24 – Crisis
“…Respected customer, here"s your broth.” The tea shop"s waiter brought her the broth she just ordered.
Xia Xue wearing a short cloak smiled back.
“Please enjoy.” The shop"s waiter said, looking a little shy.
The broth reflected Xia Xue"s face. Although half of her face was hidden by the shadow of the cloak"s hood, but her exquisite nose and pretty pink lips were still revealed. These two features coupled with the pleasant shape of her face were enough to catch people"s attention. The reaction of the shop"s waiter just now was the best evidence.
Xia Xue gently grasped the bowl and took a sip of the broth.
The broth was insipid. Obviously, it didn"t contain enough ingredients.
However, you couldn"t expect much from such small a tea shop on the official road.
But the broth could relieve the fatigue Xia Xue acc.u.mulated after hurrying for three consecutive days.
She breathed a sigh and tried to relax.
Unfortunately, it didn"t work out. It was too noisy here.
She was currently huddled in a corner of the tea house. Because the shop was located on the busy official road, the small room overflowed with people.
This tea shop adjacent to the official road was frequented by all kinds of people, among whom it wasn"t difficult to spot merchants and martial pract.i.tioners. After all, anyone walking the road would look for a place to rest after getting tired.
The people inside were talking about a variety of topics, making a lot of noise.
Although Xia Xue didn"t have an aversion for such bustling. But at the same time, she wasn"t interested in paying attention to their topics, nor taking part in their discussions. But…
“Hey, have you heard about what happened yesterday?”
“What happened?”
“Something big happened in the Heavenly Sword Gate.”
Huh? The three words ‘Heavenly Sword Gate" caught her attention, and she searched for the source of the voice.
Coincidence or not, but the two people discussing this topic sat opposite her.
Both were men – a young man and a teenager. From the way they dressed, they were clearly martial pract.i.tioners. They both carried a sword on them.
“The Heavenly Sword Gate? wasn"t the banquet held yesterday… who doesn"t know that?” The teenager, who looked to be 14 or 15 years old, replied disdainfully.
“Hey, Little Bro, so you don"t know. Listen to this elder. Yesterday, there seemed to be a fight in the Heavenly Sword Manor.”
From the way they spoke, these two people shouldn"t know each other. They were probably just sitting at the same table.
However, what Xia Xue was more concerned about was what the young man had said.
There was a fight? Could it be the Young Ancestor? Xia Xue thought of this possibility at once. After all, she couldn"t be clearer about the relationship between the Heavenly Sword Gate and the Merak Palace.
“A fight? Who fought whom?”
The young man beckoned the teenager, “Come closer.”
The two leaned forward at the same time. The young man looked left and right, and then said in a low voice: “I evesdropped on an elder of the sect. Don"t spread it… After the banquet concluded yesterday, Jinling City"s gates were closed, so the Heavenly Sword Gate arranged residences for the guests, and then… It seems that during the middle of the night, in a villa of the Heavenly Sword Manor, someone started fighting. And it seems that two Heaven Realm experts were involved.”
“What did you say?” Started fighting, two Heaven Realm experts, due to these two utterances, Xia Xue got up reflexively and blurt out.
Startled by Xia Xue, the two male martial pract.i.tioners shuddered, looking like they have been caught cheating. At the same time, they stiffly turned their heads to look at Xia Xue.
Not caring whether she had scared the two half to death or not, Xia Xue approached them, “What did you say? Two Heaven Realm experts fought?”
“Young lady, don"t you know that it"s impolite to eavesdrop?”
Xia Xue frowned – my behavior seems to have provoked displeasure in the other party. How troublesome!
Not wanting to waste time here, Xia Xue simply lifter her hood and used her beauty to do the talking.
As soon as she revealed her appearance, she attracted a lot of gazes, and the two male martial pract.i.tioners in front of her were even more so stunned for a moment.
“Hey, you see that girl, she"s such a treat for the eyes…”
“Huh, you"re right.”
… The topics of conversation of the surrounding people changed to revolve around Xia Xue. In such a place, topics tended to change very fast.
“Can you tell me more about what you just said?” Xia Xue plastered on a smile, making herself look even more charming and beautiful.
At the same time, she pointed to the empty seat between the two and asked with her eyes if she could sit there.
The younger martial pract.i.tioner swallowed nervously, but didn"t respond. Instead, the young man promptly half rose from his seat and said: “Please… please sit.”
Xia Xue smiled back, making the two fall into a trance.
“Excuse me, just now you said that there were two Heaven Realm experts fighting in the Heavenly Sword Gate… I"m rather interested in the particular"s of this matter. I wonder if you can tell me in detail?” Xia Xue got right to the point and asked the young man. Of course, she wasn"t stingy with her smile, her eyes sparkling.
“Of course, of course.”
