Chapter 217 - 149: Chang’an, Chang’an, Safe and Sound

Chapter 217: Chapter 149: Chang’an, Chang’an, Safe and Sound

Su Youwan turned a deaf ear to his questions. Several more silver needles had appeared between her fingers, and with another flick of her wrist, they wove into a net like a violent squall, sealing off all his escape routes.

As a cultivator of the Destined Celestial Dao, Su Youwan would not mistake her target.

This Su Minghan did indeed have threads on him similar to the real Su Minghan’s, but Su Youwan could clearly see that only the latter half of those threads were his. The first half had changed color.

This could only mean one thing.

Regardless of whether he had used the Heaven-Stealing Substitute Body Technique or some other method, the Su Minghan that Su Youwan remembered was already dead. The man before her was merely someone who had performed a possession.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"In that case, it’s not right to just ignore it."

After hearing Han Qiu Master’s words, Xia Lianxue let out a small yawn and glanced suspiciously at Lu Changyuan and Qiu Yuehan.

’The atmosphere between the young master and my senior sister seems a bit strange.’

Lu Changyuan pretended not to see the Little Fairy’s expression and agreed, "We should get involved. It’s unacceptable for Cultivators to be targeting mortals these days."

The steam rising from the hot tea veiled the emotions in Lu Changyuan’s eyes.

The tea brewed by the Little Fairy was excellent, as always. A rich, sweet aftertaste followed the initial bitterness, making it quite addictive.

Xia Lianxue rested her chin on her hand. "But my palace has sealed its mountain."

Lu Changyuan immediately said, "I can go by myself. It’s not far, anyway."

"Are you trying to get away from me and my junior sister? You don’t want to be with us anymore?"

The Moon Fairy’s voice came from Lu Changyuan’s other side.

Lu Changyuan replied righteously, "The matter simply has to be resolved. Besides, I need to get out and about to seek my path to the Sixth Realm."

But in reality...

He was desperate to get away from the two Fairies.

This was no life for a man.

One of them was always finding overt reasons to strip his clothes off, while the other’s robes would conveniently fall off on their own whenever she practiced her sword, causing the mark to glow.

’Even the techniques of the Hehuan Sect aren’t supposed to be used like this!’

Worse, the two Fairies seemed to be competing to see who could exhaust Lu Changyuan first.

The moment Lu Changyuan tried to meditate on the Five Desires and Six Dust Heart Transformation Technique, one of them would stroll past him. He couldn’t get anything else done and hadn’t had a single day of peace.

Not to mention having to listen to the daily verbal sparring between these supposedly close senior and junior sisters.

’It’s terrifying.’

Qiu Yuehan brought up the old topic again. "I’ll go with you."

Xia Lianxue’s voice quickly turned cold. "No. Senior Sister, you’re staying in the palace. The Celestial Dao Grand Competition is soon, and you have to represent Miao Yu Palace."

The Little Fairy had previously mentioned something that required Qiu Yuehan to stay, and it seemed this so-called grand competition was it.

The Moon Fairy let out a soft scoff. "It won’t take long to go and come back."

"Either way, you’re not going."

Lu Changyuan just smiled and said nothing.

’I still need to figure out what to do about the remaining four desires,’ he thought.

Qiu Yuehan took a gentle sip of her tea, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

Han Qiu Master had already left Miao Yu Palace to deliver a message to the Daoist Sect, but the National Preceptor of the Wei Kingdom was still inside Miao Yu Palace.

Xia Lianxue tilted her head and blinked. "Young Master, when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow. I’ll set off first thing in the morning." Lu Changyuan stood up. "I’m going to check on that National Preceptor from the Wei Kingdom."

With that, he scurried away.

The Black Skirt Fairy retracted the little foot she had been rubbing against Lu Changyuan for some time and smoothed the corner of her robes. "You’ve scared him off. No matter how you look at it, more than ten times in one night is a bit much. That’s not how the Time Technique is meant to be used."

Xia Lianxue gave Qiu Yuehan a strange look. Lately, she’d felt something was off about Qiu Yuehan, as if she had suddenly aged several hundred years.

Qiu Yuehan had not yet told her junior sister her true identity. She kept her status as the Nether Monarch a closely guarded secret, and the mutual control between her and Lu Changyuan was hidden even more deeply.

Their little secret could not be shared with a third person, not even her junior sister.

The Little Fairy said defensively, "It’s a punishment! A punishment for flirting with women everywhere."

"But weren’t you the one begging for mercy in the end?"

"Nonsense."

"’Young Master... I can’t take it anymore... Slower... Ah!’" Qiu Yuehan said, mimicking the Little Fairy’s voice.

Xia Lianxue quickly turned red.

Visibly red, all the way to the tips of her ears.

Her little fists clenched.

’Senior Sister used to be so thin-skinned. How did she become like this?’

"And you’re any better? Hmm? Weren’t you also begging for mercy while whimpering? Speaking of which... who on earth taught the Young Master that kind of Cultivation Technique?"

