Questioning

Luo Mingchuan sized up the person before him and suddenly saw his thin lips part slightly as he murmured in a low voice, “Senior Brother Luo.”

The voice was distant and indifferent.

Luo Mingchuan suddenly snapped back to himself.

Back then at Lanyuan Academy… this person used to call him that.

He hadn’t heard Yin Biyue use that form of address for many years. It seemed that since they entered Cangya, overnight so many things had changed. The old camaraderie between classmates had become like strangers.

Thoughts racing were only a moment; looking at the person before him again, all the prepared questions suddenly left him speechless.

He unconsciously lowered his tone: “Junior Brother Yin…”

Before he could speak further, the young man actually opened his mouth first,

“Senior Brother, are you here to ask me about the Purple Mansion secret realm?”

Luo Mingchuan could only nod. “Exactly.”

He didn’t know what had come over him; the facts were unmistakable.

Yet why did a faint hope still linger in his heart, an instinctive unwillingness to believe the young man would harm him?

He even wished… that the young man was innocent.

I must be crazy.

Luo Mingchuan steadied his mind and raised his guard again.

The youth no longer spoke; he simply stared at him, his gaze devoid of sorrow or joy.

No reason. No explanation.

A stifling silence echoed through the empty dungeon.

Yin Bi felt an increasing urge to bang his head against the wall!!

How am I supposed to explain this now!!

He had been rehearsing this script all along: the protagonist bursts in with stern questions, accusing and condemning; he then plays the part of the long-suffering, initially refusing to argue, and later, when pushed to the edge, reveals that he was coerced by an evil cultivator in the secret realm, forced to set up the formation—just going through the motions—and that at the last moment he and the evil cultivator perished together.

What a perfect script: dramatic conflict, every character trait accounted for!

Although the loopholes were too many to cover completely, with his years of excellent acting and the protagonist’s righteous, saintly heart, he was at least seventy percent sure he could get away with it. With the protagonist’s testimony pleading his case at the public trial, there was a real chance for a turnaround.

Now?! Protagonist, why aren’t you following the script! Playing by the set pattern!

He hadn’t finished thinking when the person opposite slightly furrowed their brow, as if displeased with his silence…

Then just play along with their scheme! Go all out!

As Yin Bi was about to speak, she suddenly looked up and met a pair of abyssal eyes.

As dark as lacquer and ink, like an endless whirlpool, seemingly about to suck a person’s very soul in!

Yin Biyue suddenly jolted! Jialan pupil technique!

Luo Mingchuan actually knows pupil techniques!

What the—where’s the promised saint?! Protagonist, why are you dropping your big move first?!

After crossing through so many times, I had gained some experience. This soul-capturing technique, similar to the demonic art of soul-grasping, when perfected can control another’s mind.

And the pupil technique that Luo Mingchuan practiced was a righteous method; it didn’t injure the target’s spirit, but it required exceptionally high talent to cultivate.

Luo Mingchuan’s current ability was only enough to make someone’s mind hazy and force them to speak the truth.

But this level of soul intrusion was by no means something the original body’s cultivation could withstand; even Liu Qishuang might not be able to fend it off if caught completely unprepared.

Yin Biyue inwardly marveled at how the protagonist was truly defying fate—being able to grasp such a difficult technique at its entry level—while at the same time itching to slap her thigh and laugh out loud!

This young master has been transmigrating for so many years; lacking other talents, his soul refining is comparable to 24K titanium alloy—unmatched by any rival!!

If you’re not convinced, come fight!!

…But the play still had to go on.

For a moment he was stunned; the young man’s cold eyes filled with vacancy, as if a mountain wind had risen, carrying a misty haze.

Facing such a pair of eyes, pure as a child’s, Luo Mingchuan could hardly speak, a twinge of guilt welling up in him…

“Junior brother, you… why do you want to kill me?”

Yin Bi wished she could slap him!

Young man! How can you be so clueless about a villain’s heart!!

Extremely gifted yet constantly upstaged, driven to darkness by extreme jealousy! That’s the villain’s setup!

