Chapter 28

Ye Xuanshang watched Zi Rao go ashore from afar, everything was normal, so he sat down on the spot with peace of mind, slowly guiding the Danyuan True Essence to wander through the meridians that had been seriously injured several times. The pain was so great that it became numb, and it was no longer as unbearable as it was at the beginning. In his memory, it seemed that he hadn't been so seriously injured for a long time. The last time was three years ago, when he alone finished off dozens of dead soldiers from the Eastern Palace. It was also that time that he completely understood who wanted to put him to death. At this thought, his True Essence suddenly rushed and collided without warning, and he felt a twisting pain in his Dantian, nearly losing consciousness completely. He felt stern in his heart, then forcibly suppressed his mind, concentrated on regulating his breath, abandoned distracting thoughts, and gradually entered the empty realm of forgetting both things and himself.

After a while, he was startled by a low groan. The girl in crimson clothes, who had been unconscious nearby, slowly regained consciousness and sat up with her hand on her forehead. Ye Xuanshang's sword brows tightened slightly. The next moment, the Guili Sword was already against her throat. When she opened her eyes in a daze, he ordered in a low voice: "Don't move around."

The girl in crimson clothes was stunned for a long time. When she saw who he was, she didn't care about the sharp blade at her throat, pointed at him, and said strangely: "Ah... you are actually still alive!"

Ye Xuanshang said faintly: "It seems I am not easy to die. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Where is Bailong'er?" The girl in crimson clothes seemed to realize that the situation was wrong at this time. She looked around and found that she was no longer on the original island. Looking elsewhere, she vaguely saw the Zhu Jiuyin lying on the opposite island. She hurriedly summoned it from afar with spiritual arts, but the Zhu Jiuyin did not move. She was stunned for a moment, turned to look at Ye Xuanshang, full of disbelief, "You... you killed my Bailong'er?" Her voice was already choked with sobs.

Ye Xuanshang's sword body vibrated, still forcing her a few steps away, but his True Essence surged in his chest, and he couldn't say a word. The girl in crimson clothes had watery eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, and she was about to shed tears. Looking at the Zhu Jiuyin in the distance, she turned around and shouted at him with extreme grievance, "You killed Bailong'er! You actually killed Bailong'er! Compensate me for my Bailong'er!"

She shouted a few times like this, and Ye Xuanshang's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. Hearing her relentless shouting, he suddenly gave a cold shout, "Princess Han Xi!"

"What?" The girl in crimson clothes blurted out, then paused, and said again, "Good, you know who I am and still dare to be like this. I will definitely make my Royal Brother punish you!"

Ye Xuanshang sighed secretly. Sure enough, his guess was correct. This girl was indeed Princess Han Xi of the Chu State. He had only heard before that the King of Chu had a sister of the same mother who followed Qiaoku Daozhang to learn arts, but he had never had the opportunity to meet her. He did not expect to meet her here today. After leaving this Wangliang Valley, he was not only Ye Xuanshang but also the Third Young Master of the Mu State who was a hostage in Chu. In fact, he had already thought of this when guessing the other party's identity. At this time, when Chu and Mu were at odds, it was truly not appropriate to cause more trouble, otherwise, his situation would be even more difficult than before. But knowing it was tricky, he still did it, just because in his heart, there was nothing in the world that could not be done. A sharp light flashed in his eyes, the sword tip raised slightly, and he said coldly: "I killed the Zhu Jiuyin. If you cry and make trouble again, I will kill you too."

Han Xi was originally glaring at him angrily, but when she met his gaze, her body stiffened, as if a bucket of snow water had been poured over her head. The chill penetrated her heart, and for a moment, she was stunned with fright.

Just at this moment, a low whistle of a strange beast came from afar outside the island. Han Xi's eyes lit up, and she jumped up and shouted: "Jin Ni! It's Master! Hmph, let's see what you do now!"

The whistling approached in a moment and soon arrived. Ye Xuanshang's gaze swept around and saw that the small boat from earlier had been pushed to the shore by the lake waves at some point. Although the boat was damaged, it was still barely usable. So he tilted the sword tip slightly and said in a low voice: "Trouble, Princess, get on the boat and follow me to the island."

Han Xi snorted angrily, got up, and jumped onto the boat. Ye Xuanshang's long sword never left her vital points. He secretly circulated his power to look at himself and found that his internal injuries were far more serious than he had imagined. His brows tightened silently. Getting closer and closer to the small island, he saw two people on the island at some point. An old man in plain green robes, with an arrogant image, was standing with his hands behind his back, sizing up Zi Rao. Beside him was an old Daoist, wearing gray Daoist robes, stepping on yellow hemp shoes, looking like a street beggar, except for the wine gourd hanging from his waist, which was wiped clean and shiny. A golden-furred strange beast shaped like a lion squatted at his feet.

That strange beast was a Jin Ni, which had always been quite spiritual. Seeing from afar that Han Xi was being held hostage, it immediately jumped up and let out a low, extremely dissatisfied growl. Unexpectedly, before the sound fell, the Xuezhan on Zi Rao's shoulder stood up and roared. The sound was like a tiger's roar and a dragon's chant, startling everyone. That Jin Ni could be considered a rarity among beasts, but it shivered all over, shrank back behind its master, and lay on the ground, not daring to raise its head again. Xuezhan squatted high on Zi Rao's shoulder, glancing obliquely, its posture full of disdain.

