Chapter 10 - 7: Torrential Rain
The pitter-patter of the rain on the leaves was crisp and pleasant.
But this scene lasted for less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
Soon, a torrential downpour submerged the entire world, and a thick layer of clouds concealed the moon.
Qiu Yuehan seemed to have fallen asleep.
Lu Changyuan sat beside her, listening to her even breathing. The dense sound of the rain and the Fairy’s breaths seemed to have a certain pleasant harmony.
The Fairy’s eyelashes trembled lightly, as if she were having a nightmare.
In his estimation, Qiu Yuehan was an exceptionally outstanding disciple of her Immortal Sect.
’Since she could be considered outstanding, she ought to be someone who pursues Cultivation by any means necessary. No, to put it more nicely, one should say her heart holds only the Dao, and so she would sacrifice anything for it.’
’For thousands of years, every Seeker of Immortality who has cultivated away their humanity has used this very excuse.’
’A personality that despises evil like an enemy shouldn’t belong to such an outstanding Fairy.’
But then Lu Changyuan couldn’t help but think.
’Then again, hating evil like an enemy and stopping at nothing don’t seem to be mutually exclusive traits.’
CRACK!
A massive dragon of lightning lit up the entire night for an instant.
Xia Lianxue’s eyes flew open. By that fleeting light, her gaze met Lu Changyuan’s.
For a moment, Xia Lianxue felt a little afraid, but also a flicker of familiarity. Just as she was wondering where this feeling came from, she heard a stirring in the rain.
A strange flute melody pierced through the curtain of rain. Xia Lianxue suddenly clutched her head, a trace of red slowly coloring her beautiful eyes.
Lu Changyuan murmured softly, "It seems we have company. Are you alright, Fairy?"
Strands of soft black hair slipped through Xia Lianxue’s fingers, hiding the Fairy’s trembling body.
But only for a moment.
"I’m fine. Look after my Senior Sister."
Xia Lianxue seemed to recover immediately. She stopped the carriage, drew her sword, and opened the door, her voice cold. "Hiding in the shadows? Who’s there!?"
The rain seemed to fall even harder.
Not only that, but the clear rainwater seemed to have been stained with layers of fresh blood, turning it a deep crimson.
Xia Lianxue’s willow-like brows furrowed lightly. "The Blood Demon Palace? You lot are like lingering ghosts. Must you insist on opposing my Miao Yu Palace?"
Amidst the sound of the rain, the flute grew more urgent, as if the melody had shifted from "Misty Rain in Jiangnan" to "Ambush from Ten Sides."
The red rain fell, staining the ground. Soon, the earth began to squirm and churn, finally forming into some kind of disgusting creature.
Lu Changyuan sat inside the carriage, watching clearly through the rain as the viscous creatures multiplied one by one, until hundreds, then thousands, had surrounded the carriage.
If victory was to be decided by numbers, Lu Changyuan and the two Fairies from Miao Yu Palace would likely die here today.
A pity.
And yet, with a single flash of sword-light, the rain between heaven and earth seemed to pause for an instant. By the time the light faded, all the disgusting monsters had been annihilated by that one strike.
Lu Changyuan had never seen Qiu Yuehan at her peak, but now he was seeing Xia Lianxue in her full glory.
She had yet to reach the Fifth Realm, had not yet comprehended her own Dao, nor broken through her Heart Tribulation. Yet a single strike of her sword could still possess such might, sweeping away all before it.
’This generation of young people is ridiculously strong.’
At some point, Qiu Yuehan had woken up. Her hand gripped the hilt of her sword, her thoughts unreadable.
Lu Changyuan smiled. "Are there any other reinforcements? This Blood Demon Palace, it seems they’ve been targeting you from Miao Yu Palace for a while now. They’re relentlessly after your lives."
If the two most outstanding True Inheritors of a Sect were killed, its next generation would be completely cut off.
