Chapter 512: The Fugitive Mandarin Ducks

Ximen Kankan took Xiao Yu, slid across the iron cable, and landed on the edge of the cliff halfway up the mountain.

They walked along the edge of the cliff.

Xiao Yu wrapped the animal skin tightly around her body, her expression dejected.

Ximen Kankan, however, looked around with bright eyes; revisiting an old haunt, he was quite excited, and after walking for a while, he pointed to a withered vine on the cliff wall and shouted, "Several years have passed, and this thing is still coiled here..."

Xiao Yu just walked with her head down, as if she hadn't heard him, so he had to sheepishly look elsewhere.

After the two walked for a while, Xiao Yu suddenly sniffed and asked out of the blue, "Kankan, am I very useless?"

Ximen Kankan was startled by these words. He turned his head to look at Xiao Yu and saw two lines of clear tears streaming down her thin face, with a clear drop of snot hanging from the tip of her nose.

He sighed and said, "Compared to Duan Rong, I am also very useless. One cannot compare oneself to others."

Xiao Yu said, "At least you didn't implicate him. Letting him break into the Tower Forest to save you."

Ximen Kankan laughed, "If I had known he would break into the Tower Forest to save you, I wouldn't have practiced. I practiced so desperately hard that I lost weight until I was unrecognizable. I would have just waited in the Tower Forest, and when Duan Rong came to abduct you, he could have abducted me along the way. Abducting one is an abduction, and abducting two is also an abduction... Don't you think so?"

"He would hold you in front, and I would cling to his back..." As Ximen Kankan said this, he performed a stumbling motion, hunching his back as if carrying someone with both arms wrapped around.

Xiao Yu smiled slightly and said, "You are spouting nonsense again! But you have indeed lost weight."

Ximen Kankan said, "Xiao Yu, you have lost weight too. There is prepared food in the stone chamber over there, including lion's head meatballs and braised pork. Let's go..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu couldn't help but swallow her saliva. Inside the Tower Forest, the food was too monotonous.

But the next moment, her eyes dimmed, and she asked with a face full of worry, "When Duan Rong abducted me from the Tower Forest, how will the Sect punish him?"

Ximen Kankan spread his hands and said, "How would I know that?! But he did say they wouldn't kill him."

Hearing the words "wouldn't kill him," Xiao Yu's heart ached, and she felt even more uncomfortable. "Does that mean the punishment will be very severe?"

Ximen Kankan shook his head, his expression blank.

Xiao Yu said, "Kankan, I am already very safe in this mountain. This mountain is remote, and usually, no one comes here. You should go and inquire about Duan Rong's situation; you don't have to stay here all the time."

Ximen Kankan looked at Xiao Yu with suspicious eyes and said, "That won't do. The task Duan Rong gave me is to watch over you. If I lose you, I won't be able to answer for it later."

Xiao Yu sneered and said, "Are you afraid I will run away?"

Ximen Kankan fell silent. When Duan Rong first handed Xiao Yu over to him, Xiao Yu was unwilling to leave. Whether Xiao Yu would run away, he really wasn't sure.

Xiao Yu said, "If I want to run, can you watch me all the time? Without sleeping or eating? If you don't go and inquire about news of Duan Rong, then I can only go and inquire myself. Then I will have to run away!? Do you think that is the logic?"

Hearing the words "without sleeping or eating," Ximen Kankan thought about it and felt he really couldn't do it. If Xiao Yu was determined to run, he really couldn't stop her.

"Alright. Then I will go and inquire for news. You wait for me at Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber. The food box is left there; you eat something."

As Ximen said this, he turned back, slid across the iron cable to leave this mountain peak, and went outside to inquire for news.

After Ximen Kankan left, the whole mountain was desolate, with only faint bird sounds coming from somewhere. Xiao Yu stood at the edge of the cliff wrapped in the animal skin, and for some reason, she felt colder and colder.

She watched the churning clouds and mist outside the cliff for a while, and at one moment, she even had the impulse to jump down. She thought that if she had hanged herself earlier like Su Bairong, Duan Rong wouldn't have had to risk breaking into the Tower Forest to save her. In that case, he wouldn't have been punished. In the end, it was she who implicated him.

However, she was also very willing to see Duan Rong go into the Tower Forest to save her.

The moment Duan Rong's figure leaped out from the dense forest, only she knew how happy she was at that time!? At that moment, the whole world was unimportant!

She ran and called out to Duan Rong; the surrounding mountains, trees, Tower Forest, and blue sky all rose and fell and receded behind her as she ran. At that moment, in Xiao Yu's heart, all the mountains and forests were crowding around her, calling out with her, as if sharing her joy...

When Duan Rong picked her up and flew out of the Tower Forest, her entire life had melted.

She was very satisfied.

If Duan Rong received a very heavy punishment, as long as she could lighten his punishment, she would do anything. Whether it was death or returning to the Tower Forest, she didn't care!

Thinking this way, Xiao Yu had already walked to the platform in front of Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber.

