Chapter 115

"Little Hui, why are you sticking so close to Miss Yang..."

Zheng Feng watched his younger sister leaning toward Yang Han with an intoxicated look on her face, her little face nearly pressed against the other woman, and he hurriedly reached out to pull her back.

He shook his head helplessly, terrified that his sister, who had no sense of propriety, might do something that would offend the beauty.

Zheng Hui, who had been forcibly dragged back, gritted her teeth in anger, her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish, and she muttered in a low voice:

"Mind your own business when it comes to beautiful girls, brother!"

Yang Han, meanwhile, was looking at the text on the stone door with a look of intense focus, her autumn-water-like eyes concentrated and calm, as if she hadn't heard Zheng Hui's voice at all.

Her fingertips lightly traced those ancient patterns, her lips moving slightly as she silently recited something to herself.

Soon, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had passed.

"How is it?"

"Did you discover anything?"

The two Elders from Jin Chen Peak were losing their patience and couldn't help but ask.

Yang Han exhaled a gentle breath, a look of difficulty appearing on her brow, and she spoke in a soft tone, her voice like a clear spring flowing over stone: "This ancient text is quite profound; my own learning is shallow, and I can only puzzle out the general meaning..."

Hua Qingshui shifted his gaze slightly, a flash of brilliance appearing in his eyes: "What is the meaning? Speak freely."

Yang Han moved with lotus steps, retreating two paces, her purple skirt tracing a graceful arc on the ground.

She lowered her head slightly, her voice neither hurried nor slow: "The meaning on this stone door is roughly—when the time arrives, it will open of its own accord..."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those present varied.

Zheng Feng spoke thoughtfully: "Miss Yang, do you mean that as long as the time arrives, this stone door will open automatically?"

Yang Han nodded her head slightly, "If I haven't misread the characters, that should be the meaning."

"In other words, we don't actually have to put in any effort at all."

Hua Qingshui chuckled and stroked his beard, his tone carrying a hint of self-mockery and a measure of relief.

The others thought back to when they had entered from the outside; that indestructible stone door had also opened automatically, as if there were some predestined fate at work.

Thinking of this, they immediately believed Yang Han's explanation a little more.

"Since that is the case, then everyone should just wait here and see when this door opens."

Hua Qingshui waved his hand, his tone as relaxed as if he were talking about waiting for a meal.

"Then I shall take my leave for now."

Yang Han bowed slightly to the crowd with a faint smile, her posture elegant and proper.

The corner of her eye swept over Jiang Ye once more, and then, she retreated with graceful steps, her purple figure like a water lily on the surface of a pond, quietly disappearing into the shadows of the grotto.

"This girl..."

Hua Qingshui watched Yang Han's graceful back, a dark look flashing in his eyes, wondering what she was thinking.

Afterward, the crowd settled their minds and waited for the stone door to open.

Not far away, the Elders of the Hanjian Sect, who had been closely monitoring the movements of the Profound Heaven Sect group, naturally heard their discussion.

The few of them huddled together, lowering their voices, their expressions gloomy.

"We went through all that trouble for nothing..."

"So the stone door opens automatically!"

"Everyone, take this opportunity to rest and recover your true qi!"

The lead Elder spoke in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the group: "After the stone door opens, we are bound to have a fierce battle with that bunch of animals from the Profound Heaven Sect!"

Once these words were spoken, their expressions became even more solemn.

"If there is a chance..." an Elder with a sinister face lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping toward the direction of the Profound Heaven Sect group like a venomous snake, finally landing on that thin, withered figure, "We must kill that old thing surnamed Jiang first! Zhou Feng cannot have died in vain!"

"Right! Kill that old thing first!"

The few of them responded in a low voice in unison, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Elder Hua, if the stone door truly opens later, there is no telling what dangers lie inside; those outer sect disciples should not go in."

Zhu Ying of Jin Chen Peak looked at Hua Qingshui, who was closing his eyes to rest, and spoke in a low voice.

His words sounded righteous on the surface, as if he were concerned for the safety of the outer sect disciples.

In reality, he was thinking about Liu Yiyi consuming the Heavenly Heart Ice Seed Lotus, and he was worried that there might be some great opportunity inside that would be snatched up by these outer sect disciples in the chaos.

Upon hearing this, Hua Qingshui slowly opened his eyes and looked at Zhu Ying with a half-smile, "I didn't expect you to be so concerned about the outer sect disciples..."

Zhu Ying coughed lightly, just about to say something.

Hua Qingshui chuckled and interrupted him, "What you say makes some sense; there are hidden dangers inside this stone door, and the demons of the Seven Kill Sect are lurking in the shadows. It is better if the outer sect disciples do not go in. I will let you go and instruct them."

Zhu Ying's expression immediately brightened, and he hurried off to convey Hua Qingshui's order.

"Young Lady, the number of people from the Profound Heaven Sect and the Hanjian Sect is so large..."

A short, stout man dressed in grey robes sighed with a solemn expression, his gaze occasionally sweeping toward the dark mass of people in the distance, "Even if there is a secret treasure inside this stone door, I'm afraid we won't have much of a chance."

This person was the Yang family's Embracing the Pill Realm retainer, Fang Hong.

