AVL Chapter 14

“Clang—”

 

The Heaven-grade spiritual weapon in Qu Rao’s hand was suddenly snapped in half by those well-defined hands, the broken blade crashing heavily to the ground.

 

Qu Rao’s hand felt as if it had been struck by lightning. Numbness and excruciating pain instantly spread from his fingertips all the way to his heart, striking him so hard he staggered backward repeatedly.

 

“Ah—”

 

The pampered young master had never suffered such pain before. He immediately screamed in agony, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

 

The Tianyan pearls in Sheng Jiao’s hand silently flashed with streaks of blue thunder patterns, reflecting an almost murderous cold light in his dark pupils.

 

Qu Rao’s face turned deathly pale as overwhelming pressure rushed toward him.

 

This was definitely not an aura a waste could emit…

 

He wasn’t Xi Jue!

 

Qu Rao’s muddled mind went blank with terror at the truth that was about to emerge.

 

Then who could it be?

 

In this world, besides Xi Jue, who else would dare to wear this face and walk around everywhere?

 

“Thud.”

 

Qu Rao was stunned for a while. When his slow reaction finally caught up, he had already collapsed to the ground with weak legs, cold sweat streaming down his body. His vacant gaze stared at the person before him as if he had encountered a ghost.

 

Sheng Jiao looked down at him from above. Just one look made it feel like standing on a snow-covered mountain peak year-round, where even the air breathed in carried bone-piercing ice shards stabbing into the lungs.

 

That was the aura of snow.

 

Qu Rao’s breathing almost stopped.

 

…It was Sheng Jiao himself.

 

That Sheng Wuzhuo who formed his nascent soul at seventeen and was only half a step away from the Great Ascension realm.

 

Sheng Jiao controlled Xiezhi Sect. Even the Central State ruler treated him with utmost respect, fearing any slight.

 

Qu Rao’s mind went blank as he rapidly recalled how he had just held a sword to Sect Master Sheng’s neck and angrily made threats. His legs trembled, and he nearly fainted directly.

 

Even if the Qu family’s ancestor were here now, he probably couldn’t save him.

 

Sheng Jiao’s gaze was as cold as a sword tip’s gleam, speaking word by word.

 

“Vent… anger?”

 

Qu Rao’s pale lips had turned blue-purple from fear. He desperately suppressed his trembling, almost crying: “Sect, Sect Master Sheng…”

 

Who could have thought that Sheng Jiao would actually come to Guchangsi Temple?!

 

Moreover, with Sheng Jiao’s aloof nature of not caring about worldly affairs, how could he barge into someone else’s private room and walk away with Yutan flowers right in front of the owner?

 

Qu Rao’s mind was in complete chaos, unable to think straight. He only knew to look at Sheng Jiao’s almost freezing gaze in terror, unable to generate even a trace of resistance.

 

“Yu, Yutan flowers…”

 

As if frightened senseless, he suddenly said something completely irrelevant.

 

Sheng Jiao frowned.

 

Qu Rao’s fingers trembled like a sieve as he took out a pile of Yutan flowers from his storage ring. With tears in his eyes, he tremblingly offered them to Sheng Jiao, crying: “Give, give you Yutan flowers, all of them! Please, please forgive me, Sect Master Sheng.”

 

Sheng Jiao: “…”

 

Xi Jianlan, who was watching the show, almost burst out laughing. His shoulders shook slightly, barely able to contain himself.

 

This fool Qu Rao.

 

Did he really think the one who forcibly took his Yutan flowers was Sheng Jiao himself?

 

Xi Jianlan rarely saw Qu Rao scared into such a cowardly state. If his hand hadn’t been swollen from being smashed, he would definitely have slapped the table in delight.

 

More than ten Yutan flowers were piled there for free. Among those who had been intercepting Xi Jianlan’s Yutan flowers for six years, the Qu family definitely counted as one.

 

Xi Jianlan stared intently at that pile of flowers, unconsciously licking the corner of his lips with his tongue tip.

 

Qu Rao didn’t understand at all why Sheng Jiao was angry, thinking it was just because he had offended him by drawing his sword.

 

Sheng Jiao was probably stunned by his stupidity. He slightly closed his eyes, hiding the coldness in them.

 

“Leave.”

 

Qu Rao was dazed.

 

The guards who had blocked Sheng Jiao from front and back reacted quickly. With pale faces, they rushed forward to help Qu Rao up, constantly bowing in apology with hoarse voices: “…We have offended Sect Master Sheng.”

