My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 84 - 69: Why Persist Endlessly?

"Did he... do the same thing to you as he did to me?"

This sentence buzzed endlessly in Yin Tingxue’s mind.

The Princess of Xiang looked incredulously at Zhou Yitang. This one-armed woman’s face was cold, ethereal like a Sword Immortal, yet she had suffered the same fate?

Did Chen Yi also shatter her momentary blossom? Had he tormented this Sword Immortal-like figure to the brink of despair?

Yin Tingxue knew he was cruel but hadn’t realized he could be this heartless. Her cheeks flushed red as she recalled the sorrowful night.

"Are you here for revenge?"

Yin Tingxue asked softly.

"Revenge? Perhaps. Yet, not entirely."

Zhou Yitang’s ambiguous reply left Yin Tingxue momentarily puzzled.

However, the young woman could still sense that Zhou Yitang’s emotions towards Chen Yi were anything but ordinary.

"So you actually care about him and want to be with him?"

Yin Tingxue asked earnestly.

For some reason, Zhou Yitang’s face turned cold at the words, her tone biting:

"Why do you presume so arrogantly?"

Yin Tingxue hurriedly explained:

"No, no... I was merely asking. He might like you too."

Zhou Yitang frowned lightly and said:

"Why are you so certain? Could it be that after mere days of intimacy, you’ve already bewitched him?"

Yin Tingxue was flustered by the barrage of questioning. She’d only wanted to inquire, yet this woman kept twisting her words. She felt it might be her own problem and decided to keep quiet.

But just as she kept silent, the one-armed woman raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Hiding something from me? Afraid to answer?"

Yin Tingxue was on the verge of tears, her fingers intertwined nervously, her face pale.

The water rippled, the small boat swayed gently. Zhou Yitang, aware of her unbecoming reaction earlier, composed herself, turned her gaze toward the withered lotus in the lake.

After a long while, she finally said, "What’s between him and me has nothing to do with you."

Yin Tingxue was relieved as if a great weight had been lifted.

After a moment, a thought crossed her mind, and she asked, "Then what do you intend to do to him?"

"Sever his Three Corpses."

Yin Tingxue was startled, for she knew of the Taoist practice of severing the Three Corpses for eternal life. But she also understood that severing someone’s Three Corpses could profoundly alter their very essence, turning them into someone unrecognizable.

"Don’t you care about him? Why would you want to sever his Three Corpses?" Yin Tingxue couldn’t help but question.

"Who said I cared about him?"

The one-armed woman retorted. Yin Tingxue shrank back, too intimidated to speak further. Seeing this, Zhou Yitang did not pursue the matter but said indifferently:

"I have never cared for him."

Even with the Heavenly Ear Technique, Yin Tingxue couldn’t discern whether this was truth or deceit.

Not wanting to push her luck, she refrained from questioning further, fearing that provoking this enigmatic one-armed woman might result in being tossed into the lotus pond.

"Then since you want to sever his Three Corpses, go ahead. It has nothing to do with me—I’ll pretend I never saw you."

Yin Tingxue blinked, as if considering something, and proposed tentatively:

"However, don’t push him too far..."

"Why?"

"If you push him too far, he’ll torment me."

Yin Tingxue admitted shyly; she feared Chen Yi’s retaliation if his temper flared.

"Lock you up in a dark room, only lighting the lamp when he comes in to share a bed?"

The one-armed woman asked coldly.

"How do you know?" Yin Tingxue exclaimed in shock. This was precisely the threat Chen Yi had made.

"Hm."

Zhou Yitang laughed softly. Evidently, he had done nearly the same thing to this Purity Saintess, yet—perhaps—not so extreme.

Looking at Zhou Yitang, Yin Tingxue pondered deeply and was filled with dread.

How could such a Sword Immortal-like female crown, cold as a snowy night and reluctant to speak much, possibly endure his abuse? Could she truly be reduced to begging for his mercy just like herself? ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Before Yin Tingxue could delve further, an unexpected sentence pierced the air.

"Do you think killing you would help sever his Lower Corpse?"

The one-armed woman spoke while gazing into the distance.

Yin Tingxue shuddered violently; she picked up on the budding intent to kill within those words.

"Why kill me? I haven’t done anything wrong..."

"But he has." She replied.

Yin Tingxue felt deeply wronged and suffocated—what kind of logic was this? He was the one at fault, so why should she pay the price? Aggrieved, she looked at Zhou Yitang and began muttering.

"I... I..."

After stammering for a while, Yin Tingxue summoned her courage and said with a trace of resolution:

"Fine, go ahead, kill, kill me if you wish—I’m not afraid..."

Zhou Yitang placed her hand on Yin Tingxue’s head and began to press down gently.

Yin Tingxue froze completely.

"Forget it. I am not him."

The one-armed woman withdrew her hand.

Having brushed past the gates of hell, Yin Tingxue gasped heavily, realizing that the woman would not kill her—not now, nor ever.

Once she regained her composure, Yin Tingxue relaxed somewhat and asked proactively:

"Why are you... so entangled with him?"

She hadn’t wanted to use the word "entangled," but couldn’t find a better alternative.

