"You brought me here just to watch them say their tearful goodbyes?"

Liu Lan Yi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Song Wanning.

Seeing that Song Wanning wasn’t heartbroken over the matter, Liu Lan Yi was finally sure she had truly moved on.

She felt relieved.

’A woman should never let a man hold her back.’

"I brought you here for a treasure, Martial Aunt."

Song Wanning turned her head with a mysterious smile, then grabbed Liu Lan Yi’s hand and pulled her into the Erosion Wind Cave.

’In my past life, Ye Chuxue was sent to the Erosion Wind Cave for opposing me. But when she emerged three years later, not only had her cultivation not diminished, but she broke through to the Golden Core realm in one fell swoop. She basked in boundless glory, which was a huge slap in my face.’

’There has to be a treasure in the Erosion Wind Cave. An incredible resource.’

Liu Lan Yi didn’t believe Song Wanning, but she was still willing to humor her and entered the Erosion Wind Cave with her.

The Erosion Wind Cave was filled with violent winds that sent people staggering.

This was where the Heavenly Inquiry Sect confined disciples who had made mistakes. It was fraught with danger, but none of it was fatal.

Countless disciples had been confined in this place. Which of them ever left without their cultivation regressing, looking utterly wretched?

Yet, Ye Chuxue was the sole exception.

’Now that I’ve sent her here ahead of schedule, her fated opportunity is bound to appear. All we have to do is wait.’

So she found a spot, took out a portable cabin, and together with Liu Lan Yi, they drank tea, took a short rest, played some chess, and had a heart-to-heart talk.

.

’So cold!’

Ye Chuxue hugged her arms tightly, her body almost frozen stiff.

She possessed a Five Elements Chaotic Spirit Root, but no wind-attribute Spirit Root, so she suffered immensely in the Erosion Wind Cave.

The ceaseless violent winds lashed at her body, making even her bones ache. Coupled with the poison in her system, she had almost collapsed on her very first day.

But she had managed to endure. Six months had passed. If she could just hold on for another six months, she would be able to leave this place.

’Once I get out, I’ll leave the Heavenly Inquiry Sect. I’ll leave them all behind! I’ll make them regret this. And no matter how much they beg for my forgiveness, I will never go soft again. The sky is vast enough for any bird to fly, the ocean wide enough for any fish to leap. I, Ye Chuxue, can make a good life for myself anywhere!’

Bolstered by this conviction, Ye Chuxue came to a cave, hoping to take shelter from the violent winds.

Once inside, the violent winds were indeed blocked, howling just outside the entrance but unable to penetrate.

Ye Chuxue finally relaxed and slumped to the ground.

’Finally, a place to catch my breath. I’ll just hide here until it’s time to leave six months from now.’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Now that she had a moment of peace, she began to examine the cave.

The cave was quiet, dry, and windless. The surrounding walls were all bare, without a speck of green.

But deeper inside, something seemed strange.

There was a small, inconspicuous bulge on the ground, but upon closer inspection, it seemed rather out of place.

Ye Chuxue’s heart began to pound.

’This feeling is so familiar. Every time I find a treasure, it starts like this.’

’Could it be...?’

Ye Chuxue hurried over to the spot.

She crouched down, felt it carefully, and then began to dig with her bare hands. A moment later, she pulled out a completely unremarkable stone.

"A stone?"

Doubt flickered in Ye Chuxue’s eyes. She never expected the treasure this time to be a rock.

She raised the stone to her eyes, about to examine what secrets it might hold, but in the next instant, she felt a chill run down her spine.

She whirled around in terror just as an extremely powerful blast of violent wind shot toward her.

BOOM—

She slammed into the wall, feeling as if her organs were about to shatter.

Before falling unconscious, Ye Chuxue tightly gripped the stone in her hand, praying that she would be safe.

"Wan Ning, how did you know she would find a treasure?"

Liu Lan Yi asked doubtfully, following Song Wanning into the cave.

’Song Wanning has changed so much,’ she thought. ’Now, even I can’t seem to figure her out.’

"She’s a Child of Fortune; treasures just fall into her lap. There’s no harm in following her." Song Wanning gave a vague answer, choosing to hide the truth.

’My martial aunt doesn’t need to know about all that unpleasantness.’

"Is that so?"

Liu Lan Yi still felt something was off, but since Song Wanning didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t press the matter.

As they entered the cave, Liu Lan Yi looked at the unconscious Ye Chuxue with a flicker of displeasure in her eyes.

"What should we do with her? Should we..."

"That won’t be necessary. Leave her for now."

Song Wanning cut her off and stepped forward to pry open Ye Chuxue’s hand.

Ye Chuxue’s grip was very tight.

Her expression unchanging, she twisted with force, snapping Ye Chuxue’s fingers.

Liu Lan Yi: "..."

Taking the stone, Song Wanning turned and left without a backward glance.

Liu Lan Yi followed her out of the Erosion Wind Cave. Everything returned to silence, as if the two of them had never been there at all.

Back at Liu Lan Yi’s residence on the rear mountain, Song Wanning sat down comfortably, clearly at home.

Liu Lan Yi prepared her favorite Spirit Fruits, brought out a large table of dishes, and dotingly placed food on her plate, just as she had when Song Wanning was a child.

Song Wanning watched her in silence, a flicker of reluctance in her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Liu Lan Yi touched her own face and asked with a smile.

’Song Wanning hasn’t seemed to be in high spirits since we left the cave.’

"You’re truly beautiful, Martial Aunt. I can never get enough of looking at you."

Song Wanning’s playful reply succeeded in making her laugh. The two teased each other for a while as they ate their meal together.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Song Wanning took out the stone and presented it to Liu Lan Yi.

"Martial Aunt, this has to be some kind of treasure, but Ye Chuxue is cunning. There might be a trap!"

"But I’m not willing to give it up. If the treasure returns to her, then all my efforts will have been for nothing."

"So please, Martial Aunt, could you take a look at it for me?"

She thrust the stone into Liu Lan Yi’s hand without a moment’s hesitation.

Liu Lan Yi frowned, taking the stone to examine it, but she couldn’t see anything profound about it.

’It just looks like an ordinary stone. Nothing special about it.’

"This object is completely unremarkable. I can’t make heads or tails of it."

"Then why don’t you try binding with it, Martial Aunt?"

Song Wanning urged.

Liu Lan Yi’s expression grew serious at her words. She refused point-blank. "This belongs to you. Why would I be the one to bind with it?"

But Song Wanning immediately gave her a pleading look, her eyes welling up, which made Liu Lan Yi’s heart melt.

"But I’m afraid there’s a problem with the stone. What if it harms me? You’re different, Martial Aunt. You’re so powerful, you could evade any trap."

"Please, Martial Aunt, just try it..."

She threw her arms around Liu Lan Yi, resorting to her ultimate wheedling tactics, leaving Liu Lan Yi completely defenseless.

’If anyone else had said this, I would have assumed they were trying to harm me. But not Song Wanning.’

She sighed and helplessly patted Song Wanning’s head. "Fine, I’ll give it a try. If it really is a treasure, I’ll give it back to you."

She had no intention of keeping the treasure for herself. If the item was safe, she would return it to Song Wanning.

With that, she picked up the stone and began the process of binding with it.

Song Wanning watched all of this unfold, her gaze gentle and filled with deep affection.

’Even if the Heavenly Dao itself despises me, there’s still someone in this world who loves me unconditionally.’