Chronicles of Heaven's Chosen - Chapter 72

It was Senior Sister Su’s voice.

Yuan Yao turned. Sure enough, Senior Sister Su was hurrying toward her.

By the time the young woman reached them, Wu Liuyun had already disappeared.

Yuan Yao swept a vigilant gaze over their surroundings. Only after confirming that he was truly gone did she breathe a sharp sigh of relief.

Unless she had absolutely no other choice, she really did not want to embarrass her Master in public.

“Little Junior Sister, what’s wrong?” Senior Sister Su asked with a worried frown.

Yuan Yao smiled and shook her head.

“Don’t move.” Senior Sister Su stared at the reddish mark on her forehead and gently touched it. “How did this happen?”

Yuan Yao ground out, “I ran into a dog.”

“A dog?!” Senior Sister Su’s eyes widened in shock.

Yuan Yao coughed. “I misspoke, Senior Sister Su. It was a person.”

A dog that happened to look human.

Senior Sister Su relaxed. “Have you finished buying everything?”

Yuan Yao nodded.

“Then let’s go back.” Senior Sister Su took her hand with a gentle smile.

“All right!” Yuan Yao readily agreed.

At that moment, Wu Liuyun was watching her from the shadows. Something dark flickered through his eyes, and he pressed his lips together.

So it really was her…

Wu Liuyun lowered his gaze to a withered yellow leaf beneath his feet. He could not help remembering how the elders of his clan had brought him to the Xiaoyao Sect ten years ago to seek a master.

He had been eleven. Since becoming a disciple required an assessment, he and the other youths and children had inevitably spent three days together.

Yuan Yao had left a deep impression on him. She was the youngest among them and extraordinarily pretty and adorable. When she spoke in her soft, childish voice, her eyes shone without the slightest impurity.

He failed the assessment.

Just as he was about to leave the Xiaoyao Sect, little Yuan Yao appeared with her hair tied into two playful buns. Dressed in a vivid pink silk gown, she was cradled tenderly in Immortal Lord Qianshan’s arms.

An innocent smile lit her face as she waved her little hand at him and called sweetly, “Goodbye, Brother Liuyun!”

“Yuan Yao…” Wu Liuyun murmured. “So you still remember me.”

His lips tightened.

He would rather she had forgotten him.

Then she would never know how utterly wretched he had become.

Pain suddenly tightened Wu Liuyun’s chest.

He had nearly killed her just now.

At that moment, a voice came from nearby.

“Wu Liuyun.”

Wu Liuyun looked up. The newcomer was the ghost-masked youth.

“Who are you?” His eyes narrowed warily.

The youth’s voice was full of mockery. “I doubt they ever imagined you would flee all the way to the Ninth Continent. Who are you planning to use as your backer this time?”

Wu Liuyun’s face went deathly pale.

When he reached for his sword, the youth said unhurriedly, “I am not your enemy.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

After several steps, however, he paused.

Without looking back, he said, “You had better not set your sights on her.”

Her?

Yuan Yao?

Wu Liuyun’s gaze shifted. He watched the youth depart, scrutiny entering his eyes.

Who was he? What was his relationship with Yuan Yao?

…

Little trash certainly knew how to attract trouble.

Wu Liuyun was exceptionally dangerous. Anyone he targeted would either be robbed of everything or end up with both life and fortune gone.

Xie Yan walked a few more steps before his brows drew together. As though only now realizing what he had done, he muttered, “What does any of that have to do with me?”

Yuan Yao’s face appeared in his mind, and his frown deepened.

Just thinking about her was irritating.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, outside Yunming City—

Yuan Yao and Senior Sister Su returned to the Xiaoyao Sect’s camp. They took the food from their storage spaces and handed each order to the disciple who had requested it.

Yuan Yao also shared the roasted bird eggs she had bought.

“That smells wonderful!”

“Thank you, Little Junior Sister! Thank you, Senior Sister Su!”

Ao Su opened his food box, revealing an entire roast goose. Its mouthwatering aroma drew everyone’s gaze.

The fragrance seemed to flow through the crowd like a clear stream, making people turn their heads one after another.

The snide remarks soon started again.

The Xiaoyao Sect disciples were in an excellent mood, however, so they treated every word as no more consequential than a fart.

Yuan Yao peeled a roasted bird egg and was about to pop it into her mouth when Cang Li snatched it away.

She looked up just in time to see him swallow it whole.

Yuan Yao stared at him in silence.

Cang Li stole two more unpeeled eggs from her hand. “Didn’t you stop liking bird eggs? Why did you buy so many?”

Yuan Yao gave a soft hmph and snatched them back. “I’ll eat whatever I want.”

Then Cang Li noticed something. His smile vanished as he lifted her arm. The sleeve had been sliced open by a sharp blade.

“What happened?”

Yuan Yao blinked. She had not even noticed that Wu Liuyun’s flexible sword had cut her clothes.

She looked up at Cang Li and smiled. “Someone tried to bully me, but I escaped.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know him.”

Yuan Yao shook her head.

Cang Li released her arm and instructed, “If you encounter danger again and can’t win, run immediately. Do you understand?”

Yuan Yao nodded as she peeled another egg. “I understand.”

This was the first time in many days that she had tasted roasted bird eggs again.

They were delicious.

But as she ate, she remembered how little time she had left.

Only a little more than six days remained.

If not for Wu Liuyun, she would already have successfully won over some of the targets. Instead, he had appeared out of nowhere and ruined her entire plan.

Yuan Yao added several new marks to the tally she kept against him in her heart.

“Give me some.” Cang Li held out his hand.

Yuan Yao grabbed a handful of bird eggs from her storage space and dropped them into his palm.

He ate as he said, “The roasted bird eggs in Yushan City are quite good. Let’s buy more on our way back.”

“Mm-hmm.” Yuan Yao nodded.

The sun slowly sank, leaving a band of crimson afterglow along the horizon.

The various sects began setting up camp and lighting fires. As the last light faded, only the bright bonfires remained beneath the night sky.

The Xiaoyao Sect erected two tents, one for the men and one for the women.

Yuan Yao sat around the fire with her senior brothers and sisters.

Not long afterward, she slipped alone into the women’s tent. She promptly sat cross-legged and began cultivating.

The Xiaoyao Sect disciples were astonished to discover that Yuan Yao had gone to train.

One senior sister even joked, “It seems Little Junior Sister has finally realized that strength matters more.”

Time passed by slow degrees until the latter half of the night.

It was then that everyone began to hear a strange noise coming from Yunming City.

Waaah! Waaah!

Every disciple tensed, staring warily at the tightly sealed gates.

“What kind of sound is that?” someone asked.

A female disciple answered, “It sounds a little like a crow, but not quite.”

No one knew how much time passed.

Inside the tent, Yuan Yao was deep in meditation when her mind suddenly began to hum. A violent wave of dizziness and weightlessness crashed over her.

Her breath caught, and her eyes flew open.

Yuan Yao quickly steadied her breathing.

Noise and screams erupted outside. Her expression changed. She leaped to her feet and pulled open the tent flap.

The shocking sight before her made her pupils contract.