Chapter 53:

“Big sister, are you really leaving?”

“Ah Zhen, I will come back. Promise me you’ll keep my secret.”

Su Ningzhen walked out of Su Ningxi’s room in a daze, her mind filled with a single thought—don’t let her sister leave.

They had been inseparable since before birth. The only time they had been separated was at Liangjieshan, where she had lost her sister. At that time, she thought her sister had just gotten lost, never imagining she had been taken by a half-demon. Could her sister truly abandon her, the sister who had relied on each other for decades, just after knowing that half-demon for two months?

She must have been bewitched and lost her senses. She would regret it. She mustn’t be allowed to leave!

This thought repeated itself hundreds of times in her mind, growing stronger until finally, Su Ningzhen entered the meditation room of Venerable Miaohua and revealed everything to her master.

Venerable Miaohua was furious, slamming her palm onto a Huanghuali wood table, shattering it, and coldly saying, “So Su Ningxi dares to collude with demons…”

Su Ningzhen knelt down, pleading, “Master, it must be that half-demon used some demonic arts to bewitch my sister. Please don’t blame my sister!”

Venerable Miaohua smiled slightly, reaching out to gently pat Su Ningzhen’s head, “You did well… When and where are they planning to leave?”

Su Ningzhen replied, “Tonight at the first watch of midnight, at Fengxie Pavilion.”

Venerable Miaohua slightly lowered her beautiful eyes. With a flip of her palm, she placed a red porcelain bottle in Su Ningzhen’s hand, saying, “Ningzhen, tonight you will apply the juice of the Catching Soul flower on your neck and cheeks, disguise yourself as Ningxi, and lure and kill the half-demon Sangqi! If this succeeds, the position of the leader of Mirrorflower Valley will be passed to you.”

Su Ningzhen trembled, her hands holding the porcelain bottle stiff and pale as if unable to bear its weight: “Master, I don’t want to be the valley leader… I just want my sister to be okay.”

Venerable Miaohua gently laughed: “Alright, I promise you. Ningxi’s past mistakes will be forgiven.”

Su Ningzhen exhaled in relief, tightly gripping the porcelain bottle, her eyes icy and resolute with killing intent.

That night, Venerable Miaohua trapped Su Ningxi with a formation while Su Ningzhen changed into her sister’s clothes, took her sword, and waited at Fengxie Pavilion. She heard footsteps behind her, tensed every nerve in her body, and felt a long, slender hand rest on her shoulder. The night breeze carried his deep, intoxicating fragrance.

“Ningxi…” The half-demon’s voice was cool, low, and husky as he called her name, as if savoring it on his tongue, tender and lingering. The scent of the Catching Soul flower from Su Ningzhen’s body confused his senses, causing him to mistake her for Ningxi, whose appearance she shared seven-tenths of.

Su Ningzhen turned around and saw the man her sister had never forgotten.

Silver hair, silver eyes, wolf ears—a human with wolf demon blood. No matter how beautiful his appearance, it couldn’t conceal his lowly and despicable nature. Was it like this that he had deceived Ningxi? Deceived her into betraying her master and abandoning her closest kin?

Murderous intent surged into her eyes. Without hesitation, Su Ningzhen drew the Spring Sword with all her cultivation and stabbed at him. Unaware of the danger, he walked into the cold, hateful gaze of his lover. A sharp pain pierced his right shoulder as the Spring Sword viciously severed his meridians and cut off his right arm. In the next moment, the Fengxie Pavilion lit up with a beast-trapping formation, and seven or eight high-level cultivators flew out from the darkness.

—It was a trap. Su Ningxi wanted to kill him?

The wolf demon’s silver eyes gazed at “Su Ningxi” in confusion and pain, murmuring, “Why…”

Su Ningzhen gripped the Spring Sword tightly, retreating backward away from Fengxie Pavilion.

“You make me sick.”

“Hehehe…” Sangqi suddenly laughed, his left hand covering the bleeding stump of his severed arm, his silver eyes gradually turning crimson, his expression becoming alluring yet fierce, “So… everything you said before was a lie…”

Su Ningzhen fearfully took half a step back, saying, “Yes… it was just to survive.”

Worried that Su Ningzhen might reveal Su Ningxi’s secret to Sangqi, Venerable Miaohua sternly interrupted, “Attack together! He’s a demon priest—don’t be careless!”

Countless sharp sword energies slashed into the trapped half-demon within the beast-trapping formation. His black robe shattered into countless fluttering black butterflies, and Fengxie Pavilion was stained red with blood.

