The next day, Ye Xie and Bai Li Chang Yue still hadn’t arrived, but Princess Lan Ya was nowhere to be seen. Bai Li Gelin searched around and finally learned from the innkeeper that she had checked out and left the night before.
It was unclear what Ji Tongzhou had done to drive away the delicate princess. The young prince had been like this for years, never understanding how to cherish women. Those who pleased him prospered, while those who opposed him were driven to anger.
“He must have tried to force himself on the princess last night, scaring her away!” Bai Li Gelin whispered to Su Wan and Li Fei in the courtyard. Lei Xiuyuan and Ji Tongzhou were impatient with the women’s chatter; one flew into the sky to admire the scenery, while the other sat in the pavilion lost in thought.
Su Wan laughed, “I don’t think Junior Brother Ji is that kind of person. As a prince, he could have any beauty he wants, couldn’t he?”
Bai Li Gelin winked at her, “Sister Su, you’ve just met him and you’re already speaking up for him! How about it? Our young prince isn’t bad, you know. Want to give it a try?”
There she goes again, always trying to play matchmaker, Li Fei thought, shaking her head silently.
Su Wan considered it openly for a moment, then shook her head, “His personality is suitable for friendship, but not for lovers. He seems straightforward but is quite complicated. I can’t handle that. By the way, Gelin, I’ve heard that men from the East Sea are all generous and bold. When I visit the East Sea later, why don’t you introduce me to a few?”
Bai Li Gelin burst into laughter, “Sure! After this gathering, why don’t you all come with me to the East Sea? It’s so much fun there! I have a few senior brothers who are very open-minded, you’ll like them!”
…Senior Brother Deng would surely be spitting blood and crying, maybe even threatening suicide, Li Fei thought, rubbing her temples. She didn’t want to hear these two girls discussing men, but she couldn’t find a chance to talk to Gelin alone. Gelin was cleverly keeping Su Wan by her side at all times. What was it about the past year that she was so reluctant to discuss?
She sighed softly. Since Gelin didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t press the issue. She’d just have to wait until Gelin was ready to share.
“It’s really strange. Even if that idiot Ye Xie was delayed by something, my sister shouldn’t be this late!” Bai Li Gelin looked up at the sky. It was almost noon, and there was still no sign of Ye Xie and Bai Li Chang Yue.
Li Fei said calmly, “It might be better if they’re late. When Chang Yue arrives, you’ll be scolded to death. How dare you be so carefree?”
Bai Li Gelin smiled bitterly, “Don’t scare me like that. I’ve been nervous the whole time!”
Li Fei snorted with a smile, “If you know to be nervous, that’s something. Let’s see if you dare to do this again next time.”
As they were talking, a flash of clear light suddenly appeared in front of Bai Li Gelin, followed by a letter floating before her. The three girls were stunned for a moment. A message spell? Li Fei noticed the bright orange celestial mark on the envelope and asked curiously, “That’s the mark of the Dizang Sect. Did Chang Yue and the others have something come up?”
Bai Li Gelin hurriedly opened the envelope. The writing inside was messy and scrawled, apparently written in blood. There were even splatters of blood on the paper, a chilling sight. Li Fei knew immediately that something was wrong and quickly called Lei Xiuyuan and Ji Tongzhou over.
The letter was from Ye Xie, mentioning that he and Bai Li Chang Yue had been suddenly ambushed on their way to Lu Gong Town. Although there was only one attacker, they were extremely formidable. Even the two of them together were no match for this person. After fleeing for a long time, Chang Yue was eventually captured alive. He had pursued for a while but lost the spiritual energy trail, and was now staying in Yang Xi City.
Bai Li Gelin was so shocked she could no longer hold the letter. Her face turned ashen. She suddenly whistled, and everyone saw a huge, emerald-green spirit snake emerge from the shadows of the courtyard, several times larger than the centipede she had last year. She leaped onto the snake’s head, about to ride the wind away when Li Fei urgently called out, “Gelin, wait! Do you know Yang Xi City? Don’t rush off alone! Let’s go together!”
Bai Li Gelin said tremblingly, “Yang Xi City is near the East Sea! It must be Zhen Yunzi who did this! If Sister falls into his hands, she’ll surely die!”
How did Zhen Yunzi get involved in this?! Li Fei looked at her in bewilderment. Bai Li Gelin was so frightened and anxious that she didn’t care that Ji Tongzhou and Su Wan were present, and blurted out everything without reservation: “I didn’t want to say anything before, to avoid worrying you all! Before I came to the Central Plains this time, I happened to see Zhen Yunzi visiting my master. I learned that this wasn’t his first visit to the East Sea.
Master said he had come many times over the past two or three years, supposedly to hunt some demons. Each time he brought many spiritual pills and elixirs, and since he’s a former elder of a famous sect, Master didn’t interfere. Think about it, how could the demons in the East Sea compare to those in the Central Plains? Especially now that demons are migrating to the Central Plains, why would he go to the East Sea for no reason? He must be up to something shady! Sister must have been captured by him!”
“There’s no use in saying more,” Lei Xiuyuan glanced at Su Wan. “Senior Sister Su, please stay in Lu Gong Town for now. If anything changes, we can still send you a message.”
Su Wan also knew that her cultivation level was far behind these people, and she wouldn’t be of much help if she went along. Moreover, since the matter was related to Zhen Yunzi of the Xing Zheng Hall, it might involve some secrets that shouldn’t be revealed. She immediately agreed, “I’ll wait here for a month. If there’s no news from you, I’ll inform the Master and the elders at Wu Yue Yan!”
