Chapter 905: Rejected
Li Ruolan suddenly felt rather uncomfortable, so she cleared her throat to interrupt his reverie.
Chu Li turned to look at her. “Senior Sister Li never visits me without a reason. Just tell me what you need.”
Li Ruolan noticed his cold treatment toward her and sensed the distance between them. She grew even more uncomfortable and frowned. “Can’t I come and see you when I’m free?”
“Senior Sister Li, you’re a busy person. Moreover, you need to accompany Senior Brother Ji when you’re free. Where would you find the time to come and visit me?” Chu Li replied impa.s.sively, “Senior Sister Li, just tell me what business has brought you here. I’ve been pretty busy these days. Since the war is going to start soon, the Spirit Medicine Nursery has to produce a lot of spirit herbs. I’ve been busily running around like the wind.”
Li Ruolan rolled her eyes at him and said, “I heard you’ve been injured. Is your condition serious?”
“Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. I’ll survive,” Chu Li replied, “I’ve lost my cultivation, but it’s okay. I don’t need any martial arts skills to work in the Spirit Medicine Nursery anyway. Planting spirit herbs is the easiest and most effortless task for me.”
“I heard that you’ve been deceived by Qin Huaichuan.” Li Ruolan suppressed the urge to scold him and spoke in a gentle voice, “With your intelligence, couldn’t you tell that it was a trap?”
“I was blinded by my personal interests. I was too anxious to restore my cultivation level,” Chu Li muttered. “He was aware of that too. That’s why he was able to set me up. Nonetheless, it’s nothing serious. I’ll find an opportunity to get back at him. Senior Sister, don’t tell me you’ve come just to show concern for me?”
“You little brat!” Li Ruolan could not hold herself back any longer and retorted, “Can’t you be more polite?”
“Senior Sister, I’m very busy!” Chu Li replied impatiently, “Just tell me what has brought you to me. Stop rambling incoherently. Why is it so hard for you to get to the point?”
“I was just showing concern for you and you called that incoherent rambling!” Li Ruolan scoffed. “You’re so infuriating!”
Chu Li turned around and walked toward the ravine.
“Stop right there!” Li Ruolan shouted.
Chu Li stopped and turned back to her. “What is this about!”
Li Ruolan felt like Chu Li had changed. He seemed to have become a different person altogether.
While Zhao Dahe had always treated others in such a domineering manner, he had never acted like this in front of her. Now, everything had changed. It was as though she had become just like everyone else to him, so he was no longer treating her differently. Now, he was not as obedient and submissive toward her as before, and she no longer found him adorable. Instead, she wished she could slap him in the face.
During their conversation this time, after exchanging just a few lines, their positions seemed to have switched. It felt like he had become her senior now.
However, there was nothing she could do about this. Beggars can’t be choosers. She was here to ask for his help after all.
Chu Li asked disdainfully, “Does it concern Senior Brother Ji?”
“You knew about it already?” Li Ruolan was taken aback.
Chu Li scoffed and replied, “You were struggling so much to talk about it. Aside from matters concerning Senior Brother Ji, what else could it be?”
“Then, do you know what has happened to him?” Li Ruolan asked.
Chu Li rolled his eyes. “I’m not a supernatural being. I can’t predict the future!”
“Fine. Senior Brother Ji has fallen into a dangerous situation!” Li Ruolan said.
Chu Li replied, “The Holy Church of Light has so many martial arts masters. Just send someone over to rescue him and bring him back!”
Li Ruolan was upset to see him taking this matter so lightly and so she retorted, “Previously, back when we were being hunted down by Hai Cang Mountain in the Qiu Dynasty, why didn’t the Holy Church of Light send anyone to save us when we had so many martial arts masters then?”
“That’s true.” Chu Li nodded and asked, “Well then, Senior Sister, do you intend to go and rescue him just like how Senior Brother Ji did back then?”
“Senior Brother Ji’s situation is more dangerous,” Li Ruolan said, “he’s being hunted down by the Tempest Temple in the Ji Dynasty.”
Chu Li frowned at the mention of the Ji Dynasty. He did not expect to face such a situation already.
When he first entered the Holy Church of Light, he had been worried that this day would eventually come. He had been worried that the Ji Dynasty might enter the picture. That would be a very tricky situation to deal with, and he might accidentally expose his ident.i.ty. More importantly, situations like this would usually cause him to be caught in a dilemma.
Li Ruolan said, “If we don’t go and rescue him, it would be very likely for him to be captured by the Tempest Temple! … Their monks are the most ruthless bunch of people. After capturing him, they’ll cripple his cultivation and dump him somewhere unknown to anyone else for him to spend the rest of his life there. That’s the most torturous thing to endure!”
