Immortalis

Meat Well Fourteen

The first thing Zhou Huai saw when returning with branches was Shen Qingshi's tear-streaked face.

She seemed like a child who didn't know how to stop the tears, covering her face with the back of her hand and wiping continuously.

"Yang Wujian, you..."

Hearing Shen Qingshi's incessant coughing and seeing the clear handprint on her neck, Zhou Huai didn't need to guess what had just happened. Meanwhile, Yang Wujian stood frozen in place as if stunned. Without another word, Zhou Huai rushed forward to pull him away, helping Shen Qingshi up while comforting her: "Miss Shen, it's alright now. He wouldn't actually kill you."

After coughing for a while, the sharpest part of the pain gradually subsided, yet the suffocating feeling in her chest remained, as if Yang Wujian's hand was still tightly gripping her neck.

"I..."

Shen Qingshi's mind was in complete chaos, tears still flowing uncontrollably, quickly soaking Zhou Huai's entire handkerchief.

Since she could remember, she had never shed tears before. Now she couldn't stop crying, leaving her utterly at a loss.

"It's alright, Miss Shen, you don't need to be afraid... Some people probably don't even know what they're doing."

Over Shen Qingshi's shoulder, Zhou Huai glared fiercely at Yang Wujian, who was merely staring blankly at his own hands. Moments later, Yang Wujian suddenly stood up and walked out of the cave.

For a while, the only sound in the cave was Shen Qingshi's unsteady breathing.

Having been cared for by these two along the journey, Zhou Huai had originally thought he wouldn't get a chance to return the favor. Yet from Yang Wujian's severe injury to Shen Qingshi's breakdown, he had now witnessed his two closest friends at their most vulnerable.

He sighed: "Miss Shen, I think you shouldn't give Yang Wujian too much face. I already told him earlier that I followed behind you the whole way and never saw you contact anyone. He was clearly shaken at that time, but now he doesn't know who to hate, so he's taking his anger out on you."

Shen Qingshi continued weeping silently. After a long time, she finally spoke in a low voice: "He really should hate me."

"But I hated you both before too. I've tried it - hating someone brings no benefits, and hating the wrong person brings even fewer benefits. Letting him hate you isn't helping him."Zhou Huai wiped away her tears and said calmly: 'Even if Yang Wujian killed you, he wouldn't feel better, only doubled in pain.'" Just like when I stabbed him in Yongyi that day, I regretted it immensely afterward yet couldn't make amends... Rather than doing something so meaningless, it's better to let him save the energy of killing you to find his real enemy."

Though only a month had passed since they last met, Zhou Huai seemed like a completely different person. With her mind in turmoil, Shen Qingshi could only stare at him blankly: "What should I do?"

In response, Zhou Huai simply held her lightly in his arms, gently patting her back.

"You shouldn't think about anything right now, Miss Shen. Do you remember last time you told me this could make someone feel better? When I was following you earlier, sometimes when I was scared I had no one to hold, I could only hug White Rainbow. It was quite pitiful."

"But I'm not afraid."

Shen Qingshi told the truth. After all, she had never been afraid before - she didn't even know what fear should feel like.

"If you weren't afraid, you wouldn't have kept so many things from him... I understand what you're afraid of, Miss Shen. It's the same reason I didn't dare come see you at Aconite Kiln."Zhou Huai gently patted her. "But don't worry, Yang Wujian will come to understand. If he tries to kill you again during this time, I won't go easy on him. Rest assured, he's no match for me now."

From beginning to end, Zhou Huai hadn't used much strength, as if afraid of squeezing more tears from her body.

Yet Shen Qingshi only felt incredulous.

After all this time, only Yang Wujian and Zhou Huai had held her like this. She had never understood why merely leaning against another person could feel so relieving.

Now she finally understood.

Just as rabbit fur is the softest thing in the world, a human embrace is ultimately the safest refuge in this world.

Hesitating for a moment, she buried herself deeply in Zhou Huai's shoulder. After a long silence, Zhou Huai heard her softly exhale: "Thank you, Zhou Huai. I feel better now."

Zhou Huai smiled, though he didn't particularly want to hear Shen Qingshi being so formal with him. "Miss Shen, you could actually hold me and cry a while longer. Who knows, someone might already be regretting choking you."

