Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Stealing Another Fated Chance!

“You dragged me here,” Liu Lan Yi said, raising an eyebrow, “just to watch them say goodbye?”

Song Wan Ning smiled as if she hadn’t heard the complaint. “I brought Martial Uncle here for a treasure.”

She took Liu Lan Yi’s hand, eyes glinting, and pulled her straight into the Eroding Wind Cave.

In her previous life, Ye Chu Xue had entered this place because she opposed Song Wan Ning. Three years later, she emerged not only without losing cultivation, but soaring into the Golden Core Stage in one leap.

She’d been dazzling.

And Song Wan Ning had been humiliated by that success.

There had to be something in the Eroding Wind Cave—some remarkable resource, some hidden fortuity.

Liu Lan Yi didn’t believe her, not really, but she still indulged her and followed.

The Eroding Wind Cave was filled with razor winds. They howled through narrow passages, sliced across exposed skin, and battered the body off balance.

This was where the Heaven-Questioning Sect punished disciples who had erred. Dangerous, yes. Deadly, no.

Countless people had been locked here, and none left without losing cultivation, without becoming haggard and miserable.

Yet Ye Chu Xue had been different.

Now that Song Wan Ning had sent her in early, that opportunity would likely still appear.

So Song Wan Ning found a spot, pulled out a portable little house, and settled in as if she were on a leisurely outing. She brewed tea, set up a board, and spent her days playing chess with Liu Lan Yi, chatting as the winds screamed outside.

All they had to do was wait.

—

It was freezing.

Ye Chu Xue hugged herself, teeth chattering until her jaw ached. The razor winds sliced past her like invisible blades, biting through cloth, scraping skin, drilling into bone.

She had a Five-Element Chaos Spirit Root, but no wind-element spirit root. In this place, the wind wasn’t an element to guide—it was pure torment.

With toxins still lingering in her system, she nearly collapsed on the first day.

But she endured.

Half a year had passed.

Half a year more, and she could leave.

Once she got out, she would leave the Heaven-Questioning Sect. Leave them all.

She would make them regret it.

No matter how they begged, no matter what promises they made, she would never soften again.

The sky was wide enough for birds to fly. The sea was vast enough for fish to leap.

With that belief clenched in her heart, Ye Chu Xue stumbled into a side cave, desperate for shelter.

Inside, the wind was blocked. It still howled outside the entrance, furious, but couldn’t force its way in.

Ye Chu Xue’s shoulders sagged. She slumped to the ground, breathing hard, as if she’d been drowning and had finally reached air.

From now on, she could hide here until her sentence ended.

Once her trembling eased, she forced herself to look around.

The cave was quiet, dry, windless. Bare stone surrounded her on all sides, cold and lifeless, without a hint of green.

But deeper in, something felt… wrong.

On the ground, a small bump—tiny enough to miss—caught her eye. The more she stared, the more it seemed out of place.

Her heart began to pound.

The sensation was too familiar.

Every time she ran into a treasure, her blood reacted like this.

Could it be…

Ye Chu Xue scrambled forward and crouched. She felt around carefully, then dug with her hands. Stone scraped skin. Dirt packed under her nails.

In moments, she pulled out an ordinary-looking stone.

“A stone?”

Suspicion flashed across her face. She hadn’t expected a “treasure” to look like nothing at all.

She lifted it closer, squinting, about to search for whatever secret it hid—

A chill slid down her spine.

Ye Chu Xue whirled.

A blast of wind—far stronger than any she’d faced—rushed straight at her.

Boom!

She slammed into the cave wall. Pain detonated through her body as if her organs were shattering.

Her vision swam.

Before darkness swallowed her, Ye Chu Xue clutched the stone to her chest with everything she had left.

Please… let me live.

…

“Wan Ning,” Liu Lan Yi asked as she followed her into the side cave, “how did you know she’d find something?”

Song Wan Ning didn’t slow. “She’s a Child of Fortune. She can trip over treasures anywhere. Following her won’t go wrong.”

Liu Lan Yi’s brows knit. Something still felt off—but Song Wan Ning clearly didn’t intend to explain, and Liu Lan Yi didn’t press.

When they reached the cave, the first thing Liu Lan Yi saw was Ye Chu Xue sprawled unconscious against the wall. Displeasure flashed across her face.

“How should we deal with her? Should we—”

“No.” Song Wan Ning cut her off, voice flat. “Leave her. For now.”

She walked up and reached for Ye Chu Xue’s clenched hand.

Even unconscious, Ye Chu Xue gripped the stone like a lifeline.

Song Wan Ning’s expression didn’t change. She seized Ye Chu Xue’s fingers and wrenched hard.

A sharp crack rang out.

Liu Lan Yi: “…”

Song Wan Ning took the stone and turned away without a backward glance.

They left the Eroding Wind Cave as quietly as they’d entered. The winds continued to scream, indifferent, as if no one had ever been there at all.

Back on the back mountain, in Liu Lan Yi’s residence, Song Wan Ning sat down as if she belonged there.

Liu Lan Yi prepared her favorite spirit fruits and laid out a full table of dishes, indulging her with the same quiet tenderness she’d shown when Song Wan Ning was younger. She even reached over to place food into Song Wan Ning’s bowl, an old habit that hadn’t faded.

Song Wan Ning watched her, something tight and reluctant flickering in her eyes.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” Liu Lan Yi asked with a small laugh, touching her cheek.

Song Wan Ning blinked, then smiled brightly. “Martial Uncle is so beautiful. I can’t get enough of looking at you.”

Liu Lan Yi laughed, the tension easing. They ate, traded a few teasing words, and let the warmth of the meal settle the air.

When they were done, Song Wan Ning took out the stone and held it out.

“Martial Uncle, this has to be a treasure,” she said, voice cautious. “But Ye Chu Xue is cunning by nature—there could be a trap inside.”

She looked down, lashes lowering. “I don’t want to give it up. If it returns to her hands, everything I’ve done will be wasted.”

Then she pressed the stone into Liu Lan Yi’s palm. “So please help me take a look.”

Liu Lan Yi examined it, frowning. No matter how she looked, it seemed plain—just a stone, unremarkable and quiet.

“I can’t tell what it is,” Liu Lan Yi admitted.

“Then… try bonding with it?” Song Wan Ning coaxed.

Liu Lan Yi’s face darkened. “It belongs to you. What would it mean for me to claim it?”

Song Wan Ning immediately lifted her gaze, eyes bright and watery, and Liu Lan Yi’s resolve wavered.

“I’m scared it has a problem,” Song Wan Ning said softly. “What if it harms me? But Martial Uncle is different. You’re strong. Even if there’s a trap, you can avoid it.”

She leaned closer, clinging like she used to. “Martial Uncle… just try.”

Liu Lan Yi stared at her for a long moment, then sighed, helpless. She rubbed Song Wan Ning’s head.

“Fine. I’ll try. If it truly is a treasure and it’s safe, I’ll give it back to you.”

She had never intended to take anything from Song Wan Ning.

With that, she picked up the stone and began the bonding.

Song Wan Ning watched with a gentle expression, warmth filling her eyes.

Even if the Heavenly Dao despised her… there were still people in this world who loved her without holding back.

—