Return to Before the Villain’s Corruption

On the third day after the incident at the post station became public, Qiu Shi learned that Luo Ying had woken up.

At that time, Song Yunhe was busy arranging the birthday banquet in the main city. He was so swamped with work that he was at his wits' end. So he assigned the task of visiting an acquaintance to Qiu Shi, who was relatively idle. Afraid that Qiu Shi wouldn't be willing, he persuaded her, "After all, the person got into trouble in the main city. It's better to handle the matter properly to avoid being gossiped about."

Surprisingly, Qiu Shi readily agreed. Holding the token for entering and leaving the post station in the main city, she played with it between her fingers without even raising her eyes and said, "It's just right. Qin Donglin and Wu Fei are both in the main city. After I finish my business, I'll take them to the restaurant to try the newly - released pastries."

"Oh, you."

Song Yunhe stood upright, and when he shook his head with a smile, he looked as gentle as jade. "Don't always just focus on having fun. You should learn from others' strengths. Qin Donglin and Wu Fei both have high cultivation levels."

"Forget about Qin Donglin. I won't compare myself with him. Wu Fei's cultivation level isn't much higher than mine. He's only twelve places ahead of me on the Six Realms Combat Power Ranking."

Qiu Shi shrugged her slender shoulders, tossed the token in her hand into the air, and caught it before it hit the ground.

"Don't you know what happened that time? Others may not know, but you do. Wu Fei managed to stay among the top thirty on the Six Realms Ranking even after being injured. That's already a very good result."

Song Yunhe couldn't help but encourage Qiu Shi. "Naturally, you have excellent talent. With some effort, it's just a matter of time before you enter the top thirty."

"Brother, don't comfort me."

A complex look welled up in Qiu Shi's eyes like a pool of water. She spread out her palms. "With my current situation, not to mention moving forward, I'm not even sure if I can maintain my original ranking in the next Six Realms Battle."

Indeed, Qiu Shi, who was chosen by the Demonic Moon Zither, had unparalleled talent in the art of the zither. In the first ten thousand years when she started learning the score of the Demonic Moon Zither, even Song Yunhe couldn't match her. However, the score of the Demonic Moon Zither relied too much on the Demonic Moon Zither itself. As Qiu Shi grew older, her progress in understanding the score became slower and slower. Now, she was even facing the dilemma of having to learn other skills.

Song Yunhe sighed silently in his heart, reached out his hand to stroke the top of her head, and said, "It's okay. Your brother is here in the clan. Our little princess of the Sea Monster Clan just needs to be happy every day."

When Qiu Shi arrived at the post station, it was already late morning. The weather was nice that day. The warm sunlight shone down, making the glazed tiles on the roof of the post station glisten with colorful light. It also made Lu Jue, who was guarding the entrance of the post station, look brand - new.

Since the previous incident, Lu Jue had been keeping a close eye on the post station. As Song Chengshu's birthday was approaching, more and more people were staying at the post station. His nerves were getting more and more tense. He even gave up his days off and came here to guard in person, fearing that something unexpected might happen at the last moment.

During the days when Luo Ying was in seclusion for treatment, many people from the Celestial Clan had come one after another. Several elders wanted to take him back to the Celestial Clan, but considering his current condition, they thought he was not fit for the journey. So they had to wait anxiously for him to wake up on his own.

When Qiu Shi went upstairs to the second floor to see him, all those who wanted to see him had already done so. There were only Luo Ying and Mo Ruanruan in the room.

Qiu Shi knocked on the door with her fingers. Soon, Mo Ruanruan's nasal voice came from inside, "Come in."

She pushed the door open. When Mo Ruanruan saw it was her, she quickly reached out her hand to wipe the tears on her face randomly. Her eyes were red and swollen, looking a bit disheveled.

"Why is it that every time I see you, you're either about to cry or already crying?"

Qiu Shi twitched the corner of her mouth and took a few steps forward.

The room was filled with a strong and bitter smell of medicine. The window on the wall was half - opened. From time to time, a gentle breeze blew in, bringing the fragrance of a kind of white flower under the corner. Mo Ruanruan was sitting on a small stool beside the bed, guarding him closely.

The man on the couch, half - sitting up against the soft pillow, had his black hair scattered like ink. His face was extremely pale, like a patient who hadn't seen the sun for a long time. His lips were bloodless and chapped with some peeling skin. It was a weak look that Qiu Shi had never seen before.

Qiu Shi didn't have a good impression of this young fairy king of the Celestial Clan, but since he was a guest, she still knew how to be polite.

"How is he?"

Qiu Shi asked Mo Ruanruan, who was guarding beside him.

"The elders have come to check. His condition has stabilized. His injuries aren't serious. He'll recover after a period of good conditioning with spiritual herbs."

