Chapter 14: Three Pieces of Clothing

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It wasn't that Qin Changsheng was unwilling to keep up the pretense; it was that Little White remembered the moment he had helped heal his wounds. If Little White fell into Ding Wei's hands, it would mean Ding Wei would learn that Qin Changsheng was still alive, and both the Xuantian Sect and the Kaoshan Sect would quickly locate him.
Even though Bai Yi had once tried to create the illusion of his suicide by leading him out of the Kaoshan Sect’s encirclement, that place still scattered many of the sect’s disciples.
The Kaoshan Sect used his cultivation level to estimate his activity range, but that didn’t mean they would abandon other possibilities.
Therefore, Ding Wei had to die.
Qin Changsheng knew his chances of escape were slim; he was still in grave danger.
Moreover, Bai Yi might catch a different scent and return to confirm his identity.
So after killing Ding Wei, Qin Changsheng discarded all suspicious items from Ding Wei’s storage ring, leaving behind only some materials, alchemy pills, and spirit stones.
Then he quickly left.
If he encountered anyone, he would continue to play the role of an old man.
Within half a day, Qin Changsheng successfully escaped five hundred miles...
By a strange coincidence, he passed by Songlin Village.
Seeing the old house still standing, Qin Changsheng felt a complex mix of emotions.
“Never thought I’d come back here again...”
“...”
Elsewhere, news of Ding Wei’s disappearance spread rapidly. Nangong Ruoxi and other experts from the Kaoshan Sect returned to the place where Ding Wei was killed.
Seeing the scene reduced to ashes, everyone’s faces darkened ominously.
Nangong Ruoxi couldn’t help but recall the old man she had seen on the road. Calculating the timing, Ding Wei had indeed encountered that person.
But how had he become so aged?
She remembered that the man had looked up at her on the flying sword, showing an expression of envy and surprise. At the time, she thought he admired her, a cultivator.
Now, it seemed...
That man must have been mocking her.
“Ruoxi, have you found anything?”
The leading elder looked at Nangong Ruoxi.
“No...”
Nangong Ruoxi shook her head hastily, instinctively keeping that person’s whereabouts to herself.
Since the incident, she had been pondering Qin Changsheng’s words—why hadn’t she killed Long Chen, so she wouldn’t need a scapegoat?
Later, Qin Changsheng helped her kill Long Chen, and indeed, she no longer needed a scapegoat.
Yet she didn’t feel happy; only a hollow emptiness inside.
She no longer needed a scapegoat, but she had lost the last and best one...

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“After all, he is being hunted because of me. How could I betray him?” Nangong Ruoxi thought, her heart suddenly fluttering in confusion.
“Hmph, although his killing of Long Chen was an accident, it was you who sought him as a scapegoat. If Qin Changsheng is not caught this time, your position as the Sacred Maiden will be finished. You’d better atone for your sins,” the elder said before leading his men away.
Only the trembling Nangong Ruoxi remained behind.
“I understand, disciple does...”
She could not deny her involvement, but thinking of that servant she had only known a few days, she could not betray him against her own conscience...
...
Qin Changsheng gently pushed open the door, finding the house unchanged from before. The room bore none of the decay and dust five years would have brought; it was clean and quiet, as if someone had tidied it...
Even the stove showed signs of recent cooking.
Qin Changsheng thought to himself that the villagers were utterly shameless, entering his house like that—he really ought to scold them.
As he wandered around the house, just as he was about to leave, he accidentally spotted his old clothes hanging neatly on the bed frame...
With many new pieces of the same style added.
“After traveling over a thousand miles, the girl still came back without complaining?”
Qin Changsheng’s hand trembled slightly.
Since Wang Yuyan was twelve, she had sewn his clothes with designs suited to his habits; few could match her craftsmanship.
Only Wang Yuyan...
Qin Changsheng sighed, finally understanding why Bai Yi was so determined to kill him.
Because all of Wang Yuyan’s obsessive cultivation desires centered on Changsheng...
Others might not understand, thinking he was immortal, but Bai Yi and Qin Changsheng knew what this Changsheng represented.
Thus, for Wang Yuyan to become a Celestial Emperor, Bai Yi had to kill Qin Changsheng and frame the Kaoshan Sect.
Then, the Kaoshan Sect would be sharpened as a weapon by Wang Yuyan for revenge. This also explained why Qin Changsheng encountered many Kaoshan Sect disciples after waking up.
By this logic, Wang Yuyan would soon arrive at Tianji Cliff to learn of his death...
“Bai Yi, truly cunning in your schemes.”
“The whetstone is ready; the excuse is set.”
Qin Changsheng hadn’t intended to touch those clothes, but understanding Bai Yi’s plan, he took down three garments from the rack.
One old garment, two new ones.
Of the two white robes, he took one and left one behind, deliberately dropping the remaining white robe on the floor.
He hung the old clothes in the center.
After doing all this, Qin Changsheng quietly withdrew and relocked the door...

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“Yuyan, I hope you fare well. If fate allows, we shall meet again.”
He left Songlin Village with Little White, departing the old Qin family residence.
He did not go to see Qing He—perhaps he had forgotten her face, or maybe he did not want to leave any traces or regrets.
In any case, he did not go.
Little White nestled affectionately against him, seemingly seeking a comfortable sleeping position.
“It’s getting cold.”
Qin Changsheng sneezed, hunched his body again, tightened his clothes, and, carrying the little fox, walked toward the village entrance without looking back.
Shortly after he left,
a bloodied young girl struggled back to the old house...
The girl had killed many people.
These past days, she had slaughtered Kaoshan Sect disciples.
Because Tianji Cliff found blood traces of her elder brother, and someone had seen him jump off the cliff, shattered and devoured by wild beasts.
She had ravaged the entire valley but still could not find any remains of her brother.
At last, a flicker of hope ignited within her.
So she hunted down Kaoshan Sect disciples, forcing them to reveal the truth...
This massacre led to a clash between the Kaoshan Sect and Xuantian Sect’s experts that ended inconclusively. Bai Yi also acted then, resulting in a mutually damaging fight with the Kaoshan Sect’s ancestor.
No one dared admit to killing Qin Changsheng, but someone confirmed that Qin Changsheng had killed Ding Wei. Wang Yuyan found no trace of Qin Changsheng’s corpse nor proof he was alive.
In truth, not confirming his death was her greatest piece of good news.
She recalled many lessons Qin Changsheng taught her in childhood.
A heavy sword conceals its edge, and a blade too rigid breaks easily.
Her elder brother had lived so many years as a youth; he could not have been so easily killed.
With hope rekindled, she returned to Songlin Village.
She was exhausted and wanted to rest here.
Only this warmest place could offer her solace for her soul...
“Elder brother, will you wait for me here?”
“...”