Chapter 119

Chapter 119: After Junior Sister arrived, Thunder-Scale Peak changed

Wen Xuan woke up at almost the same time as Bai Mu Mu.

After waking, he stared up at the ceiling with a bitter look. When Luo Chu came in, he didn’t say a word.

Only when Luo Chu finally spoke did he move: “Second Senior Brother, I want to talk to you.”

Luo Chu asked quietly: “When did our relationship with Shen Sang Ruo become like this?”

Wen Xuan froze. His thoughts drifted back to long ago, when Shen Sang Ruo loved to trail behind them. Back then, they were so close and happy.

Now it felt like a dream from another life.

When he returned to the present and saw how stiff their relationship was, and that she was no longer in the Flying Cloud Sect, the dream shattered. Tears slid down Wen Xuan’s cheeks as he murmured: “We wronged her. We owe her too much.”

Looking at Wen Xuan’s defeated state, Luo Chu knew he wouldn’t think of anything useful, so he said what was on his mind: “Second Senior Brother, have you noticed? Ever since Junior Sister arrived, our ties with Shen Sang Ruo started to crack, and then it just got worse.”

Wen Xuan went still, then suddenly turned to stare at Luo Chu, as if something had clicked.

Luo Chu wore a look of certainty.

Of course, Luo Chu hadn’t exposed any hidden scheme of Bai Mu Mu. He just didn’t want to admit Shen Sang Ruo had left because of him, so he threw all the blame on Bai Mu Mu.

He insisted: “Before Junior Sister came, everything on Thunder-Scale Peak was fine. After she came, the peak turned into this.”

Seeing Wen Xuan keep silent, Luo Chu lost some nerve and said, a bit guilty: “I’m not saying Junior Sister is bad. I just think she might be part of it. Second Senior Brother, I’m telling you because I trust you. Please don’t tell anyone.”

But his words tore open a hole in Wen Xuan’s heart.

Unlike Luo Chu, Wen Xuan thought carefully. He realized most of their fights with Shen Sang Ruo had started because of Bai Mu Mu.

Whether it was Shen Sang Ruo leaving or something else waking him up, his thoughts felt very clear now.

Scenes of Bai Mu Mu’s behavior over the years flickered through his mind. The more he thought, the darker his face became.

Luo Chu panicked and tried to backtrack: “Okay, Second Senior Brother, I admit I was talking nonsense.”

Wen Xuan’s tone grew firm: “No, Fourth Junior Brother, you’re right.”

“Eh?” Luo Chu stared in surprise.

Wen Xuan’s voice shook with urgency as he said: “Do you remember when Junior Sister fell into the valley? Whether Little Ruo pushed her or not, Junior Sister herself knew best, but she didn’t say anything.”

The truth hit him: the one with the nasty heart had always been Bai Mu Mu. They had blamed Shen Sang Ruo for years by mistake.

Luo Chu’s memory lined up too: “Right, right! On the Mirror of Past Events, it didn’t look like she slipped. It was more like…”

He paused, then said it: “Like she jumped on purpose.”

“You mean Junior Sister framed Little Ruo on purpose?”

They looked at each other and saw the same sudden understanding in the other’s eyes.

Hope flared on Wen Xuan’s face. What they had done to Shen Sang Ruo had all been because Bai Mu Mu misled them. It wasn’t what they truly wanted. There was still room to make things right.

At the same time, his heart ached. How much had Little Ruo suffered all these years?

He tried to get up at once despite his injuries: “I’m going to find Master and tell him.”

Luo Chu hurried to stop him: “Wait, wait, Second Senior Brother, don’t rush. There’s no way to prove the past now. We have no evidence. Master is furious right now. He won’t believe it.”

Wen Xuan felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, but then his eyes lit up again.

What mattered was that he no longer felt afraid to face Shen Sang Ruo.

If not for Bai Mu Mu, he would never have ignored her or done those things to her.

Maybe Little Ruo lost hope in them because they trusted Bai Mu Mu too much. If they understood her grievance and treated her like before, maybe she would come back.

[Wen Xuan steeled himself: I will bring Little Ruo back.]

Calming down, Wen Xuan asked: “So that’s why you didn’t want to see Junior Sister lately?”

Luo Chu nodded: “I felt something was wrong when Shen Sang Ruo left Thunder-Scale Peak.”

Wen Xuan said with relief: “Good thing you were there. Otherwise we would have stayed in the dark even longer.”

With that, a huge weight lifted off Luo Chu’s chest. The pain that had been crushing him eased at once.

“What about Junior Sister?” he asked.

Wen Xuan’s face lost its usual softness as he said: “Treat her normally. Don’t be cold, but don’t get too close either. She is still our Junior Sister.”

He thought Bai Mu Mu only wanted more attention, so she acted like this.

Then he added, firm and clear: “But Little Ruo is the one we should truly be close to and treat well.”

Their years of feeling could not be replaced.

“We were good to Junior Sister at first only to make it up to Little Ruo. She has enjoyed that treatment for many years. We don’t owe her anything anymore.”

Luo Chu nodded hard in agreement.

The Wen Xuan who managed all matters on Thunder-Scale Peak and stayed calm in any trouble had returned.

Wen Xuan added: “Don’t tell Feng He Yun yet. He’s close to Bai Mu Mu right now. I’m afraid he’ll let something slip and stir up trouble.”

With the injured and the caretakers split between places like this, the days passed in a shaky peace.

Of course, Bai Mu Mu’s System kept popping up with drops in affection now and then, driving her mad and making it hard to heal.

But the peace didn’t last. Bad news hit Thunder-Scale Peak again.

This time it was Lu Shi Qing.

Ever since Shen Sang Ruo slapped him that day, Lu Shi Qing could not accept it. His mind slid toward madness.

He forced himself to develop a Gu Poison even fiercer than the Seven Emotions Gu, determined to find even a trace of Shen Sang Ruo’s feelings for them.

But that Gu Poison was beyond his current power to control. Countless Gu insects broke free and bit back.

If Master Ling Xiao hadn’t arrived in time and protected him with spiritual power, Lu Shi Qing would have become food for the Gu insects.

Now, out of the five disciples of Thunder-Scale Peak, three were bedridden. They couldn’t even take proper care of each other.

Lu Shi Qing’s case was worse. If his Gu Poison wasn’t removed, the Gu insects would keep eating his flesh day after day.

Worse, the many kinds of Gu insects had combined into an even stronger Gu Poison. Even Master Ling Xiao couldn’t solve it.

Master Ling Xiao immediately ordered Feng He Yun to take Lu Shi Qing to the Southwest to seek help from an Old Shaman there.

He left Luo Chu alone to care for both Wen Xuan and Bai Mu Mu.