Chapter 1470: Eyes, Yet Blind

The mockery in Consort Yuan’s words was unmistakable.

Yuan Chun flushed with anger for reasons she could barely explain. She yanked the hairpin from her head and stabbed it viciously into Consort Yuan’s shoulder.

Blood immediately soaked through the fabric.

“Mm...”

Consort Yuan grunted in pain, yet stubbornly kept smiling. “Do you know why he would never dare let you interrogate me?”

“When he married you, did he tell you that your relationship as husband and wife had to remain secret in order to protect you?”

“That if the other Eight Saints learned about you, they might seize an opportunity to poison or assassinate you?”

“That hiding your identity would also make it easier for you to handle affairs on his behalf?”

Shock and uncertainty appeared in Yuan Chun’s eyes.

Consort Yuan saw her reaction and laughed until tears came again. “Wondering how I know?”

“Because I am also his lawfully wedded wife.”

“We formally bowed to Heaven and Earth too!”

Yuan Chun truly flew into a rage.

More precisely, she refused to accept such a reality.

“Stop trying to sow discord!”

She ripped the bloody hairpin free, then stabbed down again.

Again and again.

The hairpin rose and fell viciously without pause.

Consort Yuan struggled in agony, but she had no power to resist.

With Yuan Chun clutching her hair, she could not even dodge.

In moments, her shoulder had been stabbed into a bloody ruin of mangled flesh.

When Yuan Chun finally stopped, Consort Yuan panted and continued, “You and I probably are not the only ones.”

“There were women before us, generation after generation.”

“Perhaps every one of them was just like you and me.”

“They knew the hope was faint, yet still dreamed of becoming the wife of Sacred Venerable Dayuan.”

“They dreamed that one day they would receive a Wuliang Fruit, preserve their youth forever, and live without death!”

“Bitch, shut your mouth!”

Yuan Chun slapped her hard across the face again.

Boom!

A huge explosion suddenly erupted outside.

Fierce sounds of fighting followed almost immediately.

Yuan Chun stopped, flashed through the doorway, and saw a group of people launching a ferocious assault.

Among them was Sha Rulai.

The people of Dayuan Sacred Land had not expected Daluo Sacred Land to remain unwilling to let the matter go, much less dare to launch a direct attack.

Caught by surprise, they were thrown into temporary disorder.

“You two, watch her!”

Yuan Chun summoned two people to guard Consort Yuan inside the hall.

“If anyone tries to rescue her, kill her immediately!”

Then Yuan Chun rallied the others and rushed forward to counterattack.

Sha Rulai was not the only one who had organized people for the assault.

Lu Zhichang had come as well.

Nominally, both men were here to rescue their wives.

Lu Zhichang had been persuaded into it by Sha Rulai.

Without Sha Rulai’s urging, and with Yuan Se still hanging over everything, Lu Zhichang would never have dared make such a move.

If Yuan Se suddenly appeared, the consequences scarcely needed imagining.

What Lu Zhichang did not know was that Sha Rulai dared attack precisely because he knew Yuan Se was already dead.

Bringing Lu Zhichang along added more strength and also spread the risk.

Sha Rulai was largely putting on a show.

Lu Zhichang, however, was fighting for real.

The people of the two Sacred Lands clashed.

Soon Heavenly Sword astral shadows erupted from both sides, bombarding one another in a frenzy.

The commotion shook the entire provincial capital of Nanzhou.

No one knew how many civilians hid trembling inside their homes.

At the Prince’s residence, Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming had waited quite some time after the earlier battle quieted down.

Thinking the danger had probably passed, they had only just emerged from the underground passage and begun asking the stationed cultivators what had happened.

Then the neighboring compound erupted all over again.

The noise was astonishing.

It sounded as though Heaven were collapsing and the earth splitting apart.

“Go!”

A group of cultivators immediately moved to escort Shang Chaozong back underground.

“Your Highness!”

Guan Fangyi’s voice rang out.

She flashed down into the courtyard with a group of Maolu Villa personnel behind her.

Hurrying forward, she said, “Your Highness, the two sides have gone to all-out war. They’re using Heavenly Sword Talismans without restraint. Hiding in the underground passage may not be safe anymore. We need to evacuate first.”

If she said so, it was presumably Master Dao’s intention as well.

Shang Chaozong immediately gave the order to withdraw.

There was truly no need to remain here and take risks any longer.

Before, leaving would have aroused suspicion.

