"Tong Peipei."
Wei Tu raised an eyebrow and read out the sender’s na.
Tong Peipei was a fellow talisman master he t back when he lived in the shantytown of Danqiu Mountain. Later, she moved into a small courtyard on Lark Street and married Helian Xiong.
Wei Tu had even attended their wedding and given a gift.
Judging by the tiline, Tong Peipei could be considered an old acquaintance of Wei Tu.
But that was all—just an old acquaintance, not a friend.
Decades ago, when Helian Xiong joined the Shuyun Alliance and, along with Alchemist Shu and others, plotted against Wei Tu, any past ties were already severed.
"She’s probably asking for help." Without even reading the ssage, Wei Tu could already guess the reason Tong Peipei sent him this talisman.
As expected, the talisman was exactly what he thought—a plea for help, Tong Peipei setting aside her pride to reach out.
At the start of the letter, Tong Peipei offered so polite greetings, then went on to recount so of her experiences over the years.
More than twenty years ago, after Danqiu Mountain was overrun by the demonic sects, Tong Peipei, like many loose cultivators, was swept along by the tides, eventually arriving at Honghe Mountain.
Relying on her skills as a talisman master, Tong Peipei managed to scrape by decently at Honghe Mountain.
But then, sothing unexpected happened a few years later.
Tong Peipei accidentally offended a Foundation Establishnt cultivator.
Because killing was strictly forbidden within Honghe Mountain Marketplace, that Foundation Establishnt cultivator only severed one of Tong Peipei’s hands, sparing her life.
By most accounts, this was a misfortune within fortune.
However, Tong Peipei depended entirely on her hands to make talismans for a living.
After losing one hand—
Her life grew increasingly miserable.
Today, after hearing about Wei Tu’s deeds at the Ten Thousand Scroll Pavilion, Tong Peipei finally wrote him this letter, hoping he would consider their past acquaintance and lend her a hand.
"What about Helian Xiong?" After reading the letter, Wei Tu couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
The entire letter didn’t ntion Tong Peipei’s Foundation Establishnt dao companion, Helian Xiong.
If Helian Xiong were still around, Tong Peipei wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.
"Tong Peipei’s temper has always been fiery. In the first few years after arriving at Honghe Mountain Marketplace, she probably relied on being the dao companion of a Foundation Establishnt cultivator to offend that other Foundation Establishnt cultivator..."
"Who would’ve thought, years later, with Helian Xiong gone without a trace, that Foundation Establishnt cultivator would settle the score..."
"After all, under normal circumstances, how could a Qi Refinent cultivator even have the chance to offend a Foundation Establishnt one?"
Based on Tong Peipei’s personality and the contents of the letter, Wei Tu more or less pieced together what had really happened to her over the years.
Back then, Tong Peipei had been provoked by that 'Mao talisman master' and, without understanding the situation, ca straight to his door to question him about selling 'Tranquility Talismans.'
The nature of a person is often seen early—what they are at three, they are still at seventy.
Before she lost her hand, Tong Peipei had led a smooth, unchallenged life, never facing any setbacks.
It wasn’t likely her personality had changed much.
"Judging from the timing, Tong Peipei probably doesn’t know about Helian Xiong and the Shuyun Alliance plotting against . Otherwise, she wouldn’t dare send a ssage asking for help."
Wei Tu shook his head.
He suspected that Helian Xiong’s disappearance had sothing to do with him killing Alchemist Shu.
After Alchemist Shu’s death—
The Manager Fan of the Jiu Yun rchant Guild, who had previously dealt with him, applied for reassignnt, heading to the front lines to join the demonic sect cultivators.
Helian Xiong likely did the sa.
Not daring to remain in Zheng Kingdom’s cultivation world, he fled to so distant place, abandoning Tong Peipei, his dao companion.
"Let go take a look first." Wei Tu thought of his past acquaintance with Tong Peipei and, considering his own reputation, flicked his sleeve and flew out of Cloudsmoke Residence.
Whether or not Tong Peipei knew about Helian Xiong plotting against him, on the surface, he had nothing to do with Alchemist Shu’s death.
Not showing so care for an old acquaintance would seem heartless.
Besides, Wei Tu also wanted to see if he could find any clues about Helian Xiong and the rest of the Shuyun Alliance cultivators through Tong Peipei.
Wei Tu hadn’t forgotten that Liu Zuo Shi of the Heavenly Maiden Sect, who had ties to the Shuyun Alliance, once suspected him of being involved in Si Qing’s death.
So tracking down the Shuyun Alliance’s whereabouts might just help him stay prepared.
Honghe Mountain Marketplace, outer area.
In the shantytown.
Wei Tu descended in front of a shack and knocked lightly on the door.
After so many years, seeing Tong Peipei fall from being the dao companion of a Foundation Establishnt cultivator back to living in a shantytown again made Wei Tu feel a bit of emotion.
After a mont—
The wooden door creaked open, revealing an old woman cultivator, aged and weathered.
Her hair was white, and she wore a faded red robe with a touch of light makeup on her face.
Wei Tu instinctively looked at the arms hanging by her waist, and seeing that her right arm was missing, he withdrew his gaze.
"Decades have passed... Tong Daoist, you’ve grown old." Wei Tu couldn’t help but feel a bit of sentint.
He could tell that Tong Peipei’s appearance today, in this outfit, was ant to appeal to him.
An old acquaintance wearing her old clothes, hoping he’d rember their past and not forget the ties they once shared.
"Senior Wei is a Foundation Establishnt cultivator, so your appearance remains youthful. I... am already one hundred sixty-five years old. My blood and energy have declined, it’s only natural..." Tong Peipei gave a bitter smile.
With that, she bowed slightly and invited Wei Tu into her ho.
Wei Tu nodded and stepped into the shabby house.
He casually found a stool and sat down, waving his hand to tell Tong Peipei not to be overly formal.
"I don’t see Daoist Helian here? If he were still around, you wouldn’t be..." Wei Tu voiced the question in his heart.
What he’d speculated before was just that—speculation. He needed to hear it from Tong Peipei herself.
At the ntion of Helian Xiong, a flash of hatred appeared in Tong Peipei’s eyes. She said, "That bastard made all kinds of promises when we married, swore eternal love, and once I grew old, lost my beauty, he tossed aside like worn-out shoes!"
Tong Peipei blad all the hardships and misfortunes she had suffered over the past decade on Helian Xiong.
Back then, she had played no small part in helping Helian Xiong achieve Foundation Establishnt.
If not for offering Wei Tu her own Tier One talisman master inheritance, it wasn’t certain whether Wei Tu would’ve agreed to draw the Demon Subduing Talisman for them.
After cursing Helian Xiong— This text is hosted at novel-fire
Tong Peipei, like a resentful woman, poured out all her experiences from Danqiu Mountain to Honghe Mountain over the years.
It was pretty much as Wei Tu had guessed.
At first, Tong Peipei thought she could rely on Helian Xiong, her Foundation Establishnt dao companion, so she acted recklessly, forgetting her place as a Qi Refinent cultivator.
But once Helian Xiong vanished without a trace, the other cultivators’ revenge quickly followed.
Losing her hand, being bullied, and more.
In a way, her current state truly was the result of being abandoned by Helian Xiong.
Wei Tu, sitting to the side, didn’t comnt.
Though he felt that what Helian Xiong did wasn’t right—leaving in such a rush without even a word—he also knew that Helian Xiong’s disappearance likely had sothing to do with him.
Since it was connected to him, it wasn’t his place to judge.
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