SS CH75

After sending the two hot potatoes to a safe location, Gu Qifang traveled day and night, rushing toward Feiyun Peak.

Before she left, Duanqing was forced into secluded meditation because of a problem with his internal energy, leaving her deeply worried. If that little brat hadn’t caused huge trouble outside, Gu Qifang would never have left Feiyun Peak at such a critical juncture. Because of this, she was anxious to send Gu Xiao back, figuring an extra person to watch over things would be good.

But she never expected to see Duanqing here.

This place was barely a dozen miles from Jinshui Town. The surroundings were desolate wilderness and ancient roads, so destitute that even birds and beasts wouldn’t scavenge here. Gu Qifang galloped her horse down the dirt road alone, kicking up countless clouds of dust.

Suddenly, a figure cut through the wind and dust, landing on her horse. Gu Qifang was about to strike out with a whip when a familiar voice sounded from behind: “Qifang, it’s me.”

“A-Shang?” Startled, Gu Qifang reined in her horse, making it circle in place a few times to steady its momentum before looking back. The person who had landed on her horse was indeed Duanqing, who was supposed to be in secluded meditation at Feiyun Peak. But right now, his breath was shallow, his face as pale as paper—a clear sign that he was in bad shape.

Her heart sank. “What happened to you?”

Wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth without changing his expression, Duanqing asked, “Where is your Jingmeng Flute?”

Gu Qifang’s brows furrowed. “I gave it to Xiao-er. What happened?”

That flute was Gu Qifang’s old personal item, crafted from phoenix bamboo. When blown with full internal energy, the sound was like the sharp screech of a wild bird, carrying for dozens of miles, thus earning the name “Jingmeng” (Startling Dreams).

During his seclusion, he had heard the sound of this flute. Forcing himself out of meditation to search, he found nothing at the foot of the mountain but the scarred remnants of a battle and a horse with blood-written words carved into it.

The handwriting was far too familiar. Duanqing’s heart plummeted. After briefly regulating his breath, he gave chase along the route, but unfortunately, he ultimately lost the trail.

“What terrible luck did that little brat run into to actually encounter that bastard Helian Yu!” Hearing him finish, Gu Qifang instantly guessed who had done the deed, her eyes burning with murderous intent.

She had known Duanqing for nearly twenty years. Early on, she knew that guy was like a leech, clinging desperately to Duanqing. The moment he caught even a whiff of blood, he would bite down madly. Yet, he could neither be killed nor cut off, making him incredibly frustrating.

They were a married couple alone in the world, and later, they took on the little trouble that was Gu Xiao. Unable to compete with the massive wealth and power of his Burial Soul Palace, they had half-retreated from the martial world for peace of mind. With the help of their good friend Shen Wuduan, they had lived peacefully for years. She never expected they would have to face this madman again now.

Duanqing said, “If I’m not mistaken, Helian Yu already knows we are living in seclusion at Feiyun Peak. Xiao-er happened to run into him on his way home. The two must have clashed, which is why he sounded the flute as a warning.”

“How could he…” Gu Qifang paused, rapidly thinking over recent events, and her expression drastically changed. “Oh no!”

She had left in a hurry and failed to cover her tracks after leaving the mountain. Later, to protect the Chu brothers, she had utilized the hidden contacts left by her late father, Gu Zheng. She had killed countless assassins along the way, and even chopped off the head of the Burial Soul Palace’s Azure Dragon Hall Master outside Mianfeng City. How could she not attract attention?

Once she exposed herself, Helian Yu following the vines to find the melon was perfectly logical. What Gu Qifang hadn’t expected was that, faced with such a tense situation, Helian Yu didn’t rush to intercept and kill her. Instead, he took advantage of her absence to go to Feiyun Peak and cause trouble for Duanqing.

Realizing this, murderous intent flared in Gu Qifang’s eyes. Her hand gripped the Jinghong blade at her waist. Though the blade remained sheathed, its sharp, deadly aura pierced straight to the bone.

“The matter has reached this point; talking more is useless.” Duanqing lightly patted her shoulder, suppressing her fierce aura. “Since Helian Yu captured Xiao-er, he won’t be in a hurry to kill him. We must hurry to the Burial Soul Palace.”

“He just wants to use Xiao-er as bait to catch you, the real fish.” Gu Qifang released her grip and looked up at Duanqing’s pale face. “A-Shang, you cannot go.”

Duanqing shook his head. “You alone are not his match. Furthermore, infiltrating Mizong Ridge—even if your qinggong is unmatched, you wouldn’t be able to fly out even if you grew wings.”

“Has your Wuji Gong stabilized?” Gu Qifang retorted. Before Duanqing could answer, she answered it herself: “Looking at your face, I know the situation hasn’t improved; it’s worsened.”

Gu Qifang was usually careless, but when it came to Duanqing and Ye Fusheng, she exhausted a lifetime’s worth of meticulous care. Not to mention Duanqing’s current complexion, which was indistinguishable from a frozen corpse; even if he were missing a small sliver of a fingernail, she would notice immediately.

She hit the nail on the head, leaving Duanqing speechless.

