Chapter 124: Returning

In an instant, the mist dissipated, and the figures vanished.

Su He, who had been hiding within the fog, stepped into view. He tucked away the antidote, then struck the ground with his palm, creating a pit in which he buried the three who had fallen. He stood by the riverbank for a long while, only turning slowly when Yun Xingyu arrived.

"Not going back?" Yun Xingyu asked.

Su He smiled. "Was I not waiting for Brother Yun to come and save me?"

"You certainly have a carefree attitude." Yun Xingyu turned his back to him and patted his own shoulders. "Get on."

"Very well."

Su He did not stand on ceremony. He slumped onto Yun Xingyu's back and fell silent.

He had known this encounter would be perilous from the start. He could not fight head-on; formation techniques were his only recourse. Yet, to both trap and eliminate his enemies was no simple feat. Their cultivation levels were formidable, and there were other experts lying in wait in the shadows.

He knew exactly what these people were after, which was precisely the point of his excursion. He needed to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, and he could not afford a moment of hesitation. He had to turn the impossible into the possible, striking where they were least prepared to achieve the desired effect.

That was why he had let the last man escape: first, he needed someone to spread word of the night's events, and someone who had experienced it firsthand was the perfect vessel. Second, it was to strike terror into those lurking in the dark.

It was true that he, Su He, was wounded, but he was no lamb for the slaughter. Anyone unafraid of death was welcome to try their luck. Of course, this was also a bluff—a necessary one. The act of burying the bodies with a strike of his palm had been nothing more than a warning.

As for why he hadn't left sooner, it wasn't for lack of desire; he had exhausted his strength and simply could not. At the same time, he was gambling. In terms of raw cultivation, Yun Xingyu was undoubtedly the strongest among them. Su He trusted that with Yun Xingyu's ability, he would not be easily caught in a trap. That was why he dared to stake everything on this gamble.

It had been risky, but he had succeeded—though he could not walk back on his own. Fortunately, Yun Xingyu had not disappointed him, and his arrival had caused those watching from the shadows to scatter. Only once they were gone could Su He finally allow himself to collapse.

Yun Xingyu remained silent throughout the journey. In truth, he had arrived nearby long ago, hiding in the shadows just like the others. However, he had not intended to intervene. If Su He had the vitality to fight, he would let him struggle; if not, he would at most bring back a corpse.

After carrying him back to the Wangyun Inn and handing him over to Que Yunzi, Yun Xingyu found the antidote on Su He’s person and neutralized the sleeping draught affecting the others at the inn. By the time this was done, the sky was just beginning to turn a dull, dusty gray.

When Yi Qingchen learned she had been drugged the previous night, she could not hide her shame. After a quick wash and tidy, she went to check on Su He’s room. Seeing Que Yunzi treating him, she waited quietly to the side. The old man’s technique was peculiar; his strikes seemed chaotic, yet each possessed a subtle power. The true essence gathered in his palms looked like spheres of light, the size of eggs, which were infused into Su He’s body with every strike—a sight that was surprisingly beautiful.

After about half an hour, Que Yunzi withdrew his energy and helped Su He lie down. Yi Qingchen stepped forward to help. "Senior, how is he?"

"He won't die. Young people these days just love to be reckless. They’ve worn out this old… bone of mine." Que Yunzi stood on his tiptoes and rolled his eyes, then hunched his back and began pounding his own shoulder.

"Senior, have some water." Yi Qingchen poured a cup and handed it to him with both hands.

Que Yunzi looked at her, took a sip, and said, "Sit."

Yi Qingchen sat by the table. "Is he really alright?" Despite knowing Que Yunzi’s capabilities, she could not help but worry. Feelings were fickle; sometimes, love was simply love, and hate was simply hate, with no rhyme or reason. Since hearing the full account from Yun Xingyu, her heart had not been at peace. She wanted to pull Su He up and demand to know why. What did he consider her? A lover, a sister, or perhaps someone entirely inconsequential?

Yet, when she saw him, her heart softened into a puddle.

Que Yunzi glanced at her sideways. "Don't worry. I’ve mended what needed mending. He even managed to drain a few hundred years of this old man's cultivation; he got the better end of the deal." He shouldn't have gone drinking with Yun Xingyu and Zou Jiren. Now, while they were perfectly fine, he had lost centuries of hard-earned cultivation in the blink of an eye. It stung a little to think about it.

Yi Qingchen tried to hide a smile, covering her mouth with her sleeve to cough. "Cough... Senior, why were we all drugged, while you, Elder Yun, and the others remained unaffected?"

Que Yunzi blinked, tilting his head toward her. "That, I am puzzled by as well. The three of us were quite tipsy last night; how could we know what happened?"

As he spoke, something dawned on him. He leaned over the table, peering at Yi Qingchen like a child, and beckoned her closer. "We were all drunk last night, yes?"

Yi Qingchen, humoring the eccentric old man, replied, "Yes."

"And you were all drugged, yes?"

"Yes."

"I understand!" Que Yunzi slapped the table, suddenly energized as if he had discovered a treasure.

Just then, Yun Xingyu and Zou Jiren walked in. "Understand what?"

Que Yunzi turned to Yun Xingyu. "Is there any more of that antidote?"

