Chapter 24: Severely Injured

Shi Tianlei was truly a master. Without making a sound, his figure had already appeared in a flash. Shu Wan, having no real combat experience, dared not directly face his palm strike. She immediately dodged to the side, narrowly escaping.

However, after dodging, Shu Wan felt even more fear in her heart. It was only when she evaded that she realized just how unbelievably powerful Shi Tianlei’s internal energy was. Had she taken that strike, she feared that her internal organs would have been immediately damaged beyond repair.

“Blazing Sun True Qi? Heh…”

Shi Tianlei squinted as he looked at Shu Wan. “So you’re Shu Qi’s old dog’s daughter. Since that’s the case, I can’t let you die too easily.”

He restrained the fierce wind of his palm and curved his hand into a claw, aiming for Shu Wan’s side arm. Shu Wan activated all her internal energy and countered his grasp. The two of them exchanged more than ten moves in the blink of an eye. Finally, Shu Wan found an opening and slipped out from the side.

But Shi Tianlei would never let her escape so easily. He immediately turned and struck at her back. Shu Wan felt the powerful gust of the palm wind, but it came too quickly. She couldn’t even make a move to block it—

Shi Tianlei’s palm only carried five parts of his strength, yet Shu Wan was still sent flying, spitting a mouthful of blood.

Her body crashed to the ground, tumbling for two rolls, and her small face turned an ashen white. She had always known that calling for help was useless, and had endured in silence. But seeing Shi Tianlei slowly closing in, Shu Wan finally broke down, trembling and sobbing:

“Senior Brother Ah Lan… Senior Brother Ah Lan…”

Shi Tianlei looked at Shu Wan, trembling in fear, with satisfaction, as she appeared like a helpless little rabbit. “How has your father treated my family’s young master these years? Heh, even my grandfather could figure it out with his toes!”

“Does he think he’s the only one with power in this world? You, this delicate little girl, falling into my hands… Hahaha, I’m not a hypocrite, unlike him, I am open and honest—”

He grabbed a handful of Shu Wan’s hair with force. “But I can be a hundred times more cruel than him!”

Shi Tianlei grinned savagely and was about to make his move when suddenly, a dry branch shot through his wrist! He let out a painful cry and released Shu Wan.

Shi Tianlei glanced at the branch piercing his wrist, sneering darkly as he slowly pulled it out, making no attempt to stop the young man rushing over to pick up Shu Wan.

“Wan Wan!” Yi Chenlan had been waiting for a long time, yet still, Shu Wan had not returned. Feeling uneasy from her absence, he had come to search for her. As soon as he entered the backyard, he saw this scene that nearly caused him to go blind with rage.

The girl in his arms was covered in filthy mud and water, her small, pale face devoid of color, her lips stained a deep red with blood, looking weak and pitiful. Yi Chenlan dared not look any longer. His voice trembled faintly, almost imperceptibly: “Wan Wan… does it hurt badly? Hang on, I’ll treat your wounds right away.”

“Senior Brother Ah Lan…” Shu Wan was indeed in great pain, and tears unknowingly streamed down her face. “That person’s martial skills are so high, I couldn’t beat him…” Because of her severe injuries, her voice was soft, sounding almost like she was on the verge of tears.

“It’s okay, I’ll handle him.” Yi Chenlan’s tone was extremely gentle, but there was still a hint of pain in his voice. “Wan Wan, don’t be afraid. Rest for a moment, I’ll kill him soon.”

Shu Wan blinked, a deep worry in her brows. If she couldn’t defeat Shi Tianlei, how could Yi Chenlan have any chance of winning? Shi Tianlei would have realized that his voice was not that of the “young master” he was searching for. How could he possibly let him go?

But the pain in her body was unbearable, and her vision grew dim. Finally, she closed her eyes and fainted, leaning on Yi Chenlan’s shoulder.

Shi Tianlei had long since pulled the branch out, playing with it in his hand for a while, but his eyes were carefully fixed on Yi Chenlan. “Who are you?”

