74 - Confession (Ying Cheng)

### Chapter 74: The Jade Platform Yan Jue opened her eyes again to find it was the middle of the night. She was still nestled in a tender embrace. Qi Xianqing continued to hold her from behind, breathing evenly. Her arms, draped at her side, were pale as porcelain, with veins subtly visible beneath the surface. Qi Xianqing's most vulnerable neckline was exposed to Yan Jue, the sweet fragrance of her celestial spirit lingering in the air. A mere gentle bite and Yan Jue could easily pierce her blood vessels. Yan Jue hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out with a paw, dark and furry, to lightly rest on Qi Xianqing's shoulder, just as she had done in the past. She attempted to wiggle free from the girl's overly soft embrace, but Qi Xianqing, eyes closed as if completely unaware, only tightened her grip. This had never happened before! Usually, when Yan Jue awoke at night, Qi Xianqing wouldn’t hold her this tightly! The little fox grimaced, twisting frantically within Qi Xianqing's arms, eventually wriggling free. Qi Xianqing lay on her side, her body slightly curled, arms empty. Yan Jue stared at her for a while and felt a sudden pang of guilt. Biting into a nearby pillow, she tucked it into Qi Xianqing's arms, then scampered away. As her footsteps faded, Qi Xianqing slowly opened her eyes in the darkness, frowning slightly. --- Due to the overwhelming number of participants at this year's Five Dragons Summit, the second round of the competition couldn't be completed in a single day. Thus, Yan Jue found herself sleeping in until the sun was high in the sky the next day, freed from having to attend the competition at the Five Dragon Square. In the morning, she awoke to see the warm sunlight pooling by the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly spotted a paper on the desk. It was a short note, probably delivered by an immortal crane in the early morning. Squinting, Yan Jue picked up the note and unfolded it. Duan Luxi: Dear Sister Yan, the match-up results for the next round just came out. I'm pitted against you! It's out already? Staring at the words for a while, Yan Jue let out a wry smile. Duan Luxi was formidable, and more importantly, well-read. Facing off against Duan Luxi would be quite a challenge. Yan Jue continued reading. Duan Luxi: Last night during meditation, I noticed an unusual spiritual power fluctuation within me. This morning, I found I had advanced to the early stages of the Fusion Realm. Yan Jue: "..." Duan Luxi: Sorry, I just advanced and now I'm up against you. To celebrate my breakthrough, I'm planning to go to the Jade Platform later to place a bet on myself to win, and earn a hefty sum. Sorry, Sister Yan! We know each other so well. Yan Jue: "..." Fine, you win. Fretting for a moment, Yan Jue closed her eyes again, intending to return to sleep. Suddenly, she heard light footsteps moving from the mountainside outside the window. A white fox leapt up onto the windowsill: "Master, something's happened!" Unlike its usual gentle demeanor, it bared its teeth, an urgent expression on its face. Startled, Yan Jue sat up: "What happened?" Bai Ying: "The little wild boar was caught!" This was the downside of forming a master-servant contract; if the beast got into trouble outside, the owner had to clean up the mess. Yan Jue's expression turned serious, and she asked, "Who caught it? Explain." Bai Ying: "The boar somehow ended up at the Mu Yin Sect, stealing some pills from the Spirit Beast Hall. The Spirit Beast Hall intended to kill it immediately but noticed its contract mark. It is temporarily detained, waiting for the owner to claim it." Embarrassed, Yan Jue realized that despite only a few days as its owner, the little wild boar was already causing trouble. --- When Yan Jue arrived at the Mu Yin Sect Spirit Beast Hall, Zhu He was confined within a cage. The petite girl sat in the iron cage, clad in a water-blue long robe and a cape woven from dry reeds. Her arm was wrapped, revealing a patch of pale skin marked with lash scars. The Spirit Beast Hall managed the food for the spiritual beasts of the Five Dragon Mountain. Primarily, it provided for the rare divine beasts, like the qilin and horned tiger. Being a disciple of the Spirit Beast Hall meant a worry-free life with a steady monthly allowance, and a leisurely lifestyle. The surrounding area was noisy, with some playing mahjong, and others engaged in a game of chess. As soon as Yan Jue walked into the Spirit Beast Hall, she saw a dazzling woman at the mahjong table, playing her hand. "Miss Bai, let's drop by the Jade Platform again this afternoon, shall we?" The woman replied, "Bet, bet, bet, you've lost all your money just a few days ago." The moment Zhu He saw Yan Jue, she stood up, making a humming sound. Upon hearing Zhu He's voice, everyone burst out laughing. "What's funny, is she a pig or a person, can't even speak." "Who knows where