“Having fun?” Lu Qizhi asked expressionlessly.
The moment Tian Luo met those pitch-black eyes of his, she genuinely didn’t know whether she was more likely to die at his hands or Guo Lin’s.
She forced out a smile and looked somewhat wilted.
“Thank goodness. You’re awake.”
Then she reached out to help support him.
Lu Qizhi said nothing. He was only puzzled by the expression on her face at that moment and allowed her to help him stand upright.
Back in the cave, he had never seen her show such a look.
He frowned and swept his gaze around. They had already left the Bixi Secret Realm. Several unfamiliar people stood ahead, among them a few Void Refinement cultivators.
“What happened?” His eyes contained no trace of anyone else’s existence. He merely tilted his head and asked her, his voice carrying obvious confusion.
Tian Luo had no way to answer him.
Meanwhile, everyone else’s attention—including Guo Lin’s and Huang Qi’s—had shifted toward Lu Qizhi.
Partly because of his dazzlingly handsome face.
Partly because no one could discern the depth of his cultivation.
Guo Lin frowned slightly in confusion. He had met all the outstanding talents of this generation within the Zixu Sword Sect, but he had never seen someone like this before.
When Lu Qizhi received no answer, his frown deepened. He was becoming irritable. However, his personality and temper prevented him from asking the same question twice. His expression merely turned even uglier.
“Senior, my Junior Sister is merely an outer sect disciple who hasn’t even established her Foundation yet. How could she possibly have killed Junior Brother Huang Ren?”
Ahead of them came Nan Rong’s incredulous voice.
Tian Luo felt touched. At the same time, she couldn’t help thinking that this really was the female lead—she had the courage to stand up to a powerful senior who looked terrifying.
Huang Qi sneered and wasted no time with further nonsense.
“Wuyinzi, is this the attitude of your Zixu Sword Sect? Tian Luo is your disciple. She killed one of my juniors. My demands are not excessive. I am taking that disciple away.”
Wuyinzi continued smiling cheerfully, looking as harmless as a clay figurine.
“My beloved disciple already said it. She’s just an outer sect disciple. How could she possibly kill anyone?”
The moment Lu Qizhi heard the name Tian Luo, he glanced forward.
Just because of this?
His frown deepened even further.
Killing someone was all this was about?
Was that really worth making that kind of expression over?
Or even pinching him like that?
Lu Qizhi’s mood was terrible. His expression had already darkened into something gloomy and cold.
Tian Luo didn’t have the time to pay attention to him. She was busy wondering whether the Zixu Sword Sect would hand her over. If they did, what should she do? Would the villain help her? What if he wouldn’t?
What a headache.
Truthfully, neither the Zixu Sword Sect nor the villain had any reason to help her.
To them, she was still just an unfamiliar person.
Too little time had passed.
Even counting the time spent inside the Bixi Secret Realm, it had only been about a month. She hadn’t learned any real self-defense skills before running into Guo Lin again.
“You won’t give up until you reach the Yellow River!”
Huang Qi couldn’t be bothered wasting more words. He produced a mirror and poured spiritual energy into it.
“This is an image extracted from Huang Ren’s divine sense. See for yourselves!”
The mirror was called a Recording Mirror. Images contained within a person’s divine sense could be displayed through it.
Soon, a scene appeared within the mirror.
At dusk, near the boundary between the outer and inner mountains of the Zixu Sword Sect, a little girl wrapped in layer after layer of clothing and wearing a bear-head hat was ferociously beating Huang Ren with an ordinary sword.
She beat him straight into the ground.
Then she switched to her bare fists and pummeled him into a pig’s head.
The final image showed Huang Ren lying motionless on the ground.
The scene ended there.
“The evidence is irrefutable! What else do you have to say?!” Huang Qi put away the Recording Mirror, his expression stern and cold.
Nobody spoke.
The crowd fell silent.
Guo Lin’s gaze had already settled on the young woman supporting the man in white.
The round, bear-hat-wearing ginseng spirit was nowhere to be seen, but this young woman’s clothing differed from everyone else’s. Furthermore, she was exceptionally lively and beautiful, as though she had gathered all the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into herself.
He rubbed the Buddhist beads around his wrist and remained silent.
Tian Luo’s scalp tingled.