Su Ningzhen held the Spring Sword and stood far away from the battle, but those hate-filled silver eyes pierced through everyone and directly into her heart.

She hadn’t done anything wrong. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She had done it all for Ningxi…

Su Ningzhen kept telling herself this for twenty years until she truly believed it.

Sangqi recalled that night, the scenes still vividly imprinted in his mind. The sweet fragrance from “Su Ningxi” and her gaze now overlapped with the present Su Ningzhen, and he finally understood…

“It wasn’t Ningxi…” His silver eyes softened slightly as he sighed, but moments later, his expression turned ruthless again, “But she still ended up marrying Gao Fengxu…”

“No, she didn’t marry Gao Fengxu.” Su Ningzhen’s shoulders trembled as if recalling something extremely terrifying, her face paling, tears gushing down, her voice broken and incoherent, “Ningxi is dead. She died before the wedding!”

Sangqi suddenly lifted his head to stare at Su Ningzhen, his voice trembling, “She’s dead?”

“Su Ningxi, Sangqi is already dead. You should obediently marry into the Mingyue Estate. Master Gao doesn’t mind that you’re not a virgin anymore. You should be grateful.” Venerable Miaohua threw the severed arm onto the ground. Her voice sounded gentle but was cold and merciless.

Su Ningzhen stood behind Venerable Miaohua, hiding the Spring Sword behind her back, afraid that Su Ningxi would smell the blood on the sword.

Su Ningxi slowly knelt down, cradling the severed arm in her arms, interlacing her fingers with the cold, stiff hand. She kept her head lowered, hiding her expression from view, only allowing tears to drip onto the cold back of the hand.

“He’s not dead,” her voice trembled but was firm. “You severed his arm, but he escaped, didn’t he?”

Venerable Miaohua’s expression darkened, coldly saying, “He was surrounded and attacked by the six elders at Fengxie Pavilion. Do you think he could survive? Ningxi, I know your abilities. You can regenerate limbs and resurrect the dead. Do you think I would give you his corpse? I have already reduced his body to ashes and scattered them. All I have left is this severed arm. What can you do with it? Obey me, and I will forgive your past mistakes. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Su Ningzhen anxiously said, “Master, my sister just needs some time to accept this. I will persuade her!”

Su Ningxi lifted her head, her tear-streaked face pale and delicate. She frowned slightly, looking at Su Ningzhen with confusion, noticing her clothes and the Spring Sword behind her back, suddenly understanding everything.

“Ah Zhen, it was you…” Su Ningxi took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let the tears fall. “You disguised yourself as me and deceived him, didn’t you?”

“Big sister…” Su Ningzhen guiltily lowered her head, unable to meet her gaze. “Sister, I did it all for your own good…”

Venerable Miaohua impatiently frowned. “Su Ningxi, I’m giving you seven days to think about it. Seven days from now, the Mingyue Estate will come to Mirrorflower Valley to fetch you for the wedding. If you don’t get into the bridal sedan then, I will find a way to make you submit!”

Venerable Miaohua swept away in a huff. Su Ningzhen hesitated, wanting to step forward, yet afraid of seeing the disappointment in Su Ningxi’s eyes.

She saw Su Ningxi struggling to stand up, hurriedly stepping forward to help her, but Su Ningxi ignored her assistance, leaning on the table to slowly steady herself.

“Ah Zhen, please leave. I want to be alone.” Her voice couldn’t hide a tremor, as if her spirit had been drained, weak and sorrowful.

Su Ningzhen left with many glances backward, only seeing her sister’s thin, lonely back. She closed the door but didn’t walk away, leaning against the thin wooden door, hearing the stifled sobs from inside the room.

She had never heard Ningxi cry like this. Peeking through the crack in the door, she only saw her curled up in a ball, tightly hugging the lifeless severed arm, her shoulders shaking, as if in unbearable pain, yet afraid for anyone to know.

“Sangqi…”

She kissed the cold fingertips, trembling as she softly called his name, desperately channeling her life force into the severed arm, trying to restore its warmth and sensation, yet it was all in vain.

“It was my fault I ruined you…”

Su Ningxi locked herself in her room for seven days. Seven days later, people from the Mingyue Estate arrived, delivering the bright red wedding gown into her room.

Su Ningxi’s pale, elegant face had grown thinner, yet she wore a faint smile watching the bustling people, as if she had already recovered from her grief. Su Ningzhen sighed in relief. After everyone left, she approached and hugged Su Ningxi’s frail body. Resting her head on her sister’s shoulder, just like in the past, she softly said, “Sister, are you still angry with me?”

