Ch. 47
47: True Form Revealed
After the sect's founding ceremony, the disciples on Cangqiong Peak treated Fu Peibai with unusual warmth, calling her "Brother Fu" with great affection and ease.
However, two people still treated Fu Peibai with cold hostility as always, even snorting contemptuously whenever they passed by her. These two were Mo Qingyuan and He Cong.
Fu Peibai could not be bothered with them. Fortunately, they did not actively cause any trouble.
Before long, June arrived. The entire Cangqiong Peak was immersed in a tense, oppressive atmosphere. The reason was simple: the outer disciples were about to face their first major examination since joining the sect.
It was the inner disciple examination. Those who passed could advance to serve under the various peak masters or even the Sect Master himself, their futures bright and promising. Those who failed would have to remain on Cangqiong Peak, training day after day under immense physical and mental pressure. Thus, everyone was working hard to prepare for this examination.
Fu Peibai was no exception. In fact, she trained even harder than most. Every day she practiced martial arts with single-minded devotion, forgetting to eat or sleep. At the same time, she made a surprising discovery: her internal energy grew deeper and more profound as she cultivated the technique Meng Yan had given her.
She could now perform a complete set of Complete Body Boxing and Heavenly Pole Sword techniques without any effort. Her meridians felt alive and active, and her dantian seemed to hold an inexhaustible reserve of internal energy. She had a vague understanding of why this was happening. Most likely, the yang-attributed internal cultivation she practiced was conflicting with the medicine Old Man Wen had given her back then.
But right now, she needed this power to pass the inner disciple examination. She had to cultivate as quickly as possible, descend the mountain, and find the demon Shi Qinghan to exact her revenge. Even if it meant taking risks, she would not hesitate.
……
Night fell. The moon shone bright and stars were sparse. It was past midnight, and dawn would bring the Heavenly Pole Sect's annual inner disciple examination.
Fu Peibai had retired early today to rest and conserve her energy for the big test. Little did she know that two suspicious figures had appeared outside her door.
One of them wore a treacherous expression. It was Mo Qingyuan. He tugged at He Cong, who stood straight as a rod beside him, and lowered his voice. "Brother He, be careful. Standing like that, are you trying to make sure everyone notices us?"
He Cong glanced at him, his eyes filled with contempt. He found Mo Qingyuan's behavior dishonorable, but he truly did not want Fu Peibai to have an easy time of it. That was why he had agreed when Mo Qingyuan approached him with a plan to ensure Fu Peibai could not pass the inner disciple examination. He had not realized it would be such an underhanded method, but now that things had come to this, he could not simply back out.
Mo Qingyuan pulled a thin bamboo tube from his bosom, punctured the paper window, and slowly blew sedative smoke into the room.
After a while, he pushed open the door and entered. Although Fu Peibai and Xie Jingming had already fallen unconscious from the incense, Mo Qingyuan still hunched his body and crept forward like a common thief.
He Cong strode across the threshold. Seeing Mo Qingyuan behave this way filled him with even more disgust. He kicked Mo Qingyuan in the buttocks, sending him stumbling onto the table. The chair scraped against the floor with a harsh screech.
Mo Qingyuan turned his head in anger and hissed, "What are you doing! You agreed to this yourself. Who are you putting on this righteous act for now?"
He Cong also snarled, "You!"
"Enough, we are in this together now. If you do not want to be discovered, do not make any noise! Go keep watch outside. I will come out when I am done."
He Cong said coldly, "Do not kill anyone."
"I know that! As if I need you to tell me!"
He Cong snorted and left the room.
Mo Qingyuan made his way to Fu Peibai's bedside in the dark. He looked at the sleeping young man, and his gaze grew more sinister.
He took out two black pills from his bosom, pried open Fu Peibai's mouth, and shoved them in without ceremony. He smiled viciously. "Eat up. Once you do, you will sleep peacefully for a day."
