Chapter Twenty-Six: A Fate Without a Face
Seeing that the masked man had already fled, Ma Pingchuan did not pursue him recklessly.
He turned to Qiu Xia and said, "Thank you so much for your chivalrous rescue just now, otherwise I would have been a dead man by now."
Qiu Xia blushed slightly: "When you see injustice on the road, you should draw your sword to help. Young master, please don't worry about it!"
At this moment, the two seriously injured brothers got up from the ground. Ma Pingchuan looked around and saw that the other five had unfortunately died. His eyes were already glistening with tears.
"Young Master, Young Master Xiaoyao, he—" one of the brothers shouted, pointing at Xiaoyao Lang despite his injuries.
Ma Pingchuan rushed over, but Xiaoyao Lang and a dozen men in black were frozen solid and he was at a loss for what to do.
Worried, he shouted, "Xiaoyao! Xiaoyao! Can you hear me? Xiaoyao! Wait, hold on, I'll save you with fire right away!" He then gathered some weeds with his two wounded brothers, preparing to melt the ice with fire.
Qiu Xia asked softly, "Palace Master, do you have a way to melt the ice?"
Yu Linglong shook her head and said, "To melt so much ice quickly, our cultivation attributes must be relatively balanced. Neither of us can use extremely hot true energy, so forcing it would probably consume a lot of energy and damage our internal energy."
Unable to do anything, the two men turned a blind eye. Although the two grooms were seriously injured, they still helped add hay and fuel. As the fire grew, the ice gradually melted, and after two hours, Xiaoyao Lang was finally rescued.
Ma Pingchuan helped Xiaoyao Lang to his feet, but there was no response. He checked for breath with his hand and was immediately stunned. He shouted, "Xiaoyao Lang! You can't die! You can't die!" Then tears streamed down his face.
Qiu Xia exclaimed in surprise, "Palace Master, he's dead?!"
Yu Linglong didn't believe it and stepped forward to check his pulse, only to find that there really was no pulse. Yu Linglong frowned and then used her true energy to probe him. As her extremely yin energy entered his body, Xiaoyao Lang's internal organs immediately fluctuated, as if resonating with something. A surge of extremely yang energy was generated within his body, and he slowly awoke.
After Xiaoyao Lang woke up, he asked leisurely, "Who are you? Why are you holding my hand?" Upon hearing this, Yu Linglong hurriedly threw her hand away.
Ma Pingchuan laughed happily, "Xiaoyao! That's great! I knew you wouldn't die so easily."
Xiaoyao Lang looked at Ma Pingchuan and said boldly, "A grown man shedding tears? Aren't you ashamed!"
Upon hearing this, Ma Pingchuan stood up and stepped aside, while Xiaoyao Langdao immediately fell to the ground.
Ma Pingchuan declared boldly, "I see you're alright now, get up, you big man!"
Xiaoyao Lang laughed and slowly got up from the ground. Looking at the people in front of him, he knew that his other brothers had perished.
Yu Linglong looked at the more than thirty corpses on the ground, a trace of worry appearing on her face.
She said softly, "Qiuxia, go and call the tavern owner."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Xia hurriedly went to find the boss. Soon after, the boss followed Qiu Xia to Yu Linglong.
Qiuxia: "Palace Master, the shopkeeper is here!"
Yu Linglong said to the shopkeeper, "Old man, I would like to trouble you to find a few people to bury these bodies. Firstly, so that the dead can rest in peace, and secondly, to prevent the spread of plague. Please accept this." After saying that, she took out a golden leaf the size of a chrysanthemum petal.
The boss accepted the golden leaf, looked at the corpse on the ground, and said, "Rest assured, Immortal, I will definitely handle this matter well!"
Yu Linglong nodded, then said to Qiu Xiang, "Qiu Xia, let's go!"
Qiu Xia: "Palace Master, their martial arts skills are so poor, and it's getting dark. What if we encounter bandits again?"
Yu Linglong asked doubtfully, "Then what do you want to do?"
Qiu Xia: "I'll ask them where they're going. If it's on their way, we'll escort them for a while."
Yu Linglong nodded: "Such an action is very moral."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Xia looked delighted and quickly walked up to Ma Pingchuan.
Upon seeing her, Ma Pingchuan hurriedly said, "Heroine, thank you so much for today..."
Qiu Xia said boldly, "Alright, you've already thanked me! I'm here to ask you, where are you going?"
Ma Pingchuan immediately said, "We will escort the horses to Xiyu Manor."
Qiuxia smiled slightly and said, "Perfect timing, we're also going to Xiyu Manor, let's go together, we can look out for each other on the way."
Ma Pingchuan laughed and said, "That's wonderful! I'm truly grateful to have a heroine like you to protect me on the road!"
Qiu Xia laughed and said, "Don't call me 'heroine' like that. My name is Qiu Xia, not 'heroine'!"
Ma Pingchuan said softly, "Oh! My apologies, Miss Qiuxia!"