Su Ningxi gently stroked her hair, smiling, “Not anymore.”

Su Ningzhen asked again, “Are you still… sad?”

Su Ningxi blinked her lustrous eyes, her long lashes half-hiding her thoughts, simply saying, “Not anymore.”

Su Ningzhen’s heart lightened, and she smiled brightly, saying, “Sister, let me help you get ready for your wedding!”

Su Ningxi didn’t refuse. Obediently sitting before the mirror, just like in the past, allowing Su Ningzhen to fuss with her smooth hair. But she had always been impatient, how could she properly style a bun? Su Ningxi smiled faintly, took her hand, and gently pressed her onto the chair, saying softly, “Ah Zhen, let me teach you one last time. Pay close attention, okay?”

Su Ningzhen was startled, “What do you mean, ‘one last time’?”

Su Ningxi said, “If I get married, I won’t be able to help you style your hair every day anymore.”

“Oh, I see…” Su Ningzhen laughed with relief, scolding herself for overthinking, then said, “Sister, after you marry into the Mingyue Estate, I can still visit you often. I heard that Gao Fengxu is handsome and refined, deeply affectionate and gentle. He will surely treat you very well.”

Su Ningxi smiled as she carefully combed her hair, not answering her words.

“Sister, these past few days… I’ve been really worried about you. Now that you’ve come around, I’m really happy. I was afraid you’d hate me… Do you… still hate me?” she asked cautiously.

Su Ningxi said, “Ah Zhen, you are my most beloved little sister, my closest relative. I know you only want me to be happy.”

Su Ningzhen couldn’t help but smile. “Sister, I’m glad you understand me.”

“In my heart, you will always be a child. But before I knew it, you’ve already grown up and have your own thoughts.” She gently helped her tie her hair, speaking softly.

“I…” Su Ningzhen wanted to protest but was stopped by Su Ningxi gently pressing her shoulder.

“Ah Zhen, let me finish,” Su Ningxi said gently. “There won’t be many chances to talk like this in the future… After I leave, you must remember to control your temper and not act too impulsively, or you’ll end up at a disadvantage. When practicing cultivation, rushing ahead recklessly is also counterproductive. If you suffer from a cultivation mishap, there won’t be anyone to help you anymore.”

“Big sister…” Su Ningzhen stared at her own reflection in the mirror, stunned.

“Before, I wanted to leave but couldn’t bear to leave you. I told Sangqi that once we found a place to settle down, if you were willing, I would bring you with us. If not, Mirrorflower Valley would still be your home. You work hard, are obedient, and Master likes you. Your talent among the disciples is the most outstanding, and one day, the position of the valley leader will be passed to you.”

“Ah Zhen, I promised to always be by your side, but I have to break that promise. However, I made a promise to Sangqi that I couldn’t bear to break. You will become the leader of Mirrorflower Valley, with many disciples who respect and love you. In the future, you will also meet someone who truly understands and cherishes you. But Sangqi only has me. I can’t deceive him, and I don’t want to…”

A warm drop landed on Su Ningzhen’s face. She thought it was Ningxi’s tear, but when she wiped it away, it was a shocking crimson red. Her pupils constricted, and she quickly looked up at Su Ningxi, only to see blood continuously flowing from the corner of her lips.

“Sister!” Su Ningzhen was horrified as she hugged the pale-faced Su Ningxi, who was still smiling faintly. She weakly raised her finger to her lips, whispering, “Don’t call anyone…” Her voice was faint and weak, “I don’t want anyone to know…”

“Big sister, what’s wrong with you?” Su Ningzhen’s heart was in agony, frantically trying to wipe the blood from her sister’s lips, but it kept flowing, more and more…

“Ah Zhen, I took the poison Fangfeijing three days ago.” She struggled to curl her lips into a faint smile, “With my body, wanting to die is difficult enough.”

Fangfeijing is the most potent poison in the world, causing the heart to endure 30,000 cuts over three days before death. As a Yuan Yin Xuan Nu, she possessed infinite vitality, making suicide extremely difficult. Only Fangfeijing could kill her after immense suffering.

“Ah Zhen, you no longer need your big sister…” Su Ningxi’s breath grew weaker, and she could no longer hold onto Su Ningzhen’s hand, “Will you promise me one last thing… Bury me with Sangqi… This life could only be this way… If there is a next life, I will repay him for a lifetime…”

“Big sister, please don’t die…” Tears streamed down Su Ningzhen’s face like rain, “I was wrong, sister. Please don’t leave. I shouldn’t have killed him. I hurt your heart. You can hate me and blame me, but please don’t leave me!”

