“How strange,” Chu Ruo murmured.
“What is?”
Chu Ruo shook her head. “Your mother managed to get back up after jumping down this cliff, so we should be able to as well. But why is it that after searching for so many days, we still can’t find a way out? Did she really use her qinggong to scale these walls, or did she destroy the exit so no one else could find it?”
Nan Muxue held her tightly and replied, “These cliff walls are slick and damp. No matter how high one’s qinggong is, it would be impossible to climb them. As for other exits, we shall keep looking.” She offered a small, comforting smile to the woman beside her. “Do not worry. I am here.”
“I’m not worried. Like you said, if we can’t get out, we’ll just spend the rest of our lives here.”
“And leave your precious Miss Zhier behind?”
“My lady, I’m trying to be romantic for your sake, and this is how you repay me?”
Nan Muxue didn’t respond. Chu Ruo turned her head toward her and saw a trace of sorrow on her face. With a silent sigh, Chu Ruo reached out to cup her head. “Didn’t I say there’s no need to worry? I have you, after all.”
Chu Ruo pulled her into an embrace, resting her head on Nan Muxue’s shoulder. “Xue’er.”
Nan Muxue coaxed her gently, as she always did. “It’s alright. I’m here. I’m right here.”
“Your martial arts are almost fully restored, yet we still can’t find a way out. Are we truly to be trapped here forever?”
“You just said you didn't mind, yet it seems you never speak a word of truth.”
“Of course I’m willing to be with you, but I don’t want my Xue’er to waste her life away in a place like this.”
“Being with you is the best life I could have; how could it be a waste?” Nan Muxue leaned in to kiss her eyes. “Ruo’er, how many times must I say it? From beginning to end, I have only ever sought one thing: you.”
These words finally soothed Chu Ruo’s agitation. She responded to her lover with a flurry of soft kisses. “Then... are we still looking for an exit?”
Nan Muxue pinched her chin. “What do you think?”
“I just want to be with you. Why does everything have to be so complicated?”
“It all began with me,” Nan Muxue said softly. “Ruo’er, I’ve been thinking... giving you the Hundred Flowers Gu saved your life, but it also ruined you.”
Chu Ruo replied with a playful grin, “Exactly. So, a certain someone has to spend her whole life making it up to me.”
Nan Muxue gave a cooperative smile but continued to stroke the area around Chu Ruo’s eyes. “When you first tried to run away, I felt a sense of luck, thinking that by poisoning you, you would never be able to leave me. But from the moment things went wrong at the branch sect, when Duan Ning brought out that sachet of yours filled with antidotes... I have never hated my own decisions more. I thought I had destroyed you. It is the greatest mistake of my life. Had I known it would end like this, I would have been better off letting you leave at the very start.”
“No, don’t think like that.” Sensing the shift in her mood, Chu Ruo hugged her tighter. “Be good. I’ve never blamed you. Look, aren't I perfectly fine now? I’ve got a tough life, hehe.”
“Perhaps Bai Zhier is the one who can truly protect you.”
“Nan Muxue, I’m warning you—don’t you dare say things like that. I told you, I’m blessed with great fortune. I have the protagonist halo! Fine, don’t ask me what that is, but let me tell you: everything that happened was just a factor in bringing us together. The Hundred Flowers Gu was never important. I’m fine right now, aren't I? Right here, holding you.”
“The Hundred Flowers Gu is like everything else I have brought you: nothing but misfortune.”
“I should be the one saying that! Xue’er, you tell me not to overthink, yet you won’t listen to your own advice. Hey, you said that ancient spring water can neutralize a hundred poisons. Doesn't that mean the Hundred Flowers Gu in me can be completely...”
Nan Muxue shook her head. “A gu is not a poison. The gu insect is inside your body; it cannot be compared to a mere toxin.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I still have the antidote on me. Nan Yunshuang left it for me on purpose when she came to see me. No one but you could have come up with that idea. See? A whole pouch of it. One pill lasts a long time.”