Qiu Xia laughed and said, "It's alright! It's just that I helped you, but I don't even know your name. Isn't that absurd?" Qiu Xia thought to herself, "How can he be so dull?"
Ma Pingchuan quickly replied, "My name is Ma Pingchuan!"
Qiuxia chuckled softly and said, "Ma Pingchuan! Yi Ma Pingchuan!" She gestured with her right hand.
Ma Pingchuan laughed and said, "Indeed, please forgive my rudeness, young lady!" Then he looked at the sky and said, "It's almost dusk, we need to hurry and get to Mianzhu Town to stay."
Qiuxia: "Okay!"
After saying this, the group hurriedly dismounted and set off again. The thirty-odd fine horses continued their journey in a grand procession.
Ma Pingchuan looked at Xiaoyao Lang and asked, "Xiaoyao, are you alright?"
Xiaoyao Lang said calmly, "I won't die!"
Ma Pingchuan: "You, as long as you're alive, you can still brag!" He then rode forward on his horse, walking alongside Qiuxia.
Ma Pingchuan: "Miss Qiuxia, who is that girl in white to you? I'm quite curious because you called her the Palace Master."
Qiu Xia: "She is my senior sister, but she is also my sect leader."
Ma Pingchuan: "I see. So, who are your relatives?"
Qiu Xia said calmly, "I have no relatives left. Now, I only have my two senior sisters, who can be considered family."
The two chatted and laughed, having a very pleasant conversation.
Xiaoyao Lang and Yu Linglong walked side by side behind each other, but neither of them spoke a word and they did not look at each other.
Outside the gate of Xiyu Manor, Murong Hanchan and Yin Xiaosheng stood at the entrance. After a short while, Ling Qichen came out from inside. When Ling Qichen saw Murong Hanchan, her eyes lingered for a moment. Upon seeing this, Murong Hanchan quickly stepped aside to avoid her.
Ling Qichen said to Yin Xiaosheng, "You two must be Mingzhao's good friends. I am Ling Qichen, the young master of Xiyu Manor."
Yin Xiaosheng smiled and said, "So it's the young master who's personally welcoming me. My apologies! I am Yin Xiaosheng, and this is my junior sister. We are friends of Young Master Yi."
After Yin Xiaosheng finished speaking, he quietly tugged at Murong Hanchan's sleeve, signaling her not to be too rude! Murong Hanchan then turned around, stood up and said politely, "I am Murong Hanchan, greetings to the young master!"
Ling Qichen smiled and said, "Greetings, Miss Murong! Please come in, both of you!"
Yin Xiaosheng: "Young Master, please!"
Ling Qichen: "I was negligent just now. With the treasure appraisal conference approaching, many friends from the martial arts world want to stay at Xiyu Manor. However, there are so many heroes from all walks of life that it is difficult to accommodate everyone in the manor. In order not to offend anyone, my father closed the door to guests."
Yin Xiaosheng: "I see. Please forgive my hasty visit, young master."
Ling Qichen: "Young Master Yin, you flatter me! When Mingzhao explained the situation to me, I had already arranged rooms for the two of you."
Yin Xiaosheng: "In that case, I'm truly grateful to the young master!"
In Mianzhu Town, Xiyu Mountain Villa, Xiaoyao Lang and Yu Linglong's group were preparing to find a place to stay.
Stop knocking! The place is full!
Knock, knock, knock! It's already fully booked!
"Why don't you go check out the next one?"
...
Qiu Xia said, bewildered, "How could this be? All the inns are full."
Xiaoyao Lang: "Pingchuan, there's a place over there that looks pretty good! Let's go ask them."
Ma Pingchuan: "Okay!"
The group rode their horses to the inn's door, which was surprisingly wide open. On the upper right of the doorpost stood the three large characters "Night Return." Standing at the entrance was a woman dressed in a very alluring manner, appearing to be around thirty-one or thirty-two years old. She held a sunflower fan in her right hand and looked at Xiaoyao Lang with a seductive smile.
Upon seeing this, Xiaoyao Lang dismounted and went forward.
He asked, "Are you the shop owner?"
The woman waved her fan and said with a flirtatious smile, "Does it look like it?"
Xiaoyao Lang smiled and asked, "Are there any rooms available?"
The woman approached Xiaoyao Lang and said in a coquettish voice, "Of course! My room is missing one room for someone like you, young master, and it's free, no charge." As she spoke, the woman winked at Xiaoyao Lang and touched him inappropriately. The scene was too much to bear to watch. Yu Linglong and Qiu Xia turned their heads away, while Ma Pingchuan covered his mouth and laughed.
Xiaoyao Lang remained unmoved: "I want three rooms!"
The woman laughed and said, "Young master, three rooms aren't cheap. Do you have any money on you? Let me touch you!" She then reached into Xiaoyao Lang's arms.
Xiaoyao Lang: "Is this enough?" After saying that, he took out a string of copper coins.
The woman said, "I have enough money, but you need to have a treasure. Everyone who stays at our hotel has a treasure. Let me feel if you have one."
Xiaoyao Lang teased, "No need to touch me! I am the treasure!"
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