Again
I can't fall asleep tonight.
Lin Yun looked out the window as if sensing something. Layers upon layers of clouds completely obscured the moonlight, and a chill crept up his body from the soles of his feet.
She hesitated, wondering whether she should sneak into the inn tonight.
He wanted to tell Sang Zhao, but there was an array in the town that rendered the cultivator's offensive spells almost powerless, and other spells were also weakened by most of them. Faced with an unknown enemy, he had no means to save his life, so he couldn't bring himself to ask for help.
The old woman on the bamboo couch was snoring softly. She tiptoed around the medicine stove, and the still-burning charcoal fire at the bottom of the stove suddenly burst into sparks.
Her unease grew stronger; she had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"Phew... Tomorrow I'll go and observe the area around the post station more carefully."
Now that Grandpa's health is improving, I can focus on handling this matter.
As the moonlight grew brighter, the unease in my heart intensified.
Feeling uneasy, she decided to go to Su Yue's place now to retrieve the portrait, which would give her more time to investigate the post station tomorrow morning.
She ran as fast as she could, and stopped when she passed the peach tree in the center of the village. She leaned against the trunk, panting. Her gaze fell on the tree; just a few days ago it was bare, but now it was covered with many flower buds, hanging from the branches.
The moon appeared at just the right time, and its bright light shone on the peach tree, giving it a sacred glow.
"It's blooming so early again this year." Yun held his breath and concentrated, trying to reconnect with the peach tree, but there was no response, so he could only lower his head in disappointment.
The last time she communicated with the peach tree was before she left the village to search for medicine. After returning, she had been trying to wake it, but there was no response. If the peach tree hadn't been still so vibrant, she would have been even more worried.
The village chief cherishes this tree like a treasure; we mustn't let anything go wrong with it.
The peach tree was transplanted from somewhere by the village chief when the village was first established. He cherished it greatly and had each household in the village take turns watering it on time. Later, not everyone needed to go; only Ah Sheng and I needed to water it. I remember being young then and not being able to help the villagers much, but I enjoyed the work immensely.
The wind on a winter night chills you to the bone.
As the wind blew by, Yunwang, lost in memories, seemed to awaken from a dream and started running again.
Lin Yun walked through a bamboo grove, and a bamboo house suddenly appeared before her. She stood in front of the house and knocked on the door. "Su Yue, are you asleep?"
"Come in. I'm not asleep yet, so it's not like I'm disturbing you." A cool voice came from inside the house.
Lin Yun looked solemnly at the ruins before her. The city gates were closed, and it had taken her considerable effort to get in. At the same time, she felt relieved that she had made it.
After retrieving the portrait from Yang Suyue, instinct overcame reason, and he went to look for Sang Zhao, only to find him not in the house. He had a bad feeling and rushed to the post station, only to find it in ruins.
Such a big thing happened, is no one taking responsibility?
"Sang Zhao," Lin Yun called his name softly.
Lin Yunwang's cloth shoes trod on the ruins, the overlapping stone slabs were very uncomfortable and painful.
She staggered through the ruins, calling out Sang Zhao's name repeatedly.
But the further I went, the colder my heart became.
What catches the eye are the mottled bloodstains and the jade pendant that Sang usually wears, now broken in two, lying quietly in the ruins, extremely conspicuous.
The girl quickly stepped forward, squatted down, picked up the broken jade, then tore off a piece of her clothing and carefully wrapped it up.
After she had carefully collected the broken jade pieces, a soft clattering sound of rubble suddenly came from the northeast corner.
The wind carried the sound of footsteps to her ears. Lin Yun flicked a hidden arrow with her backhand. The cold light grazed the person's throat and embedded itself in the charred pillar. The red tassel at the end of the arrow was still trembling.
Looking up, she saw him calling her name: "Miss Lin."
An hour ago, at the post station.
The scattered broken tiles were still suspended in mid-air. Sang Zhao's pupils shrank suddenly. He rolled away, and the fragments were hammered into the blue bricks behind him like a rainstorm.