It was rare for the two of them to talk so calmly. Mo Ruanruan answered vaguely, obviously hiding something.

After all, the timing of Luo Ying's injury was too coincidental. The Luyuan Secret Realm was about to open. Once he was injured, the top combat power of the Celestial Clan was not what it used to be.

The Monster Clan and the Celestial Clan were always in a competitive relationship wherever they went. Revealing information to the enemy was giving them an opportunity.

Qiu Shi nodded indifferently and said, "Then you should stay in the post station to recuperate during this period. If you need anything, just let the Flying Fish Guards outside know."

"Thank you."

Luo ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‍Ying slowly nodded in her direction, his voice hoarse.

"How is Cheng Yi? Is his injury serious?"

Qiu Shi pulled a chair for herself and sat down, then asked about another person who was seriously injured in this accident.

Mo Ruanruan stretched out her finger and pointed to the next room, saying, "He's been arranged in the compartment. Yun Xuan just went to check on him. He hasn't woken up yet, but he's out of danger."

"He was already seriously injured. In such a situation, he still managed to break into Luo Ying's Minor Thunder Realm to save someone and survived a direct strike."

Qiu Shi closed her eyes, imagining the scene at that time. After a while, she came to a conclusion: "That spiritual treasure of his is really remarkable."

"I've sent someone to investigate Cheng Yi's background," Mo Ruanruan frowned slightly and continued, "His biological father is the second elder of the Black Dragon Clan, but he didn't have a good life since childhood. The clan members always excluded him for some reason, and even his father never showed him any kindness."

"It's very strange," Mo Ruanruan glanced at Qiu Shi, "The elder said that he has good talent and his cultivation is not bad. For such a promising young man who is also his own flesh and blood, why doesn't his father like him?"

What Qiu Shi could find out, Mo Ruanruan could also find out. Qiu Shi had heard this kind of talk from Chong Ying once before.

"Can't you find out the reason?"

Qiu Shi asked rhetorically, "The Black Dragon Clan has defected from the Monster Race and now depends on the Celestial Race, serving as their vassals. If you really want to investigate, would they not tell you the reason?"

"They only said that Cheng Yi is naturally withdrawn and doesn't like to interact with others. Over time, the clan members also didn't want to play with him."

This explanation was full of loopholes, but since the Black Dragon Clan insisted on this statement, Mo Ruanruan couldn't force them to give a reasonable explanation. She had to listen to all these true and false words and then make her own judgment.

"Do you think it's just a coincidence?"

After a while, Mo Ruanruan said, "I've carefully thought about the situation that day. Luo Ying's loss of control was sudden, and even he himself didn't have any premonition. Even if Cheng Yi had great abilities, he couldn't have predicted all this and deliberately waited there, risking his own life to gain my gratitude for saving me, could he?"

"And what you mentioned about the Baiyun Mountain incident happened ten thousand years ago. How old was Cheng Yi at that time?"

If he had such scheming and calculation skills at that time, how terrifying would that be?

Just thinking about it made one's hair stand on end.

"Moreover,"

Mo Ruanruan analyzed seriously one by one, "If he had known your identity earlier, during your convalescence, he clearly had countless opportunities to expose you. Why did he pretend to be ignorant and let you leave without even telling you his name?"

Qiu Shi tapped her forehead. After a moment, she sighed softly and had to admit that what Mo Ruanruan said made sense. "If it weren't for this, I would have made him pay the price long ago."

"What are you going to do with him?" Qiu Shi asked.

"Let's wait until he wakes up. Let's see what he wants. As long as his request isn't too excessive, I'll agree to it."

Qiu Shi thought for a moment and took out a small box from her spatial ring. She picked open the small lock on the box, and a strange and exotic fragrance quickly filled the whole room. Two red pills were lying quietly in the center of the black box. The pills were round, covered with a faint spiritual light. On closer inspection, countless golden lotuses were falling in the light rain, which showed that they were extraordinary.

"This,"

Qiu Shi closed the box and pushed it towards Mo Ruanruan's hand. "Please give this to Cheng Yi for me."

Mo Ruanruan didn't take it immediately. Instead, she looked at Qiu Shi for a while and asked curiously, "He's just next door. You can give it to him in person. Why do you want me to do it?"

Qiu Shi leaned back against the chair, smiling faintly. "I've been tricked once. Do you think I'll fall for it again?"

"There are many people in the post - station, and it's easy to spread rumors. Who knows what kind of rumors the Celestial Race will spread this time? I've just been released from house arrest and don't want to cause any more trouble."

Mo Ruanruan pursed her lips. After a while, she still reached out and took the box.

"If you want to see him, go ahead,"

"Half of the second floor of the post - station is occupied by the Celestial Race people. Without my order, no one dares to talk nonsense."

