Seeing Zhao Lan’s respectful attitude, the old woman’s stern expression softened slightly. She scanned him from head to toe and sneered.
"He certainly has some skill."
Zhao Lan’s face lit up with joy.
"This junior is untalented and unlearned, reaching only the Xuanyuan realm at the age of twenty-six. However, my saber work is quite..."
"Hmph! I was talking about the one who injured you!"
Zhao Lan’s smile froze. The old woman’s cold voice continued:
"To shatter your meridians inch by inch with palm force alone, leaving not a shred more or less damage than intended. To injure your organs but not touch your heart meridian... Hmph! I wouldn't believe anyone who said that level of control was achieved with less than thirty years of practice."
Zhao Lan knew, of course, that the old woman was praising Pei Su.
He also knew that Pei Su was only nineteen this year...
For some reason, a strange fire ignited in Zhao Lan’s heart. Perhaps wanting to raise his own standing by having "crossed blades with Pei Su," he answered subconsciously:
"It was the Heir of the Northern Marquis!"
The world froze.
The chattering meadow was plunged into a deathly silence.
Zhao Lan looked up to find everyone's gaze burning into his face like hot coals.
The old woman lunged forward two steps, her eyes wide.
"What?! Are you saying the one who injured you was Pei Jiumu?!"
"The legitimate son of the Pei Duke's Mansion? Pei Zhao's grandson?!"
Everyone present stared at him, their reactions so intense they caught Zhao Lan completely off guard.
He could only nod dumbly.
Then, a look of fury crossed the old woman’s face, as if she were forcibly suppressing something. Finally, she pointed into the distance.
"Get out! Now! Immediately!"
Zhao Lan had no idea what was happening and remained frozen in place.
But people were already coming forward to shove him.
"Hurry up and go! Don't let us see you again!"
"And don't you dare mention that we saved you, or I'd rather kill you myself right now!"
Several of the armored, middle-aged men pushed Zhao Lan off the wooden chair and pointed him in the direction of the exit, their voices sharp and cold.
"If you have any gratitude for us saving your life, if you have even a shred of conscience, then leave now. From this day forward, act as if this memory never existed."
Zhao Lan took two steps forward, then looked back, as if searching for something.
Finally, he saw the figure that haunted his dreams approaching with light steps.
"Fairy Sister!"
"You should go. We cannot keep you here."
The young woman's ethereal voice shattered his last line of defense. Dejected, he could only turn and walk toward the peach blossom forest.
Not until Zhao Lan’s figure had vanished from sight did someone finally whisper in a low, anxious voice.
"This is bad! Why would the Heir of the Northern Marquis be nearby?"
"Anything involving the Pei Family must be handled with extreme caution, or else..."
"It's best we have nothing to do with that family, not in our current state."
The old woman's expression was grim. She said in a low voice:
"What I fear is that Pei Jiumu has already discovered us..."
Clever.
In the space not far away, Pei Su continued to watch everything with a placid expression. There was no trace of his aura; his entire being was as if hidden within a folded dimension.
This was Nirvanic Obscurity, the highest state of breath-concealment in the world. As long as he didn't walk directly in front of someone, not even a Heavenly Palace expert could detect a trace of him.
It was just that, growing up, Pei Su's status and position had rendered this profound Nirvanic Obscurity Technique utterly useless.
The old woman in his sights was, indeed, a Heavenly Palace expert herself.
Pei Su was not the least bit surprised that a descendant of the Xia imperial line would possess such a foundation.
But his gaze, for the most part, was focused on the young woman surrounded by the others.
Even by Pei Su's standards, he had to admit that the former dynasty's princess possessed a face and figure of rare, otherworldly beauty.
But it wasn't her appearance that attracted him. It was the faint, dark, swirling vortex of qi that his Wang Qi Technique revealed around her.
"The Tianyun Liuli Heart?"
Pei Su wasn't certain. After all, it was a cultivation physique that hadn't been seen for ages. Legend said those with this physique had unparalleled comprehension, and learning new techniques was as easy as eating or drinking.