“Yi Chenlan.” He replied calmly, giving his name without hesitation.

“Hahahaha…” Shi Tianlei suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly. After laughing for a while, he abruptly stopped, fixing Yi Chenlan with a vicious glare. “What kind of lowly creature are you?! How dare you impersonate my young master’s name?! You care so much about this little girl, she even calls you ‘Senior Brother.’ Are you Jiang Xuanfeng’s spawn?”

“You all… really make it hard for me to give you a quick end.”

As soon as Shi Tianlei finished speaking, he was already in front of them. Though he didn’t unleash his full strength, he still used the same tactics as before, like an old cat toying with a mouse. He didn’t want to kill them outright, or else there’d be no fun left.

Unfortunately for him, he quickly reached Yi Chenlan, but Yi Chenlan didn’t make any attempt to dodge. He held Shu Wan tightly with one arm, slightly turning his body to shield her, while his other hand boldly faced Shi Tianlei’s attack.

The two palms collided violently. Shi Tianlei’s smug and sinister smile hadn’t even faded when he was immediately knocked back by Yi Chenlan’s palm wind!

He spat out several mouthfuls of blood, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Snow Mountain Technique?! How do you know my master’s secret martial art, the Snow Mountain Technique?! No… no… you don’t have Snow Mountain True Qi in you… You used Blazing Sun True Qi to perform the Snow Mountain Technique! Who are you?! Who are you?!”

Shi Tianlei seemed to have gone mad, breathing heavily, his eyes red like a wild beast. “The person who freed me… his voice… who is he? Who is he? He—”

Suddenly, he stopped coughing. His mouth kept opening and closing, but no sound came out. A sharp pain shot through his palm, and in terror, he looked down. The hand that had just made contact with Yi Chenlan was turning black, the skin gradually festering, bleeding, and the flesh curling, revealing the gleam of exposed bone.

His arm began to decay as well…

Seeing the poison taking effect, Yi Chenlan immediately picked up Shu Wan in a horizontal position, securely holding her in his arms, and turned to leave at a brisk pace.

He didn’t say another word to Shi Tianlei, but Shi Tianlei stared at his back, making strange “ha” sounds— 

The man said his name was Yi Chenlan…

The Snow Mountain Technique he used was the highest-level move…

Even the poison, it came from the toxic scriptures left behind by the master…

He was the young master! He was the young master!

Shi Tianlei’s face flushed red, his body a mangled mess, yet his eyes remained fixed on the already vanished figure.

He still had things to say. He had guarded for more than ten years, finally got out, but hadn’t had a chance to speak…

However, his body continued to decompose uncontrollably, turning into a puddle of blood. The unwilling expression on his face gradually faded away, and even the tattered clothes soaked in blood were consumed, leaving no trace.

…

Yi Chenlan carried Shu Wan to Zhou Yuan’s alchemy room, kicking the door open without caring for formalities.

Zhou Yuan seemed to be testing some new medicine, with metal needles embedded all over his body. He lay on his back, eyes closed, appearing as though he could hear nothing.

Yi Chenlan gently placed Shu Wan aside, his brow furrowing as he scanned Zhou Yuan. Without a moment’s hesitation, he quickly yanked out more than a dozen metal needles. Sure enough, within three breaths, Zhou Yuan opened his eyes.

As soon as he woke, his expression darkened, and he grumbled: “What are you doing? Who gave you the audacity to pull out my needles? Don’t you—”

“Uncle-Master Zhou.” Yi Chenlan’s voice carried a hint of pleading. “Wan Wan’s injured, but I can’t assess the severity. Please take a look at her.” He had examined her, but his skills were still lacking. He knew Shu Wan had internal injuries but dared not use his internal energy to treat her recklessly.

Zhou Yuan immediately sat up, hurriedly pulling the needles from his body. Suddenly, he hissed in pain, staring at Yi Chenlan. “You’re injured too?”

“I’m fine.” Yi Chenlan’s voice was steady, betraying none of the intense pain he was feeling in his dantian, where it felt like his entire body’s meridians were being torn apart.

