Co-TL by Namizaki; Edited by Elanor
In the Moon View pavilion, Qi Ran put down his empty bowl and said gratefully, “Thank you Miss Liu for coming to bring me soup, even though the weather is so cold.
“You’re welcome. Actually, I had wanted to come look around too.” Liu Qianxian observed his expression and said, “Don’t be too upset about Ah Cheng. When we get down the mountain, we’ll find a good place to bury him and let him rest in peace.”
However, Qi Ran asked, “Can we still get off the mountain?”
“Why not?” Liu Qianxian held his sleeve. “Don’t think so negatively and scare me.”
“Although I’m not familiar with Yue Zhihua, from what I heard from Brother Jin, his Martial Arts is mediocre, he could not have been Ah Cheng’s attacker.” Qi Ran looked at her and his lips trembled. “On the night that Ah Cheng died, the poison in Sect Master Yun had coincidentally flared up and caused him to sustain injuries, those metal claws were also found by him, could all of these be really considered a coincidence?”
Liu Qianxian turned pale. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “Are you suspecting that Sect Master Yun is the perpetrator? But…… Young Swordsman Ji said that he was treating his injuries, was that fake too?”
Qi Ran shook his head: “I don’t know, but what if Sect Master Yun had also hidden the truth from Young Swordsman Ji? Maybe he thought that Ah Cheng’s martial arts was very weak and when he attempted the assassination, Ah Cheng retaliated, that’s how he got injured.”
Liu Qianxian still didn’t believe that theory, “Why would Sect Master Yun kill Ah Cheng? They bore no grudges against each other and didn’t even know each other before this. Also, if Sect Master Yun was the one who killed him, then where did Yue Zhihua go, he couldn’t have been killed off along with Ah Cheng right?”
Qi Ran asked, “Then, what does the conspirer want to do by trapping all of us here? If we knew the truth behind everything, then we wouldn’t be here doubting one another.”
Liu Qianxian was not able to retort back, at that moment her mind became a mess, and she could only say, “Then I’ll think about it. But I still believe in Sect Master Yun. I’d rather believe in ghosts rather than suspect him, do you understand?”
Qi Ran forced out a smile, “I understand, Miss Liu holds strong feelings for Sect Master Yun, anyone can see it. However, I also believe you, that’s why I told you about the thoughts hidden in my heart, I hope that you will not tell anyone else about this.”
“En. I won’t tell others.” Liu Qianxian packed up the food box, “Then please rest well, I will come by tomorrow to bring you medicine.”
Qi Ran held up an umbrella and personally escorted her out of the Moon View pavilion.
The darkness soon swallowed up the scarlet figure.
Liu Qianxian placed the food box back into the kitchen and hesitated, in the end, she still went to the Drifting Pavilion.
Ji Yanran was in the hall alone drinking tea, seeing her come in, he lifted a finger and gestured for her to be quiet, “ Sect Master Yun is currently in the room tending to his injuries.”
“Are his injuries serious?” Liu Qianxian grabbed a chair.
Ji Yanran bitterly replied, “It is quite serious, he won’t be out within two shichen.”
Under normal circumstances, once Liu Qianxian heard of this fake “two or three shichen” , she would either slam the table and leave unwillingly, or she would argue with Ji Yanran. However, a murder had just occured, no one had the heart to fight or play around. She picked up the tea cup and placed it down again, rubbing her thumb against the gilded edges, as if she wanted to create a hole in that area.
Ji Yanran took the hint, “Is there something you need from me?”
“Of course, I’m very afraid… afraid of the bad people, and even more afraid of ghosts.” Liu Qianxian placed down the cup, “Let me ask you something, do not lie to me, just tell me the truth.”
Ji Yanran agreed, “Sure.”
Liu Qianxian asked, “On the night two days ago, what time did Sect Master Yun’s poison flare up?”
“What time?” He did not expect her to ask this, Ji Yanran thought for a moment before answering, “It should be after eleven. I heard some movements next door, so I went over to see.”
“After eleven.” Liu Qianxian bit her lips, then that meant, the two of them weren’t together before eleven?
