Chapter 45: Li the Immortal Appears—Who Made My Good Buddy Cry?

The first thing Li Zhexian did upon waking up was to pull out the clear spring wine gourd from his waist and take a hearty swig.

The mellow liquor rolled into his abdomen, and a burning current spread along with it. His injuries were slowly healing, nourished by the potency of the wine.

Li Zhexian poked his head out from the edge of the bird's nest and cautiously looked around.

Confirming that he was completely safe, he stretched his leg out, rested the back of his knee casually against the edge of the nest, and swung it contentedly a few times.

He silently drank to heal his wounds.

Yet his mind had already flown back to the life-and-death battle with Zhao Wuji that night.

"It truly was hanging by a thread..."

Li Zhexian murmured inwardly, lingering fear clinging to him like a shadow.

"I was favored by luck this time."

"Had it not been for the torrential downpour, the Sword of Frost could not have frozen Zhao Wuji for so long."

"The blood trail left as I fled this way would not have been washed clean by the rain, and he would have inevitably tracked me down."

"Even..."

"In this massive bird's nest, if a fierce beast had been roosting here..."

"While I was heavily injured and unconscious, I would have likely been pecked to pieces, leaving not even a skeleton behind."

Li Zhexian raised a hand to wipe the wine stain from the corner of his mouth, his pale face full of earnestness.

"I am utterly sick of this feeling of helplessness, of having my life and death hang upon mere luck."

"My strength is still insufficient. I want to become stronger, and the sword in my hand must be even sharper."

A few sips of wine went down, easing his injuries slightly.

Only the fractured bones in his chest and wrists still throbbed with a dull ache.

Fortunately, his Melted Frost Spirit Physique had reached his bones, allowing him to recover much faster than ordinary people.

Li Zhexian took a deep breath and leaped down from the bird's nest.

As he landed.

He stumbled slightly under his feet.

Aside from his body aching all over, a sense of emptiness emanated from his stomach.

The wine was good, of course.

It just couldn't fill his stomach.

"How long on earth was I unconscious..."

Li Zhexian rubbed his rumbling belly and cast his gaze beyond the giant nest tree.

He saw that the surrounding trees were all snapped in half, and the ground was littered with huge craters and churned-up soil.

Yet this terrifying devastation stopped mere dozens of meters away from the giant tree where he had taken refuge.

A chill gripped his heart, and Li Zhexian slowly clenched his fists.

"I, Li Zhexian, have etched this lesson into my memory."

"Next time..."

"Zhao Wuji, I will personally slay you!"

He wondered how things were back home.

Out of caution, Li Zhexian chose to bypass the forest.

He knew that his disappearance, coupled with the destruction of his dwelling, would leave those who knew him well filled with worry at this moment.

He circled from the forest edge toward the streets.

He planned to go to the Dugu family first to let them know he was safe.

He could not enter the imperial palace at will, so he would have to ask the imperial title douluo Dugu Bo to relay a message to Xue Qinghe that he was unharmed.

***

On the street, Li Zhexian's long hair was clumped together, his face smeared with a layer of bloody mud, and his tattered white robe had lost its original color, stained with grime and dried blood.

Looking this disheveled and wretched,

how could he possibly retain a shred of his former handsome and elegant demeanor?

Passby pedestrians all cast disgusted glances, and within a radius of two meters around him, no one dared to approach.

However, Li Zhexian paid it no mind whatsoever, a smile even playing at the corners of his lips.

Having survived a calamity, being able to walk once more on the bustling streets and see this vibrant, mortal hustle and bustle—

the feeling welling up in his heart was one known as "the mortal world is worth it."

Before he even reached the Dugu residence,

Li Zhexian passed by a steamed bun shop.

Inside the two bamboo steamers placed outside the shop, scalding white mist mixed with the fragrance of wheat and meat, and gave his nose a fierce punch.

The power of that punch

was simply harder to fend off than Zhao Wuji's fists.

