Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Ye Chu Xue’s Heart Turned to Ash

At the Heaven-Questioning Sect, Gu Qing Yuan opened his eyes.

He was pale, but awake—and more importantly, clear.

Even without pills, he relied on his own strength to drive the lingering pill poison from his body. It was nothing more than pill poison. If he hadn’t carried old injuries, this toxin would never have dragged him down so completely.

The moment Ye Chu Xue saw him stir, her eyes reddened. She rushed forward and threw herself into his arms.

“Master,” she choked out, clinging tight. “You’re finally awake. You don’t know how many wrongs your disciple has suffered lately!”

She spoke in a rush, words tumbling over each other, as if she’d been holding them in for so long they’d turned to knives.

Gu Qing Yuan didn’t hear most of it.

He went rigid, heartbeat suddenly loud in his ears.

This was the first time Chu Xue had hugged him like this—on her own, without being called, without being comforted first. Warmth pressed against him, trembling with relief, and something in his chest tightened in a way he didn’t know how to name.

“Master… it’s so good that you’re awake.”

Only when her voice softened did Ye Chu Xue realize how tightly she’d been holding her breath these past days. Her fear finally loosened. As long as Master was here, it felt like the sky wouldn’t fall.

Then guilt surged in behind the relief.

“Oh—Master.” She pulled back, looking up at him anxiously. “How did you recover on your own? Is there still poison in your body?”

Gu Qing Yuan forced himself to settle, his expression returning to calm. “It was only a trace of pill poison. Given time, it naturally dissolves. It has already been expelled. Don’t worry.”

He said it as if it were nothing.

Ye Chu Xue’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“If it was that easy, why didn’t Martial Uncle Lan say so?” Her voice shook, shock turning into rage so fast she could barely breathe. “And Song Wan Ning said we needed the Heaven-Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill. I spent hundreds of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones bidding for it—only for someone to steal it in the end!”

The memory hit like a slap. Dizziness swept over her. Something sweet rushed up her throat.

She spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Chu Xue!” Gu Qing Yuan’s brow snapped down, aura tightening as he reached for her. “What happened? Speak.”

Ye Chu Xue swallowed her fury, then poured it out—every humiliation, every loss, every wrong. And when she spoke of Song Wan Ning snatching her storage ring, she made sure each word landed like a spark on dry grass.

Gu Qing Yuan’s aura grew colder with every sentence. By the time she finished, killing intent coiled around him like a storm cloud.

While he lay unconscious, Lan Le had actually joined hands with Song Wan Ning to trap Chu Xue?

And Chu Xue’s savings—years of careful saving—gone in a blink?

His chest tightened with a pain he refused to show.

Then Ye Chu Xue’s voice cracked, raw with shame. “Master… to win that pill, your disciple even borrowed 300,000 mid-grade spirit stones from the sect. Now I’m drowning in debt, and I still didn’t get the pill back. It’s all because your disciple is useless!”

Her heart felt like it was bleeding. If she’d known the truth, she should’ve swallowed the Heaven-Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill herself. If detoxing was possible, she could’ve done it first. She wouldn’t have lost everything to a thief.

But now—

Now it was too late.

“I don’t even know how your disciple offended Martial Uncle Song,” she said through tears, voice sharp with resentment. “Why does she bully me like this?”

Gu Qing Yuan’s jaw tightened.

“Come,” he said, grabbing her arm. “We’re going to find her. I want to ask what Song Wan Ning is really trying to do.”

He brought Ye Chu Xue straight to Cloudsky Peak.

But when they arrived, Song Wan Ning wasn’t there. Only Bai Yang and Li Ruo remained—and even Lu Nan Feng had been absent for a long time.

Gu Qing Yuan’s aura was still sharp enough to cut. Bai Yang saw it at a glance and, without fear or flattery, calmly explained what had happened that day.

It was a completely different story from Ye Chu Xue’s.

Gu Qing Yuan listened, face unreadable, doubt stirring where certainty had been.

Song Wan Ning had followed him for over 100 years. He knew her temper. She could be willful, spoiled, proud to the bone—but she wasn’t the sort to play filthy tricks behind someone’s back.

The more Bai Yang spoke, the heavier Gu Qing Yuan’s silence grew.

Ye Chu Xue’s fingers curled. Her heart sank, then sank again.

Bai Yang’s every word felt like betrayal, as if their old bond had been swept away overnight and replaced with something cold and ugly.

When Bai Yang finished, Gu Qing Yuan looked at Ye Chu Xue and spoke in a low, controlled voice. “Enough. Since your storage ring is gone, I’ll find a way to get you another one.”

Ye Chu Xue’s breath caught.

“And without proof,” Gu Qing Yuan continued, “don’t spread accusations everywhere again. If you provoke Song Wan Ning, you’ll only bring trouble upon yourself.”

