The Journey Back and Hidden Undercurrents

The retreat went more smoothly than expected.

Mo Chen's final smoke screen played a crucial role. The black mist contained fine Soul Power interference dust, which would temporarily blur one's senses upon inhalation. In addition, Lu Yuan carefully erased his tracks along the way, choosing only difficult crevices and dry riverbeds, and until late at night, no pursuers appeared behind him.

As dawn broke, they arrived at the abandoned quarry outside Maple Leaf Town.

It was about seven or eight miles from the town. Pitholes and half-collapsed shacks left from mining in the early years were scattered around, and weeds grew everywhere. Shen Moxin and Li Wangye waited in advance in a sheltered stone hollow, and the campfire was kept very low.

"This way!" Li Wangye waved in a low voice.

Seeing Lu Qinghe, unconscious, on Lu Yuan's back, and Lin Xiao, pale-faced and being half-supported by Su Yan, Shen Moxin's eyes narrowed sharply behind her glasses. Without asking any questions, she immediately made way. "Come in quickly."

The stone hollow was lined with dry grass and was fairly dry. Lu Yuan carefully laid his father down, his movements as gentle as could be. Lu Qinghe's breathing was weak, and a small patch of the bandage had been soaked with blood again.

Shen Moxin knelt down and placed her fingers on Lu Qinghe's wrist. As she probed with her Soul Power, her brows furrowed more and more tightly.

"The residual wind attribute is still eroding the meridians." She spoke quickly, "The wound is too deep, there's been excessive blood loss, and the organs have slightly shifted. We must stabilize the root cause first, otherwise..." She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.

She opened the leather pouch she carried with her, inside which were neatly packaged herbs, categorized into hemostatic, analgesic, and Soul Power- regulating herbs, all pulled out at once. She then looked at Lu Yuan: "Do you still have Soul Marrow Essence?"

Lu Yuan took out the piece that was half-used and handed it over.

"Not enough." Shen Moxin. "Uncle Lu's injuries are too severe. This little bit of essence can only keep him alive. To completely stabilize his injuries, he needs Origin medicine that can nourish his meridians. What I brought... only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

Her hands moved swiftly, skillfully crushing several herbs, mixing them with her Soul Power to form a paste, which she then applied to the area around Lu Qinghe's wound. She then took out a pale green pill, dissolved it in water, and fed it to him little by little.

Lu Yuan remained silent, gazing at his father's pale face. The firelight made the wrinkles appear even deeper.

On the other side, Lin Xiao was laid down on the hay, already unconscious. The aftereffects of his rampaging Soul Power, coupled with the hideous wound on his back, had completely drained him of his energy. Su Yan silently cleaned his wound and applied the medicinal powder given to Shen Moxin.

Mo Chen leaned against the stone wall, drank some water, and closed his eyes to rest. Li Wangye guard at the entrance of the stone cave, watching the gradually brightening sky outside warily.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Just then, from a distance—probably in the direction of the rift valley—came a deep, muffled rumble, as if emanating from the depths of the earth.

Rumble...

The sound lasted for more than ten breaths before gradually subsiding. A faint tremor could be felt in the ground.

Everyone in the stone hollow raised their heads.

"There's been a landslide." Mo Chen opened his eyes, his voice hoarse. "Judging from the noise, it's quite large."

Shen Moxin paused in her movements and looked at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan's eyes remained expressionless. "As expected." He paused, then added, "Where are the Shadow Guards?"

Mo Chen shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't have time to look over there after the smoke went up. But in the last moment, I felt... that eerie aura seemed to suddenly disappear."

"They withdrew?"

"Hmm." Mo Chen licked his chapped lips. "Just a little bit before the landslide. They slipped away very quickly and silently."

Lu Yuan remained silent.

The involvement of the Shadow Guards was already suspicious, and their final evacuation and landslide felt even more deliberate. It was as if they were there specifically to put an end to this farce and, incidentally, bury the clues to the "ruins" deep within the rocks.

Sure enough, the next two days were calm and peaceful.

Li Wangye risked approaching the town to gather information, and the rumors he brought back were a jumbled mess. Some said that an entrance to an ancient ruin had indeed been discovered in the rift valley, but the intense competition among the Soul Master caused a landslide that buried the entrance. Others said it was all a misunderstanding, a false rumor deliberately spread by someone to muddy the waters. Still others were more outrageous, saying that ghostly figures were seen passing by during the landslide, an ominous sign.

The Cloud Mist Sect and the Inspection Office team withdrew shortly after the landslide. It's said the two sides argued at the site, accusing each other of being greedy and reckless, and of damaging the site; the matter was eventually dropped. The hype surrounding the "ancient ruins" quickly subsided, as if doused with cold water. Most people believed it was an elaborate hoax, or simply a misunderstanding.

