A Thousand-Year Parting
Thinking of this, Chu Qingjue let out a quiet sigh. If things really were as she suspected, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to save his life.
"Senior Sister Chu, please save me! Senior Brother Mu Yi is a hypocrite!" Xiang Lan hurried over, pleading with her as if he were about to cry.
She said nothing, a complicated look rising in the depths of her eyes.
Although Xiang Lan was timid and somewhat afraid of death, he wasn't a bad person at heart. More often than not, he let innocent people go whenever he could. For that, he'd been scolded plenty of times, but even after all these years, he still hadn't changed.
What she couldn't understand was why he had suddenly left her grandfather's side back then and joined the Palace Master's faction, becoming one of the Palace Master's lackeys.
If Xiang Lan had belonged to her own faction, she would have done her best to rescue him. But she had little desire to help one of Mu Yi's people. Though they were fellow disciples, their factions were as incompatible as fire and water.
Seeing her remain silent, Xiang Lan pulled a long face. Forgetting her usual aversion to being touched, he grabbed her sleeve, glanced warily around them, and a glint flashed through his eyes. He slipped a Golden Cicada into her palm and whispered, "Senior Sister Chu, I belong to the Grand Tutor's faction. The Grand Tutor planted me under the Palace Master back then. This token proves it! Please save me!"
Chu Qingjue's expression changed. Clutching the finely crafted Golden Cicada, she knew her grandfather had made it himself. There were four in total, and each holder was a spy who had infiltrated the Palace Master's faction. She hadn't expected that