Heaven’s Shadow

“Pah!” Su Wen shouted angrily, “Who do you think you are? It’s definitely you, stirring up trouble in front of Sister Jun, making her angry with us. If we don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll think you’ve turned the world upside down?”

Su Qian sneered, “Mo Ge has been wanting to take it out on this guy for a long time. Take him back and let Mo Ge deal with him properly!”

Su Wen laughed heartily, walked over, and suddenly kicked Lu Chen in the thigh, grinning maliciously. “Yell out! Keep acting tough! Let’s see if anyone will come to your rescue today!”

“Hey, what are you doing?” Yi Xin shouted angrily from the side, but the Su family members ignored her completely. They pushed her aside and, with a large group of people, began to drag Lu Chen away, pushing, hitting, and cursing him, heading towards the Su family mansion.

Yi Xin was frantic, wanting to help but unsure how to proceed. Going back home was not an option; the Yi family was no match for the Su family, and her family would certainly be unwilling to offend them. Going up the mountain was also not viable; Lu Chen was just a lowly servant disciple, and no one would stand up for him.

Thinking it over, Yi Xin suddenly gritted her teeth and ran towards Kunlun Mountain. At this point, the only option was to seek help from the elders she knew, hoping that Aunt Yan would come down and save Lu Chen, considering her usual kindness towards Yi Xin.

However… would anyone be willing to offend the powerful Su family in Kunwu City, which had both substantial wealth and future geniuses, just for a trivial servant disciple? Even a Golden Core cultivator from the Kunlun Sect?

Yi Xin didn’t dare to think about these matters in detail, fearing that she would lose even the courage to run to Kunlun Mountain.

“Brother Lu, wait for me… I will find someone to rescue you!” The girl’s eyes glistened with anxious tears as she desperately ran towards Kunlun Mountain.

The Su family mansion was a well-known grand residence in Kunwu City. After many years of prominence, it was situated in a prime location and was highly noticeable. So, when a rowdy group dragged someone through the street, it immediately attracted the attention of many onlookers.

The gates of the Su Mansion were imposing, and there were specifically assigned gatekeepers. Hearing the commotion, several guards came out, looking somewhat dumbfounded and exchanging bewildered glances.

Soon, Su Qian, Su Wen, and the others arrived at the gates and proceeded to enter without any regard.

Among the gatekeepers, there was some pushing and shoving, but eventually, an elderly gatekeeper stepped forward with a苦笑 (bitter smile) and asked, “Young Masters, what is this all about?”

Su Qian snorted, “Old Li, my brother and I caught a thief on the way. We’re taking him back to teach him a lesson.”

Old Li glanced at Lu Chen among the crowd, his expression slightly changing. He forced a smile and whispered, “Young Masters, he’s wearing Kunlun Sect disciple robes.”

Su Qian frowned and looked back. Indeed, Lu Chen’s outer garment was just ordinary clothing, but the earlier pushing had revealed the Kunlun Sect disciple robes underneath.

Su Qian hesitated. After all, this was Kunwu City, and handling a Kunlun disciple with such violence might not look good, even if he was just an insignificant servant disciple.

However, Su Wen, standing aside, sneered and raised his voice, “Who saw? Who saw?” He then stepped forward and tightened Lu Chen’s clothing to cover the disciple robes, coldly looking at Lu Chen and saying, “You’re going to die today.”

From the beginning until now, Lu Chen had shown no sign of resistance. He just stood there, looking at Su Wen with a faint smile.

Su Wen found that smile exceptionally irritating and said angrily, “Take him inside. Damn it, if you’re still smiling when I deal with you later, I’ll change my last name!”

Standing aside, Old Li shook his head repeatedly. As an experienced elder, he could see there was something wrong, but he knew that these young masters were used to being arrogant and unruly, and he wasn’t in a position to change their minds.

So, a large group proceeded into the Su Mansion with a clamor, leaving the gatekeepers helpless.

Old Li furrowed his brow, sighed, and said, “This is going to be trouble!”

Someone nearby leaned over and asked quietly, “Li Bo, what should we do now?”

Old Li hadn’t spoken yet when another servant said, “The master is out. Should I report this to the lady?”

“Shut up!” Old Li said angrily, “These young masters, including Su Mo, are all spoiled by the lady. If you go and complain, do you think they won’t come back and break your legs and throw you out?”

The servant immediately fell silent, and the others looked around, unsure. Someone said, “Should we just ignore it then?”

Old Li sighed deeply and stomped his foot, “Forget it. We’re just servants. What can we do?”

