Midnight was fast approaching.
Jiang Che noticed that there was no longer any movement upstairs.
He understood this was the best chance to escape. Afraid that any conversation might be overheard, Jiang Che hadn’t told Xiao Xia about the escape plan all afternoon.
Xiao Xia herself didn’t know why, but perhaps it was because Xie Xuan was so disgusting that he left a psychological shadow on her.
She had curled up in a corner the entire afternoon, her eyes still as lifeless as before.
“Xiao Xia? Xiao Xia?”
Jiang Che lowered his voice to call out, but Xiao Xia remained unresponsive.
Xiao Xia understood that escape was impossible; her life no longer belonged to her. When her younger brother had been taken away, she had felt utterly powerless.
If she escaped, what would happen to her parents?
Or maybe her parents were already dead—if that was the case, what was the point of her living?
Thinking this, she tightened her arms around her legs and buried her face even deeper.
Seeing no response from Xiao Xia, Jiang Che wanted to call out again.
Before he could speak, a strange sound suddenly came from the basement, startling Jiang Che into silence.
Puru…
Jiang Che’s ears twitched, catching a faint and odd noise, as if something was very carefully… digging its way out of the soil?
At that moment, a small patch of ground in the basement trembled slightly, then a small chunk of damp, cold earth was pushed aside and fell down.
Then, a furry little head suddenly popped up, its long ears swiveling alertly.
A rabbit?
Jiang Che was stunned. The noise was completely unfamiliar to him; at least he could guess something was breaking through the earth, but what exactly? A giant rat?
After emerging from the soil, the little rabbit’s round, red eyes quickly scanned the dim basement, finally locking onto Jiang Che in the corner with pinpoint accuracy. Without hesitation, it pushed off with its hind legs.
With a “whoosh,” it hopped steadily into Jiang Che’s arms.
Before Jiang Che could react, the little creature pressed off his chest with its paws and nimbly jumped onto his shoulder.
Immediately after, a wet, soft tongue covered in tiny barbs suddenly and fiercely licked his cheek!
“?!!”
This… this utterly boundary-less, shameless, and reckless licking?!
“It’s you?!” Jiang Che blurted out, his voice full of disbelief.
“Damn it… puh! Little rabbit, how… how do you even dig tunnels?”
The rabbit stood on his shoulder, making a few urgent gurgling sounds from its throat, as if urging him to hurry.
“Hah!” Jiang Che laughed bitterly, tinged with absurd self-mockery.
“Damn, I’m actually expecting a rabbit to answer me back…”
He must be losing his mind!
The little rabbit ignored him, hopped down, and circled around Jiang Che’s feet.
It seemed to have noticed the hands tied behind his back.
The pink little paws clawed at the coarse hemp rope binding his wrists. Sharp little claws scraped against the fibers, trying in vain to find a grip point.
But the small paws were too weak to untie the knots.
Just then, the dim firelight flickered.
A silent shadow suddenly loomed over the struggling rabbit.
The rabbit’s body stiffened, its clawing stopped instantly. Its neck turned stiffly as it slowly looked up.
A frail figure had silently stepped in front of it.
Her hair was loose, and her coarse cloth garment looked even more tattered. Her face bore no expression, only a numb and empty stillness.
It was Xiao Xia, who had curled up silently in the corner for so long.
The little rabbit’s fur bristled in fright as it leapt aside, eyes wary.
But Xiao Xia’s gaze lingered only briefly on the startled rabbit.
Then she slowly bent down, silently reaching out with both hands.
But her target wasn’t the rabbit—it was Jiang Che.
“Sister Xiao Xia…”
Xiao Xia wordlessly untied the rope binding his wrists.
Once the sensation of the rope disappeared, Jiang Che finally could move his somewhat stiff wrists.
Just as he was about to say something to Xiao Xia, she made a move that surprised him even more.
She turned and quickly walked to another corner, bending down to pick up the child who had been quietly lying there all along.
Before Jiang Che could fully react, Xiao Xia walked back and pressed the child into his arms.
What did this mean?
……
Night deepened.
Outside the suburbs of Shenxiao Town, on the roof of an inconspicuous earthen house,
Xu Yan stood alone at the corner of the eaves, his posture straight and firm like a pine.
His eyes were cold and clear, like a frozen pond that never thawed, quietly scanning the gradually silent streets below and the silhouette of the distant bamboo grove.
In his hand, a palm-sized, translucent jade slip emitted a faint glow. Wan Yanfeng’s voice came clearly from it:
“Junior Brother Xu, is everything going smoothly?”
“All is going well. I have arranged for all residents in the surrounding area to temporarily evacuate, preventing the evil cultivator from acting recklessly and harming innocents.”
A sigh of relief came from the jade slip: “Very good! By the way, Junior Brother,” Wan Yanfeng’s tone grew slightly hesitant, with a hint of gossip, “Big Brother wants to ask you something…”
“Speak freely, Big Brother.” Xu Yan’s voice was calm and unshaken.
“Ahem, then I’ll just say it straight.”
Wan Yanfeng cleared his throat.
“How did it feel meeting Leader Lin today? I remember when you first sought to apprentice, Leader Lin was your idol, someone you wanted to follow wholeheartedly and walk the path of the transcendent sword.”
“Too bad fate played tricks; she just happened to be away when you joined… It’s really a pity. Now that Leader Lin has returned, and your talent is exceptional, have you thought about…”
The voice on the jade slip paused, waiting for Xu Yan’s response.
Xu Yan’s cold eyes flickered under the moonlight, reflecting a barely perceptible complex emotion that vanished instantly.
His answer was resolute, leaving no room for doubt.
“Rest assured, Big Brother. The grace of the Shénfú Peak’s cultivation is something I will never forget. No matter how brilliant Leader Lin is, as a disciple of Shénfú Peak, I will never leave.”
“Haha, Junior Brother, what are you saying? I’m not worried about that at all. Well, I just finished reporting to the Sect Leader; he’ll be here to assist you shortly.”
“Understood.”
Before the words faded, Xu Yan moved his fingers slightly, releasing spiritual energy.
The jade slip’s glow suddenly dimmed and went out, cutting off the transmission.
“Immortal Lord!”
At that moment, a panicked shout echoed from the dark alley beneath Xu Yan’s feet.
Looking down, Xu Yan saw a haggard middle-aged man clutching a child and looking up at him.
It was Tie Shu, the accomplice coerced by the evil cultivator.
Xu Yan’s figure flickered; his robes fluttered lightly as he silently landed in front of Tie Shu without a sound.
“What’s the matter?”
“Immortal Lord… are you truly confident you can… eliminate that damned evil cultivator and rescue my daughter?” Tie Shu’s voice trembled, filled with boundless fear.
His daughter was still in the demon’s hands; every step he took felt like walking on thin ice.
“You need not worry. From what you’ve said, he has only just entered the Foundation Establishment stage and is not to be feared. Proceed according to plan, and don’t lose your nerve. No other distractions.”
Tie Shu shrank back, stung by the coldness in Xu Yan’s words, then nodded vigorously: “Y-Yes… I understand, I understand.”