Rising Winds

Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World

Liu Su's distress didn't last long.

A Royal Palace guard knocked on the courtyard door. "Mr. Qin, someone from the palace is here to invite you in."

The couple, intoxicated in their kiss, were startled awake. It was inevitable that the King would summon Qin Yi again.

Li Qingjun pushed Qin Yi away, breathing slightly, her muddled mind slowly clearing. She whispered, "You can't... just kiss me and pretend it didn't happen. Behave well when you see Father... I'll go back and pack now. If Father insists on marrying me to Mang Zhan, we'll elope immediately."

Qin Yi's heart softened. He whispered back, "I'll do my best to perform well, at least so your father doesn't make a decision so easily."

Li Qingjun nodded seriously. "Okay. I trust you."

Qin Yi turned, picked up his Wolf Tooth Club, and strode out the door.

It was the same eunuch as yesterday. Seeing Qin Yi, he frowned. "Why are you bringing a weapon into the palace?"

Do you really want me to carry you? Qin Yi thought. He replied aloud, "This is a magical artifact, not a weapon. When I see the King, I will explain myself."

The eunuch shook his head. "It might be difficult to enter the palace gates. Sir, you should leave your weapon at home."

Qin Yi quietly slipped him a piece of silver and whispered in his ear, "With you, Eunuch, leading the way, how could I not get in? Just say it's the King's special decree..."

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, finally not insisting. He turned and led Qin Yi towards the palace, smiling. "Summoned two days in a row, the King certainly values Mr. Qin highly."

Qin Yi sighed.

It wasn't that he valued Qin Yi, but his medicine.

Nor did he value his daughter, but his cultivation.

He was just a selfish old bastard...

His daughter's marriage was merely a bargaining chip between binding a Fangshi and appeasing the enemy country to stop harassing them, depending on which was more important. If Li Qingjun hadn't dragged her brother to seek immortals, thus bringing back a Fangshi like him, she would have been married off without a doubt.

Every cause has its effect, perhaps it was predetermined.

While lost in thought, the two walked into a narrow alley. In the alley, someone was sitting by the wall with a small stall selling vegetables, and someone else was selling steaming hot douhua. Qin Yi saw it from afar and remembered he hadn't eaten breakfast. He wondered if asking to eat breakfast first would infuriate the eunuch.

He glanced at the douhua stall from a distance, and suddenly his heart skipped a beat. He stopped in his tracks.

The eunuch turned around strangely. "What's wrong?"

Qin Yi said, "Eunuch, isn't there more than one way to enter the palace?"

"Of course there is, this one is closer." The eunuch said strangely, "Didn't we take this one yesterday too?"

Qin Yi actually started backing away slowly. "The person selling douhua yesterday is different from the person today."

The eunuch was speechless. "You remember what the roadside stall looked like yesterday?"

Of course, Qin Yi didn't remember what the people at the roadside stall looked like yesterday.

But the person selling douhua today, he would recognize even if they were turned to ash.

Because that was one of the two people who killed the original owner of this body on Immortal Trace Mountain! The original owner's regular memories were swallowed by that smelly stick, leaving almost no memories for him. All that remained were the resentments related to his death. He even harbored intense hatred towards the National Teacher, let alone this person who could be considered his true killer!

His body's subconscious even wanted to rush up and smash his skull with a stick, but he knew he couldn't act impulsively. This person appearing here meant that the group of people selling vegetables inside were one hundred percent Dong Huazi's people!

Qin Yi retreated a few steps, then suddenly turned and ran.

There was a moment of astonishment in the alley, followed by a commotion. All the vegetable vendors and breakfast sellers overturned their stalls, drew out swords and knives, and chased after Qin Yi, shouting. Even on the walls along the alley, several people appeared with bows drawn and arrows nocked, shooting arrows at Qin Yi's back from a distance.

Of course, it was completely useless.

The poor eunuch didn't even know what had happened before he was casually shoved against the wall by a rushing vendor and knocked unconscious.

Qin Yi also met two flashes of sword light head-on. These were the people who had originally planned to block his escape route at the back of the alley, now forced to act in haste.

Curved swords, Mang Zhan's men.

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Qin Yi's mouth.

Getting surrounded might be troublesome, but fighting like this, do you really think I'm just a Fangshi?

"Bang!"

