Chapter 198 Mysterious Rescue of Dried Fish

Su Yuyao's eyes widened in surprise. She turned and walked to the cushion, slowly sitting down cross-legged. She didn't rush to ask any questions, but instead closed her eyes slightly, channeling her Qi to her chest to slowly heal the arrow wound she had just suffered.

Ren Shen finally had a chance to catch his breath. He knelt down on the ground with a thud, his scarlet back covered with brown Qi, which was trying to heal the flesh and blood that Su Yuyao had wrecked.

Something has changed in the Heavenly Palace? What has changed? Who changed it? What has it changed into? Why has it changed? Su Yuyao closed her eyes and pondered carefully. She recalled the information she had gathered over the past few days, but there seemed to be no suspicious clues. Nothing unusual happened in the Heavenly Palace... nothing unusual happened in the north... nothing unusual happened in the east...

Huh? Su Yuyao suddenly opened her eyes. Nothing unusual? She had been so busy exploring these past few days that she hadn't noticed anything amiss... The fact that nothing seemed amiss from any side was the biggest anomaly!

She glanced sideways at Ren Shen, who was lying on the ground trying to heal his wounds, and pondered, if what he said was true, that there had been a change in the Heavenly Palace, but Yi Mu had sent him to protect her and Miao'er, then... it wasn't Xuan Feng who had changed! Since Xuan Feng hadn't changed, then it must be someone else...someone else? Ze Yuan in the Wuji Dao didn't have the ability to change...Tide?! Could it be...they're about to make their move?!

Su Yuyao pondered for a moment, then said coldly, "Renshin, although we are in the same boat, it doesn't mean you can disrespect me!"

Ren Shen frowned slightly, looking at Su Yuyao with some doubt, "The same...ship?"

“So,” Su Yuyao smiled indifferently, “I can temporarily waive the charges against you for attempting to assassinate me…”

"Assassination...assassination?!" Ren Shen's brows furrowed again.

Su Yuyao lowered her head and gently touched the dried bloodstains on her chest. "And... I can leave your concealment aside for now."

Ren Shen frowned, his eyes widening, unsure how to respond.

“After all,” Su Yuyao slowly stared at Renshen, “we have a common goal…”

Ren Shen felt Su Yuyao's murderous gaze, frowned, and lowered his head to say, "Empress Yi is going into seclusion to teach Princess Jinyu the Wuji Method. During this time, Lord Xuanfeng needs to protect the safety and stability of the Heavenly Palace. To avoid any unforeseen complications, Empress Yi has ordered me to protect you and Miss Miao'er. I am only following orders and have no other purpose."

After saying that, he subtly increased the speed of his Qi circulation, focusing on repairing his injuries, since he didn't know when this old hag might strike again...

Su Yuyao raised an eyebrow. A closed-door teaching session? How could Mother Yi pass on the Limitless Method to Princess Jinyu, whose Qi power is so mediocre?! Unless… it was a last resort! And the decision to have Xuanfeng perform the ritual was even more of a last resort! Mother Yi actually dared to take this risk?! It seems… she's also at her wit's end! However… if someone tries to create unnecessary complications at this time, it won't be a simple matter of creating unnecessary complications…

Alas! There's so little usable information within the Heavenly Palace! Although all realms and domains are at the Wolf Clan's disposal, a direct and reliable communication channel has never been established within the Heavenly Palace. Relying solely on external environmental analysis is too prone to errors! Ren Shen… could be used! But… how do I restrain him? In terms of Qi power, I definitely can't defeat him! Perhaps… I should destroy his Qi field? Alas… such a thick Qi field can't be destroyed at all! What should I do…

Su Yuyao steadied herself, turned slightly to face Renshen, and said in a gentle yet firm tone, "The one who will change within the Heavenly Palace is probably the Mother Goddess!"

Ren Shen's body trembled, and his pupils dilated slightly! Su Yuyao actually saw through it?!

He cautiously raised his head and glanced at Su Yuyao. He saw Su Yuyao with her red eyes narrowed, her braided hair flowing freely, and black mist slowly spreading across her fair face. The mist gradually deepened and expanded, blooming into bewitching black flowers on her delicate face!

Su Yuyao stood coiled before Ren Shen, like a giant black python covered in silver patterns, its blood-red eyes glaring and its scarlet tongue flicking out!

Ren Shen stared in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. He looked at the ever-changing Su Yuyao with a slight tremor of fear. What exactly was she? Did Lord Xuanfeng know?