this dumb demon came from, failed her transformation, I guess." "The demon is stupid, the owner is stupider, even daring to covet the Spirit Beast Hall’s feed." Maintaining her composure, Yan Jue walked over and said, "Fellow Daoists, this is my beast, I’m here to take her back, please." "So easy to take back, is it?" came a sudden tinkling laughter from the side. Yan Jue turned her head. There stood the woman she had first noticed, suddenly risen from her seat at the mahjong table. She wore a slender, bean-green filigree dress and styled her hair in a single spiral knot, looking delicate and graceful. Laughter erupted around her: "Miss Bai." Bai Chuli looked at Yan Jue: "You can take her, but first, compensate us for the pill she ate." Yan Jue asked plainly, "What kind of pill did she consume?" Bai Chuli: "One Xuan Beast Bloodline Pill, a thousand top-grade spiritual stones." Before she finished speaking, Yan Jue was shocked. This was extortion! Her recent selling of heavenly materials at the Su Yang Immortal Mansion had fetched only five thousand top-grade spiritual stones. Yan Jue: "A single Xuan Beast Bloodline Pill is this expensive?" Bai Chuli: "You may not be aware but the Xuan Beast Bloodline Pill is made from the rarest of Xuan Blood Grass and essence of beast bloodline, specifically used for feeding the Five Dragon Mountain’s qilin. Even just one pill is incredibly costly. What merit does your pig demon have to eat such precious beast feed?" Yan Jue sought to avoid trouble, especially since the fault lay with the little wild boar. So, she pulled a thousand faintly glowing, top-grade spiritual stones from her spatial bag and handed them to Bai Chuli. Bai Chuli snorted, delivering a harsh kick to Zhu He's cage with her jade foot. The iron cage rattled, and Zhu He whimpered after hitting her head, but then the cage door swung open. ... Yan Jue brought Zhu He back to Shuiyun Sect. Along the way, Zhu He kept glancing at Yan Jue with timid eyes, afraid of being scolded. Back at the Shuiyun Sect courtyard, Yan Jue inspected the wounds on Zhu He’s arms. Fortunately, the lash marks were superficial. Yan Jue said, "No more stealing others' things in the future, understand?" Zhu He whimpered meekly, "Strolling, fragrance." Yan Jue then realized what Zhu He meant. Zhu He, while wandering, happened to pass by Mu Yin Sect's Spirit Beast Hall. As it was a sunny day, the Spirit Beast Hall opted to air their pills in the courtyard. Zhu He, drawn by the fragrant pills, couldn’t resist hopping over the fence to consume a few. And that’s exactly why forming a master-servant contract with a newly transformed wild boar is necessary. Freshly transformed creatures are naturally inclined towards humans and remain oblivious to the intricacies of human nature. Such naivety could easily cause mishaps. Luckily, she had previously established a master-servant contract with Zhu He, otherwise, the pricey pill consumption might have led to a severe outcome for the wild boar in the Spirit Beast Hall. Yan Jue instructed, "When you're hungry, seek out Meng Hengjun, alright?" Zhu He replied, "Now." Yan Jue: "Huh? Are you hungry right now?" Zhu He nodded, wearing a [commendably] pitiful expression. Yan Jue waved her off, "Just remember, don’t venture near the Spirit Beast Hall again. If you're hungry now, visit Meng Hengjun. She should still be at the chilly pond. And remember, don’t mention that I sent you." Obediently nodding, Zhu He quickly ran off. Finally, Yan Jue was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Rather than returning to her room, she made her way to the Library Pavilion. The Library Pavilion was the same as always, ancient and imposing. Sunbeams trickled through the window, and rows of towering bookshelves stood tall all around. The shelves were filled with books bound with string, slightly yellowed by time, while fragrant incense smoke lingered in the air. During the Five Dragons Summit, the Library Pavilion was deserted; only the sound of her footsteps echoed in the stillness. Leisurely, Yan Jue entered, making her way to the shelves holding books on pills, and pulled one out. After a stick of incense’s worth of time. Yan Jue closed the book, her expression darkened. Earlier, in the Spirit Beast Hall, because she wasn’t well-versed about the "Xuan Beast Bloodline Pill," she couldn’t counter argue the price. Though valuable, a Xuan Beast Bloodline Pill couldn’t possibly be worth a thousand top-grade spiritual stones. She needed to recover this thousand-spiritual stone loss somehow. ... But how? Frowning in thought for a time, Yan Jue's eyes suddenly widened. This morning she had received Duan Luxi’s note. What did it say again? Duan Luxi mentioned advancing to the Fusion Realm and was confident of victory, so she planned to visit the Jade Platform to place a small bet on their matchup. Earlier at the Spirit Beast Hall, she overheard Bai Chuli talking about going to