“……”
Qu Yaoyao had no idea that a great calamity was about to befall her.
She had slept the entire day on Qingxi Immortal Venerable’s birthday. Waking early the next morning, she felt refreshed and full of energy, growing restless from staying cooped up in her bedroom.
Seeing her gaze longingly out the window, Yun Zhi suggested, “How about this servant takes the young lady for a stroll around the sect?”
Since losing her memory, Qu Yaoyao had become much quieter and hadn’t ventured beyond her bedroom.
“Is that allowed?” Qu Yaoyao was tempted but also hesitant.
Yun Zhi didn’t know what she was worried about and smiled helplessly. “The entire Xingyang Sect belongs to you, young lady. You can go wherever you like.”
After wrestling with the idea for a while, Qu Yaoyao thought that as long as she didn’t leave the sect, she should be safe, so she finally agreed.
Although the Xingyang Sect had the character “yang” in its name, it was actually imbalanced in yin and yang, with far more female disciples than male ones. The original Qu Yaoyao had been extremely fond of beauty. In the past, whenever she went to the sect hall or training grounds, she would dress in eye-catching attire. Yun Zhi was accustomed to dressing her up, and this time was no exception.
Coincidentally, the clothing pavilion had just delivered a new batch of dresses. Noticing that Qu Yaoyao had recently favored simpler styles, Yun Zhi picked out a tea-white butterfly dress.
Even though it was a plain color, the dress was still intricately designed. Several butterflies of the same color were embroidered on the shoulders and sleeves, their wings soft and stitched with faint gold threads that fluttered gently in the breeze, as if ready to take flight.
“Is it too plain?” Yun Zhi paired it with a delicate waistband adorned with hollowed-out beads and fastened a goose-yellow butterfly pendant to her waist.
Just as she was about to add a ruby necklace, Qu Yaoyao covered her neck and stammered, “No more, I think this is fine as it is.”
Yun Zhi glanced at her collar and set the necklace aside. “I’ve been meaning to ask, young lady, where did the pendant around your neck come from?”
Everything from Qu Yaoyao’s clothing and food to her earrings was personally managed by Yun Zhi, and she didn’t recall ever purchasing this piece of jewelry for her.
Hearing this, Qu Yaoyao looked down and saw a golden chain around her neck, from which hung a teardrop-shaped pendant. It was blood-red, smooth, and glowing faintly. Staring at it for too long made one feel dazed and uncontrollably drawn in.
Fragmented images flashed rapidly through her mind. Qu Yaoyao shook her head, vaguely seeing a flicker of flames.
“Young lady?” Yun Zhi called out.
Qu Yaoyao snapped back to attention and feigned calmness. “I don’t remember.”
When she first awoke in this body, the pendant was already hanging around her neck. She had assumed it was a personal belonging of the original owner, but apparently not.
So where did this pendant come from?
Yun Zhi didn’t know, and Qu Yaoyao certainly didn’t either. She only felt instinctively that this pendant was no ordinary object and held secrets she was unaware of. That’s why she didn’t let Yun Zhi remove it. Instead, she wore it along with the ruby necklace, which jingled softly.
“All done.” After styling Qu Yaoyao’s hair into a hanging bun, Yun Zhi dotted a floral ornament on her forehead.
While Qu Yaoyao wasn’t paying attention, Yun Zhi slipped a few tasseled hairpins into her hair and said with satisfaction, “This servant will take the young lady out now.”
Qu Yaoyao had endured Yun Zhi’s fussing for so long, waiting for this moment.
Yun Zhi opened the door ahead of her and was about to call her young lady out when a young maid rushed into the courtyard, pointing frantically outside. “Sister Yun Zhi, it’s bad—people from the Zongzong have arrived.”
What were the people from the Zongzong here for?
Yun Zhi's heart skipped a beat. The Zongzong was the main sect of Wanmen Immortal Sect, and could also be directly referred to as Wanmen Immortal Sect. The so-called Six Sects, Four Pavilions, and Thirteen Peaks all obeyed its commands, exercising the power of life and death on behalf of Xianxu.
"What's there to panic about!" Thinking that Xingyang Sect had not made any mistakes recently, Yun Zhi quickly regained her composure and scolded, "If people from the Zongzong have come, just treat them properly. What's there to panic about?"
