Chapter 52 Just Friends
There were many rumors about Ren Yi in the Xiao family, and Xiao Zhiyu had heard quite a few of them, and he even vaguely agreed with some of them.
But now, after learning what the other party had done for the family head, the approval he had received back then felt like a slap in the face, burning with pain, and he couldn't speak for a long time.
Ren Yi glanced at Xiao Zhiyu's expression, seemingly lost in thought, and asked, "Did Dan He tell you about the Dao Bone?"
Xiao Zhiyu nodded, his face pale.
Ren Yi pondered that this child's mentality was not good, and this C-fan's stance was not firm at all.
However, Ren Yi knew exactly how to persuade these people. Seeing that Xiao Zhiyu seemed determined to block his way, Ren Yi, unusually, played the role of a psychological counselor and earnestly advised, "You don't need to do this. Whether it's Dao bone or spiritual root, it's my own choice, and it has nothing to do with them."
The main characters are in a relationship to develop feelings, while he's in a mission; it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, and neither owes the other anything.
If you really feel embarrassed, then cooperate more when the storyline unfolds.
Of course, it's impossible to say those last few words.
At first, Ren Yi wasn't very familiar with these kinds of phrases, but after being a tool for so long, he had heard similar content so many times that he had picked them up quite a bit. Even though he couldn't help but mentally criticize them every time he heard them, no matter how utterly nonsensical they were, it didn't stop him from using them to persuade the people in front of him.
— Judging from Xiao Zhiyu's condition, his mental fortitude is clearly lacking; he has a long way to go before he becomes shameless and ruthless.
Seeing that Xiao Zhiyu still didn't react, Ren Yi thought about his usual personality and smiled, "Are you worried about me?"
Ren Yi originally thought that, given Xiao Zhiyu's usual tendency to get angry easily, he would either give her a cold look or turn around and leave.
Unexpectedly, after a brief silence, the boy replied with a single word, "Mm."
Ren Yi?!
Ren Yi almost thought he had misheard.
Before he could even clean his ears and confirm it again, Xiao Zhiyu seemed to have made a decision, "If you want to leave, I'll go with you."
Ren Yi?
Outside Tianhuan City, a horse-drawn carriage rumbled westward.
Through the shadowy carriage curtain, Ren Yi looked at the young man outside the carriage who had put away his cultivation and was obediently driving the carriage, and couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.
Ren Yi sat upright in the carriage, deep in thought. He wondered if he would be hunted down for abducting the disciple of the chosen one.
But upon further reflection, I realized that the impact wasn't significant.
Once Xiao Hanzhou emerged from the secret realm, the message reached his hands, signifying that the "past" had been pushed back onto its original trajectory, and they would be kicked out by the Causal Mirror. At that time, Xiao Zhiyu's whereabouts would naturally be corrected by the timeline, and he would always return to the Xiao family under various pretexts, so he didn't need to worry about it much.
After figuring things out, Ren Yi finally relaxed and lay down, waiting patiently for Xiao Hanzhou to emerge from the secret realm.
As it turns out, stability is impossible.
Without any politeness, the laborer who had offered himself up was enslaved and driven all the way. Ren Yi was leisurely lying on the soft cushion in the carriage when he suddenly heard the neighing of a horse. The carriage, which had been moving smoothly, came to an abrupt stop, and Ren Yi almost rolled off the cushion.
However, after the initial surprise, he quickly calmed down.
Although he couldn't perceive the situation outside because he lacked cultivation at the moment, he had the experience from last time, so even without the system's reminder, he could guess what had happened.
Ren Yi moved forward and lifted the carriage curtain to look over.
Sure enough, the familiar formula and the familiar faces were the same cultivators who had ambushed him when he left the Xiao residence last time.
Compared to the calm and composed Ren Yi, Xiao Zhiyu appeared much more tense, his hand already on his sword, poised to strike.
The cultivators opposite seemed to pay no attention to Xiao Zhiyu, but instead focused their attention on Ren Yi. Upon seeing his appearance, their eyes lit up.
The leader joked, "I never expected there to be such a beauty hidden inside the carriage."
The group of henchmen following behind him also chimed in with their opinions.
Ren Yi: "..."
Although the content of the words was slightly different, the tone was exactly the same.
It was precisely because of these people's dedicated performances that Ren Yi always doubted whether his own professional skills were insufficient.
Hearing the teasing remarks of the group, Xiao Zhiyu's face darkened. He took a step to the side and stood in front of Ren Yi with a cold expression.