 

Only then did Qu Rao belatedly realize that Sheng Jiao was no longer pursuing the matter. He quickly covered his right arm, which was numb with pain, and was helped away while sniffling and holding back tears.

 

How arrogant he had been when arriving, how pathetic he was when leaving.

 

Xi Jianlan had watched a good show, and even his eyes, which were still uncontrollably shedding tears, curved with amusement.

 

Sheng Jiao turned around and looked at him coldly: “Just easing longing?”

 

Easing longing to the point of breaking into someone’s home to forcibly take Yutan flowers?

 

Xi Jianlan choked: “Uh…”

 

He gently blinked his wet eyelashes and softly explained: “My heart is not cold stone—feelings grew over time, and I admire Sheng Jiao.”

 

Sheng Jiao: “…”

 

Sheng Jiao had no idea what he was trying to explain.

 

But most likely, this guy wasn’t explaining anything at all—purely using this phrase to brush him off.

 

Sheng Jiao frowned, his gaze subtly sweeping over Xi Jianlan’s slightly red fingertips. He seemed to want to say something, but just as his lips parted, they immediately tightened again. He turned and walked away.

 

Xi Jianlan blew on his fingertips again and leisurely followed.

 

Qu Rao’s pile of Yutan flowers had somehow disappeared, leaving only a few leaves pitifully behind.

 

Xi Jianlan blinked.

 

The Yutan flowers… had been collected by the “tough guy”?

 

Tsk tsk.

 

Shang Yuan had never seen the Sect Master so furious before. She sneakily approached Xi Jianlan to whisper: “Are you and our Sect Master… really dao companions?”

 

Xi Jianlan had no shame left and looked at her affectionately: “My heart is not cold stone—feelings grew over time, and I admire Sheng Jiao.”

 

Shang Yuan asked curiously: “Really grew feelings over time?”

 

That ice block of a Sect Master…

 

Could someone really develop feelings for him?

 

Xi Jianlan rolled up his sleeves, excitedly wanting to share with her his heroic exploits of sneaking into Sheng Jiao’s bed at night during Tianyan Academy. But after gesturing frantically for a while, he realized Shang Yuan didn’t understand sign language at all, so he could only give up in frustration.

 

The three walked in silence through the long corridor toward the abbot’s residence behind Guchangsi Temple.

 

Before approaching the meditation room, Sheng Jiao suddenly looked at Shang Yuan.

 

Shang Yuan obediently stopped and reached out to grab Xi Jianlan’s sleeve.

 

Xi Jianlan stood in place, puzzled.

 

Sheng Jiao raised his hand, making the slender Binding Silk visible: “Don’t think about escaping.”

 

Xi Jianlan: “…”

 

Xi Jianlan nodded while swallowing his anger.

 

Only then did Sheng Jiao slowly walk toward the distant meditation room.

 

Xi Jianlan had no way to escape and glared at Sheng Jiao’s back once to vent his frustration.

 

But thinking it over, he always felt this person was too skilled at impersonating Sheng Jiao.

 

Sheng Jiao was completely a cold-faced, cold-hearted killer. Even if Xiezhi Sect’s people were bold, they wouldn’t be so brazen as to wear the Sect Master’s face and swagger around, would they?

 

Could it be that finding Guchangsi Temple’s abbot required Sheng Jiao’s face to get information?

 

Xi Jianlan had suffered too much over the years and always thought the worst of everything.

 

If this person really was Sheng Jiao…

 

As soon as this thought emerged, Xi Jianlan’s heart suddenly raced, with a vague illusion of his back shoulder burning hot.

 

If it really was Sheng Jiao…

 

Then why would he hide his identity?

 

When the two met, the one who should hide his identity should be himself, the criminal.

 

There was no need for that.

 

Shang Yuan skillfully found some steps to sit on and wait for the Sect Master.

 

Xi Jianlan’s eyes rolled as he sat beside her with a smile, using a small wooden stick to scratch a few words on the ground.

 

“Is Sect Master Sheng well?”

 

Shang Yuan nodded blankly, not realizing she was being pumped for information: “He’s well.”

 

Xi Jianlan scratched again: “I heard he went to Wuyin City?”

 

Shang Yuan instinctively wanted to shake her head, but a cold aura suddenly swept over her back, making her whole body stiffen.

 

—It was Sheng Jiao, who had already gone far away, transmitting a message.

 

Shang Yuan continued shaking her head: “No, the Sect Master is in closed-door cultivation at Xiezhi Sect.”

 

Xi Jianlan: “Really?”

 

Shang Yuan: “Really really.”

 

Xi Jianlan asked again: “What about Lord Juan?”

