The Scent of the Orchid in the Forest of Secrets (密林兰香)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Shu Haolin was sitting inside her small residence in the corner of the Yu Sect, and she had a sheet of paper and a couple of words written on it, and she stared at the paper with her head resting in her chin. She considered the words written on the paper, turning them over and over again in her head and trying to find connections with the recent events. She had been still for so long in that same position that her calligraphy brush had dripped a small puddle of ink underneath where she held it. She had told Yu Jielan a couple of days ago that there would definitely be evidence, a flaw in the act, but as she pondered over the events over and over again, she found herself blank, and not so confident anymore.

Now, the Yu Sect had been stirred into a mess, and everyone was in a state of barely contained chaos. Everyone was wondering if the next person dead would be them, and the theory of the Lin Sect coming back as resentful ghosts to poison them was flying around without restraint. Among the clan elders, a clear divide had formed, one side with severe mistrust of Yu Jielan's abilities, and another who supported Yu Jielan unconditionally. It seemed inevitable for this messy pot called the Yu Sect would boil over and destroy itself from within. Yu Jielan and Shu Haolin had been stretched to their breaking points to try and keep everything stable. However, it seemed the fate would always be one step ahead of them.

Shu Haoyang rushed into their residence, the door swinging open. Shu Haolin glanced up, her eyes slightly squinting against the strong sunlight that flooded in.

"What's wrong, Yang-er?"

"A-jie..." He seemed unable to form words. "A-jie, Yu Ziyan is dead."

The brush in Shu Haolin's hand fell to the table with a clatter. "What did you say?" Shu Haolin's voice was weak.

Shu Haoyang stared at his big sister, unable to form words. Shu Haolin quickly scrambled to her feet and put her hands around Shu Haoyang's arms.

"What about you? Do you feel better? Is the curse lifted?"

He slowly shook his head. "A-jie, it wasn't him. Did we do something wrong?"

She felt her heart sink. "You stay here. I'm going to go find your dashijie."

"Dashijie is already at the scene." Shu Haoyang added. Shu Haolin felt the space in between her brows tense even tighter.

"I'll be right back," she said before flying out the door. Behind her, the splotch of ink grew larger and larger, staining the white piece of paper until it was completely unrecognizable.

Shu Haolin found Yu Jielan standing wordlessly in front of the prison cell while a couple of cultivators checked over Yu Ziyan's corpse. A rope hung from the ceiling, still swaying lightly, from which Yu Ziyan's corpse had been found. She immediately embraced Yu Jielan from the side, but like hugging a pole of ice, she didn't respond, staring dumbly forward. Shu Haolin covered Yu Jielan's eyes and turned her away. Yu Jielan was the Sect Leader now. She couldn't let others see her cry, much less for Yu Ziyan. "Let's go outside first, okay?"

Yu Jielan complied without any resistance. When they exited, a warm spring breeze hit their faces, almost as if mocking them, cursing them to feel no joy at the coming of spring.

"A-Lan, relax. This movement was way too big. We'll definitely be able to catch some clue or flaw in his act." Shu Haolin still felt like her words were inappropriate for Yu Jielan's current state, but she didn't know what else to say. She was still steering Yu Jielan in the direction of her residence. "We're almost home, okay?"

Yu Jielan kept it together until they reached her sleeping chambers in the depth of her residence. Shu Haolin sat Yu Jielan down on the bed and sighed. "Alright. If you want to cry, then cry. There's only me here." Like a switch had been turned in her, Yu Jielan seemed to come to life again, and tears streamed down her face as she held Shu Haolin as if she was the last living thing in the world.