Spirit Vessel

“That’s… more like it.” Nangong Hongyan became content and all the annoyance disappeared. She leaned her soft body on Feiyun while slowly closing her eyes. Her long eyebrows gently shook.

Her pair of eyes looked like amber in a spirit spring - gentle, beautiful, spirited, and full of love…

Feiyun continued: “Though I’m engaged with her, there is still another year till the wedding. I’m sure something big will happen in the dynasty then, and who knows if I will still be the Divine King at that point, so…”

“I’ll go wherever you go, even to the end of the world. One will find Hongyan standing next to Feiyun, never abandoning you even when the world grows decrepit.” She calmly said.

“Hongyan’er.” He hugged and tenderly caressed her shoulders. At this moment, it felt as if they were the only people left in the world.

Alas, they have forgotten another person inside the palace. She was quietly crying in the darkness.

The cold wind snuck in through the window lattices and made Hongyan’s veil flutter, revealing her smooth chin. On top was a radiating pair of lips, as red as jade. No other pair of lips could be prettier.

Just a corner of her face alone was shocking enough. This was also his first time seeing her chin and lips.

The moonlight above the palace descended on her, nearly illuminating the perfect and breathtaking features beneath the veil.

Feiyun couldn’t help himself from holding her neck with one hand and her ear with the other. He slightly raised the veil and smelled the sweet fragrance before kissing her honey lips. Electric coursed through their brain and made their soul shudder.

The greatest and most romantic thing was to quietly embrace a lover for a gentle kiss. A cataclysm couldn't ruin this moment.

Their lips finally parted after a long time. Feiyun licked his lips to bask in the sweet aftertaste.

“Wait a minute!” Feiyun’s expression suddenly changed after realizing that Ye Xiaoxiang was also in the palace. Why would she think after seeing him and Hongyan hug and kiss?

Hongyan also realized it as well. She already knew that Xiaoxiang was helping Feiyun so Xiaoxiang had to be in this palace as well.

Earlier, she was absent-minded and had completely forgotten until Feiyun blurted out.

“Sister Ye... “ She got out of Feiyun’s embrace and glared at him.

Feiyun quickly looked around the palace but Xiaoxiang was nowhere to be found.

How could she stay here and wait after seeing this scene? It would only further hurt her.

Most importantly, she thought he came to find her but now, she realized that it was all in her head. He was here to find Hongyan.

From beginning to end, she was only a wishful fool, at least in her mind. Thus, what was the point in staying as the third wheel?

“This isn’t good, people from Beauty’s Smile are certainly looking for her. Once she leaves, she’ll be captured and taken back.” Feiyun was blaming himself.

“Go and find her already, it’s too dangerous for her to be alone.” Hongyan’s flame emanated since she wanted to look for Xiaoxiang.

“You’re not going. She won’t go back with you anyway, leave it to me!” Feiyun held her back and said with a determined glare: “Trust me, I’ll bring her back, safe and sound.”

He jumped out of the palace with his Swift Samsara and released his divine intents to cover a large area before turning into a flying ray.

Long Cangyue noticed the ray crossing through the sky and started to think: “What is this guy rushing for?”

She also performed her specter-like movement technique and blended in with the night to give chase.

A thick layer of snow covered the streets. The gales brushed by and blew flakes all over the sky. Even pig iron would eventually crack from the frigid torture, so even cultivators didn’t come outside.

However, there was someone running and tripping on the street. It wasn’t because her cultivation was too low or that she was in a hurry; her mind was in disarray so her pace naturally followed suit.

‘Why are you even crying? There’s no reason to since there was nothing between you two.’ Tears didn’t listen to Xiaoxiang and continued to stream down her cheeks, faster than ever.

She held her dress and kept on running though she had depleted her spirit energy. Back then, she has never forgotten about escaping towards freedom. But today, she didn’t know where she wanted to run to.

In the end, fatigue had the best of her so she fell into the snow. She looked like a poor beggar now, perhaps even more pitiful.

“Thump, thump!” Footsteps rang by her ears.

“Finally found you, Xiaoxiang, return to Beauty’s Smile with us now!” An old woman with a walking stick was coughing, coming from the other side of the street. Her hair grayed while her face was covered in wrinkles. Nevertheless, her eyes were still sharp and fierce.

Her cheeks were bony while her wrinkled skin caved down in many spots. Just standing there, she exuded a chilling presence.

Xiaoxiang shuddered after hearing the woman’s voice. She looked up and bit her lips while shaking her head in fear: “Aunt… Aunt Qin, I don’t want to go back.”

This was the madame who bought and brought her to Beauty’s Smile. Xiaoxiang, of course, didn’t want to yield back then. Unfortunately, this woman was brutal and performed all types of torture on her.

Xiaoxiang’s cultivation was weak so she couldn’t bear the agony. In the end, she finally succumbed and obeyed.

“Xiaoxiang, have you forgotten all of my lessons? You think you can live after leaving Beauty’s Smile?” Aunt Qin raised her quivering finger towards Xiaoxiang.

A group of men in black numbered in the fifties followed her. Each was powerful with an old-style saber on their waist, brimming with bloodthirst. Among them were a few with surging qi images above their head.

This was Beauty’s Smile’s trained death squad. The third-ranked members have cultivated for several hundred years and have been at the Heaven’s Mandate realm for a while now.

After receiving the order, two men walked forward with eyes as cold as beasts. They mercilessly tied her hands and pulled her up. The pain caused her to bite down on her lips, causing blood to drip.

“Boom! Boom!” Aunt Qin’s stick struck like a venomous snake. Two black rays shot forward and the two men’s head exploded. Blood gushed all over Xiaoxiang, scaring her even more.

“Bastards, Fairy Xiang isn’t someone dirty men like you can touch. Death is not enough as atonement. Xiaoxiang, be good now, come back with Aunt Qin. Don’t misunderstand me though, I’m not trying to scare you, only disciplining the dogs that don’t listen.” She smirked deviously like a ghost beneath the moon. Her dried hand gently cleaned the blood off her stick; everything was purposely done before Xiaoxiang.

Xiaoxiang felt that she was a courageous woman but when standing before Aunt Qin, she was only a white mouse before a venomous snake.

Blood was still flowing down her beautiful face. It quickly froze because of the temperature. She lowered her head quietly while quivering and shrinking in fear.

Aunt Qin’s expression grew colder. She spoke with a harsh voice like sand grains grinding together: “So you want it the hard way? Who do you think you are? Only a slut who sells smiles. You think your musical abilities are amazing and many fawns over you? Haha, just wait for a few more decades when you’re only bones left, we’ll see if any man will take a second look at you, slut! Come, hit her, hit her hard until she begs for forgiveness!”

Two more ferocious men walked out with arms as tough as steel and began hitting Xiaoxiang.

They knew that as long as they didn’t kill her, just crippling her would be fine. Spirit pills would solve this problem later on.

“Boom!” Their tough fists issued detonation in the air.

Aunt Qin was looking quite twisted. The older the woman, the more they hated young and beautiful girls. Her face wasn’t the only twisted thing, even her mind was.

“You court death!” A loud shout came from the sky like thunder and made the street split in several places. The snow layer on the surface went flying.

Feiyun was here. He stood before Xiaoxiang, furious. He punched forward and shattered the arm of one of the assailants. Next, the force broke the guy’s entire body so he fell down, twitching on the ground like a pile of mud.