CH 67.2

The night was shrouded in dark clouds, obscuring the moon and stars.

Su Baiche hid in a cold and dim mountain cave, staring at a campfire in front of him, his face covered in gloom.

Tong Xi sighed. “What a pity.”

Su Baiche squinted his eyes slightly. “Are you trying to disgust me? Dream on. Let me go back and regroup, and next time, we’ll launch a direct attack on Qilin City to force Wen Renqin to reveal his true form.”

Tong Xi sounded even more regretful, “I’m just lamenting the loss of my plan.”

The cave was extremely silent, and Tong Xi’s voice sounded harsh and cold. “I originally wanted to lead you down a dead end. I had everything planned out, but unfortunately, someone interfered. Otherwise, by now, you would be begging me to save you.”

Su Baiche’s expression changed. Tong Xi actively revealed Wenren Qin’s weakness to him. Later, he also informed Su BaiChe of his hiding place, seeming even more eager than Su Baiche to force Wenren Qin into a corner.

Su Baiche found this perplexing. When he heard Tong Xi speak, he chuckled, “Absurd. If it weren’t for Shen Liuxiang interfering, I would have exposed Wenren Qin’s mixed-blood identity on the night of the Blood Moon and taken his life while he was vulnerable. Why would I seek your help?”

Before he could finish speaking, Su BaiChe felt a sudden chill behind him.

Could it be that Wenren Qin had a countermeasure?

And this countermeasure was significant enough that even after exposing his mixed-blood identity, he wasn’t afraid to oppose all the demon cultivators in the city? Otherwise, Tong Xi wouldn’t have mentioned seeking his help.

Su Baiche smirked strangely, “So it seems luck is on my side. I didn’t fulfill your wish.”

He smiled, and then his wounds suddenly flared up, causing intense pain. He clutched his chest, coughed a couple of times, and his face turned pale. Just as he was about to close his eyes to recuperate, he heard a noise from outside the cave.

Su Baiche turned his gaze toward the cave entrance with vigilance.

A slender figure appeared, and the moment he saw Su Baiche, his eyes lit up, and a faint smile appeared on his face. “No wonder it smells so good here. Turns out it’s my dear Che Che.”

Su Baiche gritted his teeth, and his face turned iron-gray.

It was a trap.

***

Shen Liuxiang returned to Cloud Pavilion with the scroll and handed it to Xu Xingchen. “Take it back to the Imperial Palace. We’ll meet up on the territory of the Great Demon King.”

Xu Xingchen was surprised and didn’t reach out to take it. “Why don’t we leave together?”

Shen Liuxiang responded, “Since the Sword Sect is helping us, and we haven’t fully investigated the disciples’ situation, we can’t just leave like this.”

Xu Xingchen said, “I’ll stay as well.”

Shen Liuxiang sighed, “Your presence won’t make a difference.”

Xu Xingchen’s anger dissipated, and he touched his forehead, somewhat puzzled. “Why do I feel like you’re in such a hurry to get rid of me? Could it be…”

He paused, widened his eyes, and said, “You really want to join forces openly with Zhou Xuanlan after I leave!”

Shen Liuxiang was speechless. He grabbed Xu Xingchen’s sleeve, handed him the scroll, and said, “Stop talking nonsense. I’m sending you out of the city. Zhang Miaomiao is waiting for you.”

“Fine,” Xu Xingchen reluctantly accepted the scroll, a confused expression on his face. “Why do I feel like you’re in such a hurry to send me away? Don’t tell me…”

He hesitated, then stared wide-eyed. “You really want to join forces openly with Zhou Xuanlan after I leave!”

Shen Liuxiang couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He grabbed Xu Xingchen and pulled the noisy person out of Cloud Pavilion.

Xu Xingchen was talkative all the way, and he didn’t stop complaining.

It wasn’t until he saw Zhou Xuanlan at the city gate, flanked by a few followers, that he fell silent. He glared at Shen Liuxiang angrily. “You said you weren’t in cahoots, but he was waiting for me at the city gate to bid me farewell!”

Shen Liuxiang sighed, rubbing his temples. “Stop shouting in the middle of the night. You’re disturbing the peace.”

He then turned his gaze to Zhou Xuanlan and asked, “Why are you here?”

