After a long silence, Ji Tongzhou coughed. Given the unusual circumstances, they couldn’t continue in silence. As a prince, he naturally had to set an example. Now that they had all fallen into this forbidden area together, they were in the same boat. They had to temporarily set aside their past grievances and first clarify the situation.
“Let’s start by discussing how we all fell here,” Ji Tongzhou said, using the hem of his robe to cover his right leg. He tried to tidy up his appearance a bit, as he always paid attention to such things, striving to maintain neatness regardless of the situation.
“I’ll go first. I was flying on my sword towards the training grounds when someone knocked me down. Considering this is the academy, the possibility of assassination is low. I believe it was an unexpected incident. What about you two?”
Li Fei stared at Lei Xiuyuan, who remained expressionless, sitting silently in the corner, lost in thought. Even at this point, he was still playing dumb! She felt a surge of inexplicable anger and coldly said, “I was also knocked down by someone. After being knocked off course, I collided with another person. Now that there are only three of us here, it seems the Prince was caught up in my misfortune, and the culprit is Lei Xiuyuan. Lei Xiuyuan, I ask you, why did you suddenly fall?”
Ji Tongzhou immediately glared at Lei Xiuyuan angrily. “So it was you again, boy!”
This score couldn’t be settled easily! He already harbored ill feelings towards Lei Xiuyuan. They had fought to a draw before, and their cultivation levels were neck and neck. Just a mere beggar, yet he dared to compete with him! This time, he had knocked him down into this forbidden area. It was simply intolerable!
Lei Xiuyuan glanced at him indifferently and said, “Someone tried to kill me to silence me. They tampered with my stone sword.”
Huh? He… he’s willing to talk now?! Li Fei was stunned, while Ji Tongzhou was startled. “What did you say?! Kill you to silence you? What’s going on? This is the academy! Who would dare to harm you? Don’t make baseless accusations!”
Lei Xiuyuan smiled faintly. “Then let’s just consider it a baseless claim.”
“You…” Ji Tongzhou became furious. How dare this lowly beggar mock him?!
“How we came down here isn’t important,” Lei Xiuyuan said calmly. “What’s important now is how to get out. The spiritual energy here is scarce. Even if someone comes to rescue us from above, they can’t use sword flight or celestial spells and talismans. It might take a long time to find us. Rather than waiting for rescue, we should try to save ourselves.”
These righteous words made even Ji Tongzhou feel a bit embarrassed to continue questioning and scolding. Lei Xiuyuan added, “The Prince’s right leg seems to be injured, making it difficult to move. Why don’t you rest in the cave for a while and wait until you’ve recovered some strength before we leave?”
He… he’s showing concern for him? Ji Tongzhou coughed. He couldn’t let this beggar’s silver tongue deceive him!
“There’s still residual demonic energy in this cave. Staying too long could be dangerous,” Ji Tongzhou decided not to dwell on past grievances with them. Lei Xiuyuan was right; figuring out how to escape was the most urgent matter. The three of them were bound together now, whether they liked it or not. It wasn’t the time for bickering. “It’s still daylight, and the cave’s demon hasn’t returned. What if it comes back when it gets dark?”
“This demonic energy smells very old,” Lei Xiuyuan gently stroked the cave wall. “When I woke up in the forbidden area earlier, I felt that the line of sight and demonic energy were weakest in this direction, so it should be a safe place. However, the cave entrance is covered with fallen leaves and dead branches, and there’s a thick layer of dust inside. It seems nothing has entered here for a long time. Staying here shouldn’t be dangerous.”
Ji Tongzhou saw that his thoughts were clear and his words were calm. He couldn’t help but feel a hint of admiration, which he quickly suppressed.
The light in the cave was dim, and the three children each found a corner to sit in. It was completely quiet inside, with only the heavy breathing of Ji Tongzhou and Lei Xiuyuan rising and falling. Li Fei looked over at Lei Xiuyuan. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he didn’t look well, seeming to be in pain. She couldn’t help but ask, “Is your cold still not better?”