These people clearly didn't take Xiao Zhiyu seriously. One of them immediately scolded, "Hey kid, why aren't you moving aside? You're not even fully grown yet, and you want to play the hero and save the damsel in distress?! Go back to your mother and drink her milk for a few more years."
Upon hearing this, the others immediately burst into laughter.
Xiao Zhiyu's face turned pale, and his hand holding the sword was trembling slightly. Someone with sharp eyes noticed his appearance and immediately mocked, "Look how scared this kid is, he's even shaking. Hahaha... I'm not an unreasonable person. You better get out of the way, and when we're done playing, we might leave you some leftovers."
Ren Yi noticed that although the man was saying this, his gaze towards Xiao Zhiyu carried a hint of apprehension. Clearly, he was worried about Xiao Zhiyu's cultivation level and wanted to provoke him beforehand, hoping to make him lose his composure in a moment of impulsiveness.
As a straight person, I can't help but sigh at this; these days, even being a bad person requires brains.
However, Xiao Zhiyu's performance surprised Ren Yi somewhat.
Upon hearing the latter part of the conversation, Xiao Zhiyu's face turned from pale to dark. Ren Yi could vaguely hear him clenching his teeth and making a grinding sound. Everyone thought he was about to charge forward, but the young man's hand holding the sword steadied itself again.
Xiao Zhiyu didn't rush forward impulsively. Instead, he first sent a telepathic message to Ren Yi: "[I'll hold them off for a while. If you see an opening, head north. That's Lu family territory; they won't dare to make a move once we're inside the city.]"
Ren Yi raised an eyebrow. Since he was currently without cultivation and unable to use telepathy, he simply asked in a low voice, "Can you stop them?"
The warm breath near his ear made Xiao Zhiyu stiffen involuntarily, but after understanding the question, he remained silent for a long time before finally replying, "[They can always hold on for a while.]"
Ren Yi was not so optimistic.
In terms of cultivation alone, Xiao Zhiyu is indeed an outstanding individual of his age, a young prodigy, even surpassing the leader by a slight margin; otherwise, the other party would not be so wary of him.
However, when it comes to combat experience, the two sides are far apart.
Most of the time, Xiao Zhiyu only engaged in friendly sparring with his fellow disciples, which was nothing compared to the few rogue cultivators in front of him who had countless lives on their hands.
Furthermore, Xiao Zhiyu's words just now clearly indicated that he was prepared to risk his life here.
Ren Yi can abduct someone's apprentice and send him back, but if he really dies outside, he can't get another one.
Moreover, since Xiao Zhiyu has said so, he can't just watch people protect him and send him to his death.
Xiao Zhiyu noticed that the person behind him didn't reply, but also didn't seem to be leaving. He knew what the person was worried about, but he had to admit that their concerns were valid.
A bitter feeling, accompanied by a sense of powerlessness, swept over Xiao Zhiyu. He couldn't help but wonder if the patriarch would feel the same way if he were here.
He quickly realized that the question itself was meaningless; if the patriarch were here, dealing with these scoundrels would be a piece of cake.
The disparity revealed by this comparison left him feeling extremely embarrassed.
Xiao Zhiyu was confused by his own feelings.
He had long known of the patriarch's abilities and therefore regarded him as a revered and emulated figure on his path of cultivation. But for some reason, at this moment, thinking of the chasm-like gap between them, he felt a sense of resentment.
He actually felt resentful about something as obvious as "being inferior to the head of the family"?!
Xiao Zhiyu had no time to ponder why he felt this way, nor was now the time for calm reflection. He gritted his teeth, gripped his sword tightly, and was about to step forward when suddenly someone pressed down on one of his shoulders.
The hand that pressed down wasn't very strong, and there was no spiritual pressure from it, yet Xiao Zhiyu seemed frozen in place, unable to move at all.
Ren Yi said softly, "No rush, let's wait a little longer."
Despite the critical moment, the young man's tone carried a calm and composed air that made people want to do as he said.
Xiao Zhiyu did not go any further, but he couldn't help but wonder who he was waiting for? Was he waiting for the patriarch?
The latter possibility made his mood sink a little.
Ren Yi's voice wasn't loud, but cultivators have sharp ears and eyes, and since this wasn't some kind of divine sense transmission, the person on the other end naturally heard it.
The group exchanged glances, all sensing that something was amiss and that reinforcements might arrive.
They immediately stopped trying to provoke Xiao Zhiyu with words, and instead maintained a certain distance from each other as they approached. Judging from their positions, it was probably a rough formation for mutual support and protection.
