Chapter 124 - The Harem Rescue Project

The waves beneath the riverside grove churned rapidly, bubbles gurgling to the surface. The swaying reeds turned faintly black at their bases, and the pungent smell of something burnt began to spread with the wind. An ominous threat loomed closer, unnoticed by the throng of oblivious mortals. Xiao Lanle found herself amidst the crowd. The instant she sensed the smell, she was alert, instinctively enveloped by sword energy that emanated protectively from her weapon. Lin Qianshuang focused intently, sketching with a brush half her height. A barrier abruptly formed from the trail of demonic energy she had left behind, creating a semi-arch shield. Xiao Lanle thoughtfully touched the barrier, turning to Lin Qianshuang, and impatiently conveyed through transmission, "Senior Sister, you called me here to gaze at the night scene only to construct a protective formation?" "Follow me." Lin Qianshuang's magical tool vanished as she reached out to grasp Xiao Lanle's wrist. The two dashed along the riverbank, gliding through the crowd and riding the wind. Abruptly, the sky burst into a spectacular fireworks display. A light formation hung suspended, displaying "Happy Birthday" above them as they moved. The ground beneath them shimmered with silver patterns—a sword formation shifting in design. Xiao Lanle looked calmly at Lin Qianshuang, her eyes sparkling with delight. Her lips curled gently upward as she tightened her grip on Lin Qianshuang's cool hand, subtly interlocking their fingers. A celestial crane circled high above, descending to Xiao Lanle's feet. This crane was the immortal pet raised by her late sect leader father. Kneeling, Xiao Lanle reminisced as she gently petted the crane's head. With its beak, it held a small pouch. She retrieved it and opened it, releasing a swarm of luminescent powder butterflies that fluttered around her, some alighting on her shoulder and softly beating their translucent wings. The powder butterflies hailed from the depths of the demon realm's frigid zones, their lifespan outside that realm fleeting, lasting only a few days. Xiao Lanle gingerly touched the fragile wings of a butterfly, its delicate life vibrating as if it might vanish at any moment. "Junior Sister, I didn't get a chance to give you a gift on your birthday. Think of this as my belated present. Last time, you shielded me from heavenly lightning at the cost of a protective garment. I've specially crafted a new one for you to try on. I hope it fits." Lin Qianshuang's smile was faint as she handed over the garment, her gaze inadvertently drifting towards the crowd and the river. In the original story, a serpent demon emerged from the river, devouring over a dozen people by the shore. This was precisely why she brought Xiao Lanle here. The serpent demon's poison would cause hallucinations, deranging its victims into mindless zombies. The entire city would descend into chaos. Once restored to strength, the serpent demon would break into the monastery's Demon Sealing Tower and shatter the firm gluttonous fiend's seal. If Junior Sister Xiao could slay this serpent demon and use its blood to treat the poisoned, she'd not only earn merit and goodwill but also possibly consume the demon's core to gain immunity to all poisons. Xiao Lanle accepted the garment, channeling her true essence to create a single green leaf that revealed every layer of concealed demonic energy around them. Turning back to Lin Qianshuang with amused eyes, her expression iced over as she faced away. She despised being kept in the dark and clandestinely manipulated. Someone she cherished gazed at her with such affectionate eyes, making her feel like an unruly child yet to mature. Stowing the garment, Xiao Lanle lamented, "Senior Sister, Senior Brother Chen didn't die. Why didn't you tell me?" "The City Lord wanted him dead. It was an urgent decision I made." Mentioning Chen Shangqing left an inexplicable discomfort in Lin Qianshuang's heart. She replied, "He's alive, after all. You were bound to find out." Xiao Lanle locked eyes with Lin Qianshuang, saying, "Senior Sister, you're hiding something from me." Caught off guard by Xiao Lanle's beautiful dark eyes, Lin Qianshuang averted her gaze, "Junior Sister, what could possibly be hidden from you?" Suddenly, a face closed in, and a tickling sensation brushed Lin Qianshuang’s neck and chin. Scorching lips