"Brother Fu, what are you saying? When have I ever deceived you?"
Pei Xianqiao's gaze wavered, avoiding his eyes. "Could it be that Brother Fu had seen Yao Ranran's corpse?"
Shen Yuefu's lips pressed into a tight line. The ice beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb, fissures spreading across the ground.
Pei Xianqiao exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Fu, the killing array has been broken!"
Shen Yuefu lifted his hands. The wounds across his palms had yet to fully heal.
"She… who exactly is she?"
It was as if he could not hear Pei Xianqiao's voice. His gaze turned upward, fixed on the collapsing array above. In his cold eyes flickered a trace of regret.
"Brother Fu, I never meant to deceive you. I only wanted you to live."
Pei Xianqiao could not accept Shen Yuefu's accusations. Back then, Yao Ranran had stolen away her chance to be his benefactor, and she had endured the bitterness in silence for years.
But now, she could no longer bear it.
Shen Yuefu's brows drew tight. "I am an elder of Wuxiang Sect. You are a disciple of Wuxiang Sect. The debt I owe you from that day… how many years must I spend to repay it?"
"You… what are you saying?" Pei Xianqiao's eyes glistened with heartbreak. She could not understand his meaning.
The man she had thought about day and night, for whom she had wasted countless years, how could he speak such words?
Was the bond between them only that childhood act of saving his life?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deadly Zhu Xian Array shattered completely.
Pei Xianqiao shouted bitterly, "Elder Shen, Brother Fu, I did deceive you. Yao Ranran's corpse truly still exists in this world!"
At that exact moment, Yao Ranran, who was releasing her flying boat, froze.
"…???"
Had she missed a whole part of the story?
"Yao Ranran!!" Elder Shang, who had hidden his aura and remained invisible, nearly dropped his eyes out of their sockets.
Hadn't he only come to watch quietly, hoping that little Pei would finally give up on Shen Yuefu? How had Yao Ranran suddenly appeared alive in front of them?
Wasn't she supposed to be dead?!
Pei Xianqiao, still quarreling with Shen Yuefu, turned her head at Elder Shang's cry.
Yao Ranran: "..."
Why was everyone staring at her like that, with terror and disbelief in their eyes?
Maybe now would be a good time to say hello, since their gazes were making her feel rather awkward.
Yao Ranran raised her hand in a wave. "Hello. Till we meet again."
Without waiting for a response, she leapt onto the flying boat. The lotus-shaped bells rang with a crisp chime, and in the blink of an eye, she soared out of Qingshui County.
Pei Xianqiao: "..."
Elder Shang: Perhaps this was all just a dream.
"You saw it for yourself. Yao Ranran stood right before us, alive, and flew away on a flying boat… a flying boat?" Shen Yuefu's eyes changed, his anger forgotten, replaced by utter shock.
"A flying boat? Yao Ranran actually has a flying boat?"
His pupils constricted. Flying boats were not common items.
Even as an elder, the only one he possessed was a small-class vessel. But judging by Yao Ranran's speed, her flying boat's quality was in no way inferior to his.
Pei Xianqiao opened her mouth, but her mood could no longer be described with the word "shocked."
Yao Ranran's sudden reappearance had shattered her heart.
A person who should have been dead, standing alive and energetic, greeting them like nothing had happened—and then taking out an extremely rare flying boat to escape…
Elder Shang swallowed hard. With his cultivation, he could tell clearly now: Yao Ranran was indeed alive.
Then what about the black-robed man?
"This is bad. Yao Ranran must have used some life-preserving technique to survive his attack. We can't delay any longer. Xiao Pei, quickly, we must leave!"
Without Yao Ranran distracting the enemy, Elder Shang feared the black-robed man would soon target him. His heart raced with anxiety.
Pei Xianqiao, still reeling in disbelief, was jolted back to her senses by Elder Shang's shout.
"Elder Shen… Brother Fu, believe me or not, this time I must take you away from here!"
"Master, that overwhelming aura is gone. You don't need to be afraid."
Just as Pei Xianqiao reached out to grab Shen Yuefu, a childish voice rang in her mind.
"What is here that frightens you so?" Shen Yuefu's suspicion toward her only deepened after Yao Ranran's departure.
He coldly avoided her grasp, his gaze piercing and severe.
Pei Xianqiao froze. The voice of the Spirit of Fixed Mirror had left her dumbstruck.
That overwhelming aura had disappeared?
What did that mean?
She dared not think further. She refused to approach that dreadful conclusion.
Yao Ranran's calm departure, her breaking of the killing array, the sudden disappearance of the presence behind it all—together, they pointed toward one single truth.
The Spirit of Fixed Mirror silently slipped from Pei Xianqiao's sleeve, staring toward the distant sky where Yao Ranran's boat vanished. On its childish face lingered a look of confusion.
Had it… chosen the wrong master?
…
"Fairy Sister, you, you actually have a flying boat?"
Meng Xiangxiang emerged from the cabin, gazing down at the landscape below. His pupils trembled violently.
Yao Ranran smiled lightly. "I am a refiner. I forged it myself."
Meng Xiangxiang's mouth fell wide open, disbelief written all over his face.
"Fairy Sister, you mean… you alone forged this flying boat?"
"Yes." Yao Ranran saw nothing unusual in her statement.
Meng Xiangxiang shuddered. This was the first time he had heard of anyone forging a complete flying boat by themselves.
Even as a native of Qingshui County, he had heard of the luxury and complexity of flying boats. It was said that the craft was extremely complicated, and the blueprints were rare, mostly held by great sects and ancient families.
Even with a blueprint, forging such a vessel—capable of shifting in size and moving with astonishing speed—required the combined efforts of multiple high-ranked refiners.
One wrong step, and all materials would be ruined. It demanded flawless coordination and exquisite skill.
And this Fairy Sister had claimed she forged one entirely on her own…
Meng Xiangxiang's mouth hung so wide open it could fit two eggs.
Yao Ranran paid him no mind. Her gaze fixed on a streak of spiritual light rushing across the sky. She increased the boat's speed.
The light fell into her hand, revealing the shape of a translucent transmission talisman.
"Master, Yun Gu Sect has won a great victory. The Demon Sovereign's generals have been defeated one by one. Of those sent here, I alone still live!"
Lu Ziqian's excited voice rang through, and Yao Ranran fell into thought.
A lone star of calamity, truly hard fate!
…
"What? All of them are dead?"
Elsewhere, Li Luoqi also received word of the battle.
The law protector's face was grim. "The Yun Gu Sect saw through our plan. They seized the ambush, struck first, and slew the generals we sent. Now only one has successfully escaped…"
"Who?" Li Luoqi's hands crushed the armrest in fury.
The protector said, "A scholar named Lu Ziqian."
"A scholar? Have you investigated his origins?" Li Luoqi's eyes turned icy.
"Yes, Demon Sovereign. I have thoroughly checked his background. He is just an ordinary scholar… though his body bears very strong evil spirit. He has killed many, his heart ruthless, cunning, and deceptive. That is why he alone survived this battle."