Then he produced a flask of strong liquor and poured it forcefully into Fu Peibai's mouth. He also drenched her clothes and face with the wine. After all this, Fu Peibai appeared to be someone who had drunk herself into a stupor, which would make missing the examination seem perfectly natural.
Mo Qingyuan was quite satisfied with his work. He admired his handiwork and was about to leave when he decided he might as well vent some personal grudges while he had the chance. He pulled back his sleeve, preparing to slap Fu Peibai hard across the face. But as his hand swept past the tip of her nose, his movement suddenly stopped.
His eyes went wide. His hand trembled. He extended two fingers to check the breath of the person on the bed. There was nothing at all. Terror seized him. He stumbled back two steps and fell to the ground.
He Cong heard the noise from outside and entered with an unhappy expression. "Did I not say not to make any noise? What are you doing?"
Mo Qingyuan pointed at Fu Peibai in panic. "He, he is dead..."
"What?"
He Cong strode forward and checked Fu Peibai's breath. Indeed, there was nothing. He pressed his fingers against Fu Peibai's neck. No pulse either.
His expression turned grave. He turned his head and demanded, "What exactly did you do?"
Mo Qingyuan was terrified out of his wits. He stammered, "I just gave him, gave him two pills to make him sleep, and then poured some wine on him. He could not, could not have just died like that."
He Cong glared at him furiously, then looked at Fu Peibai. His mind raced. Then he hoisted Fu Peibai onto his back. "Let's go."
"Go, go where?"
"Less talk. If you do not want to be discovered, follow me."
Mo Qingyuan scrambled to his feet, his legs weak, and followed behind He Cong.
The two quickly left the room. Outside, all was quiet. No one was around.
He Cong carried Fu Peibai and hurried toward the back mountain of Cangqiong Peak.
Two figures soon made their way along a winding path to a large lake at the back mountain. He Cong set Fu Peibai down and ordered Mo Qingyuan, "Go find a big rock. The bigger, the better."
Mo Qingyuan vaguely understood He Cong's intention. He nodded repeatedly and went into the woods to fetch an enormous stone.
He Cong hastily stripped off Fu Peibai's outer robe. In his panic, he failed to notice that Fu Peibai, clad only in her thin undergarments, had a chest that was not entirely flat.
He tore the clothes into long strips of cloth. He tied one end to the boulder and the other around Fu Peibai's waist. Then he pushed Fu Peibai into the water first, followed by the massive stone.
The calm surface of the lake rippled for a moment, then settled back into stillness. The night was dark and the wind rose. A breeze drifted across the unruffled lake, as if nothing had ever happened.
He Cong let out a breath. He fixed Mo Qingyuan with a ruthless stare. "You and I were never here tonight. We know nothing. Remember that?"
"I remember, I remember."
"Let's go."
Two dark shadows soon vanished along the forest path. Moments after they left, another shadow emerged from the dense darkness.
It was Wei Xiao. He gazed at the dark pool for a moment, hesitated briefly, then used his lightness skill to fly toward Chaoquan Peak.
He stood before a cliff and whistled a melodious tune that sounded like a wolf's howl.
Before long, a white figure drifted gracefully toward him.
Lu Yanran wore only a thin sleeping robe. Her face showed clear signs of exhaustion; she had obviously been asleep. A trace of impatience showed on her features as she spoke coldly, "Did I not tell you not to come to Chaoquan?"
"This is an emergency, Peak Master. Fu Peibai has been killed."
Lu Yanran was instantly wide awake. Her voice rose involuntarily. "What?"
"During the day, I saw He Cong and Mo Qingyuan conspiring suspiciously together. So tonight I kept watch and followed them. Just now, I saw those two carry Fu Peibai out of his room and throw him into the lake at Cangqiong's back mountain."
"Why did you not save him first!" After that furious shout, the woman had already flown away.
Wei Xiao stood there frozen, his expression somewhat innocent.
"This subordinate... this subordinate does not know how to swim..."
……
Lu Yanran used her lightness skill to rush toward Cangqiong's back mountain. The night wind whistled past her ears, and her palms grew damp with sweat.