Besides drinking, Qiaoku Daozhang's great hobby in his life was taming strange beasts. He narrowed his eyes and sized up Xuezhan, "Hmm, Cloud-Born Beast, rare, rare." Turning his head to look at Han Xi, his beard moved, "Boy, who are you? How dare you point your sword at the old Daoist's little female disciple."

Ye Xuanshang's long sword vibrated and was withdrawn, "Ye Xuanshang has met the two seniors. Princess Han Xi is the sister of the King of Chu. How would Xuanshang dare to offend her?" Although he called them seniors, he just stood proudly with his hands behind his back, without any intention of paying respects. The two snorted coldly at the same time, obviously extremely dissatisfied with his arrogant attitude.

Zi Rao was surprised in her heart. She knew well that Ye Xuanshang appeared unrestrained, but in reality, he was meticulous and knew how to advance and retreat. There was no reason for him to provoke the other party like this. And with his consistent style, since he pointed out that the girl was the Princess of the Chu State, how could he let her go so easily? Full of questions, she turned her eyes to look at him. Ye Xuanshang met her gaze, stepped back slightly, and suddenly raised his hand, pulling her into his arms.

Although he had been talking and laughing with Zi Rao all the way, he had never had such an overstepping move. Zi Rao was stunned at first, then felt stern in her heart. At this moment, she clearly felt that although Ye Xuanshang stood as straight as ever, most of his weight had shifted onto her. She reached out quietly, supported his waist without changing her expression, and touched a warm and damp area. It was clearly not lake water, but the blood from one of his wounds slowly soaking through his clothes.

Leaning against his embrace, Zi Rao felt him write a few words on her back with his fingertips—try to leave first. Her heart shook, and she looked up at him. Ye Xuanshang's gaze sank, and a frown flashed across his brows extremely quickly, only because she had answered clearly with her eyes—advance and retreat together.

Han Xi gained her freedom and had already stepped forward to pull Qiaoku Daozhang's sleeve and act like a spoiled child, "Master, they killed the cranes and Bailong'er, broke Uncle's Great Qimen Nine Palaces Array, and destroyed the peach forest! Hurry and teach them a lesson for me!"

Qiaoku Daozhang had always doted on this disciple and stroked his beard, "That old pedant's ghost array was messy to begin with, what's strange about it being broken? It's just that the old Daoist's spiritual snake had its gall taken, and this face cannot be lost." His face sank, "Two little dolls, did you do this?"

Before the two could answer, the old man in green robes snorted faintly, "Teaching his own disciple poorly, but blaming my array for being inadequate, how unreasonable."

Han Xi had already taken the wine gourd for her master, turned her head, and smiled coquettishly, "Uncle, you set up the array board last time and only taught me for a few days before leaving." She pointed her chin at Zi Rao, "I am indeed poorly taught, but she said the Great Qimen Nine Palaces Array is nothing remarkable, and the array board is not set up very brilliantly, clearly not putting Uncle's array in her eyes!" As she spoke, she made a face at the two, looking like a mischievous person who made people angry and hateful.

Zi Rao's brows gathered, and she gave Han Xi a quick glance. Before she could think of how to deal with it, the old man's cold gaze had already swept over, "Did you say that?"

The old man in green robes was none other than Zhong Yanzi. Zi Rao knew his identity and hesitated in her heart, remaining silent. Ye Xuanshang caught the complex expression in her eyes, suddenly let go of her hand, and said loudly: "Two seniors, do not blame others. Breaking the array and entering the island, killing the snake and taking the gall, were all done by me. Please let this girl leave first, I will take responsibility for what I have done alone."

Zhong Yanzi glanced at him and said coldly: "Hmph! Your footsteps are floating, your face is gray, clearly your meridians are damaged and your True Essence is seriously injured. You still dare to use the acupoint-sealing method to forcibly suppress your injuries. If you stand like this for another half an hour, your fate will be no better than that strange snake of the old Daoist. I would like to see how you can continue to be brave!"

Ye Xuanshang smiled indifferently, "Senior is right. Even if I want to be brave, I'm afraid I don't have the strength. After sending away the irrelevant people, I will be at the disposal of the two seniors."

Zi Rao came back to her senses from her surprise, her gaze lingering on the unrestrained and uninhibited expression of the man beside her. A clear and beautiful faint smile bloomed at the corners of her lips, and she gave him a helpless, coquettish glance. Lowering her eyes again, as if she had made some kind of decision, she moved forward gracefully and bowed to Zhong Yanzi, "Zi Rao has met Uncle."

Everyone was stunned. Qiaoku Daozhang was the most surprised, "Old pedant, when did you have such a beautiful little niece? Why don't I know?"

Zhong Yanzi ignored him and just looked at Zi Rao. The woman in black robes with a charming face was no longer the little girl who was spirited and unruly in the palace garden, but her brows and expressions were known at a glance. He had no doubts in his heart, but it was absolutely impossible to acknowledge her in public. He asked coldly again, "The Great Qimen Nine Palaces Array is nothing remarkable, did you say that?"

Zi Rao's eyes rippled. Although this Royal Uncle had temporarily reconciled with Zi Hao in the Imperial Capital, he still couldn't let go of the past and was unwilling to return to the clan. Zi Hao's letter was concise, briefly describing the situation, and only instructed four words: "Treat with courtesy."

(End of chapter)