"Mother, Junior Sister Wenxiu's identity and background..."
After they rounded the mountain bend and Shen Liancheng and Li Feiying were no longer in sight, Ouyang Lan regained her liveliness and hurried closer.
"Shh. We'll talk after we return to the mountain. I already know the little princess's identity."
Qin Huaiying shook her head lightly.
Cutting off Ouyang Lan's chatter.
Seeing her daughter's face full of confusion, Qin Huaiying sighed. "Such a huge matter couldn't be hidden. I simply hadn't gone down the mountain; it wasn't as though I'd gone deaf and blind. How could I not know some news from beyond the mountain?
"At the battle of Tiger Ridge Pass, even your father was wounded and forced to withdraw. If we didn't even understand why they were fighting, then there'd be no need for our Celestial Star Sect to exist."
"Father was injured? Is he all right?"
Ouyang Lan's face was filled with shock, and she turned even paler.
"You used [Yaoguang Scatter]?" Qin Huaiying seized her daughter's hand and checked her pulse. Her expression immediately changed.
"Your qi and blood are both depleted. Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"It's all right now. It wasn't just me; Junior Sister Wenxiu was hurt too.
"We took medicine earlier and meditated to regulate our breathing for a while. As long as we don't keep fighting, it'll be fine. Has Father returned to the mountain?"
"Not yet. But news from Tiger Ridge says that the Horse Face Soul Hooking Envoy of the Reincarnation Sect took a blow from your father's [Myriad Phenomena Sky Net].
"Without that peerless movement-art expert harassing them, withdrawing shouldn't be difficult."
After thinking for a moment, Qin Huaiying added, "The battle at Tiger Ridge Pass was not as simple as you think. It wasn't merely Ghost Mother of the Yellow Springs, one Soul Hooking Envoy, and one Judge from the Reincarnation Sect. Prince Jinyang, Yuwen Ba, also appeared...
"Though this boy is young, he has gathered many renowned veteran experts of the Northern Zhou martial world under his banner.
"In that battle, Yuwen Ba and the others attacked together. Had Daoist Ruoxu of the True Martial Sect and your Martial Uncle Bi Fenkong of the Violet Sun Sect not arrived, your father and Guanghan and the rest would likely have faced grave peril."
"Martial Uncle Bi took action too?"
Ouyang Lan's face was full of surprise.
"Yes. The skills Senior Brother Bi displayed this time were truly enough to scare a person to death.
"With a single sword, he manifested six suns; true fire transformed into a violet sun. Fighting Ghost Mother of the Yellow Springs and Blood Lotus Master alone, he did not fall into disadvantage. It could truly be called a battle that shook the world."
At this point, Qin Huaiying should have been happy, yet there was not the slightest joy on her face. Instead, she looked deeply troubled.
Ouyang Lan's voice also carried a hint of gloom. Forcing a smile, she said, "Since Martial Uncle Bi can manifest six suns, he must have cultivated the Violet Sun Sutra to the middle stage of the Innate Realm, climbing a hundred-foot pole and advancing another step."
"Isn't that so?"
As she spoke, Qin Huaiying only felt a mountain-like pressure weighing heavily upon her heart.
Back then, the Celestial Star Sect's three peaks stood alone in splendor, strong in both men and horses.
But now, the situation had been completely reversed.
The Violet Sun Sect had risen powerfully instead.
If that were all, it would not matter much...
The Three Divine Peaks shared the same breath and branches, advancing and retreating together. When truly serious matters arose, they could discuss them and handle them in seamless cooperation.
There would only be benefits, no drawbacks.
However, after Bi Fenkong took charge of Violet Sun Peak, things became vastly different.
This man possessed great ambition and astonishing talent, and his temperament matched that talent.
His nature was exceedingly domineering.
Beginning ten years ago, he had pushed for the unification of the three peaks. Moreover, at every public occasion, he continually suppressed the prestige of the Celestial Star Sect and Bright Moon Sect.
Now that he had broken through to the middle stage of the Innate Realm and shone brilliantly in the battle at Tiger Ridge Pass, his reputation was blazing like the noonday sun.
If he had any plans, neither the Celestial Star Sect nor the Bright Moon Sect would be able to resist him alone.
They would very likely be swept along by him, step by step, into a bottomless abyss.
If things continued this way, no one knew what fate awaited the Three Divine Peaks.
Merely thinking about it made one's head swell as large as a bucket.
Thinking of how her senior brother had worried himself into white hair over this matter, Qin Huaiying found it difficult to suppress the gloom in her heart.
She shook her head, forcibly pressing down the agitation in her heart. Then she saw Ji Wenxiu still wearing a bewildered expression, her exquisitely carved little face inadvertently revealing traces of desolation and helplessness.
