racked Suiyin’s frame, muffled words dissolving into desperate clutching. "Don’t die!" she wailed, heedless of the bustling street now staring.
Xia Shi: "…"
Who died? Who claimed she was dying?
