Immortalis

White Dog Ten

"You..."

Seeing this, Zhou Huai looked at Shen Qingshi, then at Song Lan, gradually revealing a shocked expression.

He truly hadn't expected a man to play the trick of deceiving someone with affection, momentarily stunned speechless. Meanwhile, Yang Wujian also realized that Shen Qingshi had been testing them all these days.

He found it quite amusing inwardly - someone who acts every day in the palace truly shouldn't be underestimated.

Shen Qingshi asked directly: "When we were on the mountain, Elder Song Lan wasn't just passing by, but saw that we were going to the back mountain and waited for me there. Later when you came down the mountain to find me, it was also because I look very similar to Yin Quer, and you miss her very much. That's why you've been taking such good care of me, isn't that right?"

Song Lan remained silent for a while, then smiled bitterly: "Has Young Hero Shen been suspecting me all along?"

Shen Qingshi said: "I don't trust people who hide things. You were the one who hid things first, so don't blame others."

The words sounded heartless. Song Lan sighed: "You look very much like Quer, but your personalities are completely different."

"Elder Song Lan, are you really Yin Quer's..."

Zhou Huai couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Shen Qingshi was cold and detached by nature, yet Song Lan had been hovering around him every day these past days. It turned out it was only because he saw the shadow of an old acquaintance in Shen Qingshi.

Song Lan walked to the entrance of the small temple, looking at the distant Meat Well as he said softly: "Quer was a warm-hearted person. In the past, every time she returned to the mountain she would be unhappy, but only because when she went herb gathering, she saw the common people below suffering from many hardships, yet she could only help a few of them. This troubled her greatly, so every time she came up the mountain, she couldn't help but come find me to pour out her heart."

Yang Wujian's mood actually improved quite a bit at this point. He thought that Shen Qingshi had only just developed some emotions thanks to his Blood Cleansing Pill - if he had been deceived right from the start, he would have felt guilty instead.

He smiled and said: "So it seems Elder Song Lan came down the mountain this time actually because you can't forget old feelings?"

Hearing this, Song Lan remained silent for a long time, so long that Yang Wujian almost thought he didn't want to speak. Only then did Song Lan say bitterly: "I just... failed Quer."

Six years ago, constrained by their master-disciple relationship, Song Lan and Yin Quer's relationship had always remained hidden.

From the time Yin Quer became a medicine apprentice under Song Lan, she had been his lover. At night they would write prescriptions together, prepare medicines, secretly holding hands under the medicine table, going to the back mountain together to watch the stars...

Song Lan had also thought about going down the mountain with her, leaving the martial world behind, and living an ordinary life.

However, Medicine King Mountain was Yin Quer's home.

She was born here, grew up here, always thinking that one day her mother would return to fetch her. Because of this, Yin Quer didn't want to leave, only hoping that Song Lan would be willing to confess to the sect leader.

She said that among the disciples who could attain elder positions in the Eleventh Medicine Hall were all exceptionally talented. As long as he was willing to confess, the mountain might not necessarily be unable to accept them.

"It was me who never dared. Although serving in the Eleventh Medicine Hall is hard work, I thought, having endured this far, if I cultivated a bit more, perhaps I could leave the medicine hall and attain a higher position. So I ended up failing her."

Recalling his old acquaintance, Song Lan seemed to be in pain, his fists clenched until they turned white.

"She once gave me a violet handkerchief, but actually, it was Dong Na Si Wa from Tibet, also called Curved Flower Violet. Because very few people know about it, no one would think of her."Yang Wujian pondered for a moment. "So that plain medicine pouch Yin Quer often carried..."

Song Lan gave a bitter smile. "I gave that to her. The embroidery inside was done by me. I was too cowardly—I didn’t even dare give her a proper token, afraid others might notice."

Zhou Huai frowned. "Wait, she’s already gone. Why did you wait six years to start investigating this? That’s utterly spineless. If Yin Quer knew from beyond the grave, she’d surely never want to see you again."

"Young Master, how can you say that? Elder Song Lan has great ambitions. How could he abandon his bright future over such trivial romantic matters?"

Yang Wujian hadn’t expected the young master to be so blunt. He chuckled, "But it’s true. Even after his beloved’s body was burned by the mountain folks, he still stayed on Medicine King Mountain. Elder Song Lan’s resolve is truly unshakable."

"I..."

Song Lan was speechless.

Then Shen Qingshi said coldly, "Many things aren’t hard to investigate, yet they’ve been delayed until now. If you truly cared for her, how could you allow the mountain folks to slander her, calling her a wicked heretic? Now that all is lost, coming here to put on a hypocritical act is just pathetic."

Normally, Shen Qingshi rarely spoke so harshly.

Hearing her words, Song Lan’s shoulders finally slumped completely. He whispered, "I know. I’ve always known she wouldn’t forgive me... because it was me—I was the one who burned her."

At these words, the three of them paled dramatically.

"What?"

Zhou Huai widened his eyes, doubting his own ears. "What do you mean? You burned Yin Quer’s body? Why? Wasn’t she your beloved?"

