northernbook Chapter 571 Please
Chapter 571 Please
That day, Pei Yun went to Jitian City alone and purchased a large amount of medicinal herbs for alchemy. When he returned to Jijian Sect, he ran into Zhen Yao, who was also alone.
Seeing that she seemed to have something to say to him, Pei Yun smiled and took the initiative to greet her: "Fellow Daoist Zhen."
Zhen Yao's hesitant expression turned firm, and she said, "Fellow Daoist Pei, I would like to ask you for a favor..."
Pei Yun raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise on his face, and the two arrived at a secluded and quiet pavilion.
Seeing that no one was around, Zhen Yao took out a treasure box from her storage ring and handed it to Pei Yun.
“This is…” Pei Yun felt that the treasure box was somewhat familiar, and vaguely guessed what Zhen Yao had asked him to do.
Sure enough, upon opening the box, one found a variety of rare spiritual herbs, including a small bottle of Immortal Jade Dew encased in transparent crystal—a top-grade spiritual liquid; three second-grade Purple Qi Immortal Herbs, radiating a soft purple light; a thousand-year-old Heavenly Longevity Flower; and a third-grade Thousand Crimson Fruit…
"The spiritual herbs in the box are my collection over the years. The purpose of coming to the Sword Debate Conference this time was to take this opportunity to give them to Fu Lingchen, but he did not accept them. So I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Pei to accept these spiritual herbs. Do not mention that they are treasures I gave you. Just find an opportunity to use them on Fu Lingchen. Of course, Fellow Daoist Pei can also take some of these spiritual herbs as my thank-you gift..." Zhen Yao said.
Pei Yun became serious and returned the treasure box: "Fellow Daoist Zhen, you are my friend, and Fu Lingchen is also my friend. Since he did not accept your things, I naturally cannot take it upon myself to accept them on his behalf. You should give them to him yourself!"
"Fellow Daoist Pei, you overheard my conversation with him outside the artificial hill that day, didn't you..."
Zhen Yao smiled bitterly. "From the moment we reunited, he kept pushing me away, not wanting anything to do with me anymore. You know what? When I found out he eloped with the demoness for revenge, I was actually overjoyed. Back then, when he abandoned me and the sect, I heard countless harsh words, but I still hoped he would tell me he had his reasons. So when he actually told me he had his reasons, I felt that all my waiting and trust in him over the years had been worthwhile. Therefore, I don't hate him; I just want to go back to the past with him..."
Pei Yun knew that the person in front of her had too much pain and grievances in her heart. She needed someone to listen to her and vent her emotions, so Pei Yun did not speak, but quietly listened.
"But what he said in the artificial hill that day truly hit me hard. Even the news of his elopement with the demoness, even the gossip from my fellow disciples, hadn't shaken me. I still held onto a sliver of hope and trust in him. But hearing him say it himself, that he had fallen in love with someone else, someone who was his enemy, I felt... all my beliefs crumbled because of it..."
Zhen Yao choked up as she spoke, her eyes red and glistening with tears. She gazed at the calm lake outside the pavilion, but her heart was far from at peace.
"...At this point, Fellow Daoist Pei might think, 'Even after Fu Lingchen treated me like this, I still thought of entrusting you to pass the elixir to him. What a fool I was, blinded by love...'" she said self-deprecatingly, though she wanted to laugh, tears silently streamed down her cheeks.
Pei Yun shook his head and silently patted her shoulder in comfort.
“I asked Fellow Daoist Pei to deliver the spiritual medicine not because I wanted anything in return, nor because I wanted him to feel guilty or regretful, or to feel indebted to me, but simply because I wanted to put an end to our relationship.”
Zhen Yao slowly recounted, "Fu Lingchen and I have known each other for a long time. When I was eleven, my older brother and sister and I went to the Xianlan Sect to take the entrance examination. Fu Lingchen was in the same batch as me, so we took the same examination. The Xianlan Sect is one of the ten major sects in Dongcang Continent. My spiritual root talent is not very good. My older brother and two older sisters are more outstanding than me. But in the end, I was the only one from the Zhen family to enter the Xianlan Sect. This was because Fu Lingchen, who was thirteen years old at the time, went with me. He almost didn't enter the sect because he was trying to help me. In the end, with his help, we both entered the sect..."
"After entering the sect, because of his spiritual root talent, he was immediately accepted as a disciple by the master, while I could only stay in the outer sect. In those years, we were always together. Whether it was attending classes, doing missions, or exploring secret realms, he would often give me the treasures he obtained to help me improve my strength. As a result, my spiritual root was able to advance, and I was eventually accepted as a disciple by the master. After we entered the Golden Core stage, our families arranged a marriage for us..."
