“Once the restriction detonates, those two lives will be pinned on Wanjian Peak. With no living witnesses left and their souls completely destroyed, even a soul-search won't yield anything.”
“Wanjian Peak would have to take the fall for this.”
“Eldest Senior Sister would be branded with the infamy of killing her wife and daughter. With Master around, the sect wouldn't do anything extreme to her, but her reputation would be utterly ruined. As the eldest personal disciple of Wanjian Peak, she would never be able to win the respect of others for the rest of her life, and the position of Peak Master would certainly never be hers.”
After finishing her explanation, Shen Qingci couldn't help but recall the incident at Blood Thorn Ridge.
If the enemy had succeeded, and with her master's Dao foundation already damaged, having these two buckets of dirty water thrown at her one after another...
They were clearly trying to torment her master to death.
The female cultivator listened with the child in her arms, utterly lost. “Fairy, please show me a way to survive!”
Shen Qingci cast a sidelong glance at her. “Do you know the Northern Region Shen Family's stronghold in Qinghe County?”
The female cultivator blanked for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I know. It's spread all over the Southern Region that the Shen family is a newly emerged hidden great family, and their heir has joined the Azure Cloud Sect...” Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly froze.
The young lady before her... Steward Yin had repeatedly addressed her as “Eldest Young Lady Shen.”
The female cultivator's mind buzzed.
Yin He was a veteran steward of the Furong Merchant Alliance for hundreds of years, yet he had been incredibly respectful in front of this young lady, clearing the way and preparing tea.
The alliance's Young Proprietor had personally guided her, and a Soul Transformation stage senior accompanied them. Who else in the entire Southern Region could have such an entourage other than the Eldest Young Lady of the Shen family?
Earlier, with the sword intent pressed against her brow, her mind had been entirely focused on saving her own skin, and she hadn't even realized this connection.
She was absolutely stupid!!!
Had she known it was the Eldest Young Lady of the Shen family, she would have knelt down and spoken the truth the moment she entered. Why would she have waited to be interrogated for so long?
The female cultivator hurriedly wiped her face with her sleeve, cleaning away both tears and snot. Gathering Mumu into her arms, she stood up and solemnly performed a Daoist salute toward Shen Qingci and Chi Yuan. “Greetings, Eldest Young Lady. Greetings, Fairy Chi.”
Straightening her back, she said, “My name is Qian Chuan'er. I have no father or mother, so I named myself. As a rogue cultivator, I just wanted a lucky name that sounds like strings of spirit stones.”
“As for today's matters, I, Qian Chuan'er, swear on my inner demon that once I walk out of this door, I won't breathe a single word of it.”
She looked down at Mumu in her arms and gritted her teeth.
“Since the Eldest Young Lady is willing to give me a chance to make a living, from now on, Mumu will never appear before Fairy Ji. She will only know that her other mother has passed away.”
Seeing that this woman had finally caught on, Shen Qingci didn't know whether to praise her or not.
If she had been this clever when she first entered, she and her senior sister could have saved a lot of breath.
“Rest assured. Once you reach Qinghe County, my aunt, who is a Void Refining expert, will remove the Soul-Severing Restriction from both of you.”
“Since you've shown a shred of kindness toward this child, as long as you do your duties honestly, the Shen family won't begrudge you a Nascent Soul Pill.”
“If this child doesn't have a spiritual root, the Shen family will guarantee her a peaceful life. If she does, as long as she adheres to her original aspirations, the Shen family will provide all her cultivation resources.”
Qian Chuan'er's eyes grew red again, but this time, it wasn't from fear.
Her lips trembled slightly, and a lump formed in her throat.
Having been a rogue cultivator for over a century, she had never heard such words. Even without a spiritual root, the child would be guaranteed a peaceful life, and if she had one, resources would be provided—all for nothing other than the bit of sincerity she had shown Mumu.
Her kindness to the child in the beginning had been purely out of affection from raising her for so long; she had never expected any reward.
Who would have thought that after all this, her sincerity would turn out to be her greatest lifesaver?
Qian Chuan'er sniffled, forcing her tears back. She was a mother now; she couldn't just cry at the drop of a hat.
Seeing that the woman had calmed down, Shen Qingci's coldness faded a bit. She bent down and reached out toward Mumu.