Looking at the familiar platform before her, Xiao Yu's eyes flickered slightly. Six years ago, they were both Registered Disciples living in this mountain.

Countless times, when she got up in the morning to wash and fetch water, Xiao Yu would pass by this platform to get water from the waterfall at the cliff wall over there.

There were a few withered leaves on the platform, but there was no dust; this place was a wind gap, and if the wind blew, dust could not settle.

Xiao Yu crossed the stone railing of the platform and walked into the stone chamber all alone.

The stone chamber was somewhat messy and covered in dust; a red wooden food box was placed on the table.

Everything here was gray, and there were many spider webs in the corners, so the clean red wooden food box was very striking, as if it were flashing with red light.

Xiao Yu walked over and opened the food box.

The braised pork and lion's head meatballs inside were tempting in color. Just now on the road, she had swallowed her saliva when she heard Ximen Kankan talk about them, but now that she had actually opened the food box, she suddenly had no appetite at all.

She closed the food box again, walked out of the stone chamber, wrapped herself in the animal skin blanket, sat at the entrance of the stone chamber, and stared blankly at the churning mist in the valley.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, causing two leaves on the platform to dance against each other, as if waltzing.

Xiao Yu, with tears in her eyes, watched the pair of withered leaves dancing, her heart in a state of chaos and decay...

About two hours later, Ximen Kankan ran back. As soon as he returned, he saw Xiao Yu sitting there like withered wood.

A flash of worry crossed Ximen Kankan's eyes, and he said, "Are you alright?"

After Ximen Kankan walked closer, Xiao Yu's somewhat unfocused eyes gradually focused. She stood up abruptly, the animal skin blanket fell from her shoulders, and she asked with some urgency, "Did you find out? Duan Rong, how is he?"

Ximen Kankan bent down to pick up the blanket on the ground and said, "He has been locked in the Dungeon of the Ruling Sect Justice Division."

"Locked in the Dungeon?!" Xiao Yu was startled and asked, "Is it only for serious crimes that one is locked in the Dungeon?"

Ximen Kankan said in a drifting tone, "It seems not necessarily. Let's wait and see... There is no news yet on exactly how he will be punished. However, I heard the Attendants over at Yunfu Peak whispering, saying that both his master and his fierce Senior Sister are running around for him. Don't worry, there shouldn't be any trouble."

"Master? Fierce Senior Sister? Yunfu Peak?" Xiao Yu's withered-wood-like body trembled, and her originally dull eyes lit up instantly, just like a drowning person suddenly grabbing a piece of driftwood.

Ximen Kankan laughed, "That's right. Duan Rong is a personal disciple of Yunfu Peak. He has performed meritorious service and has great talent; his master will not ignore him."

Xiao Yu remembered the woman in red she met on the road when Duan Rong abducted her from the tower. That woman seemed to be Duan Rong's Senior Sister. Those who guarded the Tower Forest were about to catch up to Duan Rong, but they were all stopped by her.

Moreover, Duan Rong also had a master.

Xiao Yu's eyes moved, and she looked at Ximen Kankan and asked, "Who is Duan Rong's master?"

Ximen Kankan said, "Zhu He, an Elder of the Sect's Elder Council and the Head of the Inner History Department. Let me tell you, that old man is a powerhouse of the Dongming Realm and even knows the Wall-Passing Technique..."

Xiao Yu stood there, her thoughts churning. "An Elder of the Elder Council... a powerhouse of the Dongming Realm?!"

"Yes!"

As Ximen Kankan spoke, he ran into the stone chamber. He opened the food box, and seeing that the dishes inside had not been touched by a single chopstick, he called out, "Xiao Yu, why aren't you eating!?"

Xiao Yu came to her senses, ran inside, and said, "Who said I'm not eating? I'll eat right now."

As she spoke, she took out the braised pork and lion's head meatballs, and began to chew them down in large mouthfuls along with the steamed buns.

Ximen Kankan watched Xiao Yu's ravenous way of eating, smiled slightly, and said, "Alright! As long as you can eat, you'll be fine."

Xiao Yu already had a plan in her mind; only after she was full would she have the strength to get things done.

Xiao Yu ate all those dishes clean, even using the buns to mop up the sauce, which made Ximen Kankan swallow his saliva; he had been busy until now and hadn't eaten anything either.

After Xiao Yu finished eating, she looked at Ximen Kankan and said, "Kankan, I'm a bit thirsty. Go to the woods and pick some fruit."

"Alright. You'll wait here, then?"

Xiao Yu smiled slightly and said, "What are you still afraid of? You were gone for two hours just now, and didn't I stay here the whole time?"

"That's true."

Ximen Kankan muttered a word, then left the stone chamber and headed into the dense forest to pick fruit.

Not long after, Ximen Kankan walked back into the stone chamber, his shirt hem bulging with quite a lot of fruit.

As soon as Ximen Kankan walked back into the stone chamber, he discovered that Xiao Yu was not inside. He immediately dumped the fruit he was carrying all at once, and while flashing his figure along the cliff face, he shouted.

He searched for a while, but there was no sign of Xiao Yu in any of the caves around here.

