Chapter 32: Familiar Yet Strange (Seeking Follow Reads or2)

The Dragon-Dropping Old Mother was a desperate move: sacrificing the weapon to pierce through two targets at extreme range, the Celestial Gangue’s momentum finally faded, bouncing upward before crashing back to the ground with several sharp clinks:

Ding ding dang dang…

After Xie Jinhuan’s full-power strike, he assumed the two fragile shamans were dead and moved to check on Lin Wanyi.

But to his surprise, the first fleeing ghost shaman seemed to carry a life-saving artifact; after crashing into the hillside shrubbery, he instantly flipped back up, enveloped in thick black mist that made him resemble a dark cloud drifting erratically across the wilderness—his speed was unimaginable, and he had already escaped nearly half a li.

?

This disturbance…

Xie Jinhuan saw the black mist and his pupils shrank sharply—he remembered the unknown beast he’d encountered three years ago; though its aura had been far greater, the signs were nearly identical!

Discovering traces of the beast from years past, Xie Jinhuan’s heart sank; seeing he could no longer catch up, he whistled:

“Shiiii~”

Meiqiu, circling overhead, immediately chased after the drifting black mist.

Xie Jinhuan leapt to Lin Wanyi’s side and examined her condition:

“How do you undo this net?”

Lin Wanyi leaned against a tree trunk, tightly bound in a rope net; struggling only deepened the marks on her chest, waist, and thighs, making her look like she wore a full-body fishnet stocking, her expression deeply embarrassed:

“It’s a Immobilizing Cord from the Military Equipment Institute—it melts with fire. You must burn it.”

“Fire?”

Xie Jinhuan patted his lower back—no fire starter. He began feeling along Lin Wanyi’s slender waist.

The ghost bride, who had been idle during the fight, now reappeared, standing before him with a red umbrella in hand, pointing:

“Stop groping under false pretenses. Thunder and fire share the same origin—use the Thunder-Binding Sword.”

Xie Jinhuan had only been searching for a fire starter; hearing this, he picked up the Zhenglun Sword, channeled qi into it, and instantly, the ink-blue blade surged with pale-blue lightning.

Zizzzz~

Lin Wanyi had already wondered about the sword’s power; now seeing its flashing lightning, she couldn’t help asking:

“This sword seems like a powerful exorcism artifact, of extremely high rank—where did you get it from, you—you—you~~~”

Before she finished, Lin Wanyi shuddered violently, her voice trembling.

Xie Jinhuan couldn’t sustain it long; he leaned in to apply the power, realized his mistake, and hastily pulled the sword away—the lightning vanished.

Lin Wanyi wasn’t insulated; even brief contact had numbed her, her eyes wide with terror:

“What are you doing?!”

“Uh… Thunder and fire share the same origin—I’m just cutting the ropes.”

“Is this how you cut ropes? By the time you finish, will I even be alive?”

Xie Jinhuan finally realized the problem—thunder was electricity. Lin Wanyi was bound tight; shocking her like this was just binding and electrocuting her simultaneously?

Starting with such intensity, with Lin Wanyi’s delicate frame, she’d probably roll her eyes after two shocks and wet her pants after three…

After brief thought, Xie Jinhuan set down the Zhenglun Sword and instead slipped his hand between the ropes, channeled qi, and activated “Palms of Thunder.”

Tap tap~

Tap tap~

The method actually worked—but the results were hard to describe.

After all, casting a spell bare-handed was like hand-to-hand combat: no matter how strong, you couldn’t maximize power.

Using an artifact was like wielding a proper weapon—the higher its rank, the less qi was wasted, the more focused the energy; your cultivation remained unchanged, but the power surged dramatically.

The Zhenglun Sword, being a celestial artifact, was especially unique—it created power from nothing, drawing an equal amount of the Five Elements’ qi from heaven and earth while casting thunder, achieving the astonishing “doubling” effect.

If this sword were in Mo Mo’s hands, she could use thunder to kill opponents far above her level, with no logic or mercy.

But Xie Jinhuan’s self-created, low-grade “Palms of Thunder” was merely a shoddy technique, with qi efficiency at most thirty percent.

Combined with the eighty percent loss from “Pouring Wax Backwards,” his total qi efficiency reached a staggering “six percent”—a level even dogs would shake their heads at!

Without the Zhenglun Sword’s enhancement, Xie Jinhuan’s palms now produced only weak, intermittent sparks.

But at least, though slow, the ropes did begin to melt.

Lin Wanyi, untouched by the electricity, exhaled quietly in relief and asked again:

“Where did you get this sword? Its power is astonishing—I feel like it’s the one from Zihui Mountain…”

Xie Jinhuan himself felt its power; now he spoke cryptically:

“Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed. I’m from the Hidden Immortals Sect. Don’t ask anything else.”

