Chapter 217: Senior brother, there is another Daoist companion?
The wind and snow persisted, the night dragging on. Inside the dormitory, the restless howl of wind and snow outside was muted by the closed doors and windows, transforming into a hypnotic whirring sound, serene.
On the crimson wood pear bed, Yun Yiyi’s tightly closed eyes twitched slightly, her brows trembling. Cold sweat dampened her bangs, sticking them to her forehead as if she were enduring the torment of a nightmare from which she couldn’t awaken.
Creak—
The palace door creaked open slightly, and a slender adult woman peeked into the room from outside. Observing the messy bedding on the maid’s bed directly opposite the door, her heart skipped a beat, realizing no one was lying there.
Her name was Yushuiting, originally a disciple of Xiri Peak. Last month, her Daoist companion Yean claimed to have found a lucrative deal involving the kidnapping of the Yun family’s young lady.
Upon hearing this, she vehemently opposed the idea. However, Yean refused to listen, insisting, “Once this deal is done, we can buy a cave and never have to live in a disciple’s quarters again. I only need to kidnap the person and hand them over. We don’t need to worry about anything else.”
Unable to sway Yean, she reluctantly agreed in the end. But out of concern for his safety, she insisted on accompanying him for this big deal. Having a companion provided reassurance, and if anything went wrong, it was better for the Daoist couple to face the consequences together than for one to be left behind.
Yushuiting took a deep breath, holding the spirit sword in her hand as she slipped into the room. She listened intently to the sounds inside, confirming that Yun Yiyi’s maid was absent. Then, she tiptoed towards the mahogany pear bed.
Approaching the bed, she saw Yun Yiyi’s troubled expression, drenched in sweat. From her sleeve, she retrieved a piece of cloth and awkwardly stuffed it into Yun Yiyi’s mouth, then reached out to pinch her cheek.
“Wu——!”
Yun Yiyi jolted awake, her eyes filled with horror as she beheld the masked woman standing beside her bed. Immediately, she raised her hand, flailing and kicking in an attempt to push her away.
However, with Yun Yiyi trapped between the bed and the assailant, she had no leverage to resist Yushuiting’s strength. She struggled helplessly. The cloth drowned out her muffled cries in her mouth.
Seeing her vigorous struggle, Yushuiting stared and said, “Miss Yun, if you want to stay alive, just be quiet.”
Yun Yiyi paused, hearing the address, immediately understanding she was likely a disciple of the Sword Sect. Her eyes hardened, whispering to signal she had something to say, “Wuwu… Wu—”
Seeing her cease struggling, Yushuiting breathed a sigh of relief. This was her first time engaging in such a kidnapping, feeling anxious. She then turned Yun Yiyi halfway on the bed, using a fairy lock from her storage bag to bind her hands behind her back and secure her feet.
Yun Yiyi observed the lack of murderous intent from her captors, somewhat easing her mind. She turned her head to look behind her, “Wuwu—Wu!”
Acknowledging her questioning gaze, Yushuiting tied the knot and reassured, “Miss Yun, please be assured, we must take you away unharmed. We won’t harm you in the slightest.”
“Wuwu! Wuwu…”
Once Yun Yiyi was securely bound, Yushuiting lifted her, but seeing Yun Yiyi’s thin silk pyjamas and considering the strong winds outside, she feared she might get cold. Thus, she laid her back on the bed, wrapped her in a blanket, and then lifted her again, opening the east window and jumping out.
Yushuiting carried Yun Yiyi, leaping onto the roof, braving the snow, and moving swiftly across the eaves of several buildings in Yun Mansion. Soon, they arrived at the lotus pond behind the mansion.
A man in a grey cloak awaited them in the pavilion by the pond. Seeing Yushuiting return with a quilt, he promptly stood up to greet her.
After sizing up Yun Yiyi, one of the men nodded and inquired, “Any complications!”
“None, it went smoothly. We didn’t encounter any patrolling guards, nor did we trigger any traps or formations. We didn’t even need to draw our swords.”
“That’s good…” The man nodded, then glanced at the sky and towards Ye Anping’s bedroom. “They’re taking their time. Why haven’t they returned yet? Is that Ye fellow difficult to deal with?”
Hearing this, Yun Yiyi was shocked, then widened her eyes, “Wuwuwu—!!! Wuwu—!”
“…”
“Wuwuwu!!”
Seeing her noisy reaction, the man hesitated briefly before stepping forward to remove the cloth from Yun Yiyi’s mouth.
Yun Yiyi, previously calm, now looked panicked. She had a high-grade magic weapon for defence and wasn’t worried about being harmed by these people. She intended to turn the tables, using herself as bait and leaving marks along the way to lead the disciples of Yishui Peak to their hideout.
But upon hearing the man’s earlier statement, indicating they might target her husband, she felt a sense of panic.
“What are you planning?” She demanded.
The man sneered in response, “We’re taking you and killing the young master of the Hundred Lotus Sect.”
“You dare!!” Yun Yiyi glared, but the man quickly gagged her again, stifling her protests, “I’ll curse you if you dare… Wuwuwu—”
“Wuwuwu—! Wuwu—!!”
Yun Yiyi struggled, hastily infusing the jade talisman in her undergarments with spiritual energy, preparing to use it to repel the assailants. However, at that moment, another bloodied figure leapt into the pavilion by the lotus pond.
Ye Anping glanced at Yun Yiyi, fussing on Yushuiting’s shoulder, speaking hoarsely, “It’s handled, but Senior Qi and Brother Hu are dead, and that Ye person is proving troublesome.”
Yun Yiyi’s eyes widened in disbelief at his words— “Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”
Ye Anping didn’t respond, but with a sidelong glance at Yushuiting and the other man, he felt a hint of wariness as Yushuiting had been staring at him. Quickly, he readied the spirit sword in his storage bag.
Yushuiting, oblivious to any oddity, observed the wounds on Ye Anping’s body with concern and asked, “Ye Jun, what happened to your throat?”
“Neck got hit… Swallowed some blood…” Ye Anping replied cautiously.
“Alright… I’ll check on it later,” She offered.
The man glanced at both of them, checked the sky once more, then, without a word, turned and walked out of the pavilion, heading towards the rockery by the lotus pond and moving it slightly.
“Let’s regroup first. The folks from Xiri Peak and Sword Wine Peak should be waiting,” He said before leaping down from a small hole beneath the rockery.
Yun Yiyi, on Yushuiting’s shoulder, heard this, and her focus on the spiritual energy in the jade pendant beneath her clothes momentarily halted.
Clamping down on the cloth in her mouth, she glared at the bloodied Ye Anping, her gaze filled with murderous intent.
But the next moment——
Ye Anping stepped forward, delivering a swift chop to the back of her neck.
“Woo…”
Yun Yiyi’s head swayed, and she slumped down, powerless. Seeing this, Yushuiting furrowed her brow slightly, sensing that something seemed off about her Ye Jun, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what. Not dwelling on it, she quickly followed the others, carrying Yun Yiyi and jumping into the small hole under the rockery.
Ye Anping followed suit. After jumping down, he pushed the rockery back into place from below, then followed the two down the underground passage towards the mountainside of Yishui Peak.
…
