Chapter 63

Had she not been injured, Xie Chang'an might have been able to handle it, but now, wounded and carrying someone else, it was exceedingly difficult to divide her focus and summon the Heavenly Sword to parry so many spiritual arrows simultaneously.

A red-and-gold umbrella plunged from the skies, blooming in the dark night and shielding their backs, taking the full brunt of those nine arrows.

Xie Chang'an let out a muffled groan, a thin trail of blood spilling from the corner of her lips.

This umbrella was not merely a divine artifact; it was an extension of her own body.

Following the first nine arrows came a tenth. Though its force was inferior to the previous ones, its trajectory was utterly insidious. Seizing the moment when she failed to react in time, it grazed the edge of the umbrella and drove straight through.

Li Chengying’s body gave a violent shudder.

Xie Chang'an’s expression shifted slightly. She pulled the arrow from his body, hurled it back with all her might, and then—without looking back—levitated into the air.

The red umbrella enveloped them both, and man and umbrella vanished together.

The arrow she hurled back tore through the night sky, striking the protective barrier of genuine qi in front of Du Qiangdi. It shattered his defensive barrier, sending him stumbling backward and coughing up blood.

"Junior Uncle Du!"

Zhao Beiyuan supported him just in time.

"The adversary is so intractable. Could it be a Grandmaster of supreme power?"

Du Qiangdi shook his head. "Impossible. But they must possess immortal-grade artifacts, and more than one. Where are the Sect Master and Senior Brother Wan?"

Zhao Beiyuan replied, "They are setting up a formation. Those scoundrels will definitely not escape Chang'an!"

Du Qiangdi asked, "What about the cultivator who fought the Sect Master at the Sun residence earlier? Are they in cahoots?"

Zhao Beiyuan answered, "They should be, but that person escaped as well."

Du Qiangdi said, "I heard that person has an even higher cultivation base, having already glimpsed the Martial Immortal realm. If they join forces, it might become troublesome. We must find them as quickly as possible!"

...

That final arrow had been intercepted somewhat by the Golden-Thread Umbrella, preventing it from piercing his bones, though it had torn clean through Li Chengying's flesh.

However, the arrow itself was no ordinary weapon; it was imbued with the spiritual energy channeled by Du Qiangdi. At this moment, blood continued to flow freely, draining Li Chengying's strength bit by bit.

Xie Chang'an set him down, placed her hand over his wound, and used her spiritual energy to stem the bleeding.

Li Chengying opened his eyes slightly, utterly devoid of strength.

"Why didn't you ask?"

Xie Chang'an: "Ask what?"

Li Chengying: "Ask why I blocked the arrow for you."

Xie Chang'an gave a deadpan, ruthless evaluation: "Even without you blocking it, that arrow wouldn't have taken my life. Now, I have to waste spiritual energy healing your injuries instead."

Li Chengying: ......

Why did this beauty never follow the expected script?

His breathing grew chaotic, and he nearly passed out from sheer exasperation.

Li Chengying: "Where do you plan to go now?"

Xie Chang'an: "First, I'm sending you back to the Li residence."

Li Chengying didn't bother asking what earth-shattering calamity she had actually stirred up during her trip to the imperial palace. He simply said:

"You should come to the Li residence to lie low as well. It's relatively safe there, and they won't find you for the time being. Cien Temple is too far away; if you go out now, you will definitely be discovered."

Xie Chang'an pondered, weighing the feasibility of directly breaking out of the city.

That notion, however, was quickly dismissed.

The people from the Southern Yue Grotto-Heaven were undoubtedly busy setting up nets at every city gate to hunt people down.

She did not reject Li Chengying's proposal. Indeed, this was currently the best course of action.

The Li residence was nearby, but Li Chengying's constitution was frail; he was already panting heavily after walking mere steps.

Speechless, Xie Chang'an swept an arm around his waist, formed a hand seal, and led him straight through a wall. Shifting forms and exchanging shadows, they crossed through space a few times and arrived right outside the back courtyard of the Li estate.

Li Chengying leaned against her like a delicate bird resting on a bough.

He was taller than Xie Chang'an, forcing him to hunch his back slightly to maintain this posture.

