The moon struggled free from the dense clouds’ shroud, quietly revealing a small corner. Between heaven and earth lay an expanse of inky black forest, with no sight of dawn’s arrival.

The Buddha enshrined within Dazhao Temple still slept, yet the monks within the temple had become restless.

It was precisely the third watch of the night.

Inside the Great Vehicle Tower, one could vaguely hear the sounds of two groups fighting not far outside. Elders Yuan Zhan and Yuan Xian could no longer restrain themselves. Yuan Xian said, “Senior Brother Abbot! No matter what background those two people have, just send someone to investigate. The urgent matter is that if those sect leaders truly recover their martial power, we need to provide timely assistance!”

“Yes, if we go late and let them escape, His Highness will definitely blame us…”

“Those people can’t escape the temple in a short time,” Yuan Hai seemed to have thought of something, his expression suspicious as he swept his gaze around the hall in a circle. “But this time, His Highness’s true purpose…”

Before the words fell, suddenly there was a loud “bang,” and the entire great tower shook three times in response.

Everyone in the hall suddenly jolted alert. Immediately afterward, they smelled the scent of fire oil floating in the air. Yuan Zhan and Yuan Xian exchanged glances, exclaiming in shock, “Could it be—”

Yuan Hai’s figure flashed, and he immediately rushed toward the stairway. Yuan Zhan, Yuan Xian, and Yun Hui also followed closely behind. The Dazhao Temple monks’ lightness skills were exceptional. In just the blink of an eye, they vanished from the hall—thus successfully missing the arsonists.

Behind the head of the Vairocana Buddha statue in the center of the hall, two people lay motionless. The towering ear lobes concealed their forms, almost making them one with the Buddha statue… No need to guess who they were.

In fact, after Ye Qi said “I have a way,” he took off running at full speed. Although Changling didn’t understand what was happening, she still followed. When they were almost at the top floor pavilion, she saw him slow down and pull a fire starter from his clothes pocket.

Changling instantly understood—this fellow planned to ignite the fire oil on the top floor and take advantage of the chaos to lure Yuan Hai and the others away.

Although this counted as a plan, they currently had no fuse that could conduct fire. If they couldn’t retreat in time after the explosion, forget covering their tracks—they might instead be caught red-handed by those monks.

Ye Qi lowered his voice, “I’ll throw the fire starter onto the bookshelf. It will take some time for the fire to reach the candlestick. At that time we’ll return and hide behind the Buddha statue. As long as we move fast enough, we shouldn’t be detected.”

“It’s so dark, are you confident you can throw accurately?”

No sooner said than done—Ye Qi drew out the Limitless Whip tied to his body. With a sweep of his long arm, the whip head shot out like a long snake flicking its tongue. At the same time, the fire starter launched from his left hand, passing perfectly through the window lattice broken open by the whip, landing precisely on the bookshelf inside the room.

The flame shot up with a “poof.” Ye Qi swiftly retracted the long whip, grabbed Changling, and leaped down the stairs. “Go!”

Thus, by the time all the fire oil in the entire library was ignited and flames spread into the corridor, the two of them had already used the sound of the candlestick’s explosion to leap up, ghostlike and unnoticed, and perch on the Buddha’s ear.

No one would imagine that those two little thieves would dare so brazenly commit such acts right under the nose of Dazhao Temple’s abbot, hiding behind the Buddha that was worshipped daily.

Ye Qi’s entire body was buried behind the enormous ear crevice, his finger joints straining white. He held his breath and endured for a moment, afraid that one slack moment would send him tumbling down, which would be tremendously embarrassing—

Then he turned his head and discovered that Changling’s hand hadn’t held firm, and she was falling from the Buddha’s head without warning.

Ye Qi was startled. Without thinking, he swept down. The Limitless Whip encircled Changling’s waist. He yanked forcefully, pulling her into his embrace. The two spun half a circle in midair and landed steadily.

Who would have known that the moment Changling’s toes touched the ground, she coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. Ye Qi hadn’t anticipated this situation. In his nervousness, his tongue stumbled, “You… what’s wrong with you?”

Changling’s chest cavity was painfully compressed by a surge of pressure. Her vision suddenly blurred for a moment.

Tonight, when she used lightness skills to storm the Great Vehicle Tower, she had recklessly employed her internal power. Initially, she only felt the qi in her dantian was disordered and hadn’t had time to think deeply about it. But just now when she exerted herself again, her blood and qi churned turbulently, surging up to her throat and producing blood.

Fortunately, she had only used a little lightness skill and hadn’t reached the point where her true qi flowed backward. Changling took a deep breath and said lightly, “It’s nothing. I occasionally vomit blood when I’m nervous. You’ll get used to it.”

Ye Qi: “…”

She raised her sleeve and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, striding forward, “Don’t dawdle, those monks will be here soon.”

At this reminder, Ye Qi couldn’t spare the thought to question “what kind of habit is vomiting blood from nervousness.” The two, one after the other, rushed straight toward the cellar.

Upon stepping into the tunnel entrance, both Ye Qi and Changling couldn’t help but freeze. Although the passageway was narrow, at a glance all the wall lamps were lit. The tunnel’s depths were invisible, and one couldn’t tell what scene lay below. Ye Qi fumbled randomly at his waist a few times without finding what he wanted. With difficulty, he finally grasped the blade handle, drew out the Gouhun Blade, and thrust it backward, “I’ll go down first. If I see someone, I’ll rescue him and bring him up. If there’s any trouble, leave immediately.”

Changling had just grasped the blade handle when Ye Qi, without another word, strode rapidly downward in great strides. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished from sight.

