That little Xiao Sanyang from Changning Village—he had entered the Yunxiao Sect and become Qin Jianglan.

Su Zhuyi’s hand directly grabbed his lapel, bunching up his clothes. Her movements were too fast, striking as swiftly as lightning, so quick that even Qin Chuan couldn’t dodge. His senior brother beside him was dumbfounded, repeatedly saying, “If there’s something to discuss, let’s talk nicely.”

At this moment, Qinghe stepped forward and said coldly, “Junior sister.”

Only then did Elder Liu from the Gujian Sect react, scolding, “Su Zhuyi, what are you doing?”

Su Zhuyi released her grip, gently smoothing the wrinkles on his clothes, and smiled, “Nothing, I mistook you for someone else.”

Unexpectedly, Qin Chuan suddenly asked, “You’re Qinghe’s junior sister? Then you’re the disciple of Senior Luo Ying?”

Qin Chuan knew of Luo Ying. Back then, under the seal, Luo Ying sacrificed herself to the sword. His little master had grabbed him with a hoe and taken him away from the seal, but in the end, only he came out. His little master had fallen into the seal’s crack, and Senior Luo hadn’t come out either.

At that time, his mind went completely blank. A senior brother dragged him forward, but before they had run far, he felt hot blood splashing on his face and body. Turning his head, he saw that the senior brother beside him had his head fly right off—his body was still moving forward, but his head was gone.

Qin Chuan had suffered a series of shocks and was already on edge. The sight of his senior brother’s head flying off became the last straw that broke him. Qin Chuan directly fainted. When he woke up, it was midnight. He wandered around in the mountains and somehow managed to get out of Qilian Mountain. After that, he fell seriously ill and struggled in the streets for more than half a month. When he was closing his eyes, waiting for death, he was picked up by his master, who was traveling like a wandering cloud and wild crane. He joined the Yunxiao Sect and became a sword cultivator.

Because of the shock he had suffered, he initially forgot many things. By the time he remembered, it was already three years later. He asked his master whether Luo Ying was well, and his master said Luo Ying had always been fine, never hearing of anything wrong. When he further asked about Qilian Mountain, his master also said he hadn’t heard of anything amiss there, so Qin Chuan always felt that those experiences seemed like a dream. He then asked about Changning Village and the Feihong Sect. His master naturally couldn’t answer, but promised to ask around. The news that came back a month later struck Qin Chuan like a thunderbolt.

Changning Village had turned into ruins, and the Feihong Sect had been completely wiped out.

Qin Chuan begged his master to take him back to Changning Village. He saw that the village where he had once lived no longer had any trace of life. It had been razed to the ground, with almost nothing left. The houses were gone, the well was gone, the sacred tree at the village entrance was gone, and home was gone…

He had lost his parents and relatives, his best friend, and his neighbors. He had just remembered them not long ago, only to lose them forever once again.

He told his master about his experiences.

However, when they went to Qilian Mountain to investigate carefully, they found no seal, no evil sword, and no remains of any Feihong Sect disciples. Instead, they discovered traces of demonic cultivators, seemingly related to the Corpse Control Sect. Elder Crane had also inquired about Luo Ying’s situation and learned that after Luo Ying had captured her wayward disciple Qinghe, she had gone into seclusion. She was perfectly fine and had never been injured. It seemed that what he had experienced was just a nightmare—the evil sword, Luo Ying, none of it was real.

But the destruction of Changning Village was real. Since then, the once cheerful and enthusiastic Qin Chuan had disappeared. He became sullen, only knowing how to bury his head in sword practice. In just a few short years, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds to the Foundation Establishment stage. He had practiced the Yunxiao Sect’s Canglang Sword Art to the fourth level and was showing signs of comprehending his sword intent. Moreover, he had defeated Xu Lingfeng, the senior brother who had been the most prominent among the Yunxiao Sect’s younger generation, in the sect’s sword competition. Although Xu Lingfeng had suppressed his cultivation at the time, in terms of pure swordsmanship, he had won.

When his cultivation advanced and his sword dao matured, he would definitely descend the mountain to gain experience, eliminate demons and protect the righteous path, and slaughter those demonic cultivators who harmed innocents, seeking revenge for Changning Village.

