Ambush

In the small pavilion, Nie Xiaoqian wore a sorrowful expression. Holding onto the railing, she said, "You heard them too. Grandmother has already betrothed me to someone else. You should just leave."

An Yang said, "I'm not leaving. Black Mountain Lord is just a monster, and you don't genuinely want to marry him."

Are you kidding? If he left now and the mission failed, wouldn't he have to start all over again!

Besides, even if he let Nie Xiaoqian wander the world as a lonely wandering ghost, he couldn't bear to let her marry Black Mountain Old Demon!

Nie Xiaoqian grew emotionally unstable and shouted at him, "Go! If you don't leave, you'll die here!"

An Yang was slightly stunned, then continued to shake his head. "I am not leaving. Don't be afraid. I will definitely save you from Grandmother's hands. You won't marry Black Mountain Lord!"

Nie Xiaoqian looked at him bitterly, her expression pitiful enough to melt a heart. "I am getting married to Black Mountain Lord in three days. I'm begging you, can you please stop pestering me?"

"No!"

An Yang's words were powerful and resolute, his expression unwavering. He was not Ning Caichen, and he wouldn't be chased away by such petty tricks.

Nie Xiaoqian stared at him blankly, a clear tear rolling down her eye.

"Why? I'm already pitiful enough, yet you still pester me relentlessly. You know I don't want to marry Black Mountain Lord—I was sold off by Grandmother—but I've already accepted my fate. Why won't you accept it?"

Nie Xiaoqian gritted her teeth, ripped off the clothes on her body in one go, and revealed a fair, flawless torso!

"Look, I'm already covered in bruises today. You still refuse to leave and stay here—do you want me to get hurt even more?"

An Yang was stunned for a moment, then said, "You no longer have any utility value to Grandmother. If you marry Black Mountain Lord, you will suffer even more hardships, a thousand times worse than this!"

Nie Xiaoqian glanced at the brightening sky outside, shoved him away, and shouted, "I don't need your pity! I'm already used to this kind of life. I'm already used to being pitiful. I just want you to leave and never come back!"

An Yang thought for a moment. Unwilling to continue arguing with Nie Xiaoqian, he nodded and said, "Fine, I'll leave."

His figure gradually faded into the distance, leaving Nie Xiaoqian standing infatuatedly in the Lake Heart Pavilion with two trails of clear tears streaming down her cheeks.

An Yang and Yan Chixia discussed eliminating Thousand-Year Tree Demon for a while, then went for a ride around Guo Bei County before snatching a horse from Guo Bei County and heading back.

The sound of horse hooves thundered rapidly, gradually approaching Lanruo Temple!

Ahead, the whistling of swords echoed through the air. A man stood among the Four Heavenly Kings holding a sword, tilting his head back to drink wine before tossing his wine gourd aside. Wind and rain whipped around him amidst thunder and lightning, yet he danced fiercely with his sword, the sword light shining as brilliantly as the lightning!

While dancing with his sword, he chanted loudly. Fallen leaves drifted haphazardly through the air, and the lightning illuminated the statues of the Four Heavenly Kings to look exceptionally terrifying!

"Dao! Dao! Dao! Dao! Dao dao dao dao!..."

"The Dao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Dao. The Heavenly Dao, Earthly Dao, Human Dao, Sword Dao, Black Dao, Yellow Dao... Bah! Utter! Non! Sense!"

"..."

"I seek my own Dao! I... seek... my own Dao!"

Yan Chixia's figure spun rapidly across the stone statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, finally stopping in the middle of the statues with sword in hand, looking like a madman!

"Ting-ling-ling..."

A string of bells rang out. Yan Chixia's expression turned fierce, and he abruptly turned his head to look at the continuously swaying bell under the eaves, his figure vanishing from the spot in an instant.

Seeing this, An Yang hurriedly turned his horse around and rode back until he stopped right below Nie Xiaoqian's pavilion.

Sure enough, Nie Xiaoqian arrived very quickly. She pulled his hand and dropped to the ground, asking worriedly, "Why did you come back again?"

