Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Passionate Night Five

"Why didn’t you say so earlier? If he follows us into the Clouded Wilderness Marsh and we do shake him off, it’ll still be easy for people to connect the Poison Mistress with Yu Youwei." With a swift kick, Yu Youwei sent the little white bear flying, both bear and the shadowy shuttle plunging silently into the lake, not a ripple betraying their fall. When the pursuers arrived, there was no sign that anyone had just fallen into the water.

Autumn sunlight slanted across the sky, the vault of heaven clear and bright. Now and then, flocks of wild geese cut through the sky, their shadows flickering across the lake's surface. A breeze swept over the water, scattering those fleeting reflections. Yu Youwei floated quietly amid the waterweeds at the lake’s bottom, listening as the little white bear relayed the position of their pursuers.

The pursuer arrived, his face brutish and cruel—clearly not a man of virtue. He did not enter the water, but stood on the shore, using his spiritual senses to probe the lake.

Moments later, Ye Wu arrived, attended by his retinue.

"Mo Blackhawk, what are you doing here?" Ye Wu’s voice was sharp and cold.

"Young Lord Ye Wu, I’m just here to admire the scenery," Mo Blackhawk replied, sly and cunning. He had long suspected a special tie between Ye Wu and the Poison Mistress, which was why he’d followed from a distance without making a move, wary that Ye Wu might have posted secret guards for her. He hadn’t expected Ye Wu to appear in person.

"Don’t play dumb with the Young Lord!" barked the elder at Ye Wu’s right.

Mo Blackhawk forced a smile. “How could I dare try to fool Young Lord Ye Wu? I truly am only here to enjoy the view.”

With a cold snort, Ye Wu said, “Mo Blackhawk, so the Poison Mistress destroyed the Thirteen Outlaws of Yan Yun. So what? You could always find another mountain stronghold and recruit new men. If you seek revenge, you’re only digging your own grave.”

“I understand,” Mo Blackhawk replied. The meaning was clear—this grudge could not be avenged. Bowing, he turned and left.

“So Ye Wu came to clean up your trail? Do you have some secret affair with him?” The little white bear, unable to restrain its gossipy nature, was abuzz with curiosity. Ignored by Yu Youwei, it pressed on: “If you ask me, he’s much better than that dullard from the Ning family. You should just go with him.”

Through the swaying waterweeds, Yu Youwei gazed at the golden sunset reflected on the lake, lost in thought.

Ye Wu lingered at the lakeside for a long time, his expression shifting through a thousand moods. At last, he departed in bleak disappointment.

“I’d wager he knows you’re hiding in the lake. And he hasn’t gone far either; he’s probably still making sure no one else is lurking around.” The little white bear surfaced and sighed theatrically in the direction Ye Wu’s party had gone.

Yu Youwei knew well enough that Ye Wu’s long vigil by the lake was to deter any would-be schemers from making a move against her. The silent protection moved her deeply, but he was never the one she desired.

“You talk too much!”

Seizing the little bear by the scruff, Yu Youwei mounted the shadowy shuttle and streaked away. Not long after she left, Ye Wu reappeared at the lakeshore, this time accompanied by the Demon Sword, Lu Shuangxing.

Lu Shuangxing howled, “Ye Wu, are you possessed? Loving a woman so much you stand watch over her in silence? Brother, we of the demonic path live as we please—at this rate, even I can’t respect you.”

“I’d rather not get stripped by her again,” Ye Wu blurted out. At Lu Shuangxing’s stunned look, a blush flared across his handsome face.

“Tell me about it,” Lu Shuangxing drawled, his languid, seductive eyes more bewitching than a woman’s.

“Don’t be disgusting, will you?” Ye Wu shot him a glare, but still recounted the secret: “She was eleven that year. She snuck into the Thousand Poisons Palace and kidnapped me, locked me in a dark room and stripped me naked, whipped me with a barbed lash dipped in itching powder, and finally threatened me with a cucumber—said she’d violate me with it.”

