Chapter 49

Lin Yu's voice came out hoarse, her throat suddenly parched. The Xianzun's tone was unusually stern, leaving no room for refusal. Every pair of eyes below was fixed on her, awaiting her reply.

Ting He finally lifted her head too. Her eyes were hollow, crisscrossed with bright red, spiderweb-like blood vessels. There were no tears in her eyes; her pupils rolled unconsciously, darting between the Xianzun and the Divine Maiden on the high platform.

At some point, the sword wounds on her body had begun to bleed again, fresh warm blood seeping into her robes. Perhaps the earlier dragging had reopened the wounds.

After a long silence, Lin Yu finally spoke, her voice floating lightly above Ting He's head. "This disciple will diligently carry out the Xianzun's instructions."

Ting He finally smiled. The purpose of her coming here had been to seek death. She had burned to death a few beastly disciples of Heaven's Mandate Tower and injured their esteemed Divine Maiden, and now she was ending with her life forfeit.

Ting He thought it was a good deal.

Ting He was quickly taken away, and Lin Yu followed behind her out of the Self-Reflection Hall. The remaining disciples received their punishments and left one by one. The doors opened and closed repeatedly, allowing the morning breeze to slip into the grand hall, extinguishing the lamp by the entrance.

The candlelight flickered, and the room dimmed. After everyone had exited and the heavy door was shut by the last disciple, all that remained in the Self-Reflection Hall was the aged Xianzun seated in the high seat.

No one could have guessed that the gaunt, immortal-like young man from just moments ago had, in an instant, gone white-haired again. The clear breeze tousled the strands of hair hanging over his forehead. He let out a long breath, leaned back against his throne, and closed his eyes slightly.

He couldn't maintain his youthful appearance for much longer. The throne, crafted from all sorts of precious gems, costly metals, and rare materials, glittered brilliantly—a stark contrast to the septuagenarian seated upon it.

The dazzling light of the gems reflected into the Xianzun's half-lidded eyes. Only after a long while did he open them and look in the direction everyone had gone.

...

Ting He had been an escort for over a decade, and those years of work had made her strong and agile. When they carried her onto the torture platform, which was only waist-high, the two men still couldn't manage to lift her.

The two disciples exchanged bewildered glances, each clearly annoyed with the other. In the end, Si Xing, the executioner of the torture chamber, couldn't stand it anymore and lent them a hand.

Lin Yu sighed as she looked at these weak, frail men before her.

Si Xing was a middle-aged woman. After settling Ting He, she swiftly went to organize the knives, and within moments laid out over a dozen blades. The silver-glinting knives were arranged in a long row beside Ting He.

Ting He closed her eyes, as if she had fainted.

Seeing that the two disciples who couldn't lift Ting He earlier were about to fetch ropes to bind her hands and feet, Lin Yu glanced at their movements and casually picked up a boning knife.

This torture chamber wasn't large—now it held only Lin Yu, Ting He, Si Xing, and the two disciples sent by the Xianzun. Ting He lay on the platform, and directly in front of Lin Yu was a window.

"Clatter!" The knife fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Lin Yu casually tugged at the white cloth holding the knives, and the dozen or so blades resting on the edge of the platform clattered to the floor in rapid succession.

The other three were startled by the noise and all looked over. Lin Yu stood off to the side, feigning a flustered, helpless air. Then she spoke to Si Xing with a displeased tone, "What mess of knives have you prepared? None of them are to my liking. Go fetch new ones—ones that have just been sharpened!"

Si Xing said nothing. She had seen plenty of spoiled, unreasonable young ladies before, so she didn't react much. With a flat expression, she simply rose and went out. Lin Yu's gaze shifted to the remaining two in the room.

"And you two, don't just stand around. Open the window—the stench of blood in here is overpowering. You ought to air it out a little." As she spoke, Lin Yu pinched her nose and pretended to look disgusted.

The two disciples, seeing Lin Yu displeased, didn't dare offend her and hurried to open the window.

Just as they turned around, with their backs facing Lin Yu, she dropped her displeased expression. In a flash, she struck both of them on the sides of their necks, and they collapsed stiffly by the window.

Suddenly, the window was opened from outside. Chen Lu's head appeared at the windowsill, flashing Lin Yu a smile. "We've brought him!"

