Chapter 108

"Quick, go." Lin Yu called to those around her. She stopped controlling the gu insects, and almost instantly, they obeyed and departed.

The bamboo house door was pushed open, and the young man stepped out. Lin Yu still stood in the dense bramble forest. The young man lingered by the door for a while. Just as Lin Yu wondered whether he had actually spotted her, he suddenly raised his hand—and a sharp flying needle shot from his sleeve, streaking toward the brambles!

Lin Yu dodged each one with agile grace, her robes fluttering with every movement. But the brambles were thick all around, and their spiked vines caught easily at the hem of her clothes, exposing her to Ming Jing's gaze.

The moment the fabric snagged on a thorn, the entire thicket seemed to come alive. The vines grew and twisted with terrifying speed, climbing up Lin Yu's limbs and binding her tightly within their grasp.

This was no ordinary bramble forest—this was a living formation!

"Who's there?" Elder Ming Jing's low voice rang out from the darkness. With that, he turned and walked toward her.

Lin Yu wasn't sure if this so-called Elder Ming Jing had ever seen her face, but she had made no effort to conceal it tonight. She absolutely could not let him see her.

But there was no time left. Lin Yu was trapped in the brambles, unable to move, and Ming Jing moved swiftly, closing in step by step until he was almost at the thicket.

The distance between them narrowed. Under the pale moonlight, Ming Jing's snow-white cloak shimmered brilliantly.

Just as he was about to set foot into the brambles, a snow-white bone whip lashed through the vines, striking toward him!

Lin Yu's purpose tonight was merely to get a look at this legendary Xianzun—nothing more. She had no wish to stir up trouble or provoke a fight.

But this man's senses were far too sharp. From such a distance, with only a single glance through the brambles, he had detected her presence and sent his needles with deadly accuracy.

Now that she was exposed, he was clearly far more formidable than the decrepit old Xianzun. This one would be a difficult opponent.

The bone whip cut through the air with a chilling whistle, arcing toward Elder Ming Jing. What Lin Yu didn't expect was that he made no move to dodge or counter.

In that instant, he caught the tail end of the whip with his bare hand!

Surprise flickered in Lin Yu's eyes. Then, suddenly, a tremendous pull came from the other end of the whip, yanking her entirely out of the bramble forest!

The killing blow she had anticipated never came.

"A Si?" The young man's voice trembled slightly. "Is it you?"

His palm, gripping the whip, was bleeding profusely. The flesh where it met the bone whip had nearly split open, the wound a gruesome sight as blood streamed down. But Ming Jing showed no sign of pain.

At his words, Lin Yu paused for a moment. She remembered that the first time she had met the Xianzun, he had told her she looked very much like A Si.

Back then, she hadn't taken it seriously—she had just left the illusion of the Li Kingdom, having experienced the time before the Divine Maiden A Si's Ascension. That illusion had been crafted by the Crimson God and the Moon God together, making it extraordinarily real.

In fact, for a time, she had truly been A Si, feeling all her memories and emotions. So when the Xianzun looked at her with such recognition, she had simply assumed he meant their temperaments were alike.

"A Si..." Ming Jing's voice cracked with tears. He didn't let go of the whip—in fact, he gripped it even tighter, as if terrified the person holding it would vanish. Trembling, he moved closer to Lin Yu. "You're back?"

Lin Yu looked at the young man before her, puzzled. Did that mean she and A Si were alike not just in temperament, but also in appearance?

She couldn't help but recall her first meeting with the Xianzun. He had stared at her for a long time then, just like Ming Jing was now. In hindsight, that gaze seemed to carry... a hint of nostalgia?

Fu Ming had said that becoming the Divine Maiden of Heaven's Mandate Tower required not only his approval, but also the Xianzun's acceptance—she would need the Xianzun to take her as a disciple before she could officially assume the role. She had expected the process to be arduous, but it had gone surprisingly smoothly.

The Xianzun had accepted her as the Divine Maiden the moment he saw her, without a single question.

Because of A Si?

Were she and A Si truly so similar?

Suddenly, in the brief moment of her distraction, she felt a light touch on the tip of her nose—and then Ming Jing pulled her into a tight embrace.

His lean, elegant fingers brushed against the back of her head as he drew her into his arms. "A Si... you're back... Master was wrong. It's all Master's fault..."

Lin Yu was pressed so tightly against him she could barely breathe. She instinctively tried to push him away, but the harder she pushed, the tighter he held her, as if terrified she would leave again.

"Please don't go... Master doesn't seek your forgiveness. Just don't leave Master again..."

Faint sobbing rose from above her head. Was he... crying?

Even a fool could sense something unusual in this scene. A Si and Ming Jing's relationship was clearly more than simple master and disciple—there was an undercurrent of intimacy.

Ming Jing lowered his head, his chin resting on top of her hair, his arms encircling her completely. Beads of blood trickled down his hand and dripped onto the back of Lin Yu's robe, staining the fabric a deeper shade.

Lin Yu had no idea what he was playing at. He was holding her too tightly, and it was becoming uncomfortable.

"Get off." Lin Yu finally spoke, and she felt Ming Jing's body stiffen.

"You still won't forgive Master, is that it?"

