Huan Changming's teeth were clenched so tightly that they were chattering. If he could get out of here alive today, he would repay Huan Mi a thousand times over for what she had done to him!
But now he is a complete cripple, with broken meridians in his hands and feet, and can only lie on the ground waiting to die.
He was unwilling to accept this; his life could not end in this godforsaken place!
The crisp sound of a sword suddenly drowned out the footsteps, and a streak of blue light was reflected on the river surface.
Huan Changming looked up and felt a gentle breeze brush past him, the soft and clear light illuminating the entire dark and gloomy river cave.
Atop a long sword approaching from afar stood a young man in white, treading on the sword with an ethereal and otherworldly air, like a deity.
—It illuminated Huan Changming's lifeless eyes.
"Who dares to trespass on my territory?"
The deity descended before Huan Changming, who stared intently at a white piece of clothing lying beside him, as if a drowning person had spotted a piece of driftwood while struggling in the water.
And this driftwood was within his reach.
Huan Changming suddenly used all the remaining strength in his body, curled up like an ugly worm, and slowly crawled forward half an inch.
His blood-stained pinky finger touched the other's hem, leaving a dirty bloodstain on the pristine white fabric. He whispered weakly, "Immortal Lord, save me..."
Lu Pianpian glanced down at the bride on the ground. Her face was obscured by her hair. A long sword flew from his hand, piercing the air and blocking the enemy's attack.
He bent down and gently grasped the other person's blood-soaked hand, replying softly, "Okay."
A note from the author:
There will be another update at 9 PM tonight, and from now on, updates will be at 9 PM every night, daily updates;
Remember to come visit your junior sister and senior brother!
Chapter 5
After Lu Pianpian finished speaking, she suddenly felt a burning sensation in her chest, and Xiao Shu's weak voice reached her mind: "Pianpian, don't..."
The little book's words came to an abrupt end, and the burning sensation from the booklet vanished instantly.
What do you not want?
Lu Pianpian pressed Xiao Shu with her inner voice, but Xiao Shu did not answer her again, as if she had fallen asleep again.
A cold gust of wind suddenly swept towards Lu Pianpian's face; the enemy before her did not allow Lu Pianpian to be distracted any longer.
He withdrew his attack, the sword in mid-air returned to his hand, and he swung it upwards, unleashing a swift sword strike at the enemy. The strike was dodged, but landed on the cave wall, the impact reverberating throughout the entire river cave.
"Where did this stinking cultivator come from! Doesn't he know that ruining someone's marriage will get him struck by lightning!"
Huan Changming's voice was barely audible: "Immortal Lord, I was forced into this. He will kill me..."
"Don't be afraid."
Lu Pianpian scrutinized the enemy's appearance, then slashed down with her sword, "His eyes are cloudy and showing signs of decline, his forehead is purple and seems to be drifting between yin and yang, and his aura is as cold as a corpse... I have seen evil cultivators before, some good and some bad, but someone like you who relies on absorbing the essence and lifespan of young women to prolong his own life is definitely not good."
This heretical cultivator was seen through at a glance by Lu Pianpian. He was so angry that he laughed instead, showing a bit of a do-or-die attitude. "Even so, what can you do to me?"
"Nothing much." With a swift movement, the sword technique transformed into a sword array in the air, the dazzling azure light blinding the evil cultivator. The young man's clear voice, at this moment, was as ethereal and otherworldly as a deity judging demons, "They deserve to be killed."
This evil cultivator is nearing the end of his lifespan and is only able to prolong his existence by absorbing the life essence of ordinary people and transferring it to himself. He is already at his last gasp, and now that he has encountered such a powerful sword cultivator, he is completely powerless to fight back.
The sword formation, like shackles, assaulted him, causing him to cough up blood and collapse to the ground. "You, who exactly are you... We have no grudge against each other, why are you forcing me to my death?"
"Don't you immortal cultivators all value compassion and saving people from suffering?!"
Lu Pianpian turned her back and walked towards the bride who was lying on the ground, barely alive. "Buddha has instructed me to tell you that you are not worthy of his salvation."
