Chapter 1140: Alone and Dejected
The biting cold pressure made Xu Yu feel like an ordinary person stuck in a raging snowstorm. He immediately replied, “Sect Master Yan, please do not misunderstand! All I meant was that the court and the White Jade Sect have always mutually benefited…”
However, even after such polite phrases, the other party was still unfazed. He could only change his strategy and say, “According to this humble official’s sources, the White Jade Sect and the Jian clan have partnered in a lot of businesses over the last few years.”
Yan Xuehen’s eyes narrowed and she retorted, “What? Are you going to investigate that? All of our businesses are proper. We have never feared the court’s investigation.”
“They may be proper, but that does not mean they follow the laws. The scale of your business far exceeds that of what the court allows…” Xu Yu began. Seeing that the other party’s expression was turning unpleasant, he changed the topic again. “There is no need for the sect master to be worried. Now that something has happened to Jian Taiding, as well as Madam Yu’s matter, the Jian clan’s downfall is inevitable. Your business obligations will not last for long.
“Should things go as expected, this humble official will still be in Cloudcenter Commandery and remain in charge of political matters. I can continue to permit this business.”
Yan Xuehen added coldly, “Are you not scared of his majesty finding out about this?”
Xu Yu cupped his hands and said, “His majesty is brilliant and wise; he will naturally be able to empathize with our hardships. I do not think he will be too critical.”
Yan Xuehen was feeling extremely vexed. If she acted on her usual temper, she would already have sent this old fox of an official flying with a wave of her sleeves. But she wasn’t alone; she had a massive sect behind her. Cultivation required a tremendous amount of resources. Forget about cultivation resources, just the basic necessities like food, drink, and other lifestyle goods totaled up to a huge figure.
Seeing that her expression had eased up a bit, Xu Yu quickly said, “Sect Master Yan, according to what I know, your junior brother died because of the fiend races in the great war between the humans and fiend races back then. The fiend races have already infiltrated the human world this time; this is a big deal! If Yu Yanluo is allowed to return to the fiend races, who knows how many of our secrets she will take with her, and how many innocent lives it will affect as a result?”
Sure enough, Yan Xuehen was shaken when she heard that. Those from the righteous faction like her viewed the elimination of evil as their responsibility, not to mention that there really was a great blood feud between them and the fiend races.
She finally nodded after thinking about the situation, saying, “Fine, I will make an exception and personally interfere this once.”
As soon as she spoke, she quickly headed out of the monastery. She seemed to be walking on thin air, disappearing into the horizon step by step.
Xu Yu exited as well. When he saw her beautiful white-clad figure disappear, he couldn't help but say with a sigh, “Just like a goddess…”
…
Meanwhile, Zu An and Yu Yanluo had returned to Jian Yanyou’s secluded room through the secret passage. The secret room had a special seal arranged around it, so they didn’t have to worry about anyone else using it.
Zu An said, “Madam must have felt quite alarmed these past few days. You should rest in the manor for a bit.”
But to his surprise, Yu Yanluo instead shook her head and said, “I cannot. Xu Yu’s men are searching for me; their investigation will bring them here eventually. I cannot involve you in this too.”
Zu An laughed and replied, “You’re treating me like an outsider here. Why would I be scared of getting involved with you?”
Yu Yanluo looked at him in a daze. A blush crossed her pretty face as she said, “The Yu clan has already fallen. Your duke status is the only chance we have of a comeback. That is why I cannot drag you into this.”
Zu An figured that what she had just said made sense. The Yu clan was definitely going to take a huge blow. Many of their properties might be swallowed up by greedy bullies. As long as he remained the duke, he could at least help them a bit.
“I will only be a source of danger for you if I stay here, so it would be best if I leave for now. Furthermore, I am worried about my clansmen too.” Yu Yanluo continued.
“Where would you go? The fiend race territories?” Zu An asked.
Yu Yanluo replied, “Even though I do not want to go there, the way things are, there is no other choice.”
Zu An noticed that she had subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, seeming somewhat cold. He knew she wasn’t lying.
It was winter at the moment. Cloudcenter Commandery was already so cold, let alone the fiend race territories even further north. Meanwhile, the Snake race was known to fear the cold. Yu Yanluo had to stay inside a geothermally heated room everyday, so Zu An could imagine what it would be like in the fiend race territories.
“Then I’ll help you leave the city. I don’t think the defenses have completely closed up yet,” Zu An replied, looking in the city gate’s direction. There had been too many Snake race people before, so there was no way he could break them all out himself. But if it were just one person, it wasn’t too difficult to break through the city defenses.
Yu Yanluo was about to instinctively refuse, but when she looked at his face, for some reason, she didn’t. She thought, Sigh, I actually don’t want to be separated from him so soon…
The two of them secretly left the Duke Manor. Even though the city walls’ defenses were rather tight, Cloudcenter City was too large. There was no way Xu Yu could have made its borders airtight like the residence Yu Yanluo had previously been locked up in. With their cultivations, and because Yu Yanluo’s cultivation had been unsealed, they quickly found an opportunity to slip past.
