He just wants to find a replacement - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A Murderous Night with Dark Moon and High Wind

Bai Lianhua felt a weakness from the massive loss of spiritual energy in his meridians. He gently bit his lower lip, silently catching his breath.

Tsk, is this really the end?

Just as he thought everything was over, several sounds of flying swords cutting through the air suddenly came from the sky, approaching from a distance.

Seeing this, Bai Lianhua slowly let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed his contingency plan was not too late.

Just as Bai Lianhua lowered his guard and thought he was finally safe, an unexpected turn occurred again.

The assassin, who he expected to give up upon seeing the patrol disciples, unexpectedly tightened his grip on his long sword and walked towards the group of people.

What is he trying to do!

This is the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect!

Before Bai Lianhua could question him, the other party adopted the same stance he had used to attack Bai Lianhua earlier.

Bai Lianhua’s heart churned as he watched the scene, completely losing the strength to even speak.

How dare he!

The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect is the undisputed head of the immortal sects right now. How dare this person openly slaughter the Venerable Immortal’s Dao Companion and the sect’s own disciples? Is he not afraid of being settled with by the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect in the future?

Or, is there someone else behind him?

Who is it!?

In a flash of lightning, Bai Lianhua grasped the key point.

The only ones who could easily send someone into the sect and ensure everything was seamless could only be core elders of the sect.

Although there was no direct evidence, Bai Lianhua could roughly guess who wanted him dead.

He frowned at the assassin before him, gritting his teeth, and turned to squeeze into the thicket.

Since the plan had failed, staying there would only mean waiting for death. It would be better to seize the opportunity and quickly leave while this group of people delayed the other party.

Bai Lianhua looked at Jing Bao, who was obediently nestled in his arms, his eyes hardening.

No matter whether he wanted to or not, the time for him to make a choice had come.

The “rustling” sound of leaves suddenly sounded, startling the assassin, who immediately stopped his action and looked back.

He saw that where Bai Lianhua had been, now only empty air remained amidst the swaying grass and leaves.

A group of patrol disciples also arrived at this moment and asked, “Hey, Senior Brother, it’s getting late. What are you doing in this remote area?”

The man scratched the back of his head and smiled apologetically, “My apologies for disturbing you Junior Brothers.”

“I was just trying out a new sword technique here. I didn’t expect the commotion to be so big, and that’s why…”

“If you’re testing sword techniques, you should return to the training grounds. If you act so recklessly again next time, we will have to report it to the Enforcement Hall for disposition.”

“Ahahaha, certainly, certainly, there won’t be a next time.”

After sending away all the disciples who had come at the sound, the man followed the direction of the swaying grass and leaves in hot pursuit.

But just as he turned around, a vibration came from his waist, making him stop in his tracks and reach for the communication talisman he had prepared earlier.

As soon as the talisman was opened, a shrill torrent of abuse rang out: “What in the world are you people doing! Did I waste an Elixir of Longevity just so you bunch of good-for-nothings could slack off!”

On the other end of the talisman was Ruolan, who had suffered the loss of the Elixir of Longevity yesterday.

Liu Suxin had entrusted the task of overseeing the assassination plot to her, to liaise with Duan Chongshan on related matters.

Upon learning that the plan had begun, Ruolan had been lingering on Cloud Mist Peak.

Although Liu Suxin had promised to compensate her after the deed was done, Ruolan still held a grudge.

Therefore, she would inquire about the current status through the communication talisman every so often, venting her resentment in the process.

Faced with the other party’s unwarranted abuse, the assassin on the other end couldn’t help but rub his forehead, “Sigh, my good lady, if it weren’t for your message just now, I would have succeeded already. Can you please stop getting in the way?”

“You! My master ordered me to supervise the battle, and you dare to say I’m getting in the way! Believe it or not, I’ll report it to Master right now and make sure you and that Duan fellow suffer the consequences!”

Listening to Ruolan’s intermittent voice from the other end of the communication talisman, the assassin could only lower his stance and comply, “Understood, understood. May I ask what urgent matter you have, my good lady? If there’s nothing, I’ll continue the chase now.”

“Wait!” Faced with the other party’s perfunctory attitude, Ruolan quickly spoke before he could cut off the transmission, “Where are you now? I’ll come over later.”

“Don’t even think about brushing me off, my good lady. I’ll come over personally to watch. If there’s still no result, you’ll pay dearly!”

“Yes, yes, yes,” the assassin replied with a casual, drawling voice, humoring her, “Sixty li east of Boundless Mountain.”

With that, he hung up the communication talisman, giving the other side no chance to speak again.

Looking at the yellow talisman that had burned to ashes before him, the assassin shook his head, “These days, money is hard to earn, and s**t is hard to eat.”

…

The crescent moon hung high in the night sky, constantly appearing and disappearing among the branches with the fierce wind, permeating a strange, hazy and shifting atmosphere.

Bai Lianhua dashed through the thicket under the cover of night, desperately fleeing into the depths of the forest.

His snow-white long robe was now covered in dust, and as he rushed along, it was repeatedly caught on surrounding branches, tearing off small pieces of fabric, now ragged and broken.

During his run, countless branches lashed out at Bai Lianhua, scratching wounds on his face and body.

The burning pain constantly buzzed in his mind, causing his condition to deteriorate.

