The First Battle of Wuming
The Flatland is very close to Fanli Valley, and beyond that lies Wuming Demon Mountain. Under cover of darkness, Li Luoning stealthily infiltrated Wuming Demon Mountain, a stronghold of the demon clan, and cautiously observed from the eaves.
After searching several courtyards, he finally spotted Mi Xingzhe in Hua Ruoying's courtyard, sitting alone on a stone bench and gazing at the stars, lost in his own thoughts.
"I wonder if Master and Yun Qingyi are frantically searching for me. I only meant to sneak out for a bit of fun, and now it seems I won't be able to return anytime soon. After all these years of running away, I'm surely in for a scolding from Yun Qingyi," Mi Xingzhe murmured to himself, toying with a blade of grass.
Li Luoning floated down silently behind Mi Xingzhe, calling out softly, "Xingzhe."
Startled by the voice, Mi Xingzhe quickly turned around, his eyes wide with surprise: "Master? How did you know I was here?"
Seeing Li Luoning, Mi Xingzhe's face lit up with joy, but seeing the concern and furrowed brows on his master's face, his excitement faded quickly.
"Master, I'm sorry, I..." Mi Xingzhe bowed his head in guilt.
"This is not a place for long conversations. Come, we must go," Li Luoning stepped forward, grasping Mi Xingzhe's wrist, ready to leave.
"Master, I..." As Mi Xingzhe followed, about to speak further, they were suddenly surrounded by numerous demon soldiers.
"Li Luoning, did you think you could just leave Wuming Demon Mountain as you please?" the demon soldiers stepped aside as Li Minghan approached slowly.
"Master, does he know you?" Mi Xingzhe whispered, clearly confused.
"Lord of Demons, for what reason do you imprison my apprentice here without cause?" Li Luoning demanded righteously.
"He is here because he is your beloved apprentice."
"What do you mean by that, Lord of Demons?" Li Luoning asked, puzzled.
"Everyone knows you, Li Luoning, seldom engage with outsiders. I was curious to see if your apprentice is worth your trouble," Li Minghan's voice dripped with sarcasm as he lightly touched his mask.
Li Luoning had already guessed that someone was targeting him through his apprentice, but he hadn't expected the puppet master to be the Lord of Demons himself. Disregarding any misunderstanding, considering the extent to which the demon had gone, it seemed a simple explanation would not suffice.
"Stay close to me," Li Luoning warned Mi Xingzhe solemnly before engaging the demon soldiers.
Li Luoning, uninterested in prolonged combat and unwilling to harm the innocent, quickly incapacitated the demon soldiers, who were no match for him. Each fell to the ground, wounded but alive. Li Minghan, watching amusedly from the side, flicked his finger dismissively.
"Such mercy, how soft-hearted," Li Minghan called out Hua Qiuyuan, seeing Li Luoning's reluctance to kill.
Suddenly, a massive force slashed from above. Li Luoning blocked Hua Qiuyuan's downward strike and, sidestepping, avoided a deadly blow from another weapon. He pushed Hua Qiuyuan back with a palm filled with inner strength.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding. Why not clarify it, Lord of Demons?" Li Luoning retreated a few steps and proposed.
Ignoring Li Luoning's words, Hua Qiuyuan advanced again, his weapon spinning towards him. Li Luoning, with a smooth backward lean, dodged and caught Hua Qiuyuan's wrist up close. In that instant, Hua Qiuyuan's sleeve dagger shot several hidden weapons.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," three ice needles flew directly at Li Luoning.
He dodged two but the third pierced his shoulder, sending a piercing cold through his body.
As Hua Qiuyuan was pushed back, he saw his opportunity, aware of Li Luoning's vulnerability. He aimed a poisoned dart at Mi Xingzhe.
"Be careful!" Hua Ruoying suddenly appeared, deflecting the dart with a powerful palm, standing protectively in front of Mi Xingzhe and Li Luoning.
Seeing Hua Ruoying blocking the dart, Mi Xingzhe, somewhat puzzled, whispered, "Hey, aren't you on the wrong side? Those are your people," pointing at the netted demon soldiers.
"Shut up," Hua Ruoying scolded.
Once again, Li Luoning repelled Hua Qiuyan, returning to Mi Xingzhe's side to check on him, "Are you alright?"
Seeing Mi Xingzhe shake his head, Li Luoning was reassured
, then turned to Hua Ruoying without a word as Qingping also arrived, nodding silently at Hua Ruoying from the eaves.
With a gust of wind, Qingping enveloped Li Luoning and Mi Xingzhe in a dark shadow, and Hua Ruoying threw a device that exploded, enveloping the area in smoke. When the smoke cleared, they had vanished.
Here is your translation, including all specified name conversions:
---
"There's no need to chase them," Li Minghan halted Hua Qiuyuan, who was eager to pursue further. His face betrayed a smug smile, as if everything had unfolded exactly as anticipated.
Mi Xingzhe, Li Luoning, Hua Ruoying, and Qingping stumbled into a forest where they finally halted. "The demon soldiers haven't followed; let's rest up ahead," Hua Ruoying suggested, glancing back.
No sooner had they settled down than Li Luoning could no longer suppress it and coughed up a mouthful of dark red blood.
"Master!"
"It's just poison, no harm done," Li Luoning reassured them, circulating his internal energy to meditate.
"Take this." Hua Ruoying handed him a pill.
Li Luoning sniffed the pill and looked questioningly at Hua Ruoying.
"What are you looking at? It's an antidote," Hua Ruoying said, slightly annoyed at his puzzled gaze.
