Chapter 581 – Paying a Visit to the Deathless Tomb, Sipping Ancient Tea - Part 2

Meng Xingxian chuckled. “Junior Brother Xin, we’re just fellow disciples. But Father, he’s family. Do I really need to spell out which matters more? If I’m not listening to him, you think I should be listening to

you

?”

“Traitor! You’re a traitor!” The man was livid, nearly exploding with rage. If the swarm of crows overhead hadn’t been a threat, he might’ve clawed his way out of the coffin then and there.

Meng Xingxian let out a silvery laugh. “If I helped you, that would make me the traitor, wouldn’t it? Hehe... No way I’m turning my back on Father. Save your pretty words, I'm not falling for them.”

“AAAAHHHH!” The middle-aged man screamed like a madman, voice echoing through the tomb. “Meng Xingxian, drop the act!”

Hovering nearby, the little crow blinked. Huh. This Junior Brother Xin actually didn’t seem like a bad guy.

But that was just a passing thought. After all, she was just a branch of the true will, one split-off thought.

Her real body sat silently atop a coffin in the depths of the Deathless Tomb, surrounded by eternal darkness.

And in that pitch-black silence, her lifeless eyes slowly turned until they finally, with great effort, locked onto Li Yuan.

At that very moment, the black tide of crows surged like a living flood and swallowed Meng Xingxian whole.

Meng Xingxian didn’t dare move a muscle. Instead, she put on her most innocent smile and said, “Sister-in-law, come now, don’t stare at me like that. I’m one of us! You should be keeping an eye on

those

three. Look, see? They’re lying right there in those coffins.”

As she spoke, she pointed across the tomb. “That one...that one...and the one up top too. These people, you know, they’ve got some little tricks, enough to mask their real positions. You really have to keep an eye on them. They’re not as harmless as they look.”

Her eyes glinted as she went on, voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur. “That Princess Yuge? Don’t let her size fool you. She’s a top-tier expert of the fifth stage of the Earth Soul Realm. And that hot-headed Junior Brother Xin, he’s a fifth stage Human Soul cultivator. Then there’s the silent one, Elder Xia. That old man is the real deal, a fifth stage Heaven Soul master, and one of the closest to stepping into second rank. The moment he gets out...”

Before she could even finish, Junior Brother Xin completely lost it. “Meng Xingxian! You treacherous, vile woman! How dare you give away our positions?! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!!!”

Meng Xingxian raised a delicate hand to cover her mouth, tugging a nearby crow closer like a pet. “Sister-in-law, did you hear that? Terrifying, aren’t they? You absolutely mustn’t let them out. Let even one of them go, and this world’s chaos will only get worse. There are over six thousand of them buried here. Be careful. Not a single one can be allowed to escape.”

The little crow couldn’t take it anymore and snapped coldly, “This has nothing to do with you.”

Meng Xingxian smiled sweetly. “I’m only thinking of Father. And of our family’s safety. These people, every single one, are seeds of chaos. Their hearts are not in the right place.”

“Wretch! Traitorous scum! I’m going to kill you!” Junior Brother Xin roared, completely unhinged now. “Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Meng Xingxian giggled like silver bells, as if his fury delighted her.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Deathless Tomb, even Li Yuan was caught off guard by his daughter-in-law’s performance.

Still, he had to admit that she was effective.

This move of hers was essentially burning her bridges, proving her loyalty with no way back. A very convincing gesture.

He quietly shifted the box of malt candy closer to Sheng'er.

“Papa,” a voice rang out from the core of the crow swarm.

It was hoarse and strained, clearly from disuse.

She cleared her throat, then spoke again, this time more clearly, “Papa, you didn’t have to come. Even outside the Deathless Tomb, I’m still your good daughter.”

“You could come with me. The crow swarm will guard this place,” Li Yuan said.

“That won’t work, Papa,” Sheng’er gently replied. My real body is fragile. Many out there could kill me with ease. And if I die, all the crows vanish with me. Only here, in this tomb, am I untouchable. Only here...am I truly strong enough... Strong enough to help you.”

Her lips curved upward in the cold, bleak darkness, like a flower blooming in snow and ice. “The little crows can die a thousand deaths, but

Sheng'er

must never die.”

She stood and took Li Yuan’s hand. “Papa, please continue your journey. Your daughter...will always be by your side.”

