Immortalis

Hong Wan: Five

It had been four full days since Shen Qingshi and Yang Wujian left, and Zhou Huai had remained in that abandoned house the entire time.

He should have realized it earlier—that night's drinking was their farewell. But Yang Wujian hadn't said it, Shen Qingshi hadn't said it, so he deceived himself into thinking he could see them again when dawn broke the next day.

"Xue Qiu, look, they've deceived me again."

Holding the rabbit in his arms, Zhou Huai couldn't help but smile bitterly.

These past few days, he had been waiting, but the Zhaoming Guard never searched this place. It seemed they had found the person they were looking for and withdrew altogether.

Leaving only him behind.

Zhou Huai leaned against the dilapidated beam, watching the sky outside shift from light to dark, then dark to light. He finished the remaining wine, and when he sobered up, he was still alone here.

Just like the empty White Rainbow Tower back then, but now, even Shen Qingshi and Yang Wujian were gone. The last two people in this world who would shield him from harm—their final request of him was simply to live.

"Young Master, two people are enough to go die... If we fail, we still need a backup plan. Are we supposed to rely on Xue Qiu?"

Not long ago, Yang Wujian had lazily sipped his wine while discussing matters of life and death with him.

Shen Qingshi's thinking was straightforward.

If they fled, they would have to flee forever. Because even without Shen Qingshi's Cicada Molt, the lie of immortality would still exist. Once belief took hold, sooner or later, the Emperor of Datong would willingly take poison to gain the favor of ghosts and deities—just like the villagers of White Dog Village.

But if they didn't flee, they could gamble—to change what the Emperor believed.

Shen Qingshi said, "The Emperor is deeply suspicious. Even if he obtains the Cicada Molt, he likely won't use it on himself immediately. I suspect he'll need someone to test the drug—someone who can use the Longevity Heart Sutra."

Yang Wujian sneered, "That's why Guanri is cooperating with the Zhaoming Division, isn't it? His actions over the years must have convinced the palace that he's a madman obsessed with pursuing immortality, willing to take the Cicada Molt to pave the way for the Emperor... With fifteen years of groundwork, the Emperor won't suspect him. He has many ways to manipulate things, making the Emperor believe he has taken the deadly poison but remains unharmed."

Now, everything was as clear as footprints on snow.

In this scheme, those involved were blind to the truth, but once exposed, its fragility became apparent—like a spider's web.

And all of it was designed to make the most exalted person in the world willingly walk into that web.

Looking back now, the Yin House Case—why were Jingyang and the other three, who hadn't yet risen to prominence, able to purchase such a fine residence to perform the Cage Play?

Baihe said the property belonged to Northern Desert people, and its shadow wall even depicted the Underground Heaven... For Northern Desert people, a residence directly painted with their deity—who could it belong to?

It could only belong to the lost royal family of Northern Xiang.

The Cage Play itself was also part of promoting the Underground Heaven and the Longevity Heart Sutra. They didn't care if people died for the Cage Play—what mattered was that the bait of the Cage Play had truly hooked a fish.

And the identity of the person willing to pay a hundred taels of gold wasn't hard to guess.

Yet, he was destined never to see the Cage Play.The illusion of the Underground Heaven and the Longevity Heart Sutra must never be shattered. Therefore, after the fish took the bait, they found Chang Xiuyun as the scapegoat, exploiting her chivalrous nature to destroy the Cage Play and halt the performance. Under this pretext, the White-faced Guest took on the task of silencing witnesses, deliberately humiliating the Jade Pavilion to pave the way for the Four Seas Alliance's future search for the Longevity Palace.

Reflecting on it later, Baihe's decision to remain in Jingyang for several years was no coincidence. His adoption of those children might have been sincere, but his killing of the Cage Play troupe was to eliminate witnesses. He waited in Jingyang until Yang Wujian and the others arrived, then deliberately revealed himself before Cao Zhao, causing Old Master Xue's death and using his own life to confirm to Cao Zhao that Shen Qingshi was the Cicada Molt.

The White Dog Case followed the same pattern.

