Chapter 879: Bright Hall Arrives
Li Min crouched on the ground, her clear eyes blinking as she stared at Zhang Ruochen, asking, "How is it? Has your injury recovered?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "To fully recover, I'm afraid it will take at least three days."
In truth, recovering from his injuries would take at least a month. He told Li Min it would only be three days because he planned to enter the Scroll World to heal.
Li Min chuckled. "Serves you right for being so arrogant, even cutting down the Empress's projection. Now you know what it feels like to be injured, don't you?"
"Cough, cough."
Zhang Ruochen's internal organs ached severely. He coughed twice, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Li Min quickly walked over and patted his back. "Don't rush, don't rush. Seeing how badly you're hurt, I definitely won't abandon you. Here, wipe the blood off first. Oh dear! Even a Half-Saint can be this fragile sometimes. How pitiful."
She then took out a green embroidered silk scarf and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen smiled, took the scarf, and caught a faint orchid fragrance. He glanced at the delicate orchid embroidered on it, realizing this little girl was quite skilled with her hands.
He wiped the blood from his lips and returned the scarf to Li Min. "Thank you."
"I hear Half-Saint blood can fetch a decent price too."
Li Min's small, snow-white hands held the scarf, staring at the bloodstains. Her once-clear eyes now gleamed with light.
Zhang Ruochen's forehead darkened with lines. He felt that Li Min had only lent him the scarf to obtain Half-Saint blood.
"Huh!"
Just then, within the range of Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power, a very strong wave of energy appeared.
"Someone's caught up!"
Zhang Ruochen's expression grew grim as he looked toward the cave entrance.
Even while severely injured, Zhang Ruochen kept his spiritual power extended outward, scanning the surroundings to prevent anyone from tracking them here.
Li Min was startled, like a frightened little rabbit, and immediately hid behind Zhang Ruochen.
Xiao Hei, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly flipped over and stood up. His round eyes emitted a dark light as he spoke in human tongue, "They managed to track us here? They've got some skill. This Emperor will deal with them."
"No rush." Zhang Ruochen stopped Xiao Hei.
He was quite curious—who could have caught up so quickly?
The other party clearly knew that Zhang Ruochen had already detected their presence. So, upon reaching the cave entrance, they stopped.
"I am Huo Yin of the Bright Hall, paying respects to Young Master Zhang."
A voice pierced through the formation at the cave entrance and reached inside.
Li Min was secretly startled and whispered to Zhang Ruochen, "Huo Yin is one of the one hundred and eight Sacred Generals of the Bright Hall. It's said he keeps a Six-Eared Monkey that can hear the rustling of wind and grass from ten thousand miles away and sense the faintest traces of Qi. Huo Yin probably used the monkey's ability to find us so quickly."
Zhang Ruochen looked up and glanced at Li Min.
This little girl knew the experts of the Kunlun Realm inside out, truly on par with Shengshu Cainü.
However, Zhang Ruochen was curious—why would the Bright Hall seek him out?
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why have you followed me here?"
"Our Young Hall Master wishes to meet you," Huo Yin said.
"The Young Hall Master of the Bright Hall?"
"Indeed."
Zhang Ruochen naturally had some goodwill toward the Bright Hall and didn't reject them outright.
But given his current severe injuries, it wasn't suitable to meet with them.
After all, his goodwill didn't guarantee theirs.
Zhang Ruochen clutched his aching chest, his breath weak. "I don't wish to see anyone right now. I just want to rest and recover. Please leave."
Li Min bit her lip, wanting to warn Zhang Ruochen that offending the Bright Hall's Young Hall Master was unwise, but since he had already refused, she stayed silent.
Huo Yin's voice turned colder, no longer as friendly. "To be blunt, Young Master Zhang is a major criminal of the imperial court, now gravely wounded. Without protection, you won't live long."
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and coughed. "Can the Bright Hall's Young Hall Master protect me?"
Huo Yin said, "The Young Hall Master greatly admires your courage and talent. After all, few in this world dare to defy the Empress. If you willingly offer the Buddha Emperor Relic, the Young Hall Master is very willing to take you in. Once you enter the Bright Hall, even the Ministry of War won't be able to touch you."
The Bright Hall's Young Hall Master had come to Yuan Mansion upon hearing of Zhang Ruochen's appearance, aiming to seize the Buddha Emperor Relic from him. Now that Zhang Ruochen was severely injured, it was the perfect time to take the relic. Of course, if he could also recruit Zhang Ruochen to work for him, that would be even better.
"So it's for the relic."
Zhang Ruochen was silent for a moment before saying, "Isn't he afraid that if I join the Bright Hall, I'll steal his thunder, or even his position as Young Hall Master?"