Behind Chen Lu, several small heads popped up—immortal attendants she was familiar with. Together they managed to haul the unconscious person through the window into the room.

"Wait, wait, don't crowd!"

"Ouch, move over there! He's stuck!"

"Quick, quick! He's in, he's in!"

"Thud!"

A young man was thrown through the window by the little immortal attendants, landing right on top of the two disciples lying by the window.

Hearing the commotion, Ting He finally opened her eyes to look over. With a single glance, her ashen face shifted to one of confusion.

Ting He: ? What are you all doing??

Lin Yu had no time to explain to Ting He. She quickly helped her up from the platform, then supported her as she climbed over the windowsill and stepped out. Ting He's strength gave out and she nearly stumbled, but fortunately the little immortal attendants by the window caught her in time.

Lin Yu instructed Chen Lu, "It's almost dawn. Take the back paths and don't let anyone notice."

Chen Lu nodded firmly at Lin Yu, then led Ting He away with the little immortal attendants.

The sky was already showing light, with a hint of crimson bleeding through. The sun was about to rise, and daylight was imminent—if they ran into disciples doing morning exercises in the tower, their movements would be compromised.

Lin Yu watched their retreating figures, still uneasy, and cast an invisibility spell over them from a distance.

Then she quickly closed the window and dragged the man the attendants had thrown in onto the torture platform.

This man was none other than the hurried priestess Lin Yu and Chen Lu had encountered after leaving the dining hall that evening.

At the time, Lin Yu had found his movements odd and suspicious-looking, so she'd told Chen Lu to follow him. She'd said that losing him would be fine, and things had gone as she expected—the priestess was highly cautious, and Chen Lu lost him.

But unexpectedly, Chen Lu's competitive streak flared. She ran to the sleeping quarters of the cleaning immortal attendants and rallied a bunch of little attendants to search, like a general mustering troops. Hearing they were doing work for the Divine Maiden, many of them were coaxed into going along.

Their persistence paid off—Chen Lu finally found him by the river at the edge of the Divine Mountain. At that moment, he was about to kill a young girl.

He must have been planning to offer her as a sacrifice for the Spring Festival. How could Chen Lu stand by and watch that?

So she charged in with her group, and the kids swarmed him, shoving him into the river. By the time they scrambled to pull him out, it was too late—the priestess had already drowned and passed out.

Before heading to the Self-Reflection Hall, Lin Yu had returned to her quarters. When she lit the candle, she found a group of filthy children huddled together, shivering in her room.

After hearing the whole story, Lin Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Thinking ahead to the Self-Reflection Hall, she knew Ting He wasn't in for a good end. As the Divine Maiden on the surface, Lin Yu couldn't openly defy the Xianzun or go against his wishes to speak up for Ting He.

In that case... maybe she could pull off a switcheroo. A gift delivered to her door—there was no reason not to use it.

"Divine Maiden, the new boning knife you requested."

Si Xing's voice suddenly sounded behind Lin Yu, startling her so much that her hands trembled. She had just dragged the two disciples under the platform to hide them, but the priestess's face on the platform was still fully exposed with no time to cover it. Lin Yu spun around quickly, blocking his face with her body.

The timing was impeccable—if she'd been a beat slower, she would have been caught.

Lin Yu's breathing quickened. Unable to see what was behind her, she fumbled blindly along the edge of the platform, but the white cloth she'd picked up earlier had vanished somewhere, and she couldn't find it no matter how much she searched.

"Take a look and see if these knives suit your taste." Si Xing approached Lin Yu step by step, carrying the knives.

Lin Yu's breath slowed, nearly stopping altogether. Si Xing was only a step or two away now, and her forehead veins throbbed. Si Xing couldn't discover that the person on the platform wasn't Ting He!

Suddenly, Lin Yu's fingers brushed against something soft, and her heart calmed. She pulled at it, and a soft white linen cloth draped over the priestess's face, concealing his masculine features.

At that very moment, Si Xing arrived in front of Lin Yu. She instinctively glanced toward the platform behind Lin Yu; the priestess's face and neck were covered by the white cloth, no skin exposed.

Fortunately, the priestess's build wasn't too different from Ting He's, and Si Xing didn't grow suspicious of the person on the platform, nor did she ask why only Lin Yu remained in the room.

