Chapter 49

Lian Xing's eyes flickered with a hint of mischief, and she said playfully, "Then guess again—are you my elder sister or my younger sister?"

Her voice was nimble and lively, naturally carrying a childlike innocence that left the Emei disciples secretly astonished.

Had the speaker not been right before them, they would have sworn the voice belonged to a delicate, unspoiled girl of tender years—beautiful, sweet, and pure—not the solemn, awe-inspiring mistress of a palace.

Du Gu Yihé remained unmoved; after a brief pause, he said, "Second Palace Mistress, Lian Xing."

"Oh dear, you actually guessed right? How boring." Lian Xing sighed in disappointment.

Du Gu Yihé brought the conversation back on track: "Second Palace Mistress, why leave Yunzhou to come to Mount Emei and commit murder? Shouldn't you give this old man an explanation?"

"An explanation? What kind of explanation?"

Lian Xing opened her clear, bright eyes in puzzlement. "Why should I give you an explanation? Just because of the 'Sword and Knife Double Kill, Forty-Nine Moves'—do you really think you're a match for me?"

"I'll overlook your attack just now, but if you speak out of turn again, I might just kill you."

She spoke lightly, without a trace of malice, yet her words conveyed utter contempt—suddenly, the atmosphere grew tense.

Du Gu Yihé's aged face darkened ominously.

In their earlier exchange, he had roughly gauged Lian Xing's strength—roughly equal to his own, at Master's Sixth or Seventh Layer.

And Mingyu True Qi was ruthlessly dominant; "Yi Hua Jie Yu"'s ability to redirect force was a perfect counter to his "Sword and Knife Double Kill."

Under these conditions, even with greater battle experience, victory for him would be extremely difficult.

If no one else were present—only Lian Xing—Du Gu Yihé still had a way to deal with her, for he had secretly cultivated several demonic and brutal arts.

But now, with so many eyes watching, he could never use them.

Because Emei Sect was a righteous faction.

If a Fuzhang Sect like him cultivated Demonic Art, how could he explain himself to the Wu Lin?

But could he simply let her flaunt her power on Emei's territory?

Absolutely not!

Just as Du Gu Yihé was pondering his next move, Lian Xing suddenly giggled: "Alright, I'm done playing with you! Today I'm in a good mood, so I'll tell you."

With a slender finger, she pointed to a discarded golden cylinder on the ground, her voice sweet and clear: "Old man, look at that."

Du Gu Yihé followed her gaze, narrowed his eyes, then bent down to snatch up the cylinder. His brow furrowed as he stared in thought: "This is…"

Lian Xing didn't wait for him to guess—she spoke outright: "Heaven-Ending, Earth-Annihilating, Bone-Piercing, Heart-Penetrating Needle! Old man, you haven't heard of it?"

Never heard of it?

How could he not have heard of it!

The "Heaven-Ending, Earth-Annihilating, Bone-Piercing, Heart-Penetrating Needle" had no known maker, but since its appearance, it had gained immense notoriety.

Every time it surfaced, it meant the death of a Weida Sect.

It was said the device was cylindrical, containing one hundred and thirty silver needles as fine as cow's hair.

When fired together, the needles pierced flesh and drove into bone with ease, and could even break through defensive Qi and罡—no Houqida Sect would dare to withstand them head-on.

If the needles were coated in poison, they became even more terrifying.

The most glorious feat attributed to the "Heaven-Ending, Earth-Annihilating, Bone-Piercing, Heart-Penetrating Needle" was the assassination of a Tianren.

Though that Tianren was not at his peak, he was still a Tianren.

The infamy of the "Heaven-Ending, Earth-Annihilating, Bone-Piercing, Heart-Penetrating Needle" was enough to make any Weida Sect raise their guard to the utmost—or flee at the mere mention.

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053 Accidentally, My Home Was Stolen

Du Gu Yihé stared at the discarded golden cylinder, then at Jiang Yulang, broken and unrecognizable. Connecting Lian Xing's words, he suddenly understood.

Du Gu Yihé narrowed his old eyes and asked cautiously: "Could it be… this boy used this device to ambush the Second Palace Mistress?"

He found it hard to believe.

If true, did that mean Lian Xing not only survived the ambush of the "Heaven-Ending, Earth-Annihilating, Bone-Piercing, Heart-Penetrating Needle," but emerged completely unharmed?

If so, he would have to reassess her strength entirely.

At least, Du Gu Yihé himself had no confidence he could do the same.

But then another possibility occurred to him: "Or perhaps this ambush boy was too incompetent—he gave himself away too early, letting Lian Xing prepare?"

