Volume 2 Chapter 65 / Chapter 152: Female Lead, Unable to Bridge the Gap with Words
Yun Xi’s gaze shifted between Xiao Yunluo and Li Qianjin, both wearing expressions of confusion. She found a chair and sat down, crossing her legs, and began to explain, “During the demonic cultivator incident, I ran into my younger brother and sister. At that time, the situation was urgent, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to them. I assumed they were working for the Chi Dragon Mansion, so I came here to find you.”
Li Qianjin looked puzzled. She wasn’t familiar with Yun Xi and wasn’t well-versed in the internal affairs of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect. She glanced at Xiao Yunluo, hoping she would help answer.
Xiao Yunluo was also speechless. Yun Xi had come looking for her younger brother and sister and ended up at the Chi Dragon Mansion. But considering Yun Xi’s father, it wasn’t all that surprising.
The Sect Master of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, Yun Tianchong, was famous for his romantic escapades. Blessed with natural charm and a flamboyant personality, he didn’t discriminate when it came to flirting with beautiful female cultivators.
It’s to the point where it could be said that for every ten cultivators you meet, one of them is his child.
For ordinary large families, having five or six offspring was considered a lot. But what about the Yun Family of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect?
Although only three descendants were officially recorded in the family genealogy, if you counted those who couldn’t be recorded, as well as Yun Tianchong’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the number was probably close to five digits.
After hesitating for a while, Xiao Yunluo asked, “Senior Sister Yun, what’s the person’s name? I can help you check the Chi Dragon Mansion’s registry later.”
“I don’t know their names.”
“Eh?” Xiao Yunluo was surprised. “What about their appearance?”
“They have purple eyes, their presence is deep and steady, they are also very charming and attractive! And as for height…” Yun Xi gestured and pointed at Xiao Yunluo, “taller than Junior Sister Xiao by half a head.”
Purple eyes, deep and steady presence, and charming…
Xiao Yunluo’s mind inexplicably recalled the eyes of Ye Anping from a few days ago. Her face flushed involuntarily, but when she realized, she quickly shook her head, dispelling the image from her mind.
It couldn’t be Ye Anping!
Ye Anping was the young master of the Hundred Lotus Sect, with a father named Ye Ao and a mother named Kong Yulan.
She had seen them before, a harmonious couple who are in the Core Formation realm.
“Is there any other description?” Xiao Yunluo asked.
“Well…” Yun Xi pondered for a moment. “They were wearing bamboo hats and their faces were wrapped in bandages. I only saw their eyes. Anyway, they were using the secret sword technique of my Shadowmoon Sword Sect, which only direct descendants would know. It’s only possible that my old man left some wild seeds outside.”
“… …”
After hearing this, Xiao Yunluo was dumbfounded.
Yun Xi’s description undoubtedly matched Ye Anping and Pei Lengxue, but… how could it be possible?
Could it be that there was some illicit relationship between Ye Anping’s mother and Yun Tianchong, like those melodramatic stories often found in novels?
Yun Tianchong traveled incognito and met Kong Yulan, fell in love at first sight, and spent the night with her, resulting in her pregnancy.
Kong Yulan, unaware of Yun Tianchong’s identity, ended up marrying Ye Ao, who became the stepfather and helped raise Yun Tianchong’s child together with her.
As for Pei Lengxue, she was born to Kong Yulan after she secretly went to find Yun Tianchong, behind Ye Ao’s back…
No way?!
Xiao Yunluo imagined an extremely melodramatic story, and upon careful evaluation, she found it wasn’t entirely implausible.
After all, she had seen Ye Anping’s mother, Kong Yulan, who was indeed a beauty, and Yun Tianchong was known for his promiscuity, wandering around all the time. If the two had ever met somewhere, there was indeed a possibility.
However, if this story were true, wouldn’t Ye Anping and Lengxue end up as siblings who fell in love?
This—!
Seeing Xiao Yunluo’s unusual expression, Yun Xi raised her eyebrows slightly and asked, “Junior Sister Xiao, what’s wrong?”
“Ah— nothing— just thinking about something.” Xiao Yunluo quickly regained her composure and said, “Did you recognize your brother and sister just based on their sword techniques?”
“Yes! They were indeed using the secret sword technique of my Shadowmoon Sword Sect. I could see it clearly! Could I possibly mistake our sect’s sword technique?” Yun Xi replied.
“Then… I’ll help you look for them in the Chi Dragon Mansion later.”
“Okay! Thank you, Junior Sister Xiao.”
Yun Xi threw a flirtatious glance at Xiao Yunluo, then turned to Li Qianjin, who suddenly showed a hint of disappointment. She continued, “By the way, Junior Sister Li, is it inconvenient for you?”
“…Ah?” Li Qianjin came back to her senses, lowered her head, and asked softly, “What did Senior Yun say?”
“About your eyes.”
“… …”
“It’s like this.” Yun Xi smiled faintly, kicking her junior disciple who was behind her. “Junior Brother! Take it to Junior Sister Li.”
The junior disciple, whose foot was still injured, was twisted with pain from her kick but didn’t say anything. He stepped forward and placed a jade slip in front of Li Qianjin with both hands, saying in an official tone, “Young Mistress Li, this is a sealed letter from the Shadowmoon Sword Sect. Miss and I will be staying at the inn in the Chi Dragon Mansion for some time. If you are interested in what is written in the letter, you can send the mansion guards to find us. Then we will take our leave.”