Lu Shuangxing stifled his laughter, trying to picture the scene. “Did she have a grudge against you?”

Ye Wu gave a wry chuckle. “No grudge. She said she was punishing me on behalf of the moon.”

“To abduct you from the Thousand Poisons Palace—she must have known the place inside out. I have to admire her.” As he spoke, Lu Shuangxing’s tone grew probing, but given their friendship, it was not out of line.

Ye Wu nodded, falling silent, lost in memories of that year…

Guided by the little white bear, Yu Youwei returned to the forest at the edge of the Clouded Wilderness Marsh and changed her clothes, preparing to seek out Ning Mofei.

“There are a lot of black shamans in the woods ahead—they got here fast. Hey, just hide by this pool—they can’t get in here. Why are you being stubborn? The little dullard won’t die!” The little white bear’s voice boomed in her mind, but Yu Youwei had already slipped away like a wraith. Like a lioness stalking her prey, she crept forward in silence. Directly ahead, two black shamans advanced cautiously.

Twin swords, one red, one blue, flashed forth. Two beams—one crimson, one azure—streaked through the air; both shamans fell dead, skulls pierced. Their screams echoed through the dense forest, followed by a flurry of footsteps as others rushed toward the scene. Guided by the little white bear, Yu Youwei quickly hid within a concealed array.

Soon, more than twenty black shamans gathered around the corpses. Among them stood the demon dragon Yao Chen, his complexion ashen, clearly still nursing serious wounds.

“The killer can’t have gone far. Search carefully!” Yao Chen ordered, and the black shamans fanned out. He pressed his hand to the dead shamans’ foreheads; the corpses shriveled and crumbled to dust. When both bodies had disintegrated, he gazed at the lingering black mist in his palm, his tone chilling. “The Ning clan idiot won’t escape me. The Soul Devourer is mine!”

Overhearing Yao Chen’s mutterings, the little white bear relayed to Yu Youwei, who was meditating nearby, “They’re after the Ning clan dullard. With the black shamans certain the Soul Devourer is on him, they’ll never stop hunting—like maggots on a corpse.”

Inside the array, starlight shimmered, in stark contrast to the fog-shrouded forest outside. Lying on the ground, Yu Youwei gazed up at the stars, her thoughts drifting to a former life.

When she was thirteen, Wen Tingyun gave “Willows by the River” as a topic, and she composed a poem with a single sweep of her brush:

Green willows stretch along the wasted shore,
Their misty forms reach distant towers;
Shadows spread across the autumn water,
Blossoms fall on the angler’s brow.
Old roots hide the fish’s lair,
Beneath the branches, a guest boat is moored;
On nights of wind and rain,
Troubled dreams breed fresh sorrow.

It was also Wen Tingyun who accompanied her on a visit to the Chongzhen Temple, where a group of newly appointed scholars were inscribing their names and verses on the temple walls. On a whim, she wrote:

Spring sunlight bathes the cloud-capped peaks,
Each sweeping stroke alive beneath my hand;
Alas, fine silks conceal my poetic fame,
I gaze up in vain envy at those named on the list.

It was this poem that caught the eye of Li Yi, whom she had both loved and hated. He was captivated by her talent; later, when they met at Wen Tingyun’s estate, he fell for her beauty as well.

Yet neither talent nor beauty could rival the power of Li Yi’s wife’s family. Her love was as illusory as a mirage. Realizing this, she could only sigh at how “rare is a true-hearted man, though treasures are easy to find,” and from then on viewed the world with indifference, leading a life of drunken abandon, half courtesan, half lost soul. All her talents reduced her to a mere plaything for men.

Those days of debauchery were an act of self-destruction, and in the end, she sent herself to the executioner’s block. She was only twenty-four, still in the prime of her life.

The mistakes of her past life would not be repeated in this one. Never again would she entrust her fate to any man. If others are the butchers, I refuse to be the meat!