This situation was indeed quite strange. After the three of them carried the unconscious Yue Yao back to her room, Xie Liufeng followed Fang Yan to question Mu Zeqing.

Although from Mu Zeqing’s behavior, it seemed highly unlikely that he knew what was really going on, they still needed to ask him where he had heard about the Beiyue Sword Sect having such an item.

Chu Xinghui was assigned to stay behind and guard Yue Yao for the time being.

Yue Yao remained unconscious for a full hour.

The sky outside had already begun to darken.

Chu Xinghui moved a chair and sat at a distance, watching her condition. Feeling that the room’s light was a bit dim, he stood up and casually lit a lamp.

Yue Yao slowly opened her eyes and, after a moment of adjustment, finally regained her senses. She greeted Chu Xinghui: “Cultivator Chu.”

The strange and bright red mark on her neck had completely disappeared.

Yue Yao touched her neck, which still felt slightly burnt, and asked Chu Xinghui: “What was that feather from earlier?”

Chu Xinghui tested the waters: “Crimson Crane Feather.”

Yue Yao looked confused: “Crimson Crane Feather?”

What kind of strange thing was that?

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and simply explained: “It’s a feather from a crane-like spirit beast with red feathers, called a Dan Yu bird.”

When she heard the words “Dan Yu bird,” Yue Yao finally understood.

She closed her eyes briefly, lost in thought.

After a moment, Yue Yao opened her eyes again. She still looked weak, and she got straight to the point: “You must have found my martial uncle by now, right? Please, ask him to come over. Given the circumstances, I believe he should be willing to do some penance.”

Senior Brother Zheng hadn’t left the vicinity of Bihai Taohua Island, so Chu Xinghui wasn’t surprised that Yue Yao knew this.

But… hearing her words, Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but furrow his brows: “Why did Senior Zheng leave Bihai Taohua Island?”

Yue Yao lay on the bed, thinking for a moment: “Let me think… Based on the current situation, whether he suddenly disappeared or was expelled from the sect, it seems like it must be related to my master, doesn’t it?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t respond.

It was indeed a possibility.

“You guessed wrong,” Yue Yao chuckled lightly: “Although my master isn’t the most humane person, my martial uncle’s situation isn’t her doing. My martial uncle couldn’t take over Bihai Taohua Island, and even later was expelled from it, because he did something wrong… something irreversible that led to the death of our ancestor and caused countless casualties among the disciples.”

Chu Xinghui stared at her: “I remember, Senior Zheng leaving Bihai Taohua Island was related to the celestial secrets your master uncovered.”

Yue Yao nodded: “Exactly… this is actually all part of the same matter. You just told me that I touched the Dan Yu bird’s feathers. After coming into contact with these feathers, the sacrificial mark left on me by my master appeared again—although, indeed, there was a time on Bihai Taohua Island when this kind of thing was popular, but nowadays, nothing related to the Dan Yu bird has been seen on the island for a long time. My master didn’t have the habit of using this kind of thing.”

She sneered lightly: “But my martial uncle’s personal magic weapon… when it was crafted, it used this bird’s feathers. I never thought that after he left the sect, he would still have ties to my master.”

Yue Yao’s face was pale with illness as she stared at Chu Xinghui: “Since we’re at this point, let’s be honest with each other, Cultivator Chu. From what I’ve gathered, the celestial secret my master uncovered back then was related to the Ascension Path of this world. Before Sword Master slayed the gods, the fate of this world had been stolen for a long time, and for a long time, no one ascended. My martial uncle didn’t know about fate and thought it was the Ascension Path that was broken, so he made some wrong decisions… I don’t know exactly what he did back then, and even my master might not fully know. In short, after the event, to make amends for the consequences, my ancestor and some disciples sacrificed themselves to the heavens, and my martial uncle severed all ties with the sect.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Xinghui fell silent.

