While Jiang Linchuan could still force a smile when facing Shen Qingyi, he had no such kindness for Du Yuanluo.
“You’ve relied entirely on your thick skin to get where you are today. Back then, you shamelessly used your own life to threaten me just so you could follow me to the Yunyin Sect. By driving a wedge between Qingyi and me, you managed to cling to a tall tree, didn’t you? I chose not to lower myself to deal with a mere woman like you, yet you’ve pushed your luck, failing to see your own insignificance. What do you have that could possibly defeat me?”
In the past, these words were very effective. With just a bit of accusation, Du Yuanluo would immediately reflect on what she had done wrong and why she was being so bothersome.
But now, Du Yuanluo didn’t care at all: “Eldest Senior Brother is right. I’ve relied entirely on my thick skin to get to where I am today. If I had known that being shameless would lead to such a good life, I wouldn’t have wanted any ‘face’ from the start.”
Du Yuanluo didn’t know what deep-seated grievances existed between Shen Qingyi and Jiang Linchuan. She had once wanted to mediate, but Shen Qingyi’s resolve was laced with such hatred that Du Yuanluo didn’t dare mention it again. Subtly and unconsciously, she had long since taken Shen Qingyi’s side.
“Truly a shameless creature. No wonder everyone loathes you, whoever gets close to you is struck by misfortune.”
Jiang Linchuan, who usually maintained a refined and jade-like demeanor, had finally revealed his true, ugly colors.
Shen Qingyi originally didn’t want to speak much with him, fearing she wouldn’t be able to suppress her temper and might act impulsively. But hearing him slander Du Yuanluo so viciously, she finally couldn’t help but say through gritted teeth, “I ask you, who on the Yunyin Peak does not adore Little Junior Sister? Is the ‘everyone’ you speak of merely the petty villains wallowing in the filth of the mortal world?”
Jiang Linchuan suppressed his anger as well, feigning calm as he said to Shen Qingyi, “Junior Sister, the mortal world is not entirely filthy, nor is everyone a villain. There is naturally a reason why she is rejected by so many people.”
“I assume you’ve calculated Little Junior Sister’s fate before. She is indeed a ‘jinx’ whose ill-fortune harms those around her. By staying too close to her, you will inevitably end up carrying her karma.”
“Think carefully. In the mortal world, did her parents or her family head have a good ending? Think further, what kind of carefree and uninhibited figures were we before? Since she arrived, we have become like strangers, and every time you were punished, wasn’t it because of her?”
Du Yuanluo instantly fell silent, not because she feared Shen Qingyi would believe him, but because she believed it herself.
Before approaching Shen Qingyi, Shen was like a fairy above the clouds, indifferent to honor or disgrace. After she drew near, Shen Qingyi seemed to fall from the clouds, gaining worries and burdens.
Du Yuanluo had been kneeling right next to Shen Qingyi, hoping to let Shen lean on her if she got tired. Although Shen Qingyi had kept her back straight from beginning to end without the slightest sign of fatigue, Du Yuanluo was always waiting for her to lean over.
Being told these things by Jiang Linchuan, Du Yuanluo suddenly reverted to that terrified, self-deprecating little girl from the past. She instinctively moved a bit further away to avoid letting her “bad luck” defile a person of noble standing.
Sensing her small movement, Shen Qingyi grabbed her hand firmly, refusing to let her move away even an inch.
“Blessings and disasters have no door, they are summoned by the person themselves. Whatever I have done and whatever I must bear is my own karma. Meeting her is also my karma. After studying the Dao for so many years, has Eldest Senior Brother only learned how to blame others?”
Jiang Linchuan smiled: “I am indeed not as high in realm as Junior Sister, who resorts to stabbing people in the back.”
“A backstab? I drew my sword right in front of you,” Shen Qingyi sneered.
Jiang Linchuan finally dropped his act: “Junior Sister, let’s not mince words. I came today to make peace. Tell her to leave, we need to talk alone.”