Now, if they did not flee, that would be what seemed suspicious.

As they left, Guan Fangyi stood atop a rooftop and looked back.

She sighed inwardly.

This time, Maolu Annex was truly finished.

Not long after their people departed, the battle spread into the Prince’s residence as well.

Pavilions, halls, and towers throughout the provincial governor’s residence were crushed as easily as rotten wood.

To the people of Daluo Sacred Land and Dayuan Sacred Land, what did it matter whether this place was a prince’s residence?

If they destroyed it, they destroyed it.

None of them cared in the slightest.

At the height of the fighting, someone rushed to Sha Rulai and the others and shouted, “Mr. Sha, we found the Pavilion Master!”

“Good!” Sha Rulai cried in delight.

At that very moment, a figure descended from the sky.

The instant he attacked, green qi swept across the battlefield like a great dragon.

Screams erupted throughout the Dayuan Sacred Land ranks.

Luo Qiu had arrived!

The moment the people of Dayuan Sacred Land saw him, all courage to continue fighting vanished.

They immediately began withdrawing and fleeing.

Yuan Se had not appeared to oppose him.

How could Yuan Chun dare remain?

Yet even as she fled, she did not forget Consort Yuan.

She flashed into the ruined hall and yanked the hairpin from her own head.

Crash!

Consort Yuan toppled over together with the chair beneath her.

Her body convulsed.

The eye she still possessed had been destroyed as well.

The hairpin had been driven through it and deep into her skull.

Blood gushed continuously from the ruined socket.

Yuan Chun did not pause for even an instant.

She immediately fled with the others.

Killing Consort Yuan on her own initiative before leaving was already enough.

Yet she had also deliberately destroyed Consort Yuan’s remaining eye.

The depth of the hatred in her heart was obvious.

...

Luo Qiu stood amid the ruins and raised one hand.

Sha Rulai and the others immediately signaled everyone below to stop pursuing the fleeing members of Dayuan Sacred Land.

Luo Qiu turned and swept a cold gaze over his two disciples. “Who told you to attack on your own?”

“Were you not afraid Fatty Yuan would take your heads?”

Lu Zhichang was somewhat uneasy.

Sha Rulai immediately stepped forward to take the blame. “Master, this disciple saw Master lure Yuan Se away.”

“I knew Fangfei was still trapped here, and in my anxiety I thought we might be able to fight our way in and search for her while there was a chance.”

“Once Yuan Se returned, there would be no opportunity left.”

“Fortunately, the fighting here overturned Heaven and Earth. There was nowhere left to hide anyone.”

“This disciple finally found Fangfei.”

Luo Qiu said coldly, “You found Fangfei?”

“Yes. We just found her here.”

Luo Qiu swept a cold gaze around the ruins. “Yuan Se never returned?”

“We haven’t seen him.”

Luo Qiu frowned slightly.

After leaving this place earlier, he had originally intended to return directly to the place where he was stationed.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Se had chased him relentlessly.

At first, Luo Qiu had thought little of it.

Only after Yuan Se finally abandoned the pursuit did Luo Qiu suddenly feel there had been something strange about his behavior.

If he knew the chase was futile, why pursue for so long?

Only then did Luo Qiu realize Yuan Se might have been doing something else.

He turned back.

And the moment he returned, he found the two sides already locked in battle, leading to the scene before him now.

“Sacred Venerable! Mr. Sha!”

A shout came from behind.

The two men turned and saw several people carrying someone over.

It was Luo Fangfei.

Her lips were bluish-black, and her face had darkened.

She was plainly poisoned.

The men reported that when they first found her, they had not noticed anything unusual. Only afterward did they realize she had been poisoned.

Sha Rulai put on a shocked expression.

In truth, he had known about the poison all along.

Niu Youdao’s side had also found several pills on Yuan Se’s body, but no one could distinguish which, if any, was the antidote.

They did not dare feed Luo Fangfei random medicine.

The safest course was still to hand her to the Ghost Doctor for treatment.

Those pills had been brought along as well and given to Sha Rulai as a precaution.

If even the Ghost Doctor proved helpless, Sha Rulai was to produce the pills at an opportune moment and claim they had been found while searching this place.

The Ghost Doctor could then determine whether one of them was the antidote.

His ability to identify medicine should, after all, surpass everyone else’s.

Luo Fangfei was his own daughter.

Luo Qiu personally used his art to examine her and discovered her condition was quite serious.

Remembering Yuan Se’s earlier words, he guessed this was no ordinary poison.