Ji Yanran waved his hands in front of her face, “ What are you thinking about?”
“It’s nothing, I’m just, just……” Liu Qianxian couldn’t wrap her head around the situation and couldn’t think of what to say and whether she could say it. In the end, she stood up frustrated and annoyed, “Nevermind, I’m going back.”
She ran very fast and disappeared as soon as she said that. It seemed that she was afraid that she would be held for questioning if she ran a second later.
Ji Yanran shook his head and poured himself a cup of jasmine tea.
Yun Yifeng stood at the door of the inner chamber, “Your Highness, it can’t be that you still can’t see her intentions?”
“She suspects you.” Ji Yanran spoke up, “Or, she suspects the both of us, but finds you more suspicious.”
“We are also suspecting her, everyone is suspecting each other, no one is waiting passively.” Yun Yifeng sat at the table, “Perhaps this is also one of the intentions of the mastermind, making us suspect each other and causing us to become divided.”
Ji Yanran sighed, “Why aren’t you ever willing to wear your clothes properly?”
Yun Yifeng held on to the thin fabric covering his body, “Then, what does Your Highness think this is?”
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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Tec Tlofcu qeiifv ja atf mbiijg, “Ktf tfja lr wjxlcu wf offi nfgs gfraifrr, lo cba obg Tbeg Llutcfrr, P kbeiv’nf atgbkc atf ygjhlfg vbkc atf kfii.”
“Well then, thank you for that.” Ji Yanran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and loosened his grip, “Come over here, the breeze is blowing in from here.”
Yun Yifeng considered it for a brief moment, between his ailment and listening to his reasoning, the latter was still the better option, so he cooperated and moved his chair closer.
Ji Yanran spoke again, “After going to the Moon View pavilion and immediately coming over to ask what time your poison flared up, did Qi Ran tell her something?”
“If you put yourself in Qi Ran’s shoes, he isn’t to blame.” Yun Yifeng said, “It was my fault for staining the bed with blood on the night of the servant’s death, and also coincidentally finding the hidden murder weapon, additionally Yue Zhihua’s unexplained disappearance, it’s not impossible to think that I killed him, when you put everything together, it is really hard to clear myself of suspicion.”
Ji Yanran smiled, then after a moment, suddenly asked, “Is it really not you?”
Yun Yifeng’s hand while drinking tea paused, he lifted his eyes to meet him.
Ji Yanran admitted, “I truly have no idea what happened before eleven, two days ago.”
“I was sleeping.” Yun Yifeng placed down the tea cup, “Do you believe me?”
Ji Yanran nodded his head, “I believe you, if I had to pick who to believe in this group of people, naturally, I’m willing to believe Sect Master Yun.”
“If Your Highness is free tonight, you can go take a look at the Moon View pavilion and the Shooting Star pavilion again.” Yun Yifeng headed to the inner chambers, “I’m going to sleep first.”
“Hey!” Ji Yanran shouted before him, “Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I’m not free.” Yun Yifeng declined the offer, “I’m too busy killing people in the middle of the night.”
Ji Yanran, “ …”
He sure was temperamental.
But going out to take a look was fine too.
It was better than staying in the Drifting Pavilion waiting for another corpse to appear the next day.
—-Zi period—-
A bleak moon hung in the sky, wrapped in the embrace of gray clouds, giving out a dim light.
Qi Ran sat at the table, looking at the flickering candle flame, everything was dark before his eyes.
He was holding a dagger in his hand, the sharp edge glinting, it was almost as if it could reflect the silhouette of a person.
Was it really Yue Zhihua who killed Ah Cheng?
The people left in the Snow View Pavilion appeared in his mind one by one, including Aunty Yu, anyone was possible.
What was the motive? Was it to shock him? Or was there some other reason?
He furrowed his eyebrows and muttered to himself, like he was trying to figure out this messy situation.
Unknowingly, it was as if someone had hung thousands of catties on him, his body felt increasingly heavy.
Yun Yifeng, Yue Zhihua, Liu Qianxian, Jin Huan……
All the names were smashed into pieces, turning into a myriad of colors and couldn’t be pieced back together anymore, and when he finally realized the abnormality, the room was already filled with a light coloured smoke.
