Chapter Fifty-Eight: Hatred Grows Ever Deeper

As two of the servants checked on their young master, the other two, realizing that the person who had intervened must be a highly skilled expert, dared not act rashly. They slowly retreated, edging closer to their young master while remaining on high alert. Li Xingyu understood that even if he did not reveal himself, these men would no longer dare to harm the young woman. However, he also knew that he had to show himself now; otherwise, they would surely come after the girl or her family in the future. Saving someone, he thought, meant not leaving behind future trouble. Besides, silencing them would do little good—who knew if this young man’s family was aware of his activities today? The best course was to intimidate them thoroughly.

With this in mind, Li Xingyu strode out from the woods, his steps unhurried yet swift, appearing before the group. Wanting to impress upon them his strength, he did not conceal his aura, letting the pressure unique to those of innate mastery radiate from him. The servants, seeing their young master was still alive, relaxed a little. But as they sensed that the one who had hurt their young master was a master of the innate realm—perhaps even at a later stage—they grew tense once more.

Li Xingyu glanced at the young woman, whose clothes had been torn, exposing swathes of snow-white skin. He pulled a garment from his pack and tossed it to her. The girl, still terrified, instinctively wrapped herself in the clothing he had thrown her.

Seeing that she was conscious and unharmed, Li Xingyu then turned to the four servants and the unconscious young man on the ground. “As your young master has not yet managed to harm this young lady,” he said, “I’ll spare your lives today. But remember this: if you dare lay hands on her or any other woman again, I will not be so lenient. And do not trouble her family, or you know well what the consequences will be. Now get out of my sight.”

The four men dared not linger, nor did they protest. They quickly lifted their young master and ran toward the mountain’s summit. This made Li Xingyu pause—could they also be from Tianfeng City? He did not dwell on it. The young man’s entourage did not seem particularly skilled; they were unlikely to be of real importance. Besides, while cultivators often killed without much thought, senseless slaughter could affect one’s state of mind, which would be detrimental when facing inner demons during future tribulations.

After the servants had carried their young master out of sight, Li Xingyu turned to the young woman. She was still sobbing, not yet fully recovered from her terror, but her emotions had stabilized. When Li Xingyu looked at her face, he was stunned. A surge of emotions and memories, buried for nearly a decade, flooded his heart. The girl was just under twenty, petite yet well-proportioned, with an elfin charm. Her features were not strikingly beautiful, but delicately lovely, and her demeanor exuded a lively innocence that made one instinctively want to protect her.

Li Xingyu’s astonishment was not due to her charm, but because, now that she had raised her head, he saw she bore a striking resemblance to his girlfriend from Earth—seven parts alike, in fact—and at just the age his girlfriend had been when they met. First loves are never easily forgotten; though they may gather dust in the depths of one’s heart, they can be stirred by moments such as this.

The girl, curious, glanced up at the young man who had saved her. She could not gauge his exact cultivation, but his presence alone told her he was a master. He was tall and upright, his looks unremarkable, but his bright, intelligent eyes were deep and compelling. Her first impression of him was very favorable. But when she realized he was staring at her, she grew uneasy. Had he, upon seeing her face, developed ill intent as well? Panic flickered in her eyes as she instinctively tightened the garment around her. The unfamiliar fabric reminded her that he had tossed it to her after noticing her torn clothes. She recalled that, even as he had glimpsed her nearly bare body, there had been no wickedness in his gaze. Had she misunderstood his look, then? But why was he staring?

The hint of panic in her eyes brought Li Xingyu back to himself. He realized it was inappropriate to gaze so fixedly at a young woman. He wanted to explain, but when he opened his mouth, he didn’t know what to say. How could he admit, “You look so much like my girlfriend that I lost myself looking at you”? Seeing him recover himself, the girl hesitated, then began to struggle to her feet.

“Miss, are you hurt? Can you stand?” Li Xingyu asked at once.

“I’m not hurt. They only sealed my meridians,” she replied, already upright.

Li Xingyu had intended to go over and help unblock her meridians, but, remembering his previous lapse, worried that approaching her might make her uncomfortable. After a moment’s thought, he raised his hand and sent a stream of true essence into her body from a distance. She felt a shock throughout her body as a surge of potent energy coursed through her meridians, unblocking the seals. The true essence then flowed into her dantian, and her own qi quickly wrapped around and absorbed it. Though it was not much, it increased the density of her own qi by about thirty percent, leaving her with a subtly different feeling than before.

This discovery amazed her: her grandfather had told her that only a master with highly refined qi could unblock sealed meridians from a distance—at the very least, someone at the peak of the acquired realm. Astonished, she realized that Li Xingyu—who looked to be barely over twenty—must be a master of extraordinary caliber. Could he be an innate master? The ease with which he had helped her was remarkable for someone so young. She kept stealing glances at him, her mind whirling.

“Miss, who were those men? How did you come to meet them here, and why did they…” Li Xingyu’s question snapped her from her reverie. Her cheeks flushed, then, with anger, she replied, “They are from the Tianfeng clan. That young man is the clan leader’s eldest son, the young master. He came to my grandfather asking for pills a few days ago and has been pestering me since. With my grandfather present, he dared not act but left. I came up the mountain today to collect herbs for my grandfather, never expecting him to be lurking nearby. Seeing I was alone, he followed me, intending to… Hmph! I must tell my grandfather.”

After hearing her story, Li Xingyu smiled wryly. It seemed fate kept tying him to the Tianfeng clan: first Mu Xueqing’s troubles, then Chen Jingrou’s, and now this young woman’s. The enmity between him and the Tianfeng clan was only deepening. Given their resources, they must already know he had thwarted them twice before, and would have guessed his cultivation was at least at the innate level. Still, he was not afraid; with his strength, even the Tianfeng clan would have to think twice before crossing him, especially now that he had broken through to the Spirit Condensation stage.

“Oh no, you injured their young master so badly—they’ll never let you go. What should we do? You were hurt because you saved me. I’ll have my grandfather help you. You must come with me to his place; they won’t dare cause trouble for you there,” the girl said anxiously, mistaking his silence for worry about offending the Tianfeng clan. She was kind and innocent by nature, and Li Xingyu had saved her, so she hastened to reassure him.

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