trailed from her cheek to her ear. "Seems like it's more than one thing." Clang! Xiao Lanle tossed her sword to the ground, sending ripples through the sword formation, a few runic patterns flickering into obscurity. The shoulder fabric was tugged down, revealing bare skin, warm breath tingling against it. "Senior Sister, if you truly wish to give me a birthday gift, why not give yourself to me?" Xiao Lanle nestled against Lin Qianshuang's shoulder, her eyes smoldering with enticing light as she grinned charmingly, "You know this—I'm more interested in you than these intangible things." "You..." Lin Qianshuang, momentarily irked, seized Xiao Lanle's hand from trailing along her split garments, quickly regaining composure. Her tone turned cool and firm, "Miss City Lord, please mind your manners." Under the night sky, fireworks blossomed like ephemeral flowers. The shimmering light wall illuminated their elegant features, the butterflies flitting around them, painting a peaceful and serene picture. Stepping back, Xiao Lanle restored Lin Qianshuang's peace of mind. She fixed her gaze on the river's commotion; the protective array along the bank was robust, leaving her untroubled about the crowd's safety. A sudden chill brushed her neck, the sword edge pressed against her throat. "What exactly is your purpose for bringing me here?" The amusement faded from Xiao Lanle's eyes as she pointed her sword at Lin Qianshuang, demanding, "Did you follow the City Lord’s orders in my father's death?" "Xiao Lanle, what exactly are you asking?" Lin Qianshuang's mind froze, caught off guard by Xiao Lanle's sudden question. After a moment, she responded, "I didn't kill him just on the City Lord's orders. More so, because he deserved death." "I thought Senior Brother Liang was lying to me," Xiao Lanle whispered, her grip tightening slightly around Lin Qianshuang's neck. Her elegant face twisted into a grotesque semblance of a smile, her voice catching, "So it was all true. You killed my father with your own hands." "The City Lord of Tianxu, Liang Jingxuan—I hated them for their insatiable greed that harmed me and those around me. But you, Senior Sister, what was your reason?" Lin Qianshuang suddenly realized she had been led into a trap. Despite the grip on her neck, she gazed fearlessly at Xiao Lanle, "Junior Sister, things are far more complicated than you think. Don't do anything you'll regret." Xiao Lanle suddenly laughed, a wildness in her eyes, "Given the situation, why should I care about the City Lord’s opinion anymore? She ruined you; the Senior Sister I liked isn’t here anymore." "Then let me destroy you completely." Releasing her grip, her eyes darkened dangerously as she moved her hand toward Lin Qianshuang's throat, "You're my woman, the furnace the City Lord gifted me. Even if excessive absorption cripples your meridians, the City Lord wouldn’t suspect a thing. Maybe I should just destroy your throat—and your limbs as well. What do you say to that?" Xiao Lanle grasped Lin Qianshuang's chin, lightly laughing, "So long as you're alive, isn't that enough?" Anticipating Xiao Lanle's reaction, Lin Qianshuang dodged her hand aimed at her throat. Swiftly, she wielded her sword and used demonic energy to forge chains that coiled toward Xiao Lanle's limbs. Xiao Lanle caught the chains with one hand, eyes growing colder, "Materializing objects from demonic energy—your cultivation level is that high? Why do you pretend weakness with me?" "Because you're my Junior Sister," Lin Qianshuang said softly, kindness in her voice, her serene gaze seemingly pacifying the agitated Xiao Lanle, "and because you’re the one I want to protect for a lifetime." Xiao Lanle stilled momentarily, her wild emotions calming as she met Lin Qianshuang's tranquil gaze. Taking advantage of Xiao Lanle’s respite, Lin Qianshuang swiftly bound her limbs tightly to the ground. Monsters within the river were about to emerge. She had only left a single gap in the formation at their location, but Xiao Lanle's focus had shifted entirely to her, even squeezing out her confession about Xiao Shen’s murder. Plans rarely withstand change. Lin Qianshuang hurried to kneel beside Xiao Lanle, attempting to calm the surge of divine power within her. Touching her chest, she sensed a powerful force—not belonging to the Buddha Seal of Glaze. Could it be that Xiao Lanle had completely tamed the Buddha Seal of