The Attack of the Wastrel

“Hanzi? What happened to her?” asked Rong Yuan. He was surprised to see Gu Lingzhi carrying Wei Hanzi in her arms. She was not in good shape.

“I am not sure, she was being chased by some assassinators when I entered the Sacred Lands,” Gu Lingzhi replied hastily, and laid Wei Hanzi on the chair. With one hand pressing hard on Wei Hanzi’s skirt, she tore it sharply and the-blood drenched skirt that Wei Hanzi wore, peeled like a rag. Rong Yuan pursed his lips and immediately turned away, “Even though you are in a hurry, you should still be mindful of your surroundings, I’m still here.”

“Isn’t it nice for you to look at beautiful sights?” Gu Lingzhi did not bother to look up. She was focusing on the injuries all over Wei Hanzi’s body, it was hard to imagine how serious the rest of her injuries were. If she had been a little later, what other injuries might she have sustained?

“It’s all minor injuries, they won’t get in the way,” Wei Hanzi replied weakly, seeing the pain in Gu Lingzhi’s eyes. Her wounds were under control after she took the medicine Gu Lingzhi gave her. As she was from the Death Troops, she was prepared to sacrifice herself to protect her masters. She knew that she had worked for the right Mistress when she heard Gu Lingzhi address her as a friend moments ago. Sacrificing one’s life for such a master was worth it!

“How can these injuries be considered as minor, do you think I have not been injured before?” Gu Lingzhi’s heart ached for her. Using her water-based spiritual energy, she treated Wei Hanzi’s wounds with care.

Wei Hanzi hissed. She could feel a sharp pain when the ice cold water was flushed on her wounds, but there were some issues that she needed to inform Gu Lingzhi immediately.

“Master, I….”

“Shush, speak after I am done treating you,” Gu Lingzhi interrupted, thinking that Wei Hanzi wanted to re-affirm her that she was fine.

“Master, I need to tell you this, I…hss…” Wei Hanzhi held her breath as her ribs were washed by Gu Lingzhi’s water-based spiritual energy. The pain caused her face to turn even paler. With a quivering voice, she struggled to compose a complete sentence: “The assassins want to kill me as…as they suspected that I am from the Spirit Tribe. It’s...a plan to gain control of the Sacred Lands, Master, be careful…”

Wei Hanzi lost her consciousness after saying this. She was able to persist for so long as she needed to pass this message to Gu Lingzhi. With this off her chest, Wei Hanzi could no longer stay awake.

Gu Lingzhi’s heart stiffened when she heard this. She turned around to look at Rong Yuan, both of them felt the same.

It was unexpected that the North Qiu Kingdom could sense something was off in the Sacred Lands so soon. They definitely must not realise that the Spirit Tribe had not been completely exterminated. Otherwise, their efforts to not be detected and to make them think that the Spirit Tribe was gone all these years would be fruitless!

However, the most crucial task at hand was to treat Wei Hanzi’s injuries. Suppressing her urge to discuss her thoughts with Rong Yuan, Gu Lingzhi continued to apply medication on Wei Hanzi. It was hard to gauge how Wei Hanzi survived in the past few days from the many different sized wounds on the exposed skin! Some of the wounds had festered due to delayed treatment. Gu Lingzhi was extra careful when she cleaned these parts.

Liu Yiyan sat in the main palace, looking embarrassed. He knew there were assassins after Wei Hanzi, but he did not interfere as he was unaware that she was Gu Lingzhi’s confidante, in fact he was thinking to himself how tenacious her life was. Luckily, she survived. Otherwise, he really did not know how to explain to Gu Lingzhi should she question him in the future. But the information shared by Wei Hanzi indeed posed a problem for him…

Due to the numerous wounds on Wei Hanzi’s body, Gu Lingzi took about an hour to finish applying the medication on her. After dressing her in a clean attire, Gu Lingzhi finally had some time to discuss matters with Rong Yuan.

“About the North Qiu’s Royal Family...”

“Don’t worry, they are only suspecting now, without any concrete proof, they are not able to confirm that you belong to the Spirit Tribe.”

“But next, we will still need to use the Restrictive Shield to defend against the top martial forces from the North Qiu Kingdom and the rest of the countries. If we cease using the Restrictive Shield, won’t we be doing exactly as they expect us to?”

“You don’t have to worry about this,” Liu Yiyan responded before Rong Yuan could console Gu Lingzhi, “Don’t worry unduly about the Pan Family’s suspicions, just let me handle the issue. Proceed with what you have to do and pretend that you don’t know what’s happening.”

Both Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan looked at one another and were both relieved. How could they have forgotten they can depend on Liu Yiyan? After the Restrictive Shield outside the main palace was destroyed, Liu Yiyan’s spiritual energy could spread to half of the Sacred Lands. If they could create the illusion that he controlled the Sacred Lands, it could well be a foolproof strategy for them to win.