Qiu Yuehan remained silent. She made to rise with her sword and go out to help, but in the end, she sighed and sat back down.
"I saw you send out two letters the other day. There should be reinforcements, right?"
Qiu Yuehan’s beautiful eyes were downcast, her expression a complex one that Lu Changyuan couldn’t quite decipher. "One was for my Junior Sister, the other was sent back to the palace. My Junior Sister and I will most likely have to return. We’ll have to ask someone else to take responsibility for matters in the Glazed Dynasty."
It would take several days at least for a message from here to reach Miao Yu Palace, and several more for them to send reinforcements. By that calculation, it was unlikely any help would arrive today.
Lu Changyuan, still looking as relaxed as ever, glanced out the carriage window. "Then we can only place our hopes on your Junior Sister."
The rain outside was still astonishingly cold, yet it couldn’t touch the Fairy’s simple and elegant white robes in the slightest.
The Fairy’s clear, gentle voice carried a chilling edge that permitted no refusal. "If this leads to an all-out war between our two palaces, can your Blood Demon Palace bear that responsibility?"
A faint voice drifted from the distance. "No need for the Fairy to worry about that. You should first worry about how to escape this Blood Prison!"
At some unknown time, countless pillars of blood had surged up from all directions, encircling the entire mountain.
A sizzling sound was especially clear amidst the patter of the rain. As the Blood Prison took form, the soil on the mountain also began to turn red and gradually became corrosive.
Xia Lianxue snorted coldly. "Is this the only trick you have?"
Miao Yu Immortal Technique, Moonlight Method.
A bright, clear moon slowly materialized behind Xia Lianxue, piercing straight through the clouds, suppressing the downpour, and rising to correspond with the full moon in the sky.
For a hundred miles in every direction, only this central spot was now free of rain and clouds, allowing the moon above to be seen.
The people behind the Blood Prison were also revealed by the moonlight. It was the same two who had been scared off by Xia Lianxue a short while ago. It was a mystery why they had chased after them again.
The two black-robed members of the Blood Demon Palace exchanged a glance, both saying with resignation, "We still underestimated a True Inheritor of Miao Yu Palace."
Before his voice had even faded, one of them was already cutting through the wind, rushing straight for Xia Lianxue’s face.
It was a sneak attack.
Not only that, but the other black-robed person simultaneously moved to circle behind Xia Lianxue, appearing to want to pincer her and attack at the same time.
But a dreamlike, illusory Glazed Feather Robe suddenly materialized around Xia Lianxue.
"Break."
Only then did the two from the Blood Demon Palace realize that a white feather had appeared behind them at some unknown moment. As Xia Lianxue’s word fell, the white feather abruptly grew enormous, as if weighing a thousand jun, and then slammed heavily onto their bodies.
Both of them spat out a mouthful of blood at the same time.
The slightly taller black-robed man gave a sinister laugh. "Xia Lianxue, do you really not know what’s good for you? If we get rid of Qiu Yuehan for you, you’ll be the Young Palace Master."
Xia Lianxue’s eyes were like frost. "Don’t try to sow discord within my Miao Yu Palace."
At that very moment.
A giant, blood-red skull appeared from out of nowhere. Seizing the gap when Xia Lianxue drew her sword to counterattack the two black-robed men, it shot straight toward the carriage to explode.
’Not good. There’s another person hidden in the shadows.’
This was the first thought in Xia Lianxue’s mind.
’I can make it in time.’ This was her second thought.
And so the Feather Robe expanded, like a bird spreading its wings, and flew swiftly toward the carriage, about to envelop it.
The flute music began again.
Melodious and lingering, a sound that seemed to come from the distant past.
The Feather Robe abruptly froze in mid-air. Xia Lianxue’s eyes turned blood-red as a cacophony of voices exploded in her ears.
All the events of this life flashed before her eyes, and in the end, only the words of Han Shui Master remained.
"When she was young, Yuehan was the spitting image of the Palace Master."