My Shijie Seems Intent on Destroying the World – Chapter 21
by Little PandaQuestioning the Heart
Mu-shijie is Really Good at Lying!
Perhaps it was because she knew too much. Whenever Qi Zhi thought about the possibility of being discovered by Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister, she was overcome by an inexplicable guilty conscience.
Technically, the people on the mountain hadn’t been killed by her. Some of them had even wanted to kill her. But regardless, she was currently keeping company with the true culprit behind the sect’s massacre.
Not only was she eating her food and living under her roof, but she was also eagerly delivering meals and medicine to her every single day.
Generally speaking, in a situation like hers…
She should, perhaps, maybe, probably… be considered an accomplice, right?
If this had happened a few days ago, before Mu Qingshi had won her over, the most she would have worried about was being dragged back to Tiandao Sect.
But now, the things she had to worry about were inexplicably far more numerous.
Had Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister found any clues after returning to Mount Qiongju?
Had Mu Qingshi’s identity and deeds already been exposed?
If they ran into each other suddenly, would they fight?
Mu Qingshi was wounded—would she be a match for them?
If she was, then Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister were most certainly doomed… and she didn’t want to see that happen.
But if she wasn’t, then as an accomplice, wouldn’t she be stuck following the great demon who had slaughtered Tiandao Sect, fleeing across the realm with every immortal sect on their trail?
Then again, looking at Ah Yun’s utterly nonchalant expression, if a fight did break out, the outcome would probably be the former.
But even if it was the former, what if the commotion was too large? Would they silence everyone for the sake of future peace and wipe out all of Qingxi Commandery in one fell swoop?
Qi Zhi shuddered at the thought.
Ah Yun: “What are you thinking about again?”
Qi Zhi: “N-nothing!”
Ah Yun looked thoroughly unconvinced: “Re~~ally?”
Qi Zhi: “I’m done eating!”
Ah Yun wanted to press further, but Qi Zhi had already set down her bowl and chopsticks, gathered her skirts, and bolted upstairs to her room.
“Did I scare her again?” Ah Yun reflected for a moment, shook her head, and went back to shelling her peanuts.
…
Qi Zhi felt that some questions were useless to ask Ah Yun. If she had real worries and concerns, she needed to talk to Mu Qingshi about them.
Honestly, if she had the choice, she would rather just avoid this kind of situation entirely.
But Mu Qingshi’s wounds had not yet healed, and the demon venom in her body was extremely stubborn. This was the time when she needed rest the most…
But if they couldn’t avoid it, there was no way to rest either!
After turning it over in her mind, Qi Zhi finally brought it up briefly that evening, when she was changing Mu Qingshi’s medicine.
Mu Qingshi’s response was: “It’s fine.”
“Is it really fine?” Qi Zhi was still worried.
Mu Qingshi: “Are you planning to hide under a false name for the rest of your life?”
Qi Zhi: “…”
Mu Qingshi: “Quite a few people in the immortal sects know me. The fact that we’re still alive will come to light sooner or later.”
Qi Zhi held the small porcelain bottle in her hand, gazing at the wound still riddled with residual venom, her eyes darting nervously.
“Then… then is shijie going to… to silence them?”
Mu Qingshi turned to look at her, tilting her head to meet her eyes.
Black hair like satin, a few strands slipping loose. The candlelight flickered across that moment of gaze, and in the shifting light of her eyes, a teasing smile curved Mu Qingshi’s lips.
Qi Zhi’s heart pounded under that gaze, though she couldn’t tell if it was guilt or panic. “…shijie?”
“That’s right. Kill them all, leave no one behind.” Mu Qingshi smiled. “No one is taking you away from me.”
Qi Zhi’s eyes went wide, her face full of astonishment, as though she had never expected such a blunt, unperformed answer—yet she couldn’t deny that it was entirely reasonable.
Seeing Qi Zhi’s expression, the amusement in Mu Qingshi’s eyes deepened.