She looked down at the Gouhun Blade in her hand, momentarily speechless. In the past when she roamed the martial world, in times of danger it was always she who left weapons for her comrades. When had she ever needed others to worry about her safety? But today was different from the past. She could vomit blood just from jumping around a bit. If she had no weapon in hand, forget dealing with those bald donkeys outside—even if she truly encountered Fu Liujing, she might not be able to kill him successfully.

So she didn’t refuse this Gouhun Blade.

But she had clearly heard him say he wanted to rescue Fu Liujing… Changling suddenly realized clearly that her companionship with Ye Qi was probably ending here.

Changling’s eyes grew a few degrees colder. She stroked the Gouhun Blade’s handle and stepped into the cellar one step at a time.

The cellar was filled with a damp, clammy air. A breeze from some unknown source made the candlelight flicker bright and dim.

Changling surveyed the area in a circle. This cellar was divided by iron bars into individual cells, with heavy locks on the doors—indeed a place for confining people. However, looking around, every cell was empty, except for the one at the very end of the corridor.

Her gaze swept over and she saw Ye Qi unlocking the cell at the end.

Ye Qi’s lockpicking skills were not proficient. The iron needle entered the keyhole several times without success. The more anxious he became, the more his hands trembled. At this moment, he rather missed that iron-cutting Gouhun Blade.

There was no lamp lit inside the cell, only a table, a chair, and what could barely be called a bed. The person on the bed lay with his back turned. Hearing the “clanging” sound of chains outside the door, he sat up startled, as if delayed for a moment, then turned around.

Precisely at this moment, the lock was pried open. Ye Qi’s expression brightened with joy. Unable to wait, he pushed open the iron door and came face to face with the prisoner.

Ye Qi tilted his head, somewhat uncertainly trying to discern, “Young, Young Master Fu?”

“Who are you?”

The hoarse voice made Changling involuntarily slow her pace. She thought for a moment, pulled a silk handkerchief from her clothes pocket to cover her face, her heart beating uncontrollably.

Isolated from the world for eleven years, yet like only days apart.

To Changling, the fire in Taixing City was not yet extinguished, the blood of the Yue Family Army was not yet dry. The three words “Fu Liujing” were more like a thorn embedded in her heart. Whenever touched, they always pulled up a shudder.

There were many things she couldn’t figure out, such as why Fu Liujing disappeared, such as why the Central Plains sect leaders traveled thousands of miles to rescue him… However, all the unsolved mysteries were set aside by her after learning of his whereabouts.

She hadn’t held much hope originally, until she heard that sentence “Who are you?”

The next moment, Changling stood still before the prison door, her gaze passing over Ye Qi and falling on the prisoner.

That person wore ragged clothes, his hair was disheveled, and his cheeks were covered with a wiry beard—clearly he had been imprisoned here for some time. Were it anyone else reduced to this wretched state, one could hardly make out their original appearance.

Moreover, for someone who had disappeared from the martial world for nearly ten years.

But Fu Liujing…

At fifteen, when she first saw him in the bamboo forest, she couldn’t help but think: truly a man of extraordinary grace and beauty.

That was a face that, no matter how ravaged, once seen, was difficult to forget.

The surging murderous intent that Changling had deeply hidden for so long inadvertently leaked out bit by bit.

At this time, she suddenly heard Ye Qi say, “Young Master Fu, do you still remember the person you encountered at Fulong River eleven years ago?”

Fulong River?

Changling recalled how Fu Liujing had struck her with one palm, sending her into the waterfall below. That river region was precisely Fulong River.

“It’s you.” Fu Liujing scrutinized Ye Qi with a glance, “I didn’t expect you’d grown so big.”

“These years, I’ve been searching for you all along. Young Master Fu, since you didn’t die, what about her? Is she still alive?”

She?

Changling looked at Ye Qi suspiciously: Which “she”?

Fu Liujing said in a low voice, “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s discuss it after we leave.”

Ye Qi quickly nodded, immediately extending his hand to unlock the shackles on Fu Liujing’s feet. Fu Liujing said “thank you.” As he stood up, he caught sight of the person standing at the door, “Who is she?”

Ye Qi turned his head back, only now discovering Changling standing behind him, “Why did you come?”

She didn’t have time to answer.

Three steps away, she looked at those features before her that were no different from memory, her fists suddenly clenching tight—it was the instinct of facing a formidable enemy.

Changling’s shoulder moved. In an instant, there was a “ding” sound of metal clashing. The Gouhun Blade in her hand swept out horizontally. This move “Striking the Mountain to Frighten the Tiger” was originally flawless, but the opponent’s blade qi carried the force of breaking wind and severing moonlight as it swept toward her. Changling couldn’t withstand it momentarily and retreated several steps in succession.

The next instant, almost simultaneously with that person’s blade strike, his other hand released a palm of chilling qi, solidly striking Ye Qi’s chest!

With a “pfft” sound, crimson blood sprayed. Ye Qi was struck by this palm so forcefully that he slammed heavily into the wall, then fell heavily to the ground. Fresh blood gushed out mouthful after mouthful, as if it simply couldn’t be stopped, dyeing a whole patch of his front garment red.

Changling’s heart sank. She had seen clearly—that strike had precisely targeted the heart meridian. Even if he didn’t die immediately, he probably wasn’t far from death.

Only now did she see clearly the weapon in that person’s hand.

It was a blade three feet long, sheathed like a crescent moon—the Gouhun Blade.

The Gouhun Blade and the Gouhun Blade—when the twin blades combined, their power was infinite, comparable to the greatest expert of Dayan.

This person was not Fu Liujing.

But Tianpo’s older brother, Tianhun.