Volume 2, Chapter 78 – Gains and the Return Journey (Two-in-One)

Half an hour later, Bai Xiang made a show of pulling the silver needles out of Leng Qiu’s body, having “opened up” the flow of heart meridians throughout her entire system.

Even in a coma, the blue-skirted girl had broken out in a full body sweat. Her lashes trembled now as she opened her eyes, and the first person she saw was Bai Xiang.

“Bai… you’re the Bai clan’s Miss Xiang?” she blurted out on reflex—then realized her voice was hoarse beyond belief, sounding like a boy in the middle of voice change. Her face flushed red in an instant.

“Junior Sister!”

“Qiu’er!”

The two young men keeping watch at her side surged forward at the same time—it was Zhao Jinyan and Xia Ran.

“Ahem!” Abbess Li Sheng gave a heavy cough. Zhao Jinyan immediately reined himself in and stopped, but Xia Ran didn’t care that much; he rushed straight over to check on Leng Qiu, fussing over her and asking how she felt.

Leng Qiu’s memory was still stuck at the moment she’d been blasted away by Bolou. Waking up here, she more or less understood she’d been rescued, but she couldn’t figure out why Bai Xiang was the one sitting by the bed like a physician, and was even more eager to know how the exchange bout had turned out.

Xia Ran softly recounted everything that had happened, making the girl widen her eyes and gasp by turns; the way she looked at Bai Xiang changed completely in an instant.

“Miss Bai’s great kindness, Jinyan will never dare forget!”

Zhao Jinyan truly lived up to his role as this generation’s Shangqing chief; he turned and gave Bai Xiang a deep bow, his bearing perfectly measured.

He was smart too. He knew with his master present, he had no right to speak on behalf of the Shangqing Sword Dao, so he only expressed gratitude to Bai Xiang in his personal capacity.

Then, going with the flow, he took out his phone—only to freeze, stuck there not knowing how to continue.

According to the usual script, the next step was to exchange numbers so the benefactor could call on him for help in the future.

But Bai Xiang was a woman, and a woman of no ordinary looks or bearing. If he rashly suggested exchanging numbers, would that seem too forward in her eyes?

“This is my mobile number.” Bai Xiang, on the other hand, hadn’t thought that far; she brought up her contact info for Zhao Jinyan to scan, then glanced over at Xiang Xian. Her meaning was obvious—can we go now?

“Hold it!”

Before Xiang Xian could say anything, Abbess Li Sheng stomped the end of her sword scabbard and stood up.

Under everyone’s gaze, she walked to Leng Qiu’s side, pinched her wrist and carefully checked her condition, then took out a double-fish jade pendant joined in the middle and pressed it to the space between Leng Qiu’s nose and upper lip to steady her breathing, watching the pendant closely.

Seeing this, Zhao Jinyan and Xia Ran tensed up again.

Previously, the reason they’d confirmed Leng Qiu was being assaulted by Yaosui was due to this very pendant of Abbess Li Sheng’s.

Back then, every breath Leng Qiu exhaled from her nose had slowly stained the jade pendant black. So what about now?

Was she really cured?

After a while, the pendant showed no change at all, and everyone finally let out the breath they’d been holding.

“Good—” Abbess Li Sheng drew out the word, then turned and fixed her gaze on Bai Xiang.

“Much as I hate to admit it, you’ve restored my disciple’s path.”

“Name your price. What do you want?”

Bai Xiang frowned. “Anything at all?”

Rеαⅾ oո КаtRеadіոgСafе

“Hm?” Abbess Li Sheng narrowed her eyes, her tone turning gloomy. “What… you look down on me, think I, of Shangqing Dao, can’t make decisions on my own?”

“Fine,” Bai Xiang nodded. “I want to consult your sect’s Shangqing Wave-Sweeping Lightning-Drawing Sword Formula .”

She must be insane!

The three juniors in the room all stared wide-eyed at Bai Xiang.

No one had ever dared make such a request of the old—of Abbess Li Sheng!

