si-mexico Chapter 1268 Matters of the heart are beyond one's control
Chapter 1268 Matters of the heart are beyond one's control
The knock was soft, tinged with hesitation, as if testing the waters.
Gu Xiu and Sui Xing exchanged a glance, and Sui Xing immediately and silently disappeared into the remnants of the Mountain and River Realm. The Immortal Crossing Sword and the Carefree Pendant also quickly concealed their auras and followed suit.
Shi Siling looked curiously at the courtyard gate, then at Gu Xiu. Seeing Gu Xiu nod in acknowledgment, she skipped and hopped to open the gate. Despite her mental impairment, she was completely obedient to Gu Xiu's words.
"Creak!"
As soon as the door opened, a figure wrapped in a dark cloak quickly slipped in.
Before Shi Siling could react, the person had already closed the door behind her.
The cloak was lifted, revealing a beautiful face—it was the girl in the red dress who had pleaded for Xue Wuya earlier. Now she was dressed in a dark purple outfit, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, and her eyes were filled with anxiety and vigilance.
"Envoy Gu?" she asked in a low voice, her gaze quickly sweeping across the courtyard.
"It is indeed I, Gu." Gu Xiu cupped his hands in greeting. "And you, young lady?"
"Lin Qingyan, daughter of the Lord of Sihuo City." She gave her name directly, but her gaze lingered on Shi Siling for a moment. She felt that this girl who had followed the envoy into the city was not quite normal, but this was not the time to delve into it.
Lin Qingyan turned to Gu Xiu and got straight to the point: "I know the envoy has just entered the city, and I shouldn't have disturbed him so hastily, but the situation is urgent and I have no choice but to come."
Gu Xiu gestured for her to come inside: "Miss Lin, let's talk inside."
The three entered the main house. By this time, it was already getting dark. Gu Xiu lit a candle and set up a simple soundproof barrier. This was something that was easy for him to do with his cultivation level.
Upon seeing this, Lin Qingyan's surprise deepened.
She had initially thought Gu Xiu was merely skilled in some secret technique to subdue evil spirits, but it seemed he was quite powerful. Considering that both he and Xue Wuyai came from the Vast Universe, they must also be cultivators of the spiritual energy path.
"Envoy Gu, I heard at the city gate today that you are a cultivator from Haoyu?" Lin Qingyan asked immediately after sitting down.
Gu Xiu nodded: "I am Haoyu cultivator."
"Are you friends with Xue Wuyai?" Lin Qingyan pressed.
"Not familiar with it." Gu Xiu said succinctly.
That's not a lie; they weren't familiar with each other to begin with.
Lin Qingyan was somewhat disappointed, and even a little worried.
She didn't think that just because Gu Xiu came from Haoyu, he necessarily had a good relationship with Xue Wuyai. In fact, she was a little worried that Xue Wuyai and Gu Xiu might have a grudge.
Gu Xiu noticed the change in her gaze and asked, "Miss Lin, did you come here to ask me to save Xue Wuya?"
"Is Envoy Gu willing to save him?"
Gu Xiu did not answer whether to save or not: "Who are Miss Lin and Young Master Xue?"
"he……"
A blush rose on Lin Qingyan's face, but it quickly turned into a bitter expression: "More than a month ago, during the Confucian Temple sacrificial ceremony, the Blood Prince suddenly appeared..."
As Lin Qingyan recounted his story, Xue Wuyai's journey to the Sea of Sin was revealed in its entirety.
When Xue Wuyai arrived at the Sanyuan Niehai, he appeared directly from a spatial rift at the Confucian temple in Sihuo City. At that time, the temple was holding a sacrificial ceremony, and the Confucian disciples in the temple were naturally furious when they saw such a person suddenly appear.
When Xue Wuyai opened his eyes, he saw so many people attacking him. Although he was a little confused, he was still quite strong. Facing a group of Confucian Taoist masters, he managed to injure several people and escape successfully.
only……
The layout of the twelve cities of Ziwei is similar, with all the temples built within the second ring area. Although Xue Wuyai escaped from the Confucian temple, he was still trapped. He was chased all the way and couldn't tell which way was north, south, east, or west while hiding. In the end, he wandered to the side hall of the city lord's mansion in a daze.
Coincidentally, that side hall was Lin Qingyan's residence.
Xue Wuyai was decisive enough to run into Lin Qingyan and immediately took her hostage. However, after a short standoff, Xue Wuyai collapsed from exhaustion due to his severe injuries.
Logically, Lin Qingyan should have handed over Xue Wuyai.
But she didn't.