Mo Ruanruan's voice was soft and milky. No matter how imposing the words were, they lost all their deterrence when spoken in such a tone.

Qiu Shi was very beautiful, with a frail and sickly kind of beauty. She was delicate and charming, looking extremely gentle. When her two slender eyebrows frowned, she resembled Xi Shi holding her heart.

When she smiled, she was like a sunflower blooming towards the sun, warm and lovely, making people's eyes involuntarily follow her.

"Mo Ruanruan, you are really—" Qiu Shi's gaze stopped on her small fleshy hand holding the box, and the smile in her voice couldn't be hidden. "So silly."

Looking at her for a long time, she even seemed a bit cute.

Hearing this, Mo Ruanruan subconsciously pulled Luo Ying's sleeve with a look of grievance.

"Alright,"

Luo Ying was still recuperating. Qiu Shi didn't forget that she came to visit the patient and didn't want to have any conflicts with them. "Just give him the thing. I won't go there myself."

"Qin Donglin has a bad temper. If I go to see him with the aura of the Black Dragon all over me, I won't be able to see a good look on his face for the next few days."

Qiu Shi was always able to accurately gauge what Qin Donglin was thinking in this regard. Based on this, she could imagine his subsequent facial expressions, moods, and the number of days he would give her the cold shoulder.

"I won't say more. You have a good rest. The Luyuan Secret Realm is about to open. Judging from the current situation, your Celestial Clan doesn't have an advantage."

Qiu Shi pulled out the chair, stood up, and walked towards the door. Her dress fluttered, and her back looked slender.

Suddenly, her steps paused slightly. It was as if the world was spinning before her eyes. The strength in her body drained away like flowing water. Her heart felt as if it was being tightly squeezed by a big hand, and there was a feeling of broken glass shards with every breath.

Suddenly, her fingers grasped the door frame. The slender bones of her fingers instantly turned blue and pale from the force.

In just a moment, the sunlight outside and the furnishings of the post - station quickly faded from her sight.

Qiu Shi seemed to be forcefully pulled into a certain dream or someone's memory.

In the main hall of the Heavenly Palace, Mo Ruanruan had shed her youthful innocence and naivete. She was wearing a phoenix robe and sitting high on the Cloud - Crane Platform. In front of her were all the court officials in the hall, prostrating on the ground in a posture of absolute submission to the emperor. Luo Ying, as the leader of the court officials, knelt on one knee, wearing golden armor and a black robe, but there was an empty section of armor on his left arm.

The only person standing was Cheng Yi, who stood beside Mo Ruanruan, wearing the same - colored clothes as her. His profile was handsome, with a gentle smile, still as pure as snow.

After the court officials finished their salute and stood up, Cheng Yi reached out his hand to Mo Ruanruan, his voice clear and mellow: "Ruanruan, let's go."

No, it wasn't just this scene.

There was also Qiu Shi herself.

In the secret realm filled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, warm blood exploded before her eyes. Another Qiu Shi continuously urged the dagger in her hand, dealing with the charging black shadows from all kinds of tricky angles.

It seemed that she had stopped practicing the zither art. Her small face was stained with blood and sweat, and her hair stuck softly to her forehead. She looked extremely disheveled.

There was no Song Yunhe, no Qin Donglin, and no Wu Fei by her side.

There was only her and Cheng Yi, who was cornered.

She thought she was going to die.

But she didn't.

A blinding sword light slashed from behind, grazing her left ear and dispelling the black shadows in front of her. Qin Donglin wielded the Posa Sword to its fullest potential.

After surviving such a disaster, when Qiu Shi saw Qin Donglin, for the first time, she didn't rush forward and sob. Instead, she sat far away from him, slumped beside Cheng Yi, not even raising her head a second time.

Not only was she extremely cold - hearted, but Qin Donglin also didn't even glance in her direction. After ordering someone to count the number of demons in the distance, he simply stepped past her.

It was as if they had never had any intersection, not even half a word exchanged.

How had they become so estranged?

Time flew by and reversed at a speed that Qiu Shi couldn't accept, and then returned to normal. She gasped heavily. It felt as if a sharp needle had stabbed her heart several times. She could hear her own heartbeat, one after another, beating so fast that it was completely out of control.

"Qiu Shi?"

There was the sound of a chair moving behind her. Mo Ruanruan walked towards her: "What's wrong with you?"

Qiu Shi took a deep breath. She reached out and wiped her face. Stumbling a bit, she stepped out of the threshold.

"I'm fine. I just remembered some things."

Not wanting to say more, she directly stepped into the spatial rift and disappeared from the spot.

She had to go and see Qin Donglin.

Now.

Immediately.