“Oh…”

Lin Wanyi nodded skeptically; sensing the awkwardness, she fell silent for a moment, then filled the quiet:

“You acted too soon—you should’ve waited until the puppet charged in before revealing yourself.”

Xie Jinhuan focused on heating the ropes, then retorted:

“Are you teaching me how to fight? If I hadn’t shown up sooner, when that puppet reached you, how would you have handled it? With your technique of getting tied up in one glance?”

Lin Wanyi blinked, confused:

“What’s ‘Turtle Shell Bind’?”

“It means bound like a turtle.”

“Uh…”

Lin Wanyi’s expression froze; she realized Xie Jinhuan was genuinely kind, but utterly clueless at comforting girls, so she fell silent.

Tap tap tap~

Tiny electric sparks flickered beneath the pine tree as the net gradually unraveled.

Though the noise was minimal, the qi expenditure now exceeded even the earlier battle.

Fortunately, Xie Jinhuan’s dantian was bottomless—he could still sustain it.

Lin Wanyi had merely been obediently waiting, but as his hand slowly rose higher, she sensed something wrong; when his knuckles reached her chest, her face stiffened.

Xie Jinhuan, focused on freeing her, paused and stared at the fabric pressed tight against her chest:

“What’s going on?”

Lin Wanyi’s face visibly flushed crimson, the color spreading to her ears; her eyes darted, lips trembling, unable to speak.

The reason, of course, was the “soft armor” she wore.

Xie Jinhuan’s palm-thunder required qi activation, which stimulated the specially made breastplate…

Lin Wanyi’s body stiffened, her gaze avoiding him.

Xie Jinhuan hadn’t realized it at first, but moments later, through the thin fabric, his eyes grew strange as he stared at her blushing face:

“You’re wearing soft armor?”

“You!”

As the saying goes, “See but don’t speak.” Lin Wanyi had hoped to hide it, but now that Xie Jinhuan had pointed it out, she was utterly humiliated—she wanted to deny it, but the truth was obvious; what could she say?

Bound tightly, she couldn’t even cover her chest; she could only force a reply:

“You tricked me into buying it—for thirty taels of silver—and I couldn’t waste it, so I… I…”

Her voice cracked with tears.

Xie Jinhuan had never encountered such an artifact; instinctively, he stopped channeling qi—the breastplate, deprived of stimulation, snapped shut.

He tried again—and it bloomed like a lotus…

“Xie Jinhuan!”

After being tormented twice, Lin Wanyi felt utterly weak; enraged, she wanted to punch this wicked man—but she couldn’t move.

Xie Jinhuan immediately stopped, resuming the burning:

“Alright, alright—I was just testing, didn’t actually touch you. Emergency measures, you understand.”

Lin Wanyi was so ashamed she wanted to drown herself in the lake, but had no choice; she forced a calm expression, muttering inwardly:

Emergency measures… there’s no other way…

He went through all that trouble to save me—what’s wrong with him playing with my… my…

Pfft, pfft, pfft…

Fortunately, this torment didn’t last long.

Worried the witch cultists might return, Xie Jinhuan didn’t linger over Lin Wanyi’s peach-like figure; he quickly severed several ropes and tore off the net.

Lin Wanyi was too flustered to breathe; once freed, she wanted to rip out and discard that cursed undergarment immediately—but before Xie Jinhuan, she couldn’t do it, so she hugged her chest tightly, suppressing her emotions.

After confirming Lin Wanyi was unharmed, Xie Jinhuan turned to chase the ghost shaman—only to see his useless personal servant flying back.

?

Xie Jinhuan froze:

“You lost him?”

“Goo goo—”

Meiqiu hovered overhead, looking crestfallen.

Lin Wanyi had just calmed her racing heart; seeing Xie Jinhuan blame Meiqiu for losing the enemy, she hurried to say:

“Don’t worry—he won’t escape. The witch cult excels at marking targets. He touched the poison mist—he’s coated in it. Even if he detoxifies, the scent lingers for hours. I can track him.”

“Really?”

Xie Jinhuan’s eyes lit up; he grabbed Lin Wanyi’s wrist and pulled her running.

Lin Wanyi stumbled forward, her robe flapping; she had to sprint after him:

“Slow down! How am I supposed to chase like this? I’m not a dog with a nose!”

Xie Jinhuan halted, releasing her wrist.

Hurry up, hurry up, don’t let him escape—I need him alive.

Lin Wanyi said nothing; she stood in place, hands stacked one over the other, a faint green flame flickering unpredictably between her palms.

After observing for a moment, Lin Wanyi hurried toward the outside of the mountain hollow…

——

Just finished revising—please stick with me! I’m only 2,500 followers short of reaching the unlock threshold for the subscription event or2!

(End of chapter)