Fleeting Dream Across Three Lifetimes - Chapter 17

The meal was naturally full of cheer. Lan Xuan returned from the competition at Luori Peak, only to see Luo Yuan coming out of Qin Mohan’s courtyard with a broad smile, and immediately his brows furrowed.

He had just heard people talking after his match, saying that his little junior sister had lost to Du Xun, suffered serious injuries, and had been taken back by their master. He wanted to use the chance to check on her. But judging from Luo Yuan’s expression, his junior sister didn’t seem gravely injured. What was going on?

Puzzled, Lan Xuan cast an invisibility technique to hide his presence and quietly approached Qin Mohan’s courtyard. Inside, Su Zining and Qin Mohan were sitting together, with a few empty dishes still left on the table.

Su Zining, lounging lazily in her chair, sighed with satisfaction. “Mohan, the food you made is just too delicious, I feel like I’ve already put on weight.”

Qin Mohan studied her carefully, then shook her head. “Not at all. You’re too thin.”

Su Zining pouted, leaned forward, and tugged at her collar, pointing at her protruding collarbone. “You’re talking about me? Look at you. You’re the one who’s far too skinny.” She couldn’t help but glance again at her neck—the collarbone really was quite beautiful.

Qin Mohan adjusted her collar and gave her a sidelong glance. “You’re still growing.”

Su Zining looked at her with a smile. In these days she had been pretending to be obedient, though she would occasionally show a playful side. Qin Mohan, with her calm temperament and gentle nature, always indulged her. Thinking of her behavior today, Su Zining sincerely praised, “Some people are truly Heaven’s favored children. You’re beautiful, mild-tempered, skilled at cooking, and your talent and comprehension are unmatched—you really are blessed by the heavens.”

Qin Mohan, thinking she was reminded of her own hardships, said gently, “Being born beautiful isn’t my doing, and my gifts and spiritual root came from Lin Qingchen. I only happened to profit from them. Otherwise, I would’ve been long gone.”

Su Zining shook her head. “But I can feel your comprehension is far greater than Lin Qingchen’s. And originally, were you truly born ugly and plain?”

Qin Mohan froze slightly, then seeing her curious expression, gave a small laugh. “Not exactly ugly, but certainly not like this.”

She brushed the topic aside, and Su Zining obediently dropped it. Instead, Qin Mohan paused, then said, “With your five spiritual roots, having hardly cultivated before, you managed to sense energy entering your body within half a year and reached the Qi Refining stage. And…” She hesitated, then added softly, “You’re more beautiful than both me and Lin Qingchen.”

Su Zining: “…” Damn it. Suddenly her face felt hot. This really wasn’t fair to her self-control.

***

After Lan Xuan left, his entire body was trembling with excitement. What had he just heard? Possession! Lin Qingchen had actually been possessed. No wonder her talent was extraordinary, leaving even their master astonished! Qin Mohan? Who knew which fallen powerhouse had taken over Lin Qingchen’s body? His first reaction was to tell Luo Yuan, but halfway there, he suddenly stopped.

In the cultivation world, strength always reigned supreme. A disciple with exceptional talent was a tremendous asset for any sect or family. He knew that Luo Yuan’s fondness for Lin Qingchen came from her talent and brilliance; he might not care whether she was really Lin Qingchen. Thinking of this, Lan Xuan halted, his narrow eyes gleaming with calculation. After a moment, he let out a cold laugh and left quickly.

***

When Qin Mohan stepped out of the courtyard, her gaze fell outside. She frowned slightly, walked over, and released a trace of spiritual power with her fingers, tracing lightly in the air. A small formation pattern appeared, glowing faint gold, pure yet flickering irregularly, something clearly off.

“This… did it get triggered?” Su Zining, well-informed enough, frowned.

Qin Mohan looked around carefully but found nothing suspicious. She shook her head. “Not sure. This array was casually set up, not a complete formation. I don’t know if someone touched it or if it’s just unstable.” Though she said this lightly, unease lingered in her heart. Not wanting Su Zining to worry, she added, “Normally no one comes near this courtyard. It should be fine.”

