Hai Yulan frowned, watching the direction he vanished, pondering what exactly had happened. A short while later, Li Muzhan reappeared, holding a dagger in his hand, which he offered to Hai Yulan.
Hai Yulan’s delicate face darkened. She rose slowly and accepted it: “This is Big Brother’s personal item. How could…? Big Brother isn’t in any danger, is he!?”
Li Muzhan said, “He’s fine. Phoenix Island moved fast; they broke into your Hai Residence.”
Hai Yulan knitted her brows: “Weren’t there formations?”
Li Muzhan shook his head: “The formations didn't work; they were destroyed. It must have been an inside job!” Miss Hai, this falls on you!”
“An inside job!” Hai Yulan’s expression hardened, and she snorted, “We must find them out!” Are Big Brother and the others alright?”
Li Muzhan assured her, “They are fine. I arrived in time; the Hai Residence suffered minimal losses!”
“What about the people from Phoenix Island?” Hai Yulan inquired.
Li Muzhan smiled faintly: “I sent them to the Dragon Palace!”
“Good riddance!” Hai Yulan spat out hatefully.
Li Muzhan shook his head: “I may have enjoyed the slaughter, but your Hai Residence is in trouble now!”
Hai Yulan huffed: “Our Hai family isn’t one to be trifled with. If they dare bully us on our doorstep, we will never show weakness!”
She knew that once Li Muzhan had begun the killing, the Hai family and Phoenix Island were locked in an irreconcilable feud—a fight to the death. There would be no more peaceful days ahead.
Li Muzhan stated, “Phoenix Island likely only planned this one strike and will retreat afterward. They wanted to loot the Hai family; why waste the opportunity? They have nothing to hold them back now!”
Hai Yulan scoffed: “So reckless! Do they think they’re invincible just because they have the Zhu family backing them up? Are they all dead?”
Li Muzhan nodded: “They’re like mad dogs right now, biting randomly, creating a huge mess of karmic debt. It’s cleaner to just eliminate them all!”
Hai Yulan scrutinized him from head to toe. He looked utterly composed, devoid of any worldly turmoil, as if he had just returned from a stroll, with no lingering killing aura whatsoever.
Li Muzhan smiled faintly: “What are the Hai family’s plans?”
“……We can only hide for now!” Hai Yulan said helplessly.
Li Muzhan suggested, “I have a small island. Hiding them there shouldn't be an issue. I’ve set up formations there.”
“We already have a place,” Hai Yulan replied.
Li Muzhan chuckled: “I forgot about you. You already secured a fallback route back then?”
“That wasn’t my contribution; it’s due to the foresight of the Hai family ancestors,” Hai Yulan corrected him.
Li Muzhan pondered: “Then hurry and move them. The Zhu family’s informants are spread across the world. They might have received news by now. Delays could lead to complications.”
“Yes, I’ll write to Big Brother immediately,” Hai Yulan nodded.
Li Muzhan advised, “In my view, it’s better if you go in person!”
Hai Yulan frowned: “There’s no time! My Master won't let me leave the mountain.”
Li Muzhan countered, “I don’t think your Master is unreasonable. The situation is urgent; talk to her properly, and she should agree.”
“……I’ll try,” Hai Yulan conceded with a nod.
“If all else fails, have your Master accompany you. That should put her mind at ease,” Li Muzhan suggested with a smile.
Hai Yulan sighed: “If it truly comes to that, we’ll have to use this plan.”
Li Muzhan walked to the table, downed the San Yang Wine in the white jade cup in one gulp, and smiled: “Then we’ll leave it here. See you in three days!”
“Mhm.” Hai Yulan involuntarily showed a trace of reluctance to part.
Li Muzhan took a step toward the couch, reached out, and brushed her cheek, chuckling, “Farewell, beauty!”
He vanished with a smile. Hai Yulan glared at the empty space with a hint of angry affection. After he disappeared, she touched her cheek. Li Muzhan’s touch still seemed to linger, sending a sweet sensation from her cheek to her heart.