The original had been the top scholar of the academy, joining the sect only to be eclipsed by you at every turn. She overheard gossip about twenty times a day—‘Although Junior Brother Luo isn’t as talented as Senior Brother Yin, he’s really a good person!’—and later, ‘Why is someone named Yin allowed into Xihua Peak? I think Junior Brother Luo is a hundred times better than him!’

Originally the original host had simply been aloof and proud, not fond of others; but after two years of joining the sect his character had long since become twisted!! He bolted toward the gloomy newspaper office and ran off without looking back!!

The young man suddenly smiled softly.

Like a stone dropping into a still lake, the smile rippled layer upon layer from the corners of his eyes.

His cool, clear features seemed like ice and snow just beginning to melt, spring breezes waking the peach blossoms across the hills.

It was as if he had originally been a being from the heavens, and with that smile, he returned to the mortal world.

Just enough to make one lose oneself in it.

“Senior brother, you came to see me.” The youth’s smile carried a trace of awkward innocence, tilting his head like a child. “How nice.”

“I’m so glad I can still see you.”

Luo Mingchuan froze where he stood. Why would his junior brother… say that?

This kind of Yin Bi is suddenly unfamiliar.

As if she had shed every disguise and guard, her icy chill that kept others at bay melted away. Real… and vulnerable.

Yes, vulnerable.

He didn’t understand why someone who was always proud and indifferent could be vulnerable. And he himself felt an inexplicable sourness in his chest…

Yin Biyue only saw Luo Mingchuan’s eyes flash, ripples rising in the deep ink-black.

In an instant it was like being doused with cold water, and she immediately sobered up.

Could it be that Luo Mingchuan had grown suspicious?

Right! He asked “why kill him”—how could someone under an eye technique answer out of context!

Too careless! Far too careless! If he noticed something different about my spirit…

I must say something immediately to divert his attention and cover this gap!!

Yin Bi still put on a bewildered look, her mind racing.

But how to fix it?! With that pause, even if Luo Mingchuan were the saintliest, he should have realized something was wrong!!

“Ding——To help customers better understand how to use this product, we’re offering three complimentary user trials to help you easily solve life’s problems. Would you like to use them now?”

User trials, what the heck?!

Luo Mingchuan frowned…

Use! Use it, use it, use it!!! Solve life’s problems!!

“Ding—Halo Assistant at your service!”

Yin Biyue felt his mind tighten, as if an invisible rope inside his body had hooked onto him, tugging his expressions and movements into place.

The young man suppressed his smile.

“You think I’m going to kill you?”

He seemed to be asking himself as much as the other, the ending of his voice trembling faintly, as if suppressing something. “Kill you?… How could I kill you?! Brother Luo… do you know…”

A brilliant light suddenly erupted from his cold, clear eyes, staring straight at the person before him, the corners of his eyes straining as if to burst,

“Even if I die someday, I will never let anything happen to you!”

Luo Mingchuan was shaken to his core!

Madness, obsession, unwillingness, resentment, and… emotions he didn’t understand. All those deep, cutting feelings were condensed in those handsome eyes, the sweeping outer corners faintly tinged with crimson.

He murmured, “Junior brother, you…”

“I only wanted to leave Cangya with you, but why did the teleportation array turn into Yinghuo Shouxin’s killing formation?! Why didn’t it only target you?! Why did it end up like that… I couldn’t control it anymore… I followed exactly what that person told me to do…”

The youth staggered forward, iron chains clanking, his pale fingers gripping the black-iron railings.

Luo Mingchuan saw the heavy iron chain bound around his slender wrist.

Leave… Cangya together?

“Who told you to do these things, and where are you taking me?”

“In the secret realm, I met a cultivator in the Pure Water Lake; he said there’s a way to make my wish come true…” As he spoke, the youth suddenly grew excited, his frail shoulders trembling slightly,

“You ask me where I’m going?! We clearly agreed! The teachers at the academy said, ‘A gentleman’s promise must not be broken!’ Brother, have you truly forgotten?”

Jingshui Lake! Of course, Jingshui Lake! The junior brother must have run into an evil cultivator in the lake! Fallen for a trap!

Before he could ask for clarification, the young man continued speaking to himself

“Going to Qiongzhou! … I know you don’t want to go with me, so I thought of this way.”