Nan Muxue only looked at those eyes with heartache. *I have worked so hard to restore my martial arts, so why are your eyes still...* “We’ve been out for a long while. Let’s head back to the cave. I need to apply the spring water to your eyes, and we will continue searching for the exit tomorrow.”
“Let’s skip it. You’re just wasting the spring water...”
“Unless you would prefer to use the water from the Still Lake...”
“No, no, no! That’s quite unnecessary! Let’s go, let’s go. After you, wifey~”
*Ruo’er, I will definitely get you out of here.*
***
On the other side, Nan Yunshuang and her companions had been hiding and moving in shadows, carefully gathering information. After much hardship, they finally managed to reunite with Nangong Yan and the others. However, what to do next remained an unknown.
“What on earth are we supposed to do? We can’t just sit here staring at each other forever,” Duan Ning said, crossing her arms. She shot a disdainful look at Bai Shan. “Besides, some people here are just an eyesore and get in the way.”
Bai Shan, never one for a good temper, slammed the table and shouted, “Being in the same room as people from the Hundred Flowers Palace makes me want to vomit!”
“Can you two stop fighting?!” Yin Luli snapped, her head throbbing with frustration. “I know we all dislike each other, but since we’re collaborating to deal with the Palace Master, can you just give it a rest for a moment?”
“Palace Master?” Bai Shan sneered. “A nice title. Who knows if you’re really going to fight her or if you’ll just go back to acknowledge your master.”
“Enough,” Bai Zhier signaled for her sister to be quiet. “Say no more!”
Nangong Yan looked at Nan Yunshuang sitting beside her. Since they had found each other, she had learned the full truth of Yunshuang’s parentage. How could she not feel for her? “Yunshuang, what are your thoughts?”
She had never seen Nan Yunshuang like this. Her eyes were filled with decadence and aimlessness; she was rarely seen without a jar of wine. If Nangong Yan hadn't lost her temper that day and slapped her out of frustration, Yunshuang might have spiraled into total oblivion. In truth, Nangong Yan understood her pain, but she couldn't bear to see her beloved fall so low. Over the past few days, Yunshuang had finally regained a flicker of her old self, but she remained silent—a silence that was terrifying.
“Yunshuang, you have the highest martial arts here. Aside from Xue’er, you were always the best strategist. Please, say something. Do you... do you no longer want revenge?” Ideally, they would all go into seclusion and leave the martial world and the Hundred Flowers Palace behind, but how could such a deep-seated hatred ever be set aside?
“Nan Menghua,” Nan Yunshuang slowly uttered the name. Her lips trembled. “Revenge.”
“You...”
She stood up and, ignoring the impending rainstorm, rushed out of the house. Nangong Yan followed her without a second thought.
Finding Nan Yunshuang wasn't difficult. She was kneeling before the graves of her mother and Yun Ji. Dark clouds gathered overhead, punctuated by flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder. Nan Yunshuang had never looked more frightening than she did in this moment. She angrily grabbed a handful of earth. “Revenge... Mother, I will avenge you both!”
A hand rested on her shoulder. She didn't turn back, but the other person knelt beside her. No words were needed; just a simple embrace to provide the greatest warmth. “Yunshuang.”
“Yan’er,” Nan Yunshuang suddenly seemed to lose all her strength. Her entire body went limp as she murmured the name. “Yan’er...”
“Yunshuang, you are unbreakable. Since we were children, the Yunshuang I knew was never defeated by anything. No matter how much hardship she faced or how many punishments she endured, she would grit her teeth and get through it. She is strong, and she is incredible. She protected me time and time again. Yunshuang, pull yourself together, alright? No matter what you do, I will be by your side.”
Half an hour later.
