Chapter 614: Long Time No See
Mu Lingxi then swung her pink fists again, pounding against Zhang Ruochen’s body, saying, “Why did you lie to me? Since you’re still alive, why didn’t you tell me? When you saw me in Liyuan City, you even pretended not to know me. You’re a bad person, the worst person in the world.”
Zhang Ruochen stood there woodenly, letting Mu Lingxi’s fists strike his body.
His eyes were also a bit moist.
He hadn’t expected that Mu Lingxi’s feelings for him ran so deep, and he felt a quiet gratitude in his heart. Because of the heartbreak caused by Chi Yao’s betrayal, he finally gained a bit of warmth—at least in this world, there was still someone who cared about him, someone who grieved for him, shed tears for him, cried for him, and laughed for him.
What a precious feeling this was!
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen said somewhat bitterly, “I’m sorry.”
Mu Lingxi gently bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with resentment, and said, “What good does sorry do? You’ve wronged too many people, not just me…”
Suddenly, her words stopped, as if she had thought of something, and like she had committed a grave mistake, she panicked slightly, immediately rushed out of Zhang Ruochen’s embrace, stepped back three times, and stood at a distance.
Zhang Ruochen looked at her with some surprise, showing a puzzled expression.
But Mu Lingxi’s face was quite pained, both struggling and hesitant, but she finally asked, “Does Chen Jie know you’re still alive?”
Zhang Ruochen stared at her, suddenly understanding a bit, and gently shook his head, saying, “I didn’t tell her. Including you, no more than three people know I’m still alive.”
“Why? Don’t you know Chen Jie’s feelings for you? She just isn’t good at expressing herself, but why hide it from her? Do you know how heartbroken she’ll be?” Mu Lingxi asked, very confused.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was deep, looking into the distance at the blue-green mountains under the moonlight, and said, “I’m a person who can’t see the light, only able to live in the dark world, while she is one of the heirs of the Chen family, standing in the light. She still has her mother the Empress and her father the King, and a vast family. As long as the Empress lives for one more day, I can never be with her.”
“But… isn’t this too cruel to her?” Mu Lingxi said.
“Wouldn’t telling her I’m still alive be even crueler?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Throughout the entire Kunlun Realm, countless people want to kill the Heir of Time and Space and won’t allow him to grow up. If news that the Heir of Time and Space is still alive leaks out, then they’ll go after Yanchen first, then my mother, then my friends. Only if I completely disappear can they be best protected.”
Mu Lingxi’s beautiful eyes gazed at Zhang Ruochen like this.
Only at this moment did she finally sense that Zhang Ruochen’s heart must also be in immense pain—having a home he can’t return to, a fiancée he can’t see, friends he can’t acknowledge.
Because between them lay countless people who wanted to kill the Heir of Time and Space, and also an invincible Empress Chi Yao.
Empress Chi Yao was like a great mountain, pressing down on him, making it impossible to breathe.
Unless he could topple that mountain, he would never see the light.
Huang Yanchen and Lin Fei at least had people to comfort them, take care of them, and help them out of their grief.
But Zhang Ruochen was even more pitiful. As long as the Empress lived, he could only live incognito, never receiving anyone’s help or care, unable to trust anyone, becoming a fugitive in exile, enduring a wandering life, bearing loneliness, bearing darkness, and bearing the torment of his heart.
If not for helplessness, who would willingly live in hiding?
Mu Lingxi finally understood why Zhang Ruochen had pretended not to know her. In truth, Zhang Ruochen didn’t want to harm her or drag her into this.
Mu Lingxi extended two fingers, gently tugged at Zhang Ruochen’s sleeve, and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to blame you. I know it’s not easy for you either. Come with me to the Moon-Worshipping Cult, and I’ll make you my Great Protector, how about that?”
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her and said, “Why does every woman want a Great Protector?”
“Who? Who are you talking about? Who dares to compete with me for the Great Protector?”
Mu Lingxi put her hands on her hips, without any immortal aura, instead looking a bit mischievous, putting on a very angry expression.
Zhang Ruochen knew she wasn’t really angry; she just wanted to cheer him up this way.
“I was just saying it casually.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, picked up the metal mask from the ground, and said, “Although your demon cult is powerful and can oppose the imperial court from the shadows, it may not necessarily have a place for me. The grudge between me and Empress Chi Yao is far more complicated than you imagine.”
“Empress Chi Yao’s strength is too great, so great that it’s despairing. Before I have the power to contend with her, getting too close to anyone might harm them. Senior Sister Duanmu, do you understand?”
Mu Lingxi’s round eyes stared intently at Zhang Ruochen, as if she could feel his emotions, and asked, “Is there some pain deep in your heart that you’ve always borne alone and never told anyone? What exactly is the grudge between you and the Empress?”
“Don’t keep asking. Even if you ask, I won’t tell you,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Mu Lingxi gently bit her lip, no longer pressing Zhang Ruochen, but instead hugged him tightly from behind, saying, “I don’t care what grudge you have with the Empress. Now that I know you’re not dead, you can’t shake me off.”
