Chapter 9 : Someone Twisted It

Chapter 9: Someone Twisted It

Cheng Hua’s delicate buttocks pressed against the wooden stool.

A trace of confusion appeared on her cool, detached face.

The village house she was in was still the same one from last night. The rough grain of the wooden table, the pile of firewood and farming tools nearby—all remained unchanged.

Even the bowl of pitch-black medicine still emitted the same faint fragrance of Stone Milk Moss.

It felt as if time had reversed, returning to this morning.

Cheng Hua raised her head and looked across.

The Corpse Refinement Path practitioner named Fang Chang sat there. The candlelight illuminated him, yet failed to dispel the coldness in his demeanor.

At this moment, he held the old handwritten notebook.

With an air of arrogance, he flipped through its pages while scoffing and shaking his head—

As if he were looking at something beneath contempt.

If not for the faint pain from the wound in her shoulder pierced by the Blood Thorn Cord,

If not for the night outside the window,

If not for Fang Chang telling her that an entire day and night had already passed—

Cheng Hua would have thought none of it had happened.

She tilted her head in confusion.

Fang Chang was completely unharmed.

He was only a beginner in the Corpse Refinement Path. Facing a Third Layer Guarding the One cultivator—how could he remain completely unscathed?

It wasn’t unheard of for a Qi Absorption cultivator to escape pursuit from a Guarding the One cultivator.

But the Blood Demon Path specialized heavily in killing.

The probability was extremely low.

“Drink it. Why are you staring at me?”

Fang Chang glanced sideways, snapping the dazed fairy of Canglan Mountain out of her thoughts.

Cheng Hua withdrew her gaze.

She drank the excessively bitter medicine in one gulp.

Having experienced it once before, her expression did not change at all.

“How did you manage it?”

“What?”

Fang Chang didn’t even raise his head, his attention still on the notebook.

“That Blood Demon Path practitioner.”

“Oh… actually, she was a pitiful old woman. I helped reunite her with her two sons, so naturally there was nothing left to fight over.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s rare in life to embrace confusion. If you don’t understand, then so be it… But you—right after sending your message, someone came to hunt you down. Don’t you find that strange?”

“The message paper cranes of Canglan Mountain can only be accessed through methods known to Canglan Mountain.”

“That’s exactly the point.”

Cheng Hua fell silent.

Someone like her had naturally already sensed something was off—it was merely pointed out by Fang Chang.

After a pause, she suddenly said:

“There’s more than one strange thing. Ever since I was severely injured, I’ve felt as if someone has been touching me.”

“I carried you back here with great effort. Don’t go slandering me.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

She placed her snow-white hand over the right side of her chest. “Here. Ever since yesterday morning after you delivered the medicine, it felt like someone twisted it.”

Cheng Hua showed not the slightest embarrassment—she was merely stating a fact.

The fairy sat upright in her moon-white silk dress.

The slit of her skirt was light and thin, covering her slender, straight jade-like legs, outlining smooth curves.

Fang Chang felt somewhat helpless.

“I’m a man, Fellow Daoist Cheng Hua. Please don’t bring up such private boudoir matters in front of me.”

This person really had no sense of occasion when speaking.

I’d feel awkward too, alright?

Cheng Hua glanced at him calmly, as if she didn’t consider him an outsider.

“You seem to understand quite a bit about medicine. Do you know why?”

“I’m just a Qi Absorption cultivator with no impact on the situation.”

“You… how can you be so petty!”

Cheng Hua grew slightly annoyed again.

Fang Chang smiled.

“Maybe it’s secondary development.”

“I’ve been an adult for four or five years already… Could it be the Gu poison from that sachet earlier?”

Fang Chang shook his head. He hadn’t detected any Gu poison in Cheng Hua’s body.

The Gu insect within the sachet had not been activated either.

Compared to Cheng Hua’s sensations, he trusted his own judgment more.

Cheng Hua frowned slightly, unconvinced.