“I’m teasing you.” She spoke softly, and through her smiling words, a trace of helplessness crept in. “Is that the kind of person you think I am?”
Qi Zhi’s mouth hung slightly open. She stood frozen for a good while before shaking her head frantically.
Even the head-shaking was guilty. Fortunately, Mu Qingshi didn’t tease her further. She simply told her gently, “These next few days, eat whatever you want to eat, go see whatever you want to see. No matter who you run into, don’t be afraid. Just bring them to see me.”
Then, as if to put Qi Zhi at ease, Mu Qingshi added, “I know those two, after all. They never mistreated you—why would I go to the trouble?”
Qi Zhi blinked, not daring to make a sound, and simply nodded. She uncorked the bottle and began applying medicine to Mu Qingshi’s wounds.
After a few seconds of silence, she couldn’t help but cautiously mention: “shijie, Ah Yun told me that any fish that slips through the net should be killed on sight…”
Mu Qingshi: “She just says things.”
Qi Zhi: “Oh!”
Mu Qingshi: “Are you reassured now?”
Qi Zhi: “Mm!”
Qi Zhi carefully applied medicine to the wound, skillfully wrapped it once more, and with curved eyes and brows, tied a small butterfly bow on Mu Qingshi’s shoulder.
Mu Qingshi’s gaze traveled from her hands down to the little butterfly bow. For a few seconds, her eyes lowered, and she chuckled softly as she gathered her collar closed.
shijie always looked so beautiful when she smiled.
Qi Zhi thought that the Second Senior Sister of Suihan Hall, because of her damaged spiritual root, had always seemed to carry a faint air of illness. Every word and gesture, every smile and frown, was gentle and unhurried—like a lone moon reflected in water, quiet, soft, and all too fragile.
Now that she was wounded, it was even more so. It made Qi Zhi, despite knowing everything she knew, despite all her misgivings, still unable to resist wanting to draw closer, wanting to protect that still pool of water—wanting Mu Qingshi to forever be only her Second Senior Sister.
But she couldn’t protect anything. She was the one who needed protecting.
So this daily routine of delivering meals and medicine on time, helping clean and bandage wounds—perhaps it couldn’t be called “caring for” someone. It should probably be called “currying favor,” right?
At least, that was how it must look in Mu Qingshi’s eyes.
With that thought, Qi Zhi slunk back to her own room, sat by the window, propped her chin in her hands, and gazed out at the busy stalls along the street, lost in a daze.
The sky grew dark. The moon quietly rose above the rooftops. The street vendors packed up and left one after another, and the night fell silent again, leaving only wind and snow.
Qi Zhi snapped out of her reverie and closed the window.
The candle on the table had burned more than halfway down without her noticing. The flame flickered unsteadily, giving off a faint wisp of smoke.
Qi Zhi walked to the table, trimmed the overlong wick, sat down, and unconsciously reached for the pouch at her waist.
She pulled out the white jade hairpin and held it in her palms, studying it for a long time.
After a long silence, Qi Zhi carried the candle to the dressing table and sat down.
In the bronze mirror, a delicate, petite face was reflected, emerald eyes tinged with hesitation.
She didn’t know how long had passed before she pressed her lips together, gazed into the mirror, and gently pinned the jade hairpin into her hair.
The pure white flower bud was small—once nestled in her hair, it was barely noticeable.
Her misunderstanding had perhaps caused Mu Qingshi some sadness.
Yet despite that, Mu Qingshi had remained so gentle with her, never once speaking a harsh word.
If she were willing to wear this hairpin, would it make her a little happier?
Qi Zhi still remembered what Mu Qingshi had said when she gave her the hairpin—from now on, she could do whatever she loved, go wherever she wished, and no one would ever bully her again.
No one had ever said such things to her. She couldn’t help but want to believe that promise, yet a sliver of reason still lingered in her heart.
