33 The Valley of No Return (Part 9)
◎No more leniency◎
They hadn't walked far when Qu Lingfei, supported by Qiu Yan, suddenly leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Brother, the most important thing for us right now is to get out of here. It's best if we don't get involved in the affairs of the demon world."
Qu Lingfei's eyebrows twitched, and he understood what she meant.
They really shouldn't have gotten involved in this matter, but they had been traveling with Nangong Xiu all the way, and it was really unreasonable for them to abandon him when something happened.
Nangong Xiu, as if he had eyes on his back, suddenly stopped and turned to stare at them. "This matter has nothing to do with you. I can go alone." He then threw the map over to them and said, "If you want to find the key and leave, go on your own."
Without saying a word of goodbye, he grabbed the clothes on Tian Heng's shoulders and jumped into the air, disappearing into the bushes in an instant.
Several people stood there, not knowing whether they should chase after him.
"Qu Lingfei, aren't you going after him?" Xie Changyan folded his arms, leaning against the tree trunk, his tone as if trying to persuade him: "Throwing the dog away after the rabbit is dead is not the way of a gentleman."
This remark hit home exactly what Qu Lingfei was thinking. Their master had taught them since childhood that they must never abandon their friends in times of crisis. Furthermore, Nangong Xiu had helped them immensely along the way. Yesterday, when he had been injured by a hidden weapon, he had carried him on his back while he went looking for medicine.
Qu Lingfei's expression froze, and he hurriedly called out, "Brother Xie, where are you going?"
"Fellow Daoist Qu is so hard-hearted, I can't do that." Xie Changyan paused, glancing sideways slightly, deliberately provoking him. Then, turning his gaze away, he smiled and said, "Miss Li, what's your choice? Will you go back with me to rescue them, or go with these two to find the key?"
Unexpectedly, the topic turned to himself. Li Jintang pointed at himself and asked hesitantly, "Me?"
Although it wasn't a good idea to leave her friends behind, her spiritual power wasn't high, so what good would it do her to go there...
Qiuyan keenly heard the sarcasm in his words and couldn't help but say angrily, "Fellow Daoist Xie, what you said is wrong, isn't it? Who said that my brother and I were going to abandon him and leave?"
Qu Lingfei was still worried about this matter, but upon hearing this, his face immediately lit up with smiles. He then asked uncertainly, "So, Junior Sister, have you agreed to go back together?"
"I knew you wanted to go, so why did I stop you?" Qiu Yan glared at him unhappily, then stuffed the map she had just taken into his arms. "When you find it, return it to its original owner."
Li Jintang watched them laughing and joking back and forth, and couldn't help but feel relieved.
That's great, this way she doesn't have to make the decision.
The wind in the forest was whistling loudly, like a knife whistling past his ears. Nangong Xiu escorted the man all the way to Luzhuang without stopping.
He stopped and squinted his eyes to survey the manor, "Where is it hidden?"
Tian Heng spread his hands helplessly, smiled bitterly and said, "How can I give it to you if you don't let me in?"
Now that he was in his hands, he could be expected to pull some tricks. Nangong Xiu frowned and pushed him on the shoulder: "Lead the way!"
A sly smile appeared on Tian Heng's face: "Nangong Xiu, you can't kill me later, otherwise, the elixir will never be found again."
"Stop talking nonsense," Nangong Xiu thought he was stalling for time and angrily said, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kill you with one palm."
"If you had said this a quarter of an hour ago, I might have been a little scared," Tian Heng suddenly said with a grin, "but it's too late now."
Nangong Xiu frowned: "What nonsense..."
Before he could finish his words, a string of white smoke suddenly descended, and his vision became blurred. He drew out his sword and swung it at the air. When the white smoke dissipated, bursts of sword light appeared around him.
He was surrounded by soldiers.
Tian Heng no longer had the look of being seriously injured and dying. He stood between two of the soldiers with a swagger and sneered: "Come on, kill me with one palm, haha..."
Nangong Xiu's expression suddenly changed, and the five fingers gripping the hilt of the sword trembled violently, "How dare you, you bastard, plot against your grandfather..."
"Little brother, long time no see." Lu Chengfeng was supported by someone and limped out from the porch.
Nangong Xiu said coldly: "Who is your brother?" But he was panicking in his heart - if it were just these soldiers, he could barely handle it alone, but now there was another Lu Chengfeng. Although this man had difficulty walking, his spiritual power was not inferior to his own, so it would be really difficult to escape.
He quietly gathered the spiritual power in his hands, and was about to take down Tian Heng again when he was not prepared. Suddenly, he heard a strong wind, and the soldiers around him were hit in the acupoints. They covered their necks with pain on their faces, and soon they all fell down.
Lu Chengfeng's face was filled with anger. He slammed the crutch in his hand to the ground and shouted, "Who is it?!" The echo of his voice circled several times above the village.
"Master Lu, how are you?" Qu Lingfei landed first, placed a hand on Nangong Xiu's shoulder, and teased, "Brother Nangong, why are you leaving so suddenly? Don't you consider us your friends?"
"Didn't I give you the map?" Nangong Xiu groaned and said stubbornly, "Just leave. Who needs your help?"
Qu Lingfei smiled and turned to look at Lu Chengfeng, whose face was distorted with anger. "Master Lu, you've already suffered a loss last time. Do you still want to lose more people?"
