Qin Wanru believed herself the victor. What she did not know was that even miles away, every word and every move of this so-called “victor” remained under Li Xun’s surveillance.
Even if it wasn't like seeing it with his own eyes, that strange sense of one becomes two and two becomes one he now shared with Yin Wanderer was something he had never experienced before. Not even when Heaven's Nether Yin Pearl had been the core of control.
Could the Yin Charm Scripture truly be so miraculous? Li Xun was already planning to let Nether One have a look at it.
As for Yin Wanderer, she and Qin Wanru naturally spent some time catching up, master and disciple reunited after six decades apart. But since they had been in steady “contact” all these years, both already knew everything there was to know. Aside from the surge of emotion, there was nothing new to say.
And that was precisely what reassured Li Xun the most.
From this moment on, all the suspicions and guesses Qin Wanru had accumulated over sixty long years without seeing her master dissolved into nothing.
Yin Wanderer’s forceful return seized control of Qin Wanru’s mind in an instant. It seemed he wouldn’t need to put in much more effort before he could once again, just as sixty years ago, hold absolute authority over her.
The prospect was so delightful that Li Xun almost wanted to burst out laughing, just to let out the pride swelling in his chest.
At that moment, though, the conversation between master and disciple finally turned to the real issue.
The first question had to do with Li Xun himself.
Qin Wanru was asking her master how they ought to deal with that “pitiful wretch.” From the tone of her words, it was clear she was hinting at wanting to get rid of him now that he was no longer useful
“Such an interesting fellow. Keep him around.”
Yin Wanderer’s tone carried no hint of whether she took it seriously or not. It was casual, as though speaking of a pet or a toy, yet still had a certain dignity to it.
Just that one line alone captured ninety percent of the charm she once had back in the day.
And even though Li Xun knew the truth behind it all, hearing those words still stirred up a peculiar feeling in his heart.
Qin Wanru naturally had no objections. She went on to bring up several matters concerning the “Yin-Yang Sect.” At this point, Yin Wanderer truly seemed to have her full wits about her. She no longer needed any hints from Li Xun. She answered offhandedly, yet with her knowledge of the background and her ability to improvise, her handling of things turned out to be seamless.
Li Xun was left dumbfounded as he listened.
Qin Wanru, however, took it all as only natural and listened to her master’s words with respect.
Once the matters were settled, she paused briefly, then lowered her voice and asked, “This disciple dares to be bold. May I ask, has Master’s injury fully healed?”
“Hm?”
In tune with Li Xun's mood, Yin Wanderer gave a low nasal sound that made her doubt and displeasure clear without another word.
In response, Qin Wanru’s voice carried a touch of coyness and a hint of grievance. “Master, please understand. Wanru happened to hear recently about a certain treasure. Not knowing your present condition, I asked only out of concern.”
“A treasure?”
“Exactly. I still remember, Master once told me long ago: ‘A furnace cauldron is easy to find, but a jade infant is hard to obtain.’ I took that to heart. Just a few days ago, by chance, I discovered such a treasure on a pair of rogue cultivators. Now the treasure is already at full term and will be born any day. The place is right here, in the mountains of Mocang… What does Master think?”
Li Xun couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but Yin Wanderer clearly understood. “A jade infant? You mean a Ruyi Jade Infant. Yes, that truly is a fine treasure. Unfortunately, I’ve already mastered the Yin Charm Scripture. No matter how rare the treasure, it’s useless to me. Take it and use it yourself.”
Qin Wanru answered softly. Her reply was short and quiet, but Li Xun could still hear the joy she couldn’t quite hide.
It was obvious that this Jade Infant was something extremely rare, and that stirred a faint itch in his heart.
Still, if Yin Wanderer really acted as he wanted, it might suit his wishes, but it would hardly match Yin Wanderer’s nature.
And even though their minds were linked, for such detailed matters he would still need them spelled out word by word. He had no idea yet what this so-called Ruyi Jade Infant actually was.
As he was still puzzling over it, Qin Wanru spoke again. “Now that Master has broken through and come out of seclusion, have you decided where you’ll go? Wanru wishes to serve at your side…”
“Forget it. Yun Lanke is clearly preparing to step down. This is the time for you to devote yourself to your cultivation. Taking the sect master’s seat as soon as possible is what truly matters.”
Yun Lanke was the current head of the Yin-Yang Sect. From Yin Wanderer’s tone when he mentioned him, the words carried no courtesy at all, tinged instead with the disdain of someone who still remembered how that man had seized the position back then.
Qin Wanru answered in a low voice, but her tone was firm. “The sect master’s seat is mine for the taking. Once I take charge, I will surely purge the sect’s long sickness. Now that Master has also mastered the Yin Charm Scripture, the time has come for our sect’s revival.”
“Revival? That sounds good.” Yin Wanderer gave a half-smile. “If you want a revival, then revive it. As for me, I’m only interested in a few people. For example, Gu Zhixuan. And another… Li Xun.”
“Li Xun?” Qin Wanru’s voice carried clear puzzlement. “That you value Gu Zhixuan, your disciple has no objection. But as for this Li Xun... what’s so unusual about him that Master would spend time on him?”