Just as Ren Shen was stunned, Su Yuyao's eyes widened, and the giant python suddenly opened its mouth and charged towards Ren Shen!

Ren Shen instinctively released his Qi field to resist, but the giant python suddenly transformed into a black mist, dissolving Ren Shen's Qi power!

When Ren Shen's Qi was completely depleted, he had no choice but to readjust his Qi field. However, he did not expect that his Qi circulation had been entangled by a malevolent force, which took the opportunity to slip into his Dantian!

Hmm? What is this...? It feels like there's a cool, soft little hand inside Ren Shen's lower abdomen, teasing him seductively. Soft fingertips gently trace his firm abdomen, while a warm palm caresses his slightly trembling dantian. The hand slowly moves, each movement unintentionally challenging Ren Shen's will.

Oh no! With a slight thought, Ren Shen's abdomen relaxed, and his dantian was immediately invaded by the evil force. The originally solid and heavy qi field suddenly began to rotate uncontrollably, slowly returning to the dantian! To be precise, it returned to the evil force within the dantian!

Su Yuyao... openly steals the Qi field?! Ren Shen gritted his teeth, held his breath, and tried to calm his Qi, but the entire Qi field was like a fishing net filled with sand, impossible to contain!

While controlling the Qi vortex, Su Yuyao excitedly pondered, "How interesting! This feeling of emptiness can actually absorb Qi?! Ever since being blackened by Yu Ji Lei, I've had this feeling of emptiness from time to time. After giving birth to Miao'er, this endless feeling of emptiness has gradually filled my whole body. What is this...? It's so wonderful?"

"Huh?!" A familiar and long-lost voice rang out, "Why is this passage bubbling up again?!"

Bi Rong's face slowly appeared in Su Yuyao's red vision. Bubbling in the channel? Bi Rong?

Bi Rong bent down and looked at Su Yuyao carefully for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There's no need to inform Lord Zheng Qing. We only need to report this matter of the Sishui Pool to Lord Xuanfeng! Quickly, write it down! There was an anomaly in the passage. At the hour of Jia Shen, a few bubbles flashed by!"

"Zheng Qing..." Su Yuyao suddenly remembered, this was the pool at the foot of the Undying Peak?! The Four Pools?! The passage?! How did I get into the pool?! How did the passage end up in the pool?! I... the passage?!

Taking advantage of Su Yuyao's distraction, Ren Shen suddenly unleashed his Qi, piercing through Su Yuyao's black mist!

Bang! A loud bang! The tent exploded! Tent fragments, like snowflakes, drifted in the cold wind, finally bringing the pink and white Su Yuyao back to reality.

Su Yuyao turned her gaze back to Ren Shen.

In the bleak, cold wind, the scarlet-backed Renshen knelt on the ground, panting heavily. Layers of white mist slowly condensed into glistening frost flowers between his eyebrows and hair.

He calmed himself down and stabilized his Qi field. Although the explosion had wasted a lot of his Qi, he had managed to preserve his Qi Sea. As long as he was alive, he could always find a way to rebuild!

Su Yuyao withdrew her Qi field. She hadn't absorbed much Qi from Ren Shen, and she had lost a lot more after his explosion. However, this experience could be considered a warning to Ren Shen!

"Damn it—!" A piercing shout was more chilling than the cold wind!

Despite the snow wolves protecting Bai Er and Xuan Miao in the middle, and despite Bai Er repeatedly trying to distract Xuan Miao with roasted meat, they couldn't withstand the sound of the tent exploding and the power of the sudden surge of Qi.

Xuanmiao, kicking Bai Er's body, suddenly saw Ren Shen kneeling in front of Su Yuyao, his body mangled and bloody! Her eyes widened, and she jumped up and down, screaming, "Mom—! Get out—!"

Su Yuyao was concentrating on figuring out how to restrain Renshen, who was both an enemy and a friend, when she suddenly heard a mysterious and sharp shout, which made her frown.

Bai Er quickly hugged the struggling Xuanmiao, covered Xuanmiao's little mouth, and gently coaxed, "My little darling, what are you shouting for!"

A cold wind howled, its icy chill slicing through the snow like a sharp knife, piercing the creatures standing frozen in the white expanse. Everyone shivered involuntarily, for they had all seen Ren Shen's mangled, flesh-covered back and Su Yuyao's suffocating gaze.

In this energy field, which contained extremely restrained yet exceptionally angry energy, even the scattered fragments of tents dared not linger in the air for long, and the snow wolves, enveloped in the cold energy, obediently tightened their fur as much as possible.

