Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Perhaps because Xiao He had cooked too many dishes that day and her hands trembled too much out of fear, it took her longer than usual to cook the supper. And they spent a great deal of time talking during the meal. As such, it was dusk before they all realized it. The oil lamp was lit on the table.
The wind came out from the Thousand-Mile Wind Corridor with whistling noise. They could hear the wailing sound even though the formation was attached to the window. The air flow sneaking in from the cracks between the wood panels blew at the flame on the oil lamp, making it look like a ghostly fire.
Xiao He vaguely understood what the Immortal Taiping and Liu Shisui were talking about, her face pale and her body trembling uncontrollably.
Liu Shisui stared into the eyes of the Immortal Taiping with the Guard-City Pen clenched in his hand. The sword bracelet stopped quivering; it seemed as if it was ready for a fight.
“Get out of here!”
Xiao He yelled loudly as she stepped in front of Liu Shisui.
A few tails exuding strong devilish energy erected high in the air and lashed forcefully at the Immortal Taiping.
The flame on the oil lamp swayed more violently; the air in the room seemed to be torn apart.
Xiao He had been a formidable assassin at the Old Ones. Having lived with Liu Shisui for more than one hundred years, her Cultivation state was much higher than what it had been many years ago even though she had slacked a bit in her Cultivation. This was a strike with all her might, which was even hard for those elders at the Center Sect to resist.
However, the Immortal Taiping didn’t even shoot a glance her way; all he did was stare at Liu Shisui quietly.
Crack!!!
A crimson feather sprang up from thin air; it passed through those powerful vixen tails and pierced through Xiao He’s body easily, pinning her on the wall with a thud.
Many years ago in the Sea-God Temple outside Haizhou City, the Sword of the Universe had pierced through her body on the same spot.
The Immortal Taiping and Jing Jiu were two swordsmen in Chaotian who had the highest achievement in sword work. They knew exactly where a person or a demon’s weakest and fatal spot was.
Pinned on the wall by the spike-like red feather, Xiao He spewed out blood incessantly; she was on the verge of dying.
Liu Shisui demanded tersely, “Let her go.”
Then, he found something was out of place.
It was because he found that he couldn’t raise his right hand and could barely hold onto the Guard-City Pen.
The Immortal Taiping stared into his eyes calmly, his eyes full of serenity and peacefulness.
Yet, a determined expression showed in Liu Shisui’s eyes. He bit and broke the tip of his own tongue; he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The ancient prose on the table rose up with the wind and stuck onto the blood.
A book of blood blocked the vision of the Immortal Taiping.
Whoosh!!!
The Immortal Taiping disappeared from the original spot.
A small red bird appeared in the air and headed toward the ancient prose.
Sizzle!!! Sizzle!!!
The ancient prose was ablaze, and soon it was burned into ashes.
Liu Shisui had finally regained some control of his own body with this brief respite. He raised the Guard-City Pen over his head and wielded it toward the red bird.
A rainbow suddenly illuminated the room, suppressing the light of the oil lamp, and was on its way to the outside of the window.
Even if it couldn’t block his opponent, Liu Shisui hoped that it could at least warn the others.
The Flapping Wings of the Rosefinch!
Two huge lava-like wings appeared in the room; but they lacked real temperature. The wings absorbed the rainbow created by the Guard-City Pen.
Liu Shisui summoned all of his righteous energy.
Pah!!!
He opened the folding fan and slashed it at the two fire wings.
The wind kicked up a notch, but the fire wings didn’t disperse. Instead, the fires on the wings grew stronger.
Between the two fire wings, the small red bird stared at him quietly with his black and unwavering eyes, devoid of any emotion.
Liu Shisui was fully aware that now was the critical moment; so he bade the Lone Sword to hack at himself without hesitation.
He knew what the Immortal Taiping intended to do; but he also knew that he couldn’t afford to keep going like this.
Boom!!!
The fire wings started to burn wildly, and then they dissipated abruptly.
It was followed by a weak sound of flute music.
