Chapter 115
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Xue Yao lay gently cradled in Lu Qian’s arms, unresponsive to his gentle shaking. A slender silver needle was firmly lodged in the nape of his neck.
“Pretty quick reaction, kid,” a middle-aged man’s voice came from a distance.
“Master!” The fair-faced thief, wearing an eager-to-please expression, approached a black-robed man with a long face.
As the black-robed man strolled closer, the youth who had blocked the silver needle slowly put the person in his arms to the side. Suddenly, he drew his sword and attacked like lightning!
The thief hadn’t reacted yet when the black-robed man grabbed him, deftly stepping aside and narrowly evading the swiftly elusive sword strike from the youth.
“As expected…” The black-robed man’s eyes glinted. He changed his expression to a smiling one and asked Lu Qian, “Young Brother, what is your relationship with the Sword Saint?”
However, the youth unexpectedly approached again, drawing his sword. The black-robed man didn’t anticipate that this youth, without clarifying anything, would attempt to bring him to the brink of death. He didn’t have time to attend to his own disciple. He twisted to avoid the blade, but the thief at his side had his shoulder pierced by the sword!
Clutching his wounded left shoulder, the thief groaned as he collapsed on the ground. Looking up, he discovered that the youth had already thrust a sword towards his throat!
“Stop! Otherwise, don’t blame me for not considering the Sword Saint’s face!”
Lu Qian, seemingly oblivious, wielded his sword with decisive precision!
In the urgency of the moment, the black-robed man deployed a unique concealed weapon, deflecting the sword tip in another direction. Seizing the opportunity, he advanced to pull up his disciple, briskly retreating to a safe distance.
However, the youth didn’t grant him a moment to catch his breath. He swiftly turned and attacked again!
The black-robed man, preoccupied with holding onto his disciple, had no time to defend himself. Anxiously, he scolded, “Kid! If you don’t stop now, your friend won’t wake up!”
This statement finally made Lu Qian halt, the sword tip freezing at the black-robed man’s nose.
The black-robed man turned pale with shock. He thought of the Sword Saint as an extraordinary figure, having trained a disciple like Gu Qingyuan, which was already chilling. Unexpectedly, this youth before him, only sixteen or seventeen years old, possessed skills far surpassing Gu Qingyuan’s in his prime. It was simply bewildering.
Where did that old guy unearth such martial talent?
“Young hero, rest assured.” The black-robed man faced the sword tip, smiling calmly. “There’s no poison on the silver needle, only our sect’s inner energy. By injecting inner energy through the silver needle into five acupoints, it can awaken your friend.”
Lu Qian swung the sword tip to the side and urged in a low voice, “Quick.”
“……” The black-robed man realized this kid was quite strange. After the incident, he moved with a silent, deadly precision in every action.
Now, offering reconciliation, the kid didn’t inquire about his origin or motives. With just one word, it was settled.
He must simply hated chatting very much.
Did the Sword Saint get fed up with the chatty former master of the neighboring Qinglong Sect and, as a result, took on a reticent disciple?
The black-robed man apologized with a smile, “I also wanted to release the acupoints for your friend, but I didn’t have enough silver needles on me. Just now, my unruly disciple stirred up public outrage, so I intend to take him back to the sect for disciplinary actions in accordance with our sect’s rules. That’s why…”
“Go back and get them,” Lu Qian interrupted his chatter, pointing his sword at the thief, “Leave him.”
Black-robed man: “……”
What a really difficult kid to deceive!
Can’t he let someone finish talking? He even wants to keep my disciple as a hostage!
Frowning, Lu Qian pressed the sword tip against the black-robed man’s throat. “What are you standing there for? Do you want to see if your tricks are faster than your grandpa’s sword?”
“No! I’m not planning any tricks!” The black-robed man, exposed, raised his hand sincerely. “Of course, we will send someone to help. There are still many people unconscious here. It’s just that our sect is more than twenty miles away. Round trip, I’m afraid it will delay the recovery of the young hero’s friend. If there are any lingering effects, it will be my fault.”
“What lingering effects?” Lu Qian asked.
“It varies for each person. Most people will be fine, but some may experience numbness in their legs and inability to walk.”
Lu Qian turned his head, glancing at the little reader-in-waiting dozing off in the distance.
A moment of silence.
Sheathing his sword, Lu Qian turned and, with agile steps, cradled Xue Yao horizontally. Facing the black-robed man again, Lu Qian urged, “Let’s go.”
Over the twenty-mile or so journey, the black-robed man became increasingly amazed as he observed. The youth, carrying someone, excelled in lightness techniques, leaving the thief trailing far behind, disappearing without a trace.
Originally intending to engage in some conversation on the way, the black-robed man found that the kid had zero curiosity. No matter how he tried to pique his interest, it failed to capture the youth’s attention.