“You want a sword formula!?” Abbess Li Sheng did indeed frown; she hadn’t expected Bai Xiang’s demand to be this strange.

It really was odd.

Without the matching Demon Pool, Visualization Chart, Heart-Meridian Chart, and auxiliary training methods, what good was a sword art alone?

If you couldn’t draw down even a hair-thin strand of lightning, were you supposed to just stand there posing with your sword?

After a moment’s thought, Abbess Li Sheng fished a small white jade bottle out of her sleeve.

“This bottle holds ‘Thunder-Marsh Pills’,” she said. “Inside is remnant thunder-force I refined and concentrated myself. I’m not exaggerating when I say they’re extremely effective for tempering the flesh!”

“There are twenty-four pills in here. I’ll gift them to you!”

“And this.” She produced a blue-covered, thread-bound ancient book. “We can’t possibly give you the original sword formula, and even if I did, you wouldn’t be able to cultivate it! Instead, I’ll give you this sword formula commentary. It’s a collection of my insights from when I trained in the sword formula in my younger years. The moves you want are in here, and it also includes quite a few approaches from other schools.”

“I’ll trade these two items for your help in treating Qiu’er.” She locked eyes with Bai Xiang. “You won’t be getting the bad end of that deal.”

This is her own handwritten manuscript… I’m getting way more than a fair deal!

Thinking of how she had dissected and completed the Tiger-Subduing Arhat Scripture , Bai Xiang almost couldn’t control her heartbeat.

She’d originally just used her master’s silver needle set as a smokescreen, covering the moment she used “Feixiang Heaven” to slice open Leng Qiu’s wrist and devour the remnant soul. For her, that had just been a casual effort; she’d never imagined she’d reap such rewards.

This Shangqing Dao Lord really did have some backbone—completely unwilling to take advantage of others.

Bai Xiang accepted the two items on the spot and nodded at the woman. “All right. Then we’re square.”

Abbess Li Sheng’s expression eased a little; she gave Bai Xiang a look that said “you know what’s good for you”, then turned away and shot Xiang Xian a glance filled with a more complex emotion before flicking her sleeves. “Get your people. We’re leaving!”

Xia Ran’s face changed at once; he turned to look at Zhao Jinyan and Leng Qiu.

Zhao Jinyan could only spread his hands in helplessness, and Leng Qiu could only stare at him, eyes full of reluctance.

But there was no helping it. Even if relations between the two Daos had eased considerably over the years, the Shangqing Sword Dao couldn’t shamelessly keep clinging to Wuqiu Mountain.

Abbess Li Sheng prized her face far too highly—she couldn’t stand even the slightest hint of gossip.

So… with her master striding off, Zhao Jinyan could only scoop up his junior sister and hurry after her.

Xia Ran glanced at Wang Ran, who was huddled by the door, and saw the old man jerk his chin toward the doorway with a deep frown on his face.

What a good master!

Reαd oո KаtReαԁіngCаfe

Xia Ran’s mood brightened at once. He first gave Bai Xiang a deep bow and said, “Miss Xiang, I will surely repay this great kindness,” then bowed to Xiang Xian as well before quickly going in pursuit.

Bai Xiang looked at the ancient book and jade bottle on the table and once more felt, very clearly, how rare the ability to handle soul-type Yaosui was in Great Yu.

“Immeasurable Life Buddha!”

Now that only Bai Xiang, Xiang Xian, and Wang Ran remained in the room, the latter intoned a Buddha-name and came forward. One look at the two items Abbess Li Sheng had left and the skin at the corner of his mouth twitched.

If my good disciple really does manage to win her over someday, will she blame me for being stingy today?

So this was Abbess Li Sheng’s way of setting me up!

He stood there, his face shifting through expressions, which naturally drew the curiosity of Xiang Xian and her disciple.

Can’t back out now even if I wanted to.

Old Wang Ran coughed, reached into his sleeve, and fished out a small flower-porcelain bottle.