The servants and guards all nodded in agreement, their eyes showing sympathy as they watched the figures of the Su family and Lu Chen disappear into the mansion.

—

On this day, Kunlun Mountain was clear and bright. There were many disciples coming and going, most of them in a relaxed and leisurely manner. Thus, when a young girl rushed up the mountain path, desperately running forward, she stood out strikingly.

Many people saw Yi Xin running and actively made way for her. Occasionally, acquaintances would ask her a question, but Yi Xin was usually too anxious to respond, only focused on running ahead with a worried expression.

As people watched her retreating figure and discussed among themselves, someone mentioned that she was the girl involved in the incident with He Gang that had caused a stir throughout the Kunlun Sect. Some even noted the faint scar on her cheek. However, Yi Xin paid no attention to these idle comments. She was consumed by her anxiety, feeling that the mountain path was extraordinarily long. She began to resent her own lack of cultivation, wishing she could fly like the Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivators, who could cover such distances in the blink of an eye.

After such a long time, would Brother Lu have encountered any accidents? Would he… be injured? Would those detestable Su family members do something to him?

Yi Xin felt as though she might cry from the stress. Finally, when her vision was almost blurred, she saw the silhouette of the Liuxiang Pavilion, where Aunt Yan was.

There were people in the room.

Without a second thought, Yi Xin burst in, throwing all formalities and etiquette aside. The doors slammed open with a loud and harsh sound.

Inside the room, there were two people sitting opposite each other. One of them was Yan Luo. She turned around in surprise and stood up, looking at Yi Xin and asking, “What’s the matter with you?”

“Aunt Yan, Aunt Yan, please help me! You have to help me!” Yi Xin, with a hint of tears in her voice, rushed forward and grabbed Yan Luo’s arm, shaking it as she spoke.

Yan Luo, however, misunderstood the situation and sighed, gently patting Yi Xin’s head with a kind expression. “Oh, dear, don’t be so anxious. Didn’t I tell you earlier? Your master’s breakthrough is indeed difficult, but it’s too early to say it has failed. We still need to wait patiently for a while. Don’t worry too much.”

Yi Xin shook her head vigorously. “No, no, Aunt Yan, it’s not that. A friend of mine has gotten into trouble in Kunwu City and has been captured. You have to help me and save him!”

“Hmm?” Yan Luo was startled and then frowned. “What exactly happened? Explain it clearly.”

Although Yi Xin was anxious, she had to explain. She briefly recounted the incident on Chang Street in Kunwu City and concluded urgently, “Aunt Yan, Brother Lu Chen has been taken to the Su family. Please save him!”

“Lu Chen? The Su family?”

At this moment, a surprised voice came from the side.

Yi Xin turned and was taken aback to see that the other person sitting opposite Yan Luo was Su Qingjun.

In her haste, Yi Xin had not noticed her before, and now she was momentarily stunned. Seeing Su Qingjun’s surprised expression, she didn’t know what to say for a while and awkwardly called out, “Sister Su.”

Su Qingjun’s expression was not pleasant, appearing somewhat gloomy. “Little sister Yi Xin, who took Lu Chen?”

Yi Xin glanced at her cautiously and, after hesitating, whispered, “It was Su Qian and Su Wen. They brought seven or eight people with them. Brother Lu Chen didn’t resist and was captured by them.”

A flicker of anger crossed Su Qingjun’s face, but she quickly suppressed it and turned to Yan Luo. “Aunt Yan, thank you for your kindness. In the future, Qingjun will surely repay you. I have urgent matters today, so I’ll take my leave.”

Yan Luo nodded and said, “It’s a trivial matter. You don’t need to worry about it. Go on.”

Su Qingjun bowed and, with a stride, walked out. As she passed by Yi Xin, her gaze swept over Yi Xin’s anxious face. She paused briefly and softly said, “Don’t worry, Lu Chen… should be fine.”

With that, she shook her head slightly and left.

Yi Xin was somewhat confused. After a moment, she suddenly grew more anxious again and ran back to Yan Luo. “Aunt Yan, Aunt Yan, please help me! Go save him!”

Yan Luo looked at Yi Xin and asked, “Who is Lu Chen to you that you’re so desperate?”

Yi Xin was momentarily stunned and then casually replied, “He’s my friend. Oh, Aunt Yan, don’t ask anymore. Just go save him. It’ll be too late if you delay!”

Yan Luo snorted and then turned to sit down. “A mere servant disciple. How can you ask me to offend the Su family for him? That’s unreasonable.”

Yi Xin was immediately stunned into silence, unable to speak. Her eyes, however, once again welled up with tears. 

—

(To be continued.)