"...Just call me Qingshi."

Shen Qingshi was still weeping, but she could feel the pain fading away. In the end, only a heavy weight remained pressing against her chest, making her consciousness grow hazy.

Perhaps it was due to losing too much blood from being shot by Fu Hong's fishhook earlier, or perhaps it was the mental exhaustion from confronting Yang Wujian. After leaning against Zhou Huai for a while, Shen Qingshi fell into a deep sleep once more.

"She's weakened to this extent, and you still had the heart to choke her?"

Hearing the breathing on his shoulder grow steady and long, Zhou Huai gently laid her down and turned with displeasure to look outside the cave.

There, Yang Wujian—now calmed—had been standing for a long time.

Only after Shen Qingshi fell asleep again did he enter, his expression complex and his eyes bloodshot.

Seeing him like this, Zhou Huai couldn't bring himself to speak harshly. He could only roll his eyes. "Yang Wujian, both you and I know Miss Shen's temperament. At this point, you don't still think she was just acting when she cried like that, do you?"

Yang Wujian didn't know what to say.

If Shen Qingshi were still that person from the past who couldn't laugh or cry, he might have been able to deceive himself. But now...

From the moment he saw Shen Qingshi shed tears, he should have understood.

Not only could he not bring himself to kill her, he couldn't even harden his heart to hate her.

Finally, Yang Wujian closed his eyes wearily, as if all his strength had drained away. After a long silence, he asked in a low voice, "Young Master, if you were me, what would you do?"

"Me?"

Zhou Huai didn't need to think twice. "If my family died at the hands of the Zhaoming Division, of course I'd do everything in my power to make trouble for them and prevent those in the palace from getting what they want."

Yang Wujian was taken aback, then heard Zhou Huai continue: "Every grievance has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. Yang Wujian, don't you think even now that Qingshi becoming a Zhaoming Guard—after being the Flesh Conduit you personally let escape—has seemed like a setup from the very beginning?"

Yang Wujian's expression sharpened.

He had naturally considered long ago that Shen Qingshi's entry into the palace was no coincidence. After all, fifteen years ago, the Longevity Palace had caused quite a stir in the martial world. Even Cao Zhao, who was then assisting the current Prince Qi in his campaigns, must have heard rumors.

Throughout history, how many emperors haven't wished to hold power over their realms forever?Throughout history, from Emperor Qin Shi Huang dispatching Xu Fu overseas to Emperor Wu of Han seeking immortals at Penglai, it could be said that compared to the common folk of the martial world, those sitting on the supreme throne only harbor an even greater longing for immortality.

Not to mention, Emperor Yongzhao ascended to his current position only after surviving a military rebellion. "One general's success is built on ten thousand bones"—since it was hard-won from the start, he would inevitably find it even harder to let go in the end.

They had dealt with Cao Zhao several times and could tell he was an ambitious minister who would stop at nothing to climb higher.

If raising a Flesh Conduit could ultimately allow him to hook the big fish that was Longevity Palace, then what he had invested was truly insignificant.

Yang Wujian frowned deeply. "Cao Zhao likely received word long ago that the Four Seas Alliance was reforming for the sake of Longevity Palace. He specifically sent Shen Qingshi to make a name for herself at the martial arts assembly, hoping to attract the attention of Longevity Palace during the pursuit... As that lost Flesh Conduit, Shen Qingshi was always meant to be bait for luring out Longevity Palace. That's why in Jingyang, Cao Zhao confirmed with Baihe that Longevity Palace had indeed lost a child back then."

But Zhou Huai was puzzled. "Yet how did he know Shen Qingshi's existence was important to Longevity Palace? If you're going to use bait, you at least need to be sure a fish will bite."

This was what Yang Wujian couldn't figure out either. Cao Zhao, and indeed the entire Zhaoming Division, seemed exceptionally familiar with all sorts of rumors about Longevity Palace—far more so than many in the martial world.

He pondered. "This matter is strange, but perhaps the imperial court's understanding of these affairs far exceeds our imagination... After all, although Shen Qingshi is a Stone Core, she is female. For a Flesh Conduit to be exceptionally admitted into the palace, Cao Zhao alone clearly wouldn't have been enough."