Lei Xiuyuan smiled bitterly. “Don’t you feel uncomfortable? The miasma here is terrifyingly thick.”
Li Fei shook her head silently. She moved closer to him and sat down next to him, asking, “Do you feel better now?”
Lei Xiuyuan looked surprised. “The pressure suddenly lessened… Do you have a talisman that wards off evil?”
She shook her head again, not saying anything. Just as he had many secrets he couldn’t reveal, she too had countless secrets she couldn’t speak of.
Time passed silently in the dark cave. Ji Tongzhou felt his body burning up, and he was about to drift off to sleep. He had vomited everything he ate in the morning, and now he was both thirsty and hungry. Not only was his throat dry, but his entire body felt like it was about to crack from pain. The evil-repelling fragrant bead that Jiang Li Fei had given him could block the miasma, but it couldn’t draw spiritual energy into his body. The fractured bone was still in excruciating pain. He had never experienced such suffering since childhood. Earlier, he had been gritting his teeth to endure, but now, in his drowsy state, he couldn’t help but let out a low moan.
In his hazy state, he felt someone gently lift his head, and then cold water poured into his mouth. His spirit was refreshed, and he drank a lot as if he had encountered sweet dew. A voice above his head said, “Don’t drink too much, there’s only one water skin.”
Ji Tongzhou forced open his hot, swollen eyes. All he saw was a girl’s face. Whether it was the lighting or something else, that face had delicate, fair skin and deep eyes. Though not exactly beautiful, it had a certain charm. He felt it looked familiar, and after blinking hard, the mist before his eyes cleared, and he realized it was Jiang Li Fei’s face.
He choked on the water in his throat and nearly fainted from coughing. Li Fei quickly put away the water skin. There was only a little water left, what would they do if he wasted it all?
“You… you…” Ji Tongzhou tried to speak between coughs. He felt he must be seeing things. Wasn’t Jiang Li Fei a beggar? Dark-skinned, thin, and rough-handed, looking seven or eight parts like a man. He must be hallucinating!
“What ‘you’?” Li Fei frowned. “If you have the energy to talk, you’d better sleep quickly. We need to leave when you’ve regained your strength! How long do you want to stay here?”
Ji Tongzhou was furious again. Even if Jiang Li Fei suddenly turned into a fairy today, in his heart, she was still that annoying, disrespectful beggar! He turned over and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep again. Somehow, her face appeared before him once more. So, she was a girl. For some reason, realizing she was a girl made him feel uncomfortable all over. It seemed that all the fighting and arguing with her before had been pointless. He, the noble Prince of Yue, had been at odds with a girl. Wasn’t that beneath his dignity?
Then another thought struck him: if she was a girl, didn’t that mean he couldn’t even match up to a girl?
Ji Tongzhou gradually fell asleep in this state of confusion and frustration. Li Fei tilted her head to listen to his increasingly steady breathing. Once she was sure he was asleep, she walked over to Lei Xiuyuan and tossed him the water skin.
“This is the academy. Usually, there’s no shortage of food, and no one would harm you. Yet you carry a water skin and food with you at all times. Should I say you’re farsighted, or should I be grateful for this coincidence?” Li Fei coldly looked at him.
Lei Xiuyuan put away the water skin and glanced at the sleeping Ji Tongzhou. He said in a low voice, “Did you want to wait until he fell asleep to question me?”
No wonder she hadn’t said a word earlier when Ji Tongzhou was awake.
“I guess you don’t want more people to know,” Li Fei sat down beside him, staring at him. “Can you talk now? I believe what you said about someone trying to kill you to silence you. If they didn’t succeed this time, there will surely be a next time and a time after that. If you don’t say anything, in the end, you’ll die with your secrets. Are you content with that?”