He turned and ordered, “Take her to Hei Li immediately.”

Then he waved a hand again. “Fatty Yuan may cause trouble. I’ll take her there myself. You all withdraw as quickly as possible.”

He took Luo Fangfei into his arms and vanished into the sky in a flash.

No one could possibly keep pace.

Sha Rulai could only stand on the ground and watch.

High in the air, Luo Qiu glanced down at the daughter in his arms.

A shadow gradually settled over his face.

He felt no joy at having rescued her.

What he had wanted was to silence Yuan Se forever.

If Yuan Se remained alive, then what use was rescuing her?

At worst, humiliation and fury might make Yuan Se expose the secret outright.

That was why Luo Qiu had questioned why his disciples had launched the assault on their own.

But once he heard their reason, and saw they had fought desperately enough to rescue his daughter, what else could he say?

...

Inside a battered hall, Lu Zhichang crouched beside Consort Yuan’s corpse.

He reached out and touched her.

There was still warmth in the body.

The blood on the floor had not yet congealed.

She had plainly died only moments ago.

Her death was ugly.

Eyes, yet blind—a miserable end.

Lu Zhichang slowly stood.

Beside him, Sha Rulai raised one hand and patted him on the shoulder. “My condolences.”

“This place is not safe. If Yuan Se returns, we’ll be in trouble.”

“We should send her remains back to Daluo Sacred Land for burial.”

Lu Zhichang said, “Senior Brother is joking.”

“If she were alive, perhaps she could go to Daluo Sacred Land.”

“But now that she is dead, do you think Master would want to see her buried there?”

Sha Rulai fell silent briefly.

He understood.

The union between this man and woman had never been something honorable.

Now that Consort Yuan was dead, Luo Qiu would presumably prefer that whatever could be hidden about the affair remained hidden from most people.

Sha Rulai sighed. “Then how do you intend to handle it?”

Lu Zhichang looked up through the broken roof at the stars.

“Here is fine.”

“Later, I’ll find somewhere nearby with green hills and clear water and bury her there.”

“If I remember her in the future, or happen to have time, I can come by and take a look.”

“There’s no need to deliberately arrange anything more than that.”

He truly had no feelings for her.

He believed he never would have developed any either.

And in truth, that was probably so.

Yet she had suddenly died just like this.

In his mind surfaced the one occasion they had shared a bed, her soft allure there, and the despairing, pleading look she had given him when she was trapped inside that net and dragged away while he could do nothing but watch.

He suddenly realized this woman had carved a mark somewhere inside his heart.

“Ah...” Sha Rulai sighed.

He patted Lu Zhichang’s back and left him to decide for himself.

Then Sha Rulai turned and walked away.

The people of Daluo Sacred Land withdrew rapidly.

...

Dawn came.

Under the rising sun, inside a residence in a small town, Luo Qiu stood with his hands clasped behind his back in the courtyard.

The curtain of the main hall lifted.

Ghost Doctor Hei Li came out, walked over, and cupped his hands. “Sacred Venerable, Pavilion Master Fangfei should be out of danger from the poison. After recuperating for some time, she should recover.”

Luo Qiu glanced back. “Looks like sparing your life all those years ago was still somewhat useful.”

The Ghost Doctor bowed slightly and said nothing.

Luo Qiu turned and entered the hall.

When he emerged again, he was carrying someone.

With a flash, he shot into the sky and vanished.

A short while later, Wuxin came out from the hall as well.

He held a thin sliver of silver in his hand and walked to the Ghost Doctor’s side. “Master, look at this.”

The Ghost Doctor’s gaze fell on a droplet of blood resting on the silver. “What are you trying to say?”

Wuxin said, “Master, Pavilion Master Fangfei’s blood seems different from that of an ordinary person.”

“The color looks normal enough, but this droplet is taking an unusually long time to clot.”

“Why does it resemble demon blood somewhat?”

“Could it be because of the poison?”

The Ghost Doctor said irritably, “The poison has already been cured. What poison would still be left?”

“Would I let someone take her away only to have the poison flare up again?”

Wuxin stared at the droplet. “Then what is this?”

The Ghost Doctor abruptly lowered his voice. “According to the records in that medical canon, this is a characteristic found in the descendants of a human and a demon.”

Wuxin was shocked. “Ah! Then Pavilion Master Fangfei is—”

The Ghost Doctor clapped a hand over his mouth.

[End of Chapter 1470]