Qiu Yuehan fell silent. She was a little more composed than Xia Lianxue.

"Just don’t let me find out who it was. Why does the Young Master have to make friends with such shady characters?"

’It really was a fox friend.’

’Sigh, that stupid fox.’

"The shady friends aren’t important. Junior Sister... he must have someone he loves. Or at least, he did once."

Xia Lianxue narrowed her eyes. "Who? The Sun and Moon Palace Master?"

"I’ve asked him, but he never answers," Qiu Yuehan said, taking another sip of tea. "It doesn’t matter, though. If enough new people catch his eye, he’ll forget the one from his past. Isn’t that what the female disciples in the palace always say?"

"That was my thought exactly." Xia Lianxue stared at Qiu Yuehan, her gaze seeming to say, ’If not for that, there would be no place for you here.’

Qiu Yuehan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The sunlight on her skin made it look more delicate than a freshly sprouted bud in spring.

"Don’t forget, during his most difficult times, neither of us was by his side. When he suppressed the world with his sword for a thousand years, the ones with him were my Eldest Senior Sister and Jiayi."

Silence spread through the area.

They had indeed arrived early and made their move quickly enough, but some people always managed to come from behind.

After a long moment.

The Little Fairy in a White Skirt said, "Let’s teach him a lesson together tonight."

Qiu Yuehan paused for a second, then her lips curved into a smile.

"Alright."

~~~~~~~~~~

「The Borderlands」

Su Youwan had yet to return, but the Wei Kingdom’s army had already set out, forcing the Glazed Dynasty to send troops to meet them in battle.

After more than a month of mobilization, spring had fully arrived by the time the grand army was arrayed at the border.

The one leading the expedition this time was Prince Pingyang, the very same Prince that Su Youwan was not familiar with.

On the horizon, a lone rider burst through the dust and smoke, streaking from far to near like an arrow released from its bow, heading straight for the commander’s camp.

The sound of hooves came to an abrupt halt outside the tent. A travel-worn scout dismounted, practically stumbling inside, his armor covered in dust.

"Your Highness!"

Prince Pingyang asked, "What is it?"

"Reporting to Your Highness!" The scout dropped to one knee and clasped his fist. "The vanguard of the Wei Kingdom’s army has already passed Eagle’s Beak Stream. Based on their marching speed, their main force will engage with ours in half a month at most."

He paused briefly, took a deep breath, and his voice grew heavier. "Judging by the dust kicked up by their formations, the invading enemy’s forces... number no less than thirty thousand!"

Prince Pingyang hummed in acknowledgment, stroking the hilt of his sword.

’Thirty thousand?’

’That’s a bit low. Twenty thousand fewer soldiers than the Glazed Dynasty has deployed.’

"Your Highness, there is another strange matter."

"Speak."

"The soldiers of the Wei Kingdom... every one of them is pale-faced, and they march like dead men."

’Pale-faced? What kind of battle can an army in poor condition fight?’

Prince Pingyang paused. "Could an Immortal Family be involved?"

A Fourth Realm Cultivator could raid a thousand miles and take a general’s head with a single sword strike, but they could still be overwhelmed and killed by sheer numbers. A Fifth Realm Cultivator or above, however, could not. The Mortal World called them Immortals.

What Prince Pingyang feared was the participation of Fourth or even Fifth Realm Cultivators in the war.

He was especially wary because he had once heard of an Immortal Sect that could refine the dead into living corpses. If someone like that was in the enemy’s camp, their numbers would only grow the more they fought, making the battle impossible to win.

Only now did Prince Pingyang understand what Emperor Su Luoqiu had told him before the expedition: "My dear subject, fight slowly. The enemy’s approach is strange. Probe their strengths and weaknesses. My Elder Sister has already gone to the Wei Kingdom."

That wasn’t all.

The Emperor had later added with an unreadable smile, "If you confirm that victory is possible, then... conquer the Wei Kingdom."

Prince Pingyang couldn’t decipher the Emperor’s smile. He only recalled how Su Luoqiu had said at the court assembly before the expedition that he was very reluctant to fight this war, but since the enemy had brought the fight to their doorstep, he had no choice but to respond.

’Thinking back on it now, was Su Luoqiu really so reluctant to fight?’

Prince Pingyang did know the pretext under which the Wei Kingdom had dispatched its army. They claimed that the Eldest Prince, Su Minghan, had suddenly reappeared and wanted to reclaim the throne of the Glazed Dynasty, so he was borrowing the Wei Kingdom’s strength.

Su Minghan being alive would undoubtedly cause considerable trouble for Su Luoqiu.

Although it had long been rumored that this fourth prince of the Royal Family was a deep schemer—which was indeed true, as he had used an iron fist to purge the Crown Prince Faction less than a year after taking the throne—there were always some remnants who failed to see the writing on the wall.

It wasn’t an unsolvable problem. As long as Su Minghan died, everything would be fine. After all, as the saying goes, the only good Crown Prince is a dead former Crown Prince.