I’ve Led the Villain Astray, How Do I Fix It?
Chapter 402
He was in a very bad state at that time. His face was very pale, and he was lying on his bed in silence. If it were not for the slight rise and fall of his chest that proved he was still breathing, Xu Ziyan almost thought he was dead.
“Zirong!” Xu Ziyan exclaimed and rushed over. Placing his fingers on his wrist, spiritual power flowed into his body without any hindrance.
After carefully examining Xu Zirong’s body, Xu Ziyan was shocked to find that Xu Zirong was in incredibly good shape. Not only was he not injured, even the spiritual power in him was very active showing faint signs that it was flowing.
How can this be??
Xu Ziyan had the spiritual roots of lightning. Judging from the speed of absorbing spiritual energy, he was a cultivator who was far beyond cultivators of the same level. Xu Zirong’s original three spiritual roots were also upgraded to the wood-type heavenly spiritual root after Xu Ziyan kept feeding him the five-element condensing dew. Although it might not be as pure as a natural wood-type heavenly spiritual root, it was not far off.
The two were equally powerful in terms of spiritual roots. Although Xu Zirong’s Blood Sea Heart Sutra provided a certain bonus, it could not be compared to the abundant dragon spiritual power Xu Ziyan obtained in the True Dragon Maze. If not for their regular dual cultivation sessions to balance their cultivation, Xu Zirong would not have been able to advance to the nascent soul stage.
However, reality was so strange. In theory, Xu Zirong cultivated slower than Xu Ziyan, yet he was one step ahead of him to advance to the middle stage of nascent soul. That was very unreasonable no matter how he thought about it.
When something was unusual, there must be demon possession. Besides, when they entered Ghost Jiangnan, Xu Zirong’s cultivation level showed no signs of breakthrough, so why was it happening now?
Where did that surge of spiritual power come from? Would it have any negative effects on Xu Zirong?
Thinking about those questions made Xu Ziyan’s head spin, but if they were unsolved, he was worried that Zirong might in any danger!
“Tell me clearly about what happened when you entered here.” Xu Ziyan reluctantly calmed down. After confirming that Zirong did not seem to be in immediate danger, he shifted his attention to Tianle.
Seeing Xu Ziyan, who had always been very kind and cheerful, looking at him with such sharp eyes, Tianle suddenly felt a chill in his back… Damn it, why do I have the feeling of facing Master!
Under the pressure of Xu Ziyan’s aura, Tian Le honestly recounted the events. However, Xu Ziyan did not gain any useful information from his account. It seemed that the other party was brought there by a servant in yellow just slightly earlier than himself.
Knock, knock, knock!
There was a light knock on the door.
Xu Ziyan and Tianle followed the sound and happened to see a servant in blue standing at the door with a charming smile.
“Dear guests, my master requests your presence.”
Xu Ziyan pursed his lips and looked at Xu Zirong, who was lying unconscious on the bed, with a slightly gloomy expression.
The servant in blue blinked, kindly explaining, “You can rest assured, there won’t be any danger here.”
Xu Ziyan glanced at her expressionlessly, wanting to retort that they were the greatest danger there.
However, on second thought, if the other party wanted to use Zirong to threaten him, they would not let them meet at all. From that point of view, the so-called ‘master’ might not necessarily harbor ill intentions towards them.
“Lead the way.” Xu Ziyan said in a calm tone, suppressing the anxiety in his heart and his worry for Xu Zirong.
Tianle looked at the servant in blue, and then at gloomy Xu Ziyan. He promptly shut his mouth and followed behind Xu Ziyan obediently, like a well-behaved daughter-in-law.
Xu Ziyan was somewhat surprised to see Tianle’s tactfulness. However, upon further thought, the three of them were like grasshoppers tied together. Now that Xu Zirong was in a deep sleep, and he himself was feeling extremely irritable due to Zirong’s unconsciousness, as long as Tian Le was not foolish, he would not choose to cause trouble at present. Otherwise, it would just be a joke to others.
Under the guidance of the servant, the two of them returned all the way to the living room where Xu Ziyan was waiting. As soon as they entered, they saw an elegant woman sitting at the head of the living room, wearing luxurious clothes.
The woman lowered her eyes and was blowing gently towards an opened tea cup. Upon hearing movement, she raised her gaze. Her light gray eyes shimmered, and her black pupils seemed like deep pools, drawing in anyone who met her gaze, completely captivating them.
If it were an ordinary man, upon seeing such a beautiful and delicate woman, he would inevitably have a moment of distraction. That woman would seize that moment to probe the person’s soul and memories. As for how much she could uncover, it depended on the person’s strength and mentality. However, most of the time, the tactic was effective.
Of course, if someone was constantly engaging in wrongdoings, they should not hold onto false hope, because they would face the consequences eventually. The woman suffered a terrible loss in Xu Ziyan’s presence.
Xu Ziyan had always been by Xu Zirong’s side. It was unknown how many bedsheets they rolled in. With such an intimate relationship, coupled with the fact that Best Actor Xu would do some role-playing from time to time, Xu Ziyan was already used to encounters with various beauties. Let alone getting distracted, he did not even lift an eyelid.
