Hearing Li Xun halt behind him, Li Cong turned back in surprise, just in time to meet a pair of calm, piercing eyes.
Li Xun's gaze was filled with an unsettling clarity that seemed to see through the human heart.
Li Cong's smile froze on his face. And truth be told, he didn't really need to fake smiling anymore.
The air suddenly rippled with tension. Li Xun turned his head toward the source. A spot in the center of the street, where a tall, lean man in a sapphire-blue scholar's robe stood with his head raised. His features were sharp and angular like carved jade, and his eyes were cold, stern, and locked directly on Li Xun.
Li Xun felt his heart rate spike, then slow, and finally settle again into a steady rhythm.
Then, from his flanks, from behind, even from above, he sensed more pressure. More intent.
He was surrounded.
Five people. All of them possessed at least twice the cultivation level he did!
Heavenly Vigorous Sect.
This was an ambush. An ambush that was carefully laid out in secret. But what caught Li Xun off guard even more… was the fact that he wasn't nervous at all.
His mind raced, and in the span of a breath, he pieced together most of the story.
He slowly turned his gaze back to Li Cong.
This dear younger brother of his… really outdid himself this time.
Li Cong's expression stiffened, but he did his best to feign confusion, using the excuse of glancing around at the encircling figures to avoid meeting Li Xun's gaze.
When his eyes landed on the scholar in blue standing directly ahead, he even gasped in mock surprise. "Brother He! What...what is the meaning of this?"
Li Xun had no interest in hearing the act play out. At this moment, only one thought echoed in his mind:
What do they take me for?
Grasping onto that crucial question, he took a slow, silent breath and turned to Li Cong with a warm voice:
"So these… are the friends you meant to introduce me to, little brother?"
Li Cong hadn't expected Li Xun's tone to be so gentle. For a moment, he was genuinely stunned.
He didn't understand. Li Xun had clearly seen through the situation….so why was he still speaking like this? And without hesitation, he'd even exposed their still-concealed blood tie. Caught off guard, Li Cong's expression grew even more unnatural, and he could only nod stiffly.
He wasn't the only one surprised. Even the scholar in blue across from them raised a brow at Li Xun's words. His eyes flicked between the two brothers before finally resting on Li Xun again, his expression slightly less severe than before.
Li Xun's heart surged with quiet delight. From that subtle shift in the man's demeanor, he understood a great deal. This situation… might not be beyond saving after all.
But while that thought brewed inside, his expression didn't reflect it.
Instead, he gave a bitter smile, followed by a long sigh. Then, dismounting from his horse, he calmly walked toward the scholar. Once close, he gave a deep, respectful bow. When he looked up again, there was a shimmer of tears in his eyes.
"Li Xun of the Mingxin Sword Sect greets you. May I ask how to address you, brother cultivator?"
"Mingxin Sword Sect?" The scholar was clearly caught off guard by the name, though what likely baffled him more was Li Xun's composed and humble bearing.
But he wasn't some greenhorn. He quickly suppressed the flicker of doubt and returned the greeting with a polite nod.
"Heavenly Vigorous Sect. He Mulan."
The moment the man spoke, Li Xun instantly recognized him; this was the "senior brother" who had injured him that day. Seeing him in person now, his imposing presence lived up to the blow he'd delivered.
The name "He Mulan" was no stranger to Li Xun either. One of the "Four Gentlemen" of the Heavenly Vigorous Sect, the Lan Gentleman himself. His status in the Tongxuan Realm was on par with Wen Hai.
Li Xun naturally showed a look of recognition. "So it's you, Senior Brother He. The famed Orchid Gentleman…"
He had meant to offer a few flattering words, but He Mulan cut him off before he could finish.
Despite the courtesy in his tone, He Mulan's eyes still held a quiet force that made people uneasy. His gaze wasn't malicious, but its weight alone pressed heavily on Li Xun.
"Then I suppose," he said, "I may address you as Junior Brother Xun."
Li Xun gave a helpless smile and nodded.
He then watched as He Mulan took a step forward, hands clasped behind his back. Just that one step, and the familiar aura of vast righteous qi surged from him like a tide, instantly filling the entire long street.
Compared to He Mulan, Li Xun's cultivation was at least twofold weaker, and with a guilty conscience weighing on him, there was no way he could withstand such overwhelming vast righteous qi, which could command the mountains and rivers below, and the sun and stars above.