The White Dog was a deity of the Northern Desert and an unbreakable part of this lie. Once it became something tangible and no longer an abstract totem, the gods descended from their altar. How could the mastermind tolerate such a disruptive existence? Whether it was the White Dog or White Dog Village, they had to vanish from the world.

If Guanri could impersonate Song Lan and stay on the mountain for six full years, was it truly his first time ascending the mountain six years ago?

Yin Quer's journey to White Dog Village to seek medicine might not have been a coincidence at all... Due to Prince Li's physical condition, it was extremely difficult for him to have children, and those who were born often died young. Thus, as another of Prince Li's illegitimate daughters living among the common people, Yin Quer was chosen by Guanri precisely because of her bloodline.

She shared the same blood as Shen Qingshi. Guanri took her away likely to create a second Cicada Molt in this world.

Unfortunately, Shen Qingshi, born as a Stone Core unable to conceive, had an even more unique constitution than her sister. Although Yin Quer consumed the same tonic and Meteor Star as Shen Qingshi had years ago, she did not die but instead went mad and even gained a surge in martial prowess, slaughtering six fellow disciples after ascending the mountain.

The fire on Medicine King Mountain was, unsurprisingly, merely to retrieve the Meteor Star from within her.

To preserve his immortality, Guanri could not frequently use the Longevity Heart Sutra. Each time he acted, it served a dual purpose: eliminating the White Dog while also using Yin Quer to infiltrate Medicine King Mountain, stealing its rare treasures to build strength for the grand performance to come.

And he indeed succeeded.

Now, the Son of Heaven has entered the game. Only one step remains before everything falls into irreparable ruin.

Shen Qingshi said, "To break this game, we must find a way to replace Guanri and become players ourselves, exposing the true nature of the Cicada Molt... He is not the only one in this world who knows the Longevity Heart Sutra, and Cao Zhao never trusted him to begin with."

Zhou Huai had already grasped their meaning. Shocked, he asked, "But can Cao Zhao... truly trust Yang Wujian?"

Yang Wujian smiled faintly. "Forget Cao Zhao—even the emperor will surely choose me to test the medicine. After all, Guanri previously used the Longevity Heart Sutra too many times before the Zhaoming Division to build his reputation. They won't let him live... Allowing someone with such extraordinary martial skills to attain immortality would be too great a threat."

"But..."

Zhou Huai grew increasingly uneasy, his face paling. "But if you're to test the medicine, doesn't that mean..."

"Yes, it means Shen Qingshi's wish is about to come true."

Yang Wujian shook the wine cup in his hand, his smile bitter. "I'm afraid she will truly 'die' by my hand.""Xue Qiu... what do you think they're doing right now?"

Emerging from his memories, Zhou Huai murmured the question into the void, though he hardly dared to imagine how far their plan had progressed.

The abandoned house was utterly silent, yet Zhou Huai could almost still hear their voices.

He remembered Yang Wujian saying: "Young master, matters in this world of martial arts ultimately revolve around the four words—life, separation, and death... No one taught you this before, but now that you're the master of White Rainbow Tower, you must face it. You have to endure it."

He also remembered Shen Qingshi saying: "Zhou Huai, you've followed us for a long time before. This time is no different—you're our contingency plan. No matter what happens, you must survive."

Zhou Huai couldn't help but hug Xue Qiu tighter.

"But to leave only the path of 'survival' for me... How cruel you both are..."

Meanwhile, in Zhaoming Prison, Shen Qingshi sat calmly in the deepest part of the dungeon.

The Alchemy Furnace was already heated. In at most half an hour, she would throw herself into the furnace flames to complete what was left unfinished fifteen years ago.

As the Cicada Molt, Shen Qingshi wore ceremonial robes and simply sat with her knees drawn up, staring silently at the ceiling of her small cage.

"Would you rather be in the secret archives than here?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from nearby. Cao Zhao emerged from the darkness. Shen Qingshi couldn't discern his mood, but she knew that his ability to appear here meant the Emperor was quite pleased... or at least hadn't forbidden Cao Zhao from visiting her one last time.