This child version of her Eldest Senior Sister looked just like a doll; she would probably be quite fun to tease.
Mumu poked her face out of Qian Chuan'er's arms, stared at Shen Qingci for two seconds, and opened her mouth to say, “Mother!”
She had already called her that once at the entrance of the hall, so why was she doing it again???
Shen Qingci: “...”
Chi Yuan's divine sense swept over.
Qian Chuan'er panicked and immediately covered Mumu's mouth. “Please forgive her, Eldest Young Lady! The child didn't mean it; I taught her wrong in the past.”
“Ba... Back when we rented a cave dwelling, there was a kind-looking female cultivator next door. She was at the Golden Core stage and quite well-off, and she often gave Mumu snacks.”
“Once, Mumu had a slip of the tongue and called her 'Mother.' The female cultivator was stunned, so I rushed over to apologize, saying the child's other mother had passed away and she had mistaken her.”
“That female cultivator was soft-hearted. Not only did she not mind, but she even gave us an extra bag of mid-grade spirit stones before she left. I...”
Qian Chuan'er wished she could bury her head under the table. “I got a taste of sweetness. After that, I specifically targeted female cultivators who looked kind, wore expensive robes, and carried storage ornaments. I'd have Mumu call them 'Mother,' then I'd go over to apologize and make up a pitiful story about our background.”
“Seven or eight times out of ten, we'd get some handouts.”
“Mumu got so used to saying it that she'd call anyone who looked wealthy and gentle 'Mother.' When she called you that in the hall earlier, she was just falling back into her old habit.”
Shen Qingci looked down at her own cloud-silk brocade robe, then touched the jade pendant at her waist.
So she wasn't recognizing a bloodline; she was just recognizing a rich target.
“You've certainly figured out a lot of tricks as a rogue cultivator.” She withdrew her arm.
Qian Chuan'er said sheepishly, “If you're thick-skinned, you won't starve. Besides, sword cultivators are usually pretty poor.”
Chi Yuan's lips tightened, and she turned her gaze away.
Shen Qingci walked to the entrance of the hall and gave instructions to those under the corridor. “Have someone tell the kitchen to send some food over. Make sure it's suitable for a child.”
The Golden Core guard waiting under the corridor acknowledged the command and quickly departed.
In the front courtyard, Yin He was playing chess with Yin Ruozhuo. Hearing the order for food from inside, the old steward paused his move and looked up at his young master.
“Young Master, the matter has been settled.”
Yin Ruozhuo, holding a chess piece, hadn't quite registered it. “How can you tell?”
“The child inside cried several times, and now it has suddenly gone quiet and food has been ordered. This means the interrogation is over, and all that's left is to settle them down.” Yin He placed the chess piece back into the container. “Young Master, it's not appropriate for us from the merchant alliance to pry too deeply into Wanjian Peak's internal affairs.”
“Lending them the residence today was out of friendship. Pushing any further would be overstepping our bounds.”
Yin Ruozhuo thought about it for a moment, then threw his chess piece down. “Alright, then I'll wait in the front. Senior Sister will surely say goodbye to me before she leaves.”
Yin He nodded and poured himself another cup of tea.
About fifteen minutes later, a guard brought a food box into the main hall. Spiritual rice porridge, honey-glazed steamed cakes, minced meat balls, sugar-preserved spiritual fruits... dish after dish was laid out on the table.
Mumu smelled the fragrance, poking her head out from Qian Chuan'er's arms, staring longingly at the dish of spiritual fruits. This time she didn't call anyone “Mother,” but instead poked Qian Chuan'er's arm with her finger. “Qianqian, Mu wants to eat.”
Qian Chuan'er picked up a minced meat ball to feed her. The little girl swallowed it in one big bite, her cheeks puffing out as she ate, her mouth covered in grease.
Chi Yuan sat down next to Shen Qingci. She didn't pick up her chopsticks, only watching them quietly.
Shen Qingci turned her head to look at her and said softly, “Would you like some too, Senior Sister?”
Chi Yuan shook her head, her gaze drifting over to Mumu's face.
The child was innocent, and Qian Chuan'er was merely a pawn being used. The person who used a Nascent Soul Pill as bait was the one who truly deserved to die.
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