After dinner and a nap, neither Guan Fusha nor An Xianli had come back.
Peach Blossom stared blankly at the doorway, eyes fixed and unblinking.
If she didn’t know that kids who mixed in the gray underworld were usually straightforward and a bit simple, she would have thought An Xianli was deliberately toying with her and had just run off for good.
He’d been gone so long without coming back to give her an answer. Looked like that old fossil of a sect master from the Tianlun Sect didn’t believe her and refused to agree to the plan.
As for Guan Fusha… sigh. That slip of paper was supposed to be a calming pill for her, but in the end she still had no idea when Guan Fusha would actually show up.
Peach Blossom lay sprawled on the bed, staring up at the pale mosquito-net canopy, bored out of her mind.
“Move. I’m going in.”
“No, Senior Brother. Without the sect master’s order, I can’t let you in.”
Peach Blossom recognized An Xianli’s voice. She jolted upright on the bed, eyes lighting up as she stared at the door.
“Then don’t blame me for being rude.”
“Senior Brother—ah…!”
After a brief scuffle, there was a dull thud outside as something heavy hit the ground.
Overjoyed, Peach Blossom hopped off the bed and ran to the door.
At the same time, the door was shoved open from the outside. An Xianli stumbled in, dressed in a plain blue robe. His clothes were a bit disheveled, the whites of his eyes bloodshot, and his chin covered in stubble. He looked utterly exhausted, with none of his usual gentle, cultured air.
“Master An?” Peach Blossom was startled by his appearance. “What happened to you?”
“Miss Cui—”
An Xianli had just opened his mouth to explain when a clamor erupted outside.
Peach Blossom was completely baffled.
What on earth was going on? Had the Night God Cult launched a surprise attack? Or had the four great sects suddenly turned on each other?
An Xianli’s expression changed. He glanced toward the noise, and after only a moment’s thought, his mind was made up.
He ignored all questions of propriety, grabbed Peach Blossom’s hand, and dragged her toward the door.
“Forgive me for the offense, Miss Cui. Please bear with it.”
Being yanked forward out of nowhere, Peach Blossom nearly tripped. She tried to pull her hand back, but An Xianli’s grip was too strong; she couldn’t break free at all.
“Wait, Master An, where are you taking me?”
“It’s a long story. This is not a place we can stay. Just come with me.”
An Xianli replied without even turning his head.
Peach Blossom couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Besides, Guan Fusha’s note had told her to sit tight and wait. If she ran off now, where was Guan Fusha supposed to find her?
“No, I can’t leave with you!”
She struggled as hard as she could, but the difference in strength between men and women was too much. She simply couldn’t get away.
Talking as they went, the two of them had already left the secluded courtyard where Peach Blossom had been imprisoned.
Peach Blossom grew more and more anxious, glancing back at the courtyard again and again.
“Where exactly are you taking me?”
“Out of here.”
An Xianli scanned their surroundings carefully as he answered.
“…What?”
Peach Blossom was stunned.
Hold on… was An Xianli trying to run away with her in secret?
Just then, two Tianlun disciples turned the corner up ahead. They froze in shock when they saw An Xianli and Peach Blossom standing in the courtyard.
“Senior Brother? What are you doing here? And this demoness… wasn’t she locked up?”
An Xianli cursed inwardly. He dropped Peach Blossom’s hand and in a blur was already standing in front of the two disciples.
“Senior Brother…” One of them started to ask what was going on.
An Xianli suddenly reached out and tapped his sleep acupoint. The disciple collapsed on the spot, limp and unconscious.
The other disciple’s eyes went wide in panic.
“Senior Brother, what are you doing?!”
A flicker of guilt crossed An Xianli’s face. He turned his head aside.
“Junior Brother, I’m sorry.”
Before the disciple could even react, An Xianli had already struck the same point. The second man crumpled to the ground, fast asleep.
“I’m sorry. I really am sorry, both of you.”
He quickly dragged them to the side and settled them as best he could, then flashed back to Peach Blossom’s side.
“Miss Cui, let’s go.”
“Wait.”
Peach Blossom hid her hand behind her back, staring at him warily.
“What on earth is going on? Why are you taking me away? Why did you knock them out? They’re your junior brothers!”
An Xianli lowered his head. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
“About the proposal you made yesterday…”
“Your sect master refused, didn’t he?”
Peach Blossom cut in first.
“Yes.”
An Xianli nodded and went on.
“Because we seized you without permission, we angered the Beikun Sect. They withdrew from the righteous alliance to exterminate the Night God Cult and refused to provide us with any information on the cult. It seems they intend to settle things with Guan Fusha in private. So for now, we still know nothing about the Night God Cult’s movements.”
Hearing that, Peach Blossom finally understood.
“So you’re planning to bust me out, then send me to infiltrate the Night God Cult and gather intel for you. And for that, you’re actually willing to go against your sect master’s orders?”
“That’s right.”
An Xianli’s expression was resolute.
“…”
Peach Blossom honestly didn’t know whether to call him naive or brain-dead. Even if he was desperate, she was still from the underworld side. How could this idiot trust her that much?
“Miss Cui.”
An Xianli looked at her with complete sincerity.
“Even if no one else believes you, I know you have a kind heart. You’re just like us—you carry a sense of justice. As long as we join forces, we can definitely defeat the Night God Cult.”