If she spoke now, she would immediately expose herself as Tian Luo.
Otherwise, she might still be able to keep pretending.
But how could she keep pretending under these circumstances?
She needed to explain that she hadn’t killed Huang Ren. She had only beaten him up.
Just as she was about to speak, a mocking laugh sounded beside her ear.
The villain.
Tian Luo looked up at him.
Then she heard him ask in an incomparably arrogant and utterly speechless tone:
“That’s it?”
That’s… it?
Lu Qizhi said, “You should’ve stabbed a sword straight through his heart. Or cut off his head.”
Tian Luo: He seems to be teaching me a more efficient way to kill people.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
It sounded more like he was explaining to everyone else that if she truly wanted to kill Huang Ren, she wouldn’t have needed to beat him up like that. She could’ve simply stabbed him.
“Who are you?” Huang Qi couldn’t help stepping forward and shouting angrily.
Lu Qizhi’s patience was limited.
As for other people, he wasn’t even willing to spare them that tiny amount of patience.
He raised a hand and beckoned at Huang Qi.
A look of horror appeared on Huang Qi’s face.
He discovered that he was involuntarily walking forward.
Toward the man in white.
Seeing this, Tian Luo quietly edged closer to Lu Qizhi.
She had to admit that this little display made her start seriously considering whether she could keep him around as a bodyguard until she became stronger.
“What are you trying—”
Bang!
Without any warning, Lu Qizhi reached into the chest of Huang Qi—a peak Spirit Transformation cultivator—and crushed his heart.
Blood splattered across Tian Luo’s face.
The scene was extraordinarily, extraordinarily…
Everyone froze.
Clearly, nobody had expected something like this to happen.
Someone had actually killed another person in broad daylight without any apparent reason.
Quite a few Zixu Sword Sect disciples turned pale.
Wuyinzi frowned slightly, his gaze instantly falling upon Lu Qizhi as he carefully assessed him.
“Urgh—!”
Tian Luo couldn’t hold it in.
She covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.
Her hands trembled. Trembled. Trembled. Trembled. Trembled.
The kind of scene she had only read about in novels had suddenly appeared before her eyes.
It was way too stimulating.
She wasn’t mentally prepared at all.
Do villains always kill people this dramatically?!
Lu Qizhi shook the blood from his hand and said flatly,
“That’s what killing someone looks like.”
The people who had come with Huang Qi and Guo Lin were all members of the Tianyan Sect.
Though they weren’t the most influential figures within the sect’s Heavenly Branch, simply being from the Tianyan Sect had long made them believe themselves superior to others.
Lu Qizhi’s actions completely enraged them.
“How dare you kill someone so casually!”
Someone in the crowd roared and charged forward with a large saber.
Yet Guo Lin narrowed his eyes and quietly took a step backward while staring at the extraordinarily handsome young man.
Young.
Handsome.
Able to kill with a single move.
Ruthless.
Merciless.
Every characteristic pointed toward one person—
Tan Gu, the Demon Ancestor.
Yet he couldn’t be certain.
If it truly was him, there was no way he would be staying beside a young girl.
Especially one who was very likely a ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit.
Because if he truly were Tan Gu, after being imprisoned for so many years and having most of his power stripped away, he would definitely devour the ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit to recover his strength quickly before taking revenge.
No one could resist the temptation of a ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit.
The more Guo Lin thought about it, the less likely it seemed.
But if it wasn’t Tan Gu…
Then when had such a person appeared within the cultivation world?
Someone who dared kill openly before so many witnesses?
Huang Qi had been a peak Spirit Transformation cultivator.
Even a Void Refinement cultivator shouldn’t have been able to kill him in a single move without allowing any chance of resistance.
Bang!
Another heart was ripped out and crushed.
Blood and flesh sprayed everywhere.
The disciples of the Zixu Sword Sect collectively retreated three steps, terrified of being caught in the aftermath.
Peeking through her fingers, Tian Luo noticed that Guo Lin was quietly retreating toward the rear of the crowd.
His gloomy eyes remained fixed on Lu Qizhi as he tried to determine his identity.
He was preparing to flee at any moment.
He couldn’t be allowed to escape!
Strike while the iron was hot and finish him off completely!
Tian Luo’s adaptability was astonishing. By now, she wasn’t afraid of the blood anymore.
