Chapter 123: Shifting Trouble
“What are you trying to do? Let go of my brother right now!”
When Li Yin looked into Li Xuanyue’s ice-cold face, his expression shifted instantly. “Otherwise, don’t blame me for being unkind to you.”
Li Xuanyue simply laughed. “Are you worried your brother isn’t dying fast enough?”
“Do you want me to be quicker?”
She turned her sharp blade, and a red line of blood immediately appeared on the man’s snow-white neck.
“What happened just now was our fault.”
Li Zhen, whose neck had been cut, felt a smear of warmth. He frowned and spoke coldly, “This humble one will accept whatever punishment the lady deems fit. I only ask that the lady does not harm my younger brother.”
“Brother!”
Li Yin stared at him with wide, dissatisfied eyes.
Seeing the two of them displaying such brotherly affection, Li Xuanyue thought for a moment and then withdrew her longsword.
“Brother, are you alright?”
Li Yin saw that Li Xuanyue had let them go and felt a sudden relief in his heart. He immediately stepped forward to check the wound on his brother’s neck without another thought.
“This is the last time.”
Li Xuanyue spoke with her back to the two brothers. “Don’t let me see it again.”
She could see that these two brothers didn’t harbor any actual malice toward them.
What happened just now was merely born of desperation, but that didn’t mean she could forgive their previous behavior.
A complex look flashed in Li Zhen’s eyes.
“Imperial sister, you’re just going to let them go like this?”
Li Lan was somewhat dissatisfied with Li Xuanyue’s action.
If they hadn’t reacted quickly just now, Hua Sang might have truly been in danger.
Li Xuanyue picked up a piece of wood and sat down. “We are all wanderers in the same boat. Judging by their situation just now, they likely aren’t faring much better than us.”
Li Lan was momentarily speechless upon hearing Li Xuanyue’s words.
Just because their situation was likely the same as theirs, they could “shift the trouble” (祸水东引) onto them?
They could do things to harm them?
What kind of logic was that?
Just as Li Lan was grumbling in his heart, Li Zhen, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly walked toward Li Xuanyue and Li Lan with Li Yin.
Li Xuanyue raised an eyebrow. “Is something the matter?”
Li Zhen lowered his gaze. “Looking at the lady’s attire, your status must be noble. I wonder if the lady could take our brothers along for the rest of the journey?”
Li Zhen and Li Yin had been exhausted from their constant flight.
Only when they passed this temple were the two brothers able to stop and catch their breath.
However, the other party still wouldn’t let them go and wanted to kill them.
Two hands are no match for four; even if the brothers were skilled, they couldn’t guarantee they would have the same luck next time when facing wave after wave of men in black.
Therefore, Li Zhen fixed his gaze on Li Xuanyue and Li Lan.
When everyone fought just now, Li Zhen clearly felt that the strength of Li Xuanyue and her group was greater than theirs.
If they could stay with them, the chances of the two brothers surviving would be much greater.
Li Xuanyue knit her brows. “What makes you think I would agree?”
She asked the two brothers indifferently.
She was already being merciful enough by not taking their lives immediately.
Yet they had delivered themselves to her door.
Did they think she wouldn’t actually kill them?
Li Zhen was stunned by Li Xuanyue’s question.
“Go back.”
Li Xuanyue used a stick to poke at the wood in the fire. “Your brothers have been pursued for a long time. If you truly stay with us, those men in black will immediately fix their eyes on us.”
Li Xuanyue didn’t want to invite that trouble.
Moreover, looking at the brothers’ attire and skills, the person they had offended was likely no ordinary individual.
If she truly agreed, she didn’t know what kind of unknown variables would be waiting for her next.
She didn’t want to put herself in danger.
Li Zhen pursed his lips. Seeing that Li Xuanyue hadn’t agreed to his request, his eyes were filled with disappointment.
But that didn’t mean he would give up.
“Brother!”
Li Yin tugged at Li Zhen’s sleeve.
Li Zhen signaled him with a shake of his head and then walked to the other side with Li Yin.
“Imperial sister, do we need our people to deal with them?”
Li Lan made a throat-slitting gesture before Li Xuanyue.
His intuition told him that these two brothers were a big trouble.
If they weren’t dealt with quickly, who knew how much danger they would bring them later?
Li Xuanyue stopped Li Lan with a look. “No one has an easy time out in the world. These two brothers escaped here with great difficulty; it proves their lives shouldn’t end yet. Why do you need to be the executioner?”
Those two brothers would likely be caught by the men in black sooner or later.
What would happen then was still unknown.
They had just left the Phoenix Clan; why bother staining their hands with unnecessary blood?
Li Lan didn’t agree with Li Xuanyue’s words, but considering their current situation, he ultimately followed her advice and let go of his murderous intent.
However, at dawn the next day, when Li Lan woke up, he discovered that the brothers Li Zhen and Li Yin were no longer in the ruined temple.
He was quite shocked.
“Imperial sister, where are they?”
Li Lan then realized Li Xuanyue was also awake.
And looking at her, she seemed to have been awake for a long time—her hair was already tied up—so he couldn’t help but ask her.
“Where did they go?”
Li Xuanyue saw that Li Lan was awake and let go of the hand that was holding her jade hairpin.
“Didn’t you dislike seeing them?”
She spoke while adding wood to the fire, “They left as soon as they woke up just now.”
When Li Lan heard Li Xuanyue say this, the heart that had been hanging in the air finally settled.
“Imperial sister, where should we go next?”
He had now successfully brought Hua Sang out as he wished.
But he was still being watched in secret by Hua Shan’s men.
Even if he wanted to go to the Valley of No One (无人谷), it likely wouldn’t be easy.
Li Xuanyue frowned. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”
She picked up a roasted bun from the fire rack, inspected it, and then handed a charred one to Li Lan.
“Since you decided to save and treat him from the Phoenix Clan, you should have planned your route long ago. Now you are here asking me instead—don’t you think it’s redundant?”
Li Lan’s face turned red with embarrassment at Li Xuanyue’s sarcasm.
He lowered his head to look at the roasted bun in his hand and spoke in a deep voice, “Before we left the Phoenix Clan, I had indeed planned everything.”
“It’s just that at this critical moment, we are being watched by the Junhou’s men…”
Although Li Lan didn’t finish his words, Li Xuanyue had already guessed his meaning.
“You mean that as long as I help you lead my Fu jun’s men away, you will have a way to take him and leave the Phoenix Clan territory?”
Translator’s Note: Li Lan’s plan involves a place called “Valley of No One” (无人谷). In many Wuxia or Xianxia novels, a “Valley of No One” is often a hidden, dangerous area protected by arrays or mechanisms, making it a perfect sanctuary for those on the run.
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