Huan Changming stared blankly at the person walking slowly towards him. Compared to him, who seemed so easily crushed with a single finger, the person was far too powerful, making Huan Changming appear like a lowly and weak ant.
Lu Pianpian half-squatted down in front of him, then paused as she reached for his waist. "Miss, may I hug you?"
Huan Changming nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry for the offense."
Having received the girl's permission, Lu Pianpian was about to pick her up when that invisible force suddenly dragged Huan Changming back to the evil cultivator. The evil cultivator viciously grabbed Huan Changming's neck and threatened Lu Pianpian, "Didn't Buddha say that even if I die, I'll take someone down with me!"
Lu Pianpian suddenly turned around. Because the bride was being choked, she was forced to raise her chin, allowing Lu Pianpian to see her face clearly. It was that beautiful foreign girl.
Lu Pianpian paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "Stop causing any more bloodshed."
The evil cultivator lightly touched Huan Changming's face with his other hand, and was about to speak when Lu Pianpian suddenly shouted: "Speak up, then! Show some respect to a young lady!"
The evil cultivator withdrew his hand due to his cultivation level, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Let me go, and I'll spare her life; otherwise, I'll make her pay with her life!"
Huan Changming was unable to make a sound as his throat was being choked. He could only look at Lu Pianpian with pleading eyes, fearing that she would let him die at the hands of this evil cultivator.
Lu Pianpian's heart softened at his pitiful eyes, and sheathed her sword. "Fine, I'll let you go."
His senior sister and junior brother are still outside; he won't survive if he leaves this cave.
The evil cultivator laughed triumphantly, and while holding Huan Changming hostage, he withdrew from the river cave.
Lu Pianpian covered her feet with spiritual energy and walked on the water, keeping a considerable distance from him.
Upon sensing a glimmer of light, the evil cultivator was overjoyed and couldn't wait to run out.
"Pianpian, how's it going inside?"
Upon hearing Qu Surou's voice, Lu Pianpian knew something was wrong. Sure enough, the evil cultivator was furious, "You tricked me!"
Lu Pianpian said matter-of-factly, "You didn't even ask me how many people I brought."
He could be easily overwhelmed by a single swordsman, and now he even has companions.
Knowing that his time was coming to an end, he decided to take these people down with him, declaring, "If I can't live, none of you will survive either!"
He released Huan Changming and slapped his dantian with both palms. Cracks appeared on his body, emitting an eerie purple light.
Knowing he was about to self-destruct, Lu Pianpian quickly summoned her sword and stepped onto it. Before Huan Changming could fall into the water, she caught him and scooped him up in her arms, then swiftly fled the cave on her sword. "Senior sister and junior brother, don't come in! Someone is about to self-destruct!"
"Lu Pianpian, what terrible thing did you do to force someone to self-destruct!"
Lu Pianpian was unable to explain, and the evil cultivator was still hot on her heels, shouting, "None of you are getting away!"
The sound of breaking grew louder and louder. Lu Pianpian was worried that the girl in her arms was scared. She looked down and found that the girl was indeed pale with fear.
He hugged her tighter and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I promised to save you, and I will."
Huan Changming stared into his eyes, as if trying to find convincing evidence in them.
A deafening explosion echoed throughout the entire river cave. Huan Changming was knocked unconscious by the shock. His last thought was that he just wanted to survive in the dark cave.
Just before the river cave collapsed, Lu Pianpian flew out carrying her bride.
"Senior sister, quickly save them!"
Qu Surou's medical skills were passed down from Qu Fuyi since childhood. She flew to Lu Pianpian on her sword and used her spiritual power to check the condition of the bride in his arms. She frowned and said, "Her tendons in her hands and feet are all severed, and she has many bleeding wounds on her body. She is about to die."
"Is there no hope? She looks about our age. We can't just watch her die, Senior Sister!"
Qu Surou used a spell to protect Huan Changming's heart meridian. "I don't have any medicine with me right now. To save her, I have to set off back to the sect immediately."
"Alright, let's head back to the sect now!"
"Immortals, how could you blow up the river cave where we worship our ancestors!" The villagers, rescued and brought ashore, cried out in despair upon seeing the destroyed river cave. "This will surely bring divine retribution upon us..."
