The red carriage settled down.
The veils on the carriage covered the person inside, but from the outside, one could still see a slender figure laying to her side.
A woman?
He thought to himself.
A woman that could have such a luxurious carriage in the Wang family...there could only be one.
The old man cupped his hands in front and spoke. His deep voice traveled through the space between them.
"I've heard of the Wang's family daughter, Wang Lieyan. Might I ask if you are fellow daoist Wang Lieyan?"
A soft chuckle caught him off guard.
"That's right. I'm Wang Lieyan. Mr. Su Ye, how do you do?"
The old man–or rather, Su Ye narrowed his eyes. The maid by his side–Xiao Lan also looked surprised.
Su Ye barely had any publicity so it was strange for someone to know what he looked like. What's more, he had aged with full of wrinkles.
Even if did have some recognizable features, it would still be hard to recognize him with just one glance.
Su Ye didn't show any hint of surprise and covered his face with a polite smile.
"As expected, Miss Wang really is knowledgeable. Su Ye admires your wisdom."
He did admire her wisdom, but...
Is this how a daughter of the Wang family should act? I've seen the Wang patriarch, but his daughter really is different.
Strictly speaking, Su Daoxuan belonged to one of the older generations. The Wang patriarch was at the same age as his grandparents and his daughter was similar to his mother's age.
But in the cultivation world, age barely mattered.
When you become 1,000 years old, you hardly bother to count.
Su Yixiao was also around 1,000 years old, but he acted like he was 20. Su Daoxuan was 10 times his age, but acted like his was in his 20s as well.
He laughed to himself.
Others get beautiful ladies to accompany their journey, but I get old brats.
Still, he was grateful for them.
Without them, he might have fallen in despair.
"Mr. Su Ye. These names feel too distant and cold. How about I call you Su Ye and you call me Lieyan?"
He still didn't know why she was here. Better to agree to some minor things to not tick her off.
"Since you said so, then I won't be polite."
Cultivators all have their little quirks and can explode into a rage just by a offhand remark.
"Lieyan, are you passing by or are you here for something else? If you are then we can move."
He gave way to her. It wouldn't be in his interest to argue with her and it would only cause harm if they got into a fight.
Call him a coward if you want, he wasn't going to fight to the death for no reason.
But as he finished his words, she didn't respond.
Only after a excruciating and awkward 30 seconds went by did she finally respond.
"Again."
"What?"
"Repeat what you said again."
"..." he looked at Xiao Lan, but she could only shrug.
"We'll give up this spot?"
"Before that."
"...Lieyan?"
"Again."
"Lieyan?"
"Again."
"..."
He looked at Xiao Lan helplessly.
Is the Wang families daughter a pervert of sorts? Don't drag me into your play!
However Xiao Lan smiled and ignored his pleading looks.
Young master, spring has finally arrived for you~
She quietly contained her laughter.
"Why aren't you saying it?"
Su Ye couldn't help feeling ashamed.
A fully grown man repeating a woman's name to them over and over again.
What's worse was that he had just met her!
Could she be flirting with him? With his current looks?
He felt a chill on the back of his neck.
"L-lieyan, we should get down to business."
"...hm."
Her voice hummed out a disappointed tone.
The sounds of her wrist bells rang like clear spring water.
"I apologize, your voice calling out my name was just so beautiful that it made me petrified by it."
Su Ye kept a straight face, but inside he was screaming.
Xiao Lan almost burst out laughing.
In a hundred years this was the first time she's seen Su Ye like this.
Su Ye sideyed Xiao Lan before looking back to Wang Lieyan.
Wait, was he getting hit on?
Or is this just another form of flattery?
His mind went back and forth to the point that it almost fried his brain.
Su Ye jolted himself awake.
Damn it. She's throwing me off my game. Wang Lieyan...what a dangerous person.
Whether it was intentional or not, Wang Lieyan actually caused him to lose his composure.
If this was on the battlefield, would he be this relaxed?
He replied to Wang Lieyan.
"I'll take that as an compliment then."
As his head looked up, time slowed down.
The leaves flew by slowly, while the whistling of the wind became softer. The veils that covered the red golden carriage swayed open.
A elegant hand with a bracelet with countless bells attached to it rang out.
Strands of black hair flowed with the wind as if they were orchestrated to showcase her beauty.
Her long eyelashes and her dark pupils made her look all the more noble.
Against her red robes and gold accessories, she truly looked like a blazing phoenix.
She wore a golden chained veil that covered the lower half of her face and it made her even more mysterious to the beholder.
The moment she made eye contact with Su Ye, there was a feeling of desire and possessiveness.
His cold heart almost skipped a beat.
But beauty alone couldn't make him lose his composure.
Time returned to normal at the sound of a falling droplet hitting the surface.
"Su Ye," she used the back of her hand to accentuate her face, "am I beautiful?"
"Of course."
For Su Ye, she really was indeed beautiful.
But he doubted her intentions.
Without knowing her intent, it was hard to let his guard down.
Compliments never hurt anyone either.
Su Ye joked,
"But having a old man like me compliment your looks, isn't great is it?"
She chuckled. Then she teased him.