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly turned her head toward the window and said calmly:

“My senior sister has arrived.”

…

Night spread like spilled ink over the mountain peaks, the silver moon hanging high in the sky.

A graceful figure in white descended slowly through the air, riding a sword.

A mutton-fat jade hairpin slanted in her hair, reflecting the moonlight. A pale green sash wrapped her waist, her figure petite and soft.

“Junior Sister!”

Cui Wenxi could not wait for the slow descent of her sword. She leapt down anxiously.

She rushed forward to Cheng Hua, inspecting her carefully.

“How are your injuries? Where are your pills?”

“I’ve already used them all.”

Cui Wenxi quickly took out medicinal pills, pouring out several purple pills radiating Spiritual Essence.

Cheng Hua’s expression remained unchanged as she raised her hand and swallowed them.

After a brief moment of refinement, the intense pain within her body quickly eased.

“The moment I received your message, I rushed over immediately. If not for those Deviant Path cultivators blocking my way, I would never have been delayed until now!”

“Senior Sister, do not worry. I am not in serious danger.”

“How could you not be! Your heart meridian is damaged, sword qi has entered your body, and you’ve delayed treatment for so long—this could harm your foundation… Hmm? There’s medicinal energy protecting you?”

Cheng Hua turned to look at Fang Chang and introduced:

“This is Fang Chang. He has saved me multiple times. The nurturing medicinal power in my body also comes from the Stone Milk Moss he gathered.”

Joy appeared on Cui Wenxi’s face, and she was about to thank him, but suddenly frowned.

“Corpse qi… a Corpse Refinement Path cultivator?”

Fang Chang cupped his hands. “Just a small hobby.”

Cheng Hua added, “I promised to bring him into Canglan Mountain.”

“Mm…”

Cui Wenxi hesitated briefly, then nodded. “Since Junior Sister has agreed…”

Fang Chang smiled faintly at the side, not particularly concerned.

But inwardly, a trace of doubt arose.

He had always believed that the Gu insect hidden within Cheng Hua’s sachet was a method planted by her senior sister.

But now that he saw her—it was actually Cui Wenxi.

This line of reasoning no longer seemed so accurate.

Even though Fang Chang had never joined Canglan Mountain in his previous life,

He still knew that Cui Wenxi was famous in Fallen Immortal as an impatient yet bright and cheerful senior sister!

Small in stature, she was even nicknamed the “Little Sun of Canglan Mountain” by players.

If it were said that she had poisoned Cheng Hua with Gu—

Most people would not believe it.

However—

The world of Fallen Immortal was far too vast.

Many subtle relationships and dark pasts could only be known by players who had personally participated in certain quests.

Even with Cui Wenxi’s reputation, Fang Chang did not intend to completely dismiss his suspicion.

After all, he was a rogue Corpse Refinement Path cultivator focused on large-scale map missions.

As for the internal affairs of sects—he could not be absolutely certain.

“Oh, right.”

Cui Wenxi suddenly seemed to remember something, her small face lighting up with a sunny smile.

“I mentioned earlier that I was delayed by some Deviant Path cultivators. Actually, there’s good news.”

“Please speak, Senior Sister.”

“I met someone with excellent aptitude! I’ve already spoken with him—on the way back, I’ll bring him into Canglan Mountain!”

“Then congratulations, Senior Sister.”

Cheng Hua responded flatly, without much reaction.

Cui Wenxi was already used to it. She turned to Fang Chang and smiled. “If both of you enter the sect, you’ll be fellow disciples.”

Hearing this, Fang Chang suddenly felt a vague premonition.

He cupped his hands. “May I ask, Senior Sister Cui—who is this young man?”

“He’s a local resident. His childhood name is Hu’er, and his formal name is… is… oh! Dai Bojun.”

Fang Chang understood, thinking to himself, as expected.

He quietly patted the handkerchief in his arms, stained with Dai Bojun’s blood, his expression carrying an indescribable meaning.