Chapter 125: The Secret of the Blue Cloth Bundle

Lei Xiang kept his eyes glued to the blue cloth bundle in Dugu Yixiao’s hands, not missing a single movement.

Dugu Yixiao moved with extreme slowness, as if the bundle weighed a thousand pounds. He carefully unfolded the cloth, only to reveal a smaller blue bundle inside. He opened that one, and yet another blue bundle appeared. Lei Xiang grew anxious; what kind of item was wrapped in so many layers?

Human nature is such that the less one can see, the more alluring the object becomes.

Finally, the third layer was unwrapped, revealing a cylindrical object with a black-and-yellow exterior and ends sealed with glass-like material. What was this? A flash of recognition sparked in Lei Xiang’s mind—it looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Don't you dare mock me, and especially don't flash those annoying little fangs of yours, or I’ll pull them out," Dugu Yixiao threatened fiercely. Lei Xiang instinctively covered his mouth with his hand. Dugu Yixiao continued, "Now, let me tell you the story of this kaleidoscope."

A kaleidoscope?

Right, Lei Xiang remembered. It was a toy from his childhood, known as a "flower-stick" in the Dongyue Kingdom. How could Dugu Yixiao treat this piece of junk like a treasure, carrying it everywhere and threatening to kill anyone who dared to look at it?

"Lei Xiang, in your eyes, this is just a kaleidoscope. But to me, Dugu Yixiao, it is a beautiful memory. It carries so much warmth and longing, for it was a gift from the woman I love. She gave it to me when we were young. I have kept it perfectly preserved, and I will not allow anyone to desecrate it. It belongs only to me!"

Hearing Dugu Yixiao’s confession, Lei Xiang let out a soft sigh. He was deeply moved by the story.

Dugu Yixiao had been adopted by the "Kill" division of the Xiao Ya organization as a child, subjected to closed-off, brutal, and extreme training. There were over thirty other youths in his training cohort. Dugu Yixiao had been very close to a girl named Yang Chun Bai Xue. They trained together for five years—their happiest years. By the time they reached fourteen, they were forced to separate. Although they remained in the same organization, they could rarely meet, only stealing brief moments to pour out their hearts during major collective events.

This kaleidoscope was a parting gift the girl had secretly given him at the end of their five-year training. It was for the sake of this pure love that Dugu Yixiao guarded the object as if it were his life.

The situation took a turn for the worse ten years ago. During a gathering of the Kill organization to honor the King of Assassins, Dugu Yixiao could not find Yang Chun Bai Xue. Her companions told him she had gone on a mission—a common occurrence in the organization. Dugu Yixiao himself had once "disappeared" for a year and a half to assassinate a sect elder. But when she remained missing for the second and third gatherings, Dugu Yixiao truly panicked.

He snuck away to find her companions and, after persistent questioning, learned the truth: Yang Chun Bai Xue had been assigned a top-secret mission—one from which she might never return. Upon hearing this, Dugu Yixiao immediately confronted the leader of the Kill organization. He was reprimanded and thrown into confinement. Later, thanks to the collective advocacy of others, he was released and assigned a highly dangerous mission.

Dugu Yixiao understood this was an attempt to use someone else’s blade to kill him. He signed a death warrant. The Kill organization had an unwritten rule: those who signed a death warrant could have one request fulfilled by the organization, such as caring for their family after death. Dugu Yixiao exploited this loophole; his only request was to know the nature of Yang Chun Bai Xue's mission.

The leader met with him privately and revealed the truth. Afterward, Dugu Yixiao was placed under constant surveillance by two experts, and the three of them set out to complete the mission together. However, Dugu Yixiao had already resolved to leave the Kill organization and rescue Yang Chun Bai Xue from the headquarters, Xiao Ya. The "mission" was actually to erase her true nature and refine her into a vessel—a hollow shell for someone else’s primordial spirit to possess, turning her into a living corpse.

Dugu Yixiao suppressed his rage, feigning obedience to his two supervisors. He managed to steal the organization’s secret manuals, the *Xiao Ao Zhe Tian Jue* and the *Xiao Li Cang Ya* divine arts. He cultivated frantically, reaching the thirteenth level of the Qi Refining stage, and seized the first opportunity to kill one of his supervisors. He fled to the headquarters, but just as he gathered a lead, he was discovered. With assassins dispatched to hunt him down, he had no choice but to escape to the remote Dongyue Kingdom.