Qi Zhi stared at the jade hairpin in her reflection for a long time. At last, she drew a deep breath, hurriedly removed it, wrapped it in cotton cloth, and tucked it back into her pouch.
Better not wear it…
It was too refined. It didn’t suit her at all—she would feel awkward even stepping out with it.
What was she doing, letting her imagination run wild in the middle of the night!
Absurd, truly absurd!
No more thinking about it, no more—
Qi Zhi let out a breath, quickly washed up, blew out the candle, and burrowed headfirst under the covers.
Ever since the incident at Lady Yue’s Hot Pot, the people living in that area didn’t dare step outside after dark. Shopkeepers would hurry to close their doors the moment the sky began to dim.
Qingxi Commandery wasn’t far from Mount Qiongju—it was practically under Tiandao Sect’s nose.
To think that two man-eating great demons had been hiding here, with an underground chamber containing an alchemical tripod covered in bizarre demonic patterns, and blood cocoons that, once peeled open, had each turned out to be a former member of the immortal sects.
How they died was another matter entirely, but the mere existence of this underground chamber was enough to set everyone talking.
Every cultivator who had come to inspect the site believed the incident was somehow connected to the destruction of Tiandao Sect.
As the Daoist Venerable’s first disciple and the only person who might still be able to hold Tiandao Sect together, Shen Zhuxing had naturally rushed to Qingxi Commandery the moment he received the news, just as everyone expected.
That morning, Qi Zhi had barely been awake. She wanted to restock some medicinal supplies at the apothecary and had just stepped out of the inn when she saw two streaks of spiritual light flash across the sky, as fast as shooting stars, heading north.
Pedestrians everywhere looked up. Qi Zhi tilted her head and watched for a while too.
It was only when she realized what those streaks of spiritual light were that she flinched, ducked back under the eaves, and clutched her chest in lingering fear.
Qi Zhi drew a deep breath, silently counted to a dozen-something in her head, and only after confirming the spiritual light was gone from the horizon did she dare step out of the inn again, jogging all the way to the apothecary.
Even though Mu Qingshi had promised her she wouldn’t lay a hand on Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister, she still couldn’t quite feel at ease.
If she could just avoid them entirely, that would definitely be for the best.
The naive little grass demon had no idea that the moment she stepped out of the inn, a wisp of spiritual light had silently attached itself to her.
In the afternoon, the light snow had just stopped, and the streets were bustling with people.
On the first floor of the inn, a few familiar patrons sat scattered about.
The innkeeper was bent over his ledger. The waiter squinted through a yawn, leaning against the doorframe for a moment’s rest.
Qi Zhi sat in a corner of the inn, eating the kitchen’s freshly wrapped wontons.
They were three-fresh wontons, freshly boiled and piping hot. Every bite required a long bout of blowing, but they were delicious.
Qi Zhi decided she would order another bowl after finishing this one to bring up to Mu Qingshi for a taste.
Ah Yun was nowhere to be found today and hadn’t come to chat with her, so she kept her head down, eating quietly by herself.
These piping hot wontons were truly excellent—even better than the ones she’d had at a street stall in Qingshi Town. Qi Zhi was slurping away happily when the light before her was suddenly blocked.
She assumed it was Ah Yun and instinctively looked up.
In an instant, her eyes met a pair of eyes she hadn’t seen in a long time—exceptionally solemn ones.
Qi Zhi’s heart clenched, her body gave a start, and she nearly choked on the wonton she had just shoved into her mouth.
…
Qi Zhi never wanted to relive the memory of how she had managed to finish that bowl of three-fresh wontons, bite by bite, under two pairs of thoroughly bewildered stares.
Her Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister sat on either side of her. Not a single question left their lips, yet their near-scorching gazes felt as though they had already interrogated her a thousand times over.
It turned out the two of them had spotted her when they first passed through the area. Startled and overjoyed, but with more pressing matters elsewhere, they had left behind a trace of spiritual power as a marker and only now come looking for her together.
