Chapter 21#
“Shizun… have you ever dreamed of a dark room?”#
The commotion at Lingyao Valley was massive, causing a huge uproar for a time.
When Yuming learned of the matter, he panicked and ran, half-walking and half-running, to the palace of Immortal Lord Chongwu.
Immortal Lord Chongwu sat upright in the hall. Seeing Yuming arrive, he raised his hand to brew a pot of tea and asked slowly, “Yuming, what is the matter?”
Stared at by those calm eyes, Yuming found himself unable to speak. His voice failed him, and he stammered.
Seeing him like this, Immortal Lord Chongwu frowned, “…What trouble have you caused?”
Yuming’s eyes darted around, and he said with slight panic, “Shizun, the matter of Lingyao Valley…”
He swallowed hard, gritted his teeth, and continued,
“After Yuling met with his accident, I informed… Lingyao Valley about Wen Jin’s contact with the Fusheng Sect. I just wanted to scare him and teach him a lesson. I didn’t expect Lingyao Valley to imprison him…”
He had not expected the relationship between Lingyao Valley and Wen Jin to be so terrible that they would make such a huge fuss the moment they found a pretext.
Knowing the matter could no longer be hidden and fearing he would ruin things, he had rushed to find Immortal Lord Chongwu.
Immortal Lord Chongwu now understood what was going on. He narrowed his eyes and couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the teacup in his hand. “So it was you.”
Not many knew of Wen Jin’s situation, just those few people. Immortal Lord Chongwu had assumed Yuling was taking the opportunity to retaliate, but he hadn’t expected someone from his own side to make such a blunder.
Immortal Lord Chongwu mulled over those words, finding them somewhat hard to believe. “He was imprisoned?”
He pondered for a moment, then froze as something occurred to him. He stood up and walked toward the palace doors, saying urgently, “Go see where Yulin is.”
Earlier, when passing through Fuyang City, he had thought the collateral disciples of Lingyao Valley had merely seized power openly. He hadn’t expected Wen Jin to fall into such a plight.
Yulin’s relationship with Wen Jin was so close, and having heard those words in Fuyang City, he would inevitably suspect something.
Sure enough, Yulin’s chambers were completely empty, and the dusty spiritual artifacts that had sat in the cabinet for years were also nowhere to be found.
Seeing this, Immortal Lord Chongwu immediately turned and walked out. “To Lingyao Valley.”
…
To avoid alerting the enemy, they chose to proceed on foot once they reached the vicinity of Lingyao Valley.
It was unknown how many days had passed since Yulin disappeared. There had been no news of an intruder at Lingyao Valley, nor any other news regarding Yulin.
Yuming’s heart had been pounding all this time. If things were delayed because of him…
Before he could finish his thought, he saw a torn fragment of clothing lying on the ground.
The moonlight of Lingyao Valley shone down, reflecting a faint golden cloud pattern on the black silk.
Yulin had always favored exquisite clothing; even his black garments bore intricate patterns.
He refused to have the patterns on his clothes look like anyone else’s, so he would always pester Yuyuan to draw them for him before having the garments custom-made. Thus, they were extremely easy to recognize.
This cloud pattern was drawn for him by Yuyuan last year.
Yuming’s pupils contracted. He quickly ran over and picked up the fragment. The cloud pattern on it was stained with mottled blood.
“Shizun, he might…”
Immortal Lord Chongwu approached at the sound. As he held the light fragment of silk, the air pressure around him steadily dropped.
Immediately after, he discovered a jade pendant that had been dropped beside the black silk fragment.
Immortal Lord Chongwu picked up the pendant. It was crimson throughout, with a large character “Su” carved onto it.
Immortal Lord Chongwu’s face turned grim, and he spat through gritted teeth, “The Demon Clan…”
“Su” was the surname of Suhui, a great general of the Demon Clan, and the entirely crimson jade pendant was a symbol of the demons. Suling, who had interfered in the affairs of the Shanhai Sect a few days ago, was also a member of the Su family.
The Su family had been meddling in quite a lot of things lately… What exactly were they trying to do…
Immortal Lord Chongwu’s hand squeezed tighter and tighter around the jade pendant.
“His Soul Lamp is not extinguished. Investigate.”
…
Rumors came from nowhere. In just a few days, the news of “the Liu family conspiring with the demons” spread throughout Fuyang City, only to vanish soon after.
Those who discussed the matter were quietly dealt with, and for a time, it became a taboo in Fuyang City.
Immortal Lord Chongwu found the timing frighteningly coincidental. First, he found the demonic jade pendant, and right after, news broke of the Liu family conspiring with the demons. Both overtly and covertly, everything pointed to the Liu family and the demons as the cause of Yulin’s disappearance.
Was someone secretly helping to uncover the truth, or was a trap being laid to deflect blame?
But they were in the light while this person was in the dark; they would be at a disadvantage either way. Moreover, Yulin’s whereabouts were currently unknown, and it was uncertain if his life was in danger, so his safety was naturally of the utmost importance.
Holding the jade pendant, Immortal Lord Chongwu decided that since the clues pointed to the Liu family… he would go ask Yuling first.
…
When Immortal Lord Chongwu entered the room, Yuling was propped up against the bed, coughing into a fist. He coughed so hard his entire body trembled.
Ever since he lost his cultivation base, his entire being had deteriorated significantly, and he was frequently plagued by nightmares.
Yuming visited him often, but he had little energy.
In his dreams, there were singing birds, fragrant flowers, and cheerful laughter. He acted sweet and obedient just as he had in the Liu family, coaxing many people into loving him.
But then he would suddenly fall as if into an abyss, his entire body turning ice-cold.
