A clash of words.
Chu Xiyao clearly felt the sharp confrontation coming from Cheng Ziying. The words Cheng Ziying had just spoken to her could be said to have left her not a shred of face.
Had she said something wrong just now?
Or perhaps, she shouldn't have mentioned the name Chen Yan?
Chu Xiyao pondered for a moment, then spoke again:
"My apologies, Chief Disciple Cheng. I was just momentarily moved to speak, if I have offended you..."
"You have not offended me, Chief Disciple Chu."
Cheng Ziying simply shook her head:
"It's just that I feel, in the entire Kongshan Sect, you are probably the least qualified person to comment on Chief Disciple Chen's death."
"Why would you say that, Chief Disciple Cheng?"
"If it weren't for Chief Disciple Chu, Chief Disciple Chen would never have gotten involved in all these messy affairs in the first place, isn't that right?"
Cheng Ziying said.
She knew everything.
About a year or so after the Outer Court Cataclysm ended, Cheng Ziying became the Chief Disciple of Mingxiao Peak.
The first thing she did after becoming the Chief Disciple of Mingxiao Peak was to study the records of the Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm and the Outer Court Cataclysm, the two greatest calamities the Kongshan Sect had experienced in recent years.
Apart from a few records that only the Grand Elders or the Sect Leader had permission to read, Cheng Ziying had gained a general grasp of the truth behind these events.
The reason Chen Yan got involved in these incidents, and ultimately lost his life, was because of the woman before her.
Chu Xiyao.
If she hadn't taken Chen Yan to Qingchan Peak back then to meet Elder Fu Qian, then none of the subsequent events would have happened.
Cheng Ziying found it difficult to articulate exactly what kind of feelings she held for the late Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, Chen Yan.
From the very first day she entered the outer court of Kongshan Sect, Chen Yan had lived in the same courtyard as her. She was only six years old at the time.
For the next eight years, until the day she turned fourteen, she had been on very good terms with Chen Yan.
Until one afternoon, when she went to call for Senior Brother Chen, who was napping under a tree, to go listen to Instructor Lu Li's scripture lecture together—
"Could you stay away from me?"
That's what Chen Yan said to her.
Cheng Ziying didn't know why things had turned out this way, but she believed she must have done something wrong.
Otherwise, how could everything be fine in the morning, and then he suddenly start distancing himself from her in the afternoon?
But she also didn't know what exactly she had done wrong.
She had thought about this question many times and wanted to go find Senior Brother Chen many times.
But she backed down every time at the last moment.
Cheng Ziying couldn't figure it out. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand. So, she began trying to shake off these messy interpersonal relationships and trivial matters to focus on cultivation.
One day two years later, she heard that Senior Brother Chen had become the personal disciple of Outer Court Elder Lin Qifeng.
And after that, Cheng Ziying, after a long time, once again had an intersection with Chen Yan.
Then, after that, Chen Yan won the outer court competition and, with a single punch, killed Qi Yadong, the personal disciple of the Kongyuan Mountain Enforcement Hall elder.
Then Outer Court Elder Lin Qifeng, Senior Brother Chen's master, was imprisoned in the Rear Cliff of Kongyuan Mountain by the Sect Leader for allegedly being involved in cheating during the outer court competition.
After Lin Qifeng was dismissed, Chen Yan was also transferred to Kongyuan Mountain along with him.
The next time she heard news of Chen Yan was a year later.
The unprecedented genius who emerged out of nowhere, the new Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, Chen Yan, who, with his cultivation at the late Qi Circulation Realm, could single-handedly improve the Kongshan Art.
And then, and then...
It was the sect's outer court, completely reduced to ruins.
Standing atop the ruins of the Training Grounds, Cheng Ziying lowered her head, staring at the broken stones and shattered tiles on the ground.
She couldn't see anything.
But she knew Senior Brother Chen was here.
Deep in her heart, Cheng Ziying actually felt no sadness or any other emotion.
To her, Chen Yan was just a senior brother she had been very close to in her youth. Perhaps she had also harbored some special feelings for this senior brother...
She didn't understand either.
And even more, she didn't know why, but Cheng Ziying just felt that Chen Yan shouldn't have died here.
He just shouldn't have...
Returning to the present.
Cheng Ziying looked directly at this Chief Disciple Senior Sister of Qingchan Peak, who was well-known for her aloof and indifferent personality.
After receiving her accusation, a somewhat bewildered expression appeared on Chu Xiyao's face.
If it weren't for her, Chen Yan wouldn't have gotten involved in all these messy affairs?
"I never imagined Chief Disciple Chen would die, Chief Disciple Cheng."
Chu Xiyao said:
"If what you are referring to is the incident back then where I introduced Chief Disciple Chen to Elder Fu and, through a twist of fate, caused Chief Disciple Chen to become Elder Lin's personal disciple, I do not believe I was at fault."
"Could it be that Chief Disciple Chu still feels smug about the fact that Chief Disciple Chen was introduced into the inner court by you back then?"
Cheng Ziying's words remained sharp.
"No."
Chu Xiyao simply shook her head:
"I only believe that everything is merely fate. Whether it's Chief Disciple Chen's death, or Chief Disciple Shen's, Chief Disciple Zhao's, or Junior Sister Qin's, Senior Brother Lin's... their deaths are all merely fate."
"Chief Disciple Chu is truly cold-hearted."
Cheng Ziying said:
"If everything is merely fate, then the great disaster caused by the theft of the Black Flood Dragon Remnant Soul from Qingchan Peak must also be driven by fate. I suppose you, as the Chief Disciple of Qingchan Peak, must have a clear conscience about it."
"I feel deeply guilty."
Chu Xiyao said:
"But I still believe that all of this is fate. Things beyond human power are all fate, including my guilt as well."
"I can't see that."
Cheng Ziying said.
"If one day, Chief Disciple Cheng encounters difficulties or danger, then I will certainly try my best to save you... The same goes for the incident involving Chief Disciple Chen back then. If I had been present, I would have also tried my best to save him."
Chu Xiyao said.
"Just empty words."
Cheng Ziying said.
"If that's what Chief Disciple Cheng thinks."
Chu Xiyao replied.
Cheng Ziying stood up. She detested the self-righteous attitude of this Chief Disciple of Qingchan Peak before her.
Especially since Senior Brother Chen's death was largely related to her, yet she could still sit here spouting these righteous-sounding words of hindsight.
"If one day, Chief Disciple Chu encounters difficulties or danger, I will not lift a finger to help."
Cheng Ziying, now standing, said this in Chu Xiyao's direction.
Chu Xiyao's expression still showed no ripple of emotion. She merely opened her mouth lightly:
"That is your own affair, Chief Disciple Cheng. You only need to follow your own heart."
Cheng Ziying said no more. She turned and left the room.
Gazing at the closed door and the untouched, expensive pastries before her, Chu Xiyao's face remained expressionless.
It seemed that the task Elder Fu had entrusted to her, to build a good relationship with Cheng Ziying, was probably not going to be possible.
She thought this to herself.