Chapter Eighty-Nine: Clamor Within and Without

That was how it came to this.

The three were restless at the moment, for they had just received an order from above: this time, not one of them was to be left in the evil sect. They were to be driven out, every last one.

But Bai Qirui’s injuries had already healed, and it was troublesome enough to face him in battle. On the other side, Shen Ruru had somehow cultivated a forbidden art from who knew what school or sect, and her strength had greatly increased. Though they outnumbered the two, they might not be able to drive them out of the evil sect quickly; in the worst case, they could even end up badly wounded on both sides.

They exchanged glances, and their respective domains erupted and merged at once, pressing down upon Shen Ruru and Bai Qirui.

But neither of them panicked. With a flash, they evaded the spiritual power that came with the domain.

Yet though they escaped that power, there was no escaping the vast domain that seemed to swallow heaven and earth.

The moment the domain rose, everyone saw phantoms and mockery sweeping past the blood moon, heaps of corpses and seas of blood, blazing flames scorching all around. The blade of the crimson moon hung high above the domain, reflecting the blood moon in the sky, while streaks of scarlet moonlight mingled with dense killing intent and deathly qi. In an instant, this place seemed like a realm of ten thousand ghosts. Even the disciples of the evil sect could not help but step back, and Bai Qirui and Shen Ruru both changed color.

Yet Pomo did not change expression at all; she merely walked silently to the side.

Huo Tianqing noticed the ragged girl and found her somewhat familiar, but he had no time to think further. As his robes billowed, he flung out all of his ghost generals.

At once, this "hell" was filled with even more frightful auras of ghosts and monsters.

They circled and drifted, laughing in shrill delight, flying over the heads of the two and deliberately baring their gaping maws.

Bai Qirui swept his Purifying Heart Fan and sent one of them flying far away. Shen Ruru, beside him, stepped forward with her sword and easily dealt with the ghostly creature that bared its greedy fangs.

The battle only grew fiercer. Looking over at the Love Temptation Palace, one could see that the scene of mutual slaughter there was not nearly as shocking by comparison.

Xie Yingying, after Bai Shengyun’s round of "treatment," had been in agony earlier and thus remained unconscious, though her body had never relaxed even a little, so she had not rested very well.

See, she had simply slept soundly beneath the blanket pulled over her head. This was all thanks to Bai Shengyun suppressing part of the primordial source of the celestial fox within her; otherwise, by now she would have long been rolling about in torment on the bed from that power, and how could she possibly have slept so sweetly?

Bai Shengyun, at her side, closed his eyes. Though he seemed to be resting, in truth he was drawing the spiritual energy around him so that it would fill his empty dantian.

His cultivation ran profound, and so the spiritual power required by his dantian was like the boundless rivers and seas. To fill it required even more effort, so that the meridians within his body could resume their circulation more quickly.

After a long while, he slowly opened those gilt eyes and covered his mouth with a somewhat weary yawn.

When he looked again and saw that Xie Yingying still had not awakened, he propped his head on one hand and gazed at that round little bundle.

The bedding was embroidered all over with flowers of every brilliant hue, but most of all with hibiscus blossoms.

Xie Yingying seemed to be sleeping quite well. Whatever she was dreaming of had even brought a few amused little laughs to his ears.

Bai Shengyun was stunned for a moment, somewhat curious what Xie Yingying had dreamed.

Then he saw the "round little bundle" turn over, revealing a face flushed red by the heat.

Xie Yingying’s lashes trembled, then she opened her eyes. The instant she did, she saw Bai Shengyun. Her memories had not yet returned, and she was so startled that she sat bolt upright.

Her eyes widened as she backed away again and again, not stopping until her back hit the hard wall.

"You!" Xie Yingying’s face was full of terror.

Seeing this, Bai Shengyun arched a brow and said, "What about me?"

The moment Xie Yingying heard his voice, her memories came flooding back.

Bai Shengyun watched the changes flicker across her face. Then, for some reason, her cheeks suddenly reddened.

"Hm?" He narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly guessed the reason, deliberately asking, "Why are you blushing?"

Xie Yingying looked at him with a complicated expression, half embarrassment and half timidity. At his words, she instinctively grabbed the quilt and pulled it up, hiding her face completely.

Bai Shengyun’s lips curved faintly. With a little hook of his finger, the quilt slipped loose from her grasp and fell a bit, revealing Xie Yingying’s pair of peach-blossom eyes.

"What did you remember?" His gaze was sly as he asked.

"Nothing!" Xie Yingying answered at once. "Besides, what I remember has nothing to do with you!"

But it seemed Bai Shengyun had no intention of letting her go unless she told the truth.

Thus, in the blink of an eye, Xie Yingying found him right before her.

He leaned in slightly, a lock of hair falling forward, and the tip brushed against her face, tickling.

Seeing that handsome face so close to her own, Xie Yingying’s mind suddenly flashed with the scenes in the original book, where Bai Shengyun and Ning Qingqing had played out their parts together.

Her brows tightened immediately. There was no fluttering of a maiden’s heart in her chest; instead she felt nothing but disgust. She raised her hand almost reflexively to slap him, and cursed on the spur of the moment, "Pervert!"

At this, Bai Shengyun’s expression darkened. With swift reflexes, he caught her wrist in both hands, his face turning grim with anger.

Xie Yingying’s heart had just lifted again when she suddenly remembered that this was the Love Temptation Palace—her own territory. She let out a cold laugh and kicked straight toward his manhood.

Bai Shengyun instinctively released her and darted aside.

Her move had been made precisely to force Bai Shengyun to get out of the way, so she immediately jumped from the bed, intending to run to the wooden window to see whether it too had been sealed with restrictions.

But Bai Shengyun was far too clever. He reacted instantly, eyes narrowing as he watched her, then swept out a sleeve. Xie Yingying only felt a gale surge toward her.

She struggled again and again, but the force of the wind was too great. It did not damage the furniture or books at all; it was aimed solely at her. Before long, the fierce gale had swept her back into Bai Shengyun’s arms.

Bai Shengyun pinned Xie Yingying down on the bed once more and asked in a thunderous voice, "Are you trying to leave me without descendants?"

"And if I am?!" Having already landed a blow on him once, Xie Yingying had grown bolder and retorted without fear, "For someone like you, that would be getting off lightly!"

"Heh..." Bai Shengyun gave a cold laugh. "Leaving me without descendants is impossible. I won’t let you hurt me even a hair’s breadth again."

After saying this, his ear twitched slightly and his brow furrowed.

Xie Yingying had wanted to keep struggling, but hearing the unusual sounds outside the door, she steadied herself and listened carefully.

Both of them heard that from outside the Love Temptation Palace came the faint, approaching sounds of fighting and shouting:

"Are you not just a disciple abandoned by an immortal sect? What right do you have to come bargain with us? How insolent!"

"Shut up!"

"Hmph, you lot keep coming to stir up trouble in my evil sect, and you still have the nerve to ask whether we place the evil sect in our eyes?"

"Brother Huo, calm yourself. I only came to find my younger brother and my little sister-in-law."

"Hey, stop—look where you’re fighting now!"

...