Chapter 228 - Behind
"Senior brother," Xie Zhao walked directly to sit beside him, his expression slightly serious, "I think there might be some trouble with Junior Sister Luo." He briefly explained Tie Niu's abnormality and the words he had tricked him into saying, especially the two key words "grudge" and "settlement".
"Junior Sister Luo's life story has always been a mystery. She suddenly became like this. She must have gotten some crucial information during this trip down the mountain."
Xie Zhao analyzed, "I'm worried that she'll get stuck in a rut, or... impulsively do something dangerous on her own."
Chu Linyuan listened quietly, his cold eyes flickering slightly. He didn't care about the past of the sect members, but as long as they joined the Guixu Sect, they would be his people to protect.
"What do you want?" he asked simply.
Xie Zhao leaned closer and whispered, "We have to help her. But we can't ask directly. With her personality, she definitely won't tell us. We have to find a way to make her willingly tell us, or... at least let us know who the enemy is so we can protect them in secret."
Chu Linyuan looked at the cunning and concern flashing in Xie Zhao's eyes and nodded slightly: "Okay."
How to intervene tactfully, without hurting Luo Hongyi's pride and still providing assistance, required careful planning. Xie Zhao's brain began to work rapidly, and various inadvertent inquiries and assistance plans took shape in his mind.
Chu Linyuan, on the other hand, silently and attentively focused his spiritual awareness in the direction of the Baicao Dan Pavilion. His approach was more direct—to ensure she was safe. If she truly intended to act, he would be aware of it.
The two looked at each other tacitly, and without saying anything, they understood each other's thoughts.
Xie Zhao relaxed and returned to his lazy demeanor. He leaned on Chu Linyuan and sighed, "Alas, it's not easy to be a family man. I have to worry about the old and the young... Brother, I have a headache. Rub it for me~"
Chu Linyuan looked at him expressionlessly, but his hands skillfully gathered the warm and cool mysterious ice evil spirit and pressed it on his solar plexus.
Xie Zhao squinted his eyes comfortably, like a cat being stroked, and muttered, "Senior brother is still the best... um... a little to the left... yes... right there..."
Inside the quiet room, the atmosphere was warm and tranquil. Meanwhile, in the Baicao Dan Pavilion, Luo Hongyi faced a cauldron swirling with purple venom. Her eyes were cold and resolute, and a poison needle as thin as a cicada's wing, gleaming with a faint light, slowly took shape at her fingertips.
The purple venom in the medicine cauldron rolled more violently, emitting a heart-pounding sweet smell.
The tempered ghostly poison needle at Luo Hongyi's fingertips slowly sank into the cauldron for the final warming.
Her gorgeous face appeared exceptionally cold and resolute under the dancing purple light. Her eyes, which always carried venom and sarcasm, now only revealed a bottomless pool of coldness and a barely perceptible loneliness.
Mother... that immortal-looking woman who had only appeared in the old doctor's few words and vague dreams... who was she?
Why did she end up like this despite being so favored? Why was she abandoned again? Those evil spirits hiding in the deep palace... Prince Jing... the favorite concubine... the queen...
The flames of hatred and inquiry burned in her heart, threatening to consume her sanity. She could wait no longer. Every moment she waited would only allow the truth to be buried deeper, and her enemies to escape further.
Guixu Sect is a good place. There are... things here that make her feel warm occasionally, but she cannot drag the sect into this muddy water.
This is her own grudge, and she must face and settle it by herself.
She took a deep breath, suppressed her turbulent emotions, and her eyes returned to a cold and firm look.
She carefully put away the finished poison needle and quickly packed several bottles of highly toxic pills and life-saving elixirs of varying effectiveness into a nondescript storage bag. It was time to leave.
She pushed open the door of Dan Pavilion, intending to leave quietly, but the scene outside the door made her stop abruptly.
There were several people standing or sitting at the door, blocking the way!
Tie Niu's huge body stood in front of them like an iron tower, his face full of anxiety and worry, and his fists clenched tightly.
Xie Zhao leaned against a newly transplanted black jade bamboo next to him, looking at her with a half-smile in his peach blossom eyes, and slowly tossing a spiritual fruit in his hand.
The little white deer was holding the rabbit and standing a little further away, his clear big eyes filled with anxiety and concern.
Even Chu Linyuan appeared on a eaves not far away without anyone noticing. He was wearing black clothes and white hair, with an expressionless face. His cold eyes swept down lightly, but with invisible pressure.
"You...you guys..." Luo Hongyi's heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the storage bag in his sleeve, forcing himself to remain calm as he said coldly, "What are you doing blocking my door? Do you all have free time?"
Tie Niu was the first to lose patience. He spoke in a muffled voice, his voice trembling with anxiety: "Senior Sister Luo! Where are you going? Are you going to do anything dangerous alone? You are not allowed to go!"
Luo Hongyi's heart trembled slightly, but her expression became even colder. She sneered, "Stupid cow, do I need to report to you where I'm going? Get lost!"
"I won't leave!" Tie Niu rarely stuck his neck out to bump into her, his huge eyes a little red with excitement, "I know! I heard everything! It's dangerous for you to go for revenge! You can't go alone! Let me go with you! I'm thick-skinned and can handle it! I'll protect you!" He said the last four words with extraordinary force, with a clumsy but incomparably firm determination.
Luo Hongyi looked at him, sweating profusely from anxiety, yet his eyes were filled with incomparable stubbornness. Her heart felt like it had been hit hard by something, and she felt an indescribable pain. This fool...
At this time, Bai Xiaolu also stepped forward timidly and whispered: "Senior Sister Luo... please don't go alone, okay? Everyone is worried about you... If there is anything, we can help you together... Guixu Sect is your home, we are all your family..." The rabbit in her arms also "cooed" at the right time, and its ruby-like eyes were full of recognition.
This word was like a thin needle, piercing the defenses that Luo Hongyi had forcibly built up.
She grew up with an old, eccentric doctor, learning about deadly poisons and hearing about the fickleness of the world. She never had a "family" before. She was used to being alone, used to wrapping herself in thorns, and used to not trusting anyone.
Xie Zhao sighed and stepped forward, no longer joking. His expression became much more serious. "Junior Sister Luo, I know you are strong-willed and have your own secrets and persistence. We are not trying to stop you from finding the truth or settling your grudges. But, have you forgotten that you are not alone now?"
He pointed at Tie Niu and Xiao Lu behind him, then glanced at Chu Linyuan on the eaves: "Look at these guys, which one of them is afraid of trouble? It's fun for you to go into the dragon's pool and tiger's cave alone, and it makes you look very powerful. But have you ever thought about this? If something happens to you, will this stupid ox go crazy and seek revenge for you and even get himself into trouble? Will Xiao Lu cry every day? As the logistics director, I have to find a new poison master, how troublesome is that? And my senior brother..."
Xie Zhao paused and looked at Chu Linyuan.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
