After parting ways with his two disciples, Lu Li rode his sword-light straight down onto the bluestone plaza before the Merit Hall.
He tidied his slightly disheveled robes, mussed from his swift journey, then strode into the resplendent, all-too-familiar hall.
The Merit Hall bustled as ever, disciples inside exchanging tasks and trading resources—a scene of lively, busy energy.
Lu Li’s gaze swept carefully across the hall as he made his way, cautious and measured, toward the Main Affairs Counter.
Just then, a slender figure in azure, graceful as a swallow returning to its nest, flashed out from the inner hall with a fragrant breeze at a speed far beyond the norm, and, without warning, pounced straight at Lu Li.
Lu Li barely had time to see who it was before a soft, fragrant warmth crashed into his arms.
The force was so great that even he, a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, instinctively took half a step back before two soft arms tightly encircled him!
“Ah… Junior Brother Lu! You’re finally back!”
As that gentle voice, full of both delight and concern, rang out by his ear, Lu Li’s expression immediately darkened.
He had guarded himself on entering the hall, yet in the end, he still fell prey to this troublemaker, Duan Xueyan.
Lu Li cursed inwardly, but he had no time to do anything else—for his entire face had been firmly pressed into a soft, springy, pillowy fullness!
The sudden impact and the intimate contact brought a suffocating intensity!
“Ugh! I can’t breathe…”
Lu Li felt his vision go dark, as if all the air had been squeezed from his lungs.
His nose was filled with a complicated scent—a refined, slightly tart aroma mixed with a hint of wine.
But no fragrance could ease his suffocating pain.
He felt like he’d been tossed into the depths of the ocean, surrounded by warm but deadly soft barriers.
“Ah! I’m… I’m going to suffocate!”
At this moment, Lu Li even started to hallucinate in his panic.
He seemed to see stars swirling before his eyes, and a golden river flowing endlessly across his vision.
“Ahhhh… I’m going to die! I’m going to die… I, the mighty Peak Master of Broken Sentiment Peak, am I to be the first in the history of Void Spirit Sect to die from suffocation?”
Realizing this, Lu Li’s survival instinct exploded within him, and he started struggling, his hands instinctively pushing at the obstacle before him.
But Duan Xueyan’s embrace was ironclad, and he couldn’t break free.
Instead, his struggles made his face rub against the softness, the sensation growing clearer, while he grew ever more flustered.
“Ah… Senior Sister! Quickly… let me go…”
After quite some time struggling, Lu Li finally managed to turn his head, freeing his mouth and nose from that tender trap.
He gasped for breath, his cheeks tinged faintly red from both oxygen deprivation and embarrassment.
“Duan Senior Sister! Release… let go! What sort of behavior is this?!”
Lu Li’s voice held an almost imperceptible pant and irritation, as he did his best to maintain the dignity befitting a Peak Master.
Only then did Duan Xueyan seem to realize she had gotten a bit too worked up.
Her cheeks reddened slightly as she let go, though her hands still rested on his arms, her beautiful eyes carefully scanning him with concern, completely unconcerned about what had just transpired.
“Aiya~ Wasn’t Senior Sister just worried about you!”
Duan Xueyan spoke rapidly, half blaming him, “Look at you, you’ve only been gone a few days and you already seem thinner! Was the situation in Yangzhou City tricky or not? Were you hurt? Quick, let Senior Sister take a good look at you!”
As she spoke, she actually reached out to pull up Lu Li’s sleeve for inspection, as if fussing over her own thoughtless younger brother.
Lu Li quickly stepped back to evade her hands, a vein throbbing at his temple.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anxiety and the odd ripple in his heart—lingering from that suffocating experience—doing his best to restore calm to his voice.
“Hehe~ Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister, but I am fine. The task in Yangzhou City has been completed; I am here to submit the Merit Records and report some important findings to the Sect.”
Ignoring his lingering embarrassment, Lu Li handed the documents and evidence he’d compiled over the last few days to Duan Xueyan.
He then gave a concise report of his journey and experiences in Yangzhou City to his Senior Sister.
At first, Duan Xueyan listened with her usual teasing smile, but as Lu Li’s story went deeper, her expression grew more serious, her brows knitting tightly.
When she finally heard about City Lord Zhao Zongchang’s sacrifice—how, at the end of his life, he showed true loyalty by perishing with his now mindless, corpse-turned daughter—a long sigh escaped her lips, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.
“Sigh… this Zhao Zongchang, in the end… he really was a pitiable man…”
Duan Xueyan’s tone was heavy with lament.
“Truly, there is nothing deeper than a parent’s love! A father, driven to madness for his child, defying fate itself, only to end up like this, perishing alongside his beloved… One cannot say if it’s pitiful or simply tragic.”
Shaking her head, Duan Xueyan took a swig of wine, as if to drive away the weight in her heart.
However, as she pored over the records and learned of the Corpse Yin Sect’s involvement—and that their ringleader might even be tied to the Void Spirit Sect—her lovely face was instantly frosted with anger.
All prior sorrow vanished, replaced by unrestrained fury.
“Corpse Yin Sect! Those skulking rats, always up to foul deeds!”
Duan Xueyan’s willow brows arched sharply as her jade hand slapped the counter with a muffled “bang,” drawing glances from several nearby disciples.
Yet she paid them no mind, her voice thick with killing intent.
“Tch… those bastards! Daring to meddle in the territory of my Void Spirit Sect, causing chaos and harming innocents— and they even dared to steal our sect’s secret arts? Truly, they court death!”
With that, she fixed her sharp gaze on Lu Li.
“Junior Brother Lu, the information you brought is of utmost importance. As for that suspected traitor among the Corpse Yin Sect’s ringleaders, I will immediately report this to the sect authorities and the Law Enforcement Hall for a thorough investigation! The follow-up pacification of Yangzhou and the restoration of the earth veins—the Merit Hall will also coordinate resources and send people as soon as possible.”
She paused, her tone softening slightly, but the concern in her voice did not diminish.
“This matter is of great import. Junior Brother, you’ve done well.”
After that, Duan Xueyan’s eyes swept over Lu Li once more.
“Hehe… Junior Brother Lu~ judging by your aura, it looks like you’re about to break through to Golden Core~ Have you decided which Core Attainment you’ll seek? Which divine ability you’ll cultivate?”
She licked her lips and smiled at him.
“Come now, Junior Brother~ Let Senior Sister give you a thorough examination and offer some advice. Let’s see which Core Attainment truly suits you~”
Hearing this, Lu Li’s eyelids twitched and he immediately took two steps back, putting a safe distance between himself and Duan Xueyan, declaring firmly, “No need to trouble Senior Sister! As for my Golden Core Attainment, I have already decided in my heart.”
With that, Lu Li tried to leave, but in the next instant, he was seized by Duan Xueyan and pulled into her arms again, treated like a toy as she patted and prodded him all over.
“Ahhhh… Duan Senior Sister! Let me go!”
“Hehe~ Junior Brother Lu, be good~ Don’t move, let your Senior Sister have a good look at you~”
In the open hall of the Merit Hall, Duan Xueyan paid no heed to Lu Li’s struggles as she enthusiastically inspected him from head to toe.
And this scene just happened to be witnessed by Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu, who had just arrived at the Merit Hall entrance.