Su Ningxi had endured three days of excruciating pain, her consciousness already blurred. A faint smile spread across her eyes as if she saw that cold, handsome half-demon approaching her again. He was cold and ruthless yet tender and considerate. He was lonely and wounded but easily satisfied, craving only a little warmth and kindness.

—Ning Xi, come with me; let’s go to the East Sea.

—But you cultivate demonic arts and cannot stay in the human realm.

—I’m willing to dissipate my powers, as long as I can be with you.

—Sang Qi…

She gently traced his handsome, affectionate eyebrows and bright eyes, allowing him to draw her into his arms. She wanted to give him all the warmth and love this world had never offered him.

But he was gone…

Killed by her beloved younger sister.

Su Ningxi’s beautiful eyes completely lost their luster. Her heart stopped beating, and she didn’t hear Su Ningzhen’s remorseful and desperate cries: “Sister, he’s not dead; he escaped…”

But Ningxi couldn’t hear anymore.

She stood there in a daze, holding Ningxi’s lifeless body, letting her tears flow endlessly. It wasn’t until much later that someone finally discovered Ningxi’s death.

She was passively pulled away, dazed and numb, and desperately tried to reclaim Ningxi’s body, but was knocked unconscious. When she awoke again, she was already dressed in a wedding gown, lying in the bridal chamber of the Mingyue Villa.

“You’re awake,” the Venerable Miaohua’s cold gaze fell upon her.

Su Ningzhen thought she had experienced a nightmare. She struggled to sit up, looking at herself and then around the room.

“Master, where am I… and where is my sister…”

“The Venerable Miaohua said, ‘Su Ningxi is dead. Tomorrow is the wedding day. Many from the Immortal Alliance will attend the ceremony. You must pretend to be Ningxi and marry Gao Fengxu.'”

Su Ningzhen’s eyes widened in horror. Her voice trembled as she said, “But my sister is already dead!”

“So what!” The Venerable Miaohua angrily smashed a cup, his face twisted with rage. “How dare she die? Where did she get ‘all flowers have faded’? It’s utterly ridiculous that the Yin Mystic Girl died!”

The Venerable Miaohua was usually dignified and restrained, rarely seen so furious and out of control. She clenched her fists, her gaze filled with hatred passing through Su Ningzhen’s face, as if seeing Su Ningxi.

“Ningzhen, you’ve always been obedient. This concerns the dignity of Mirror Flower Valley and Mingyue Villa. You must not let anyone detect anything amiss,” the Venerable Miaohua said gravely.

Su Ningzhen shook her head in sorrow. “No… I can’t do it. I want to see my sister. Where is she?”

“You’ll see her after the wedding ceremony,” the Venerable Miaohua said coldly. “Otherwise, you’ll never see her again.”

Su Ningzhen slowly tightened the quilt beneath her hands and finally nodded reluctantly, biting her lip in submission.

Sang Qi helplessly released Mu Xuanling from his grasp, trembling as he knelt to the ground, even forgetting about the hostage, Gao Qiumin. Gao Qiumin, enduring the severe pain in his shoulder, crawled to Su Ningzhen’s side and heard Mu Xuanling murmuring behind him, “So… back then, the one who married Gao Fengxu was Su Ningzhen. Then, is Gao Qiumin Su Ningzhen’s daughter?”

Gao Qiumin’s body stiffened as she looked up at the tearful Su Ningzhen, whispering in disbelief, “Master… am I really…”

Could it be that she was truly her master’s biological daughter? That was why her master had passed all her cultivation to her, and why she had passed the position of the Mirror Flower Valley leader to her…

Su Ningzhen looked down at Gao Qiumin, suddenly laughing with a tremble. She covered her eyes, but tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

“I’d rather… Qiumin were my child…”

Sang Qi stared intently at Su Ningzhen, his voice low and hoarse, filled with grief. “What do you mean by that? Isn’t she? Where is Ningxi’s body!”

Su Ningzhen’s voice was hoarse as she replied, “Do you know why Gao Fengxu was so insistent on marrying Ningxi? Hahaha… They were only after Ningxi’s Yin Mystic body. The Yin Mystic girl, a reincarnation of the goddess, possesses infinite vitality, capable of reviving all lifeless things. The Chaos Pearl of the Mingyue Villa had lost its energy, and Gao Fengxu wanted to use Ningxi’s vitality to nurture the Chaos Pearl, restoring its former energy.”

