Volume One: Another World Chapter 36: Isn’t This What I Wanted?

How could there be such a person? When she rescued him, he was just an ordinary man, yet in the blink of an eye, he surpassed her—his cultivation advancing faster, his learning deeper, and now, in the trial, his rewards were greater than hers. If Qing Anqi knew that Li Yu had skipped the entire trial and entered directly into the reward chamber, she wouldn’t merely be sobbing as she was now; she’d probably faint outright in the washroom.

Li Yu struggled for quite a while before Qing Anqi finally stopped crying.

He sat on the ground, retied his robe, and asked, “Were you sent here by a teleportation array?”

Qing Anqi nodded.

“How do we get out?” Li Yu surveyed their surroundings. He had no idea where they were. The space was enclosed, illuminated only by glowing stones embedded in the walls and ceiling, providing scant light to this spacious chamber.

“This way,” Qing Anqi pouted, gesturing in a direction. After clearing the puppet, she’d read the instructions thoroughly and knew the function of every area.

“Let’s recover a bit before we leave,” Li Yu said, not rushing to action. “If the kidnappers are still around, they probably won’t dare linger in the underground river much longer.”

He refused to believe that the Qing clan, so vast, wouldn’t react. The kidnappers were already fighting amongst themselves!

Qing Anqi nodded obediently, her gaze falling on Li Yu’s inner garments, stained with blood from protecting her during their drift in the river.

“Here, eat this—it’s good for you!” Qing Anqi hugged the spiritual plant, struggling to extract a radish-shaped specimen and handed it to Li Yu.

It was about ten centimeters long, adorned with blue veins on its surface. Li Yu sensed gentle lightning attribute spiritual energy within.

“Thank you.”

He glanced at Qing Anqi’s little face and accepted the plant, eating it in a few bites.

Lightning attribute spiritual plants were scarce in the trial space. Li Yu had wandered for more than half an hour and seen only a handful. Moreover, this plant didn’t contain much spiritual energy compared to others; not the best choice if one sought profit.

But it was the best gesture of goodwill.

As he bit into it, a sweet flavor filled his mouth, followed by a burst of spiritual energy. That gentle force flowed through his body, soothing his injuries and easing the pain.

After a long while, Li Yu opened his eyes to find the child staring at him. He reached out and patted her head, “Not bad. I feel much better now. Let’s go.”

“Don’t touch my head! I won’t grow tall if you do!” Qing Anqi slapped his hand away, frowning.

“Alright, alright, let’s go,” Li Yu persisted, patting her a couple more times before leading the way.

Li Yu turned his head, “Come on, why aren’t you moving?”

“The exit is this way!” Qing Anqi pointed in the opposite direction of where Li Yu was facing.

“……”

…

…

“Any progress?” Qing Heng looked at Qing Yi.

Qing Yi still wore his black robe, but now it was dotted with blood-red plum blossoms, a thick aura of blood wafting from him. “Interrogation is complete on all suspects. Not a single one knew about this incident.”

This incident—the abduction of the princess.

With more people, the heart grows restless. Some within the Qing clan had secret dealings with outside forces. The Shadow Division held a list of such people, but wouldn’t have acted if Qing Heng hadn’t erupted in fury.

“All those traitors—kill them!” Qing Heng rubbed his brow. The more time passed, the slimmer the chances of rescue. But where had they gone?

Not a single clue!

Just as he was about to speak, his gaze shifted to the doorway.

A soldier approached. “Lord, we’ve found the princess!”

“Where? Take me to her!” Qing Heng exclaimed.

…

…

Led by Qing Anqi, Li Yu discovered a narrow passage on one side of the chamber. Following it, they emerged onto a long corridor.

At the end, a massive Eight Trigrams diagram was laid out on the floor.

“A teleportation array?” Li Yu asked. “Do you know where it leads?”

“How would I know…” Qing Anqi replied, a bit speechless. “I've never even heard of this place!”

Regardless of their ignorance, there was no other option. It was the only exit. The two stepped onto the array, activating it. Light wove around them, enveloping them both.

In the next moment, the light vanished, along with the two figures standing on the diagram.

Li Yu tensed, ready to defend against any sudden attack. When the brilliance faded from his body, voices erupted around him.

“The princess! It’s the princess!”

Above, two bright moons hung in the sky. Li Yu took stock of his surroundings—a squad of soldiers encircled them. Torches blazed all around, with no civilians in sight, only soldiers patrolling.

The first to spot them led the others in, forming a tight circle around them, with more soldiers streaming in from afar.

“Still within the Qing clan territory?” Li Yu recognized the insignia on the soldiers’ armor—it was the Qing clan’s emblem. He and Qing Anqi had appeared in a vast plaza.

Behind them stood several enormous statues. By the firelight and his night vision, Li Yu stared at one of the female statues. “Anqi, does she look familiar to you?”

“Of course! She’s one of the Qing ancestors,” Qing Anqi replied, then her gaze sharpened. “That woman in the chamber—her face was the same as the ancestor’s!”

“Which ancestor?”

“Father!” Qing Anqi spotted Qing Heng flying rapidly overhead and burst into tears, feeling wronged.

Qing Heng soothed her, “Hush now, don’t cry. Come home with me, alright?” This was no place for a detailed conversation.

He grabbed Qing Anqi and Li Yu, spiritual energy surging, and flew toward the central palace.

“You’re saying you were sucked into a hole and transported to another space?” Qing Heng asked, eyeing Qing Anqi, who was now dressed in fresh clothes.

“Yes! I cleared the trial perfectly!” Qing Anqi boasted, proudly showing the spiritual plant she’d held onto. “That space was created by an ancestor!”

“Well done! Excellent work, Anqi!” Qing Heng, well aware of his daughter’s thoughts, praised her lavishly. Moreover, several plants in her hands were quite useful to him, of no small grade.

At that moment, on the other side, Li Yu cried out in pain as Xiao Cui pressed on him. “Ow!”

Xiao Cui frowned, “Young master, you may have a fracture. I need to treat you.”

The commotion drew Qing Heng’s attention. He turned, still praising Qing Anqi, and just as he arrived at Li Yu’s side, he saw Li Yu release his grip in pain. The robe he’d used as a makeshift bag loosened, spilling dozens of spiritual plants, still clinging to their soil, onto the floor.

Qing Heng’s mouth hung open, his gaze settling on a particularly strange plant—its face twisted in agony, as if crying. “Isn’t that the Ghostface Sunflower I’ve been searching for years?”

“If the lord wants it, take it. I have several more,” Li Yu tried to smile, but Xiao Cui’s ministrations twisted his expression with pain.

Some healing methods were more akin to those of cultivators, but lower-level practitioners risked harming their foundation by overuse.

Li Yu dreamed of soaring to the heavens and would never jeopardize his cultivation. Thus, Xiao Cui’s treatments resembled those of a traditional physician from Blue Star: bone-setting, massage, and all.