Chapter 415: Return (First Update)

Mu Qinghe felt as if he had fallen into a deep dream, wandering through displacement, yet unable to wake up no matter what.

For a moment, a thought even flashed through his mind—it would be wonderful if he could just sleep eternally like this and never have to wake up to face all of that again.

But the thought was merely fleeting.

After several attempts, he finally managed to force his eyes open.

The bright light shining down was somewhat piercing, causing him to instinctively close his eyes again; it took a while of resting before he grew accustomed to it.

The blurry scene before his eyes gradually became clear.

Was this a forest?

As Mu Qinghe moved, waves of pain immediately surged through his body, causing him to frown.

He looked down and realized his body was covered in bloodstains and riddled with wounds; there was hardly a single spot that wasn't injured.

Fortunately, most of these were superficial flesh wounds that would recover after a period of rest.

Mu Qinghe felt slightly relieved, but then he suddenly realized something, and his expression changed drastically!

Something was wrong!

He had clearly been inside the Imperial Mausoleum just before; why was he here now!?

He immediately looked back!

The Sijin Peak, looking like a blade or a sword, stood not far away.

Was he... already outside of Sijin Peak?

The confusion in Mu Qinghe's heart deepened, but no matter how hard he tried to recall, he could not remember what had happened previously.

His last impression was of those withered vine leaves everywhere.

At that time, it seemed he was about to break through, but...

But what happened afterward, he simply could not remember.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure lying on the ground not far away.

It was actually Chu Liuyue!

His gaze sharpened, and enduring the pain in his body, he walked over slowly.

Chu Liuyue also seemed to have lost consciousness; her eyes were tightly shut, and her lips were pale.

However, compared to his own wretched state, Chu Liuyue was in much better condition; there was surprisingly little blood on her, and she didn't even have many wounds.

Mu Qinghe stared at Chu Liuyue for a long while, his eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny.

That sound—was it a hallucination, or...?

As if sensing his gaze, Chu Liuyue finally drifted back to consciousness.

She subconsciously raised her hand to shield her eyes from the piercing sunlight before finally opening them completely.

At the same time, she saw Mu Qinghe standing before her.

"...Vice General Mu?"

After a moment's pause, she seemed to suddenly realize something and abruptly sat up to look around.

"This is—where are we?"

Seeing the full expression of shock and confusion in her eyes, Mu Qinghe said expressionlessly, "Outside Sijin Peak."

Chu Liuyue looked at him in shock.

"You mean we've made it out!?"

Mu Qinghe merely looked at her with a deep gaze, as if trying to see right through her.

"You don't know what happened?"

Chu Liuyue shook her head.

"Didn't you pass through that barrier and enter the center of the Imperial Mausoleum? How could you not know?"

Mu Qinghe suddenly leaned down, staring into Chu Liuyue's eyes, questioning her in a low, heavy voice, word by word.

Chu Liuyue was startled by his movement; she instinctively took a step back, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Vice General Mu, what on earth are you talking about? I... I only remember being trapped in a strange space before, filled with golden sand and other things, but I don't remember anything else..."

Suddenly, her gaze fell upon him, and she gasped.

"How did you get such heavy injuries!?"

Mu Qinghe's lips pressed tightly together.

Chu Liuyue's manner truly did not look like acting, yet he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

"Do you truly not remember?"

Chu Liuyue looked helpless and prepared to stand up.

Just as she stood, she let out a hiss of pain and clutched her head.

"My head hurts so much!"

Mu Qinghe's eyes flickered.

Actually, the back of his own head hurt as well...

Could it be that Chu Liuyue wasn't lying, and they were both sent out together?

Watching her grimacing and rubbing her head, Mu Qinghe inexplicably believed her a little more, and the aura of danger surrounding him subsided.

He turned his head back to look at Sijin Peak once more.

If Chu Liuyue really had obtained that thing, there would have been no need for her to come out with him.

Furthermore, there was indeed no fluctuation of that object on her person.

But looking at the current situation, someone else must have obtained it.

"In the Imperial Mausoleum, did you see anyone else?" Mu Qinghe suddenly asked.

Chu Liuyue denied it just the same.

Aside from that mysterious Great Chief, she had seen everyone else who went in quite clearly.

But naturally, she could not say that to Mu Qinghe.

Mu Qinghe didn't expect to get any useful clues from Chu Liuyue either. After a moment of contemplation, he actually started walking forward again.

Chu Liuyue was startled

"Vice General Mu! What are you doing? Are you going back!?"

Mu Qinghe said coldly, "You can stay here, or go back on your own."

Chu Liuyue: "...Your injuries are so severe; it wouldn't be wise to go back now, would it? Besides, when we went in, we seemed to have been discovered by the people around Sijin Peak. If we go back now..."

Anyone with a functioning brain would know that in this situation, one absolutely must not go back!

What was wrong with Mu Qinghe?

Mu Qinghe, however, seemed completely indifferent to her words and continued walking forward.

"That girl is right. Why are you in such a hurry to go seek death?"

A teasing, playful voice drifted lazily toward them.

Mu Qinghe stopped in his tracks.

Chu Liuyue was slightly startled and looked up.

A tall figure was walking leisurely out of the nearby woods, then leaned casually against a tree trunk, arms crossed, looking at the two of them with a half-smile.

It was Jian Fengchi!

Chu Liuyue's eyes flickered; she gave a polite greeting and asked as if unintentionally

"I didn't realize when Young Master Jian arrived; neither the Vice General nor I noticed."

However, Jian Fengchi seemed to have thought of something unpleasant, as his expression turned somewhat cold.

"This Young Master intended to come a long time ago, but I ran into some trouble on the way... so I had to circle halfway around Sijin Peak before I sensed Mu Qinghe's aura and came here. When I arrived, he had just woken up."

As he spoke, he looked at Mu Qinghe, sizing him up with a hint of disdain.

"Looking at you like this, could it be that you were beaten stupid? To think you didn't notice my arrival for so long? How long have you been here, and you've already regressed this much?"

Chu Liuyue felt slightly relieved; it seemed Jian Fengchi didn't know what had happened previously.

Mu Qinghe also couldn't be bothered to deal with Jian Fengchi and simply continued walking forward.

Jian Fengchi raised a sword-like eyebrow and looked at Chu Liuyue.

"If he doesn't want to talk, you tell me. What exactly were you two doing in there this time?"

"Jian Fengchi!"

Mu Qinghe gave him a warning look.

Jian Fengchi shrugged and, being quite sensible, made a gesture across his mouth to indicate he would shut up.

But immediately after, he walked toward Chu Liuyue, saying with a beaming smile

"Miss Chu, it looks like you've been injured as well. How about this Young Master escorts you back? Don't worry, even if he dies, this Young Master will help take you to the Tianling Empire!"

*Whoosh!*

A long sword suddenly tore through the air!

Jian Fengchi evaded it easily.

Mu Qinghe closed his eyes and finally turned around.

"You'd better not fall into my hands next time!"

Jian Fengchi winked provocatively at Chu Liuyue.

Chu Liuyue: "..."

Since when did she know that the relationship between these two had become so good?!

Was it just her imagination, or were Jian Fengchi and Mu Qinghe strangely "shipping" each other???

(End of Chapter)