Rising Winds

Liusu's troubles did not last long.

A Royal Palace guard knocked on the courtyard gate. "Mr. Qin, someone has come from the palace. His Majesty requests your presence."

The couple, drunk on their kisses, abruptly came to their senses. The King continuing to summon Qin Yi was simply inevitable.

Li Qingjun pushed Qin Yi away, breathing faintly as her muddled mind slowly cleared. She said softly, "You can't... kiss me and then not keep your word. Perform well before my father... I'll go back and pack now. If Father insists on marrying me to Mang Zhan, we'll elope at once."

Qin Yi's heart softened. He replied quietly, "I'll do my best. At the very least, I'll make it harder for your father to decide so easily."

Li Qingjun nodded earnestly. "Mm. I believe you."

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

The eunuch was still the same one from yesterday. Seeing Qin Yi, he frowned. "Why are you bringing a weapon into the palace?"

What, was I supposed to carry you in instead? Qin Yi answered aloud, "This is a magical artifact, not a weapon. Once I see the King, I will explain."

The eunuch shook his head. "I fear it cannot pass through the palace gates. Sir, you should leave the weapon at home."

Qin Yi quietly slipped him a piece of silver and whispered in his ear, "With you leading the way, how could I fail to enter the palace? Just say it is by His Majesty's special decree..."

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not persist. He turned and led Qin Yi toward the palace, smiling. "Summoned on two consecutive days—His Majesty truly thinks highly of Mr. Qin."

Qin Yi sighed.

It was not Qin Yi that the King valued, but his medicine.

Nor did he value his own daughter, but Qin Yi's path of cultivation.

What a selfish old bastard...

His daughter's marriage was merely a bargaining chip between binding a Fangshi to his side and placating the Enemy State so it would stop causing trouble. It only depended on which weighed more heavily. If Li Qingjun had not dragged her brother off in search of immortals and thus brought back a Fangshi like him, she would have been married off without the slightest suspense.

One sip, one peck—could it truly have all been ordained beforehand?

Lost in thought, the two entered a narrow alley. Someone sat against the wall selling vegetables from a small stall, while another sold steaming bowls of tofu pudding. Qin Yi spotted it from afar and remembered that he had not eaten breakfast. Would the eunuch be angered to death if he said he wanted breakfast first?

After glancing several more times at the tofu pudding stall, Qin Yi's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He stopped.

The eunuch turned back in puzzlement. "What is it?"

Qin Yi said, "Sir Eunuch, this isn't the only route to the palace, is it?"

"Of course not. This one is closer." The eunuch found it strange. "Didn't we take this route yesterday too?"

Qin Yi actually began backing away slowly. "The man selling tofu pudding yesterday wasn't this person."

The eunuch was speechless. "You remember what every roadside vendor looked like yesterday?"

Of course Qin Yi did not remember what the roadside vendors had looked like yesterday.

But he would recognize today's tofu pudding seller even if the man turned to ashes.

Because he was one of the two people who had killed this body's original owner on Immortal Trace Mountain! The original owner's ordinary memories had been swallowed by that Stinky Stick, leaving Qin Yi almost nothing. What remained was all tied to the resentment from before death. His hatred for the National Teacher already soared to the heavens, much less this man, who could truly be called the murderer who had taken his life!

The body's subconscious even wanted to rush over and smash the man's skull apart with one blow, but Qin Yi knew he could not act rashly. Since this man had appeared here, every one of these vegetable sellers was undoubtedly Dong Huazi's man!

Qin Yi retreated several steps, then suddenly turned and ran.

A wave of stunned silence passed through the alley before it erupted into chaos. Every vegetable seller and breakfast vendor overturned their stalls, drew blades and swords, and shouted as they chased after Qin Yi. Several figures even appeared atop the walls lining the alley, drawing bows and firing arrows at Qin Yi's retreating back.

Of course, it was already completely useless.

The poor eunuch did not even know what had happened before one of the rushing peddlers casually shoved him against the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Two flashes of blade-light came at Qin Yi head-on. They were the men who had originally intended to block off the alley's rear exit, now forced to strike in haste.

Curved sabers. Mang Zhan's men.

A cold smile rose on Qin Yi's lips.

