Chapter 91

Chapter 91

So there was an even more formidable figure lurking behind that girl!

My heart clenched at once.

“Whoever she is, she’s coming in hard,” Liu Junyan said. “Since she failed to lure me in, her target will most likely shift straight to you, Xiao Jiu. She wants your life.”

I gave a bitter smile. “No, she doesn’t just want my life. She may also want my body, my memories, and my Lifebound Artifact. Of course, her ultimate goal has to be you, Liu Junyan. Are you sure you two didn’t know each other before?”

Liu Junyan froze slightly. Clearly, my question had hit a little too sharply.

He narrowed his eyes and thought back with great seriousness.

Things from over a hundred years ago-or even further back-had countless little details that were easy to overlook.

I didn’t want to make things difficult for him, so I let it go there. I touched the wound on his neck and changed the subject. “What kind of weapon did this? It’s strange.”

Liu Junyan answered instinctively, “A fan.”

A fan?

Among the people I knew, only Fox Lord carried a fan.

So last night, he’d gone to pick a fight with Fox Lord?

He’d gotten upset with me, then taken it out on Fox Lord. This man was so… childish!

Still, my mood did improve a little.

I shifted, trying to climb off his lap, while reminding him, “Change the medicine frequently these next few days. Don’t let it touch water. Let the wound heal faster.”

But Liu Junyan caught me by the waist and bounced me right back onto his lap. “Xiao Jiu, don’t run. Be good and let me hold you for a while. I need to think about something.”

I was a little speechless.

If you need to think, then think properly. Why do you have to hold me while doing it?

Considering he was injured, I chose to settle down obediently in his arms and think through my own matters as well.

After a long while, Liu Junyan suddenly said, “Hu Yulin and I met when we were young. We often invited each other out to train and gain experience. About three hundred years ago, we met Ah Li for the first time.”

I hadn’t expected Liu Junyan to suddenly bring up Ah Li, and my ears perked up immediately.

“Ah Li… Ah Li,” Liu Junyan said with self-mockery. “How ridiculous. We knew her for so many years, yet all we knew was that her name was Ah Li. She wore half a mask over her face, covering most of it, and we never once saw her true appearance.

“Every time the three of us met, it was almost always at a training ground. After all, there were very few great demons in the world worth hunting for us, so the chances of running into one another were actually quite high.

“Ah Li’s true form was a golden phoenix. She was brave and unrestrained. With one Longbow, she stole the spotlight from Hu Yulin and me several times. You could say we became acquainted through fighting.

“As time passed, both Hu Yulin and I secretly developed feelings for Ah Li. But Ah Li seemed to favor me a little more. Unfortunately, good times never last. More than a hundred years ago, a tremendous upheaval befell the Phoenix Clan. I chased after her to Cangwu Mountain and saw her, but all I got in return was one sentence: Cangwu Zheliu, Lingshui Tangtang; until the Yellow Springs, we shall not meet again…”

Only then did I finally understand what youthful love truly meant.

Fervent and impulsive, yet timid and bittersweet.

It began in hazy uncertainty and ended without resolution.

Just as you finally understood your own heart, you realized everything was already too late.

Ah Li… had become a Cinnabar mark that Sealed itself inside Liu Junyan and Hu Yulin.

“So, Xiao Jiu, whenever Ah Li appeared, she was almost always alone, all the way until Fengwu took human form,” Liu Junyan said. “I truly don’t remember any other woman ever appearing by Ah Li’s side. There was even less chance of one being around Hu Yulin or me.”

So that was how it was…

“Since the issue doesn’t lie with Fake Ah Li herself, could it be the person behind her?” I suggested.
Liu Junyan was noncommittal. “That’s not important. I’ll figure it all out. Xiao Jiu, you just focus on keeping yourself safe.”

I murmured in acknowledgment and asked him, “Then do you want to have a proper talk with the Fox Lord and spell things out for him?”

Since the two of them had grown up together, the Fox Lord probably wasn’t a bad person.

He had only been blinded for the moment.

Liu Junyan shook his head. “The one who can wake him up isn’t me. It’s the real Ah Li. It’s you, Xiao Jiu.”

I scratched my head, not quite understanding the deeper meaning behind his words.

Just then, the phone outside suddenly rang.

I quickly climbed off his lap and ran over to the counter to check it.

It was Jin Wuya.

Our conversation had been interrupted halfway earlier, and he had been waiting all this time. Now he was clearly getting anxious.

Liu Junyan followed me over and said, “Tell him this should be a Cat Bone. What’s hidden inside the bone is Buddhist scripture. Have him find someone to take a look himself.”

I thought about it. Although Master Hui Quan practiced Taoism, he should still recognize some Buddhist scripture, so I relayed Liu Junyan’s words to Jin Wuya and suggested he ask Master Hui Quan about it.

Jin Wuya agreed at once.

I thought that would be the end of it. I never expected that, two days later before dawn, I would be jolted awake by a call from Jin Wuya.

Still groggy with sleep, I picked up, only for a shrill cat’s cry to come through the phone. It scared me so badly that I snapped fully awake in an instant.

I hurriedly asked, “Boss Jin, how are you?”

Several more cat cries came from the other end, mixed with Jin Wuya’s pained groans. It took quite a while before the noise finally died down. Then Jin Wuya’s exhausted, terrified voice came through. “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, I… I think I’m being haunted by a Cat Fiend. Help me!”

Before I could ask him what exactly was happening, the cat cries came again from the other end.

This time, I heard it clearly. The cat cries weren’t coming from any cat’s mouth. They were… they were coming from Jin Wuya himself.

It seemed he was fighting that Cat Fiend for control of his body.

This was bad!

Jin Wuya had been making his way in the Yin-Yang trade for so many years. Ordinary evil entities could never overpower him.

It looked like this Cat Fiend was exceptionally fierce.

I hung up and went to the back to wake Li Qingying. Without another word, Li Qingying got dressed and prepared to drive me to Jin Wuya’s home.

Before the car had even started, Liu Junyan came out. “Qingying, Xiao Jiu and I will go. You go back and keep sleeping.”

I glanced toward the corridor on the west side. The Hexagonal Palace Lantern was already gone.

Li Qingying did not hesitate in the slightest. “All right, Seventh Master. Remember to protect Xiao Jiu.”

This girl was clearly still afraid Liu Junyan and I were at odds and was giving him a chance to prove himself.

Li Qingying set the navigation, and Liu Junyan drove.

The car pulled away smoothly. Liu Junyan said, “Xiao Jiu, sleep a little longer. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

But I couldn’t sleep at all. “It’s fine. Once we take care of Boss Jin’s problem, I’ll come back and catch up properly.”

Liu Junyan asked, “He’s the one who traded you Tiger Whip twice?”

The moment he brought that up, my face burned.

Liu Junyan chuckled softly and let me off. “Your driver’s license should be coming soon, right?”

“Mm,” I replied. “I should be able to get it in the next couple of days.”

Liu Junyan said, “Then once this is over, I’ll take you to pick out a car.”

I immediately shook my head. “No, no need. I have money, and I’ve already decided what I want to buy.”

“I haven’t given you a proper gift yet,” Liu Junyan said. “Xiao Jiu, give your husband a chance to show off.”