News of Jianshi enlisting the help of Black Scales Palace spread like wildfire, but the people who would normally berate such an action remained silent. It was less because they approved of these actions, but more because these blabbermouths were no longer around. Jianshi enlisting Black Scales Palace’s help was nothing compared to the mass massacre that was happening in Xianping.
Naturally, this news had yet to drift to Jianshi, but it had long touched Yu Liulan’s web.
Li Ran—or should she be called Rong Meihua—seemed to have snapped into a frenzy one night. Her true appearance was revealed and without any hesitation, she killed everyone in Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect. The once unstained, immortal-like abode was soaked in blood. The crimson liquid pooled at the ends of stairs, ruining paintings that had been around for thousands of years. And, in the darkness of the night, these corpses rose again to become puppets.
The puppets then left and scoured Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect’s neighbors. In a matter of a few weeks (the same time it took for Wu Lingtian and the others to regroup) nearly fifty small sects had been annihilated by Rong Meihua’s hand.
At the beginning, no one knew what had happened. Suddenly, horrified people fled to other territories, requesting those sects to protect them and save them from the new devil king. Unfortunately, those that went to do just that never returned. If they did return, they wouldn’t be quite right.
After hearing of this news, Yu Liulan quickly contacted Situ An. Those that could run ran and evacuated the cities.
Following the evacuation, there were about three days of dead silence.
And then, a dark cloud appeared over Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect.
“She must have suffered backlash,” Wu Lingtian said, his brows furrowing. He turned to Fan Yi and the others. “If she breaks out of this, we won’t be able to take her on, especially with the number of souls and spiritual energy she has been consuming the past three weeks.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Ren Yizhou said. “She overate and then she dies without us doing anything.”
“How anticlimactic would that be?” Tian Xiewen chided. “Imagine reading this in the history books later and it just says ‘Rong Meihua dies from overeating’. She has to at least last for us to get a few stabs in.”
“Can you two not make jokes at a time like this?” Fan Yi lightly scolded.
“Are we wrong though?” Tian Xiewen shrugged.
“The best case scenario would be that she quietly dies on her own. If she did Qi deviate but she survives, we really will have a devil on our hands,” Zhong Renyi said tiredly.
“What do you think?” Situ Hong turned to Wu Lingtian. “Do you think she can make it?”
There was silence in the meeting room. Eventually, Wu Lingtian shook his head.
“She won’t make it.”
Zhou Ying’an’s eyes widened. “What…why?”
“She’s been unstable for many years now. She was always haunted by something. When she disguised herself as Da-shixiong, I already saw parts of her slipping through the cracks,” Wu Lingtian said, a mirthless smirk on his face. His fingers lightly tapped against the table. “If we provoke her a little more, we really won’t have to lift a sword.”
“But how would we provoke her?” Situ An asked cautiously.
“…It’s easy,” Wu Lingtian said, his gaze cold. “When she was disguised as Li Ran, she’d lapse between two personalities. If my hypothesis is correct, then that means the cause of her heart demons this time around is Da-shixiong.”
“You’re saying she feels guilt for killing him?” Zhou Ying’an asked, her gaze darkening.
“Something like that,” Wu Lingtian said.
“So, what is your plan?”
“I’ll sneak into Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect disguised as Li Ran,” Wu Lingtian said.
“No.”
“You cannot.”
The two rejections came at the same time. Fan Yi and Zhou Ying’an glanced at each other.
“No one knows the appearance shifting spell better than me. If Shijie goes, she’ll be found out,” Wu Lingtian reasoned. “I’m the only one who can deceive her.”
“Still, you shouldn’t. We’ll think of another plan,” Fan Yi said, standing from the table.
Wu Lingtian stood as well. “I understand your concern, but what you think will happen won’t occur.”
“How can you be so sure?” Fan Yi asked. He looked at Wu Lingtian. “This is all guessing. We don’t have any concrete evidence for any of these assumptions you’re throwing out.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Wu Lingtian’s gaze flickered beside them at the full table and then back to Fan Yi. He cleared his throat, took Fan Yi’s arm and awkwardly nodded to the others. “I—we’ll be back.”
Fan Yi followed Wu Lingtian out until they were a respectable distance before he pulled his arm away. “You didn’t discuss this with me.”
“Any other plan would be stupid,” Wu Lingtian said.