“As long as he’s not dead, he’ll be fine,” Chu Li muttered, “It’s not such a scary thing for him to fall into the hands of the Tempest Temple anyway.”
“Senior Brother Ji is a very high-spirited and ambitious person. If he were to be crippled of his cultivation and be forced to live the rest of his life like a normal person, such an outcome would be more painful than death for him!”
“We have to be capable of adapting to our situation. He’ll adapt to it eventually.”
“Zhao Dahe!” Li Ruolan glared at him.
Chu Li said, “I’ve heard of the Tempest Temple too. They’re much more powerful than Hai Cang Mountain. We couldn’t even handle Hai Cang Mountain and you’re thinking of taking on the Tempest Temple now. Senior Sister Li, don’t let your feelings cloud your judgments. Think about this properly! … Oh, I understand now. You wish to accompany him and live a normal life with him. Indeed, your love for him is very deep. How admirable!”
Li Ruolan continued to glare at him with her charming, bright eyes.
Chu Li shook his head and said, “Nonetheless, you have to consider the possibility that the two of you might not be dumped in the same place. You two might end up in different places, unable to see each other for the rest of your lives. Wouldn’t that be so not worthwhile?!”
“You’re refusing to help me, aren’t you?” Li Ruolan asked coldly.
Chu Li replied, “Your emotions have clouded your judgments, but I’m not crazy. Whoever is the slightest bit capable of rational thinking will never agree to help you. You’re just courting death. There’s nothing else you can do aside from dying with him. It’s impossible to rescue him! … What did the Saint say about this?”
“The Holy Church of Light is lacking manpower right now,” Li Ruolan said with a huff, “they can’t send anyone over to rescue him.”
Chu Li spread his hands wide and replied, “The Saint is just being tactful with her words. In reality, she, too, knows that it’s useless to send anyone there. They would be sacrificed in vain!”
“Zhao Dahe, I never thought that you could be so cold-blooded and heartless!” Li Ruolan muttered.
Chu Li retorted, “I’m not related to Senior Brother Ji in any way. He’s your Senior Brother Ji, not mine. Why should I get myself involved in this, and let myself fall into the hands of the Tempest Temple along with him?”
“The Tempest Temple isn’t that scary.”
“The Tempest Temple is that scary!”
“Coward!”
“Yes, I’m a coward!”
“Fine, if you won’t go, I’ll go alone!” Li Ruolan stomped her foot resentfully and turned around to leave.
Chu Li raised his voice and said, “In that case, I hope you and Senior Brother Ji remain together even until you are old. I wish you a happy and peaceful life at the Tempest Temple!”
Li Ruolan stopped, turned around and glared at him angrily. Her charming, large eyes seemed to be wet with tears. Then, she turned around and left at once, vanis.h.i.+ng before Chu Li in the blink of an eye.
…
Li Ruolan wiped away her tears as she traveled down the Great Light Peak. Chu Li had made her so angry that she felt like she was about to explode.
As she glided through the air along with the wind, she was choking with resentment. She felt suffocated, as though her chest had been stuffed with cotton. Therefore, she had decided to release her anger by performing the light-body technique and gliding as fast as she could. She did not need a horse right now since she could use the light-body technique for her entire journey.
Three days later, she arrived at Fairy’s Capital in the Ji Dynasty. Before her arrival, she had used a secret skill to conceal part of her cultivation level so that she would seem like an innate master instead.
Compared to the Great Light Peak, Fairy’s Capital was like an entirely different world.
There was an endless number of horses and carriages on the avenue. The place was unusually lively, but the people here seemed carefree and relaxed as they came and went in great numbers. It made her feel as if she had been cut off from the outside world for ages. She wished she could just settle down in this place and forget about all the flashes and shadows of swords on the battlefields.
However, she soon remembered Ji Xin’s current situation and quickly made her way to a restaurant. She went up to the third floor and found herself a seat beside the window.
She was dressed in a white tunic and had covered her charming face with a white veil. With her limpid, bright eyes and her graceful physique, she was very eye-catching as she went to sit upstairs.
Soon after, a waiter came and wiped her table clean before serving her tea and taking her order.
The waiter was a handsome young fellow. He subtly pa.s.sed a crumpled piece of paper to her and then left inconspicuously.
While she sipped her tea, she avoided the gaze of the people around her and opened the crumpled piece of paper. A hint of excitement flickered in her eyes. Then, she relaxed and slowly took another small sip of tea.