As soon as Ling Chongxiao left, Xia Lianqiao belatedly realized that the three people present seemed to be looking at her.
"Brother Bai, Langhuan?"
Bai Ji'an raised his folding fan, smiling meaningfully. "Lianqiao, when did you and Ling Chongxiao become so close?"
Li Langhuan also revealed a mysterious smile. "Lianqiao is so cheerful and likable. I think even Ling Chongxiao couldn't refuse her."
Xia Lianqiao: "..."
The discussion they had before departure about emotions and detachment might have seemed ambiguous to outsiders, but heavens knew, she and Ling Chongxiao weren't in that kind of relationship! And, my dear daughter, are you misunderstanding something? Ling Chongxiao only cares about you.
Although she and Ling Chongxiao had been trapped together in the Mirror of Shattering Illusions, she believed that given the young man's cold personality, they hadn't developed much camaraderie.
Her favorability with Ling Chongxiao was probably still a big fat zero. Zero was better than the negative numbers she had sunk to before.
She just hadn't expected Ling Chongxiao to leave so quickly. Before she could even try to persuade him to stay, the young man had already flown away on his sword.
Pursing her lips, Xia Lianqiao suddenly felt an indescribable sense of confusion and melancholy.
Though their time together had been short, Ling Chongxiao's departure was so carefree and unrestrained that not only Xia Lianqiao but also Li Langhuan and Bai Ji'an couldn't help but feel a touch of sorrow, recalling the time when the young man had arrived on his sword to slay demons.
His white robes fluttering, standing atop his longsword, looking down from above, the sword's light illuminating his jade-like profile. Upon seeing them, he calmly clasped his hands in greeting, saying he had heard there was demonic energy here and had come to investigate.
Now that the evil serpent had been vanquished, he had come with high spirits and left just as freely. Bai Ji'an couldn't help but sigh. "Though Ling Chongxiao is young, he truly has the bearing of a sword immortal."
Li Langhuan didn't speak, her expression slightly dazed as a distant figure in white robes flashed before her eyes.
...Was it just her imagination?
She frowned.
Why did she always see traces of her adoptive father in Ling Chongxiao?
-
Two months later.
Yunzhou, Xiaoxiang Marsh.
A figure in green darted like a bird through the misty depths of the marsh, startling countless birds into flight. Behind her, demonic energy surged wildly, accompanied by the earth-shaking cries of pursuit.
Soon, a wild boar demon with a black face, a pig's snout, large ears, teeth like steel spikes, and short black bristles on its cheeks like iron arrows emerged from the dense reeds.
The wild boar demon roared in fury, "You wretched girl! Stop right there!!"
Xia Lianqiao didn't even look back, ignoring the boar demon chasing her. Stopping? Not a chance!
Seeing her stubbornness, the wild boar demon, in a fit of rage, unleashed a wave of demonic energy.
Xia Lianqiao rolled to the side, dodging the attack, and continued running forward.
Perhaps driven by anger, the wild boar demon actually sped up, closing the distance between them in an instant.
After a few exchanges, Xia Lianqiao calmly formed a hand seal, shooting out a pure spiritual sword energy while chanting under her breath.
"Thunder gods of the five directions, I know your names. Summoned, you arrive swiftly, wielding lightning and thunder."
Boom!
The sword energy, accompanied by thunder, descended, enveloping the wild boar demon completely.
When the thunder dispersed, Xia Lianqiao was surprised to see the wild boar demon, though bloodied and furious, still alive!
As expected of a thick-skinned wild boar demon. Resolving to finish the fight, Xia Lianqiao tossed out a bronze mirror. The mirror soared into the air, expanding to a hundred feet in size, releasing countless golden rays of light.
Yes.
The mirror in her hand was none other than the Mirror of Shattering Illusions.
After Xiao Lingbo's death, the Mirror of Shattering Illusions had lost its master. At the time, Bai Ji'an and Li Langhuan had assumed that Ling Chongxiao, having played the leading role in the battle, would claim the mirror for himself.
To their surprise, the young man had declined, saying, "The path of cultivation is fraught with danger. As a Zheng Yang sword cultivator, I have my sword. You and Bai Ji'an are collecting Jade Dew and Sweet Rain. You need this more than I do."
Li Langhuan was stunned, looking at the young man in surprise. Hesitantly, she said, "Lianqiao might need it more than I do."
