Pink Bubbles

Seeing someone chasing after them, Hua Ruoying quickly pulled Qingping to flee, pulling a veil from her bosom to cover her face as they ran. She knew that as an outsider, it was best not to let the people of the Liao Yin Immortal Realm remember her face.

They hadn't gone far when she heard a sharp weapon whizzing towards them from behind.

Hua Ruoying sidestepped, and the weapon grazed past her veil. Seeing that the person behind her had no intention of letting her go, Hua Ruoying turned and gestured for Qingping to hide aside.

"Who are you?"

The man landed gracefully and reached out to retrieve his short sword that had flown out.

"None of your business."

Hua Ruoying had no patience for small talk and spun around, flinging several poisoned needles at the man.

The man seemed to disregard the poisoned needles thrown by Hua Ruoying, casually stepping aside to dodge them easily. Catching a glimpse of Hua Ruoying's dagger approaching, he quickly repositioned himself and struck Hua Ruoying squarely in the chest with his palm.

Hua Ruoying felt a sharp pain inside her body and spat out a mouthful of blood, her head spinning. She staggered backward uncontrollably, her balance thrown off. Before she could react, she felt something wrap around her ankle. Before she knew it, her body was being dragged away swiftly.

"Immortal Binding Chains!"

The man's Immortal Binding Chains yanked Hua Ruoying back fiercely. She was dragged, flipping over, facing down, struggling to grab onto something to stop her motion. But she was quickly pulled back to the man's feet, her back crushed under his foot, pinned to the ground, unable to move as her ankle seared with burning pain.

"Listening to things you shouldn't have means you cannot be allowed to leave," the man said, leaning over. With a flick of his fingers, the Immortal Binding Chains instantly wrapped around Hua Ruoying's neck and yanked her off the ground.

"No, these chains are different; they seem to be coated with poison. If this continues, even if I'm not strangled by these chains, the poison will severely injure me. Who could mix immortal energies with poison? Qingping and I are no match for him," Hua Ruoying thought desperately.

With the chains wrapped around her neck, Hua Ruoying struggled to breathe. Her fingertips dug into the skin of her neck, trying to tear off the chains. Blood soaked her veil from the corners of her mouth. The man in front of her eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty pleasure, reveling in Hua Ruoying's dying struggles, a sinister smile on his lips.

A gust of wind blew through the peach blossom forest, and Hua Ruoying's veil was swept off her face and onto the ground.

"It's her!"

The man paused, stunned, as he recognized Hua Ruoying's face, his actions halting momentarily.

Seizing the opportunity, Qingping quickly threw a poison bomb. The man instinctively covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, and Hua Ruoying was thrown to the ground. Qingping then transformed into a shadowy breeze, swiftly enveloping and disappearing with the fallen Hua Ruoying.

As the poison dispersed, the man looked at the now empty spot where Hua Ruoying had lain, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"How could she suddenly appear here?"

Qingping, carrying the unconscious Hua Ruoying, staggered back to their cabin and gently placed her on the bed. She clumsily grabbed a blanket to cover her and wiped the blood from Hua Ruoying's mouth with her sleeve.

"Sister Ruoying, wake up," she called softly to the unconscious Hua Ruoying on the bed.

Meanwhile, in the Mirror Cloud Residence, Li Luoning was holding an ancient tome, annotating the content on a piece of paper beside him.

"Qingyi, what do you think about Hua Ruoying?" Li Luoning suddenly asked.

Yun Qingyi thought for a moment before replying, "Master, are you referring to the half-demon from the other day?"

"You noticed too. But it seems she herself doesn't realize that she is a half-demon. I didn't detect any sealed demonic power in her," Li Luoning reflected on their first meeting with Hua Ruoying, where he sensed her unique spiritual energy.

"Master, are you planning something by bringing them back?"

"Xingzhe said that those two were the ones who saved him that day. If that's true, she must also be the one trying to break the seal," Li Luoning pondered.

"Do you think she came specifically for Xingzhe?" Yun Qingyi quickly understood upon hearing Li Luoning's thoughts.

"I hope not, but her frequent encounters with Xingzhe are no coincidence," Li Luoning said with a serious expression.

"Do you need me to keep an eye on her?" Yun Qingyi asked.

"No need, if she's really here for Xingzhe, she'll come to him herself. We'll just watch and wait," Li Luoning responded calmly, glancing at the medicine packet Hua Ruoying had given him earlier.

