After that, Yunniang refused to say another word about Yuan Qing, no matter how much Song Que and Wei Shu tried to pry.
There was no other choice, so the two continued on their way to Dajueyin Temple, still dragging along their burden. Fortunately, NPCs had no physiological needs. Otherwise, Wei Shu would have broken down before Yunniang did.
Yunniang had a particularly bad temper. She particularly couldn’t stand seeing couples flaunting their affection in front of her. The moment she saw it, she would start shouting and making a fuss, as if she couldn’t rest until every loving couple in the world was torn apart.
Because they had Yunniang with them, they had unintentionally wandered into secluded lovers’ spots countless times and startled a flock of lovers. As a result, they had received countless glares—and even been chased down—by dozens of couples.
Moreover, perhaps as a side effect of the “Life and Death Together” achievement, ordinary couples would have to kiss, hug, or cuddle to provoke a reaction from Yunniang. But when it came to Song Que and Wei Shu, merely standing a little too close to each other was enough to set her off.
Right now, Yunnniang was shouting again: “You two, stay away from each other! Don’t stand so close!”
Wei Shu was so annoyed by her that instead of stepping back, she took two more steps closer to Song Que. Yunniang’s screams were loud enough to cause noise pollution.
Wei Shu rolled her eyes but still compromised, stepping away a little. She then said to Yunniang, “You lunatic!”
Yunniang stopped shouting and pretended not to hear Wei Shu’s words.
Song Que was over there studying the Silver Thread Soft Sword. Since he had replaced his left-hand weapon with it, while his right hand still wielded the right sword of the dual swords, he could no longer use Wuqui Manor’s skills. Those skills required the use of a dual sword set, meaning the weapons had to be a matching pair, not just any two swords in both hands.
Song Que planned to hold onto it for now and study it. Later, he would find a weaponsmith to forge a matching pair based on this sword.
The monk nearby had been hiding for a while. When he saw Song Que take out the silver-threaded soft sword, he knew his opportunity had arrived. From the forum posts, he had learned that Song Que had taken the sword from an NPC, and that NPC used a left-handed sword. In other words, the weapon didn’t match, meaning Song Que couldn’t use his skills at the moment.
The monk charged forward with his monk’s staff.
Just as Song Que attempted to perform a sword flourish with the soft sword, he saw the monk’s staff coming toward him and instinctively wrapped the soft sword around it. The monk, already having a psychological trauma from being defeated by Song Que, panicked at first and tried to use a skill to break free. However, he easily broke free and soon realized that the current Song Que was a Song Que without any skills. His confidence surged, and with a loud shout, he rushed forward.
Song Que also realized this issue, but he wasn’t completely without skills. The Moon Rising Clouds Gathering skill was a martial art created by Pei Yunshan, incorporating the strengths of many different schools. Naturally, it had no weapon restrictions. However, it primarily focused on internal energy and movement techniques, with very few offensive moves.
Song Que didn’t mind this at all. He actually found it quite fun and saw it as a perfect opportunity to test the possibility of incorporating the silver-threaded soft sword into his dual-sword technique.
Wei Shu just stood by and watched Song Que bullying others.
Song Que was almost playing his Silver Thread Soft Sword to perfection. The monk couldn’t figure out the direction of the sword from the start, being toyed with and led in circles by Song Que. Song Que began using various ordinary attacks to control and damage the monk. If the monk found a gap and tried to break through with skills, he would use the skill of Moon Rising Clouds Gathering to pull him back. At other times, he wouldn’t use any special skills at all.
The monk cried. He never expected that after so many days, he would once again fall into the tragic situation of being endlessly attacked. He could only repeat the process of looking for openings, try to break through with skills, and be pulled back by Song Que’s skills. This time was even worse than before, because Song Que almost never used offensive skills. Instead, he simply tormented the monk’s health and his mental defenses little by little with ordinary attacks.
The monk was really about to cry.
“Brother Que! You’re my real brother! I beg you, how about this—I’ll stop attacking, give you some time to switch weapons, and you can use your skills to fight me, okay?!”
Song Que pretended not to hear, as he was in the middle of practicing his technique. It was the nearby Wei Shu who couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “Last time, you just figured out the combo routine and used it on him. Now you’re using the soft sword to do the same again. Isn’t this too much? What if you give him psychological trauma?”
The monk nodded frantically while being beaten.
Song Que said in surprise, “I’ve fought him before?”
The monk burst into tears. After being beaten up so many times in so many different ways, his name and face still weren’t even remembered?
Wei Shu even started to feel sorry for the monk. She said, “I’ll give him a quick death.”
Song Que hesitated for a moment and couldn’t bring himself to refuse. So, Wei Shu decisively used a powerful move. The monk, in a moment of gratitude, turned into a beam of white light and immediately rushed to the forum to vent his frustration wildly.
There was a post on the forum that kept getting more and more attention, filled with accounts of Song Que’s whereabouts and everyone’s experiences challenging him. These people had formed a bond through their attempts to challenge Song Que, and fighting him one-on-one was the only bottom line. Aside from that, they were willing to use any means necessary, and analyzing weaknesses followed by ambushes was a piece of cake for them.
The monk’s name was Cheng Mu. He was considered a small god here, but he was always beaten black and blue by Song Que. This time, he vented his frustration online, complaining that Song Que was heartless and insanely perverse, torturing him with ordinary attacks for half an hour. Now, just thinking of Song Que’s smiling face made him tremble all over.
The replies at the bottom of the thread first pretended to be filled with righteous anger, saying they would help Cheng Mu fight Song Que. However, it didn’t take long for them to reveal their true intentions, bursting into laughter with “hahaha.” Many bystanders, who had no interest in PKing Song Que, were drawn in by how amusing the thread was. After all this time, seeing Song Que never lose, they had become his fans, flooding the thread with “666.” Cheng Mu was filled with despair as he watched it all.