“This… is ‘Tiger-Marrow Pills’,” he said, smoothing his brows and launching into a boast. “Refined from the marrow bones of a demon tiger, they greatly replenish qi and blood. In critical moments, they can even serve as rations. Just one pill in your belly keeps you full for five days.”

He handed the bottle over.

“There are twenty-four pills in this bottle as well. Consider it an added gift of thanks to Miss Xiang.”

“Old Wang!” Xiang Xian broke into a broad smile, instantly switching to a more familiar form of address.

She turned to Bai Xiang. “Since this is Dao Lord Wang’s earnest goodwill, you should accept it and form some good karma between you.”

Is Master laying the groundwork for me?

Bai Xiang’s brows drew together slightly.

From last night’s conversation, as well as what Xiang Xian had said right before she went on stage, it was obvious she’d already figured out that what Bai Xiang had said that night hadn’t been empty talk.

There really was a method that only used the body’s original qi.

And Bai Xiang had already cultivated it.

But she hadn’t asked Bai Xiang a single question about it; instead, today she’d first brought Bai Xiang over to save a Shangqing disciple, then had Bai Xiang accept an additional gift from the Benling Sword Dao.

Clearly, she wanted Bai Xiang on good terms with the Nine Daos and Nine Prefectures. That way, even if, in the future, news of her cultivating a new method got out and she ended up wanted across the land, at least in the south, these two forces wouldn’t go all-out to hunt her down.

After a moment’s thought, Bai Xiang accepted the bottle.

As for Liang Qiusheng, she’d actually had no intention of getting involved at first.

Previously, when she’d pointed out in front of Wang Ran that something was wrong with Bolou, that was because Bolou was, fundamentally, an “outsider”. Wang Ran wouldn’t resent her for that.

But Liang Qiusheng was a Benling elder—that was a whole different story.

What was she supposed to do, openly declare that Liang Qiusheng had deliberately created an alibi and was very likely an outside spy?

She wouldn’t do that.

Reаԁ οn ΚаtReaԁіnɡСаfе

Wang Ran wouldn’t believe her.

She also lacked key evidence.

All she could do was keep it in mind for now and help out later when she had the ability.

And so, things ended with everyone more or less satisfied.

On the way back, they couldn’t take military transport; Xiang Xian told Bai Xiang apologetically that she needed to stay on the Qiyun Circuit for a few days, asked her to go back ahead of her, and gave her a VIP card for a civilian airline, saying it would let her use special access lanes.

Bai Xiang wasn’t surprised. Xiang Xian had already mentioned that the reason she’d accepted the invitation to come here was to investigate the secret scheme the Shinu (Luohou) people were hiding.

Even though that plot was still shrouded in cloud and fog, impossible to grasp, it vaguely pointed toward Zezhou. Given that Xiang Xian had also been investigating the truth behind Bai Nianchan’s death, she definitely wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to dig into the secrets of the Nanling Prince’s Residence.

So Bai Xiang expressed her understanding and set out on the road home alone.

On the way to the airport, Bai Xiang sent a message to Xu Xi.

The other girl had indeed provided quite a bit of useful information; they’d built some rapport, and it would feel rude to just disappear without a word.

Xu Xi was deeply disappointed at first—she’d wanted to take Bai Xiang around the Qiyun Circuit to eat and have fun, but hadn’t expected her to leave after only two days.

Then she sent over a screenshot. Bai Xiang opened it and her brows furrowed at once.

【…Truly, her sword Qi soars like a rainbow, cold and crystalline as ice! All right! In short, after carefully reviewing numerous submissions, we’ve decided to adjust her rankings on both lists.】

【On the “Graceful Fragrance List”, from third place up to first!】

【On the “Splendid Beauty List”, from ninety-seventh place up to first!】

【Hurry and drag your friends over to see this fairy! The first double-list number one in history! She’s making her entrance!】

Below that was an image pack labeled “Resources—Help Yourselves”, along with an extraction password.

Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes, asked Xu Xi for the site address, clicked in, and downloaded the image pack, looking through the photos one by one.

