Chapter 345 - 4: Strange Happenings at Danxia

On Danxia Peak, the night was deep.

A delicate-featured, frail woman walked alone along the mountain path.

After a moment, she stopped, looking up at a stone tablet inscribed with three characters—Qiluo Garden.

"This is the place."

Xia Qinglian muttered coolly to herself, slowly stepping into the garden.

It was a massive forest garden built halfway up the mountain, with shady trees and neatly arranged houses.

The outer area was neat with white wooden walls and tiles, the residence of Copper Level Outer Sect disciples.

Further in, there were smaller courtyards, with larger, more stylish houses, each with its own small garden, offering much better surroundings.

This area was for the Silver Level Outer Sect disciples.

Xia Qinglian sneered inwardly, thinking back to when all the Cyan Lotus Sect members lived in equally standard houses, even she and the Sect Leader, as well as the Senior Sister, only had the luxury of rooms to themselves rather than shared accommodations.

The Zhenyang Sect was indeed a prestigious, hierarchical sect, dividing disciples into different classes, even differentiating their living quarters by rank.

The wooden cabins she passed had copper plaques hanging on them with room numbers, starting from number one, with larger numbers further in.

The plaque Ruo Mei had bore the number ninety-eight, so she still had a bit to go.

As Xia Qinglian walked, she calculated in her mind that Danxia Peak Master Tantai Mingyue focused on Alchemy Dao and that her husband was an Alchemist; since he needed to acquire the Ice Heart Rejuvenation Pill, he would likely come to Danxia Peak.

For now, I’ll stay quietly under Ruo Mei’s identity at Danxia Peak, waiting for my husband’s arrival.

Of course, I cannot acknowledge him, lest I put him in danger.

Stumbling into Zhenyang Sect turned out to please Xia Qinglian quite a bit.

For now, she could secretly cultivate and recover her cultivation, stealthily gathering more secrets inside Zhenyang Sect for future vengeance.

Meanwhile, she could silently protect her husband without the worry of implicating him.

It was indeed a triple win.

At the moment, Xia Qinglian was determined to first thoroughly understand everything about Ruo Mei, avoid any flaws, and quietly lie low.

Soon, she arrived at the Copper Level house marked with "ninety-eight" and walked straight in, immediately hearing a startled voice:

"Who?!"

Suddenly, an Everlasting Lamp illuminated, revealing four beds in the room; three were furnished with bedding and other daily items, while the last was empty, clearly unoccupied.

The other two beds both had women sitting on them, the same ones who were by the cliff earlier, discarding a body.

Seeing Ruo Mei, the two women turned pale, their faces full of fear, pointing at her in shock:

"Ruo Mei?! How, how are you..."

Xia Qinglian once again wore a bewildered expression, speaking in a daze:

"I remember this was the place I lived in, did I get it wrong?"

The two women, still shaken, observed for a moment, realizing this Ruo Mei wasn’t an apparition; she seemed like a living person, finally heaving a sigh of relief.

Noticing Ruo Mei’s puzzled look, one tall woman braved to ask:

"Ruo Mei, do you... recognize us?"

Xia Qinglian looked at them "in confusion" and shook her head: "I feel like I know, but also not, I just woke under a tree below a cliff; my mind is blank; I only remember living here, who... are you?"

The "amnesia" act was brilliantly executed, leaving the two women unsure whether to believe, while another hefty woman with rough skin asked:

"Then... Ruo Mei, do you remember how you fell off the cliff?"

Xia Qinglian again shook her head confusedly: "I don’t remember, ah, who are you two? Why in my room?"

The tall woman’s eyes flickered with calculation, then a friendly smile appeared: "Ruo Mei, you forgot? We live together, I’m Zhou Man."

"I’m Xu Chengfang, hehe." The hefty woman waved at her, smiling naively; she hesitated at dumping the body before.

Zhou Man’s face smiled, but her eyes flashed coldly—though this little trick couldn’t escape Xia Qinglian’s notice.

It appeared the room housed three, with Ruo Mei likely having a conflict with Zhou Man and Xu Chengfang over something, resulting in her murder at their hands.

Zhou Man probably played the main role, with Xu Chengfang as an accomplice.

Right, there was that Inner Sect Disciple wearing a Purple Sun Brocade Robe, who likely was the mastermind.

For now, it was best to stay quietly and gather all of Ruo Mei’s information.

Right then, Xia Qinglian said to the two: "Oh, you both live with me? I remember, this is my bed, sorry, my mind’s foggy today, making me forget, I’m so tired, I’ll sleep first."

Xia Qinglian turned off the lamp and lay down to sleep.

The room once more returned to dark and silent.

After a long time, Zhou Man and Xu Chengfang quietly slipped off their beds. Zhou Man carrying a Long Sword, stealthily approached Ruo Mei’s bedside.

She raised her Long Sword aimed at Ruo Mei in bed but was stopped by Xu Chengfang, who gestured repeatedly.

The two tugged and pulled outside the room, closing the door, heading to a secluded little grove, where Zhou Man angrily said:

"Why stop me? If she remembers and starts talking, we’re finished!"

Xu Chengfang hurriedly replied: "Senior Sister Zhou, if we kill in Qiluo Garden, there’d be an investigation by the Peak, and then we’d be easily caught!"

Zhou Man’s anger subsided hearing her, though worry deepened:

"We clearly saw her die; how is she still alive? Could Eastern Cultivator’s truly have a secret technique?"

From her words, this Ruo Mei seemed from the Land of the Western Emperor, yet unclear why she came to Eastern Cultivator’s Zhenyang Sect.

Xu Chengfang suddenly clutched Zhou Man’s sleeve: "Senior Sister Zhou, could it be a ghost?!"

Zhou Man, startled by her movement, glared and snapped: "Don’t talk nonsense! Just now, I checked: Ruo Mei had a shadow underneath her, words came with heat, how could she be a ghost?"

"What do we do now?" Xu Chengfang’s anxiety grew as she turned to Zhou Man:

"Should we find Senior Sister Lin? She ordered us to kill Ruo Mei, she can’t just leave us!"

Zhou Man, face tense, said: "Senior Sister Lin leaves tomorrow with the Commanding Disciple for surrounding towns to slay Demonic Beasts, likely gone for over a month. For now, we can’t face off with Ruo Mei, await Senior Sister Lin’s return!"

"This..." Xu Chengfang bit her lip but nodded in the end:

"I’ll follow Senior Sister Zhou’s lead."

"Remember, don’t talk about the past with Ruo Mei, prevent her from recalling, alright!"

After agreeing, the two tiptoed towards the Copper Number Ninety-Eight room, unaware a frail, delicate figure stood atop the big tree above them.

In a flash, the figure vanished without a trace.