Her heart stirred, and she gently took Ji Wenxiu's hand. "Xiaoyuan, don't worry. With Auntie here, you can stay temporarily at Celestial Star Peak during this time. You needn't worry about anything else."
"Aunt Qin."
Ji Wenxiu threw herself into Qin Huaiying's arms and began to sob. Muttering softly, she said, "Xiaoyuan never really wanted to come back. I only wanted to find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and never concern myself with worldly affairs again."
At this moment, she did not resemble in the least the thorn-covered girl she had been when they first met.
Lu Wu-bing silently thought that perhaps this little princess had simply had no other choice.
The only way she could think of to face the wind blades and rain swords of life was with coldness that kept others at arm's length.
Beneath her fiery exterior lay a fragility that others could scarcely reach.
Still, he had never expected that she knew Mistress Qin Huaiying.
Nothing in their conversations along the road had revealed it.
Even Senior Sister Xiaolan had not known.
"You've suffered, child."
Qin Huaiying gently stroked Ji Wenxiu's hair, her voice slightly low. "Ever since your mother consort passed away, things took a sharp turn for the worse.
"Before the New Year, when I heard that Emperor Xuanming had issued an edict for a marriage alliance, I made a trip to Weijing, only to be turned back by Ye Lingfeng of the Golden Scale Guard."
"That beast has the vicious reputation of [Howling Moon] in Weijing. He obeys only Father Emperor's orders and acts without human feeling.
"If I ever get the chance someday, I will certainly make him taste the bitter fruit."
At the mention of Ye Lingfeng's name,
Ji Wenxiu gritted her teeth until they creaked.
Clearly, many unpleasant things had happened between them.
Just imagine it: a girl of fourteen or fifteen, treated as a tool for a marriage alliance and sent to the Northern Zhou royal court.
Such a thing—forget a princess—even a girl from an ordinary household might not go willingly.
Much less an imperial princess.
The Northern Zhou royal family had barbarian blood. It was said that their familial ethics differed greatly, and they had even brought some grassland customs into the imperial clan.
Records stated that several brothers of the Northern Zhou royal family had once shared wives and concubines.
There were things even more outrageous: after an emperor died, his sons would inherit his consorts.
All sorts of absurd and sordid affairs left the people of the Southern Dynasty scarcely able to imagine them.
When speaking of them, they would double over with laughter and treat them as after-meal gossip.
She had been only one step away.
Only one step away from becoming one of those pitiful women.
How could Ji Wenxiu not hate them?
"Actually, you could have escaped."
Ouyang Lan could not help saying.
She had figured it out. Junior Sister Wenxiu's mother and her own mother were likely close friends from their maiden days, and their families had been intimate friends when they were young. She simply had not known it.
Thinking of her mother's background, Ouyang Lan suddenly understood.
Her heart held even more pity for Ji Wenxiu.
Had things developed normally and no accident occurred, she and Ji Wenxiu might very well have become handkerchief friends.
But life was unpredictable, and the world's ways flowed like water.
Everyone had her own fate.
"No. Since things have already reached this point, I don't want to keep running away."
A sharp gleam flashed through Ji Wenxiu's eyes.
A trace of chill appeared on her peerlessly beautiful little face, along with a measure of authority. She said softly, "This is a rare opportunity. Some people must pay the price."
Lu Wu-bing had no intention of probing exactly who those people were.
Imperial affairs were somewhat too far removed from him.
Right now, he only cared about going up the mountain. He wondered whether those senior and junior brothers would be easy to get along with.
It was quite unexpected that Third Senior Brother Wu Yunchong had returned to the Celestial Star Sect ahead of them and promptly sent word, allowing Mistress and the others to come meet them.
"Little Junior Sister, Junior Brother Wu-bing, it's wonderful that you're truly all right.
"It was all because your senior brother was useless. That day, I fled in haste, and afterward I could no longer find either of you."
The moment they reached the foot of Celestial Star Peak, Wu Yunchong hurried down. He did not even stop to pay respects to Mistress.
Taking two quick strides forward, he tightly gripped Lu Wu-bing's arms, his eyes full of lingering fear.
"It's good that Third Senior Brother is unharmed. That day, after Senior Sister Xiaolan and I escaped danger, we considered turning back to meet up with you.
"But the Eastern Sea Sword Sect and Tiger's Den Stronghold pursued us too fiercely, so we could only flee hastily into the deep mountains."
Lu Wu-bing also looked somewhat excited. Smiling, he said, "Fortunately, good people are protected by Heaven. Third Senior Brother escaped after holding the rear and was not harmed by those thieves.
"This time, we must thank Senior Brother for having the foresight to return to the mountain early and send word. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for us to get away."
Before you continue