…
…
Liu Shisui led Xiao He leaving the Inn before dawn; and their horse-drawn carriage entered the Thousand–Mile Wind Corridor.
Though the horse was raised at the One-Cottage House and attached with the amulet, it was still quite difficult for the horse to move forward against the whistling strong wind in the deep part of the Windy Corridor.
Liu Shisui and Xiao He had no intention of getting off the carriage, nor did they wish to ride the swords. It was evident that both of them were severely wounded.
It took a long time before they had finally reached the rumored Python Pond.
The lotus leaves on the surface of the water were all turned upside down by the strong wind. Fortunately, they were a special kind of lotus so much so that they could resist the strong wind effectively, and there was no need to worry about whether their stems would break. But they looked like the young girls covering their faces with the flapped skirts, and those lotus flowers looked like the jewels on the verge of falling off from the heads of the wearers. They were indeed in a miserable condition.
The scholars had finally noticed the approaching carriage. They hurried over and saw Liu Shisui and Xiao He covered in blood and pale-faced inside the carriage. “Senior Master, what has happened?” they called out, feeling flabbergasted.
Finally, the pitiful horse attached with amulet had no need to totter against the strong wind. It was led to a stall free of wind to take a rest. Liu Shisui and Xiao He were carried by the scholars to the One-Cottage House.
Many guests of various sects were inside the One-Cottage House at the moment. Seeing the scene, they couldn’t help but feel shocked, standing up in tandem.
Ren Qianzhu noticed the earring on one of Xiao He’s earlobes. The earring was made from a ruby and was as red as blood, which looked quite pretty.
Liu Shisui and Xiao He suffered severe injury. Without any delay, they were brought to the deep end of the One-Cottage House and before Xi Yiyun.
At the current One-Cottage House, Xi Yiyun had the highest status, save for those elderly scholars.
With a change of expression, Xi Yiyun fed the two of them the medicine as quickly as he could. Then, he held up Liu Shisui to a sitting position and started treating his injury.
It didn’t take long before Liu Shisui woke up. He looked around the room instead of speaking to Xi Yiyun.
Xi Yiyun understood what he meant. He waved his hand to dismiss the scholars of the house. “What has happened?” he asked.
“The Immortal Taiping came last night. It seemed that he tried to control my mind via the Two-Mind Connection of the Fruit Formation Temple, which is the method he employed on Tian Jinren as we suspected back then,” said Liu Shisui. “I used both the Guard-City Pen and the Lone Sword in vain. As I was on the brink of being defeated, the bone flute given to me by my Young Master had suddenly flown out. For some reason, he appeared very fearful and simply left without further struggle.” Thinking of the encounter the night before, Liu Shisui still felt uneasy.
Xi Yiyun felt startled to hear this, asking, “What does he want from the One-Cottage House?”
“No idea,” said Liu Shisui, shaking his head.
After a pause, he said in a hushed voice, “I think it has something to do with Teacher becoming the Saint.”
Hearing this, the expression on Xi Yiyun’s face grew grave. He remained silent for a long moment before asking, “The Inaugurating Ceremony of the Sect Master of Green Mountain will take place in a few days. Are you going there?”
This was the original plan of the One-Cottage House, but the Immortal Taiping had suddenly appeared in the Thousand-Mile Wind Corridor and Liu Shisui was severely wounded. Why was Liu Shisui asked to leave?
Liu Shisui soon figured out the problems associated with these matters. “Are you worried?” he asked.
Xi Yiyun nodded and said, “You should be careful when dealing with this matter.”
“Okay,” said Liu Shisui after a moment of silence.
Xi Yiyun continued, “Xiao He will stay here. I’ll take good care of her.”
Liu Shisui also understood the meaning hidden in what he said. He accepted the offer and said, “Thank you, Big Brother.”
Xiao He found out that he was to leave, feeling uneasy. She asked in a trembling voice, “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” said Liu Shisui in an attempt to comfort her.
Xi Yiyun said, “I hope it is nothing.”