The delicate woman’s tactic failed for the first time, so she could not help being a little surprised. Then, she attempted to probe Xu Ziyan’s soul, but who knew that his protector, Victory Greenie, struck back.
(Little Greenie: o(￣ヘ￣o#) Master, it’s been so many years, why haven’t you made any progress at all!)
Having lost a small party of her consciousness, the delicate woman finally dared not underestimate Xu Ziyan anymore. She lightly chuckled, regained her composure, and ordered the servant to invite both of them to have a sit and serve them a cup of fragrant tea.
Xu Ziyan and Tianle looked at each other, exchanging glances, then sat quietly in their seats.
The hall was spacious and quiet, with only a faint scent of tea wafting in the air. However, the three people in the room were like stone or wood-carved sculptures, none of them spoke first.
After waiting for a long while, Xu Ziyan, who was concern about Xu Zirong’s body, spoke first.
“I wonder— how should I address this fellow Daoist?”
Other than the recent attack, Xu Ziyan could not sense the woman’s presence in his divine consciousness at all. Therefore, he could only speculate that her cultivation base should be roughly equivalent to his, or just slightly higher.
The reason why he did not guess that the opponent’s strength was far superior to his own was because in the cultivation world, having a big fist was the ultimate truth. If the opponent could really crush him, then no matter what the other party wanted to do, they would not adopt such attitude.
The woman smiled gently, her voice was very pleasant, “I am the master of this city, you can call me City Master Qi.”
“Alright, City Master Qi, may I ask the reason you brought us here?” Xu Ziyan responded gracefully, but due to Xu Zirong’s coma, his tone was a little provocative.
City Master Qi took a sip of tea, and said softly, “Fellow Daoist, you worried too much. I was just inviting you to come over and get acquainted. After all…” Her beautiful eyes swept over Xu Ziyan and Tianle with a gentle smile, “You’ve already entered the realm of devils, so you’ll be regarded as one of my residents in the future. It is rare for newcomers to appear, and I’m quite curious.”
Xu Ziyan slightly frowned, “City Master Qi, what do you mean?” Was she possibly thinking of forcing them to stay?
City Master Qi picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the corners of her mouth, “I don’t mean anything. Most importantly… what are your intentions? That friend of yours doesn’t seem to be in good shape, does he?”
“How so?” Xu Ziyan did not get angry because of her words, but just tapped lightly on the table.
City Master Qi glanced at him, and was quite satisfied with his reaction. After all, patience was a key quality for someone who would be working for them. If they were impulsive in nature, they would never entrust the newcomers with any tasks.
“Do you know what happened to your friend?” City Master Qi asked.
A cold light flashed in Xu Ziyan’s eyes, “Do you possibly… know?”
City Master Qi gave a faint glance, “You don’t have to be so wary of me. The reason why he became like that was not because of us. We don’t have that kind of great ability.” After she finished speaking, she sneered, “In fact, you have to thank your…”
Xu Ziyan’s breathing was stagnant. Was it… because of him that Zirong became like that?
“… red veil!”
Xu Ziyan: …
“What does that red veil have to do with it?” Tianle asked promptly.
City Master Qi raised her eyebrows and just said two words, “That’s a…” She seemed to have thought of something before ending her speech.
“Forget it.” She waved her hand irritably, “To summarize, the Thousand Miles of Fated Marriage… which is the red veil, has devilish energy that was absorbed by your friend. The amount of devilish energy was not too much. In theory, he should not be able to bear it, but he’s lucky. His cultivation technique seems to be derived from devil’s technique, so he has a certain resistance to the devilish energy. That’s why he can digest the devilish energy by forcibly advancing his cultivation base.”
She glanced at Xu Ziyan, “Unfortunately, your friend’s chance of success is slim. The purity of the devilish energy is still too high. It won’t work even if he transforms the devilish energy into spiritual energy. You’d better be mentally prepared.”
Xu Ziyan’s face darkened when he heard that, “Is there no other way to improve the success rate? We can’t just sit back and watch.”
City Master Qi also sighed silently, “There’s no good solution, unless…” She raised her head and glanced at both Xu Ziyan and Tianle, then shook her head lightly, “Impossible.”
“Unless what!” Xu Ziyan was anxious.
City Master Qi said softly, “If he has a dual cultivation partner, perhaps they can help him by dual cultivation, but both of you are men, so how… Hmm? Why are you looking at him like that?”
City Master Qi looked at Tianle suspiciously, because Tianle was staring at Xu Ziyan with a meaningful gaze.
Xu Ziyan: …
“Could it be that…” City Master Qi stared at Xu Ziyan with disbelief.
Xu Ziyan’s face turned bright red, averting his gaze awkwardly and trying not to listen to the exclamation of surprise from City Master Qi’s mouth…
Damn it, I suddenly feel so embarrassed!
Regardless of how City Master Qi felt about the two men becoming cultivation partners, Xu Ziyan was still very happy to have found a way to help Xu Zirong.