 

This girl seemed very gullible, believing whatever others said, but her emotions were too slow and gentle. Even when lying, she looked obedient and well-behaved, completely unlike the easily explosive Juan Xunfang who was easy to see through.

 

Shang Yuan said: “He went to Wuyin City, saying there was a snow disaster and he needed to find the source.”

 

Xi Jianlan casually played with the tree branch, thinking about something unknown.

 

Just then, a gentle voice like spring breeze suddenly came from the distance.

 

That sentence seemed to contain thick spiritual power, audible clearly even from far away.

 

“Trap.”

 

Xi Jianlan suddenly stood up.

 

Above the open space of the distant meditation room, crystal-clear jade slips like glazed glass shot down like sharp arrows from a fixed point in the sky, drilling into the moss-covered bluestone slabs.

 

The hard stone was pierced by the glass, creating fine cracks.

 

In an instant, a glazed birdcage descended from above, trapping Sheng Jiao inside.

 

Sheng Jiao looked to one side with a dark face.

 

Heng Yudu seemed to have been waiting for a long time, sitting upright under an osmanthus tree and smiling at him: “Wuzhuo, don’t blame me. Tianyan Academy and Xiezhi Sect could have cooperated, but you…”

 

Before he could finish his nonsense, Sheng Jiao impatiently moved. The Tianyan pearls in his hand floated up, the blue thunder patterns they carried hissing.

 

“If you use one Tianyan thunder to shatter the cage, Xi Shi’er will immediately discover your identity.” Heng Yudu said lightly, “Sheng Jiao, he fears you.”

 

Sheng Jiao’s five fingers gripping the Tianyan pearls suddenly stiffened.

 

Heng Yudu, not knowing how to write “killing the heart,” continued methodically: “…Ever since your Tianyan pearl determined he was guilty, perhaps for other reasons too, he fears you extremely and also hates you.”

 

Sheng Jiao’s face was like still water as spiritual power appeared in his palm, thunderously attacking the cage that was closing in around him.

 

But this “birdcage” was built by the Xiangwen “Exchange for Bright Moon”—pure spiritual power couldn’t contend with it at all.

 

Seeing that he really wouldn’t use the Tianyan pearls, Heng Yudu’s gaze lightly swept over the Tianyan pearls hanging from Sheng Jiao’s wrist, and suddenly smiled.

 

“That Tianyan pearl…”

 

Sheng Jiao’s long hair flew in the cage’s fierce wind as he stared coldly at the fragile glass, an invisible sword slowly appearing in his palm.

 

That was his rarely used life sword—Winter Snow[mfn]it was originally winter melt[/mfn].

 

Heng Yudu gently finished the rest of his words: “…was removed by you?”

 

***

 

When the “birdcage” appeared, Xi Jianlan knew it must be Heng Yudu’s arrival.

 

He first instinctively wanted to escape, but thinking carefully, he was still bound by the “tough guy’s” Binding Silk and couldn’t completely escape with his own power.

 

Heng Yudu might resent him because of Rang Chen’s matter, but at least wouldn’t really be ruthless.

 

But if there was even a one in ten thousand chance the “tough guy” was Sheng Jiao…

 

Xi Jianlan was weighing the pros and cons, considering who to use as a weapon, when a cold hand suddenly grabbed him.

 

“How are you using illusion again? I almost didn’t recognize you!”

 

Xi Jianlan turned around—it was actually his good brother Feng Yu.

 

Going with Feng Yu was much safer than with the “tough guy” or Heng Yudu.

 

He was moved to tears, frantically gesturing with both hands: [Help—! The Xiezhi Sect people are insane, punching and kicking me with private torture. My delicate jade fingers were almost trampled by them! That tough guy also said he’d take me back to Xiezhi Sect to use all sixty-two torture methods on me again!]

 

Feng Yu looked at Xi Jianlan’s swollen fingertips and the mostly dried tear tracks on his face, gasping.

 

“Xiezhi Sect is simply inhumane!”

 

Xi Jianlan nodded like a pecking chicken: [Exactly so, brother save me.]

 

Feng Yu immediately drew an array on the ground, wanting to take him to escape underground together.

 

Xi Jianlan: [Binding Silk, I have Binding Silk on my hand. No matter where I escape, Xiezhi Sect people can find me through the Binding Silk.]

 

Feng Yu said “oh” and straightforwardly drew his ghost blade: “Just chop off your paw, won’t that work?”

 

Xi Jianlan: “…”

 

It seemed being with Feng Yu wasn’t much safer either.

