I Need To Find A Way To Make Her Love Me Again - Chapter 44

As the voice fell, a thunderous explosion erupted. Two figures burst from beneath the earth, sending mud and stone flying toward Yan Xiaoling and the masked man. Many of the fragments were caught in the fire vortex, flying outward like living entities wreathed in flame to pursue those nearby.

Seeing the pale, heavily injured state of the person in Jiao Yu’s arms, Yan Xingyu asked anxiously, “What happened to Guan Fei?”

Jiao Yu glanced at Yan Xiaoling and replied, “That woman’s boundary was strange. Guan Fei had to injure herself for us to break free.”

Recalling Yan Xiaoling’s past actions at the Jiuxuan Palace, Yan Xingyu knew this was a favorite tactic of her enemy. Her face darkened with rage. “Sooner or later, I will make that beast pay the price.”

With a flip of her hand, she formed a seal and summoned Xiao Yin’s true form. The massive, fifty foot tall creature appeared abruptly, its silver tail sweeping through the air with a sharp aura to repel any hidden attackers.

Yan Xingyu led Jiao Yu and the others onto Xiao Yin’s back. She watched the masked men hiding in the dissipating flames and noticed Yi Rong had also vanished into the mist, leaving only faint sounds behind.

“Xiao Yin, get us out of here first!” she commanded.

Thanks to Yan Xingyu’s significantly increased spiritual power, Xiao Yin was stronger than ever. With a roar and a powerful swing of its body, the serpent surged forward.

One of the masked men struck the ground with his palm, and the sound of something cracking echoed from the ruins beneath the thick mist. Yan Xingyu felt a surge of dread and urged Xiao Yin not to stop.

A series of clicking sounds began to rise from the mist, the sound of joints and bones snapping out of place. Thinking of the “Human Ghouls” they had seen earlier, she watched as a severed head rolled behind them, its neck still partially attached to a twisted body, staring at them with wide eyes.

A “Sting-Pig” body sprinted past, a scene so horrific and pathetic that Yan Xingyu felt a wave of helpless fury. She gathered her qi into a blade, attempting to sever the white silk threads connecting the ghouls, even as more masked men pursued them.

“Little one, protect Guan Fei!” she shouted to Jiao Yu. “Xiao Yin, knock back any ghouls that pop up. Don’t let them get close!”

Leaping into the air, Yan Xingyu swung her blade at the masked pursuers. Her movements were a blur of speed, the air whistling with every strike. Seeing the enemy shift from attack to defense, her expression hardened. One masked man flipped over a body and headed straight for the silver serpent.

Ghouls emerged one after another; two crawled onto Xiao Yin’s back. Jiao Yu struck out, breaking their limbs, only to see them snap back into place instantly. Her heart sank. Just as she prepared to strike a masked man flying toward them, the person in her arms spoke.

“He is not an enemy,” Guan Fei whispered.

Jiao Yu hesitated. The masked man landed, swiftly slapped two talismans onto the foreheads of the ghouls, and kicked them away. An explosion followed.

Yan Xingyu also noticed the man’s actions. As she moved to engage, he traded a few blows with her, but his movements felt performative and strangely familiar. She locked eyes with him and whispered, “Liu Ruoni?”

The figure didn’t speak. Seeing they were nearing the edge of the Yulan Palace grounds and sensing more ghouls approaching, the figure feigned being struck, falling toward the silver serpent while surreptitiously laying down a boundary to block the remaining ghouls.

With this brief window, Xiao Yin successfully carried them out of the thick mist. Guan Fei forced herself to stay conscious. “Xingyu, go back to Fucheng.”

“Alright, we’re going back,” Yan Xingyu replied. Fucheng was currently under the jurisdiction of the Lingluan Palace, those who dwelled in the shadows wouldn’t dare show their faces there.

The Truth of the Past

As the sounds of battle faded behind them, Yan Xingyu looked at the frail Guan Fei. “How did you get hurt so badly? Yan Xiaoling shouldn’t be a match for you.”

Guan Fei sighed, her face ashen. “She is skilled in boundaries and trapped us in an illusion. To break it, I had to wound myself.”

“Who did you see in the illusion?” Yan Xingyu asked.

“My mother.”

Yan Xingyu fell silent. After a long moment, she asked, “Guan Fei, have our families always been close?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?” Guan Fei sat up, leaning away from Jiao Yu’s shoulder. “Xingyu, did something happen?”

“I met an elder of the Yan clan,” Yan Xingyu said. “She told me that the Yan people were turned into ghouls by Yan Xiaoling. The things chasing us… were my relatives.”

Both Jiao Yu and Guan Fei were stunned. Yan Xingyu continued, “That elder has passed away now. But I don’t understand, if our families were so close, why didn’t your mother help when the Yulan Palace fell? Even with the demons’ help, the Yulan Palace wouldn’t have collapsed so quickly. Surely they would have called the Lingluan Palace for aid?”

Yan Xingyu kept her voice calm, seeking answers rather than casting blame. Guan Fei looked at her, weighing her words before finally speaking.

“This… might have something to do with me,” Guan Fei admitted. “Years ago, my mother heard that the spirit beast Yin Ke could share its soul and senses with a human. She wanted me to use it so I could see again. But the beast was incredibly difficult to tame, so she asked the Yan Palace Master for help.”

“The process went wrong. My mother was badly injured, and the Yan Palace Master stepped in to finish the taming. But as the soul was being transferred to me, the beast resisted, trying to take the Palace Master down with it.”

Guan Fei ‘looked’ toward Yan Xingyu. “At that moment, you rushed out to protect her. Your shoulder was bitten through, and you were poisoned by Yin Ke’s venom. You died instantly.”

“To save your soul from dissipating, the Yan Palace Master had no choice but to force Yin Ke’s soul into your body. But the venom was incurable. Your original body was destroyed. My mother was consumed by guilt. Although Yi Rong eventually saved you, the incident left a scar on her heart. She went into seclusion and didn’t emerge until it was too late to save the Yulan Palace.”

Yan Xingyu stared at the silver scales beneath her feet. “I see.”

The explanation cleared her doubts about the Guan Palace Master, but one detail bothered her. “How did your mother find out about the spirit beast’s ability in the first place?”

“She mentioned it after a meeting with Sect Leader Xu of Qingding Mountain,” Guan Fei recalled.

Qingding Mountain again. Yan Xingyu then asked, “And how did you recognize Liu Ruoni back there? Why do you trust her?”

“I may be blind, but I see people more clearly without the distraction of sight,” Guan Fei smiled weakly. “Everyone has a unique ‘aura.’ No matter the disguise, the aura doesn’t change. I don’t necessarily trust her, but while she might harm me, she would never harm you.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Guan Fei chuckled, “she was in love with the former Yan Palace Master, your mother.”

Yan Xingyu froze, her mind going blank. Guan Fei added, “She stayed at the Yulan Palace for a time years ago. There were many stories. I don’t think she could ever bring herself to hurt the daughter of the woman she loved.”

As they flew further from the ruins of the Yulan Palace, Yan Xingyu sat in stunned silence. Everything began to click. Liu Ruoni’s ruthlessness, yet her repeated instances of secret assistance. She never expected such a deep, complicated history.