Su Zining wasn’t foolish. Though she didn’t press further, she stayed cautious. Suddenly remembering Lan Xuan, she frowned. “Earlier, when I went out, I accidentally saw your Third-shixiong secretly meeting with Shuori. He gave him a pill, bright red and strangely alluring. I suspect it was a Red Blood Pill.”

“Red Blood Pill?” Qin Mohan frowned. She had read about it in the Ziyun Pavilion’s archives. So Lan Xuan had dared to secretly obtain such a thing? She recalled seeing a similar blood-red pill at Shuori’s place when she first arrived, and instantly understood.

Her gaze hardened slightly. She already had a grasp of Lan Xuan’s nature. Scheming, ambitious, not above questionable means. She could guess why he wanted the Red Blood Pill; for the grand competition, of course. His performance so far had been decent, with good luck. Apart from running into Ming Yao, a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator, most of his opponents hadn’t been strong. For now, he ranked fifth.

His upcoming opponents, however, were Le Fan, Yan Xiao of Luori Peak, and Fu Zhu of Qingyan Peak. All of them were Golden Core mid-stage. Breaking into the top three would be extremely difficult. Ming Yao and Yan Xiao had been in mid-stage for over ten years, Le Fan had deep comprehension in sword arts—Lan Xuan might not beat him even at the same stage. Perhaps he could only defeat Fu Zhu, but reaching the top three? That was almost impossible. Was this desperate struggle really worth it?

Qin Mohan’s thoughts grew heavy. With only Su Zining’s chance encounter, there was no proof. She couldn’t report to Luo Yuan, so she could only wait and see. Tomorrow was the highlight of the sect’s grand competition, where the most outstanding disciples of each peak would battle for supremacy, the most anticipated contest of all. If Lan Xuan truly planned to use the Red Blood Pill, it would be then.

Qin Mohan’s brows remained furrowed. Seeing this, Su Zining said, “Lan Xuan is your senior brother. Based only on my words, no one will believe me. Instead, it will only make Lan Xuan bear a grudge…”

“I believe you.” Qin Mohan quickly took over the words, gazing steadily at her.

Su Zining was startled. Of course, she knew Qin Mohan trusted her, but hearing her say it with such seriousness still made her heart skip a few beats.

“But if you go to Master Luo, I’m afraid it would be inappropriate.”

“Mm, it’s just that I fear he may target Second-shijie. Besides, if I know about this and still pretend ignorance, it doesn’t sit right.” Qin Mohan frowned. Once it was revealed that someone used the Red Blood Pill, it meant collusion with the devil clan, and the consequences would be severe. She remembered the story of how Su Zining had once been falsely accused and hunted, and she did not want her kind senior sister to suffer the same fate. After all, the most likely targets for Lan Xuan were Le Fan and Fu Zhu.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Mohan stood up, fetched some plain sheets of paper, and infused her fingertip with spiritual power, carving several lines of words onto them.

Su Zining immediately understood. “You want to notify them?”

Folding paper cranes under her hands, Qin Mohan replied, “Mm. We have no proof, so we cannot go directly to Shizun. But if they receive such a message out of nowhere, it counts as evidence. It will certainly make them cautious, at least enough to alarm Third-shixiong so he doesn’t dare act recklessly.”

After finishing, Qin Mohan imbued each of the four paper cranes with a strand of spiritual power, deliberately condensing her energy to conceal her identity.

That night, the four cranes, carrying small concealment charms she had added, quietly flew off in four directions.

Su Zining couldn’t help laughing. “Tomorrow, five people will compete, and four of them will receive a warning. Mohan, you’re clearly pointing at him.”

Qin Mohan gave a soft “oh,” then frowned. “I forgot to give him one. But he doesn’t need it anyway, let’s leave it at that.”

At her sudden playfulness, Su Zining burst out laughing. Mm, perhaps she had been overthinking before. Qin Mohan truly was a good person.