It smelled fishy yet sweet, like a poisonous flower, every strand wrapping around his sanity before biting it off.
As his head was almost splitting with a headache, someone gently raised his chin.
“It’s you!” He struggled to open his mouth, but he could not get a single sound out, he could only lay on the table and look at the person in front of him in fear.
Too much of the smoke made his mind hazy. During these hazy moments, Qi Ran suddenly felt that his limbs had some strength, he could break free from his assailant and without looking back, escape from this weird and gloomy Snow View pavilion. Who cares if he got struck to death by lightning, who cares, who cares, his breathing came out ragged, he felt as if the sounds of the murderer’s footsteps were everywhere, dong, dong, he could even feel a cool breath blowing against his ear…… and when the world was once again spinning, only his ragged breathing remained.
Oh right, there was also the rain.
But in this freezing weather, where was the rain coming from?
He was stupefied for a while, and then he understood that it wasn’t raining.
It was blood.
His own blood.
It flowed steadily across his chest, and a dazzling bright red snaked out onto the ground.
Ji Yanran hid in the darkness, eyeing Moon View pavilion not far away. All the lights were out, leaving only a deep feeling of oppression. A layer of thick and soft snow piled on the ground, once a person stepped on it, traces would be left behind. If one wanted to sneak into the yard, the only way was flipping onto the eaves through a hidden beam. Who knew that just as he was about to take action, there was a sudden movement from the opposite side.
A black shadow slipped out and left a string of hurried footprints in the snow.
Liu Qianxian ran really fast. Her qinggong was definitely good, and she had a petite figure. She flew across the snow, leaving only half an inch footprints behind. When fresh snow falls the next day, her tracks would be completely hidden. However, she was still very cautious and did not directly head back to her lodging. Instead, she stepped on some clumps of exposed dried grass and hid in the fake hill in the garden, as if worried that someone would see footprints entering into the Shooting Star pavilion. She wanted to wait till after the snow fell before reemerging.
Ji Yanran used the hilt of the knife to knock against the rock, “Come out. ”
Liu Qianxian, “ …… ”
After a while, the girl dressed in night clothes emerged from the fake cave, looking at the man in front of her with vigilance.
Ji Yanran questioned her, “What are you doing sneaking around the Moon View pavilion in the middle of the night? ”
“I……I wanted to go find Qi Ran.” Liu Qianxian had only said so much when she felt her chest rise and fall erratically, she didn’t know if it was because of fear or the cold. Her eyes welled up with tears, she lifted up her sleeve and wiped it hard, then said, “He’s dead.”
Ji Yanran’s eyebrows shot up, “Qi Ran is dead?”
“Yes.” Liu Qianxian indeed looked like she had suffered quite a shock, she could barely stand properly if not for her back leaning against the fake mountain, she continued in a small whisper, “In the evening, Qi Ran said that he suspected Sect Leader Yun, my heart was a mess after I heard it. Since I couldn’t sleep, I thought of going to the Moon View pavilion to see if he was trying to mislead me on purpose, to see if he was conspiring with Jin Huan or Mu Chengxue. But the room was in darkness, and the heavy smell of blood was lingering in the air, the blood was flowing out from Qi Ran’s room and half a hand was sticking out from the threshold.” Having said that, she started crying again, “ I’ll be killed by them sooner or later right?”
Ji Yanran asked, “Since you found out that Qi Ran is dead, why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I didn’t dare, what if the killer was hiding in the dark, what if, what if he was killed by Jin Huan and Yue Zhihua?” Liu Qianxian squatted on the ground and muttered, “I can’t trust anyone anymore, I want to get off this mountain, I…… I haven’t offended anybody.”
The moonlight was blocked out by a few dark clouds, it seemed that a new wave of blizzard was coming. This was not a place to discuss the situation, Ji Yanran used one hand to pick up Liu Qianxian by the arm and brought her back to the Drifting pavilion.
Liu Qianxian didn’t and couldn’t fight back. It was like being held by an arm with the strength of an iron hoop, one could only let the other party jump into the air with you and listen to the wind blowing past your ear. She felt inevitably surprised, she had never come across someone with such strong inner strength who could easily restrain her without any space for fighting back.