Xia Lianqiao, who had been watching the polite tug-of-war between Ling Chongxiao and Li Langhuan, thought to herself that Ling Chongxiao was clearly showing favoritism. She never expected the "prize" to suddenly fall into her lap.
Ling Chongxiao followed Li Langhuan's gaze to look at her but said nothing.
Xia Lianqiao, feeling both flustered and confused, looked back at the young man, waving her hands frantically to show her innocence, that she had no intention of competing with Li Langhuan for the treasure.
She wasn't stupid enough to covet something that was clearly meant for the female lead. Besides, in the original story, the Mirror of Shattering Illusions had practically become a sacred token of love between Ling Chongxiao and Li Langhuan!
Ling Chongxiao simply lowered his eyes coolly and looked away.
Then Li Langhuan shoved the mirror into her hands. "Lianqiao, though you've just broken through to the Ming Dao Realm, your combat experience is still lacking. This artifact will serve you well."
Xia Lianqiao looked in surprise at Ling Chongxiao, who stood silently by, not uttering a word. Are you really not going to say anything? Just giving the Mirror of Shattering Illusions to me like that?
And so, thanks to Li Langhuan, she had somehow, in a daze, stumbled upon a great fortune—a divine artifact.
In addition to the artifact, Xia Lianqiao had also received a fair share of spirit stones, magical tools, and pills.
The early world of *Asking the Dao* was somewhat reminiscent of the old-school "kill and loot" style, where the victor would inherit all the possessions of the defeated.
Xiao Lingbo had amassed countless treasures during her years in the Eastern Sea.
Though Xia Lianqiao had mostly been slacking off during the battle, team leader Bai Ji'an still gave her a share of the spoils.
As for the Mirror of Shattering Illusions, a somewhat niche divine artifact, Xia Lianqiao had racked her brains to come up with a few creative ways to use it.
Like now—
The wild boar demon was sucked into the mirror, and Xia Lianqiao immediately sat down cross-legged, pulling out a pile of healing potions from the green pouch at her waist.
Once her health and mana were fully restored, she would release the demon and continue the fight.
This kind of shameless behavior often infuriated the demons she encountered, leaving Bai Ji'an in awe and Li Langhuan praising her cleverness.
Bai Ji'an simply lacked imagination, underestimating the ability of gamers like her to exploit bugs.
Half a month ago, she, Bai Ji'an, and Li Langhuan had followed the trail of Jade Dew and Sweet Rain to this Xiaoxiang Marsh.
Deep within the marsh, where humans rarely ventured, it had become a paradise for demons. Rumor had it that a few powerful demons even resided in the western part.
Whenever she grew tired from slaying demons, Xia Lianqiao couldn't help but miss Ling Chongxiao.
She had heard that Ling Chongxiao was on the verge of breaking through to the Comprehension Realm.
This news had come from Li Langhuan. In the past half month, Ling Chongxiao had only written to Li Langhuan once, completely ignoring her and Bai Ji'an.
When Li Langhuan received the letter, she said with genuine happiness, "Ling Chongxiao mentioned that he's currently traveling around, gathering materials to break through to the Comprehension Realm. He's now near Yunzhou..."
Bai Ji'an was surprised. "Yunzhou? Isn't that where we're headed, to the Xiaoxiang Marsh?"
Li Langhuan: "Exactly, we might even have a chance to reunite and catch up with Daoist Ling Chongxiao."
Having lived with Ling Chongxiao, that little stickler, for so many years, Li Langhuan's personality remained as bold and carefree as ever.
The thought of reuniting with a friend from the martial world made the young girl's eyes curve into a smile, her spirits high.
Xia Lianqiao peeked over: "Langhuan, can I take a look at the letter Ling Chongxiao sent you?"
Li Langhuan: "Of course."
Xia Lianqiao took the letter and unfolded it. The paper, made of some unknown material, was as white as snow and carried a faint scent of agarwood, perfectly matching the cold and aloof demeanor of the young man.
The handwriting was sharp and elegant, as upright and unyielding as the person himself, with a youthful vigor and heroic spirit hidden beneath his icy exterior.
"Lianqiao, what's on your mind?" Bai Ji'an noticed her stillness and asked, puzzled.
Xia Lianqiao silently folded the letter: "..." She was too embarrassed to admit that she had also written to Ling Chongxiao. After all, she had finally managed to raise his favorability a bit, so of course, she wanted to keep in touch.
Thus, she had penned a lengthy essay titled "Friendship."
