Chapter 144: Night of Liberation
Su Tianhao stood silently at the front door, golden eyes sweeping the dimly lit courtyard. The pitch-black sky stretched endlessly above, scattered with tiny, flickering stars. The steady chirping of crickets filled the air, accompanied by the faint whisper of wind rustling through the trees and tugging gently at his azure robes.
"I must take advantage of the darkness to get Xie Ling out safely—that way, I might be able to avoid Su Liang entirely," he murmured, voice barely louder than the breeze.
As the saying goes—the night hides both predator and prey.
Tonight, he intended to be neither.
'There should be guards on patrol. If someone important had been dismissed from the family, the announcement would have been made by now... But I don't think they'll extend that courtesy to Xie Ling,' he thought, his mind running through the implications.
'Which means the guards would treat her as a deserter if we try to leave tonight.'
He frowned.
Going out this late was already suspicious—and Xie Ling's freedom hadn't been made public. He smiled bitterly at the complication.
'But it's not going to stop me.'
With that settled, he walked calmly toward Xie Ling, his steps soft and soundless.
"It's quite the peaceful atmosphere for cultivation, isn't it?" he said, coming to a stop before her.
Xie Ling's lashes trembled. Her eyes opened slowly, a brilliant light flickering in her pupils.
"Young Master!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry for disturbing you," Su Tianhao said.
In the cultivation world, interrupting someone during active cultivation was a serious offense—it could disrupt spiritual energy flow, ruin a potential breakthrough, or even cause dangerous backlash. Fortunately, Xie Ling had only been cycling spiritual energy rather than attempting a breakthrough. That alone was why Su Tianhao dared to interrupt. Still, courtesy demanded an apology.
Xie Ling blinked. "Y-Young Master, there's no need to apologize!"
"And there's no need for all that formality," Su Tianhao said calmly. "I'm no longer your young master. From now on—just call me Tianhao."
"T-Tian... Hao..." Xie Ling tried the name with a bitter smile. After years of calling him Young Master, it sat strangely in her mouth.
"You'll get used to it," he said. "For now, we're getting you out of here. Tonight."
"Now?" Xie Ling blinked, genuinely puzzled.
"Yes. Tonight is the best opportunity to leave without alerting Su Liang or anyone who might try to interfere."
Xie Ling was quiet for a moment, her expression shifting with the tide of her thoughts. Then she looked up and met his eyes directly.
"You're right," she said, her voice settling into something firm. "Tonight marks my liberation."
"Good." Su Tianhao's gaze shifted. "Do you have a spatial ring?"
"No. Only a storage pouch." She frowned slightly. "Why?"
"Because," he said, raising a finger—and on it, a small silver ring gleamed faintly in the darkness, "I'll be giving you one parting gift."
"No—you've done enough already!" Xie Ling's eyes went wide.
He shook his head calmly.
Shing!
The ring's light brightened in an instant, and a small pile of glistening crystals materialized on the stone ground between them—each one shimmering with spiritual energy that cast a subtle glow across the courtyard.
"Spirit stones!" Xie Ling's eyes widened. Although spirit stones weren't rare among cultivators of considerable standing, they were something people of lower status might never see in their entire lifetimes.
"One hundred of them," Su Tianhao said softly. "They should be more than enough to help you live comfortably in whatever mortal town you choose."
Xie Ling stood frozen, the realization settling slowly.
'He's just giving them to me...' she thought, her heart trembling.
To her, it was overwhelming. To Su Tianhao, it was a minor effort. With five thousand spirit stones expected from the sale of the pill recipes by morning, he could afford this without a second thought.
Then, without warning—
"Waah... Waah...!!!"
Xie Ling's composure broke entirely. She fell to her knees, hands covering her face, her body shaking with sobs she could no longer contain.
Su Tianhao's eyes widened. He knelt quickly beside her, voice laced with quiet concern. "Xie Ling—what's wrong?"
But she couldn't stop. Years of held-back guilt came flooding out at once.
"Waah... Y-Young Master..." she managed between sobs. "Why... Why are you doing all this... I don't deserve it... I don't..."
Su Tianhao's expression softened, his chest tightening at the raw pain in her voice.
"Xie Ling," he said quietly, "sometimes the greatest kindness we receive isn't because we deserve it—but because someone sees the person we still have the chance to become. You deserve to be free. To live a life of your own choosing. Don't let the weight of the past define you."
Her crying slowly faded. She looked up at him, eyes red-rimmed but bright with something genuine—gratitude, and the first fragile seeds of hope.
"Thank you, Tianhao," she whispered. "Thank you."
He nodded once. "Now—let's get you out of here."
