Chapter 125 is back:
Rong Xie did not answer Brother Jiang's question.
He struggled to get up from the ground, but his legs were too weak to support his body.
An invisible force lifted Rong Xie's arm just in time, giving him something to lean on, and he stood up with the help of this force.
Rong Xie didn't even have time to thank him. He grabbed Brother Jiang's official robe sleeve and said urgently, "Quick, quick, go find Shen Bingsi! Please, go find Shen Bingsi quickly!"
"Hmm?" Brother Jiang's smile faded slightly. "What happened to Shen Bingsi? Why haven't I seen him?"
"Shen Bingsi and Lu Yingqi of Xuantian Sword were dueling. I saw them both draw their natal swords in the air..." Rong Xie tried his best to describe the scene to Brother Jiang, but he had just experienced a violent impact and his breath had not yet recovered, so his words were intermittent.
Fortunately, Brother Jiang was very quick to understand and soon grasped Rong Xie's meaning. He slapped his forehead and said, "Don't worry, Shen Bingsi should be fine. The chain is still in your hand, which means he's not seriously injured. When did the duel happen? How long ago was it?"
"I don't know either... maybe the time it takes to brew a cup of tea," Rong Xie said uncertainly. "Brother Jiang... weren't you affected when you came over?"
"No, I used teleportation...it's like a fixed-point teleportation," Brother Jiang said. "I'll go find him; he should have fallen somewhere around here."
Brother Jiang released his spiritual sense, and soon he sensed something, turned around, and walked out of the courtyard.
Rong Xie followed Jiang's departing figure, and only now did he realize the extent of the destruction caused by the duel between the two Nascent Soul cultivators—
Half of the high wall of the courtyard collapsed. The good news is that most of it collapsed outside, and only a small part collapsed on the ground, without hitting the people inside the courtyard. Even so, the treasure hunting team members were still scattered all over the ground, not to mention the Lu family.
"Cough cough... Fellow Daoist Rong, are you alright?" Zhao Dajiang got up from the ground and helped the team members around him up.
"I'm fine," Rong Xie said. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He hissed softly and frowned as he looked down. He saw several clear bloodstains on his right arm, which was holding a silver chain. It must have been from pulling the chain hard during the earthquake, causing the wounds. A drop of blood dripped down the silver chain and landed with a "plop" on the ground at his feet.
Rong Xie's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition enveloped him.
He turned his head to look at Zhao Dajiang, his gaze fixed on the latter's empty hands: "Brother Zhao, where is the incense burner?"
Zhao Dajiang had just helped the last treasure hunter team member up and told them to stand together when he heard Rong Xie's question. He suddenly remembered something, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, "Hey, where's my incense burner?!"
After searching for a while, the treasure hunters finally found the overturned incense burner on the ground. The incense had long since gone out, and the ashes were scattered all over the ground...
"Oh dear!" Zhao Dajiang exclaimed in frustration, quickly taking the half-empty incense burner from his teammate and holding it up to Xiangxiu. "How could this happen? Does this mean it's not working?"
"..." Xiang Xiu's scalp tingled. "Brother Zhao, the incense is all gone, of course it won't work..."
"What should we do? Will it even work now?" Zhao Dajiang panicked and shouted, "Everyone, hold your breath! Don't breathe!"
The team members covered their mouths and noses, but holding their breath was not a long-term solution, and soon their faces turned red from holding their breath.
"Alright, no need to hold your breath." Rong Xie looked at Madam Mei on the ground. The silver chains were still firmly binding his upper body, preventing him from casting spells and leaving him with no defense. The impact had knocked him unconscious, and he hadn't woken up yet. He probably wouldn't have a chance to cause trouble... right?
“The courtyard wall has collapsed, so the fragrance won’t settle in the courtyard so easily. Besides, this Lady Mei has been chained up, so she shouldn’t be able to use her magic,” Rong Xie said. “For safety’s sake, we should leave this place of trouble as soon as possible. Can someone help me carry this Lady Mei out?”