Xuanmiao was oblivious to everyone's tension. In her world, the most important thing right now was to save her beloved dried fish!

Ignoring Bai Er's attempts to comfort her, she used her large frame and fiery spirit to leap out of Bai Er's arms and tumble round and round into the snow.

"Damn it! Get lost!" Xuanmiao used both hands and feet to dart into the many wolf legs and quickly crawled towards the direction of Renshen.

White Ears gritted its teeth in anger, transformed into a jade rabbit, and kicked its hind legs a few times before rushing into the wolf pack.

"Miao—gan—!" Xuanmiao called out to Renshen in sorrow, sniffing the stench emanating from the wolf's leg and crawling towards Renshen.

"Squeak!" A jade rabbit with a bright red collar on its head rushed up to Xuanmiao, opened its little paws, and called out seriously, "Squeak squeak squeak!"

Xuanmiao glanced at the white ear, which was not even as tall as his nose, and without hesitation, ripped off the collar from the white ear's forehead and flung it out through the gap between the wolf's legs.

"Squeak?" White Ears paused, watching the bright red dot disappear into the snow. Her ears instantly turned red, she clenched her little paws, bared her front teeth, and cried out angrily, "Squeak squeak—! Ugh!"

Xuanmiao paid no attention to Bai Er's anger, and without any hesitation, knocked Bai Er down and ran over him.

"Squeak! Squeak—!" White Ear was knocked flat on its back and lay sprawled on the ground, baring its teeth and howling angrily.

"Awoo? Awooo—!" Ruixue, lying in the snow, saw that Bai'er had been bullied. Regardless of whether Su Yuyao's aura was angry or furious, she wagged her big tail and ran over. She picked up the dizzy Bai'er from the wolf pack and held him in her arms, licking him carefully.

White Ear blocked Ruixue's tongue and wobbled towards the direction where the gemstones were submerged. Ruixue rushed forward and sniffed the snow with her rear end sticking out...

"Ah! Damn it—!" Xuanmiao crawled out from the wolf's leg and finally saw clearly Renshen, who dared not shed another drop of blood!

"Mysterious!" Su Yuyao exclaimed coldly.

"Mom!" Xuanmiao, sniffing the air, lay prone in the snow like a little tiger and shouted defiantly at Su Yuyao, "Miao! Gan—!"

Ren Shen—one of the most ruthless scavengers in the assassination squad and a trusted confidant of the Goddess Yi, was now softened and had tears welling up in his eyes by those childish "Gan" sounds. He couldn't help but roll his eyes and glance in the direction of Xuanmiao.

This tiny movement, like adding fuel to the fire, burned away Su Yuyao's last bit of patience! She gritted her teeth, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into countless hexagonal ice flowers, which slashed fiercely at Ren Shen's dead face like darts!

Ren Shen knew he was in a difficult situation, but he couldn't just sit and wait to die, so he hurriedly used his Qi to resist. The layers of ice flowers burst into water droplets with a few bangs and stuck to his purplish-red wound!

"Ah! Gan! Miao! Gan!" Xuanmiao became even more anxious upon seeing Renshen's face covered in blood. She groaned and kicked her legs, and suddenly, she managed to squat down steadily! Before anyone could even gasp in surprise, she leaped up again, wobbling as she stood up. Amidst everyone's delighted gazes, she walked unsteadily toward Renshen, her small, red hands firmly gripping his arm!

She tilted her head back, her watery eyes fixed on Ren Shen's complex expression, and muttered with a pained look, "Wow, dry...dry..."

Ren Shen's stiffness had long since melted away with the mystical power, his face flashing with a complex mix of surprise and delight. He squinted, a slight upturn of his lips, as he gazed at the swaying mystical figure before him...

These past few days, this little meatball has been using him as a club to bang on pots, pans, and all sorts of wolf heads and claws, and even stuffing him into her chest... Uh... Renshen's face turned red again...

Whoosh! Thud! A cold light pierced Ren Shen's chest!

Oh no… Ren Shen frowned. It seemed there was no escaping this…

Su Yuyao's eyes widened, and that cold light shot out from behind Ren Shen again, along with the bloody light, and turned towards Su Yuyao!

*Crack!* The crescent blade slammed into Su Yuyao's palm. The blood that followed paused for a moment in front of Su Yuyao before falling sharply, staining a large patch of white snow red.