Moreover, the more he spoke, the faster Lu Qian walked. It was as if he wanted to exhaust the man’s energy on the journey. After a while, the black-robed man was panting, completely unable to speak.
“We’ve arrived…” The black-robed man, leaning on the stone lion at the entrance, turned to the breathless youth. “Please come in quickly, young hero. Your legs are quite strong. This won’t delay things. Have a cup of tea first.”
Lu Qian lowered his head to look at the little reader-in-waiting in his arms. “Quick.”
The black-robed man was somewhat puzzled. The youth’s cold and indifferent expression didn’t reveal concern, but at the same time, he seemed unwilling for anything untoward to happen to the person in his arms.
“Is this young gentleman your friend or a useful hostage?” The black-robed man attempted to test the kid’s attitude toward the person in his arms. “Even if there are lingering effects, it won’t affect his consciousness. He should be able to wake up.”
Lu Qian’s long eyelashes suddenly lifted, locking eyes with the black-robed man. He spoke slowly and deliberately, “If Yaoyao’s legs go numb, your grandpa will chop off your legs first, then your arms. Starting with toes and fingers, each day a segment will be severed. If Yaoyao doesn’t wake up, you’ll go down in history as the first person in Great Qi to be exterminated along with your nine generations.”
The black-robed man felt a sudden chill throughout his body, regretting his attempt at probing.
Such a childish threat, spoken from this kid’s mouth and released through his eyes, gave a distinct feeling that every word would unquestionably be carried out.
The black-robed man, considering himself well-traveled, having seen two generations of martial arts alliance leaders, had never encountered a young man with such extraordinary and terrifying charisma.
He ceased his probing and led the youth inside.
It was the early hours of the night when Xue Yao regained consciousness.
The comfortable warmth in the bed made him reluctant to open his eyes for a while. After lingering for a moment, he buried his face in the blanket and rubbed it, only to feel the texture of the “blanket” was stiff.
Upon opening his eyes, he realized he was buried against someone’s youthful chest.
Xue Yao lifted his head to see Lu Qian peacefully asleep.
Momentarily disoriented, Xue Yao turned to look around—
It was a completely unfamiliar environment.
A small bedroom, a simple bed, and plain tables and chairs.
When he turned back, he met Lu Qian’s indifferent gaze.
He was awake too.
“Your Highness!” Xue Yao exclaimed in surprise. “Where are we? How… how did we suddenly fall asleep? Weren’t we supposed to take a boat?”
“Any numbness in your legs?” Lu Qian asked.
“Huh?” Xue Yao looked confused.
“Lift your leg,” Lu Qian commanded.
Xue Yao, puzzled, raised his left leg from under the blanket and asked in a hushed tone, “What are you doing?”
“The other one.”
Xue Yao felt the chubby cub was acting quite stern. He turned over and obediently raised the other leg. “What are you up to, Your Highness?”
“Nothing wrong with your legs.” Lu Qian propped up his body, curled his long legs, and rested his elbows on his knees, sighing like a little adult.
Xue Yao also sat up and asked, “Where are we?”
“In the sect’s backyard guest room.”
“What sect? How did we end up here?”
Lu Qian recounted the events leading up to their current situation.
“Silver needle?” Xue Yao touched the back of his neck. “Why did they attack us? We can’t stay here for long. Let’s leave quickly!”
“There are guards outside,” Lu Qian said. “Thirteen of them.”
“What do they want?”
“Don’t know.”
“Why doesn’t Your Highness find out?”
“That person didn’t speak a single true word.”
“Can Your Highness easily avoid the people outside?”
“Yes, but you can’t.”
This was really frustrating.
Xue Yao felt overwhelmed. “Why on earth are they trying to capture us? Also, didn’t they tell you which sect they belong to?”
“Xuanye Sect.”
At the words, Xue Yao’s heart skipped a beat.
It sounded a bit familiar!
Concentrating, he thought deeply, and suddenly a light bulb went off in his mind!
Xuanye Sect!
Wasn’t that the third dungeon that Prince Ning fought and leveled up during his exile!
What a twist of fate!
Now that the plot had completely changed, how could Lu Qian still encounter people from this sinister sect?
Xue Yao tried to calm down. It had been a while since he seriously recalled the novel’s plot, so he needed to think carefully.
After a moment, he vaguely clarified his thoughts. In this part of the plot, Prince Ning fell victim and got captured because of Gu Qingyuan, the Sword Saint’s senior disciple and Lu Qian’s senior martial brother.
Xuanye Sect was a cult well-versed in human acupuncture points, engaging in all sorts of unorthodox activities.