"Shopkeeper, give me five meat buns to go."

Li Zhexian patted the treasure pouch at his waist, and two copper coins fell into his palm.

With a light flick of his thumb, the copper coins spun and landed precisely on the wooden counter.

He took the paper-wrapped buns, eating as he walked, alternating between sips of wine and bites of the meat bun, until his mouth was gleaming with oil.

With a few mouthfuls of hot food, a trace of color returned to his pale cheeks.

Rustle—!

Rustle—!

Right at that moment,

at the end of the street, the neat and heavy sound of marching suddenly echoed.

A队 of royal guards surged forward like a tidal wave.

Pedestrians hurriedly retreated to both sides of the road.

Li Zhexian also withdrew to the roadside with the crowd, still gnawing on a bun in his mouth.

As the squad of guards passed by, he heard two aunties carrying vegetable baskets nearby whispering in low voices:

"There really are too many things happening in Heaven Dou City these days. Even at night, the imperial guards are patrolling the whole city!"

"Sigh, isn't it because someone important died! I heard he was a close friend of His Highness the Crown Prince, and an honored guest of both the Dugu and Ye families!"

"Word is that the person didn't even leave a corpse behind! The salvage boats in the moat are packed tight, and this guard squad seems determined to turn the mountains in the eastern suburbs upside down!"

"The Crown Prince, the Dugu family, and the Ye family have all gone over there!"

Li Zhexian's chewing abruptly stopped: "..."

He spun around suddenly,

and strode rapidly toward the eastern suburbs.

***

Centered around that courtyard reduced to ruins,

five hundred imperial guards, plus two hundred soul masters, were carrying out the most thorough carpet-like search across the eastern suburbs.

Digging three feet into the ground, turning over every inch, leaving no blind spots.

Among the searching party,

Xue Qinghe, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lengleng were clearly visible.

Even the Shrek Seven Monsters—minus Yu Tianheng, who had returned to his family to hone his skills—along with Yu Feng, Oscar, and the Shi brothers were among them.

Everyone dispersed

to increase the efficiency of the search.

Amidst a patch of densely overgrown grassy woodland,

Xue Qinghe mechanically swung the sickle blade in her hand, ruthlessly cutting down the bushes before her.

Her face was pale, her lips chapped, and only her eyes held an almost pathological obsession.

"Your Highness..."

Douluo Spear Snake sighed and persuaded,

"You haven't had a drop of water in two days."

"Take a rest, let us search for you."

Xue Qinghe acted as if she hadn't heard, continuing to swing her sickle.

"Your Highness!"

Douluo Pufferfish frowned.

"What that scoundrel Zhao Wuji said might not be true."

"Li Zhexian's body wasn't found in the moat."

"After all, it's only been two days, Li Zhexian might not actually be dead..."

With a dark expression, Spear Snake tugged at Pufferfish.

Damn it.

Is that any way to comfort someone?

If you don't know how to comfort people, shut your damn mouth.

Sure enough,

upon hearing the three words "Li Zhexian,"

Xue Qinghe lost her composure once more.

Her vision suddenly blurred, and tears welled up and flooded her eyes again.

"Go to hell..."

Spear Snake silently mouthed a curse at Pufferfish.

Pufferfish stiffened his neck, looking rather unresisting.

Just as the two of them were locking horns,

a ragged figure with restrained aura quietly walked past them.

He walked straight up behind Xue Qinghe.

A voice tinged with a hint of a smile and banter suddenly sounded behind her:

"Who made my good buddy cry?"

"Let me beat them up!"

Realizing who it was,

Pufferfish and Spear Snake trembled all over, their tense bodies instantly relaxing.

And Xue Qinghe's trembling shoulders suddenly grew still.

She whipped around.

When her anxious, tear-blurred gaze pierced through that face smeared with mud and blood, locking onto those familiar, dark eyes brimming with a warm smile—

Xue Qinghe covered her mouth with a slender hand, unable to hold back any longer, and burst into bitter tears.