the Jade Platform while playing mahjong... Yan Jue had already devised a plan. --- On the second day of the Five Dragons Summit, the Jade Platform on the Five Dragon Mountain was second only to the Five Dragon Square in terms of excitement. During every summit, this place hosted various betting activities. The betting rules were simple and generally involved predicting the outcomes of matches. At noon, the makeshift betting stalls bustling with noise were set up, drawing quite the crowd. "The afternoon brings the next round of competitions, let's see who you think will win!" Bai Chuli, stretching her legs lazily, sat in a chair, eyes lazily resting on the glimmering spiritual stones on the platform, her lips curling into a smirk. These stones had been swindled from that foolish Shuiyun Sect disciple just earlier. Bai Chuli was the illustrious second lady of the Dinghai Bai family. She had been sent to Five Dragon Mountain at a young age, serving in the Mu Yin Sect's Spirit Beast Hall for over a decade, recently facing a problem. Her spiritual stones were running short. Despite the Bai family belonging to the Four Great Clans, providing a handsome monthly stipend... She had wagered heavily during the first match of the summit, betting on Yan Jue to lose. And she lost everything. At first, Bai Chuli was distraught; how could a woman of her standing run out of money? Until this morning, when she caught the boar that had come to the Spirit Beast Hall to steal pills. Heh heh heh. Perhaps it was fate; the useless Yan Jue from Shuiyun Sect made her lose everything, then came back and handed all those spiritual stones to her. “Come place your bets! Will Yan Jue lose in the next round?” A youthful man stood up: "Miss Bai, we've analyzed it thoroughly." Bai Chuli looked up at him indifferently: "Speak." The young man replied, "The reason Yan Jue won the first two matches was solely because she practiced a concealment technique, misleading everyone into thinking she was a mere Foundation Establishment Stage novice." "In the first two matches, Ke Shuang, Qin Ying, and even Wei fell for her trick, underestimating her." "Yan Jue’s true cultivation level is likely at the peak of the Enlightenment Stage!" Bai Chuli retorted, "Why couldn’t she be at the Fusion Stage?" Young man: "Our sect’s only two Fusion Stage disciples are Qi Xianqing from the Zhenhuo Sect and Yun Rang from the Qidun Sect, both prodigies from childhood." "Do you really think a nobody like Yan Jue, who spent a year struggling in the mountains at Foundation Establishment, could have suddenly caught up to those two in just over a year?" Bai Chuli pondered: "You have a point." The young man pulled a roster from his sleeve: "Miss Bai, here's the roster for this afternoon's sect competition." Bai Chuli paused, slightly surprised. The young man continued, "The lineup for the afternoon match is already set." "Yan Jue will face Mu Yin Sect's Duan Luxi!" "As far as I know, Sister Duan is exceptionally gifted in cultivation and just broke through to the Fusion Stage yesterday!" Bai Chuli abruptly slammed the table, standing up: "The disparity between major realms is vast, suggesting that this afternoon's match would likely end in Sister Duan’s victory!" In this world, major realms progress from Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Enlightenment, to Fusion, and so on... While minor realms consist of early, middle, late, and peak stages within each major realm. Bai Chuli was not mistaken; major realms differ greatly despite seemingly being just one step apart. Apart from rare talents like Qi Xianqing, who could defeat foes across realms... Almost nobody else had that kind of potential. In a flash, Bai Chuli's eyes lit up, and the world seemed to clear around her. Yan Jue was at the Enlightenment Stage, while Sister Duan had already transcended to the Fusion Stage. The gap was clear. Those thousands of top-grade spiritual stones she lost seemed to beckon to her from afar… "Place it all! Bet everything here!" Bai Chuli placed all her remaining thousand top-grade spiritual stones on the betting table. Everyone paused in shock. "I heard Miss Bai lost a huge amount in the first-round matches… this must be her final savings." "If Miss Bai’s staking her last reserves, it must be a sure bet. I’ll follow her lead." Though Yan Jue had won twice by luck, it was only by leveraging the underestimated martial arts techniques to achieve unexpected victories. Those who lost to Yan Jue were simply unfamiliar with martial arts techniques… Yet for this afternoon's round, Yan Jue’s opponent was Sister Duan Luxi… Sister Duan Luxi had reached a Fusion Stage level. She should easily overpower Yan Jue. Moreover, Sister Duan excelled academically and possessed vast knowledge. She wouldn’t lose to Yan Jue! Immediately, the side of the Jade Platform’s betting table with “Duan” written on it was overwhelmed with the glitter of spiritual stones!