His Blazing Sun True Qi was not as strong as Shu Wan’s, and using it against Shi Tianlei had been a futile attempt. His only chance was to use the Snow Mountain Technique—the martial art from his previous life, which was unparalleled in the martial world.

However, Yi Chenlan did not have Snow Mountain True Qi in his body. The only option was to use Blazing Sun True Qi to fuel the technique. But the two martial arts—one of utmost yin and the other of utmost yang—clashed within him. Though they still retained some power, the conflict severely damaged his body.

Yi Chenlan could feel his dantian was destroyed, the meridians filled with stagnant blood, leaving him in a state beyond recovery. There was no need to waste Zhou Yuan’s time on him. “Uncle-Master Zhou, please take a look at Wan Wan. She’s severely injured.”

Zhou Yuan suppressed the doubts in his heart and reached for Shu Wan’s wrist. The moment he touched her pulse, his brows furrowed.

“How did she sustain such serious internal injuries? Who had the audacity to hurt Wan Wan?” 

Yi Chenlan hesitated for a moment, then parted his lips slightly. “I don’t know who he is, but he’s not from Zhongshan Sect.”

Before Zhou Yuan could respond, a commotion could be heard approaching from outside the door.

“He’s coming this way, we must hurry!”

“This scoundrel has killed so many people! Sect Master shouldn’t imprison him this time, just kill him on the spot!”

Suddenly, Shu Qi’s voice rang out from outside: “Junior Brother Zhou! Are you unharmed?”

Zhou Yuan pinched Shu Wan’s cheek, placing a pill in her mouth and watching as she swallowed it. He then patted Yi Chenlan’s shoulder to reassure him, signaling not to worry. He stepped outside the room while raising his voice: “I’m fine. Senior Brother Shu, who are you chasing? He must have passed by here; Wan Wan is injured.”

“Wan Wan is here?!” Shu Qi was shocked and immediately barged in.

Upon entering, he saw Yi Chenlan standing guard beside Shu Wan, and his expression immediately darkened further. Without considering anything else, he rushed to Shu Wan’s side. After a quick glance, he growled in distress:

“How did this happen?! How could this happen?! Where’s Shi Tianlei?!”

He suddenly spun around, glaring at Yi Chenlan with fury. “How did Shi Tianlei escape?! Did you let him out?! Was it you?!”

Zhou Yuan furrowed his brows from the side: “Senior Brother Shu, they’ve been here since early this morning. Yi Chenlan hasn’t had the chance to release Shi Tianlei.”

“It wasn’t him…” Shu Qi muttered under his breath, his gaze growing even darker. He almost seemed ready to kill Yi Chenlan. “But Shi Tianlei came looking for you! He searched for you like a madman. Why are you still perfectly fine now?! But my daughter is in this state!”

“Did you conspire with him?! What were you plotting with your father’s former subordinates?! You, the stubborn, untamable son of the Demon Lord! You truly are a wolf in sheep’s clothing—no matter how hard you try to raise it, it will never grow up right!”

With that, Shu Qi forcefully kicked Yi Chenlan in the abdomen.

Yi Chenlan was sent crashing to the ground, and the sharp pain in his dantian suddenly intensified. He coughed weakly, trying to bite his lip to hold it in, but blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“He actually conspired with Shi Tianlei… What is he trying to do?”

“Has Zhongshan Sect not been good enough to him? That heartless bastard, how many of our own sect have died by his hands?! He deserves to die a thousand times over!”

“He deserves to die! I can’t stand his demonic aura. Just kill him and rid the world of this filth!”

“Killing him outright is too merciful. He should be torn apart by five horses!”

…

The voices of the crowd grew louder and louder, and Yi Chenlan lay on the ground, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to alleviate the excruciating pain. When he opened his eyes again, there was no other emotion in his gaze, just an intense urgency.

Meeting Shu Qi’s hateful eyes, Yi Chenlan’s voice was barely audible: “First, treat Wan Wan’s injuries…”