Chapter 253: Leaving

Crack.

The atmosphere didn't just get cold; it froze outright.

Bai Hang felt the smile on her face instantly harden into a stone statue, an alarm blaring in her heart as she frantically scrolled through a barrage of "Finish it, finish it, finish it" comments.

(Sai Fei Er! You did it on purpose, didn't you?! Absolutely on purpose, right?! Why bring up that pot now!?)

She could almost feel the breath that had just eased on Jing Liu's side suddenly drop to freezing point, even the temperature in the private room seemed to fall a few degrees.

Jing Liu set down the teacup with a steady motion, making no sound at all.

She was silent for a moment, as if digesting the abrupt and sharp question.

Then she spoke slowly, her voice more Calm than before, yet even more… hollow, carrying a resolve that seemed to cut off the past:

"Yes. I am indeed wanted by the Xianzhou Alliance."

She admitted it cleanly and decisively, without any concealment.

Bai Hang's heart tightened sharply.

She knew about it, having heard of it from the data provided by Black Curtain Lady.

Jing Liu chose to fall into a demonic shadow body, causing irreversible damage; this is the "sin" she cannot be forgiven for, and also the reason she chose self‑exile.

But hearing Jing Liu say it so Calmly still made her chest feel tight.

Jing Liu continued, her tone still flat, yet exuding an unshakable firmness:

"But I do not regret that decision."

Her gaze seemed to fall on Bai Hang again, piercing through the sunglasses and reaching the depths of those azure eyes.

"Even if I could do it again… I would still make the same choice."

The words floated lightly, yet weighed as much as a thousand pounds.

Within lay too many complex, unspeakable things: an attachment to the past, a calm acceptance of the price, an unwavering guardianship that would never be regretted…

Perhaps also a thread of unanswerable loneliness and resolve.

Under her stare, Bai Hang's heart jolted, as if struck by a turbulent undercurrent beneath the Calm words.

She instinctively, in a panic, averted her gaze, unwilling to meet that look.

She feared that if she kept looking, her clumsy disguise would collapse instantly, and the deliberately forgotten emotions belonging to Bai Hang would burst the dam.

(Jing Liu… you…)

The private room fell into dead silence.

Only the faint bustle from downstairs reached up, making the silence here feel even more oppressive.

Sai Fei Er seemed to realize she might have gone too far, blinking her blue eyes, her cat ears drooping slightly, saying nothing further, while the hand she had placed on Bai Hang's arm tightened a bit.

Just as the awkwardness and heaviness were about to overflow—

Boom!!!

A sound like a heavy object striking the ground, mixed with terrified screams from the crowd, roared from the street outside the teahouse!

Immediately after came several sharp slicing sounds and a crisp crack of something shattering!

The three in the private room simultaneously hardened their expressions.

Jing Liu was the first to rise, moving as fast as lightning, and was at the window in an instant.

She tilted her head slightly, looking toward the chaotic street below.

Bai Hang and Sai Fei Er immediately crowded to the window.

Below, the street that had been orderly was now a mess, pedestrians fleeing in panic in all directions.

Not far away, on the relatively open plaza ground, lay several figures whose bodies were unnaturally twisted, skin faintly bearing a wooden‑gray decay, surrounded by broken weapons and shattered debris—demonic shadow bodies!

They seemed to have lost all mobility, their fate unknown.

Hovering above those remnants, a young boy with pale gold hair and a still‑youthful yet heroic face stood on a radiant, flowing flying sword, suspended in mid‑air.

He clenched a sword technique in one hand, brows furrowed, bright eyes scanning the surroundings warily, his face bearing a few post‑battle sharpness, but mostly… confusion.

It was Yan Qing.

"Strange…"

He carefully sensed the area, indeed finding no other suspicious figures.

The flash of the earlier clash came and went so quickly that he didn't even see the attacker's face, only catching a vague glimpse of an ultra‑fast phantom.

(Could it be a passing master? Or perhaps…)

Yan Qing scratched his head, his youthful face full of bewilderment.

He had been ordered to patrol nearby, and upon sensing an abnormal fluctuation he rushed here, only to find a field of results.

Who gets the credit for this?

In the teahouse private room.

Bai Hang and Sai Fei Er watched the scene below, speaking softly.

"Demonic shadow bodies erupting? On the street?"

Bai Hang furrowed her brows, "Is Luofu's recent security pressure really this high?"

"Looking at that young general, it doesn't seem like he did it either."

Sai Fei Er's cat ears perked up.

Jing Liu silently watched Yan Qing's silhouette below and the few immobilized demonic shadow bodies, saying nothing.

She seemed not particularly concerned with the cause or outcome of the sudden battle, only confirming that the threat was temporarily neutralized.

After a moment, she withdrew her gaze and turned to Bai Hang and Sai Fei Er.

"It seems today's tea can only go this far."

Jing Liu's voice returned to its previous coolness, but seemed to lack the sharpness aimed at Sai Fei Er, gaining some other nuance.

She paused briefly, then continued, "I have matters to attend to; for the near future… I may be away for a while."

The words came out rather abruptly, as if on a whim, yet also as if premeditated.

Bai Hang felt a stir in her heart and blurted, "Leave? Where to go? When will you return?"

After asking, she realized she had been a bit forward and hurried to make amends, "What I mean is… Jing Liu, if you ever need any assistance…"

Jing Liu shook her head, cutting off her concern.

"No need. Some personal matters."

Her tone left no room for doubt.

Finishing, she lingered no more, turned toward the doorway of the elegant room, her hem tracing a crisp arc; her silhouette stood tall and solitary, as if she could melt into the shadows at any moment and vanish.

"Wait!"

Bai Hang instinctively called after her.

Jing Liu's steps halted, but she did not look back.

Bai Hang quickened forward and fished a specially crafted jade token from her bosom.

"Here… leave a way to contact each other?"

Bai Hang handed over the jade token, her tone carrying a subtle request, "In case… in case you encounter anything out there, or wish to find someone for tea… it would be good to stay in touch."

Jing Liu remained silent, not taking it immediately.

Her gaze seemed to settle on the jade plaque in Bai Hang's hand, then appear to pierce through it, landing on Bai Hang's face.

Time felt as though it had stretched for ages, or perhaps only a few seconds.

Finally, she extended her hand and took the warm jade token.

Fingertips inevitably brushed lightly against Bai Hang's, a fleeting touch that left a faint cool sensation.

"…Fine."

Jing Liu whispered in reply, tapped the jade token a few times, then returned it to Bai Hang.

At last, she said nothing more, did not look back, and pulled open the elegant room's door, her figure swiftly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Bai Hang stood in the doorway, watching the direction of her disappearance, clutching the jade token, the faint coolness still lingering in her hand, feeling a complex emotion she could not name.

Sai Fei Er, having arrived beside her at an unknown moment, the cat Tail lightly brushed her calf; her blue eyes gazed at the direction Jing Liu had left, then glanced at the absent‑minded Bai Hang, and suddenly let out a "Pfft" laugh.

"Ah Bai~"

She leaned close to Bai Hang's ear, lowered her voice with a sly smile, "Why do I feel… this Sword Leader seems especially different toward you?"

Bai Hang snapped back to herself, shot Sai Fei Er a displeased glance, and gently prodded her forehead, "Isn't it all because you caused it! Can you just say things like that so casually?"

Sai Fei Er stuck out her tongue, made a goofy face, "I'm just curious~ Besides, didn't she just leave her contact info at the end~"

Bai Hang sighed helplessly, turning her gaze back toward the window.

(Jing Liu…)

(No matter what you intend to do…)

(This time, please be sure… stay safe.)