The letter from Ye Xie had large bloodstains on it, suggesting he was also seriously injured. He and Bai Li Chang Yue had just broken through the third bottleneck a few months ago, and the two of them together shouldn’t have been easy targets. For someone to capture Chang Yue alive, the opponent’s strength must have been far superior to theirs. It might indeed have been Zhen Yunzi’s doing. He hadn’t targeted Lei Xiuyuan and herself, but instead took Chang Yue first, and alive at that. He must intend to lure them over. Even knowing it was a trap, they had no choice but to walk into it.
Li Fei couldn’t sit calmly on Xi Zhi Jiao. She paced back and forth anxiously, realizing that ultimately, this situation had stemmed from her. If anything happened to Chang Yue because of this, she would live in guilt for the rest of her life.
They all flew much faster than before, reaching Yang Xi City before nightfall. This large city at the border of the Central Plains and the East Sea was filled with countless spiritual energy fluctuations. Many celestial cultivators had gathered here recently due to the demon migration, to prevent a repeat of the tragedy in Duan Ming City. Various celestial sects from the Central Plains had sent people to guard and assist.
With the complex spiritual energy, they couldn’t immediately sense Ye Xie’s exact location. Suddenly, Bai Li Gelin took out a talisman paper, waved it in the wind, and it transformed into a bright red dragonfly demon. She tied Ye Xie’s hair to it, and it immediately flew forward lightly, not stopping in the city but flying over Yang Xi City, finally circling above a cliff.
They had already spotted someone lying motionless under a tree on the cliff, with a large pool of blood beneath. Bai Li Gelin was so shocked her whole body went weak. She ran over but didn’t dare touch him, tears streaming down her face as she cried hoarsely, “Is he dead?! I… who… who… go…”
Li Fei had already gone forward and turned the person over. His face was covered in blood, making his features unrecognizable, but the faint remaining spiritual energy fluctuation was familiar – it was indeed Ye Xie.
He was covered in blood, truly a bloody mess. His clothes were in tatters, and not a single patch of intact skin could be seen. Who could have been so cruel? Li Fei suppressed her shock, noticing he still had a faint breath. She quickly released spiritual energy to probe his eight extraordinary meridians, feeling the cold poison rampaging through his body, extremely dangerous. Even his breath carried a bone-chilling cold as if it could be contagious. Half of her body immediately froze.
Bai Li Gelin had already collapsed on the ground, shaking all over. Ji Tongzhou, his face pale, rushed forward and asked urgently, “Can he be saved?!”
Li Fei raised her hand to stop him from coming closer, “Don’t come over yet. He’s been poisoned with a cold. Stay back so you won’t be affected.”
She first set up a healing net over Ye Xie, followed by a soft white light gently falling. The Jade Snow Technique slowly consumed the cold poison, but before even a tenth was consumed, her internal spiritual energy was almost depleted. Li Fei threw out Xi Zhi Jiao, which seemed to fly up high with consciousness, invisibly absorbing a vast amount of spiritual energy before flying back to her side. The light of the Jade Snow Technique immediately became extremely bright, and the speed of consuming the cold poison increased significantly.
Even so, it took an entire night to heal Ye Xie’s injuries. His clothes were long since torn and shattered. Ji Tongzhou took off his outer robe to cover him, frowning deeply, “As far as I know, Elder Zhen Yunzi isn’t skilled in water-based celestial techniques. He has a gold primary and fire secondary spiritual root.”
It would be impossible for him to cause such rampant cold poison.
Li Fei’s face was pale. Although Xi Zhi Jiao helped by absorbing spiritual energy, releasing the Jade Snow Technique for an entire night without a moment’s relaxation was even more taxing than when she had treated Lei Xiuyuan before. Just as she was about to speak, she felt Ye Xie twitch slightly, seeming to wake up. Everyone immediately gathered around.
“How are you? Who did this?! Was it Zhen Yunzi?” Ji Tongzhou asked urgently.
Ye Xie’s expression seemed pained. He breathed heavily for a long time. Bai Li Gelin held his pulse and infused a lot of wood-attribute spiritual energy before he had the strength to speak. His voice was intermittent, “It wasn’t Zhen Yunzi… it was a masked person. From the voice, they seemed quite young. This person… was incredibly powerful. I don’t know what celestial technique it was… many ice mirrors. Once reflected, there was no escape…”
“Ice mirrors?!” Li Fei’s heart jolted. “Were the wounds on your body also caused by him?”
Ye Xie’s eyes revealed extreme anger as he said grimly, “That’s right…”
If he had been killed with one sword strike, it would have been acceptable – losing to a superior opponent, death would have been deserved. But this person chose to torture him slowly, like a cat playing with a mouse, using a small flying sword to cut his body until not a single patch of skin was intact. It was enough to make one’s blood boil with rage.
Li Fei looked at Lei Xiuyuan in horror. This was terrible – Chang Yue had fallen into Qin Yangling’s hands, and there was no telling what suffering and humiliation she would endure. Comparatively, falling into Zhen Yunzi’s hands might have been better!
Although it was unclear why Qin Yangling had suddenly attacked Ye Xie and Chang Yue, it probably wasn’t to seek revenge on Lei Xiuyuan. He likely didn’t even know that Lei Xiuyuan knew Ye Xie and Chang Yue. Could it be that he was attracted by Chang Yue’s beauty and lost control of his bestial nature?! This person had been brought out of Wu Yue Yan by Elder Zheng Xu and should have been with Elder Zheng Xu. Was this doting elder still not restraining him?!