"Why would you carry an antidote with you?" Li Luoning inquired, recognizing the remedy from its scent.
"It's just something I carry around, nothing strange about it," Hua Ruoying responded nonchalantly.
"But how did you happen to have the antidote for that demon soldier's poison?" Mi Xingzhe asked, surprised.
"What's so surprising? My brother handles the poison; I handle the antidote," Hua Ruoying replied irritably, glancing at Mi Xingzhe. "Your brother? The one who fought with my master earlier is your brother?" Mi Xingzhe asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, don't we look alike?"
Hua Ruoying then casually threw a packet of medicinal powder to Li Luoning. "This one is for external application," she explained.
"Thank you, miss," Li Luoning said, tucking the powder away.
After a brief rest, Li Luoning sent a message to Yun Qingyi using a magical technique.
Mi Xingzhe, feeling guilty, kept to himself on the side, unsure of what to say.
Noticing his discomfort, Li Luoning casually glanced at him and deliberately ignored him to make him feel more awkward.
"Thank you for helping us earlier. I am Li Luoning. May I have the honor of knowing your name?" Li Luoning said with a bow.
"My name is Hua Ruoying, and this is Qingping," Hua Ruoying introduced, nodding towards Qingping.
"You don't seem to belong to the demon realm," Li Luoning observed, looking at Hua Ruoying curiously yet calmly.
"It's a long story. My brother and I were picked up by the Demon Lord when we were young," Hua Ruoying answered vaguely.
"The one who just injured my master?" Mi Xingzhe interjected.
"Will you shut up!" Hua Ruoying snapped back.
Seeing Mi Xingzhe about to retort, Li Luoning quickly intervened. "Miss Ruoying, now that you've rescued us from Wuming Demon Mountain, will there be trouble for your brother left behind?"
"He'll be fine. Unlike me, he's indispensable to the Demon Lord," Hua Ruoying reassured, waving her hand dismissively.
"And now that you and I have escaped, do you have a place to go?" Li Luoning asked meaningfully.
"We'll take it one step at a time. It's already come to this," Hua Ruoying sighed deeply.
"If you don't mind, I have a humble dwelling in The Liao Yin Immortal Realm's Peach Blossom Grove where you could stay temporarily to plan your next steps," Li Luoning offered.
"That sounds wonderful! Qingping and I have nowhere else to go, and I've heard the Peach Blossom Grove is beautiful with many rare herbs," Hua Ruoying quickly agreed.
"Why not just let them come with us to Mirror Cloud Residence?" Mi Xingzhe asked, puzzled.
"You're really naive. Wuming Demon Mountain and The Liao Yin Immortal Realm are mortal enemies. Besides, Qingping is a demon; taking him to an immortal realm is like putting a mouse in a cat's den," Hua Ruoying remarked, almost rolling her eyes.
"He is... a demon?" Mi Xingzhe looked surprised, turning to look at Qingping who had kept his distance from Li Luoning.
As evening approached, Yun Qingyi finally arrived with a carriage.
"Master, you're injured," Yun Qingyi said, rushing to examine him.
Yun Qingyi opened his medicine box, treated Li Luoning's shoulder wound, and helped regulate his energy.
Once everything was settled, Yun Qingyi stood up, turned sternly to Mi Xingzhe, and walked over quickly.
Seeing Yun Qingyi's angry face heading his way, Mi Xing
zhe backed away with his hands up, trying to appease him, "Elder brother, calm down, let's talk this over, there are strangers here."
Knowing he was at fault, Mi Xingzhe turned to run but was too slow. Yun Qingyi caught him by the ear.
"Ouch, elder brother, it hurts, let go," Mi Xingzhe cried out.
"You know pain, huh? If you hadn't sneaked out, how would Master have gotten hurt? Still dare to cry out?" Yun Qingyi scolded, kicking him a few times for good measure.
"Ah, I was wrong, please stop," Mi Xingzhe pleaded, managing to break free and hide behind a tree, rubbing his behind guiltily.
"Still daring to run? Come here!" Yun Qingyi shouted, his patience worn thin.
"I won't..." Mi Xingzhe whined from behind the tree.
"Yun Wan Nian! Don't make me drag you out!" Yun Qingyi shouted, his anger barely contained.
Reluctantly, Mi Xingzhe moved from behind the tree, standing still.
Yun Qingyi strode over, hand raised to strike,
"Master, save me!" Mi Xingzhe instinctively cried out, covering his head.
"Alright, Qingyi, enough," Li Luoning intervened, a slight smile playing on his lips as he shook his head at the commotion.
Hua Ruoying and Qingping watched amusedly from the sidelines.
"Wait till we get back to Mirror Cloud Residence, I'll deal with you properly," Yun Qingyi threatened, raising his hand again.
Mi Xingzhe flinched, knowing better than to retort, and stood quietly, head bowed.
"Let's go home, Qingyi," Li Luoning said, gesturing for Yun Qingyi to help him into the carriage.
Meanwhile, inside Wuming Demon Mountain's Demon Lord's palace,
"How goes the surveillance?" Li Minghan inquired.
"Lord, Hua Ruoying has left with the rescuers from The Liao Yin Immortal Realm in their carriage," Hua Qiuyan reported.
"Good. Keep a few eyes on her and report any changes," Li Minghan instructed, dismissing him with a wave.
"Yes, Lord," Hua Qiuyan replied before withdrawing.
Once alone, Li Minghan stared at the orb in his palm, murmuring,
"Li Luoning, our real drama begins now."