Chapter 238
Chapter 238
Feng Lishu had been a puppet through and through.
Her beloved Brother Qiu — the Brother Qiu she trusted more than anyone — had been manipulating her all along.
The moment she lost her value, he drove his palm straight through her chest.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Absolutely ruthless!
Did Brother Qiu love Feng Lishu?
If he did, how could he have been so heartless?
And if he truly loved her, why was he engaged to me?
There was only one conclusion: Feng Lishu really had been a fool.
But now, a question stood before me. If my speculation was correct, then how had Feng Lishu gotten mixed up in all this back then?
Who had set this whole scheme in motion — a scheme that had even deceived the Grand Witch?
Brother Qiu?
And what was his identity within the Phoenix Clan?
What about Tang Xun?
At that thought, I said to Li Qingying, “Sister Qingying, go wash your face. Fifth Master Hui is back. You should go see him.”
Li Qingying started. “Old Fifth Hui is back? When did that happen?”
“Just now,” I said. “I think I heard his voice.”
Hui Moqiong had asked me not to mention that he had come by, so I wouldn’t.
I wasn’t going to interfere in their relationship. They had their own pace.
When Hui Moqiong felt the time was right, he would tell her himself.
Li Qingying muttered, “Why would he come back now? Didn’t Seventh Master return with him?”
I didn’t follow Li Qingying immediately. I gave them some time to talk first, then washed my own face and found a summer face mask with UV protection to cover the lower half of it.
The moment I put it on, I suddenly thought of Feng Linu’s mask.
She had worn it all the time to hide the word ‘Slave’ on her face. Later on, perhaps she had ended up in the same situation I was in now.
Maybe that was why she had been so heartless when she said her final goodbye to Liu Junyan.
How utterly hopeless she must have felt then.
Hui Moqiong was in the West Room. Just as I approached, I heard Li Qingying raise her voice. “You didn’t go to Huicheng? Then where’s Seventh Master? You haven’t contacted him these past two days?”
“No.” Hui Moqiong looked utterly baffled. “I went after Flower Mouse, and he really did lead me toward Huicheng. They tried to lure me there using information about my little sister as bait, but did they really think I was that stupid? I subdued Flower Mouse halfway there.”
“And then?” Li Qingying asked. “What did you do after subduing him?”
“I went looking for my little sister,” Hui Moqiong said. “All these years, Hui Shuchen has been searching for her too. After all, if she was alive, we had to find her; if she was dead, we had to find her body. I never expected him to actually track her down.
“Hui Shuchen has gotten himself trapped now. He wanted to use information about my little sister to bargain with me and make me pull him out. As if I’d ever agree to that. He chose his own path and committed his own sins, so he has to bear the consequences himself.”
Only then did I enter the room.
Hui Moqiong looked up at me.
The moment he saw my almost completely white hair, his expression turned grim. “Xiao Jiu’er, you…”
“I’m fine.” I quickly asked, “You found your little sister? Where is she now? What is she doing? Has she been living well?”
Hui Moqiong considered it for a moment before answering, “I only saw her briefly, so I can’t say whether she’s been doing well. She’s in Chang City now, working as an errand runner for what is supposedly a fairly large lodge.”
He paused, then continued, “I rushed back from Chang City because I wanted to discuss something with you, Xiao Jiu’er. If it isn’t too inconvenient, could we bring my little sister into the Pawnshop? She seems bright and resourceful.”
I countered, “Are you sure you want to bring her into the Pawnshop now?”
The Pawnshop was a complete mess at the moment. This was hardly a good time for anyone to join us.
Hui Moqiong clearly hadn’t considered that.
After being separated from his sister for so many years and finally reuniting with her, of course he wanted nothing more than to practically tie her to his belt and keep her with him at all times.
He had simply overlooked the fact that the Pawnshop was currently in the middle of a turbulent period.
“Chang City?” I echoed thoughtfully.
We still had a major piece of unfinished business there. One of Liu Junyan’s Golden Scales remained hidden in that mountain hollow.
Liu Junyan had said we couldn’t touch that area for the time being. Even the Golden Scale was stuck there under the Seal.
Hui Moqiong said his little sister worked as a runner for a fairly large operation in Chang City. Anyone in that kind of job was bound to be well-informed. I wondered if she knew anything about what had happened in that mountain hollow.
It seemed that once we were ready to deal with our business in Chang City, we should speak to his sister first.
I asked, “You still haven’t told me your little sister’s name.”
“Yumo,” Hui Moqiong said. “Her name is Hui Yumo.”
I nodded. “If we ever go to Chang City, make sure you introduce me to her.”
Hui Moqiong agreed, then asked, “Did Seventh Master really go to Huicheng to look for me? If he couldn’t get in touch with me, shouldn’t he be back soon?”
“He has some other business to take care of in Huicheng.” I continued, “What happened to Hui Shuchen?”
“Him? He brought it on himself.” Hui Moqiong sounded deeply frustrated with him. “I told you before. He may not have much talent for cultivation, but he was born with a pair of Spirit Ears. Those Spirit Ears are precisely what landed him in trouble. The next time we see him, he might…”
Hui Moqiong trailed off, but we all knew what he meant. The next time we saw Hui Shuchen, those Spirit Ears might already be gone.
Buddha Eyes, Spirit Ears…
What would be next?
My gaze instinctively fell to Hui Moqiong’s hands.
When I first met him, his hands had been the most striking thing about him.
His fingers were unusually long and looked immensely strong at a glance.
Hui Shuchen had used news of Hui Yumo to lure Hui Moqiong to Huicheng… Maybe he hadn’t done it merely because he wanted Hui Moqiong to bail him out.
Perhaps he intended to drag Hui Moqiong down with him…
Hui Moqiong had been staring at my white hair and mask. He asked cautiously, “Xiao Jiu’er, are you really all right?”
“I’m fine.” After working certain things out, I felt remarkably clear and at peace. “Once Liu Junyan has everything sorted out on his end, I’ll make a trip to Cangwu Mountain. By then, my problem may resolve itself.”
Neither Hui Moqiong nor Li Qingying responded. They merely lowered their heads in silence.
They didn’t share my optimism.
It wasn’t until the following evening that Liu Junyan sent word back through Gray Immortal channels: Hushan refused to grant us passage.
The reason was simple.
Last time, we’d requested passage because our destination was Spirit Butterfly Valley itself — our own territory.
This time, however, we wanted to travel through Spirit Butterfly Valley and secretly cross into Cangwu Mountain.
Spirit Butterfly Valley belonged to the Netherworld Realm, while Cangwu Mountain belonged to the Phoenix Clan.
Requesting passage through Spirit Butterfly Valley would turn this into a territorial issue between the two sides.
If it were merely a case like Snow Phoenix’s — sneaking around the border to gather an herb or two — it wouldn’t cause much of a stir, and everyone would simply look the other way.
But my identity was far too sensitive, and the Phoenix Clan had been watching me closely all along. Even if the Netherworld Realm didn’t care, the Phoenix Clan would certainly seize on it as an excuse to make trouble.
Hushan wasn’t willing to spark that kind of dispute or take the risk…