Little Crybaby very rarely heard Qi Yan sound so cautious and tense. Now she instinctively trusted every word he said. Hearing this, she immediately ended the call, took out her sword, cut off a small lock of her hair, tossed it onto the ground, and cast a spell.
The hair turned into a figure that bore some resemblance to her, sitting cross-legged on the ground. In this pitch-black cave, it was hard to tell at a glance whether it was real.
She swiftly circled the cave and laid an illusion formation, making the substitute even harder to distinguish. Then she concealed her aura, turned herself invisible, and hid in a corner.
Luckily, she had said before that she would keep studying Witchcraft, the Invisibility Incantation, and the like so she could teach Brother A-Yan later. She had yet to teach him, but she was already using them herself.
Every sip and every morsel had been predestined.
By the time she finished, the night was deepening, and the shrieks of souls from the depths of the cave were growing ever shriller.
Outside, all was silent; inside, ghosts wailed and spirits howled. The sheer contrast could drive someone mad.
Little Crybaby held her breath and watched her "substitute." With deliberate observation, she gradually noticed that the piercing soul shrieks had a specific target: they were aimed straight at the substitute. Their nature could also be discerned-they were a kind of soul-bewildering summons.
Had she been at the center of that assault, she might well have been bewitched and lost her wits, following the "summons" down into the lower levels of the cave herself.
What would happen then?
Would she die down there without anyone knowing, without a sound?
But the substitute had no soul, so this move was clearly pointless... A thought stirred in Little Crybaby's mind, and she made a move.
The substitute abruptly rose, looking as though the demonic sounds had driven her mad, and charged outside clutching her head.
After everything she had experienced, she now understood very clearly that the best way to handle certain matters in the sect was to make a scene and lay everything out in the open. Then it would be difficult for them to do anything.
Once things were "handled privately," or took place "within the poisonous miasma," or in "confinement" with no witnesses, every manner of underhanded trick would emerge.
Likewise, if someone wanted her to die here, they would never let her leave and make the matter public.
Before the substitute reached the cave entrance, a streak of sword light shot out from somewhere and pinned the "crazed" substitute dead to the ground.
Only then did the guards outside react. Someone hurried inside to check, while someone else ran out to summon help, crying, "Murder! Murder!"
In the night-shrouded Wondrous God Sect, the mountains stirred. The peak masters, elders, and hall heads were all alarmed, and streaks of light shot toward the cave from every direction.
The first to arrive was precisely the elder who had led the trial and arranged Little Crybaby's confinement. Hidden in the shadows, Little Crybaby clearly saw a cold sneer appear in his eyes the moment he first saw the "corpse."
The next moment, many others arrived, and the guards all talked over one another as they described what had happened.
Elder Wu, the head of the External Affairs Hall, flew into a rage. "Xie Zhenzhou! Are you satisfied now?"
"What are you getting so worked up about?" Elder Xie Zhenzhou said indifferently. "It's fake. A substitute."
Everyone paused, then examined the corpse carefully. Sure enough, they discovered it was entirely fake.
Only then did Little Crybaby slowly emerge from the shadows inside the cave and bow to everyone. "Greetings, elders."
Elder Wu let out a breath. "Little Seven, as long as you're all right."
"Thank you, Grandpa Wu." Little Crybaby raised her head. "But if Little Seven hadn't noticed something was wrong beforehand and tested it with a substitute, I probably really would have died."
Everyone's gaze fell on Xie Zhenzhou, whose expression did not change in the slightest. "Seal off every route out of the mountains and thoroughly investigate that supposed streak of sword light!"
Elder Wu seemed about to speak, then stopped. He shook his head and told Little Crybaby, "Little Seven nearly lost her life here. That should suffice as punishment for supposedly failing to rescue her fellow disciples in time. You may leave now. The case... the Law Enforcement Hall will investigate."
Everyone wore different expressions, but no one said anything. Even Xie Zhenzhou remained silent.
That was what happened when things were brought into the open. Elder Wu was not the only person who sympathized with Mu Xunzhen. More people simply did not want to take trouble upon themselves; that did not mean they were truly heartless. Once a fuss was made, these matters could not bear being weighed on the scales.
Little Crybaby said, "Grandpa Wu, I'd like to travel... Please grant me permission, elders."
Elder Wu said outright, "My External Affairs Hall grants permission."
The External Affairs Hall's words carried great weight in such matters. With Elder Wu's approval, the others had even less to say. It was as good as settled.
Xie Zhenzhou still added coldly, "The sect master will come out of seclusion in a little over half a year."
Elder Wu nodded and also instructed her, "You still need to return before your master comes out of seclusion."
"I understand, Grandpa Wu. I'll go back and pack." Little Crybaby bowed, seemingly to all the elders, but in truth only to Grandpa Wu.
Elder Wu sighed. "Go on. Take care of yourself out there."
Little Crybaby returned to her cave abode. Her body went limp, and she sat on the ice-jade bed, hugging her knees in silence.
However battered and scarred she had been before, she had never felt so close to death. Had Brother A-Yan not alerted her in time, she might already have been a corpse, not even knowing how she had died.
After all, by ordinary reasoning, who would be wary of a minor punishment like confinement in their own sect... Yet the killing intent had come so abruptly.
Qi Yan was also deeply anxious at that moment, likewise sitting on the ice-jade bed, waiting restlessly for word.