Li Muzhan returned to Wanghai City. Bai Da and the other three were staying in the small courtyard. Bai Da and Li Er recovered the next day, still shuddering at the memory of their qi running violently backward.
Li Muzhan instructed them, “Bai Da, the four of you must leave here immediately.”
“Young Master, what’s wrong?” Bai Da asked.
Li Muzhan explained, “This place has become a hotbed of trouble. If you stay, it will cause problems. Leave at once and head for the Cloud Soaring Sect!”
“The Cloud Soaring Sect?” The four of them, including Bai Da, were startled. They had never considered going there. In their eyes, the Cloud Soaring Sect was an untouchable, almost mythical place, something to be revered from afar.
Li Muzhan continued, “The Cloud Soaring Sect has eighteen islands. Hide there. Be careful on your journey; the Zhu family might send people to hunt you down!”
“The Zhu family?” Hu San questioned, “Young Master, you mean the Zhu family of the Four Great Clans?”
Li Muzhan nodded: “The Zhu family backs Phoenix Island. Since you escaped, they will naturally want to silence you. They will show no mercy.”
Bai Da’s eyes flared, and he scoffed: “So it’s the Zhu family. If they send people to hunt us, perfect! I was just itching for revenge!”
Li Muzhan glanced sideways at him: “Such lofty words!”
Bai Da immediately put on a bright smile: “Don’t worry, Young Master, we won’t fight unless we’re certain of victory!”
Li Muzhan asked, “Your lightness skill practice is nearly complete, yes?”
Bai Da hurriedly nodded: “The heart method you taught us is profound. We can now run faster than horses, with endless stamina. It’s no problem at all!”
Li Muzhan said coolly, “Don’t overexert yourselves. Your martial arts are still far inferior. For now, play the tortoise, act like the lesser man, and secure your lives. Only then can you hold your heads high in the future!”
The four replied solemnly, “Yes, we will keep the Young Master’s instructions firmly in mind!”
Li Muzhan commanded, “Bai Da, if you encounter anyone, you are forbidden to fight. You are only allowed to flee!”
“...Yes,” Bai Da nodded reluctantly.
He dared not show off this time; the lesson from the last encounter was deep, and Li Muzhan’s punishments were known to be ruthless and bone-chilling.
Li Muzhan concluded, “If you are truly in danger, crush the jade pendant!”
Bai Da stated solemnly, “Understood, Young Master. We will be very careful!”
Li Muzhan waved his hand: “I’ve already told you the location of the Cloud Soaring Sect. Pack up now and go!”
The four bowed with clasped hands and withdrew.
Li Muzhan stepped out of the small courtyard and arrived outside the Hai Residence.
Four burly men stood guard outside the Hai Residence, near the two stone lions, their hands resting on their long sabers, their eyes keenly fixed on every passerby.
When Li Muzhan approached, the four men let go of their saber hilts and saluted with clasped hands. One man quickly turned and ran inside the main gate, and soon Hai Yuzhang strode out.
“Dragon Head Li.” Hai Yuzhang smiled, “Please come in!”
Li Muzhan informed him, “Brother Hai, I’m here to deliver a message. Miss Hai ordered that you prepare to move the residence immediately, as quickly as possible.”
Hai Yuzhang paused, then slowly nodded: “Dragon Head Li met Second Sister?”
Li Muzhan smiled: “Yes, she’s still on the mountain, but likely coming down soon. She will preside over this relocation. She mentioned our ancestor had already selected the new location.”
“Wasn’t Phoenix Island destroyed?” Hai Yuzhang asked.
Li Muzhan stepped through the main gate, continuing the conversation as they walked into the main hall to sit. Hai Yuzhang waved his hand, dismissing everyone around them, including the four elders.
Li Muzhan revealed, “Phoenix Island has a backer; it’s the Zhu family of the Four Great Clans.”
“...No wonder. What else did Second Sister say?” Hai Yuzhang suddenly understood.