 

Feng Yu raised his blade to chop at Xi Jianlan’s wrist.

 

With a “bang,” the Binding Silk suddenly became visible, cut in half like flowing water.

 

But when the blade was withdrawn, the line silently reconnected.

 

“Eh?” Feng Yu puzzledly tugged with his hand, but couldn’t grasp the Binding Silk at all. “How is this different from ordinary Binding Silk?”

 

Xi Jianlan saw Heng Yudu propelling his wheelchair over, while Sheng Jiao was constantly colliding with the jade slips in the cage with spiritual power, creating quite a lively clinking sound.

 

[Hurry!] Xi Jianlan gestured. [If I fall into Yudu’s hands, my life will also be in danger.]

 

Feng Yu showed no sense of urgency, not even lifting his head: “Let me study what exactly this red thread is.”

 

Xi Jianlan: “…”

 

Shang Yuan was still sitting there. Her Sect Master was trapped, but without receiving orders, she didn’t go forward to help. Instead, she tilted her head looking at Xi Jianlan, puzzled: “Xi Jue, are you trying to escape again? The sir said if you escape again, he’ll capture you into the prison mustard seed.”

 

Xi Jianlan shook his head at her in the midst of his busyness, indicating no.

 

Shang Yuan thought about it and agreed.

 

The Heart-Binding Silk connected to one’s soul—unless the Sect Master died, it could never be severed.

 

Thinking this way, she continued watching the show peacefully.

 

Feng Yu studied for a long time, using every weapon he had but still couldn’t cut the Binding Silk.

 

Xi Jianlan frowned at the strange Binding Silk, almost wanting to just chop off one hand.

 

Heng Yudu’s wheelchair slowly approached. Before long, he reached the bottom of the steps, smiling: “Xi Shi’er, it’s been many years.”

 

Xi Jianlan smiled dryly and lightly gestured.

 

[Yudu, are your legs better? When will you be able to walk?]

 

Feng Yu’s hand paused as he looked at Xi Jianlan with difficulty.

 

This bastard always brought up whatever shouldn’t be mentioned.

 

Heng Yudu was now in a completely different position. As Director of Tianyan Academy, he held high rank and noble status. Over the years, no one had dared to ask about his legs in front of him.

 

Was Xi Jue trying to die faster?

 

But unexpectedly, Heng Yudu showed no displeasure—even the gentleness in his eyes deepened.

 

“Still not good, can’t really walk.”

 

Xi Jianlan: [Then you should get proper treatment.]

 

Heng Yudu: “Alright.”

 

Feng Yu: “…”

 

No one had ever asked about Heng Yudu’s legs, but most people would unconsciously let their gaze fall on his legs when they saw him, their eyes showing pity, sympathy, or smugness.

 

Envying and fearing his Spiritual level Xiangwen, yet putting on lofty pity because of his leg defect to satisfy their twisted jealousy.

 

In this world, probably only Xi Jue would ask about his legs so straightforwardly.

 

Xi Jianlan finished greeting Heng Yudu as usual, then desperately kicked Feng Yu’s foot, telling him to quickly undo the Binding Silk.

 

Heng Yudu’s “Exchange for Bright Moon” was different from Feng Yu’s trivial “Ghost Sound.” Even if he tore off his own ears, he would still be uncontrollably controlled by him.

 

Xi Jianlan had a bad premonition.

 

Sure enough, Heng Yudu lightly raised his hand to touch a jade slip flying beside him and said something.

 

Xi Jianlan’s sleeves fluttered in the wind as he gestured so frantically his ten fingers became afterimages.

 

[No brother no no no wait a moment.]

 

But it was too late.

 

“Exchange for Bright Moon” transformed into a bird and flew in front of Xi Jianlan.

 

Heng Yudu’s voice gently sounded: “Xi Shi’er, what is your Xiangwen?”

 

Xi Jianlan was about to cover his mouth to forcibly stop himself, but the Spiritual level Xiangwen was too powerful, forcing his whole body to stiffen as he uncontrollably opened his lips.

 

‘Heng Yudu, damn you,’ Xi Jianlan thought expressionlessly. ‘I might as well die.’

 

The bird of “Exchange for Bright Moon” transformed into scattered points of spiritual power, falling on Xi Jianlan like fireflies.

 

Xi Jianlan was resigned to his fate, gritting his teeth and speaking word by word.

 

“My heart is not cold stone, feelings grew over time, I admire…”

 

“…I ad-admire Sheng, Sheng Jiao.”

 

Heng Yudu: “?”

 

Feng Yu: “…”

 

##

---