Lei Xiuyuan touched his chest, pondering for a long while before saying, “The miasma is thick here, with almost no spiritual energy. The effects of Celestial Sound Spirit Language are almost non-existent. Indeed, this place is suitable for revealing everything. The time, place and people are all right.”
“Speak, I’m all ears.”
However, Lei Xiuyuan’s expression became gentle and weary, as if he had silently sighed. “Let me ask you, what will you do if you know everything? Rush over to confront him? Or hide your wariness from now on, intending to seek revenge in the future? Can you guarantee you’ll remain calm when you see him? Sometimes, the less an insignificant person knows, the safer they are.”
This seemed similar to what Ri Yan had said before. Knowing too much can shorten one’s life. Everyone was like this, adopting the attitude of “you don’t need to know this” – her master, Ri Yan, and now Lei Xiuyuan as well.
Li Fei slowly said, “You said before that this matter started because of me, so I have the right to know everything. As for whether I’ll regret knowing it afterwards, and what decisions I’ll make, that’s my business. I don’t want to be kept in the dark, pretending not to know anything as I go on.”
Lei Xiuyuan smiled at her. “You still speak so righteously.”
“Stop beating around the bush. Who’s trying to harm you? It seems they not only want to kill you but Chang Yue’s sword was also tampered with. Do they want to kill both of you?”
“Her innate ability easily attracts trouble. Overhearing too many things she shouldn’t know will sooner or later bring about fatal disaster.”
Overhearing? Does that mean Chang Yue has exceptionally acute hearing? Li Fei couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. She had only recently learned about Bai Li Chang Yue’s special innate ability. It seemed she could easily hear other people’s heartbeats, and within a certain distance, no matter how quietly someone spoke, even if it was almost a whisper, she could hear it. Lei Xiuyuan’s pretense was exposed so quickly, precisely because her keen hearing had discovered the flaw.
“…She heard about your situation. Could it be that you tampered with the sword?”
Lei Xiuyuan sneered, “If I could cut off the spiritual energy channels of the stone sword, how could I end up in this situation?”
“Then, who exactly is it?”
Lei Xiuyuan remained silent for a long time, then suddenly spoke, “After Bai Li Chang Yue discovered me and I chose to give up, I had a vague feeling that he would kill me to silence me, so I made many preparations, including the water skin and food. I just didn’t expect that he would come to the academy so directly, and directly target me and Bai Li Chang Yue… Perhaps he acted too obviously, making it hard to catch him red-handed.”
Come to the academy? Li Fei was greatly shocked and almost jumped up. “You mean — Zhen Yun Zi?!”
Lei Xiuyuan calmly said, “You can shout a bit louder and wake up this foolish prince. That royal relative of his is from the Star Zheng Hall.”
Li Fei immediately shut her mouth, waving her hand for a while before finally slumping down. “He asked you to follow me? To harm me? Why? I’ve only met him once before! Where does this enmity come from?”
Lei Xiuyuan said, “Do you know, it’s not that becoming immortal means you’re free from all worries. Immortals also have their strengths and weaknesses. Once you step on the path of cultivation, there’s no end to it. If you don’t advance, you retreat, and when there’s nowhere left to retreat, the outcome is even more miserable than that of mortals. Zhen Yun Zi is just at such a bottleneck. Fifty years have passed, and he has made no progress at all. How can someone who makes no progress in cultivation continue to hold a high position in a prestigious sect like Star Zheng Hall, where talents emerge in abundance? He urgently needed a powerful demon to refine a magical treasure. Later, he finally found the most suitable nine-tailed fox demon.”
