Chapter 53: Return

Li Shen knew that only the old immortal could save him now, so he desperately crawled toward the interior of the high platform. His mind was already blurred, and he just wanted to survive. Was even this tiny request something no one could grant him?

No one stopped him.

Xie Peiling continued to walk in his direction.

Even despair and anger had retreated from his consciousness, leaving only a single question in this final moment.

Why wouldn't Ding Zhenguang save him? As the son of the commandery governor, how could he just watch a lawless good citizen like him get killed in broad daylight? What kind of behavior was this?

And what about that crippled martial artist! Why was he so weak? If he had even a fraction of the power possessed by those two cultivators, he could have killed that madman!

Many animals, before they die, wish to be buried in the place they are most familiar with, and for Li Shen, the place he was most familiar with at this moment was the interior of the high platform.

His blood was nearly drained, and even his voice was reduced to a hoarse screech in his throat. Like a wooden puppet, his entire body was utterly numb, knowing only to crawl toward that direction.

Li Shen did not know why he wanted to crawl there, but he felt an overwhelming urge to do so.

The onlookers surrounding the high platform pressed against both sides, lingering with a sense of dread as they watched the former young master of the Li family reduced to such a state.

Flashes of light occasionally pierced upon his body, and more and more people gathered here, including many common folk.

Initially, there was pity, because they did not know who it was.

Upon recognizing that blood-soaked face, however, they burst into cheers, and some even picked up stones from the roadside to hurl at his head.

Others went straight to their knees, tears streaming from their eyes as they muttered under their breath.

Every time a sword light landed on Li Shen’s body, the crowd would celebrate loudly.

The commandery governor pointed at Li Shen, smiled at the general, and said, "Look, this is the will of the people."

The general smiled with an ambiguous expression.

Both of them understood what was really going on, but since no one wanted to expose it, it had to be buried. Now that a corner of this paper window had been poked through by Xie Peiling, that particular spot was simply discarded.

He had arrived. Li Shen crawled into the high platform, lifted a corner of the curtain, and found a familiar head lying on the ground.

It was the head of the old immortal, lying in a pool of blood with his tongue severed and his eyes pierced through.

He was scared out of his wits.

The people outside also caught sight of this scene and began to tremble all over. What was going on?

Just moments ago, he had been fine, even claiming he would rest for a moment before bringing everyone an even better performance. Why was he now dead in such a tragic manner?

Meanwhile, a young girl sat upon a chair.

Li Shen raised his head with extreme difficulty to look at that vaguely familiar face. He knew who this person was.

This person was the leader of the alliance among those individuals!

Since two people had died because of him, causing their scheme to fall through, she would surely hate him. The more he disrupted her important affairs, the more she would despise him.

Moreover, as far as he knew, this person had been in Douyuan Commandery for a full month. With so much time passed, there must have been many undertakings, and she would inevitably be furious over this failure. If he hadn't provoked Xie Peiling beforehand, none of this would have happened!

Therefore, he could survive!

Li Shen had tortured many people in his life, and he knew that the more one hated someone, the less one wanted them to die quickly; instead, they would wish to inflict endless torture upon them.

So, torture me quickly!

Go and stop Xie Peiling! He is heavily injured and no different from a dead man. If he dares to make a move, use your sword to kill him!

Hurry up and let time pass!

The young girl’s face was as cold as frost. Without uttering a single word, she merely flicked her finger.

Li Shen died. His eyes were wide open, utterly unable to believe the scene before him.

The young girl stood up, stretched lazily, and a weary expression was revealed as a gust of wind blew the curtain aside.

Along with the two heads resting beneath her feet.

She looked at Xie Peiling and said softly, "Hello, my name is Lu Shuiqing. Very glad to meet you."

As soon as she finished speaking, pages of a book turned sequentially, and six ellipses dripped onto the final black ink.

A few more lines of text were added to the first volume of the *Biographies of Yang Zu's Flying Swords*.

Xie Peiling slowly shook his head as a new scroll of scriptures flooded his mind.

*The Comprehensive Manual of Chenzhou Amulets*

It was divided into five categories: Introductory Chapter, Supplication and Exorcism, Healing, Suppression, and Various Techniques.

Before he could even glance at the first page, Xie Peiling found himself lying on a heated brick bed, a ray of morning light filtering through the window and spilling onto his youthful face.

The moment he opened his eyes, a figure suddenly appeared in the room—who else could it be but Xu Yuanming?

He pressed his finger against Xie Peiling's head, detecting not a trace of abnormality.

"Strange, how could this be? Could that old thief Jiang have used some other trick right before his death?"

Xie Peiling asked, "What's wrong?"

Xu Yuanming replied, "You passed out, so I brought you into the room. Then, for some unknown reason, severe injuries inexplicably appeared on your body, reaching right down to your foundations. If you hadn't been practicing the 'Immortal-Slaying Law' prior to this, you probably would have died."

Hearing this, Xie Peiling felt a chill run through his hands and feet. Although he had previously anticipated that dying in that world would also cause his actual self to die in the real world, experiencing this truth firsthand still left him shaken with lingering fear.

Xu Yuanming said, "Get some good rest. Don't cultivate for a while, and just wait and see how things develop."

Although he had never actually seen Xie Peiling practice cultivation, he still offered the warning all the same.

Xie Peiling nodded. He felt mentally alert and full of vitality.

However, unable to withstand Xu Yuanming's insistence, he had no choice but to close his eyes.

Once closed, an entire day passed. When he woke up, Xie Peiling felt sore all over, with his spiritual power faintly stirring as if trying to guide itself.

He grimaced for a long time before finally managing to stand up.

Wang Shiming was currently arranging flowers. Catching sight of Xie Peiling coming out, he glanced sideways and said, "Still able to stand up? Not bad. You took a blow from that old freak and didn't die—quite interesting."

Xie Peiling gave him a blank look. Wasn't this just a roundabout way of praising himself? Yet, too lazy to argue, he simply asked, "What's to eat?"

Wang Shiming grinned broadly. "Eat my foot! What time is it? Where would there be food?"

Hearing this, Xie Peiling turned on his heel and walked straight outside without looking back.

"Dammit, this little brat..."

Seeing Xie Peiling's fading shadow, Wang Shiming muttered a curse, then rubbed his own chest.

"Tch... This sensation is truly unpleasant..."

He could feel his own cultivation foundation trembling, to the extent that it even threatened his life.

That was why Wang Shiming had praised Xie Peiling; after all, given his own level of cultivation, he had nearly perished, yet the young man before him had not only survived, but his entire realm had actually grown even more solid.