Qi Zhi silently finished the broth. The moment she set down her bowl and chopsticks, Ming Songxue was just about to speak when Qi Zhi gave a start and let out a resounding burp.
Qi Zhi: “…” I want to flee so badly.
Ming Songxue and Shen Zhuxing exchanged a glance. Ming Songxue leaned slightly closer and said softly, “Eleventh Junior Sister, you’re still alive. Thank goodness.”
Qi Zhi: “Mm…”
Ming Songxue reached over and placed her hand on Qi Zhi’s wrist, asking urgently, “Before the sect was attacked, did anything unusual happen on the mountain? On the day it happened, did you see anything?”
Qi Zhi shook her head: “I don’t know.”
A flash of astonishment crossed Ming Songxue’s eyes: “You don’t know?”
Qi Zhi: “I don’t know…”
Shen Zhuxing frowned: “Everyone who stayed on the mountain died. How did you survive? And how did you end up here?”
Qi Zhi’s gaze darted away for a moment. Recalling Mu Qingshi’s words, she answered quietly, “Second Senior Sister—I’ve been with Second Senior Sister the whole time!”
She stood up and pointed upstairs.
“Second Senior Sister?!” Ming Songxue was taken aback, instinctively following Qi Zhi’s gesture to look up.
Shen Zhuxing: “She’s here too?”
Qi Zhi nodded, keeping her head down, and led the two of them upstairs.
The door to the guest room was shut tight. Worried that Mu Qingshi might still be asleep, Qi Zhi quickly stopped Shen Zhuxing from pushing the door open and craned her neck to call inside, “Second Senior Sister! Are you awake? I found Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister!”
Her words fell into silence for several seconds.
Ming Songxue grew alert, silently gripping the sword at her waist.
The next moment, the closed door suddenly opened. A bitter medicinal scent drifted out from the dim room.
Mu Qingshi stood in the doorway, bathed in a sliver of bright light, and looked up at the people outside.
“Eldest Senior Brother, Third Junior Sister.” She addressed the two before her softly, her expression serene. “It’s been a while.”
“Second Senior Sister…” Ming Songxue’s eyes reddened at the corners, and she released her grip on the sword.
Mu Qingshi offered a faint smile and stepped aside to make way. “This isn’t the place to talk. Third Junior Sister, whatever you want to ask, let’s discuss it inside.”
Qi Zhi instinctively glanced into the room and immediately spotted the white-headed, grey-backed little bird perched on the table pecking at peanuts. Noticing her gaze, it tilted its head and winked at her.
Qi Zhi: “…”
So they were already prepared—she was acting the part!
Qi Zhi breathed a small sigh of relief and unconsciously took hold of Mu Qingshi’s sleeve, following behind her to the table and sitting down.
She was so guilty that she didn’t dare look up at anyone. She could only grab a handful of peanuts and, staring at the little bird on the table, shell one and feed it one.
As one of the earliest disciples to enter the Daoist Venerable’s tutelage, Ming Songxue had often, in her youth, used her status as a junior sister to pester Mu Qingshi—the one everyone on the mountain admired—into sparring with her.
Five hundred years ago, Mu Qingshi’s spiritual root was destroyed, and she had confined herself to Suihan Hall ever since. Ming Songxue never saw this Second Senior Sister again.
Later, on Master’s orders, she had followed Eldest Senior Brother to Yu City to safeguard the human royal family.
On the rare occasions she returned to the mountain, she heard that Second Senior Sister had grown closer to Eleventh Junior Sister, who also had a damaged spiritual root, though she still avoided everyone else. Ming Songxue had felt both wistful and, in a small way, comforted.
After Tiandao Sect fell, wind and snow had raged day and night, concealing far too much.
So many days had passed, and even with assistance, they still hadn’t been able to recover all the disciples’ remains.
Ming Songxue had visited Suihan Hall once. Aside from heavy snow weighing down plum branches, she had found only silence.
