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Chapter 55

The carriage was as quiet as ever. Mo Li didn't speak, and I ate my food beside him.

My instinct was that it was better to eat more when there was food available, because with this man, unexpected situations could happen at any time.

Having only descended the mountain a few days ago, I have already experienced more ups and downs than in the past three years combined. In comparison, the summit of Qingcheng Mountain is simply a paradise.

No, no, I despise myself. How could I forget the pain so quickly after only a few days? That place was clearly a hermitage for ascetics; how could it compare to a paradise on earth?

The paradise I want is simple: there should only be two people there. The one standing next to me should be a delicate, tall, and slender young man who has a stern face towards everyone else but smiles at me. When he smiles, even the sunlight seems to dim for a moment.

I drifted off into a daze, closed my eyes, and smiled. Suddenly, I felt a chill on my face. I opened my eyes in surprise and saw that Mo Li's eyes were only inches away from mine, and her hand was pinching my cheek, as if she wanted to crack my jaw open.

"What do you want to do?" he asked coldly.

I looked at him innocently, not knowing what to say.

Hey bro, not everyone is like some weirdos you imagine, who are always trying to commit suicide by poisoning themselves to show their unyielding spirit, okay?

Besides, what reason would I have to commit suicide by poisoning?

When he met my gaze, he suddenly withdrew his hand, the muscles under his cheekbones twitching as if he were gritting his teeth. I was startled, thinking I was seeing things. When I looked again, he had already turned his face away, lifted the curtain and got out of the car, not looking at me again.

I heard someone calling out from outside the car, so I got out and saw a large manor with a dark cluster of rooftops behind the white walls. It turned out to be an estate.

Mo Li went in first, and I followed behind. A red cloud drifted down beside me, walking gracefully.

"Little sister, what's your name?"

I remembered what Yuanyue had said before, and I lost my goodwill towards her. But her voice was so sweet and soft that even I, a woman, felt dizzy listening to it. Just as I opened my mouth, I saw Moli, who was walking ahead, suddenly turn around and look at me coldly.

"come over."

Even a loyal little dog wouldn't be as concise as him. My temper has improved so much in the last two years, but in front of so many strangers, I still felt embarrassed. I immediately slowed down a little, and in that tiny moment, his eyes narrowed.

There were faint gasps around me. I looked around, but no one looked up. It seemed that Mo Li was very powerful in the eyes of his subordinates. At least no one dared to be as disobedient as me. More likely, people as disobedient as me were no longer seen.

Under immense pressure, I eventually followed him into the manor. He told me where I should stay and then left with a few people, I don't know if he went to a meeting or to give orders. I was assigned to a room next to his, probably so that I could keep a close watch on him.

Over the next two days, I had plenty of time to think about the situation at hand.

Mo Li was busy, and when he left, he locked me up. It wasn't an ordinary lock; it was a long, thin iron chain that wrapped tightly around my ankle. When he ordered his servants to do this, I screamed, but he was completely unmoved, watching his men do their thing. Before leaving, he even asked me a question.

"If you want to blame someone, blame Wende for teaching you the light-body skills." I was so angry I wanted to vomit blood.

This is clearly Mo Li's territory, and it is incomparable to the small villa in Dinghai. The manor is full of twists and turns, with strange palaces and eight trigrams. You need someone to guide you to find your way. Everyone who comes in and out is agile and nimble. When they see Mo Li, they all call him Venerable.

I recalled what Chang Xian had said about the elders of Lan Family Village on the mountain road that day. It seems that this cult is as vast as a spider web, with its own independent factions and numerous conflicts. The so-called leader is shrouded in mystery, hiding in the depths of the main altar, and clearly lacks oversight of his subordinates, leading to bloodshed at the slightest sign of trouble.

Even organized crime is acting like warlords, it's outrageous...

It seems that Mo Li also realized that it was unlikely to bring me all the way back to the main teaching base, so he simply returned to his own territory to make a long-term plan. It is clear that everyone is evenly matched and has weighed the options well. If we really calm down and fight, it is hard to say who will win or lose.

Although Mo Li locked me up and his attitude towards me could be described as icy, he always kept me close at hand without explaining why. This situation was very puzzling. These people couldn't figure out my background. At first, they were quite polite to me. The one called Hongyi came to see me in person once and even brought some congee and side dishes. He carefully examined my face and smiled.

I felt a chill run down my spine from her gaze, and finally couldn't help but speak first, "What are you looking at? There's nothing on my face."

She remained smiling, said nothing, and turned to leave.

But things soon changed. The next day, Qingfeng arrived at the village. Although he was in a sorry state, he was at least alive. When people asked him questions, he looked at me with strange eyes and whispered in someone's ear right in front of me, without saying anything nice.