Du Yuanluo’s fingers instinctively tightened around the hem of her skirt. She could ignore Jiang Linchuan, but she couldn’t ignore Shen Qingyi. If Shen Qingyi told her to leave…
What did they have to talk about? After all these years, he couldn’t possibly still be here to confess his love, could he? What if he held a grudge and intended to harm her?
Fortunately, Shen Qingyi did not ask her to leave.
“There is no private grievance between us, so what peace is there to make? I have nothing to say to you that cannot be said in front of others. If you have something to say, say it.”
Jiang Linchuan stared at Du Yuanluo for a long time before finally compromising: “Fine. Regardless, she is your ‘accompanying maid’ anyway.”
Shen Qingyi had never heard this term, but she instinctively felt it wasn’t a good one. She frowned: “What do you mean by ‘accompanying maid’?”
“I didn’t understand it at first either. She said it herself. If Junior Sister wants to know, you might as well ask her.”
Shen Qingyi figured it wasn’t anything good and decided she shouldn’t ask while Jiang Linchuan was present.
“Speak if you have business; if not, get out.”
“Junior Sister, I know why you lost your composure today. In truth, you and I didn’t have to reach this point.”
Shen Qingyi looked at him warily. He couldn’t have seen through her heart, could he?
Jiang Linchuan continued, “You surely know that the Sect Leader’s exclusive cultivation paradise is the gateway connecting Heaven and Earth, a place where spiritual energy gathers. That is why the Yunyin Sect can produce an immortal who ascends every three hundred years. Whoever becomes the Sect Leader becomes the next to ascend.”
This was actually the first time Shen Qingyi had heard such a claim. It was true that Yunyin Peak produced an immortal every three hundred years, and almost every immortal who ascended was a former Sect Leader.
But Shen Qingyi had never heard that it was because of special spiritual energy in the Sect Leader’s exclusive cultivation grounds, she had always assumed the sect simply elected the person with the highest cultivation, so the Sect Leader naturally had the best chance to ascend.
In her past life, Shen Qingyi had sat in the Sect Leader’s position for over three hundred years but failed to ascend, even leading the Yunyin Sect to its ruin.
“The Sect Leader has been in power for over two hundred years. The next Sect Leader will be either me or you. Although Junior Sister is currently slightly behind me, I don’t dare underestimate you at all. I assume you are equally wary of me, aren’t you?”
Shen Qingyi gasped. It turned out that all her competitiveness since childhood was viewed by Jiang Linchuan as a struggle for the position of Sect Leader.
In this regard, Shen Qingyi was far less “mature” than Jiang Linchuan. She truly just wanted to win once, to be the best.
Listening to this, Du Yuanluo seemed to understand why Shen Qingyi and Jiang Linchuan were like fire and water. Previously, she thought her own appearance had ruined their relationship.
So, it was all a conflict of interest. Her Senior Sister wanted it, but she couldn’t win it. What should she do?
Du Yuanluo hated that she had nothing. She could only give her Senior Sister some medicine she didn’t need or food she didn’t necessarily have to eat. She couldn’t give a single bit of what her Senior Sister truly wanted.
“Junior Sister, you don’t have to be like this. We don’t have to fight to the death. You and I were meant to become Dao companions, moving forward and retreating together is the way to satisfy both sides. I have yielded to you in everything since we were children, and I do so now as well. Why not let go of your grudge and let us walk hand in hand?”
The young Shen Qingyi had indeed been grateful to Jiang Linchuan for yielding to her, which was why she hadn’t objected to the rumors of them being “childhood sweethearts.”
But not now. She absolutely could not side with Jiang Linchuan.
“Junior Sister, let us turn our swords into plowshares.”
Jiang Linchuan reached out his hand. Shen Qingyi resisted the urge to hit him and dodged to the side but she couldn’t get far, because Du Yuanluo was right behind her. There was no room to retreat.
Du Yuanluo pushed Jiang Linchuan’s hand away. She knew that the method Jiang Linchuan proposed could help her Senior Sister get what she wanted.
But in the end, she wasn’t as magnanimous as she thought. Hugging Shen Qingyi from behind, she cried, “Senior Sister, then what about me?”
