Volume Three: Beyond the Unfettered, Chapter Ninety-Two

“Thank you, Jin.”

The young man spoke his thanks, and Jin Li turned her gaze aside, no longer looking at him.

Geng Yuan saw the tips of her ears gradually flush red, and his own heart began to pound violently as well.

The two of them blushed for one another, their hearts stirred.

Beneath the rustling fall of pear blossoms, Geng Yuan’s eyes were tender, the affection in their depths nearly spilling over, as though he might drown Jin Li in it.

“Jin.”

He could not help but speak again, calling her softly.

She did not turn back, only answered with a quiet hmm. Perhaps she was too shy to face that face again, for Geng Yuan stepped directly before her, forcing her to look at him.

The young man’s smile was bright as daylight. Tilting his head, he asked with an easy grin, “Jin, what do you think of me?”

Jin Li was almost astonished by how direct he was. Truly, whatever he felt in his heart showed plainly on his face, without the slightest concealment.

Even she had to admit defeat before him.

“You... you are very good.”

It took Jin Li a long while before she answered, a little nervously.

She had thought that such an answer was sufficiently complete, and that he might still be dissatisfied. Yet she had misjudged him again. The young man’s smile grew even more radiant.

“If Jin says I’m very good, does that mean you’re quite satisfied with me too?”

Jin Li lowered her eyes, glancing at the fallen blossoms on the ground.

“Quite... satisfied.”

It was the first time since seeing Jin Li again that he had heard something so lovely. His expression grew faintly expectant, threaded with a touch of nervousness. The moment she said she was quite satisfied with him, the tension in his eyes melted away, replaced by delight and overwhelming devotion.

If Jin said he was very good, then he would be even better to Jin.

If Jin said she was quite satisfied with him, then that meant...

Jin liked him.

Geng Yuan was too excited to know what to do, and could only stare foolishly at Jin Li, his face full of joy.

Jin Li waited a long time and heard no reply from the young man. Just as she was about to look up, his strong arms drew her into that broad, warm embrace, and the scent of clean, steady cedar immediately filled the tip of her nose.

It was cool and composed, impossible not to sink into.

The young man buried his head in the crook of her neck, his voice hoarse and trembling, excitement coloring his tone.

“Jin, from now on, can we be like this all the time?”

Forget the unhappy things. Forget all the unhappiness of the past. Forget all the blood and violence. Remember only the beauty of the present.

Would that be all right?

The girl froze. The weight and solemnity of his words made her afraid to agree so easily. She did not answer him, only lifted a hand and gently stroked his back.

“You... you let go of me first.”

The young man was a little overjoyed, so happy he had lost himself.

Like an unguarded, cheerful boy.

A little lacking in sense.

Jin Li smoothed her skirt and sat down, then looked up at him with a smile. “Why are you so happy to see me?”

“Because it’s you.”

Because you are Jin, the one Geng Yuan has loved all his life.

“You... do you know me?”

The young man’s expression faltered, and then he covered his hesitation with a smile. “Yes. I’ve known you for a very long time.”

“How long is that?”

“So long that you did not yet know me.”

A coldness settled over Jin Li’s eyes. She spoke with quiet composure, never once looking away from him.

“Huai Gui, you are not being honest.”

Geng Yuan was shocked. The joy in his heart slowly turned into tension and fear, as though that old accusation from a night long ago had risen before him once more.

“I... I...”

Sometimes, the harder one tries to explain something, the less one knows where to begin, and the more chaotic everything becomes. Geng Yuan was exactly like that now. He truly wanted to tell her of their earlier meeting, wanted to reveal everything to her, but if he did, things between them would no longer be as they were now. Perhaps they would have begun long ago with swords drawn against one another.

She might hate him to the bone.

He clenched his robe hem, panic rising, and he even lacked the courage to meet Jin Li’s eyes.

“Young man, I understand all of your thoughts. If this were the past, I might truly have been moved by your sweet words. But things are different now, and the words young people say should be spoken to others of their own age. You and I are not suitable.”

With such a clear rejection, Geng Yuan felt as though he had fallen from the clouds into an ice cavern. In an instant, he was frozen to the marrow.

“Jin.”

Jin Li raised a hand. “Our identities are different. You should still address me as Senior Aunt, or else as Lady Sovereign.”

Having said that, she rose to leave. But the young man caught her hand.

Jin Li stiffened, too frightened to turn back.

Geng Yuan lowered his eyes, the corners of them reddening, pitiful beyond words.

“Is it only because of this?”

“Yes.”

Geng Yuan let out a breath of relief. He lifted his reddened eyes slowly and said, “Jin, I won’t give up. One day, I’ll stand beside you and become the one who can protect you.”

Jin Li never answered him. She only listened as he went on.

“Jin, wait for me. Wait for me, all right? It won’t be long.”

“Let go.”

Those two cold words from the girl left the young man no choice but to release her, his eyes filled with fear that she would leave.

“Jin.”

Seeing the petals dancing with the breeze, Jin Li said slowly, “Huai Gui, you should focus your mind on cultivation instead.”

With that, she turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished.

When Jin Li returned to Lian River, she did not see Qi Sui. She only found the letter he had left behind.

Lady Sovereign, something has come up within the clan. I have left first. I beg your pardon.

Seeing the meal on the table, Jin Li sat down, yet made no move to eat. Her eyes were full of thought, and she remained like that until the sky darkened.

She changed into a black, close-fitting outfit, veiled herself with sea-silk gauze, and took advantage of the deep night to go alone to Sacred Domain Heaven.

