Chapter 309: Chapter 309

Li Xun gritted his teeth, didn’t waste a single second. He slipped into stealth, made his way up to Zuowang Peak. Once he had opened some distance, he burst forward at full speed. Even without using Blood Shadow Demon Form, his pace was already among the fastest around. From the base of the peak to the Three Absolutes Pass he shot across the land and needed less than two hours.

At such a pace, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone in this world without the slightest shame.

Too bad he had no time or mood to dwell on any of that right now. After using the Ninefold Stone Mines as a landmark to get his bearings, he kept climbing higher into the sky. Endless darkness rushed at his face. Below him, the dead branches and tree shadows twisted and swayed like they were alive. Really eerie.

After flying for so long his mind cooled off quite a bit. Thinking it over again, the journey from the foot of the peak to the Three Absolutes Pass was seventy to eighty thousand li. With Shan Zhi’s abilities, one day and night sounded about right.

Even if Shan Zhi had set out yesterday, he might not have arrived yet. And if he had left even earlier, what good would it do now anyway?

Li Xun let out a cold laugh and a fierce killing intent surged through his chest. Shan Zhi was already half out of his mind and leaving someone like that alive was just asking for disaster. Whether the guy had actually committed the crime or not didn’t even matter anymore. Li Xun had to come up with a foolproof plan to wipe this walking catastrophe out for good, root and stem.

The dense forest hiding the small building was right there in front of him. Li Xun was just about to plunge in when someone suddenly caught his eye. Someone darting into the trees. The person’s speed wasn’t anything impressive, and the way they moved was all sneaky and furtive. Could that be Shan Zhi? Li Xun squinted, watching until the swaying shadows swallowed the person completely. Only then did he move.

A gust of mountain wind happened to blow through. The shadows of the trees shook even harder, and powdery snow that had built up for days drifted down. The dark woods looked like a giant beast that had just woken with a yawn, showing its sharp fangs to anyone foolish enough to step inside.

This feels familiar somehow…

The thought flashed through Li Xun’s mind for no obvious reason, then vanished. He hovered in midair for a moment, circled once, and aimed for the spot above the waterfall where he had stood days ago, then landed.

From that angle, he could just make out the faint light that had flickered on inside the small building.

What a coincidence.

With that sigh, he remembered the uncanny sharpness of his own senses and had nothing more to say. The contrast between the light inside and the darkness outside let him clearly see Qi Bi rise from bed with a cloak around her shoulders, go downstairs, and open the door. After that, she never came back up.

Li Xun’s heart jolted. That bastard better not attack her the moment she opens the door…

He was about to dive down when a faint pearly glow lit up outside the small building. It filtered through the dense branches and fell across the thick blanket of snow, pushing the darkness back a little.

Through the bare branches, Li Xun could see two figures keeping a cautious distance from each other. At the same time, when the glow appeared, he spotted a third figure hiding at the side of the building, clearly caught off guard.

Ling Ji? Li Xun finally understood who he had seen before entering the forest. Why Ling Ji was tailing Shan Zhi was something he could not guess.

Now that the pattern clicked, none of the three could hide their movement from him anymore. From above, he saw the three making their way toward the waterfall, two out in the open and one in the shadows.

Qi Bi led the way, pearl in hand, passing through the screen of trees and moving forward slowly. Under the glow of the pearl she looked pale, but strangely calm. Beside her, Shan Zhi was stiff and shaking, with tear streaks still on his face. It was probably that pitiful look that made Qi Bi willing to speak to him in the first place.

Li Xun did not bother to hide himself, but he had no intention of jumping out either. His sharp eyes stayed locked on Shan Zhi’s left hand. That hand was tucked inside his sleeve, and his stiff wrist was bent at an odd angle, pushing the cuff up. It looked wrong no matter how you viewed it.

The two of them walked to the pool beneath the waterfall. The falling water slapped against the pool with a clear, continuous sound. Mist sprayed into the air and caught the pearl’s glow like shattered jade droplets, washing away the gloom of the surrounding forest.

In that setting, Qi Bi’s voice sounded calm and gentle. “This place is called Heart-Cleansing Pool. Whenever I feel troubled, I come here to wash away the dust in my mind and return to people with a clear heart. Junior Brother Shan, I asked you here because I hoped that in front of this pool you might rinse away what weighs on your heart.”

Shan Zhi’s face flushed bright red. He still tried to keep his voice down, but what burst out of his throat was a hoarse, broken shout. “You do not need to explain. I know! Senior Sister Qi, I know everything!”

Qi Bi only watched him quietly without saying a word. From his distance, Li Xun could not see what look was in her eyes.

Shan Zhi grew even more agitated. He thrust out his hand, pointing at the pool in front of them, and rasped, “This is the Heart-Cleansing Pool. Behind it is the Secluded Residence. You only come here when you are really angry. And further up, there is a pine grove. When you are sad you go there to play the flute, do you not? I know all of that!”

Qi Bi’s body gave a tiny shudder and she instinctively took half a step back. The only word that made it out of her mouth was a shaky “You—” before Shan Zhi cut her off again. He stepped toward her and his voice was so hoarse it hardly sounded human.

“I even know everything down below Zuowang Peak too! “When you’re in a good mood, you often slip down to Feiyun Stack to pick tea leaves. Sometimes you head over to Guanxia Peak to practice your sword. And when you’re worn out, you go soak in the hot springs behind Yingtan… I know all of it! I know!”

The last few words came out as nothing but broken, mangled noise. Because he couldn’t hold it back anymore. A choked sob burst from his throat. Under the pale bead-light, his face was twisted out of shape, tears and snot streaming everywhere, looking less like a person and more like a wreck. He reached out with one trembling hand, clawing at empty air, desperate to grab hold of something. Anything. Qi Bi took another instinctive step back. Her face had gone white. She couldn’t force a single word past her lips.

