After a while, there was a hint of light in the window facing east. Dawn had come—a sign of a new day, a new beginning.
Bai Xunli was still crying, and Gu Tianzhu could only send a sliver of spirit energy to help calm her.
"Look, Miss Bai. Dawn is here. A new day has started. In Ziyu Sect, this is the perfect time to go out in the open and get ready to absorb the Purple Qi. We are taught to start our day like this. It is said that Purple Qi will not only help us become stronger, but it will also bring us new hope."
Silence.
Bai Xunli's sobs had subsided, but she hadn't said anything. Her shoulders were still trembling.
"Xuan Tian Shengzun asked me to take care of Miss Bai not because he was concerned that you would betray us. No. Xuan Tian Shengzun never even indicated there was anything wrong with Miss Bai," Gu Tianzhu continued gently.
"He asked me because he cares about you, Miss Bai. If he didn't care, why would he go and rescue you alone?"
Bai Xunli stopped crying and lifted her head. "Xuan Tian Shengzun rescued me? It was him?"
Gu Tianzhu nodded. "Yes. It was him—and Ling Yu."
Bai Xunli tried to recall the rescue. But she found that she was soon trembling when she tried to. She closed her eyes tightly and stopped trying to remember immediately.
"I – I don't – don't remember," she said weakly.
"Don't worry about it, Miss Bai. I was merely stating the fact. And trying to explain myself better. Me, being this old, sometimes – no, not sometimes – most of the time. Yes, most of the time I would assume that the other person knows what I'm talking about." Gu Tianzhu continued rambling, as a mean to distract and make Bai Xunli more relaxed.
It worked. Sort of.
Bai Xunli smiled slightly. "Is it true? Xuan Tian Shengzun and Ling Yu rescued me?"
"Yes, of course. I wouldn't lie. Xuan Tian Shengzun would have my head."
Gu Tianzhu and Bai Xunli continued to chat, while the sky was getting brighter. The world began to stir. The sound of waterfall seemed to became louder, the leaves rustling in the wind seemed to move more lively, and the forest, showed signs of awakening.
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Ling Yu was patrolling the streets with two other Lingxu disciples. The three of them were from the same recruitment batch and had never been to Lingxu Sect. They were recruited here in the Capital and assigned to duty in the city.
They were outer disciples of Azure Mist Peak, the lowest rank—no different from slaves. But for Ling Yu, this was the perfect setup. She could move freely to investigate and didn't have heavy responsibilities. The downside was that most of the other disciples were her seniors and tended to order her around.
The three of them were on patrol duty. Ling Yu and Li Ran had returned to Lingxu because it was decided that they should help Han Zhaofeng and ICEB investigate the Crown Prince. More investigators might mean more results. As Lingxu disciples, she and Li Ran could move more freely than ICEB Enforcers.
Xuan Tian had been reluctant to let her return, much to her annoyance. They had argued about it before Xuan Tian finally admitted the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. But he had tried to make her swear an oath to stay away from anything dangerous. Ling Yu had rolled her eyes and outright refused. She compromised by making a promise, not an oath.
How could he be so unreasonable, when he himself would be the first on the front line?
Ling Yu knew the answer already. Because he could. Because he was powerful enough to be on the front line.
Ling Yu sighed. But now, your cultivation is lower than mine. She grinned, then immediately frowned. Stop it! You can't be happy that he has lower cultivation. He's injured. Stop grinning.
If anyone had been paying attention to her, they would have thought she was mad—grinning, then frowning the next second.
"Ling Yu, we should head back. Our shift is almost over. We need to report for next duty," one of the disciples said to her, pulling her back from her thoughts.
Ling Yu nodded. "Yes. Let's go back. We still need to help our seniors move to the new place."
The three of them rushed to the Alliance HQ located in the outer area of the Capital. The whole Alliance was busy—tomorrow, they would be moving to ICEB HQ. As the lowest disciples, the seniors would definitely order them to do most of the work. Ling Yu wasn't happy with the prospect, but she knew she couldn't escape. This was too important.
They were passing a bustling street in one of the business districts when there was a commotion nearby. As patrolmen, the three disciples stopped to check it out.
It was two Low Immortal Four cultivators having a fight. They had originally dined together but got into a heated argument mid-dinner and were now fighting in the street.
"Ling Yu, we'll deal with it. You go ahead and report first. Let them know why we're late. Otherwise, they'll punish all of us."
"Okay. Be careful." Ling Yu continued on her way. She knew her fellow disciples could handle the problem well.
Ling Yu turned left onto another street and had only walked a few steps before she heard, "Hey, you!"
For some reason she couldn't explain, she knew the speaker was calling her. She stopped and looked around.
"Over here." She saw a man in white and light blue robes gesturing at her. His face was flawless and very good looking. Ling Yu noticed many ladies were staring at him, some even openly staring.
The man ignored them all. But he also didn't show disdain of all the attention he was getting. He was standing in front of a restaurant, about 150 steps from where Ling Yu was.
Ling Yu frowned a little. Who is that guy? He's really calling me. What does he want?
Curious, Ling Yu approached the man.