Li Muzhan smiled: “She told you to prepare quickly and not let any news leak. There is an inside traitor in the manor, and she will move immediately upon her return.”
“An inside traitor!” Hai Yuzhang gritted his teeth, showing a look of pure rage.
Li Muzhan sighed inwardly. Hai Yuzhang truly wasn’t suited for mundane affairs; he was open-hearted, his emotions plain on his face, and his methods quite shallow.
However, he was a genius in martial arts. It was rare for someone to master both worldly matters and martial arts. Li Muzhan understood his own dual mastery stemmed from his omnipresent consciousness, which allowed him to see through hearts, supplemented by his past life’s social experience; otherwise, he couldn't manage it.
Talents like Hai Yulan were exceedingly rare, seen perhaps once in a generation. That was why Fu Feihong valued her so highly and objected so strongly to their union.
Li Muzhan advised, “The matter of the inside traitor isn’t urgent for now. Wait until Miss Hai returns to investigate. First, dispatch a scouting party to carefully inspect that new location. Ensure you only send trusted individuals, and keep the group small.”
“I understand!” Hai Yuzhang nodded, then sighed, “If Dragon Head Li hadn’t saved us this time, the Hai family would already be wiped out. Great kindness must not go unthanked!”
Li Muzhan waved his hand and laughed: “I am Miss Hai’s friend; how could I stand idly by!”
“Alas… it’s a pity about Second Sister’s sect…” Hai Yuzhang shook his head.
He knew of the feud between the Cloud Soaring Sect and the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Sect, and he knew Fu Feihong would never consent. Their path of love would not be smooth.
He hadn't favored Li Muzhan initially, thinking his ordinary appearance was unworthy of Second Sister. Now, he saw that Second Sister had keen insight, and he was far inferior to her judgment.
Li Muzhan smiled: “Don’t worry; there will always be a way.”
“Dragon Head Li, work harder, and you’ll surely persuade Senior Fu to change her mind!” Hai Yuzhang encouraged him with a smile.
Li Muzhan gave a wry smile and shook his head: “I’m not counting on her anymore!”
Hai Yuzhang suggested, “If all else fails, Second Sister could simply descend the mountain and join us in seclusion. You two could live freely, ignoring the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Sect.”
Li Muzhan sighed: “It’s never that easy. Senior Fu won’t let her go. Alas... the only fault is that Miss Hai is too capable!”
Fu Feihong viewed Hai Yulan as her successor. If it were anyone else, there might be a chance through pressure or persuasion. But for Hai Yulan, it was impossible.
Hai Yuzhang laughed: “Second Sister is resourceful, and you are formidable. Together, you two will surely find a solution!”
Li Muzhan smiled and nodded: “I’ll take your good wishes, Brother Hai!”
They chatted idly for a while longer. When Li Muzhan took his leave and returned to the small courtyard, Bai Da and the others had already departed. The courtyard was empty. Li Muzhan didn't wish to linger, flashed once, and returned to the Cloud Soaring Sect.
After arriving back at his own small courtyard, all was quiet. He left the courtyard and went to Gu Hengdi’s residence. Everyone was practicing their martial arts, creating a lively scene.
He didn't want to join the fray. Yang Biluo approached him, her dark green silk robes fluttering, and she pursed her lips with a smile: “You’re finally back!”
Li Muzhan smiled: “Did Senior Sister Yang look for me?”
“I didn’t look for you; Senior Sister Feng did!” Yang Biluo’s face fell.
Li Muzhan sensed something was amiss, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurried to ask, “What happened?”
“Senior Sister Feng is injured!” Yang Biluo whispered.
Li Muzhan’s expression instantly turned grim, and he slowly asked, “Who injured Senior Sister Feng?!”
Yang Biluo inhaled sharply, as if the air around them had solidified, and quickly said, “She suffered a lapse during cultivation—a backlash!”
The air immediately relaxed. She greedily took a few deep breaths, not daring to prolong the suspense. “Senior Sister Feng can’t move right now, and Master is trying to figure out a way to heal her!”