As he speculated, Lian Xing pointed to a patch of ground nearby littered with silver needles: "Isn't it obvious?"

Du Gu Yihé turned to look—and fell silent.

Lian Xing smiled sweetly: "He ambushed me with a hidden weapon—I killed him. Isn't that perfectly reasonable? Do I need to report it to Emei Sect?"

Du Gu Yihé frowned, glancing at Xiao Xiao Mimi's corpse, then asked: "Do you know who she was? Why is she dead here? And where did this boy get the 'Heaven-Ending, Earth-Annihilating, Bone-Piercing, Heart-Penetrating Needle'?"

Lian Xing smiled charmingly: "Old man, you've got it wrong—I'm telling you this because I'm in a good mood. You have no right to interrogate me. Want to know? Go find out yourself."

With that, Lian Xing turned on her heel and swept her sleeve: "Let's go."

The Yiheda Sect maids followed behind.

The Emei disciples all turned to look at Du Gu Yihé.

Du Gu Yihé's face was expressionless; he coldly ordered: "Search! Ransack this place! I want to know what happened here!"

The Emei disciples obeyed and scattered.

Among them, Xie Yunzhen, Sun Xiuqing, and Shi Xiuyun stared at Lian Xing's retreating back, then at the ruined ruins of Diling Palace, lost in thought.

…

The closer they got to Leigushan, the more travelers they encountered—but thanks to the reputation of the "Central Plains Escort Bureau," no one dared provoke a Weida Sect.

Along the way, he saw people fighting over a single word or a wrong glance; Jiang Sishui felt certain his decision to hire a bodyguard was correct.

He was distracted today; after eating, he returned to his room to write in his diary.

【In novels, when it's difficult for the female lead and male lead to become a couple, a common plot usually occurs:】

【For example, an accident is arranged to force them into physical contact.】

This accident was nothing more than one party having been poisoned by spring venom; if not cured in time, they would die consumed by burning desire, thus giving the other party an opportunity.

Snap! A perfect match!

I originally thought such a clichéd plot existed only in the author's fantasies, but never in a million years did I expect to encounter such good fortune myself one day.

What do you call this? A marriage struck from heaven? A stroke of great luck? Or a destiny cursed with peach blossoms?

Today's diary update came rather early; the women immediately opened the diary, eager to see what new content was written above.

Upon reading the opening paragraph, all the women froze in surprise, their expressions becoming inexplicable and their moods varying.

But among them, the ones with the strongest reactions were none other than Huang Rong and Zhao Qiying.

She was the one Jiang Sishui had explicitly stated was his favorite, while the other was Jiang Sishui's first love.

It could be said that now, the two closest to Jiang Sishui were these two.

And judging by the meaning of the diary content, could it be... they had been cuckolded?!

In an instant, Huang Rong and Zhao Qiying's hearts tightened with a sharp pang.

"Last night, unable to find an inn, we settled in an abandoned grand manor; during that time, a group of people traveling at night moved in as well."

"Because the commotion at the beginning was a bit loud and woke me up, I got up to check."

"Finding nothing wrong, I went back to sleep."

"Just as I was about to enter the door, I suddenly noticed a young woman in white robes in the courtyard."

"By sheer coincidence, she had been poisoned by spring venom, and while I was hesitating whether to act like a beast or worse than a beast, she actively threw herself at me."

"I am not Liu Xiahui, who could sit with a woman in his lap without being stirred; how could I withstand such a test?"

"So I carried her into the room and cured her of the poison."

"The process was very pleasant, and since this was the first time in two lifetimes, I must say, it is truly addictive."

At an inn less than a hundred li from Leigu Mountain, Huang Yaoshi and his family, having already disembarked, were eating a meal.

Suddenly, Huang Rong's pretty face turned iron-green; she pressed her thin lips together, slammed the chopsticks in her hand heavily onto the table, turned around, and went back to her room.

Huang Yaoshi and his wife, Feng Heng, looked at each other in shock, unable to understand why their precious daughter had suddenly changed her expression when everything had been fine just moments ago.

"Rong'er, you..."

"I'm not eating! I'm going to sleep!"

Huang Rong entered the room without looking back and slammed the door shut with a "Snap!"

Huang Yaoshi and Feng Heng stared at each other in silence.

Inside the room, Huang Rong buried her face in the quilt, feeling a sadness she could not describe.

Yet she herself did not understand why she felt sad.

She had clearly not even met Jiang Sishui yet, nor had she decided whether to be with him in the future; so if he got along well with another woman, what did it have to do with her?

Huang Rong understood this logic, and she was using it to persuade herself.