He hailed from the Taishang Palace, cultivating the sect’s supreme mental technique, the Wuji Gong, since childhood. This internal martial art followed the Daoist path of cultivating the mind and refining the body, requiring one to abandon all distracting thoughts to clarify the spiritual platform, and concentrate the mind to embrace the original unity. It was divided into three realms: Yielding Emotion, Emotionless, and Forgetting Emotion, corresponding to the Daoist trinity of “the perfect man has no self, the spiritual man has no achievement, the sage has no name.” Each realm was further divided into three levels, making nine levels in total. The internal changes were complex, requiring complete mastery to achieve the unity of the nine.

Years ago, when he first met Gu Qifang, he had just entered the Emotionless realm. According to the technique’s requirements, he should have retreated from the world to cultivate quietly. But in the end, the ice in his heart was melted by the woman’s sincere devotion. Joining hands with her, they had lived as deeply loving husband and wife for so many years.

Because of this, although his cultivation deepened day by day over the years, a hidden danger was ultimately planted. Now, at the bottleneck of entering the Forgetting Emotion realm, his mind was plagued with distracting thoughts, his emotions unstable. Several times, his true qi nearly deviated, threatening to cause qi deviation.

There were only two paths before Duanqing: one was to cripple his own internal martial arts, and the other was to sever his emotions and desires to break through the bottleneck. Otherwise, he would certainly die by his own hand, or even harm his closest loved ones due to inner demons.

Unwilling to fail her and Gu Xiao, he could only choose to abandon half a lifetime’s worth of cultivation. Duanqing did not hesitate long over this choice, because the weight of what mattered was crystal clear in his heart; there was no need for comparison.

His seclusion this time was originally intended to swallow a medicinal pill to cripple his cultivation, minimizing the damage. But he never expected a sudden change of events halfway through. The true qi he had roused wasn’t crippled, but instead, due to the sudden interruption, began to run amok through his meridians. Duanqing forcefully suppressed the internal energy back into his dantian and rushed off, but ultimately failed to arrive in time.

Rushing non-stop day and night, he was already an arrow at the end of its flight, stretched to the absolute limit. One more step, and the string might snap.

Gu Qifang covered the hand he had wrapped around her. Her palm wasn’t delicate and smooth like a normal woman’s; rather, calluses from years of martial arts training made the texture somewhat rough.

The ungentle woman used her rough hands to comfort her utterly exhausted husband behind her, whispering, “I won’t fight them head-on. I’ll sneak in, find Xiao-er, and run. If you’re worried, wait outside to cover our escape. Alright?”

Looking at her profile, Duanqing sighed and slowly let go of her hand. “Qifang, every time you lie, the corners of your eyes twitch up.”

Exposed, Gu Qifang didn’t feel embarrassed. She rubbed her nose and laughed. “A-Shang, sometimes a person doesn’t need to be so honest. Fine, since I can’t fool you, then… I’ll just have to do this the hard way!”

Before her words faded, she suddenly threw an elbow backward. Caught completely off guard, Duanqing took the elbow directly to his Tanzhong acupoint. The force was perfect, instantly blocking the flow of qi and blood in his chest, rendering him completely immobile.

Before Duanqing could rouse his qi to break through the sealed acupoint, Gu Qifang grabbed his arm and yanked him forward, forcing the man’s upper body down, and delivered a sharp palm chop to the back of his neck.

This time, Duanqing didn’t even have time to utter a sound before he collapsed into her arms.

“Tch, this is the first time I’ve used force on you. Don’t make me kneel on an abacus when you wake up.” Propping him up and letting him rest against her back, Gu Qifang’s eyes darted around as she muttered to herself, “Shen Liu is too far from here, I can’t count on him… Fine, I’ll just find a physician first.”

Her mind made up, Gu Qifang pulled out a silk sash and tied the two of them together to prevent Duanqing from falling off. Clamping her legs tight against the horse’s belly, she galloped madly toward Jinshui Town.

She rushed the man to town before he woke up, finding a quiet, reliable medical hall. Leaving some silver, she rented a quiet room. After the physician took his pulse and prescribed medicine to nourish his qi and calm his mind, she personally tended to him as he drank it, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Estimating that he still had an hour before waking up, Gu Qifang knew she had to leave.

“You even frown in your sleep. Although you look good when you frown, I can’t bear to see it.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, she used her fingers to carefully smooth out the creases between Duanqing’s brows, leaning down to place a soft kiss there. “I promise you, I won’t fight him head-on.”

Pausing, she took a jade pendant off her neck. It was an emerald protective amulet, the very last thing Gu Zheng had left her besides the Jinghong blade.

Gu Qifang placed the jade pendant around Duanqing’s neck, carefully tucking it inside his clothes. She smiled, “A-Shang, I am leaving my entire life and fortune with you. Wait for me to bring Xiao-er back.”

Saying this, she picked up her saber. Without looking at the bed again, she pushed the door open and left.

Just as she was leaving, her heart suddenly emptied. Her foot tripped over the threshold, and a generation’s Jinghong blade master nearly face-planted onto the floor.

Gu Qifang spat, “Bad luck!”

After spitting, she ultimately couldn’t suppress her lingering affection, turning her head to give Duanqing one last look before finally departing.