Chapter 960: Discovery of an undying human (1/2)
Long Feiye and Han Yunxi landed first. The canyon was far deeper than they expected. A small mountain stream wound through a mass of thriving plants that blanketed the area in a chilly shade. Even the very air was damp with moisture. The couple looked around their surroundings but didn’t find Bai Yanqing’s corpse nor anything else amiss. After all, Long Feiye had personally stabbed his sword through the man’s heart. Moreover, he had checked the man for breathing after his body landed on a tree bough. Once he was sure there was none, he’d kicked the corpse into the canyon.
Even if Bai Yanqing was still alive at that point, how could he survive such a high fall? His body might even be in pieces by now. As they assumed the body was closeby, they didn’t start searching, but waited for Gu Beiyue and the shadow guard to come down first. Han Yunxi wasn’t in a good mood, especially after reaching the bottom. Her depression was written all over her face. Having sensed this long ago, Long Feiye murmured, “Relax, you weren’t the one who killed him.”
He knew that she was stuck on the “patricide” accusation. Even he didn’t expect Bai Yanqing to spew such words and acknowledge his daughter at the last minute. Perhaps that was when Han Yunxi had thoroughly lost her calm?
Han Yunxi looked at Long Feiye. “I….was it right of me to let you kill him?”
She really was flustered back then, but there was no time to think. Now she couldn’t even remember what Long Feiye had said in turn. On the other hand, he remembered everything. The same time Bai Yanqing acknowledged his daughter, Han Yunxi had stood dumbstruck until she finally said, “Long Feiye, I only trust you in this world. Why are you still hesitating?”
She had no intention to commit patricide. In fact, she refused to acknowledge a father like Bai Yanqing at all. Long Feiye tightened his grip on her hand. “Han Yunxi, you only have to remember: you weren’t the one who killed him, but me! Back then, the Wind Clan colluded with the Black Clan, Di Clan, and all the rest to destroy my East Qin. I have to pay back the debt!”
Despite the enmity between East and West Qin in the past, it was the Black Clan that had truly destroyed West Qin, while the Wind Clan sent out troops to destroy East Qin in turn. Even if Han Yunxi hadn’t made her choice today, Long Feiye wouldn’t have shown any mercy!
She looked up, and he continued, “Bai Yanqing is not your father. You’re not the Han Clan’s Han Yunxi!”
“No. He is…”
“Why did Lady Tianxin conceal her identity and marry into the Han estate?” Long Feiye interrupted. “Why did she suffer a difficult labor? Bai Yanqing clearly knew who you were, but still refused to recognize you to this very day! Don’t you think that everything about it is strange? Can you trust the words of a man on the verge of death when he acknowledges you as his daughter?” Although Long Feiye meant to comfort with his words, there was logic behind his reasoning too.
Han Yunxi looked at him and wanted to say something more, but ended up saying nothing. She was wondering whether she had been too impulsive. With Bai Yanqing dead like this, who else would know what happened to Lady Tianxin? Suppose Bai Yanqing wasn’t actually her father? Then where could her real father be? Was he alive or dead? Where was she supposed to look for him?
As Han Yunxi fell into silence, Long Feiye grew quiet as well. He simply held her hand and entwined their fingers together. Actually, nothing was better than a hug or holding hands where words failed to do a thing. They waited a while longer before the shadow guard arrived with Gu Beiyue in tow.
“Have you found the body?” Gu Beiyue asked.
“We were waiting for you. It should be nearby, let’s split up and look,” Long Feiye replied.
Gu Beiyue glanced at Han Yunxi and knew that she was feeling off. A faint smile rose to his lips. Long Feiye wasn’t waiting for him at all, but giving Han Yunxi time to calm down. It had to be said that he thought the couple had been too impulsive with the whole Hundred Poisons Sect affair. But Gu Beiyue kept such thoughts to himself. Despite their rashness, there was no better way. Judging from how long Bai Yanqing had waited for them at the bottom of the mountain, he was going to provoke the two sides to the end no matter what the truth between East and West Qin might be.
With the shifting gameboard of Cloud Realm Continent before them, Long Feiye and Han Yunxi already walked this far. If they didn’t seize this chance to find a reason to alliance, then what were East and West Qin supposed to do in the wake of Bai Yanqing’s death?
--
Very soon, the group split up to search for Bai Yanqing’s body. However, they started to panic when they couldn’t find signs of it anywhere in the surroundings. None of the surrounding vegetation or little mountain stream showed any signs of the corpse. At most, there was a pool of blood nearby.
“Your Highness, are you certain that Bai Yanqing was already dead?” Gu Beiyue’s pale face had already turned bloodless and ghastly.
If Bai Yanqing had survived, then their troubles had just gotten bigger!
Long Feiye and Han Yunxi weren’t looking much better. He stated seriously, “I personally tested him for breathing! A stab through the heart--” But he suddenly stopped as he recalled something.
Once upon a time, hadn’t someone he stabbed with a dagger to the heart survived just fine as well?
Seeing Long Feiye’s pause, Gu Beiyue quickly asked, “What happened?”
“I’m sure I already killed him. Let’s search some more!” Even when faced with Han Yunxi and Gu Beiyue, Long Feiye didn’t tell them Gu Qishao’s secret.
“Alright!” Gu Beiyue didn’t press the issue.
They split up between south and north and searched almost the entire expanse of the canyon until early next morning before reconvening at the original spot.
“Could someone have stolen the body away?” Han Yunxi wondered. She too, had see the sword pierce through Bai Yanqing’s heart. It wasn’t even an injury by sword qi, but an actual stab wound from Long Feiye’s sword. How could anyone still be alive after that?