On the other side, Yunniang watched Song Que effortlessly wield the Silver Thread Soft Sword and suddenly asked, “Why are you looking for Yuan Qing?”
Song Que didn’t know why Yunniang suddenly gave in, but he would not let this opportunity slip by. So, he explained the situation regarding Bai Qin.
After hearing this, Yunniang raised her eyebrows and said angrily, “I knew he was someone who didn’t respect his elders! He must be fond of that little disciple of his, that’s why he did something so foolish!”
Song Que: “…Disrespectful to his elders? Was Yuan Qing already very old when you met him?”
Yunniang said, “He is ten years older than me and thirteen years older than his little disciple. What’s wrong with me scolding him for being disrespectful to his elders?”
Song Que saw that Yunniang was full of anger. It was obvious that she was very jealous. However, this sudden jealousy seemed a bit unreasonable. Poor Yuan Qing, who was unaware of all this, couldn’t even defend himself.
Song Que asked, “Why do you think Yuan Qing likes his own disciple?”
Yunniang said, “Otherwise, why wouldn’t he marry me? There is no other woman around him except Bai Qin, and that’s the only explanation. Do you think he is the kind of fool who would do something he knows he can’t? If he knew that he couldn’t defeat Xiao Lingfeng, he would never have chosen a life-and-death duel to retrieve the secret manual. He must have been blinded by his feelings.”
This statement gave Song Que a lot of information. He then comforted her, saying, “You’re mistaken. The one he likes is definitely you. As for why he won’t agree, the reason is simple. You even said it yourself—he’s ten years older than you.”
Yunniang said, “How can you be so sure? Could it be because of my beauty? Bai Qin isn’t bad-looking either. Even if she is not as beautiful as me, you men might just prefer that type. Like you, don’t you like those young, naïve girls”
This was referring to how he had mercilessly exposed her disguise and later wasn’t swayed by her temptations.
Only then did Song Que realize what this strange encounter was—it was a test. He said, “Sorry, senior, but in my heart, she’s more beautiful than you.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the name of this strange encounter was revealed—”Lovers in the World,” with two possible endings: one where they part ways, and one where their love is as strong as gold. Song Que’s words once again led them to achieve an outcome that Wei Shu would absolutely dislike.
Wei Shu, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, looked at the “love as strong as gold” achievement and silently turned to send Song Que a death ray with her gaze.
Song Que subtly shifted his body and continued speaking to Yun Niang, “However, I believe in Yuan Qing’s heart, you are definitely the most beautiful. There is a portrait of you at Wuqiu Villa, and the pendant is hanging from his sword. Also, I find your sword very easy to use. It was originally a two-handed sword, right? But since you’re left-handed, it was modified for single-handed use. I’m guessing this sword originally belonged to Yuan Qing?”
Yunniang said, “It belongs to him, but he later gave it to me to use. I believe you this once. Let’s just assume he’s a coward who doesn’t dare to express his feelings. If you can help me drag him out, I’ll tell you.”
Song Que drew the soft sword from his waist, cut the rope that tied Yunniang, and handed the sword back to her.
Yunniang took the sword, removed the pendant, then handed the sword back to Song Que, saying, “As for the sword, I have another one. Consider this a bribe and a token. If you manage to find him, please send me a message, and I will definitely reward you generously”
Song Que nodded, and just as Yunniang was about to leave, Wei Shu suddenly asked, “Why did you disguise yourself as a young girl selling herself to bury her father? Were you trying to join us for something?”
Yunniang winked at her and said, “Naturally, it was to sow discord and break up all the lovers in the world. I suppose this is what it means to seek lovers and do joyful things.”
Can seeking Yuan Qing and breaking up young couples be described this way?
Wei Shu was thrown into confusion.
Song Que patted her on the head and said, “Fool.”
Wei Shu immediately perked up and started punching and kicking Song Que.
Song Que said to her, “Based on the current information, it’s very likely that Xiao Lingfeng was framed. Whether it was abandoning someone, stealing a secret manual, or wiping out an entire family, he might have explained it to Yuan Qing. That duel was probably a cover, a plan where the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. However, something unexpected must have happened in the process, which is why all four of them went missing that year.”
Wei Shu’s head was spinning as she said, “Can’t the planning team be more straightforward? Do they think everyone’s mind is full of twists and turns without getting tangled up?”
As she spoke, she kept sizing up Song Que, subtly hinting at who she was referring to.
Song Que smiled without saying a word but forcibly turned her head back by gripping her neck.
Without Yunniang slowing them down, the two quickly arrived at Dajueyin Temple. But Yuan Ci had no hometown. He was sent to Dajueyin Temple when he was a child. The only thing that could prove his identity was a wooden plaque with the character “Fang” on it. This was also the reason he took the alias Fang Ci.
However, this trip to Dajueyin Temple was not in vain, as they obtained a new piece of information—Fang Ci and Xiao Lingfeng were actually close friends.
This further confirmed Song Que’s opinion.
Fang Ci and Wu Hen likely went to watch the battle to ensure the plan’s absolute success.
So the two of them rushed to Changshengzhai.
Unlike Fang Ci, Wu Hen has a family. Her real name was Liu Mei and she came from Huai City in the south. The reason she joined the Changshengzai was because her mother died of illness when she took her north to find her father. Liu Mei was still very young at that time. Before her mother died, she entrusted her to the Changshengzhai, where she eventually stayed.
Like Fang Ci, Liu Mei also had a friendship with Xiao Lingfeng. The thread was connected, and Song Que and Wei Shudecided to try their luck in Huai City.
If they were lucky, might find the two of them there—or at least their gravestones.
