Chapter 87: Pretense

Liu Liyan's pretty lashes fluttered: "Do you feel pity?"

"Hm." Qingxia wore a serious expression and nodded: "It's about making men feel pity for you!"

"Think about it, why does Young Master Su treat Lin Jianran so well? It's because she knows how to act weak and pitiful!"

"Why does he personally go to teach a lesson when Lin Jianran is bullied? It's because she looks so pitiful."

"At every Heaven's Pride Assembly, Lin Jianran is provoked by the holy maidens and young ladies of aristocratic clans; each time she acts weak, complains to Young Sect Master Su, who without a word goes to punish those people for her."

"Think carefully, isn't that what I just said?"

"So you must pretend to be weak, Master, to make Young Sect Master Su feel sorry for you."

"If he softens for you, he might not go to Qianyuan City to snatch a bride."

Liu Liyan thought it somewhat reliable, yet also a bit odd, and fell silent for a long time.

Is this really feasible, brother?

Will doing this really keep the A Chen she constantly thinks of?

Why do I have a bad feeling?

"Then how should I act weak?" Liu Liyan lifted her bloodshot eyes, waiting for Qingxia to give her an idea.

"First… you must make Young Sect Master Su feel you are pitiful and lovable; the first step is to act, to act very weakly."

"Weak?"

Liu Liyan instinctively looked at her ten delicate jade‑like fingers; her beautiful nails were all oozing blood, seeing the shards of the shattered bronze wine cup cutting her wounds, her hand covered in blood—an ordinary female cultivator would surely be crying.

But she herself appeared as unmoving as Mount Tai collapsing before her, her expression unchanged.

"Is this being weak?"

Liu Liyan raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Next, is to look pitiful and suffer endless injustice and abuse."

"Injustice and abuse?"

Liu Liyan lowered her gaze to the ice‑silk robe she wore, made of silkworm ice silk, the fox fur at the collar, then touched her white, delicate skin that seemed almost able to squeeze water out.

Her whole body exuded an air of nobility and reverence.

At a glance she is clearly a heavenly pride daughter from a great sect's holy land, exceedingly pampered and noble.

She seems to have nothing to do with suffering endless injustice and abuse…

"Finally, it's about having wounds on your body."

"Wounds?"

Liu Liyan's gaze fell on the blood traces that had just congealed on her delicate jade‑like fingers; this seemed to count a little.

"Master, imagine this: Young Sect Master Su sees someone bullied, suffering endless injustice, looking pitiful, all the way from Qianyuan City to Yunhai City, being chased and killed, looking miserable."

"Compared to you now wearing fine clothes, riding a bronze war chariot, not a single hair out of place when you go to see Young Sect Master Su, which is more likely to arouse his pity and earn his affection?"

"Then imagine Lin Jianran in Qianyuan City, imprisoned by Ye Xuan, whipped by Ye Xuan, suffering endless humiliation, and forced to marry a holy son of the Blazing Yang Sect she doesn't love—do you think Young Master Su would pity her more?"

"Please consider."

"Please ponder it well."

"……"

Liu Liyan blinked in surprise.

In an instant she felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun, and she suddenly understood.

Qingxia's words actually made some sense.

So,

When A Chen sees me wounded to an extreme, suffering hardships, having come to Yunhai City through great ordeals, will he feel sorry for me, pity me, and then not think of going to Qianyuan City to snatch a bride?

"Master, Lin Jianran's jade slip transmission should reach Young Sect Master Su within a day; to keep him, we'd better hurry."

"First, take off this ice‑silk robe."

"Okay."

"And this fox‑fur cape."

"Okay."

"Also take off the lotus‑silk footwear."

"Fine."

"And what about your yin‑yang fish bracelet?"

"This one won't do; it was a gift from A Chen."

"……"

Half an hour later.

Outside Yunhai City, two frail figures could be seen, having set aside their spiritual treasures and ritual robes, walking slowly through the snow‑filled sky.

This miserable scene barely matches the image Sect Master Liu had imagined.

Just as Liu Liyan and the other appeared at the East City Gate, eighty li away on Nameless Mountain,

Hundreds of formation masters joined forces to break the formation, dozens of soul cultivators sat cross‑together, never daring to relax their perception of the outside situation.

Afraid to miss even a trace.

But as time gradually passed…

The external formation still hadn't found the eye, nor any soul cultivator's transmission.

Starting from the third watch, the leading senior brother of the Qingming Divine Sect would occasionally ask: "Have you found the formation's eye?"

"Reporting to the senior brother, not yet."

The honorary senior brother, his brows knotted tightly into a shape resembling the Chinese character for river.

His hand clenched his natal magic artifact, his heart filled with extreme vexation: 'What the hell are you doing? Isn't the perception of you formation masters supposed to be keen? Why couldn't anyone notice when we fell into their formation?'

Now it's been almost seven days, we can't even find the formation eye, and we've lost contact with the outside world.

Is this Ye Han deliberately messing with us? He said Su Changfeng would definitely attack East City within at most two days; why is there still no movement at all?

The spirit explosion phenomenon is so severe; we've barely set up a Spirit Gathering Array here, but the spirit stones on hand are not abundant. If this continues, I worry that Su Changfeng and those cultivators won't be tortured to death, but my disciples will suffer disaster.

It's already the seventh day, and we still can't break a single formation; what a bunch of good-for-nothings!

The eight thousand cultivators of the Azure Void Divine Sect all rely on a massive Spirit Gathering Array, but the larger the array, the astronomical the spirit stone consumption.

Now each cultivator has few spirit stones left.

Many have been invaded by violent spiritual energy.

Senior Brother, can we still break the formation and leave?

Honorary Senior Brother sank his face: 'Don't disturb morale; no news from Ye Han yet proves Su Changfeng hasn't fallen for the trap; we must patiently wait while breaking the formation.'

But what if this formation's grade is too high, and our formation masters can't find the formation eye?

Or maybe Su Changfeng saw through Ye Han Young Master's scheme, chose to hold Cloud Sea City, what should we do?

Upon hearing that.

Honorary Senior Brother sneered: 'Impossible!'

How many spirit stones are in Cloud Sea City's treasury? Ye Han knows better than anyone; Su Changfeng's group is definitely at their limit; if they don't find spirit stones for supply, they will surely be burst to death by the violent spiritual energy.

Formation masters, hurry to break the formation; as soon as the formation is broken, we'll know the outside situation.

Honorary Senior Brother stared fixedly into the distance, where hundreds of formation masters were gathering their energy and focusing, carefully sensing the formation eye.

Then,

Until the daylight exploded, these cultivators of the Azure Void Divine Sect still hadn't received news from Ye Han's people.

These people remained calm and unperturbed; no news was the best news for me; I never expected that East City had already been raided by Su Changfeng.

Reporting to Senior Brother, the formation eye has been found, the formation is broken.

An assassin cultivating a dark-attribute technique ran over solemnly to report: 'Outside East City, scouts have detected a group of people approaching our position, about two thousand cultivators.'

It looks like they're from Su Changfeng's side.