Chapter 138: Reunion, Taking You Home

Nakutai, besides possessing immense strength, was also deeply lecherous and particularly fond of beautiful women. His favorite pastime was abusing female slaves for his own amusement. Upon hearing Lou Xinyue’s words, he became as energized as if he had been injected with adrenaline. The two steel blades in his hands danced with a fierce, whistling wind, and his onslaught became as overwhelming as a surging tide.

He was genuinely curious about Ye Qinglan and eager to catch a glimpse of the true face of this cold, formidable woman who possessed such masterful martial arts.

Ye Qinglan was kept busy parrying his blows. Though she was worried about Shen Qianmo’s safety, she found it difficult to break free. Finding a momentary opening, she threw a short blade from her person toward Shen Qianmo.

"Qianmo, catch!"

Shen Qianmo raised her hand and caught the blade steadily. At the same time, Lou Xinyue utilized her lightness skills, leaping through the air toward Shen Qianmo’s position. Upon landing, she advanced step by step, her beautiful phoenix eyes filled with undisguised hatred. Her excessive rage had even slightly distorted her pretty features.

Baili Xiao stepped in front of Shen Qianmo, shouting, "Hey, what do you think you’re doing, you harpy? Stay back!"

However, Lou Xinyue turned a deaf ear to Baili Xiao’s warning. Her mind was occupied by a single thought: to capture Shen Qianmo and subject her to cruel torture, preferably flaying her alive to vent the venomous spite in her heart.

Baili Xiao naturally sensed the ruthless murderous intent emanating from Lou Xinyue. At this moment, he could no longer afford to be chivalrous; he grabbed a handful of muscle-relaxing powder and flung it toward her face.

Yet, Lou Xinyue merely waved her hand dismissively. She showed no signs of succumbing to the drug; her eyes remained clear and her expression vicious. She said, word by word, "Shen Qianmo, you slut, I will not let you have the chance to meet Meng Yuanheng. I’ve said it before: the two of you will never be together in this lifetime!"

Baili Xiao let out an "eh" of surprise and remarked, "Strange, why did the muscle-relaxing powder have no effect on you?"

Lou Xinyue sneered with disdain. "Hmph, I don’t even bother looking at such mere parlor tricks."

Shen Qianmo gripped the short blade tightly in one hand. Though her expression remained as calm and indifferent as ever, a chill flashed through her clear, unruffled eyes.

This Lou Xinyue had attempted to harm her time and time again, and her heart was so malicious that she had truly reached the end of her patience. She was tired of this nonsensical, haunting woman.

The fact that the muscle-relaxing powder had no effect on Lou Xinyue must be due to the Linglong Blood Jade she carried, which could neutralize all poisons.

Very well. Since she had brought this upon herself, Shen Qianmo would no longer be polite. Today, she was determined to reclaim the Linglong Blood Jade.

Exchanging a glance with Baili Xiao, Shen Qianmo took a step forward, staring coldly at her, and said in a steady tone, "Miss Lou, have you been keeping my Linglong Blood Jade safe?"

Lou Xinyue’s expression shifted. "What do you mean 'your' Linglong Blood Jade? It is in my hands now, so it belongs to me!"

Shen Qianmo smiled faintly, her tone laced with mockery. "Your unrequited love for Prince Xuan is truly moving, but it’s a pity he has no interest in you at all. Even if you possess the Linglong Blood Jade, what of it? Do you honestly think holding this jade means you can hold Prince Xuan’s heart? Doesn’t this jade serve as a constant reminder of the humiliation when you were kicked out of his bed and driven out of the Prince Xuan’s estate in the middle of the night?"

Being reminded of such an embarrassing past in front of a large group of servants, Lou Xinyue was overwhelmed by shame and rage. She whipped her long lash with force and attacked Shen Qianmo without mercy.

Baili Xiao was waiting for the moment Lou Xinyue lost her composure and lunged. He seized the opportunity and flung a handful of white powder toward her eyes. Lou Xinyue, entirely focused on attacking Shen Qianmo, did not notice his move, and the powder landed squarely in her eyes.

"Ah!" A cry of pain escaped Lou Xinyue.

She covered her eyes with one hand while flailing her whip wildly with the other, acting like a madwoman.

The white powder Baili Xiao had thrown was merely common lime. Shen Qianmo knew that although Baili Xiao lacked martial prowess, his repertoire of survival tricks was vast. Their earlier exchange of glances had made it clear that Baili Xiao understood her intent, which was why their cooperation had been so seamless.

Although Lou Xinyue carried the Linglong Blood Jade, which rendered most drugs and poisons ineffective, the burning sensation from having lime in her eyes was inevitable.

Shen Qianmo dodged a few of Lou Xinyue’s erratic strikes. With light footsteps, she surged forward, and while Lou Xinyue was blinded by the burning lime, the blade in her hand flashed, cleanly slicing toward the wrist holding the long whip.

"AH!!!" A scream ten, a hundred times more miserable than the last erupted from Lou Xinyue.

The long whip fell to the ground, and Lou Xinyue’s right hand hung limp, blood dripping from her wrist. The sudden, excruciating pain caused her entire arm and her delicate body to tremble violently.