Lin Yu steadied her breath and said calmly, "Bring them over."

Si Xing unrolled a cloth bundle, revealing a dozen cold blades before Lin Yu. They came in all shapes and sizes—novel styles Lin Yu had never seen, with curved edges or elongated handles. Lin Yu's hand hovered over them uncertainly, unable to pick one that felt right.

Even Si Xing's arm, holding the knives, was growing tired, though her face remained impassive. After a moment, she tested, "Divine Maiden, how about this long-bladed one?"

Lin Yu looked up at Si Xing. Seeing her reaction, the woman's perpetually expressionless face finally broke into a fawning smile. She spoke with a hint of pride, "I forged this one just a few days ago. You can try it."

Lin Yu nodded, accepting Si Xing's suggestion and choosing the long-bladed knife. She picked it up and examined it carefully, then asked offhandedly, "You know how to forge knives? That's impressive."

Lin Yu's tone suggested genuine interest. Since they shared a craft and Lin Yu had complimented her, Si Xing's attitude toward her warmed noticeably. She replied, "When I was young, I was interested in everything, so I learned a bit of everything—sword forging, knife forging, I dabbled in all of it."

Lin Yu didn't respond. Twirling the lightweight knife in her fingers, she walked toward the head of the platform. Si Xing was used to being alone, and now that someone interested in forging had arrived, the conversation ended too soon—she felt a pang of reluctance.

Lin Yu examined the priestess's neck, then reached out to feel his carotid artery. Through the fabric, his pulse was extremely weak, hardly different from a dead man's.

"If I had the time, I'd like to learn these skills too." Lin Yu said without changing expression, casually diverting Si Xing's attention. Her eyes flickered, and with a sudden motion, she slashed the blade across the priestess's neck!

In an instant, bright red blood gushed out, soaking the white cloth covering his face. Lin Yu took a step back to avoid the spray.

Si Xing was taken aback by the sight, all thoughts of their conversation forgotten. Because she remembered clearly—the Xianzun had ordered that Ting He be kept alive during the punishment. So why did Lin Yu just slit her throat the moment she arrived?!

Si Xing stammered, "You..."

Lin Yu knew what Si Xing was about to say and answered directly. "The punishment of bone removal is too cruel, against all reason. To make someone endure such torment while alive—even if she has sinned, she shouldn't suffer that way.

"Even though the Xianzun ordered me to do it myself, if I committed such an act, wouldn't it tarnish my own virtue?"

Seeing Si Xing's expression soften, Lin Yu guessed she was reasonable. She continued, "Better to end it cleanly with a single cut and spare them a miserable death. All the Xianzun wants is the bones anyway—whether the person is alive or dead when they're removed makes no difference."

Lin Yu's tone turned serious, laced with subtle threat. "As long as you don't tell, and I don't tell, no one will ever know."

Si Xing didn't catch the threat in Lin Yu's words, but she found them sensible.

She was straightforward, not hiding anything, interested in sword forging, merciful, and she even called her "sister"... Thinking it over, Si Xing nodded vigorously. "That's true. This line of work really does damage one's virtue!"

Lin Yu had no idea how much was running through the seemingly cold Si Xing's head, but seeing that she'd taken the words to heart, she gave her a gentle, satisfied smile.

Suddenly, as if a thought struck her, Si Xing picked up two knives and walked over to Lin Yu. "Oh dear, you're going to become a god someday—your virtue matters far more than mine. There's no way I'd let you do this kind of work. The Xianzun really does give foolish orders. I'll handle this myself!"

"Hey! No need!" Lin Yu's words came too late. She tried to stop Si Xing, because the person on the platform wasn't a woman at all—it was a man!

But Si Xing's reaction exceeded Lin Yu's expectations; she was a bit too enthusiastic. Lin Yu couldn't stop her. Si Xing waved her hand, and the sharp blade sliced clean through the priestess's robes, stripping the person on the platform bare in no time.

Lin Yu's heart sank. And sure enough, things took a turn for the worse.

Si Xing's gaze landed on the priestess's naked body, and her voice rang out beside Lin Yu in shock. "She... no wait! He... how does he have..."

Her eyes were wide with horror, her face contorted. "How does he have an extra piece?!"

Lin Yu: ...

I told her I'd handle it! Why did she have to rush in?! Now we're exposed...