Into The Sea

After Ye Qingjun finished speaking, she glanced at the expressions of the two standing below and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Why do you two look like that?”

Yu Shanye barely managed to close her mouth, but after holding it in for a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “But Master, didn’t you… didn’t you kill her?”

“What are you thinking?” Ye Qingjun said calmly. “She is definitely not Lin Yao. I watched her die with my own eyes—she couldn’t possibly still be alive.”

“Then how…”

“It’s reincarnation,” Ye Qingjun lowered her eyes and said softly. “A young fox demon, barely over a hundred years old, who knows nothing of her past life. Qin Yu wanted to kill her, but I couldn’t bear it, so I stepped in to save her.”

Lan Wu blinked blankly, not quite understanding what they were talking about. Feeling bored, she circled a few times before slowly swimming back to nestle in Ji Lingyue’s palm.

“Then, Master, did you tell her the truth?”

“Why would I?” Ye Qingjun said calmly. “She has a new life and new memories now, and even her personality is different from before. Lin Yao made her mistakes and paid for it with her life, but she… is no longer Lin Yao. So why burden her with a story that has nothing to do with who she is now? It would only bring unnecessary pain.”

“Then Elder Qin is even more in the wrong!” Yu Shanye said indignantly. “Master should report him to the sect leader!”

Ji Lingyue paused, thinking that Yu Shanye really didn’t treat her like an outsider. She lowered her head subtly and idly scratched the fish’s tail.

Lan Wu flinched, her sensitive tail flicking up to slap her fingertip.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingjun shook her head and sighed. “I can understand his feelings.”

The story from back then wasn’t complicated. Ye Qingjun had discovered early on that the young woman who had infiltrated the mountain was a demon, but she had naively believed her excuse that she wanted to learn cultivation and even actively helped her conceal her identity.

At that time, Ye Qingjun, the current sect leader, and the siblings Qin Yu and Qin Yang were all direct disciples of the previous sect leader. The four of them were inseparable, growing up together and sharing a close bond. Because of her, Qin Yu and Qin Yang also became friends with Lin Yao.

As a fox demon, Lin Yao was beautiful, with a charming and alluring aura. She seemed to know how to please people. Among them, Qin Yang was the most attached to her, always following her around, calling her “sister.”

Later, Lin Yao confessed her feelings to Ye Qingjun. Ye Qingjun was overjoyed, believing that her feelings were reciprocated. However, when she completely accepted Lin Yao and offered her everything, Lin Yao stole her life token and infiltrated the forbidden grounds, stealing the Qilian Celestial Herb.

While escaping, Lin Yao unexpectedly encountered Qin Yang, who was on patrol, and killed her without hesitation. When they found Qin Yang’s bloodied corpse, the young girl’s lifeless eyes were still wide with shock. From that day on, their relationship completely fell apart. Qin Yu was consumed with grief and anger. He severed all ties with Ye Qingjun, while Ye Qingjun spent decades searching for Lin Yao. She finally found her one winter day.

Lin Yao was a demon lord with many attendants. Ye Qingjun went alone with her sword. Only when the endless snow was stained crimson did she finally strike Lin Yao down.

Even on the verge of death, Lin Yao’s sly fox eyes were full of mocking laughter, not a trace of remorse. She was a heartless and ungrateful demon. Stealing the Celestial Herb was just to show her loyalty to the Demon Queen. When she first met Ye Qingjun, she was already a very powerful demon.

All along, it had only been Ye Qingjun who had foolishly taken that relationship seriously. She had offered up her heart, only to have it treated as a joke.

Thinking this, she closed her eyes wearily and said, “The fault lies with me. It’s only natural that he’s angry.”

Hearing this, Yu Shanye was even more indignant. “But Master, you were a victim too! And Lin Yao is already dead. Does Elder Qin intend to kill every one of her reincarnations?”

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Ye Qingjun said softly. “The young fox demon survived, but she was also injured. She’ll probably avoid Qin Yu from now on. As long as she stays away… her life shouldn’t be in danger.”