Shen Qianmo’s swift strike had severed the tendons in Lou Xinyue’s right wrist.

"Little Yue!" Not far away, Nakutai, who was locked in combat with Ye Qinglan, was distracted by Lou Xinyue’s agonizing scream. His anxiety caused his strikes to falter, and Ye Qinglan, eager to finish off this lustful, vulgar man she found repulsive, attacked with ruthless precision. Her Feishuang Sword radiated a biting cold, weaving countless silver-white blossoms. Before Nakutai could react, Ye Qinglan’s sword pierced his chest.

"Pfft!"

Ye Qinglan was expressionless as she decisively withdrew her blade, and blood gushed from Nakutai’s chest.

"You... you..." Nakutai clutched his chest, his tiger-like eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Ye Qinglan. After managing to choke out a few broken words, his massive, mountain-like body collapsed to the ground, and he departed this life, filled with deep resentment.

The guards nearby, seeing one master dead and the other crippled, stood frozen in shock, not knowing what to do.

Ye Qinglan’s expression remained unchanged. After a cold glance at the wide-eyed, dead Nakutai, she flew over to Shen Qianmo’s side.

Lou Xinyue’s face was still stained with white lime, and blood dripped from her wrist onto the ground, leaving her in a wretched state. Yet, the boundless hatred in her heart seemed to transcend her physical pain. She forced her eyes open, locked onto Shen Qianmo’s position, and, like a spent arrow, unleashed a final, desperate attack.

Unfortunately, although Lou Xinyue was not weak in martial arts, she was no match for Ye Qinglan, and now, injured and incapacitated, she was even more vulnerable.

There was no need for anyone else to intervene; Shen Qianmo did not even have to move. Lou Xinyue, fighting like a trapped beast, was subdued by Ye Qinglan in a few swift moves. Collapsing to the ground with the Feishuang Sword pressed against her throat, Lou Xinyue looked at Nakutai’s corpse, her eyes bloodshot as she shrieked at them, "You... you killed my Fifth Brother! My foster father will not let you off!"

Turning her head, she screamed orders at the bewildered guards behind her: "You bunch of trash, what are you standing there for? Take them down!"

The guards were just about to swarm forward when Ye Qinglan’s cold command stopped them in their tracks.

"Don’t move!" Ye Qinglan tightened her grip on the sword, causing a thin line of blood to seep from Lou Xinyue’s throat. She said coldly, "If you don’t want your master to lose her life, you’d better stay still."

She looked at the gnashing, fire-breathing Lou Xinyue and spoke in a flat, clear voice: "Remember, it was I, Ye Qinglan, who killed your Fifth Brother. Go back and tell your foster father that if he wants revenge, he should come for me. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Though... I wonder if you will even survive to make it back today!"

She turned to Shen Qianmo and asked, "Shall I finish her off?"

"Not yet." Shen Qianmo pressed down on Ye Qinglan’s hand, then stepped forward and crouched before Lou Xinyue. "Lou Xinyue, return the Linglong Blood Jade to me."

"Heh..." Perhaps realizing that she had reached a dead end, Lou Xinyue laughed with a mix of malice and despair. "Shen Qianmo, you bitch, you really want that Linglong Blood Jade back? It’s a pity... even if I die, I won’t let you have your way!"

Before the words had faded, Lou Xinyue used her uninjured hand with lightning speed to pull the Linglong Blood Jade from her bosom and flung it with all her might. The jade flew from her hand toward the cliff beside her.

"No!" Shen Qianmo cried out, her body instinctively lunging toward the direction where the jade had fallen.

She had observed the terrain earlier; below this cliff was a river with treacherous currents. If the jade fell into the river, it would likely be lost forever.

"Qianmo!" Ye Qinglan and Baili Xiao were too slow to react. As they saw Shen Qianmo’s dangerous leap toward the cliff and rushed to pull her back, they were beaten to it by a black figure moving with lightning speed.

The figure passed by like a gust of wind, too fast for the naked eye to track. Shen Qianmo felt a blur before her eyes, and the next moment, her entire body was swept into a warm, solid embrace.

The faint scent of medicinal herbs drifted to her nose. Such a familiar and long-missed fragrance made her inexplicably calm, yet it also caused her eyes to sting with tears.

A single thought felt like an eternity. It seemed like only a fleeting moment, yet it felt as if lifetimes had passed. Shen Qianmo sniffed, remaining quiet and docile in the embrace she had missed for so long, as if confirming whether this was a dream or reality.

A satisfied sigh, clearly trembling, echoed beside her ear. The voice was low, hoarse, and magnetic as ever, and the warm breath from his lips brushed against her neck, making her heart flutter.

"Mo’er, I’ve finally found you!"

Hearing that low, familiar, magnetic voice and feeling the strength of the arms encircling her—as if he wanted to embed her into his tall, sturdy frame—Shen Qianmo finally confirmed that she was not dreaming.

Ah-Heng... it really is you!

Shen Qianmo looked up from Meng Yuanheng’s slightly trembling embrace and met a pair of gentle, smiling eyes.

"Mo’er, I’ve come to take you home."