Ji Yanran carried Liu Qianxian, and they both landed in the pavilion together.
Yun Yifeng was wrapped in a thin nightgown, he was originally standing at the corridor in a trance, when two people suddenly appeared and he jumped in shock.
Ji Yanran had a headache because of this bad habit, “Can you wear your clothes properly!”
Yun Yifeng, “ ……”
You bring a girl home in the middle of the night and you still scold me for not wearing my clothes properly.
Of course, as a gentleman, he should act appropriately, it was indeed inappropriate to be wearing his pajamas in front of other people.
So, he still silently went back into his inner chambers and picked a longer shirt before heading back to the front hall, “Tell me, what’s the matter?”
Ji Yanran answered, “Qi Ran is dead.”
Yun Yifeng was stunned, “Dead? Who’s the murderer?”
“I don’t know.” Liu Qianxian fixed her composure and repeated what she had told Ji Yanran, and then explained, “It really wasn’t me.”
Yun Yifeng took out a dagger from her waist, the tip was clean and there was not a trace of blood on her clothes.
“I didn’t kill anyone, why would I kill anyone?” Liu Qianxian was close to crying, “I came up the mountain only because I like Sect Master Yun, I don’t know anything else.”
Yun Yifeng looked at her thoughtfully.
Liu Qianxian asked anxiously, “Sect Master, do you not believe me?”
Yun Yifeng admitted, “Wearing these kinds of night clothes to go to Moon View pavilion in the middle of the night, and then when you were found out, you said that Qi Ran is dead, how am I supposed to believe that?”
“I really didn’t kill him.” Liu Qianxian was getting anxious, “If I wanted to kill him or anyone in the Snow View pavilion, I could just add poison to the food. All in all, all the meals these few days were sent by me separately, why would I risk entering the room to kill them?”
Yun Yifeng answered, “Because everyone checks their food for poison before eating and also because it would be too obvious.”
Liu Qianxian was at a loss of words after his retort and cried out, “You didn’t even see it for yourself, I……I still suspect that it’s you, Qi Ran had just explained it all to me in the morning, and now at night, he’s dead. If anyone is the most suspicious, it would definitely be you, Sect Master Yun! Besides, besides you aren’t even wearing your clothes properly, you could have just taken off those night clothes and couldn’t change into other clothes in time.”
Ji Yanran tutted, “Just now you were blatantly talking about liking him, and within a split second, you accuse him of being the murderer, what kind of liking is this?”
“Who asked you not to believe me?” Liu Qianxian retorted, “I’m very scared right now, and instead of comforting me, you guys are doubting me.”
“Forget it, you can go back first.” Yun Yifeng used his index finger to knock against the table, “It won’t be too late to conclude anything when we see the cause of Qi Ran’s death tomorrow morning.”
Liu Qianxian complied with what he said and stood up, she didn’t forget to remind them, “Then we have a deal, we will pretend tonight’s meeting never happened, I do not wish to raise suspicions.”
Yun Yifeng promised, then said, “Let me escort you back to the Shooting Star pavilion.”
“You want to send me back?” Liu Qianxian was surprised and she wanted to say something but Yun Yifeng had already stepped out the door.
The sky was gradually getting brighter, and the wind started howling again, blowing snow everywhere. Liu Qianxian followed behind him silently, she didn’t dare to open her mouth. Yun Yifeng stopped in his tracks when they reached the front of the Shooting Star pavilion and took out a pill from his sleeve, he commanded, “Eat it.”
“…… Eat, what is this?” Liu Qianxian was stunned and instinctively retreated a step.
“You don’t have a choice.” Yun Yifeng looked at her coldly. In this moment, his usual gentle, smiling eyes were covered in a layer of frost and ice, revealing a bone-chilling chill.
Liu Qianxian knew she couldn’t avoid this but she still asked, “What if I don’t eat it, will you kill me?”
Yun Yifeng answered, “Not eating it means you are guilty, naturally I will kill you.”
With reddened eyes, Liu Qianxian snatched the pill and swallowed it resentfully.
