Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 454 440: Peng Sword Immortal and Fan Xuan's Ulterior Motives

Pei Yuhang watched Fan Xuan walk out the door, the gentleness in his eyes slowly fading.

He relit the already-cold candle on the table. The flickering candlelight illuminated the room, but the deep look in Pei Yuhang's eyes did not dissipate.

'Xiaoxuan's feelings just now didn't seem fake.'

'It's embarrassing to say... but she really did want to crawl into my bed. She even got so carried away that she pulled out the Demon Blade to hack at my bed. Even the most elite spy wouldn't act like that.'

But...

'This doesn't make any sense.'

He raised a hand to rub his temples. The candlelight beside him cast shifting shadows on his sharp, chiseled profile.

'Was it really just a coincidence that Jiu, or rather Fan Xuan, approached me? Was there no calculation involved at all?'

From the very first day Fan Xuan arrived at the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, Pei Yuhang had been on guard.

This was also why he preferred to take Fan Xuan with him on this trip, rather than leave her behind in the mansion with his Dao Companion and disciples.

'One moment, that wicked woman Shang Miaoyan had just been dealt with by Qianqian.'

'The next, a severely injured Fan Xuan showed up at my door.'

'Logically, it added up. Shang Miaoyan, having just achieved a breakthrough, was furious after being suppressed by Qianqian, so she suspected the location of her breakthrough had been leaked.'

'There had to be a "traitor" close to her, someone who dared to defy heaven itself!'

'So she launched a thorough investigation, found Fan Xuan, and decided to torture and punish her. Then Fan Xuan seized an opportunity to escape and came to me.'

'But... emotionally, it didn't track.'

Pei Yuhang knew what kind of woman Shang Miaoyan was.

Obstinate, arrogant, and thoroughly vicious.

'Upon realizing her defeat was due to a betrayal by someone close to her... '

'Shang Miaoyan's first reaction likely wouldn't be to patiently torture the culprit.'

'She would have captured them on the spot and refined them into nothing...'

'And then there was that Cold Poison Dagger.'

Pei Yuhang could not mistake the miserable state of the Turtle Demon, frozen solid. It was the exact condition of a full-blown cold poison outbreak—the very thing he had treated multiple times.

'This was enough to prove that all of Fan Xuan's previous cold poison symptoms were just an act.'

'The only thing Pei Yuhang couldn't figure out was, if Shang Miaoyan was really directing this, what was the point?'

'What benefit could Shang Miaoyan possibly gain from having Fan Xuan stab herself every day?'

'A master's task? A minor punishment?'

Pei Yuhang tapped the table and let out a soft sigh.

He was now certain that Fan Xuan still had an intricate connection to Shang Miaoyan.

But he still couldn't figure out their objective.

'In that case, I'll just play the innocent lamb and continue this charade with you.'

'Only—'

'If possible, Xiaoxuan... I really don't want to doubt you, or be disappointed in you.'

Pei Yuhang recalled the memory of Fan Xuan's delicate figure as she fought to the death to cover his escape from the Demon Cave in the Yin Yang Sacred Land, and he silently closed his eyes.

...

...

Fan Xuan gently pushed open the door and was slightly taken aback to see the relit candle on the table, and Pei Yuhang waiting quietly for her return.

"Sit... Xiaoxuan."

Hearing Pei Yuhang's gentle voice, Fan Xuan felt no joy.

She knew that after he acknowledged she was Fan Xuan, he would naturally have many questions for her.

And everything she was about to tell him would be a carefully woven lie.

Fan Xuan's beautiful eyes were complex, like the surface of an autumn lake rippled by the wind, stirring with layers of hidden worries.

After receiving the Holy Daughter's orders just now, she felt utterly exhausted and just wanted to rest for a while.

'But I can't rest.'

She still had to follow the Holy Daughter's instructions, answering all of Pei Yuhang's questions as fluently as if she were filling in the blanks on a standardized test.

'I have to deceive him.'

'Make him let go of his suspicions.'

'Make him accept...'

'This hypocritical version of me.'

'A tool created by the Holy Daughter to deceive Pei Yuhang and toy with his emotions.'

Fan Xuan slowly sat down across from Pei Yuhang, her pale fingers laced in her lap, her knuckles white from the force of her grip.

When she raised her eyes to meet his, a sudden heat spread from the base of her ears to her cheeks, but she kept her composure and spoke in a calm voice:

"What do you want to ask me?"

"Xiaoxuan, after you helped me escape the Yin Yang Sacred Land, how did you survive?"

Pei Yuhang took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. His eyes, as deep as a Cold Pool, were locked on the woman before him.

Compared to the callow young girl in his memory, the beauty before him had blossomed into a graceful woman.

Because of that, she had lost some of her innocence, replaced by a mature charm that concealed a deep and unreadable mind.

"After I left the Yin Yang Sacred Land, I tried to find out what happened to you, but the news was... that you had been executed by Shang Miaoyan.

So how did you later end up in Shang Miaoyan's Red Lotus Guard?"

'Just as I expected, he's starting the interrogation.'

Fan Xuan tensed. Recalling the Holy Daughter's instructions, she said without any change in her expression:

"...That woman, Shang Miaoyan, didn't kill me back then. She merely imprisoned me and announced my execution to the public to assert her authority."

"That sick woman's goal was to find you after you escaped and execute me in front of you.

She said that just killing me normally would be too boring."

"She wanted to drag you back, humiliate you in front of me, and then kill me!"

As Fan Xuan spoke, a trace of hatred flickered in her eyes, and her delicate shoulders trembled.

Pei Yuhang gazed at her reddened eyes and her chest, which rose and fell slightly with her agitation, seemingly convinced by her words.

After a long moment, he sighed softly and reached out to stroke the top of her head.

"Xiaoxuan... Shang Miaoyan is just that kind of lunatic. You've truly suffered."

"But how did you join the Red Lotus Guard later? The position of Shang Miaoyan's Attendant should only be held by her most trusted people."

'Xiaoxuan, as a traitor... how did you regain Shang Miaoyan's trust?'

'Are you... still loyal to Shang Miaoyan now?'

Pei Yuhang silently stared at Fan Xuan.

Fan Xuan felt as if Pei Yuhang's gaze was piercing her, but the arrow had already been loosed from the bow. She could only steel herself and continue:

"A Divine Ability that can obscure heavenly secrets helped me."

She looked up, meeting Pei Yuhang's gaze earnestly.

"One day, all of us suddenly couldn't remember your name, or even your existence."

"That woman, Shang Miaoyan, also forgot her hatred for me. Gradually, after I demonstrated my talent, she began to employ me again."

"I see..."

Faced with this seamless answer, Pei Yuhang nodded.

"Pei Yuhang... do you still doubt me now?"

Under the table, Fan Xuan nervously adjusted her long legs, clad in thin black stockings. She looked up at Pei Yuhang, afraid of seeing even a hint of hostility on his face.

However, Pei Yuhang simply shook his head. His smile was as gentle as ever, like a warm, comforting sun.

"Xiaoxuan, I have always trusted you."

"I believe you would never intentionally harm me."

"...Mmm."

Fan Xuan nodded, feeling as though a great weight had finally been lifted from her heart.

'This should mean I've completely gained Pei Yuhang's trust, right?'