Behind him followed a group of Transformation of Force experts; at this moment, everyone's face was filled with solemnity, some clutching their weapons, others constantly rubbing their hands, clearly having no confidence in the upcoming struggle.

Yang Han smiled faintly, not a hint of nervousness visible on her beautiful face, her tone instead carrying a composed confidence: "Don't worry, I have my own plans."

She paused, her autumn eyes shifting slightly, "When the stone door opens later, you don't need to go in; just stay outside and provide support for me."

As she was speaking, a flash of pain suddenly crossed her watery autumn eyes, her brow furrowing slightly, and a layer of fine, cold sweat seeped from her fair forehead.

But this anomaly vanished in a flash, and even Fang Hong beside her did not notice.

Under the shadows of the grotto, the light was dim, forming a sharp contrast with the brightly lit area outside.

Yang Han slowly lifted her trouser leg, revealing a section of breathtakingly fair and tender calf.

The skin was as delicate as grease, the lines as smooth as a painting, glowing with a faint luster in the gloom.

Unfortunately, there was a bloody wound on the calf, the flesh rolled back, the edges tinged with an eerie dark red, severely ruining this aesthetic.

"What kind of fire centipede was that, to have such astonishing toxicity..." Yang Han looked at the wound on her leg, a rare look of solemnity appearing between her brows.

She had clearly taken an antidote pill, yet the fire poison was like a maggot on a tarsal bone, impossible to drive away.

The burning pain coming from the wound struck in waves, forcing her to bite her silver teeth tightly.

"I can only use true qi to slowly grind away this fire poison."

She sighed softly, a wisp of lush vitality emerging between her fair, slender fingers, the true qi emerald green and dripping, exuding the fragrance of grass and trees, just as she was about to touch it to the wound—

Suddenly, her graceful body stiffened abruptly.

She did not turn her head, yet she had already sensed something.

The brows that had been relaxed tightened slightly, and the true qi at her fingertips quietly dissipated.

Afterward, she slowly lowered her trouser leg, covering that section of fair, tender calf, and smoothed her skirt before turning around.

She saw an old man with white hair and a straight back, who had appeared under the shadows of the grotto at some unknown time, looking at her with a playful expression.

That gaze was as calm as water, yet it seemed capable of seeing through all disguises.

It was none other than Jiang Ye.

"I truly did not expect..." Yang Han looked at the old man, a half-smile curving on her beautiful face, her voice still soft, yet carrying a hint of something unclear, "that a dignified Elder of the Profound Heaven Sect would actually engage in peeping at a woman's privacy."

Jiang Ye looked at her with a calm expression, a similar half-smile appearing on his aged face.

That gaze was like two invisible blades, piercing straight into the depths of her eyes: "I also truly did not expect that the dignified Young Lady of the Yang family would actually be the mysterious and notoriously fierce 'Purple Boss'..."

Upon hearing this, the pupils in Yang Han's eyes shrank slightly, the momentary shock almost impossible to conceal.

Yet the smile on her face did not change in the slightest, remaining as light and breezy as before: "Elder Jiang, some jokes should not be told lightly!"

Jiang Ye chuckled, but there was not a hint of warmth in that laughter: "Do you think I am the type of person who likes to tell jokes, Purple Boss?!"

Yang Han was silent for a moment, just staring straight at Jiang Ye.

The grotto was extremely quiet, with only the faint whispers coming from afar and the almost inaudible breathing of the two.

Afterward, she suddenly smiled, a smile like an epiphyllum in bloom, breathtakingly beautiful, yet the words she spoke caused the air to suddenly solidify: "If I am the Purple Boss, then Elder Jiang must be the 'Head-Chopping Demon' who has shaken the Prefecture City..."

This time, it was Jiang Ye's turn to be silent.

His aged eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp light flashing in the depths of his gaze.

He truly hadn't expected the other party's mind to be so sharp; just by seeing him use the Blood Moon Blade once, she could guess that he was the "Head-Chopping Demon."

This woman's intuition and insight were far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Yang Han wore a faint smile, speaking neither hurriedly nor slowly, her voice as soft as if she were chatting about household matters: "I have seen the corpses of the Sun family. At first, I thought it was that fool Huang Laoliu who did it, but after I took a closer look, I discovered that the blade marks on those corpses were far more formidable than Huang Laoliu's..."

She stopped halfway through her sentence, just looking at Jiang Ye with a smile, her gaze carrying a hint of understanding and a hint of playfulness.

The aged eyes of Jiang Ye shrank abruptly, and a chilling murderous intent surged from his body, pressing toward Yang Han like a physical force.

That murderous intent was bone-chillingly cold, forming an invisible wall between the two, as if even the air had solidified: "Do you think the people of the Profound Heaven Sect will believe you, or will they believe me!"

Yang Han shook her head slightly, not a hint of fear on her beautiful face, instead smiling even more composedly: "Elder Jiang, I actually think it doesn't matter who the people of the Profound Heaven Sect believe. What matters is—"

She paused, her gaze looking straight into Jiang Ye's eyes, enunciating each word, "Between you and me, there is no need to cross swords."

She took a light step forward, her purple skirt flowing like water in the gloom: "Come to think of it, you and I should be the same kind of people."