Chapter 239

Chapter 239

Hushan’s refusal to let us pass was no surprise.

What I couldn’t understand was why Liu Junyan hadn’t returned after the request failed.

The messenger told me Seventh Master seemed to be investigating Tang Xun.

I frowned. Had Liu Junyan also realized something was wrong with Tang Xun?

I immediately called Tang Tang to ask how Tang Xun had been lately.

Tang Tang sounded frustrated as well. “My aunt’s been acting strange ever since she woke up. She’s gone all day, and I hardly ever see her anymore. I kind of miss her.”

I chatted with Tang Tang for a little longer. Just as I hung up, Hui Moqiong came in hauling someone with him. Li Qingying followed behind, looking equally furious.

Only after the person was thrown to the floor did I see who it was.

“Snow Phoenix?”

Hadn’t she escaped amid the chaos? How had she gotten caught again?

Snow Phoenix fell to the floor and struggled upright before slumping against a nearby table leg.

She looked terrible.

Yesterday, I’d watched her get slammed into the opposite wall so hard that she coughed up blood.

Clearly, something else had happened after that.

In any case, her external and internal injuries had compounded, leaving her barely alive.

More importantly, her expression was steeped in despair.

I shot Hui Moqiong and Li Qingying a questioning look. What had happened?

“I noticed her first thing this morning,” Hui Moqiong said. “She spent the whole day sneaking around the Pawnshop. Who knows what she was plotting!”

Snow Phoenix had betrayed me once before, and Li Qingying had already told Hui Moqiong about it.

No wonder he was so furious on my behalf.

Snow Phoenix lifted her bloodshot eyes and stared mutely at me.

After a long moment, she suddenly said, “Sister, didn’t you ask me before whether I knew anything about the Symbiotic Curse or Feng Lishu? I lied to you then. The Snow Phoenix Clan has always guarded Cangwu Mountain. For generations, it has been our duty to protect Cangwu Mountain and the Fire Witch Goddess. I may be young, but that doesn’t mean I know nothing.”

Crack!

Li Qingying’s Long Whip lashed down hard beside Snow Phoenix. The gust from the lash caught Snow Phoenix as well. It must have hurt.

Li Qingying said bitterly, “Betray us once, and we’ll never trust you again. Snow Phoenix, we won’t believe a single word you say now!”

I said nothing.

But my silence meant I agreed with Li Qingying. I had no trust left in Snow Phoenix whatsoever.

Snow Phoenix wasn’t upset. She had clearly expected this reaction. Still leaning against the table leg, she continued speaking to herself, unconcerned whether anyone was listening.

“Sister is so clever. The moment Feng Lishu appeared, you must have formed plenty of theories already. What you need now is someone who knows the truth and can answer your questions.

“Let me think. What could be troubling Sister the most right now?”

She paused as if she were genuinely pondering the question, then quickly continued, “You must want to know what’s going on with Tang Xun, don’t you?”

The three of us froze.

Then we immediately grew tense and expectant, waiting for Snow Phoenix to continue.

“I once heard my ancestor say that the Grand Witch placed the Symbiotic Curse on you and your twin sister because of your mother and aunt,” Snow Phoenix explained slowly. “Your mother and aunt were a pair of beautiful twin sisters. Before them, the Main Line of the Phoenix Clan had not produced twins in many years, so many old secrets and rules had long since been forgotten.

“They cultivated together, grew up together, and each found someone she loved. Your mother quickly married and had a child, while your aunt spent years struggling without ever getting her happy ending.”
“The crisis occurred on the day your mother gave birth. She had a difficult labor, and after laying one egg, she began to fail. They summoned the Grand Witch, but even she was at a loss, because she discovered that your mother’s Souls were incomplete.

“This incompleteness hadn’t been caused by anything later in life. It was innate, something she’d carried from the womb. The Grand Witch instinctively turned her attention to your maternal aunt. After examining her, she discovered that your aunt’s Souls were incomplete as well.”

By then, the three of us were beyond shocked.

“There was truly nothing anyone could do at the time. The second egg was stuck in the birth canal and couldn’t come out, while your mother’s spirit was on the verge of scattering entirely. The Grand Witch vaguely recalled reading about such a situation in an ancient book.

“She searched through every book in her collection before she finally found the Symbiotic Curse!”

So that was how the Symbiotic Curse had come into play.

“The Symbiotic Curse is an extremely ancient witch’s curse. Of the two people bound by it, one serves as the dominant party and the other as the provider. Only after the dominant party drains every last drop of the provider’s vital essence and blood, allowing the Fragmented Soul of each to merge into one, can they attain new life.”

That meant Gu Yan’s explanation of the Symbiotic Curse had been accurate.

“There was no time to waste, but your mother refused to let the Symbiotic Curse be cast between her and your aunt. She was afraid it would destroy your aunt. She entrusted the first egg — your older twin sister — to a trusted confidante, intending to take you with her into death.”

Li Qingying sucked in a sharp breath. “If she had died, would her Fragmented Soul have merged with your aunt’s Fragmented Soul on its own?”

Snow Phoenix shook her head. “No. Without the Symbiotic Curse, the Fragmented Soul from each of them would have to undergo Nirvana before they could merge.”

I murmured, “Then wouldn’t my aunt also…”

“As long as she never gives birth, the condition will not manifest,” Snow Phoenix said. “Nirvana is extraordinarily difficult, and its chance of success is extremely low. Your mother’s life was hanging by a thread. She had no other options, so she would rather have taken you with her into death than harm your aunt.

“But they were sisters and shared a deep bond. How could your aunt possibly stand by and do nothing? Behind your mother’s back, she begged the Grand Witch to cast the Symbiotic Curse between them. She wanted to make your mother’s Souls whole and give her the chance to live out her life.”

Though I had never met this aunt of mine, my heart was already overflowing with gratitude toward her.

I asked, “Was the Symbiotic Curse successfully cast in the end?”

“They cast it,” Snow Phoenix said. “But your mother was already at death’s door, so the curse failed to take hold. Instead, the backlash shattered your aunt’s Fragmented Soul…”

My nose stung, and my throat tightened with emotion.

Hui Moqiong wrapped an arm around Li Qingying’s waist and rubbed his head against her over and over.

“Fortunately, at the very moment your mother breathed her last, she managed to deliver you safely.”

Snow Phoenix drew a long breath. After speaking for so long, she was already exhausted.

I poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her.

She cradled the cup in both hands and took a small sip before continuing. “The Grand Witch took you back to Cangwu Mountain and devoted herself to further research on the Symbiotic Curse. She searched through nearly every ancient text and studied every recorded precedent involving the Symbiotic Curse. By the time she felt completely confident that she could control it, you happened to hatch.

“Perhaps it was some telepathic bond between twins. At the same time you hatched, so did the egg your mother had entrusted to someone else back then — your older twin sister…”