Chapter 6: The Poisoned Disciples and a Looming Shadow

Within the ‘Path-Seeking Abode,’ the living quarters for outer disciples of the Qingyun Sect.

“Quick, someone! Senior Brother Zhang isn’t doing well!”

“Senior Brother Li too! He’s freezing all over, and his lips are purple!”

“And Senior Brother Wang! He… black lines are growing on his body!”

Several terrified screams tore through the tranquility of the night.

Soon, Deacon Sun, who was in charge of outer sect affairs, rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

The incident involved three male disciples, Zhang Kui, Li Mang, and Wang Xiaowu, who resided in the same room.

At present, the three lay on their respective beds, their faces mottled with purple, their bodies twitching uncontrollably. A network of fine black lines crept upwards from their necks, presenting a grotesque and terrifying sight.

“It’s poison!” Deacon Sun, with his extensive experience, immediately pinpointed the problem. He stepped forward at once, prying open the mouth of one of the disciples. A chilling, bone-piercing aura assailed him.

“It’s Yin-Sha Poison!” Deacon Sun’s expression instantly changed.

This venom was exceptionally insidious. It would erode a cultivator’s meridians and corrupt their spiritual roots. Once the poison reached the dantian, even immortals would be powerless to save them.

“Quickly! Go and fetch Uncle-Master Bai from the Medicine Pavilion!” Deacon Sun instructed a nearby disciple, simultaneously beginning a meticulous inspection of the room.

The room was tidy, devoid of any signs of struggle, and the doors and windows remained intact. How, then, was the poison administered?

Deacon Sun’s gaze ultimately settled on the three disciples’ beds.

Under Zhang Kui’s pillow, he discovered a crumpled talisman paper. The paper had long lost its spiritual radiance, appearing dull and grey. Yet, a faint wisp of lingering energy on it made Deacon Sun’s pupils contract sharply.

It was the aura of Yin-Sha Poison! And what’s more…

He brought the talisman paper to his nose, discerning its faint scent. His expression grew increasingly solemn.

It was demonic energy!

Though only a trace, he could not possibly be mistaken.

Deacon Sun’s heart instantly plummeted to rock bottom.

A demonic cultivator had infiltrated Qingyun Sect, and even dared to unleash such a vicious poison on outer disciples?

This was a matter of immense gravity!

He dared not delay, immediately sealing off the scene and reporting the matter to the Law Enforcement Hall with the utmost urgency.

****

Li Wuxia remained quietly in her room.

She sat cross-legged on her bed, an aged, yellowed ancient text spread open before her—the very ‘Qinghe Yin-Sha Scripture’ she had stolen from the Li family.

She extended a pale finger, and a wisp of black thread, finer than a strand of hair, coiled and pulsed around its tip, radiating a heart-stopping chill.

Earlier that day, on her way to Frostbright Abode, she had inadvertently overheard the conversation of those three male disciples.

“…What chief disciple? She’s just completely infatuated with that vixen.”

“Exactly. Just a servant by birth, who knows what unspeakable charm she used? Even the Demon Venerable stood up for her. I think she’s been tainted for a long time!”

“Such a femme fatale should be locked in the Snow Law Forbidden Courtyard, left to wish for death but unable to find it!”

At that moment, Li Wuxia stood behind a nearby tree, listening to every word without missing a single one.

Her nails dug deeply into her palms, and a murderous intent, a desire to obliterate everything, surged wildly from the depths of her heart.

Dare to speak of her Senior Sister in such a way?

How *dare* they?

Thus, the events of this night unfolded.

She used the Yin-Sha threads she had cultivated, attaching them to three blank talismans. Under the cover of night, she silently infiltrated the three disciples’ room, slipping the talismans into their beds.

As for that trace of demonic energy…

Before acting, she had deliberately visited the area near the sect gates where Demon Venerable Ling Shuangjue and Gu Chang’an had confronted each other days prior. There, she captured a lingering wisp of demonic aura from the air, then skillfully disguised and integrated it into her own Yin-Sha Poison.

This way, everyone’s attention would be diverted to the matter of a “demonic cultivator infiltration.” No one would ever suspect her, an unremarkable, even somewhat frail, outer disciple.