Xiao Zhiyu naturally saw it too. Despite Ren Yi's earlier words, he still gripped his sword tightly, ready to respond. However, before he could make a move, Ren Yi pulled him down from the carriage in a sorry state. Xiao Zhiyu was completely unprepared for what was behind him, and although Ren Yi's cultivation was gone, his skills and eyesight accumulated over the years were enough to catch him off guard.
Before Xiao Zhiyu could ask anything, a patch of ice needles as fine as hairs fell where the two had been standing.
When exposed to light, the needle turned into water, and the original tire tracks were corroded and became pitted, clearly indicating that it was poisonous.
Ren Yi sighed, "This silly child is obviously easily tricked."
The way those people approached so slowly was clearly an attempt to attract their attention before making their move in secret.
He glanced at the poison again and couldn't help but click his tongue.
The chosen one of this world is truly ruthless. Despite Xiao Zhiyu calling him "Uncle-Master" for so long, he didn't hesitate to take action.
—This group of people was sent by Bai Jinliu.
After doing it a second time, Ren Yi could finally figure out who had done it.
He had actually suspected something before, but at that time Bai Jinliu was only one of the suspects. After all, the Chosen One was too capable of causing trouble, and Ren Yi, by acting with him, had made countless enemies—too many for him to count. However, having anticipated this opportunity, he was able to lock onto his target directly.
Xiao Zhiyu, who had been pulled down beside him, also realized his oversight.
His face darkened, and he stopped speaking, instead cautiously observing his surroundings.
The pre-planned trap was dodged, and a hint of regret flashed across the faces of the attacking cultivators, but they did not panic. They continued to advance, but their speed was much faster than before. Before Xiao Zhiyu could make a move, they formed an array and surrounded the two of them.
Xiao Zhiyu knew he was too late, but he still gritted his teeth and attacked. Before the others could adjust their positions in the formation, he went straight for the one with the lowest cultivation level. That person seemed to have expected this, and did not dodge or avoid it, even with a hint of provocative and mocking smile on his face.
The sword light, like a silver ribbon, aimed straight for the opponent's neck, but was disrupted midway by a dark whip shadow. In the end, it only grazed the man's side of the neck, leaving not even a bloodstain. On the contrary, Xiao Zhiyu, who had made the move, was nearly injured by a spinning blade due to the opening created during the change of attack. After several more clanging sounds of weapons clashing, Xiao Zhiyu was finally forced back to the very center of the formation in a sorry state.
One of the people in the formation seemed to chuckle, and someone else immediately echoed his laughter.
The laughter grew louder and louder, layer upon layer, making one's eardrums buzz. Xiao Zhiyu staggered, feeling as if everything he saw was blurred with indistinct double images. The harder he tried to see clearly, the more blurred the images became. In a daze, the people in the array changed their appearance. One moment they were his fellow disciples, the next they became elders in their families, and after a while, Jiang Zhaoyu's face appeared, as well as the head of the family...
Just as his mind was in turmoil, someone tapped him hard on the forehead, and then a voice shouted in his ear, "Calm down!"
Xiao Zhiyu was jolted awake and finally came to his senses.
He knew he had been ambushed, but what he saw next made him almost doubt that he was still trapped in a hallucination and had not yet woken up.
The place where they were standing was higher than the surrounding area, and they could clearly see the endless sea in the distance. At this moment, in the far distance where the sky meets the sea, a person stood quietly.
Xiao Zhiyu had no idea when he appeared or when he stood there.
The man seemed to have always been there, but that was impossible. Because the overwhelming aura that could be felt even from thousands of miles away made it impossible for anyone to ignore him once he appeared.
At such a distance, no one would normally be able to see his movements clearly, but Xiao Zhiyu did.
—He swung his sword.
This is a sword strike that makes every sword cultivator in the world yearn for it and dream of it.
The vast sky and the boundless sea paled in comparison to the clear, bright light of the sword.
The surrounding environment distorted, but the person had vanished from the spot.
It was because this sword strike directly tore open space.
While Xiao Zhiyu was still reeling from that moment of shock, a neat cut appeared on the open ground not far ahead.
Xiao Zhiyu opened his eyes wide in a daze and disbelief.
He saw that the person who was far away appeared before him.
Xiao Zhiyu had never seen or should have known about that person, but at this moment, upon seeing that person's figure, a certain name naturally came to mind.
—"Sword Master".
It can only be the Sword Master, and only the Sword Master.
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