Rong Xie couldn't leave before because Madam Mei was fixed here by Lu Yingqi's barrier. Now that Lu Yingqi's barrier has been broken by Brother Jiang, Madam Mei can move, so Rong Xie naturally doesn't have to stay locked in place with him.
"Quick, lift her up!" Zhao Dajiang hurriedly called to his team members. Eager to make up for his mistake, he was the first to step forward, grabbing Madam Mei's side and lifting her up like an animal. Two other team members rushed over and supported Madam Mei's other side. The three of them huffed and puffed as they carried Madam Mei out.
The Lu family members were no longer able to fight and could not stop the treasure-hunting team. They could only watch helplessly as the team broke through the courtyard gate and came to the circular open space outside.
“Keep going, don’t stop,” Rong Xie said. His expression was calm and his voice was very steady, but his free left hand was clutching the fabric of his shirt, his palm resting on his heart. “The farther away from here the better. The people from Mirror Palace have arrived. Once they find Shen Bing Si, they will come back to us.”
Hearing this, the treasure hunters felt even more confident and their steps became lighter.
Zhao Dajiang turned around, a relieved smile on his face: "Was that the Judge of the Mirror Palace just now? I didn't expect this operation to attract two Judges. Our little treasure hunting team has solved a big case! --Is Sword Saint Shen alright?"
Rong Xie paused for a moment, not immediately answering Zhao Dajiang. Under Zhao Dajiang's questioning gaze, Rong Xie lowered his eyes to look at the silver chain wrapped around his right hand: "...The chain is still there. His colleagues said that he should be fine."
“Since the other one said it’s nothing, then it’s nothing. Fellow Daoist Rong, don’t worry too much…” Zhao Dajiang said reassuringly. Suddenly, he noticed Rong Xie’s arm. “Fellow Daoist Rong, you’re bleeding.”
"Hmm, just a minor scratch, nothing serious."
"It's alright, why don't I hold the chain? I'm tough, it won't get scratched," Zhao Dajiang suggested enthusiastically, reaching out to take the chain from Rong Xie's hand.
“No need, I’ll do it.” Rong Xie nimbly dodged Zhao Dajiang’s hand. “Thank you for your kindness, Brother Zhao, but Shen Bingsi entrusted this matter to me, and I can’t hand it over to someone else. Madam Mei is also very cunning, and I don’t want to fail at the last minute.”
“Yes, yes, Fellow Daoist Rong is right.” Zhao Dajiang nodded, then sighed, “I just don’t know when Sword Saint Shen will appear. Sword Saint Shen’s cultivation is not as high as their young master Lu’s. Even if he wins the direct confrontation just now by chance, I’m afraid… alas, he won’t be here for a while.”
Rong Xie's eyes darkened slightly, as if he wanted to say something, when he suddenly heard the treasure hunters in front of him shout: "Sword Saint Shen! It's Sword Saint Shen!" "Sword Saint Shen is back!"
For a moment, Rong Xie thought he was hallucinating.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, two monks dressed in identical official robes walked out of the alley. Backlit, their faces were not clearly visible, but one of them was waving at them from a distance. His exaggerated gesture and arrogant gait were clearly those of Shen Bingsi.
Rong Xie suppressed his wildly beating heart and gripped the chains even tighter. Along with his surprise came doubt: How could Shen Bing Si have returned unharmed? He didn't seem to have just gone through a life-or-death battle at all. Did Brother Jiang heal him? Or did something happen that Rong Xie didn't know about?
Regardless of the truth, they'll find out when they arrive and ask. Rong Xie won't easily release the chains until he confirms the other person is indeed Shen Bing Si.
Almost at the same moment Shen Bingsi appeared, Zhao Dajiang, who was closest to Rong Xie, rushed over and roughly snatched the chain from Rong Xie's hand. The three team members carrying Madam Mei also stopped and began to tear at the chains on Madam Mei's body.
Rong Xie turned around, put his right arm in his chest to protect himself, and cast a defensive spell to block Zhao Dajiang's impact. As he did this, his gaze swept over the faces of Zhao Dajiang and the three team members. They indeed had numb expressions and lifeless eyes, like puppets being controlled by someone.