But he couldn’t pay attention to these. The assassin who had been pursuing him was right behind him.

To summon the patrol disciples, Bai Lianhua had already used up most of his talismans and spiritual power, yet it had only delayed the opponent for a moment.

The only thing he could do now was run with all his might.

Bai Lianhua estimated how much farther his pace and spiritual power could support him, and then, slowly stopped.

Seeing this, the assassin also slowed his pace, pushed aside the branches in front of him, and let out a mocking laugh, “Oh, not running anymore?”

In response, Bai Lianhua just turned his head and returned a similar smile, “It’s about far enough to run here. Any further, and I’ll reach my limit.”

“Sorry, brother, someone is buying your life, and the price is high,” the assassin slowly pressed his sword against Bai Lianhua’s throat, his tone growing colder, “Honestly, they said you were just a useless Golden Core Stage cultivator, yet you’re so difficult to deal with.”

“Looks like I’ll have to ask them for more money.”

“Then your luck is really bad.”

Bai Lianhua’s voice suddenly rang out. The assassin quickly looked up, his face filled with surprise, and he instantly felt that something was missing around him.

That little kid!!!

Sensing the anomaly, he immediately turned and looked behind him, only to feel a sharp pain in his waist and abdomen.

Under Bai Lianhua’s raised smile, the assassin fell to the ground with a splatter of bl00d, his upper and lower body only connected by a thin layer of skin.

Bai Lianhua simply raised a hand towards the spot and hailed, “Let’s go, Jing Bao.”

…

The night wind carried a hint of chill, causing Ruolan, who was flying on her sword towards Boundless Mountain, to shiver. She immediately cursed, “Where did that Duan fellow find such a useless idiot? He makes me have to personally supervise the fight in the middle of the night.”

“When this is over, I must complain about him to Master and get my Elixir of Longevity back.” She tightened her outer garment and couldn’t help but sneeze twice.

Looking down, Ruolan glanced at the dense forest below, calculating her direction, but saw only a black expanse with nothing clearly visible.

Just then, a faint rustling sound caught her attention.

Ruolan steered her flying sword towards that area, found a tree trunk to hide behind, and quietly observed.

She saw a tattered white corner of clothing pass by her side, and the owner of the clothing was dragging two dark objects, heading towards Boundless Mountain.

After watching for a while, she finally recognized the person.

That was… Bai Lianhua!?

This unexpected discovery narrowed Ruolan’s eyes, and she secretly pouted.

The useless idiot Duan Chongshan found was completely useless, saying he was close to succeeding—even his excuse was unbelievable.

Thinking this, Ruolan was about to maneuver her flying sword to deliver a fatal blow to Bai Lianhua.

As long as she snatched this credit, she could openly ask her Master to retrieve her Elixir of Longevity and never have to deal with Duan Chongshan and his bunch of useless underlings again.

Ruolan was feeling pleased with herself when she saw Bai Lianhua emerge from the dense forest and walk onto the mountain path.

Without the cover of the trees, and with the aid of the moonlight, Ruolan finally saw clearly the two things Bai Lianhua was dragging—they were precisely the person who had communicated with her earlier.

She widened her eyes at the horrifying sight. For a moment, she even forgot to move the hand forming the spell sign, sucking in a breath of cold air.

At this moment, Bai Lianhua on the mountain path also turned his head and looked back at Ruolan. His gaze lingered on the jade token at her waist for a moment, then he asked indifferently, “Cloud Mist Peak? How much did you see?”

Suddenly meeting Bai Lianhua’s icy gaze, Ruolan hastily retreated, getting up in a tremble and fleeing into the distance, opening her mouth to scream.

Seeing all this, Bai Lianhua simply said calmly, “Jing Bao, kill her.”

The scene shifts to the back of Boundless Mountain.

The sound of “clanging, clanging” rang out as Bai Lianhua swung a hoe at the empty ground before him.

Behind him, two corpses were piled on top of each other, while Jing Bao sat on a stone, playing with a spirit fruit with great interest.

Bai Lianhua looked at the crude hoe handle rubbing raw, bloody marks on his palm and couldn’t help but sigh.

If only his spiritual energy hadn’t been depleted, a slight lift of his hand would have easily solved all his problems.

Sure enough, the plan was too rushed. He hadn’t gotten far from Boundless Mountain before running into so much trouble.

It wouldn’t do to just leave these two people in the forest. If someone discovered them the next day, pursuers would likely be on his trail before he had gone very far.

But there wasn’t anywhere he could hide them easily either, so Bai Lianhua had no choice but to drag the bodies all the way back to Boundless Mountain overnight.

When he finished dealing with everything and looked up, the sky was about to brighten. Bai Lianhua could only shake his head slightly.

Forget it, forget it. Today was really not a good day.

Fortunately, there were still about two days until the funeral ended. He still had time to choose a better opportunity to leave.

Cloud Mist Peak, within Seeking Fragrance Pavilion.

Liu Suxin was currently leaning on a soft couch, listening to the disciple before her report on the status within the peak.

These matters should have been handled by her chief disciple, Ruolan, but because the other party was busy with other things, she, the Peak Master, had to take her place.

The mundane administrative tasks were bothersome. Liu Suxin suddenly thought of her good disciple who was running around outside and turned to ask the disciple, “Where is your Senior Sister now?”