“This servant, Chunlan, pays respects to Peak Master Su, pays respects to Lord Shen.”
As she bowed, her gaze darted, uncontrollably, toward Shen Mo standing at Su Wan’er’s side. Just one glance, and she yanked it back as if burned.
Lord Shen… he looked a little better than when he was at Heavenly Sword Peak.
Though still pale and gaunt, the deathly stillness between his brows had faded somewhat.
He stood beside Peak Master Su, positioned slightly behind, yet not entirely dependent. Instead, there was a sense of… standing shoulder to shoulder?
This realization stirred a complex mix of emotions in Chunlan’s heart.
He’s happier staying here than going to Heavenly Sword Peak.
Su Wan’er took the main seat and glanced at her. “Miss Chunlan, no need for such formality. Please, sit.”
Chunlan remained in her bow.
“Thank you for your kindness, Peak Master Su. This servant will stand. My mistress will be arriving shortly, and if she sees me lacking in decorum, she will be displeased.”
These words fell like a thunderbolt.
Su Wan’er held her teacup, drinking slowly and unhurriedly.
She wasn’t surprised. She knew Qin Shuying had strict rules and a cold temperament.
Since it was a matter requiring discussion, it made sense for her to come in person.
Still, this was truly unusual.
After that ambiguous rift years ago, though they were both peak masters of the same sect, they had become almost strangers to each other, let alone one taking the initiative to visit.
Could it be… she really intended to mend their relationship?
At this thought, a flicker of joy arose.
Regardless, Qin Shuying was my only close friend in youth. If we could restore our bond…
Then her thoughts turned, and she couldn’t help but glance at Shen Mo standing at her side.
He was unusually quiet today.
He stood there with lowered eyes, but his complexion was far too pale, even his lips had lost their color.
Su Wan’er simply assumed he had been overtired these past nights, or perhaps was nervous about facing Qin Shuying, the famously cold Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak. She didn’t think much of it.
But at this moment, Shen Mo was in the mood to kill.
What does she want?
What the hell does she want?!
A million terrible outcomes flashed through his mind in an instant.
Chunlan withdrew from her sleeve a palm-sized, exquisitely carved box made of thousand-year cold jade.
The moment the box emerged, the temperature in the hall dropped several degrees.
She held the jade casket above her head with both hands. “Lord Shen, this item… my peak master ordered this servant to personally deliver it to you. She said… it is returning to its rightful owner, and you… must keep it safe.”
Returning to its rightful owner?
His eyelashes trembled violently.
The jade casket flew through the air, hovering before him. The lid slid open silently.
Inside lay a jade pendant.
Translucent as ten-thousand-year mystic ice, with a single icy blue light swirling endlessly at its center.
It was the Ice Soul Jade he had discarded in the quiet room.
Now, it had been reforged, its spiritual power surging and abundant.
“Peak Master Qin… has gone to considerable trouble, even concerning herself with the storage of my husband’s old belongings.” Su Wan’er was somewhat puzzled. She didn’t recall Shen Mo possessing such a valuable item. Perhaps it had been gifted to him by some benefactor.
“Lord Shen, my peak master also instructed this servant to inform you… that the Cloud-Soaring Crane’s injuries have relapsed due to the interruption of its previous treatment. Common elixirs and spiritual power regulation are of little effect.”
“The peak master earnestly requests that Lord Shen… visit Heavenly Sword Peak when you have time, to examine it again.”
Shen Mo’s expression was calm.
But inwardly, he was grinding his teeth to powder.
That spirit crane’s injury was never an injury from the start. It was a thread—one end tied to him, the other held in her hand.
He thought the thread had been cut. It hadn’t.
She had only loosened her grip, letting him believe he was free.
And she could reel it in at any time.
“However… my mistress also said that she knows treating the spirit crane is difficult and very taxing. Lord Shen… likely would not be willing to go to Heavenly Sword Peak again.”
“So, before coming, my mistress specially took the time… to prepare some ‘gifts.’ She said these ‘gifts’ might make Lord Shen… change his mind, or at least, demonstrate her sincerity.”
Before her words faded, Shen Mo beside her swayed, almost imperceptibly.
If he hadn’t grabbed the back of a nearby chair, he would have nearly fallen.
Su Wan’er looked at him in surprise, seeing that his face had lost all color.
His eyes were fixed dead on the entrance of the hall.
As if he had seen something utterly terrifying.
Su Wan’er followed his gaze.
At the entrance, the daylight was partially blocked by a tall, slender figure.
Qin Shuying stood there.
She was as beautiful as ever.
There were traces of meticulous grooming about her brows and eyes.
Her beauty held an ethereal, dustless quality, skin like congealed fat, brows and eyes like a painting—spring mountains veiled in green, autumn waters capturing shadows. She seemed like the Creator’s most favored masterpiece.
And her figure was exquisite—arms like lotus roots, a waist one could encircle with a single hand, perfectly proportioned curves, and long legs with not an ounce of excess flesh.
She wore the standard dark robes of a peak master, which outlined a slim yet sharp silhouette.
But her face held no expression, as cold as ever.
Those star-like, frosty eyes immediately bypassed Su Wan’er on the main seat and landed precisely, heavily, on Shen Mo’s face.
They lingered for two or three breaths before slowly shifting to Su Wan’er.
She gave a slight nod, a gesture of greeting.
Her bearing was aloof, but compared to her past habit of acting as if no one else existed, this was already courteous.
Su Wan’er was about to speak, to say something to ease the atmosphere, when her gaze froze on the object in Qin Shuying’s hand.
In her right hand, she casually held something.
It was a palm-sized, perfectly round and translucent light blue crystal, shimmering with a faint light under the hall’s illumination.
A Shadow Recording Stone.
A common magical tool used by cultivators to record important scenes, demonstration of cultivation methods, and even… certain private moments.
So this is her gift?
Su Wan’er was slightly taken aback.
Shuying… actually knows to prepare a gift?
Well, well… it seems she really is sincere.
I wonder what it could be?
A flicker of anticipation rose in her heart.
But the moment Shen Mo saw that stone, his pupils contracted to pinpricks!
His mind went BOOM, as if a thunderclap had exploded within, blasting his soul to pieces!
A Shadow Recording Stone!
What… what is recorded inside?!
Countless terrible images flooded his mind uncontrollably.
Inside the quiet chamber of Heavenly Sword Peak—those forced, unbearable days and nights—images of him being overpowered, manipulated, forced into all kinds of humiliating postures, images of him breaking down and crying, or enduring numbly, and perhaps even… fragments of him losing control in extreme situations that he himself didn’t want to recall… Had she recorded all of this with the Shadow Recording Stone?!
No! Impossible! How dare she! This would harm her reputation too! How could she keep something like this!
And… and she brought it to Jiaoyue Peak! Brought it before Wan’er!
“I wonder what business brings you here in person today, Senior Sister? Miss Chunlan mentioned that you have a gift for Shen Mo?”
Qin Shuying spoke. “To resolve some misunderstandings between us. As for the gift, naturally, it’s to demonstrate my sincerity…”
“Peak Master Su, don’t take offense. It’s just that there are some things I’d like Lord Shen to see.”
She raised the Shadow Recording Stone, twirling it between her fingertips.
“And, for Peak Master Su to see as well.”
Shen Mo’s breathing stopped.
He stared fixedly at the Shadow Recording Stone.
She curled the corner of her mouth.
The smile was faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible.
But Shen Mo saw it.
It was the smile of a hunter who had spotted its prey.