“Where have you hidden the Mysterious Stone from Beyond? Confess honestly, and you might still receive leniency.”
Gong Xuance put away his token, looking at Liu Que triumphantly.
Liu Que sneered.
“Oh? After I’ve killed so many people?”
Hearing this, Xiu Jiming laughed in spite of himself.
“You’re finally admitting you killed these people instead of continuing with those fallacies of yours.”
“…”
Liu Que narrowed his eyes, offering no reply.
“However, leniency is still possible. Originally, you were to be cut into 10,000 pieces and have your nine generations executed. But now, if you proactively report to the Imperial Court, we’ll leave your corpse intact and spare your kin.”
Gong Xuance walked to Xiu Jiming’s side, smiling.
Lin Ling, however, noticed something strange.
The life force within Liu Que’s body was fading at an extremely rapid pace.
Soon, the vitality before her was only half of what it had been.
Lin Ling understood immediately and quickly grabbed Xiu Jiming.
Seeing the Little Fox’s urgent expression, Xiu Jiming leaned down to listen.
Lin Ling whispered quickly into his ear, “He’s splitting himself to escape! Stop him!”
‘[If you keep bickering with him, you won’t even be able to catch a single hair!]’
Xiu Jiming did not hesitate.
Trusting Lin Ling’s words completely, he turned and drew his longsword, slashing through space toward Liu Que.
“Flying Snow Knocks on Heaven’s Gate!”
The sword light flashed by, cutting Liu Que in half.
Liu Que looked at Xiu Jiming and Lin Ling, smiling.
“Too late. Since I could steal the Mysterious Stone from Beyond in broad daylight, how could I not have some life-saving methods?”
Several halos flew out from Liu Que’s severed body, and a dazzling light was released into the air.
Lin Ling was held by Xiu Jiming and remained unaffected.
Watching the scene illuminate the night sky, she felt somewhat helpless.
‘[Solar Flare, damn it.]’
Liu Que was transformed into countless halos by the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven, scattering in all directions.
Before he flew off, Lin Ling felt a strange aura imprint itself onto her hand.
Lin Ling quickly tried to rub it off, but she couldn’t.
It gradually formed a crimson mark.
“Just keep it. Once I’ve recovered, I will definitely take back the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven.”
Liu Que’s cold voice echoed in Lin Ling’s ear.
When the light finally faded, Liu Que had vanished from the scene.
Lin Ling rolled her eyes.
‘[Still acting tough. If you don’t come for me, I’ll go looking for you. How could I let you have my clan’s treasure?]’
Looking at the empty ground, Gong Xuance uncharacteristically dropped his playful expression, his face turning solemn.
Xiu Jiming checked Lin Ling, confirming she hadn’t sustained any injuries.
However, when he saw the mark on her hand, he frowned.
After sensing it and finding no curse within, he felt temporarily relieved.
“Don’t be afraid. Even if he doesn’t come for you, we’ll go looking for him. It’s just a tracking mark. I’ll find a way to help you wash it off when we get back.”
Gong Xuance inspected the area and walked up to Xiu Jiming with a sigh.
“He got away.”
Xiu Jiming didn’t look at him, nodding as he said solemnly, “Everyone, let’s head back.”
The members of the Xun Zhu Si looked at each other, withdrew their formations, and saluted Xiu Jiming before quickly packing their things to leave.
Lin Ling couldn’t help but marvel at the efficiency of the Xun Zhu Si.
When they appeared, they deployed a dragnet in seconds, and when they withdrew, it took only seconds as well.
Before long, only the three of them remained in the wasteland.
Gong Xuance suddenly realized something and shrank his neck, trying to slip away.
Then, one sword light after another flew past.
Massive sword qi descended from the sky like heavenly gates, locking Gong Xuance inside.
Gong Xuance complained, “Junior Brother! Why didn’t you use this just now?!”
Xiu Jiming ignored him, walking away with his hands behind his back.
Lin Ling glanced at Gong Xuance, let out a mock sigh, and hopped after Xiu Jiming.
Gong Xuance felt helpless.
He walked around and immediately realized why the sword gates hadn’t been used against Liu Que.
The sword gates were a simple seal; as long as one didn’t trigger the sword qi, they could be easily evaded.
Gong Xuance walked through the formation effortlessly and sighed in relief.
“I’d better not annoy my Junior Brother for now. Finding a way to catch Liu Que is the priority.”
Just as Gong Xuance was about to take flight, the sword gates suddenly merged into a single white sword, turning into a streak of light that vanished into the distance.
Gong Xuance was startled, then praised, “My Junior Brother’s methods truly surpass mine by far.”
“Indeed,” Xiu Jiming’s voice came from somewhere unknown.
Gong Xuance was shocked and immediately tried to flee, but a palm print descended from the sky, swatting him like a fly.
“Give me some face! I’m your Senior Brother!”
Gong Xuance wailed as he was sent flying by Xiu Jiming’s palm.
***
Upon returning to the Xun Zhu Si, Xiu Jiming took Lin Ling to find members of the ritualist faction to see if they could clear the mark on her hand.
The people who ran around outside were mostly from the Heaven-Patrol Faction, while those in the ritualist faction mostly served as something akin to local doctors.
Longchuan County’s Xun Zhu Si was like a headquarters, so there were naturally high-ranking personnel stationed there.
As Xiu Jiming explained this to Lin Ling, he led her deeper into the Xun Zhu Si.
He smiled and said, “By the way, Ling’er, your official rank is Ritual Monitoring Envoy, and the vast majority of Ritual Monitoring Envoys are from the ritualist faction.”
‘[How troublesome.]’
Lin Ling pouted, feeling it was too much of a hassle.
She truly had no interest in the workings of the Imperial Court.
Xiu Jiming, who could already understand Lin Ling’s thoughts, smiled.
“In the Yuzhou Xun Zhu Si, there were often members of the Fox Clan. Most of your Fox Clan joined the ritualist faction. The Emperor likely considered this when making you a Ritual Monitoring Envoy.”
Lin Ling shrugged.
“But it doesn’t make much difference. Since you’re a Talisman Cultivator, Ling’er, you’d mostly be considered part of the ritualist faction anyway,” Xiu Jiming said after a moment of thought.
‘[Does that mean I won’t have to go out in the future?]’
Hearing this, Lin Ling looked at Xiu Jiming with sparkling eyes.
Xiu Jiming looked into her large eyes and shook his head with a laugh.
“Silly girl.”
‘[Hmm? Wait, how do you seem…?]’
Lin Ling was startled, looking at Xiu Jiming with a suspicious gaze.
Xiu Jiming lowered his head slightly, a fleeting smile flashing in his eyes as he looked at Lin Ling leisurely.
“What is it, Ling’er?”
‘[Xiao Ming, you’ve got a hole in your head.]’
Lin Ling said tentatively in her mind.
Xiu Jiming’s face stiffened, and he looked at Lin Ling sheepishly.
Lin Ling stared at Xiu Jiming in utter shock.
“You… You!!”
Lin Ling pointed at Xiu Jiming, her face still filled with disbelief.
Seeing this, Xiu Jiming smiled.
Mimicking Shen Zaixin’s flamboyant manner, he pulled out a fan from nowhere and held it against his face.