53: Chapter 53: Su Li's Predicament

Xiao Yuan walked in and came straight to the point: "I need to take a long trip, so someone needs to look after the herb garden here."

Liu Yan froze: "A long trip? Where are you going?"

"Jing Country." Xiao Yuan took out twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his robe and placed them on the side stone table. "Look after the herb garden for me for these three months."

Liu Yan looked at the pile of Spirit Stones, then at Xiao Yuan, her gaze growing complex.

"You... you're going to find Senior Sister Luo?"

Xiao Yuan nodded.

Liu Yan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You're at Qi Condensation 4th Layer, and you're going to find her?"

Xiao Yuan: "Mm."

"Do you know where Jing Country is?"

"I don't know, but I can ask around."

"Do you know where exactly she is in the imperial capital?"

"I don't know, but I can search."

"Do you know what dangers lie over there?"

"I don't know, I'll find out when I get there."

Liu Yan: "..."

She took a deep breath, trying hard to keep her tone calm: "Senior Brother, I'm not trying to discourage you. But have you thought about it—what can you do once you get there? If you run into danger, is Senior Sister Luo going to protect you, or are you going to protect her?"

Xiao Yuan looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"You're right." He nodded. "I am at Qi Condensation 4th Layer. I am indeed weak."

Liu Yan thought he had taken it to heart, so her tone softened a bit: "So just don't go, and wait here in peace. Senior Sister Luo will come back after completing her mission—"

"But I must go." Xiao Yuan interrupted her.

Liu Yan was taken aback.

Xiao Yuan stowed his smile and looked at her earnestly: "That girl risked her life for my sake. For three years, she put her life on the line alone out there, just to save up contribution points to redeem me from the mining vein."

"Now that I know, I can't pretend I don't and just sit here waiting for her to return."

"If anything happens to her, I will never forgive myself for the rest of my life."

Liu Yan opened her mouth, but could not say a word.

Looking at the young man at "Qi Condensation 4th Layer" before her, she suddenly somewhat understood why Senior Sister Luo would risk her life for him.

Although this person was weak, he... had a conscience.

"Fine." She sighed, pushing the Spirit Stones on the table back to him. "Go then, I'll watch the herb garden for you. There's no need to give Spirit Stones, just consider it... returning the favor for how Senior Sister Luo looked after me all these years."

Xiao Yuan didn't take them and pushed the Spirit Stones back again.

"Take them." He stood up. "You're helping me watch the herb garden, and I'm paying you. It's only right and proper."

After saying that, he pulled out a small jade bottle from his robe again and quietly stuffed it into the gap under the stone table.

"What's this?" Liu Yan was quick-eyed.

"A small token." Xiao Yuan winked. "Look at it later."

He turned to leave, but at the doorway he looked back: "By the way, I still don't know your name?"

"Liu Yan."

"Junior Sister Liu, thank you."

Xiao Yuan waved his hand and strode away.

Liu Yan watched his back disappear before retracting her gaze and looking down at the stone table.

Twenty Spirit Stones were neatly stacked there.

She picked up the small jade bottle and opened it—

Ten marrow cleansing pills, plump and round, radiating intense Spiritual Qi.

Although she had never seen a perfect-grade pill before, she could feel that this was definitely no ordinary stuff.

Liu Yan stood frozen on the spot, and only after a long moment did she murmur:

"Senior Sister Luo... what kind of person did you meet..."

---

Artifact Refining Peak, in front of the mountain gate.

Xiao Yuan stood at the registration post, cupping his hands toward the Qi Condensation 6th Layer Disciple guarding the peak: "Senior Brother, sorry to bother you, but please report that I, Xiao Yuan, am here to look for Su Li."

The Disciple sized him up from head to toe—Qi Condensation 4th Layer, worn blue robes, clearly a bottom-tier outer sect Disciple at a glance.

"Looking for Su Li?" His gaze turned strange. "What are you to her?"

Xiao Yuan thought for a moment: "A friend."

