Chapter 31
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Chapter 31: Title
Mu Huaiyun finally said nothing more. He took the flower with a conflicted expression, brows furrowed so deeply Ye Qingshang thought he faced execution.
“Just a flower. Must you look so grim?” she asked. “I meant kindly.”
“Not that…” Mu Huaiyun started to explain when a sigh echoed in his mind—soft, yet heavy with regret. It jolted him from his daze.
He noticed Ye Qingshang’s eyes held no emotional fluctuation, clear and devoid of any trace of warmth.
She didn’t understand the Xingzhou custom of gifting plucked flowers.
Mu Huaiyun tightened his fingers around the blossom slightly. The sudden warmth rising in his heart gradually faded. "This flower is lovely. Thank you."
His tone carried a certain detachment, but Ye Qingshang didn’t catch it.
Her attention snapped toward the disturbance near Qiao Zhu, who seemed weakened and coughed several times.
"Senior Sister Qiao!" a disciple called out with concern.
*There was no need to push so hard*, Ye Qingshang shook her head.
She hastily uttered, "No need for thanks," and turned to leave.
She didn’t see the fleeting desolation that crossed Mu Huaiyun’s face as she turned. He held the flower tightly in his palm, clenching then relaxing his grip. In the end, he didn’t discard it.
*
Ye Qingshang’s group rested in the cave overnight, restoring much of their spiritual power. However, with no water or food inside, satisfying everyone’s hunger became the most pressing issue.
Fearing their numbers might draw corpses, Ye Qingshang decided she and Mu Huaiyun would search for provisions while the others remained in the cave.
Perhaps because it was daytime, Ye Qingshang encountered few corpses outside. Concealing their presence, they slipped past quickly and the journey went smoothly.
Tossing the last wild fruit to Mu Huaiyun, Ye Qingshang exhaled deeply.
"Lucky the corpses dislike sunlight. Otherwise, escaping wouldn’t mean we could avoid them."
Mu Huaiyun stored the food into his spatial pouch. "Mm. Let’s go."
He was quieter than usual today, even distracted. On the return path, he nearly missed a restless corpse nearby. Had Ye Qingshang not spotted it in time and pulled him down, their position would have been exposed.
Watching the corpse pass their hiding tree and move away, Ye Qingshang cautiously emerged.
"Mu Huaiyun, what’s wrong with you?!" she hissed in a low voice.
She couldn’t fathom his distraction at such a critical moment.
"Apologies."
This rare humility from the proud talent gave Ye Qingshang pause, softening her anger. The harsh words died unsaid. "Fine. You exhausted yourself yesterday, your spiritual power depleted. I’ll lead from here."
*Again like this…*
Mu Huaiyun frowned, about to speak, when a familiar figure caught his eye. His eyes widened as he yanked Ye Qingshang towards him.
A barrier instantly snapped into place. Ye Qingshang collided into a warm embrace.
But the figure was faster, slipping through before the barrier fully formed.
"Long time no see, brother."
Yin Huai’s voice pierced the air, followed by crushing pressure that stole Ye Qingshang’s breath.
Summoning Qianyu with effort, she blocked the onslaught with the spiritual weapon’s power, finally finding relief.
Yin Huai retreated a few steps. "Heh. Clever sister. This level of spiritual pressure couldn’t touch you."
"Drop the sickening tone. Where’s my master?" Ning Jiwei’s group had clearly pursued Yin Huai; his presence here without them made no sense.
"Your master? Ah… that pretentious figure in flowing white robes? The Immortal Lord pretending to be righteous?" Yin Huai feigned ignorance, pausing thoughtfully. "Quite handsome. Pity about his luck—he’s dead."
“You!” Ye Qingshang knew well that Yin Huai was talking nonsense, but she feigned an angry expression as she tightened her grip on Qianyu.
In reality, she used a sound transmission talisman to say, “Mu Huaiyun, I’ll hold her off, you run quickly!”
Mu Huaiyun replied, “No! If anyone’s leaving, it has to be you!”
“You! You’re such a stubborn fool!”
At that moment, Yin Huai moved her fingertips slightly, gathering spiritual power in her palm.
She smiled, taking slow steps, “Getting angry now? Since you once gave me candy, I’ll tell you the truth: your master is gravely injured and I left him among the corpses to keep dead company. If you want to see him one last time, you should hurry over; there’s still time.”
The spiritual pressure kept increasing, and Ye Qingshang’s hand trembled as she held Qianyu.
A metallic sweetness rose in her throat.
Yin Huai must have used a huge amount of spiritual power; Ye Qingshang felt dizzy. Despite their spiritual power built up over thousands of years, the two together couldn’t make a dent.
Ye Qingshang glanced at Mu Huaiyun, who looked just as bad, his face pale and frightening. She gritted her teeth and silently recited a spell. A sound transmission talisman flickered faintly before turning to ash instantly.
“Don’t look back, go!”
Mu Huaiyun saw Ye Qingshang push him away and desperately block Yin Huai with Qianyu. The weight in his heart felt like a knife cutting open his weakest spot, laying it bare for others to see.
A constant ache throbbed through him.
The voice in his mind screamed, “Warning!! Warning!!”
Pain struck deep in his soul.
He couldn’t take it anymore and spat out a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, near a house outside Quan Village, Ning Jiwei stopped.
“Jiwei, why are you stopping? Yin Huai is badly hurt; if we follow the trail now, we can finish her. You can’t hesitate over something this important!” Mu Shezhi reminded him.
After parting from Ye Qingshang and the others, they had chased Yin Huai for hours. They finally caught up. Though they wounded Yin Huai badly, she escaped at the last moment. Without Mu Shezhi’s tracking spell, she might have slipped away again.
Ning Jiwei said, “Qingshang is in trouble; I must go to her.”
“Jiwei, Ye Qingshang is your disciple, and Yin Huai is a monster harming the world. You should know which matters more.”
Ning Jiwei replied, “Yin Huai is badly hurt. You can all team up to kill her and help the people, but my disciple is in danger. I can’t ignore her call for help. I must save her.”
“Jiwei!”
“Master Ning!”
Ning Jiwei ignored their calls.
He kept releasing spiritual power along the way, using the teleportation spell many times in a row. Despite pushing hard, he arrived too late.
Ning Jiwei saw the empty forest. His fingers touched a leaf stained with blood. The bright red made the chill in his eyes sharper.
He closed his eyes and scanned the whole forest with his spiritual power.
After the time an incense stick takes to burn, he slowly opened his eyes and looked into the distance.
Southwest.