She had thought that the fading figure in her memory would never be seen again in this lifetime. Now, miraculously reunited, merely sitting beside Mu Qingshi was enough to make her nose sting and her eyes well with tears she couldn’t control.
But though the joy in her heart was genuine, reason still overpowered the elation of reunion.
The seal on the demonic sword had been broken. Tiandao Sect had lost so many lives in a single night. Only Mu Qingshi and Qi Zhi had survived, and they had coincidentally appeared in Qingxi Commandery—where a major incident had just occurred.
This could not go without explanation.
Only, some questions, once asked, carried the fear of hearing an answer you didn’t want.
She and Shen Zhuxing alike fell silent, saying nothing.
Inside the room, the charcoal fire crackled, occasionally spitting out a brief spark.
Mu Qingshi suddenly sighed. “I know what you want to ask.”
Ming Songxue immediately looked up. “Second Senior Sister…”
Qi Zhi couldn’t help but grow tense along with them.
Heaven and earth as her witness, she was even more curious than her two senior siblings about what Mu Qingshi was about to say.
After all, if this story didn’t hold together, her role as accomplice would be exposed right alongside her!
Mu Qingshi: “Whether you believe it or not, I had no knowledge of what happened that day.”
Ming Songxue frowned, clearly finding it hard to believe. “How could that be?”
Qi Zhi cracked open a peanut with a snap, her lowered gaze fixed on Ah Yun, equally full of confusion.
—Yeah, how could that be!
“Before the sect was attacked, it was nearly Eleventh Junior Sister’s coming-of-age day.” Mu Qingshi sighed softly, looking at Qi Zhi, who hadn’t raised her head since entering the room, her eyes full of tenderness. “Our fellow disciples on the mountain had always treated her harshly. She often came to me, confiding so many grievances… Seeing shimei always so downcast, I only wanted her to be happy on her coming-of-age day. I asked Master for permission to take her away from the mountain for a period of training.”
Qi Zhi: “…”
Downcast? Me?
“After Master approved, I took shimei off the mountain. She had never seen the world beyond the mountain and was delighted the entire journey.” Mu Qingshi lowered her gaze at this point. “I had wanted to take her to see more, farther places, but before we had gone very far, the dreadful news caught up with us, and we turned back here…”
Shen Zhuxing: “Since you both came here, why did you delay returning to Mount Qiongju for so long?”
Mu Qingshi fell silent for a moment, then smiled as though self-deprecating. “Eldest Senior Brother, I am not you.”
Shen Zhuxing: “…”
“That’s right. I thought about going back. But when I turned back here and saw so many people flying toward Mount Qiongju, I hesitated.” Mu Qingshi spoke in a low voice, looking up at Shen Zhuxing with a bitter smile. “That day, everyone died. Eleventh Junior Sister’s and my lives feel as though they were stolen.”
“Master is gone. The demonic sword has vanished. Mount Qiongju is one of the Four Spiritual Veins, and the Forbidden Back Mountain still holds a seal. shixiong, are you not more aware than I am of what Tiandao Sect’s situation is now?”
“Eldest Senior Brother, tell me.” Mu Qingshi asked softly, “I am merely a cripple with a ruined spiritual root. With what am I supposed to face all of this? And how am I supposed to protect Eleventh Junior Sister?”
Shen Zhuxing: “…”
Ming Songxue couldn’t bear it and pressed her hand over Mu Qingshi’s wrist. “Second Senior Sister…”
Mu Qingshi slowly shook her head and closed her eyes.
Her lashes trembled faintly, as though recalling something she would rather not face.
“These past days, I’ve been thinking that perhaps I shouldn’t go back. That place has always been an endless vortex—five hundred years ago, and still today.” She spoke quietly, her clenched fingers crumpling the hem of her robe. “To Tiandao Sect, I have been nothing for a long time now… If I could, I would only want to take Eleventh Junior Sister and leave Tiandao Sect forever…”
Ming Songxue’s fingertips trembled. She opened her mouth several times, at a complete loss for words, and could only turn her gaze to Shen Zhuxing.
