A few days later...
Morning.
Song Yan was still sleeping on the bed when he suddenly heard a rumbling sound from not far away.
He quickly got up.
The quilt slipped off, revealing the smooth white shoulder of Lady Qiu inside.
Song Yan swiftly put on his Profound attire, hurried to the door, and just listened from behind it without stepping outside.
Outside the house, there was some commotion after a short while.
"Qi Yao, without the Peak Master's order, how dare you leave the cave on your own?!" a disciple questioned.
"I want to see the Peak Master; I can clear my suspicions."
Qi Yao's voice was as cold as ice, carrying a dark aura that Song Yan had never seen before.
The air quieted down...
Song Yan was also curious about "how this little spy would clear her name."
But he didn't get an answer, as Qi Yao was taken away shortly after.
...
...
That evening, after Song Yan finished skin making, he ran into Qi Yao, who was just coming down from the hill.
Despite being on the same path, Qi Yao didn't even glance at him; she just stopped and waited for him to pass first. It seemed that after her previous proposal of "Why don't we become Dao companions?" was rejected, she had already considered Song Yan a complete stranger.
Wang Susu, on the other hand, was well-informed and seemed to know something. At this moment, she actually smiled and waved, calling out: "Sister Qi."
Qi Yao pretended not to hear, no longer waiting but coldly raising her snow-white neck and descending the steps.
Wang Susu's smile remained undiminished.
Song Yan wondered, "Sister Wang," what's happened?"
Wang Susu's smile vanished, her expression turning colder as she spoke jealously, "Qi Yao isn't a low-grade Miscellaneous Profound Root; she is a middle-grade Earth Profound Root.
Disciples with such aptitude usually go straight to the main peak of Shadow Puppet Peak, where they can enjoy better cave mansions, better furnaces, better elixirs, and a rather precious resource called Profound Jade."
She said increasingly ominously, "But, for a middle-grade Earth Profound Root to not pass the disciple examination and mix in with the servants is rather interesting."
After speaking, Wang Susu smiled again.
Song Yan was also a bit astonished.
He never expected Qi Yao to actually be a "middle-grade Earth Profound Root," nor did he expect her to "expose" herself to clear suspicions.
Isn't this increasing suspicion instead of clearing it?
...
...
However, what shocked both Song Yan and Wang Susu was that Qi Yao's transfer order actually came, and soon she would go to Shadow Puppet Peak's main peak and become an official disciple there.
Wang Susu said sourly, "She somehow got out of trouble; she must have already made a pledge."
Song Yan understood.
Spies are hard to catch, but yet some disciples from the Nanwu Sword Sect have fallen into the hands of Shadow Puppet Peak.
If Qi Yao isn't suspected, then it's likely she already killed a disciple of the Nanwu Sword Sect with her own hands.
As a complementary measure, the Shadow Puppet Peak would very likely spread this news to make others aware of this event.
...
...
Another night, Song Yan was asleep when he suddenly heard noise from next door again.
The stone door on Qi Yao's side opened.
Next came a man's voice.
Song Yan distinguished it and recognized it as Kang Defu's.
Recently, this senior brother had been very miserable. Since he last sought the "Great Wei Royal Bloodline Furnace," he had been suppressed by Zhang Yin and bullied by fellow disciples; it's said even his furnace was used by others...
Despite Wang Susu being assigned a second royal furnace, this senior brother still didn't have one.
The voice filled with endless resentment sounded softly.
"Fairy Qi, I know you are a good person, but in a few days, I'm going to be driven down the mountain to fend for myself. Do you have any messages you want me to take out?"
Kang Defu resentfully said, "I'm willing to do anything that can harm the Puppet Sect!"
The air was silent for a few seconds.
Then came Qi Yao's cold voice.
"Get out."
Kang Defu wanted to say more, but the stone door had already closed again.
Song Yan could only listen in speechlessness.
Whether Kang Defu was genuine or not, he didn't know.
But Qi Yao did indeed have a message to send out, which was that she was forced to make a pledge and kill her own.
Yet this was probably a trap, which Qi Yao also noticed, so she wouldn't let Kang Defu carry a message; even if she had any cryptic words to send, she wouldn't use them.
But...
She still fell into a pit.
Because "telling someone to get out" and "going directly to report" are two completely different attitudes… yet Qi Yao chose the former.
Clearly, she's not cut out to be a spy.
Song Yan even thought, "If Qi Yao isn't a spy, I could eat all the tables in my cave mansion."
