Gu Qinghan was a good person, but the Gu Qinghan who had died once was not.
She was a girl burdened with far too many obsessions and responsibilities, treading forward under their crushing weight.
Once an existence appeared that clearly affected her cultivation, she would absolutely strike it down heartlessly after agonizing over the decision.
This might mean severing her memories, but if even those memories were gone, the lingering warmth in her heart would vanish as well.
When she saw the various wonders displayed by Qian Yu again, she would no longer hesitate as she had before.
She would not choose to give up.
She would rather kill by mistake than let a threat go—by then, they would already be strangers.
All of this was within Yingning’s calculations.
As an old woman who had lived for an unknown amount of time, Yingning might be bright and pretty, and she might truly care for her disciple, Gu Qinghan, but she was by no means a girl whose head was filled with nothing but laughter and who hid in a ring whenever she got angry.
She possessed a basic perception of the Heaven’s Mandate.
From the first moment she saw Qian Yu, she had felt “that thing” on this seemingly ordinary little Half-Yao.
This was especially true when she realized the girl’s willpower was strong enough to sever her own Sacred Body without hesitation.
Yingning had amplified the emotions, guiding Qian Yu to give Nalan Yunyan a grateful hug.
On the surface, it seemed like she was provoking her disciple, but her true purpose was to test just how far Qian Yu’s temperament had reached.
The result exceeded her expectations.
Under those circumstances, the girl’s subconscious mental defenses had actually managed to withstand her guidance.
Simultaneously, she had enough mental capacity left over to plot against the Cloud-Weave Star Venerable.
Yingning could swear that if Qian Yu were given the same talent and the same Opportunity, she would undoubtedly be Gu Qinghan’s greatest competitor on the path to enlightenment.
In fact, with her disciple’s foolish brain, Gu Qinghan would probably be sold by the girl and still help her count the money.
It was under these circumstances that Yingning provided emotional guidance to Gu Qinghan.
If, after being nudged, Gu Qinghan understood her special feelings for Qian Yu and took the initiative to turn her into one of her most trusted companions, then everyone would be happy.
Interests would be exchanged, and emotions would intertwine.
There would always be a way to use warmth to lower Qian Yu’s guard, allowing Gu Qinghan to attain the Dao first and lead the next era.
But if Gu Qinghan couldn’t figure it out, given her personality, there was a high probability she would sever those emotions and memories.
Once they became strangers, she would have no psychological burden whether she temporarily imprisoned Qian Yu or killed her.
This was why, even though Yingning’s outward rhetoric seemed to support the first outcome, she did not explicitly object when Gu Qinghan brought up the second.
In her heart, she had always hoped that Gu Qinghan would sever the memories and then dispose of Qian Yu.
Sacrificing a Half-Yao was better than sacrificing her disciple’s future, even if it wasn’t moral.
Yingning was already thinking about whether she should set a holiday every year to thank Qian Yu for her sacrifice.
However, to her utter surprise, Qian Yu actually came over on her own.
She didn’t say a word; she just cried.
Yet, those few tears actually pushed her foolish disciple—who should have already made a decision—right back.
Gu Qinghan began to comfort Qian Yu in a flustered mess.
What was going on?
It made her previous efforts of comforting and guiding Gu Qinghan look ridiculous!
Watching the scene inside the Cave Residence through the ring, Yingning’s anger flared.
She, the Shizun, had talked until her breath was gone without causing Gu Qinghan any significant emotional fluctuations.
But as soon as this Qian Yu arrived, Gu Qinghan stopped being a block of wood.
She was even comforting someone.
Was that something a wooden-headed person should know how to do?
Furious! Scheming!
Villain! I don’t like her!
If Yingning didn’t know for a fact that her existence was a secret, and that the providence of a Great Era only allowed one person to experience Rebirth, she would have suspected that this Qian Yu was also a reborn soul—someone who had detected her murderous intent early and came specifically to spite her.
Despite her thoughts, she was still a member of the Righteous Path.
Even though she had a more suitable path planned for her disciple and felt that Qian Yu was incredibly scheming, Yingning ultimately suppressed the urge to jump out and interrupt.
She wanted to see what this Qian Yu was up to.
