Chapter 6

“Do you want to die?” A chilling voice whispered in her ear—Feng Qi’s.

The incident happened too quickly for anyone to react.

His grip was viciously strong, truly intent on choking Lin Sa Sa to death. Darkness clouded her vision as her breath hitched, each gasp a struggle. Amid the chaos, He Lan Ling was the first to snap into action, stepping forward to seize Feng Qi’s arm. “Let her go.”

Luo Shui Wei rushed over as well, her voice trembling. “A-Qi, please stop!”

Feng Qi seemed deaf to their pleas, his bloodshot eyes fixed unwaveringly on Lin Sa Sa. Though she couldn’t pry his fingers loose, fear abandoned her in that moment. Even as she was being strangled, she refused to back down, forcing out the words with difficulty: “If you… have the guts… choke me to death.”

If she died, he wouldn’t leave the Cloud Hermit Sect alive either.

Feng Qi, already teetering on the edge, couldn’t tolerate even the slightest provocation. The demonic rage within him surged uncontrollably, and his grip tightened further. “If you wish to die, I’ll oblige.”

“Ugh—”

Lin Sa Sa thought she heard the crack of her own neck. Pain blurred her consciousness.

Ding-ding, ding-ding—

The Book Spirit, as if sensing imminent danger, suddenly jingled violently in her ear.

Noise flooded her senses—voices overlapping, crashing into her ears. Someone was crying, someone was shouting Feng Qi’s name, and others were calling him insane.

“Feng Qi.”

Amid the chaos, a calm, clear voice cut through the clamor.

He Lan Ling’s fingers were pale and slender, his knuckles faintly tinged with blue as he exerted just enough pressure to seize Feng Qi’s arm. “I said, let her go.”

Though his grip appeared effortless, it sent sharp pain and numbness through Feng Qi’s arm, instantly sapping his strength. As Feng Qi’s arm dropped, He Lan Ling pulled Lin Sa Sa into his embrace with one arm, using his free hand to block Feng Qi’s next lunge.

“Restrain him!”

“Junior Brother, stop this madness—she’s the Cloud Hermit Sect’s young mistress!” The others finally snapped into action, grabbing Feng Qi’s arms, wrapping around his waist—anything to pin him down and prevent another attack.

Lin Sa Sa felt as though she’d been thrown off a cliff a second time.

Her face flushed crimson as she clutched her throat, coughing violently. Leaning against He Lan Ling, she gasped for air.

The immaculate elegance she’d adorned herself with earlier was now replaced by utter disarray. Hairpins littered the ground, her once-neat bun half-undone, long tresses cascading loose. Knowing she must look dreadful, Lin Sa Sa didn’t bother salvaging her appearance. She yanked out the remaining pins, letting her hair fall freely, stray strands clinging to her cheeks.

Pathetic—but she refused to lose her dignity.

As a girl who took immense pride in her beauty, Lin Sa Sa had always been meticulously put-together. Not even her father had seen her disheveled like this. Yet now, not only had someone witnessed it—it was an entire crowd.

Shrugging off He Lan Ling’s supporting hand, she straightened and adjusted her collar. Her waist-length hair swayed, releasing faint traces of fragrance.

Spine rigid, she stood alone, locking eyes with Feng Qi as he was restrained by the others. Her lips parted, delivering three icy words: “Little bastard.”

Even if her mother had abandoned her, she was still the daughter of the Cloud Hermit Sect’s leader—noble in lineage, impeccable in reputation, her conduct beyond reproach.

But what was Feng Qi, in the end?

The words “bastard” instantly dragged Feng Qi back to his days in the Feng family—when he was weak and insignificant, seemingly anyone could bully and curse him. Even his own mother, when drunk, would strangle him while laughing and sneering, “You unwanted bastard, why are you still alive?”

“What did you say?” Feng Qi plunged into darkness, barely able to distinguish whether he was back in the Feng household or still in the Cloud Hermit Sect.

Lin Sa Sa, as if oblivious to his danger, tilted her head slightly and smiled at him, her voice slow and deliberate. “I said, you’re an unwanted bastard.”

“I’ll kill you!” Feng Qi lost control again, his fury driving him to tear Lin Sa Sa apart.

Watching him seethe with rage, nearly deranged, Lin Sa Sa giggled instead. Even disheveled, she remained breathtakingly beautiful. At this moment, her lips curved into a smile, her bright eyes gleaming with a mad, ruthless edge—more striking than ever before.