The little maid was almost crying, "This, this time is different."
If the Zongzong had only sent one or two immortal emissaries, it would have been fine, but this time there were over a hundred, all carrying magical artifacts and Immortal Swords, occupying Xingyang Sect's four major gates. Most importantly—
"It's Immortal Lord Tianci who brought them here."
As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Tianci, holding his sword, stepped into Lanfang Courtyard. Behind him followed dozens of sword-bearing disciples, surrounding the courtyard in a tight circle.
Qu Yaoyao was facing the mirror, removing the pearl ornaments from her clothes. Hearing the noise outside, she called out to Yun Zhi, "What's going on outside?"
Walking curiously to the door, unaware of the situation, she was still cheerful, "Can we leave now?"
Yun Zhi did not answer.
Qu Yaoyao walked to her side, and when she saw the young man standing outside the door, her bright smile froze.
Gu Tianci raised an eyebrow, "Looking at Miss Qu's splendid attire, it seems you guessed my purpose."
"What do you mean by that?" Qu Yaoyao had no idea he would come.
Subconsciously hiding behind Yun Zhi, she saw Gu Tianci grinning at her and bowing, "I am following Qingxi Immortal Venerable's orders, specially 'inviting' Miss Qu Yaoyao to Wangxu for a discussion."
"Miss Qu, please."
"…"
Qu Yaoyao was taken to Wangxu.
The word 'invite' sounded pleasant, but Gu Tianci had brought so many people precisely to give her no chance to refuse. As soon as she uttered a single 'no,' the disciples blocking her courtyard all drew their swords, making it clear that if she dared defy the order, they would act.
Qu Yaoyao had never seen such a scene and naturally felt afraid.
The girl wearing the butterfly-wing dress now hung her head dejectedly, sandwiched between several disciples, like a butterfly with broken wings.
Yun Zhi worriedly wanted to follow along, but was dismissed by Gu Tianci with a single sentence, "The Immortal Venerable only invited Miss Qu alone."
Unable to do anything, Yun Zhi could only watch as Qu Yaoyao was taken away by Gu Tianci, secretly slipping the incense pouch left by Qu Yushu into her embrace.
After entering Wangxu, Gu Tianci did not take Qu Yaoyao to see Qingxi Immortal Venerable, but instead locked her in the underground palace of Wangxu where prisoners were held.
The underground palace was cold and dark, with no windows. Each cell had double Restriction Seals, and no one had ever escaped. Gu Tianci selected a relatively clean cell, opened the prison door, stepped aside to let Qu Yaoyao pass, and lifted his chin, saying, "Go in."
Qu Yaoyao stood motionless.
Because inside the cell was a massive cage, with each black iron pillar deeply rooted into the ground. In the center of the cage was a high-level circular magic array, which would render a person weak and unable to use cultivation or spell techniques.
"Don't look at me like that." Meeting Qu Yaoyao's misty, watery eyes, Gu Tianci felt somewhat uncomfortable for once.
He whispered, "I am only following orders."
Following whose orders? Naturally, Qingxi Immortal Venerable's.
This body itself had little cultivation. As soon as Qu Yaoyao stepped onto the circular disk within the cage, the activated magic array instantly caused her to collapse and sit on the ground.
In her current state, there was no need to restrain her with chains, but the rules of the underground palace could not be broken. Gu Tianci hesitated for a moment before finally hanging heavy chains on her ankles.
It felt quite like bullying.
Qu Yaoyao also had chains hung on both of her wrists. Sitting on the ground with a pale face, she looked at Gu Tianci and asked, "Can you tell me why?"
"What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me like this?"
Gu Tianci grew increasingly uncomfortable.
Hurrying out of the cage, he dared not look at Qu Yaoyao's expression, forcing himself to appear fierce. "Don't you know what you've done?"
"Just wait. Someone will come to interrogate you soon." They had already found evidence that Qu Yaoyao had killed Hua Song.
Qu Yaoyao was momentarily stunned. "Hua Song…"
How could Hua Song have been killed by Qu Yaoyao? He was clearly murdered by Qingxi Immortal Venerable!