"...So, as we've come to this point, I don't want to say who owes whom, because it's impossible to calculate. But one thing is certain: without Fu Lingchen, I wouldn't have been able to enter the Xianlan Sect, and I wouldn't have the strength I have now. So, these spiritual herbs aren't because I still yearn for him or harbor illusions; on the contrary, it's because I want to make a complete break with the past..."
Zhen Yao looked at Pei Yun with a pleading expression: "Fellow Daoist Pei, I know this will put you in a difficult position, after all, Fu Lingchen is also your friend, but as long as you don't say that I gave you the spiritual medicine, and you are an alchemist, he won't be able to guess the source of the treasure when you refine it into a pill for him. Please..."
She was about to bow to Pei Yun when Pei Yun quickly stopped her. After hesitating for a while, she finally agreed.
As night fell, in the guest courtyard where the Immortal Lan Sect was temporarily residing—
Zhu Zhi was displeased to see Zhen Yao return alone after such a long time and questioned her, "You're back so late? This is the Extreme Sword Sect, not your own sect. Besides, the matter of that evil cultivator from Zhaoyuan Mountain is still unresolved. Did you go to see Fu Lingchen again?"
Zhen Yao glanced at him expressionlessly, then returned to her room without a word and slammed the door shut.
The room was completely dark, and she didn't turn on the light. Leaning against the door, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and every time she recalled Fu Lingchen's words, "I really did have feelings for another woman, even if she was a demon," a bitter feeling would involuntarily well up in her chest and spread throughout her body.
My heart aches as if it's being cut by a knife, it really hurts!
She opened her weary eyes and, in a daze, went to the bedside in the inner room. At first, she wept silently, then clutched the soft pillow tightly with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably, as if mourning something, as if something had been lost forever...
When Pei Yun returned to the guest courtyard, it was completely dark. However, several lamps were lit in the courtyard, so it didn't feel dim. In addition, the Yunshan Sect members were gathered in the courtyard, chatting happily, which added to the warm atmosphere.
Pei Yun glanced at Fu Lingchen subconsciously, then casually joined the chat.
No one else noticed, but Luo Rufeng did. So when they were alone in the room, Luo Rufeng asked, "What happened to Fu Lingchen?"
Without hesitation, Pei Yun recounted to Luo Rufeng what Zhen Yao had asked her to do during the day. She scratched her head with a troubled expression: "...This is really difficult to handle. If Fu Lingchen finds out in the future that I secretly accepted Fellow Daoist Zhen's elixir, sigh..."
"So you shouldn't have agreed to Zhen Yao's request." Seeing her frowning and looking troubled, Luo Rufeng smiled, turned his head to hug the person beside him, tilted his head slightly, and kissed her brow affectionately.
"...But I really sympathize with Fellow Daoist Zhen. She is the most innocent victim in this whole affair. She did nothing wrong from beginning to end. First, she was inexplicably abandoned by her fiancé, and then he said he had no choice but to do it for revenge, which gave her hope. But then Fu Lingchen confessed to her that he had fallen in love with someone else, and that person was his enemy. This is just too cruel for Fellow Daoist Zhen..."
"Since that's the case, then you should help Fellow Daoist Zhen fulfill her wish..."
"But Fu Lingchen is right about one thing: Zhu Zhi is truly not a good person. That day in the council hall of the Extreme Sword Sect, he repeatedly tried to sow discord between us, the Immortal Wave Sect, and the Extreme Sword Sect. He is insidious and vicious..."
Pei Yun lay in Luo Rufeng's arms, saying worriedly, "Actually, when Fellow Daoist Zhen confided in me today, I could tell that she still had some feelings for Fu Lingchen. And now, the only one who can persuade her is Fu Lingchen. Besides, you saw the way Fu Lingchen looked. If he really didn't care, he wouldn't have regretted it after distancing himself..."
"So you're hesitating about whether to tell Fu Lingchen about Fellow Daoist Zhen's secret request?" Luo Rufeng immediately guessed Pei Yun's thoughts. "That might make Fu Lingchen decide to reconcile with Fellow Daoist Zhen..."
"I have no intention of matchmaking them up. A woman as outstanding as Fellow Daoist Zhen deserves someone better, or she could cultivate and ascend alone. Why does she have to get married? She doesn't need to rely on a man. Whether she gets back together with Fu Lingchen is up to her. I'm just worried that she might marry someone like Zhu Zhi out of spite because she's heartbroken..."
Seeing how much she was worried, Luo Rufeng shook his head and teased her with a smile, "You really worry about them so much. If they get back together in the future, they should invite you to sit at the head table at their wedding banquet."
"Luo Rufeng!"
Upon hearing this, Pei Yun straightened up, patted his chest in annoyance, and tried to break free from his embrace, but he pulled her back into his arms.
"It's getting late, let's rest early and stop thinking about other people..." Luo Rufeng said, pulling his fragrant and soft wife to lie down on the bed together.
With a wave of his hand, the illuminating beads not far away dimmed...