At this moment, hearing that the woman before him was Luo Ying’s disciple, Qin Chuan couldn’t help but ask again, “Are you the disciple Senior Luo took in ten years ago?”

Luo Ying’s disciple!

Qin Chuan still remembered his little master’s face—red lips and white teeth, lovely as ice and snow. He remembered how his little master looked when falling into the crack. Over these years, he had dreamed of it many times, and each time he woke up, he was covered in cold sweat.

That silver dragon had carried him flying out of the crack, but the little master who had grabbed him couldn’t come out. Even if Senior Luo was still alive, what about the little master who had fallen?

In his youth, he had greatly admired his little master, thinking he was particularly amazing. After entering the Yunxiao Sect and embarking on the path of cultivation, he finally understood that his little master wasn’t amazing at all. Having fallen down there, his chances of survival were slim to none—he was dead.

Qin Chuan had always been kind-hearted, and his little master’s death had left him with constant guilt. Until recently, when he heard that this sword competition would include a disciple of Luo Ying, there had been no news about this person. He had originally tried to inquire about it, but couldn’t find any definite information. He only heard that the disciple was famous for being afraid of death, so he hadn’t paid much attention. But now, seeing the real person and hearing her say she had mistaken him for someone else, combined with the fact that Luo Ying had taken in a disciple ten years ago, and her somewhat familiar face—all these conditions linked together made Qin Chuan’s heart race.

Originally, Su Zhuyi had released him, but now he reached out to grab Su Zhuyi’s arm, saying excitedly, “Is it you? Is it you? Are you the little master from Changning Village? You… you’re a girl?”

The man beside them was Qin Chuan’s senior brother, Fang Yueran. Seeing his usually cold and distant junior brother show such excited expression, he was stunned speechless. “These two people are old acquaintances?”

Liu Rumei, who had been preparing to call Su Zhuyi back to the room, also frowned. Since the two knew each other and seemed to have a deep relationship, grabbing and pulling at each other, it seemed there was no major problem. What happened earlier was probably just a misunderstanding.

Su Zhuyi smiled. Her eyes sparkled with watery light as she went along with Qin Chuan’s words, “I thought I had mistaken you for someone else. So it is you. It’s been so long since we last met. Shall we find a place with no one around to catch up in private?” She tilted her head slightly, gently tucking her scattered hair behind her ear. Every gesture and movement appeared extremely elegant, making people unable to help but look at her more.

Qin Chuan naturally nodded in agreement and led the way.

Su Zhuyi followed behind, her thoughts turning over countless times.

The Qin Jianglan from her previous life was indeed gone. He had sacrificed himself to the Liuguang Mirror, and he was the most amazingly talented person in thousands of years. His cultivation had eventually made him the best in the world. The disappearance of such a person would cause tremendous changes, so Xiao Sanyang had appeared, silently taking Qin Jianglan’s place.

If the Heavenly Dao could be so easily changed beyond recognition, it wouldn’t be worthy of being called the Heavenly Dao.

The Liuguang Mirror was a Dao artifact that made time flow backward, bringing her back to a thousand years ago. Her actions would cause many things to deviate from their original positions, but there would be an invisible hand setting things right, checking for omissions, and filling gaps. At least it couldn’t let the historical trajectory deviate too far. Some insignificant people naturally didn’t matter, but those who had amazed the ages or left their mark in infamy throughout the long river of history couldn’t be missing—they could only be replaced somehow.

But she couldn’t tolerate it!

She couldn’t tolerate Qin Chuan becoming Qin Jianglan!

Even if Qin Chuan felt guilty toward her, even if they had already formed a good relationship, even if there was something indescribable in the way he looked at her and the possibility of being conquered by her, she still couldn’t tolerate it.

Su Zhuyi walked behind him, her breathing becoming rapid. The current Qin Chuan was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and he was completely unguarded against her. She had suppressed her killing intent earlier because there were so many cultivators around, including two powerful figures like Qinghe and Liu Rumei. If she acted, she definitely wouldn’t succeed. But now…

Su Zhuyi circulated the spiritual energy in her body, and faint flames appeared in her palms. But just then, a hand landed on her shoulder, and coolness instantly surged through her entire body, extinguishing even the weak flames of her Blazing Palm technique.