The young boy smiled again, his eyes bright, as if saying, “I’m clever, praise me quickly.”

Before the smile could spread, it suddenly turned sorrowful. “But senior brother, why did you change?”

Qiongzhou?! Luo Mingchuan widened his eyes in disbelief. “How did you find out?”

…Find out, Qiongzhou?

Suddenly he realized, oh no! Experiencing such extreme joy and sorrow within the pupil technique so easily harms the heart and spirit!

And his intuition told him he mustn’t ask any further—the youth was about to reveal a strange secret!

Luo Mingchuan said sharply, “Spirit-given soul, break!”

Unfortunately, with his current cultivation he still could not make his words instantly take effect.

It’s already too late.

The young man spoke slowly, “That night three years ago, the Mid-Autumn moon full, Lan Yuan Academy’s graduation, drinking pear blossom brew through the night, you didn’t say it like that then…”

Luo Mingchuan’s head exploded with a thunderous noise.

In distant memory, that absurd night had long since blurred.

Heaven’s way above—what has he done!

Lanyuan Academy’s name shook the world; it admitted only thirty students each year, and those who graduated successfully were rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. The school had no fixed term—anyone who passed the final examination could graduate. Those who couldn’t stay could leave on their own, but they would be forever barred from reentering the academy or calling themselves its students. Even so, bearing the stigma of an academy dropout still meant a future of splendor.

The graduates of the academy, whether they sought dao and法, or sought power and influence, none were mediocrities; one could say heroes of the world emerged from their ranks.

Luo Mingchuan was four years older than Yin Biyue, yet they enrolled in the academy the same year; after three years as classmates, they passed the examinations together.

Yin Biyue had even claimed that year’s top spot, becoming the youngest champion in the academy’s history. Great clans, royal families, and sects vied to win her favor, her renown dazzling for a time.

On the night they graduated, more than twenty of them gathered at the lotus-platform waterside pavilion, drinking and singing freely.

This group of prodigious youths possessed both the arrogance to look down on the world and the daring to roam the four seas, and also an unfocused bewilderment about where tomorrow would lead and what they truly sought.

This parting may mean mountains high and waters far, with no meeting yet—on the day we meet again whether life and death stand opposed is unknown; or it may be flowers and brocade, blazing fires cooking oil—wealth and a glorious future; or it may be atop a lofty peak, mist and clouds vast, bitter cultivation and solitude.

The road ahead is vast and uncertain, the world’s affairs unpredictable; only this is known: after tonight, life will be different from now on.

A hundred feelings converge, all rising to the heart, turning into the wine in the cup.

In that year, Yin Biyue was only an arrogant youth.

That year Luo Mingchuan was still a hotheaded youth who got drunk and made a scene.

Lotus terrace by the waterside, cups and plates in disarray, beating chopsticks in song, fireworks and fine wine, reveling until dawn.

Memory gradually brushed away the dust of light and shadow, revealing a vivid, true face,

“I don’t want to join any Cangya Mountain sect. What’s so good about cultivating? I’d rather go back to my hometown Qiongzhou, get married and have children…”

“Hehe, come with me, let’s go home…”

Luo Mingchuan was struck by the fragment that flashed through his mind.

He stood there dumbfounded.

He couldn’t even remember who he had pulled anymore—wasn’t it the junior sister who slapped him the next day?

But it was… Junior Brother Yin?!

And then? Did he say anything more outrageous, do anything, did anything happen…

How old was the junior disciple then?! Fourteen, maybe?!

He wished he could fly back to that night, grab his drunken self and slap him hard twice to wake him up—what a beast you are, worse than an animal!

Just as he was about to speak again, he saw the mist in the other’s eyes slowly disperse.

Thick lashes fell, and when they opened again, the eyes were like cold stars in the sky.

The youth frowned slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his gaze, as if puzzled about what had just happened.

The pupil technique has been undone.

After the silence, the youth asked nothing, only stepping back two paces and turning to walk into the darkness.

A cold, indifferent voice said softly, “Senior Brother Luo, if you have no business here, please leave.”

Luo Mingchuan nearly fled in panic.

Author’s note: It’s getting late~ But wow! What an insanely! loooong! chapter!!