Chapter 43: Bitterness

Xie Xuan sensed that Xu Yan’s aura was off, and his legs suddenly trembled with fear.

But at that moment, he sniffed the air and seemed to feel that vibrant presence drawing near again.

Looking up, it was Tie Shu, panting heavily as he ran while cradling a child.

No matter what, Tie Shu was determined to witness the death of that calamity called Xie Xuan with his own eyes, so he had rushed over.

Seeing this, a sinister thought immediately rose in Xie Xuan’s heart.

He hurriedly shouted to Wu Qing and Wu Meng, “Hey! You two! Hold him back. After this is over, I’ll add ten… no, twenty spirit stones!”

Wu Meng’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Boss, did he just say how many? Twenty spirit stones!”

Clearly, coming from a poor background, Wu Meng could not resist such a temptation.

At this moment, Jiang Che, hiding in the alley, was not idle either.

Just now, he had noticed that Xu Yan’s battle had scattered some talismans.

Among cultivators of talismans, the one thing they could never lack was precisely those talismans.

Jiang Che asked Xiao Xia to sneak out quietly and pick up a few.

These talismans were only usable by those who had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, so Jiang Che naturally understood he couldn’t use them himself.

But he hadn’t been idling in the Shenxiao Sect for nothing.

He had Xiao Xia copy the characters from the talismans onto his hand, and after identifying the patterns, Jiang Che bit his finger and altered a few strokes.

First was a simple Gathering Spirit Talisman, which could gather spiritual energy for use, since Jiang Che’s own spiritual power was extremely thin.

Even the most basic talisman was beyond his normal ability to activate.

With this talisman, he could barely use others.

He also successfully modified an Invisibility Talisman.

The one he altered, when paired with the Gathering Spirit Talisman, could grant invisibility within a certain range and conceal one’s aura.

This was why Xie Xuan had still not detected Jiang Che’s presence.

Jiang Che and Xiao Xia held hands, hiding within the invisibility range, their auras simply concealed.

“Xiao Xia, we can leave here slowly. Come with me.”

“Xiao Xia?”

Just as Jiang Che was about to pull Xiao Xia away from this trouble, he noticed she was frozen, staring intently in one direction.

Standing there was only one middle-aged man holding a child—Tie Shu.

Tie Shu looked panicked because he saw Xie Xuan charging toward him.

At this moment, Xu Yan was being dragged away by Wu Qing and Wu Meng.

Xie Xuan would not miss this rare opportunity. Without waiting for Tie Shu to react or turn to flee, Xie Xuan was already in front of him, grabbing Tie Shu’s throat with one hand.

“You bastard, trying to run away! Tch, you actually dare betray me. I remember your name is Li Tie Shu, right? Don’t you care about your daughter’s life at all?”

Tie Shu’s brain immediately flooded with blood, his eyes bulging as he kicked futilely.

“Cough… spit! You… you killed my wife and son! I… I won’t let you off even as a ghost!”

“Heh, still a ghost? I’ll help you with that!”

Before the words fell, a small figure suddenly lunged forward!

Xie Xuan hadn’t reacted yet but immediately felt intense pain on his wrist.

Xiao Xia had bitten tightly on his arm, blood seeping out.

Xie Xuan flung his arm away in pain, and Tie Shu and Xiao Xia were thrown like sacks.

The child in Tie Shu and Xiao Xia’s arms fell to the ground, crying piercingly.

Catchin his breath, Tie Shu didn’t even look at the child on the ground. Instead, he quickly crawled toward the girl who had just charged out, carefully looking at her face.

“Daughter… my daughter, you’re still alive!”

Xiao Xia was, of course, Tie Shu’s daughter. Her full name was Li Xia.

Father and daughter wept with joy, tightly embracing.

But Tie Shu soon realized something was wrong; his daughter wasn’t making a sound at all.

“Daughter! Why aren’t you saying anything?”

He hurriedly released Xiao Xia, who was now streaming tears, as if all the grievances and pain had erupted at once.

Tie Shu trembled as he reached to touch Xiao Xia’s lips, only to find that her tongue was missing.

Xiao Xia hadn’t been mute; Xie Xuan had cruelly cut out her tongue.

Tie Shu’s eyes instantly turned blood red, and rage overwhelmed him.

Hatred crushed fear, and ignoring the vast gap between them, he charged straight at Xie Xuan.

“You beast! I’ll fight you to the death!”

“Get lost!”

Xie Xuan was completely focused on the two little “desserts” emanating enticing auras.

Why bother with this reckless ant?

Without even looking, his withered claw-like hand, carrying a dark and violent gust, casually swung backward!

“Bang!”

A muffled thud.

Tie Shu flew several meters, crashing heavily against a stone wall, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Several ribs were clearly broken, leaving him too weak to stand.

Xie Xuan didn’t even bother to see if he was dead or alive and continued to stare at the two children.

“Hahaha… Two children born on the Pure Yang birthday, delivered right before me…”

Nearby, within the invisibility range, Jiang Che’s heart nearly leapt into his throat.

He bitterly regretted not holding back Xiao Xia earlier.

He roughly guessed Xie Xuan’s goal was to absorb the two children on the spot to enhance his cultivation.

But he could do nothing.

Damn it! What was Xu Yan doing? He shouldn’t have been held back for so long!

And Lin Yin!

…

“Sigh, it’s such a pity that I can’t see the illusion in the heart of the one within the Formation.”

The twisted shadow sighed, though he was inwardly elated.

He looked at Lin Yin’s face; blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth, indicating the Formation was working.

He was eager to try, but as he took a step forward, an invisible sword qi shattered him into pieces.

“Ugh! Luckily it wasn’t my true form! This Lin Yin is truly terrifying. Even without using spiritual power, her sword intent can reach such a level.”

He secretly felt relieved, not understanding why Lin Yin wasn’t using her spiritual power, but the essence of a Refining Void expert still thrilled him enough to stop thinking further.

At this moment, inside Lin Yin’s Illusion Realm.

She sat on the ground, holding her slender jade-like leg, no longer bearing the demeanor of the Head of Lingjian Peak.

“Did I misunderstand Che’er…”

“Yes~ You’re the one who should trust him most. The reason he stopped resisting is because he trusts you, and he also believes you trust him.”

Since watching that memory, Lin Yin’s mind was caught in endless contemplation.

No matter how she thought, she couldn’t reach a conclusion.

But with so many facts before her, she still dared not think in that direction; she wanted to avoid it.

“Che’er is calling me…”

She whispered softly.

As time passed, she somehow felt Jiang Che’s emotions more clearly.

At this moment, Jiang Che was anxious, angry, and deeply sorrowful.

But did he need me?

At that thought, Lin Yin’s chest ached painfully.

The voice whispering persistently in her ear tempted her again.

“You still want Jiang Che by your side, but he no longer belongs to you. Think carefully—about that little girl in the village. And that Magic Cultivator. You should have seen it. When he worried about the Magic Cultivator’s whereabouts, the sadness in his eyes showed his feelings.”