After leaving the great hall, the group walked in silence.
A figure dressed in white stepped out from a corner. The branches of a flowering tree beside him covered the upper half of his handsome face, leaving only the faint, mocking smile at the corner of his lips visible.
"Things are becoming more and more interesting."
Everyone knew that with Mi Xingzhe's personality, it was impossible for him to do such a thing. But now all the evidence pointed to him, and Mi Xingzhe himself had disappeared. This inevitably made people suspicious.
"Qingyi-ge, where do you think little junior brother could have gone?" Yue Ruling asked worriedly.
"I do not know. I went to look for him once this morning, but I did not see him." Yun Qingyi looked helpless as well.
"What about Miss Ruoying?" Yue Ruling asked.
"You know Miss Ruoying?" Yun Qingyi had intended to avoid talking about her, but he did not expect that Yue Ruling already knew about Hua Ruoying.
"He already told me. If that Hua Ruoying really came from Wuming Demon Mountain, then little junior brother's disappearance right now probably has something to do with her."
"Report!" An immortal soldier ran over from the distance.
"Speak." Qingyuan raised his hand and signaled.
"Someone discovered that the immortal soldiers stationed at the southwest corner were knocked unconscious."
"The southwest corner? That is... the direction of Pingyan Land. This is bad. Niannian..." Yun Qingyi thought for a moment and suddenly cried out.
At the same time on the other side, Hua Ruoying and Qingping were driving a carriage quickly toward the boundary between the Ice Bamboo Forest and Pingyan Land.
"Ruoying-jie, are you really going to take the young master away like this?" Qingping asked while driving the carriage and looking back.
"Focus on driving. The rest is none of your concern," Hua Ruoying replied.
Mi Xingzhe lay unconscious inside the carriage. No matter how much the carriage shook, he showed no reaction.
Seeing that the barrier of the Liao Yin Immortal Realm was not far ahead, Qingping quickly took out the Empty Flower Token he had just seized from the immortal soldiers. But the moment he lowered his head, a sudden golden spell startled the horse. It neighed loudly and stopped in place.
Qingping jumped in fright and looked forward carefully. Not far in front of the carriage stood a person with his back turned to them. His black robe fluttered in the wind.
Feeling the carriage stop, Hua Ruoying leaned out and looked.
"Why is it him?"
Nan Zhe stood there in black clothes and slowly turned around, as if he had long known that Hua Ruoying and the others would pass this place.
"Miss Ruoying seems to be in quite a hurry. Where are you going?" Nan Zhe's charming voice floated lightly from beneath his mask.
"A good dog does not block the road. What exactly do you want?" Hua Ruoying asked impatiently.
"Does Miss Ruoying remember that you once promised to do three things for me?" Nan Zhe said slowly.
Hua Ruoying knew that if she wasted time arguing with him here, the pursuers from the Liao Yin Immortal Realm would soon catch up, and she would not be able to take Mi Xingzhe away today.
"Then speak quickly. I do not have time to stand here with you today," Hua Ruoying said irritably.
"In such a hurry. Then Miss Ruoying should take a look at this." Nan Zhe gently opened his right palm.
When Hua Ruoying saw it, she opened her mouth in shock.
After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi arrived first.
Seeing the carriage before them, Yun Qingyi rushed up immediately to search inside.
"Master, he is not here." Yun Qingyi stepped out of the empty carriage.
"It seems they have already escaped beyond the barrier."
Just then Yue Ruling arrived with a group of immortal soldiers.
"Qingyi, did you find any clues?" Yue Ruling asked.
Yun Qingyi shook his head.
"Search the surroundings carefully. Do not miss any suspicious trace," Yue Ruling ordered. The immortal soldiers immediately spread out and searched the forest.
"Can we really be sure that they took little junior brother away?" Yue Ruling asked.
"At this moment, no one else would be so close to Nian'nian except them," Yun Qingyi said.
"I did not expect those two to be so bold. They actually dared to take someone away right under the eyes of the Liao Yin Immortal Realm," Yue Ruling said angrily.
"Report to the general. Our men found this in the grass." An immortal soldier handed something over.
"What is this?" When Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi saw the item, both of them were startled.
"Little junior brother's jade pendant?" Yue Ruling held it in her hand and examined it carefully before recognizing it.
"It seems someone met them on the way and helped them. And the one who helped them has cultivation not weaker than mine," Li Luoning said worriedly as he took the jade pendant.
"Now Nian'nian has lost the golden silk jade pendant that protects him, and we do not know where he was taken. How can we find him?" Yun Qingyi said anxiously.