During the time Lei Xiang had been away, the Xiao Ya organization had sent three waves of assassins to the Dongyue Kingdom to punish the traitor. Each possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation. To survive, exact his revenge, and avoid implicating the Dongyue Kingdom, Dugu Yixiao chose to flee. To keep everyone from knowing the truth, he staged his own kidnapping to save them from worry.

Deep down, Dugu Yixiao had always hoped Lei Xiang could help him. Ever since they met, he had harbored this thought, but he knew the Xiao Ya organization was too dangerous to involve his friend. Now, backed into a corner, he left a single clue: the smiley face drawn on the wall under the table. He believed Lei Xiang would be able to decipher it, and indeed, Lei Xiang had tracked him down step by step.

With the truth laid bare, Lei Xiang furrowed his brows. He had just finished off the mysterious Blood Killing Alliance, and now, an even more mysterious Xiao Ya? Why did these things always fall to him? He sighed, then firmly patted Dugu Yixiao on the shoulder. If a brother was in trouble, he would brave any sea of fire or mountain of blades.

"Hey, I’ve taken on this massive burden for you, how about a smile, brother?" Lei Xiang teased, trying to lighten the mood.

To his surprise, Dugu Yixiao’s granite-like face remained taut. "Lei Xiang, it’s not that I don’t want to smile. It’s that I cannot."

Cannot smile? What was that supposed to mean? Was he paralyzed?

"I told you, when I was frantically cultivating the *Xiao Li Cang Ya* divine art, I rushed the process and made a mistake. It didn't manifest at the time, but right before I reached the Dongyue Kingdom, it backfired, causing a qi deviation. While I managed to suppress the spread, keeping it localized to my face, it caused severe consequences. If I laugh, I will suffer a true qi deviation, so I must refrain from smiling no matter what."

Hearing this, Lei Xiang felt a heavy weight in his heart. He clicked his tongue, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth. "Don't worry, brother. I will help you take this revenge."

*Brother.* Hearing that word warmed Dugu Yixiao’s heart. He felt the profound weight of their bond; his friend had traveled thousands of miles to find him in his hour of need, and now, knowing the danger of opposing Xiao Ya, he had pledged to fight to the end. Such affection required no words of thanks.

Dugu Yixiao’s face remained expressionless, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. "What do we do now?"

Lei Xiang did not answer immediately, falling into deep silence. After a long while, he looked up, his gaze calm and filled with resolve. "Our primary task now is cultivation. We must raise our own strength to resist the powerful Xiao Ya." Dugu Yixiao understood the power of Xiao Ya; they couldn't even defeat the current Qianqian, so Lei Xiang’s decision was undoubtedly the correct one.

Seeing Dugu Yixiao had no objections, Lei Xiang asked, "Dugu, you’ve been in the organization for so long and have practiced the *Xiao Li Cang Ya*. You must be familiar with their techniques. Tell me everything so we can choose our training goals and be prepared."

To shake the foundations of Xiao Ya and rescue his beloved, Dugu Yixiao stopped being stingy with his words. He spoke at length. The *Xiao Li Cang Ya* technique was a specialized art developed for assassinations, its essence defined by one word: speed. It was about overpowering strength with speed—much like the life of a sniper Lei Xiang had lived in his past life: strike once, hit the mark, and retreat before the opponent could react.

Lei Xiang exhaled a long breath, flashing his little fangs in a relieved smile. If that was all the Xiao Ya organization had, he wasn't afraid. After all, Lei Xiang was the master of speed. His "Ninety-Nine Shooting Immortal Gun" was the fastest magic treasure in the cultivation world. It required no incantations or hand seals—just a pull of the trigger, and the opponent would fall. What technique could be faster than that?

As for the *Xiao Ao Zhe Tian Jue*, Lei Xiang was already nearing a breakthrough to the second level. With the "Multi-Dimensional Illusion Eyes" gifted by Lan Xi, his concealment skills surpassed even those of the Xiao Ya organization. At the very least, he was invincible among peers of the same rank. His most urgent goal was to break through to the second level and increase the destructive power of his Celestial Crystal Bullets. After explaining this to Dugu Yixiao, Lei Xiang posed another question: "Where should we go to cultivate safely?"