Fortunately, Zhou Yitang did not take offense, instead asking:

"Have you heard of the poem ’Gesheng’?"

"The one from the Tang Winds in the Book of Songs?" Of course Yin Tingxue knew it.

The ancient Tang maiden who sang "Gesheng," when burying her lover, gazed upon the hills covered in kudzu vines and promised to reunite in a hundred years.

A complicated emotion flickered in Zhou Yitang’s eyes. She gently pinched the withered lotus, using her sole hand to pluck off its petals, letting them drift into the lake.

Wind battered rain and falling leaves, the downpour on Cangwu Peak was torrential, and in the sticky darkness after the rain, he had broken her sword just to keep her.

Peony flowers blossomed one atop another—planted by him, tended thereafter by her.

The wintry nights, the summer days—the Tang maiden who sang "Gesheng" lay buried alone, enduring the seasonal changes like Wu Zixu crossing Zhaoguan, turning prematurely gray overnight.

Swords, torrential rain, peonies, and Gesheng...

He was but a transient guest along the path to immortality—meant to fade away. Yet, the vast peony field remained her fleeting glimpse of beauty.

"Princess of Xiang, there are those in this world whom you’d wish to journey with forever, whether through life or death, longing to walk together—through spring and autumn, enduring summer and winter—until the next lifetime, until a hundred years later."

With the last petal plucked, she finished speaking.

"Chen Yi... is one of those people?" Yin Tingxue couldn’t help but ask.

"He isn’t."

Yin Tingxue was even more astonished this time.

The one-armed woman let slip a bitter smile.

"That’s why I keep waiting—for the next lifetime, for a hundred years."

The lotus pond remained tranquil, and Yin Tingxue, consumed by sentiment and accustomed to melancholy, felt a surge of sorrow. Though she was merely a concubine, she genuinely thought Chen Yi was unworthy of this Sword Immortal-like woman. What could possibly make him worth such relentless entanglement?

She was ensnared and couldn’t escape. But if she could help this woman sever ties with Chen Yi, even one person freed would be virtuous.

"The past is unbearable to recall... Why cling on endlessly?"

Yin Tingxue couldn’t resist whispering advice.

But the woman simply responded:

"I insist on clinging."

............

Chen Yi felt his nose itch.

After a moment, he sneezed loudly.

"What’s going on..."

Rubbing his nose, Chen Yi muttered.

For no reason, he had an ominous sense of impending trouble.

He pondered, recalling the almanac he’d glanced at this morning and trying to bring specific details to mind—it listed quite a few taboos.

Winter Moon of the third Year of Huanglong, Day Twenty-Five: Avoid weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies, prayers...

Before he could finish remembering, Chen Yi arrived with Lin Yan in a side hall, where he encountered a group of high-ranking officials. Among them, he recognized the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Minister of Revenue—both bowed courteously upon seeing Lin Yan, addressing him as ’Second Young Master.’

"West Factory Thousand Households, Chen Zunming."

When Lin Yan introduced Chen Yi to the group, he cupped his hands in greeting.

After mutual introductions, the Chief of Staff hesitated, looked at Lin Yan, and asked:

"Second Young Master Lin, is everything to follow really... Elder Lin’s directive?"

"Father is about to ascend to immortality. Both major and minor matters have been entrusted to me."

Lin Yan replied.

About to ascend...

Chen Yi furrowed his brows. That didn’t seem right. Based on his calculations, Elder Lin’s Merit Box was still far from the amount required for ascension—he still needed three or four years’ worth. Where could he have acquired three or four years’ merit?

Before Chen Yi could figure it out, Lin Yan walked deeper into the side hall, speaking as he went:

"Besides Thousand Households Chen, there’s another figure I need to show you gentlemen."

The officials were surprised—they hadn’t known anyone else was present after spending all this time here.

From the depths of the side hall, Lin Yan led out a figure whose visage gradually became visible. Chen Yi squinted slightly at the sight.

It was a donkey’s head: sharp ears, long nose, adorned with a golden crown and clothed in prince’s attire.

It was none other than the Donkey-Headed Crown Prince, one of the Capital’s three Great Demons!

The Lin Manor had colluded with the Donkey-Headed Crown Prince!

Chen Yi’s heart tightened, his thoughts racing rapidly until something struck him.

Elder Lin was about to ascend, meaning Lin Yan would inherit control of the Lin Party. However, Lin Yan was currently merely a scholar, holding little sway in court politics. Once Elder Lin departed, the Lin Party would collapse, which explained why the Empress Dowager had revived the Prime Minister scandal at this critical juncture—to prepare for the Lin Party’s downfall.

With the tree toppled and its monkeys scattered, Lin Yan, in order to preserve the Lin Party, would have to act before Elder Lin could ascend.

And now, with the Winter Poetry Gathering underway, the Lin Manor had sent invitations to officials of all ranks—the court’s entire roster of bureaucrats and their families were gathered here...

Chen Yi could only think of one possibility.

The Lin Manor intended to stage a coup!

As the Donkey-Headed Crown Prince strode forward, today’s almanac resurfaced in Chen Yi’s mind, line by line.

Winter Moon of the third Year of Huanglong, Day Twenty-Five: Avoid weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies, prayers...

Nothing would bode well!