An Yang said, "I've already worked it out with Big Brother Yan. We're going to kill Thousand-Year Tree Demon and rescue you. I came back specifically to pick you up!"

Nie Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and covered his mouth. "Don't speak yet. It's too dangerous here. Let's go to the small pavilion to talk."

In the small pavilion—

The rain outside fell incessantly without stopping, and the wind blew without rest. The white gauze around Lake Heart Pavilion was completely soaked through to a translucent color, and their clothes were drenched as well.

Nie Xiaoqian's face was full of emotion as she stared straight into An Yang's face.

"Did you really come back just to save me?"

"Of course, I will definitely save you!"

"Does the Daoist priest inside Lanruo Temple really want to kill Grandmother?"

"I wouldn't lie to you!"

The trace of hope that had just risen in Nie Xiaoqian's eyes quickly dimmed again. "So what if he does? Grandmother has already betrothed me to Black Mountain Lord of the netherworld. Black Mountain Lord has such powerful magic that even Grandmother is no match for him, and that Daoist priest won't work either."

The pavilion had a few leaks. An Yang shielded her from the rain and said, "Since ancient times, evil cannot triumph over righteousness. Don't worry!"

Nie Xiaoqian's expression was pitiful and delicate, calming only when she looked at him. She gently pressed against his chest, took his hand and pressed it against her own bosom, then looked up at him and said, "Let's not talk about these things right now, Young Master An Yang. If I cannot escape, I hope to leave no regrets behind."

An Yang was stunned. He remembered this was something that happened to Ning Caichen in the original plot, and he never expected it to replay with himself. A full and soft sensation came from his palm, and Nie Xiaoqian's gentle voice seemed to ring right beside his ear.

He admitted, his heart was in turmoil!

The rain in the sky fell even more fiercely, beating against the pavilion roof with a pattering sound, yet it couldn't cover the fiery passion inside the pavilion.

Nie Xiaoqian cupped An Yang's face and kissed him lightly. It was a fleeting touch, and she gazed at him infatuatedly as tears slid down her eyes once more.

She remembered when they first met, how An Yang had treated her as if she were invisible. They had only known each other for four days now, but the memories in her mind were so profound. In fact, when she and Ning Caichen had reached this stage in the original plot, they had also only known each other for three days.

An Yang pressed down over her body, feeling only a rush of softness. A faint, lingering fragrance drifted past his nose, and Nie Xiaoqian's skin was smooth and tender, leaving him utterly intoxicated.

He gently unfastened Nie Xiaoqian's clothes, lowered his head, and kissed her.

A bout of intense passion amidst wind and rain.

When the rain stopped, Nie Xiaoqian draped a snow-white, slender leg across his body, looking at him infatuatedly. The Lake Heart Pavilion remained brightly lit, casting shimmering reflections across the rippling surface of the water.

"Young Master An Yang, if I were not a female ghost, if I were not controlled by Grandmother, and if I had been born into an official's family, I would definitely marry you."

An Yang stroked her rounded leg, his gaze resting on a string of small silver bells around her ankle. His eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "Don't worry, I will definitely restore your freedom."

Suddenly, the sound of a sword chime rang out from afar. Through the moonlight, a bearded man could be seen stepping across the waves with a longsword in hand, his eyes wide as copper bells and his face filled with murderous intent.

"Hey, you female ghost! How dare you harm my little brother An Yang? Do you want to live or die?!"

"Little brother An Yang, don't be afraid, I've come to save you!"

An Yang's expression changed, and he hurriedly said to Nie Xiaoqian, "You leave here first, I'll explain to Big Brother Yan right away."

Nie Xiaoqian nodded in a panic, leaping out of the pavilion and vanishing into the wind.

Yan Chixia vaulted into the pavilion in a single bound and grabbed An Yang by the collar. "How is it? Are you alright?"

An Yang struggled with all his might to break free from his grip. Although he possessed physical fitness far surpassing ordinary people, he clearly had no power to resist in Yan Chixia's hands.