"As the saying goes, at home, one relies on parents; outside, one relies on friends. Since we parted ways, I have missed you dearly, Daoist Ling. Every night, I dream of your tall, graceful figure, your imposing presence, and your heroic bearing.
In my hometown, there’s a song that goes: 'Friends walk together through life, those days will never return. One word, a lifetime, a bond, a toast.'
...and so on for eight hundred words."
The only problem was that Ling Chongxiao had read it but never replied.
Xia Lianqiao: ...She wondered if this counted as catching a glimpse of Ling Chongxiao's double standards in how he treated Li Langhuan versus others. Was she just another pawn in his game?
Having recovered most of her energy, Xia Lianqiao pulled her wandering thoughts back and prepared to release the wild boar demon from the Mirror of Shattering Illusions.
If she remembered correctly, Ling Chongxiao would be making his entrance soon. Once she finished dealing with this boar demon and tidied up, she should be able to catch this famous scene.
Bai Ji'an and Li Langhuan had encountered demons in the Xiaoxiang Marsh, and the young man arrived on his sword, cutting through the demons with a single strike from the west, reuniting with old friends.
The Mirror of Shattering Illusions emitted a bright light, spitting the wild boar demon back out. With her energy fully restored, Xia Lianqiao raised her sword and smiled, "Hey, little boar, care for another round?"
The illusions within the Mirror of Shattering Illusions were first shaped by the owner's inner demons. If the owner had no inner demons, the illusions would instead be shaped by those who entered.
Who knows what the wild boar demon saw in the illusion, but it was so enraged that steam shot from its nostrils, its snorts like thunder, and its hooves scraped the ground incessantly. It flung out a handful of divine sand, bellowing, "You’re asking for death!"
Having been caught off guard and sucked into the Mirror of Shattering Illusions earlier, the boar demon seemed determined to reclaim its pride, hurling all sorts of magical treasures at her without restraint.
The multicolored divine sand rose like a mist, and even a single touch would corrode the flesh of an ordinary person, leaving bloody holes.
Xia Lianqiao dared not confront it head-on, dodging repeatedly while panting and sending out sword qi to resist. She couldn’t help but wonder, where did this boar demon get so many powerful treasures?
Not just this boar demon, but ever since entering the Xiaoxiang Marsh, the demons along the way seemed to have struck it rich overnight. Most demon cultivators were poor, so this was truly bizarre.
Xia Lianqiao’s mind raced, and she kept her guard up. Rumor had it that several powerful demons to the west had recently been extorting offerings from the people of Yunzhou. Could this be related?
The divine sand was countless, moving like a mist at the boar demon’s command. From a distance, it looked like a swarm of locusts.
Even though she had maxed out her evasion skills, she couldn’t avoid being peppered with bloody spots from the fine sand.
Xia Lianqiao pursed her lips, wincing in pain, but she didn’t let her guard down. She focused on controlling her flying sword, weaving around the sand mist, searching for an opening.
But the boar demon wasn’t about to give her time to think. With a sinister laugh, it pointed at the sand and shouted, "Go!"
Xia Lianqiao’s heart sank as she looked up at the sand blotting out the sky.
Just then, a strong wind rose in the marsh, catching both Xia Lianqiao and the boar demon off guard, leaving them momentarily stunned.
Heaven helps me! The wind blew the sand mist to the side, and Xia Lianqiao cheered inwardly, quickly forming a sword seal to summon her flying sword again.
Soon, she realized this wind was no ordinary weather phenomenon.
The reeds swayed violently, and the mist swirled, churning like snow.
Amid the swirling reeds, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
Cold and desolate, like a flying blade piercing through the reeds.
“Flying sword, slash.”
The sword moves freely, its brilliance shining brightly!
A sword qi slashed down from mid-air!
Xia Lianqiao, sensing something, looked up in awe.
A sword light streaked across the sky like a meteor, circling the reed marshes before plunging down toward her.
As the light dissipated, a familiar figure appeared.
His figure was as cold and upright as snow, like a pine tree, his sword humming beneath his feet, glowing with a jade-like warmth.
Where the boar demon had stood was now a black crater, the reeds reduced to ash.
The youth on the sword lowered his gaze slightly, his eyelashes dark as raven feathers, his eyes cold and clear.
Meeting her gaze, he expressionlessly sheathed his sword and descended gracefully, like a crane.
"Daoist Xia, it’s been a while."