Inside the house, the argument was reaching a fever pitch. Only Bai Zhier and Yin Luli were keeping the two sides from coming to blows. Xiao Guo’er and A-Yue watched from the side, anxious and helpless. Finally, Nan Yunshuang and Nangong Yan returned to the room. The Blood Sword was gripped in Yunshuang’s palm, and her eyes held nothing but steely resolve.
“To kill Nan Menghua, we must deploy our forces with absolute precision. Her martial arts are formidable; we do not have a guaranteed chance of victory.”
Bai Shan scoffed. “No kidding.”
“Luli, Ning’er, for the next few days, you will go out to scout the movements of the martial world. Also, prepare an escape route according to what I’ve written on this paper.”
“Escape?”
“Her martial arts are unfathomable. Without a certain victory, we must have a backup plan. As long as the green mountains remain, there is always wood to burn. Besides, you have no personal grudge against her; she did, after all, teach you your skills. You don't need to participate in the fight. Just focus on the extraction. As for you two,” she looked at the Bai sisters, “regarding the Heavenly Demon Palace...”
Bai Zhier waved her hand. “Don't even think about it. My foster father is an old acquaintance of hers. I don't know why they fell out, but he won't agree to kill her, let alone help us.”
Nangong Yan asked, “Then, if we secretly unite with experts from other sects, could we stand a chance against her?”
“The Heavenly Demon Palace already captured many sect experts previously, and they’ve been broken beyond use. As for those remaining, Nan Menghua currently rules the martial world with an iron fist. Those who follow her prosper; those who oppose her perish. The survivors either obey her or are too insignificant to matter. However, there is one place we can try.”
Nangong Yan thought for a moment. “Are you talking about the Sword Casting Villa?”
“Shen Ruoxuan.”
“Him? Shen Wanxiong is the one in charge of the Villa, isn't he? His Eleventh Young Master isn't exactly well-regarded.”
“Everyone has underestimated that sickly young master. Ever since they went to the Hundred Flowers Palace to propose marriage and Nan Menghua went on her killing spree, the father and son fled. Now, the majority of the Villa has fallen into Shen Ruoxuan’s hands.”
Duan Ning was surprised. “How did he manage that?”
But that wasn't the point. The internal power struggles of the Villa were irrelevant to them now. “Eliminating Nan Menghua would be purely beneficial for the Sword Casting Villa. The Hundred Flowers Palace is easy to defend but hard to attack; going up there is like walking into a tiger’s den.”
Bai Zhier understood her meaning. “You want to use the Sword Casting Villa to lure her down the mountain? That makes sense. Fighting her outside her own territory is to our advantage. Even if we fail, we can retreat safely.”
“Find that Witch Leader from the Miao Territory. You two may know poisons, but Nan Menghua is an expert in them as well. Ordinary poisons won't harm her, but the gu arts of the Miao Territory might give us a fighting chance.”
Bai Shan immediately voiced her displeasure. “Find her? And that brat Lin Jianghong?”
“I haven't even scolded you for what happened in the Miao Territory yet,” Bai Zhier said reproachfully. “I will go with you to bring them back. You will apologize to them.”
“I won’t—”
“Hmm?”
Bai Shan feared and respected no one, but she always listened to her sister. Despite her resentment, she could only mutter, “Fine.”
Nan Yunshuang spoke up. “Everyone, go and prepare.”
Nangong Yan was confused. “What about me?”
“Yan’er,” Nan Yunshuang said after the others had left. “If there comes a day when I am pitted against Xue’er... who would you help?”
“Xue’er? They’re alright?! You found—”
“My intuition tells me that she and Chu Ruo are fine. You haven't answered me.”
“What do you mean, 'who would I help'?” Nangong Yan realized the implication and immediately grew tense. “Yunshuang, what do you mean by that? Your mother’s death was the Old Palace Master’s doing. It has nothing to do with Xue’er. Are you going to move against her? Or... use her to deal with the Palace Master?”
Nan Yunshuang’s eyes held only a ruthless chill. “I want the entire Nan family to be buried with my mother.”