If the girl just came over for a simple cry, she would leave her alone and let Gu Qinghan choose for herself.
But if the girl planned to use her cleverness to deceive her disciple’s feelings, playing both sides between her and Nalan Yunyan to strengthen herself, Yingning would come out and slap her to death.
Moreover.
To make things even more certain, as a senior who had lived for countless years, Yingning had disrupted the heavenly secrets long ago to ensure her observation remained objective.
This caused the trace of the Ancient Heavenly Fox Bloodline in Qian Yu to malfunction.
Now, unless the Heavenly Fox Bloodline in the girl’s body could be traced back even further…
Otherwise, even if Yingning had harbored murderous intent toward her for a long time, Qian Yu would not be able to sense a thing.
She would have no way to prepare in advance.
Everything she did could only be based on her own natural character.
*Jie jie jie.*
Yingning let out an evil laugh inside the ring, waiting to witness Qian Yu’s wicked true face.
On the other side, Qian Yu took the handkerchief handed over by Gu Qinghan.
She kept her head down in silence, but her eyes flickered slightly.
She did not know of Yingning’s existence, but the woman’s guess was correct; she had come this time to grasp Gu Qinghan’s psychological state.
Unlike the hesitant Gu Qinghan, the straightforward Miss Nalan was extremely easy to coax.
Not long after being taken back by her, Qian Yu had smoothed over her feelings and put her at ease, sending her off to prepare for the battle with the Demon Holy Body.
With nothing to do, Qian Yu wanted to find Gu Qinghan to apologize for the day’s events.
However, the moment the thought of seeking out Gu Qinghan arose, the Ancient Heavenly Fox Bloodline in her body suddenly sensed a faint feeling of crisis.
The perception was incredibly faint.
By the time Qian Yu tried to sense it again, it had vanished like an illusion.
If she were a normal person, even if they were suspicious, they would likely associate such a feeling with the Cloud-Weave Star Venerable—the most obvious and recent threat.
Unfortunately, Qian Yu was not a normal person.
Yingning deduced that her mental defenses were heavy, but it wasn’t just that; it was an extreme lack of security.
Since her Shizun passed away, Qian Yu had lived alone.
With her weak cultivation, terrible talent, and the constant discrimination and targeting, she lived every day as if it were her last.
Even after her memories awakened, her situation didn’t improve much.
Walking the line between Gu Qinghan and Nalan Yunyan was exciting, but in reality, both of them were individuals with significant personality flaws.
They might be good to you today and change their minds tomorrow.
And recently, there was the predatory Cloud-Weave Star Venerable to worry about.
No matter how innocent and smiling Qian Yu acted every day, the pressure accumulating in her heart was immense.
Therefore, after detecting that fleeting sense of crisis, while a normal person would dismiss it as an illusion and a vigilant person would prepare for the Star Venerable…
She was different.
She would prepare for everyone who could currently pose a threat to her.
Nalan Yunyan, Tang Qiurou, the Cloud-Weave Star Venerable—now, it was simply Gu Qinghan’s turn.
Amidst her thoughts, Gu Qinghan finally processed the words Qian Yu had just spoken to her.
“Qian Yu, are you saying that you started having dreams a long time ago? Dreams about things you haven’t experienced, but feel as though they actually happened?”
“Yes…”
Qian Yu nodded.
“Whether it was the fact that Senior Sister Nalan is actually a very good person, or that you were going to drive me away, Senior Sister… it all appeared in my dreams. I was very scared. I didn’t want you to hate me. That’s why, when I saw that the lights in your room weren’t lit, I couldn’t control my fear and started crying. I’m sorry. I’ve caused you trouble.”
She lowered her head and tightly gripped the corner of her clothes, pushing everything that had happened onto a dream.
All her strange behavior was because of the special perceptions within those dreams.
She herself was innocent.
As if she knew her words were too eccentric, Qian Yu gripped her clothes tighter.
She didn’t explain further, only repeatedly promising that she would wash the handkerchief she just used and return it to Gu Qinghan.
The strings of Gu Qinghan’s heart were completely shaken.
Even at a time like this, the girl was actually thinking about her tears dirtying the handkerchief.