Madness. Utter madness.

“Miss, please stop talking.”

“Just leave quickly. We can’t hold him back anymore.” So many people, yet none could restrain an enraged Feng Qi. It was unclear whether they were too useless or he was too terrifying.

A wise man knows when to retreat. Lin Sa Sa knew that if Feng Qi caught her again, she would truly die by his hands.

But leaving like this felt so unsatisfying.

Her slender fingers twirled a loose strand of hair as she added, “Look at you now, all flustered and furious—just like a mad dog with its tail stepped on.”

Why bother with a mad dog? It was beneath her.

With that, Lin Sa Sa turned and fled.

“……”

Looking back later, Lin Sa Sa realized how bold she had been.

This wasn’t their usual petty squabbles. She knew she had truly provoked Feng Qi this time. From now on, she would have to carry more defensive magical artifacts whenever she went out, guarding against his potential ambush.

So scary, QAQ.

Lin Sa Sa sniffled. Without the crowd watching, her proud, defiant demeanor faded, her sharp edges softening.

Too disheartened to fix her hair or clothes, she trudged like a little madwoman to Lin Fu Feng’s Bedchamber Palace. Had he been there, her appearance would have startled him, but he was already in seclusion. The vast palace stood empty, devoid of any human presence.

Passing the screen, Lin Sa Sa entered Lin Fu Feng’s study—a grand room with books lining three walls, while the fourth bore nothing but a single painting. She walked up to it, gazing upward as her eyes grew moist.

Like a wounded animal suppressing its whimpers, Lin Sa Sa held back before finally whispering, “Mother—”

Her soft voice, laced with vulnerability she rarely showed, murmured to herself, “When will you come back?”

The painting at the center of the wall, half a person’s height, was rendered on fine paper infused with Spiritual Power. It depicted a woman in plain robes holding medicinal herbs. A breeze slipped through the window, rustling the strands of hair on her forehead. The woman blinked at Lin Sa Sa from the painting, her gentle smile warm and tender.

Seeing her smile, Lin Sa Sa’s restless heart gradually calmed. “Please come back soon,” she pleaded quietly.

Were it not for this painting, Lin Sa Sa might have forgotten what her mother even looked like.

Reluctant to leave, she stared at the painting for a long time. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she exclaimed, “Mother, would you like to stay in my room for a few days?”

She thought that since Lin Fu Feng would be in seclusion for a long time, she might as well take the painting back to her own courtyard. That way, she could talk more with her mother.

Even though she knew the painting was merely an inanimate object infused with Spiritual Power, she still patiently asked, “If you blink, I’ll take it as your agreement.”

The woman in the painting repeated her earlier blinking motion, her gentle smile unchanged.

Good, then she would take it as her mother’s agreement!

Lin Sa Sa vigorously rubbed her hands on her sleeves, ensuring they were clean, before recalling the spell she had learned from books. She formed a hand seal, attempting to roll up the painting on the wall.

The first try—unsuccessful.

The second try—Spiritual Power flickered at her fingertips, but still no success.

Born with a damaged spiritual root, Lin Sa Sa was destined to face greater hardships on her cultivation path than others. In the past, she would have given up in frustration. But after the incident with Feng Qi, she resolved to force herself to practice spells. She didn’t aspire to reach her father’s heights, but at the very least, she wanted to protect herself—to prevent anyone from casually grabbing her by the neck.

Rise!

On the third try, Lin Sa Sa focused her mind and formed the seal, sensing the swirling currents of wind around her.

She succeeded!!

The scroll fluttered and swayed as it descended from the high wall toward her. But before she could rejoice, she noticed that behind the painting, where the wall should have been empty, hung another, much smaller painting.

The paper was yellowed, not made of any premium material. The woman in the painting wore a green robe and held a longsword. She stood sideways in the frame, her features somewhat blurred, yet unmistakably not her mother’s face.

Who was she?!

Lin Sa Sa stepped closer, sensing faint Spiritual Power fluctuations from the paper. The weak Spiritual Power was no longer enough to animate the image. Her heart pounded wildly as she trembled and formed another seal, channeling her own Spiritual Power into the painting. Slowly, the image came to life.

The woman’s green robe stirred slightly as she turned her profile toward the wind, her smile bright and carefree. She teased, “Fu Feng, come here quickly.”