"A friend?" The Disciple's lips twitched, exchanging a meaningful look with a few fellow Disciples beside him.

Xiao Yuan found their looks perplexing: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing." The Disciple waved his hand dismissively. "Wait here, I'll go report it."

He turned and walked inside.

In front of the mountain gate of Artifact Refining Peak, Xiao Yuan waited for about half a cup of tea's time.

The Disciple who went inside to report hadn't come out yet, but a few peak-guarding Disciples nearby gathered together, occasionally glancing over at him with eyes full of anticipation for a drama.

Xiao Yuan thought about it, stepped forward, and cupped his hands to a Disciple who looked slightly friendlier:

"Senior Brother, excuse me for asking—did Senior Sister Su... run into some trouble at Artifact Refining Peak?"

The Disciple looked him up and down, curled his lip, his eyes full of disdain.

"You're just a Qi Condensation 4th Layer, why are you asking about this?"

His tone was very impolite.

Xiao Yuan didn't get annoyed and put on a smile: "I'm just curious. Senior Sister Su and I are old acquaintances, so I wanted to learn about her situation."

The Disciple snorted and originally wanted to send him away directly, but another Disciple beside him chimed in:

"Just tell him. It's not a secret anyway."

He turned to Xiao Yuan, a hint of emotional sighing in his tone:

"Su Li... she's having it really rough."

Xiao Yuan's heart skipped a beat: "How rough?"

The Disciple sighed: "Isn't it all caused by that bastard Sun Yue!"

"Back then, because of her younger sister's matter, Su Li almost killed Sun Yue and was banished to the mining vein for seven years. It wasn't easy for her to return alive, but did you think things would be peaceful?"

He lowered his voice, and though his tone was disdainful, his words held a sense of speaking up against injustice:

"That kid Sun Yue holds a grudge! He was beaten half to death by Su Li back then, and if someone hadn't saved him, he would have been long gone. Now, relying on his grandfather Sun Rui—a Mid Golden Core Stage Elder!—he put pressure on the Peak Master of Artifact Refining Peak and forced Su Li into the Earth Fire Room!"

Xiao Yuan's pupils shrank: "The Earth Fire Room?!"

Of course he knew what kind of place that was!

The Earth Fire Room was the lowest-level "special post" of Artifact Refining Peak. Nominally responsible for stabilizing the Earth Fire Array, in reality, it was going there to suffer!

The Earth Fire Array drew upon subterranean magma fire year-round, and its fire poison was fierce and intense.

Even Foundation Establishment Disciples would suffer damaged Meridians and regressed cultivation if they stayed inside for too long.

Let alone Disciples at the Qi Condensation Stage—over time, at best, fire poison would invade their bodies and completely destroy their cultivation; at worst, they would suffer Qi Deviation and die on the spot!

"That beast Sun Yue..." Xiao Yuan gritted his back teeth, his voice turning cold.

Seeing that his expression was off, the Disciple thought he was frightened, so he waved his hand and said:

"Don't worry too much either. Senior Sister Su is tough; she survived seven years in the mining vein, so she might be able to endure the Earth Fire Room too..."

"Endure?" Xiao Yuan suddenly snapped his head up, his eyes cold as ice, "Is that a place meant for humans?!"

The Disciple was startled by his sudden outburst of emotion and subconsciously took half a step back.

The other Disciple was also stunned for a moment, then sighed:

"Who says it is? But what choice is there? Elder Sun is a Mid Golden Core Stage cultivator, and even the Peak Master has to give him some Face. What kind of wave can a little Qi Condensation Stage Disciple like Su Li make?"

"This is just how the world is; might makes right. Su Li offended someone she shouldn't have, so coming back alive with her life intact is already not bad."

The Disciples talked back and forth, their tone filled with helplessness and resentment.

Xiao Yuan stood on the spot, clenching his fists tightly.

His nails almost dug into his flesh, and a sharp pain radiated from his palms, but he didn't feel it at all.

Sun Yue.

Sun Rui.

Good, very good.