43 Ghost Market (VIII)
◎I didn't expect you to be tripped up by a mere fairy with low spiritual power◎
A gentle breeze whirled fallen leaves, gliding back and forth across their sight. The young man suddenly leaned in closer, his gaze darkening as a hint of uneasiness, unnoticed, etched into his voice. "When did you get here? What did you hear?"
Tian Heng had a smile on his face, as if he was not the one being tied up.
A subtle atmosphere was brewing in the slightly damp air. She accidentally discovered someone else's secret without realizing it.
"I didn't hear anything. As for when you came..." Li Jintang was pinned against the tree trunk by his hand, his brain was confused for a moment. After a long while, he replied: "When I came, you just happened to look over."
Xie Changyan's gaze lingered on her face, as if trying to find a flaw in that harmless expression.
But... afraid of being exposed.
"Did you really not hear anything?" He asked again for some reason.
"I really didn't hear it," Li Jintang said, not used to the pressure he exuded. He tilted his head slightly, staring into his eyes, and said seriously, "Xie An, I won't lie to you."
The second time...
This feeling was terrible... He shouldn't have let go of anyone who posed even the slightest threat to him, but why did it have to be her? It made it impossible for him to do it.
This is definitely the last time...
"Really?" Seeing her expression change, he unconsciously eased the pressure on her shoulders and casually asked, "Why don't you stay with them?"
"I..." Li Jintang was speechless for a moment.
This question...she really hasn't figured out how to answer it.
Mingshu didn't know where he had gone just now, so she had to look for him for half a day. When she arrived here, Qu Lingfei and the others had already disappeared.
The force on his shoulders suddenly loosened, and Li Jintang leaned against the tree trunk, cold sweat oozing from between his fingers.
Strange, was she scared just now?
But Xie An won't harm me, so why should I be afraid?
The destiny book jumped up his arm and onto his shoulder, and Li Jintang's thoughts were finally pulled out of the trance. She followed him and asked, "Xie An, you still haven't told me where Sister Qiuyan and the others went..."
Before he could finish his words, the other person suddenly turned around and said with a half-smile, "At the bottom of the lake. Do you want me to take you down?"
The bottom of the lake? Her eyes widened slightly, and without thinking, she quickly waved her hand: "No thanks."
As expected, she was scared. A trace of disdain flashed in Xie Changyan's eyes. Before he could even utter the sneer in his heart, he heard her go down: "You can't swim, how can you take me down? What if something happens?"
The young man's expression suddenly became complicated, his slightly surprised eyes reflecting the girl's serious expression. He stared at her for a long moment, and only when she began to move away did he slowly say, "Aren't you going to look for them?"
"Firstly, I can't get down to the bottom of this lake. Secondly, my cultivation level is not good enough, so I can't help them even if I go."
After he heard this, the girl had already walked past him and sat down under a big tree with her knees hugged, her head down, fiddling with something in her hand.
They were some herbal medicines. She suddenly raised her eyes and smiled at him: "I prepared them in advance, so I'm not worried about them getting hurt."
He didn't answer, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and finally turned around and walked to Tian Heng.
"Aren't you going to accompany her?" Tian Heng had a teasing smile on his face. The other party immediately gave him a glare, and he sat up straight with restraint.
"You actually believed her words. Have you ever thought about what would happen if she lied to you and told Nangong Xiu and the others about our conversation?"
Xie Changyan was too lazy to waste time on such a question. He smiled impatiently and said, "Then kill them all."
"Killing one person could solve the problem, but you insisted on killing three?" Tian Heng had forgotten his fear of death at this moment. He shot a mocking look at his face, then sighed, with a look of regret on his face, and leaned back heavily against the tree. "I thought you were cruel and cautious in your actions, and that following you wouldn't be too bad. I didn't expect that you would be tripped up by a mere fairy with low spiritual power. That's all you can do."
"Are you done yet?" Xie Changyan glanced at him nonchalantly, then gently clasped his hands together, a faint light gathering between his fingers. "You don't want to live anymore, do you?"
Tian Heng felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his abdomen, his face turning pale. He immediately realized it was the effect of the pill. He forced himself to breathe, barely breathing, and said, "You...you can't kill me. She's still here."
Xie Changyan suddenly felt bored. The moment his fingers drooped, the other party suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, spread his hands and collapsed to the ground as if he had been reborn.
The girl sitting under a tree not far away was concentrating on fiddling with the things in her hands. She didn't even look at them, so naturally she didn't know what was going on.
He withdrew his gaze, his eyes lingering on the pool of blood. He frowned, stepped back with disgust, and said coldly, "Clean it up quickly. If they see it, you know what will happen."
How could Tian Heng still have the energy and courage to mock him? He quickly used his hands and feet to push some dirt to cover the dark red on the ground.
*
A sudden gust of wind blew up from the bottom of the sea, stirring up waves that hit the barrier again and again. The "ground" under the feet of several people shook, as if this piece of land hidden under the sea would soon be destroyed.
"It's just ahead." The long-tailed demon bowed slightly, stretched out his arms, and made a gesture of invitation.
The three of them did not move for a moment. Qiu Yan and Qu Lingfei looked at each other, then suddenly stepped forward, twisted the long-tailed demon's hands, and held him firmly.
She swiftly snatched the teleportation talisman from his hand and slapped another piece of talisman behind his back, shouting, "Does anyone know if there's a trap in there? Go and bring them out." Qiu Yan turned her head to glance at the slowly receding waves and continued her threat, "If you haven't brought them out by the time the next wave subsides, I'll crush the talisman and bury you here forever!"
The long-tailed demon shuddered, nodded repeatedly, and disappeared from their sight with staggering steps.