Li Fei felt as if the events from several months ago were flowing past her eyes like water. At that time, she had been full of ambition, wanting to leave Qing Qiu to go to Wu Yue Ting to find her senior brother. Who knew she would encounter Ri Yan, who was being hunted, and those immortals chasing him? Later, Ri Yan transformed into a strand of her hair, using some unknown method to make it impossible for the immortals to detect his presence. Although the immortals were disappointed and unwilling, they had no choice but to give up and disperse—
“It was that time in Qing Qiu when the fox demon suddenly disappeared…” Her mind was in chaos. She pressed her hand against her forehead, trying hard to recall every detail. “Zhen Yun Zi used Celestial Sound Spirit Language on me, forcing me to reveal the fox demon’s whereabouts…”
At that time, his actions had caused dissatisfaction among the other immortals. Fortunately, Dong Yang True Person protected her, otherwise, who knows how it would have ended.
“He had been searching for the nine-tailed fox demon’s traces for over ten years and later went to great lengths to persuade the higher-ups of other sects to join him in the hunt. Just when they were about to succeed, the fox demon suddenly vanished. If you were him, would you be content?”
No wonder. At that time, she felt his words were detestable and terrifying, but he left the fastest, so she didn’t think much of it. It turns out he deliberately left so quickly to lie in wait afterward. The fox demon had already disappeared, and the person with the strongest killing intent had left. The others were only there because he had persuaded them to come. With the leader gone, why would they have any reason to stay?
“He followed you all the way, hoping to get the fox demon’s whereabouts from you. He always suspected that the fox demon’s disappearance was related to you. How could he give up on this only clue? Unfortunately, Dong Yang True Person was always by your side and brought you to the academy. He had no way to act, so he found me — All I had to do was get close to you, observe whether you had any traces of the fox demon, and then find an opportunity to make you be sent out of the academy. Zhen Yun Zi has been waiting not far from the academy all along. Otherwise, how could Mo Yan Fan find him and bring him to the academy so quickly?”
So that’s how it is, that’s how it is! The truth is revealed! Li Fei felt her palms were full of cold sweat. The things she couldn’t understand before, the unclear things, were now suddenly clear.
The phrase Ri Yan had said before, “Where there’s profit, it’s human nature,” suddenly appeared in her mind. Immortals have an even stronger desire for fame and fortune than mortals. As a thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox demon, Ri Yan’s fur, bone marrow, and even his demonic energy were treasures sought after by these immortals. With hope right before their eyes, how could it be easy to give up? All the myriad beings in the world are merely bustling about for personal gain.
She suddenly recalled that Ri Yan had once mentioned that the more Zhen Yunzi wanted to obtain the Nine-Tailed Fox, the more his power stagnated. The Celestial Sound Spirit Technique and the Word Spirit Nightmare Art were both extremely powerful and domineering; such formidable immortal arts undoubtedly required rigorous practice. The concept of “absolute detachment from emotions and desires” must be essential for mastery, implying the abandonment of fame, fortune, and worldly attachments. No wonder few in the Xingzheng Hall are willing to practice these techniques—it’s essentially a deadlock. To advance one’s power while not discarding everything is a paradoxical trap, which explains why Zhen Yunzi couldn’t help but come to the academy and take a desperate gamble.
“Are you saying that since Chang Yue overheard something she shouldn’t have, Zhen Yunzi intends to kill her too?”
Lei Xiuyuan seemed a bit tired. He leaned against the cave wall, eyes closed, and replied calmly, “Even though her abilities are unique, they are insignificant compared to the skills of a grand sect elder. At that time, Zhen Yunzi used the Word Spirit Technique to discuss this matter in my room. Mo Yanfan did not detect any flaws, but since she was eavesdropping, it was impossible for Zhen Yunzi not to notice. This person is always suspicious and extremely impatient. Now that you are exceptionally gifted and sought after by various celestial sects, he cannot afford to leave any traces. Otherwise, why would he have attempted to kill me multiple times to cover up the truth? One must restrain their sharp edges before their wings are fully grown, or it will lead to personal disaster.”
After speaking, he suddenly opened his eyes and gave her a mocking smile. “I have already told you what you wanted to know. From now on, you cannot pretend to be ignorant. Besides adding to your troubles, what else can you do?”