“But Ningxi is already dead…” Sang Qi’s once bright silver eyes lost their luster as he closed his eyes in pain, whispering, “She’s already dead…”

She had never betrayed his promise, yet he had misunderstood her for twenty years. What had his pain and hatred been for all these years…

“So what if she’s dead…” Su Ningzhen recalled what she had seen that day, her dazed eyes gradually filling with fear, anger, hatred, and disgust. “The Yin Goddess’s divine orifice is the source of spiritual power, and her womb is the root of vitality. She had a thousand-year lifespan, and her vitality would last for a thousand years even after death. Gao Fengxu and Master cut open her womb and placed the Chaos Pearl inside her body, using her vitality to nourish the Chaos Pearl.”

Even in death, she remained as beautiful as in life, her body just slightly colder, her appearance still gentle and lovely, as if she were merely sleeping rather than dead.

The Venerable Miaohua used her finger like a blade, slicing open her abdomen, not a drop of blood spilling out.

The man who was said to be handsome, refined, affectionate, and kind, Gao Fengxu, approached the bed with a golden treasure the size of a baby’s fist in his palm.

“This is the Chaos Pearl? It looks dull,” said the Venerable Miaohua.

Su Ningzhen stared fixedly at the treasure, seeing that it had lost its color and brilliance, with mysterious patterns engraved on it, resembling clouds and vines. Hearing that the Chaos Pearl was omnipotent and wondrous, she wondered if they were trying to revive Ningxi…

Gao Fengxu said solemnly, “Ancient books say that the vitality of the Yin Mystic Girl can revive all things, perhaps even restore the Chaos Pearl. But I don’t know if a dead Yin Mystic Girl will still be effective…”

Dressed in her wedding gown, Su Ningzhen looked at Gao Fengxu in confusion, not quite understanding his words, but she suddenly realized that this man had no intention of saving Ningxi.

“Then let’s try it and see,” said the Venerable Miaohua.

Gao Fengxu smiled slightly. “If it works, naturally I won’t go back on my word.”

Gao Fengxu placed the Chaos Pearl into the incision in Su Ningxi’s abdomen. Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and he spread his fingers, slowly forming a crimson hue on his middle finger. A droplet of blood, exuding a faint golden glow, seeped from his fingertip and quickly vanished into Su Ningxi’s abdomen, attaching itself to the Chaos Pearl.

The Venerable Miaohua was startled and looked at Gao Fengxu warily. “Your lifeblood? Are you trying to refine the Chaos Pearl?”

“The Chaos Pearl has lost its energy and is like a lifeless object now. I can’t refine it. I’m just curious to see what miraculous changes might occur within the body of a Yin Mystic Girl,” Gao Fengxu said casually with a smile.

The Venerable Miaohua’s expression fluctuated, but she did not stop Gao Fengxu’s actions. As he had said, no one could know what changes might ultimately occur.

She performed her magic arts, sewing up the wound on Su Ningxi’s corpse, leaving her abdomen as smooth and unblemished as before.

Su Ningzhen, stunned, stepped forward and asked tremulously, “Master, what have you done to my sister…”

The Venerable Miaohua turned to look at her, his expression indifferent. “For these days, you will remain at the Mingyue Villa, acting as Su Ningxi, staying secluded and carefully guarding her body, watching for any changes in her.”

Gao Fengxu added, “Most importantly, watch for any changes in the Chaos Pearl.”

Su Ningzhen gazed blankly at the unresponsive Su Ningxi, recalling just a few days ago when she had told her—Gao Fengxu was affectionate and kind, and would treat her well…

So… both Master and Gao Fengxu were just trying to use her…

Many years ago, when they were still very young, her sister had understood that they must not let others know of her abilities, or those bad people would take them away to plant flowers.

Ningxi had always been wiser than her. She knew these pious elders had never truly pitied or loved them; they only coveted her abilities. The one who truly loved her was that half-demon, who was despised by the world and killed by her own younger sister.

Su Ningzhen covered her face and slowly knelt before Su Ningxi, crying uncontrollably…

“Sister, I’m sorry…”

It was my fault, I made you lose your beloved, made you die in hatred, made you suffer such disgrace after death…

No, it wasn’t my fault, it was Sang Qi’s fault, that half-demon who seduced my sister. If she hadn’t fallen in love with that half-demon, she wouldn’t have committed suicide, and naturally wouldn’t have been treated like this after death…

I did nothing wrong. It was that half-demon, that damned half-demon…

She tightly hugged herself, helplessly and despairingly guarding Su Ningxi’s corpse, constantly telling herself that the one she should hate was the half-demon Sang Qi.

It seemed as if only by doing this could she find a little courage to keep living.