“That"s wonderful! Please…”
“Huh… ah! I overheard an elder of the sect talking. It seems that two Heavenly Realm experts fought yesterday in a courtyard of the Heavenly Sword Mansion. The elder said that the fight was very fierce, and that the fluctuations of true qi nearly left him breathless.”
“Did your elder mention who the two Heaven Realm experts were?”
“That…” The young man hesitated a little, “The elder said that one of them should be the Heavenly Sword Gate"s Gate Master Hua. He is rather familiar with Gate Master Hua, so he can tell the Gate Master Hua"s aura apart.”
Please don"t be the Young Ancestor! Xia Xue asked anxiously: “And the other?”
“I don"t know.” The young man apparently didn"t know.
Just as Xia Xue felt disappointed…
“Who else could it be? Yesterday, there was a total of two Heaven Realm experts. One was naturally the Gate Master, so who else could the other one be? It"s the Merak Palace"s Young Ancestor Xue Qilin!” A slightly frivolous voice came from behind her.
Was it really the Young Ancestor? Xia Xue creased her eyebrows tightly, ignoring the aura that slowly approached from behind. But…
“Young lady, could you please tell me your name? I am the Lion Mountain Sect"s initiate…”
“Shut your mouth!” The other side spoke proudly, yet before he could finish, he was cut off by Xia Xue.
“Young lady!” Apparently angry from embarra.s.sment, Xia Xue could feel the other party"s hand reaching for her.
Annoying! No longer hiding her aura, Xia Xue sent the pressure from her Earth Realm cultivation base to press down on the other side.
“Earth Realm!” The person exclaimed, and then apologized, frightened: “Senior, this junior failed to recognize your eminence…”
“Take a hike!” Xia Xue spoke wearily without looking at the other party.
“Yes, yes, yes, I"m leaving now.” After leaving this sentence behind, the other party quickly left.
Why did Hua Tianji fight with the Young Ancestor? Did the Young Ancestor flip out on Hua Tianji? Or was this premeditated on Hua Tianji"s part? The more Xia Xue thought about it, the less rea.s.sured she was. She mumbled to herself: “No… I must go to Jinling as soon as possible!”
She immediately got up and left a few silver coins behind, completely ignoring the looks of amazement focused on her.
However, she had just walked out of the tea house… A fast horse pa.s.sed her.
Huh? As they were pa.s.sing each other, Xia Xue saw the figure on the horse. It was Gong Tianqing.
“Qing"er!” Xia Xue shouted at once.
The little girl apparently heard her call, and immediately reined in the horse. With a light jump, Xia Xue caught up to Gog Tianqing in a split second.
She touched the ground at the same time as the horse stopped, “Qing"er, why are you here!”
Gong Tianqing"s eyes widened, and she asked incredulously: “Elder Xia…?”
“It"s me.”
At that moment, as if she had clutched at a straw, Gong Tianqing nearly fell as she got off the horse and grabbed Xia Xue by the arms, “Elder, Elder Xia, please go back to the Merak Palace and ask the Vice-palace Master to save the Young Ancestor!”
“What did you say?!” Xia Xue"s eyes widened in an instant.
“The Young Ancestor was captured by the Heavenly Sword Gate!”
The Young Ancestor was captured? Xia Xue stared blankly for a long time – how could she have been captured?
No, calm down! I have to ask for detailed information first! Xia Xue took a deep breath and asked gravely: “What happened exactly?”
“I, I don"t know… The people of the Heavenly Sword Gate suddenly attacked… It was because the Young Ancestor blocked the pursuers that I could escape… I don"t know whether the Young Ancestor is dead or alive…”
“What about Senior Disciple Sister Luo?”
“Senior Disciple Sister Luo also escaped. But, but she stayed in Jinling City. She said that the Heavenly Sword Gate wouldn"t kill the Young Ancestor. She stayed in Jinling, waiting for an opportunity to find out the whereabouts of the Young Ancestor…”
“So, she sent you back to the Merak Palace for help?”
“Yes, Senior Disciple Sister Luo said that the Young Ancestor was probably imprisoned by the Heavenly Sword Sect. I must ask the Vice-palace Master Ye to rescue the Young Ancestor…”
Wait! The Young Ancestor was captured?! Xia Xue suddenly thought of something.
… “Don"t worry. As long as they aren"t certain about the Young Ancestor"s stance, they"ll treat me as a figurehead at worst. They won"t do anything to me.” In order to make Xia Xue feel at ease, Qi Qiqi had spoken these words.
However, now the Young Ancestor"s life is an uncertainty. Although Senior Disciple Sister Luo said that the Young Ancestor was likely imprisoned, but that"s not for sure. If the Young Ancestor died…
“Oh no, Palace Master!” Xia Xue suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction of the Merak Palace.