Lu Pianpian looked at Huan Juntian, "Junior brother, why don't you stay and explain a few things to them?"
"What did you encounter in the cave, senior brother?"
Lu Pianpian briefly explained, "He was an evil cultivator nearing the end of his life. He survived by absorbing the life essence and lifespan of a young woman, and he has now self-destructed and died."
“I understand, I will stay and explain.” Huan Juntian knew that the bride’s condition was not optimistic. “Senior brothers and sisters, you should go back to the sect to save her first. I will return shortly after.”
"good."
After returning to the sect, Lu Pianpian carried the bride into her room, but was then chased out by Qu Surou, who said, "This young lady is in bad shape. You stay outside and keep watch, don't let anyone disturb me."
"Okay, I'll protect you outside, Senior Sister..."
Lu Pianpian sat on the stone steps by the door for most of the night before Qu Surou finally opened the door and came out, saying, "You're out of danger for now."
Seeing that her face was a little pale, Lu Pianpian guessed that she must have exhausted a lot of energy. "Senior sister, you've worked hard. Go and rest quickly."
Qu Surou shook her head. "That young lady is only human. I reckon she'll get a fever in the middle of the night and might die if she can't make it. I have to stay with her."
Lu Pianpian felt sorry for her senior sister, "I know how to deal with a fever, so leave the rest to me. You go and rest first."
Qu Surou knew Lu Pianpian's medical skills were limited, but she had indeed spent a lot of effort to pull the young lady back from the brink of death. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then I'll go lie down for a while. If her condition worsens in the middle of the night and you can't handle it, come and call me immediately."
"OK."
After Qu Surou left, Lu Pianpian went into her room, dragged a chair to the bedside, and prepared to keep watch all night.
The person lying unconscious on the bed was sleeping very restlessly, with their brows tightly furrowed, as if they were being haunted by nightmares.
Lu Pianpian still remembered when she saw her under the maple tree. Although she was thin, she was fine. Now, she had not only almost lost her life, but her face had also been disfigured. She knew that she had suffered a lot of cruel torture at the hands of the evil cultivators in that river cave, and her dreams were probably filled with those agonizing scenes.
He took out a box of calming incense from the cabinet, lit it, and used his spiritual power to guide the fragrance into the other person's meridians. After a while, seeing that the other person's brow had calmed down, he stopped.
As Qu Surou had predicted, the girl developed a fever again that night.
Fortunately, Lu Pianpian was prepared. First, she used her spiritual power to dispel some heat from the other party, and then she fetched water, wet a handkerchief, and wrung it out.
The girl's hair was a little messy. Lu Pianpian paused for a moment, then reached out to brush the hair away from her forehead and whispered, "I'm sorry for the intrusion."
He changed her handkerchief more than ten times throughout the night. As dawn approached, Qu Surou woke up and checked on her injuries. She took out the medicine she had brought from her room and said, "She's alright now. You've been watching over her all night. Go and take a nap in Huan San's room."
Lu Pianpian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but then saw Qu Surou lifting the girl's clothes to apply medicine, so she immediately turned her back and said, "Senior sister, I'll go out first."
He walked to the door and was about to close it when he heard Qu Surou scream, "Why did you bite me!"
"What happened, Senior Sister?"
Lu Pianpian turned back, and Qu Surou frowned, clutching her left hand, spilling medicine powder all over the floor. "Lu Pianpian, you deal with the people you brought back yourself. I'm not putting up with this anymore!"
Qu Surou showed him her left hand, which had a bright red ring of teeth marks on it, and was still bleeding. "I saw that she was dirty, so I helped her take off her coat. I found that her wounds hadn't been treated yet, so I was about to apply medicine to her when she suddenly woke up and almost bit my flesh off!"
Lu Pianpian glanced at the girl lying on the bed. Although she looked sickly, her eyes were full of vigilance as she looked at them.
Lu Pianpian said to Qu Surou, "Senior sister, let me take you to apply the medicine first."
"I can handle this minor injury myself, but I will no longer serve her!"