Ten thousand years apart, at opposite ends of the world, on the same bed, the jade pendant vibrated softly in the night.
Qi Yan immediately answered. "How did it go? How did it go?"
"Brother A-Yan..." Little Crybaby suddenly burst into tears. "Why did it turn out like this? Why... What did I ever do wrong for them to treat me this way... Sob..."
Qi Yan fell silent for a moment, then said gently, "It wasn't your fault."
Little Crybaby cried for a long while before she barely managed to calm herself a little. Sniffling, she asked, "Did Brother A-Yan guess something? About what's at the bottom of the cave?"
Qi Yan did not answer at once.
Because he suspected that Little Crybaby's parents had died in there. As for what lay at the bottom of the cave, perhaps her parents' remains were there.
And there might be other sinister secrets underground, directly connected to their deaths.
If Little Crybaby learned these things, her obsession and desire for revenge could easily show within the sect. At the mere Golden Core Stage, that would do nothing but increase the danger. It was better for her to keep cultivating properly and uncover the truth once she reached a certain level.
After weighing his words for a long time, Qi Yan finally chose to speak slowly about the second point. "There really might be something like the Demon Realm at the bottom of that cave. Have you heard of the Demon Realm?"
Little Crybaby paused. "I've only heard that there are plenty of demonic creatures in the world. I've never heard of the idea of a Demon Realm."
"Perhaps your master hasn't told you about that yet," Qi Yan said. "In any case, demons exist in this world. That much is certain. Judging by your experiences, it's hard to say whether your sect is imprisoning demonic creatures or raising demons to harm people."
Little Crybaby fell silent.
Qi Yan said, "Whatever the case, you need to cultivate first. None of this concerns you for now. Even if you want to intervene, you need a certain amount of strength before you do. My suggestion now is that you'd best go traveling and stay clear of the storms in your sect."
"Mm. I know." Little Crybaby forced her spirits up a little. "I've already applied to go traveling. Where... do you think I should go?"
In truth, the young girl very much wanted to ask outright, "Can I go to Heavenly Prefecture Continent to find you?" But the words reached her lips, and she still did not say them.
Because the timing was wrong.
Her master would come out of seclusion in a little over half a year. At heart, the young girl still had great expectations of him, hoping he could uphold justice once he emerged. Grandpa Wu thought the same.
A little over half a year, to cross the entire world... Perhaps she would have time for nothing else, spending most of it on the journey there and back. With "improving her cultivation first" as her guiding principle, that would be a complete waste of time. Besides, the farther she traveled, the more dangerous it would be. She was only a Golden Core, far from being a true powerhouse.
Qi Yan's first reaction was also to have her come to Heavenly Prefecture so they could meet offline, so he asked, "How long can you leave for?"
"Half a year..."
Qi Yan sighed, and both fell silent.
Only after a long while did Qi Yan say, "Once you leave, don't wander around Seven Kills Continent. It'll be dangerous. You'd be better off going to a neighboring continent and broadening your horizons."
"Mm." Little Crybaby suppressed that trace of attachment in her heart. "I've never left Seven Kills Continent in my life. I've wanted to go out and see the world for ages."
"Perhaps by the time you return from this trip, you'll be a Nascent Soul cultivator. Then you'll have more confidence in dealing with many things."
"Thank you, Brother..." Little Crybaby murmured softly. "Without you, I really wouldn't know what to do..."
Qi Yan truly sympathized with the little one. Of all the girls he had met, she really was the most pitiful. He could not help saying gently, "I'll always be here."
"Will you really always be here... I'm scared..." Little Crybaby said softly. "Brother A-Yan, once our Witchcraft reaches a certain stage, can we... can we cultivate the Concordance Pact together?"
The Concordance Pact-he had heard Little Crybaby mention it in passing when they first met. The Dao Arts also had something with the same name, but its concept was completely different from that of Witchcraft.
Once Witchcraft involved the word "pact," it truly meant a contract.
Apart from hearing about it from Little Crybaby, Qi Yan had never even heard of it. Its level seemed a little too high.
"Mm... You only started cultivating Witchcraft recently, Brother, so you might not have heard of it." Little Crybaby's face was a little red on her end. "Anyway, anyway, if we cultivate it together, leaving everything else aside, at least we'll be able to sense each other's cultivation progress in sync, even from very far away. Then I won't be afraid you're gone."
A powerful tool for catching a cheater, this.
Qi Yan did not think that much about it. In any case, it sounded very high-end, and who knew how many years it would take to get there? He smiled and said, "Sure. We'll cultivate it together when the time comes."
Little Crybaby finally brightened. "Then I've found a direction for my cultivation. This time, I'll go to Heavenly Concord Continent to find a calculation-enhancing implement and make a related Witchcraft treasure, to prepare for cultivating the Concordance Pact in the future."
Qi Yan smiled. "Give me a list of whatever materials you need. I'll collect them too."
Little Crybaby grew even happier and soon rattled off a list. Almost everything on it was something Qi Yan had never even heard of in this era of declining Witchcraft.
One name, however, caught his attention: the Space-Chaos Pearl.
Qi Yan immediately recalled his experience in the Wang Family tomb. The pearl the little nun Wunian had found was said to serve as the core of a formation-disrupting formation, and he had personally experienced its spatial distortion.
An aid for the Concordance Pact... Since it allowed concordance across great distances, of course it would have a great deal to do with space.
Space-chaos. A pearl.
Could that be it?