By day, Sacred Domain Heaven was deserted; by night, it seemed even more desolate.

Her eyes carefully surveyed her surroundings.

At the altar of Sacred Domain Heaven.

Many of the shrines enshrined above were of true gods who had fallen in the ancient wilds, and among them was Tu Shan Yan.

She had to find out why Tu Shan Yan had fallen without cause.

She spread her hands, then placed her palms opposite each other and shaped them into a lotus mudra. She murmured the spell to awaken the formation. As the incantation fell from her lips, golden immortal radiance began to burn in her palms, while blue radiance flowed like water into the gold, too dazzling and too sacred to describe.

At her feet, a golden wheel expanded, then slowly began to turn amid interwoven runes.

“Let clarity reveal all. Soul, return at my summons!”

Behind her was holy light, and between her brows rested a divine seal. She slowly closed her eyes and sank into a sea of stillness.

This was the sea of consciousness. Only by using her consciousness to summon Tu Shan Yan’s soul could she uncover the truth of everything.

Yet no one knew how long had passed when the sea of consciousness remained utterly still. Then, suddenly, the golden rune array turned scarlet. The red light cast Jin Li’s face in a bewitching, brilliant glow.

With the arrival of the red light, the sea of consciousness instantly surged into stormy waves. It was rejecting Tu Shan Yan’s soul entirely. Why? Why was this happening?

No one knew how long it had been before Jin Li suddenly opened her eyes, fine beads of sweat glistening on her brow and cheeks.

She panted heavily, disbelief and unwillingness flooding her eyes.

Just as she was about to try again, she heard footsteps. Startled, she quickly forced herself to calm. After looking around, she swept her sleeve and rode the wind to hide atop a divine pillar.

The person who entered carried a candle. Only when they reached the altar did they blow it out. Through a narrow slit, Jin Li could only see that the person wore a heavy cloak, and even their face could not be made out.

They picked up incense, lit it, and bowed toward the altar with utmost reverence.

But at that very moment, the person seemed to notice something. Jin Li’s heart lurched. Yet the cloaked figure bent down unhurriedly and picked up a tiny pearl from the floor, so small it was nearly inconspicuous, yet utterly out of place amid the solemnity of this place.

By rights, celestial maidens would come to sweep the area during the day, and at night no one should have been here at all.

Jin Li instinctively reached for her waist.

Damn it. One of the tiny pearls on her belt had actually fallen off.

The cloaked figure rolled the pearl between their fingers and looked around. Jin Li, her heart in her throat, did not dare even blink. The person slowly walked toward where she was hidden, and just as they were about to look up, the sound of an old candelabrum toppling over abruptly drew their attention away.

The person moved extremely quickly, reaching out to kill whatever had knocked the candelabrum over.

Jin Li saw that it was a spirit.

That person truly struck hard.

Watching the spirit’s body split in two, Jin Li felt chilled to the bone.

This person’s power was definitely above her own.

She could not meet force with force. She could only win by strategy.

She had thought the spirit had diverted the person’s attention, but unexpectedly, the cloaked figure was even more shrewd. After turning around, they looked up toward the top of the divine pillar.

Jin Li thought, This is bad.

She could only silently recite a spell and invoke an invisibility charm.

“Master.”

A woman’s voice rang out, and only then did the person abandon the search.

Jin Li slowly exhaled.

She watched the person who had entered, only to be shocked once more.

It was the fairy she had seen that day.

You Suwen.

She saw You Suwen kneel and bow with great deference. The person in the black cloak said in a low voice, “Why are you so late?”

“I was delayed while avoiding the heavenly soldiers. Please punish me, Master.”

“No matter. Did you bring what I sent you for?”

You Suwen opened her hand, and an exquisite brocade box appeared in her palm. Jin Li’s attention was fixed on the box, and she did not notice that the person in black was already beginning to sense the presence of the invisibility charm.

“So there really was a little mouse eavesdropping.”

Jin Li’s heart clenched. She knew at once that this was bad, but it was already too late. The black cloak possessed formidable power and suddenly raised a hand. A heavy surge of immortal force struck Jin Li in the chest. A mouthful of blood instantly flooded her mouth, but she swallowed it down hard.

She clung tightly to the divine pillar, not daring to move an inch.

Yet only she knew that if the black cloak struck again, she would certainly not be able to endure it. She might even be blasted back to her original form.

But at that moment, the cloaked figure said darkly, “It seems the little mouse is quite tough.”

Having said that, the person was about to strike again. Dust suddenly swirled into the air, blurring everything around them and making it suffocatingly hazy. No one knew who it was, but someone wrapped an arm around Jin Li’s shoulder and whispered, “Come with me.”

Jin Li was startled and did not know whether the other was friend or foe.

But the other side clearly knew the layout here. The black cloak let out a low, furious roar. “Kill them!”

They even knew there were two people.

The newcomer moved incredibly fast. In four or five swift motions, the candelabrum was knocked over, and fire began to spread from the altar to the ground, catching the drapes nearby. In the midst of the flames, the heavenly soldiers were heard shouting, “Fire! The altar is on fire! Hurry!”

You Suwen covered her mouth and nose, and said to the black cloak, “Master, leave first.”

Under You Suwen’s cover, the black cloak departed in fury, and even then Jin Li could still hear the low curses he spat under his breath.

Her mind was dizzy and unsteady as the unknown person shielded her and helped her escape the altar.

Who exactly was he? Why would he try to kill her?

And who was the one saving her now?