Shen Zhuxing looked at Mu Qingshi, his eyes inscrutable.
He pondered in silence for a moment, then suddenly asked in a low voice, “What about Yue Jinzhu? How did she die? You don’t know that either?”
Mu Qingshi: “I killed her.”
Qi Zhi jolted at this response and, in her nervousness, shoved an unshelled peanut into Ah Yun’s beak.
“Chirp?” Ah Yun turned her head away from the peanut, sat back on her little feet, and flapped her wings indignantly, as if complaining about something.
Qi Zhi quickly pulled her hand back, shelled the peanut, and offered it again.
Then she pricked up her ears and listened carefully to Mu Qingshi’s explanation.
Mu Qingshi said that for hundreds of years, this Yue Jinzhu had always been well-behaved.
Master had been on good terms with this demon in life. When Tiandao Sect fell, Mu Qingshi’s first instinct was to come here and gather information from her.
But she never expected that Yue Jinzhu’s compliance was only on the surface. In truth, she had been secretly hunting cultivators from all over, using forbidden arts to refine pills that boosted cultivation.
With Tiandao Sect’s sudden collapse, Yue Jinzhu no longer bothered hiding and finally showed her fox tail.
“She caught me off guard and trapped shimei and me in the underground chamber, intending to harvest our divine souls for the tripod to refine pills.” At this point, a trace of lingering fear surfaced in Mu Qingshi’s eyes. “If not for the fact that before we left the mountain, Master had gifted me a burst of sword qi for protection, Eleventh Junior Sister and I would likely have become lost souls in that tripod.”
Qi Zhi: “…”
Sword qi from Powang? If something stolen could count as a gift…
Shen Zhuxing hesitated a moment, then pressed further: “Then where did the demonic qi on her and that spider come from?”
Mu Qingshi: “From the alchemical tripod.”
Shen Zhuxing: “The tripod?”
“I don’t know the cause, but it came from the alchemical tripod.” Mu Qingshi answered with certainty. “She fought desperately before dying, and the demonic qi briefly attached to her body before dissipating and drifting skyward. Master’s sword qi was already spent, so I didn’t dare pursue it further.”
Shen Zhuxing: “…”
Qi Zhi listened in suspense, terrified that Shen Zhuxing would keep pressing and notice something. She quickly looked up and said weakly, “In order to protect me, shijie was badly hurt. The demon venom still hasn’t cleared, so she can only rest and recover here…”
With that, she lowered her head again to hide her guilt.
The lingering scent of medicine in the room and Mu Qingshi’s pale lips served as perfectly natural corroboration.
The room fell silent. After an indeterminate while, Shen Zhuxing closed his eyes and sighed.
He said, “You’re right. Tiandao Sect is that endless vortex now. If you truly don’t want to go back, then take Junior Eleven and leave.”
Qi Zhi’s heart leapt at those words.
Wonderful! She could finally leave Tiandao Sect openly and never have to fear being dragged back again!
A smile began to rise on Qi Zhi’s lips—only for her to realize a heartbeat later that her delight was wildly inappropriate for the moment. She hastily pressed her lips tight.
She watched Ming Songxue hold Mu Qingshi’s hand, eyes red, delivering parting admonitions with the utmost earnestness.
Shen Zhuxing said nothing, but a trace of regret lingered in his eyes as well.
A thought surfaced in Qi Zhi’s mind.
—The way she had once been so infatuated with Mu-shijie, so bewitched that she had wanted to become her daoist partner… perhaps it wasn’t entirely because she was truly that naive.
Look! It wasn’t just her!
Now even Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister were completely bamboozled by Mu Qingshi!
Mu-shijie was really good at lying!
Being fooled by her was just human nature—human nature, okay!
The author has something to say:
Qi Zhi: Stunned, attempting to learn.
Ah Yun: Feed me peanuts!
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