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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 79 (223): [The Main Reason for Murder]
(79th of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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In East City of Qiu Prefecture City, dozens of hills dotted the landscape. The highest of these hills barely exceeded two hundred meters.
Taoist temples and halls had been built on each of these hills.
However, with the decline of the Daoist branch of the Zuoqiu Sect a thousand years ago, the influence of these temples and halls had waned considerably. More than half had fallen into near ruin, their incense offerings dwindling.
The eighth day of the first lunar month.
The snow had stopped!
The first rays of sunlight struck Zixia (Purple Haze) Mountain, located just outside East City's outer district.
At the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple atop the mountain, the copper bells hanging from the eaves swayed in the wind, their melodious chimes echoing through the air.
The bells reflected dazzling points of light.
Morning light streamed through the latticed windows, illuminating the bed in the guest hall.
Yang Qingxi awoke to the sound of the bells and the sunlight warming her face. Her entire body ached, the metallic tang of blood filled her nostrils, her clothes were sticky, and she was covered by a blanket.
She turned his head slightly to look at Li Weiyi, who was seated in a cross-legged position a dozen feet away, beneath the Eight Trigrams diagram.
Closing her eyes again, she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper: "You kept your word... Did you give me the Nine-Medicine Rejuvenation Pill, the healing elixir of the Jiu Li Clan?"
Li Weiyi opened his eyes: "I got it from Cang Li earlier. He had plenty. That'll be ten thousand Yongquan Coins!"
Yang Qingxi said, "Do you really think I wouldn't know the price of a Nine-Medicine Rejuvenation Pill, given the Sui Sect's relationship with the Jiu Li Clan? Fine, thousand Yongquan Coins it is. I'll owe you for now..."
She was too exhausted to even speak.
Closing her mouth, she channeled her Spiritual Qi through her Meridian Veins, beginning to heal her wounds.
Li Weiyi's physical recovery was remarkable.
By noon, his injuries were nearly healed.
After eating a meal, he returned to the guest hall. He swallowed a spoonful of Immortal Soil, continuing to sculpt his muscles and internal organs while using the Qi Tempering Art to refine the Spiritual Qi in his Fourth Sea.
Now that he had recovered the five chests of Yongquan Coins, he had money and medicine. He could focus entirely on his cultivation.
Consolidating his cultivation and tempering his physical body were his top priorities.
He shuddered at the memory of last night's perilous situation. Fortunately, the Spiritual Qi in his Fourth Sea had functioned normally.
Had anything gone wrong, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
As for the external situation, he didn't believe it concerned him much. Others could worry about those matters.
That evening, Li Weiyi went to eat another vegetarian meal.
Returning to his room, he saw Yang Qingxi sitting up on the bed, bathed in moonlight streaming through the window.
He lit a lamp.
Yang Qingxi's injuries had stabilized, and her expression was impassive.
"Where's my Dragon Seed Ticket?"
"Do you think we can keep the Dragon Seed Ticket after last night's situation?" Li Weiyi asked.
Yang Qingxi tilted her snow-white chin, her eyes filled with anticipation: "What about Yu Zi? Is he dead?"
"Dead!" Li Weiyi replied.
Yang Qingxi leaned back against the wall, a satisfied smile playing on her lips, lost in the glory of her extraordinary achievement.
As she leaned back, her tattered, stiffened blood-soaked clothes tore at her scabbed wounds, causing her lips to twitch in pain: "I thought you'd at least change my clothes and call a couple of maids to clean my wounds. Do you know how unbearable it is to have dried blood completely stuck to your skin?"
Li Weiyi found this amusing: "You didn't seem so delicate when you were fighting for your life last night. But I'm sorry, the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple is full of men. We probably can't find any maids."
Change her clothes?
Why make things more complicated?
Saving her life was already more than enough.
Yang Qingxi frowned, puzzled: "Changqing (Evergreen) Temple? Are we in South City or North City right now?"
Li Weiyi's expression turned serious: "If we return to South City, we're likely to run into people from the Far Western Ashlands. And even if we don't, if we encounter Martial-Mystic Cultivators from the Jiu Li Clan, I wouldn't care, but they'd probably tear you to shreds."
"You're right! East City... no one would have thought we'd hide here."
Yang Qingxi's eyes suddenly lit up with a captivating smile: "Li Weiyi, do you have even the slightest bit of feelings for me? Otherwise, why would you be so worried about me being killed by a Jiu Li Clan Martial-Mystic Cultivator?"
Li Weiyi walked to the bedside and stared at her intently.
"What are you looking at?" Yang Qingxi asked.
"I'm checking to see if the Six Desires Talisman is acting up!"
Li Weiyi remained wary of Yang Qingxi.
This woman was deeply cunning.
After waking up, she deliberately brought up topics like "changing her clothes" and "having feelings" because she was currently too weak to defend herself. She was using her beauty to manipulate him and keep him on her side.
"Fine. Since I'm relying on you, Young Master Li, to protect this weak woman, I suppose I was being presumptuous. But until my injuries heal, I won't be removing the Six Desires Talisman with you."
At this moment, Yang Qingxi displayed a tender, feminine side that was utterly captivating. Every word and gesture was designed to stir a man's protective instincts.
The Six Desires Talisman was indeed a troublesome problem.
While the Nine Great Priests could work together to refine it, who would choose the difficult path when there was an easier one?
Moreover, the Nine Great Priests' combined efforts were fraught with uncertainties. It was only to be used as a last resort.
"No rush, I'm not in a hurry either. When it truly flares up, let's see who cracks first."
