Chapter 33 Taoist Priest, save me... save me...

At the inn at the foot of the mountain, the innkeeper kept a record, while the waiter glanced at the two strange people while wiping the table.

Both women were dressed in black. One woman was unusually tall, and the fabric of her clothes looked like the kind of expensive material only used by families of cultivators. The other woman wore a black veil, and even though her face was covered, you could tell she was a beauty from her eyes and brows. She had a cloak draped over her hand, and her elbows were always pressed against her abdomen. As she moved, you could vaguely see some red...bloodstains!

The owner told the waiter to lead the two to their room. The waiter was apprehensive, but he still led them there.

After opening the door for them, the waiter immediately slipped away.

Ling Shu and Zhao Chi entered the room. Zhao Chi went straight to a chair, slumped down, and said wearily, "I can't go on anymore, my magic power is insufficient." Ling Shu walked over to her, her elbow moving away from her abdomen. There was a large pool of blood from the hem of her skirt to her waist. She smiled without batting an eye and said, "Help me recite a purification incantation."

Zhao Chi muttered, "Grandma, let me rest for a while."

"hurry up."

Zhao Chi had no choice but to sit still and recite the Cleansing Incantation to remove the bloodstains from her body.

Ling Shu glanced at the dress and cloak, and said, "Thank you." Then she went to the side, poured herself a cup of tea, and sat down without saying a word.

Zhao Chi sensed something was wrong with her. "Ling Shu."

Ling Shu turned to look at her.

Zhao Chi clasped his hands together, rubbing his fingers, and asked, "Have you thought about the future?"

"No."

Zhao Chi's heart tightened, and a surge of hope arose unexpectedly. This was equivalent to Ling Shu risking her future to save her, and now that they were out, she couldn't be happy: "Did you kill Shan Ji... because of me?"

Ling Shu raised her eyelids slightly and said wearily, "No."

Zhao Chi still felt that Ling Shu had taken violent action because of her words. She did not expect Ling Shu to be so direct, actually breaking into the prison and killing Shan Ji, and then taking her out. She hoped that Ling Shu would seek justice for her, but she did not expect it to be in this way.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have asked you to avenge me."

"You're wrong, I'm just getting revenge for myself."

One sentence dashed all of Zhao Chi's hopes. Undeterred, Zhao Chi said, "Then you don't need to kidnap me."

"It was just something I did."

Zhao Chi still said thank you, and said, "Once Shan Ji dies, the entire sect will investigate the cause of her death. If you bypass the execution platform to deal with the suspect, it will be difficult to silence public opinion when you return."

"The execution platform..." Ling Shu said disdainfully, "The laws are incomplete, so how much can the execution platform do?"

Zhao Chi said, "We can't go against the procedures."

Ling Shu put down her teacup: "Do you think there aren't any of their people in the execution platform? If I hadn't killed Shan Ji and rescued you, do you think you could have survived inside?"

Zhao Chi was speechless.

Ling Shu said, "You failed your mission, and you've already forgotten the pain of being hunted down after just a few days? Zhao Chi, I'm very grateful that you risked your life to bring people to save me. I, Ling Shu, am not an ingrate. Knowing that you are in trouble, I can't just stand by and do nothing. I promised to save you, and I will definitely save you."

Zhao Chi said, "But you've already guessed who's behind this. I'm no longer of any value, so why did you save me?"

Ling Shu poured himself another cup of tea to moisten his throat and said, "Zhao Chi, people don't only come together through the exchange of interests. You risked your own safety to save me, so if I can't risk my own safety to save you, that would be betraying your kindness."

"Zhao Chi, although we were thinking about how to kill each other when we first met, we became friends after our fight. Now I consider you my friend."

"Friends...?"

"right."

Zhao Chi was excited, yet also somewhat disappointed, but at least they had taken a step forward. She smiled and said, "Yes, we are friends now."

At night, Ling Shu was so sleepy that she climbed onto the couch to sleep. A seat was left for her. Women don't usually have many reservations with each other, but Zhao Chi had her reservations. She asked the waiter for another blanket and slept on the floor.

The next day, the two got up early and went downstairs to have breakfast. After eating, Ling Shu planned to go back to her room to rest, and Zhao Chi followed her up. She said to Ling Shu, "We can't stay in the inn forever."

"Where are we going?"

Zhao Chi probed, "Aren't you going back to Shangqing Mountain?"

I'm not going back.

A glimmer of hope rose in Zhao Chi's heart. Didn't this mean they would be together forever? Now that their relationship had progressed to friendship, was it possible that in the future...?

Ling Shu said, "Go wherever you want, you don't have to follow me all the time."

"I haven't decided yet," Zhao Chi said, beaming. "Why don't we go somewhere even further away, leave Shangqing Mountain forever, and travel around enjoying the scenery?"

Whenever she mentioned "Shangqing Mountain," Ling Shu thought of that person. In any case, he was an unmovable, heartless Daoist immortal. Perhaps it would be better to leave and stay away from her, so that she could let go of her feelings.

"Okay. Let's set off today."

Zhao Chi was surprised that she agreed, and happily bought some dry food from the innkeeper so that Ling Shu could set off.

Using a sword would be too obvious, so Ling Shu bought a carriage, changed her clothes, and the two set off. Zhao Chi drove the carriage out of the city and spent the night by the river.

In the dead of night, a woman approached the two men, crying and shouting. Her clothes were disheveled and she looked wretched. Upon seeing Ling Shu, she knelt down and cried, "Daoist Master, save me... save me..."

