Immortalis

White Dog: Chapter Eleven

Shen Qingshi's lightness skill was excellent, but even so, he couldn't close the distance with the person ahead.

The two figures darted rapidly through the curtain of rain. Finally, seeing that he couldn't shake Shen Qingshi, the person leaped onto a pre-prepared horse and galloped toward the outskirts without looking back.

"Young Master Shen!"

A shout came through the heavy rain as Yang Wujian and Zhou Huai arrived on horseback. Shen Qingshi immediately jumped onto Zhou Huai's horse and asked, "Where's Song Lan?"

"Just flesh wounds! He applied hemostatic powder himself! Said he's fine!"

Shen Qingshi pressed against Zhou Huai's back. The torrential rain soaked them both completely, yet Zhou Huai only felt how exceptionally light the person behind him was. When Shen Qingshi held onto him, he could barely sense anyone at his back.

The three of them gave chase, but the scenery along the way grew increasingly familiar. Yang Wujian exclaimed in shock, "He's heading for the Meat Well!"

The ride from White Dog Town to the Meat Well normally took less than half an hour. Though it was pouring, their pursuit pushed them far faster than daytime speeds, and they soon reached the mine. They saw the figure leap down the several-zhang-high cliff—truly heading for the Meat Well.

"He's not planning to go down, is he?"

Having grown up near the Hero's Tomb, Zhou Huai understood the dangers of these mine shafts better than anyone.

They were called by that name precisely because those who entered never returned. Some said the bottom of these well-like caves was paved with skeletons, hence the name Meat Well.

"Once you enter this Meat Well, you can't come out. We have to stop..."

Before he could finish, Shen Qingshi had already stepped on his shoulder and flipped over the cliff edge.

Back in Song Lan's room, she had actually seen the other person's face.

It was a woman's face covered with scars.

The moment she saw Shen Qingshi, tears had streamed down her face. She said, "He must die," and then leaped out the window.

This woman probably not only knew White Dog but also Yin Quer... She recognized Shen Qingshi's face.

Shen Qingshi gritted her teeth and shouted sharply, "Stop running! You need to tell us the truth! Otherwise, Yin Quer will never get justice!"

But in the heavy rain, the woman didn't stop. She ran straight to the edge of the Meat Well and jumped down. Seeing this, Shen Qingshi didn't hesitate in the slightest and immediately followed her into the Meat Well, startling Zhou Huai and Yang Wujian who were close behind.

"Is he insane? No one comes back from this place once they go down!"

Zhou Huai and Yang Wujian rushed to the edge of the Meat Well. About four or five meters down, they saw Shen Qingshi holding the woman with one hand while clinging to the well wall with the other, clearly struggling to hold on in the pouring rain.

In desperation, Yang Wujian didn't hesitate. He immediately channeled some internal energy, stretching the Golden Rings into a golden thread that he lowered to Shen Qingshi's hand.

"Young Master Shen, grab it!"

For some reason, even after less than half an incense stick's time in the well, Shen Qingshi began to feel chest tightness and discomfort. The woman she was holding appeared dazed, starting to mutter to herself, "No... it wasn't him."

This place was strange. They had to get out quickly.Shen Qingshi bit the tip of her tongue, tendons bulging on her hands as she first threw the woman out of the well. The woman had intended to grab the golden thread with both hands, but in that instant, the suffocating sensation in her chest seemed to explode. Shen Qingshi's vision went black, and she nearly plunged headfirst into the Meat Well. Seeing this, Yang Wujian flicked the golden thread in his hand, channeling his inner energy downward, causing the rope end to move like a snake on its own. It wrapped around Shen Qingshi's waist and yanked her upward with force!

"Young Master Shen!"

Zhou Huai, standing by to assist, pulled Shen Qingshi up, only to find her face pale as paper, gasping for breath while clutching her chest.

"Are you alright?"

Knowing Shen Qingshi had a unique constitution, Yang Wujian rushed forward upon seeing her condition. Ignoring the pouring rain, he patted her face and asked, "Can you hear me?"

"I..."

Once out of the Meat Well, the suffocating feeling in her chest vanished instantly.

Shen Qingshi took a moment to recover. "Where is she?"

The woman she had thrown out earlier was still collapsed nearby, muttering incessantly, "He didn't! He didn't!"

"Let's not talk here—the rain is too heavy. We should take shelter in that temple!"

Zhou Huai, belatedly realizing his Exorcism beads couldn't withstand soaking, relied on his tall and sturdy frame to scoop up the woman from the ground and dash toward the nearby White Dog Temple.

Fortunately, though small, the temple built by Lu Hai was more than adequate for shelter from the rain.

All four of them were drenched. Zhou Huai lit an oil lamp and couldn't help rolling his eyes. "I've never been drenched like this in my life."

"Stop complaining, young master. You weren't the one who jumped down to save her."

Yang Wujian's makeup had been washed away by the rain, but fortunately, his appearance was androgynous enough that it didn't give him away.

Shen Qingshi had fully recovered by now. She couldn't figure out what had happened down in the well, but she instinctively felt that something lurked in the unfathomable depths of the Meat Well, calling out to her.

