Chapter 117 - The Harem Rescue Project

Du Shuang lowered his head and shifted his gaze to Lin Qianshuang, teasing her through their mental connection, "Xiao Shuangshuang, it's been a few months since we last met, and it seems you've truly got some skills. Managing to cozy up with the City Lord, huh? Come on, tell me, what sort of deal did you two make? Your relationship doesn't seem ordinary at all." Lin Qianshuang quickly withdrew her hand from Mu Weiyin's grasp. Seeing the twitch at the corner of Mu Weiyin's mouth, she said, "You know the City Lord's temper, don't tease me." She then changed the subject, asking, "And what about you and Master Jing Hua? How are you two doing?" Du Shuang couldn't help but smile a little, giving Lin Qianshuang a sidelong glance as he said, "What do you think? Your master is incredibly aloof. Even though she's rather awkward, when it comes down to it, she's the first to protect me." Lin Qianshuang smiled slightly and said, "That's... really nice." She looked at the overflowing joy and happiness in Du Shuang's eyes and felt happy for him. Yet, somewhere inside her, there was a hollow emptiness, almost as if it was filled with heavy stones, making indescribable discomfort. The feeling of envy came upon her strangely but faded quickly from the depths of her heart. Before Lin Qianshuang could ponder further, her vision suddenly spun, and she felt her body becoming light and airy. Looking down, she found herself half-transparent, with a lifeless body lying below her. Her physical body had already fainted and fallen, so why was she still standing here unscathed? Had she experienced an out-of-body experience? Upon realizing this, Lin Qianshuang attempted to return to her body, but her spirit was repelled and couldn't re-enter. She tried multiple times, all failing. She stood there, clueless and at a loss. In her current form as a ghost, she couldn't perform any spiritual techniques, but the sword formed from demonic energy in her hand still seemed usable. "Senior Sister Lin, do you remember your engagement with the second son of the Chen family?" A man dressed in black emerged from a rupture in the space, and everyone present suddenly froze, unable to move. Lin Qianshuang sat beside her fainted physical body, watching as a young man approached and removed his hood. Her face showed no surprise, but her palms suddenly clenched in sweat. She calmly said, "Junior Brother Liang truly has remarkable luck. Despite being struck by several swords, you survived. Even the heavenly way has favored you, sending down lightning and saving your life." "You're nothing more than a drifting soul now. Does angering me like this not make you afraid of what I might do to you?" Liang Jingxuan approached Lin Qianshuang. He had no intention of hiding his identity from her and removed his mask. Looking at Lin Qianshuang's face, which both unsettled and captivated him, he reached out to help her up, saying hesitantly, "Senior Sister, Chen Shangqing traded the right to use the Wàn Bǎo Pavilion with me to take your life. Everyone in the Penglai Immortal Sect believes you're already dead. Now, with your soul separated, once the ritual of the ghost marriage begins, you'll have one foot in the underworld. Once your birth date aligns with the second son of the Chen family, your name will be erased from the register of life and death." Lin Qianshuang glanced at the ground, noticing her physical body was gradually transforming into a silver beast, laying there listlessly. Liang Jingxuan pulled Lin Qianshuang up from the ground, his eyes reddening as he pressed on her shoulders, urgently saying, "Senior Sister, though I, too, am in a soul form now and my original body is yet to recover, helping you escape the ghost marriage is a piece of cake. If your soul doesn't return within three hours, you'll dissipate completely. We are from the same place, so well-matched. Why should we be thwarted by a group of irrelevant people? Just give me a word, and if you're willing to be with me, I..." Lin Qianshuang chuckled coldly, cutting off his long-winded speech, "Liang Jingxuan, you're here to take my soul. Why bother with all this pretentious talk? Pretending to be righteous while acting as a scoundrel, do you think your words will make me grateful and profess love to you just to save my life?" She observed the slight twist in his face and gently smiled, saying, "Sorry, but the Lin Senior Sister you liked is long gone. As for me, Lin Qianshuang, I have no affection at all for a scum like you." With a life-and-death contract with Mu Weiyin, Lin Qianshuang oddly felt secure. Even without this safety net, she's not foolish; there must be a way to disrupt the ghost marriage ceremony. Asking her to beg the protagonist? Tsk, think again. Liang Jingxuan's eyes were filled with reluctance and pain, wavering as he said, "Senior Sister, I don't want to harm you. But if you remain so stubborn, persisting in your mistakes, you'll only end up forfeiting your life! Xiao Lanle can't bring you happiness, only I can! I won't let you vanish. The Wàn Bǎo Pavilion is useful to me, but I'll find a way to deal with this ghost marriage too!" Lin Qianshuang smirked disdainfully, "You said the same thing when you threw me into a pool of crocodiles. You claim you don't wish to harm me, yet you already have. If you want the Wàn Bǎo Pavilion, just say so. Don't label your actions as love—it's disgustingly hypocritical, you know?" Attempting to touch her shoulder, Liang Jingxuan paused and pulled back his hand, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes as he said, "Senior Sister, I'm sorry!" With that, a soul-capturing banner appeared in his hand. Lin Qianshuang felt a force pulling her light body, and her vision rapidly plunged into darkness. Retrieving the soul banner, Liang Jingxuan donned his hood once more and vanished silently into the sky. Time, which had been immobilized, resumed its flow instantly. "Xiao Shuangshuang?" Du