16 Past Events (Part 5)

◎"So...I caught you."◎

Lou Tinglan gripped the hilt of the Tranquil Heart Sword tightly, her knuckles digging into her palm. Her expression was momentarily distorted by the subtle and overt provocations from her.

Seeing that she wanted to continue spouting nonsense, he called her name to stop her.

"Ran Qinghe!"

When Ran Qinghe saw that anger had finally appeared on his dead face, she immediately smiled and her eyebrows relaxed: "Oh dear, has the Immortal Lord forgotten that the rules of the Precept Hall forbid venting personal grudges against cultivators who have violated the rules? The Immortal Lord's words and actions are already a violation of the rules."

Qi Feng watched in stunned silence. It was truly rare for someone to push a cold and aloof beauty like Lou Tinglan to such a state. He chuckled softly and sighed, thinking, "This Ran Qinghe is really..."

Wait, Ran Qinghe? Wait, isn't it Lan Cao?

Qi Feng then realized that the girl opposite him was the escaped convict from the Discipline Hall they were chasing. No wonder Lou Tinglan, who was always upright and honest, suddenly revealed her whereabouts to the Grand Preceptor. It turned out that he wanted to keep a close eye on her.

But then he thought again and let out a long sigh, feigning disappointment, and said:

“I confided in Blue Grass and told her my true identity, but she kept it all from me, which really broke my heart.”

Ran Qinghe bluntly stated, "Both of you immortal lords have used illusions; how can you possibly have a heart-to-heart talk with me?"

Qi Feng immediately became interested: "Miss Lan Cao noticed? Strange, could it be that our otherworldly temperament doesn't match our simple faces? If that's the case, then it makes sense."

Ran Qinghe rolled her eyes rather inelegantly, too lazy to continue playing along, and instead spoke directly to Lou Tinglan, enunciating each word clearly:

"I would like to ask, Immortal Lord Mu Ting, you and Qi Feng are both disciples of the Discipline Hall, so why couldn't he see through my identity, and how did you figure it out? Could it be that Immortal Lord and I are old acquaintances?"

Ran Qinghe indirectly revealed his identity, but unexpectedly, even after things had come to this point, Lou Tinglan still pretended to be Mu Ting and argued:

"Discipline Hall Arrest Notice"

"A girl in red, skilled with a long whip... 50,000 spirit stones."

Ran Qinghe gripped her long whip, suppressing the urge to strike. The first two sentences were one thing, but what was with the 50,000 spirit stones? Why could this person always say such annoying things with such a straight face?

At this point, is it really necessary for him to still bring out the arrest warrant to try to hide his identity?

Ran Qinghe provocatively said:

"That's right, that's me."

"But so what?"

"You may take me back to the Discipline Hall now."

It is clear that, given the current situation, with all three trapped in the vine cage, it is impossible for them to do this under any circumstances.

Both the vine cage and the binding golden net are binding spells of the Discipline Hall. Now, with the people of the Discipline Hall fighting amongst themselves, she has actually benefited.

She plucked a larkspur from the ground, held it up to the two people opposite her, and then tore off the flower petal by petal.

He tore off a petal, saying, "You can catch me."

She tore off another petal, saying, "You can't catch me."

She plucked another petal, stared at the two people in the vine cage opposite her, and sighed softly, "What a pity, this one is an even number, the answer is... you can't catch me."

She tossed the flower stem aside with satisfaction, glanced at Lou Tinglan's dark hair and deep eyes, and smiled with a wink: "How was it? How did it feel to be trapped by a binding spell cast by a fellow disciple?"

Qi Feng smiled slightly in surprise: "How did you know that the Imperial Preceptor was a member of my Discipline Hall?"

Ran Qinghe said, "Is it that hard to guess?"

"Besides you disciples of the Discipline Hall, who else would practice such a boring spell as binding magic? Who else would casually throw a few binding formations into a room? Who else would casually use shackles and golden nets?"

Her series of questions left Qi Feng speechless.

It seems... that's indeed the style of their Discipline Hall.

Qi Feng suddenly realized something, "Wait, so you already noticed the Discipline Hall's binding array in the room? Is that right?"

"So that's why you were so sure we couldn't escape, and you hid to watch the show?"

Ran Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled, which could be considered a reluctant admission.

Having learned her lesson, she had been captured by Xiao Zhengjing because of this binding array, which had allowed her to escape. Therefore, she had thoroughly studied the binding array and was naturally aware of the hidden array in the room.

"I find it strange that you, as disciples of the Discipline Hall, would be trapped by such a small binding array. I thought you would at least fight the Imperial Preceptor for a while. How boring."

Just as Qi Feng was about to speak, Lou Tinglan directly exposed Ran Qinghe's probing: "You don't need to goad her. When the disciples of the Discipline Hall set up a binding array, they all have their own unique incantation. If there is no corresponding binding incantation, the binding array cannot be broken."

Ran Qinghe pondered for a moment and then asked, "If the disciple of the Discipline Hall who set up the binding array dies, gets lost, or is buried, wouldn't no one be able to break the array? Are they going to be trapped in this array for the rest of their lives?"

If what Lou Tinglan said is true, then wouldn't it mean that apart from the Imperial Preceptor, no one can break this vine prison? The magic of the Discipline Hall is just as unreasonable as its disciples.