Being trapped in an encirclement might be troublesome, but fighting like this... did they really think he was merely a Fangshi?

Bang!

The Wolf Tooth Club whistled through the air. There was no fancy staff technique, only the momentum of a ferocious tiger, savage beyond compare. How could that saber withstand such a surging blow? Blade and head alike were smashed into pulp.

The scene actually fell quiet for a moment.

They often saw Qin Yi carrying a Wolf Tooth Club around, had seen him brace Mang Zhan's spear and block General Liu's saber, but his true strength had never truly been revealed. He looked far too refined and slender, utterly mismatched with a Wolf Tooth Club.

Seeing such a refined, ethereal-looking youth truly swing his club and smash a man's head into pulp was simply far too jarring.

The other swordsman facing Qin Yi had no time to stand around stunned. While Qin Yi smashed his companion, he drove his blade toward Qin Yi's ribs.

Qin Yi dodged aside with extraordinary agility. Then, without pausing, he swung the club in a backhand sweep.

Another bang rang out. Even the distant bystanders could not help their faces twitching at the thought of how it felt to have that Wolf Tooth Club strike the back of one's head...

This youth was no ordinary Fangshi. The Wolf Tooth Club was no prop—it was actually wielded by a martial artist with abundant true qi, immense strength, heavy blows, and masterful club technique!

And his fighting style was especially brutal!

No wonder Crown Prince Mang Zhan had gravely insisted on setting a heavy encirclement and carrying out the ambush in a narrow alley. From the way Qin Yi had blocked that spear before, he had judged that Qin Yi was far stronger than he appeared!

Though it sounded lengthy, Qin Yi had cleanly cut through the chaos and dispatched the two men blocking his way in only an instant. The people in the alley had only just reached its entrance. It was packed thick at the mouth of the alley, while outside, more sword- and saber-wielding men were closing in on Qin Yi from every direction. No one knew how many there were.

Qin Yi turned to look at the alley entrance and smiled faintly, forming a hand seal with his left hand.

"Hasten!"

It was as though invisible ripples swept over them. The few men at the front suddenly felt as if their feet had been filled with lead, making even a step immensely difficult. At that sudden halt, those behind crashed into them in a heap, and the group rolled into a tangled mess.

Basic Daoist Arts: Slow.

All those days of cramming Daoist knowledge had not been for nothing... He had originally thought that without mana, he could understand but not use it. But now, didn't he have mana?

Qin Yi sidestepped a sword thrust from the side, then swept his left hand along it and dragged the attacker into a stagger. The man turned his head in terror, seeing only Qin Yi grin broadly.

Bang!

The distant onlookers shuddered once more.

Qin Yi laughed loudly. "Farewell, everyone! Give my regards to the National Teacher and that barbarian love rival!"

As his words fell, he had already charged into the crowd and vanished in an instant.

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

"Er, Brother." Li Qingjun's face was still slightly flushed from her first kiss with Qin Yi, and seeing her own brother made her even more embarrassed.

Li Qinglin looked at his sister's expression and smiled too. Over all these years, it had truly been difficult to imagine his fierce, strong-willed sister blushing at the drop of a hat. Yet he had seen it so many times over the past two days, as if his sister had become another person.

"Qingjun, don't return to your Princess Residence for the next few days." Li Qinglin spoke as if it were nothing. "Qin Yi is staying here anyway, and it is 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 snapped, "Why should I stay here? Are you really going to let Qin Yi drug me into bed?"

Li Qinglin blinked. "Does he need to drug you? When he stands before you, isn't he 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 solemn. "Your Princess Residence is no longer safe these next few days. Someone may take desperate risks. Whether Qin Yi drugs you or not does not matter, but if Mang Zhan gets his hands on you, it will be too late for regrets."

Li Qingjun froze for a moment, and her expression grew serious as well.

Li Qinglin glanced at the sky. "I am leaving now. Keep this."

Looking at the Jade Pendant held out before her, Li Qingjun was greatly surprised. "This is the Jade Pendant you use to protect yourself. Why are you giving it to me?"

Li Qinglin smiled faintly. "If Dong Huazi intends to deal with me, he must have already taken this thing into account. Its effect will not be as great as imagined. But no one would expect it to be on you, and that will make all the difference."

Li Qingjun stared at him blankly.

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