Chapter 14
The heatwave from the fireball explosion knocked Shi Anxu and Wen Xingyun aside, and both of them were knocked unconscious.
Shi Anxu, being a cultivator, had a better physical constitution than Wen Xingyun, and soon woke up from his coma.
The fog in the hall had completely dissipated, the chairs and benches in front of the storyteller's platform had been blown to pieces, and all around was quiet with no sign of Mu Qingzhou and Zhang Xuexin.
Despite her still throbbing body, Shi Anxu searched the entire lobby for Mu Qingzhou.
He would dig with his hands when there were heavy objects piled together, not even noticing when his fingers were cut.
They searched the entire lobby, leaving no corner unchecked, but they still couldn't find Mu Qingzhou.
Shi Anxu walked back to his original spot like a zombie, blood dripping from the wound on his finger, leaving traces on the ground.
Finally, he slumped down next to Wen Xingyun, staring blankly at the sky outside.
After an unknown amount of time, the bloodstains on my fingers had dried.
Shi Anxu's fingers twitched, and his lifeless eyes looked at Wen Xingyun, who was still unconscious. He reached out and shook Wen Xingyun awake.
Wen Xingyun's memory was still stuck at the moment the fireball exploded, "Am I already dead? Is it the ghost realm in all this darkness?"
Shi Anxu coughed twice to prove his presence. Wen Xingyun's body trembled upon hearing this, and she screamed, "Ahhh, there's a ghost!"
Shi Anxu's ears were nearly deafened by Wen Xingyun's voice. He covered his ears and said, "Xingyun, it's me."
Wen Xingyun then stopped screaming and turned to look at the source of the sound. "Senior Brother Shi, did you come to the Ghost Realm with me too?"
Shi Anxu gently tapped Wen Xingyun's head with his hand, "Take a good look at where we are now."
Using the moonlight, Wen Xingyun could see the entire scene of their location, which was a complete mess.
"Are we still at Zuixianlou?" Wen Xingyun asked.
"Hmm." Shi Anxu's voice carried a hint of sadness.
Wen Xingyun keenly sensed the oddness in his tone, and after surveying the surroundings again, she finally understood where the oddness in Shi Anxu's tone came from.
"Senior Brother Shi, where is Senior Brother Mu?" Wen Xingyun asked tentatively.
“When I woke up, I didn’t see him. I’ve searched the entire lobby, but I couldn’t find him,” Shi Anxu replied.
"It's good news that we didn't find her. Maybe Zhang Xuexin just ran away during the fight and Senior Brother Mu went after her." Wen Xingyun didn't know whether she was comforting Shi Anxu or herself.
Wen Xingyun's words reminded Shi Anxu that Mu Qingzhou had disappeared along with Zhang Xuexin, and even Zhang Yu, who had caused the incident, was nowhere to be found.
There are essentially two possibilities. First, Zhang Xuexin's fireball injured Mu Qingzhou, causing him to fall unconscious like the others, and then he was taken away by Zhang Xuexin and her group. Second, Mu Qingzhou wasn't seriously injured in the explosion, and Zhang Xuexin, realizing she was no match for him, ran away with Zhang Yu, with Mu Qingzhou giving chase. Regardless of which possibility it is, the chances of Mu Qingzhou surviving are very high.
With these two possibilities in mind, Shi Anxu's eyes finally lit up. He said to Wen Xingyun, "Let's go back first and discuss a solution with Master's wife. I came out with Junior Brother, and now I'm going back with him too."
Wen Xingyun didn't have any better options at the moment, so she could only nod and say, "Okay, let's go back first."
Wen Xingyun stood up first and reached out to help Shi Anxu.
Shi Anxu shook his head, placed his palms on the floor, and used the strength of his arms to support himself up.
Wen Xingyun then noticed that Shi Anxu's hand, which was on the ground, was badly injured, and asked with concern, "Senior Brother Shi, how did you get your hand like this? Does it hurt a lot?"
Shi Anxu glanced at the injury on her hand and replied, "It doesn't hurt. I'll just put some medicine on it when I get back."
Wen Xingyun nodded with some doubt, "Then let's go back."
The two supported each other as they walked out of the restaurant (actually, it was Wen Xingyun who was supporting Shi Anxu), stumbling all the way back to the courtyard.
Mu Xize was already waiting at the entrance of the courtyard. When he saw the two of them staggering over, he immediately stepped forward to support Shi Anxu on the other side and, together with Wen Xingyun, helped Shi Anxu back to the room.
The two helped Shi Anxu to sit down on the couch, and Mu Xize asked Wen Xingyun to sit down with him at the table.
"What happened? Why are only the two of you back? Where is Mu Qingzhou?"
Mu Xize asked a series of questions, and Shi Anxu didn't know how to answer them for a moment. After a moment of silence, she told Mu Xize everything that had happened between the three of them at Zuixianlou.
Mu Xize looked at Wen Xingyun and sighed helplessly, "Xingyun, today's result is the reason why I didn't let you go to Zuixianlou. I knew you were the kind of person who wouldn't admit defeat."
Wen Xingyun's voice was weak and barely audible, "I know I was wrong, Father. I will definitely listen to you next time and not go to places like this again."
Shi Anxu was still very worried about Mu Qingzhou, and he couldn't help but ask, "Master's wife, do you have any ideas about this?"
