105: Chapter 105 Parting Ways

He needed to give chase immediately.

After running a few steps, he realized that the assembly would likely be forced to convene soon, and the Sect Head needed his support; he could not leave.

He immediately returned to his own peak, selected five of the most important Disciples at Qi Refining Level 7 from under his tutelage, and ordered them to pursue and bring back Liu Tingting and Xia Shaoxin.

"If we are going to chase them, we need a reason, right?" one Disciple questioned.

This did not stump Elder Huang.

"Just say that Elder Qian has passed away and there is no need to buy medicine anymore. Tell them to hurry back to see the body and attend the funeral."

Elder Qian Yunchang was lying on his bed, sneezing violently.

When Xia Shaoxin left the Chiyan Sect, he took two extra horses from the stables at Xueyan Cliff to rotate them while riding.

Liu Tingting was crying while riding, which affected her speed, so Xia Shaoxin kept having to stop ahead to wait for her.

"Master told us to flee immediately, yet you keep looking back every few steps, dragging your feet. If we get caught, it will be disastrous. Do you not trust Master's judgment?" Xia Shaoxin demanded.

Liu Tingting pouted, "We left so hurriedly; apart from a few Senior Brothers, no one knows. Are you still afraid that someone will catch up?"

Xia Shaoxin said in a deep voice, "Little girl, you do not know the treachery of the human heart, but can you at least trust your master and leave the Yue Kingdom as soon as possible?"

Liu Tingting stared with wide, shocked eyes, "How dare you call me a little girl?"

"Are you a big girl, then?"

"Pah! I'll hit you!"

Just as Liu Tingting raised her hand, Xia Shaoxin kicked his horse's belly, instantly dashing far ahead.

"Little girl, do you even know how to ride a horse? If you have the ability, catch me!"

Just like that, he diverted Liu Tingting's attention. In one breath, they ran over a hundred li, and only when the horses were foaming at the mouth did they stop to rest.

These horses had been raised in the Spiritual Qi-rich environment of the Chiyan Sect for a long time; they were sturdier than ordinary horses, with great speed and endurance.

To have run that far in one go without collapsing was truly impressive.

Xia Shaoxin dismounted, selected the two sturdier horses from the four, and said to Liu Tingting, "Don't stop, keep running."

He untied the reins of the other two horses and whispered into their ears, "Your mission is complete. Go back to the Chiyan Sect."

Those two horses were extremely spiritual and understood human speech; they neighed a few times and slowly headed back the way they came.

Liu Tingting was very surprised. Since he said they needed to keep going, why release two horses?

Xia Shaoxin took out two spiritual talismans and explained, "These are Galloping Talismans that Senior Sister Xu Huaiyin sold to me. I bought them randomly at the time, but I never expected to use them today."

He stuffed them under the saddles, and the horses raised their front hooves high and slammed them down forcefully.

Neigh—

The neighing was strong and powerful.

"Why didn't you use them before? Why did you bring two extra horses?"

Xia Shaoxin explained seriously, "When we left, the people in the Sect hadn't reacted yet. By rotating the four horses normally, we managed to travel quite a distance."

"But if they wanted to pursue us, they could still catch up. However, by the time they reach this point, their horses will be exhausted. If I use the Galloping Talismans now, they will absolutely not be able to catch us."

Liu Tingting asked in confusion, "The incident with Elder Qian just happened; are they already coming to catch us?"

Xia Shaoxin did not want to dwell on this question; they needed to leave this place of trouble first.

"Little girl, get on your horse. We'll travel through the night and cover several hundred more li."

Xia Shaoxin had already mounted his horse, squeezed his legs, and instantly turned into a blur.

No wonder he had to release the two horses; if he hadn't, they wouldn't have been able to keep up.

"You called me a little girl again!" Liu Tingting was very annoyed. She leapt onto her horse, vowing to catch up to Xia Shaoxin and give him a beating.

Leaving so hurriedly, Xia Shaoxin was actually a bit reluctant.

He hadn't even seen Senior Brother Shao Junwei and Senior Brother Liang Ruoran to say goodbye.

Leaving like this was rather heartless.

Back in Liushu Ao, his interactions with the villagers were limited to polite nods. He had finally made two friends, only to leave without a proper farewell.

They rode until midnight, covering a full three hundred li. The Galloping Talismans stopped working, and the horses began foaming at the mouth again. With no village ahead or behind, they had to camp out in the open.

"Why are you so devoted to Elder Qian?"

Liu Tingting's brows furrowed: "What do you mean by that? Why don't you call him Master? Why do you always call him Elder? It's so distant!"

Xia Shaoxin said bluntly, "To be honest, in my heart, I haven't accepted him as my master yet."

"Although things were a bit rushed, Master gave you so many Pill Formulas and even warned you to leave so you wouldn't be dragged off to the Forbidden Ground to do hard labor in the future. What has he done wrong to you?"

Liu Tingting's eyes were practically spitting fire.

Xia Shaoxin shook his head, "Elder Qian wanted to take me as his Personal Disciple only to utilize my ability to adapt to the Forbidden Ground. He didn't expect that he would die, either."

Liu Tingting wanted to retort, but the words died on her lips.

Her master was indeed that kind of person.

Moreover, Elder Qian Yunchang had admitted himself that letting Xia Shaoxin leave the Chiyan Sect wasn't exactly noble; he just didn't want the other Elders of the Chiyan Sect to benefit.

"My relationship with him was purely one of utility. I want to know, what kindness did he show you?" Xia Shaoxin asked very seriously.

Liu Tingting bit her lip and said, "I have received special care from Master since I was young. He always gave me the best things first. My cultivation speed is so fast because of Master's favoritism."

So the little girl knew that Elder Qian was particularly biased toward her.

"Is it possible that he only valued your Formation Talent? Look, in the Forbidden Ground, he used your abilities like that without any regard for your well-being..."

Liu Tingting pointed angrily at Xia Shaoxin's nose.

"Stop talking. I don't like listening to you."

She turned and mounted her horse.

"We have already left the Chiyan Sect and are no longer in danger. We walk different paths and cannot work together. From this day forward, we part ways. You are not allowed to follow me."

She slapped the horse's rump, and it bolted far away, disappearing around the corner in the blink of an eye.

Xia Shaoxin smiled bitterly.

"At most, we just don't see eye to eye. What different paths..."

The night breeze blew with a chill that seeped into his heart.

He suddenly realized that perhaps he could not understand Liu Tingting's feelings.

Because they had grown up in different environments.

Xia Shaoxin had been lonely since childhood; the only ones who were good to him were his parents and family.

It was hard to imagine how one could have feelings of friendship for an outsider with no blood relation, let alone develop feelings similar to those for a father or grandfather.

Although Elder Qian might not have had good intentions, he was genuinely good to Liu Tingting.

Like other "attendants," Liu Tingting had joined the Sect at five or six years old, bidding farewell to her parents from then on.

Or rather, since she could remember, Liu Tingting had never known the love of parents.

Elder Qian Yunchang had appeared in her life as she grew up, acting like a father or a grandfather.

"Although my parents didn't live long, I at least knew what parental love was like. The attendants of the Chiyan Sect have it even worse than I did."

He couldn't help but feel a bit self-reproachful; destroying such feelings was truly cruel.

He hurriedly mounted his horse and chased for half the night, but he had no idea where Liu Tingting had gone.

He had no energy left to continue searching, and the horse could not run any further, so he had to stop.

"Oh well, her cultivation is higher than mine. Why should I worry about her encountering danger?"