Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 405 391: "Jiu, I want you to find a person named 'Fan Xuan

The next day, as dawn broke.

Pei Yuhang walked along the dew-kissed stone path, the lingering morning mist clinging to the hems of his white robes.

His gaze fell upon Lin Qianyan, who was brewing tea in the courtyard. He spoke softly,

"Qianqian, do you have any leads on Xiaoxuan?"

Lin Qianyan set down her steaming teacup and let out a soft sigh.

"Brother Pei, I've had people searching for a long time. According to our intelligence, the maid you're looking for... is most likely dead.

The Yin Yang Sacred Land has detailed records of her life and her death for the crime of betraying the sect. There's even a grave.

It's possible the records are forged, but I don't think so. Given Shang Miaoyan's arrogant and domineering nature, she'd have no reason to go to such lengths to hide the whereabouts of a single maid."

"Besides, that maid smuggled you out of the sect. You were Shang Miaoyan's most prized possession, her forbidden love. For that maid to have died painlessly would have been a blessing in itself."

Pei Yuhang lowered his gaze and said nothing.

Lin Qianyan, who shared a deep bond with him, immediately understood his thoughts.

"Brother Pei, you're still unwilling to give up?" she asked softly. Her voice was gentle, yet it held an almost imperceptible trace of bitterness.

When Pei Yuhang nodded, Lin Qianyan's lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to persuade him to let it go—

After all, the thought 'Fan Xuan is still alive' was nothing more than an obsession, born from a single sentence spoken by a phantom in an Illusion Realm during Pei Yuhang's Heart Tribulation. But the words died on her lips.

'What right did I have to tell him to let it go?'

Years ago, she too had clung to a single obsession—the firm belief that Pei Yuhang was not dead. It drove her across mountains and rivers, through life-and-death tribulations, until she finally found him.

'Perhaps what bothered me now was simply... that Brother Pei was so obsessed with finding another woman.'

At this thought, her fingertips curled slightly. A faint ache bloomed in her chest, but she quickly suppressed it.

'I shouldn't be so petty.'

When Lin Qianyan looked up again, a gentle smile graced her lips, like a spring breeze sweeping away that momentary gloom.

She reached out, gently placing her hand on the back of Pei Yuhang's. Her fingertips were cool to the touch, yet her grip was firm and steady.

"Brother Pei, whatever you do, I will support you."

Pei Yuhang murmured in agreement, then said,

"Qianqian, I have one other idea."

...

...

Inside a secret chamber within the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, a room that no magical artifact could detect.

Here was where Jiu, the "secret infiltrator" captured by Sword Immortal Pei, was being held!

Pei Yuhang placed his hand on the stone gate. The gate confirmed his fingerprint and, on a deeper level, the attributes of his Spiritual Qi.

RUMBLE—

The stone gate slowly ascended.

WHOOSH—

A black shadow shot out from within at lightning speed, not at him, but trying to rush past.

"Halt."

Pei Yuhang spoke softly, and in an instant, countless chains materialized out of thin air. They bound the dark figure tightly and flung her back into the chamber.

"Ugh—"

Jiu slammed hard against the far wall of the chamber, then slowly slid to the floor.

She grunted, adjusted her Red Lotus Mask, and then, like a little fox, retreated to a corner and curled into a ball.

As Pei Yuhang approached, she looked up warily and said in a cold voice,

"Sword Immortal Pei, if you intend to kill me, then do it. What's the point of keeping me locked up?"

"All secrets concerning the Holy Daughter are protected by a restriction on me. You won't get what you want, even if you use some mind-enchanting Illusion Technique or Gu Technique."

"Fan Xuan."

The two words left Pei Yuhang's lips in a soft whisper.

"Do you know her?"

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

Jiu recoiled slightly, her voice growing even colder.

Pei Yuhang stared hard at Jiu, his voice solemn. "Do you know Fan Ya?"

"Yes. She is the Holy Daughter's personal maid."

When Jiu saw that Pei Yuhang didn't seem intent on harming her, her clenched fists relaxed.

"When did you meet Fan Ya?"

"It was after the Holy Daughter decided the Red Lotus Guard would make its public debut. Before that, we were all trained in secret under her, and we never met outsiders."

"Did Fan Ya never mention she had a sister?"

"Sword Immortal Pei!"

Jiu's voice suddenly rose, cutting him off.

"We Red Lotus Guards obey only the Holy Daughter's commands. We have no interest in gossip about irrelevant people."

"If you're looking for someone, why don't you go ask Fan Ya yourself?"

"..."

Pei Yuhang fell silent for a moment. What Jiu said made sense. She was a secret assassin Shang Miaoyan had cultivated over the past few decades. How could she know about trivial matters from a hundred years ago?

'Still, I have another way.'

"I can send you back to the Yin Yang Sacred Land, but you have to agree to one condition."

"You will help me find Fan Xuan. She is Fan Ya's sister. Back then, she offended Shang Miaoyan and was executed by that wicked woman...

But I believe she's still alive, so I need you to find her."

