Chapter 211: Escape

"Whoosh…" Fleeing for her life, desperately fleeing, the tangled tree shadows swept past her one by one, and she occasionally turned her head in panic, looking to see if anyone was chasing her.

She entered another grove, but the mountain was nowhere to be found; this forest was filled with tall, dense pine trees whose thick leaves blocked out the sunlight. It was like a sleeping primordial forest.

"Crack!" Because she was too tense and didn't watch her step, she tripped over a thick dry branch and fell hard to the ground.

"Mmm…" She clapped her hands over her mouth, terrified of making even a sound that would summon her pursuers.

When had she ever felt so wronged!

When had she ever been so destitute!

When had she ever failed so badly!

Tears streamed continuously from the Little Palace Master's eye sockets, flowing through the gaps between her fingers onto the ground, moistening the withered twigs and fallen leaves.

She ran for a day and a night before finally escaping Xiao Xiaoyu's pursuit.

For a full day and night she dragged her severely wounded body, racing against time, running for her life! She had never longed to survive so desperately.

In past battles she had almost always been the victor, with no one able to defeat her, so she could not know what it felt like when death descended.

Only now did she realize how terrifying death was!

Once proud, she now smashed her pride to pieces, reducing herself to a miserable state.

The Little Palace Master never imagined that even her strongest, fiercest, life-saving "Five Absolutes Enter Thunder" would fail—against Xiao Xiaoyu's terrifying power of unknown origin, it proved utterly useless!

Had she not forcibly used the "Five Absolutes" at the last moment to create distance, she might already be a corpse!

Fortunately, after spending an entire day, she finally shook off Xiao Xiaoyu.

But she was now seriously wounded, with severe external and internal injuries; without timely treatment, her life would be in danger. Moreover, in this remote wilderness she could not even find her own way, having lost her direction while fleeing in panic.

"Could it be that I, the Little Palace Master, am to die here today?" she thought sorrowfully, knowing her true Qi had been gradually depleted and her strength exhausted; if this continued, she would not last three more hours and would surely perish in despair.

Time ticked by second by second. The Little Palace Master's mind raced with many thoughts; she even began to doubt herself, wondering if she should not have defected from the Five Absolutes Palace, for with her mother's protection she could have gone smoothly and steadily remained as the Little Palace Master.

Her thoughts grew fuzzy, her breathing ever more labored… the Little Palace Master drooped her eyelids, wearily taking one last glance into the distance—leaves swaying, one, two, three—before she quickly lost consciousness.

"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!" The sound of hooves rang out in the silent woods as someone approached the Little Palace Master's location.

"Whoa…"

"Over here!" someone shouted, pointing at the Little Palace Master lying slumped ahead.

Immediately afterward, a large group of riders drew near.

Leading them was a young man who, despite his youth, appeared to be the leader of the group.

"Sect Master, is this the person?" the one who had spotted the Little Palace Master asked the young man.

Everyone saw that the woman collapsed on the ground was extremely beautiful; despite being covered in wounds and dust, her beautiful aura could not be concealed.

The young man honored as "Sect Master" swiftly dismounted, walked over to the Little Palace Master, first placed two fingers on her philtrum, then quickly lifted her up and ordered his subordinates, "Return to the sect at once, no mistakes!"

"Yes!"

"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!"

…

"Uh… where am I?" When the Little Palace Master opened her eyes, she at first thought she had arrived at the Ghost Gate Pass, awaiting judgment by King Yama; but when she saw sunlight streaming through the spacious window, she realized she was still alive, she had not died.

But where exactly was this place?

And who had saved her?

The Little Palace Master found herself lying on a soft bed; she struggled to sit up but could not move at all, her body feeling as if it had lost control. She lowered her head and, with the corner of her eye, scanned herself, discovering that her body was filled with silver needles.

She was skilled with silver needles, knowing that the portion exposed outside the body was no more than one‑fifth of what was inserted inside; seeing the needles' tips gleaming, it was obvious that someone's true Qi was at work.

The Little Palace Master couldn't even shout, having no strength at all, so she simply lay still.

After another nap, and waiting more than half an hour, she finally heard footsteps drawing nearer.

Entering was a woman about thirty, of ordinary appearance, dressed in simple rural garb, holding a wooden basin full of hot water, with a clean white towel draped over her shoulder.

The Little Palace Master never expected that a woman of such ordinary looks would, when she smiled, exude a kind and warm affection—"You're awake?"

"Oh, right, I remember you can't speak yet—I'm Songzi, specifically tasked with caring for you." The woman said this while smiling, introducing herself; she looked very fond of laughing and did so continuously.

The Little Palace Master painstakingly made a smiling expression in reply.

Songzi seemed to understand the Little Palace Master's meaning; while undoing her clothes she said, "You've been unconscious for seven days and seven nights; our Sect Master brought you back, having poured true Qi into you for seven full days—otherwise you might not have opened your eyes. But I must say, miss, you are truly blessed to have encountered our Sect Master!"

Songzi carefully tested the water temperature, then dampened and wrung out the towel, and gently wiped the Little Palace Master's body.

The Little Palace Master had never allowed anyone besides her mother to touch her body—not even another woman—and she truly wanted to voice her refusal, but being unable to speak, she tried desperately to convey her feelings to Songzi through her expression.

As a result, seeing the Little Palace Master's expression, Songzi assumed she liked it and rubbed even more vigorously.

The Little Palace Master waited in despair, hoping Songzi would change her into a fresh set of clothes.

At this point the Little Palace Master had given up hope for her body; she only wanted to know who the "Sect Master" Songzi kept mentioning was.

After surviving this great calamity, the Little Palace Master's gaze grew firmer; she finally knew she was not invincible, that she could possess prideful bones but must never let her arrogance become her own burden.

At the same time, the Little Palace Master roughly guessed that the person behind Xiao Xiaoyu might be the "Heavenly Dao" spoken of by Shangguan Yunyi. Yet she had no grudge against the Heavenly Dao—why would it seek her out?