Li Muzhan vanished in a flash. Yang Biluo opened her mouth, then sighed in resignation and floated out of the training grounds, rushing toward Feng Mingxue’s small courtyard.
Li Muzhan appeared within Feng Mingxue’s courtyard. It was extremely quiet. He opened his Void Eye and immediately spotted Feng Mingxue and Gu Hengdi inside the room.
His gaze flickered momentarily before he hastily withdrew the Void Eye. Feng Mingxue was clad only in light undergarments, soaking in the hot spring, her jade-white skin fully visible.
His heart pounded hard. Even with his powerful spirit, he couldn't control this sudden palpitation. A moment later, he let out a breath and said in a deep voice, “Master.”
A saffron shadow flashed before his eyes, and Gu Hengdi appeared, grabbing his wrist: “Wuji, you’ve returned at the perfect time, come quickly!”
Li Muzhan followed her inside, asking, “I heard Senior Sister Feng is injured?”
“This time it’s a huge problem!” Gu Hengdi shook her head in frustration. “I don’t know what kind of injury it is. I can’t wake her up no matter what!”
Li Muzhan’s face grew serious as he slowly asked, “Is Senior Sister suffering from a cultivation backlash?”
“It seems to be a backlash,” Gu Hengdi mused. “No one disturbed her... She’s been training too intensely lately. I kept advising her to slow down, to cultivate more gently, but she got fixated on this one point!”
Li Muzhan’s expression remained unmoved, but he sighed inwardly, knowing he had provoked Feng Mingxue—not through the matter of the Grandmaster, but through the issue with Hai Yulan.
Talking, the two crossed the main hall to the hot spring in the backyard.
Feng Mingxue wore thin bandeau and panties, suspended motionlessly above the spring water, her delicate body intermittently visible. Her long, smooth, fair legs, her rounded, ivory-like arms, and her smooth, beautiful shoulders were all presented before Li Muzhan’s eyes.
Gu Hengdi felt slightly flustered by the sudden presence of such an intimate scene between genders. She sighed: “It’s been four days. I’ve tried every method, but I can’t wake her. I’m out of ideas, so I have her soak in the hot spring, allowing the Huanyu Sutra to circulate automatically. Perhaps the Sutra can rouse her!”
The Huanyu Sutra was cultivated in the hot spring. Once submerged, the sutra would circulate on its own—a conditioned reflex.
Li Muzhan ignored Feng Mingxue’s exposed, beautiful form, focused entirely on her injury. He stepped directly into the hot spring, disregarding propriety, and reached out to grasp her right wrist. The touch was ice-cold; her delicate wrist felt as if forged from frozen ice.
Li Muzhan frowned; this wasn't a good sign. It suggested a severe internal shock. The inner power of the Huanyu Sutra was supposed to be gentle yet dominant; it shouldn't manifest such extremes.
He slightly lowered his eyelids and sent a thread of inner power, like a slender snake, toward her pale wrist. With a faint muffled thump, he stumbled backward, causing ripples in the spring water.
“Wuji?” Gu Hengdi asked quickly, “Strange, isn’t it? Your inner power can’t penetrate!”
Li Muzhan frowned: “Master can’t penetrate either?”
“No,” Gu Hengdi nodded, frustrated. “That’s what is most vexing—I have no idea what her actual injury is!”
Li Muzhan’s brow tightly furrowed in thought. “It’s unwise to use brute force.”
“Wuji, you are a Grandmaster. Do you have any means?” Gu Hengdi stared at him eagerly.
Li Muzhan moved closer to Feng Mingxue again. She lay quietly on the water, her expression serene, as if in deep sleep, faintly holding a smile.
He slowly extended his hand to rest upon her pale wrist. After a moment, a thread of inner power floated out, followed by a muffled thump. Li Muzhan remained motionless. Then came a continuous series of muffled thumps—thump, thump, thump, thump—emanating from his hand. The spring water behind him began to explode violently, yet Feng Mingxue before him did not stir.