He wasn’t scolding her.

He was protecting her.

But the words struck Ye Chu Xue like ice water.

“So you believe her,” she said, voice trembling, “and not me.”

In that moment, she suddenly understood what it meant to have no one to rely on.

Gu Qing Yuan’s brow furrowed deeper. “That’s not what I mean. Everyone present saw it. You must have misunderstood her.”

Even if he favored his disciple, he couldn’t force himself to deny what was right in front of him. The facts were there. The sect was already tense. If Ye Chu Xue kept pushing, she would only be swallowed.

“Heh.” Ye Chu Xue’s eyes burned red. “Right. I’m the scheming one. I framed her on purpose. Are you satisfied now?”

She turned and ran.

“Chu Xue!” Gu Qing Yuan followed immediately, his voice low with urgency.

Before he left, he glanced back at Bai Yang. “Don’t mention that we came.”

Bai Yang nodded. He didn’t want their relationship to tear further, either.

After they were gone, Bai Yang also warned Li Ruo not to speak of it.

Li Ruo said nothing.

The look she gave Bai Yang held none of the respect and warmth it once had. After the day her two senior brothers helped outsiders against her, she stopped wanting to call them “family.” On the same peak, they were strangers.

Master was right.

Fated connections were countless in this world. There was no need to force what had already slipped away.

With Master, it was enough.

…

News of Gu Qing Yuan waking spread through the sect like fire through dry grass.

Song Wan Ning had only just returned when she heard it. The corner of her lips lifted, faint and satisfied.

After being toyed with and left empty-handed, Ye Chu Xue must be furious.

This time, she owed Lan Le a little thanks. Without his cooperation, it wouldn’t have been so easy to play them.

Song Wan Ning lowered her eyes, her expression cool. Lan Le looked marginally more pleasing now.

Only marginally.

She changed direction and went straight to the Sect Master Hall, “kindly” reminding the Sect Master of Ye Chu Xue’s punishment.

Only then did the Sect Master remember Ancestor’s decision: once Gu Qing Yuan woke, Ye Chu Xue would be sent to the Eroding Wind Cave.

Song Wan Ning had advanced again in such a short time. Her speed was terrifying. Who could compete with that?

Not even Gu Qing Yuan.

The Sect Master forced a smile and nodded quickly. “Understood, Junior Sister Song. Rest assured—this Sect Master will not cover for her.”

The moment Song Wan Ning left, he went to find Gu Qing Yuan and informed him.

Gu Qing Yuan’s face sank. “Sect Master, Chu Xue’s toxins aren’t fully cleared. She’s been running around for me and suffering enough. It’s not appropriate to punish her now.”

He took a breath, voice hardening. “I’m awake. I won’t pursue her mistake. Cancel the punishment.”

The Eroding Wind Cave was dangerous. Sending Ye Chu Xue in while she was still weakened was pushing her toward suffering she didn’t deserve.

He wouldn’t agree.

“You won’t pursue it,” the Sect Master said, irritation flashing, “but the injured disciple still exists.”

His lips pressed tight. “If Song Wan Ning hadn’t intervened that day, that disciple would be dead.”

Gu Qing Yuan’s expression cooled into indifference. “They didn’t die. I’m willing to compensate.”

“As long as Ye Chu Xue doesn’t go to the Eroding Wind Cave.”

The Sect Master shook his head. “No. This was Ancestor’s punishment. I can’t change it.”

He sighed, then patted Gu Qing Yuan’s shoulder, his tone softer but firm. “It’s only one year. It’ll pass. If you anger Ancestor, Chu Xue will have a harder time in the sect later. You can’t guarantee you’ll always be by her side—can you?”

Gu Qing Yuan fell silent.

Everyone knew Ancestor disliked him. He knew it best of all.

After a long moment, he nodded.

“Understood.”

…

Ye Chu Xue was escorted into the Eroding Wind Cave.

She went with disappointment and hatred burning in her chest—and when the bitterness curdled, it even spilled onto Gu Qing Yuan.

She had believed he would protect her. She had believed he would keep her from that punishment.

But what happened?

Her sincere heart had been fed to the dogs.

Gu Qing Yuan gave her his storage ring before she entered. Inside were treasures meant to protect her.

Ye Chu Xue lowered her head, glanced at it with cold eyes, and didn’t refuse.

Compensation.

That was what it was.

She walked into the Eroding Wind Cave without looking back, her posture stiff, her resolve sharp enough to cut.

Gu Qing Yuan stood at the entrance, dazed, watching until her white figure disappeared into the wind.

Only then did he turn to leave.

And the moment he did, Song Wan Ning appeared—alongside Ancestor Liu Lan Yi.

—