With this splash of cold water, Su Zhuyi immediately came to her senses. She wasn’t an impulsive person—she had just been blinded by the rage in her heart and confused by the news she had just received. Right now, she was in the Yunxiao Sect. If she killed Qin Chuan, she wouldn’t be able to escape either. She didn’t care whether the Gujian Sect and Yunxiao Sect would tear each other apart or whether it would implicate the Gujian Sect because of this—she only cared about whether she could escape after killing someone.

If she died because of this after being reborn, it would be ridiculous.

Old Dog Qin would probably be so angry he’d come back to life even after death. Thinking of this, the corners of her mouth even twitched upward. If he did come back to life, that would be quite good. If not for this disappointment, Su Zhuyi herself wouldn’t have realized that Old Dog Qin occupied quite an important position in her heart.

Important enough that in that instant just now, she had almost lost her rationality. Glancing at Qinghe beside her, whose expression was as gloomy as water, Su Zhuyi pouted, signaling him to go away.

Qinghe stared at her, and she stared back, her gaze much calmer now. Seeing this, Qinghe gradually concealed his form. Qin Chuan didn’t even know that another person had appeared behind him just now, that he had walked before the gates of hell. He pushed open a door, saying, “This is the Crane Garden of our Songhe Valley. I usually practice my sword here, and no outsiders come by.”

Behind the door, there was a crane standing on one foot in the center. Seeing people approach and recognizing Qin Chuan, the crane switched to standing on its other foot and lowered its head to peck at insects on the grass.

The garden was filled with rich spiritual energy, with green grass like a carpet. In the distance was a blue lake. Weeping willows were planted in a circle around the lake. When the wind blew, the willow catkins danced like snowflakes, falling into the lake’s heart and occasionally stirring up ripples.

Qin Chuan brought Su Zhuyi to a pavilion. He didn’t have the habit of carrying spiritual fruits and fine wine in his magical treasures, so he felt somewhat embarrassed at the moment. But because he had so much to say, he didn’t think about it too much and directly asked, “Little master, were you saved by Senior Luo back then? How have you been all these years?”

“I’m so happy that you didn’t die.” Qin Chuan, who usually only knew how to bury his head in sword practice and appeared cold and difficult to approach, now wanted nothing more than to hold Su Zhuyi’s hand and ask questions. Tears glistened in his eyes, and if he hadn’t been holding back, tears would have fallen by now.

His voice choked as he said, “Little master, Changning Village was massacred. My father, my mother—they’re all dead.”

Hearing these words, Su Zhuyi wasn’t particularly shocked. Since Heaven had forcibly inserted a Qin Jianglan, the destruction of Changning Village was also within expectations. But thinking about it further, were the villagers of Changning Village that important? Important enough for the Heavenly Dao to set things right? How was that possible? They were just a group of ordinary mortals.

She showed a sorrowful expression, tears welling up in her eyes as she exclaimed, “How could this happen? Do you know who did it?”

Qin Chuan then told Su Zhuyi in detail about the situation he and his master had investigated at the time. She listened while thinking.

Changning Village had been destroyed, but the Xueluo Sect would still select some boys and girls for training. This time, without her and without Old Dog Qin to save people, the only survivor would be Zhang Enning. That meant Su Qingxun had just died like that?

When she heard that not a single corpse of the Feihong Sect cultivators who had died back then was found, and some traces suggested it might be related to the Corpse Control Sect, suspicion arose in her heart again. In her previous life, there had been no Corpse Control Sect involved in the massacre of Changning Village. Corpse Control Sect, Corpse Control Sect—she suddenly thought of someone.

Zhang Enning!

Zhang Enning, who had obtained Ji Wuxin’s cultivation method and had been taught cultivation techniques by her, could draw spiritual energy into his body! Could it be that Zhang Enning hadn’t been captured by the Xueluo Sect, and the so-called Corpse Control Sect was related to him!