Faster, even faster... she repeated in her mind. She pushed off with her feet, becoming almost a white streak shooting through the forest.
Before long, she arrived at the lakeside on Cangqiong's back mountain. Without the slightest hesitation, she plunged into the water.
The lake water was bone-chillingly cold, but it was nothing compared to the dread in her heart. She held her breath and opened her eyes. After a brief moment of discomfort, she swam toward the bottom.
The depths were dark and deep. She searched for a while before spotting a hazy silhouette. She swam over quickly and could see clearly now. The dark figure was indeed Fu Peibai. A dead knot was tied around her waist, connected to a massive stone on the other end.
For the first time in her life, she felt such panic. Her attempts to untie the rope were clumsy and frantic. She tried to tear the cloth strips apart with brute force, but the more panicked she became, the harder it was to undo them. Her lips parted slightly, and a stream of bubbles escaped.
She forced herself to calm down. Her fingers trembled as she finally, shakily, undid the cloth strips. She wrapped her arm around Fu Peibai's waist and swam toward the surface with the unconscious figure.
The surface of the lake rippled once more. Two figures broke through the water. Lu Yanran gasped for air, dragged Fu Peibai to the shore, and pulled her onto the bank.
She did not rest. She leaned over Fu Peibai to check her breath, but her fingers felt nothing. She quickly pressed against Fu Peibai's neck. Silence there as well.
She took a deep breath and pressed her ear against Fu Peibai's chest. Only then did a faint beating sound reach her ears. Her clenched fist suddenly relaxed, and the dread in her heart finally settled.
But as she calmed down, she noticed something strange. She looked up suspiciously at Fu Peibai's chest. The slight swell of her breasts, along with the soft sensation she had just felt against her cheek, all revealed the truth: this person was a woman.
Her eyes flew open in shock. She stared in disbelief at the unconscious figure on the ground.
Why Fu Peibai had been so resistant to seeing a physician, why she always bathed alone deep in the night... everything now made sense.
After a long while, the shock on her face slowly faded. She thought of everything Fu Peibai had endured. No complaints, no laments, no retreat. If she had been born a man, her character and spirit would have surpassed most people. And here she was, merely a young woman, using this slender body to make her way step by step to where she was now...
The lake shimmered with ripples, just like her heart at this moment. After another long while, a soft sigh escaped her lips. The night breeze carried away her tangled thoughts. She hoisted Fu Peibai onto her back and used her lightness skill to return to Chaoquan Peak.
She brought Fu Peibai to an extremely hidden cave and laid her on a stone bed. She channeled her internal energy to dry the clothes on Fu Peibai's body. Then she went to the back mountain and knocked on Yun Ruoling's door.
A moment later, Yun Ruoling opened the door wrapped in an outer robe. Seeing Lu Yanran with wet hair plastered to her face and soaked clothes, she asked in surprise, "Peak Master, what happened to you?"
Lu Yanran's expression was grave. "Come with me first."
Yun Ruoling's drowsiness vanished completely. She did not waste time with questions but tightened her robe and followed Lu Yanran into the night.
When they arrived at the secret cave and saw Fu Peibai on the stone bed, Yun Ruoling was even more shocked. "Peak Master, Little Bai is..."
"She had an accident. I cannot detect her breath, nor her pulse. Only a faint heartbeat remains. Examine her quickly."
Yun Ruoling asked no more questions. With a solemn expression, she took Fu Peibai's pulse. After a while, she withdrew her hand and said, "Little Bai's pulse is weak. There seem to be two energies, one cold and one hot, rushing wildly through her body. This has happened to her before, but it appears more severe now. The conflict between cold and heat in her body must be resolved with external intervention to help her stabilize."
Lu Yanran nodded. "Help her sit up."
Yun Ruoling did as she was told and propped Fu Peibai up so she sat unsteadily.
Lu Yanran climbed onto the stone bed, sat cross-legged, and pressed both palms against Fu Peibai's back. She slowly closed her eyes.