Then, with a childlike eagerness, she turned and pounced on the box of malt candy he’d brought. She opened the lid, pulled out a piece, only to discover it had gone rock-hard, harder than steel in the frozen air of the Deathless Tomb.

There was no way it could be chewed.

Even so, Sheng'er placed the candy into her mouth, letting it slowly melt on her tongue, allowing the faintest trace of sweetness to spread through her mouth at a glacial pace.

Just then, from somewhere deep within the Deathless Tomb, a delicate, doll-like voice rang out.

“Esteemed Senior...my name is Jiang Yuge. I...I can call you Father too. I promise to listen to you, obey you, and serve you.”

Then she added in a soft, pleading tone, “Even if I can’t call you Father...I’ll still only listen to

you

. After all, if I come out, I’ll have no one. No one but you.”

As soon as Princess Yuge finished, an elderly voice followed.

“My name is Xia Wuqi, and I’m willing to serve you as my master. In these chaotic times, surely one such as you is in need of capable hands. And I, Wuqi, can offer mine.”

Before the old man’s words had even fully faded, the young man’s voice rang out urgently.

“Senior! Senior! I, Little Xin, also wish to pledge my loyalty! Let me follow you, Senior!”

But before anyone could answer, Meng Xingxian’s silvery laugh drifted in like a breeze through cold stone.

“Junior Brother Xin, why not tell him your full name? You call yourself Xin Tianjun,

Heavenly Lord Xin

, as if no one else in the world is worth your time. In your era, how many sects did you betray before finally crawling into the Arcane Supreme Sect?

“You put on this blunt, loud act so people mistake you for a simple brute, but deep down, aren’t you the most conniving and despicable of us all? You call yourself Heavenly Lord Xin, but during your peak, everyone else called you something different,

Xin, the Human Devil.”

She laughed again, sweet as poisoned honey.

The little crow, who had just been thinking that this middle-aged man didn’t seem so bad, twitched involuntarily. The folks buried in the Deathless Tomb...were dangerous.

Meng Xingxian turned to Li Yuan, her tone as gentle as ever. “Father, this Xin Tianjun is bloodthirsty and treacherous to the core. He’s not someone we can use.”

Then she turned her attention to exposing the secrets of Princess Yuge and Xia Wuqi in turn, peeling back their histories like layers of old skin.

But this time, before Xin Tianjun could even get a word in, it was Princess Yuge who responded first.

Her once sweet, childish voice echoed through the Deathless Tomb. But now it was twisted, eerie, laced with venom and mockery. It was no longer a little girl’s innocent tone, but the wild cackling of a ghost-child giggling in some pitch-black alleyway.

“

Father

this.

Father

that. Let’s count the fingers, shall we? One, two, three, four, five. One strangled, two stabbed in the heart, three poisoned, four fed to beasts, five burned alive, and more, so many more. Too many to count. You shameless whore. You venomous widow who kills husbands like sipping tea, how

dare

you judge

us

?

“Senior, how can you trust

her

? She’s skilled at seducing men because she’s had so many. And every single one of them...ended up dead. If she can kill

them

, what makes you think she won’t kill

you

? Hasn’t she already killed your son?”

Princess Yuge giggled, high and chilling.

The once-innocent little girl had blackened completely, revealing her true, twisted face.

Meng Xingxian giggled back. “Oh? But I’ve only ever had one child. And now I’m part of Father’s family. Besides, no matter what I am, I’m still better than you. You hide behind that sweet little face, spouting sugar-coated words. But if we’re talking about who’s more black-hearted? You win, hands down. At least when I’m ruthless, it’s for a reason. What’s

your

excuse?”

“Little Sister Yuge,” Meng Xingxian's voice curled like smoke, mockingly soft, “who was it they used to call,

the one who fans the flames, watches the chaos, and laughs while others die?

How many did you kill for no reason at all? You didn’t do it for revenge. Not for love. Not even to climb some ladder. You killed them for fun.

“I only targeted faithless lovers. But

you

? You didn’t care who was good or evil. You just wanted to sit behind the scenes and turn everyone into your little puppets, watching them slaughter each other at your whim. You sat in the dark, pulling strings, giggling like it was a game. Father,

that

is her true face.”

Li Yuan and Sheng’er just stood there, stunned.