The aura radiating from the dark room where Yulin was confined almost swallowed him whole, so freezing and sinister that he dared not approach. At the mere thought of that place, a cold sweat broke out on his back.
In his dreams, his position and Yulin’s had swapped. From time to time, he dreamed of a pitch-black darkness that he could not escape, draining his mental energy until he became more haggard by the day.
“Yuling.” Hearing the voice, he raised his head, only to see Immortal Lord Chongwu standing by the bed, looking down at him.
“Did you send people to make Yulin disappear?”
Upon hearing this, Yuling giggled. He laughed until tears came to his eyes, dripping onto the bedding with a soft tap.
He took a deep breath, meeting Immortal Lord Chongwu’s gaze with a smile.
“It was me.”
His eyes, still glistening with tears, were filled with coldness. “What, are you going to kill me?”
Immortal Lord Chongwu reached out to pinch his chin, stroking it gently like playing with a pet.
After a long silence, Immortal Lord Chongwu narrowed his eyes, a dangerous look flickering within them. “I could have protected you even if the Liu family conspired with the demons, but you shouldn’t have laid a hand on him.”
Yuling burst into laughter, finding it extremely ironic. “Protect me?”
He grabbed a porcelain ornament he had been idling playing with on the bed and smashed it on the floor, shouting loudly, “To let me remain in the Fusheng Sect as a substitute puppet at your beck and call?!”
After shouting, Yuling’s chest heaved. He was furious, and even the last bit of energy he had managed to muster over the past few days was completely drained.
Immortal Lord Chongwu’s hand slid down slightly, grasping his throat. “Where is he?”
Yuling stared at his face for a long time before letting out a soft laugh. “How should I know?”
“Since he was taken by the demons, he naturally went to their domain. What use is there in asking me?”
“Yuling! Shizun, if you have questions, just ask him, why are you choking him!”
Yuming opened the door and was met with this exact scene. His eyes widened in disbelief. Forgetting all etiquette, he rushed forward, slapped Immortal Lord Chongwu’s hand away, and shouted.
Immortal Lord Chongwu withdrew his hand. “If I told you he was the one who sent people to abduct Yulin, would you still defend him?”
Looking at Immortal Lord Chongwu’s cold gaze and solemn face, Yuming knew he wasn’t lying, yet he couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
Over the past year, Yuling had been well-behaved and sensible, like a sweet, innocent rabbit. How could he commit such an evil act as abducting someone?
“Impossible… He wouldn’t…” Yuming blurted out instinctively.
“And yet you don’t even dare to turn around and look at me.”
Yuming gasped. He turned around and met Yuling’s gently smiling eyes.
Yuling’s round eyes were now squinted into crescents. Though they were filled with laughter, Yuming felt a distinct shiver of dread from them.
A chill crept up his spine.
“It was me, Yuming,” Yuling confessed, his eyes curving.
“You and Immortal Lord Chongwu clearly have him in your hearts, yet you pretend to love me. Using me as a tool to provoke Yulin, only to regret it and find it unbearable—haven’t you played this ridiculous game long enough?”
“It’s truly bizarre and utterly disgusting.”
Yuling had known about the Liu family’s collusion with the demons for a long time. He had only joined the Fusheng Sect to gain an extra hand.
Now that the Liu family’s affairs were exposed and his spiritual veins shattered, he had nothing left to hide.
Immortal Lord Chongwu would never keep an intelligent person who colluded with the demons by his side; such a person could never be tamed and might turn on him at any moment.
“Even if you don’t speak, I will naturally go find him in the demon realm. It is just that…”
Yuling had no patience to listen to Immortal Lord Chongwu’s threats. He smiled and interrupted him, asking, “Shizun… have you ever dreamed of a dark room?”
Immortal Lord Chongwu froze, the words on the tip of his tongue fading away.
Seeing his reaction, how could Yuling not understand? He leaned forward a little, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he said, “How does it feel… to have the one you love die by your own hands?”
Immortal Lord Chongwu’s expression turned freezing cold. He suddenly raised his hand and choked him. He squeezed with such force that Yuling instinctively leaned back, barely steadying himself by bracing his hands against the bed.
Immortal Lord Chongwu held nothing back this time, seemingly intent on killing him.
Yuling’s neck creaked under the strain, yet he continued to giggle as if nothing were happening.
Yuling gripped Immortal Lord Chongwu’s wrist with one hand. Seeing his displeased look, the corners of his mouth curled slightly, and he struggled to speak in a hoarse voice:
“To you, aren’t we… both just playthings? Why be… so devoted to a… plaything?”
As he spoke, his tightly squeezed neck vibrated with his laughter. Yuling struggled to breathe, and a faint flush of pink involuntarily bloomed at the corners of his eyes.
He had a pale complexion, and this trace of light red looked like ink accidentally spilled on Xuan paper.
“Bang!”
With a violent crash, Immortal Lord Chongwu waved his hand, and Yuling was tossed off the bed like a broken kite, sliding to Yuming’s feet.
The pain jolting through his body was intense. Yuling reached out to clutch his neck tightly, his bones creaking.
He could only make faint, wheezing sounds, too in pain to even groan.
Watching Yuling fly toward him, Yuming instinctively took a step back.
A figure wrapped in dark ink-like robes lay curled on the floor. Yuling’s jet-black hair was disheveled, and his body trembled involuntarily.
Immortal Lord Chongwu calmly wiped his hands and cast a glance at Yuling. “You are not like him.”
Yuming was startled and turned to look at Immortal Lord Chongwu, who was standing by the bed wiping his hands as if nothing had happened.
It was the first time Yuming had seen his Shizun like this. He was so terrified his body went rigid and he didn’t dare move. It took him a long while before he managed to squeeze out half a sentence, “Shizun… he…”
“Lock him up.”