Another World Trip: Journey with My Cat and an Otaku Loli Goddess Chapter 399 - Plot Twist

“Could you tell me more about the mission he gave me?” Long Di finally asked. “He charged me with finding out more about his wife’s death, and the disappearance of her body.”

****

“So… the Spiritual Intent levied that mission on you.” Duan Meilin didn’t seem surprised to hear that. “This shall require some… context.”

“You know of it?” Long Di was surprised to hear this. The Peach Blossom Sage’s Spiritual Intent was very vague with the phrasing.

“Mostly,” she admitted. “The shrine of memories you visited before contains the memories of Lord Peach Blossom Venerate up until the True Star Sage level. He wished to immortalise the times he was most happy and the True Star Sage realm held most of that. However, his heart at the time was in turmoil about what was to come. Because of that, some of the memories about his wife beyond the True Star Sage realm must have seeped through into the Spiritual Intent. Nevertheless, it is a lingering wish of his that I know he had. So maybe this is fate.”

Long Di understood now why the Spiritual Intent couldn’t give him a clear-cut and defined outline of the mission he wanted him to fulfil. It’s because the Spiritual Intent truly didn’t know. However, its obsession with it was so strong that it gave Long Di this as a mission.

“So what happened?” Long Di asked. He had a creeping suspicion that this touched upon some of the secrets or taboos of the world.

Duan Meilin went silent momentarily as she compiled the thoughts in her head. Her expression became grave when she began. “Lord Peach Blossom Venerate’s wife, as I’m sure you know, is an Abyss Ghost.”

She peered into Long Di’s eyes when she uttered the name of this race. However, she saw zero ripples in his eyes and felt no change in his spiritual fluctuations.

Her expression underwent micro changes upon seeing this, but she said nothing.

Long Di crossed one leg over the other as he sat listening to the story. “Can we move this along, please?”

Duan Meilin was shaken by this. “Where did you get the chai—?”

“Is that really what you wanna know?” Long Di asked her.

She thought about it for a moment and agreed that this wasn’t what was important. So she went back to her story.

“Would you like to hear my story?” she suddenly asked.

Long Di’s brow rose slightly. “This sounds like it’s gonna be long.”

“True… but I’m sure you won’t be bored,” she quipped back.

Long Di did a flamboyant wave and said, “Take it away then.”

Duan Meilin nodded and started. “Before the secret of her origin was revealed, Lady Yin Shuchun was a genius one would only see once every ten thousand years. She was from the Central Realm and hailed from one of their most prestigious sects as well. This was the woman, the Abyss Ghost, who would become Peach Blossom Venerate’s wife.”

She closed her eyes as if in an attempt to be lost in the memories of yesteryear.

“Lord Peach Blossom Venerate, on the other hand…” A blush crept up her cheeks when she referenced him. “Was a ruffian, to say the least. He and I… we came from these lands together in our youths. Back then, he was known as Xiao Weizhe.”

“!”

Long Di was shocked to hear that Duan Meilin and Peach Blossom Venerate were childhood friends. And from the looks of it, it seemed that she had feelings for him as well.

“He would cause no small amount of trouble. Many times, we had to flee for our lives. Yet, it was because of him that we had somehow attracted the attention of one of those sects… well, I did. My talents in alchemy had caught the attention of one of their elders. As I didn’t want to be separated, I had him join the sect as my follower.”

“The sect you joined—”

“Yes, it was the same one that Lady Yin Shuchun was a part of,” Duan Meilin answered Mina’s question who was also interested in the story.

At some point, she and Pebbles stopped fighting and were listening to the story attentively.

Pebbles was on a cushion curled up and treating Duan Meilin’s voice as ASMR while Mina was sitting on a chair, courtesy of Long Di. The Remnant Will wasn’t going to question any of this, lest she lose track of where she was.

“Xiao Weizhe still was an avid troublemaker. Though he possessed outstanding talent, he preferred to have fun. He was always at the bottom of the sect rankings, but he didn’t care and neither did I. Eventually, he caught the attention of Lady Yin Shuchun.”

Long Di and Mina noticed that Duan Meilin’s expression turned complicated whenever she mentioned Yin Shuchun and they were beginning to see why.

“She was the personal disciple of the sect master at the time and as such, had a status in the sect that even I, with my position as a junior alchemist, could only look up to. Because of this, everyone treated her with respect, but it also left her feeling… alone. Xiao Weizhe, being who he was, never stood on ceremony with her and we all bonded together. Xiao Weizhe’s feelings for her grew, and the sect saw this and grew worried, and thus was already ready to take action.”

“Why?” Mina asked, dow-eyed.

“Well, his position was lower than mine and, he was also weak since he didn’t take cultivation seriously, and… she returned his feelings.” Her expression fell here.

“They were about to kick him out, but he left the sect before that happened. He told no one about it not even me, and I had thought he’d died when I found out. Then, a few years later, he returned and broke into the sect and defeated all the geniuses, even the one at the top of the sect ranking. The entire sect was in an uproar and many called for his execution. But curiously enough, it was the sect master that put a stop to these calls. Instead of punishing Xiao Weizhe, he made him a core disciple and gave him his blessings to pursue Yin Shuchun, which he did.”

“It’s not that I don’t love a good story, and this is a good story,” Long Di stepped in here. “But is this in any way important for the now?”

“Yes,” Duan Meilin nodded. “Because it’s a warning.”

Long Di’s head cocked to the side. “A warning for what?”

“A warning to not trust any sort of power wholeheartedly,” she told him.

“What do you mean?” He asked her.

“Lady Yin Shuchun and Xiao Weizhe became famous together,” Duan Meilin chose to answer him by continuing her story. “However, the person who held the top ranking previously was jealous of Xiao Weizhe. It was he who discovered her origin when he came across certain scrolls that matched her ethereal, dreamlike appearance. When the secret broke, among the powers that dogged the duo the most, bloodthirsty in their relentless hounding, the sect they hailed from was the one most guilty of this. They made a show of it, to make sure the continent was aware that they were none the wiser.”

Long Di saw where she was getting at. She wanted him to not overly rely on any particular sect should he join one.

“It’s a long-winded way of warning me don’t you think?” stated Long Di.

“It does two things. It warns you and sets the stage for what is to come,” she told him.

“Stage for what?” Long Di could feel it was getting close to what he wanted to know.

“They were hunted down relentlessly, by anyone and everyone. Sects mobilised and powers emerged to wipe them out. They were cornered many times, and I was the only one who stood by their side during those moments. Of course, the continent’s attention was split when the invaders attacked!”

“Invaders!?” Long Di thought this was it. He was finally going to learn.

[Careful!]

“Steely, don’t you dare blue ball me here!” Long Di saw Duan Meilin become shocked when the divine intent of the Destiny Scale echoed out.

“It seems you have secrets of your own,” said Duan Meilin with a wry smile. “It’s for your own protection.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Long Di waved her off, knowing she wouldn’t say anything more on that matter. “What can you say?”

“During the time of the invasion, to everyone’s surprise, it was the two of them that led the assault on the invaders. Their act of bravery was so moving that it inspired many people to come under their banner to protect the continent. Lord Peach Blossom Venerate was able to form several armies, which he used to hold back the invaders. As soon as he was able to close the crack, he was fatally stabbed from behind by one of his own generals.”

“What!?” Mina couldn’t believe it. “Who’s the traitorous snake that did this!?”

Duan Meilin looked down in sadness when she said this.

Mina paled when she saw this. “W-Was it you?”

Duan Meilin shook her head. “I would never betray him,” she told her.

“Then who—”

Duan Meilin took a deep breath and answered, “It was his son.”