“This is the soul-snatching pill of the Feng Yu Sect.” Yun Yifeng said, “I will give you the antidote after every three days to keep you safe.”
“You still suspect and doubt me.” Liu Qianxian stated angrily, “You gave me this poison because you’re afraid that I will hurt Aunty Yu?”
Yun Yifeng said, “Desperate times call for desperate measures. If Aunty Yu is really innocent, I will apologize to her after we get off the mountain.”
“Who cares about your apology?” Liu Qianxian wiped her tears again, “I already understand, the mastermind’s targets are you and Young Swordsman Ji! Everyone else is innocent and has died in vain!”
Yun Yifeng asked, “Why?”
“Then why won’t you bring Aunty Yu back to the Drifting pavilion, instead you want to leave her with a suspect like me?” Liu Qianxian said, “Because you know, something is bound to happen at the Drifitng Pavilion, you’re scared that when it happens, you won’t be able to protect Aunty Yu, so you forced me to take care of her instead!”
Yun Yifeng conceded, “Since you already know, then please take good care of Aunty Yu, no matter what kind of grievances exist within the Martial Arts community, she is definitely innocent.”
Liu Qianxian glared at him and did not speak up anymore, she turned around and left.
Yun Yifeng went back to Drifting Pavilion alone and Ji Yanran was still waiting for him at the front hall with a pot of hot tea sitting on the table.
“Done making arrangements for Aunty Yu?”
“Yes.” Yun Yifeng sat down on a chair, “Liu Qianxian’s Martial Arts are good, it’s probably even better than Jin Huan and his dad, am I right?”
Ji Yanran said, “When I was sparring with her, although it was just for fun, I could still see that she was very agile. However, Suhui Palace is very renowned in the Martial Arts community, she is also the leader’s beloved disciple, it’s not a surprise that she is stronger than Jin Huan.”
“So if someone were to take care of Aunty Yu, it can only be her.” Yun Yifeng stated, “It will be dangerous if she stays with you or me.”
“That little girl still has a lot of secrets.” Ji Yanran said, “Don’t forget what I’ve told you before.”
Yun Yifeng sighed soundlessly, picked up the hot tea and stared out the door.
Snowflakes were falling, the light outside was faint.
The sun was about to rise again.
———-
Zaki~~ Everyone, Please welcome Rae, our amazing Co-TL, she would be helping us with this awesome novel to give you more chapters and happy reading 🙂
(~~and on another note, as everyone had already read on discord or have yet to read the CG announcement, all novels and pages have been locked. Please refer to the channel for password announcement which would change weekly. This is all for our own safety. We genuinely apologize for any additional inconvenience this has caused. But I really hope that all of you will stay with us till the end. Thank you!)
Rae~~ Hello hello lovely readers! I’m going to be working with Zaki and Ela for this wonderful story 🙂 We hope you will enjoy this chapter and look forward to more chapters with us!
Qi Ran is dead, Aunt Yu and LQ are no longer suspects, and Yun Yifeng can’t wear his clothes properly. Oii! This novel! 😍
Thank you translating team!
»Ji Yan Ran spoke again, “After going…« Ji Yanran
»Yun Yifeng, Yue Zhihua, Liu Qianxian, Jinhuan……« Jin Huan
»… you accuse him of bring the murderer..« being instead of bring
We have now…. 4 suspects left? 5 with Aunty Yu?
I can’t copy/paste anymore, eh? :’D Well, taking photos is it then lol
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
Thanks for picking it up Muggle 🙂 Will ask Rae to fix it.
Tysm for picking them out, I have corrected them. Hope you will look forward and enjoy the rest of the story!😍
it’s Liu Qianxian?!? now i’m curious about the other person who took Yue Zhihua 🤔
ty for the translation!
❤❤
Thanks ♥️
We know that ah cheng’s killer is that mad man, the explosion would mostly be his uncle then what about qi ran?! 😑
Yeesh, with the way everyone was so shocked when they saw the actual culprit and the way Yun Yifeng directly didn’t suspect her at all, why do I feel like Aunty Yu might be the culprit?? Am I thinking too much??? 😵💫