But he knew…. even if his body couldn't hold up, he must not let his gaze waver.
If he looked away, it was over.
He crushed the instinct to flee and held his ground with the last of his courage, locking eyes with He Mulan.
Thankfully, the ordeal didn't last long.
Just when Li Xun was ready to draw his sword and cut his way out, He Mulan let out a sigh.
"Junior Brother Xun, you have remarkable talent and a pure cultivation. If you devoted yourself wholeheartedly earnestly to the Dao, your future would hold limitless promise. So why waste yourself in this mortal realm, flaunting spells to curry favor with the court? Worse still…abusing your cultivation to defile the imperial harem?"
By the end, He Mulan's voice had grown sharp and forceful. Each word hit like a blade to the heart, and his gaze turned piercing. Like it could cut through one's soul.
Inside, Li Xun sneered. But on the outside, his expression was full of regret and quiet sorrow.
He cast a glance at Li Cong, then gave He Mulan another bitter smile. "Senior Brother He, if this is a conversation between us, does he really need to be here?"
Though he hadn't answered directly, the meaning behind his words was shaded with subtlety. And his expression only made that implication more complex.
He Mulan wasn't a fool. Precisely because he wasn't a fool, he was affected by that expression.
"…You're right. Then let's continue this outside the city, shall we?" He Mulan's tone softened without him realizing it. He glanced at Li Cong again, and this time, there was clear contemplation in his eyes when he turned back to Li Xun.
Li Xun nodded and turned to retrieve his horse—only for a clear, teasing female voice to ring out beside him:
"Don't tell me you still can't fly on your sword?" And she laughed.
Li Xun's body paused for a moment, then turned toward the voice. The speaker was the only female cultivator among the five. Although he had glimpsed her once before through the water mirror technique that night, seeing her up close now still drew a silent note of admiration from him.
She was a young woman brimming with ethereal charm. Her beauty couldn't quite compare to the likes of Qing Yin or Consort Qin, but her delicate features were enchanting in their own right; especially those gently curved crescent-moon eyes. When she smiled, they truly looked like the crescent moon in the sky, full of graceful spirit, and carried a hint of innocent, endearing sweetness. She was truly adorable.
At first glance, she looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, roughly the same age as Li Xun.
Her robe was a noble shade of violet, but at her chest she had tied a small ornamental knot that fluttered lightly in the wind, adding a playful, spirited touch to her otherwise dignified attire.
Even the way she wore her sword was different. It hung diagonally beneath her ribs like a sash accessory. The blade itself was just a foot long, narrower than most, with a deep violet hue and a concealed edge. It resembled an elegant ornament more than a weapon, leaving one uncertain of its true nature. Much like its wielder, it was mysterious and intriguing.
As Li Xun looked at her, a face suddenly flashed through his mind. Qi Yun!
She resembled Qi Yun.
Though this girl's beauty even surpassed that of Qi Yun, they shared something far rarer: a kind of purity untouched by the passage of time, a simple sincerity that stirred buried memories.
Qi Yun did not leave a deep impression in his heart. Originally, Li Xun thought he had completely forgotten her. But at that moment, staring at the young female cultivator, he couldn't help but recall the drifting ash of that distant mountain path.
There was no point in pretending. His face turned deathly pale.
The girl was startled by the sudden change in his complexion. Her crescent eyes widened slightly, only to meet Li Xun's upturned face and the bitter, broken smile on his lips.
"…I really can't fly on a sword anymore."
The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden pressure clamped down on his wrist. It was He Mulan.
A stream of true breath surged into him. Li Xun didn't resist; he allowed the man to probe freely.
Their true breaths touched briefly before He Mulan released his grip.
He frowned slightly. "Junior Brother Xun, your true breath is lively and unblocked. Why can't you ride your sword?"
Li Xun suppressed the dark tide rising within him. He forced his thoughts into order, his expression more convincing than ever. With a weary smile, he replied, "It's… a long story."
He Mulan gave him a deep look, then nodded. "Fine. I'll take you myself."
He gave a subtle gesture to the other disciples, grabbed hold of Li Xun's arm, and soared skyward. The remaining four quickly summoned their swords and followed them.
Below, Li Cong stood dumbfounded, mouth agape, staring at the beautiful streaks of light ascending into the heavens, unable to utter a single word.