After the Death Ceremony, I was Entangled by My Two Wives - Chapter 16

Everything she had, from beginning to end…

Ying Buran instinctively tried to sit up and recoil, but her head slammed against the car roof, forcing her to shrink back down in pain.

Yun Xiangwan chuckled at the sight, using her spiritual energy to soothe Ying Buran’s pain. “We didn’t mean to harm you,” she continued. “The situation didn’t allow for explanations at the time, so we had to bring you here first.”

Ying Buran rubbed her head, trying to lean back as far as possible. She wanted to reach for her sword, but remembering that her sword, Storage Ring, and Heavenly Spirit Mirror had all been confiscated, she gave up. “Why did you capture me?” she asked warily.

“Because you are Heaven’s Chosen,” Yun Xiangwan replied bluntly.

Do they know about my constitution too? Ying Buran wondered. Are they planning to exploit it like Zhao Qingxun suggested? Why else would they specifically capture me?

But Qi Yiwen had also told her to try to leave with the people from Chasing Wind City.

Who should I trust? She decided to keep questioning them, hoping to pry out more information.

Ying Buran forced her expression to remain steady, determined not to reveal any weaknesses. Though she had only just met Yun Xiangwan, she could already tell the woman was deeply calculating.

“What is a Heaven’s Chosen?” Ying Buran asked, feigning ignorance.

Yun Xiangwan immediately saw through her act. A smile played on her lips as she rested her chin in her hand, watching Ying Buran with amusement. “What, your girlfriend didn’t tell you? That’s right, she probably wouldn’t dare reveal everything to you.”

Everything? Ying Buran’s pupils constricted slightly. What information was being withheld from her?

Could it be related to her impending death?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ying Buran replied quickly, regaining her composure and shaking her head while keeping her eyes fixed on Yun Xiangwan.

“A Heaven’s Chosen is someone born in accordance with the Heaven’s Mandate. You know that much, right?” Yun Xiangwan snapped her fingers, and an invisible barrier descended, isolating them from the outside world. “But what you probably don’t know is that a Heaven’s Chosen is the darling of the Heavenly Dao. She faces no obstacles in her cultivation; on the contrary, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth naturally converges upon her.”

No obstacles? Ying Buran blinked, wondering if she had misheard. Seeing her disbelief, Yun Xiangwan softly repeated herself.

Finally, she added, “We’ll reach a temporary shelter soon. A physician is there. Once she suppresses some of the drug’s effects in your body, you’ll understand.”

Ying Buran gazed at Yun Xiangwan and nodded slowly, already believing most of her words.

In the books she had read, two methods for rapidly increasing cultivation were mentioned: dual cultivation and consuming medicinal pills.

However, taking pills didn’t enhance the efficiency of spiritual energy absorption. Instead, they forcibly crammed spiritual energy into the body while simultaneously clogging the spiritual root, causing cultivation speed to steadily decline.

Seeing that Ying Buran seemed to have grasped the situation, Yun Xiangwan gave her little time to dwell on it before dropping another bombshell: “Secondly, regarding Heaven’s Wrath. Everyone knows that when the time comes, the Profound Gate will intervene to suppress it. But they’ve never revealed the specific method.”

“…This method involves the Heaven’s Chosen, doesn’t it?”

Yun Xiangwan nodded approvingly. “Exactly. According to our investigation, the method is called the Heavenly Sacrifice. As the name suggests, it’s a ritualistic offering. And the person being sacrificed—I think you already understand. By the way, the Heavenly Sacrifice is scheduled for three months from now.”

Three months later, the date of her death aligned perfectly. Ying Buran unconsciously swallowed, answering, “Me.”

“Correct. Sacrificing the Heaven’s Chosen can temporarily suppress Heaven’s Wrath.”

Ying Buran fell silent, her head bowed. Yun Xiangwan said nothing further, allowing her to ponder the matter. If she remained unconvinced, Yun Xiangwan had other evidence.

After a long pause, Ying Buran took a deep breath, as if making one last desperate attempt to deny the truth. “Do you… have any proof? Does she… know?”

Yun Xiangwan reached toward Si Nuo, who had been resting with his eyes closed. Without opening his eyes, Si Nuo produced a scroll from his robes and resumed his aloof posture, arms crossed.

She handed the scroll to Ying Buran. “Our people stole this from the Flowing Cloud Sect. It’s a record of every Heavenly Sacrifice. Your Master presided over the most recent ones. You should be able to sense her spiritual energy on it.”

“As for whether she knows… the names of the participants are listed here. Look at the very last one.”

Ying Buran nodded, her hand trembling slightly as she reached for the scroll. Near the bottom, she indeed sensed Luo Wangqing’s spiritual energy—not a later addition, but spiritual energy used to write the names.

Overseer: Luo Wangqing

Participants: Numerous, mostly from the Flowing Cloud Sect and Nine Nether Sect, along with the patriarchs of the Myriad Phenomena Sect and Heavenly Evolution Sect.

Assistant: Zhao Qingxun

Ying Buran instinctively touched the name, and more information flooded her mind:

Assistant’s Task: Stabilize the Heaven’s Chosen. Confine the Heaven’s Chosen within the designated territory. Ensure the Heaven’s Chosen remains unaware of the truth. If the Heaven’s Chosen attempts to escape, suppress them with force.

Assistant’s Reward Eligibility: First-time participation, no reward granted. Signed, Luo Wangqing.

So it was true… Zhao Qingxun had been deceiving her all along? Were those vows she made earlier also lies? Was her agreement under the fireworks just to pacify her?