However, he still only planned to listen and not meddle too much in other matters.
He turned around, embraced a smooth body, and continued to sleep.
...
...
Kang Defu looked at the closed stone cave, reluctantly left, but after a few steps, under the cover of night, he hunched his body and darted towards the top of South Bamboo Peak.
Not long after, he arrived at the cave mansion with the most abundant Profound Qi in the area, gently knocked on the stone door, and respectfully called out, "Peak Master, Peak Master..."
The stone door opened.
He went inside, smiling humbly, "Peak Master, I've used the painful strategy, and tested it for you. Now, as promised, can you give me a position in the watchkeeping at South Bamboo Peak? I will definitely be loyal and diligent, hehe..."
Watchkeeping is a great retirement position, after all.
...
...
The next day, Kang Defu left South Bamboo Peak due to "being too old to cultivate." He departed wearing a veiled hat, without much of a send-off nor did anyone really care.
Due to the level of his realm, Song Yan had more perceptive abilities for details, so just a glance at "Kang Defu's" footsteps revealed to him.
Those were the footsteps of someone pretending to be old.
That was definitely not Kang Defu.
The real Kang Defu was already dead.
Dead after last night's conversation with Qi Yao!
And the "Furnace" accompanying Kang Defu was trembling slightly.
That "Furnace" had obviously discovered something; she was doomed as well...
Song Yan sighed softly, actually compared to other Furnaces, the two in his cave were really doing quite well.
...
In stark contrast to this tragic senior brother was Qi Yao.
In the afternoon, a Shadow Puppet Celestial Ship stopped on the solitary cliff of South Bamboo Peak.
The ship was over ten zhang long, resembling a sizeable fishing boat, but made entirely of unknown beast skin and exuding a certain mystery.
The chores room in the distance suddenly became noisy, with many people already having run out of the house, gazing intently at the Shadow Puppet Celestial Ship and whispering among themselves.
"Such a big shadow puppet ship, whose handiwork is this?"
"I've been here two years, never seen such a ship..."
"I have seen it before; the sect only sends these when bringing in disciples from the main peak, it must be some genius being selected."
The official disciples of South Bamboo Peak also watched with complicated expressions.
The girl once loved to tie her hair in a ponytail, but now it hung naturally down her back, tied at the end with a red ribbon, her valorous righteousness was gone, Shui Xing eyes slightly narrowed, long like a blade, cold and filled with killing intent.
She lifted her chin, not looking at any fellow disciples, and simply strode up the celestial ship.
The celestial ship departed, vanishing into the azure sky.
Wang Susu glanced at Song Yan beside her, saying, "This has overshadowed your trip to Linglong Valley."
Song Yan stared at where the void ship had gone, feeling that the matter with Qi Yao was full of oddities.
Others might not know, but no matter how he looked at it, he felt that girl had been swept into a terrifying undercurrent, and now she was just a pawn in someone else's game, with no telling what might happen.
But, if Qi Yao was the center of the dark current, then he... wasn't he at its edge?
But what kind of dark current was it?
As Song Yan was pondering this, he suddenly heard Wang Susu speak, responding casually, "What kind of notoriety is that?
Anyone with a bit of talent can go, it's only because my brother and master favored me that I got the chance.
If I really went, I'm afraid I wouldn't be welcomed, it's just a chance for me to take a look around."
Wang Susu suddenly smirked and said, "And you haven't squeezed those two little ladies in the cave dry yet?"
Song Yan, who was quite familiar with her, responded speechlessly, "Do I really have to squeeze them dry?"
Wang Susu replied, "Not necessarily.
It's just... long-term affection develops.
For us, with Furnaces, it's best not to grow feelings, because these feelings are fake...
Even if Furnaces are obedient due to Fanatic Fans, once the effect wears off, all that's left is hate.
For such a smart junior, how come you can't bring yourself to be ruthless?"
Wang Susu surely knew the saying "superficial words, deep meaning," and right now... she was speaking deeply.
There was only one reason—she considered Song Yan to be one of her own.
The world is unpredictable and truly teases one.
Initially, they fought directly, speaking candidly, but ended up like strangers who got along well.
Song Yan smiled and said, "Thank you."
...
...
A few days later, a Shadow Puppet Void Ship heading to Linglong Valley stopped at South Bamboo Peak.
The ship was over twenty zhang long, even more impressive than the previous void ship.
Song Yan held his invitation and boarded the ship.