She had always followed her mother since childhood, and Si Huo Gong was extremely strict with her. She had hardly ever left the city lord's mansion. It was rare for her to meet an outsider, especially one from Hao Yu. She couldn't help but feel curious about Xue Wuyai.
Therefore, she not only did not hand over Xue Wuya, but also helped him cover his whereabouts and heal his wounds.
The rest of the story is simple.
One wanted to understand the outside world, and the other wanted to understand the Three Enclosures and the Sea of Sin. When Xue Wuyai was recuperating, the two spent a lot of time together and even slowly began to develop feelings for each other.
She actually spoke very succinctly, after all, it's not appropriate for a young woman to talk about these kinds of topics.
But with the presence of the three spirits—Shattered Star, Immortal Crossing Sword, and Carefree Pendant—they, who were originally hiding in the remnants of the mountains and rivers eating melon seeds, eventually crawled out one by one with melon seeds in their hands, repeatedly asking about the details.
At first, Lin Qingyan was startled, but seeing Sanling's expression that said "we wish you well" and "the more you say, the more blessings we have for you," she couldn't help but say a little more.
“During those few days we spent together, I learned that he was an upright person. Although he didn’t talk much, he was loyal and righteous. Later, after he recovered from his injuries, he said he wanted to investigate the secrets of the Sacred Fire Palace and the Southern Lord, so I helped him gather information.”
"Moreover, I secretly arranged an identity for him to facilitate his movement in the city. However, he had limited knowledge of divine methods and was captured not long afterward. He was even nearly killed. I went to beg my mother, and although she was angry, she agreed to spare his life after my persistent pleading."
"Unexpectedly, the Holy Fire Palace intervened and issued a decree from the Southern Lord to extract information about Haoyu from him. Even my mother couldn't stop him. He refused to reveal any information about Haoyu, even at the cost of his life. In the end, he was hung at the city gate and subjected to daily mockery and humiliation..."
As Lin Qingyan spoke, her eyes reddened, tears welling up, but she stubbornly held them back.
"So Miss Lin and he are already mutually in love?" Gu Xiu asked directly.
Lin Qingyan bit her lip and nodded: "Yes, I know this is absurd. I am the young master of Sihuo City, and he is a guest from Haoyu. We should not have any interaction. But... matters of the heart are beyond our control."
As she said this, her eyes shone with determination, clearly indicating that she was prepared to withstand any pressure.
Gu Xiu pondered for a moment and said, "Miss Lin, do you know the attitude of your mother, City Lord Si Huo, at the city gate today?"
“I know.” Lin Qingyan smiled bitterly: “Mother is also helpless. The Holy Fire Palace relies on Nan Jun’s trust and is extremely arrogant in the city. If Mother openly protects the Blood Prince, it will only give the Holy Fire Palace more leverage.”
"but……"
She looked up and stared directly at Gu Xiu: "My mother is not a cold-blooded person. In fact, she has been secretly trying to delay the execution of the Blood Prince. It was only because the Holy Fire Palace was pressing her step by step, and the core of the Holy Light in the city was in imminent danger, that she had no choice but to make a decision."
Gu Xiu tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Miss Lin, you didn't come here today just to have me save someone, did you?"
"Yes." Lin Qingyan took out a jade slip from his robes:
"Here is the intelligence I've been secretly gathering these past few days: information about the Holy Fire Palace's plans in Si Huo City, the number of powerful figures the Holy Fire Palace has openly, and... they seem to be carrying out some kind of conspiracy."
Gu Xiu took the jade slip, scanned it with his divine sense, and his expression gradually became serious.
The information in the jade slip was quite detailed.
Normally, the Sacred Fire Palace only has supervisory authority in Si Huo City but no actual power to exercise it. There is a Sacred Fire Guard, but it only protects the Sacred Fire Palace.
In reality, most of the soldiers and officials in the city had already defected to the Sacred Fire Palace.
There are quite a few strong individuals, including two eighth-order divine path experts and five seventh-order divine path experts.
Most importantly, there is a vague piece of information: Nan Jun often sends a group of Sacred Fire Guards to Si Huo City, but this group will not stay for long before entering the gray fog, and it is unknown what they are doing there.
Gu Xiu knew exactly what they were doing.
They want to invite the Venerable Jizun to be reborn!
Lord Si Huo was completely unaware of all of this.
After pondering for a moment, Gu Xiu put away the jade slip and looked at Lin Qingyan: "Miss Lin, how would you like to cooperate?"
A resolute glint flashed in Lin Qingyan's eyes:
"I need your help to overthrow the Sacred Fire Palace and rescue Young Master Xue. In exchange... I will persuade my mother to break away from the Southern Lord and form an alliance with Wuwei City!"