Huo Yin stood outside the cave, gently stroking the Six-Eared Monkey's head, and sneered, "The master of the Bright Hall will always bear the surname Kong. No matter how talented you are, you can never steal the Young Hall Master's spotlight. Rest assured, the Young Hall Master is a magnanimous man who won't envy talent. If your aptitude is high enough, he will reward you with resources and fully nurture you."
Li Min blinked and whispered in Zhang Ruochen's ear, "Sounds pretty good, Zhang Ruochen. Why not agree? In the Central Domain, the Bright Hall's influence is enormous. If you pledge allegiance to the Young Hall Master, you won't have to hide and wander anymore..."
Zhang Ruochen shot her a glare.
"Why are you looking at me so fiercely?" Li Min shrank back, muttering, "Isn't it just because you can't bear to part with the Buddha Emperor Relic? I think your life is more important."
Zhang Ruochen ignored Li Min, slowly stood up, and walked steadily toward the cave entrance.
"Whoosh!"
At the entrance, a layer of formation light flickered, and patterns shifted outward before disappearing.
Zhang Ruochen emerged from the cave, his face pale but his back straight as he looked at Huo Yin. "Go back and tell the Young Hall Master that I appreciate his goodwill. But I prefer to roam the world freely and don't wish to join any force that would bind me."
Huo Yin stood in midair, clad in black iron robes, standing on a white cloud. He was thin and dark, with a neatly trimmed beard, and a red Six-Eared Monkey perched on his shoulder.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, Huo Yin sneered inwardly. "This is hardly a wise move. Won't you reconsider?"
"No need."
Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel the chill emanating from Huo Yin, but his own heart grew even colder.
Back then, Orange Moon Star Envoy had told him that after the Ming Emperor's disappearance, the Kong family's patriarch had allied with court forces to seize control of the government.
At the time, trusting Kong Lanyou, Zhang Ruochen had tried to see the best in everything.
But now, he had to wonder what role the Peacock Mountain Villa, or the Kong family, had played in the palace coup eight hundred years ago.
The Ming Emperor had vanished, the Crown Prince had died, but the Zhang royal family still had other direct descendants, some of whom were exceptionally talented and fully capable of becoming the new emperor of the Holy Bright Central Empire. So why had the Kong family patriarch taken over the government?
Why did the Bright Hall's master bear the surname Kong, not Zhang?
The case of eight hundred years ago was shrouded in even more doubt, leaving Zhang Ruochen confused and pained.
"Zhang Ruochen, it seems you insist on refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Do you really think the Young Hall Master will let you off if you don't go see him? Let me be clear—the Young Hall Master is determined to have the Buddha Emperor Relic."
Huo Yin's hands surged with two clouds of fire, distorting the air with heat. He said coldly, "If you offer the relic and submit to the Young Hall Master, you'll live. If you remain stubborn, you'll die here, and the relic will still fall into his hands. If you're smart, you'll know how to choose."
"How is this any different from banditry?" Zhang Ruochen didn't hide the contempt in his eyes.
"What a fool. If I can get the relic, what's wrong with being a bandit for once?"
"Once a bandit, always a bandit."
Huo Yin's eyes blazed with fury. He stopped arguing, clasped his hands together, and merged the two flames.
A pillar of fire, one meter in diameter, shot from his palms straight toward Zhang Ruochen outside the cave.
Huo Yin's cultivation had reached the peak of the Fifth-Step Half-Saint, making him a top-tier expert.
Zhang Ruochen stood still, hands behind his back, not moving an inch. He merely shook his head slightly, feeling even more disappointed.
"Do you really think this Emperor is just for show?"
Xiao Hei cackled, extended a claw, and carved runes in the air, forming a seven-zhang-wide circular formation disk.
"Boom!"
The fire pillar struck the formation disk, shattering into tiny sparks that scattered away.
Even Zhang Ruochen's pet beast was this formidable.
Huo Yin was shocked, realizing he had miscalculated. He immediately rode his cloud backward to create distance.
But Xiao Hei slapped his claw forward, sending the formation disk hurtling toward Huo Yin.
The disk spun rapidly, unleashing dense bolts of lightning that turned into thick electric blades, striking Huo Yin.
Huo Yin quickly activated his Sacred Soul Domain and threw a flame pearl above his head to block the lightning.
"Heh! Do you think you can withstand this Emperor's Seven Calamity Divine Lightning Formation?"
Xiao Hei grew a pair of black wings from his back, flew above the formation, and spat a mouthful of Saint Qi into the disk.
The disk's light instantly multiplied tenfold, expanding to thirteen zhang in diameter, its lightning power surging.
Huo Yin was deeply frustrated. A Sacred General being suppressed by a cat—was there anything more humiliating?
His Six-Eared Monkey was already a rare breed that many Half-Saints envied.
But Zhang Ruochen's cat was even more outrageous, capable of setting up formations. And the formations it created were even more powerful than those of a formation grandmaster.