Yu Shanye pressed her lips together, overcome with resentment, and couldn’t help glaring at Ji Lingyue. Ji Lingyue received her disapproval, calmly averted her gaze, not intending to defend her master at all.

“Alright, it’s getting late, and I’m fine. If there’s nothing else, you should go back and rest,” Ye Qingjun coughed again, clutching her chest. “Aren’t you supposed to take over my classes? If you have any questions in the next few days, you can ask me.”

“Yes, Master,” Yu Shanye replied.

After thanking her, she asked a few questions about what to look out for and was about to leave with Lan Wu when Ye Qingjun narrowed her eyes and suddenly asked, “What’s the name of your little fish?”

Ji Lingyue paused, slightly startled, before answering. “Yu San.”

“Pfft.”

Yu Shanye quickly covered her mouth, trying to look serious, while the woman hummed and said with a smile, “That’s certainly an easy name to remember. Here, take this.”

Ji Lingyue carefully accepted it, and looking down, she realized it was a bottle of spirit pills specifically for feeding demons.

“I made it for Little Snow, but I made an extra bottle. Give it to her,” Ye Qingjun said gently. “After you form a contract with her, she’s yours to command. But if you can’t treat her well, it’s better to set her free.”

Ji Lingyue suddenly tightened her grip on the porcelain bottle, and after a moment of silence, she said softly, “This disciple understands.”

Walking back down the mountain path, the little fish on her shoulder stared unblinkingly in the direction of Qianyun Peak, her tail drooping listlessly, no longer as lively as before.

Ji Lingyue glanced at her a few times before finally asking, “What’s wrong?”

Lan Wu rolled over listlessly, exposing her belly. “If Master had experienced something like this before, why would she still have saved me without hesitation when my identity was exposed?”

“Why do you ask?”

Lan Wu blinked. “Because it’s so similar.”

A demon who hides her cultivation to infiltrate an immortal sect, a demon who steals her lover’s life token and enters a forbidden area, a demon who runs away and never looks back.

After experiencing such a similar situation, she still chose to stand between Qin Yu and herself, willing to accept punishment just to give her a chance to live.

“You know it’s similar,” Ji Lingyue said with a sigh. “When you took my life token, you even lied about living together in the future…”

“Um…” Lan Wu flipped herself over, hesitated, then stammered, “That, that wasn’t actually me.”

Ji Lingyue was speechless.

She stopped walking, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

“It wasn’t you? Then who was it? Was it your sister?”

Lan Wu nodded quickly. “I was busy saving Fuyou back then. I never went to find you… I only learned about the life token when I questioned her later.”

“But if it was your sister, how did she know about us? How could she come up with such a specific lie…” Ji Lingyue trailed off, her fair face slowly turning red. “She… she saw us?!”

Lan Wu nodded guiltily.

“You… you…” Ji Lingyue slowly clenched her fist, her face flushed with heat. “Do you know that when she pretended to be you and tricked me, I almost! I almost…”

Lan Wu’s heart tightened, and she suddenly became alert. “Almost what?”

Ji Lingyue closed her mouth, her face full of embarrassed anger, refusing to say more. She walked forward silently.

Now it was Lan Wu’s turn to panic. She flapped her tail and chased after her, asking repeatedly, “Almost what? Huh? Almost what? You didn’t kiss her, did you?!”

Ji Lingyue retorted, “Even if I did, it’s your fault!”

Lan Wu was shocked. “You really kissed her?”

“NO!” Ji Lingyue suddenly reached out, angrily pinching the water bubble around her, distorting its shape. “She wouldn’t let me.”

After being rejected, Ji Lingyue had been anxious for quite a while. She’d even thought Lan Wu was upset with her. Even when she was on patrol at night, she was a little distracted.

Back then, how would she have known that Lan Wu had not only a sister, but that sister could also transform to look exactly like her, imitating her voice and expressions perfectly?

Thinking about it, it was all Lan Wu’s fault.

She gritted her teeth, and said angrily, “You’re the most annoying fish in the world!”

Lan Wu: “…Huh?”

At this moment, she suddenly became clever, flipping her tail and snuggling into Ji Lingyue’s arms, saying sweetly, “I’m a mermaid, not a fish.”