During dinner, Mi Xingzhe was somewhat distracted, absentmindedly poking at his rice, his mind replaying the day's events with Hua Ruoying, especially their moment of eye contact. A foolish smile hung on his face.

"Xingzhe, Xingzhe," Yun Qingyi called him twice, noticing no response, then nudged Mi Xingzhe's shoulder.

Mi Xingzhe snapped back to reality and asked, "Ah, what is it, Senior Brother?"

"Why aren't you eating properly? What are you grinning about?" Yun Qingyi inquired.

Mi Xingzhe, still smiling foolishly, asked, "Senior Brother, have you ever seen pink bubbles?"

This question made even Li Luoning, who was nearby, pause and turn his head in surprise.

"Pink, bubbles?" Yun Qingyi was also baffled and repeated the question.

Unaware of the confusion of the two beside him, Mi Xingzhe continued, "Like those, peach blossom bubbles, floating in the peach blossom forest, all shiny."

Li Luoning thought for a moment, then understood what Mi Xingzhe meant. He smiled, shook his head slightly, and continued eating. Yun Qingyi, observing his master's reaction and still seeing Mi Xingzhe's foolish smile, also understood.

The next morning, Li Luoning went alone to the peach blossom forest cabin to find out more about Hua Ruoying, thinking to avoid Mi Xingzhe for a bit.

"Are you the master of the young master?" Qingping came out of the room and recognized the person standing in the courtyard as Li Luoning.

Li Luoning nodded and asked, "I am Xiao Yi. Is Lady Ruoying here today?"

"Sister Ruoying is injured," Qingping said sadly.

"Injured?"

"After we separated from the young master yesterday, my sister and I went to gather medicinal herbs. Unfortunately, we accidentally stumbled upon two people discussing something secretly. They discovered us, and during our escape, Sister Ruoying got injured while protecting me. She hasn't woken up yet," Qingping recounted with a distressed look.

"May I see Lady Ruoying?"

"Yes, yes, please do," Qingping nodded eagerly, as if grasping at a lifeline.

Li Luoning followed Qingping inside and saw Hua Ruoying lying on the bed, her complexion deathly pale. After a brief examination, Li Luoning frowned deeply, taking out a Purple Cold Silver Pellet from his robe to administer to Hua Ruoying. He thought to himself how severe her injuries were, almost lethal. If he hadn't arrived today, she might have lain in bed for weeks before waking.

"How is Sister Ruoying?" Qingping asked anxiously.

"Her internal energy is damaged, and she's been poisoned. I've stabilized her heart and given her medicine; her life isn't in danger for now, but she needs rest. I will have someone deliver some medicines in the coming days. Make sure she takes them on time," Li Luoning instructed.

Relieved by Li Luoning's words, Qingping's tense expression softened, and she nodded in agreement.

"Did you see clearly who it was that attacked her?" Li Luoning asked, puzzled. "Such a ruthless attack, if it was a pursuer from Wuming Demon Mountain, they wouldn't have let them go so easily. But if it was a fellow immortal from the Liao Yin Immortal Realm, the poison on Miss Ruoying..."

"I don't know. One was wearing a white cloak. The other, a handsome big brother, wore a light purple headband," Qingping recalled.

"A headband?" Hearing these words, Li Luoning instinctively thought of someone—O Shinan. His gaze inadvertently drifted to something clenched in Hua Ruoying's hand.

Li Luoning stepped forward and pried open Hua Ruoying's clenched fist, taking out a small piece of light purple fabric from her hand.

Beside a cliff in Jiuling, O Shinan met again with the man in the white cloak from the other day.

"Did you catch the eavesdropper?" a cold voice came from beneath the white cloak.

O Shinan, with a devilish grin and a bow, replied, "It was just a nobody, not enough to disrupt our plans."

The white-cloaked figure slowly removed his hood, revealing SiTu Fanzhi's face. "When cutting weeds, remove the roots. If any word leaks out, our plans could be ruined."

O Shinan confidently asserted, "I have future uses for those two fools."

"How is the plan proceeding with the Dragon King?" SiTu Fanzhi asked.

"I've obtained the Soul Gathering Lantern."

"Good," SiTu Fanzhi nodded slightly.

