Chapter Sixty-Nine: Rescuing Others from Peril

Stunned for quite some time, Liu Changqing looked at Lu Baichuan with a gaze tinged with admiration, then respectfully saluted him. “Brother Lu, your insight is as sharp as a blazing torch. Please, teach me. It is a pity that I have wandered from place to place, yet have no one to inherit my mantle.”

Lu Baichuan was puzzled. “Teach you? What could I possibly teach you?”

Liu Changqing replied, “Don’t jest with me, Brother Lu. In this world, to be able to take so many talented disciples, I suspect you are the only one. You must possess some unique method, a way to discern aptitude and constitution at a glance.”

Lu Baichuan laughed. “Brother Liu, you flatter me too much. I have no such ability. All of this is fortune brought to me by Brother Yang.”

“That young man has such skill?” Liu Changqing was astonished.

Lu Baichuan scratched his head. “Perhaps it is what people call blessings and fate. Brother Yang does not care for birth or status, but he delights in discovering talent. Take my eldest disciple: without Brother Yang, she might never have entered the world of cultivation, nor known the extent of her aptitude. Like a pearl covered in dust, never to shine in the world—hence I named her ‘Mingzhu,’ Bright Pearl.”

Liu Changqing fell silent.

Seeing Liu Changqing had lost his interest in conversation, Lu Baichuan asked, “Brother Liu, what are your plans next? Where will you go?”

Liu Changqing replied, “I thought that coming to Wuzhou this time would end either with my death beneath Bai Muyun’s sword or his beneath mine. Life and death still hang in the balance, so I have not made any plans.”

Lu Baichuan said, “Brother Liu, we are of the same path, and have met as kindred spirits. The way is vast and uncertain, and who knows if we will meet again? I feel reluctant to part. If you wish, stay at Yang’s residence for a while and consider your plans slowly. I would also like to seek your guidance on your martial insights from these years.”

Liu Changqing thought for a moment. “Very well. I was just hoping to meet your disciples. Though I’ve offended the master of Yang’s residence today, it doesn’t trouble me. He… ha!”

Lu Baichuan laughed as well. “Brother Liu, you worry too much. Brother Yang is easygoing and cheerful; he won’t mind such trifles.”

Meanwhile, Mei Yuchen and Li Tianxing, along with the other two, had excitedly gone to watch the duel. But the scene was packed with crowds, layer upon layer, so dense that there was simply no way to squeeze in.

The four struggled for quite some time, but could only see the backs of those in front, nothing more. Li Tianxing cursed under his breath, and the other three hung their heads in disappointment.

Mei Yuchen, being experienced, observed the lively crowds and surmised that the night market would be bustling and bright until dawn. He suggested giving up on the duel and instead wandering the night market, since their adoptive father had not specified a return time. Li Tianhu and Li Tianbiao, being young and inexperienced, perked up at the idea and urged Li Tianxing onward. The four left the central plaza early.

Turning left and right, the four strolled through the night market, eating snacks and buying trinkets. They didn’t bother to keep track of how far they’d gone or how long they’d spent, quickly forgetting the purpose that had brought them out that day.

As the night deepened, the four boys played to their heart’s content, unaware of where they had wandered, their laughter echoing through the streets until the early hours. Passing through an alley, they suddenly heard a low cry ahead: “Help!”

Deep within the alley, darkness reigned, but two shadowy figures could be seen lying on the ground. The four exchanged glances. Li Tianxing, bold by nature, led the others in to investigate.

Drawing closer by the faint light, they saw a man drenched in blood, his head wrapped in a cloth, eyes tightly shut, his breathing weak. Beside him lay a young woman, panting, apparently exhausted and collapsed.

Mei Yuchen scrutinized the girl and exclaimed, “Tianxing, come quickly! Is it her?”

Li Tianxing, who was checking the man’s injuries, hurried over and was equally astonished. Without time to think, he asked, “Why is it you?”

The girl was none other than Bai Zhuluo, the young lady of the Bai family—one of the few elite scions in Wuzhou city, usually lofty and untouchable, but now in utter disarray.

Seeing who stood before her, Bai Zhuluo silently lamented her luck. How narrow the road to fate! Only recently she’d threatened to teach these boys a lesson, and tonight, at the brink of life and death, she happened to run into them. Truly ill-fated.

At that moment, hurried footsteps and angry shouts could be heard in the distance. Bai Zhuluo, proud even in adversity, could not let go of her dignity. In anguish, she said, “There are pursuers behind us. If you won’t help, leave quickly, lest you get caught in crossfire or hand us over for a reward.”

Li Tianbiao, hot-tempered, was angered by her attitude and was about to retort, but Li Tianxing held him back and decided, “The situation is urgent, words are useless. Let’s take them and escape at once.”

The other three agreed, and together helped the two up. Mei Yuchen, being the strongest, carried the heavier man. Li Tianxing hoisted Bai Zhuluo onto his back and asked, “Your Bai family—where is it?”

Bai Zhuluo, clinging to Li Tianxing’s back, urgently replied, “Don’t go back to the Bai family. I escaped from there. Head outside the city.”

Mei Yuchen glanced at the man he was carrying and asked, “Are you sure about going outside the city? This man is badly wounded. Even if we get you out, you won’t get far.”

Bai Zhuluo’s expression grew dim. She sighed, “If we don’t leave the city, we have nowhere to go. All the major families must be searching for us.”

Mei Yuchen looked at Li Tianxing and said, “Let’s go back and find Cheng.”

“Alright,” Li Tianxing replied. “Tianhu, Tianbiao, you two cover the rear.”

“I’ll lead the way. Just follow me,” Mei Yuchen said, then sped ahead using his agility.

The other three didn’t waste words, each using their own skills to follow quickly.

Li Tianbiao wondered, “Isn’t Mei Yuchen going the wrong way? That’s not the direction home.”

Li Tianxing barked, “Don’t question it. Mei Yuchen has his reasons. Just follow and keep an eye out for pursuers.”

The four fell silent, hurrying along at full speed. Bai Zhuluo, clinging to Li Tianxing’s back, felt the wind rushing past her ears, houses whizzing by. She was shocked—she could sense this person’s cultivation was low, yet his speed rivaled a master of the Integration stage.

She was intimately familiar with the city. She watched as the four ran for two or three hours, circling the western city, then heading south, deliberately winding through dozens of streets before finally making for Nanqiu and entering a residence.

Only then did Bai Zhuluo relax. These youths were seasoned; such a circuitous route would throw even a Golden Core master off their trail. Pursuers would never catch up now.

Bringing their wounded charges, the four entered the front hall. The matter was grave, so Mei Yuchen went to the rear courtyard to inform Yang Cheng and let him decide.

Yang Cheng had just lain down again when Mei Yuchen knocked on his door. He sighed to the heavens, utterly miserable. Yet upon hearing the rescued person was the Bai family’s eldest daughter, he realized the situation was anything but simple, and told Mei Yuchen to bring them to the rear courtyard while he hurriedly dressed.

When he rushed to the council hall, he saw Li Tianxing’s group tending to the wounded. The Bai family’s young lady had only superficial injuries, but was still shaken, her body trembling with tension. As someone who had always enjoyed honor and privilege in the Bai family, tonight’s upheaval was unimaginable. Those who once flattered her now turned their blades against her. If not for her second uncle’s loyal followers fighting desperately to save her, she and her companion would have died in their own home.

She had never endured such suffering. Events unfolded too quickly for her to think. Only now, as the crisis receded, did she begin to feel anxious and uneasy over tonight’s upheaval.