Regardless of the two successors’ issues, the outside world had always believed that Yue Yao’s ancestor had retired in a normal manner, unaware of the tragic events hidden behind it.

Yue Yao didn’t speak again.

The room fell into a long, heavy silence.

Suddenly, Yue Yao laughed and teased: “Ah, Cultivator Chu, do you think we joined the wrong sect? Ever since these troublesome matters arose, I’ve been living here in your Beiyue Sword Sect, and yet you’ve heard all the secrets of Bihai Taohua Island. Once this is over… how about you come back to the island with me, Cultivator Chu?”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He politely declined: “No need, Cultivator Yue. You should focus on recovering.”

Aside from the secrets, the two of them didn’t have much to discuss. Seeing that Yue Yao’s condition had stabilized, Chu Xinghui didn’t linger. He quickly took his leave and arranged for two fellow disciples to “guard” her.

*

Xie Liufeng was still occupied, but Chu Xinghui had already informed him and Fang Yan of Yue Yao’s situation. He then planned to head back to Qingjing Peak alone.

Halfway there, Chu Xinghui suddenly realized that he still had some free time today.

So he changed direction and went to the direction of the sect’s prison to meet his partner.

Chu Xinghui waited for about two quarters of an hour outside, before finally seeing Xie Liufeng walk out.

Seeing him approach, Xie Liufeng immediately abandoned Fang Yan and walked over quickly, surprised: “Didn’t I tell you to head back first? What brings you here?”

Fang Yan, noticing the two of them, very sensibly decided to head home on his own.

Such a wise and composed person naturally didn’t need anyone to pick him up—he could always find his way back home.

Xie Liufeng casually took Chu Xinghui’s hand. Feeling that it was a little cold, he held it in his own to warm it up.

Although Chu Xinghui, as a Golden Core cultivator, didn’t feel cold, he glanced at their hands and, without hesitation, placed his other hand into Xie Liufeng’s as well.

Xie Liufeng then held both of his hands together.

“Passing by,” Chu Xinghui thought for a moment, then added: “So I’m just passing by.”

Xie Liufeng nodded: “Oh, running from the east to the west, passing by.”

Chu Xinghui looked at him, not quite satisfied: “Is that not okay?”

Xie Liufeng couldn’t help but laugh: “Alright, you can pass by.”

He thought for a moment and said: “Next time, when you go out, I’ll also go pass by you.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t speak, but leaned closer to him.

The two walked side by side towards Qingjing Peak.

Chu Xinghui asked Xie Liufeng: “How is the situation with Mu Zeqing?”

Xie Liufeng slowly explained the results of today’s interrogation: “Do you remember the transaction between Mu Chengjin and Cultivator Biyun before?”

Chu Xinghui naturally remembered: “The cultivation method?”

Xie Liufeng nodded: “Cultivator Biyun told Mu Chengjin that the blood sacrifice was to deal with you, and later dragging it out and not delivering was probably to trick Mu Chengjin into continuing the sacrifice of his son. That cultivation method itself was probably prepared by Cultivator Biyun long ago.”

Chu Xinghui recalled the abnormality in Mu Zeqing’s condition and roughly guessed: “So… after Cultivator Biyun and Mu Chengjin both got into trouble, Mu Zeqing got the method and started cultivating it?”

Xie Liufeng responded with an “mm”: “That’s more or less it.”

He frowned a bit: “Mu Zeqing directly handed over the cultivation method. I took a look, and it was a modified version of the Xie family’s cultivation method. This version doesn’t sacrifice people’s luck anymore, and it does reach the original cultivation speed, but after practicing it… without a doubt, he’ll turn into a monster who loses his body, just like Cultivator Biyun, and then be consumed by Cultivator Biyun as a source of power. It’s also because of this cultivation method that he wasn’t detected by the sect’s great formation.”

This method was most likely something Cultivator Biyun got from Xie Huai.

