On the other side.
Shen Zhaozhao thought that since she had agreed to Yan Qiubai's request, she should set off immediately.
After all, putting aside the relationship between Yan Qiubai and Senior Sister Qingyi, even the original owner himself had received a lot of care from Qingxuan when he was in Tianyan Sect.
"Second Senior Brother."
Thinking of this, Shen Zhaozhao decided to first greet Xiao Jingrui: "I'm going on a long trip to stake out the area near Tianyan Sect."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingrui's flames flickered twice in the alchemy furnace. He turned around abruptly and grabbed Shen Zhaozhao's arm, saying, "Junior Sister, calm down!"
"The Tianyan Sect is a den of dragons and tigers. Their elders are coming out of seclusion one after another, and there's also that old thief Lingxiao who's about to come out of seclusion!"
"Xie Linyuan isn't home right now. With all our savings, we wouldn't even be enough to fill his teeth!"
He spoke so fast, as if afraid that if he hesitated even a word, Shen Zhaozhao would rush out and be killed: "Listen to your senior brother, this time when you go, you must lie in wait for your master."
"At most, figure out when they will change guards around their warehouse and what the weak points in their formation are! Remember! Under no circumstances should you make a move, not even a single blade of grass!"
"Everything will wait until that scoundrel... uh, until our sect leader comes back, then let him take the blame!"
"Then we'll raid their warehouse!"
Shen Zhaozhao: "..."
Shen Zhaozhao pulled her arm away speechlessly: "No, Second Senior Brother, did you think I was going to rob the Tianyan Sect's treasury?!"
"We're a legitimate sect, after all. How could we possibly engage in robbery and plunder?!"
Xiao Jingrui gave her a look that said, "What are you pretending to be?" and looked her up and down suspiciously: "Then why were you sneaking around to stake out their territory?"
I'm going to—
However, before Shen Zhaozhao could finish speaking, she was abruptly interrupted by a figure rushing in like a whirlwind.
"Senior brother, Senior sister Zhaozhao, something terrible has happened—!"
Murong Xiao's face was deathly pale, her eyes red-rimmed, and she rushed in, sobbing uncontrollably. She trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind, her grief overflowing: "Our sect leader... our sect leader... Waaah!!!"
He wailed so earnestly, as if the sky had fallen.
Shen Zhaozhao's heart skipped a beat. She suppressed the sudden panic that rose in her heart and tried to make her voice sound calm and reliable. She grabbed Murong Xiao's cold little hand and said, "Don't panic, tell me slowly, what happened? What happened to Xie Linyuan?"
Unlike Shen Zhaozhao's feigned composure, Xiao Jingrui's face turned even paler than Murong Xiao's the moment he heard the words "Sect Leader".
He grabbed Murong Xiao's wrist with such force that he almost crushed the little brat's bones. His voice was completely distorted by extreme fear, almost a roar: "What happened to him?! What happened to that lunatic?! Huh?!"
"Is it...is it possible that he doesn't actually have a mine at all! He's just lying to us?! People from Yuntai Immortal City have come to the sect to collect debts?! Isn't that right?! Tell me!!!"
Murong Xiao: "..."
Shen Zhaozhao: "..."
Second Brother Pig, have you been accumulating this much pressure all this time...?
Murong Xiao was almost thrown off balance by Xiao Jingrui's earth-shattering roar. His lips twitched, and he barely managed to suppress the urge to roll his eyes before resuming his expression of utter grief.
He gripped Shen Zhaozhao's hand tightly in return, his eyes reddening even more: "Senior Sister... it's not about collecting debts... it's... it's about the Sect Leader, he... he's in deep trouble!"
“I heard from my brother that he didn’t know how he angered the heavens and was struck by lightning. His soul was severely damaged. My brother said... he almost... his soul was about to be completely destroyed!”
As Murong Xiao spoke, he cautiously observed Shen Zhaozhao's expression out of the corner of his eye. Seeing her brows furrowed, he immediately pressed on, his tone filled with lingering fear and relief: "Fortunately! My brother was there at the time, and out of respect for me, he spared no effort, even at the cost of his own cultivation, to forcibly protect his last wisp of soul!"
"But...but..."
"He was so badly injured that his soul could no longer sustain his body; he was just... just a tiny bit left..."
As he spoke, Murong Xiao carefully took out a miniature version of Xie Linyuan from his sleeve, as if he were holding a fragile treasure. The miniature version was only the size of a palm, its radiance was slightly dim, and it was still "trying" to tremble slightly.
As soon as the little thing was taken out, it curled up weakly in Murong Xiao's palm. Its black hair was scattered in a mess. Its peach blossom eyes, which were always filled with clear snow in a cold pool, were now half-closed and its long eyelashes were lowered, casting a pitiful shadow under its eyes.
He was even breathing extremely "difficultly," his small chest rising and falling weakly, as if he might run out of breath and disappear at any moment.
Especially when Shen Zhaozhao's gaze fell on him, the little thing seemed to sense something. Immediately, it seemed to use all its strength to barely lift its eyelids. Its beautiful peach blossom eyes were shimmering with water, carrying a kind of bewilderment after surviving a disaster.
He moved his hand slightly, but it fell limply due to the severity of his injuries, and he could only let out a faint, breathy moan: "Ugh..."
Shen Zhaozhao: "..."
Xiao Jingrui: "..."
silence.
Silence is Cambridge tonight.
Xiao Jingrui's eyelids twitched violently twice.
This thing... this feigned weakness, this affected manner, this whole thing, down to the last strand of hair, exudes a sleazy, pathetic vibe that screams, "Look how pitiful I am, come and feel sorry for me!"
damn it!
Xie Linyuan, you bastard!
So you're putting on a show here again?!
This damn lunatic can fool outsiders, but now he's even fooling his own people?!
Yes.
As a seasoned alchemist who had beaten Xie Linyuan's phantom to the ground in the Illusionary Realm of Inner Demons and ordered that phantom to live frugally and spend spirit stones only as needed each month, Xiao Jingrui was almost certain that this bastard was absolutely fine and was just faking illness to gain sympathy.
He could even foresee that Shen Zhaozhao would sneer, then mercilessly expose this drama queen, and finally slap him away!
However, after waiting for a while, Xiao Jingrui did not hear any reprimands from beside him.
The man turned his head in surprise and saw Shen Zhaozhao frowning slightly, her gaze complicated.
Actually... Shen Zhaozhao also figured it out.
After all, Xie Linyuan's act of feigning illness was hardly clever; his attempt to appear weak was even somewhat comical.
But……
Why did he pretend to be sick?
Is it because I haven't paid enough attention to him or responded to him enough?
Thinking of this, an indescribable feeling, mixed with a little guilt and indulgence, quietly crept into my heart.
never mind.
Since he wants to act... why not just go along with him?
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