Lin Yu had no patience for this man's theatrics. She pulled a short blade from her sleeve and pressed it against Ming Jing's back, playing along with his words. "Then tell me, Master—what exactly am I supposed to forgive you for?"

Ming Jing fell silent, clearly avoiding the question. But Lin Yu wasn't about to show mercy just because he was A Si's master and had once saved A Si's life with his own. Anyone who posed a threat to her, she killed without hesitation. The Xianzun was no exception, and neither was Ming Jing.

The blade sank cleanly into Ming Jing's back, aimed directly at where his heart lay. With a single push, she could pierce through to his chest from behind.

"Since Master can't answer, that means you don't deserve forgiveness. So please, Master... atone with your death?"

She didn't know what had happened between Ming Jing and A Si twenty years ago, but judging by his guilty demeanor now, he must have committed some unforgivable sin.

"Please, Master—die for me, won't you?" Lin Yu smiled.

The other end of the bone whip dropped to the ground, scraping against fallen leaves with a crisp sound. Ming Jing reached back, searching for the blade pressed against his back, and spoke with utter sincerity. "Alright. Master will atone with his death."

"I should have died with you back then. I shouldn't have gone on living." His bloodstained hand rose shakily, as if he wanted to touch Lin Yu's face.

A cold wind blew through the night, and the blood seeping from his palm lost its warmth almost instantly. Ming Jing's trembling fingers brushed lightly beneath Lin Yu's eye, leaving a drop of blood there like a red mole—or perhaps a mark.

His blood was cold.

"Let's die together. We can be buried together, never apart. Okay?" He took the blade and pressed it against his own heart. The edge was razor sharp—the moment it touched his skin, beads of blood welled up. His voice carried a pleading note. "Will A Si stay with Master forever?"

Lin Yu frowned at his actions, offering no reply. When he saw she wasn't responding, Ming Jing only chuckled softly. Then, without hesitation, he drove the blade into his own chest!

The tip sank into his heart. Lin Yu was startled for a moment, then reached out and stopped his hand, pulling the blade free.

She did want to kill Ming Jing, but now wasn't the time. There were still too many unresolved questions between him and the Xianzun, and his bizarre words tonight pointed to hidden truths behind the events of twenty years ago. Lin Yu suspected it had something to do with A Si's failed Ascension.

She tucked the blade away and studied Ming Jing's face. Then she noticed something odd—his gaze hadn't changed at all. He wasn't looking at her now; he was staring blankly at the ground.

Lin Yu frowned and waved a hand in front of his eyes. Ming Jing coughed up blood and laughed. "No need to test me. Master's not blind. I can see."

Lin Yu suddenly leaned in close to his eyes, a hint of a smile on her face. "Master, do you really see who I am?"

Ming Jing's expression didn't change. He blinked, smiling gently. "Is A Si reluctant to let Master die?"

Lin Yu's face darkened.

He laughed, delighted. "A Si..."

But before he could finish, Lin Yu delivered a sharp chop to his neck, knocking him unconscious. "Then you'd better go die."

From behind the bramble forest, several disciples controlled by the gu insects stepped forward and surrounded them. Lin Yu asked, "How long has your master been like this? Hasn't anyone called a physician for him?"

One of them asked, confused, "Like what?"

"Madness..." Lin Yu curled her lips. "Can't you tell?"

The disciples all shook their heads blankly. "Master really can't see clearly, but he's not mad."

"Can't see clearly?" His symptom actually looked more like blindness...

Another disciple chimed in. "Master has always been like this. He sees everything as blurry. He says it's an injury from an incident many years ago."

Lin Yu nodded thoughtfully. "When he wakes up, tell him he had a nightmare..."

Lin Yu stopped short, looking at the wound Ming Jing had inflicted on his own chest and the burns on his palms from the bone whip. Would he really believe it was just a dream?

Tonight had clearly been Ming Jing's first time seeing her, which was why he had been so shocked. But... as the true Xianzun of Heaven's Mandate Tower, how could he have gone so long without ever meeting her, the Divine Maiden?

Unless the Xianzun had deliberately kept it from him. The Xianzun didn't want Ming Jing to see her.

All the clues connected, and the answer seemed on the verge of revealing itself.

Twenty years ago, the Divine Maiden A Si had been banished from Heaven's Mandate Tower and sent back to the Jiang Kingdom for a political marriage. On the way, she encountered her opportunity for Ascension—only to meet her death. The Xianzun of that time, now Ming Jing, had traded his life for hers to grant her that one chance.

When she had experienced that segment in the illusion, Lin Yu had felt puzzled. How could a revered Divine Maiden be cast out of Heaven's Mandate Tower and sent off to marry? She clearly still had the chance to Ascend—why would the Tower abandon her?

After Ming Jing died, his elder brother rushed to save him. Then the position of Xianzun passed to the brother, while Ming Jing stepped down to the rank of elder.

Twenty years later, when a woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to A Si appeared, the Xianzun chose to hide her existence. Now that was getting interesting...

So Lin Yu changed her instructions. "When he wakes up, tell him this: A Si is still alive, but the Xianzun has hidden her away. The Xianzun doesn't want him to see her."