Li Wuxia’s lips curved into a cold smile.

She gently caressed the wooden hairpin she had “taken” from Shen Zhaoqing.

“Senior Sister, rest assured,” she murmured.

‘I will help you meticulously cleanse every single person who dares to harm you, gossip about you, or defile your name.’

‘You only need to remain within my sight and accept my love. That will be enough.’

…

The poisoning of the outer disciples quickly spread throughout the Qingyun Sect.

The Law Enforcement Hall intervened with an overnight investigation. Their final conclusion aligned with Deacon Sun’s initial assessment: it was highly probable that minor demonic cultivators, harboring resentment towards the sect, had infiltrated to target weaker disciples, aiming to sow panic and undermine the sect’s foundations.

Immediately, the entire Qingyun Sect was enveloped in a tense atmosphere. The number of patrolling disciples doubled, and the alert level of the sect-protecting array was raised to its highest.

Yet, for Shen Zhaoqing, who remained ‘under house arrest’ in Frostbright Abode, none of this made any difference.

After all, she couldn’t leave anyway.

She merely felt that Gu Chang’an’s gaze had grown increasingly solemn these past few days.

It was as if she were a powerful, yet extremely unstable, contraband item, one that could ‘boom’ at any moment, exploding on the spot and blowing the entire Qingyun Sect sky-high.

“Three outer disciples have been poisoned,” Gu Chang’an stated directly, her voice clear and cold.

After her morning sword practice, Gu Chang’an, contrary to her usual routine of sending Shen Zhaoqing to read scriptures, unexpectedly had her sit opposite her instead.

“Oh.” Shen Zhaoqing nodded, indicating her understanding.

Gu Chang’an observed Shen Zhaoqing’s indifferent demeanor, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

“It’s Yin-Sha Poison,” she continued, “and it contained a trace of demonic aura.” Her eyes, like cold stars, fixed intently on Shen Zhaoqing’s face, missing not a single flicker of expression.

“Demonic energy?” Shen Zhaoqing finally reacted, blinking. “Was it Ling Shuangjue’s people?”

This was her immediate thought. After all, the only demonic figure currently entangled with her was that particular crazed Demon Venerable.

“Not certain,” Gu Chang’an slowly shook her head, “but the Law Enforcement Hall… they lean towards that conclusion.”

Shen Zhaoqing understood.

‘So, this blame was going to be shifted onto her again?’

“Because the Demon Venerable came for me, does that mean any trouble caused by demonic cultivators in the sect originates from me?”

‘This logic… it was simply unassailable!’

“Senior Sister,” Shen Zhaoqing sighed, looking at Gu Chang’an with an earnest expression, “Do I look like someone who could be colluding with demonic cultivators? I can’t even leave the outer sect! What would I gain from it? Do I expect them to send me two jars of fine wine?”

Gu Chang’an fell silent.

She certainly didn’t believe Shen Zhaoqing was responsible for this matter.

With her cultivation, she could discern at a glance that Shen Zhaoqing’s spiritual sea was utterly empty.

However, her own conviction didn’t mean others shared it.

Especially Senior Sister Ning from the Law Enforcement Hall, who was dead set on imprisoning Shen Zhaoqing in the ‘Snow Law Forbidden Courtyard.’

“I know it wasn’t you.” After a long moment, Gu Chang’an finally uttered four soft words, her voice seemingly a touch gentler than usual. “But from today onwards, you are not to leave my sight.”

Shen Zhaoqing: “…”

‘Wait, Senior Sister, have I ever *been* out of your sight before?!’

‘You practically wanted to seal me in with sword energy when I went to the outhouse!’

‘What more does “not leaving my sight” even entail? Do you want to just tie us together with a rope?!’

As if she had seen through Shen Zhaoqing’s internal complaints, a faint blush unexpectedly crept onto Gu Chang’an’s face once more.

She lowered her gaze, avoiding Shen Zhaoqing’s eyes, and her voice dropped several octaves. “What I mean is… at night, you will also sleep in the main chamber.”

Shen Zhaoqing’s mind buzzed.

“Sleep… sleep in the main chamber?”

‘With you?’