Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Luo Chu’s Strange Logic

On the other side, beneath the Slanting Mountain Icefield, a group of Flying Cloud Sect disciples dug out two “ice sculptures” whose heads alone were not frozen.

One person checked their noses and said with delight, “Great! They are still breathing!”

Another urged, “Quick, melt the ice. Take them back to the sect and save them.”

Someone muttered as they worked, “Senior Brother Luo and Junior Sister Bai were so unlucky, running into that once-in-a-century avalanche at the Slanting Mountain Icefield.”

They did not know the avalanche was man-made. They had been far from where it happened, so they only heard the roar and were not hurt.

A disciple grumbled, “Unlucky? They chose to leave the team and act alone. After what happened to Tian Hao Tian, they still didn’t learn.”

Searching for these two ice blocks had cost them many days.

Another cut him off and said, “Enough. They are alive, and that is what matters. Hurry and get them back.”

Being buried under such thick snow for days and still living was a miracle. If the two had died, since both were Master Ling Xiao’s personal disciples and one was the Sect Master’s daughter, their team would have been punished for sure.

They carried the two back toward Flying Cloud Sect, warming them, melting the ice from their bodies, and feeding them gentle body-warming pills.

While resting on the road, Luo Chu and Bai Mu Mu woke up one after the other. Luo Chu’s brows were knit like he had been trapped in a nightmare. He jolted awake and cried out, “Junior Sister! Shen Sang Ruo!”

He turned and saw Bai Mu Mu lying beside him, and he let out a breath. They were saved. They had survived the avalanche. He looked to the other side and saw no one there. His heart jumped as he asked, “Where is Shen Sang Ruo?”

He blurted, “Did no one rescue Shen Sang Ruo?”

He tried to stand, but after being buried in snow for so long, his whole body was stiff and weak. He could not get any strength to rise.

Bai Mu Mu’s weak voice reached him: “Fourth Senior Brother…”

She had spent a huge mountain of points to make a deal with the System and save the two of them. Yet the first thing this fool did when he opened his eyes was worry about Shen Sang Ruo. [I could laugh from anger.]

If she had not been so frozen that her face would not move, her expression would have twisted badly.

Luo Chu brightened for a moment, then worry took over again as he said, “Why did they only dig us out? Did they just ignore Shen Sang Ruo?”

He urged, “Junior Sister, shout with me and call them over. Make them go back and dig again.”

He grew more anxious as he spoke and tried to kick his legs, looking like someone half paralyzed. [She has not apologized to me yet. She cannot die.]

Bai Mu Mu said gently, “Fourth Senior Brother, don’t rush.”

He snapped back, “How can I not rush? Shen Sang Ruo might be dying.”

The calm front Bai Mu Mu had worked so hard to keep almost cracked under his blunt words. [This idiot. She wanted you buried alive, and you are still worried about the culprit’s safety?]

She took a deep breath, smoothed her mood, and said, “Please calm down first. During the avalanche, did you see Fifth Senior Sister anywhere?”

Luo Chu thought back carefully and slowly cooled down. He said, “When that strange white light vanished, I don’t think I saw Shen Sang Ruo.”

Bai Mu Mu continued to guide him: “Right. Why would such a blinding white light suddenly appear above the Slanting Mountain Icefield?”

Through the System, she already knew Shen Sang Ruo had caused the avalanche on purpose. This was the perfect chance to make Luo Chu hate Shen Sang Ruo. If he knew she had acted against them, she could use his mouth to spread the news to the others. Once Shen Sang Ruo’s vicious side was exposed, everyone would turn on her, and the biggest obstacle to Bai Mu Mu’s plan would be gone.

Luo Chu stared into space, thinking. After a while, he focused again, like he had found an answer. Under Bai Mu Mu’s eager gaze, he said, “How would I know?”

Bai Mu Mu: “…”

He added, “And how does that help us go save Shen Sang Ruo?”

Holding back the urge to smother him, she tried again, “Only you, I, and Fifth Senior Sister were there then. So is it possible that the white light was made on purpose by Fifth Senior Sister?”

She quickly added, “I’m not slandering her. It’s just that you and I would never harm each other.”

Luo Chu’s eyes widened as his tone turned grim: “I get it now. She did it on purpose.”

Bai Mu Mu felt satisfied. Under her guidance, this thick-skulled man was finally catching on. He finally realized Shen Sang Ruo had planned the avalanche to kill them.

Testing the waters, she said, “Fourth Senior Brother, in fact, I saw…”

He cut in loudly, “You saw Shen Sang Ruo run away when the white light flashed, right? She didn’t even warn us the avalanche was coming. She just ran by herself. That is so disloyal and awful.”

Bai Mu Mu said, “Yes, she…” then stopped cold. [Wait, what?]

Wasn’t the point that Shen Sang Ruo caused the avalanche? How did he twist it into her not warning them? She had hinted so clearly, yet Luo Chu still thought it was a natural disaster. Or maybe, deep down, he did not believe Shen Sang Ruo would ever strike at them.

Not noticing her mood, Luo Chu kept talking: “She had me worried sick. I will never forgive her. I’ll teach her a lesson for making fools of us.”

He added with angry energy, “There is also that Seven Emotions Gu. I’ll have Third Senior Brother refine dozens, no, hundreds of them, and throw them all on her. We will see how she pretends then.”

He went on, “She ignored us when our lives were on the line. I will complain to Master and have Master punish her hard. Best if she gets sent to the Confinement Chamber.”

While he spoke tough, Bai Mu Mu was not satisfied. This time Shen Sang Ruo had truly struck at them and forced her to burn so many points. If she could not expose what Shen Sang Ruo had done, she would never swallow this anger.

Luo Chu’s brain could go anywhere if she kept circling around. She decided to be direct and said, “Fourth Senior Brother, what I actually saw was Fifth Senior Sister making the avalanche on purpose.”

Luo Chu denied it at once: “Impossible.” It was not only that he believed Shen Sang Ruo would never harm him. He added, “How could she alone create an avalanche?”

Bai Mu Mu pressed, “Have you forgotten that Fifth Senior Sister is now about as strong as you?”

Luo Chu froze. He finally remembered Shen Sang Ruo was no longer the weak girl he could pin down with one hand. After a long silence, he muttered, “Even so, this avalanche could not be her doing.” The avalanche had come for their lives. Without luck, they would have been dead. Shen Sang Ruo might be jealous and pick small fights, but she would not risk their lives.

He said firmly, “She would never try to kill us.”