Shan Zhi’s hand closed on empty air. His expression was twisted and strange. He pressed forward again. “Senior Sister, Senior Sister, look at me. I really know everything. Everything. Why won’t you agree to be with me?

“Does Wenhai know you like I do? Does he care about you like I do? He doesn’t! He got nothing. He’s got… absolutely… fucking… NOTHING!!!”

He stamped his feet and let out a ragged scream at the top of his lungs. This whole thing should’ve been ridiculous. But no one anywhere near the waterfall could force out so much as a chuckle.

Right now Shan Zhi looked like a wild animal trapped in a cage. No matter how hard he thrashed, all he could do was slam into cold iron and smash himself bloody.

Qi Bi’s breathing grew uneven. She looked as if she wanted to step forward and stop him somehow. But instinctive fear seized her and drained the strength from her legs. She stayed frozen until Shan Zhi, panting hard, lifted his head and met her eyes.

“Senior Sister, what are you looking at me with? What is that look? Do you hate me? Do you pity me? Is that it? Is it?!” Shan Zhi tried to take another step toward her, but his foot caught and he stumbled.

As he lurched forward he reached out, hoping Qi Bi would catch him. His hand closed on nothing and he crashed to the ground. His whole body trembled as if he no longer had the courage to stand back up.

A muffled whimper started leaking out of him. Kneeling there, he sobbed uncontrollably. “I’m begging you, Senior Sister. I don’t want anything else. I just need you to say one thing, just one. Senior Sister, say you like me. Just say it.”

Watching the man in front of her curl up on the ground like a beaten, mangy stray dog, Qi Bi’s already pale face took on an even more dazed, empty look. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but in the end she pressed her lips tightly together, gave a small shake of her head, and took another step back.

Her movement startled Shan Zhi. He jerked his head up, staring blankly as she kept backing away. His tear-streaked face went stiff. The roar of the waterfall beside him suddenly seemed louder, as if it swallowed up all of his efforts with almost no resistance.

Because of that, no one, not even Shan Zhi himself, heard the faint sound of a jade vial shattering. There was only a thin puff of vapor, as light as mist, blending instantly into the spray around them.

High above the waterfall, Li Xun let out a long sigh. The Jade Bixie on his him activated on its own. A little bit of dream-smoke could not possibly affect him. He glanced toward the forest below the cliff. It was beyond the reach of the Flying Dream Smoke, so it should be fine too.

In the space of a heartbeat, Qi Bi, who had been stepping back at the pool’s edge, suddenly swayed. All the strength in her body drained away at once. She lost her balance and let out a soft cry as she slowly collapsed.

Shan Zhi scrambled forward, rolling and crawling to reach her, and tried to catch her. He misjudged the force and the moment he touched her, the two of them went down together.

The luminous pearl in Qi Bi’s hand slipped free and hit the rocks beside the pool. It shattered. The forest pool and everything around it were swallowed by rolling darkness.

Li Xun’s pupils dilated, and once his eyes adjusted he could see the scene by the pool clearly. It was only a little darker than before. His gaze swept across the water and landed on Shan Zhi. Shan Zhi had both hands gripping Qi Bi’s shoulders, his body unnaturally rigid as he pinned her to the ground.

The dream-smoke had already dispersed into the air and was no longer dangerous. Shan Zhi had taken an antidote beforehand, Li Xun had prepared himself in advance, and further out Ling Ji was outside the range of the drug. Because of that, Qi Bi was the only one affected. Her entire body was limp, and she could not even lift a finger.

She still understood what was happening. She tried to shout at him, but the strength drained away on her lips. When she finally got words out they were barely a whisper. “Let go of me.”

Shan Zhi gasped for air over and over. To her surprise he actually obeyed and released her. Qi Bi felt a tiny spark of hope. She wanted to urge him to pull back before it was too late, but she feared saying the wrong thing and setting him off. For a moment she had no idea how to speak.

The edge of the pool fell into a strained silence. You could only hear Shan Zhi’s heavy breathing.

Li Xun found himself pressing his lips. A strange feeling twisted in his chest and then, he chuckled. He made no move to go down. What caught him off guard instead was Ling Ji’s total lack of response in the woods below. What the hell? Had the kid just… frozen up? Gone completely stupid from the shock?

From the bottom of the cliff, Qi Bi’s faint cries drifted up on the wind. “Get off! Get off me!”

Her voice was already breaking with tears. Dan Zhi had reached out and brushed against her cheek. His touch was gentle enough, but to Qi Bi, it felt like the worst kind of violation. She wished she could die right then and there. She could already imagine the fate that awaited her next.

Shan Zhi let out a low, snickering laugh. “Senior sister, you’re really beautiful…”

The words were shameless, but his voice trembled at the end. Then, all of a sudden, he yanked his hand back. He simply knelt beside Qi Bi.

“I know, Senior Sister,” he said in a slow, drifting voice. “You think I’m about to do something terrible to you, don’t you? Heh heh. You shouldn’t think so poorly of me. That’s not right. Not right at all.

“Yes, I like you. I want you. But why would I force you? You think I’m that despicable? No. Not at all. I just want to look at you like this. I don’t need to do anything. I’ll just wait, until someone comes along and interrupts us. And then…”

His voice trailed off into nothing. In the next instant, a sharp hum filled the air as a sword slid free of its sheath. The cold blade gleamed with a faint, pale gold light in the darkness. Shan Zhi laid the sword across his knees and let out a chilling laugh.

“And then, this sword will pierce my heart first, and then yours. We’ll be tied together, body to body, blood mixing with blood, and no one will ever be able to separate us!”