The Xie family’s cultivation method, although not a good one, did belong to the upper realm. In a way, Cultivator Biyun was quite talented in modifying cultivation methods.

These people together could really be said to be a perfect match—fraudsters meeting fools, experts in their respective fields.

Chu Xinghui continued asking: “Then, what’s with the Crimson Crane Feather?”

Xie Liufeng said: “After Mu Zeqing began cultivating the method, he noticed something wrong with his body. He remembered that when he had eavesdropped on Mu Chengjin talking with others about the method, there had been mention of ‘Crimson Crane Feather,’ and it was said to be stored in the Beiyue Sword Sect. Feeling desperate, he thought that this thing might solve his problem, so he somehow sneaked into the sect.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t care about Mu Zeqing’s turbulent past. What caught his attention was something else.

He had tested Yue Yao.

Yue Yao didn’t know the name “Chi Heyu,” which meant that the name was probably just something casually given by the predecessors who had stored it, only circulating within the Beiyue Sword Sect.

That meant… this could very well mean that someone in the sect was still involved with Cultivator Biyun.

This was not good news.

Xie Liufeng concluded: “Anyway, after finding out about Cultivator Biyun and Mu Cheng’s current situation, he put the blame for everything on those two, saying he was tricked by them and knew nothing about his sister’s death or their transaction.”

He thought for a moment and added: “Oh, by the way, to increase his credibility, he also revealed the fact that Qin Suyun is actually Qin Yuwen.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

Everyone sells out Qin Suyun, and yet Qin Suyun is the easiest to sell.

Mu Zeqing wasn’t a hard nut to crack. After being interrogated, the likelihood of him lying was low.

But the unfortunate thing was that he knew very little about most things, so not much information could be squeezed out of him.

Xie Liufeng then reported to Chu Xinghui his next plans: “I’ve already told the Sect Leader. Tomorrow, I’m heading to Yongning City.”

Chu Xinghui immediately became alert and looked at him: “You’re leaving?”

Xie Liufeng smiled: “It’s because of the message you sent, right? Since the sect’s guest requested it, I have to go and bring Senior Brother Zheng over.”

Senior Zheng was from his generation, and no one knew how much strength he had left. Since this matter involved him and was related to the Ascension Path, just to be safe, it was better for Xie Liufeng to go in person.

Chu Xinghui nodded and said: “Oh.”

He was a very mature person and wouldn’t let personal emotions interfere with important matters.

Seeing that Chu Xinghui seemed uninterested, Xie Liufeng chuckled and promised: “I’ll make sure to come back early.”

Chu Xinghui said: “…I didn’t say I wanted you to come back early.”

Xie Liufeng poked his cheek: “If I don’t come back early, who are you marrying next month?”

While speaking, they had already reached the door.

Chu Xinghui didn’t want to say anything, simply saying: “I’m going back to my room.”

Xie Liufeng noticed it was getting late, so he released his hand and stopped teasing him: “Alright, alright.”

Chu Xinghui took a few steps out and then turned back to look at him.

Xie Liufeng pretended not to know anything and asked: “What do you want?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t answer.

Xie Liufeng walked up to him and, as usual, hugged him.

Chu Xinghui obediently let him hug.

After they separated, Chu Xinghui didn’t move and continued to look at him.

Xie Liufeng’s eyes curved into a smile: “What else do you want?”

Chu Xinghui hinted: “We’re partners now.”

Xie Liufeng’s eyes nearly overflowed with amusement and continued to tease him: “Yeah, we’re partners now. So what should partners do?”

Chu Xinghui said directly: “Kiss me.”

Xie Liufeng lowered his head and gently kissed his cheek.

After the kiss, just as Xie Liufeng was about to pull away, he was grabbed by Chu Xinghui.

Chu Xinghui tightly embraced him, then lifted his head and kissed his lips.

The two exchanged a long kiss.

Afterward, Chu Xinghui, satisfied, went back to his room.

 

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