She nodded, eyes still moist but steady with resolve.
Whoosh!
In one fluid motion, she gathered all the spirit stones into her storage pouch.
"Let's go."
---
The two moved silently through Fei Wu Quarter, footsteps barely disturbing the night air. Su Tianhao led the way, golden eyes sharp and alert, reading every shadow and every corner. Xie Ling followed close behind, her breathing controlled despite the tension in her heart.
As they neared the boundary between Fei Wu Quarter and the main estate, Su Tianhao raised a hand.
Xie Ling stopped immediately.
Ahead—faint torchlight flickered in the distance. Guards on patrol.
Su Tianhao's eyes narrowed, his mind shifting into the calculating, street-sharp mode that had kept him alive as the Little Rogue of Willow Creek Town. He observed the guards' rhythm, their blind spots, the lazy arc of their turns at certain intervals.
Two guards. Moving in pairs. Torch held high on the left. They pause at the eastern gate every three minutes.
His memory mapped the estate's layout—narrow alleyways, blind corners, the old servant passages he had explored during his early days here. Back then, he'd been looking for shortcuts to the public library. Tonight, those same routes would serve a different purpose entirely.
"Stay close," he whispered. "Follow my lead exactly. Don't hesitate."
Xie Ling nodded without a word.
He waited, counting in his head. The moment the guards turned away, he moved—not rushing, but gliding through the shadows like smoke. Steps deliberate, weight on the balls of his feet, no unnecessary sound. Every movement was efficient and natural.
Xie Ling matched him, her own cultivation lending her the same quiet precision.
They slipped past the first checkpoint, ducking behind a stone pillar as another guard passed on the opposite side. Su Tianhao's hand shot out, pressing lightly on Xie Ling's shoulder to hold her still. The guard's footsteps echoed against the stone path and faded.
They moved again—through a narrow alley between two storage buildings, dark and cluttered with old crates and forgotten tools. Su Tianhao navigated it without hesitation, his memory of the estate's layout guiding him like an internal map.
As they neared the main gates, he pulled her into a shadowed alcove.
"Three guards ahead," he breathed. "Stationed at the gate."
Xie Ling's breath caught. "How do we get past?"
The faintest smile crossed his lips—one that carried a ghost of the boy he used to be, slipping through crowds and evading trouble with nothing but wit and timing.
"We don't go through the gate," he said. "We go around it."
He led her along the estate's perimeter wall, staying low, moving in rhythm with the wind that masked their footsteps. Then his eyes caught it—a section of wall where old vines had grown thick and sturdy, clinging to the stone like natural rope.
"Can you climb?" he asked.
Xie Ling glanced at the wall, then back at him. "I'm a 4th level Martial Adept. A wall like this is nothing."
"Good."
He went first—scaling it with practiced ease, fluid and efficient, no wasted motion. Years of climbing rooftops and slipping through tight spaces had honed this to instinct.
Xie Ling followed, her cultivation making the ascent even smoother.
At the top, Su Tianhao paused, scanning the street below. The roads of Oakwood City stretched out quiet and empty under the night sky.
"Clear," he murmured.
They dropped down onto the other side, landing softly on the dirt path.
For a moment, neither moved. They simply stood in the cool night air, beyond the walls of the Su family estate.
Xie Ling turned to look back. Her expression was unreadable—then, slowly, a small smile found its way onto her face. Fragile. Genuine. Full of both sorrow and relief.
"I'm free," she whispered.
Su Tianhao looked at her, golden eyes quiet. "Yes. You are."
Silence stretched between them, unhurried.
"Where will you go?" he asked.
Xie Ling glanced down at her storage pouch, feeling the weight of what lay inside. Then she looked up at the stars.
"I don't know yet," she admitted. "But I'll figure it out."
Su Tianhao nodded. "Good."
He reached into the spatial ring and withdrew two pill bottles, pressing them into her hand.
"What are these?" she asked.
"Healing pills and Qi recovery pills. Just in case." His voice was simple, matter-of-fact. "The road ahead won't always be kind. But I believe you'll find your way."
Xie Ling's eyes glistened. This time, she held the tears back. Instead, she bowed—deep and unhurried—her voice carrying the full weight of everything she couldn't say.
"Thank you, Tianhao. For everything."
"Take care of yourself, Xie Ling," he said quietly.
She straightened, turned, and began walking down the road. Her figure grew smaller in the distance, then smaller still—until the darkness swallowed her completely.
Su Tianhao watched until the last trace of her disappeared. Then he turned away, gaze drifting back toward the Su family estate rising behind the walls.
'One debt repaid,' he thought. 'Now it's time to move forward.'
He pulled his hood up and disappeared into the night.