"Li Luoning's little disciple has been dosed with a controlling agent, making him a puppet. Does the Immortal Master have any plans for him?" O Shinan inquired.

"It's not time yet. There's another matter I need you to handle," SiTu Fanzhi said, then motioned for O Shinan to come closer to hear his whispered instructions.

Inside Lianzhan Pavilion, a celestial soldier hurried in to report,

"What? Escaped?" Qingyuan was informed by the celestial soldier that the demonized mole cricket they had captured had escaped the previous night.

"How could it escape so easily when it was so securely guarded?" Yue Ruling also found it strange.

"My lord, last night someone sneaked into the dungeon where the mole cricket was held, incapacitated the guards, and freed it. While investigating the scene, we found this," the kneeling celestial soldier reported, presenting an item.

"Send someone to find it immediately. Also, inform all patrol celestial soldiers to thoroughly check all celestial beings entering and leaving, and track down the mole cricket's whereabouts," Qingyuan ordered angrily.

"Yes, I'll see to it right away," replied a celestial soldier, taking the order and leaving.

"Who could so easily enter the dungeons of the Liao Yin Immortal Realm?" Qingyuan pounded the table in anger.

"Could there be a traitor in the Liao Yin Immortal Realm?" Yue Ruling immediately questioned. "I originally thought, on the day of Chengmen Lixue, that the mole cricket simply stumbled in. But later, Qingyi mentioned that it almost harmed my little brother. Now it has so easily escaped from the dungeon. All this is quite unusual."

"Do you mean someone intentionally brought this mole cricket to the Liao Yin Immortal Realm for another purpose?" Qingyuan asked.

Yue Ruling thought for a moment, "I can't be certain yet, but mole crickets naturally live in Kunlun Hills, under strict surveillance. Yet this mole cricket not only escaped from Kunlun Hills but was also nurtured to such a size and now moves freely within the Liao Yin Immortal Realm. It seems likely that the person behind this is plotting something else, and the mole cricket is merely one of their pawns."

"If that's the case, be extra vigilant during patrols. If you notice anything suspicious, report it to me immediately."

Qingyuan then looked around and exchanged a knowing glance with Yue Ruling, and they both stopped discussing further.

Inside the peach blossom forest cabin...

"It was fine when we parted yesterday, how could she become so injured in just one day?" Mi Xingzhe, hearing of Hua Ruoying's injury, hurried to take care of her, tenderly wiping her forehead and adjusting her blanket.

"It's your sect's people with their big tempers. We didn't even hear anything significant, yet they seek to exterminate us," Qingping muttered, sitting with a pout.

"Hey, I'm not like them, don't lump me in with those others," Mi Xingzhe turned and gestured with a finger for Qingping to stop.

"What's the difference? You all wear those robes, professing virtue and morality, who knows what unspeakable deeds you do behind closed doors," Qingping continued relentlessly.

"Hey, how can you speak like that? If it weren't for my master arriving in time, your Sister Ruoying might be buried by now. You're not even grateful, and yet you speak so harshly!" Mi Xingzhe became agitated upon hearing Qingping's words.

"You people in white robes, your words can't be trusted. My father once believed someone in a white robe, and he never came back," Qingping suddenly said with a look of grievance.

"You, really, wait, you said... your father?" Mi Xingzhe was about to retort but paused upon catching Qingping's words, then asked.

"After my father took my mother and me to The Flatland, our life was no different at first. Then one day, a man in a white robe came to see him. I

 don't know what he said, but my father left with him and never returned," Qingping recounted, sad and aggrieved.

"Qingping, I'm sorry," seeing Qingping's distressed expression, Mi Xingzhe was at a loss for words.

Qingping glanced at the still unconscious Hua Ruoying, then asked, "Master, Sister Ruoying will wake up, right?"

"She'll definitely wake up. The Purple Cold Silver Pellet my master gave her is one of the best medicines in the Liao Yin Immortal Realm, and there are only a few in the entire Mirror Cloud Residence," Mi Xingzhe stepped forward, gently patting Qingping's shoulder to comfort her.

"By the way, Qingping, did you hear what those two men were talking about that day?" Mi Xingzhe asked.

"Something about a golden pill," Qingping recalled.

"Golden pill?" Hearing about the golden pill, Mi Xingzhe was shocked, wondering if someone in the Liao Yin Immortal Realm already knew about the golden pill inside him.