Jiu sneered. "What a joke. If what you say is true, then Fan Xuan is nothing but a wretched servant who betrayed the Holy Daughter!

I am utterly loyal to the Holy Daughter! Why would I ever help you find a traitor's whereabouts!"

"Furthermore, you've rejected the Holy Daughter's affections time and again. There's no way I'd ever—Ugh!"

Jiu's body suddenly spasmed as if zapped by electricity. She collapsed, clutching her body and trembling. A faint, suppressed giggle could be heard from beneath her mask.

Pei Yuhang, who had cast the Itchy Curse Seal on her, watched with a cold expression. Jiu lay on the floor, desperate to scratch the unbearable itch but trying to maintain some dignity in front of him, able only to let out stifled whimpers.

"...You bastard! To think you'd use such a sadistic spell on me!"

Her shoulders trembling, Jiu looked up at Pei Yuhang. If not for the mask, she would be glaring at him with eyes brimming with tears.

"You insulted my friend. Your punishment is to itch for an hour. Enjoy it."

Pei Yuhang activated his Cold Attribute Spiritual Energy, conjuring an ice throne behind himself.

He then sat upon it, nonchalantly watching Jiu tremble from the itch, forced to roll on the ground and rub her body against the floor for relief.

'Sadist... What a complete sadist!'

In her heart, Jiu seethed with resentment, cursing Pei Yuhang's shamelessness.

「Half an hour later.」

Jiu's muscles were spasming, and she lay on the floor, completely drained of strength.

Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and moisture trickled out from beneath her mask.

One could only imagine the wretched state this "secret infiltrator" must be in beneath her mask.

Pei Yuhang looked at the exhausted Jiu. 'This woman is surprisingly sensitive,' he thought. 'She's already at her limit?'

He sighed softly and deactivated the sadistic spell.

"...The Holy Daughter won't let you get away with this."

"Just you wait... Wait for the Holy Daughter to 'discipline' you with methods ten, a hundred times more humiliating than this, Sword Immortal Pei!"

Jiu's body was limp, but the words from beneath her mask were as defiant as ever.

Pei Yuhang didn't stoop to bickering with her. He strode to her side and reached for her collar.

"You... What do you think you're doing?!"

Jiu's voice trembled. She had never imagined that this man, always so stern and self-controlled, would dare to cross such a line with her.

"Relax. I'm just leaving a simple Demon-Planting Mark on you.

Exhausting your body was just to make implanting the Curse Seal more convenient."

Pei Yuhang's voice was level, but it filled Jiu with panic.

"Impossible! The Holy Daughter has absolute control over the Red Lotus Guard. I already have a Curse Seal from her on me! You can't bypass it to plant a new one!"

Jiu wanted to resist, but she was no match for Pei Yuhang. She could only watch helplessly as he unfastened the clasps of her collar...

"My knowledge of Curse Seals is no less than Shang Miaoyan's.

And rest assured, once you're under my control, I won't make you do anything strange.

I only want you to help me find one person."

"That Fan Xuan? Is... is she that important to you?!

She's just a maid! Is she more worthy of your attention than the Holy Daughter?!"

"She is!"

Pei Yuhang didn't raise his head, but his voice was unyieldingly resolute.

Jiu's breath caught in her throat as if it were blocked. She stared at him blankly. After a moment's standoff, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She closed her eyes and turned her head away.

"...Do as you please."

Jiu's voice was barely a whisper, laced with exhausted resignation. She no longer resisted, allowing Pei Yuhang to carve his mark upon her.

...

...

「A long while later.」

Pei Yuhang returned to the secret chamber after washing his hands.

Jiu had already neatened her robes and was standing silently with her back to the door. Hearing him enter, her shoulders stiffened slightly, but she did not turn.

The candlelight stretched her shadow long and thin, like a lonely, cold sword thrust into the ground at an angle.

"You may return now. I expect an initial lead within seven days."

With a flick of his finger, Pei Yuhang deactivated the restraining array in the chamber, seemingly unafraid of Jiu escaping.

Once Jiu confirmed that she was free of any physical restraints, she snorted coldly and moved to push past Pei Yuhang and leave the awful place.

But as she drew level with Pei Yuhang, she stopped. After a moment's hesitation, Jiu asked softly,

"...What if Fan Xuan... is really dead?"

"There is no 'what if.' I believe she's alive, waiting for me right now in some dark prison."

'Then what exactly are your feelings for Fan Xuan? Don't you already have a Dao Companion...?'

The words caught in her throat, nearly bursting forth, but in the end, they dissolved into a self-mocking curve on her lips.

In the end, she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Shadows rose from her feet like a tide, instantly swallowing Fan Xuan's tall figure. Before she finally vanished into a wisp of black mist,

she bid Pei Yuhang a quiet farewell.

"I'm leaving."

Pei Yuhang watched Jiu disappear, took a deep breath, and turned to walk out of the passageway himself.

WHOOSH—

As he stepped out of the secret chamber, a moaning, cold wind flooded his ears.

"The wind's been unusually strong these past few days."