Yang Wujian, however, didn’t seem surprised. He sneered, "It was for that medicine pouch, wasn’t it? The embroidery was inside, so normally it wouldn’t be noticeable. But when Yin Quer suddenly went mad, her belongings would be thoroughly inspected. If someone found that pouch, Elder Song Lan probably couldn’t escape unscathed, right?"

Song Lan remained silent.

Shen Qingshi said, "So, was it you who suggested that night that Yin Quer’s corpse might be poisonous, making people afraid to examine it closely, and had it placed in the Medicine Furnace? All to hide that pouch and make it easier for you to burn the body?"

Song Lan said in agony, "I didn’t want to, but that night, it was too difficult to enter the Medicine Furnace and retrieve the pouch. I only meant to distract the disciples guarding it, but I never expected..."

Zhou Huai was furious. "For your own selfish reasons, you destroyed the last chance to clear Yin Quer’s name! And she considered you her beloved, carrying that pouch every day, confiding in you whenever she faced troubles down the mountain."

The truth was now clear.

Song Lan had burned the body that day, leaving the cause of Yin Quer’s condition unresolved to this day.

Over the past six years, perhaps tormented by guilt, he had remained on the mountain, haunted by the memory. Now that Shen Qingshi and the others had come to reinvestigate the old case, Song Lan could no longer bear the weight of his guilt and chose to reveal himself to them.

With matters laid bare, the small temple fell into a heavy silence. Yang Wujian knew this wouldn’t do. If they were to confront Medicine King Mountain later, they would still need Song Lan to testify.At this thought, he chuckled: "Alright, if you want to atone, then do it properly. Get to the bottom of what happened back then. Perhaps when we meet in the underworld someday, Yin Quer might still be willing to look you in the eye."

Afterward, the group searched the temple again, but their only find was a note hidden in a box. The handwriting had long faded, with only fragments like "must find... lure beast into well" barely discernible.

Before sunset, they returned to White Dog Village, but the sky suddenly darkened, clearly indicating an approaching heavy rain.

With the truth about Yin Quer's burned corpse revealed, Song Lan was mentally exhausted. After returning to the inn, he rested in his room.

Zhou Huai was similarly depressed. When dinnertime came, he ordered a table full of wine and dishes, making Yang Wujian both amused and exasperated.

Helplessly, Yang Wujian said, "If I didn't know the truth, I'd think you were the one deceived in body and heart by Elder Song Lan, young master. We still have to investigate tomorrow, and here you are drinking?"

Zhou Huai grumbled as he poured full cups for both Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi.

"I'm just angry... I never thought there could be such a heartless person in this world. Not only did he fail to clear Yin Quer's name, but he even burned her corpse."

"Honestly, young master, I'm curious. With such a simple-minded nature, as if you've never encountered villains, how did you manage to roam the martial world before?"

Yang Wujian took a sip of wine, but his peripheral gaze lingered on Shen Qingshi's face.

He could tell that Shen Qingshi was equally displeased by this matter. However, unlike the young master Zhou, having long operated within the palace, even when showing emotion, she always concealed ninety percent of it.

Zhou Huai huffed angrily, "When martial artists see the token on me, everyone knows who I am. Who would dare act like a villain in front of me? I've rarely encountered such things before and thought they only happened in storybooks."

"This is just the beginning, young master."

Yang Wujian scoffed, thinking this person truly grew up sheltered in a honeypot, unaware of how many lovelorn men and resentful women existed in the martial world.

Someone like Song Lan wouldn't be the first, nor the last.

He said, "We'll still need his help later, young master. I advise you not to get too angry. There are many deceivers in this world—sooner or later, you'll encounter someone who cheats you even worse."

The three ate and drank while discussing how to proceed with the investigation.

Although they now knew the White Dog was human, not divine, what happened in White Dog Village six years ago remained shrouded in mystery. Their biggest clue now was that portrait of a woman.

If the woman in the portrait wasn't Yin Quer, then who could it be?

Could it be that ominous "Living One" the White Dog Village residents spoke of?

Unable to figure it out, Yang Wujian could only suggest a crude method: tomorrow, they would take the portrait to the streets and ask around. Surely, someone who saw the woman six years ago might recognize her.

After settling the plan, they returned to their rooms. By then, a torrential downpour raged outside the inn, rain pelting noisily against the eaves, grating on everyone's nerves.

"Even the heavens find this injustice unbearable, huh?"

Zhou Huai, having drunk quite a bit, felt dizzy and muddled. He had just changed the candle and was about to rest when a loud crash suddenly came from Song Lan's room next door. Startled—since he frightened easily—Zhou Huai sobered up considerably and cursed, pushing the door open. He and Yang Wujian rushed into Song Lan's room one after the other."What's going on..."

Before Zhou Huai could finish speaking, he saw Song Lan collapsed on the ground with a pool of blood beneath him.

Shen Qingshi, who had entered the room ahead of them, didn't hesitate in the slightest. Uttering "Can't let him escape," he chased after the figure leaping out the window and plunged headfirst into the curtain of rain outside the inn!