Sang Zhao took a deep breath, feeling his slightly dazed mind calm down. He then focused his mind on his sword, pointing the tip directly at the puppet in the tree. He charged up his sword light and slashed at it. Taking advantage of the puppet's dodge, he flashed behind it, intending to strike its neck.
Unexpectedly, the thing arched its back as if it were alive, twisting its neck into an inhuman arc, and even exhaled a cloud of black gas towards Sang Zhao's eyes.
poisonous!
He sensed something was wrong and quickly distanced himself from it, sealing off his meridians, but it was too late.
It was pitch black, and I couldn't hear anything.
Even in such a desperate situation, he didn't forget to leave himself a backup plan. He quietly crushed the jade pendant that his master had given him, so as to remind Venerable Yichen to protect Miss Yunwang.
After the funeral arrangements were completed, Sang Zhao decided to fight to the death. He closed his eyes and used his divine sense to detect the puppet's movements.
"It is clearly an inanimate object, yet it has a structure similar to that of a human."
Attack straight at the puppet's heart, where spiritual energy is most concentrated. This is the key to the puppet's operation and also its weakness.
The puppet's master was clearly aware of its weakness, so he used an even harder material for its heart. However, none of this could compare to the sword that Sang Zhao had forged with his divine consciousness, a sword crafted from his spiritual power and will.
The moment the sword's cry, carrying his divine sense, pierced his core, he tasted the sweet, metallic sensation of his sea of consciousness being torn apart. This reminded him of the massacre he witnessed in his childhood, and he chuckled to himself, "Compared to humans, I am indeed better at fighting these things."
Three more have arrived, located in the northwest, northeast, and southeast respectively.
"Let's all come at once."
Sang Zhao drew his sword and rubbed its edge, unafraid. He was certain he would win. Not only because he had never before felt such a connection with his sword, but also because he firmly believed he would win.
Someone came under the moonlight, but Sang Zhao did not sense it; fortunately, it was a friend.
"Enough. The show His Highness invited me to watch is just a brawl with my disciples?"
Along with the sound came his sword energy, which, with just a light touch, turned the three puppets in front of Sang Zhao into dust.
This fluctuation of spiritual energy is from Master!
Sang Zhao plunged his longsword into the mud, the blade humming as it disappeared into the ground. He was practically hanging from the hilt, his face drained of color, his tattered clothes fluttering in the night wind, and his knuckles turning bluish-white from the excessive force.
"Oh dear, this is really... a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding." The young man in brocade hurriedly closed his folding fan, the jade-inlaid fan ribs tapping against his palm with a crisp sound. "I thought the eunuch faction in the court had finally lost their temper and made their move, so I took the talisman from the Jingyin Sect from you and invited you to come and watch the beating of the drowning man... no, no, in short, it's a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple."
He glanced at the battered Sang Zhao with pity, "It's a long story, let's treat your disciple's injuries first."
Yichen stepped forward to check on Sang Zhao's condition, which was similar to what he had thought. Most of the injuries were superficial, but the poison was difficult to cure. "Your Highness, what is the antidote for this poison?"
"……No."
Xiao Zhichang also wished there was an antidote, but there really wasn't.
Yichen gently tapped Sangzhao's forehead and used his mind to transmit his thoughts to inform him of the current situation.
“Uh, I’ve already booked an inn, why don’t we go and deal with this…” Before he could finish speaking, Sang Zhao suddenly staggered and turned around, his blood-stained hem leaving a dark mark on the ground. “Sang Zhao… greets you…” His words were cut short as he fell forward like a kite with a broken string.
Xiao Zhichang was at a loss. "Please get up, please get up. There's no need for so much formality at a time like this. Oh no! Someone, someone!" The Crown Prince ordered his guards to carry Sang Zhao to the inn to treat her wounds.
On the way back, Xiao Zhichang asked Yichen, puzzled, why he hadn't used magic to alleviate Sang Zhao's pain. Yichen countered with a question: why alleviate a non-fatal pain?
