Chapter Sixty-Eight: Shadows

Running aimlessly, my thoughts fluttered like a butterfly with broken wings, falling into a deep valley of flowers, reaching out with fragile antennae, yet trembling, unable to land on a petal.

In this state of mind, I unknowingly found myself in an unfamiliar dark alley. The harsh, grating curses were off-putting, but hearing the name "Qiongyun" made me stop and listen.

Rounding a corner, I saw a girl in green with her hair tied in a thin string, hands on her hips, talking incessantly to a tall, slender man in black. Her demeanor and bearing were extremely peculiar.

It was as if an old soul was controlling that young body.

"Tell me, are you interested in that new girl? I've seen you sneaking glances at something these past few days. What's got you so captivated that you can't forget about it?"

That was no young girl's voice; it was clearly an old woman's.

"It's... it's a misunderstanding! Really! I wasn't looking at any portrait; I was studying cultivation techniques." The man's voice lacked confidence.

"Useless thing, did I ask if you were looking at a portrait? Sneaking around, looking at that seductive fox. I'll make you pay!" With that, the girl slapped the man's face.

The blow wasn't hard, but the man clutched his face in pain, his expression twisting. As he pulled his hand away, half his face swelled up alarmingly, almost as large as a bun.

What kind of poison works so quickly and violently?

I hadn't noticed before, but this little girl was a master of poison. Truly, appearances can be deceiving.

"Ouch, ouch, you played dirty! Give me the antidote, quick!" The man, tears streaming down his face, held out his hand, begging.

"Hand over what you've been looking at, and we'll talk!"

"This..."

"Quickly! Or you'll live with that lump forever! Move it!" Seeing the man tremble as he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, the girl snatched it away.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I stood on tiptoe to see, accidentally bumping into a bamboo basket at my feet.

"Who's there?!" The girl's sharp eyes immediately darted in my direction, and she threw several round darts from her hand.

I dodged silently, stepping out from behind the wall.

Seeing me, the girl's anger intensified. She turned to the man and shouted, "Well, well, the main culprit even showed up! Still denying you two have something going on?!" She tore up the picture and threw it on the ground.

Looking down, I saw that the picture was indeed of me, despite the changes Huaying's disguise technique had made. How did she recognize me so easily?

"What does this mean?" I asked, glancing at the pieces on the ground.

"You little tramp, dare to ask me what it means? No wonder you're a traitor to Qiongyun, carrying the blame. You're so clueless, running around in a daze trying to seduce people!"

"Have you finished your insults?" I asked.

"You think you're in the right?" She glared at me, teeth bared as if ready to bite.

"I'm not interested in your squabbles. Whatever arguments or fights you two have, they're none of my business. But I'm curious, which incident were you talking about?" I remained calm, knowing people like her weren't worth my time.

"Shameless tramp!" She shouted, waving her hand to throw a handful of poison powder.

I couldn't be bothered, raising my hand to summon an icy mist that dispersed the poison powder.

The hissing sound was like cold water hitting red-hot iron.

"You...!" Seeing that this move didn't work, she threw several poison needles and, at the same time, her wrist, now covered in spiders and poisonous insects, shook slightly, sending them splattering towards me with green venom.

Holding the ice lotus in my hand, I infused it with magic and slashed it around me. The ice instantly solidified, blocking the poison. I twisted the lotus stem, sending several ice blades embedding into the skin on either side of her neck.

"Don't make any sudden moves, or the next second you'll be headless."

"Nian Ying! Are you dead? Hurry and help me!"

The man in black moved his lips, hesitated, glanced at me, and then lowered his head.

So he was Nian Ying. I scrutinized the tall, thin man again, sensing that his demeanor didn't match that of the Moon Shadow Sect. Instead, it aligned with the weak, shadowy figure he seemed to be.

"Nian Ying, you useless fool, do you still want the antidote or not? Help me now!" Given the circumstances, this "little girl" must be Kuruo.

Seeing him hesitate, I froze his feet with ice from beneath his shoes.

I walked towards Kuruo. "Now, can you explain?"

"What's there to say? The Qiongyun incident? It was I who helped the leader release the demon beasts and spirits. The leader knew your potion would take effect and deliberately sent you. Only you were foolishly unaware." Kuruo yawned.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because the leader wanted you to lose hope, to abandon everything and serve the Moon Shadow Sect. You killed people, killed the disciples of a cultivation sect. Your crime is unforgivable, and you can never return to Qiongyun, can you?"

Kuruo laughed and continued, "But we didn't expect someone in Qiongyun to hate you so much. Accusing you of killing the sect leader certainly helped us a lot."

"Really? Too bad your plan failed."

"What do you mean?"

"No matter what you do, it won't change me. I only do what I want to do." I yanked the ice blade from her neck and threw it to the ground.

"So you still harbor rebellious thoughts. A traitor who betrays one will betray another. Today, I'll remove you for the leader and earn great merit." She suddenly reached for me. I glanced at her and raised my hand, slashing upwards from under her arm and stepping back.

Kuruo looked at me in disbelief. "Why are you unharmed?"

"Are you wondering why the poisonous mist you released when you pretended to yawn didn't affect me?" I carried Moon Spirit Jade, making me immune to any poison.

"You!" She tried to speak but suddenly spat out blood, her mouth opening as she collapsed.

Wondering what happened, I saw Nian Ying fall the same way, motionless on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, they both had finger-length wounds emitting black gas, not poison, but something more like a curse.

A shadow swiftly passed over my head. I prepared for defense and looked up—Mo Zhuo?