Mu Xize thought for a moment and replied, "Your master and I have done a lot of good deeds here over the years. Tomorrow I will take Wen Xingyun to visit the Prime Minister's residence. Shi Anxu, you will secretly sneak into the Prime Minister's residence to find Mu Qingzhou. If you find her, rescue her. We will try our best to hold them off."
Shi Anxu raised a question, "Should we rescue them directly? Don't we need to come back and discuss it further?"
Mu Xize shook his head. "The woman you mentioned is from the Qingyun Sect. She will definitely recognize me when she sees me. Once she goes there, they will definitely strengthen their guard, and there will be no chance to rescue her. If Mu Qingzhou is not in the Prime Minister's residence, then the chances of him being alive are greater. However, this requires casting a wide net to search for him."
Shi Anxu nodded thoughtfully, "I understand."
After discussing the matter, Mu Xize saw no need to stay any longer. He stood up and said, "You're covered in superficial injuries. Your current condition is due to overwork. We'll be leaving now. You should get some rest."
After saying that, he left with Wen Xingyun.
For the first time, Shi Anxu regretted not cultivating properly. He was afraid of meeting Zhang Xuexin tomorrow, afraid that he wouldn't be able to save Mu Qingzhou. How could he be so incompetent?
Although she was still worried about Mu Qingzhou, Shi Anxu followed Mu Xize's advice, quickly washed up, took off her clothes, and went to bed to rest.
But as soon as she closed her eyes, all she could think of was the image of Mu Qingzhou covered in blood, and she couldn't fall asleep peacefully no matter what.
He forced himself to stop thinking about these uncertain things and focus on resting now to prepare for tomorrow's rescue.
Shi Anxu used the modern method of counting sheep, which was useless at the time, and to his surprise, it worked surprisingly well. He fell asleep in no time.
The next day, sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the porcelain-white face of the person lying on the couch.
Shi Anxu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyelids tightened before slowly opening.
He blinked a few times before his consciousness slowly returned.
She threw off the blanket covering her and began washing up in an orderly fashion, finally changing herself into a black outfit.
After tidying up, they went to meet Mu Xize in his room to begin today's mission.
When he arrived, Mu Xize and Shi Anxu were sitting in the courtyard eating breakfast, but it seemed that neither of them had a very good appetite, as they hadn't touched much of the food on the table.
When Mu Xize saw Shi Anxu arrive, he smiled and asked, "It's still warm, would you like some?"
Shi Anxu really had no appetite, and since he had already stopped eating, it didn't matter whether he ate or not, so he politely declined, saying, "No need, I don't have much of an appetite."
Seeing that he didn't want to eat, Mu Xize didn't force him. He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his mouth. "Then get ready, we're going to the Prime Minister's residence."
Shi Anxu was already prepared, but he didn't want to be idle, so he asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"
Wen Xingyun answered for Mu Xize: "No need, we need to put some disguises on ourselves, you can't help with that."
Upon hearing this, Anxu could only sit aside and wait for them to finish fixing it for him.
When Shi Anxu saw the two of them again, he was quite surprised.
Mu Xize changed his appearance, transforming himself into an old man. Wen Xingyun, on the other hand, wore cheap, skin-damaging clothes, her face covered in dust, looking exactly like a little girl who had fled from disaster.
"Master's wife, why do you need to change your appearance?" Shi Anxu asked, puzzled.
“Everyone knows that the First Immortal Venerable and a mortal are very close. So many years have passed, it’s impossible for my appearance to remain unchanged. I have to transform into this form to avoid arousing their suspicion. Xiao Yun met with them last night and even had a conflict. Disguising myself will buy you more time,” Mu Xize replied.
"I see. It is indeed Master's wife who has considered things so thoroughly. I am ashamed of myself. I cannot calm down and solve problems when faced with a situation," Shi Anxu said sincerely.
“Not many people can solve problems in an orderly manner as soon as they encounter them. Even if they can, they are only a minority. I am not one of those few people. It’s just that with more experience, I know how to deal with things when they happen. You will understand what I am saying today in the future.” Mu Xize’s tone was full of vicissitudes.
Shi Anxu didn't understand what Mu Xize was saying. In his opinion, after experiencing something like this once, he would learn his lesson and be able to handle it better next time.
So he just smiled at Mu Xize and didn't say anything.
When Mu Xize saw that Shi Anxu did not answer, he knew that Shi Anxu must not have understood the meaning of his words.
He stopped explaining; one can only understand the meaning of such things through personal experience.
Even Shi Anxu himself didn't know the terrible price he paid to understand this truth...
Now all he wants to do is rescue Mu Qingzhou as soon as possible. His master's wife and Wen Xingyun are ready, and the next step is to go to the Prime Minister's residence.
Before setting off, Mu Xize confirmed with Shi Anxu, "After you infiltrate, you must be extra careful. If you succeed or fail to find Mu Qingzhou, send out this signal." As he spoke, Mu Xize pulled a rocket launcher from his sleeve.
"Understood!" Shi Anxu replied loudly.
"Also, if we really can't hold out any longer, I'll have Xiaoyun pretend to be scared and scream loudly. Once you hear the sound, you must leave," Mu Xize added.
"Okay, I've got it all. Remember to be careful while you're dealing with this." Shi Anxu nodded emphatically.
"good."
With everything prepared, the three of them were ready to leave the courtyard and head to the Prime Minister's residence.
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