"Wuming Demon Mountain," Li Luoning said quietly.
"Wuming Demon Mountain?" Yue Ruling asked.
"That Hua Ruoying approached us deliberately from the beginning. Taking Nian'er away must have been part of her plan. When I checked her pulse before, I discovered that there was a kind of parasitic insect in her body. This parasite is called crystal orchid. There are two of them, one yin and one yang. Those who carry them cannot get too close to each other for life. Otherwise one person will suffer from cold poison invading the body, while the other will feel burning pain from inside as if being roasted by fire. And this poison must be relieved with medicine at regular intervals." Li Luoning explained.
"So Master already knew she was hiding something from the beginning?" Yun Qingyi asked.
Li Luoning nodded. "I originally planned to wait and see what Hua Ruoying really intended to do. But I did not expect her to be so bold, killing the Medicine King and then framing Nian'er. However, what I still cannot understand is this. If she needed to use Nian'er to exchange for the antidote, why did she go through so much trouble to help us escape before, only to frame and abduct him later?"
Yun Qingyi thought for a moment and hinted, "Master, could it be for that?"
Li Luoning understood what Yun Qingyi meant, but he still shook his head, indicating that he did not think so. Yue Ruling beside them looked confused and could not understand what they were talking about.
"Ruling, Master and I will continue searching for little junior brother. You should go back and report first. Pingyan Land is ahead, and your current identity is not suitable for going there with us," Yun Qingyi said.
"Alright. I will go back and report first and try to delay things with my master as much as possible. Once you find little junior brother's whereabouts, send me a message immediately. Then we will discuss the matter of the Medicine King again." Yue Ruling nodded in agreement.
Pingyan Land, Nan Zhe's residence.
Hua Ruoying and Qingping were taken down from the carriage by a group of ghost attendants. Two ghost soldiers carried the unconscious Mi Xingzhe, their movements rather rough.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Hua Ruoying scolded from the side and stepped forward, planning to support Mi Xingzhe herself.
The two ghost soldiers first raised their blades to block her and glanced at Nan Zhe.
Nan Zhe waved his hand, and they lowered their weapons, allowing Hua Ruoying to take Mi Xingzhe from them.
"Miss Ruoying, this way please." Nan Zhe politely led the way ahead.
Hua Ruoying and Qingping followed Nan Zhe to a rear courtyard in the residence. This courtyard was located in the deepest part of the estate, but its style was completely different from the rest of the residence. White walls, gray tiles, green bamboo, chrysanthemums, and plum trees made it elegant and quiet. It did not look like architecture from Pingyan Land at all.
"This place is Quanxia Pavilion. Miss Ruoying can rest here in peace," Nan Zhe said after leading them into a side room.
Hua Ruoying and Qingping worked together to place Mi Xingzhe onto the bed and looked around at the furnishings inside the room.
"I did not expect that you, the ghost king of Pingyan Land, would have such an elegant courtyard," Hua Ruoying said with some surprise.
"Ghost king?" Hearing Hua Ruoying call him that, Nan Zhe raised the corner of his mouth and repeated the words softly.
"The Lord asked you to arrange for us to stay here. What exactly is his intention?" Hua Ruoying asked.
"I am not very clear about that. In any case, the Demon Lord told you to rest here for now. He will arrange the rest later," Nan Zhe said softly before turning to leave.
Hua Ruoying wanted to ask more questions, but when she followed him out, she discovered that a barrier had been placed at the entrance of Quanxia Pavilion. She could not leave at all.
"Ruoying-jie, do you think Nan Zhe lied to us?" Qingping asked.
"Impossible. The Lord's token cannot be faked." Hua Ruoying looked at Nan Zhe's figure walking away and then glanced at the still unconscious Mi Xingzhe.
When night fell, a black figure landed in the courtyard of Quanxia Pavilion. Hua Ruoying instinctively threw three poison needles, but the shadow in the courtyard easily caught them.
"You have been away for some time, and your courage has grown quite a bit." Li Minghan stood outside the door and spoke with a cold laugh.
Hearing the voice, Hua Ruoying quickly opened the door and knelt on one knee. "Greetings, My Lord."
"Did you complete the task I assigned you?" Li Minghan ignored Hua Ruoying kneeling on the ground and walked directly past her toward Mi Xingzhe lying on the bed.
"Yes, My Lord. Everything has been done," Hua Ruoying replied.