Rong Xie didn't know when Madam Mei had cast the illusion spell, but it was clear that several people who were near Madam Mei had been affected.
Rong Xie swiftly pulled out the talismans from the brocade pouch, triggering several at the same time. A waterfall of water gushed out, sweeping away the treasure hunters who were trying to snatch the chains by brute force. Lightning followed closely behind, striking Zhao Dajiang, the one with the highest cultivation level, so badly that he was left with a broken soul.
Zhao Dajiang, being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, quickly recovered and pulled out his natal magic weapon—a large sword—from the void, slashing at Rong Xie's arm.
A golden light flashed, and the broadsword in Zhao Dajiang's hand flew out of his grasp. He himself was also pulled back rapidly, as if he were being dragged away by the back of his collar. The fact that a Foundation Establishment cultivator as burly as Zhao Dajiang could be carried away so easily shows how immense the force was.
With a muffled thud, Zhao Dajiang bumped into something, his head lolled to the side, and he passed out. At the same time, three more loud bangs rang out as the other three captured treasure hunters also knocked out, falling to the ground in disarray.
No one caught Lady Mei, and she fell to the ground with a "thud," raising a cloud of dust. Someone flew over, reached out and caught Rong Xie, and used their protective spiritual energy to create a gale that blew the dust away, ensuring that not a single speck of dust landed on the two of them.
"Rong'er," Shen Bingsi's voice came from above. Rong Xie felt a warm embrace wrap tightly around his back. Shen Bingsi grabbed his elbow and said in a muffled voice, "You're injured, why don't you let go?"
Rong Xie's body naturally relaxed, and he longed to collapse into Shen Bingsi's arms and put all his weight on him, but he couldn't do that.
Rong Xie thrust his elbow into Shen Bingsi's abdomen without holding back, tightened the chain with his right hand, and spread his fingers with his left hand, purple lightning crackling in his palm. With a turn, he slammed his elbow into Shen Bingsi's vital side of the neck.
Shen Bingsi was caught off guard by Rong Xie's punch. The side of his cheek that was hit was quickly burned and smoking, and the strong smell of barbecue filled the air. Rong Xie also managed to break free from his embrace and took two steps back.
Shen Bingsi covered her face, which had been slapped, with a wronged expression. As she straightened her body and lowered her hand, the restorative power of her newly broken-through-the-mid Nascent Soul realm rapidly regenerated the charred flesh on her cheek. A flash of red light appeared, and her young, taut skin once again covered the smooth contours of her cheek, even brighter than before.
"..." Rong Xie looked at Shen Bing Si warily, as if she were looking at some monster.
“I am really Shen Bingsi, I am not being controlled.”
Shen Bingsi glanced at Zhao Dajiang and the treasure hunters lying at Rong Xie's feet, then looked at his hand, which was covered in blood from the cuts of the silver chain. How could she not understand what he was thinking and what he was protecting? Shen Bingsi felt a pang of pain in her heart, regretting that she had given the chain to Rong Xie and had even told him to hold on to it and wait for him to come back.
Shen Bingsi reached out to the silver chains. The spiritual artifact recognized its master and automatically turned into silver smoke, dissipating from Rong Xie's arm and merging with the chains binding Madam Mei, condensing into a silver token, which was then hung back on the Judge's black belt.
"Is this... an illusion?" Rong Xie stared blankly at Shen Bing Si, who was now looking refreshed and dressed in the official robes of a judge.
“No,” Shen Bingsi strode towards Rong Xie, one hand protecting the soft hair tied behind his head, and pulled him into her arms, “I have successfully broken through to the next realm and I’m back.”
Shen Bingsi turned her face and pressed it tightly against Rong Xie's forehead, which was slightly sweaty from nervousness, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, I came back too late and made you worry. Next time..."
The body he was embracing gradually softened and relaxed. Shen Bingsi felt his shirt being caught on the front of his clothes. Rong Xie's hand was gripping his shirt, his palm trembling slightly.
Slowly, the hand pulled him towards itself, and the person in its arms hugged him back.
"There won't be a next time. If you dare scare me again, I'll..."
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