“Master, come with me,” Zhou Xuanlan grabbed his arm and led him to the city wall, pointing at the ever-burning black flames. “I’ve searched inside and outside the city all day, and the only suspicious thing I found is these flames.”

Shen Liuxiang had listened to him talk about a mysterious formation earlier, but he was completely clueless about it. After gazing at the flames for a while, he shook his head. “I don’t see anything suspicious.”

Zhou Xuanlan explained, “This looks like an entrance to a formation.”

Standing nearby, Ye Bingran walked over and drew his sword towards the black flames. The sword emitted a faint, delicate light. “This is one of the disciples’ swords. It can sense its owner’s call. He must be somewhere around here.”

Shen Liuxiang widened his eyes and looked at the thick city wall in front of him.

Zhou Xuanlan’s gaze returned to him, and he said, “Master, you’ve obtained the scroll.”

Shen Liuxiang nodded, and Zhou Xuanlan relaxed slightly. “In that case, Master can leave.”

Shen Liuxiang replied, “Wait a few more days.”

Regarding the matter of the Illusory Pill, he owed a favor to the Sword Sect. Leaving abruptly like this wouldn’t be fair.

Zhou Xuanlan furrowed his brow, about to say something when he realized that if it was the formation he suspected, he had no idea what Wenren Qin might have hidden inside. Qilin City was too dangerous, and he couldn’t let his Master stay here.

“Master, listen—”

Before Zhou Xuanlan could finish his sentence, Shen Liuxiang grabbed his hand.

The night wind, accompanied by a slight chill, swept over them. Shen Liuxiang held onto him with one hand, using his spiritual power to support him as he said, “You feel a bit cold. Let me transfer spiritual energy to you first.”

Shen Liuxiang had always remembered the warm aura around Zhou Xuanlan. Feeling his body unexpectedly cold made him uneasy.

After walking a few steps, Shen Liuxiang looked back at Ye Bingran hesitantly. “I’m taking him. Are you staying here or coming with us?”

Ye Bingran lowered his gaze, looking at their intertwined hands. “I’ll stay here.”

Shen Liuxiang nodded, then, with his disciple and Xu Xingchen in tow, hurried toward the teleportation array.

Xu Xingchen wore a displeased expression all the way, occasionally glancing at the hands held together by the two people. He had never heard of a doppelganger needing spiritual energy to maintain it. He couldn’t help but feel that Shen Liuxiang had been deceived by some demon trickery.

Zhang Miaomiao and the others had arrived early and made all the preparations. They stood by, waiting.

In the dim forest, the teleportation array flickered with the light of spirit stones.

Xu Xingchen hesitated to step into the teleportation array. Shen Liuxiang raised an eyebrow when he saw this, extending his arms as if to offer a farewell hug, and teased, “What’s this? Do you want a parting hug?”

It was meant as a joke because Xu Xingchen couldn’t possibly do such a thing in public.

However, just as he finished speaking, he felt a sudden tug on his arm. Xu Xingchen forcefully hugged him.

Shen Liuxiang: “?!”

Zhou Xuanlan looked at Xu Xingchen, who had unexpectedly clung to Shen Liuxiang, and then glanced at Shen Liuxiang. He narrowed his eyes with a meaningful look.

Xu Xingchen’s ears turned red. He remained silent for a moment before realizing that Zhou Xuanlan was watching. He glared back at him aggressively.

Then he whispered into Shen Liuxiang’s ear, “You know, demon creatures are rough-skinned and thick-skinned. They won’t die easily. If you encounter danger, just let your disciple go first. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Shen Liuxiang chuckled, nodding, “Alright, I’ll remember that.”

Xu Xingchen released him, and after appearing reluctant a moment ago, he immediately turned and entered the teleportation array. He seemed afraid of being stopped.

With a flash of light, their figures disappeared from the teleportation array.

Shen Liuxiang blinked, withdrawing his gaze. At that moment, Zhou Xuanlan’s lips curled slightly, and he said in a gentle tone, “He left something for Master.”

Shen Liuxiang was momentarily surprised but had a feeling. He lowered his gaze and noticed that there was something hanging at his waist that hadn’t been there before.

The night wind rustled through the forest, causing the golden little sachet to sway gently. On it, there was a shining character, “Chen.”

Shen Liuxiang couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

T/N: You know what, when we entered the whole Imperial Palace Arc, I was really expecting to hate Xu Xingchen but in the end, he’s so cute T-T