Xie Chang'an: "How much longer are you planning to hold onto me?"

Li Chengying said, his face deathly pale, "You flew too fast just now. I feel a bit dizzy."

Xie Chang'an: ......

The sickly beauty, who gasped for breath every three paces, offered her a weak smile, slowly released her, and carefully began making his way inward by leaning against the wall.

It was the dead of night, and the back door had been bolted that morning. With a slight wave of Xie Chang'an's hand, however, the door swung open without a sound.

Half of her body was stained with blood, and Li Chengying could even smell the scent of gore lingering in the chilly night air.

Yet Xie Chang'an herself acted entirely oblivious, her every movement as normal as anyone else's. She even meticulously erased all traces of her arrival along the perimeter of the Li estate to prevent any tracking or detection.

Such immense restraint.

This was the third profound impression Li Chengying formed of her, alongside her peerless appearance and immortal magic.

He had always fancied beauties. According to Minister Li, he had possessed this disposition ever since his spiritual intelligence had yet to awaken.

Otherwise, Madame Minister would never have sent Xiao Qiao to serve him. Aside from being previously beguiled by the cat demon's illusion, it was largely because she knew of Li Chengying's chronic weakness for comely faces.

Yet here before him was a breathtaking beauty of ruthless methods, neither entirely righteous nor thoroughly demonic, whose cultivation base and origins were shrouded in mystery—neither entirely human nor ghost, dropping straight out of the skies and landing right in front of him.

It was more than enough to arouse every ounce of Li Chengying's curiosity and desire to investigate.

He led Xie Chang'an to the study within his private courtyard.

"I have a maid named A'jin, but she doesn't come to the study. I usually clean this place myself. You can rest assured and stay here for now. There happens to be a small couch as well; later, I’ll have A'jin bring new bedding to lay out."

Xie Chang'an remained silent in thought. What she had taken was the supreme treasure of the Southern Yue Grotto-Heaven; the sect must be foaming at the mouth with rage by now, sparing no effort to deploy massive formations for defense across the entire city of Chang'an, and perhaps even launching a city-wide manhunt.

Not only could she not leave the city, but she probably shouldn't step foot outside the Li residence either.

Something must have gone awry on Zhu Huan's end.

A single Mount Wanying coupled with a few disciples underneath should not have rendered them so passive, unless Zhu Huan had likewise encountered a matched opponent.

Anyone capable of suppressing Zhu Huan had to be a Grandmaster-level powerhouse.

The Southern Yue Grotto-Heaven had two such figures: the Sect Master, Lord Biyang, and his junior brother, Lord Xinling.

Regardless of which one showed up, it would be immensely dangerous.

Even if Zhu Huan could not win, however, escaping should not have been a problem.

Deducing from this, he might have been injured, but his life was not in danger; he was simply temporarily unable to contact her.

"They might come to search the place. If you hide me and get discovered, the consequences will be dire. I'll rest for two hours and then leave," she said.

Li Chengying remained entirely unperturbed. "Have no fear. My family has close ties to the imperial clan, and my father serves in the Secretariat managing central affairs, so we carry some weight. Furthermore, you've already erased the traces outside; even if they come, they won't find a thing. Worst case scenario, the blinding techniques of my paper-folding art will allow me to stall them for a while."

Xie Chang'an recalled how he had folded a lifelike fake Xie Chang'an in just a few strokes earlier.

That technique was exquisite to the extreme; many Daoist disciples spent years upon years entering the Dao without necessarily mastering it.

Xie Chang'an asked, "Your paper-folding art—is that also an innate talent from past lives?"

Li Chengying: "Innate talent from past lives."

Without warning, Xie Chang'an pinched his chin, lifting it slightly.

"Since you possess such innate wisdom, why did you insist on taking me as your master?"

Li Chengying gazed at the breathtaking visage that had suddenly drawn so close, his breath halting for a single, fleeting heartbeat.

"I was born frail. Secular fame and fortune are of little use to me; I might as well seek the Dao of immortality and strive to live a few more years."

Xie Chang'an: "A fine reason. Then why me? Both the Southern Yue Grotto-Heaven and Cien Temple are right here. Your father could surely petition them on your behalf, or failing that, you could seek out the True Man Zhu."

