章 53: Unexpected knife to Qingyi
### Translation:
---
"Junior Brother, if anything happens in the future, you must remember what I said tonight. Only by holding on can you find a way out," said Mu Han, slightly tipsy, as he patted the back of Li Luoning's hand meaningfully.
Li Luoning looked at Mu Han, puzzled, thinking he was just drunk, and nodded, "I will remember, Senior Brother. It's late now. You should go upstairs and rest." He then helped Mu Han up to the second floor of the inn.
After gently placing Senior Brother Mu Han on the bed and covering him with a blanket, Li Luoning quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.
"Master, are you really going alone?" Yun Qingyi, who was guarding the inn's entrance, asked worriedly.
"Yes. You stay here. If I haven't returned by dawn, go back to The Liao Yin Immortal Realm and find the Battle God of Qingyuan. Tell him we've found the true culprit behind the Medicine King's murder and ask him to bring reinforcements immediately." Li Luoning, now dressed in a night outfit and wearing a mask, set off.
---
At Quanxia Pavilion, Hua Ruoying and Qingping had been trapped for several days.
"Ruoying, why do you think Nan Zhe won't let us leave?" Qingping asked, playing with a locust leaf.
"How would I know?"
As they spoke, the barrier of Quanxia Pavilion opened, and Nan Zhe walked in, carrying a bundle.
"Nan Zhe, you haven't shown up for days. Are you finally planning to let me pack up and leave?" Hua Ruoying said sarcastically.
Nan Zhe handed over the bundle.
"For me?" Hua Ruoying asked, puzzled.
Qingping, curious, peeked to see what was inside.
Hua Ruoying opened the bundle to find a set of brand-new clothes.
"Put them on."
Looking at the sapphire blue clothes, Hua Ruoying felt a bit fond of them, but remembering they were from Nan Zhe, her face fell. She covered the bundle again and said dismissively, "I don't like the color."
Nan Zhe saw through her thoughts, laughed lightly, and, with a wave of his hand, gathered a force aimed at Qingping, repeating, "Put them on."
---
At Wuming Demon Mountain, Li Luoning had successfully infiltrated. He searched for a long time but found no trace of Mi Xingzhe.
"Could there be a hidden chamber?" Li Luoning wondered, deciding to investigate the Demon Lord's bedroom.
The Demon Lord's bedroom seemed ordinary. Li Luoning knocked on the walls, listening for hollow sounds. Suddenly, he found one.
The corridor inside the hidden chamber was dark, stretching dozens of meters underground. At the end was an iron door with a seal. Above the door was a small hole, through which he could faintly see the interior and a shadowy figure.
"Who's there?" Shentu Zhajia quickly heard the noise from inside.
Li Luoning took a deep breath, thinking, "Whoever is here, they must be kept for a reason."
"I... I am a drifting wanderer. May I ask your name?" Li Luoning asked quietly.
"Why are you imprisoned here? Do you need my help to escape?" Li Luoning continued.
Shentu Zhajia didn't respond.
"Honestly, I came here because the Demon Lord kidnapped my disciple. If you know where he is, I will help you escape and regain your freedom," Li Luoning said sincerely.
"Help me? No need. I appreciate your kindness. If you can't find your disciple in the dungeon, check the northeast corner of Wuming Demon Mountain. There's a heavily guarded dungeon there, rarely used but sometimes housing prisoners," Shentu Zhajia replied.
"Thank you for the guidance. May I know your name?" Li Luoning asked.
"Shentu," Shentu Zhajia said curtly, ending the conversation.
"Shentu? Could it be the old Demon Lord who went mad years ago didn't die but was imprisoned here by the Demon Lord?" Li Luoning didn't have time to ponder. He bowed to the iron door and quickly left.
Meanwhile, Yun Qingyi was anxiously waiting at the inn's entrance in The Flatland.
