"Stop struggling pointlessly. If you come quietly with me, the clan head might spare your lives."
"Pah, go back with you? Do you think I'm stupid?" Yun Di gripped his knife tightly, his eyes fixed on them with a fierce determination to fight to the death.
"I gave you a chance, and you didn't take it. Kill Yun Di and take Sikong Kuang away."
"You're far too confident. Do you really think I'm useless?" Sikong Kuang's voice was low, and his pressure suddenly radiated outward, forcing them back a few steps.
They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with uncertainty, as if they hadn't expected Sikong Kuang to possess such strength. Hadn't the clan head already crippled his meridians long ago? How could he still be this strong?
"Hurry, send a message to Lord Ming. Sikong Kuang's meridians have been healed, and his strength exceeds our estimates. Request reinforcements."
"Do you think I'll give you the chance to send a message?" Sikong Kuang wasn't foolish enough to let them report back.
"Blazing Fire Dance." Sikong Kuang unleashed a wide-area attack, aiming for a quick resolution. Before they could send the message, they fell to his assault.
Seeing them all eliminated, Sikong Kuang finally relaxed. But that very relaxation caused him to collapse unconscious.
"Uncle, if you're going to pass out, at least give me the pill first. How am I supposed to save you like this?" Yun Di hoisted Sikong Kuang up and walked step by step into the cave.
After helping Sikong Kuang into the cave and laying him down, Yun Di could only start a fire inside and then go outside to find some fruit and water.
"Water... water..." In Yun Di's anxious wait, Sikong Kuang finally regained a sliver of consciousness. Yun Di quickly used a leaf to feed water into his mouth. His severely dehydrated body forced him to swallow the unknown liquid.
"Uncle? Uncle?" Yun Di shook Sikong Kuang, but after drinking the water, he passed out again.
Since Yun Di didn't know how to refine pills, he could only clean Sikong Kuang's wounds and bandage them with cloth.
Late at night, under the flickering light of the flames, the cold cave gained a bit of warmth.
"Cough, cough." Sikong Kuang slowly woke up in the firelight.
"Uncle, how are you feeling now?" Yun Di gently helped Sikong Kuang sit up.
Sikong Kuang didn't speak but coughed, and with the cough came blood.
"Uncle." At that moment, Yun Di's heart suddenly tightened with panic.
Years ago, his mother had also coughed incessantly until she coughed up blood. By the time her illness was terminal, the alchemist treating her finally said, "Your mother's condition is caused by poison, which has seeped into her marrow. My abilities are insufficient to refine a high-grade antidote."
If someone had told him earlier that his mother's coughing was due to poisoning, he could have sought an alchemist in time, and perhaps the tragic outcome wouldn't have occurred. But back then, his father didn't love his mother, so he thought it was a lie she made up to see him. Meanwhile, the second wife held power, and his mother had always been at odds with her. No one in the household listened to him, so by the time he finally found an alchemist, it was too late.
"I know what you're worried about, but rest assured. As an alchemy grandmaster, how could I be poisoned? It's just internal injuries causing me to cough up stagnant blood." Sikong Kuang understood his concern. He was also deeply remorseful about that incident. If he had been more attentive and noticed Sikong Yu's hatred for his sister earlier, perhaps she wouldn't have died.
"Uncle, what did Sikong Cheng do to you? Why does every fight with them leave you struggling so much? And every time you fight, their eyes show disbelief, as if you shouldn't be able to use those techniques. Though I was young when you last saw me, I still remember you were incredibly powerful—a renowned genius. But now..." Yun Di couldn't continue, looking at his injuries.
"My meridians were shattered by Sikong Cangran. Even after painstakingly healing them, I can't use powerful mystic techniques. Now, I can only rely on my pressure to scare them off." Sikong Kuang's heart ached at the memory of that past.
If he had been stronger back then, would A-Xiang still be alive? If he hadn't been so absorbed in alchemy and understood that the tallest tree invites the wind, would he have avoided Sikong Cheng's jealousy and ended up like this? If he had been more cautious and noticed Sikong Yu's betrayal earlier, would his sister not have died from poison?
But there are no ifs. Those who died because of him can never return, while those who betrayed him live more comfortably than ever. Now, even Sikong Cheng's lackeys can chase and mock him without restraint.
"I've lived such a failure of a life," Sikong Kuang couldn't help but mock himself.
"Uncle, there are still people in this world who need you. How can you say you've lived a failure?"
"I can't wait any longer. Not a single moment. Come, I'll take you to Ye Lanshan right now. With her help, we can seize control of the Sikong family and avenge you and my mother." Yun Di hoisted Sikong Kuang up to leave the cave, but Sikong Kuang remained calm.
"Go now? Do you think we won't be surrounded by Sikong Cheng's men the moment we step out?" He knew Sikong Cheng's nature too well. If they left boldly now, they wouldn't survive.
"Leaving early means being surrounded; leaving late means the same. Why not take a gamble?" Yun Di couldn't wait another second. He desperately wanted to find Ye Lanshan and tend to his wounds in a better environment.
"Let's rest for a day. I'll heal my injuries first, then we'll leave." Sikong Kuang had long outgrown his impulsive youth, especially after suffering betrayal and attacks. He was always cautious in his actions.
Hearing this, Yun Di fell silent. During Sikong Kuang's recovery, he didn't idle either. He used a transmission talisman to send a message to Ye Lanshan, then began a brief period of cultivation.
...
"Ye Lanshan isn't at the Ye residence during the day, and at night, we can't find any opportunity." The failed Black and White knelt trembling before Lü Qingse.
Lü Qingse wasn't angry but spoke softly, "No opportunity? When Ye Lanshan leaves the mansion, can't you follow her? What, after being away from the Abyss for so long, have you forgotten your assassin skills? It seems you need to return to the Abyss for further training."
Though her voice was gentle, it made Black and White tremble even more.
They hastily explained, "Miss, we haven't forgotten. But Ye Lanshan disappears the moment she leaves the mansion. We can't track her at all. And at night, Ye Luotian guards her constantly, never leaving her side. We can't get close."