"This guy is very cunning, don't tell me he sneaked away." Nangong Xiu's face has not been good since he came in. His palm has been pressing on the hilt of the sword, ready to strike at any time.
"What are you afraid of? He has my talisman on him. If he dares to disobey me, I will kill him immediately."
As we were talking the wind started to pick up again and a second wave of waves arose, this time seemingly even more violent than the previous one.
There was still no sign of the long-tailed demon and the gang of ghosts.
"He Hai is so brave..."
"What is that?" Qu Lingfei interrupted her before she could finish her words. He pointed at the blue light moving towards them at high speed from a distance, his brows furrowed slightly. "Is there some treasure at the bottom of this lake?"
"This is a ghost market, and it's at the bottom of the lake. How could there be..." Before she could finish her words, she suddenly stopped, and even her breathing became stiff.
What kind of treasure is that...
It was clearly a rapidly spinning vortex that was growing larger and larger!
Suddenly the ground shook violently, interrupting the words she was about to say - this time it was not an illusion, the place was really going to collapse.
"Damn it, how dare you play tricks on me!" Nangong Xiu cursed and was about to draw his sword when he suddenly heard a disgusted "tsk" sound beside him.
Qiu Yan looked at him speechlessly: "The monster is not here, why are you drawing your sword now?" Then she turned to Qu Lingfei and said anxiously: "Brother, we can't hold on here any longer. We must get out immediately."
Qu Lingfei was stunned - he must rescue those ghosts today, but his junior sister...how could he let her die with him?
"No, I'm going to catch that guy back!" Nangong Xiu had already unsheathed his sword, and without waiting for the two to stop him, he chased in the direction the long-tailed demon had just left with the sword in hand.
Qiuyan felt a sense of foreboding. She looked up nervously, "Brother, you're not leaving either?"
At this moment, a huge wave suddenly hit them, and both of them were swayed. Qu Lingfei quickly supported her. Meeting the girl's pleading eyes, his expression changed slightly. After a while, he sighed, "Junior sister, I..."
She suddenly reached out and covered his lips. Through half of her palm, he saw her eyebrows curved and she smiled gently at him.
"Brother, there's no need to explain. I know what you're thinking. And you're not allowed to ask me to leave first," Qiu Yan said, curling her lips as if she had seen through his heart. "Otherwise, I won't talk to you anymore!"
It turns out that Junior Sister has always understood him...
Yes, he shouldn't have worried too much. They had been disciples of the same master and had practiced martial arts together for several years. How could he not know what kind of woman she was?
Qu Lingfei smiled softly: "Okay."
Qiuyan had no sword on her, so she grabbed Qu Lingfei's scabbard to prevent the two from being forced to separate.
Several small holes had already appeared in the barrier. Suddenly, a piece of cloth-like material floated in front of him. Its color was very conspicuous. Qu Lingfei reached out and grabbed it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was actually a piece of clothing that had fallen from a person.
He was immediately overjoyed: "Quick, they are heading in this direction."
Water poured in from the barrier, eventually reaching her ankles. Qiuyan's grip on the scabbard ached, and the resistance of the water made walking a bit of a struggle.
Qu Lingfei noticed her strain, but he didn't slow down, instead pushing the scabbard a little further toward her. Suddenly, a cave entrance, half-hidden by weeds, came into view. Within, figures dotted the cave, not far away, and voices could be faintly heard.
They looked at each other, quickened their pace and walked forward. Just as they were about to go in, they suddenly met someone coming out.
"Brother Nangong?"
The three of them spoke almost at the same time.
Qu Lingfei asked curiously, "Didn't you go to catch monsters?" He looked around, but there was no sign of the long-tailed monster.
"That guy is very clever. I couldn't see him since I came in." Nangong Xiu frowned and was also shocked. "Didn't you... go back to the shore?"
"Now isn't the time to talk about this," Qiu Yan said, fearing her senior brother would say something cheesy and waste time. She glanced at the ghosts that practically filled the cave and hurriedly urged, "Now that we've found the person, let's get out of here and talk about it later."
"Junior sister, you're right. We have to go out first." Qu Lingfei responded.
Qiu Yan pulled out the teleportation talisman that she had just snatched from the long-tailed demon. Her pupils suddenly shrank and the action of casting the spell stopped in mid-air.
What was she holding in her hand? It was clearly a piece of rag. She had actually been fooled by that bastard's trick!
Suddenly there was a loud bang, and a huge wave came down, almost swallowing everyone.
"Come with me."
When everyone was at a loss, a female voice rang out from outside the cave.
Alan was surrounded by several talismans and was looking at them with his head slightly tilted.
Delicate petals fell one by one, studding the monotonous earth with rubies. The girl turned back to the lake for the third time and suddenly heard a sigh behind her.
"Miss Li, could you please be more quiet?" Xie Changyan rubbed his brow and spread his hands helplessly, "You're giving me a headache."
"I'm sorry," Li Jintang smiled apologetically, his gaze still fixed on the lake. "I don't know why they've been gone for so long. Did they run into any trouble..."
"You care about them so much, why don't you go down and take a look?" The young man put his hands behind his head with a playful smile on his face.
Li Jintang thought for a while, and to his surprise, he took out the teleportation talisman and walked towards the lake.
Xie Changyan's smile froze instantly, and he almost immediately stood up and walked towards her.
"Xie An, what are you doing?" Li Jintang stared at her hand that was interrupted from casting the spell - it was firmly held in his hand. She struggled a little, but it didn't move at all.
"Are you really going?" The young man's long, crow-like eyelashes drooped, covering up the darkness in his eyes. "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Or have you reached the point where you're willing to die for them?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