Setting aside her thoughts for the moment, she pulled the woman up from the ground and demanded sharply, "You know Yin Quer, don't you? You know she's from Medicine King Mountain, and that disfigured woman who goes to sit at the foot of Medicine King Mountain every year is you. You weren't there for treatment—you went for Yin Quer, isn't that right?"

Jolted by her pulling, the woman finally snapped back to reality.

Her face was completely ruined, but traces of her former beauty were still visible. Staring blankly at Shen Qingshi, her face wet with what might have been rain or tears, she murmured after a long pause, "Sister..."

Then, she suddenly embraced Shen Qingshi and wept bitterly. "Sister! I'm sorry! I thought Medicine King Mountain would surely stand up for you. I thought..."

"Medicine King Mountain?"

Yang Wujian frowned. "You go to Medicine King Mountain every year—are you actually trying to go up the mountain?"

The woman clung to Shen Qingshi, crying uncontrollably. Shen Qingshi didn't push her away, allowing her to weep for a while before speaking. "I'm not Yin Quer. I just look like her. We need to know the truth now. Since you were ready to die, why not speak the truth before you go? Do you want Yin Quer to keep being slandered as a wicked heretic?"After crying for a while, the woman seemed to calm down a bit and said, "I know you're not him, but I just couldn't help it. I feel guilty about what happened to my sister, but I heard the mountain has concluded that she colluded with evil cults, and her body was burned. I kept thinking that if I could find the man she once told me about—the one she loved—then we could surely overcome all obstacles and clear her name."

Zhou Huai grew more confused as he listened. "Wait, what exactly is your relationship with Yin Qu'er?"

The woman wiped her tears. "My name is Chu Qiqi. I used to be from White Dog Village."

"Used to be?"

"Yes. When I was young, my parents consulted White Dog, who said I must be sent to relatives in Baiqian Town, or disaster would eventually befall our family. My parents trusted White Dog completely, so I was sent away afterward."

"Then what's your relationship with Yin Qu'er?"

"At first, we had no real connection. It's just that she had permission to enter the village, and I secretly asked her to take me in with her. That was all."

When Chu Qiqi mentioned Yin Qu'er, her eyes reddened again.

"Because White Dog said I brought ill fortune to White Dog Village, they wouldn't let me enter. Only Sister Yin listened to my story and took pity on me, bringing me inside. She said a woman's life shouldn't be judged by others' arbitrary claims, and that White Dog's pronouncement of my ill fortune was one-sided. Since it made no sense, we should go ask him for an explanation."

Yang Wujian laughed. "It seems Yin Qu'er was indeed a warm-hearted person. Pity her judgment of character was so poor."

Chu Qiqi broke down. "I only met Sister a few times, but she was very kind to people. The last time I saw her, she told me she also had someone she loved on Medicine King Mountain. They couldn't be together due to worldly circumstances, just like my situation. Sister comforted me, telling me not to give up. She said if that person truly cared for me, he would eventually stand up for me."

"Just like your situation?"

Shen Qingshi seized the key point in her words. "The one you love, could it be..."

She recalled the woman in the painting but before she could speak, Chu Qiqi nodded with red-rimmed eyes.

"Yes, the person in that painting is me. The first time I asked Sister to take me into the village, it was because I refused to accept my fate. By then I had grown up—though my life in Baiqian Town wasn't bad, and I'd even accidentally learned some qinggong—I simply couldn't accept it. I wanted to ask White Dog why he declared me a calamity. Determined to get answers, I sneaked into the ancestral hall at night after entering the village with Sister."

Initially, Chu Qiqi truly expected to encounter a cold, detached deity there.

She thought he might not even deign to look at her, or might even tell this ill-omened creature to get out.

However, Chu Qiqi never imagined she would find a youth there who could almost be considered her contemporary.

The person sat in a corner of the room, holding a luminescent stone while reading. When he saw her, White Dog was actually startled.

"Who are you?"

White Dog's pair of glass-like eyes turned toward her, and Chu Qiqi momentarily forgot her anger.He was so beautiful, unlike any mortal being, that even though Chu Qiqi had spent all those years hating White Dog, chewing on his name over and over like a tough bone, she still couldn't bring herself to be angry at that moment.

Are all gods like this?

By the time Chu Qiqi snapped back to reality, the night watchman outside had woken up, a flicker of lamplight shining over. Before she could even react, White Dog had already pulled her down and shielded her behind him.

"Your Excellency, what was that sound?"

When the night watchman's voice rang out, Chu Qiqi was tense to the extreme, but White Dog remained as steady as a mountain, shielding her as he replied calmly, "It's nothing. Go back to rest."

The candlelight from outside the ancestral hall faded away, and soon, the night watchman's snores could be heard again. Chu Qiqi let out a sigh of relief. In the pitch darkness, she could only feel the warmth emanating from White Dog's body.

He was warm, nothing like the cold, statue-like figure she had imagined.

"Why did you make my parents send me away back then?"

Chu Qiqi hadn't forgotten the purpose of her visit and asked him in a hushed voice.

At first, she didn't even think he would answer.

After all, since when do gods reason with mortals? Those natural disasters descend without cause, and the gods, high above, accept offerings but don't necessarily save them from their suffering.

But once again, White Dog spoke softly.

He said, "I see. You are that child of the Chu family. How have you been all these years away from home?"