Shuang intended to communicate with Lin Qianshuang but realized her presence had disappeared. Instead, a small, furry lion-like beast appeared, lying still and rigid beside Mu Weiyin's feet. Du Shuang was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and said, "City Lord, look beneath your feet." Mu Weiyin crouched down and scooped up the furry bundle from the ground, while Du Shuang anxiously approached as well. Du Shuang checked Lin Qianshuang's breathing and turned to Mu Weiyin, asking, "City Lord, what happened to Jie Yu? Why can't I sense any demonic energy from her?" "She's been separated from her soul. Someone tampered with her right under my nose," Mu Weiyin replied coldly, withdrawing her spells with a severe and displeased expression. "It seems there are still those who can escape my Sky Eyes." Du Shuang looked at Lin Qianshuang in Mu Weiyin's arms, worriedly asking, "City Lord, Jie Yu is an important friend of mine. Please guide me and tell me how to save her." Mu Weiyin responded sharply, "Just now, I saw the two of you exchanging looks secretly. Now you're urgently asking how to save her. Are you two in a relationship?" Her piercing gaze made Du Shuang uneasy. Du Shuang quickly put on a flattering smile, saying, "City Lord, she's just a regular friend. You know I've been living with Jing Hua for quite some time." "Then you are not permitted to call her Xiao Shuangshuang anymore, or exchange those meaningful glances with her," Mu Weiyin stated with a slight furrow in her brow. "I've only ever called her by her code name; I wasn't aware of her real name, which you seem to know well. This closeness is inappropriate; you shall not refer to her so familiarly." Du Shuang stared back in bewilderment. Suddenly, a realization hit him: these two weren't just in a cooperative deal as she'd thought. The City Lord was clearly very taken with Lin Qianshuang, and her previous remarks were plainly out of jealousy. Perhaps the chief disciple of Jing Hua was about to soar, having caught the attention and possibly the affection of the City Lord herself. Du Shuang pondered for a moment but worried about what would happen if Xiao Shuangshuang was swept away by the City Lord. How would he explain this to the amnesiac Demon Domain Lord who had entrusted him to care for her partner? Mu Weiyin interrupted her thoughts, dissatisfaction in her voice, "What are you thinking? I asked for her real name." Du Shuang snapped out of it, handing Mu Weiyin a jade slip containing Lin Qianshuang’s detailed information. "Lin Qianshuang," Mu Weiyin softly whispered the name, as if caught in a trance. A part of her mind seemed shrouded, giving her a splitting headache. For a brief moment, she had an odd sensation as if she had called out that name a thousand times in her heart—engraved deeply with a tiny blade, raw and unforgettable. Mu Weiyin composed herself and instructed Du Shuang, "Lin Qianshuang is a trusted aide of mine. Once her mission is complete, I will have her transferred to the main building of the Tian Shu Intelligence Bureau to serve as the building's master. She is important to me too." Mu Weiyin continued, "Penglai Immortal Sect and Lingxiao Sword Sect are separated by a mountain range. The Celestial Bridge is the only way through, and I've calculated that something is to occur at the Celestial Bridge. Station your men there to ambush and catch those people in one sweep." "City Lord, wasn't the previous order to lead our troops to Penglai Immortal Sect to rescue the City Lord's wife?" Du Shuang asked hesitantly. Mu Weiyin paused with a hint of hesitation before resolutely instructing, "Proceed to Penglai Immortal Sect to rescue Xiao Lanle. I can save her by myself." The subordinates exchanged puzzled glances, unsure why the City Lord would forgo a chance to save her beloved personally to seek out a seemingly insignificant subordinate. --- Xiao Lanle pushed open the door to her room. The furnishings remained in disarray, chairs overturned haphazardly, and an iron cage fit for three hovered slightly, swinging from the ceiling's beams upon her entrance. A food box rested on the wooden table. She placed the Su Wen Sword upon it and opened the lid of the food box. Surprisingly, the dishes inside were still warm, exuding a tantalizing aroma. Lin Senior Sister, are you truly dead? But during the master's trial, she distinctly heard her voice. With trembling hands, Xiao Lanle sipped some soup, then swallowed a piece of pastry with tea, feeling an intense bitterness within her heart. Outside the room, a group of sect disciples awaited her quietly, the atmosphere somber and tense. Setting down her bowl and chopsticks, the vacant look in Xiao Lanle's eyes vanished entirely. She stepped outside and said, "Chen Shangqing seized the position of sect leader through private revenge, desecrated the first leader's tomb, stole the leader's spirit pearl, and allowed outsiders into our sect, causing chaos. He's even imprisoned the sect elders in the ancestral hall. "Do you truly wish to follow me to reclaim our sect’s leadership?" "All will follow your command," they replied in unison. Listening to the disciples' responses, Xiao Lanle's lips curled into a faint, chilling smile. Since Senior Brother Chen betrayed them and killed Lin Senior Sister, he couldn't blame her for being ruthless. A disciple spoke up, "Senior Sister once favored us with her kindness, yet now she's missing, her life and death unknown. Chen Shangqing is even forcing her into a ghost marriage with a deceased Lingxiao Sword Sect disciple, Sect Leader, you must intervene." Another disciple added, "Currently, Chen Shangqing and his traitors are in the Temple of Moon Old Man behind the Celestial Bridge. Sect Leader, we should catch them all there." Xiao Lanle smiled slightly, "No need for such trouble. Stay in the sect and rescue the elders. I can go alone." "Yes, Sect leader, we will act according to your instructions," the subordinates acknowledged.