Zhang Ruochen put the metal mask back on his face, somewhat helpless, and said, “Let go of me first.”
“I won’t. Didn’t you say earlier that even the most heartless man in the world, upon seeing me alive, would be captivated by me and fall at my feet? You don’t know how happy I was when I heard that. Now I’m giving you this chance, and only you,” Mu Lingxi said.
Before, when Zhang Ruochen was engaged to Huang Yanchen, Mu Lingxi had never dared to fight for him or get too close to him.
But now, Zhang Ruochen had already died once and could never go back to being the old Zhang Ruochen, so why couldn’t she fight for him?
Even if Huang Yanchen scolded her or hit her in the future, at least for now, she would hold Zhang Ruochen tightly and never let go.
Just then, a wave of spiritual power spread over from the distance, rapidly approaching Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi.
Both Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi were top experts and naturally sensed someone probing with spiritual power.
“Whoosh!”
Zhang Ruochen rotated his palm, pushed it forward, and sent out a surge of spiritual power, shattering the probing spiritual power.
Without guessing, it was definitely Ice Demon’s spiritual power.
“How annoying. It comes neither early nor late, but just at this moment,” Mu Lingxi complained, quite irritated.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Fight, or not?”
“Of course we fight. If we don’t, they’ll think this Holy Maiden is really afraid of them.”
Mu Lingxi began to circulate her true qi secretly, a cold light flashing in her eyes, and said, “Earlier, I was mainly trying to lure you out, so I let them have their way. Since they ruined this Holy Maiden’s good thing, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
Zhang Ruochen took out the Thunder Pearl and held it tightly in his hand.
Mu Lingxi glanced at Zhang Ruochen, showing a surprised expression, blinked her eyes, and said, “Ice Demon has been cultivating spiritual power for nearly a hundred years and is quite powerful. Are you sure you can take him on with just spiritual power?”
Mu Lingxi knew Zhang Ruochen was extremely talented in spiritual power, but the enemy they were about to face was an old demon in spiritual power.
No matter how high the talent, how could it compare to a hundred years of cultivation?
After all, Zhang Ruochen’s main focus was martial arts, not spiritual power.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and said, “Don’t worry about me. I have confidence in winning.”
Before his words faded, Mu Lingxi found that Zhang Ruochen had disappeared, and she couldn’t even detect a trace of his aura.
“Whoosh!”
The temperature in the air suddenly grew colder and colder.
At the horizon, Ice Demon flew over rapidly, hovering a hundred zhang above the ground.
In the darkness, dense sounds of breaking wind arose. Evil path cultivators rushed over from all directions, appearing everywhere. No one knew how many there were, tightly surrounding Mu Lingxi in the center.
Ice Demon looked down at Mu Lingxi below, with a victor’s posture, and laughed hoarsely, “Holy Maiden, long time no see?”
Mu Lingxi crossed her arms in front of her chest, smiled charmingly, and said, “Ice Demon, you brought just this bunch of small fry and think you can catch me? I suggest you call out Azure Clothes Star Envoy and Hunter first. Those two are worthy of sparring with me.”
Ice Demon snorted coldly, “Small fry? Do you really think the Black Market has no experts? Today, I’ll show you the power of the Black Market. Set up the Heaven-Shocking Locking Phoenix Formation! Whoever captures the demon cult’s Holy Maiden will be rewarded with ten million spirit crystals and one Ascending Dragon Pill.”
Those who could come to capture the demon cult’s Holy Maiden were naturally first-rate experts, at least at the Fish-Dragon First Transformation level.
In the dark forest, hidden evil path cultivators immediately infused true qi into jade stones, activating the formation inscriptions within the jade.
“Whoosh!”
Dozens of light pillars shot up into the sky, interweaving with each other, forming a huge ring of light, quickly about to connect into a combined attack formation.
Mu Lingxi naturally wouldn’t sit idly by. With a flick of her wrist, she pinched two snow-white fingers together, and a green, hair-thin needle appeared at her fingertips.
An eighth-rank True Martial Treasure, the Breaking Aura Needle.
With a whoosh, the green Breaking Aura Needle flew out, striking an evil path cultivator at the Fish-Dragon Third Transformation in the darkness.
“Boom!”
The Breaking Aura Needle exploded, forming a powerful energy storm that tore the Fish-Dragon Third Transformation evil path cultivator into bloody fragments.
The devastating force blasted a five-meter-wide crater into the ground.
Inside the pit were shattered bones and crimson blood.
Mu Lingxi kept striking, the Breaking Aura Needles flying out like raindrops, rapidly hitting the Black Market’s evil path cultivators.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
…
In just a few moments, seventeen or eighteen Fish-Dragon realm evil path cultivators were killed by the Breaking Aura Needles, exploding into piles of bloody flesh.
(Double monthly tickets are still available for the last two days. I hope everyone will cast their monthly tickets for Little Fish. The plot of * is about to unfold. Please stay tuned.)