"His improved state of mind and cultivation today are largely due to the pain he has suffered. If it is easily alleviated, it will also have an impact on him."
"What a bunch of lunatics," the Crown Prince thought to himself, though he only uttered these words inwardly. He hadn't understood those who sought immortality in the past, partly due to his childhood experiences. But after spending these past few days with cultivators, he found them even more incomprehensible.
Xiao Zhichang just thought they were crazy.
But he still had a smile on his face. "Your Excellency is truly a strict teacher. Good, a strict teacher produces outstanding students."
"That's how it is." Sang Zhao briefly explained the situation to Lin Yunwang, but did not reveal Xiao Zhichang's identity. He only said that Xiao Zhichang's name was "Young Master Chang" and that he came from the capital to travel and enjoy the scenery. He did not expect that Xiao Zhichang would mistake him for a thief.
"Master just sent a message saying there's a young lady at the inn..."
The last syllable trembled slightly. He remembered the first wave of sound that surged in when his hearing returned. It was Lin Yunwang's call that pierced through the chaos, as if someone was reaching out to help him when he was trapped in an avalanche.
"Sang Zhao, look into your eyes?"
"His eyes are tainted by poison, making him look somewhat ugly."
Lin Yun leaned closer and carefully examined his eyes through the plain cloth, saying with great concern, "He's alright."
"You don't need to worry, I'll be back soon." Sang Zhao felt her gaze and turned his head away somewhat embarrassedly.
Lin Yun had never seen Sang Zhao wear white before, let alone one with such an elaborate style.
The outline of bandages was faintly visible beneath the plain white brocade. The scent of medicine mixed with the smell of blood wafted through the folds of his clothes. Gold thread outlined his collar, making his neck appear as fragile as thin porcelain.
Sang Zhao now looks like a young master from a noble family.
A glimmer of light appeared in the east, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds.
"It seems a bit inappropriate to speak here." Lin Yun glanced at the ruins in front of him, feeling a headache coming on. The east was beginning to lighten; it was getting daylight, and more people would be arriving. It wouldn't be good if he were seen.
What are your plans after this?
She had originally intended to persuade Sang Zhao to stay at the inn. Sang Zhao's injuries seemed quite serious, and the inn had a doctor and his master, making it much safer and more reliable than returning to Shixi Village with her. However, considering their distant relationship, she ultimately said nothing.
“I want to wait until my eyesight is restored before I go back to Shixi Village. It’s really hard to explain to everyone in this state.”
“Then let’s part ways here, and meet again another day.” She pressed the jade pendant into Sang Zhao’s palm, the lingering warmth of the jade startling his fingers, “Returning it to its rightful owner.”
Sang Zhao felt the jade pendant, warmed by Lin Yun's body heat, return to his hand, and unconsciously tightened his grip on it.
"Well then, goodbye."
Goodbye. If you need to find me, you can come to episode 1.
"good."
A gentle breeze carried Lin Yunwang's reply to Sang Zhao's ears, and he felt as if he had been given a new lease on life.
The hidden injuries left by last night's relentless battle burned in his meridians, which were now depleted of spiritual energy, like a riverbed exposed to the sun for a hundred days. His spine, leaning against the broken wall, trembled slightly, as if a withered branch had caught the first drop of rain.
This was the young cultivator's first experience of a life-or-death battle, an event that dulled most of Sang Zhao's sharp edges. If his master wasn't in the city, his spiritual energy and physical strength would eventually run out…
He will die.
Perhaps he could hold out until Miss Yun came looking for him, but thinking of this, he shook his head. It wasn't that he felt he couldn't hold out until then, but he shouldn't bring her into a dangerous situation.
He knew very well how much Lin Yunwang needed a peaceful and comfortable life. She had been wandering for too long, which made him even more determined to bring her back to the Jingyin Sect.
As the morning glow spread over the city walls, Lin Yun stumbled upon a desolate willow grove at a bend in the official road, where she also encountered an unexpected person.
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