The assassins sent by the Blood Robe Tower were vicious killers who would rather kill the wrong person than let someone escape.
He already carried too many unjust debts and blood on his hands. If he took on any more, he feared he would be suffocated by the weight before he could finish what he needed to do.
But now, feeling the emptiness of his escape tools and hearing the approaching sound of pursuit from the mountain below…
Emory stood at the edge of the icy cliff, wind howling around him, and a bitter smile once again appeared on his face.
He had reached the end of the road... Was he really going to die here today?
His life, burdened with injustice and false accusations—if it ended just like this, it would be such a cruel joke.
His master and fellow disciples had risked their lives to help him escape the dragon's den. Yet now, he couldn't even go back to save his senior brother!
The heap of false accusations placed on him by that person hadn't been cleared at all!
And inside the Thousand Faces Sect, those blood debts still hadn't been repaid by the real culprit!
He... how could he die?!
How could he die in a place like this, in such a ridiculous and unjust way?!
Emory's breathing slowly calmed down, his eyes shrinking as he stared into the bottomless abyss beneath his feet.
Even if... he ended up half-dead and crippled from the fall, today he had to stay alive!
The Thousand Faces Sect... wasn't made up of just remnants of rebellion!
There were good people in the Thousand Faces Sect who had never done anything evil!
Those debts and accusations couldn't continue to fall on the innocent main disciples of the Thousand Faces Sect!
Determined, and hearing the sharp sounds closing in behind him, Emory shut his eyes, held his breath, and jumped without hesitation into the abyss below!
The frigid wind pierced through his clothes like icy thorns stabbing into his body!
In the instant his mind went blank during the fall, before he had even dropped very far, a slender arm suddenly wrapped around him!
A second later, the clash of weapons and painful screams, along with the sound of sharp blades piercing flesh, echoed from above the cliff!
Emory's eyes snapped open and he saw that he was actually being held by Elara!
Pulled back from the edge of death, he was a little stunned, unable to react.
All he could do was stare at the young girl, clearly more slender and younger than him, yet radiating an internal force far stronger than his. One arm wrapped around his waist, effortlessly carrying him back to the cliffside. The other hand held a bright, sharp sword, and with a flick, the blade struck through the assassin sneaking up behind him like an arrow.
The cold wind brushed past her cheeks, lifting her long hair beside her ears, while the silver moonlight spilled over her fair and delicate face.
Her expression was calm, a little cold, but... beautiful like a fairy. Those words suddenly floated through Emory's blank mind.
In that moment, the sounds of clashing weapons behind him seemed to fade, and the anger and frustration swelling in his heart melted away at the sight of her calm and ethereal face so close.
He never imagined he would be so dazed staring at someone's face in a situation like this.
Until Elara frowned slightly, the hand holding him suddenly pressed hard against the back of his neck, and her face turned toward him. "Careful!"
He instinctively followed her motion and lowered his head.
"Mm!"
In the next second, there was the soft sound of lips colliding.
As he bent down, his face unexpectedly met hers just as she turned her head! Their lips bumped hard into each other!
A warm, fragrant softness mixed with sharp pain... Emory's pupils widened!
Elara didn't expect him to lower his head that fast or that far, hitting her so hard her lips ached and she even tasted a bit of blood.
But right now, she didn't have time to care about their bleeding lips.
Her arm holding Emory tightened slightly, while the other switched back to the sword, deflecting the knife aimed at his back and stabbing back in one swift motion!
"Poof!" Another assassin fell to the ground.
The assassins sent by the Blood Garment Tower to hunt Emory were also from the Heaven Ranking, but they were ranked very low and not strong. At least compared to Elara and the Wei guards, these dozen assassins were dealt with in less than half a minute.
Looking at the ground covered with corpses, Elara let out a slight breath and ordered the Wei guards to quickly handle the bodies. Her hand, which had been around Emory's waist, also let go, and she lifted her eyes to look at him.
But just as she opened her mouth to speak, Emory suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly pulled something from his chest, trying to sprinkle it on her.
"What is this?"
Elara grabbed his hand.
Emory's wrist paused. He glanced at her and quickly lowered his gaze. "This is detox powder specifically for the Blood Garment Tower. Their assassins carry a unique poisonous powder. Anyone who kills them gets contaminated by it and must remove it immediately, or other assassins from the Blood Garment Tower will find them and take revenge."
But as soon as he finished explaining, Emory paused while looking at Elara. His tall figure slightly leaned toward her. Seeing that she didn't show any sign of disgust, he moved a little closer, carefully examined her for a moment, then seemed to realize something and straightened up.
"But it looks like the powder on you has already been neutralized... Was it Oswyn's medicine? Sorry, I forgot."
After Emory spoke, Elara still didn't relax her brow. She immediately told the Wei guards to quickly dispose of the bodies, then called them all to her.
"Check if they have any powder on them."
