At this point, Bi Lianyi had already retreated to the courtyard gate. The Drifting Eyebrow Garden had sunk underground, transforming the original courtyard into a vast cavern. Copper oil lamps dotted the cavern walls, most of their holders already green with age. These mechanisms had lain unused for years, their master long dead.
Though Bi Lianyi had retreated to the courtyard entrance, Yu Konghou paid no heed to a martial artist whose skills had been completely nullified. The "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" still entangled Bi Lianyi. With a flick of his wrist and a metallic chime, Yu Konghou lifted Bi Lianyi into the air and threw him toward Wang Lingqiu's face.
Wang Lingqiu, startled, clumsily caught Bi Lianyi.
The "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" retracted, and Yu Konghou, ignoring the two, walked toward his bedchamber.
Bi Lianyi freed himself from the silver chains of the "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" and exchanged a few moves with Wang Lingqiu before being subdued by a pressure point strike. Bai Suche stood nearby, silently staring at the bloodstains on her palm, her face pale.
After a while, Wang Lingqiu took Bi Lianyi away. The dimly lit courtyard, flickering with ghostly flames, was now empty except for Bai Suche.
She stood with her head bowed for a long time, as if lost in despair.
Much later, she sheathed her Broken Precepts Blade and walked away listlessly.
Passing through the circular gate, her sleeve brushed against the frame as she vanished.
Wang Lingqiu brought Bi Lianyi back to his quarters. Injured by Yu Konghou's "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" and further weakened by Wang Lingqiu's pressure point strike, Bi Lianyi's chest wound had reopened, bleeding profusely. He was on the brink of death. Wang Lingqiu raised an oil lamp to illuminate Bi Lianyi's face, his long eyebrows drooping, his thoughts inscrutable.
Bi Lianyi closed his eyes, awaiting death. After a long silence, Wang Lingqiu suddenly spoke, "'Northern Frostbane' is incurable, locked in eternal conflict with 'Queen Bee Congealed Frost.' Do you wish to live or die?"
Bi Lianyi remained silent and motionless.
"I could refine you into a poison pill," Wang Lingqiu said slowly. "The toxin of 'Northern Frostbane' cannot be purged even if you're burned to ashes. If Yu Konghou consumes this pill... his martial arts would be nullified, and he might well perish at the hands of the deranged Pu Zhu. Are you willing to gamble?"
Bi Lianyi opened his eyes and let out a cold laugh. "Does refining me into a poison pill require my consent?"
Wang Lingqiu smiled kindly. "If you refuse, this old monk can send you away and refine another pill."
Bi Lianyi frowned, finally glancing at the sinister bald elder.
Wang Lingqiu held the oil lamp, his expression obscured in the dim light.
"Who are you, really?" Bi Lianyi asked flatly.
"An enemy of Shaolin Temple," Wang Lingqiu replied. "This old monk repays kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance—neither taking more nor giving less." His face was serene and benevolent. "Biluo Palace has no quarrel with me. Killing you serves no purpose. Wan Yu Yuedan is meticulous and ambitious. I could spare you as a favor to him, but you must deliver a message for me."
Bi Lianyi said nothing, inwardly surprised.
This strange poison master was not aligned with Yu Konghou. Who was he?"Tell him—the matter Bihua Palace seeks can be pursued jointly with the Six Kings," Wang Lingqiu spoke slowly. "As for Yu Konghou, he fell into Tang Limci's trap and transferred most of his cultivation to Kuang Lanwuxing, leaving him half-crippled. Now is the best time to kill Yu Konghou. Meanwhile, Kuang Lanwuxing's power has surged, but his mind has collapsed into madness. He has long been afflicted by the 'String-Pulling Life-Seizing' technique—whether to kill or spare him is but a word from Young Master Tang." Wang Lingqiu smiled faintly. "Yet Yu Konghou cannot bear to see him die, and Young Master Tang likely feels the same. After all, how many in this world can truly master the 'Kaputibhāgavatamsa Rebirth Score'? In the past, Zhao Shangxuan's 'Rolling Snow' and Bai Nanzhu's 'Jade Bone' were merely fragments of the 'Kaputibhāgavatamsa Rebirth Score.' Yu Konghou practiced 'Dream of the Millet,' a half-lost volume. Is Young Master Tang the only one in this world who has glimpsed the complete 'Rebirth Score'? But has he truly mastered it? And is Kuang Lanwuxing the only one who has truly achieved the 'Kaputibhāgavatamsa Rebirth Score'?" The eerie, long-browed old monk continued slowly, "As for the wondrous effects of mastering this technique—this old monk is deeply curious. If perchance... some miraculous effect is witnessed, Young Master Tang, guilty of harboring such a treasure, would only find his crimes compounded... How delightful."
Bilianyi's heart surged with turmoil. This old man's ambitions were vast—no ordinary figure.
Wang Lingqiu noted the shift in his gaze but saw no panic in his demeanor, earning a hint of admiration. "This old monk will first escort you out—"
Before he could finish, a dull rumble sounded in the distance, followed by a series of cracking noises, as though some colossal beast were tunneling deep underground. The ground in the room split open before Wang Lingqiu could complete his sentence, sand and gravel raining from above as dust filled the air. The walls trembled violently, as if an earth dragon were turning over, threatening to collapse Piaoling Meiyuan.
In Bai Suche's distant chamber.
Someone stood in her nearly empty room, hands clasped behind his back, examining a sword on the wall.
Bai Suche's expression shifted slightly.
The figure, dressed in plain white robes with ash-gray hair and no adornments, was none other than Tang Limci.
The sword on the wall was unremarkable—a simple steel blade with two small characters engraved on the hilt: "Like Pine."
"A fine sword," Tang Limci remarked softly without turning. "Hanging it here—are you so certain Yu Konghou would never come to see you?"
"No one in this world... should come to see me," Bai Suche replied coolly.
"Including me?" Tang Limci turned to face her. "Are you not pleased to see me?"
Bai Suche said, "You've come to kill. What pleasure is there in that?" After a pause, realization dawned. "You overheard what I said to Yu Konghou and came specifically to see me?"
Tang Limci smiled faintly. Even without his usual opulent attire, his beauty rivaled spring blossoms. "I heard you harbor affection for me?"
Bai Suche replied indifferently, "What of it?"
She did not deny it, then added, "I did steal Chi Yun's corpse and sink it in the cold pool of Lengcui Peak."
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