From a distance, Li Xun felt a sudden thrill. He knew this was the heart of the play.
Yin Wanderer spoke slowly. “For now, of course, he’s far inferior to Gu Zhixuan. But his nature is unyielding, his methods ruthless, and both his fortune and talent are exceptional. His future is limitless. What’s more, over these years he’s made his mark in both the righteous and demonic sects, and the resources he controls are nothing to underestimate.”
“Master’s meaning is…”
“This man, used poorly, will be a problem. Used well, he’ll be an extraordinarily powerful arm. Let me ask you: do you have confidence you can keep him under control, in a way that serves both you and me?”
Qin Wanru clearly hesitated. And just that moment of hesitation was enough for Yin Wanderer to cut her off. “I see. If you don’t have absolute confidence, then put aside the thought of completely controlling him. Do you understand me?”
“So what Master means is… we’re only supposed to work with him to a certain extent?”
Yin Wanderer chuckled under her breath. “You’ll have to judge the timing for yourself. That man’s crafty, though. His twisted thoughts need to be beaten down a little. And that part, I’ll handle. You just go take care of your business.”
Her faint, drifting words were enough to make Li Xun, who knew full well the hidden meaning, shiver. As for Qin Wanru at her side, she had no reason to doubt anything. She simply said, “I’ll follow Master’s instructions.” With that, the exchange between master and disciple came to an end, and the two of them walked back over.
Li Xun hurried to adjust his expression, pretending he had only just heard and was reacting. When his eyes flicked toward Yin Wanderer, he shrank back with a start, then quickly shifted his gaze to Qin Wanru instead. In his eyes there was a meaning that could be read as:
“You lied to me! So in the beginning, you didn’t know whether Yin Wanderer was alive or dead either!”
Qin Wanru’s smiling, playful look was the perfect reply: “You took the bait yourself. You can’t blame anyone else.”
Their eyes met. Qin Wanru’s small smile carried who knew how much sympathy, and how much gloating.
Still with that smile on her face, she bowed once more to Yin Wanderer, then soared into the sky.
Only Li Xun and “Yin Wanderer” were left in the field.
Almost at the very moment Qin Wanru departed, the divine light brimming in Yin Wanderer’s eyes slowly dimmed, like a pair of pearls losing their luster, no longer holding that soul-stirring allure.
In the blink of an eye, Yin Wanderer’s radiance was gone, and she reverted once again into nothing more than Nether Two the puppet, who could only act on orders.
Li Xun was startled. He sprang up from the ground, not even sure what kind of expression to wear. The mind is a strange thing. Just moments ago, Nether Two’s transformation had filled him with both astonishment and joy, mixed with a tinge of fear. Yet now that Nether Two had been beaten back to his original state, what filled him instead was unwillingness and frustration.
He couldn’t tell exactly what had happened, but was such a puppet—obedient and intelligent at the same time—really only able to exist for such a brief moment?
His gaze slid toward the “lost and found” Yin Charm Scripture in Nether Two’s hands. If he read through it again, would the same effect appear once more?
As he scratched his head in thought, a sudden sense of wrongness pricked him. Looking up, the mountain path seemed perfectly calm, nothing out of the ordinary. Still, he grew sharply alert. Forcing his emotions under control, he swept his eyes in every direction, even sending out strands of his qi to probe; but still found nothing.
He furrowed his brow. He didn’t really believe that anyone could slip past the layers of restrictions he had set up around himself without being noticed.
But then. What was that feeling just now… it moved! It moved again!
Li Xun suddenly realized that Nether Two’s eyes, which had been utterly still and lifeless, had just flickered ever so slightly.
At first he wondered if it was only his imagination. But soon enough, the faint glimmers in those eyes began to gather, drop by drop, until they spread into a hazy, illusory mist without bottom or end.
Then, Nether Two closed her eyes.
Li Xun drew a deep breath to steady his pounding heart. Cautiously, he took a step forward, intending to test Nether Two’s condition. But just as his second step was about to land, Nether Two’s eyes snapped open. Cold, dazzling, like ice and snow, searing against his skin.
Startled, Li Xun stumbled back a pace. And in the very next instant, he saw Nether Two... No, not Nether Two, but a breathtaking Daoist woman suddenly come alive. She was regarding him with a gaze both strange and piercing. In her eyes, layers upon layers of frost were rapidly taking shape.
“So it was you all along.” The woman lightly gathered the whisk in the crook of her arm, lips curving into a cold, mocking smile. “It seems I truly underestimated you.”
Her bright eyes lifted. As their light shifted and flowed, it was as if the river of time itself ran backward, bringing back a long-buried figure.
In a daze, Li Xun seemed to be carried back sixty years, outside the city of Songjing, hearing that stunning Daoist woman speak words that sounded calm yet towered above the world:
“Among the 33 Sects of the Tongxuan Realm, across the million cultivators, all know me as.... Yin Wanderer.”
In an instant, a thousand li of shadow seemed to surge out of nowhere. Li Xun’s robes whipped and snapped though there was no wind.