In response, Shen Qingshi merely shook her head: "There's no difference. They're both cages."

Even Cao Zhao hadn't anticipated her answer. After a moment's pause, he passed her wine through the bars and came straight to the point: "Yang Wujian offering to test medicine for the Emperor—was that your idea?"

Shen Qingshi took a small sip. For some reason, though this was clearly the finest wine in the palace, it couldn't compare to the crude brew she had shared with Yang Wujian and Zhou Huai not long ago in that abandoned house.

Shen Qingshi seemed dazed, and it took her a while to respond: "He would die regardless. Given that, testing medicine for the Emperor might at least earn him a proper burial... Better than dying hunted by Zhaoming Division."

"You've considered his situation to such extent... but haven't considered your own?"

Cao Zhao laughed, though his voice held no warmth: "Do you know what you're about to face, Qingshi?"

"I know. I witnessed it many times as a child."

Shen Qingshi stared thoughtfully at her wine cup: "Back when I was imprisoned in Longevity Palace's alchemy chamber, that Alchemy Furnace stood directly opposite my cage. I saw many people thrown into it—corpses and living people alike. Sometimes the furnace was quiet, but other times, those inside took a long time to die, scratching desperately with their nails and screaming."

Shen Qingshi recounted all this with such calmness that Cao Zhao couldn't help but frown: "Then don't you know that to complete the Cicada Molt, you'll be sent into the furnace alive too? And end up just like those people?"

For some reason, after all this time, Shen Qingshi seemed to have turned back into a stone incapable of joy or sorrow.

Thus, even facing life and death, she merely said quietly: "Who I am has never been my choice. If this day was destined to come sooner or later, then let it come."

"..."This time, even Cao Zhao couldn't muster a smile. He asked, "Did Yang Wujian know that the medicine he was to test would be refined from you?"

"Naturally, he knew."

"And he willingly accepted to consume 'you' in exchange for an honorable burial by the Emperor?"

"Once dead, one is dead. What remains matters not if he consumes it—after all, he will soon die too, won't he? The Emperor won't let him live."

The calmer Shen Qingshi appeared, the more troubled Cao Zhao's expression became.

The Bi An Envoy had always been skilled at reading people's hearts, but at this moment, he couldn't see through Shen Qingshi, whom he had watched grow up. Just as he was pondering what felt amiss in this situation, Shen Qingshi suddenly asked, "What about Guanri?"

"You mean that Taoist priest?"

"Yes. The Emperor should have had him killed."

Shen Qingshi looked at him through the prison bars. "He must have already handed over the method of creating the Cicada Molt. The Emperor would never let him live."

Cao Zhao smiled bitterly. "Indeed. His body has already been burned, and the Emperor personally watched it turn to ashes before feeling at ease. Qingshi, sometimes I truly think you resemble me... It's just a pity..."

As he spoke, Cao Zhao's voice carried genuine bitterness. At that moment, someone hurriedly reported from outside the corridor, "Lord Cao, the alchemy chamber is ready."

"Understood. I will personally escort her there shortly... The Emperor has granted me permission to see her on her final journey."

Without changing his expression, Cao Zhao poured wine for both himself and Shen Qingshi one last time and said with a laugh, "Qingshi, do you not resent me? Even now, if you wish to speak treasonous words, it matters not."

Hearing this, Shen Qingshi merely shook her head, silently downed the wine in her cup, and added, "Let's go, Brother Cao. I am ready."

For some reason, thinking about what was about to happen, Shen Qingshi felt a faint sense of joy.

Fifteen years ago, she had escaped from the cage of the Longevity Palace, but she never imagined that the entire world would become her prison. As a Cicada Molt, she had long had nowhere to flee.

Still... she could at least choose how she would die.

The prison door swung open. Shen Qingshi gazed at the long corridor leading to the alchemy chamber in the distance and even allowed herself a soft chuckle.

She only hoped the Cicada Molt refined from her would not be too bitter.

Shen Qingshi thought to herself, let it not be any more pungent than the baijiu she drank that day.