Er’er’s body was very stiff. Even though she was close to him, she stood completely straight, not leaning softly against him as she usually did.

Li Ye touched his eyebrow, somewhat displeased. He wanted to say a few words to appease her, but didn’t know what to say—he hadn’t said anything wrong. Yet if he didn’t comfort her, he felt a bit uneasy.

Shifting his body slightly in agitation, he stood up and raised his hand, releasing a beam of red light.

Half of the several dozen soldiers were already dead or injured. Just as Chu Xiao was raising his knife to kill again, his hands were unexpectedly bound, firmly tied behind his back.

He was startled, and his plain face revealed an almost frenzied expression. His features twisted grotesquely as his eyes looked toward Li Ye’s direction, baring his teeth viciously.

“Release me!”

A stream of resentful energy followed his roar with tremendous force. The entire ground began to emit a black-gold light, indistinct but converging toward him.

Despite her inner frustration, when Er’er saw this situation, she stepped in front of Li Ye, forming a hand seal with a solemn expression.

The Gate of Life and Death was backing Chu Xiao.

…

…

This was troublesome. If the Gate of Life and Death recklessly poured out all its resentful energy, her barrier might not be able to contain it. At that point, not just the few soldiers before them, but all the civilians in the entire city would be unable to escape.

A strange laughter echoed in her ears, like someone breaking through withered vines. The air pressure around them became extremely low. The old man behind them lost his balance and fell backward softly.

Er’er turned her head, about to catch him, when she saw Li Ye move ahead of her, placing the old man in a chair.

Slightly startled, she looked up, meeting his downcast eyes.

“So you do know to stand in front of me,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching as he snorted lightly.

How could he still be in the mood to jest at a time like this? Er’er stomped her foot anxiously. “The Gate of Life and Death.”

“Hmm?” Li Ye lazily moved his neck. “What about the Gate of Life and Death?”

“It wants to attack,” she frowned. “As we walk in the mortal realm with our auras completely concealed, it probably mistakes us for mortals and wants to kill us too.”

At this point, Er’er had a sudden inspiration and quickly removed her disguise.

Pure immortal energy dispersed outward. When the surrounding resentful energy touched it, it rapidly retreated.

However, as if knowing this immortal energy wasn’t powerful enough, the retreated resentful energy soon came curling back tentatively, gradually beginning to make contact.

The Gate of Life and Death seemed to pause, observing something. Er’er straightened her back and stared fixedly at Chu Xiao.

Chu Xiao’s pupils had turned red, numb and unfocused, hollowly gazing in her direction. His entire person moved toward her like a walking corpse, taking a step forward.

Really? Not intimidated? She frowned and turned to ask Li Ye: “Isn’t the Gate of Life and Death afraid of immortal energy suppression?”

Casually waving away a strand of resentful energy, Li Ye answered indifferently: “It is.”

“Then why…”

“It only fears this kind.”

A hand was placed on her shoulder. Er’er froze, and before she could ask, she suddenly felt a great burst of fire behind her.

Magnificent immortal energy surged skyward, sweeping through the entire barrier like a flood. Within the scorching flames appeared the shape of a golden crow, with a long cry accompanying the spread of its wings.

The dark miasma all shrieked as it fled back into Chu Xiao’s chopping knife. The Gate of Life and Death, which had been so imposing just moments ago, vanished completely in the blink of an eye, both light and shadow.

In just a moment, the street seemed to return from the netherworld to the mortal realm. Outside, the sunlight was bright. Though the street was still bloody, not a trace of yin energy remained.

Withdrawing his hand, Li Ye snorted with a laugh: “Pathetic.”

Er’er looked at him, wanting to speak but hesitating.

“Not you,” Li Ye pointed toward Chu Xiao with his chin raised. “I meant the Gate of Life and Death.”

It seemed she couldn’t feel relaxed either. Someone else’s casually released immortal energy could frighten the Gate of Life and Death like this, while she had tried her hardest only to have Chu Xiao take another step forward. She truly was pathetic.

However, now that the situation had eased, Er’er immediately moved forward, intending to seize Chu Xiao’s knife.

“If you take it directly, he’ll die,” Li Ye said.

Her steps faltered as Er’er turned back, puzzled: “Why?”

“His resentment is too heavy; he has already exchanged his soul for the Gate of Life and Death’s assistance. His wish remains unfulfilled, so forcibly separating him from it would naturally kill him.”

Wish? Er’er turned to examine Chu Xiao, then formed a Direct Speech Charm with a wave of her hand.

The Direct Speech Charm was a minor immortal technique of Taihe Xianshi, used every time to interrogate her about where she had been causing trouble. One question warranted one answer—very useful.

Her cultivation wasn’t high enough to use this to extract information from others, but Chu Xiao was a mortal.

The spell descended on Chu Xiao’s brow with a glow. He frowned and struggled briefly, but when the light disappeared, he became still.

So Er’er moved closer and asked curiously: “What wish do you still have?”

“Li Chang Feng, death,” Chu Xiao answered without hesitation.

“Who is Li Chang Feng?”

“A salt merchant in the city.” Mentioning him, Chu Xiao seemed to grow anxious again. He looked back in Lian Wei’s direction, stumbling over to stand protectively in front of her.

Er’er thought for a moment and roughly understood.

Most salt merchants in the mortal realm were wealthy and powerful. They wouldn’t normally have direct grudges with common folk like him.

Unless that person had harmed Lian Wei.

She stepped closer and asked: “Where is he now?”

“I don’t know,” Chu Xiao shook his head, then looked up at the frightened soldiers in the distance. “Perhaps after killing them, I’ll know.”

What kind of reasoning was that? Er’er frowned, wanting to refute, but seeing his uncertain expression, she softened her tone: “I can take you to find him.”

Chu Xiao paused, examining her with suspicion.

Er’er raised both hands and turned in a circle before him: “I won’t harm Lian Wei. I can help you find Li Chang Feng.”

That “Lian Wei” formed from resentful energy seemed about to say something, but Li Ye indifferently raised his sleeve slightly, and she froze, immediately falling silent.

“Alright,” Chu Xiao nodded stiffly after a long while, his unfocused pupils turning slightly.

The soldiers watched him with anger and fear, still holding their swords, clearly unwilling to let him go. Li Ye glanced at them, quite tempted to sacrifice them all to the Gate of Life and Death and be done with it.

But his peripheral vision happened to catch the little one watching him.

His eyebrow twitched, and Li Ye suddenly softened his expression. With a wave of red light from his hand, he sent the group beyond the range of the Gate of Life and Death.

His movements were gentle, even the wind from his sleeve carrying affection.

Afterward, he gazed in the direction they had left and sighed softly: “Heaven cherishes all life.”

Er’er paused, her eyes softening.

The master also had a compassionate heart.

Nodding with satisfaction, she turned back to continue questioning Chu Xiao.

The old man lay limply in the chair, barely conscious. Li Ye glanced at him and casually tossed him to an inn outside the barrier. Then he traced his index finger through the air, and a fire bird materialized, letting out a long cry before flying off to find someone.

Having completed everything, he let out a light snort.

It wasn’t that he was trying to please anyone; he was just in a good mood today. It was an effortless gesture.