Although he said so, the hidden weapons did not hit the soldiers' vital points, but only knocked them unconscious temporarily.
The unconscious soldiers lay in a heap on the ground. Lu Chengfeng sighed resignedly, "Never mind. I can't stop you. If you can find it, just take it back."
"Master, you can't do that!" Tian Heng bent his knees and fell to the ground. "I am willing to serve you till my death..."
Lu Chengfeng waved his hand to interrupt him, looked at everyone and smiled sadly: "Everyone, let's start."
Li Jintang held Qiuyan's waist and landed steadily. She looked around and asked in confusion, "Didn't Xie An come with us?"
There really was no sign of him anywhere. Qiuyan, anxiously searching for the elixir, casually replied, "He's gone looking for something. Let's hurry up and make sure we don't fall behind."
A figure passed by the corner of the backyard wall. The light in the house was dim, with only a few rays of sunlight shining through the gaps in the tattered curtains. The mottled walls were stained with dark green moss, and the air was filled with a damp smell.
Xie Changyan slipped into the house and carefully followed the source of the spiritual power that had a strong attraction to him.
Outside the house, there was a mixture of rustling footsteps and occasional conversations - those people were coming soon, and he had to find that thing before they arrived.
His footsteps stopped in front of a picture frame covered with cloth, and his eyes swept over the uneven floor.
Almost at the same time as the door was pushed open, he pried open the wooden board with one hand, jumped in and closed it tightly.
The faint light at the fingertips flickered, illuminating the entire cellar.
The spiritual power seemed to surge even more intensely, carrying a hint of irresistible temptation. He curled his lips slightly—as expected, it was here.
The cellar was completely empty; Lu Chengfeng must have hidden the item somewhere. Xie Changyan didn't bother looking for it, so he simply waved his hand and turned the place upside down.
A mud-built city wall collapsed before my eyes, revealing a secret space behind the wall.
He withdrew his hand, strode over, and scanned the glowing objects one by one.
The ruby on the table, the fox mask on the rusty shelf, the pills lying in the box... No, none of them.
His patience wore away bit by bit as his fingers moved across these gaudy objects one by one, finally stopping on a clay figurine with a playful grin on its face.
The young man's slightly frowned brows relaxed, and a surge of spiritual power rose from his hands. The clay figure instantly melted into a pool of mud and water. Now lying in his hand was a golden elixir.
It seems that this is the treasure that Nangong Xiu insisted on finding. He narrowed his eyes and felt the light and heat of the elixir on his face - it is indeed a good thing.
When he first came to Luzhuang a few days ago, he had already felt the attraction of this spiritual power, but he was concentrating on finding the black jade at that time, so he didn't take it seriously. Fortunately, he turned back today, otherwise he would have missed a good treasure.
Those people probably haven't noticed yet, so he'd better leave quickly to avoid unnecessary trouble. Xie Changyan was about to hide the elixir when he turned around and was suddenly met with a pair of surprised eyes.
"Xie An..." Seeing him turn around, Li Jintang tried hard to suppress the astonishment on his face, pretending not to see the elixir in his hand, "Did you find anything?"
He had no idea someone was coming here. The boy's eyes darkened. It must be that the elixir had disturbed his mind for a while.
"How did you find it?" he asked calmly.
"When I came in just now, the floor suddenly shook," Li Jintang replied in a low voice, not noticing the murderous intent gathering at his fingertips. "This protruding piece of floor is so obvious. I saw it the moment I came in... Xie An, I didn't expect you to be here too."
Xie Changyan didn't hear much of what she said. He smiled slightly, like a hunter who had unintentionally set a trap and was facing prey that had accidentally fallen in. A trace of irritation flashed through his heart, which he himself was not aware of.
If he kills someone here, no one will find out that he did it, right?
"What happened to your hand?"
Li Jintang stared at the muddy water dripping from his hands. It was so dark in the cellar that she mistook the liquid for blood and thought he was injured again.
Yes, she suddenly realized - the place where Lu Chengfeng hid the elixir must be heavily guarded, but she had no obstruction when she walked over. It must be that Xie An defeated those soldiers one by one, but was accidentally injured during the fight.
"Xie An, you are so awesome." The girl's eyelashes curved, and she had automatically imagined the "protagonist" in front of her as a great hero.
Xie Changyan was visibly stunned. The murderous intent on his face faded, replaced by a fleeting confusion. "Why are you suddenly... praising me?"
"Because we couldn't find it, only you found it," Li Jintang turned around and was about to go outside, "Then Master Lu was sure that we couldn't find it. If we go out now, we can give him a good slap in the face." There was a hint of imperceptible pride in her tone.
Xie Changyan stared at her back, spiritual power flickering at his fingertips.
Only by killing her would no one know about it, and he could take the elixir for himself.
A voice in his heart seemed to urge him: "Go ahead, what are you waiting for? You shouldn't miss any opportunity to make yourself stronger. Don't forget that you still have revenge to take."
"Xie An?" The girl's voice came from above her head, and a red hairband swept across her eyes.
He extinguished his spiritual power and his thoughts were brought back to reality.
She's already gone, so I can't do anything anymore...
The young man's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he didn't want to admit that he felt a little relieved at this moment.
Just this once. If it happens again, he will never show mercy.
【Author’s words】
Next chapter will be updated on Friday
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