Only the few people in the stone hollow knew that what lay buried beneath was a false clue they had personally laid. And the Shadow Guards's comings and goings were no accident.

Lin Xiao woke up on the afternoon of the third day.

He opened his eyes and stared blankly at the stone ceiling for a while before suddenly trying to sit up. The movement aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to groan in pain, and sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

"Don't move." Su Yan pressed him down.

Lin Xiao ignored them, his gaze quickly sweeping over the stone hollow. He saw Lu Qinghe lying unconscious in the corner, Lu Yuan silently guarding him, and Shen Moxin wearily rubbing her temples.

His lips moved, but no sound came out.

Shen Moxin walked over and examined his wounds. "The recovery is faster than expected. Your physique is special, but your Soul Power was overdrawn too much. You can't use your Martial Soul for at least half a month."

Lin Xiao seemed not to hear, his eyes fixed on Lu Qinghe.

"Uncle Lu, he..." His voice was terribly hoarse.

"Your life is saved," Shen Moxin said truthfully, "But it's fundamentally damaged. The remnants of the Wind Blade 'Soul Power have invaded deep into your meridians. I temporarily sealed it with medicine, but this isn't a long-term solution. It requires the dew of ' Moonlight Orchid ' combined with several other medicinal herbs such as ' Earth Vein Vine Heart ' and ' Hundred-Year Warm Jade Marrow Origin-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Decoction ' to slowly remove the remnants and nourish the meridians. Otherwise..." She paused, "It might leave permanent internal injuries, making it difficult to advance your cultivation any further, or even... shortening your lifespan."

The stone hollow was deathly silent.

Lin Xiao clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and the veins on the back of his hands bulged. The old scar on his face twitched slightly, and his amber pupils were filled with extremely complex emotions—guilt, anger, helplessness, and a hint of almost violent pain.

After a long time, he managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

"This life... was given to me by you."

Lu Yuan finally turned his head and glanced at him. There was no comfort, no blame, just a calm nod. "That's good."

He looked at his father again, gently grasping the calloused, now cold and limp hand. His father's hand was rough, the thick calluses on his palms digging into his skin. His face, due to blood loss and pain, looked much older than his actual age, the two vertical lines between his brows deeply etched even in his unconscious state.

Do you feel guilty?

Of course he did. He made the plan, and he should have considered the risks.

Are you angry?

The fire in my chest never went out, it was just suppressed and turned into a cold stone.

Feeling scared afterward?

My fingertips are still a little numb when I think back to that moment of blankness when the Wind Blade struck.

But these emotions eventually settled down, transforming into something harder. Deep in his eyes, something burned silently, quietly, yet with a scorching heat.

"Father," he whispered, his voice so soft only he could hear, "You'll be alright."

He paused, then looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the stone hollow: Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, Su Yan, Li Wangye, and Lin Xiao, who was struggling to prop himself up.

"Those who made you bleed," Lu Yuan said calmly, but each word was like a nail, "Not one of them will escape."

He released his father's hand and stood up, his back ramrod straight, though the injury to his side still throbbed faintly.

"I'll contact Bai Zhi," he said. "Only her Martial Soul can reliably extract the Moonlight Orchid Dew. Earth Vein Vine Heart and Warm Jade Marrow are rare on the market, but not impossible to obtain."

Mo Chen interrupted, "What about the money? Those medicinal herbs aren't cheap. We're now..." He gave a wry smile, not finishing his sentence.

Lu Yuan didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Is there any progress on the new stronghold?"

Shen Moxin adjusted her glasses. "I've been checking the local topographical map and old records these past two days. Sixty miles north, on the edge of the Black Swamp, there's a place called ' Silent Hills.' Soul Power there is chaotic, the terrain is complex, and there's miasma year-round; almost no one goes there. It seems a small Soul Master family built a refuge there some years ago, but the family declined, and the place became deserted. Perhaps... we could take a look."

"Okay." Lu Yuan nodded. "Once Father and Lin Xiao's condition stabilizes a bit more, we'll go scout ahead."

He paused for a moment, then his gaze swept over the crowd again.

"But before that," he said slowly, "We need a clear 'bill'."

"Cloud Mist Sect, Shadow Guards." Lu Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a resolute tone, "We'll settle the scores one by one."

No one answered from inside the stone hollow.

Only the occasional crackle of the campfire sent sparks flying. The light flickered on the stone wall, illuminating a few silent yet resolute faces.

As the daylight faded, twilight spread through the wild grass and scattered rocks. The distant mountains were reduced to blurry outlines, like lurking beasts.

Beneath the surface of temporary safety, deeper undercurrents have begun to silently surge.