Glaze into her own artifact? But why did her emotions differ, making her so extreme and rash? "Deceiver. Senior Sister, you're a liar!" Xiao Lanle's eyes flared green, sword light surging, aiming at Lin Qianshuang's limb meridians. Lin Qianshuang quickly retreated, her demonic energy clashing against the sword light, forcibly withstanding over a dozen strikes. Suddenly, her spine seared with pain, her consciousness swaying. It was a parasite, moving along her spine, slicing through flesh. Lin Qianshuang's eyes widened in shock. Strange protrusions surfaced on the river, the serpent demon twisting its wet, massive black-scaled body, lunging from the river behind Xiao Lanle, its long, crimson tongue darting to her face. Xiao Lanle hadn’t activated the parasite; it was the unease-driven parasite forcing their connection with the charm spell. Even knowing the truth, would Junior Sister Xiao, given her nature, ever want to harm her? Lin Qianshuang felt a snap in her mind, swinging her sword at the serpent demon, using talismans she had stored in the jade slip against the creature. Junior Sister Xiao seemed disoriented by the serpent's poisonous mist; if not for her high cultivation, she would have been enslaved by the monstrosity. Lin Qianshuang had intended to use the wall of light to isolate those at risk by the shore from the poison, reducing city casualties. Now it seemed she had inadvertently trapped them in danger. A low, threatening hiss sounded. The serpent's barbed tail slammed the ground. A fog of poison abruptly surrounded Lin Qianshuang, blocking her path to Xiao Lanle. “Such enviable cultivation, yet the novice doesn’t know how to harness it. Hiss, such pure spiritual power—a bite might be too much, risking the shattering of my dantian.” A gray-clad youth emerged from the fog, belching as if satisfied, cynically muttering to the air. Before Lin Qianshuang could see clearly, the youth appeared before her, extending his neck. His snake-patterned face bore shimmering yellow eyes that never blinked, sniffing her with pursed lips, “For a spirit beast of your caliber to end up here. Isn’t the human realm beneath divine beings like you?” The youth’s serpentine form inquired, resentment in his tone, "Is this why you're here—to protect a mortal?" The gray-clad youth eyed Lin Qianshuang up and down, noting her mediocre level of cultivation and her wary gaze. Suddenly, his eyes gleamed with malicious intent. “A spiritual beast of such caliber—what incredible luck for me. Just as I escaped the Demon Sealing Tower, I stumble upon a suitable spiritual furnace.” He chuckled, a sinister expression spreading across his face. “To fuel my cultivation long-term, what a coincidence.” Lin Qianshuang slightly opened her palm, where the blood mark left by Mu Weiyin used to be vibrant red but now was dimming. The City Lord would have received her signal by now. As the gray-clad youth circled her, she also discerned the serpent demon’s characteristics. This serpent demon had cultivated for over a millennium, freed from a broken Demon Sealing Tower. His power reached the level of a demon lord, and he had served as a fierce general under the gluttonous fiend's command during its havoc a century ago—a force not to be underestimated. Lin Qianshuang spoke calmly, “You've eaten quite well already. Aren’t you being too greedy seeking more from a furnace?” She added, “Heaven's rules dictate that practitioners must not seize others' companions; aren’t you afraid that a divine lightning strike will smite you into a swamp’s mud worm?” “Are the two of you truly partners? Then why was the young lady so eager to attack and kill you?” the gray-clad youth sneered, unconvinced. Snapping his fingers, he brought Xiao Lanle before Lin Qianshuang, who leaned limply into her embrace. Lin Qianshuang supported Xiao Lanle’s waist. Suddenly, she felt a tickle on her palm—a few words sketched themselves out from where Xiao Lanle’s hand had slipped away. "All’s well. Aim for the snake’s seven inches, its weak point is the antlers. Look for the opportunity." Xiao Lanle was feigning unconsciousness. A glint of joy sparked in Lin Qianshuang’s heart; with the artifact on her side, she was immune to all poisons, unafraid of the serpent's venomous mist. It could only bewitch her temporarily. Together, they were buying time for the right moment, strategizing subtly, even as they appeared vulnerable.