Though her face remained pale, she quietly said to Lu Qizhi,
“That one.”
Hearing her voice, Lu Qizhi followed her gaze.
His eyes immediately met Guo Lin’s.
Narrowing his eyes, he asked,
“Who is he?”
Before Tian Luo could answer, someone from the opposing side spoke first.
“Daojun Guo Lin is the Sect Master of the Xingluo Sect under the Tianyan Sect! Who are you, to dare slaughter people before us?!”
“The Tianyan Sect?!”
The instant Lu Qizhi heard those three words, his expression changed dramatically.
Violent winds erupted around him.
Murderous intent exploded outward.
His gloomy face became so terrifyingly savage that it looked capable of devouring people whole.
A powerful sense of danger instantly seized Guo Lin.
He no longer cared about the ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit.
Nor did he care about preserving the dignity of a Void Refinement cultivator.
He turned and fled.
His speed was astonishing, like wind and shadow, shocking everyone present.
The Tianyan Sect members froze briefly before immediately following after him.
The instant Guo Lin moved, Lu Qizhi moved as well.
He vanished in an instant.
His fury swept outward like wildfire, ready to consume everything.
“Pfft—!”
Tian Luo had reacted quickly enough to cover her mouth.
But she couldn’t stop it.
The moment Lu Qizhi moved, a sharp pain exploded in her chest.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
It felt as though someone had ripped her heart out.
“Little Junior Sister!”
Su Miantang, who stood closest, immediately caught her.
Nan Rong and the frowning Wuyinzi both turned around at once.
Mixed within the scent of blood was a faint fragrance.
Tian Luo felt as though she were dying from the pain.
Her face was deathly pale.
Curled up in Su Miantang’s arms, she hunched over, gritting her teeth and stubbornly refusing to pass out.
With trembling hands, she reached into her storage pouch.
Then she pulled out a bunch of cilantro that still looked relatively fresh.
She stuffed the entire thing into her mouth.
Chewing.
Chewing.
Chewing.
At last, she let out a sigh of relief and peacefully lost consciousness.
Before fainting, Tian Luo’s final thought was this:
What she had just done was basically the same as factory-resetting your phone before dying so nobody could discover all the embarrassing things stored inside it.
As for her ginseng blood…
She really didn’t want anyone finding out.
That was her final stubborn act of resistance.
Everyone else stared at her in bewilderment.
???
After pursuing them for some distance, the hole in Lu Qizhi’s chest reappeared.
Suddenly thinking of Tian Luo, he frowned.
His face darkened as he stared at the people ahead.
Then he immediately turned around and rushed back.
Returning to the crowd, he found Tian Luo lying pale-faced in someone else’s arms with a mouthful of grass stuffed into her mouth.
She looked exactly like some absurd idiot whose brain didn’t work properly and who insisted on stuffing down one last mouthful of grass before dying.
His expression instantly became extremely ugly.
Stepping forward, he took her from the other person’s arms and asked:
“Where’s the room?”
Even the usually composed Tian Yue couldn’t react immediately.
Everything that had happened in such a short period of time had simply been too shocking.
“Please follow me, Senior.”
The one who spoke was Wuyinzi.
Stepping around the two corpses on the ground, he suddenly bowed deeply to Lu Qizhi before leading the way.
Carrying Tian Luo, Lu Qizhi followed behind him.
Soon, the two disappeared from everyone’s sight.
The remaining Zixu Sword Sect disciples looked at one another.
Confused.
Helpless.
Scared.
After all, there were still two corpses lying on the ground.
And those corpses belonged to high-ranking elders of the Tianyan Sect.
One disciple finally asked:
“Senior Brother Tian, Senior Sister Nan, what do we do now?”
Tian Yue frowned.
Nan Rong remained silent.
Su Miantang raised a hand.
“How about… we bury them first?”
Thus, beneath the Eleventh Peak, the disciples of the Zixu Sword Sect, led by Su Miantang and Tian Yue, began the task of digging graves and burying corpses.
Wuyinzi led them directly to the Tenth Peak.
There was no helping it.
The Zixu Sword Sect simply didn’t have many spare houses.
Sword cultivators were poor.
Maintaining swords cost money.
Looking at the crude bamboo hut before him, Lu Qizhi frowned again but said nothing as he carried Tian Luo inside.