He hesitated for a moment, choosing to speak the truth: "Because you are the prettiest."

Xie Chang'an: ......

Though a beauty was close at hand, her breath fragrant as orchids, nevertheless—

Li Chengying said weakly, "Please loosen your grip a bit; I feel like vomiting blood again."

The moment Xie Chang'an released her hold, he instantly tilted his head to the side and coughed up blood.

A fresh scent of iron filled the study, practically masking the lingering traces of blood on Xie Chang'an herself.

Li Chengying coughed, wiping the foam of blood from the corner of his lips with a handkerchief. "I've heard the path of cultivation is long and arduous. If one's master isn't good-looking enough, it's terribly easy for a disciple to lose the will to persevere."

Xie Chang'an said indifferently, "I have never heard such preposterous nonsense."

Li Chengying argued with absolute conviction: "Back when you sought a master, if your master had possessed a green face and protruding fangs, a bloody basin for a mouth, hands like withered branches, ears like wind-catching fans, and an aura of pure evil while preaching to you about the Great Dao and longevity, would you have ever doubted the immortal gate and chosen to enter it?"

Xie Chang'an gave a cold scoff: "My master looked strikingly similar to you."

Li Chengying was deeply shocked: "Could it be that the enemy you mentioned is him?!"

He then touched his own face with a sudden realization: "So you originally chose him as your master purely because of his face?"

He leaned in with a cheeky smile: "My face still has some practical value after all, doesn't it?"

Such a frivolous gesture, when performed by him, somehow felt entirely like acting spoiled.

His sickly handsomeness carried no aggression whatsoever; his moisture-filled eyes held a smile, resembling a puppy caught out in the rain.

Sweeping her gaze past the messy pile of romance novels detailing forcible acquisitions and the talisman manuals scattered across his desk, Xie Chang'an found herself unable to muster any anger.

Who could have imagined that the Second Young Master of the Li family, reputed to be sickly and rarely seen by outsiders, spent his entire day cooped up in his study reading things like this?

Seeing her close her eyes in meditation to recover from her injuries, Li Chengying ceased his flippancy. Once the wave of dizziness subsided, he quietly propped himself up against the wall and got to his feet, stepping outside to have A'jin fetch two sets of bedding, which he personally laid out neatly in the study.

Nor did he rush back to rest; instead, he thoroughly checked the perimeter inside and out, folding several paper "Xie Chang'ans" and tossing them outward to scatter toward various corners of Chang'an city.

Although lacking Xie Chang'an's blood, the paper puppets were inevitably somewhat inferior, and anyone with discerning eyes could spot the deception at a glance. Even so, they would surely draw away some attention and buy her some time.

Having finished all this, Li Chengying grew increasingly drowsy and weak. He returned to his room, collapsed onto the bed, and instantly fell into a state resembling unconsciousness.

His soul had always been feeble, making him an easy target for demons and ghosts. Previously, the cat demon had lurked in his estate precisely because it coveted his pristine, vibrant soul as an exquisite tonic.

His sleep this time was far from peaceful.

The familiar, bizarre array of demons and monsters swarmed forward, as if staging a grand competition of divine powers within his dreams, driving him deep into a nightmare where he broke out in cold sweats, struggling desperately to snap awake.

Suddenly, all the piercing shrieks, seas of blades, and blazing fires receded like a retreating tide!

A wave of warmth spread outward from the space between his brows to his four limbs and bones, making him feel as though he were basking in a gentle winter sun—an indescribably pleasant comfort.

Li Chengying lazily opened his eyes.

Ever since his spiritual intelligence had been restored, his body had constantly struggled between frailty and agony.

At times, he often thought that rather than consciously enduring such torment, he might as well have remained as foolish and insensate as he used to be.

This was the very first time he had ever woken up completely free of pain. His meridians felt as though they had been smoothly combed through one by one, and his entire being felt as though it were soaking in a hot spring, so warm and cozy that he had no desire to get up.

A hand rested upon his wrist.

Li Chengying looked up and saw Xie Chang'an.

Her fatigue could not mask her glacial, ethereal radiance, making her look like a deity descending to rescue him from the depths of fire and water.