With this being resolved, Gu Lingzhi was about to relax when she recalled another important issue, her expression changed, and she turned to look at Rong Yuan awkwardly.

“What’s the matter? Do you feel unwell?” Rong Yuan asked worriedly, scrutinizing Gu Lingzhi’s posture as he held her hands. If not for the passionate look in his eyes, Gu Lingzhi might have believed that he was actually checking for any signs of injury on her.

“I’m fine, I’m not wounded.” Gu Lingzhi said as she pushed his hands away, feeling light-headed. “I used the Restrictive Shield’s energy earlier on and openly transferred energy to Wei Hanzi in front of Pan En. It was an urgent issue, so I did not cover up my identity. He may be getting suspicious now.”

“I see…” Rong Yuan withdrew his hands disappointedly and rolled his eyes.

“The Sacred Lands haven't been too peaceful recently and people have been randomly transported without rhyme or reason. Isn’t it normal to accidentally step on the Restrictive Shield accidentally and trigger the Teleportation Spell? If you don’t want to meet Pan En so quickly, you can accompany me for a few more days. When the time comes, you can then say that you were teleported to a strange place by the Restrictive Shield and it was difficult to find your way back.”

“That is a good idea,” Liu Yiyan echoed. “At the same time, I can take the chance to teach Pan En and his little companions a lesson. How dare they come after the Spirit Tribe in my Sacred Lands. Do they really believe that we don’t exist anymore?”

Outside the main palace of the Sacred Lands, a storm ensued as soon as Liu Yiyan finished speaking. Thunder rumbled across the originally calm sky. A thick bolt of purple lightning, which looked as if it had been sent by the heavens, struck down from the skies above the Sacred Lands, scorching the path it crossed. The people standing on top were struck and turned to charcoal. If anyone were to inspect closely, they would notice that they were all from the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family.

After the thunderstorm had passed, people in the Sacred Lands could hear the cool voice of Liu Yiyan in their ears, “I am the Godly Spiritual Being of the Sacred Lands, and I am responsible for ensuring the order here. All the treasures here are meant for people worthy of them. If there are people with ill intentions, and intend to steal from the Sacred Lands, don’t blame me for killing each of you mercilessly.”

With this, the skies above the Sacred Lands regained their calmness, but the impact of Liu Yiyan’s words should not be underestimated.

“Ill intentions?” Mei Ying, who has recovered, glanced at Su Ruo, who was beside him.

That day after they managed to survive, they had thought of leaving the Sacred Lands immediately, but sensing something was weird, they stayed on.

The couple had lived in seclusion for several hundred years and hardly made any enemies, even during the time when they crossed the continent. Logically, it was unlikely for them to offend the three Demigods to such an extent as to kill them. Yet so coincidentally, the three Demigods seemed to have predicted their path and were waiting for them. They also used the Restrictive Shield to build a wall in the Sacred Lands, to prevent them from retreating.

Because of these doubts, they did not leave immediately and instead met with a few Martial Sages and Demigods they knew to share their experience. To their astonishment, besides them, there were two other Martial Sages that had gone through the same experience.

The tactic that the assassins had used was exactly the same as the three assassins who were after Mei Ying and Su Ruo. This made them suspect that the whole incident had been a conspiracy.

Liu Yiyan’s speech was more a hint than a warning to them.

“Brother Mei, what do you think…” Zhong Xiru asked Mei Yin hesitantly.

Being a senior, he always had a group of disciples following him wherever he went. Unlike his two unlucky disciples, he had not encountered any assassins.

During the critical moment where they almost lost their life, one of them was transferred to the Sacred Lands entrance by the Restrictive Shield, while the other was lost somewhere in the Sacred Lands. His only information of his disciple came from the Life Card in the Storage Ring that represented his disciple’s life. The broken card was an indication of what had happened to him.

“What else can it be? Besides the North Qiu Kingdom, who else could do such a thing? I was wondering why they were so generous this time and opened the Secret Territory without any hesitation. It was all a trap. Did the Pan Family really think that their actions wouldn’t provoke the anger of the public?”

With that being said, Mei Ying dragged Su Ruo towards the direction of the main palace.

Zhong Xiru hesitated for a moment as he glanced at his disciple, who had narrowly escaped from death. He gritted his teeth and followed suit.

His other disciple, whom he treated like his own child, had died mysteriously. He would not be fit to call himself his teacher if he did not probe into his death. Despite knowing that this could bring upon trouble, he was not going to be a coward!

The disciples of the Luosheng Sect who were standing behind him followed him, without any hesitation. The deceased disciple of Zhong Xiru was popular and well-liked. Realising that there was a possibility that he had been killed in a plot, anger filled their hearts.

The Martial Artists who had gathered earlier to discuss with Mei Ying, followed closely behind the Luosheng Sect’s disciples.

If the assassins who killed the Martial Artists without any reason were really sent by the North Qiu Royal Family, then they could not ignore it. They had crossed a line!