However, they sensed a sharp sword intent roaming the skies soon after they left.
Zu An couldn't help but curse, remarking, “Does that guy not know when to stop?”
Yu Yanluo said quietly, “He probably lost track of us and continued to investigate around the city walls, waiting for us to walk straight into a trap. But we were quite lucky and he didn’t notice us when we emerged.”
Zu An was still worried. He said, “We should get out of here as quickly as possible. A master rank cultivator’s soul is extremely powerful. We won’t be able to get away once his aura locks onto us.”
“Okay,” Yu Yanluo replied. Her cheeks turned red. The scene from Jasper Lane appeared in her mind. There was no way she would be doing that again.
…
Yu Yanluo led Zu An all the way north. Zu An sighed when he saw the majestic mountains in the distance, asking, “Are we going to the Great Snowy Mountain?”
Yu Yanluo shook her head, replying, “No, we are going to one of the Yu clan’s ore veins. There is a small path that leads to the fiend race territories inside. My clansmen should be there right now.”
Zu An’s expression changed. The fiend races actually had passages that led straight into the humans’ territory?
As if she had guessed what he was thinking, Yu Yanluo said, “The fiend races do not know about this secret tunnel, and I have set up a special seal. WIthout the key, the entire secret passage will collapse on itself if anyone tries to open it. I have human blood within me too, so I do not want to see this side of the world in chaos either.”
Even though she had never admitted to it in public, there was no reason for her to hide her Medusa side when just the two of them were alone.
Zu An also relaxed a bit now that they were out of danger. He said mischievously, “I’m really curious what your original form is like. For example, if you drink some realgar wine[1], will you return to your normal form?” He glanced toward her bottom when he said that, as if he were checking to see if she had a tail.
Yu Yanluo was speechless. She replied impatiently, “There is no way that could be the case. I have always had a human body. Only when I use my Medusa’s Eye at full power does my hair manifest some small snakes. But according to the Snake race’s ancient texts, if my power becomes stronger and my bloodline’s strength gradually awakens, when I use all of my power, my legs might turn into a snake tail…”
She became worried as she spoke, continuing, “I do not want to become like that; I would feel so ugly. Would you avoid me then?”
“Of course not,” Zu An replied.
“Really?” Yu Yanluo was a bit confused as she said, “But from what I know, other humans are quite scared of such a form.”
“That’s normal people; I’m different. I’ve already met Zhao Ling’er, Lady Bai, the Medusa Queen… They’re all incredibly beautiful,” Zu An replied, as several classic silhouettes emerged in his mind.
“Who are Zhao Ling’er and Lady Bai?” Yu Yanluo asked, confused. She continued, “And you’ve met my mother?” She clearly thought that the ‘Medusa Queen’ Zu An had mentioned was her mother.
“Ahem, you’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t talking about your mother, but rather a story from my hometown,” Zu An said. “If you want to hear the story, I can tell you about it along the way.”
“Sure, I want to hear Zhao Ling’er and Lady Bai’s stories too,” Yu Yanluo replied, and her eyes flickered like gemstones.
…
The two of them headed toward the ore veins. Zu An told her about the stories of ‘Chinese Paladin’, ‘Legend of the White Snake’, and ‘Battle Through the Heavens’.
“Zhao Ling’er is just too pitiful. Is that Li Xiaoyao not just a despicable player?”
“Uh, he lost his memory.”
“But that is not okay even if you lose your memory! And that name keeps reminding me of that stupid drunkard. I don’t like him.”
“...”
“And what is with that Xu Xian? Lady Bai was so good to him, and yet he colluded with Fahai to harm her. He really is a fickle-minded and shameless person.”
“Um… I agree with that one. But Xu Xian is just a normal person, so you can’t have too high expectations of him.”
“Also, that Xiao Yan, is he not just taking advantage of their difficulties?”
“Huh? But they were a pretty good match at the tie…”
“Why is it that no matter how stunning these Snake race women are in these stories, they all end up with such despicable playboys? Is this our fate or something?” Yu Yanluo lowered her head as she spoke. The faint moonlight scattered down across her cheeks, making her look incredibly sad and lonely.
When Zu An saw that the stories had actually brought her down, he quickly said in consolation, “Don’t worry, I’m different from them!”
Yu Yanluo raised her head and looked at him in a daze. Her cheeks gradually reddened. In the stories Zu An had spoken of, the male and female leads were either married couples or had physical relationships. Was he hinting at something?
…
Yan Xuehen floated over Cloudcenter City. She scanned the city that was full of splendid lights with her powerful divine will.
1. Realgar is an arsenic sulfide compound known for its toxicity, used as a repellent for snakes and insects and thus seen as an antidote against venom in traditional Chinese medicine; wine mixed with realgar is traditionally consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival. ☜