Mi Xingzhe, who had searched the area all day, turned a corner and complained, "I've searched the entire town and outskirts and haven't seen Master or Senior Brother. Did I mistake it? It's getting dark; I should find an inn to stay and return to Mirror Cloud Residence tomorrow."
Mi Xingzhe, head down, muttered as he walked toward the inn. Yun Qingyi, on the steps, noticed the figure and cautiously hid.
In the moonlight, Yun Qingyi barely recognized the dark uniform of a Wuming Demon Mountain guard. But as Mi Xingzhe opened the inn door, the candlelight illuminated his face, and Yun Qingyi saw clearly.
"Junior Brother!" Yun Qingyi rushed over, his voice trembling with disbelief.
Mi Xingzhe, initially dejected, brightened up upon hearing the familiar voice. His eyes filled with tears of joy as he turned to see Yun Qingyi.
"Qingyi Brother!"
Seeing Yun Qingyi in front of him, Mi Xingzhe was so excited he nearly cried.
Hearing Mi Xingzhe call him by his nickname, Yun Qingyi felt relieved. If it were an impostor, they wouldn't know such details.
The two rushed to each other.
"Qingyi Brother, I've been looking for you for so long."
Mi Xingzhe, both excited and aggrieved, had searched the entire Flatland and was about to give up when he found Yun Qingyi.
"Master and I have been looking for you too. Are you okay? Are you hurt? How did you escape? Are you hungry? I'll have the innkeeper make you some noodles," Yun Qingyi asked, checking Mi Xingzhe for injuries and bombarding him with questions.
"I'm fine, really. Qingyi Brother, I thought I saw you and Master this afternoon, so I ran around The Flatland all day. I'm exhausted," Mi Xingzhe said, pouting as he spoke to Yun Qingyi.
"Let's go inside and talk," Yun Qingyi said, pulling Mi Xingzhe into the inn.
"Qingyi Brother, are you here alone? Where's Master?" Mi Xingzhe asked, looking around.
"Master thought you were still with the Demon Lord. He went alone to rescue you. I'll send him a message now to tell him you're safe," Yun Qingyi said, releasing a flowing light butterfly to deliver the message.
Inside their room at the inn, Mi Xingzhe sat down and recounted the events of the past few days to Yun Qingyi, who listened intently and also shared news about The Liao Yin Immortal Realm.
"It wasn't me!" Mi Xingzhe suddenly stood up, upset at being falsely accused of killing the Medicine King.
"I know, I know. Master and I both believe you. But since you were kidnapped, it looked like you ran away out of guilt. Now that we've found you, we'll clear this up when we return to The Liao Yin Immortal Realm," Yun Qingyi said, pulling Mi Xingzhe back to his seat to calm him down.
"Also, the pot of Empty Valley Fairy was a gift from Ruoying. How could that Immortal just take it away?" Mi Xingzhe said, feeling wronged.
"I know, but it was also her who kidnapped you from The Liao Yin Immortal Realm," Yun Qingyi said, frowning at the mention of Hua Ruoying.
"Hua Ruoying kidnapped me? That's impossible. I was taken by someone impersonating Master," Mi Xingzhe insisted.
"An impersonator?" Yun Qingyi was puzzled.
"Yes. When I woke up, I saw someone who looked exactly like Master. At first, I thought it was him. But when we talked about medicinal herbs, I realized he didn't know anything, and that's when I noticed something was off," Mi Xingzhe explained.
"Someone must have disguised themselves as Master to lower your guard. How did you escape?" Yun Qingyi asked.
"I don't know. There was a period when I felt dazed, like my body was bound but still moving. When I woke up, I was in the streets of The Flatland. I turned and saw you and Master walking by, so I've been chasing you all day," Mi Xingzhe recalled.
"It's good you're back. You must be hungry. I'll ask the innkeeper to prepare some food," Yun Qingyi said, getting up to leave.
"Qingyi Brother, I want some meat," Mi Xingzhe said, pouting again, "and a jug of good wine," he added.
"Alright," Yun Qingyi replied, smiling indulgently.