“Ah…” Li Qianjin took the jade slip and nodded, “Thank you, seniors. I won’t send you off.”
Yun Xi stood up from her chair, took her junior disciple, and turned to leave the main hall. Just before leaving, she turned her head and smiled at Xiao Yunluo:
“Junior Sister Xiao, I’ll leave my brother and sister’s matter to you. When I have time later, I’ll treat you to a hotpot.”
“Ah— Senior Sister Yun, take care.”
Xiao Yunluo responded with a clasped hand, watching the two leave. She stood there blankly for a long time, thinking that she should talk to Ye Anping about this later.
What if the melodramatic plot she imagined was true—?
She— She then would become Lengxue’s older sister!
“Hmm…”
Slap!
Thinking up to this point, Xiao Yunluo slapped herself on the face with both hands, shook her head, and then looked back at Li Qianjin. Seeing that Yun Xi had sent a jade slip, she decided not to help Li Qianjin read it.
A jade slip could be read directly with spiritual sense, and various prohibitions could be attached to it to prevent eavesdropping or self-destruction after reading. It could also be stored for much longer than bamboo slips and paper, but because it was disposable, the cost was too high for regular use, so it was generally only used for formal letters or confidential messages.
“Junior Sister Li, what does the jade slip say?” Xiao Yunluo asked.
“… …”
Li Qianjin hesitated for a moment, then held the jade slip to her forehead and scanned it with her spiritual sense for a while. Her eyebrows furrowed tightly.
“…The Shadowmoon Sword Sect wants to help me.”
“Help you? Does it mean—?”
“Yes, they want to make a deal.”
After observing Li Qianjin’s expression for a while and seeing that she didn’t seem too happy, Xiao Yunluo roughly guessed the content.
What was written in the jade slip was nothing more than: the Shadowmoon Sword Sect would provide spiritual stones and manpower to help Li Qianjin manage and stabilize the Chi Dragon Mansion’s family business. However, at the same time, Li Qianjin would have to relinquish part of the management rights of the Chi Dragon Mansion and share a portion of the three spiritual stone veins owned by the Chi Dragon Mansion with the Shadowmoon Sword Sect.
At first glance, it seemed like a proposal that would greatly benefit both Li Qianjin and the Shadowmoon Sword Sect.
But in reality, it was just a trap.
The Chi Dragon Mansion in Li Qianjin’s hands was currently much weaker compared to the Shadowmoon Sword Sect. If she agreed, the Shadowmoon Sword Sect could easily play a game of boiling the frog in warm water and gradually take the Chi Dragon Mansion away from Li Qianjin. In the end, she would probably be left with a meaningless title of Mansion Lord and have no true authority.
Moreover, from what Xiao Yunluo knew about Yun Xi…
She might actually try to take the Mansion away from Li Qianjin.
After all, she had too many siblings.
If Yun Xi didn’t accomplish something outstanding, she would easily be surpassed by her siblings, and then she would be ousted from the position of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect’s Young Mistress.
After hesitating for a while, Xiao Yunluo quickly suggested, “Junior Sister Li, just refuse it. If necessary, I can ask the Profound Star Sect to help you. And I can assure you that the Profound Star Sect will never take the Chi Dragon Mansion away from you. No matter what, I stand on your side.”
Li Qianjin didn’t distrust Xiao Yunluo, but she knew that the Profound Star Sect wasn’t solely governed by Xiao Yunluo, the one whose words are considered as the laws are her mother, not Xiao Yunluo herself. To give Xiao Yunluo a way out, she shook her head slightly and interrupted, “Senior Sister Xiao, thank you for your kindness, but please let me consider this carefully.”
“Ah…” Seeing that Li Qianjin was giving her an out, Xiao Yunluo didn’t have anything else to say for the moment. “Well then, Junior Sister Li— just consider it yourself, but you can come to me for advice before making a decision.”
“Okay.”
Li Qianjin smiled and nodded, then recalled the other thing Yun Xi had mentioned earlier.
Previously, Ling’er had told her that Senior Ye had a pair of deep purple eyes.
If Senior Ye was from the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, then marrying him wouldn’t seem much different from agreeing to the requests on this jade slip.
After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “Senior Sister Xiao, was Senior Ye originally a young master of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect?”
“Well… it’s hard to say. I only know that he was the young master of the Hundred Lotus Sect, but…” Xiao Yunluo paused, pursed her lips, and shook her head, “I’ll ask him another day. After all, what Senior Sister Yun said about the secret sword technique…”
“The Hundred Lotus Sect?” Li Qianjin looked slightly puzzled and asked, “I’ve never heard of this sect.”
“It’s a third-rate small sect, very small! But the scenery is nice…”
“I see…”
Li Qianjin raised her eyebrows slightly, showing some curiosity, but she didn’t ask further. After a pause, she said, “By the way, Senior Xiao, I forgot to mention earlier, the mansion guards said yesterday that a spiritual spring appeared on the mountaintop behind the Chi Dragon Mansion. You can go soak in it at night, it’s beneficial for your meridians and cultivation.”
“Ah— a spiritual spring?” Xiao Qianjin smiled and tilted her head slightly, “Hmm, you can call Yudie, and we can go together.”
“Okay, I’ll help you finish dealing with these memorials first, and then we’ll go together tonight.”