Wuyinzi led them straight to his own room.
If Goudan’s room weren’t such a filthy disaster zone, he wouldn’t have had to give up his own room.
Later, he’d just make Goudan sleep on the floor.
Still busy digging graves elsewhere, Su Miantang suddenly sneezed.
Scratching his head, he had the strange feeling that something had happened.
Whatever it was, though, it couldn’t possibly be bigger than two Tianyan Sect cultivators having their hearts crushed to death at the Zixu Sword Sect.
“Get out.”
Lu Qizhi’s voice was irritable and filled with murderous hostility.
Wuyinzi immediately left without a second word, afraid that staying a moment longer might result in his own heart exploding.
Lu Qizhi laid Tian Luo flat on the bamboo bed before sitting on the edge.
His pale face carried a faint bluish tint.
Clearly, he was furious.
And unable to vent that anger.
Part of it stemmed from meeting his enemies.
The other part…
Was currently lying on the bed.
With a wave of his hand, he wiped the blood from Tian Luo’s body.
Then he reached over and tried prying open her mouth.
To his surprise, even that ordinary amount of force wasn’t enough.
She was clamping down stubbornly on that foul-smelling clump of grass.
How had she even managed to eat something like that?
How could such disgusting, foul-smelling grass exist in this world?!
Applying more force, Lu Qizhi finally pried her mouth open and pulled out the wad of grass before tossing it out the window.
There were still some remnants left in her mouth, but that wasn’t important.
Once he closed her mouth again, the smell wouldn’t affect him.
However, after she woke up, he would have to issue a serious warning.
While she was around him, she absolutely could not eat that unbearable grass.
His gaze lowered.
Expressionless, he reached for Tian Luo’s collar.
The Nine-Qilin Armor, which had once fawned shamelessly over him before becoming Tian Luo’s treasured artifact, stubbornly tried to protect its mistress’s final shred of innocence.
Lu Qizhi didn’t even bother speaking.
He merely released a trace of spiritual energy from his palm.
The Nine-Qilin Armor instantly surrendered.
If it had eyes, it would be desperately covering them right now and pretending not to see anything.
Without the slightest obstacle, Lu Qizhi pulled open Tian Luo’s collar.
There were no obstacles in any sense.
Neither physical nor psychological.
There wasn’t a trace of desire in his eyes.
What he saw clearly was a patch of bluish bruising over Tian Luo’s heart.
It looked as though someone had punched her chest with tremendous force.
Furthermore, cracks had already begun spreading through the blue mark.
If he had teleported even a little farther just now, a hole would have immediately burst open there.
At that point, even a ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit would have died on the spot.
Her physique was completely different from his.
Those old bastards back then had truly been willing to pay any price.
To prevent anyone from freeing him, they had actually placed such a vicious curse-oath.
The black disguise over Lu Qizhi’s pupils was beginning to fail.
Brilliant gold flickered faintly beneath.
He pressed a hand over the bruise on Tian Luo’s chest.
Then he continuously poured his unique spiritual energy into it.
Endlessly.
Tian Luo dreamed she had returned to the modern world.
In the dream, she had just spent half an hour standing in line before finally buying the most famous egg-filled pancake from the snack street near her university.
She added two eggs.
A serving of pork tenderloin.
Some shredded cucumber.
A sausage.
A tender lettuce leaf.
And a whole lot of sauce.
The sauce from that stall was legendary.
As the owner added ingredients, it almost felt as though he were stuffing them directly into her heart.
She could practically imagine the flavor exploding in her mouth with every bite.
But after only two bites, her roommate informed her that she had failed her makeup calculus exam.
Again.
She would have to retake the course next year.
Even in a dream, the shock was simply too overwhelming.
She woke up instantly.
Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at a face that clearly proclaimed:
I’m very angry. I’m about to destroy heaven and earth. Don’t provoke me.
That wasn’t the important part.
What mattered was that her chest felt strangely cold.
As though someone had placed a thousand-year block of ice there.
She lowered her gaze.
Then she saw a shamelessly large hand.
Tian Luo’s own face immediately became expressionless, equally covered in the message:
I’m very angry. I’m about to destroy heaven and earth. Don’t provoke me.
“Can you move your hand away, Caveman?”