No sooner had she finished speaking than four men ran over. When they saw that Ling Shu and Zhao Chi were both women, they immediately relaxed their guard, rubbed their hands together, and said, "So there are even prettier girls here."

Zhao Chi drew his sword and stood in front of Ling Shu and the woman.

"This beauty can even wield a sword! I love feisty women, brothers, let's go! What's there to be afraid of with just one woman?"

A burly man with a fierce face lunged at Zhao Chi with a knife. Zhao Chi stabbed him in a vital spot with his sword, and the man immediately fell to the ground, clutching his groin and rolling around on the spot.

The disheveled woman said, "Well done! Well done! He deserves to be childless!"

Ling Shu stood aside and watched.

The other men rushed forward, but none of them were a match for Zhao Chi, and she executed them on the spot.

Seeing that all the men were dead, the woman thanked Zhao Chi, praised her, and kept sticking to Ling Shu.

Seeing that her shoulders were exposed and that the girl couldn't afford to get cold in the wind, Zhao Chi gave her his cloak.

Ling Shu hadn't been very talkative lately, so she ignored the woman and went to add some firewood to the fire. The woman thanked Zhao Chi and came to her side, speaking to her warmly: "My name is Yi Yi, what's your name?"

Ling Shu said coldly, "It's not important."

Zhao Chi asked her, "How are you? It's freezing cold, and in the middle of the night. Why are you out alone?"

Yi Yi burst into tears: "I was on my way to the city to seek refuge with my grandmother, but unfortunately I encountered bandits on the way. They took a liking to my appearance and had evil intentions towards me. I had learned a little bit of martial arts, so I managed to escape."

Ling Shu remained silent.

Zhao Chi comforted him, "I've killed them all, so it's alright. Don't worry."

Yi Yi said, "These are just a few small-time robbers. There's also a big boss, a Golden Core cultivator. He took a liking to my appearance and ordered these people to escort me back to the mountain stronghold. Now that I've escaped, they'll definitely send people to chase after me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of horses riding horses came from afar. Zhao Chi quickly put out the fire, pulled Ling Shu into the carriage, and the woman followed. Ling Shu remained silent as she was led away by the woman.

Zhao Chi fled in his carriage. It was dark and he couldn't see clearly, but from the sounds, there were about ten people riding tall horses, all strong and robust. The leader was a man with one eye blind. Yi Yi peeked through the curtain, quickly pulled it back down, and stammered, "It's him...he's chasing us..."

Yi Yi hugged Ling Shu tightly, nestled in her arms, and said, "Sister, I'm so scared."

Ling Shu pushed her away, creating an arm's length distance: "Just sit down, don't be afraid."

With tears in her eyes, Yi Yi replied, "Okay."

Zhao Chi shouted, "Hold on tight!" Then he cracked his whip and sped forward, but they unexpectedly flanked them from both sides, outpacing their carriage and blocking their way.

Zhao Chi shouted, "Ling Shu, use your magic to hold the carriage steady!" Ling Shu moved her fingers, and pinkish-purple magic enveloped the entire carriage, preventing the flying arrows from penetrating. She added a boost to the carriage with her magic, and Zhao Chi shouted, "Hold on tight!"

The carriage rushed toward the people blocking its way, and then the horses leaped into the air, soaring over the heads of those blocking its way, and galloped away.

Yi Yi cheered, "Amazing! It flew over there!"

After the carriage had been traveling for a while, Zhao Chi shouted, "There's no road!"

Ling Shu lifted the curtain and saw that it was indeed a cliff. The three groups of bandits chasing them had merged into one, completely blocking their retreat. In a flash, Ling Shu grabbed Zhao Chi and jumped down. The two rolled on the ground. Zhao Chi steadied himself and asked anxiously, "Where's Yi Yi? Didn't you pull her?"

The carriage couldn't stop in time and plunged off the cliff along with the horses.

Ling Shu calmly replied, "Isn't she there?"

Zhao Chi looked to the other side of the carriage and saw Yi Yi kneeling upright on the other side.

Yi Yi said aggrievedly, "Yi Yi is so scared, sister, you won't save me." Then she got up and snuggled up to Ling Shu, hiding behind Ling Shu's head and looking at the man opposite her in fear.

The one-eyed man opposite said, "There's no way out. Why don't you surrender?"

Zhao Chi drew his sword again and stood in front of Ling Shu and Yi Yi.

Ling Shu grabbed Yi Yi by the back of her hand, threw her away, and said, "Didn't you want her? Take her."

Yi Yi was pushed out by Ling Shu and fell to the ground. She immediately got up and ran back. Ling Shu snatched the sword from Zhao Chi's hand and pointed it at Yi Yi: "What do you want by trying to gain sympathy? Do you want Zhao Chi or my demon core?"

Yi Yi wiped away her tears and cried, "What are you saying, sister? I didn't lie to you. Why did you say that to me and push me out? I was so scared."

Ling Shu said firmly, "You called me Daoist Master from the beginning, but I was wearing commoner's clothes and concealing my aura. I would have believed you if you called me Daoist Master Zhao Chi. But you called me Daoist Master right away, and then no matter how good Zhao Chi was to you, you didn't care about her and only clung to me. You want my demon core, right?"

"I'm telling you, no way. If one comes, I'll kill one; if a whole group comes, I'll kill the whole group."