"Su Ye, I'm even older than you, would you call me a old woman then?"
"Of course not. However, right now I'm no different from a mortal. I age normally and eventually will die."
He smiled and continued.
"Unlike yourself, who is a cultivator and can live for thousands of years. If I were to compliment you, I fear it may only undermine your beauty."
Wang Lieyan smiled and hid her face with a hand.
"You really know how to flatter a woman~"
Su Ye's eyes twitched.
I was just being polite...
"Age and die like a mortal?" Wang Lieyan slowly shook her head, "I don't think so."
"What does daoist friend mean?"
"..." Wang Lieyan pouted, "you aren't calling by my name anymore?"
Hearing her soft spoken voice, he felt chills up his spine as he was extremely uncomfortable.
"Lieyan...what do you mean?"
Wang Lieyan smiled, "Just that. I don't think that a man as great as yourself would die so easily."
Su Ye looked at her, trying to guess the meaning behind her words.
But her eyes were straight forward and full of confidence.
Does she have some sort of information unknown to me? Clairvoyance? Some sort of future reading ability?
But no matter how Su Ye thought about it, he couldn't believe that he would live.
After all, he still had a mortal's body at the end of the day.
"Though I don't know how you know, but I wonder why your so interested in my life and death."
"It's simple," She leaned in closer with a hand on her chin, "I...like you."
"...."
Everyone present were still as a wooden tree.
Su Ye had a straight face, but he was in turmoil.
A confession? Here in the middle of nowhere?
"Cough, cough!"
Thankfully the one to break the silence was the dying man.
"Can fellow daoist not flirt in front of me? I'm just a inch away from entering the yellow springs..."
Su Ye nodded to quickly change the subject.
I'll just pretend I never heard anything.
"That's right. Lieyan, I have some business so I won't bother you. If you have anything you want to talk about, we can talk afterwards."
He tried to turn back to the dying man, but Wang Lieyan's voice interrupted him.
"What a coincidence. I also have business with him."
Su Ye looked at them both. The dying man cupped his hands in front of him and asked.
"Senior, do you know me?"
"Not really. But I can help you more than he can."
Su Ye was confused.
Did she have the same quirk as I did?
Over the 100 years, besides hunting down cultivators, he would help those that were about to die.
Most times, it was because he was simply passing by.
To not save them when he could, hurted his conscious, but how could he guarantee that the person he saved would not kill innocent people?
This is why he made 3 rules.
Since they were going to die either way, he would help out with some of their dying regrets.
The third rule was simply for him to hear some interesting secrets.
Su Ye stood aside with Xiao Lan as they watched.
Wang Lieyan continued,
"I can not only help your fiance, I can also help save your life."
Hearing this, the dying man had more light in his eyes.
"R-really?"
"I tell no lies."
"...What do you want?"
Such a good deal? Surely there was something that she wanted. But seeing as she was from the Wang family who were known for their straightforwardness, he believed that she wouldn't lie to him.
"I want 3 things."
She listed her price.
"1, after I save you, you must serve me for at least 10 years."
"...alright."
"2, the secret that you were going to tell Su Ye must be given only to me."
His eyes widened.
Was this the real reason why she's willing to save him?
His secret was something that no one should know. How did she know?
Still...
"Alright."
If that meant that he could save his fiance, he would give it to her in a heartbeat.
"3, give me your sword."
"Y-you even know about my sword!? But that sword is...already useless."
"No matter. Just give it to me."
"Alright!"
"Then swear it."
She held out a special treasure. A red mechanical flower floated between them.
"This is called the Oath Flower. Give me a piece of your essence and recite your oath. If you break it, the Oath Flower will burn your essence and carry out your punishment. The same goes for me."
He looked at the flower, but he looked determined.
"I, Long Chen swear. As long as Miss Wang Lieyan follows through with my request, I will uphold the end of my promise. If I fail to do so, my body will be struck by lightning, thousands of blades, and have my soul destroyed to pieces!"
"Swear on your fiance as well. After I save her, she will do the same either way."
He hesitated for a bit and clenched his hands, but nodded.
His life meant nothing, but his fiance...
But if he didn't than she would really be in for a fate worse than death.
"If I fail to uphold my end of the agreement...then let my fiance, Yan Rou...end up like me."
Long Chen's essence entered the Oath Flower. It glowed slightly blue before changing back to a flaming red color.
Wang Lieyan took out a pill with a phoenix drawing etched on it.
"This is the Phoenix Pill. Take it and you'll not only recover, but also regain your cultivation. It can also make your constitution stronger than before."
The pill floated into his hands.
Long Chen nodded and swallowed it without hesitation.
Jiang Ziqan...Just you wait! Yan Rou, I'm coming to save you!
His body was covered in flames as it burned through all the filth in his body.
The pain was excruciating, but there was also a strange feeling of warmth the longer this went.
Su Ye watched all of this unfold.
It was like he was watching a novel unfold in front of his very eyes.
Even his name, Long Chen...No way right?
He hurriedly disregarded the possibility.
Wang Lieyan looked at Su Ye.
"It's going to take a long time for him to fully digest the pill."
She smiled.
"We can talk now right?"