He exchanged a glance with Zhou Huai, who immediately grasped his meaning. "Are you saying Cao Zhao is merely a pawn, and the true mastermind behind this game is the current Son of Heaven? He knew all along that Shen Qingshi's identity was special, and it was he who instructed Cao Zhao to raise her?"

Untangling this was like a tangled mess.

Yang Wujian looked at Shen Qingshi's face, still stained with tear tracks, and thought of how she had just escaped the hell of Longevity Palace only to be dragged into the sunless Zhaoming Division...

And to the true master of the game, she wasn't even a chess piece—just precious bait.

Yet back then, he had risked his life to save her, truly hoping Shen Qingshi could live well somewhere beyond his sight.

Thinking of this, Yang Wujian's heart ached, and he finally abandoned any thought of hating Shen Qingshi.

He sighed deeply. "If only Xue Qiu were here. Compared to you and me, she'd definitely want to see that rabbit more when she wakes up."

"That's you. I think Shen Qingshi would rather see me right now—she even hugged me earlier."

Zhou Huai grinned proudly, relieved to see him back to normal, then added, "We can't keep starving either. I'll go see if I can find some food. Zhuang Tianyou won't wake up that quickly, right?"

"His internal energy is completely depleted. He'll need to sleep for at least four or five watches."Compared to Zhuang Tianyou, Yang Wujian was now more concerned about Shen Qingshi's condition. After Zhou Huai left, he stayed by Shen Qingshi's side and gave her one of his own Blood Replenishing Pills, thinking it would make her feel better. Unexpectedly, Shen Qingshi soon seemed to have a nightmare, with a string of tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes. After struggling in her sleep for a while, she slowly woke up, but her eyes were vacant as she stared silently at Yang Wujian.

"Shen Qingshi?"

Yang Wujian sensed something was wrong and brushed aside the sweat-dampened hair on her forehead. "What's wrong? Did you just have a nightmare?"

Shen Qingshi only stared at him without speaking. After a long while, she said, "Why haven't you killed me yet?"

Yang Wujian thought she was still holding a grudge over what happened earlier and sighed. "How can there be someone like you in this world? You can hug Zhou Huai when you see him, but when you see me, you want me to kill you. What kind of logic is that? Clearly, I was the one who gave you that rabbit earlier."

Shen Qingshi ignored him and touched her chest with her hand, as if searching for something.

"...Where is the wound?"

"What wound?"

"The sword you just stabbed me with—why doesn't it hurt anymore?"

Shen Qingshi seemed disoriented from sleep, and Yang Wujian couldn't understand what she was saying. He frowned and said, "Did you have a dream? When did I stab..."

Before he could finish, Yang Wujian noticed the anxious and confused expression on Shen Qingshi's face and suddenly realized that it might not have been a dream after all.

Shen Qingshi had been intent on having him kill her, even going so far as to place the sword in his hand earlier. Although dreams often reflect one's thoughts, it was unlikely for them to so accurately recreate her "wish."

Yang Wujian abruptly raised his head and looked toward the corner of the cave where he had buried "Tian Ting." In an instant, many things connected in his mind.

The so-called Tian Ting might not have been the voice of heaven from the very beginning... but rather the Inner Demon in a person's consciousness.

Under the Meat Well, he had worried that Shen Qingshi would betray him, and so Shen Qingshi "really turned against him."

Just moments ago, he had worried that Zhuang Tianyou would wake up, and so Zhuang Tianyou "really opened his eyes."

It was the same with Shen Qingshi. She was determined to die, wanting him to stab her, and so, he "really picked up the sword."

Yang Wujian suddenly gasped.

Tian Ting could make one's thoughts and desires come true, turning illusions into reality.

If Tian Ting was the Longevity Heart Sutra, then everything Zhuang Tianyou had seen, heard, and cultivated while carrying Tian Ting—was it truly the Longevity Heart Sutra, or was it his Inner Demon?

Yang Wujian's heart began to race uncontrollably.

And if this was the true nature of the Longevity Heart Sutra, did the final chapter of the Longevity Heart Sutra—the one everyone in the martial world coveted—truly exist?