"Very good. Now Li Luoning and his senior disciple are searching everywhere for your whereabouts. Stay here for now. When the time comes, I will inform you." Li Minghan reached out and touched Mi Xingzhe's face. His tone was indifferent.
"What does the Lord plan to do with this person?" Hua Ruoying asked.
"It's none of your business; you're asking too many questions." Li Minghan did not answer. He simply signaled to the demon soldiers who came with him, and they carried away the still unconscious Mi Xingzhe.
When Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi arrived in Pingyan Land, they originally planned to go directly to Nan Zhe's residence.
However, it seemed someone had already learned of their arrival. On the way they were constantly blocked by all kinds of small demons.
Although most of these demons were not very powerful, their numbers were large. Many of them also carried poison.
Li Luoning and Yun Qingyi were forced to stop in the Demon Forest before reaching Pingyan City.
What was strange was that after being injured, these demons did not cry out in pain. They seemed to feel no pain at all and continued fighting. If their weapons were knocked away, they used claws and teeth instead. It was as if they were determined to fight the master and disciple with all their strength.
"Qingyi, there are too many of them. This cannot continue. You leave first," Li Luoning said while fighting.
"Master, if we leave, we leave together," Yun Qingyi insisted.
"You go first. These little demons cannot harm me," Li Luoning said. He wanted Yun Qingyi to escape so he could fight without restraint. But while speaking, he was distracted for a moment. A small demon suddenly spat several sharp stones.
"Master, watch out." Yun Qingyi rushed forward quickly. The flying stones cut his arm.
"Master... it's poison." Yun Qingyi struggled to say a few words before fainting.
"Qingyi." Li Luoning caught Yun Qingyi before he fell to the ground. Seeing the dark green wound on his arm, Li Luoning's brows tightened. His expression turned cold and his eyes filled with killing intent.
"You refuse a respectful offer and force me to act."
Looking at Yun Qingyi unconscious in his arms, Li Luoning was completely enraged. At first he had planned not to take lives and only knock the demons down. But seeing Yun Qingyi poisoned and unconscious, anger surged inside him.
A burning heat rose from his lower abdomen through his body. Within moments, golden light appeared in Li Luoning's eyes.
He bit his fingers and smeared blood on the center of his forehead while chanting a spell.
"Enter the storm of blades and sweep away all enemies who block the path. Break."
With the spell, a powerful golden light shot from his forehead. Li Luoning struck the ground with his palm.
The moment the surrounding demons were struck by the golden light, they instantly turned to ashes. Li Luoning lifted his head weakly, blood at the corner of his mouth.
After finally escaping the pursuit of the demons, Li Luoning carried Yun Qingyi into a cave to hide.
Inside the dark cave, the sound of dripping water echoed occasionally. Li Luoning helped Yun Qingyi sit down against a rock.
"Qingyi, Qingyi. Take this pill first. I will find some water to clean your wound." Li Luoning patted Yun Qingyi's face and called him softly. He placed a pill in Yun Qingyi's hand and walked toward the cave entrance.
"Master." Yun Qingyi, leaning against the rock wall, suddenly called out as if he sensed something.
Outside the cave, a hidden figure silently cast a spell and struck a crack above the cave entrance. Stones immediately fell and blocked most of the entrance.
It happened in only a moment. If Yun Qingyi had not called out to stop Li Luoning, he might already have been buried under the rocks.
Li Luoning waved his sleeve to brush away the dust and looked at the blocked cave entrance.
"It seems someone deliberately wants to trap us here."
"What should we do? Niannian still..." Yun Qingyi coughed weakly.
"The entrance is blocked mostly by loose stones. After I rest a little, I should be able to break it open." Li Luoning examined the stones with his hand and looked around the cave.
"What about the three day deadline?" Yun Qingyi asked, blood still on his lips and exhaustion visible on his face.
"Focus on removing the poison from your body first. After we both rest, we will break through the stones. The most important thing now is finding a way to leave this place," Li Luoning said calmly.
Inside an inn in Fanli Valley, Mi Xingzhe slowly opened his eyes.
"Where... am I?" Mi Xingzhe looked around in confusion. He could tell he was inside an inn, but why was he here? That morning he had gone to Hua Ruoying's place for tea. How did he end up here?
While he was thinking, the door suddenly opened. A person wearing a dark blue robe embroidered with silver patterns walked in.
Seeing that Mi Xingzhe had awakened, the man casually placed a bowl of medicine on the table.
"You are awake."
Hearing the voice, Mi Xingzhe turned his head. He rubbed his head and squinted his eyes.
"Master?Where are we?"