After Emory examined each Wei guard and confirmed that the poison had been neutralized, just like Elara's, and no trace remained, Elara's brows finally relaxed a bit. She reached out to wrap her arm around Emory's waist again, picked him up, and led the guards quickly down the mountain.
"Let's get out of this place before talking."
At a hidden place at the foot of the mountain
Elara let go of Emory. Before she could speak, he had already knelt down on one knee in front of her.
"Can I beg you for something? My... my senior brother was captured by the people from the Blood Robes. Can you please... save him?"
Having been rescued by Elara from the cliff of Despair Mountain and carried to this safe place, Emory's mind, overwhelmed by many emotions, finally began to recover.
"I'm begging you, help me. As long as you can help me save my senior brother, I... I only have this life left. From now on, this life is yours. Whatever you want me to do, I will never refuse. Please!"
Emory knelt on the ground, looking up at Elara with hope.
He had long been all alone. Other than this life, he had nothing else.
But no matter what, he had to save his senior brother. Even if it meant offering himself in exchange, he had no regrets.
At this moment, the memory of how "Elara" had imprisoned and tormented him in the backyard half a year ago had already drifted far away.
Whether it was his senior brother's life or the unresolved injustices and blood debts of the Thousand Faces Sect, they were all far more important than the pain he had suffered in the past.
Right now, she was the only person he could ask for help.
Fate was cruel. Half a year ago, she was the one he had desperately tried to escape from. Now, she was his only lifeline.
As long as she was willing to say yes, willing to take action, no matter what she wanted, he would never say no.
Elara looked at Emory kneeling in front of her.
From the first time she had seen him in the backyard, her impression of Emory was that he had always been very stubborn.
Whether it was for Scholar Fu or for himself, he once preferred death rather than giving in to the former "Elara."
But now, here he was, kneeling and begging her, even willing to offer himself as a bargaining chip.
Elara didn't deny that she had always envied the Thousand Faces Sect's ever-changing abilities.
She had considered keeping him before.
But at that time, she hadn't reached a point where she urgently needed the Thousand Faces Sect's transformation skills. Emory also had his own matters to attend to, so she didn't force it.
But now.
Elara met his hopeful gaze. "So you left the inn yesterday because you saw the wanted poster for your senior brother?"
"Yes!" Emory nodded, then seemed to remember something. He quickly explained to Elara,
"Please believe me. Whatever the wanted notice said, or whatever those people were discussing, my senior brother and I never did any of that. Our sect is complicated, and its reputation is indeed not good."
"But at least in my memories growing up, my master, my senior brother, and I have never used transformation techniques to harm others. Please believe me!"
Afraid Elara wouldn't believe him, Emory leaned toward her slightly while kneeling. He subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to hold hers and beg her not to believe those rumors.
Elara didn't mind Emory's hand that reached toward hers. Instead, she caught on to a key part of what he said.
"You, your master, and your senior brother... your faction? There are different factions within the Thousand Faces Sect?"
Emory paused. He lowered his eyes, pressed his lips together, and then softly said,
"Yes, but even I... only found out about that three years ago."
"I grew up in the Thousand Faces Sect, always believing that the sect only had people like my master and senior brother. Until three years ago, when a major upheaval happened both inside and outside the sect."
"I was accused of betraying the sect and framed with countless unjust and bloody charges, then hunted by all the forces of the continent. Only then did I learn that there was another faction within the Thousand Faces Sect called the 'Dark Faction.'"
This group was completely different from their teachings. Their methods were vicious, their training cruel, and their ways of using transformation arts were extreme and bloodthirsty.
"I didn't even know there were people like that in our sect. I had always believed that all of us practiced and used our arts to survive, not to harm the innocent."
"It wasn't until I was branded a traitor, hunted down, and forced to escape from the sect that I finally understood. I realized what kind of things the Dark Faction had been doing in the name of the Thousand Faces Sect."
Elara listened without interrupting.
Emory's voice grew quieter, trembling as he spoke, "The sect is rotten. My senior brother and I... we have been trying to expose the truth ever since."
"But we are too weak. Too many people believe the lies spread by the Dark Faction. They think we are the same as those monsters."
"And now, my senior brother has been caught by the Blood Robes, and I know they will hand him over to those people... he will not survive."
His voice cracked slightly. "So I'm begging you. Please save him. I will repay you with my life."
Elara was silent for a moment, then finally spoke, "Do you know where they're keeping him?"
Emory wiped his eyes and nodded, "They're transporting him through the mountains tonight. I followed them all the way to the outer woods of Marigold City. But I couldn't do anything alone. That's why I came back."
"Then lead the way." Elara stood up, eyes calm. "We'll go save your senior brother."
Emory looked up at her, stunned. "You'll really help me?"
"I said I would." Elara glanced down at him. "Get up. We don't have much time."
Emory's heart trembled. He quickly stood and followed closely behind her, filled with both fear and hope.