"No. You weren't drugged, so why would you need it?" Yun Xingyu remarked, before taking a seat with Zou Jiren. Zou Jiren, concerned for Su He, had decided to come and check on him.

Hearing this, Zou Jiren frowned, voicing his own doubt. "But Brother Yun, don't you find it strange?"

"Strange in what way?"

Zou Jiren continued, "Perhaps Brother Yun does not notice due to your profound cultivation, but my own is merely average, and there are many such cultivators here at the Wangyun Inn. Even Lady Yi’s ability is far superior to mine. Why is it that Lady Yi was affected, while I only ended up drunk?"

At this prompt, Yun Xingyu and Yi Qingchen realized the implication and turned to Que Yunzi for verification. Que Yunzi nodded and urged, "Let me see the antidote bottle."

Yun Xingyu hesitated for a moment before handing it over. Que Yunzi pulled the stopper and sniffed it, then took out a jar of Wangsun Wine, opened it, and leaned in to smell it closely. He turned to Yun Xingyu. "Xingyu, smell this." He pushed both the wine and the antidote bottle to the table between Yun Xingyu and Zou Jiren.

The two men sniffed them and exchanged looks of astonishment. Yun Xingyu, recovering faster, set the bottle down. "You mean to say this wine acts as an antidote?"

"Not exactly." Que Yunzi waved a hand. "Wangsun Wine is not medicinal, but it may contain ingredients that share properties with the antidote. I suspect this wine acts as a preventative measure."

He wondered if he should go get a few more jars.

"Shall I go take care of them?" Yun Xingyu suddenly asked, a non sequitur.

Que Yunzi looked toward the door, leaning back in his chair nonchalantly. "Small fry. Let them be; they won't make any waves."

Yi Qingchen stood up. "I will go and see."

"Be careful. Even small fish can bite."

"I know."

As Yi Qingchen left, Que Yunzi continued the discussion. He knew she held grievances and needed an outlet, so he did not stop her.

Outside the inn, Yi Qingchen blocked a figure in a narrow, dark alley. "Leaving so soon after arriving? Is that not a bit impolite?"

"What do you want?"

"Nothing much. Just borrowing something from you."

"Hahaha, a joke! Borrowing from an assassin? Are you looking to borrow death?"

Thunder rumbled in the distance, flashes of purple lightning illuminating the dark alley. Yi Qingchen calmly tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and summoned her Four-Image Pipa. She plucked a few notes carelessly. "Indeed. Are you willing to lend it?"

The assassin felt humiliated. "Preposterous!" He threw three short arrows, each tipped with potent poison.

The arrows whistled through the air, closing in rapidly. Yi Qingchen flicked her fingers across the strings, and a vortex manifested in the void, shredding the arrows into splinters. Only the tips clattered to the bluestone pavement with a crisp sound.

The assassin retreated a step, realizing he had encountered a formidable opponent. They stood in a tense silence. The thunder grew more muffled, and a chill wind, like a soft, boneless hand, caressed the back of their necks.

Suddenly, the assassin moved. He lunged forward, unleashing a blade strike that felt like a bone-scraping cleaver, then stomped the ground, causing a giant python to burst forth, jaws agape.

Yi Qingchen glanced at it, her nails scraping across the strings. "And here I thought it was something impressive. Just a stunted snake?"

The pipa in her hands transformed into a slender, three-foot-long exquisite sword. As the cleaver descended, the sword seemed to possess a spirit of its own, unleashing a flash of brilliance that split the blade in two. The energy then swirled, coiling around the python like a tightening shackle.

The python, sensing the danger, tried to shrink itself to the size of a needle, but the shackle adjusted accordingly, tightening relentlessly. Yi Qingchen raised a hand, and with a flick, the shackle—still constricting the python—flew back into the sword.

Yi Qingchen sheathed the sword and turned out of the alley. Not long after, a python was found in the alley, its head and body severed. Strangely, all traces of spiritual energy had vanished from it; it was now nothing more than an ordinary snake. When dawn broke, passersby found it and, thinking it was just a common snake, roasted it for a meal.

When Yi Qingchen returned to the Wangyun Inn, Su He was awake, but the others were gone. She learned they had gone to the Qiu-Xin Pavilion to buy wine.

Upon seeing him, Yi Qingchen felt at a loss for how to face him. After a long hesitation, she finally spoke: "Are... are you alright?"

"My thanks to Lady Yi for your concern. I am unharmed."

"Do you... do you have nothing to say to me?" Yi Qingchen set aside her pride and looked up at him.

Seeing Su He remained unmoved, she quickly looked away and smiled with feigned indifference. "It is nothing. I only wanted to ask why you chose to face such danger alone. With your insight, you must have known that the seniors were only drunk."

"Nothing escapes your notice, as expected."

"Will you not invite me in to sit?"

Su He paused, then stepped aside to let her in.

Yi Qingchen felt a deep bitterness, but she maintained her pride. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Will you tell me?"

Su He poured her a cup of water. "They left a letter, specifically requesting that I come alone."

"And so you went?"

"I did."

"Did you ever consider what would have happened if Brother Yun hadn't followed you?" Who would you have relied on then?

"I had no doubt. I trust Brother Yun."

Yi Qingchen was slightly surprised; they could not have known each other for long. "Why?"