Li Weiyi left the guest hall and headed towards the bathing room.
Moments later, two Daoist-robed men arrived carrying a wooden tub filled with hot water and prepared a clean set of blue Daoist robes.
Once everything was ready, the two men exited the guest hall, closed the door, and began praising Li Weiyi in the courtyard outside: "Senior Brother Li, your wife is truly beautiful, like Fairy Yunxiao descending to the mortal realm. Is she a Pure Immortal Physique?"
Li Weiyi gave each of them a handful of Yongquan Coins, whispering, "She's not my wife, she's an enemy. Remember, keep this a secret!"
"So, she's the enemy's wife... Uh... Respect, respect!"
After accepting the coins, the two men took their leave.
Li Weiyi stood beneath the eaves, hands clasped behind his back, listening to the tinkling of wind chimes overhead and gazing at the bright moon in the sky.
Inside, the sound of bathing water filled the room.
After a long while, Yang Qingxi emerged wearing a loose blue Daoist robe, her slender waist cinched with a belt. Her long hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, giving her an ethereal, otherworldly air - very much like a Daoist fairy. The scars on her face and neck, inlaid against her jade-white skin, added a touch of poignant vulnerability.
"What a peaceful night! I don't know why, but I've never felt this tranquil before. It's as if my entire being is relaxed, free from the need to think about anything."
She leaped into the air and landed on the tiled roof, her exceptionally long jade legs dangling directly above Li Weiyi.
Gazing at the moonlit sky and the lights flickering in the mountains below, she smiled radiantly into the wind, her beauty unparalleled.
"Li Weiyi, although we've managed to evade the notice of the younger generation of Martial-Mystic Cultivators and escape here, we can't possibly escape the scrutiny of the older generation. Why hasn't that old geezer from the Jiu Li Clan come to Changqing (Evergreen) Temple to find you? I suspect he's deeply distressed to see me with you."
Li Weiyi replied, "Concealment and search are part of the test. For the older generation to interfere would be against the rules! Besides, we're not that close. Just because we shared a room doesn't make us allies."
Yang Qingxi countered, "What about in the coffin? I didn't think much of it at the time, but the more I reflect on it, the more I feel like I was taken advantage of. If my future husband were to find out about that, I'd never get married!"
"I didn't recall anything. I only know Yang Qingchan was in the coffin at the time..."
The moment Li Weiyi said this, he realized his mistake.
A long silence fell between them.
Li Weiyi leaped onto the eaves of the house.
Yang Qingxi looked up at him, bathed in moonlight: "What? Did you think I'd be consumed by grief and need comforting? You're disappointed!"
Li Weiyi asked, "Why did Yao Qian kill Yang Qingchan?"
Yang Qingxi's composure finally cracked.
Her eyes began to moisten, and she forced a bitter smile: "Because you planted the Six Desires Talisman on her... Do you believe me?"
Li Weiyi didn't know how to respond.
She continued, "Because she loved the wrong person! Yao Qian is too perfect. The more perfect a person is, the more they strive for ultimate perfection. Can you imagine someone like him accepting his woman being marked by an enemy's Six Desires Talisman? If word got out, his reputation as a noble gentleman would be shattered."
Li Weiyi said, "I heard that Yao Qian has caught the eye of the Second Palace Master. With her cultivation, it shouldn't be difficult for her to help someone dissolve a Six Desires Talisman!"
"That's precisely the main reason!" Yang Qingxi replied, "I learned from the Sect Leader that the Second Palace Master intends to arrange a marriage for Yao Qian with the eldest daughter of the prestigious Jiang Clan. For this to happen, Yao Qian must sever all ties to his past. Therefore, Qingchan must die."
"Your actions and the Six Desires Talisman within her body were merely catalysts. They provided Yao Qian with the perfect opportunity to frame someone else and a reason to convince himself and Qingchan."
Li Weiyi asked, "He had to convince her before he could kill Yang Qingchan?"
Yang Qingxi said, "Cultivators always want to shift blame onto others. It allows them to clear their minds and purify their hearts."
Li Weiyi asked, "Does Yang Shenjing, the Sect Leader of the Sui Sect, know the truth?"
This time, Yang Qingxi hesitated.
She didn't want to reveal the ugly side of the Sui Sect to a stranger who was neither friend nor foe. But tonight, for some reason, she felt an overwhelming urge to confide. As if she would suffocate if she didn't speak.
"The Second Palace Master arranged the marriage between Yao Qian and Qingchan not only because of his potential and abilities, but also because of the Sui Sect's strength," Dao said.
"In terms of top-tier experts, the Sui Sect's foundation is indeed still quite thin, not comparable to the Ancient Myriad Sects."
"However, the Sui Sect controls half of the Lingxiao Realm's water transportation lifeline. Its influence extends across the seven prefectures along the Sui River, reaching into more than a dozen prefectures. Their business spans all industries, and in terms of manpower, intelligence, and other resources, they are absolutely on par with the Ancient Myriad Sects."
"Who wouldn't want to bring such a force under their control?"
"By granting Yao Qian a marriage, the Second Palace Master could secure a powerful ally for the Sui Sect within the Imperial Court, allowing them to quickly integrate into the system instead of facing attacks and exclusion from various factions within the court. This is what both the Sui Sect and the Second Palace Master wanted to see."
"So, in the face of the sect's future, what does Qingchan's death matter? The Sect Leader could only turn a blind eye."
Li Weiyi asked, "Who is the Jiang Clan's eldest daughter you mentioned earlier?"
"Who else could it be but Jiang Ning?" Yang Qingxi replied.
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END OF CHAPTER
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