"I'm fine, Big Brother Yan, go easy on me. I can't breathe."

"Uh... I didn't mean to. It's good that you're okay. I'm going to go capture that female ghost! She has already revealed her form, she can't run!"

With that, Yan Chixia gripped his longsword and prepared to give chase to Nie Xiaoqian.

"Wait!"

An Yang quickly grabbed hold of him.

Yan Chixia frowned, looking anxiously into the distance. "If you have something to say, spit it out! If we don't chase her, that female ghost will get away!"

An Yang sighed and said, "Big Brother Yan, actually, Xiaoqian only harms people because she has no choice. She was persecuted by Thousand-Year Tree Demon, and her background is very tragic."

"What! What are you talking about? Who is Xiaoqian?"

"Xiaoqian is that female ghost just now. Don't go after her yet, listen to me explain slowly."

After a long while, Yan Chixia finally understood.

"So you're saying you've fallen in love with that female ghost?"

An Yang was stunned, then nodded. "I suppose so."

"How could you fall in love with her?! Humans and ghosts walk different paths; she will drain your yang energy dry! You two cannot be together!"

"This... Big Brother Yan, leave that to me."

An Yang was completely unconcerned about this. With the Time-Space Travel Phone in hand, he didn't believe that out of ten thousand time-spaces, he couldn't find a solution to this matter.

Yan Chixia curled his lip and said, "I really don't understand you scholars. You're so romantic you won't even spare a female ghost!"

An Yang dryly coughed and said, "Xiaoqian is actually very kind, and very pitiful too."

Yan Chixia's expression froze as if recalling something. His face fell into a brief moment of dejection as he said, "So you didn't stay behind to help me deal with the tree demon, but rather for that female ghost?"

An Yang was momentarily stunned, a trace of awkwardness crossing his face. "I wouldn't put it that way either. Both reasons are there; I both want to help Big Brother Yan eliminate the tree demon and rescue Xiaoqian."

Yan Chixia waved his hand. "Cut the crap. Nobody would believe a word of you. I knew it! How could a frail scholar like you dare to fight the Thousand-Year Tree Demon? Turns out it was all for a female ghost. The power of love truly is great."

An Yang smiled, thinking to himself that someone certainly believed it—Nie Xiaoqian believed his words without a sliver of doubt!

"Big Brother Yan, let's discuss how to deal with the Thousand-Year Tree Demon instead!"

Yan Chixia paused, then asked, "What method do you have?"

An Yang thought for a moment and said, "Actually, Big Brother Yan, you are by no means inferior to the Thousand-Year Tree Demon, it's just very difficult to kill her. We only need to find a location, set up the Heavenly Net and Fuel Talismans in advance, and guarantee that the tree demon cannot escape."

Yan Chixia pondered this, furrowing his brow. "That method is viable, but how do you plan to lure the tree demon over?"

An Yang smiled. "Xiaoqian has a bell on her. As long as the bell rings, the tree demon will definitely come!"

Yan Chixia was startled. "Will that female ghost be willing to help us?"

"Of course. As long as Big Brother Yan guarantees that you won't harm her life after killing the Thousand-Year Tree Demon, I can convince Xiaoqian to help us."

Yan Chixia thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Fine! As long as you guarantee that the female ghost will never harm people again, and as long as she helps me eliminate the Thousand-Year Tree Demon, what harm is there in sparing her this once!"

"As long as I draw breath in this world, Xiaoqian will definitely never harm anyone!"

"Good. Then you go prepare the fuel, and I'll go to Guo Bei County to buy some cinnabar and Yellow Paper to carve talismans!"

PS: Sorry everyone, I wrote this chapter a few days ago and had actually already finished it, but when I went to post it today, I discovered the chapter was missing and had to rewrite it all over again. By then, my train of thought had already moved on to the later chapters, which inevitably caused some confusion, so please forgive me for any mistakes. Also, thank you all for your tips and support!