Then...then everything changed. I could hear someone outside the window saying with disdain, "So she's a stray chick that was picked up. She's got some skills. The adults are probably still enjoying the novelty of her."

"The adults are so kind-hearted. What good things come out of Qingcheng, that hypocritical place? If she starves for three days, why would they need to lock her up? Let's see how she runs away."

I was furious and about to curse when a bell rang, and all the sounds outside suddenly stopped. After the footsteps, there was complete silence. I called out "Hey" twice, but no one responded. After waiting a while, even the birdsong in the distance disappeared, and it felt as if I was the only person left in the world.

The doors and windows were all closed. I pulled on the iron chain but couldn't get to the window. The chain was wrapped around the iron post next to the bed. On the first day, I thought, what kind of place is this? The bed is made of iron and nailed to the ground. It can't be moved an inch. It's not like a prison cell, nor a bedroom. At this point, I felt even more disgusted and had the urge to bite someone.

I waited from noon until sunset, but there was not a sound outside. I gradually became scared. At first, I called for help, and later I threatened them that I would run away, but there was no response. In the end, I was tired and hungry. When night fell, I suddenly heard a loud noise and then I saw a light outside the window. Through the white window paper, it was as red as blood.

I've seen light like that before. It's fire. Something's on fire, turning the whole sky red. Even though it hasn't burned here yet, the thick smell of smoke is already there, along with the gradually increasing heat.

What happened? I tried desperately to break free of the iron chains binding my feet, but it was no use. My only skill, lightness of foot, was a joke at this moment. The heat wave rushed in, and I finally began to panic, shrinking little by little into the corner of the wall. But even the wall was starting to burn, and the iron chains on my feet were scorching my skin like fiery snakes.

The smell of death was creeping closer to me, and I began to tremble uncontrollably.

No, I don't want to die. If he still doesn't remember me, I won't be at peace even if I die.

The door rang, and someone leaped in, calling my name through the thick smoke in a hoarse voice.

"Ping An, speak."

Good heavens, he finally remembered there was someone else here. I opened my mouth wide to make a sound, but before I could utter a single word, I was choked by the thick smoke and started coughing violently.

My waist tightened, and in the next second I was bound by a powerful force, then my body was lifted into the air. I was so angry that I coughed and shouted at him in mid-air, "Iron chain, iron chain..."

With a "clang," a flash of white light appeared, and my feet felt light as he sliced the iron chain in mid-air, using a sword he had drawn from someone else.

When I fell into Lord Mo Li's arms, I almost vomited blood. I regretted it. If I had known that peerless martial arts were such a useful thing, I should have clung to Master Wen De's leg on the mountain and begged him to teach me everything.

I was being held by Mo Li, my eyes stinging from the smoke, but my ears were still working. I heard the slightly panting voice of the woman in red, "Sir, the outer defenses of the manor have been burned by the thunderbolts, but those people were also badly injured and retreated down the mountain."

I was startled. A thunderbolt? I've heard of this. It's produced by the Lei family of Jiangnan. And the Lei family of Jiangnan are members of the Three Villages and Nine Schools Alliance, which my master is based in. So, does that mean my master has arrived?

Mo Li did not answer her question, but only asked a cold question.

"Who did you call to arrange the inner room?"

Suddenly everything went quiet. Tears streamed down my face as I rubbed my eyes with both hands, when I heard someone kneel down with a thud.

"It was Meng Cheng, but he saw some brothers being attacked on the road and went to their rescue, whereupon he was injured and is still receiving treatment, so... so..."

The man hesitated, but Mo Li had already spoken, "Drag him out and kill him."

"Sir, there's only one in the inner room...only one..." the man's voice became increasingly pained, "Meng Cheng saved my brother's life!"

"Do I need to say it a second time?" He turned around, his words clear. Even I, who hadn't opened my eyes yet, felt as if a sudden frost had descended upon this place, which had been warm, and the land was frozen solid for miles.

...

Another update! Oh, what incredible luck! (laughs)

Chapter 56

A moment later, someone was dragged over and thrown in front of us. I looked at the others through my bloodshot eyes, which I had been rubbing myself. Everyone was silent and had their heads down. The person on the ground had already fainted. He was dragged away and woke up with a groan. When he saw the gazes of the others, his expression was slightly surprised.

This person... is going to be killed?

It's not that I'm afraid of dead people. I experienced a city full of bloodshed when I was thirteen. What's the death of one or two people compared to that? But if this person is killed because of me, even if he forgot me in the fire, judging from the way others look at him, they'll probably think it makes perfect sense that he forgot me.