Ximen Kankan was certain that Xiao Yu had already left.

She had asked him to go to the dense forest to pick fruit to deliberately send him away.

"This is a disaster! I couldn't even handle such a simple task. When I get back, Duan Rong is going to kill me!" Ximen Kankan's face immediately turned miserable, and he felt a bit anxious and annoyed for a moment.

"Where could Xiao Yu have gone?"

"She wouldn't go to the Ruling Sect Justice Division, would she? That would be throwing herself into the net!"

Duan Rong had gone to such lengths to save her, and now she was going to deliver herself back in.

Ximen Kankan calculated it over in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Xiao Yu had indeed gone to the Ruling Sect Justice Division. He had been out scouting for information for two hours, and Xiao Yu hadn't run around and had stayed here the whole time; the moment he returned and told her that Duan Rong was locked up in the Ruling Sect Justice Division, she had sent him away and run off.

Thinking of this, Ximen Kankan left the mountain and headed toward the Ruling Sect Justice Division, thinking that if he were fast enough, he might still be able to intercept Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu hadn't gone to the Ruling Sect Justice Division at all; what would be the point of going to the Ruling Sect Justice Division? To visit him in prison?

She had gone to Yunfu Peak.

Xiao Yu was not stupid; she knew who Duan Rong's friends were and who could help Duan Rong. She was willing to become the means those people used to help Duan Rong; she did not mind.

Xiao Yu arrived before Yunfu Peak. Just as she was about to barge into the pavilion, she suddenly saw a woman in red stepping through the void amidst the misty clouds in the valley nearby.

She had seen this person before; it was Duan Rong's senior sister.

Xiao Yu immediately stopped and waited in the open space in front of the pavilion.

Just as Fan Hongjiao emerged from the clouds, she saw a woman standing there, looking at her with spirited eyes.

She did not recognize the woman, but the dress she was wearing looked very familiar.

By the time Fan Hongjiao landed in front of the pavilion, she had already confirmed that the woman before her was Xiao Yu.

As soon as Xiao Yu saw Fan Hongjiao land not far away, she immediately knelt down and cried out with a hint of a sob, "Senior Sister Da Xiong, please save my husband Duan Rong!"

Xiao Yu did not know what Fan Hongjiao's name was; she only knew that Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan both called her that, and she didn't know which characters those were either, just calling it out according to the pronunciation.

A flash of embarrassment crossed Fan Hongjiao's face, but she still grabbed Xiao Yu and said, "Little Sister Xiao Yu, get up first."

Xiao Yu clutched her arm and refused to get up, saying with a face full of tear tracks, "As long as Duan Rong can be saved, I am willing to return to the Tower Forest. I beg Senior Sister to decide!"

As Xiao Yu spoke, she prostrated herself and knelt down again.

Fan Hongjiao's expression was somewhat moved, and she couldn't help but sigh, "It is rare for you two to be so deeply in love; you silly girl and my muddled Disciple really are a pair of star-crossed lovers!"

As Fan Hongjiao was sighing like this, a black streak of light suddenly landed at her side; it was Zhu He, who had returned from Chu Qiushan.

Zhu He's face was gloomy, as dark as the soot on the bottom of a pot. He originally would not have stopped here, but seeing Fan Hongjiao here with a woman kneeling before her, he already had some guesses in his heart, so he arrived suddenly.

Zhu He looked at Xiao Yu, who was prostrated on the ground, and asked coldly, "Who is she?"

Fan Hongjiao replied, "She is Xiao Yu."

Xiao Yu suddenly heard a very fierce voice speaking, so she raised her head.

Fan Hongjiao then said to Xiao Yu, "Xiao Yu, this is my master."

Xiao Yu looked at Zhu He, her heart churning like the sea, and cried, "Duan Rong is implicated because of me; please, Master Zhu, save him. This concubine is willing to pay with her life; returning to the Tower Forest or dying, Master Zhu, just give the order."

Zhu He snorted coldly and said, "Hongjiao, take her to the Cultivation Secret Chamber and hide her. Do not let her come out until Duan Rong's matter is resolved."

"Yes!"

Fan Hongjiao immediately pulled Xiao Yu, intending to go to the Cultivation Secret Chamber. Xiao Yu struggled and said, "Master Zhu, if you are unwilling to save my husband, I will dash my brains out here."

Zhu He was annoyed to death, glared at Xiao Yu, and said, "Stop making a scene here! If this old man hands you over, that brat will never acknowledge me as his master again!"

After Zhu He finished speaking, he glared at Fan Hongjiao like a lion with its fur standing on end and said, "Watch her for me! If she runs out again, I will smash your dantian!"

After Zhu He finished speaking, he turned into a black streak of light and vanished in an instant.

Fan Hongjiao felt a tremor in her heart at Zhu He's final words. Zhu He was blaming her for knowing the situation and not reporting it.

After Zhu He left, Fan Hongjiao knocked Xiao Yu unconscious and carried her directly to the Cultivation Secret Chamber behind the Main Hall on the first floor.

(End of chapter)