Chapter 224: Only Silence

Among the three elders of the Free and Easy School, apart from the Tianshan Child Witch, Wuyazi and Li Qiushui both had messy emotional entanglements: Wuyazi had first fallen in love with the Child Witch, but after Li Qiushui disrupted his cultivation breakthrough and stunted his growth, he turned to Li Qiushui instead.

The Child Witch had every reason to hate Wuyazi and Li Qiushui, yet her feelings for Wuyazi had never changed.

Ding Chunqiu's sudden utterance of these words startled the Child Witch, who immediately brimmed with murderous intent.

"What happened to your master?"

The Tianshan Child Witch demanded.

Ding Chunqiu sensed the killing intent and quickly added, "My master is unharmed."

But the Tianshan Child Witch did not relent; she swept her hand across the camellia blossoms, brushing away dewdrops to form Life-and-Death Talismans, which shot straight into Ding Chunqiu's body.

Ding Chunqiu instantly felt his body go awry and began frantically scratching himself—yet the more he scratched, the more the talismans gnawed at his soul; he was most skilled in poison arts, and now sensing his condition worsening, he hastily swallowed the antidotes he carried, yet none of them worked.

In the Condor Heroes world, Gu Qing had once used Jade Bee Needles to torment Hu Du, the Golden Wheel Abbot, and Kublai Khan; when the Jade Bee Needle's poison struck, the victim could not bear the itching and burning—but the horror of the Life-and-Death Talismans surpassed even that, for the Jade Bee Needles were poison, which the Star Pavilion Old Monster might antidote, while the Life-and-Death Talismans were not poison at all, but a disruption of yin and yang qi within the body, impossible to resolve without the secret method.

"Itch! Itch to death! Itch to death…"

After enduring this torment for a long while, Ding Chunqiu could bear it no longer—he tore at his beard, pulled out his hair, ripped his clothes, reducing himself to a disheveled mess; only after he had suffered terribly did the Tianshan Child Witch finally halt the talismans and inquire about Wuyazi's condition.

Ding Chunqiu had heard during his time in the Free and Easy School of the affairs between Wuyazi, Li Qiushui, and the Tianshan Child Witch; he believed Wuyazi had wronged the Child Witch, and now spoke these words hoping to draw closer to her, seeking her protection—but instead, his words enraged her.

Women's hearts are too strange!

Li Qiushui was like this back then, and now the Tianshan Child Witch is the same.

Ding Chunqiu truthfully recounted Wuyazi's current state; upon hearing that Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu had conspired to push Wuyazi off a cliff, leaving him neither alive nor dead, the Child Witch wept and raged—cursing Wuyazi the little scoundrel for getting his due, and Li Qiushui the treacherous harlot for her fickle ways.

After this outburst, two sharp thuds rang out—Ding Chunqiu, leaning on his cane, suddenly shrank in height; all looked on to see his legs had been severed—he would no longer need his cane, but must henceforth ride a wheelchair.

Lady Wang let out a startled cry and rushed forward, but the Tianshan Child Witch's glare halted her; she stood frozen to one side, watching Ding Chunqiu clumsily tend to his wounds, utterly pitiful.

"Child Witch."

Gu Qing bowed to the Tianshan Child Witch, then led Wang Yuyan and Lady Wang forward; Ding Chunqiu had already sealed his meridians, and as Lady Wang approached, she hurriedly helped apply medicine.

"Look at my face—do you think I'm fit to be the master of the Free and Easy School?"

Gu Qing asked the Child Witch as he drew near.

The Tianshan Child Witch, having resolved the decades-old mystery and dealt with Ding Chunqiu, was now calm; upon hearing Gu Qing's question, she studied him carefully, then said, "Your face? Li Qiushui the harlot would praise it. You've half-killed Ding Chunqiu—Wuyazi would approve too. Your strength surpasses mine, and I have no objection."

Gu Qing's strength, his bearing—born to be the master of the Free and Easy School.

"Good!"

Gu Qing laughed heartily, took the Child Witch with him, arranged a sleeping quarters for her in the Manuo Manor, and ordered preparations for the journey to Leigu Mountain—to reclaim the title of Free and Easy School master.

After settling the Child Witch, Gu Qing and Wang Yuyan returned to their room.

"Qing Ge."

Wang Yuyan, tidying her hair before the mirror, spoke softly: "I spoke out of turn about the Murong family—please don't take it to heart."

Having spent years confined within a grand mansion, Wang Yuyan had known only Murong Fu among eligible men, and her heart had long belonged to him; until Gu Qing arrived, broadening her horizons, and after their journey to Dali, where they became intimate, her affections shifted entirely to Gu Qing—now, seeing Murong Fu, she said not a word, fearing he might grow suspicious. But when the Murong family was destroyed by the Beggar Sect and Shaolin, their assets seized and their lineage ruined, with too many lives lost, Wang Yuyan could not bear it and spoke up—only to be slapped by Gu Qing. Now, alone, she offered her apology first.

"It's only natural."

Gu Qing had not expected her to still dwell on it; he pulled her into his arms, feeling her smooth skin and fragrant form, drew a deep breath, and said, "Your cousin won't die so easily—rest easy."

Wang Yuyan shook her head quickly. "Don't mention him."

Seeing how obedient and thoughtful Wang Yuyan was, Gu Qing kissed her twice.

"I know the ancestral grudges are complicated, and I know Ding Chunqiu is despicable—but for years, he truly served my family well."

Wang Yuyan gazed at Gu Qing and said, "Can you please not treat him so harshly?"

Gu Qing intended to become Free and Easy School master and go to Leigu Mountain; Wang Yuyan feared he would kill Ding Chunqiu there.

Gu Qing readily agreed: "Ding Chunqiu's fate is for your grandfather and grandmother to decide—I won't say a word."

Wang Yuyan's face glowed with beauty as she gently kissed Gu Qing.

As long as Gu Qing didn't kill Ding Chunqiu himself, she would not interfere with how her grandparents punished him.

!

The two lingered affectionately; Gu Qing whispered softly into Wang Yuyan's ear; she gazed at him with shimmering eyes, scolded playfully, "When Wanqing was here, I wouldn't do this."—then her cheeks flushed crimson as she kissed him without shame.

"Knock, knock, knock…"

A frantic knocking came; Gu Qing sighed helplessly, rose with Wang Yuyan, opened the door, and saw Lady Wang rushing in, arms full of scrolls, then slamming the door shut behind her.

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

Wang Yuyan frowned.

"You little wanton, you don't understand the old grudges."

Lady Wang, seeing Wang Yuyan's resistance, bit her lip and muttered, "The Tianshan Child Witch holds a deep grudge against your grandmother—you made me sleep alone outside, and tomorrow she might be dead." As she spoke, she placed all the scrolls of the Minor Void Skill on the table.

"You want to sleep here?"

Wang Yuyan was strongly resistant.

"Where else is safe?"

Lady Wang said, "You must memorize these Minor Void Skill scrolls tonight, then I'll burn them—if they fall into the Tianshan Child Witch's hands, your grandmother's life is forfeit."

Gu Qing stared at Lady Wang in surprise.

When did she get a brain?

"Good son-in-law."

Lady Wang, slightly embarrassed, said, "From now on, your mother and Yuyan will both sleep here—this will ruin your two's romance, so please be understanding."

Gu Qing said nothing, only remained silent.

(End of Chapter)