The woman in red forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, Meng Cheng acted without authorization and indeed deserves to die. However, considering his years of service, perhaps we can spare his life and let him atone for his sins in the future."

Mo Li gave her a cold glance. The man was a tough guy. After hearing what the woman in red said and seeing me standing next to Mo Li looking disheveled, he immediately understood. He pushed himself up from the ground and knelt down in front of Mo Li, but did not bow his head when he spoke.

"It was my fault for not completing what Chief Steward Hong assigned me, and Meng Cheng is willing to accept the punishment."

When I heard this, I thought, "Well, this guy may be unlucky, but he has good eyesight. He can see the situation clearly and distinguish between what's important and what's not. He's talking in a way that helps him survive."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and faced me, pointing at me with a fierce look in his eyes. "But this woman has caused such a big trouble for the village! The lord lives in this remote place and has always been at peace with the martial arts world of the Central Plains. Now, he has started a dispute with them over a woman and even had people bullying him. It would be best to burn this unimportant monster to death. We should throw her corpse in the faces of those hypocrites. That would be the only way to vent our anger."

This person... I almost spat out blood after hearing this. When I looked at Mo Li again, his eyes were indeed strange. He moved his finger, as if he was about to take action himself.

I was faster than him, rushing forward and kicking the man. "Who are you calling an unimportant monster? I'm not important, yet you begged and pleaded to bring me here. I'm not important, yet a whole bunch of people came to take me back. I'm not important, yet you locked me in that perverted room. Who are you insulting here?"

After I finished speaking, I suddenly realized there was a problem. I was important, but what about the demon? I hadn't even addressed those two words yet, and I was about to say more, when that heavily injured Solid Eyes, whom I kicked to the ground, still stubbornly yelled at me, "Witch, you witch..."

The people around them, however, were quick to realize what was happening and immediately knelt down before Mo Li.

"My lord, we were ignorant. Please punish us as well."

Meng Cheng was about to speak when the woman in red walked over and slapped him across the face.

"The man the master brought back has his reasons. Without you, things will be in jeopardy. Stop being so stubborn. If you want to die, go die by yourself. Don't drag the brothers down with you."

He then fell silent, half his face pressed to the ground like a dead fish. He probably knew his end was near, and choked out, "My lord, I followed you when I joined the sect. Seven or eight out of ten of my brothers perished. The fact that I survived is all thanks to you. Now that I have done something wrong, I will return it to you. I have no regrets."

The woman in red turned around, "Your Majesty, this fool..."

Mo Li's face was ashen, it was hard to tell whether he was venting his anger on me or on everyone. Finally, he flicked his hand, and a black shadow flew through the air, whipping the person on the ground far away.

"Get out of here! Give him a hundred lashes. If he doesn't die, make him come back to see me."

This is to prevent him from dying.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Even I wanted to wipe the sweat from my forehead. Looking at the expressions on their faces, I felt unhappy.

What are you looking at? All this commotion was caused by your boss. He just dumped me like that without telling anyone what I was for or how important I was. His subordinates misunderstood me, and I almost lost both of his lives. I was scared to death.

Once inside the hall, Mo Li wouldn't let me leave his side. A man in red and another refined man in blue scholar's robes stood on either side of him, glancing at me before speaking.

Mo Li didn't mince words and said directly, "She's useful to me now, so she can stay here. I'll deal with her later."

I thought to myself, "How are you going to deal with me in the future?"

But the two men immediately looked away, as if I were a transparent dead man.

The man in blue spoke first, "Those people from the legitimate world, their arrival is suspicious."

The woman in red followed, saying, "What the woman in green says is true. We have lived here for a long time and always kept a low profile. Even if someone leaked the information, how could they have arrived so quickly and openly demanded that we hand over this girl? She has only been here for a day."

What do you think?

"Could it be those old geezers..." the woman in red said through gritted teeth.

“If it were the elders, they shouldn’t be so rash, after all, the sect leader is still alive,” Qingyi pondered.

Actually, I also found it strange, but what I found even stranger was that this cult organization was so chaotic, yet it still made everyone in the martial arts world tremble with fear. Yes, Mo Li's martial arts skills were astonishing, and his subordinates were not weak either, but what kind of organization should be so secretive? How can it be so easy to leak its whereabouts?

Mo Li remained silent for a long time, then suddenly sighed softly, "I understand."

Huh? You understand now?

This time, even I couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances with the other two people.

Just as the three of us were waiting for Lord Mo Li to answer our questions, someone outside suddenly announced our arrival.

"Your Excellency, a man from the mountain has come to request an audience, saying that Cheng Ping of Chengjia Village has come on behalf of the alliance leader Wen De."

That familiar name made me look up abruptly; everything from the past came rushing back.