“There are a billion routes to take in this world, but the one you choose is the one that puts you directly in danger?”
“So, what? Am I supposed to put you in danger? Put the others in danger?” Wu Lingtian asked.
“You—” Fan Yi glared at Wu Lingtian. This was the first time he had been so angry with this man.
“If things go awry, everyone in there will die,” Wu Lingtian said. “If we go with my plan, only I will die. Then you can all regroup and try again.”
“This isn’t the time for trial and error,” Fan Yi snapped. “You—how long have you been thinking about this?!”
“…Yishan, I’m not planning on dying,” Wu Lingtian said softly. “I’ll succeed and I’ll come back and we can go home.”
Fan Yi stared at Wu Lingtian blankly.
The past few days have felt like a blur. Fan Yi, himself, was in and out of consciousness. During their travels, he even almost fell ill. He hadn’t had time to worry about Wu Lingtian like he usually did. They had been here for a few days already. He must have heard the news ahead of time. How long had Wu Lingtian been brewing this plan without discussing it with him?
“Yishan?”
“…I don’t like you right now,” Fan Yi said sharply.
Despite Fan Yi’s expectations, Wu Lingtian smiled. “But you still don’t want to say harsh words.”
“If you die, I’m going with you,” Fan Yi said simply. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Before, you asked if you could come with me if I left this earth. I said yes. So, you have to offer me the same courtesy.”
Wu Lingtian’s smile only grew. He hugged Fan Yi tightly and hummed. “Follow me then. But I won’t be leaving any time soon.”
Fan Yi remained limply in Wu Lingtian’s warm embrace. He still felt unwilling. It felt stupid and so out of character to throw a tantrum, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want Wu Lingtian to see that woman again. He knew that whatever logic he could come up with would be refuted by Wu Lingtian. He didn’t know what else he could say.
“You’re leaving me to be cold,” Fan Yi mumbled weakly. “What am I supposed to do at night now?”
“I’ll be quick,” Wu Lingtian said, somewhat giddily. He squeezed Fan Yi as he burrowed his head against Fan Yi’s neck. “Maybe I should risk my life more often.”
“What are you saying!?”
“It’s rare to see you so cute and clingy,” Wu Lingtian explained. The urgency of the situation was obviously not felt. Instead, Wu Lingtian sounded quite happy. “You know, I’ve always dreamed about this version of you.”
Fan Yi felt as if his head was about to explode. “Wu Lingtian!”
“I’ll be fine,” Wu Lingtian said coaxingly. “Think about this as my final journey. After this, I’ll retire. I won’t care about the cultivation world anymore. All I’ll worry about is taking care of Screeching Sparrow Sect and the disciples. I’ll stay by your side and in the winter, I’ll become your personal heater. This is the last dangerous thing that I will do. I promise.”
Fan Yi pursed his lips. His hands came up and squeezed Wu Lingtian back. “Alright.”
Fan Yi felt a faint kiss press itself against his cheek. He watched Wu Lingtian pull back and took in his smiling visage silently. He really didn’t want to let go.
Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect was no longer what it had once been. Wu Lingtian had long known this, but seeing it with his own eyes was another issue. The previously roll green hills, pristine stone steps, and stark white buildings had not been reduced to blood-stained rubble. There were a few buildings still left standing—surprisingly, Tong Yuan Hall was one of them.
Wu Lingtian paused in front of the building for a moment. He originally had no intention of entering, but he felt a faint presence. His feet carried him in to the back courtyards.
He stared blankly at the scene in front of him.
Unlike outside, everything was just as it had been.
The branches of the magnolia tree swayed. Pink petals peered out from the white snow. If Wu Lingtian really forced himself, he could imagine a time when he called Tong Yuan Hall his home. When he returned to this tree, after long torturous nights. When he would wander into this courtyard, during the days where it was too difficult to sleep. But those days had long passed and absolutely nothing could bring him back.
Wu Lingtian turned and left the residence. He wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go, but his feet instinctively carried him to Li Ran’s residence.
As the three direct disciples of Rong Meihua, Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect’s Sect Master, they had each been given their own residences once they became of age. Li Ran had inherited Rong Meihua’s old residence—the one she had used when she had been a disciple under the previous sect master.
It was close to Tong Yuan Hall, but it had been a long time since Wu Lingtian had been there.
