Chapter 86: Chapter Eighty‑Six: Gu Yusheng

Outside the cave, the wind and snow remained as before; the only difference was that it was nearly dusk. What had been an expanse of pure white snow now tinged with green, the twilight filtering through the clouds like the golden sword light cast down by the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden—brilliant and dazzling. Whenever a breeze blew, it lifted a layer of snow spray that drifted in the air, not as light as falling snow, but more like a struggling ghost crawling up, drifting a filament, then collapsing to the ground.

Shi Ran persuaded herself to catch up with Ruan Xinli, but she didn't expect Ruan Xinli's eyes to redden first. She was a bit at a loss: "Um... Senior Sister Ruan, you... you alright?"

Ruan Xinli wiped her face, trying to look more composed: "Actually, I've seen you both since I was little! Back then you were as lovely as jade and snow, like a little snowball, endearing. How did it come to be that they now speak of you with disdain? Everyone says, 'In the Floating Dream Sect there is only one female disciple—Meiruo Xue!'"

Ruan Xinli's words left Shi Ran dumbfounded—how could she know? She, too, was but a wisp of a lingering soul that had transmigrated after the original host's death; the original host's entanglements with them were merely a few scattered lines in the original novel, never even bothering to explain why. Moreover, Ruan Xinli hadn't been waiting for her answer.

She let out a long sigh, seemingly bewildered: "I just don't get what's so good about Meiruo Xue that makes Qiu Chengshang constantly think of her—worrying when she's ill, when she's in danger, even at every meal! Yet when he falls ill, that dear junior sister never comes to check on him."

Shi Ran found she couldn't respond, so she pursed her lips and quietly accompanied Ruan Xinli on a walk through the snow—perhaps Ruan Xinli just needed a listener.

"I'm not actually that angry!" Ruan Xinli said slowly. "It's just a shame for Qiu Chengshang. You probably don't know how long our master kept Senior Brother Luo and Qiu Chengshang with us; he carved a little horse, saying it was a birthday gift for Ah Xue, each stroke made with great care—but his Ah Xue? For a whole month he hasn't received a single silk letter."

Shi Ran raised an eyebrow, frankly admitting she couldn't empathize, since she didn't like Qiu Chengshang at all; she thought it was a case of one willing to strike and the other willing to endure—maybe Qiu Chengshang himself enjoyed it, revelling in the role of a devoted sycophant.

But seeing Ruan Xinli's expression, she held back her true thoughts, for she still understood the jianghu rule of taking money to avert disaster: "Senior Sister Ruan, I think my senior brother just can't let go—you might not know that before joining the Floating Dream Sect, he was a beggar, and he had a younger sister two years his junior."

"This... I've never heard him say that before!" Ruan Xinli indeed shifted her thoughts.

"Of course he never said so!" because this was her own fabrication! Shi Ran kept a straight face as she continued the tale: "He originally depended on his sister for survival; little did he expect that when he went out to find food, his sister was snatched away by a child‑trafficker. He begged and searched along the way, until he met our master, who saw his extraordinary aptitude and took him as a disciple."

"Then... did he find his sister?" Ruan Xinli blinked, thrown off by Shi Ran's coaxing.

"Of course not! Moreover," Shi Ran put on a pained expression, "and this matter is a thorn in my senior brother's heart—no one dare bring it up."

Shi Ran grasped Ruan Xinli's hand with a sincere look: "So Senior Sister Ruan, I think my senior brother merely sees you as his sister—consider whether he's ever shown even a hint of jealousy toward Junior Brother Gu; he truly treats Gu as his brother‑in‑law!"

Ruan Xinli blinked, as if confirming that was indeed the case.

Shi Ran gave herself a mental thumbs‑up; although her story was made up, Qiu Chengshang's feelings for Ruan Xinli were genuine, so she had, in effect, brought together a loving couple. Thinking of this, she jerked her head up to the sky—the afterglow had faded, night hung low, and a single bright morning star glittered on the horizon.

Ruan Xinli jumped: "What's wrong with you?" She looked up, seeing nothing. "Nothing, hehehe, nothing!" Shi Ran pulled Ruan Xinli along as they headed back, thinking that as long as she took a detour, even the Heavenly Dao wouldn't notice her cheating.

Returning to the cave interior, Gu Yusheng anxiously seized Luo Changfeng's and Qiu Chengshang's hands: "Senior Brother, Ah Xue is in danger!" Unexpectedly, Luo Changfeng replied, "Junior Brother, can you stand on your own? If you're sitting, I can't well help you put on your clothes!"

Qiu Chengshang was also a bit absent‑minded: "Senior Brother, you're muddle‑headed—we should pour out the medicine first, shouldn't we?"

Gu Yusheng staggered a moment, then quickly reacted, rising from the tub, taking the clothes from Luo Changfeng's hand and dressing himself, regaining his poise as a white‑clad youth. He then added, "Senior Sister is in danger, senior brothers, I implore you to hurry…" As he spoke he moved to kneel, but Luo Changfeng grabbed him.

"……" Gu Yusheng, flustered, misspoke; whereas Luo Changfeng, who used to be easygoing, now wouldn't budge an inch, making Gu Yusheng wonder—surely Shi Ran must have said something to the two senior brothers these past days—but he didn't want to dwell on it, simply giving a frank account of everything that had happened since he fell into the Lotus Flower Secret Realm.

As it turned out, that day he and Meiruo Xue had fallen one after another into the mushroom grove; they encountered no demonic beasts nor any provocation from other sects. After wandering aimlessly for a while, they noticed the iris patterns on their bodies fading, and grew anxious, intending to hurry and rendezvous with their fellow senior brothers—only to run into Wei Yuzhu first.

Wei Yuzhu and Meiruo Xue took an instant dislike to each other, neither understanding the iris markings; they had no wish to continue traveling with Wei Yuzhu, but Lei Zhigao said he had seen Third Senior Brother heading alone into this icy snowy region, so they worried and gave chase.

Little did they expect that after leaving the dense forest they could never return; they first encountered a gray‑robed figure, who saw them turn and leave, his behavior seeming overly suspicious, so the group quickly gave chase—yet the gray‑robed man eluded them, and instead they first met Xiao Moyu upon the glacier.

Xiao Moyu was no less unlucky—when she fell into the secret realm she bypassed the forest entirely, landing straight in the deep snow of the icy wilderness.

After they regrouped and found a cave to rest, they never imagined that early that morning Wei Yuzhu and Meiruo Xue would fall out over a disagreement and come to blows; their cultivation was comparable, and the clash of their spiritual power triggered an instant avalanche, sending them straight into a cold pool—there they encountered the nine‑tailed red fish. The nine‑tailed red fish was formidable; after a fierce battle it died, yet Lei Zhigao was not saved.

Wei Yuzhu was overcome with grief and fury, unaware of what mechanism she had triggered; the cold pool transformed into a fiery hell, and the four of them actually beheld the seven‑colored fire lotus and— — the Yin Candle.

Wei Yuzhu was overcome with grief and fury, unaware of what mechanism she had triggered; the cold pool transformed into a fiery hell, and the four of them actually beheld the seven‑colored fire lotus and— — the Yin Candle.