Bai Shuo’s eyes reddened, but she said nothing, at a loss for words. Chong Zhao felt a pang of bitterness; he knew her too well. If he softened even a little, she’d latch on and never let go.
“You’ll stay here. In two days, when the Spirit Lock Seal opens, leave Evil City. Go wherever you want, but don’t return to Miao Miao.” With that, Chong Zhao turned to leave, pausing only to look at Fan Yue.
“No matter who you are, if you’re by her side, protect her.” Chong Zhao said, before vanishing into the distance.
“A-Zhao!” Bai Shuo called out, but he didn’t look back.
“That stubborn fool! ‘Fair and square’—as if! Even Yun Xiao’s Nan Wan cheats, and the rest of the celestial sects are no different. Mumu, quickly, release me!”
Bai Shuo turned to Fan Yue, who stared at her, unmoving.
“Hurry, stop staring!”
“Oh.” Her young disciple blinked, snapping out of his daze, and lightly tapped her.
His touch was so feather-light it felt like a feather. Bai Shuo remained frozen.
“More pressure, not a tickle!”
He added a bit more force.
“Three inches to the right, you’re hitting the wrong spot!”
Fan Yue obediently shifted his hand three inches to the right, but she was still immobile.
“You have to use spiritual energy, dear disciple!”
Fan Yue’s mouth curled down in reluctance. “He was right. There are monsters in the city, Master, and your spiritual power isn’t strong. It’s too dangerous for you to stay involved.”
With a pout, he sat down on a tree stump, turning his back on her. “My martial uncle also told me to protect you.”
For once, Fan Yue was oddly in sync with Chong Zhao, sharing his sentiment exactly. Seeing her young disciple firmly decided, Bai Shuo turned to Hua Da Tie.
“Hua…”
“Don’t look at me. Your family matters aren’t my business.” Hua Da Tie, chewing on a blade of wild grass, shrugged when Bai Shuo looked her way and turned around, leaving Bai Shuo staring up at the sky in exasperation.
As evening approached, Nan Wan descended near a desolate mountain, where the path leading into the mountain was strewn with broken wine jars. He looked toward the dark, bleak mountain and began walking.
Before long, he reached the heart of the mountain, where three solitary graves stood on an empty plot. Not far from the graves was a dilapidated grass hut, swaying as though it might collapse at any moment. No one knew how many years it had been standing.
Evil City was desolate, but this place was tenfold worse, with not a single blade of grass to be seen. Nan Wan looked around, his palm gathering a trace of celestial energy that he released into the surroundings. But despite the spread of his power, there was no hint of the Wu Tong Heartfire.
Wu Tong was a sacred tree, so if it were hidden here, there should be at least a trace of its aura, right? Nan Wan frowned, his gaze lingering on the three graves.
Could the Strange One’s Tomb, where the Wu Tong Heartfire was hidden, be inside one of these graves? Nan Wan leaped toward the gravestones, but just as he reached out to touch one, a blade of sword energy slashed through the air from behind. The force was so powerful that even though he managed to dodge, he still took a glancing blow and stumbled back a few steps.
“Who’s there?!”
The strength of the attack was immense, but wasn’t all spiritual energy supposed to be sealed in Evil City? And with the non-celestials lacking spiritual energy, who could evade the Spirit Lock?
“Who’s disturbing my sleep…” A man staggered out of the grass hut, reeking of alcohol. He held a wine jar in one hand and rubbed his eyes sleepily with the other.
Nan Wan looked at the old drunk with suspicion. Back at the woman’s house, there hadn’t been a trace of spiritual energy on this old man. Even now, there was none. Could that powerful strike really have come from him?
“So, it’s just a rat,” the old drunk muttered, casting a sidelong glance at Nan Wan. “A Yun Xiao disciple sneaking around, learning only the worst habits.”
He could tell Nan Wan’s sect from just a single move. Nan Wan stiffened, even more on guard. “Senior, are you the guardian of Nameless Mountain?”
“Are you blind? Why even ask?” The drunk man shuffled over, picking up a dead tree branch from the ground and using it to brush the gravestones.
Nan Wan bowed again. “May I ask which sect you belong to, Senior? Are you a member of the celestial tribe?”
“Celestial, demon, I couldn’t care less. Leave me alone.” The old drunk leaned against a gravestone, not bothering to lift his gaze.
“You…” Nan Wan bit back his anger. “Senior, I am Nan Wan from Yun Xiao. I mean no disrespect to the ancestors of the non-celestial tribe. But may I ask, is the Wu Tong Heartfire hidden here?”
“So what if it is? You think you’re going to take it?”
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