Qi Feng then explained, "No, all the binding formations, spells, and mechanisms in the Discipline Hall were created by the first hall master, Lou Yunya. They all follow the same principle, so he should have a universal formula to undo the spells."

Ran Qinghe bluntly said, "Lou Yunya died a long time ago."

While she was in Qingxiao, although she didn't like listening to the elders in the sect teach her the official history of the cultivation world, she read all kinds of miscellaneous books in the library during her spare time, and she was very familiar with all kinds of unofficial histories of the cultivation world.

Some say Lou Yunya died for love of Qianxue, the daughter of the Qingxiao Sect Leader; others say he died from a cultivation deviation caused by excessive speed. There are many different stories about his death, but no one would believe that a cultivator who has been missing for a hundred years is still alive.

Only Lou Tinglan stroked the blade of Jingxin's sword and calmly retorted, "He's not dead." No one witnessed his demise, so he's just missing.

In the few remaining memories of his childhood, Lou Yunya's figure also appeared.

At least, he once taught him the basic sword techniques of Qingxiao, and when he was still too young to wield a long sword, he gave him the skill of tranquility, and then never returned.

He didn't know why he suddenly recalled these memories. Perhaps it was because the larkspur growing in the courtyard was exactly the same as the larkspur that grew in the valley where he practiced swordsmanship in his childhood.

While Lou Tinglan was lost in thought, Ran Qinghe glanced at his downcast eyes and assumed he was upset. She couldn't help but pout guiltily. Cursing someone's father in front of him was indeed ungentlemanly. She wasn't one to joke about such things, and it was certainly not her intention to unnecessarily dredge up his sad memories.

However, the words that came out of his mouth were: "Then we'd better pray that Lou Yunya suddenly appears in front of us and then suddenly splits this vine prison apart."

Lou Tinglan snapped out of her daze and replied, "We can give it a try."

Qi Feng and Ran Qinghe: ? ? ? What to try?

Lou Tinglan chanted the incantation in a cold voice: "Calm your mind, break through."

The sword rose with the sound, its scabbard humming under the pressure of the binding array within the vine prison. At a certain critical point, Jingxin drew the sword with a clang, effortlessly breaking through the golden net binding the two from the inside out.

Ran Qinghe immediately sprang to her feet, her eyes fixed on Lou Tinglan's next move. She hadn't expected this serious little guy to actually be so capable.

"Finally, we're free." Qi Fengsong stretched his muscles and bones, and together they drew their swords and slashed at the outermost vine cage with tremendous force, but the vine cage was as solid as black iron, and no one could budge it in the slightest.

Qi Feng shook his numb hand, and was about to draw his sword again when Lou Tinglan stopped him: "Let me do it."

Qi Feng: "Didn't Senior Brother use spiritual power to forcefully break the binding technique?"

"That's not the case," Lou Tinglan thought to herself.

He had simply recalled a small incident by chance. Lou Yunya had once given him a nine-linked ring made of shackles from the Discipline Hall, but he had racked his brains for days without finding a solution. Then one day, Lou Yunya, on a whim, summoned Jingxin and smashed the nine-linked ring to pieces on the spot, telling him, "It's solved."

There was no way to break the nine-linked rings created by Lou Yunya; they could only be broken by force. He had indeed thought about this at first. He had tried to cut them open with his sword, but he could not break the binding spell on the shackles. So he could only think of other solutions. However, he did not expect that Lou Yunya would break them open with a single sword strike.

He then asked, "Why can't my sword break through, but yours can cut through with a single stroke? Is it because I'm weaker than you?"

Lou Yunya, however, simply flicked his forehead in a good mood and left him with a single sentence:

"If there is no way to break free from bondage, then calming the mind can."

He thought Lou Yunya was mocking him for not being able to concentrate and break the nine-linked rings, and he was secretly annoyed for a long time.

Looking back now, what Lou Yunya expressed was merely the surface meaning: the Tranquil Mind Sword can break all binding techniques.

He called out again, "Calm your mind, then execute."

The Tranquil Sword trembled excitedly, responding to his command. Its blade unleashed streaks of energy that instantly shattered the vines, which were as hard as black iron. The vines fell limply and scattered, and the binding array dissipated as well.

Qi Feng was slightly surprised. Although they were both at the Golden Core stage, Lou Tinglan's spiritual power was so strong that she could even forcefully break through the binding array set up by others.

Ran Qinghe, however, looked thoughtfully at the Tranquility Sword swinging in the air, and then understood.

Qi Feng slowly moved to the vine prison where Ran Qinghe was, and said in a low, resentful voice, "Miss Lancao, now I am the butcher and you are the fish."

"The binding formation has been broken, and the Imperial Preceptor must have already noticed. I believe he will arrive in less than a quarter of an hour."

"Should we just stand by and watch someone die? Or... should we just stand by and watch someone die?"

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Lou Tinglan, since the decision of whether to save her or not was in Lou Tinglan's hands.

Lou Tinglan slowly and deliberately shaved off a larkspur, held the flower stem, and presented it to her. With a solemn expression, she plucked a petal and said:

"I can catch you."

Then, she gently plucked another petal, her eyes expressionless, "I can't hold onto you."

As he plucked a petal, he said, "What a coincidence, this larkspur has five petals."

As he said this, a slight smile seemed to appear on the corners of his mouth.

"So... I've got you."