Jiang Linchuan, seeing his hand miss, felt his chest heave with anger. However, seeing Shen Qingyi’s unpleasant expression, he managed to force a smile.
“Little Junior Sister, don’t you mortal women talk about the ‘Three Obediences and Four Virtues’? I remember you once told Third Junior Sister that you were merely Qingyi’s accompanying maid, knowing you weren’t worthy of her, and only wanted to serve her for a lifetime. You said if Qingyi ever had a Dao companion in the future, you would serve both her and her companion. What? Am I not worthy of Qingyi? Or can you give her something better?”
Du Yuanluo had indeed said those words, and it was because of them that Third Junior Sister’s temper had calmed slightly.
But times had changed. Humans are greedy, when she could only look up to her Senior Sister, she just wanted to be by her side. Once she received even a little bit of favoritism, she wanted to monopolize it.
Yet Du Yuanluo also knew Jiang Linchuan was right. She couldn’t give Shen Qingyi anything better. If she were stubbornly selfish, she would only delay Shen Qingyi’s future.
It seemed he was right, she really was a jinx.
Du Yuanluo’s logic and emotions were at war. She didn’t dare force Shen Qingyi to stay, yet she didn’t want to generously give her up. She collapsed powerlessly onto the kneeling cushion and began to wail.
Jiang Linchuan added a final blow: “Little Junior Sister, your only merit was being sensible and magnanimous. Have you lost that too?”
Du Yuanluo was originally just feeling wronged, but being provoked by Jiang Linchuan, she simply hugged Shen Qingyi tightly. Since Shen Qingyi would belong to someone else eventually anyway, why not hug her now?
“Senior Sister, I’m not being sensible. Forgive me this once.”
Shen Qingyi didn’t want her emotions to fluctuate in front of Jiang Linchuan. She pushed away the sobbing Du Yuanluo.
“What are you crying for? Did I say I agreed to his proposal?”
“Junior Sister, don’t be in such a hurry to reject me. You are someone who considers the big picture, don’t be trapped by temporary emotions. I won’t force you to answer immediately, you can think about it further.”
“No need. Those with different paths cannot make plans together. If I am to compete, I will do so openly. You should give up on this idea as soon as possible.”
Shen Qingyi’s attitude was firm. Jiang Linchuan spent a long time trying to persuade her with a humble tone, until Shen Qingyi, reaching the limit of her patience, drew her sword right there in the Hall of Discipline.
Jiang Linchuan didn’t want to blow things out of proportion, but he knew that seeking peace was hopeless. He left behind a hateful remark.
“Junior Sister, since that’s the case, from now on, we are irreconcilable.”
“Since ancient times, only good and evil have been irreconcilable. If Senior Brother only wishes to compete fairly with me, where does ‘irreconcilable’ come from?”
As Jiang Linchuan stormed off, Du Yuanluo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But that relief didn’t last long. She had kept her Senior Sister, but she couldn’t be happy. Was she ruining her Senior Sister’s future?
Shen Qingyi waited until Jiang Linchuan was gone before wiping the tears from Du Yuanluo’s face.
Du Yuanluo murmured, “Senior Sister, I’m sorry.”
“What does it have to do with you?” Shen Qingyi asked, puzzled.
“I’ve delayed Senior Sister’s future… I… I will compensate you.”
Rejecting Jiang Linchuan had nothing to do with Du Yuanluo in the first place. Living together day and night, it was hard for Shen Qingyi not to develop feelings for her, but she had no time to worry about such emotions. The future was still uncertain, how could she indulge in private feelings?
She originally wanted to say, “It has nothing to do with you.”
But seeing Du Yuanluo’s pitiable and anxious look, she couldn’t help but want to tease her a little: “How will you compensate me?”
“What does Senior Sister want? Other than… the position of Sect Leader.”
What else did Shen Qingyi want?
She blurted out: “I want to kill Jiang Linchuan.”
“Ah?” Du Yuanluo was startled. “Then… let me think of a way.”