The Wolf Tooth Club whistled past. There was no fancy club technique, just the force of a fierce tiger, incredibly brutal. How could a sword block such a surging blow? Both the sword and the head were smashed to pieces.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

Although they often saw Qin Yi walking around with a Wolf Tooth Club, blocking Mang Zhan's spear and General Liu's saber, his true strength had never been truly revealed. He looked too delicate and thin, completely out of character with the Wolf Tooth Club.

Seeing such a delicate and ethereal-looking young man actually swing a club and smash someone's head to pieces was too much of a contrast.

The other swordsman facing Qin Yi didn't have time to be stunned. As Qin Yi smashed his companion, he also stabbed a sword towards Qin Yi's ribs.

Qin Yi dodged, extremely agile. Then, without stopping, he swung the club back.

With another "Bang," the onlookers in the distance couldn't help but flinch. The feeling of that Wolf Tooth Club smashing into the back of a head...

This young man wasn't an ordinary Fangshi. The Wolf Tooth Club wasn't just for show. This was actually a martial artist with profound True Qi, immense strength, heavy blows, and skilled club techniques!

And his fighting style was particularly brutal!

No wonder when Crown Prince Mang Zhan made arrangements, he very seriously stated that they must set up a heavy encirclement and ambush him in a narrow alley. That was based on his judgment from when Qin Yi blocked that spear – this Qin Yi's strength was much greater than he appeared!

It took a while to describe, but Qin Yi's quick and decisive elimination of the two blockers was only a moment. The people in the alley had only just reached the alley entrance. The entrance looked densely packed, and outside the alley, people were still surrounding Qin Yi from all directions with drawn swords and knives. There was no telling how many people there were.

Qin Yi turned to look at the alley entrance, a slight smile on his face, and formed a hand seal with his left hand.

"Haste!"

As if an invisible ripple swept through, the first few people at the forefront suddenly felt as if their feet were filled with lead, making it very difficult to take a step. With just this sudden stop, the people behind them crashed into each other, and a group of people tumbled into a heap.

Basic Daoist technique, Slow.

These days of cramming Daoist knowledge weren't for nothing... He had originally thought he had no Mana and could understand but not use it, but now he did...

Qin Yi sidestepped a sword thrust from the side, and with a drag of his left hand, he made the attacker stumble. The person turned their head in panic, only to see Qin Yi grin, showing his teeth.

"Bang!"

The onlookers in the distance flinched again.

Qin Yi laughed heartily, "See you all again! Give my regards to the National Teacher and my barbarian love rival!"

As he spoke, he had already rushed into the crowd and disappeared in an instant.

Just as Qin Yi was leaving with the eunuch, Li Qinglin found Li Qingjun, who was about to depart.

"Uh, brother." Li Qingjun, whose face was still flushed from her first kiss with Qin Yi, felt even more embarrassed seeing her own brother.

Li Qinglin smiled at his sister's appearance. For so many years, it was truly hard to imagine his fiery, strong-willed sister blushing so easily. Yet, he had seen it countless times in the past two days, as if his sister had become a different person.

"Qingjun, don't go back to your Princess Residence these few days," Li Qinglin said casually. "Anyway, Qin Yi is staying here. It's troublesome for you to keep running back and forth. Why not stay here for a few days and keep your sister-in-law company?"

Li Qingjun pouted, "What would I stay here for? Are you really going to let Qin Yi drug me?"

Li Qinglin blinked, "Does he need to drug you? With him standing in front of you, isn't that a natural aphrodisiac?"

Li Qingjun stamped her foot, "I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Wait," Li Qinglin stopped his sister, his expression finally turning serious. "Your Princess Residence won't be safe these few days. Someone might take a desperate gamble. It doesn't matter if Qin Yi drugs you or not, but if Mang Zhan gets to you, you'll regret it endlessly."

Li Qingjun was startled, and her expression also became serious.

Li Qinglin looked at the sky and said, "I have to go out. Keep this."

Looking at the jade pendant handed to her, Li Qingjun was extremely surprised. "This is your protective jade pendant. Why are you giving it to me?"

Li Qinglin smiled slightly, "If Dong Huazi wants to deal with me, he must have already taken this into account. Its effect won't be as great as imagined. However, no one would expect it to be on you, and then the effect would be different."

Li Qingjun stared at him blankly.

Li Qinglin said calmly, "If I lose, Nanli will at least still have you."