Gu Hengdi sucked in a breath, recognizing that Li Muzhan was deliberately enduring Feng Mingxue’s rebounding inner power. At this moment, Feng Mingxue’s power had surged to an extreme, incredibly potent force. Gu Hengdi remembered how nearly she spat blood after taking just one such blow.
However, a Grandmaster was indeed a Grandmaster. Even after absorbing several impacts, he seemed unaffected, dissolving the incoming energy as if unharmed.
A moment later, Li Muzhan released Feng Mingxue’s wrist, sighed, and shook his head: “Master, Senior Sister has indeed suffered a severe backlash.”
“What should be done? Can she be cured?” Gu Hengdi asked.
Li Muzhan frowned in thought, then gave a wry smile: “We can only try. Senior Sister’s inner power has surged; it’s quite formidable, and I will need my full attention to deal with it. Furthermore, Senior Sister’s spirit is damaged…”
“She won’t wake up?” Gu Hengdi asked anxiously.
Li Muzhan shook his head: “I don’t know when she will wake up. I can only do my utmost to try.”
“She is your Senior Sister; you must save her!” Gu Hengdi let out a breath of relief. She could finally relax, having been in despair moments ago. Now there was hope for a cure.
Li Muzhan nodded: “Master, rest assured. Senior Sister is blessed with good fortune; nothing serious will happen to her.”
He raised both palms, and Feng Mingxue slowly floated upward, away from the hot spring, suspended in the air. He gently turned her over and placed both palms on her back. Amidst a string of muffled thumps—thump, thump, thump, thump—the clear water behind Li Muzhan began to surge as if boiling.
After a long while, the spring water was still reacting violently, the sounds continuous and unending, yet Li Muzhan stood perfectly still, allowing the inner power to recoil against him.
Gu Hengdi clicked her tongue silently. A Grandmaster was a Grandmaster indeed; enduring so many shocks as if nothing happened. Her heart tightened again, fearing that if one person had just suffered a backlash, the other might follow suit!
She stood waiting nearby, ready to catch Li Muzhan at any moment should his internal energy falter, prepared to assist him if necessary.
She stood there for the better part of the day. She didn't even notice when Yang Biluo arrived beside her until dusk fell.
Yang Biluo quietly refrained from speaking, staring at Li Muzhan and Feng Mingxue, watching Li Muzhan struggle to maintain his stance, and checking if Feng Mingxue had awakened.
She whispered softly, “Master, is Junior Brother Li alright?”
Gu Hengdi shook her head: “He’s fine. He is a Grandmaster; he possesses earth-shattering capabilities. He can endure this long exertion without issue!”
“That long? Even the deepest inner energy must be depleted by now, surely?” Yang Biluo said worriedly.
Gu Hengdi glared at her: “Stop saying such gloomy things! What are you doing here? Go away, go!”
Yang Biluo quickly replied, “Master, I’m just concerned for Senior Sister Feng! What exactly happened to Senior Sister Feng? Is she in serious trouble?”
Gu Hengdi asserted, “Mingxue will absolutely be fine!”
Yang Biluo pressed, “Then why hasn’t Senior Sister woken up yet?!”
Gu Hengdi scolded gently, “Why are you asking so many questions? Go practice your cultivation!”
“I want to watch over Senior Sister Feng,” Yang Biluo shook her head stubbornly.
Gu Hengdi quietly gazed at Feng Mingxue suspended above the hot spring and sighed softly: “She will definitely be fine!”
Ptoo! Two streams of blood shot out simultaneously. One was expelled by Feng Mingxue, and the other by Li Muzhan. With a muffled thump, Li Muzhan fell backward into the hot spring, while Feng Mingxue dropped straight down, smacking into the water. Both plunged into the spring at once.
“Senior Sister!” Yang Biluo cried out softly. Gu Hengdi’s eyes widened. Neither dared to rush in and save them immediately; they needed to assess the situation first.