Gu Qingyuan, the Sword Saint’s senior disciple, was a righteous hero who punished evildoers. He routinely swatted down members of the Xuanye Sect like flies, even capturing their deputy sect master. He forced Xuanye Sect to control their disciples and refrain from misdeeds.
In the novel, members of the Xuanye Sect provoked Lu Qian, who fought back. They noticed Lu Qian’s similar martial arts and techniques to Gu Qingyuan and suspected a connection, prompting the entire sect to tail and ambush him, capturing the young Lu Qian still in his early stages of learning.
In reality, Lu Qian was completely innocent. He had never even met his senior disciple, Gu Qingyuan.
The Sword Saint accepted disciples based on fate. These two brothers, with a more than ten-year age difference, didn’t know each other.
So when Xuanye Sect informed Gu Qingyuan to bring the deputy sect master to exchange for his junior disciple, Gu Qingyuan thought they were playing tricks and simply replied, “I don’t have a junior brother. The master stopped accepting disciples long ago.”
Consequently, Lu Qian, the unfortunate “non-existent junior brother,” was left alone in a dark room in the Xuanye Sect, receiving no response to his cries for help.
How did he eventually escape?
Like several Long Aotians, Lu Qian caught the eye of the sect master’s only daughter. He also gained access to the Xuanye Sect’s acupoint technique.
Xue Yao’s eyes lit up.
Right! This sect master’s daughter was one of the top beauties.
No wonder he skipped so many level-up stages, arriving at this particular one. It must be to not miss out on the beauty. The system probably gave him a chance to complete the【Make the Cold-Blooded Tyrant’s Heart Flutter】quest.
“Your Highness,” Xue Yao looked solemnly at Lu Qian. “We have only one way to escape.”
Lu Qian gazed at the little reader-in-waiting with an expression of disbelief.
“I heard that the leader of this sect has a particularly beautiful daughter.”
Lu Qian tilted his head in confusion. “How would you have heard of this sect?”
“Oh…” Xue Yao boasted, “I happen to know quite a few people in jianghu. I’m acquainted with some gangsters.”
Lu Qian dangerously squinted his eyes and questioned, “You know some gangsters? Are you going to strip and show me the tiger tattoo on your back?”
“Not at all,” Xue Yao said seriously. “I’ll explain these things to Your Highness later. For now, please listen to me.”
Lu Qian raised an eyebrow, indicating for him to continue.
Clearing his throat, Xue Yao said, “Your Highness, as long as you can win the affection of the sect master’s daughter, she’ll let us go!”
Lu Qian remained indifferent. “Can’t even win over Mother Consort.”
“It’s different!” Xue Yao lifted the blanket, hopped off the bed, and urged Lu Qian to do the same, guiding him.
Following the description in the novel, Xue Yao turned his back to Lu Qian and said, “When the lady arrives, stand like this with your back to her. When she calls you, just suddenly turn around like this!”
Xue Yao sharply turned his head!
“Aiya!” Due to sleeping for too long and with a sudden head turn, Xue Yao strained his neck. Holding his neck, he grimaced. “Aiya, aiya…”
“Is this how you charm female gangsters?” Lu Qian lazily took a deep breath, turned his back, mimicking the little reader-in-waiting’s head turn, then raised his hand, cradling his neck and said, “Aiya, aiya, aiya. Like this?”
“You don’t need to mimic that part! I accidentally strained my neck!” Xue Yao scolded while holding his neck. “I want you to turn your head like this, looking at the approaching person!”
“And then?”
Xue Yao turned around, puffing out his chest, “Like this, revealing a hint of chest muscles.”
Lu Qian carefully observed the little reader-in-waiting’s chest in bewilderment. “Chest muscles are nowhere to be found.”
“You have them, don’t you! I want you to imitate my posture.”
Lu Qian closed his eyes for a moment. “And then?”
Recalling the plot, Xue Yao approached, wrapping his hands around Lu Qian’s neck. He lifted his chin, leaned in close to his ear, and softly said, “Why is young master always looking so fierce? Did this servant do something to annoy you?”
Following the original script, Xue Yao finished the lines and instructed Lu Qian, “If the lady says this to you, suddenly press her against the wall and tell her, ‘The concealed weapons in your sleeves are what’s annoying. Roll away. If I get truly angry, you won’t have a chance to regret it.'”
While saying this, Xue Yao’s arms were still wrapped around Lu Qian’s neck.
Lu Qian remained silent, his light pupils looking at the little reader-in-waiting through long lashes, expressing a mix of confusion and curiosity.
In an instant, Xue Yao was unexpectedly pressed back against the tea table.
“Aww! Be gentle, it’s just a practice!” Xue Yao complained with a scowl. Suddenly, a system prompt echoed in his mind —
Congratulations: Completion progress of the【Tyrant’s Fluttering Heart】quest: 1%. Please continue making efforts.
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