Once the Gu took place in his soul, he began to distance himself from everyone. His chest ached as he thought about Li Ran’s hand, that always lingered in the air whenever Wu Lingtian rejected any contact with him. His lips pursed tightly as he forced himself to walk faster.
Any good memories he held onto of Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect in his time as an amnesiac had disappeared. He felt gross here. Humidity and the scent of blood clung to him unpleasantly. All he wanted was to get out of here and never return. Everyone that had mattered in this sect was now dead. There was only one person left.
Wu Lingtian slowed as he stopped in front of Li Ran’s old residence. The demonic energy was thickest here. It was evident that this was where Rong Meihua had taken up her residence.
He knew he should walk in—boldly, so as not to rouse Rong Meihua’s suspicions—but he still hesitated.
It wasn’t fear that was holding him back. It was his own sadness and guilt.
After steadying his breath a moment longer, he stepped past the doors. He traversed past the courtyards and followed the thickening demonic energy.
The trail led Wu Lingtian to Li Ran’s room. The thought of Rong Meihua using this room as her meditation space unsettled Wu Lingtian. His brows furrowed deeply, but he pushed aside the anger roiling in his stomach. He stretched out his hand. Just as he was about to push the door open, the wooden frame was jerked away from him and, in front of him, was a disheveled woman.
The woman had aged significantly from the last time Wu Lingtian saw her. There were streaks of white in her hair and her youthful complexion sagged slightly and was now littered with wrinkles. Wu Lingtian stepped back in shock. The hatred and fear he felt for Rong Meihua staggered for a brief moment. How had the beautiful and powerful woman fallen to this point?
“Li…Li Ran?”
Wu Lingtian remained silent as he slowly recovered from his shock. Rong Meihua’s hands were trembling slightly as they came up to his face. Her eyes began to water. Her lower lip trembled.
“Is it really you…?”
It was already too late. There was nothing else Wu Lingtian needed to do now yet, he found himself nodding. Rong Meihua’s face lit up, bringing back a semblance of youth, as she eagerly pulled him into the room.
“You’ve been away for so long that your room was starting to collect dust, so I decided to clean it for you,” Rong Meihua said, her cold hand tightly gripping Wu Lingtian’s. “I’ve never cleaned before, so I’m not sure if I did a good job.”
Wu Lingtian watched her turn around.
“Is it clean enough?”
He found himself looking around the room. There were trails of blood, obviously from Rong Meihua’s last explosion. Bloodied handprints stained tables and cabinets but had been hastily wiped away. Every surface had been meticulously dusted. There was an overly strong smell of soap, that clung to the air and the well-washed covers. His eyes darted over Rong Meihua’s rolled up sleeves and trailed over to the water bucket and wet towel that hung off the side of it.
A lump formed in his throat.
“I know you don’t like blood. It was an accident,” Rong Meihua said. “I’ll try to clean it up. I just hadn’t expected you to…come back…come back so soon.”
“It’s clean enough.”
“Huh?”
“It’s clean enough,” Wu Lingtian reiterated. His eyes focused on the neatly folded clothes in Li Ran’s closet. “It’s just how I would do it.”
“You don’t mind the blood stains?”
“We can worry about it later,” Wu Lingtian heard himself say.
Rong Meihua’s smile widened. She took his hand again. The way she held him was gentle, unlike how she would normally treat Wu Lingtian. “A-Ran, you were always the most understanding.”
“…Was I?”
“Mn! When those other two made me want to yank my hair out, it was you who would comfort me,” Rong Meihua said with a soft smile. Her smile slowly faded. “Since you’ve been gone, nothing’s been the same.”
“Do you regret it?” Wu Lingtian asked, his voice barely audible.
Luckily, although Rong Meihua’s cultivation was as good as gone, she still had the foundation of a cultivator. Despite Wu Lingtian’s soft voice, she still caught every word.
“Regret?” Rong Meihua asked, her eyes glazing over. She looked up at Wu Lingtian. “I miss you.”
Wu Lingtian felt his heart seize. “…But did you regret anything?”
“Regret…the thing I regretted the most…was telling you everything,” Rong Meihua said, her knees weakening.
Wu Lingtian watched her collapse to the floor, broken sobs wracking through her brittle body.
“If I hadn’t told you everything, you wouldn’t have volunteered to help me. You were such a good boy,” Rong Meihua sobbed. “You were so good, so why did I—why did I…?”
