"You... you want to kill me?" Shangguan Yu was deeply shocked. "Why would Brother Wei want to kill me? I haven't done anything to wrong him!"
Shangguan Long sighed and walked over to the table, taking her daughter's hand and sitting her down. She spoke gently, "Mother naturally knows you haven't done anything to wrong him, and I believe you. But does your Brother Wei believe it?"
"What... what do you mean?" Shangguan Yu looked bewildered.
Shangguan Long said, "It's been over two years since you were taken by Mo Ning, hasn't it? That Mo Ning's reputation precedes him—who doesn't know he's a lecherous man? Relying on his status as the Young Master of the Mo Feather Sect and the backing of that old ghost Mo Yu, he's ruined how many young women's innocence over the years? You were taken by Mo Ning for two years with no word at all, with nothing but a soul lamp in my hands to confirm you were still alive. The entire Mo Feather Sect is like a pack of stray dogs, fleeing through this cosmos, yet Mo Ning still kept you by his side. What do you think your Brother Wei would conclude?"
Shangguan Yu's face turned pale. "Mother, you mean Brother Wei would think... But I really haven't done anything to wrong Brother Wei! After I was taken by Mo Ning, I immediately used the secret technique you taught me to seal myself in ice. By the time I woke up, I saw Father. I..."
"Would your Brother Wei believe that?" Shangguan Long cut her off, gazing at her coldly.
Shangguan Yu was rendered speechless.
"The crux of this matter doesn't depend on what Mother thinks, but on what your Brother Wei thinks. Think about it, foolish girl—isn't that right?"
Shangguan Yu's voice trembled. "I can explain it to him. He'll definitely believe me."
Shangguan Long let out a cold laugh dripping with mockery. "Fine, let's say your Brother Wei does believe you. What about everyone else in the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion? Will anyone else believe you?"
"I don't care whether others believe me, as long as Brother Wei does." Shangguan Yu shook her head, her eyes resolute with unwavering faith in her beloved.
"If Wei Wushuang were just an ordinary cultivator, he truly wouldn't need to care about anyone else. But he is the Young Lord of the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion—that leaves him no choice!" Shangguan Long patted the back of her daughter's hand, her tone weighted with earnest gravity. "If you were to enter the Wei household and truly become the Young Lady of the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion, Wei Wushuang would never be able to hold his head up in public again. Wei Jiuweng would never agree to let you into his family either."
Shangguan Yu's face went deathly pale.
Shangguan Long let out a long, languid sigh. "From the moment you were taken, this became irreversible. Wei Wushuang may have genuinely been concerned for your safety at first and wanted to rescue you, but over two years, his feelings have surely undergone changes he'd never admit to."
"You and Wei Wushuang grew up together, childhood sweethearts—a perfect match by all accounts. But precisely because of that, the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion couldn't simply annul the engagement, lest they offend my Flying Flower Barge! Since the engagement couldn't be dissolved, was Wei Wushuang truly going to marry you someday? To resolve this dilemma, there's only one way!"
"What way?" Shangguan Yu's body shuddered, her vacant eyes staring at her mother.
"If you're dead, the problem vanishes!" Shangguan Long regarded her with cold detachment. "Once you're dead, Wei Wushuang naturally no longer needs to marry you, and the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion won't offend my Flying Flower Barge. It would be the perfect solution for everyone."
Shangguan Yu shot to her feet in shock, involuntarily stumbling back several steps as if struck by utter terror. Her thoughts in disarray, she shook her head. "No, that's not it, Mother. That's not it at all. You're just speculating on your own. Brother Wei would never be that kind of person!"
Shangguan Long replied flatly, "If you truly believed that, why would you be so panicked? I'm afraid even you've started to believe it a little, haven't you? Want to know why you're having those thoughts? It's not because what I'm saying makes sense—it's because you've already sensed it yourself. You just haven't realized it yet."
"Sensed what?"
"During these two years, although you were sealed in ice, you didn't completely lose all awareness. You could still perceive some things going on around you. Think about it—how many battles has that old ghost Mo Yu fought over these two years? Among them, some were engagements where my Flying Flower Barge tracked him down and clashed with the Mo Feather Sect. The rest were likely the doing of the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion. In all those battles, did you ever hear your Brother Wei calling out for you? Did you ever feel that the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion had any intention of saving you?"
Shangguan Long let out a cold laugh. "If I'm not mistaken, in those battles, the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion was more than happy to blow Mo Yu's tower ship to pieces and slaughter everyone on board!"
"As long as they could wipe out the Mo Feather Sect completely, and dispose of you along the way, they could simply turn around and tell me that the Mo Feather Sect, desperate and cornered, had killed you. With no evidence to prove otherwise, what could I do to them?"
Each word Shangguan Long spoke cut to the bone, and Shangguan Yu could take no more. She reached up and clamped her hands over her ears. "Mother, I don't believe it! I refuse to believe it's like that!"
"Believe it or not—it's the truth!" Shangguan Long snorted coldly. "When my Flying Flower Barge and the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion set out together to pursue the Mo Feather Sect, we agreed beforehand that whoever detected the Mo Feather Sect's trail would immediately send word so we could launch a pincer attack. Yet on several occasions, even when they found the Mo Feather Sect, they didn't notify us in time. By the time we arrived, old ghost Mo Yu had already fled. If the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion harbored no ulterior motives, why would they do such a thing?"
Shangguan Yu collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string. Her lips still murmured weakly, "I don't believe it!"
Shangguan Long said, "If you don't believe it, then just wait and see. I've already sent word to the Heavenly Pillar Pavilion. In a few days, they should rendezvous with us. And when they do, you'll see exactly how your dear Brother Wei treats you!"