As Li Luoning left the Demon Lord's bedchamber and headed to the location Shentu Zhajia had mentioned, he saw a flowing light butterfly fluttering towards him. He stopped and received the message.
"Xingzhe is safe, waiting at the inn," the message from Yun Qingyi read.
Seeing this, Li Luoning knew there was no need to proceed further and decided to head back to the inn in The Flatland.
---
On the other side, Mu Han, whom Li Luoning had just placed in bed, opened his eyes after hearing the door close.
He sat up slowly, his previous drunkenness gone, and looked towards the door with a hint of reluctance.
He got out of bed, wrote a letter at the table, removed his bead bracelet, and left it there before leaving.
As Mu Han left, the bead that had been glowing red gradually returned to its original color. However, the entire bracelet, once radiant, began to dim, and a crack appeared in the previously glowing red bead.
In the wilderness, Mu Han suddenly stopped, seemingly expecting something, and said,
"Come out."
"Senior Brother, you're really sharp, detecting me so easily," Li Minghan said with a chuckle.
"Are you here to take my life on someone's orders?" Mu Han asked, immediately recognizing that the person before him was not Li Luoning.
"The great disciple of The Liao Yin Immortal Realm's master is indeed extraordinary. How did you know I wasn't your junior brother?" Li Minghan asked.
"The massacre of the Li family years ago was because of the golden core in your twin brother's body. Only his twin could impersonate Li Luoning. It must be you," Mu Han said calmly, as if he had known all along.
"Oh? So you know about the twin cores? Why does it seem like my foolish brother knows nothing about his power? He can't even handle a group of guards," Li Minghan said, puzzled. Li Luoning's Chixi Core should have given him much greater power, but he seemed just an ordinary immortal.
"The appearance of your twin cores was destined to bring chaos to the three realms. Our master sealed Li Luoning's childhood memories to ensure his safety. I don't know why you're constantly against him, but if you could reconcile, it would be..." Mu Han tried to persuade.
"I thought The Liao Yin Immortal Realm's master was just a wanderer, but it turns out he's quite the busybody. Like master, like disciple," Li Minghan interrupted mockingly.
"So, a fight between us is inevitable today?" Mu Han asked.
"You should know, despite being the master's disciple, my Yueying Core is already awakened. You can't defeat me. Just make it easy on yourself," Li Minghan said, gently waving his black gold fan.
"It's worth a try. But if I win, you must come back to The Liao Yin Immortal Realm with me and reconcile with Li Luoning," Mu Han said, having foreseen this battle. Before he finished speaking, he rushed forward.
"Alright, let's see what you've got," Li Minghan said, launching a black strike from his fan while subtly shaking a bell hidden in his other hand.
Hearing Li Minghan call himself "Sovereign," Mu Han frowned, then realized something. The Demon Lord, since his reappearance, had always worn a mask. Could it be? There was no time to think; Li Minghan's attack was already upon him. Mu Han crossed his palms in defense but was pushed back several meters.
---
In The Flatland inn, Yun Qingyi had just returned after ordering food and drink.
"Xingzhe, the inn has your favorite dishes. I also ordered their best wine and will ask for some hot water to be brought up," Yun Qingyi said, opening the door.
Mi Xingzhe stood by the window, seemingly lost in the night view, not responding to Yun Qingyi.
"Xingzhe, what are you looking at?" Yun Qingyi asked, thinking he hadn't heard and walking over with the wine jug.
Mi Xingzhe still didn't respond, standing rigidly facing the window.
"Xingzhe? Xingzhe? Can you hear me? What's so fascinating?" Yun Qingyi asked, reaching out to turn Mi Xingzhe around.
As Mi Xingzhe turned, a cold flash glinted in Yun Qingyi's eyes, moving from bottom to top. He felt a warm, crimson heat.
"Xing... Xingzhe, what are you doing?" Yun Qingyi looked down at the short blade in his stomach, raising his head slowly to meet Mi Xingzhe's vacant gaze.
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