Not only that, but the first man to share a bed with one would receive a heaven-sent boon. It was said that even a mere mortal could become a peerless prodigy overnight.
But Pei Su didn't dismiss the possibility. He knew that in recent years, many mysterious physiques, once sealed away in history, were quietly reappearing in the world.
He himself had a world-shocking Immortal Mark between his brows. On the day of his birth, it had shimmered with rosy light, exuding an extraordinary celestial aura, as if an immortal had been exiled to the mortal realm.
For over a decade, both the Imperial Court and the Martial World had lauded Pei Jiumu as a young immortal on earth, the supreme talent of the human race, even though none of them had ever met Pei Su or seen him in action.
Their judgment was based solely on that legendary Immortal Mark.
No one thought this improper, for the myths and legends surrounding the Immortal Mark were simply too grand, too magnificent...
Pei Su’s gaze lingered on the former princess for a few more moments before he slowly rose and moved in the direction Zhao Lan had gone.
The former dynasty's Jiang Clan would remain here for now. His current priority was to intercept Brother Zhao.
Pei Su watched from afar as Zhao Lan stepped out of the peach blossom spring, walked through the dark, secluded canyon, and returned to the open fields outside Lin'an County.
Suddenly!
A streak of light shot across the sky and transformed into a blood-drenched figure. Covered in wounds, his eyes shot with blood, he was a miserable sight.
Xiao Lin?
A smile touched the corners of Pei Su’s lips.
Under the scrutiny of the Wang Qi Technique, Pei Su could see thirteen distinct poison seals planted on him, broadcasting his location, yet he remained blissfully unaware...
Just as the "script" dictated.
Next, he would let Xiao Lin take Zhao Lan away and arrange a stage for the master and disciple to have a dramatic life-and-death parting. Hopefully, he could pry something out of Xiao Lin then.
Pei Su focused his mind, watching as Zhao Lan ahead cried out in shock.
"Xiao Bo!"
Zhao Lan rushed forward, supporting the blood-soaked Xiao Lin.
"Xiao Bo! Xiao Bo, what happened to you?!"
Xiao Lin coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam. His eyes were filled with terror as he grabbed Zhao Lan’s arm.
"Lan'er, run! If that old man catches up, neither of us will make it out alive."
With that, he pulled Zhao Lan and shot into the sky.
The next moment, however, the space before them suddenly solidified, and Pei Su’s figure appeared, barring their path.
"Pei Su!"
Fire blazed in Zhao Lan's eyes.
Xiao Lin’s face also showed a flicker of shock, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
"Heir of the Northern Marquis, you dare block my path?!"
He never imagined that a junior like Pei Su would dare to stand in his way.
Though he was grievously injured and had lost years of his life, he was still a genuine Heavenly Palace expert. And Pei Su, no matter how talented, was merely in the Xuanyuan realm.
The gap between them was like that of the azure heavens and a lowly ant.
With a single, casual move, he could erase this future prodigy who was destined to stand at the pinnacle of the martial path.
In his haste, he didn't even stop to wonder why he hadn't sensed Pei Su's presence earlier. He simply thrust out his palm.
He had been a fugitive wanted by the Imperial Court for twenty years and shared a blood feud with the Pei Family. Thus, he held nothing back, determined to utterly destroy the son of the North Guard King Marquis.
The thought of the North Guard Marquis—one of the five greatest masters in the world, a man who stood at the apex of the Great Jin's martial path—roaring in fury over the loss of his son sent a thrill of excitement and pleasure through him.
He might be a mere insect before the Great Jin's Divine General, but wasn't the general's son a mere insect before him?
A palm strike from a Heavenly Palace expert, even one delivered while heavily injured, still carried an incomparable, oppressive power.
"Xiao Bo, kill Pei Su with one strike!"
Seeing this, Zhao Lan’s eyes widened with excitement.
"The Heavenly Palace realm... truly extraordinary."
Yet, facing the fatal palm strike, Pei Su’s expression remained unchanged. He merely whispered,
Proofreader: Peter Pan