Ying Buran’s free hand clenched involuntarily, her nails digging deep into her palm.

Had everything she believed in—from beginning to end—been a fabrication?

Was this why Qi Yiwen had urged her to leave, yet forbade her from telling Zhao Qingxun?

“Even in your anger, don’t hurt yourself.” Yun Xiangwan gently pried open Ying Buran’s clenched fist and applied a cooling ointment to the wound, instantly healing the mark from her earlier self-inflicted pinch.

Ying Buran looked up, meeting Yun Xiangwan’s gentle gaze, but her heart felt numb.

The people she had once considered closest had all betrayed her. Who could she trust now?

Yun Xiangwan knew she couldn’t earn Ying Buran’s trust immediately. “We’ve arrived,” she said calmly. “Let’s see the physician first. I need to take this scroll and have Si Nuo deliver it.”

Ying Buran nodded numbly, mechanically handing over the scroll before silently following Yun Xiangwan.

It was late at night, and the streets were deserted. Pushing open the shop’s heavy doors, they found only a drowsy clerk dozing behind the counter.

Hearing the noise, the clerk snapped awake, recognized Yun Xiangwan, and promptly closed his eyes again with a yawn.

Yun Xiangwan beckoned Ying Buran to follow her. After entering a small room within the shop, they finally met the mysterious physician cloaked in white.

As for Si Nuo, he had already departed with the scroll.

The physician saw her and gestured for her to sit opposite her, cutting straight to the point: “Yun Xiangwan must have told you on the way. Let’s get straight to it.”

The physician first took her pulse and drew bl00d, then waved Ying Buran aside, telling her not to disturb her.

What a strong-willed person, Ying Buran thought, pressing her wrist as she sat to the side.

Yun Xiangwan moved closer and channeled her spiritual energy to help heal Ying Buran, a hint of surprise in her voice: “This spiritual energy… you’re cultivating the Senluo Art too? But it seems incomplete.”

“Incomplete?” Ying Buran glanced at her, her first thought being that Zhao Qingxun must have hidden the complete version.

Realizing what she was thinking, Ying Buran let out a bitter laugh. Just this morning, she couldn’t have imagined she would now be harboring such malicious suspicions toward those around her.

Yun Xiangwan explained, “Yes, the Senluo Art you’re practicing is missing a part. To gain vitality now, you must actively channel spiritual energy. Once you cultivate the complete Senluo Art to a certain level, vitality will gather around you autonomously. Deeper still, you can even reach the ultimate goal coveted by countless cultivators… immortality.”

“I thought you were going to mention ascension,” Ying Buran said, subtly withdrawing her wrist after noticing the wound mark. She tugged at the corner of her lips.

Yun Xiangwan smiled. “How could that be? The path to ascension has been blocked. Apart from the five or six comrades of our Ancestor, no one has successfully ascended. The complete Senluo Art currently exists only in Chasing Wind City, brought there by one of our Ancestor’s old friends. If you trust us, we can give you the complete Senluo Art when we reach Chasing Wind City.”

Ying Buran nodded, though Yun Xiangwan couldn’t tell if she had truly taken in the information. Still, having achieved her purpose, it didn’t matter.

After a moment, Ying Buran suddenly spoke, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. “Why are you helping me like this?”

Yun Xiangwan paused, gathering her thoughts. “Firstly, our goals align at this stage. We both need to stop the Heavenly Sacrifice. Your desire to survive will inevitably lead to its failure.”

“But if the Heavenly Sacrifice fails, Heaven’s Wrath will descend, and many will die,” Ying Buran said, looking up at her.

“The Heavenly Sacrifice doesn’t stop Heaven’s Wrath; it only intensifies it. Based on our investigation with some disciples and elders from the Myriad Phenomena Sect and Heavenly Evolution Sect, the Wrath is erupting faster and claiming lives more quickly. We need a new solution, not to keep sacrificing people and deluding ourselves.” Yun Xiangwan produced a notebook filled with densely recorded eruption times and death dates.

Ying Buran glanced at it and saw the truth in her words. Since Yun Xiangwan’s interests didn’t conflict with her own, she didn’t press further.

She could barely protect herself; why should she care about others? Besides, Yun Xiangwan’s final remark proved there were other ways to stop Heaven’s Wrath—the Profound Gate simply refused to seek them out.

After all, why bother finding a new solution when sacrificing someone unrelated was so much easier?

Moreover, the public remained ignorant of the truth. All they knew was that the Profound Gate had suppressed Heaven’s Wrath, unaware of the lives lost in the process. All the glory flowed to the Profound Gate, who suffered no losses themselves.

Truly…

“You mentioned the Myriad Phenomena Sect and the Heavenly Evolution Sect earlier?”

“Mhm. Some members of those two sects helped us steal the scroll and you. Now, many have noticed the anomalies, but the facade of ‘peace’ can’t be broken openly, so they can only assist us covertly. Consequently, progress is slow. Chasing Wind City remains our main force, and the sects can only provide limited support.” Yun Xiangwan shrugged, her smile unwavering, though Ying Buran could detect the mockery in her eyes.

Ying Buran carefully replayed Yun Xiangwan’s words in her mind, organizing her thoughts. She recalled Yun Xiangwan had used the word “firstly,” implying there were other reasons. “You…”

“Alright! The medicine’s ready. Hey, you! Come drink it now. If you don’t want to, no problem—I’ll just force-feed it to you.”

Ying Buran: ……

Is there even a difference?

Yun Xiangwan watched her, waiting for her to continue.

Ying Buran shook her head and rose to approach the physician. “It’s fine. It… doesn’t matter anymore.”