The photos fell into two categories: one set was close-ups taken when she’d dueled Liu Mengqing before; the other set was photos taken by passersby while she’d been at Qizhou University this time.

Fortunately, none of the shots crossed any lines. The most “excessive” one only had her skirt hem fluttering up to her knees—not in vain, all that effort she’d gone to suppress the sword wind at the time.

Great Yu’s laws in this area were strange. On the one hand, men and women were supposed to be mutually circumspect; on the other, public photography at public events wasn’t banned. Bai Xiang suspected the lawmakers were a bit schizophrenic.

She scrolled down and finally saw the author credit: “Dianmoxuan”.

That didn’t look like a personal name, but more like the name of some organization.

After chatting with Xu Xi, she learned that Dianmoxuan was one of the most prestigious student organizations at Yujing University. They were nothing like a school newspaper; unlike Wenqingxuan, which could only stir up minor waves on campus, the Dianmoxuan Gazette had already been recognized as a formal newspaper by the “Yujing bigwigs”, and many residents of Yujing subscribed to it every year.

Dianmoxuan, huh.

Bai Xiang filed the name away.

After wrapping up her conversation with Xu Xi, she switched to another chat window and saw new activity in the core group chat of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Reаd оn ΚatReαⅾiոgСаfе

【桃之夭夭】：Everyone, check your private messages.

Bai Xiang opened her private chat with Tao Shuohua and saw that she’d sent a message a few minutes earlier asking if she could make it back to the Chilong Circuit within three days.

Bai Xiang was already on her way back now; it wouldn’t even take her a day. She replied at once that there was no problem.

Tao Shuohua quickly sent another message, containing only an address and time: 【No. 37, Third Fork of Jinshui Road, Friday 18:00】

So they were finally going to move against Qingyun Pharmaceuticals.

Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes. Remembering the rules Yu He had told her, she didn’t ask Tao Shuohua for any details, only replied with a lone “1” to say she’d be there on time.

The details didn’t matter.

As long as she showed up on time, once the team gathered, things would be explained.

Tao Shuohua replied with a “1” as well, meaning “Received, I’ll have your gear ready,” then went silent.

From the chat alone, no one could possibly guess what they’d be doing three days from now. Ripples stirred across the calm surface of Bai Xiang’s heart lake as she suddenly realized that the reason Tao Shuohua and the others were acting so soon might very well have something to do with her.

What had Yu He said back then?

He’d said they’d been keeping an eye on Qingyun Pharmaceuticals the whole time, but they had to wait for an opening—wait until the Demon Suppression Bureau drew the enemy’s attention elsewhere, and only then could they slip in through the gap.

Now they were finally making their move, which meant the other side’s attention really had been redirected.

So what had succeeded in drawing them away?

She’d just kicked up a huge storm on the Qiyun Circuit, and now, right on its heels, this operation was happening here. Could it be that because the Luohou delegation was tied to the Nanling Prince’s Residence, and Qingyun Pharmaceuticals was also tied to the Nanling Prince’s Residence, they’d decided the situation on the Qiyun Circuit was more pressing and had been drawn over there by her actions?

That was highly possible. In the past, Bai Xiang might not have noticed so quickly, but now she had “Jade Spirit”, and this line of thought just popped up on its own.

“The path of deduction really is marvelous.”

Bai Xiang sighed.

Who would have thought that an unclear situation affecting two entire prefectures was, in the end, tied to her alone.

It was a pretty wonderful feeling, enough to make someone float right out of their body, to truly taste that unique pleasure of “hidden behind the scenes, stirring up the winds and clouds”.

But that’s not what I’m after.

Bai Xiang lifted her feet onto the seat, ignored the driver, and settled into Sword Contemplation.

…

Meanwhile, on Nanping Branch Road where the Shenming Dojo stood, a figure slipped down the steps, moving furtively. Look closely, and it was the resident disciple at the bottom of the rankings—Lian Feng.

Lian Feng hadn’t planned on acting alone.

But what he was about to do this time was too dangerous; after weighing things up, he still didn’t want to drag his senior sister and senior brother down with him.