“Right. Why did you?” Wu Lingtian echoed.
“Why did you decide to help me?” Rong Meihua shouted, her reddened eyes landing on Wu Lingtian.
“…Did you not know?”
“Know what?”
“How much he…how much I loved you.”
Rong Meihua’s cries stopped short, like a cork forcibly shoved back into a bottle. She stared at him blankly. In the blink of an eye, she seemed to have aged another twenty years. Her hands trembled as she gingerly latched onto his skirt.
“…Loved…?”
“…I loved you so much,” Wu Lingtian said, his voice trembling despite himself. “So much that I would rather hurt myself than you. I would rather die by your hands than turn you in. You say I’m good, but it turns out I wasn’t good enough to defeat this emotion called love. Even though I knew who you were and what you were doing, I still wanted to love you. Silly, isn’t it?”
Wu Lingtian felt the hand on his skirt tighten.
“You…A-Ran, you loved me?”
“So much. So much that I never wanted to tell you. I didn’t want you to shun me. And I never even told you in the end, because I didn’t want you to feel guilty,” Wu Lingtian said.
For a long time, before Wu Lingtian’s amnesia and after he recovered, he thought that such a thought had been hopelessly naïve. Guilt? Could Rong Meihua even feel such an emotion? Maybe when her shizun died—maybe around that time—she could still feel those things. But now? A woman who slaughtered thousands wouldn’t feel guilt over killing someone who had a silly little crush on her. She was cruel, cold, and heartless.
Wu Lingtian watched her cry at his feet for a long time. Eventually, he closed his eyes, in hopes that the lump in his throat and the sourness in his nose and around his eyes would go away. He listened to her weakening cries until they were no more. He listened to a soft apology, directed to a person who no longer existed in this universe, and opened his eyes just to watch the remains of a powerful woman fade to dust.
In the flecks below his feet, he found a few golden shards. The shards trembled and shifted, soon forming in front of Wu Lingtian’s eyes. It could not make a distinct human form, but Wu Lingtian knew who it was. The golden light shimmered in front of Wu Lingtian, wrapped itself around him, and then disappeared completely.
For a while, Wu Lingtian just stood there silently. His hands were limp at his sides. His eyes stung as he slowly sat down.
In this entire sect, there was only him. The demonic energy, although lingering, had faded tremendously. He should get up now and purify the rest of the mountain.
He should get up now.
He should get up.
He should get up, but when he tried to push himself from the ground, he weakly sat back down. He couldn’t muster any strength into his legs. His eyes drifted over the familiar room and then to the heap of clothing on the floor.
A small droplet hit the back of his hand. Wu Lingtian looked down in confusion, and then tilted his head up. There was nothing leaking from the ceiling. And it wasn’t even raining. He looked down again and watched as another droplet stained his pants.
He blinked several times as his vision blurred. He reached up, brushed under his eye with the back of his finger.
The lump in his throat grew bigger. His chest ached as he let out a soft whimper. The soft whimper evolved into a choked sob, which turned into a painful shout. His shoulders began to shake, but he couldn’t control it. All he could do was hug himself as his body folded until his forehead touched the ground.
In a familiar room, on an isolated mountain, Wu Lingtian cried boldly and loudly for the first time in his life.
And no one was there to hear it.
A/N: well! that concludes the main story for Yu Lan. Up next are the extras, going into some character’s backstories, as well as their future. Thank you to everyone who has been sticking around. I will be sure to write a proper send off once the extras are over!!
Wow it’s almost like Li Ran destroyed her! I think maybe the Wu Lingtian right now is one Fan Yi didn’t want happening without him there to help, almost as much as he worried about Wu Lingtian’s physical safety. So glad Xiu Lan got out when she did.
Wow author you really know where to stab to make it hurt more
CRYING DURING MY LUNCH BREAK!!!!!!
gods;;; Wu Lingtian;;;;;;; ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
its not easy when it ends;;;;;;
pat pat ;v;
I’ve had a guess about her since the riddle came up but I wasn’t sure. For her to be so cruel and yet at the end being able to express regret and grief makes her character even more interesting. I really like how it ended. Not with winning against her in a battle but with this beautiful scene. I loved how Lingtian finally got some closure. I cried together with him.
Thank you so much for writing this novel. I enjoyed all of it. The characters. The plot. The romance.