Before Qu Yaoyao could figure out what was happening, someone soon arrived to interrogate her. It was Di Shu, the second disciple under Qingxi Immortal Venerable. He was an orphan Qingxi had taken in, cold and aloof in temperament, with profound cultivation. His methods of handling matters bore a striking resemblance to Xie Qingxun's teachings.
Before Di Shu went to the underground palace, Xie Qingxun specifically instructed, "Little girls are timid and easily frightened. If she refuses to confess, I permit you to be a bit more excessive."
After all, Qu Yaoyao was, in name, his fiancée. Without his permission, Di Shu indeed wouldn't dare to act too recklessly.
With Qingxi's approval, Di Shu went to the underground palace and truly frightened Qu Yaoyao.
Di Shu preferred wearing black clothes. Though his features were proper, his cold expression made him look fierce, and he carried two large sickles at his waist. The moment he saw Qu Yaoyao, his menacing expression stiffened for an instant, suddenly realizing the vast gap between rumors and reality.
The person locked up before him was far from the domineering and shrewish young lady he had heard of. She truly was, as his master had described… a little girl.
A soft, seemingly harmless young girl.
"I have already found evidence of Hua Song's murder in your room. What more do you have to say?"
Di Shu drew one of the large sickles and swung it threateningly beside her, coldly shouting, "If you still refuse to confess, I'll cut off one of your arms!"
Qu Yaoyao curled into a ball. Though afraid, she remained stubborn. Sniffling, she adamantly denied, "I did not kill Hua Song."
"Even if you kill me, I won't admit it."
This was who she was. Just as when she first met Qingxi Immortal Venerable after his fall into demonhood, driven by fervent passion, she risked her life just to ask if he was the Immortal Venerable who had once protected and guarded her. Now, she had lost that most ardent admiration, but her pride remained. Even in death, she would die with a clear conscience, refusing to let others slander her.
Timidity did not equate to cowardice or fear of trouble.
Di Shu gained a new understanding of Qu Yaoyao. The large sickle brushed past her shoulder, its sharp blade cutting off a butterfly embroidered on her clothes.
Thud—
The sickle embedded itself into the ground, but Qu Yaoyao did not relent.
Di Shu pulled the sickle out and this time used its tip to lift her chin. "Do you truly refuse to confess?"
"I won't!" The tip of the sickle left a small cut on Qu Yaoyao's chin.
At the sight of blood, Di Shu panicked slightly. He wasn't sure how far his master's permission for "excessiveness" extended, so he hastily withdrew his hand.
"Fine."
Di Shu said fiercely, "You just wait."
This was the first time someone dared to be defiant under his sickle. Di Shu's bloodlust surged, but he hadn't completely lost his reason. He went to Qingxi Immortal Venerable, wanting to request another order to torture Qu Yaoyao.
"What punishment do you want to use on her?" Xie Qingxun asked, lifting his gaze to glance at him.
Seeing that he didn't seem concerned, Di Shu boldly replied, "First whip her a hundred times. If she still refuses to confess, then…"
Xie Qingxun chuckled lightly, "Then what?"
Then use torture instruments. Among hundreds of torture instruments, there must be one she fears, guaranteed to make her confess to the crime.
"The time left for you is already running short." Xie Qingxun had promised the Yaowang Sect to give an explanation three days later, and tomorrow was the deadline.
Wearily pressing his forehead, he reclined on the couch chair, closing his eyes and saying, "No matter what method you use, tomorrow you must make her confess."
This tacitly approved Di Shu's punishment.
Di Shu thought inwardly, this Qu Yaoyao truly held no position in the master's heart.
Anyway, the goal was achieved. Di Shu returned to the underground palace, went to the torture instrument room to pick a few handy instruments, planning to first let Qu Yaoyao suffer some skin and flesh injuries. When he opened the prison cell, he discovered the cage brightly lit, several fire candles floating in mid-air.
Someone had come.
Di Shu froze in place, seeing his master, who should have been resting in his chambers, now appearing in the prison cell. On the circular platform, he knelt gazing down at the sleeping 'little butterfly,' unmoving for a long time, lost in thought.
Di Shu glanced at his master, then at the torture instruments he held in his hand, slowly hiding them behind his back.