This face, this face…

After clearly seeing the woman’s features, Lin Sa Sa staggered back in disbelief.

She hadn’t cried when those people slandered her mother. She hadn’t cried when Feng Qi taunted her for being motherless. Even when she was nearly strangled to death, she hadn’t shed a tear. But at the sight of this painting, her tears fell uncontrollably, like a broken string.

How could she describe what she felt at this moment? Was it the relief of a long-anticipated resolution, or the confusion and anger mingled with desperate hope?

The woman in the painting bore a sixty percent resemblance to Luo Shui Wei.

Lin Sa Sa returned to her quarters and fell ill.

Disciples in the sect whispered that she had fallen sick from Feng Qi’s provocation. Others claimed she was feigning illness to pressure the disciplinary elder into punishing Feng Qi severely.

In truth, Lin Sa Sa wasn’t exactly ill—just utterly drained, listless and weak.

She thought back to her childhood:

One ordinary day when she was four, her mother handed her a letter and asked her to deliver it to Lin Fu Feng.

“Why don’t you give it to him yourself, Mother?”

Her mother smiled tenderly, stroking Lin Sa Sa’s head. “Because Mother is going on a long journey. I’ll be away for a very, very long time…”

Back then, Lin Sa Sa was still young and didn’t understand many things. She didn’t know what was written in the letter, nor why Lin Fu Feng’s expression changed drastically after reading it. All she remembered was that after that, Lin Fu Feng disappeared for over half a month. When the elders finally brought him back, he wasn’t his usual pristine self. He held her silently for a long, long time.

At six years old, the sky was covered in a crimson glow. Just as the disciples of the Sect gripped their swords, ready for battle, Lin Fu Feng vanished again. Days later, he returned with a beautifully dressed young man who wore a gentle smile—He Lan Ling.

At eight, he disappeared once more without a word. Lin Sa Sa, furious, caused an uproar in the Sect, turning everything upside down. It was He Lan Ling who briefly managed to calm her down.

When she learned Lin Fu Feng had returned, she stormed over with a whip, seething with anger. But what she saw was Lin Fu Feng holding a young girl in his arms. The girl, wrapped in a gray cloak with a clean face, shrank closer to Lin Fu Feng when she saw Lin Sa Sa. Lin Fu Feng patted her shoulder reassuringly, and Lin Sa Sa heard him call her, “Wei’er.”

Half a year later, he left the Sect again and returned with Feng Qi.

How impressive.

Closing her eyes, Lin Sa Sa now understood why she had always resented Lin Fu Feng leaving the Cloud Hermit Sect. Turns out, her father had been out collecting characters from the story—male lead, female lead, male supporting role—gathering them all as his disciples.

And then, his own daughter ended up dying because of these three, becoming a laughingstock. What kind of father does that to his own child?

Lin Sa Sa drifted into a restless sleep, unable to suppress a cold snort even in her dreams. She deliberately avoided thinking about Lin Fu Feng’s hidden painting scroll, forcing herself not to dwell on its connection to Luo Shui Wei or the relationship between Luo Shui Wei and Lin Fu Feng.

But some things can’t be forgotten just because you wish to. At times like this, she wished she were dull-witted, forever oblivious to these dark truths.

A sudden coolness brushed the corner of her eye, as if someone had gently caressed it—something Lin Fu Feng often did. Half-asleep, her mind still foggy, she thought he had returned.

“Why are you here…?” she murmured weakly.

Seething with anger, she seized the opportunity to vent. Without opening her eyes, she grabbed the person’s hand and bit down hard. Her sharp little teeth pierced skin mercilessly, and she hit a ring on their finger with such force that it hurt.

Just as she winced in pain, she heard a low, mocking chuckle, the voice dark and unreadable. “Bite all you want. But if you damage this lord’s ring, the entire Cloud Hermit Sect will pay for it.”

Hearing that familiar voice, Lin Sa Sa’s awareness sharpened, and she slowly opened her eyes.

—

Author’s Note:

Glad to see everyone still loves the male lead. I was once worried Feng Qi might steal He Lan Ling’s spotlight.

Feng Qi: Already fuming. Don’t @ me.

Thanks to the little angels who threw grenades: Yu, Aspiring Youth, Niki-ryo (1 each);

Thanks for the nutrient solution: If Only It Were Like the First Meeting (5 bottles); Tearful Mist (1 bottle).