The entire snow slope fell completely silent, as if even the wind dared not take another step!

Xuanmiao stood there, her little hands outstretched, swaying slightly. She sniffed the blood that was so close to her. She didn't cry anymore, nor did she shout angrily. She just stared blankly at the dried fish in front of her—a dried fish that was kneeling on the snow with its bottom sticking up, blood gushing from its chest and back.

Suddenly, she was pulled into a familiar, warm, furry embrace, and she could no longer see the bloody dried fish...

Bai Er, clutching the ruby ​​necklace she had just found, rushed towards Su Yuyao, crying out, "Miss! Miss! You're injured?!"

Su Yuyao sheathed her crescent blade, glared fiercely at the half-dead Ren Shen, then turned to Bai Er with a smile and said, "Bai Er, I'm fine..."

Looking at the bloodstains on Su Yuyao's chest, Bai Er said with a mixture of heartache and anger, "Miss! You call this nothing?! Who did this?! You're in a special period right now..."

Su Yuyao quickly put her finger to her lips and shushed Bai Er. Then she lowered her head, patted her lower abdomen, and said with a smile, "Bai Er, don't worry, I'm fine! You take Miao'er back to the tent first. I'll finish dealing with these things later and then weave a better tent!"

Bai Er knew that Su Yuyao was no longer the playful young lady she once was; she was now a woman of her word, ruthless and decisive. There was no way she could persuade her otherwise! She sighed helplessly, turned to Ruixue who was holding Xuanmiao, and carefully lifted the sleeping Xuanmiao from beneath her thick, warm belly hair. While gently rocking her, she turned back to Su Yuyao and instructed, "Miss, please think things through carefully, especially for Miao'er and… for your health! Please, please don't cause any more trouble!"

Su Yuyao smiled and nodded, "I know! I understand, so don't worry!"

Bai Er, still somewhat uneasy seeing Su Yuyao's confident demeanor, turned to Shu Bu and instructed, "Shu Bu! You're the smartest one here! You need to come up with some good plans and strategies! Don't lead the young lady astray..."

Ruixue gently took Bai Er's head into her mouth and whispered soothingly.

"Okay... I understand... I'll go back to the tent now." Bai Er gently pushed Rui Xue's chin away, picked up Xuan Miao, and turned to walk into the tent.

Only after Bai Er lowered the tent flap did Su Yuyao switch to a cold gaze and glance at Ren Shen, who was lying motionless on the ground.

After thinking for a moment, Rat stepped forward, pointed at Ren Shen, and said loudly, "This man is called Ren Shen! He is the cleaner sent by the Goddess Yi Mu to assassinate the commander! Today, he took advantage of everyone's absence to assassinate the commander! Such a scourge cannot be allowed to live!"

"Commander!" Rat-Bu bowed and clasped his hands in a solemn gesture, "For your safety! For the safety of the wolf clan! I propose that we kill him!"

"Yes, Commander! This guy is so dangerous, we absolutely can't let him live!"

"Commander! Ratbull is right! Kill him!"

"Yes! Kill him!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"...

The wolf pack quickly reached a consensus, and in just a few words, under the leadership of the Rat, they raised their arms and shouted slogans!

Su Yuyao smiled with satisfaction, raised her eyelids, and swept her cold gaze across the crowd, her chilling aura causing everyone to shut their mouths in unison.

She looked up at the darkening sky and watched the snowflakes drifting down sparsely, then said slowly, "The divination master is right. Logically speaking... Ren Shen should not be allowed to live! But right now, he is useful to me! So, he cannot be killed!"

Shu Bu nodded slightly. "Yes, Commander! Then... what should we do with him?"

“No rush…” Su Yuyao pondered, fiddling with her fingertips. “I need to think of a good plan… You and Ruixue stay here, the rest of you stay on guard!”

"yes!"

The cold, gloomy night enveloped the snow-covered slope. Snowflakes rustled down onto Su Yuyao's face. She slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath to guide her Qi back to her Dantian, and then slowly exhaled all the turbid air. Afterward, she held her breath, cleared her mind of distractions, and introspected.

The vast and boundless Azure Valley, like the deep, affectionate eyes of Xuanfeng gazing upon Su Yuyao, seemed to gently soothe her troubled meridians with the boundless Qi of the void, much like Xuanfeng's heavy hand…

The snow fell quietly, unknowingly coating Su Yuyao, who was sitting cross-legged in the snow, with a layer of bright white frost. Unlike before, this frost did not melt.