Chapter 41: Who the Hell Did This?!

Su Wan’er turned to look. Two people stood behind her.

One was a man around thirty, tall and broad-shouldered, wearing the silver-threaded brocade robe unique to inner disciples of the Tianlan Sect. His brows held a hint of sinister energy.

The other was a woman who appeared to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She had a slender figure, delicate features, and a faint, elusive smile on her lips.

She wore a light purple waist-tied long dress, with a silver chain around her waist. At the end of the chain hung a Tianlan Sect disciple token.

Li Hanyuan. Zhou Ruoshui.

Su Wan’er stood still, her fingers unconsciously tightening.

It had been a long time since she’d seen these two. She never expected to run into them in the most inconspicuous shop in Yunze Market.

“Su Wan’er!”

Li Hanyuan spoke first, his voice holding back barely contained anger.

“Where have you been all this time! Do you have any idea how much manpower and resources the sect has wasted searching for you!”

As he spoke, he strode forward and reached out his right hand to grab Su Wan’er’s arm.

Su Wan’er sidestepped, letting his hand miss. She took half a step back and lifted her head to meet Li Hanyuan’s gaze directly.

“Please watch yourself, Fellow Daoist,” she said in a voice that was soft but clear. “I broke ties with the Tianlan Sect a long time ago.”

“What did you say?!”

Li Hanyuan froze, as if he hadn’t expected that his junior sister—who had always been so obedient and barely dared to speak loudly—would dare to talk back to him like this.

After a brief moment of shock, his face flushed bright red, and the veins at his temples bulged. “The sect raised you for ten years, painstakingly nurtured you, poured all its resources into you! And this is how you repay the sect? Su Wan’er, do you have any conscience!”

Su Wan’er took a deep breath. In the past, faced with the Big Senior Brother’s furious expression, she would have turned pale and bowed her head to apologize. But not anymore.

She had paid respects to a new master, learned new techniques, and walked past the Ghost Gate to live again. This life of hers was no longer something the Tianlan Sect could manipulate at will.

“Painstakingly nurtured?”

Her tone was so calm that it felt utterly unfamiliar to Li Hanyuan. The eyes that had always been timid and evasive now stared back without flinching, reflecting his twisted face.

“Does Senior Brother Li’s nurturing mean deliberately banging the golden bell outside to create noise during my critical breakthrough, nearly causing me to go into qi deviation? Or does it mean the Third Senior Sister kindly offering me a cup of spiritual tea laced with Tendon-Weakening Powder before I stepped onto the arena, making me so weak I couldn’t even hold my sword and fell flat on the stage? Or perhaps you’d rather tell me about how the Sect Leader Master threw me onto Si Guo Cliff without even asking the truth.”

“Later, demon cultivators infiltrated the sect and attacked Si Guo Cliff. I fled for my life, teetering on the edge of death. From start to finish, no one came to save me.”

She paused, looking at Li Hanyuan’s face.

“And all this time you claim to have been searching—what exactly did you find? Or did you just not bother looking at all?”

The corners of both their mouths twitched as if they’d been struck. Su Wan’er watched their expressions and suddenly found it a little amusing.

Back in those days at the sect, what she had feared most was the sight of her senior brother in this rage-filled state. She’d been so afraid that even in her nightmares, she’d dream of him scolding her.

But now, looking closely, the anger on his face was nothing more than the rage of having his disguise publicly torn away, with nowhere left to hide.

“Back then… back then the sect was also struggling to protect itself! The demon cultivators attacked, every place was in crisis—even if we wanted to save you, we were stretched too thin!”

Li Hanyuan’s breathing was ragged, but his voice involuntarily shrank.

“Besides, falling into the hands of those demon cultivators… you were probably already dead…”

“Heh. So you admit it then—the sect had already given up on me back then,” Su Wan’er interrupted, her tone indifferent. “Fine. Even if everything you say is true, there’s still one thing I’ve always been curious about.”

Her gaze slowly swept between Li Hanyuan and Zhou Ruoshui.

“If the sect really cared so much about my safety, how is it that Senior Brother Li and Third Senior Sister had the leisure to come to this little shop in Yunze Market for… a secret rendezvous?”

She bit the last two words especially clearly.

Li Hanyuan’s face twisted for an instant. Before Su Wan’er could even see his movement clearly, a palm wrapped in Spiritual Power slammed into her chest.

That strike showed no restraint. Su Wan’er felt as if she’d been hit by a wild beast. The ribs in her chest gave a crisp cracking sound. She flew backward, smashing through the entire shop and landing on the street.

A mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips, splattering onto the ground in front of her—a shocking sight.

Li Hanyuan remained standing in the same spot, still holding the posture of the palm strike. A flicker of shock passed through his eyes. He probably hadn’t expected to hit her so hard. But the palm had already been thrown; there was no taking it back.

Zhou Ruoshui stood where she was, looking at Su Wan’er collapsed in the rubble. The smile had completely disappeared from her face, and her eyes held a complicated expression.

Su Wan’er lay flat on the ground. Every part of her body ached. She kept her eyes open, but her vision was growing dark.

A Late Core Formation cultivator against a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator—there was no contest. She hadn’t even had a chance to dodge. If she hadn’t been reborn and trained in a Heaven-grade Technique, that palm strike would have killed her on the spot.

But even though she survived, her condition was now disastrous.

‘Am I going to die? Master is still waiting for me at the inn.’

With her last thread of strength, she turned her head with difficulty, trying to look in the direction of the inn.

Suddenly, as if carried by a gentle breeze, Ruan Se had somehow returned to her side. She was crouched beside her, one hand cradling the back of Su Wan’er’s head while the other produced a jade-green Elixir Pill from between her fingers.

“Don’t move.”

The pill dissolved instantly on her tongue. A cool sensation slid down her throat into her stomach, then exploded, surging through her limbs and bones like a domineering medicinal force.

Amid the searing pain, Su Wan’er finally managed to make out those amber eyes so close to her face. Her lips moved slightly, as if trying to say thank you, but no sound came out.

The next moment, her vision went completely black, and her consciousness sank into endless darkness.

***

Meanwhile, at the inn.

Lai Li’an was half-lying in the armchair by the window, his legs crossed, holding a freshly brewed cup of spiritual tea in his hand.

He was savoring this rare moment of peace alone—the most comfortable afternoon he’d had in quite a while.

[Warning! Warning!]

[Detected Fantasy Source “Su Wan’er” vital signs plummeting! Critically injured, near death!]

[Repeat: Su Wan’er’s life is in danger!]

[Warning: If Su Wan’er dies, Host’s cultivation will be completely reset to zero.]

Lai Li’an shot up from the chair as if launched. The teacup hit the floor, splashing hot tea everywhere.

“Fuck! Who did it?!”

He cursed, grabbed his outer robe, and rushed out the door.

Su Wan’er absolutely could not die. If she died, his cultivation would be gone. And if she died, who would call him Master?

Lai Li’an’s pace grew faster and faster. As he ran, he flipped through his System Warehouse and pulled out the last Immortal-Slaying Delusion-Breaking Talisman he had left, gripping it in his hand.

No matter who you are—dare to touch my experience dump… no, dare to touch my disciple.

I’m going to fight you to the death.