***

That night, the four who received the cranes were all shocked. Since the cranes had come from within the sect, and the only ones who might use a Red Blood Pill were those competing tomorrow, Fu Zhu and the others treated it very seriously and immediately reported to their shizuns.

Though the Wuji Sect had been chaotic lately, that did not mean they would tolerate any disciple having ties with the devil clan. Orders were immediately given to investigate thoroughly.

Lan Xuan reacted quickly, hiding the Red Blood Pill at once and pretending that his paper crane had been accidentally damaged during cultivation, so he never saw the message. Even if he had dodged this crisis, he no longer dared use the pill. His plan ruined, rage burned within him. Never had he imagined someone would foresee his scheme.

As expected, Lan Xuan’s unstable emotions left him impatient and irritable. He couldn’t even defeat Fu Zhu, ending up in fifth place. Back at Ziyun Peak, he lashed out furiously at Shuori, suspecting he had leaked the secret.

Shuori himself was baffled. After a long silence, he muttered, “Could it be… but that’s impossible?”

Lan Xuan’s expression grew darker, his voice sharp. “Could it be what? Speak!”

Startled, Shuori stammered, “Earlier, when Lin-shishu came to me, she may have glimpsed the Red Blood Pill by accident.” Seeing Lan Xuan’s face twist with fury, he panicked and hurried to add, “Maybe she didn’t see it. And it’s been so long, she couldn’t possibly connect it to you now…”

Lan Xuan shouted, “Shut up! Such an important thing, and you, whom I trusted, actually let someone spot it and kept it from me!”

Crushed beneath his oppressive aura, Shuori trembled violently. “I… she had only just entered the sect, I thought she didn’t understand. Besides, it was only a glimpse, just the tiniest bit, it couldn’t possibly…”

Lan Xuan kicked him to the ground and stormed off, seething, Qin Mohan, if you block my path, I will make you regret it!

***

Meanwhile, Su Zining was in good spirits. Everything had gone smoothly. Though Lan Xuan hadn’t been exposed, he was surely frustrated enough. Watching Qin Mohan’s calm demeanor as she sat leisurely making tea, she leaned over with a playful suggestion. “I’ve been sleeping with you… no, I mean, I’ve been sleeping here in your place for three days now. Since I’m already a disciple of Ziyun Peak, shouldn’t I have my own room?”

Hearing her flustered correction, Qin Mohan couldn’t help but smile, nodding. “After keeping me company for three nights, you should indeed have your own room.” Su Zining turned her head away in annoyance. Qin Mohan continued, “Earlier, Shizun asked you to accompany me. And as it happens, my courtyard does have an empty room. You can live there.”

“…” Su Zining was almost convinced. So Qin Mohan really was fond of women. Clearly, she had been coveting her, deliberately trying to get close. Why else hadn’t she mentioned the spare room before, tricking her into sharing her bed?

Seeing her baffled expression, Qin Mohan asked suspiciously, “What’s wrong with that?”

Su Zining shook her head. Everything about this was wrong.

After Lan Xuan’s plan was exposed, he seemed much more subdued, spending all his time cultivating and listening to lectures. Even his usual habit of pestering Qin Mohan together with Yan Xiao disappeared.

Not long after stepping into mid Foundation Establishment, Qin Mohan was told by Luo Yuan to remain calm, focus on building a solid foundation, and prepare for her eventual Golden Core formation.

In her courtyard, Su Zining also devoted herself to studying the most basic cultivation techniques, listening as Qin Mohan patiently repeated the morning lessons to her, filling in the gaps from her flawed foundation in her past life.

Neither of them were noisy people. Though Su Zining sometimes teased Qin Mohan playfully, it was always deliberate. Their days together were fulfilling and peaceful, enough that Su Zining almost forgot the anger and gloom she had carried upon her rebirth. But Heaven never allowed her lasting joy. Within just a few days, everything shattered, and her resentment toward the cultivation world only deepened further.