Ling Yuxuan guffawed. "Since you don"t wish to go back, you might as well stay with the Ling Family... " He pulled her arm.
Su Wan jerked his hand loose and frowned. "I am your cousin. You"d better not get fresh with me! You"re already so old. Time to get married!"
Ling Yuxuan placed his hand on the back of his brain. "What"s the hurry? My elder brother isn"t married as well, is he?"
"Talking about your elder brother, what happened to him? Who was that Han Chen or Xiao Chen?"
Two streaks of cold light gleamed out from Ling Yuxuan"s eyes. "He"d better not meet me. Or I will crush his bones and send their dust flying!"
"You? With your skills? Tut, tut! Even your elder brother can"t beat him... "
"Hey, what do you mean?... What do you mean by "with your skills"? If it wasn"t because of the Restriction in the Human World, I would be Lvl 2 Foundation Building Realm!"
"Can"t be bothered with you. I"m going over there to look at the jewelry."
"Hey, why are you looking at a roadside stall? Our family owns so many jewelry shops... "
Xiao Chen was startled. That woman was walking in his direction. Before he could turn to go, Su Wan was already beside him. Xiao Chen turned his face to one side. But he could not turn too much as Ling Yuxuan was still on the other side.
Two of them were only at the early stages of the Foundation Building Realm. He did not have to worry that he could not beat them. He was just afraid those old devils from the Ling Family might come after him. There were a dozen cultivators in the later stages of the Core Forming Realm, together with a superior near the Nascent Soul Realm, still in retreat. They controlled the local officials and if they tried to hunt him down here, he could not escape.
As he pondered, the impatient voice of Su Wan rang out in his ears. "Are you buying anything? If you aren"t, don"t stand in the way and block me."
"Oh, so sorry, Miss." Xiao Chen pressed his True Qi to his throat and lowered his head, moving aside. Ling Yuxuan strode over and gazed at his retreating figure. His eyes narrowed. "This man... "
Xiao Chen hurried back to the inn and dashed upstairs. He did not know whether Ling Yuxuan had seen his face. They could not stay in Lingyun Citadel any longer. He would rather search out a cave and stay there rather than risked being discovered.
When he reached the farthermost room, he pushed open the door forcefully. The door bar could not withstand the push and gave way, breaking into two.
"Senior Sister Luo! Hurry... "
"Ah!" Luo Shangyan gave a scream, startling everyone in the inn. She was standing beside a bathtub, quickly covering herself with a piece of clothing. She was all flutter like an alarmed deer as she shouted, "Turn back!" She was nearly in tears.
"Ah, sorry, so sorry!" Xiao Chen came to himself and quickly turned around, slamming the door shut forcefully.
"Don"t turn back... until I shout for you to!"
Luo Shangyan flurriedly grabbed her undergarments beside the bathtub and put them on. She next went to the head of the bed and put on a white skirt hanging on the bedpost. Her heart was still throbbing. After a long time, she finally said, "I... I am done."
Xiao Chen turned around gingerly and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, her legs closed tightly. She dared not raise her head and her face was flushed, like crimson clouds at dusk.
"Pack up at once and leave. I will explain later."
At the same time, in the most prosperous belt in the eastern part of the city, there were a few imposing, linked mansions--the Ling Family mansions. Five elders sat in a grand hall. A cyan-robed elder"s face was flushed with rage. "But of course! The one injured isn"t your grandson! Of course, you won"t be upset!" With a slam, he shattered the teacups into dust.
Another elder in gray pulled a long face. "Fourth Elder, it"s not right to look at it in this way. If he really is a disciple of the Ancient Immortal Clan, we will be stirring up a hornet"s nest. We may end up as dead as our ancestors."
"What disciple of the Ancient Immortal Clan? I think he was just lucky to have stumbled on an ancient manual!" The cyan-robed elder was still raging.
Another red-robed elder was also bad tempered. He yelled, "Stumbled? Try stumbling on one yourself! If he really is a disciple of the Ancient Immortal Clan, Ling Yingfeng should not only be badly injured, he should even have died! Don"t think we don"t know... it was Ling Yingfeng who had provoked the man that day! Who can he blame?"
The cyan-robed elder"s temper immediately flared. He got up and bellowed, "Ling Aotian! You are jealous of my grandson"s potential! Very well! All of you can hide behind and not look that boy up! I will go and take revenge myself!"
That red-robed elder got up as well and pointed at him. "Fine! Go ahead! If you can, poke a hole in that hornet"s nest! I"ll see who can deal with it later!"
"I"m already so old and I couldn"t care less! I don"t care whether he is a disciple of the Ancient Immortal Clan or a heavenly king! I must crush that lad"s bones and make their dust fly!" With these bellowing words, the cyan-robed elder turned to go.
"Stop!" Another black-robed elder cried out to him. That elder"s brows were knitted in a deep frown. "n.o.body goes! Let"s first wait for the House Master to come out of his retreat!" Then, he said to those outside, "Carry down the orders! If anyone acts rashly, he will be punished according to family laws! No one will be let off lightly!"
Xiao Chen and Luo Shangyan had packed up their things in the inn and were about to leave. A cold voice rang out from the outside corridor. "Don"t bother to go." As the voice descended, a dozen or so Foundation Building Realm Cultivators who had disguised their aura suddenly blocked the door.
Xiao Chen realized they were in trouble. He had been so intent on packing their luggage that he had not detected these men. He had not expected them to converge so fast. He hurled out a palm which quaked the entire inn, causing tremors. Then, he grabbed Luo Shangyan and barged through the window, landing on the streets.
He had chosen the outermost room to forestall such trouble. As the two scrambled away, the dozen or so Foundation Building Realm Cultivators went swiftly after them, led by Ling Yuxuan.
When they approached the city gate, Xiao Chen grabbed someone"s mount and flew up its saddle with Luo Shangyan. They galloped to the city gate. Behind them, Ling Yuxuan yelled, "Close the city gate!"
The garrison guard heard the order and saw what happened. He immediately ordered his men to close the gate. Xiao Chen saw that the unfavorable situation and hit a Cyan Dragon Roar out with his palm. The dragon bellow shuddered the sky. The few soldiers closing the gate were hurled backward.
Once they got out, it was an expanse of boundless, level land. There were no mountains or rivers. Dusk had not fallen and there was no place for them to hide. He clipped his legs tightly around the horse"s belly and spurred it on to gallop.
With a whizz, a cold radiance a.s.sailed his back. With Luo Shangyan in his arms, Xiao Chen ducked to one side, evading the flying sword. Then, another flying sword streaked to a.s.sault. It whooshed and lopped off the horse"s leg.
The horse immediately fell forward. With Luo Shangyan in his arms, Xiao Chen soared up. His hand turned and condensed a Qi blade, hacking at the vanguard cultivator. Before the man could shriek, his entire arm had been severed off by the sudden Qi blade. Blood spurted out at once.
Relanding on the ground, Xiao Chen held his breath and concentrated. There were 14 or 15 a.s.sailants but they had not converged, standing at different spots in several cl.u.s.ters. He could not fight his enemies with the f.u.xi Zither. Each note could at best destroy a cl.u.s.ter. His present cultivation only allowed him to play three notes. If he failed to destroy them in three notes, he would have completely exerted his True Qi. The consequences would be dire.
Obviously, these a.s.sailants had realized this. That was why they had dispersed themselves in cl.u.s.ters and kept a distance from him, fighting him with flying swords.